By Syed Mohamed via M'kini
Petronas has been posting on the Internet since 2002 not only its profit and loss, balance sheet and cash flow accounts, but also financial highlights and other details of how it performed in the oil and gas business. For the last couple of years, in view of rising oil prices and hence its profits, Petronas has also detailed out how its profits were distributed.
I have been in the oil and gas business since the early 80's, and I find its website a goldmine of information, beyond what is expected to be revealed even by public-listed companies. However, it may be difficult for those who have no prior working knowledge of the complexity and challenges of the oil and gas industry, to decipher from the information given as to how well Petronas is being run.
This in comparison to not only the other government-owned oil companies, but also the other oil majors of the world, and how much it has contributed (and will continue to do) to the national economy, provided its immense contributions are efficiently and prudently utilised by the government.
The revelations on the website show that so far, Petronas has given back to the nation more than any other GLC has ever done, leaving itself with just sufficient funds to continue to invest large sums every year to search for oil and gas globally (to add to the nation's oil and gas reserves), as well as to add value to its existing highly-integrated businesses in 33 countries.
So far, Petronas has managed to replenish more than it extracts in terms of its oil and gas reserves, both domestically and overseas, increasing its overseas reserves (in Africa, Central Asia, the Middle-east and South East Asia) to one-third of its total global reserves.
This means that it can continue to produce oil and gas for many years ahead, although it is expected that, by about 2014 or earlier, Malaysia itself, as a country, will be able to export less oil than it imports, due to increased domestic demands.
It is certainly not true that our oil wells will be dry by then, as some reports have erroneously suggested, as the current Malaysian oil reserves are equivalent to 22 years of the current extraction rate of 670,000 barrels per day.
For the 2007 financial year, Petronas declared dividends to the government totalling a staggering RM32 billion (half to be actually paid in the following financial year). For the two previous years, it paid RM13.1 billion and RM9.1 billion respectively.
I say its staggering because throughout the 70s, 80s, 90s and early 2000's, its dividends to the government had reportedly been only about RM2 billion every year.
On top of that, for the same 2007 financial year, Petronas also paid to the government another total of RM32.3 billion in the form of taxes (RM21.8 b), royalties (RM8.5 b) and export duty (RM 2 b).
So what is the real issue? The real issue is, therefore, whether the BN government has been prudent and efficient in spending the many billions contributed by Petronas.
Please, people. Petronas cannot be faulted if its contribution is spent elsewhere instead of on petrol and diesel subsidies. Boycotting Petronas products would be like trying to kill Malaysia's one and only golden goose. Let's quarrel about the ‘golden eggs’ which are in the BN government hands, but leave the ‘goose’ to continue to lay more for years and years to come.
There may come a time - like during the 1997-1998 Southeast Asian financial meltdown - when Petronas financial muscle may once again be needed to come to our rescue.
The ball is in the BN government's court - to stop the alleged major leakages and wastage and then use the savings to subsidise fuel prices. This is what Anwar Ibrahim might be thinking of when he promised to reduce the petrol price if Pakatan Rakyat ever manages to take over the federal government.
Is Petronas efficiently run? You bet. Petronas is listed in Fortune 500 as amongst the world's 500 biggest companies. In terms of profitability, using the ‘profit before tax margin’ ratio, Petronas (at 41.4%) is at No1 position, by a long way, compared to all the oil majors and other government-owned oil companies of the world.
It is also in the No 1 position if the Return on Average Capital Employed (Roace) ratio is used. The figure achieved is an astounding 40.9%. Even when the Return on Total Assets ratio is used, at 25.9% it ranks at the top half amongst the government-owned oil companies and the oil majors of the world.
These three criteria show that Petronas is one of the most, if not the most (in certain aspects), efficiently managed of the large oil and gas companies of the world. Do we really want to know how many expensive banquets Petronas held in comparison with Esso, Shell, BP, Chevron, Caltex, Conoco, Gulf, Aramco, Statoil, Petrobras, Pertamina, etc?
Can Petronas reduce Malaysian petrol prices on its own? The answer is negative. Petronas' current total refining capacity is only 314,000 barrels of crude per day. From this amount, only about 150,000 barrels per day of petrol and diesel can be produced, the rest being LPG, petrochemical naphtha, kerosene/jet fuel and waxy residues.
The 150,000 barrels per day account for only 40% of the amount of petrol and diesel sold in Malaysia. The other 60% is supplied by foreign oil companies like Esso, Shell and Caltex. Esso and Shell have refineries in Port Dickson, whilst Caltex may be importing the products from its Singapore refinery and/or purchasing them from the Conoco share of the Melaka refinery outputs.
From the above, one can begin to understand why the petrol price control has to be through the subsidy route rather than through Petronas having to take an 'opportunity loss'. Unless Shell, Esso and Caltex are also willing to take 'opportunity losses', and by how much.
Showing posts with label News. Show all posts
Showing posts with label News. Show all posts
Friday, June 20, 2008
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Cheras barricade goes down again
Source : M'Kini
YennaMike Says : "I was very shocked when i first came to know about the fracas in Cheras. I'm reall sad to see the way my fellow Malaysians being treated by our Police, FRU and Hired "Thug" as claimed. What Suhakam got to say about this...??, Suhakam are you really listening to peoples' plea...??"
Bandar Mahkota Cheras residents have torn down the controversial wall built by toll operator Grand Saga which blocked access to the Cheras-Kajang Highway late last night.
This was the third time that the five-foot wall, consisting of table-size boulders and erected across the two-lane toll-free slip road, was demolished.
In a significant about-turn, Selangor police chief Khalid Abu Bakar was at the scene at about 7.30pm to give the jubilant residents the green light to remove the wall.
The residents, with the help of tractors, eventually cleared the access road for motor vehicles to pass by 9.30pm.
The police, who had earlier been accused of siding with toll operator, kept a close watch on the operation. Khalid had also warned Grand Saga not to rebuild the wall.
On Tuesday, about a dozen residents were seriously injured at a fracas after Grand Saga re-erected the barricade. Residents have accused the toll operator of hiring ‘gangsters’ armed with sticks to stop them from tearing down the wall.
According to Bernama, police have launched an investigation to identify the ‘thugs’ who had beaten the residents - one of whom were hospitalised with a broken hand, while another were given seven stitches after a blow on his head.
A group of BMC residents are presently in Parliament asking for a meeting with Works Minister Mohd Zin Mohamed.
Lims calls for inquiry
Meanwhile DAP leader Lim Kit Siang condemned the violence which resulted in the injuries of several residents two nights ago.
He also lambasted the presence of thugs to stop the residents from pulling down the barricade.
He also criticised the police for not only their "hands-off" policy during the rampage by the thugs, but also in going on a rampage of their own in assaulting innocent bystander Chang Jiun Haur.
"An independent public inquiry into the spate of physical violence against the protesting public by thugs and police personnel is fully warranted," he added.
He said that DAP MP for Serdang Teo Nie Ching will be raising the issue in Parliament today.
YennaMike Says : "I was very shocked when i first came to know about the fracas in Cheras. I'm reall sad to see the way my fellow Malaysians being treated by our Police, FRU and Hired "Thug" as claimed. What Suhakam got to say about this...??, Suhakam are you really listening to peoples' plea...??"
Bandar Mahkota Cheras residents have torn down the controversial wall built by toll operator Grand Saga which blocked access to the Cheras-Kajang Highway late last night.
This was the third time that the five-foot wall, consisting of table-size boulders and erected across the two-lane toll-free slip road, was demolished.
In a significant about-turn, Selangor police chief Khalid Abu Bakar was at the scene at about 7.30pm to give the jubilant residents the green light to remove the wall.
The residents, with the help of tractors, eventually cleared the access road for motor vehicles to pass by 9.30pm.
The police, who had earlier been accused of siding with toll operator, kept a close watch on the operation. Khalid had also warned Grand Saga not to rebuild the wall.
On Tuesday, about a dozen residents were seriously injured at a fracas after Grand Saga re-erected the barricade. Residents have accused the toll operator of hiring ‘gangsters’ armed with sticks to stop them from tearing down the wall.
According to Bernama, police have launched an investigation to identify the ‘thugs’ who had beaten the residents - one of whom were hospitalised with a broken hand, while another were given seven stitches after a blow on his head.
A group of BMC residents are presently in Parliament asking for a meeting with Works Minister Mohd Zin Mohamed.
Lims calls for inquiry
Meanwhile DAP leader Lim Kit Siang condemned the violence which resulted in the injuries of several residents two nights ago.
He also lambasted the presence of thugs to stop the residents from pulling down the barricade.
He also criticised the police for not only their "hands-off" policy during the rampage by the thugs, but also in going on a rampage of their own in assaulting innocent bystander Chang Jiun Haur.
"An independent public inquiry into the spate of physical violence against the protesting public by thugs and police personnel is fully warranted," he added.
He said that DAP MP for Serdang Teo Nie Ching will be raising the issue in Parliament today.
Friday, May 23, 2008
MB: RM27m spent by BN reps in two months
Source : M'Kini
Selangor Menteri Besar Abdul Khalid Ibrahim today revealed that Barisan Nasional assemblypersons had spent 90.6 percent of the total state allocations within the first two months of this year.
The grand total amounts to RM26,634,844.33 and a balance of RM2,907,155.76 remains, he said in reply to a question posed by Ng Suee Lim (DAP-Sekinchan).
Khalid then proceeded to provide a breakdown of total funds spent in each constituencies in order for members of the assembly to know if funds were still available.
He also noted that there was a number of trends in the amount of funds spent, such as a large number of Barisan representatives spending exactly RM492,800, and said that he would investigate the matter.
"Strangely, the previous speaker, who was not even a state assemblyperson, spent RM600,000," he told the House.
Khalid then suggested that a select committee on competency, accountability and transparency be established to probe the matter.
The two-month speeding spree has resulted in the 36 state seats that have now come under the control of the joint PKR-DAP-PAS government in the March 8 general elections having nothing much left to spend for the rest of the year.
In his royal address on Wednesday, Selangor Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah ticked off previous state administration assemblypersons for spending almost all of the RM27 million allocations.
He said efforts to improve efficiency in the state would be meaningless if wastages or inappropriate spending are not curbed and urged the state government to be prudent.
Balkis controversy
On a question by Lau Weng San (DAP-Kampung Tunku) on the Balkis controversy, Khalid said he had tried in vain to seek answers from the Registrar of Societies (ROS).
He said that he had written three letters to the ROS since April but no reply was forthcoming.
"In the letters, we have asked for details on Balkis dissolution. But we have yet to receive any reply. We are still waiting for an answer," he said.
However, he told the House that it was necessary for Balkis to explain certain activities they had organised as it involved the help and support from companies owned by the state government.
Khalid then gave a litany of examples involving tens of thousands of ringgit being spent on matters such as souvenirs for 'VVIPs', dinner functions and festivals.
In one example, Khalid drew loud groans from the Pakatan Rakyat backbenchers when he revealed that RM279,000 were spent on sports clothing for Balkis members.
"They used Galeri Hafiz Sdn Bhd. It involved two payments - RM158,000 and RM121,000 - to prepare sports clothes for men and women," he said.
Again, he mooted that Balkis expenditures be scrutinised by a select committee comprising of both Pakatan and Barisan reps.
To a supplementary question by Jenice Lee (DAP-Teratai), Khalid said the state government was of the view that Balkis had yet to be officially dissolved.
Balkis was a very rich charity group comprising of the wives of Selangor elected representatives.
There was an uproar when it was learnt that the group had passed a resolution to dissolve the association just after the March 8 general election and with it, its millions in funds.
Selangor Menteri Besar Abdul Khalid Ibrahim today revealed that Barisan Nasional assemblypersons had spent 90.6 percent of the total state allocations within the first two months of this year.
The grand total amounts to RM26,634,844.33 and a balance of RM2,907,155.76 remains, he said in reply to a question posed by Ng Suee Lim (DAP-Sekinchan).
Khalid then proceeded to provide a breakdown of total funds spent in each constituencies in order for members of the assembly to know if funds were still available.
He also noted that there was a number of trends in the amount of funds spent, such as a large number of Barisan representatives spending exactly RM492,800, and said that he would investigate the matter.
"Strangely, the previous speaker, who was not even a state assemblyperson, spent RM600,000," he told the House.
Khalid then suggested that a select committee on competency, accountability and transparency be established to probe the matter.
The two-month speeding spree has resulted in the 36 state seats that have now come under the control of the joint PKR-DAP-PAS government in the March 8 general elections having nothing much left to spend for the rest of the year.
In his royal address on Wednesday, Selangor Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah ticked off previous state administration assemblypersons for spending almost all of the RM27 million allocations.
He said efforts to improve efficiency in the state would be meaningless if wastages or inappropriate spending are not curbed and urged the state government to be prudent.
Balkis controversy
On a question by Lau Weng San (DAP-Kampung Tunku) on the Balkis controversy, Khalid said he had tried in vain to seek answers from the Registrar of Societies (ROS).
He said that he had written three letters to the ROS since April but no reply was forthcoming.
"In the letters, we have asked for details on Balkis dissolution. But we have yet to receive any reply. We are still waiting for an answer," he said.
However, he told the House that it was necessary for Balkis to explain certain activities they had organised as it involved the help and support from companies owned by the state government.
Khalid then gave a litany of examples involving tens of thousands of ringgit being spent on matters such as souvenirs for 'VVIPs', dinner functions and festivals.
In one example, Khalid drew loud groans from the Pakatan Rakyat backbenchers when he revealed that RM279,000 were spent on sports clothing for Balkis members.
"They used Galeri Hafiz Sdn Bhd. It involved two payments - RM158,000 and RM121,000 - to prepare sports clothes for men and women," he said.
Again, he mooted that Balkis expenditures be scrutinised by a select committee comprising of both Pakatan and Barisan reps.
To a supplementary question by Jenice Lee (DAP-Teratai), Khalid said the state government was of the view that Balkis had yet to be officially dissolved.
Balkis was a very rich charity group comprising of the wives of Selangor elected representatives.
There was an uproar when it was learnt that the group had passed a resolution to dissolve the association just after the March 8 general election and with it, its millions in funds.
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Live bullet sent to Karpal
Source : M'Kini
DAP leader and member of Parliament Karpal Singh received a live bullet in an envelope at his law firm in Kuala Lumpur this afternoon.
The live bullet was accompanied with a note warning him against speaking out on the controversial issues of Malay rights and the constitutional powers of the sultans.
“Kalau tak berhenti, peluru ini akan melekat pada kepala dahi kau!” (If you don’t stop, this bullet will be lodged in your forehead).
The one-page note, printed in Bahasa Malaysia, added that this was the “first warning” [below].
The wheelchair-bound politician lodged a police report over the death threat at 5pm at Dang Wangi police station.
Met at the police station later this evening, Karpal told reporters that the envelope was hand-delivered to his receptionist at 12.30pm.
“The man was wearing a helmet and he had his visors drawn down. He left hurriedly,” he said, adding that the police have confirmed that bullet was a 9mm ‘live bullet’.
When quizzed by reporters, Karpal said he had no clue who the culprits were and would not rule out that the incident could be politically motivated.
“It is difficult for me to say, but based on the wordings of the note, it appears to have political motives,” he said.
Will seek police protection ‘if necessary’
The DAP chairperson and criminal lawyer found himself some unwanted attention recently when some of the remarks he had made concerning the royalty had come under the spotlight.
Over the past week, the renowned lawyer has had 20 police reports lodged against him after he had said the Sultan of Perak had acted unconstitutionally in the transfer of a religious department official and criticised Regent of Kelantan's message at a forum last month.
Karpal, who is member of Parliament for Bukit Gelugor in Penang, added that he would consider asking for police protection in the future “if necessary”.
Asked if the incident would change his stand on the Perak Sultan’s recent order for the Religious Department Director Jamry Sury to be reinstated, Karpal said he issue had been deemed settled.
He said that he and other quarters have all voiced their arguments and that there was no need to prolong the debate any further.
Veteran DAP leader Lim Kit Siang described the incident as deplorable and urged the police to get to the bottom of the matter.
“This sort of things should not happen in a country like Malaysia,” said Lim, who were among four DAP MPs to accompanied Karpal to the police station, including his son Gobind who is Puchong MP.
DAP leader and member of Parliament Karpal Singh received a live bullet in an envelope at his law firm in Kuala Lumpur this afternoon.
The live bullet was accompanied with a note warning him against speaking out on the controversial issues of Malay rights and the constitutional powers of the sultans.
“Kalau tak berhenti, peluru ini akan melekat pada kepala dahi kau!” (If you don’t stop, this bullet will be lodged in your forehead).
The one-page note, printed in Bahasa Malaysia, added that this was the “first warning” [below].
The wheelchair-bound politician lodged a police report over the death threat at 5pm at Dang Wangi police station.
Met at the police station later this evening, Karpal told reporters that the envelope was hand-delivered to his receptionist at 12.30pm.
“The man was wearing a helmet and he had his visors drawn down. He left hurriedly,” he said, adding that the police have confirmed that bullet was a 9mm ‘live bullet’.
When quizzed by reporters, Karpal said he had no clue who the culprits were and would not rule out that the incident could be politically motivated.
“It is difficult for me to say, but based on the wordings of the note, it appears to have political motives,” he said.
Will seek police protection ‘if necessary’
The DAP chairperson and criminal lawyer found himself some unwanted attention recently when some of the remarks he had made concerning the royalty had come under the spotlight.
Over the past week, the renowned lawyer has had 20 police reports lodged against him after he had said the Sultan of Perak had acted unconstitutionally in the transfer of a religious department official and criticised Regent of Kelantan's message at a forum last month.
Karpal, who is member of Parliament for Bukit Gelugor in Penang, added that he would consider asking for police protection in the future “if necessary”.
Asked if the incident would change his stand on the Perak Sultan’s recent order for the Religious Department Director Jamry Sury to be reinstated, Karpal said he issue had been deemed settled.
He said that he and other quarters have all voiced their arguments and that there was no need to prolong the debate any further.
Veteran DAP leader Lim Kit Siang described the incident as deplorable and urged the police to get to the bottom of the matter.
“This sort of things should not happen in a country like Malaysia,” said Lim, who were among four DAP MPs to accompanied Karpal to the police station, including his son Gobind who is Puchong MP.
Friday, May 16, 2008
Suhakam pushes for review of 'unreasonable' restrictions
Source : NST
KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) has called on the government to review the Police Act and other preventive legislation to reflect international standards.
In its 2007 report released earlier this week, it said currently, such laws "unreasonably" restrict freedom of assembly and freedom of speech as guaranteed by the Federal Constitution.
The call by Suhakam came following numerous street protests held last year by various non-governmental organisations.
Among them were the Bar Council's Walk of Justice in Putrajaya on Sept 26, the Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (Bersih) to demand for election reforms on Sept 8 and Nov 10, as well as the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) rally on Nov 25.
"Suhakam observed that applications for permits to hold the assemblies were rejected by police on the basis that these could lead to public disorder and posed security risks.
"While it is recognised that the police have a duty to ensure peace and security, they should adopt a holistic approach in handling requests for permits. Their actions must be consistent with the principles of human rights."
The 312-page report said citizens are increasingly demanding recognition of their democratic rights and measures to ensure peace and security should not be at the expense of human rights.
It noted that Section 27 of the Police Act 1967 clearly entrusted the police with unfettered powers to determine who can organise a peaceful assembly.
"The provision, however, does not set out the criteria and guidelines on meeting requirements for a permit. Discretionary powers are fully vested in the police," said Suhakam.
These are among the seven key issues identified by Suhakam that the government needed to improve on.
The other issues are:
Freedom of Religion
Suhakam said the right to freedom of religion is protected by the Federal Constitution and it is unacceptable to interpret any law relating to religion in any way that leads to injustice.
In lauding a Federal Court decision last December that the (civil) High Court has jurisdiction to hear matrimonial disputes, even if one party has converted to Islam, the commission called on judges to be bold, impartial and unequivocal in dealing with complex interfaith cases, while urging the police and the local authorities to be more sensitive in law enforcement.
Administration of Justice
The commission noted that delays in court proceedings and the delays in handing down written judgments were among the main concerns that required immediate attention.
It pointed out that more than 1,000 prisoners are languishing in jail and unable to appeal because judges and magistrates had been slow in providing written judgments.
It also expressed concern that judicial review had been ousted in a number of instances, including habeas corpus challenges, which it said will undermine the right to justice and the right to a fair trial.
Additionally, it reiterated its call to repeal arbitrary clauses in the Internal Security Act and that detention without trial must be subject to judicial review and agencies authorising detention must be held accountable.
Detention Without Trial
Suhakam reiterated its call to the government to release detainees or prosecute them, and to abolish the practice of detention without trial which is contradictory to the principles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
According to data from the Kamunting detention centre, there are 70 ISA detainees with more than half serving out their second detention order.
Free and Fair Elections
Suhakam urged the government to amend the relevant laws to ensure free and fair elections.
In expressing its concern, it noted that certain fundamental rights pertaining to free and fair elections, such as freedom of expression, freedom of association and freedom of assembly, were either curtailed or ignored during election campaigns.
"Suhakam observed, too, that there is no level playing field, particularly in terms of access to the media, permission to hold political rallies, delineation of constituencies and redress in the courts," it said.
It noted the authorities must immediately address allegations such as the existence of phantom voters, as well as the inefficacy of the electoral system.
"Candidates should not be allowed to resort to undemocratic means to win elections, including vote-buying, providing non-cash incentives and using public funds and facilities," it further stated.
Suhakam said free and fair elections were crucial to lend legitimacy to a democratic society.
"Public confidence in the fairness of the electoral process is far more important than a massive mandate. While elections in Malaysia have been free, it cannot be claimed that the process had been completely fair," it noted.
Law Enforcement
The report addressed complaints by the public against Rela. Suhakam said it had extended training programmes for law enforcement personnel to include Rela officers nationwide.
The Commission suggested that the government should deploy professionally-trained law enforcement personnel, such as from the police and Immigration Department, to accompany Rela personnel on future operations.
Rights of Vulnerable Groups
It had identified four sub-groups under this group and outlined what it hoped could be achieved for these four.
For Orang Asli and Orang Asal, Suhakam recommended the government amend the Sarawak Land Code 1958 to include the Penan community's unique way of establishing land ownership and stewardship, in light of the fact that such customs have not been factored into the Code.
For migrant workers, Suhakam proposed that the government and foreign embassies in Malaysia thoroughly study the current recruitment process and provide adequate monitoring, regulation and punishment of recruiting agencies that violate human rights.
This is because the commission observed most of the complaints by migrant workers were due to exploitation by agencies.
In view of increasing number of refugees and asylum-seekers, Suhakam recommended that relevant government agencies work together with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to resolve related issues.
For persons with disabilities, Suhakam hoped the drafting of the Persons with Disabilities Bill signalled a step towards Malaysia's ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
For Women and Children, Suhakam said the passage of the Anti-Trafficking of Persons Act 2007 and its gazetting is another positive development in the protection of the rights of women and children.
However, Suhakam suggested that more must be done to protect children in view of the increasing number of cases of abuse and violence against children.
The commission also expressed its frustrations at the government's cold response to its various proposals.
"Since its inception (in 2000), Suhakam had made numerous suggestions to improve the protection of human rights.
"The commission hoped that the government would give attention to the recommendations made through various reports to date. As a member of the United Nations Human Rights Council, Malaysia should play a leading role in upholding human rights."
KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) has called on the government to review the Police Act and other preventive legislation to reflect international standards.
In its 2007 report released earlier this week, it said currently, such laws "unreasonably" restrict freedom of assembly and freedom of speech as guaranteed by the Federal Constitution.
The call by Suhakam came following numerous street protests held last year by various non-governmental organisations.
Among them were the Bar Council's Walk of Justice in Putrajaya on Sept 26, the Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (Bersih) to demand for election reforms on Sept 8 and Nov 10, as well as the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) rally on Nov 25.
"Suhakam observed that applications for permits to hold the assemblies were rejected by police on the basis that these could lead to public disorder and posed security risks.
"While it is recognised that the police have a duty to ensure peace and security, they should adopt a holistic approach in handling requests for permits. Their actions must be consistent with the principles of human rights."
The 312-page report said citizens are increasingly demanding recognition of their democratic rights and measures to ensure peace and security should not be at the expense of human rights.
It noted that Section 27 of the Police Act 1967 clearly entrusted the police with unfettered powers to determine who can organise a peaceful assembly.
"The provision, however, does not set out the criteria and guidelines on meeting requirements for a permit. Discretionary powers are fully vested in the police," said Suhakam.
These are among the seven key issues identified by Suhakam that the government needed to improve on.
The other issues are:
Freedom of Religion
Suhakam said the right to freedom of religion is protected by the Federal Constitution and it is unacceptable to interpret any law relating to religion in any way that leads to injustice.
In lauding a Federal Court decision last December that the (civil) High Court has jurisdiction to hear matrimonial disputes, even if one party has converted to Islam, the commission called on judges to be bold, impartial and unequivocal in dealing with complex interfaith cases, while urging the police and the local authorities to be more sensitive in law enforcement.
Administration of Justice
The commission noted that delays in court proceedings and the delays in handing down written judgments were among the main concerns that required immediate attention.
It pointed out that more than 1,000 prisoners are languishing in jail and unable to appeal because judges and magistrates had been slow in providing written judgments.
It also expressed concern that judicial review had been ousted in a number of instances, including habeas corpus challenges, which it said will undermine the right to justice and the right to a fair trial.
Additionally, it reiterated its call to repeal arbitrary clauses in the Internal Security Act and that detention without trial must be subject to judicial review and agencies authorising detention must be held accountable.
Detention Without Trial
Suhakam reiterated its call to the government to release detainees or prosecute them, and to abolish the practice of detention without trial which is contradictory to the principles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
According to data from the Kamunting detention centre, there are 70 ISA detainees with more than half serving out their second detention order.
Free and Fair Elections
Suhakam urged the government to amend the relevant laws to ensure free and fair elections.
In expressing its concern, it noted that certain fundamental rights pertaining to free and fair elections, such as freedom of expression, freedom of association and freedom of assembly, were either curtailed or ignored during election campaigns.
"Suhakam observed, too, that there is no level playing field, particularly in terms of access to the media, permission to hold political rallies, delineation of constituencies and redress in the courts," it said.
It noted the authorities must immediately address allegations such as the existence of phantom voters, as well as the inefficacy of the electoral system.
"Candidates should not be allowed to resort to undemocratic means to win elections, including vote-buying, providing non-cash incentives and using public funds and facilities," it further stated.
Suhakam said free and fair elections were crucial to lend legitimacy to a democratic society.
"Public confidence in the fairness of the electoral process is far more important than a massive mandate. While elections in Malaysia have been free, it cannot be claimed that the process had been completely fair," it noted.
Law Enforcement
The report addressed complaints by the public against Rela. Suhakam said it had extended training programmes for law enforcement personnel to include Rela officers nationwide.
The Commission suggested that the government should deploy professionally-trained law enforcement personnel, such as from the police and Immigration Department, to accompany Rela personnel on future operations.
Rights of Vulnerable Groups
It had identified four sub-groups under this group and outlined what it hoped could be achieved for these four.
For Orang Asli and Orang Asal, Suhakam recommended the government amend the Sarawak Land Code 1958 to include the Penan community's unique way of establishing land ownership and stewardship, in light of the fact that such customs have not been factored into the Code.
For migrant workers, Suhakam proposed that the government and foreign embassies in Malaysia thoroughly study the current recruitment process and provide adequate monitoring, regulation and punishment of recruiting agencies that violate human rights.
This is because the commission observed most of the complaints by migrant workers were due to exploitation by agencies.
In view of increasing number of refugees and asylum-seekers, Suhakam recommended that relevant government agencies work together with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to resolve related issues.
For persons with disabilities, Suhakam hoped the drafting of the Persons with Disabilities Bill signalled a step towards Malaysia's ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
For Women and Children, Suhakam said the passage of the Anti-Trafficking of Persons Act 2007 and its gazetting is another positive development in the protection of the rights of women and children.
However, Suhakam suggested that more must be done to protect children in view of the increasing number of cases of abuse and violence against children.
The commission also expressed its frustrations at the government's cold response to its various proposals.
"Since its inception (in 2000), Suhakam had made numerous suggestions to improve the protection of human rights.
"The commission hoped that the government would give attention to the recommendations made through various reports to date. As a member of the United Nations Human Rights Council, Malaysia should play a leading role in upholding human rights."
Time for the daring questions
Source : M'Kini
With stakes reaching above the moon, Umno is now looking like an upside-down circus, with the weakest man on top and the strongest apparently cowed into submission - and seen as vulnerable as he is forced down the crest of popular accusations linked to an on-going murder trial.
In the run-up to the party supreme council election scheduled for December, some veterans are screaming over unfair and undemocratic practices of the party president and his clique.
Bent on scuttling challengers, Pak Lah has once again been abusing democratic rights in Umno as he did in 2004.
Former party president and premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who is hoping for the Number Two to go for Number One in December, said his “cowardly” protégé and candidate for the top post in Umno had told him he had to have the president’s permission in order to meet with him (Mahathir).
Mahathir, who dubbed the deputy prime minister a coward during a recent talk to Malaysian students in Manchester, is now making the man look like a schoolboy of 10 who is afraid to play truant and meet his former boss to discuss why the party had lost as badly as it did in the March 8 general election.
The ruling coalition, Barisan Nasional, lost five states and for the first time in history, was denied a two-third majority in Parliament. It has made the prime minister a lame duck and his authority has been defied by several Malay rulers who refused to accept his candidates for menteri besar.
Pak Lah, is refusing to step down and instead is said to be using his regime-support apparatus to deny his challengers constitutional rights and due democratic process.
It’s a repeat performance many find intolerable, the first being the siege of Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah that he had applied in 2004. It left the prince with a single nomination in his attempt to contest for Umno president.
Party divisions were ordered to deny him the 60 nominations he needed to qualify. He obtained only one nomination, from his own division of Gua Musang.
As Tengku Razaleigh riled about the plot mounted to ruin his bid in his second attempt to contest for president, Mahathir publicly rued the deputy president’s apparent disability, asking what kind of a political party Umno has become under Pak Lah.
In these circumstances, the name calling and the diminution of the Number Two left in its wake a remarkable turn of events that finally thundered with Raja Petra Kamaruddin’s article in his blog, Malaysia Today.
Abusive agencies
Even as Mahathir wonders out loud what kind of party Umno has become under his successor, observers are quick to ask why he had enhanced the set of regime-supportive apparatus that made it possible for the party president to preside as a dictator.
Mahathir may not have set up most of the quasi-political agencies that had made Umno a rather muscular giant. But he strengthened them, ostensibly in an attempt to “institutionalise Umno”.
The Biro Tatanegara in the Prime Minister’s Department is one of several agencies responsible directly to the prime minister and empowered to intercept, and has been intercepting, the democratic political processes.
It began employing ex-commandos during Mahathir’s premiership and has been alleged to have been using intimidation and coercion with impunity to keep party members subdued and the opposition endlessly harassed.
With power and substantial funds, these agencies promptly became abusive.
Seranta, another quasi-political agency set up during Mahathir’s regime, sent more than 3,000 members to stay for months within the small state constituency of Kuala Nerang in Terengganu, to appeal for votes and ensure victory in the PAS territory in the early 1990s.
Discipline could hardly be sustained among the participants and several of the young women became pregnant while villagers complained of the men troubling village girls. Maybe the idea was to quickly increase the number of voters.
Trouble in these agencies has brewed from the early days. In the 1980s when Sanusi Junid was secretary-general of Umno, he loudly proclaimed his disgust when he was given a set of ‘blue’ videos made by and which featured members of Kemas, yet another quasi-political agency.
The videos were made for sale, leaving Sanusi aghast and spoilt for a decision whether or not to lodge a police report against the instant film-stars and film-producers.
Many who had asked before about the kind of a political party Umno was, were left unheard.
elonging to the politically favoured agencies, however, must have made these vivaciously talented people highly influential in the party, for very conceivable reasons.
Pak Lah, it is alleged widely, has been excessively using these agencies along with the police. Even many senior journalists were debarred from the mainstream media ever since he became PM, a reason why they became effective bloggers.
Abuses like these had obviously been one of the major causes for the massive rejection of the ruling party by members of Umno, a factor that will surely be carried through to the next general election and will ensure the end of Umno’s unbroken rule since 1955.
These abuses were etched in blood when members of the police special squad attached to the defence minister and deputy premier Najib Abdul Razak have been charged with the murder of Altantuya Shaaribuu, who worked as translator for his political strategist Abdul Razak Baginda.
[Najib has denied any involvement in the case.]
How we protect ourselves from such powers of the regime’s special apparatus, therefore, becomes the biggest question for the nation, daring each and everyone to ask the questions Raja Petra voiced on our behalf.
Is it then time to call an end to Umno and for the members to seek other and more realistic means for regime change rather than continue to wail like beaten banshees over ruined chances to democratically contest in the party?
It is also pertinent to ask if it is at all useful for Tengku Razaleigh to keep trying to breach the siege in Umno.
Or, would he serve the nation better should he call it a day and join Anwar Ibrahim in PKR as a faction, or revive his old vehicle, Semangat 46?
With stakes reaching above the moon, Umno is now looking like an upside-down circus, with the weakest man on top and the strongest apparently cowed into submission - and seen as vulnerable as he is forced down the crest of popular accusations linked to an on-going murder trial.
In the run-up to the party supreme council election scheduled for December, some veterans are screaming over unfair and undemocratic practices of the party president and his clique.
Bent on scuttling challengers, Pak Lah has once again been abusing democratic rights in Umno as he did in 2004.
Former party president and premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who is hoping for the Number Two to go for Number One in December, said his “cowardly” protégé and candidate for the top post in Umno had told him he had to have the president’s permission in order to meet with him (Mahathir).
Mahathir, who dubbed the deputy prime minister a coward during a recent talk to Malaysian students in Manchester, is now making the man look like a schoolboy of 10 who is afraid to play truant and meet his former boss to discuss why the party had lost as badly as it did in the March 8 general election.
The ruling coalition, Barisan Nasional, lost five states and for the first time in history, was denied a two-third majority in Parliament. It has made the prime minister a lame duck and his authority has been defied by several Malay rulers who refused to accept his candidates for menteri besar.
Pak Lah, is refusing to step down and instead is said to be using his regime-support apparatus to deny his challengers constitutional rights and due democratic process.
It’s a repeat performance many find intolerable, the first being the siege of Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah that he had applied in 2004. It left the prince with a single nomination in his attempt to contest for Umno president.
Party divisions were ordered to deny him the 60 nominations he needed to qualify. He obtained only one nomination, from his own division of Gua Musang.
As Tengku Razaleigh riled about the plot mounted to ruin his bid in his second attempt to contest for president, Mahathir publicly rued the deputy president’s apparent disability, asking what kind of a political party Umno has become under Pak Lah.
In these circumstances, the name calling and the diminution of the Number Two left in its wake a remarkable turn of events that finally thundered with Raja Petra Kamaruddin’s article in his blog, Malaysia Today.
Abusive agencies
Even as Mahathir wonders out loud what kind of party Umno has become under his successor, observers are quick to ask why he had enhanced the set of regime-supportive apparatus that made it possible for the party president to preside as a dictator.
Mahathir may not have set up most of the quasi-political agencies that had made Umno a rather muscular giant. But he strengthened them, ostensibly in an attempt to “institutionalise Umno”.
The Biro Tatanegara in the Prime Minister’s Department is one of several agencies responsible directly to the prime minister and empowered to intercept, and has been intercepting, the democratic political processes.
It began employing ex-commandos during Mahathir’s premiership and has been alleged to have been using intimidation and coercion with impunity to keep party members subdued and the opposition endlessly harassed.
With power and substantial funds, these agencies promptly became abusive.
Seranta, another quasi-political agency set up during Mahathir’s regime, sent more than 3,000 members to stay for months within the small state constituency of Kuala Nerang in Terengganu, to appeal for votes and ensure victory in the PAS territory in the early 1990s.
Discipline could hardly be sustained among the participants and several of the young women became pregnant while villagers complained of the men troubling village girls. Maybe the idea was to quickly increase the number of voters.
Trouble in these agencies has brewed from the early days. In the 1980s when Sanusi Junid was secretary-general of Umno, he loudly proclaimed his disgust when he was given a set of ‘blue’ videos made by and which featured members of Kemas, yet another quasi-political agency.
The videos were made for sale, leaving Sanusi aghast and spoilt for a decision whether or not to lodge a police report against the instant film-stars and film-producers.
Many who had asked before about the kind of a political party Umno was, were left unheard.
elonging to the politically favoured agencies, however, must have made these vivaciously talented people highly influential in the party, for very conceivable reasons.
Pak Lah, it is alleged widely, has been excessively using these agencies along with the police. Even many senior journalists were debarred from the mainstream media ever since he became PM, a reason why they became effective bloggers.
Abuses like these had obviously been one of the major causes for the massive rejection of the ruling party by members of Umno, a factor that will surely be carried through to the next general election and will ensure the end of Umno’s unbroken rule since 1955.
These abuses were etched in blood when members of the police special squad attached to the defence minister and deputy premier Najib Abdul Razak have been charged with the murder of Altantuya Shaaribuu, who worked as translator for his political strategist Abdul Razak Baginda.
[Najib has denied any involvement in the case.]
How we protect ourselves from such powers of the regime’s special apparatus, therefore, becomes the biggest question for the nation, daring each and everyone to ask the questions Raja Petra voiced on our behalf.
Is it then time to call an end to Umno and for the members to seek other and more realistic means for regime change rather than continue to wail like beaten banshees over ruined chances to democratically contest in the party?
It is also pertinent to ask if it is at all useful for Tengku Razaleigh to keep trying to breach the siege in Umno.
Or, would he serve the nation better should he call it a day and join Anwar Ibrahim in PKR as a faction, or revive his old vehicle, Semangat 46?
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Hindraf rally turned Malaysian Indians against government
Source : Thethaindian.com
Kuala Lumpur, May 14 (IANS) Malaysia’s ethnic Indians staged “a silent revolution” against the government, “triggered” by the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf), during the March general elections, a minister has said. Malaysian Human Resource Development Minister S. Subramanian Tuesday described a rally organised by the Hindraf in November last year as the “trigger factor” that turned the Indian community against the government.
Hindraf had organised the protest rally on behalf of Malaysia’s two million Tamil Hindus. The rally of an estimated 10,000 people was declared illegal and forcibly dispersed by police using water cannons. Five Hindraf leaders were jailed for two years for organising it.
“They were listening all this while and we were just oiling the spring. But the bursting point arrived. We have to rectify this fundamental problem to regain their support,” Subramanian told members of his Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC) at a party meet in Malacca.
The MIC, part of the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition, lost badly in the March polls. The BN itself lost the two-thirds majority advantage, emerging victorious but weaker with simple majority.
The simmering of discontent had been going on for a long time. The MIC was aware of the discontent but could not do much, except to manage it, the minister said.
Subramanian urged BN leaders to accept “the new reality” and change their mindset to ensure that ethnic minorities did not feel “not equal” to majority Malays, he was quoted as saying by The Star newspaper.
“There must be a massive change in the mindsets of BN leaders, particularly those from the United Malay Nasional Organisation (Umno), for the coalition to regain the people’s support,” Subramanian said.
“There must be a conscious effort to provide this sense of equality. This is the secret recipe to solve the problem. The thinking of all leaders should be this: I must be multi-racial in nature,” he added.
He urged MIC leaders at the grassroots level to hold dialogues with the leaders of Umno and other component parties “on the need to change their political thinking in line with new realities”.
Kuala Lumpur, May 14 (IANS) Malaysia’s ethnic Indians staged “a silent revolution” against the government, “triggered” by the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf), during the March general elections, a minister has said. Malaysian Human Resource Development Minister S. Subramanian Tuesday described a rally organised by the Hindraf in November last year as the “trigger factor” that turned the Indian community against the government.
Hindraf had organised the protest rally on behalf of Malaysia’s two million Tamil Hindus. The rally of an estimated 10,000 people was declared illegal and forcibly dispersed by police using water cannons. Five Hindraf leaders were jailed for two years for organising it.
“They were listening all this while and we were just oiling the spring. But the bursting point arrived. We have to rectify this fundamental problem to regain their support,” Subramanian told members of his Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC) at a party meet in Malacca.
The MIC, part of the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition, lost badly in the March polls. The BN itself lost the two-thirds majority advantage, emerging victorious but weaker with simple majority.
The simmering of discontent had been going on for a long time. The MIC was aware of the discontent but could not do much, except to manage it, the minister said.
Subramanian urged BN leaders to accept “the new reality” and change their mindset to ensure that ethnic minorities did not feel “not equal” to majority Malays, he was quoted as saying by The Star newspaper.
“There must be a massive change in the mindsets of BN leaders, particularly those from the United Malay Nasional Organisation (Umno), for the coalition to regain the people’s support,” Subramanian said.
“There must be a conscious effort to provide this sense of equality. This is the secret recipe to solve the problem. The thinking of all leaders should be this: I must be multi-racial in nature,” he added.
He urged MIC leaders at the grassroots level to hold dialogues with the leaders of Umno and other component parties “on the need to change their political thinking in line with new realities”.
Monday, May 12, 2008
Time for Khalid Ibrahim to go...??
Source : Via M'Kini a write up by Richard Teo
I refer to the Malaysiakini report Barricade row: Pakatan state gov't 'weak'
Ever since the beginning when Pakatan Rakyat under Khalid Ibrahim took over the reins of the Selangor government, there was already signs of a weak government.
Events until now have not dispelled those lingering doubts. Immediately after taking control of the government, there was strong compelling evidence that the previous administration was shredding important state documents which could have incriminated their administration and yet Khalid chose to ignore them with a nonchalant attitude as if it was of little importance.
That single act of omission has virtually deprived the rakyat of the opportunity to punish those perpetrators of their crime for which they were so eager to conceal and destroy.
When Penang's chief minister announced their intention to abolish the NEP and replace it with one that is more equitable there was a deafening silence from the Selangor state government.
Either Khalid didn’t hear the announcement or he had totally forgotten about the Pakatan's manifesto.
Khalid's reluctance to prosecute those Umno leaders responsible for shredding those state documents is understandable. After all, he was once a blue-eyed boy of Umno who so happened to lose their favour sometime ago.
Fortune has been kind to him and now that he is in the driver's seat, he is slowly remembering his old Umno roots.
As long as Selangor continues to be under the helm of Khalid, there will be little change from its previous Umno predeccessor. After all both Khalid and Mohd Khir Toyo came from the same Umno origin.
In the case of the Bandar Makhota Cheras barricade, the whole matter could have been expeditiously resolved if there was strong leadership.
Land in the state comes under state jurisdiction and if the incumbent government cannot even settle what is within their purview then Pakatan Rakyat is heading for a very short term.
Five years in politics is a very short time. If the Pakatan cannot reform the state governments like it promised, then maybe the rakyat will have to look for an alternative government.
I refer to the Malaysiakini report Barricade row: Pakatan state gov't 'weak'
Ever since the beginning when Pakatan Rakyat under Khalid Ibrahim took over the reins of the Selangor government, there was already signs of a weak government.
Events until now have not dispelled those lingering doubts. Immediately after taking control of the government, there was strong compelling evidence that the previous administration was shredding important state documents which could have incriminated their administration and yet Khalid chose to ignore them with a nonchalant attitude as if it was of little importance.
That single act of omission has virtually deprived the rakyat of the opportunity to punish those perpetrators of their crime for which they were so eager to conceal and destroy.
When Penang's chief minister announced their intention to abolish the NEP and replace it with one that is more equitable there was a deafening silence from the Selangor state government.
Either Khalid didn’t hear the announcement or he had totally forgotten about the Pakatan's manifesto.
Khalid's reluctance to prosecute those Umno leaders responsible for shredding those state documents is understandable. After all, he was once a blue-eyed boy of Umno who so happened to lose their favour sometime ago.
Fortune has been kind to him and now that he is in the driver's seat, he is slowly remembering his old Umno roots.
As long as Selangor continues to be under the helm of Khalid, there will be little change from its previous Umno predeccessor. After all both Khalid and Mohd Khir Toyo came from the same Umno origin.
In the case of the Bandar Makhota Cheras barricade, the whole matter could have been expeditiously resolved if there was strong leadership.
Land in the state comes under state jurisdiction and if the incumbent government cannot even settle what is within their purview then Pakatan Rakyat is heading for a very short term.
Five years in politics is a very short time. If the Pakatan cannot reform the state governments like it promised, then maybe the rakyat will have to look for an alternative government.
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Good News : Makkal Osai's permit renewed
Source : M'Kini
The government has made an about-turn - a week after banning Tamil daily Makkal Osai. Its publishing permit has been renewed and the newspaper will hit the stands on Saturday.
On April 16, the daily received a letter from the Home Ministry stating that its permit would not be renewed. No reasons were given for this.
The daily, which is closely linked to former MIC deputy president S Subramaniam, subsequently filed an appeal.
Industry sources claimed that the ministry's decision was related to Makkal Osai's extensive coverage of opposition-related news and the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf).
The government has made an about-turn - a week after banning Tamil daily Makkal Osai. Its publishing permit has been renewed and the newspaper will hit the stands on Saturday.
On April 16, the daily received a letter from the Home Ministry stating that its permit would not be renewed. No reasons were given for this.
The daily, which is closely linked to former MIC deputy president S Subramaniam, subsequently filed an appeal.
Industry sources claimed that the ministry's decision was related to Makkal Osai's extensive coverage of opposition-related news and the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf).
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Tamil daily Makkal Osai's publication permit rejected...!!!
Source : M'Kini
Image : IMOL
The Home Ministry today rejected the renewal of Tamil daily Makkal Osai's publication permit, a move believed to be related to the widespread coverage given to the opposition.
Contacted this afternoon, Makkal Osai general manager S M Periasamy confirmed that the ministry had issued the letter which stated that the daily's application 'will not be considered'.
The letter did not state any reasons for the rejection.
According to Periasamy, the daily - which is closely linked to former MIC deputy president S Subramaniam - had submitted an application in July, three months ahead of the permit's expiry.
More Update Read HERE
Image : IMOL
The Home Ministry today rejected the renewal of Tamil daily Makkal Osai's publication permit, a move believed to be related to the widespread coverage given to the opposition.
Contacted this afternoon, Makkal Osai general manager S M Periasamy confirmed that the ministry had issued the letter which stated that the daily's application 'will not be considered'.
The letter did not state any reasons for the rejection.
According to Periasamy, the daily - which is closely linked to former MIC deputy president S Subramaniam - had submitted an application in July, three months ahead of the permit's expiry.
More Update Read HERE
Monday, April 7, 2008
KADAR KOMPAUN BARU
Watch Out Folks - JPJ Annual Clearence Sale.
Seems like they are encouraging more and more offenders to appear on Malaysin Road by reducing their summons tariffs...!!!. Is this Goverment's incentive to reduce it's population...??
Guys please learn from other countries and set the bar high so that people will be more aware of their traffic rules. In other countries you could easily lose you license for Speeding but in Malaysia RM 70 sahaja maaa....
Seems like they are encouraging more and more offenders to appear on Malaysin Road by reducing their summons tariffs...!!!. Is this Goverment's incentive to reduce it's population...??
Guys please learn from other countries and set the bar high so that people will be more aware of their traffic rules. In other countries you could easily lose you license for Speeding but in Malaysia RM 70 sahaja maaa....
MR.P.WAYTHAMOORTHY STATEMENT ON "GROUP CLAIMING TO BE MAKKAL SAKTI".
Source : Via Makkal Sakti and MIB
PWM Brief Statement 6th April 2008.
Sat, 05/04/2008
Re : GROUP CLAIMING TO BE “MAKKAL SAKTI”.
It has been brought to my attention that a group claiming to be registered as “Makkal Sakti” is now operating to recruit members as an alternative to HINDRAF and they claim HINDRAF IS NOW KNOWN AS “MAKKAL SAKTI”.
HINDRAF has been on the forefront to push the idea of People Power “Makkal Sakti”. However this group has been claiming that HINDRAF no longer exists due to government pressure and the new name of HINDRAF is “MAKKAL SAKTI”.
I wish to stress that this is not true and HINDRAF WILL REMAIN SO LONG AS THE PEOPLE WISHES SO.
We cant stop people from misusing the name “MAKKAL SAKTI” but we have to spread the news that these are people who are out to confuse and mislead the people as they now see that a large number of people are attracted to HINDRAF AND MAKKAL SAKTI.
To all our supporters I wish to say that HINDRAF IS MAKKAL SAKTI as we derive our strength from the people. We do not recruit membership nor do we collect subscriptions. So please beware of some segments misusing our name. For clarifications please call our National co ordinator Mr.Tanendran on 019 4105283 or Event co ordinator Mr. Kannan on 012 269 0024.
Thank you
P. Waytha Moorthy
Chairman
HINDRAF
Currently in London
PWM Brief Statement 6th April 2008.
Sat, 05/04/2008
Re : GROUP CLAIMING TO BE “MAKKAL SAKTI”.
It has been brought to my attention that a group claiming to be registered as “Makkal Sakti” is now operating to recruit members as an alternative to HINDRAF and they claim HINDRAF IS NOW KNOWN AS “MAKKAL SAKTI”.
HINDRAF has been on the forefront to push the idea of People Power “Makkal Sakti”. However this group has been claiming that HINDRAF no longer exists due to government pressure and the new name of HINDRAF is “MAKKAL SAKTI”.
I wish to stress that this is not true and HINDRAF WILL REMAIN SO LONG AS THE PEOPLE WISHES SO.
We cant stop people from misusing the name “MAKKAL SAKTI” but we have to spread the news that these are people who are out to confuse and mislead the people as they now see that a large number of people are attracted to HINDRAF AND MAKKAL SAKTI.
To all our supporters I wish to say that HINDRAF IS MAKKAL SAKTI as we derive our strength from the people. We do not recruit membership nor do we collect subscriptions. So please beware of some segments misusing our name. For clarifications please call our National co ordinator Mr.Tanendran on 019 4105283 or Event co ordinator Mr. Kannan on 012 269 0024.
Thank you
P. Waytha Moorthy
Chairman
HINDRAF
Currently in London
Monday, March 31, 2008
Birth pain of a new media?
A Letter By : Sim Kwang Yang via M'Kini
The sort of cathartic change in our national life like the general election result on March 8 is bound to subvert and implode many of the institutions that have been frozen frigid by the architectonic gridlock of past totalitarianism. One such institution is the media.
Overnight, many of the premises and assumptions about the functions of and roles of the media long held to be gospel truth by practitioners and information consumers alike have been proven to be downright false. The new political landscape the morning after must have compelled many politicians and journalists to rethink orthodox media policy and practices. Certainly, they have discovered with shock and awe the power of the small narratives swamping the marginal alternative media in Malaysia. The cyber world of the internet has come of age.
The prime Minister has openly admitted that the Barisan National's biggest mistake was to underestimate the power of the internet. I too was equally guilty. I had thought that the number of people with internet connections was still limited. Certainly the all-important rural voters had no easy access to the cyber world, and so the internet could not have created any critical impact on the voting trend.
But alas, during the campaign period, Malaysiakini became the hottest net portal for voters hungry for election news. The traffic was so heavy that you had to wait a long time to gain access. I was told that during the entire period, Malaysiakini enjoyed 200,000 unique hits daily, making it the most popular source of election information in Malaysia.
The traffic was so heavy that the Malaysiakini management had to find RM250.000 to install a new server that could handle the exponential increase in demand for alternative news and comments!
On polling day, the virtual traffic at Malaysiakini was even worse than the real traffic jam on the streets of Kuala Lumpur at peak hours. They had hourly update on the election results, and visitors would have known that Penang had fallen to the opposition early in the evening on March 8. In sharp contrast, the mainstream media were still quite opaque and nothing conclusive could be gleamed from them even as late as 4 o'clock the next morning!
Let Malaysiakini grow and prosper
A friend opined that the ten year existence of Malaysiakini has had something to do with the political tsunami that swept Peninsular Malaysia. I dare say they had indeed a very big part in changing the way Malaysians search for what they consider to be credible news and commentary.
Now, I hope millions of Malaysians will subscribe to this electronic newspaper, so they can start to make some money, grow, and expand the scope and the quality of their news coverage. Hopefully, they will be listed on the KLSE one day, and columnists like me will be paid professional fees for a change.
As one commentator on Astro Awani Channel 501 noted, every Kelantan household would have at least a son or a daughter working in the Klang valley, where internet cafes are everywhere at RM2 or less per hour. Some of these Kelantanese Diasporas in KL use the internet to talk to their loved ones back home in their kampong.
They also have access to the general chat that saturates Malaysia's cyberspace. Some of them would download and print political stuff from Malaysiakini and numerous blogs and websites, and send them back to the kampong. This way, the explosive undercurrents of urban discontent also filter back to the rural heartland!
Add to these alternative channels of communication young Malaysians' epidemic addiction to the mobile telephone, and their whirlwind love affair with sending SMS messages, you get an awesome electronic network for the purpose of political campaign far away from the intelligence-gathering machinery of the ruling BN coalition.
When interviewed on an Astro Awani political talk show, a prominent Umno minister expressed dismay at why voters would rather seek out and believe in what he considered to be false and libellous information on the internet, instead of following the "truth" on the prime media, the media Perdana.
Like many prominent politicians in government, this Umno leader is still living in the time capsule of the past, and insisting on wallowing in his denial syndrome. He is talking the old language of social engineering and mind control. He, like all BN leaders and strategists, has fallen victims to the lies propagated through the mainstream media before and during the campaign period.
If you had followed the elections through the government and government controlled television stations and newspapers, you would have thought that the opposition parties did not exist. If they did, they were mostly a motley bunch of riotous bandits bent on destroying law and order.
According to the mainstream media again, you are harangued day in and day out by mystical leaders with giant halo around their noble head on how Malaysia has become paradise on earth because of them. You are given all kinds of statistics and facts on all the glorious development programmes drawn up for grateful citizens. You are shown daily scenes of rapturous crowds of supporters surrounding these living saints with titles as long as your arm. You get the impression that they are walking on water.
The election results put paid to the lies being paraded as hard news on TV. Obviously about half of the Malaysian population of all races up and down the peninsula did not believe what they saw on TV and what they read in the papers. They were mot duped because their daily lived experience told a different story of suffocating inflation, crimes, corruption in high and low places, and insufferable hardship at just making ends meet.
Why, there may be those who – like me – have to repress an urge to vomit whenever they watch television news at 8 pm every night.
The farce that disguised itself as mainstream news did fool some people. It fooled their political masters into thinking that they would cruise comfortably to their two-third majority in parliament, and state power in all states with the possible exception of Kelantan. It fooled them into believing in their invincibility, their comfortable eternal divine right to rule Malaysia, despite their corruption and failing.
Then, on the morning after the poll, they were shocked out of their skulls by the change of the political sky over Malaysia. That sense of disbelief is the symptom of their extreme complacency and vacuous arrogance.
Thoughtful voices
And then, the question is: what now?
The BN coalition can continue their business as before, and use the media as a propaganda machine towards their political end. They can continue to manufacture tenuous untruth, pass it off as news, and believe in it themselves. Then, four or five more years from now or during another general election in the foreseeable future, the voters will speak out again against this cynical conspiracy. Then, the UMNO president will become the opposition leader in parliament. How I look forward to that glorious day!
Already, there are thoughtful voices within the deep bowel of the ruling classes bubbling feebly to the surface, expressing disquiet and wondering whether the media game ought not to be reformed.
All of a sudden, I begin to read the column by my old friend Wong Chun Wai in the Star again. In a series of articles, he asks for the media to consider their problem of credibility, or the lack of it. He even proposed that the Malaysian government TV stations be reengineered after the fashion of the BBC, which is publicly funded, but which has remained independent and critical through many past decades.
Wong's confidence is based on his knowledge of the new Information Minister Ahmad Shabery Chik. I too knew this new minister personally when he was with Semangat 46, and we had to work together for the two-coalition project that failed in 1990.
This new man is certainly a century ahead of his fossilised predecessor who lost in the elections. But radical political change is more than about personality merely. You have to examine the historical forces at work.
Can this new Information Minister overcome the kind of primitive monolithic Neanderthal culture that has pervaded the ideology and practice of Umno in the political arena? With Umno caught up in the kind of self-incriminating strife in the way of a snake swallowing its own tail – and relishing the taste, can this dominant political force in Malaysia for half a century think outside the racial box and find the resolve and innovativeness to reinvent its identity and purpose? My knee-jerk reaction is a resounding 'No!"
Meanwhile, let the prime media fumble clumsily as they do, trying to cope with the new reality. People like me still have the burgeoning alternative media, to explore the power and the possibility of freedom of expression, and to use these new channels to enrich the political narration in our beloved, though much flawed, homeland.
Well done, Malaysiakini!
PS: I just wonder whether Steven and Prem will be conferred the title of Datuk one day by one of the states held by the PKR-DAP – PAS coalition. They deserve that much I just hope they would decline the offer, if and when it comes.
The sort of cathartic change in our national life like the general election result on March 8 is bound to subvert and implode many of the institutions that have been frozen frigid by the architectonic gridlock of past totalitarianism. One such institution is the media.
Overnight, many of the premises and assumptions about the functions of and roles of the media long held to be gospel truth by practitioners and information consumers alike have been proven to be downright false. The new political landscape the morning after must have compelled many politicians and journalists to rethink orthodox media policy and practices. Certainly, they have discovered with shock and awe the power of the small narratives swamping the marginal alternative media in Malaysia. The cyber world of the internet has come of age.
The prime Minister has openly admitted that the Barisan National's biggest mistake was to underestimate the power of the internet. I too was equally guilty. I had thought that the number of people with internet connections was still limited. Certainly the all-important rural voters had no easy access to the cyber world, and so the internet could not have created any critical impact on the voting trend.
But alas, during the campaign period, Malaysiakini became the hottest net portal for voters hungry for election news. The traffic was so heavy that you had to wait a long time to gain access. I was told that during the entire period, Malaysiakini enjoyed 200,000 unique hits daily, making it the most popular source of election information in Malaysia.
The traffic was so heavy that the Malaysiakini management had to find RM250.000 to install a new server that could handle the exponential increase in demand for alternative news and comments!
On polling day, the virtual traffic at Malaysiakini was even worse than the real traffic jam on the streets of Kuala Lumpur at peak hours. They had hourly update on the election results, and visitors would have known that Penang had fallen to the opposition early in the evening on March 8. In sharp contrast, the mainstream media were still quite opaque and nothing conclusive could be gleamed from them even as late as 4 o'clock the next morning!
Let Malaysiakini grow and prosper
A friend opined that the ten year existence of Malaysiakini has had something to do with the political tsunami that swept Peninsular Malaysia. I dare say they had indeed a very big part in changing the way Malaysians search for what they consider to be credible news and commentary.
Now, I hope millions of Malaysians will subscribe to this electronic newspaper, so they can start to make some money, grow, and expand the scope and the quality of their news coverage. Hopefully, they will be listed on the KLSE one day, and columnists like me will be paid professional fees for a change.
As one commentator on Astro Awani Channel 501 noted, every Kelantan household would have at least a son or a daughter working in the Klang valley, where internet cafes are everywhere at RM2 or less per hour. Some of these Kelantanese Diasporas in KL use the internet to talk to their loved ones back home in their kampong.
They also have access to the general chat that saturates Malaysia's cyberspace. Some of them would download and print political stuff from Malaysiakini and numerous blogs and websites, and send them back to the kampong. This way, the explosive undercurrents of urban discontent also filter back to the rural heartland!
Add to these alternative channels of communication young Malaysians' epidemic addiction to the mobile telephone, and their whirlwind love affair with sending SMS messages, you get an awesome electronic network for the purpose of political campaign far away from the intelligence-gathering machinery of the ruling BN coalition.
When interviewed on an Astro Awani political talk show, a prominent Umno minister expressed dismay at why voters would rather seek out and believe in what he considered to be false and libellous information on the internet, instead of following the "truth" on the prime media, the media Perdana.
Like many prominent politicians in government, this Umno leader is still living in the time capsule of the past, and insisting on wallowing in his denial syndrome. He is talking the old language of social engineering and mind control. He, like all BN leaders and strategists, has fallen victims to the lies propagated through the mainstream media before and during the campaign period.
If you had followed the elections through the government and government controlled television stations and newspapers, you would have thought that the opposition parties did not exist. If they did, they were mostly a motley bunch of riotous bandits bent on destroying law and order.
According to the mainstream media again, you are harangued day in and day out by mystical leaders with giant halo around their noble head on how Malaysia has become paradise on earth because of them. You are given all kinds of statistics and facts on all the glorious development programmes drawn up for grateful citizens. You are shown daily scenes of rapturous crowds of supporters surrounding these living saints with titles as long as your arm. You get the impression that they are walking on water.
The election results put paid to the lies being paraded as hard news on TV. Obviously about half of the Malaysian population of all races up and down the peninsula did not believe what they saw on TV and what they read in the papers. They were mot duped because their daily lived experience told a different story of suffocating inflation, crimes, corruption in high and low places, and insufferable hardship at just making ends meet.
Why, there may be those who – like me – have to repress an urge to vomit whenever they watch television news at 8 pm every night.
The farce that disguised itself as mainstream news did fool some people. It fooled their political masters into thinking that they would cruise comfortably to their two-third majority in parliament, and state power in all states with the possible exception of Kelantan. It fooled them into believing in their invincibility, their comfortable eternal divine right to rule Malaysia, despite their corruption and failing.
Then, on the morning after the poll, they were shocked out of their skulls by the change of the political sky over Malaysia. That sense of disbelief is the symptom of their extreme complacency and vacuous arrogance.
Thoughtful voices
And then, the question is: what now?
The BN coalition can continue their business as before, and use the media as a propaganda machine towards their political end. They can continue to manufacture tenuous untruth, pass it off as news, and believe in it themselves. Then, four or five more years from now or during another general election in the foreseeable future, the voters will speak out again against this cynical conspiracy. Then, the UMNO president will become the opposition leader in parliament. How I look forward to that glorious day!
Already, there are thoughtful voices within the deep bowel of the ruling classes bubbling feebly to the surface, expressing disquiet and wondering whether the media game ought not to be reformed.
All of a sudden, I begin to read the column by my old friend Wong Chun Wai in the Star again. In a series of articles, he asks for the media to consider their problem of credibility, or the lack of it. He even proposed that the Malaysian government TV stations be reengineered after the fashion of the BBC, which is publicly funded, but which has remained independent and critical through many past decades.
Wong's confidence is based on his knowledge of the new Information Minister Ahmad Shabery Chik. I too knew this new minister personally when he was with Semangat 46, and we had to work together for the two-coalition project that failed in 1990.
This new man is certainly a century ahead of his fossilised predecessor who lost in the elections. But radical political change is more than about personality merely. You have to examine the historical forces at work.
Can this new Information Minister overcome the kind of primitive monolithic Neanderthal culture that has pervaded the ideology and practice of Umno in the political arena? With Umno caught up in the kind of self-incriminating strife in the way of a snake swallowing its own tail – and relishing the taste, can this dominant political force in Malaysia for half a century think outside the racial box and find the resolve and innovativeness to reinvent its identity and purpose? My knee-jerk reaction is a resounding 'No!"
Meanwhile, let the prime media fumble clumsily as they do, trying to cope with the new reality. People like me still have the burgeoning alternative media, to explore the power and the possibility of freedom of expression, and to use these new channels to enrich the political narration in our beloved, though much flawed, homeland.
Well done, Malaysiakini!
PS: I just wonder whether Steven and Prem will be conferred the title of Datuk one day by one of the states held by the PKR-DAP – PAS coalition. They deserve that much I just hope they would decline the offer, if and when it comes.
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
PM unveils trimmed-down cabinet
Source : Email
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi
Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak
Ministers in the Prime Minister's Department
Tan Sri Bernard Dompok
Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz
Datuk Ahmad Zahid Hamidi
Datuk Mohd Zaid Ibrahim
Datuk Amirsham Abdul Aziz
Deputy Ministers in the Prime Minister's Department
Datuk Johari Baharom
Datuk Dr Mashitah Ibrahim
Datuk K. Devamany
Datuk Hassan Malik
Finance
Minister - Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi
Second Finance Minister - Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop
Deputies - Datuk Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah, Datuk Kong Cho Ha
Defense
Minister - Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak
Deputy - Datuk Wira Abu Seman Yusop
Internal Security and Home Affairs
Minister - Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar
Deputies - Datuk Chor Chee Heong, Senator Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh
Housing and Local Government
Minister -Datuk Ong Ka Chuan
Deputies - Datuk Robert Lau , Datuk Hamzah Zainuddin
Works Minister
Minister - Datuk Mohd Zin Mohamad
Deputy- Datuk Yong Khoon Seng
Energy, Water and Communications
Minister - Datuk Shaziman Abu Mansor
Deputy- Datuk Joseph Salang Gandum
Agriculture and Agro-based Industry
Minister - Datuk Mustapa Mohamed
Deputy - Datin Paduka Rohani Abdul Karim
International Trade and Industry
Minister -Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin
Deputies- Loh Wei Keong, Datuk Jacob Dungau Sagan
Foreign Affairs
Minister -Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim
Deputy- Tunku Azlan Abu Bakar
Education
Minister -Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein
Deputies -Datuk Wee Ka Siong, Datuk Razali Ismail
Higher Education
Minister - Datuk Khaled Nordin
Deputies - Khoo Kok Choong, Datuk Idris Harun
Transport
Datuk Ong Tee Keat
Deputy - Anifah Aman
Human Resources
Datuk S. Subramaniam
Deputy- Datuk Noraini Ahmad
Women, Family and Community Development
Minister-Datuk Dr Ng Yen Yen
Deputy- Noriah Kasnon
National Unity, Culture, Arts and Heritage
Minister- Datuk Shafie Apdal
Deputy-Datuk Teng Boon Soon
Science, Technology and Innovation
Minister- Datuk Dr Maximus Ongkili
Deputy- Fadilah Yusof
Entrepreneurial and Cooperative Development
Minister - Datuk Noh Omar
Deputy- Datuk Saiffuddin Abdullah
Natural Resources and Environment
Minister - Datuk Douglas Unggah Embas
Deputy - Datuk Abu Ghapur Salleh
Rural and Regional Development
Minister - Tan Sri Muhammad Muhd Taib
Deputy- Tan Sri Joseph Kurup
Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs
Minister - Datuk Shahrir Samad
Deputy - Jelaing Mersat
Plantation Industries and Commodities
Minister - Datuk Peter Chin Fah Kui
Deputy- Senator A. Kohilan
Youth and Sports
Minister - Datuk Ismail Sabri Yaacob
Deputy - Wee Jack Seng
Health
Minister - Datuk Liow Tiong Lai
Deputy- Datuk Dr Abdul Latiff Ahmad
Information
Minister - Datuk Ahmad Shabery Cheek
Deputy- Datuk Tan Lian Hoe
Tourism
Minister - Datuk Azalina Othman
Deputy - Datuk Sulaiman Abdul Rahman Abu Taib
FT
Minister - Datuk Zulhasnan Rafique
Deputy- M. Saravanan
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi
Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak
Ministers in the Prime Minister's Department
Tan Sri Bernard Dompok
Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz
Datuk Ahmad Zahid Hamidi
Datuk Mohd Zaid Ibrahim
Datuk Amirsham Abdul Aziz
Deputy Ministers in the Prime Minister's Department
Datuk Johari Baharom
Datuk Dr Mashitah Ibrahim
Datuk K. Devamany
Datuk Hassan Malik
Finance
Minister - Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi
Second Finance Minister - Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop
Deputies - Datuk Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah, Datuk Kong Cho Ha
Defense
Minister - Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak
Deputy - Datuk Wira Abu Seman Yusop
Internal Security and Home Affairs
Minister - Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar
Deputies - Datuk Chor Chee Heong, Senator Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh
Housing and Local Government
Minister -Datuk Ong Ka Chuan
Deputies - Datuk Robert Lau , Datuk Hamzah Zainuddin
Works Minister
Minister - Datuk Mohd Zin Mohamad
Deputy- Datuk Yong Khoon Seng
Energy, Water and Communications
Minister - Datuk Shaziman Abu Mansor
Deputy- Datuk Joseph Salang Gandum
Agriculture and Agro-based Industry
Minister - Datuk Mustapa Mohamed
Deputy - Datin Paduka Rohani Abdul Karim
International Trade and Industry
Minister -Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin
Deputies- Loh Wei Keong, Datuk Jacob Dungau Sagan
Foreign Affairs
Minister -Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim
Deputy- Tunku Azlan Abu Bakar
Education
Minister -Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein
Deputies -Datuk Wee Ka Siong, Datuk Razali Ismail
Higher Education
Minister - Datuk Khaled Nordin
Deputies - Khoo Kok Choong, Datuk Idris Harun
Transport
Datuk Ong Tee Keat
Deputy - Anifah Aman
Human Resources
Datuk S. Subramaniam
Deputy- Datuk Noraini Ahmad
Women, Family and Community Development
Minister-Datuk Dr Ng Yen Yen
Deputy- Noriah Kasnon
National Unity, Culture, Arts and Heritage
Minister- Datuk Shafie Apdal
Deputy-Datuk Teng Boon Soon
Science, Technology and Innovation
Minister- Datuk Dr Maximus Ongkili
Deputy- Fadilah Yusof
Entrepreneurial and Cooperative Development
Minister - Datuk Noh Omar
Deputy- Datuk Saiffuddin Abdullah
Natural Resources and Environment
Minister - Datuk Douglas Unggah Embas
Deputy - Datuk Abu Ghapur Salleh
Rural and Regional Development
Minister - Tan Sri Muhammad Muhd Taib
Deputy- Tan Sri Joseph Kurup
Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs
Minister - Datuk Shahrir Samad
Deputy - Jelaing Mersat
Plantation Industries and Commodities
Minister - Datuk Peter Chin Fah Kui
Deputy- Senator A. Kohilan
Youth and Sports
Minister - Datuk Ismail Sabri Yaacob
Deputy - Wee Jack Seng
Health
Minister - Datuk Liow Tiong Lai
Deputy- Datuk Dr Abdul Latiff Ahmad
Information
Minister - Datuk Ahmad Shabery Cheek
Deputy- Datuk Tan Lian Hoe
Tourism
Minister - Datuk Azalina Othman
Deputy - Datuk Sulaiman Abdul Rahman Abu Taib
FT
Minister - Datuk Zulhasnan Rafique
Deputy- M. Saravanan
Leaders should watch out for next tsunami
A Letter By : AB Sulaiman via M'Kini
The political tsunami hitting Malaysia last weekend reminds me very much of the popular tale of the frog that cuddles comfortably in a cauldron of water. The frog feels so comfortable that it has not detected that the water is warming up by a fire coming from under the cauldron. The rate of warming is slow, so the frog does not detect the rising temperature. Until it is too late when it realises the water temperature is too hot for its comfort and has to jump out in great shock.
The March 8, 2008 political tsunami is somewhat like the rising temperature in the cauldron. The Barisan Nasional (read that as Umno, and more specifically, Ketuanan Melayu, or just Malay) mindset has been too comfortable riding the wave of popularity, and for so very long (fifty years), so much so that it has taken the population (especially the Malay segment) for granted, and dis not detect the appearance of hate, disenchantment and detestation simmering and growing on the part of the population. Until it is too late.
And so now what do we have? We have this momentous tsunami taking place in the form of the 12th general elections. What has hit the Ketuanan Melayu polity is in actual fact more than just political, it is a psychological tsunami. By definition the Ketuanan Melayu, Malay, Umno, and Barisan Nasional (in this context they are arguably synonymous to one another) mindsets have been going about controlling the reins of the country with the traditional mindsets of yesterday. They rest on the ethnocentric platform of ‘Untuk Agama, Bangsa dan Negara.’ With this they went way beyond reason to protect and propagate the sanctity of Islam, and similarly the elitism of the Malay culture, without paying too much respect to the views and sensitivities of the other communities.
The Malays, in the meantime, were treated like a father treating his favourite son, showering the child with a lot of goodies in the form of subsidies and a long list of affirmative action programmes. Their minds are carefully nurtured to be conservative and in conformity with the status quo. Mainly the child is nurtured and groomed to remain as a child, never allowed to grow into adulthood. The child is spoilt rotten.
All along and very much like the Malay proverb macam tikus jatuh ke beras (like a mouse falling into a sack of rice) the leadership helped itself to the fats of the country involving obscene, ugly and astronomical amounts. All along the non-Malays were treated like enemies as witnessed by the nonchalant way the ulama term all non-Muslim as ‘enemies of Islam’. More than that, it became very complacent, arrogant, immoral, irrational, and totally unprofessional with its leadership performance and accompanied by a deterioration of quality.
Lord Acton’s dictum that power corrupts with absolute power corrupting absolutely comes to the fore. The tsunami then hits with a force far beyond even what the opposition parties had ever anticipated.
This psychological tsunami should be a wake up call to the complacent Barisan Nasional/Umno/ Ketuanan Melayu/Malay mindset. Commentators and columnists have inundated the media, especially the Internet, suggesting ways and means on how this composite Ketuanan Melayu mindset can redeem itself. The writings by Azly Rahman, Ong Kian Ming, for example, are excellent in their analysis and presentation.
I shall limit my contribution by saying that the Malaysian social, economic and political environments have changed since fifty years ago. The people are more educated, urbanised, and are enjoying a higher standard of living. They travel more often to more distant places. More importantly people read more and think more. They are more literate. They are more equipped and able to conceptualise about new ideas and new things around them. People are more matured, more ready to think of alternatives. They are not afraid of alternatives.
Coming back to the frog analogy, the people - and this include very moderate and liberal Malays - are ready to venture out from the Known to the Unknown. Put all these elements together and we have a population being more aware and more knowledgeable of things happening around them. We have a population with a declining group orientation, and taken over by a developed sense of the individual. They would require a leadership as aware and as knowledgeable as them.
The Ketuanan Melayu incumbents should pay heed to this new breed of individual-orientated Malaysians (Malays included) who have their own minds, and mainly have faith, trust, and confidence in their own judgments. Should the leaders not change as well so as to be at par with the people’s mindset, they will not be effective leaders. In such an unfortunate mismatch situation, it is tantamount to an invitation for another more damaging tsunami to come. Ketuanan Melayu culture would surely be drowned by the sheer force of this tsunami.
The political tsunami hitting Malaysia last weekend reminds me very much of the popular tale of the frog that cuddles comfortably in a cauldron of water. The frog feels so comfortable that it has not detected that the water is warming up by a fire coming from under the cauldron. The rate of warming is slow, so the frog does not detect the rising temperature. Until it is too late when it realises the water temperature is too hot for its comfort and has to jump out in great shock.
The March 8, 2008 political tsunami is somewhat like the rising temperature in the cauldron. The Barisan Nasional (read that as Umno, and more specifically, Ketuanan Melayu, or just Malay) mindset has been too comfortable riding the wave of popularity, and for so very long (fifty years), so much so that it has taken the population (especially the Malay segment) for granted, and dis not detect the appearance of hate, disenchantment and detestation simmering and growing on the part of the population. Until it is too late.
And so now what do we have? We have this momentous tsunami taking place in the form of the 12th general elections. What has hit the Ketuanan Melayu polity is in actual fact more than just political, it is a psychological tsunami. By definition the Ketuanan Melayu, Malay, Umno, and Barisan Nasional (in this context they are arguably synonymous to one another) mindsets have been going about controlling the reins of the country with the traditional mindsets of yesterday. They rest on the ethnocentric platform of ‘Untuk Agama, Bangsa dan Negara.’ With this they went way beyond reason to protect and propagate the sanctity of Islam, and similarly the elitism of the Malay culture, without paying too much respect to the views and sensitivities of the other communities.
The Malays, in the meantime, were treated like a father treating his favourite son, showering the child with a lot of goodies in the form of subsidies and a long list of affirmative action programmes. Their minds are carefully nurtured to be conservative and in conformity with the status quo. Mainly the child is nurtured and groomed to remain as a child, never allowed to grow into adulthood. The child is spoilt rotten.
All along and very much like the Malay proverb macam tikus jatuh ke beras (like a mouse falling into a sack of rice) the leadership helped itself to the fats of the country involving obscene, ugly and astronomical amounts. All along the non-Malays were treated like enemies as witnessed by the nonchalant way the ulama term all non-Muslim as ‘enemies of Islam’. More than that, it became very complacent, arrogant, immoral, irrational, and totally unprofessional with its leadership performance and accompanied by a deterioration of quality.
Lord Acton’s dictum that power corrupts with absolute power corrupting absolutely comes to the fore. The tsunami then hits with a force far beyond even what the opposition parties had ever anticipated.
This psychological tsunami should be a wake up call to the complacent Barisan Nasional/Umno/ Ketuanan Melayu/Malay mindset. Commentators and columnists have inundated the media, especially the Internet, suggesting ways and means on how this composite Ketuanan Melayu mindset can redeem itself. The writings by Azly Rahman, Ong Kian Ming, for example, are excellent in their analysis and presentation.
I shall limit my contribution by saying that the Malaysian social, economic and political environments have changed since fifty years ago. The people are more educated, urbanised, and are enjoying a higher standard of living. They travel more often to more distant places. More importantly people read more and think more. They are more literate. They are more equipped and able to conceptualise about new ideas and new things around them. People are more matured, more ready to think of alternatives. They are not afraid of alternatives.
Coming back to the frog analogy, the people - and this include very moderate and liberal Malays - are ready to venture out from the Known to the Unknown. Put all these elements together and we have a population being more aware and more knowledgeable of things happening around them. We have a population with a declining group orientation, and taken over by a developed sense of the individual. They would require a leadership as aware and as knowledgeable as them.
The Ketuanan Melayu incumbents should pay heed to this new breed of individual-orientated Malaysians (Malays included) who have their own minds, and mainly have faith, trust, and confidence in their own judgments. Should the leaders not change as well so as to be at par with the people’s mindset, they will not be effective leaders. In such an unfortunate mismatch situation, it is tantamount to an invitation for another more damaging tsunami to come. Ketuanan Melayu culture would surely be drowned by the sheer force of this tsunami.
Demolished Hindu temple to be rebuilt on new site
Source : Email
YennaMike Says : "Not bad for someone who has been in the office for only a week"
SHAH ALAM: A new site for the Sri Maha Mariamman Temple in Kampung Rimba Jaya, Padang Jawa, which was demolished in November last year has been approved.
Mayor Mazalan Md Noor said the temple would be rebuilt soon on a 10,000sq feet land near the Keretapi Tanah Melayu quarters, a much bigger site than the original temple.
He was speaking to reporters after Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim, PKR de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and Shah Alam MP Khalid Abd Samad visited the Rimba Jaya flats Monday.
The Hindu temple was ordered torn down by the authorities as it stood in the vicinity of the Rimba Jaya squatter settlement.
The 11ha site in the area is owned by Ken Rimba Jaya Sdn Bhd.
“The developer has been directed by the state government to provide the land and RM40,000, the cost of the building construction.
“It is up to the temple committee and the developer to decide when to start the temple construction,” he said.
Mazalan said the Shah Alam City Council had cleared up the land to make way for the temple project.
Earlier, Khalid and Anwar had a dialogue with the Kampung Rimba Jaya residents and the demolition of the temple was among the hottest issues raised during the 15-minute meeting.
Khalid said the new state government was working hard to solve the squatter problems in the state.
YennaMike Says : "Not bad for someone who has been in the office for only a week"
SHAH ALAM: A new site for the Sri Maha Mariamman Temple in Kampung Rimba Jaya, Padang Jawa, which was demolished in November last year has been approved.
Mayor Mazalan Md Noor said the temple would be rebuilt soon on a 10,000sq feet land near the Keretapi Tanah Melayu quarters, a much bigger site than the original temple.
He was speaking to reporters after Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim, PKR de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and Shah Alam MP Khalid Abd Samad visited the Rimba Jaya flats Monday.
The Hindu temple was ordered torn down by the authorities as it stood in the vicinity of the Rimba Jaya squatter settlement.
The 11ha site in the area is owned by Ken Rimba Jaya Sdn Bhd.
“The developer has been directed by the state government to provide the land and RM40,000, the cost of the building construction.
“It is up to the temple committee and the developer to decide when to start the temple construction,” he said.
Mazalan said the Shah Alam City Council had cleared up the land to make way for the temple project.
Earlier, Khalid and Anwar had a dialogue with the Kampung Rimba Jaya residents and the demolition of the temple was among the hottest issues raised during the 15-minute meeting.
Khalid said the new state government was working hard to solve the squatter problems in the state.
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Our MP the absentee...My hubby the detainee
Source : The Electric News
THE people of Klang in Selangor will be served in a strange way by Madam Pushpaneela.
(Above) Madam Pushpaneela (in yellow) campaigning on her husband's behalf before the elections.
Her style will be: First to meet-the-people session, then to prison - to meet the man who is the constituents' real Member of Parliament.
Her husband, newly-elected state assemblyman M Manoharan, has been locked up in the Kamunting detention centre in Perak, about 220km from his Klang constituency.
The 46-year-old lawyer has been there since last December.
He is one of five men detained under the Internal Security Act (ISA), arrested after the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) led street protests against the ruling government last November.
So just as de facto opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim once relied on his wife, Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, 55, to represent him while he served time in prison, Mr Manoharan is now depending on wife Pushpaneela, 47, to serve his constituents.
Her husband shocked the nation when he won Klang's KotaAlam Shah state seat during the 8Mar elections.
Madam Pushpaneela, a mother of four who works as an office administrator, had campaigned on her husband's behalf under the banner of the opposition's Democratic Action Party (DAP).
M Manoharan, Hindraf's legal advisor, beat his rival MrChing Su Chen from Barisan Nasional (BN) by 7,184 votes.
(Above) Detained Hindraf activist and newly-elected state assemblyman, M Manoharan. --Picture: NEW STRAITS TIMES
He is the third person in Malaysia to win a seat while under detention.
The other two, Mr Chan Kok Kit and Mr Chian Heng Kai, contested under the DAP ticket and won Sungai Besi and Batu Gajah seats respectively in 1978.
In 1999, M Manoharan had vied for the parliamentary seat of Segambut, Kuala Lumpur, but lost to BN politician Tan Kee Kwong.
EXTRA ROLE
Now, Madam Pushpaneela finds herself having an extra role to play, on top of her hectic schedule at home and at work.
But she's keen. She feels driven by her mission to free her husband and the other ISA detainees.
She also wants to fulfil the promises made to Kota Alam Shah voters.
She is opening a 'service centre' to meet residents in Taman Bayu Perdana, Klang, next week.
This is to make it convenient for voters to raise issues to elected officials.
Usually, the issues involve public amenities, pleas for lower rentals and even fixing potholes on roads.
How will their problems be solved when M Manoharan is behind bars more than 200km away?
BRAINSTORMING IN JAIL
Madam Pushpaneela told The New paper: 'This is where I have to play my part.
'I will meet him every Sunday to brief him on the voters' problems and we can brainstorm to find solutions.'
Madam Pushpaneela said that since she is also running hus husband's legal firm, she would givehim the paperwork for him to work on.
Her most recent visit to Kamunting was on Sunday, the day after the results were announced.
Visitors get only an hour's time there, Madam Pushpaneela said with a hint of sadness. She tried to make the best of it, she added.
'My husband was ecstatic when he heard (we) won the seat.
'He wanted to thank the voters for all the support, but unfortunately, he couldn't,' she said.
She said her husband had lost so much weight, he is now 'half his size'.
'We're not allowed to give him food. He eats the canteen food at the detention centre.
'The detainees would usually eat fried rice or porridge with salted fish or century egg for lunch.
'When it comes to dinner, they would rather go hungry because they do not have the appetite to eat.'
Madam Pushpaneela herself was kept trim by the punishing pace during the polls.
WORK AND POLITICS
She now divides her week by manning the legal firm and spending a couple of days and the weekend in Klang meeting the constituents.
This is in addition to minding their four children, including the youngest, 9, who is constantly asking 'if daddy was coming home soon'.
How does she cope?
'The people's support gives me courage and strength,' Madam Pushpaneela said, revealing that public donations of about RM$50,000 ($21,800) had helped her through the political campaign period.
'Without them, I would not have been able to do it.'
THE people of Klang in Selangor will be served in a strange way by Madam Pushpaneela.
(Above) Madam Pushpaneela (in yellow) campaigning on her husband's behalf before the elections.
Her style will be: First to meet-the-people session, then to prison - to meet the man who is the constituents' real Member of Parliament.
Her husband, newly-elected state assemblyman M Manoharan, has been locked up in the Kamunting detention centre in Perak, about 220km from his Klang constituency.
The 46-year-old lawyer has been there since last December.
He is one of five men detained under the Internal Security Act (ISA), arrested after the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) led street protests against the ruling government last November.
So just as de facto opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim once relied on his wife, Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, 55, to represent him while he served time in prison, Mr Manoharan is now depending on wife Pushpaneela, 47, to serve his constituents.
Her husband shocked the nation when he won Klang's KotaAlam Shah state seat during the 8Mar elections.
Madam Pushpaneela, a mother of four who works as an office administrator, had campaigned on her husband's behalf under the banner of the opposition's Democratic Action Party (DAP).
M Manoharan, Hindraf's legal advisor, beat his rival MrChing Su Chen from Barisan Nasional (BN) by 7,184 votes.
(Above) Detained Hindraf activist and newly-elected state assemblyman, M Manoharan. --Picture: NEW STRAITS TIMES
He is the third person in Malaysia to win a seat while under detention.
The other two, Mr Chan Kok Kit and Mr Chian Heng Kai, contested under the DAP ticket and won Sungai Besi and Batu Gajah seats respectively in 1978.
In 1999, M Manoharan had vied for the parliamentary seat of Segambut, Kuala Lumpur, but lost to BN politician Tan Kee Kwong.
EXTRA ROLE
Now, Madam Pushpaneela finds herself having an extra role to play, on top of her hectic schedule at home and at work.
But she's keen. She feels driven by her mission to free her husband and the other ISA detainees.
She also wants to fulfil the promises made to Kota Alam Shah voters.
She is opening a 'service centre' to meet residents in Taman Bayu Perdana, Klang, next week.
This is to make it convenient for voters to raise issues to elected officials.
Usually, the issues involve public amenities, pleas for lower rentals and even fixing potholes on roads.
How will their problems be solved when M Manoharan is behind bars more than 200km away?
BRAINSTORMING IN JAIL
Madam Pushpaneela told The New paper: 'This is where I have to play my part.
'I will meet him every Sunday to brief him on the voters' problems and we can brainstorm to find solutions.'
Madam Pushpaneela said that since she is also running hus husband's legal firm, she would givehim the paperwork for him to work on.
Her most recent visit to Kamunting was on Sunday, the day after the results were announced.
Visitors get only an hour's time there, Madam Pushpaneela said with a hint of sadness. She tried to make the best of it, she added.
'My husband was ecstatic when he heard (we) won the seat.
'He wanted to thank the voters for all the support, but unfortunately, he couldn't,' she said.
She said her husband had lost so much weight, he is now 'half his size'.
'We're not allowed to give him food. He eats the canteen food at the detention centre.
'The detainees would usually eat fried rice or porridge with salted fish or century egg for lunch.
'When it comes to dinner, they would rather go hungry because they do not have the appetite to eat.'
Madam Pushpaneela herself was kept trim by the punishing pace during the polls.
WORK AND POLITICS
She now divides her week by manning the legal firm and spending a couple of days and the weekend in Klang meeting the constituents.
This is in addition to minding their four children, including the youngest, 9, who is constantly asking 'if daddy was coming home soon'.
How does she cope?
'The people's support gives me courage and strength,' Madam Pushpaneela said, revealing that public donations of about RM$50,000 ($21,800) had helped her through the political campaign period.
'Without them, I would not have been able to do it.'
Malaysia: Shadow Over Badawi’s Future
Source : Arab News
Malaysia’s 12th general election last week has opened up a Pandora’s box.
As a humbled Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi finalizes the task of forming a new Cabinet, the fallout of the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition losing its two-third majority in the 222-seat Dewan Rakyat (the Malaysian Parliament) for the first time since 1969 and in four states plus the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, are still reverberating across this subtropical country.
It wasn’t quite a political earthquake, but Malaysia’s voters gave Badawi and his ruling BN coalition and its constituent parties, UMNO (United Malays National Organization), MCA (Malaysian Chinese Association) and MIC (Malaysian Indian Congress), a bloody nose.
But the pain for Badawi could indeed be prolonged till November when the next test for the beleaguered premier looms — the annual convention of the dominant party in the BN coalition, UMNO. The president of UMNO is also the chairman of BN and the prime minister of the country. All indications are that Badawi’s presidency of UMNO will be severely challenged at the convention, and he might lose the vote of confidence and therefore the presidency. In which case, he would have no choice but to resign as prime minister. The only other credible alternative to Badawi is Defense Minister Najib Tun Abdul Razak, one of the deputy presidents of UMNO.
To make things worse for Badawi, his predecessor, Dr. Mahathir Mohammed has already accused Badawi of letting down the BN, UMNO and the country, and urging him to resign. The danger is that UMNO, instead of rallying behind its leader, will sleepwalk into spilling blood in a bitter factional feud.
To interpret the 2008 elections as Malaysian democracy and indeed political culture coming of age would be oversimplifying things. The BN won 140 seats compared to 82 for the opposition parties comprising DAP, PKR and PAS (the Islamic party of Malaysia). This still gives it a handsome majority in the Dewan Rakyat of 58 seats.
However, compared to the past, the BN coalition government would not be able to change the constitution at will, which may be a good check and balance on the government. A true test for Malaysian democracy is for parties to organize across the racial lines.
But given the politics of race in multicultural Malaysia, it is unlikely that this will happen. Take for instance Penang state, which has a Chinese majority and which is one of the more prosperous regions of the country.
Penang is also the home state of Premier Badawi, who comfortably retained his Kepala Batas seat. But it is also the stronghold of Anwar Ibrahim, the disgraced former deputy prime minister and UMNO deputy president who was jailed for corruption. Anwar was automatically barred from politics, but the expiry of his ban uncannily was a week after the date of the elections.
Anwar’s wife, Wan Azizah Ismail easily won her Permatang Pauh seat that she fought under the banner of her Parti Kaedilan Rakyat (PKR) or People’s Justice Party. There are reports that Wan Azizah plans to resign her seat to force a by-election that would pave the way for Anwar to re-enter Parliament and the sometimes-murky world of Malaysian politics. If this happens, it is most likely that we will have a by-election in April or May.
When Malays fight amongst each other, then others gain. The BN lost its majority in Penang — both in terms of its MPs in the federal Parliament and the state assembly. Penang’s new Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng, from the opposition Chinese-dominated DAP, has already thrown down the gauntlet which could severely test the status quo in Malaysia. Lim gave notice that his DAP-led state government would no longer practice the New Economic Policy (NEP), which was introduced in 1971 after the 1969 race riots aimed at promoting affirmative action in favor of the Bumiputras (ethnic Malays) who were at the bottom of the economic ladder.
Badawi has been quick to warn Lim not to make statements that could stoke racial tensions and marginalize the Malays. The DAP may be testing how far it can undermine the race card in Malaysian politics. But the true battle for the soul of Malaysian politics will be fought out by factions within the dominant Malays — inside UMNO and between UMNO and PAS and PKR. There is one school of thought that stresses that the poor showing of BN was orchestrated by an UMNO faction supporting Deputy Premier Najib Tun Abdul Razak because it wanted to undermine Badawi’s authority and support within UMNO. Only time will tell whether this turns out to be so at the next UMNO convention.
PAS remains a one-state party as shown by its dominance of Kelantan. If it can transform itself from a purely religious party to a more inclusive party along the lines of AK Party in Turkey that would embrace non-Muslims and non-Malays, then it could start breaking the mold of Malaysian politics.
But the current PAS leadership lacks the vision or the will to effect such a transformation.
The other striking feature of the elections is the beginnings of potential dynastic structures in Malaysian politics. Mahathir’s son Mukhriz won a parliamentary set in Kedah for the BN; Anwar’s daughter Nurul Izzah ousted Shahrizat Abdul Jalil, the minister for women’s and rural affairs; and Abdullah Badawi’s son-in-law Khairy Jamaluddin scraped through winning a parliamentary seat at the first go.
Malaysia’s 12th general election last week has opened up a Pandora’s box.
As a humbled Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi finalizes the task of forming a new Cabinet, the fallout of the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition losing its two-third majority in the 222-seat Dewan Rakyat (the Malaysian Parliament) for the first time since 1969 and in four states plus the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, are still reverberating across this subtropical country.
It wasn’t quite a political earthquake, but Malaysia’s voters gave Badawi and his ruling BN coalition and its constituent parties, UMNO (United Malays National Organization), MCA (Malaysian Chinese Association) and MIC (Malaysian Indian Congress), a bloody nose.
But the pain for Badawi could indeed be prolonged till November when the next test for the beleaguered premier looms — the annual convention of the dominant party in the BN coalition, UMNO. The president of UMNO is also the chairman of BN and the prime minister of the country. All indications are that Badawi’s presidency of UMNO will be severely challenged at the convention, and he might lose the vote of confidence and therefore the presidency. In which case, he would have no choice but to resign as prime minister. The only other credible alternative to Badawi is Defense Minister Najib Tun Abdul Razak, one of the deputy presidents of UMNO.
To make things worse for Badawi, his predecessor, Dr. Mahathir Mohammed has already accused Badawi of letting down the BN, UMNO and the country, and urging him to resign. The danger is that UMNO, instead of rallying behind its leader, will sleepwalk into spilling blood in a bitter factional feud.
To interpret the 2008 elections as Malaysian democracy and indeed political culture coming of age would be oversimplifying things. The BN won 140 seats compared to 82 for the opposition parties comprising DAP, PKR and PAS (the Islamic party of Malaysia). This still gives it a handsome majority in the Dewan Rakyat of 58 seats.
However, compared to the past, the BN coalition government would not be able to change the constitution at will, which may be a good check and balance on the government. A true test for Malaysian democracy is for parties to organize across the racial lines.
But given the politics of race in multicultural Malaysia, it is unlikely that this will happen. Take for instance Penang state, which has a Chinese majority and which is one of the more prosperous regions of the country.
Penang is also the home state of Premier Badawi, who comfortably retained his Kepala Batas seat. But it is also the stronghold of Anwar Ibrahim, the disgraced former deputy prime minister and UMNO deputy president who was jailed for corruption. Anwar was automatically barred from politics, but the expiry of his ban uncannily was a week after the date of the elections.
Anwar’s wife, Wan Azizah Ismail easily won her Permatang Pauh seat that she fought under the banner of her Parti Kaedilan Rakyat (PKR) or People’s Justice Party. There are reports that Wan Azizah plans to resign her seat to force a by-election that would pave the way for Anwar to re-enter Parliament and the sometimes-murky world of Malaysian politics. If this happens, it is most likely that we will have a by-election in April or May.
When Malays fight amongst each other, then others gain. The BN lost its majority in Penang — both in terms of its MPs in the federal Parliament and the state assembly. Penang’s new Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng, from the opposition Chinese-dominated DAP, has already thrown down the gauntlet which could severely test the status quo in Malaysia. Lim gave notice that his DAP-led state government would no longer practice the New Economic Policy (NEP), which was introduced in 1971 after the 1969 race riots aimed at promoting affirmative action in favor of the Bumiputras (ethnic Malays) who were at the bottom of the economic ladder.
Badawi has been quick to warn Lim not to make statements that could stoke racial tensions and marginalize the Malays. The DAP may be testing how far it can undermine the race card in Malaysian politics. But the true battle for the soul of Malaysian politics will be fought out by factions within the dominant Malays — inside UMNO and between UMNO and PAS and PKR. There is one school of thought that stresses that the poor showing of BN was orchestrated by an UMNO faction supporting Deputy Premier Najib Tun Abdul Razak because it wanted to undermine Badawi’s authority and support within UMNO. Only time will tell whether this turns out to be so at the next UMNO convention.
PAS remains a one-state party as shown by its dominance of Kelantan. If it can transform itself from a purely religious party to a more inclusive party along the lines of AK Party in Turkey that would embrace non-Muslims and non-Malays, then it could start breaking the mold of Malaysian politics.
But the current PAS leadership lacks the vision or the will to effect such a transformation.
The other striking feature of the elections is the beginnings of potential dynastic structures in Malaysian politics. Mahathir’s son Mukhriz won a parliamentary set in Kedah for the BN; Anwar’s daughter Nurul Izzah ousted Shahrizat Abdul Jalil, the minister for women’s and rural affairs; and Abdullah Badawi’s son-in-law Khairy Jamaluddin scraped through winning a parliamentary seat at the first go.
No deal in son’s insurance case
Source : The Star
PENANG: A Hindu woman’s suit for insurance monies left by her army ranger son, who died a Muslim, could not be settled as the sum offered to her was too low, a High Court here heard.
Justice John Louis O’Hara yesterday fixed June 13 for hearing after he was told in his chambers that a settlement could not be reached.
Cleaner M. Rukumony, 61, had named the Koperasi Angkatan Tentera Malaysia Berhad and Amanah Raya Berhad as defendants. The court also subsequently allowed the Federal Territory Islamic Religious Council’s application to intervene as a defendant.
In her claim, Rukumony said her son E. Ragu, 23, was an army ranger. He was found in a coma at Kem Wardieburn Setapak Kuala Lumpur, and died on Aug 2, 2000.
She said the cooperative had taken out a policy on her son but refused to pay her the RM56,300 and instead deposited it with Amanah Raya.
She claimed that Ragu, a bachelor, had made a trust deed on Sept 6, 1999, and an assignment under Section 23 of the Civil Law Act 1956 on Feb 1, 2000, making her the beneficiary.
PENANG: A Hindu woman’s suit for insurance monies left by her army ranger son, who died a Muslim, could not be settled as the sum offered to her was too low, a High Court here heard.
Justice John Louis O’Hara yesterday fixed June 13 for hearing after he was told in his chambers that a settlement could not be reached.
Cleaner M. Rukumony, 61, had named the Koperasi Angkatan Tentera Malaysia Berhad and Amanah Raya Berhad as defendants. The court also subsequently allowed the Federal Territory Islamic Religious Council’s application to intervene as a defendant.
In her claim, Rukumony said her son E. Ragu, 23, was an army ranger. He was found in a coma at Kem Wardieburn Setapak Kuala Lumpur, and died on Aug 2, 2000.
She said the cooperative had taken out a policy on her son but refused to pay her the RM56,300 and instead deposited it with Amanah Raya.
She claimed that Ragu, a bachelor, had made a trust deed on Sept 6, 1999, and an assignment under Section 23 of the Civil Law Act 1956 on Feb 1, 2000, making her the beneficiary.
Anwar, your three main tasks
A letter by : Feroz Qureshi via M'Kini
Dear Dr Anwar Ibrahim,
I would like to congratulate you, your family and your team for the extraordinary success of the opposition in the recent Malaysian elections. I have long admired you, read your book, heard your speeches and followed your tumultuous political career since the early 1990s. While your followers see you as a beacon of hope, and rightly so, I see you as a tour de force in Asian intellectualism.
I have worked and lived in Malaysia and am familiar with its distinct political structure and social make-up. As an apolitical commentator, I would like to humbly offer my take on some of the ills plaguing Malaysian society that may or may not assist you in realising your reformist agenda. My perspectives could be a tad naVve but I have in the past uncovered several blind spots that most Malaysians have ignored owing largely to self-indulgence and an insular outlook.
On rolling back the NEP
You are right in saying that the NEP is obsolete, not so much because it has been socially unjust but because Malaysia is finally ready to move on. Inevitably, two or three decades from now, reference to this acronym would be politically incorrect. But for now, you face tremendous challenges in making this work. And I am certain that you’ll be able to convince the Malays that ‘a people cannot become special by getting special rights’.
Essentially, non-Malays including myself have to frequently discount the achievements of talented and educated Malays as somewhat ordinary. Modifying the NEP would accord more respect to and self-respect for the Malay community. Once this journey has begun, it won’t be long before it becomes habitualised in the Malay psyche. Merit will ensue and your team will then be tested with the issues of designing the appropriate metrics/measures. Better this test than tests of nepotism and cronyism. Poor design is how the NEP got hijacked by the Umno elite and their cronies in the first place.
Therefore, I urge you to put your best brains and resources towards this formative stage. Embracing meritocracy is one thing, getting it wrong can lead to much unintended social and economic costs. In Singapore’s case, its brand of meritocracy has created much systemic rigidity in the public service and general populace. They regarded a deviation from the metrics to be undesirable and even feared. Lee Kuan Yew’s willingness to go tough on corruption and his subsequent legislation further compounded these fears.
In sum, an entire generation of Singaporeans grew up fusing values of merit with conformity. During the 70s and 80s when SE Asia’s industrialisation had a price advantage, such mistakes can go unpunished. But in the more networked, creative-driven knowledge economy of today where human capital is the only true resource, a conformist society will only produce lacklustre ideas. I have every confidence that your team has the mental agility to avoid such a trap. Yet this is merely a fraction of the task.
On obsession with class
Running alongside the NEP malaise, is a centuries old practice that Malaysian society suffers from – an obsession with class. Now I do not presume to know all the nuances of this issue, although I do know that it transcends all the races. Before emigrating, the Chinese from Fujian and Guangdong provinces had their Emperor. The Indians had their caste system. And of course, there are the Sultans whose absolute rule only retreated post-1945. As a result, feudal mindsets are still very much alive in modern Malaysia, allowing an obsession with class to be deeply entrenched. I am not saying that class consciousness is necessarily bad, but it’s this obsession that is damaging and holds the country back.
Every society has elites that set the tone, however when elites behave in a manner that accentuates and even glorifies the differences between themselves and the rest, it cannot be for the greater good - a lesson in Motivation 101. You may ask, ‘How is this attitude a danger to the nation?’ Quite simply, people are chasing Datukships as a short-cut to achieving their life goals and have abandoned the usual habits that make for success. Much human talent has also been wasted by a business environment that places a greater value on ‘know-who’ than ‘know-how’. This in turn will continue to breed cynicism and disenchantment. It’s already a grave error that these titles do not entail quantitative criteria, what more the culture behind it is one of privilege/indulgence rather than duty.
Suffice it to say, very few Datuks are role-model quality for the next generation and some Tan Seris even invoke feelings of disgust. Removing or limiting these titles would be a most unifying force for the country. For it will redirect the people’s efforts and ambitions towards more life-enhancing goals; goals that are driven by Spartan-like values such as enterprise, discipline and thrift. This will not be an easy undertaking. While the NEP can be modified in parliament, class obsession involves group behavior. Strong culture change agents like you can lead the way.
On separating business and politics
From the Lee Kuan Yew journal of clean government – candidates must not need large sums of money to get elected, or it will trigger the cycle of corruption. I don’t know how you plan to achieve this, but this responsibility falls upon you. I choke at the thought of US candidates having to raise US$300 million to make a bid for the presidency. No common man need apply. Where then is the grand ideal in a government ‘of the people’? By comparison, Umno’s money politics may seem less rotten.
Nevertheless, over the interim four years, if your team is able to make gains in this arena, all decent Malaysians will be the better off. I applaud your partners in the DAP for initiating public disclosure of assets for all office bearers. This is a wholesome first step. And I think when the time is right, you may want to take it further by barring all high-office bearers including yourself from holding directorships and being direct or indirect shareholders in companies. Our mutual friend Kishore Mahbubani once said: ‘Successful societies have functional elites. They add more to society than they take from it. Unsuccessful societies have corrupt elites’.
Malaysians of your generation are typically more tolerant of corruption. Needless to say, you are an exception. My own father, who is of your age, is of the view that the best we can ever hope for is that our leaders are least corrupt. Sage advice? Perhaps. What of those of Nurul Izzah’s generation and that of your grandchildren’s who will accept nothing less than to see an effective clean government and equitable society? Malaysia may be a long way off from this lofty dream but it’s the endeavoring to get there that counts.
I am not Malaysian. I am neither Malay, Indian nor Chinese. I have no business interests in Malaysia but I do have family there and my wife is Malaysian. Still, that’s not enough for me to claim a stake in Malaysia’s future. Whatever it is, God bless you, your family and your team.
Dear Dr Anwar Ibrahim,
I would like to congratulate you, your family and your team for the extraordinary success of the opposition in the recent Malaysian elections. I have long admired you, read your book, heard your speeches and followed your tumultuous political career since the early 1990s. While your followers see you as a beacon of hope, and rightly so, I see you as a tour de force in Asian intellectualism.
I have worked and lived in Malaysia and am familiar with its distinct political structure and social make-up. As an apolitical commentator, I would like to humbly offer my take on some of the ills plaguing Malaysian society that may or may not assist you in realising your reformist agenda. My perspectives could be a tad naVve but I have in the past uncovered several blind spots that most Malaysians have ignored owing largely to self-indulgence and an insular outlook.
On rolling back the NEP
You are right in saying that the NEP is obsolete, not so much because it has been socially unjust but because Malaysia is finally ready to move on. Inevitably, two or three decades from now, reference to this acronym would be politically incorrect. But for now, you face tremendous challenges in making this work. And I am certain that you’ll be able to convince the Malays that ‘a people cannot become special by getting special rights’.
Essentially, non-Malays including myself have to frequently discount the achievements of talented and educated Malays as somewhat ordinary. Modifying the NEP would accord more respect to and self-respect for the Malay community. Once this journey has begun, it won’t be long before it becomes habitualised in the Malay psyche. Merit will ensue and your team will then be tested with the issues of designing the appropriate metrics/measures. Better this test than tests of nepotism and cronyism. Poor design is how the NEP got hijacked by the Umno elite and their cronies in the first place.
Therefore, I urge you to put your best brains and resources towards this formative stage. Embracing meritocracy is one thing, getting it wrong can lead to much unintended social and economic costs. In Singapore’s case, its brand of meritocracy has created much systemic rigidity in the public service and general populace. They regarded a deviation from the metrics to be undesirable and even feared. Lee Kuan Yew’s willingness to go tough on corruption and his subsequent legislation further compounded these fears.
In sum, an entire generation of Singaporeans grew up fusing values of merit with conformity. During the 70s and 80s when SE Asia’s industrialisation had a price advantage, such mistakes can go unpunished. But in the more networked, creative-driven knowledge economy of today where human capital is the only true resource, a conformist society will only produce lacklustre ideas. I have every confidence that your team has the mental agility to avoid such a trap. Yet this is merely a fraction of the task.
On obsession with class
Running alongside the NEP malaise, is a centuries old practice that Malaysian society suffers from – an obsession with class. Now I do not presume to know all the nuances of this issue, although I do know that it transcends all the races. Before emigrating, the Chinese from Fujian and Guangdong provinces had their Emperor. The Indians had their caste system. And of course, there are the Sultans whose absolute rule only retreated post-1945. As a result, feudal mindsets are still very much alive in modern Malaysia, allowing an obsession with class to be deeply entrenched. I am not saying that class consciousness is necessarily bad, but it’s this obsession that is damaging and holds the country back.
Every society has elites that set the tone, however when elites behave in a manner that accentuates and even glorifies the differences between themselves and the rest, it cannot be for the greater good - a lesson in Motivation 101. You may ask, ‘How is this attitude a danger to the nation?’ Quite simply, people are chasing Datukships as a short-cut to achieving their life goals and have abandoned the usual habits that make for success. Much human talent has also been wasted by a business environment that places a greater value on ‘know-who’ than ‘know-how’. This in turn will continue to breed cynicism and disenchantment. It’s already a grave error that these titles do not entail quantitative criteria, what more the culture behind it is one of privilege/indulgence rather than duty.
Suffice it to say, very few Datuks are role-model quality for the next generation and some Tan Seris even invoke feelings of disgust. Removing or limiting these titles would be a most unifying force for the country. For it will redirect the people’s efforts and ambitions towards more life-enhancing goals; goals that are driven by Spartan-like values such as enterprise, discipline and thrift. This will not be an easy undertaking. While the NEP can be modified in parliament, class obsession involves group behavior. Strong culture change agents like you can lead the way.
On separating business and politics
From the Lee Kuan Yew journal of clean government – candidates must not need large sums of money to get elected, or it will trigger the cycle of corruption. I don’t know how you plan to achieve this, but this responsibility falls upon you. I choke at the thought of US candidates having to raise US$300 million to make a bid for the presidency. No common man need apply. Where then is the grand ideal in a government ‘of the people’? By comparison, Umno’s money politics may seem less rotten.
Nevertheless, over the interim four years, if your team is able to make gains in this arena, all decent Malaysians will be the better off. I applaud your partners in the DAP for initiating public disclosure of assets for all office bearers. This is a wholesome first step. And I think when the time is right, you may want to take it further by barring all high-office bearers including yourself from holding directorships and being direct or indirect shareholders in companies. Our mutual friend Kishore Mahbubani once said: ‘Successful societies have functional elites. They add more to society than they take from it. Unsuccessful societies have corrupt elites’.
Malaysians of your generation are typically more tolerant of corruption. Needless to say, you are an exception. My own father, who is of your age, is of the view that the best we can ever hope for is that our leaders are least corrupt. Sage advice? Perhaps. What of those of Nurul Izzah’s generation and that of your grandchildren’s who will accept nothing less than to see an effective clean government and equitable society? Malaysia may be a long way off from this lofty dream but it’s the endeavoring to get there that counts.
I am not Malaysian. I am neither Malay, Indian nor Chinese. I have no business interests in Malaysia but I do have family there and my wife is Malaysian. Still, that’s not enough for me to claim a stake in Malaysia’s future. Whatever it is, God bless you, your family and your team.
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