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The day when the people rise up: July 9
Najib and gang say the darndest things
The Wisdom of the Students
Bersih 2.0: The Agong fills growing vacuum

Posted: 06 Jul 2011 07:48 PM PDT

Bersih is a temporary and loose grouping of registered NGOs (62 in nos. at this moment) who have come together for the specific task of pursuing electoral reforms. If these NGOs are by themselves legally registered bodies, how can they become illegal just because they have joined forces to pursue a transient objective? If Bersih is decreed illegal, then all the NGOs in this group must also be deemed illegal. So are the members that belong to these respective NGOs.

By Kim Quek

That's it! Bersih finally has had enough of the treacherous conduct of a shameless government which has lost all sense of decency!

In a firmly worded statement released late last night, Bersih effectively said "come what may, we will have our rally at the Stadium Merdeka on July 9 at 2 pm!".

This is Bersih's final answer to a battery of ridiculous obstructions, warnings and excuses put up by the Najib government to obstruct a Bersih rally in the stadium.

This is despite Bersih having made a major concession to shift the rally from the streets to a stadium under the unprecedented intervention of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, and after Prime Minister Najib Razak's offer of a suitable stadium for the purpose.

And the 180 degree turn by Najib and his government happened within one day!

IMPASSE RESOLVED UNDER AUSPICES OF AGONG

It was only on Tuesday (July 5) afternoon that Bersih had an audience with the Agong during which it accepted the government's rally-in-stadium offer to resolve the tense impasse between Bersih and the Najib government, during which an obviously panic-stricken government went on a rampage to make wanton arrests to deter an anticipated massive street rally.

Upon Bersih's announcement to stay off the streets, Najib immediately expressed readiness to meet Bersih over a suitable stadium for the purpose.

The next day, Wednesday July 6, Bersih indicated it wanted the event to be held at Stadium Merdeka due to its historical significance and central location. Bersih further said that it had ascertained the stadium's availability on July 9, as a scheduled concert had been cancelled.

But Umno Youth immediately said: "We reject Stadium Merdeka for Bersih. It is not a place for political gathering. Do it in a Pakatan Rakyat controlled state."

This was followed by the stadium management's rejection of Bersih on blatantly false excuses of "internal management sports event" and "renovation".

What did the Prime Minister, who had earlier suggested and agreed to the rally-in-stadium proposal, have to say about the rally in Stadium Merdeka?

He said it was up to the authorities in charge of such matters to act in accordance with requirements of security and safety. He emphasized however that "permission would only be given to organizations that are registered, but Bersih has never been registered, it is an illegal organization". He gave no indication whether approval to use the stadium would be forthcoming.

Then, Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein, who had earlier declared Bersih illegal, made the shocking and puzzling announcement that Bersih is still illegal, despite the impasse being resolved in accordance with the wishes of the Prime Minister, mediated by His Majesty Yang di-Pertuan Agong. Hishammuddin said:

"They are still banned. No body can put themselves over the law. Just because Tuanku met them, doesn't mean they are no longer illegal".

However, despite the alleged illegality, Hishammuddin made the curious statement that Bersih could still apply to the police for a permit to hold the rally, but gave no assurance that a permit would be given.

BERSIH IS BETRAYED

Finally, Bersih's door to a stadium rally in Kuala Lumpur was shut when Information and Culture Minister Rais Yatim announced that the Cabinet has decided to bar Bersih from holding its rally in any of the stadiums in the Kuala Lumpur area. Rais suggested that Bersih could hold its rally in a Pakatan Rakyat controlled state.

Meanwhile, police crackdown on Bersih supporters continues unabated, arresting any one seen wearing yellow shirts or any paraphernalia linked to Bersih. So far, there have been more than two hundred arrests, including members of parliament and state legislative assemblymen. Some are being charged in court, and some are detained under the draconian Emergence Ordinance which provides for indefinite detention without trial, which has been traditionally used against vice criminals.

Ministers and police have warned that even when a stadium rally is approved, anyone wearing anything suggesting support for Bersih including the yellow T shirts will be arrested.

LEGAL NONSENSE

So, Bersih was played out!

It gave up the street rally out of respect for His Majesty and in compliance with the PM's wishes; but in return, it was denied a stadium for rally, and its supporters continue to be hunted down and persecuted like criminals through massive abuse of police power under fallacious legality.

Hishammuddin claimed that Bersih is illegal because it is not registered with the Registrar of Society, and hence any article or any activities promoting Bersih is also illegal, hence the mass arrest.

But this is pure legal nonsense.

By extension, any grouping of registered bodies who have joined forces to pursue any joint objective must also be considered illegal, including the opposition alliance of Pakatan Rakyat, which consists of PKR, PAS & DAP.

Why hasn't Hishammuddin banned Pakatan Rakyat, and decreed their joint pursuits as also illegal?

Can Hishammuddin explain the strangest logic ever known – as reflected in the police arresting individuals bearing symbols of Bersih, when the organization itself was sanctioned by the PM through the offer of a stadium to conduct its function?

Isn't the entire Barisan Nasional government – PM, cabinet, police and judiciary - making a fool of themselves by crucifying and persecuting a well-meaning civil society movement on the premise of a fictitious law?

GREATEST DISRESPECT TO AGONG

By insisting that Bersih is an outlaw, after it has reached a settlement with the PM under the auspices of His Majesty, hasn't Hishammuddin shown the greatest disrespect to the two highest leaders of the country?

And hasn't PM in turn made a mockery of His Majesty's gracious effort to bring reconciliation and good sense by failing to keep his end of the bargain to allow Bersih to hold its rally in peace?

In the midst of such treasonous conduct from our leaders, we wish to congratulate Bersih for its courage and determination to do what is right. In its statement signed by all the 14 members of its steering committee last night, it said:

"As members of civil society that are committed to principles of integrity, we fully intend to abide by the advice of Tuanjku DYMM SPB YDP Agong and hold our gathering in a stadium to state our demand for clean and fair elections.

"Whether or not the government abides by their principles, we the Malaysian people will always uphold ours. Our determination to exercise our constitutional right to gather peacefully for a just and reasonable cause is unwavering."

Now that Bersih has conducted itself with honour, we the people must respond likewise. It is about time that we stand up to reclaim what is due to us – our liberty and dignity and our right to determine our future, as enshrined in the Constituion.

Let everyone come out wearing yellow, and let the traitors be swarmed and drowned by a sea of yellow in Kuala Lumpur on that day.

Let July 9 be remembered in generations to come as the day when Malaysians finally rise up to reclaim their motherland from the grip of a tyrannical power.

Najib and gang say the darndest things

Posted: 06 Jul 2011 02:01 PM PDT

The government has two laws for Malaysians – one for itself and those it favours, and one for the rest of the people.

By Kee Thuan Chye

The Bersih 2.0 episode has taught us a few important things. About the officials who are supposed to serve us, the rakyat.

First, it has taught us that our prime minister, Najib Tun Razak, is a coward, a passer-of-the-buck, and a man with a slippery tongue.

Although he has now offered the Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (Bersih 2.0) a stadium to hold its rally on July 9, he refuses to say if the government no longer considers it an illegal organisation.

"This is a point whereby we consider them illegal, they don't consider themselves as illegal but what's important is public interest, I'm concerned with public interest," he says. What kind of waffle is that?

Because he is wishy-washy about this matter, he appears utterly contradictory in allowing an illegal organisation to hold a public rally in a stadium that his government will provide.

Related to this, when asked by the media whether the police would continue to clamp down on Bersih 2.0 supporters nationwide, he said, "You have to ask the police."

Asked if supporters would be arrested for wearing Bersih T-shirts at the rally at the stadium, he again said, "That is up to the police to decide."

He doesn't know? He doesn't have a say? Who is the boss? The prime minister, who is the chief executive of the country, or the police?

He dared not even answer the media's question about whether he was called to see the King on the morning of July 5 before the latter was to meet with Bersih 2.0. His lame and characteristically evasive reply was: "When I meet the King is my right, and as the prime minister, I am the chief adviser to the King." He wasn't man enough to be honest and transparent.

Same old trick

Now let's look at Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin. A few days ago, on the Bersih 2.0 rally, he warned that it could lead to chaos and invite "interference from major powers". Where did he pull this out from?

"Based on the experience in the Middle East, we know that foreign powers are all too eager to send their troops on the pretext of helping to solve the crisis," he said. What a hoot!

How ridiculous it is to draw from the Middle East experience (is the United Nations about to authorise the bombing of Malaysia?), and how convenient to blame it on some phantom foreign powers. It's the same old trick the government used on Hindraf in 2007, linking it to the Tamil Tigers of Sri Lanka. In the end, not a shred of evidence was ever produced. Once bitten, twice shy.

Sure enough, what Muhyiddin said was to provide justification for six Parti Sosialis Rakyat (PSM) members who were pro-Bersih 2.0 to be detained under the Emergency Ordinance (EO), on suspicion of being involved with "foreign elements" and having "subversive tendencies".

One of them is Dr Michael Jeyakumar Devaraj. If you knew him for the soft-spoken, humble and dedicated helper of the poor that he is, you would laugh in Muhyiddin's face. Jeyakumar would not be so stupid as to align himself with foreign elements to subvert the state.

Let's turn now to Information, Communication and Culture Minister Rais Yatim, who disparaged "desperate parties" for making use of Communism to drum up support for the Bersih 2.0 rally.

"They see this as an opportunity to stir up dissent and seize power," he said. "Spreading Communism is against the law. It is evil and illegal."

What wild words would these ministers not use against a rally that was aimed at nothing more sinister than asking for electoral reform, for the good of democracy? Do they not realise we can gauge from their words the level of their intellect?

How did Rais get his PhD?

PM's undignified talk

Malacca Chief Minister Ali Rustam called on the government to strip Bersih 2.0 chairperson S Ambiga of her citizenship. "If she thinks that we should have democracy by going on demonstrations like the way other countries do, then let her be the citizen of another country," he said.

He also said she was against the tenets of Islam for previously defending Lina Joy in her apostasy case.

Alamak! What has the Lina Joy case got to do with the Bersih 2.0 rally? But then, that's the Umno-BN dirty tactic, isn't it? Turn a non-religious issue into a religious one. Never mind if it's irrelevant. Never mind if it's divisive.

Najib was worse in making a similar personal attack: "We know who this Ambiga is. She is the one who threatened the position of Islam."

He must have known it was totally uncalled-for and outrageously irresponsible, but his audience was in Kelantan, comprising mostly Muslims, reportedly about 20,000 of them there.

When Ali Rustam said that sort of thing, it was inexcusable. But when Najib, the advocate of so-called 1Malaysia, said it, it was unforgivable.

More than that, he warned, "Ambiga should not think herself so strong. We will not bow down to her at all, we will fight for the truth. We will simpan kuku kita." This is menacing; the threat is in "simpan kuku kita", implying Najib and his supporters will hide their claws for now and use them when the time comes.

This is undignified talk unbecoming of a prime minister. He sounds like a street brawler.

Let's save the best for last. And who else might that be but the Home Minister, Hishammuddin Hussein, already famous for the numerous bloopers he has made in the past?

When the police started arresting people for wearing the Bersih T-shirts, without any apparent law to back them up, Hishammuddin justified it thus: "If the Bersih T-shirt is related to an illegal activity, then whatever they are wearing is illegal."

But the rally had not happened yet, so how could it have been an illegal activity? By the same logic, how then could the Bersih T-shirts be related to an illegal activity?

Caught in a corner, Hishammuddin then resorted to declaring Bersih 2.0 illegal. One of the reasons cited was that Bersih 2.0 had been spreading propaganda with the aim of toppling the government.

What propaganda? Its eight demands for electoral reform constitute government-toppling material? Which school did this minister go to?

And now that the King has met with Bersih 2.0 and the coalition has agreed to hold its rally in a stadium provided by the government, Hishammuddin is still clamouring: "They are banned. They are still banned… just because Tuanku met them doesn't mean they are no longer illegal."

One would have thought that the King, in showing respect to Bersih 2.0 in granting it an audience, would have legitimised the coalition, but Hishammuddin seems to have a different view. He must have felt the egg all over his face when the King granted the audience.

His reaction is therefore understandably defensive. He has screwed up big-time, but he won't admit his mistakes. If he has been doing his job like he should have, he would not be vilifying Bersih 2.0; he would be going after Perkasa instead.

The Wisdom of the Students

Posted: 06 Jul 2011 01:53 PM PDT

M. Bakri Musa

In a remarkable display of professorial prowess, University of Malaya Vice-Chancellor Ghauth Jasmon recently engaged his students in a two-hour dialogue on what it would take to make their university great. With humility, pedagogical skills, and great stage presence, he enthralled his audience while imparting an important message. They in turn were not at all shy in telling him the challenges they faced. It was truly a dialogue, not the usual one-way pedantic pronouncements.

Those students had a clear message not only for their Vice-Chancellor but also the country's leaders and policy makers: Listen to us!

The session was even more remarkable as it was held after lunch, typically siesta time in the tropics. Anyone who has faced a classroom of students at that time of day knows how difficult it is to get their attention. Yet there they were – professor and students – intellectually engaging each other, interspersed with frequent cheers and laughter.

The Vice-Chancellor listed the five criteria of an elite university, as judged by the rating bodies. They are, in order of importance, the academic reputation of its faculty (40 percent); the related faculty citations (20); student-faculty ratio (20); employers' assessment of its graduates (10); and the institution's internationalism as reflected by the number of foreign students (5) and faculty members (5).

For parents and students however, the fourth factor – employers' assessment – is for practical reasons the most important. Thus Ghauth focused on that. To employers, local graduates are deficient in such important areas as English proficiency, critical thinking, and problem solving. He emphasized the lack of English fluency.

The first three major criteria, comprising 80 percent of the total, are beyond the students' control. Those are the responsibility of the university, specifically Dr. Ghauth. Students' contribution would be limited, as the Vice-Chancellor humorously suggested, to existing foreign students encouraging their friends and family members to enroll at UM, and that would influence only five percent of the total assessment.

In a Kennedyesque twist, Dr. Ghauth asked his students what they could do for their university to make it great. Specifically he asked them for ways on improving their English proficiency if for no other reason than to make them acceptable to local employers.

The students' responses were most illuminating. To be sure, most were the usual and predictable, "Use English more frequently," or "Befriend more foreign students." One student stood out for the frankness of his opinion and sharpness of his observation. He also had a deft sense of humor, outclassing the Vice-Chancellor's. He introduced himself as "Azlé from Kelaté" (Azlan from Kelantan) in that distinctively Malaysian east coast accent. That brought the house down.

Azlan freely admitted to his mediocre English and bravely committed to improving it to "C-grade" over the semester. Amidst the ensuing laughter, many missed his sharp observation, made difficult by his frequent resorting to Malay. In Malay he articulated his problems eloquently.

He related how his teachers back in Kelantan had to resort to using Malay when teaching English! The atmosphere was no better on campus. His friends and classmates would for example, mock and berate him whenever he tried to speak in English. Obviously opportunities for him, and others like him, to learn and practice his English were as limited on campus as they were back in his Kelantan village. That was his crucial message.

As indicated, Azlan could not escape the irritating and jarring Malaysian habit of mixing Malay and English at will. I can readily excuse him because of his admitted lack of English fluency; inexcusable however, were Dr. Ghauth and the other supposedly English-proficient students.

"Soft" and "Hard" Obstacles To Achieving English Fluency

I would have stated Dr. Ghauth's central question differently: How could the university enhance the English proficiency of its students? A good start would be to follow up on Azlan's insights.

What Azlan had related are the "soft" obstacles to achieving greater English fluency among Malay students, the subtle cultural and peer pressures. The mindset that dictates learning English is tantamount to hating your own language is part of this "soft" problem. It is a formidable obstacle precisely because it is so amorphous; you cannot easily put your hands around it.

Then there are the "hard" obstacles, like the lack of competent teachers or our students not taking the subject seriously. Ironically, because they are concrete barriers we can readily get a handle on them and then come up with workable solutions.

Take the obvious, the poor teaching of English in our schools and the lack of competent teachers especially in rural areas where the need is greatest. To train these teachers the university must have a strong Department of English. Yet UM's department has only 11 faculty members and three tutors to serve a campus of 25,000 students. To its credit however, nine of its members have doctorates, a higher percentage than the university as a whole.

The department's size is not consonant with the great needs of the university and country. Considering that it was one of the first if not founding departments, its lack of growth must have been deliberate. That was short sighted and must be quickly rectified.

The university must expand that department and provide non-credit courses and language labs so its Azlans can have a place to learn and practice their English. Emulate many American campuses including elite ones like Harvard that have similar facilities to improve the math and writing skills of their students.

Dr. Gauth should go further and persuade his fellow Vice-Chancellors to impress upon our policymakers on the importance of teaching English in our schools and universities. They should not remain silent in the face of such regressive steps as the discontinuing of teaching of science and mathematics in English.

As academic leaders these Vice-Chancellors could also mandate a pass in the Malaysian University English Test (MUET). That single move will make our students take English seriously. There will be severe opposition from some students and Malay language nationalists, part of the soft obstacle I alluded to earlier. Thus to soften the impact, I would add this proviso: If a student is otherwise qualified except for his MUET score, then he would be given a year to remedy the deficit before enrolling.

If these academic leaders are really assertive and truly believe on the importance of English for their students, as they frequently profess, they would go further and make English mandatory for all freshmen. Have a placement test so students could be assigned to the appropriate class. Again this is common practice on many American campuses.

Dr. Ghauth could also require all students write no fewer than 30 extended essays (term papers) during their undergraduate years. Again, this is the norm at good American universities. I would also have a similar requirement for essays in Malay (though far fewer in number) for international students. It would be a great shame and make a mockery of their attending a Malaysian university if they were unable to read or write in our national language.

Once we have successfully overcome the "hard" obstacles, the soft barriers will automatically disintegrate like a mud wall in a downpour.

This emphasis on English, though well placed, should not distract us from the other problems facing our students. English proficiency is no panacea; otherwise those Indian and Filipino graduates would be competitive.

Deficiencies in critical thinking and problem solving are not English language dependent, as attested by Azlan's performance. Instead they are the consequence of our pedagogical philosophy as well as our approach to teaching and testing. Far too often what goes on in our schools and universities is not education but indoctrination. Education in Malaysia is, to borrow Noam Chomsky's phrase, "a system of imposed ignorance … a system of indoctrination."

Consider how we test our students; it is nothing more than an exercise in regurgitation. If we design our questions so students could have "open book" examinations, then we are truly evaluating critical thinking and problem solving abilities instead of talent for regurgitation. Professor Ghauth had demonstrated a teaching style that engages students and make the intellectual traffic flows both ways.

I applaud the university personnel for doing a professional job in videotaping the session and then posting it on Youtube. I hope Dr. Ghauth will have other similar sessions with his faculty, the public, and policymakers to address the first three criteria on making the university great.

Anticipating that, I offer my suggestions. One, strive to have within five years all faculty members with terminal qualifications. I would later elevate that by requiring new recruits to have substantive post-doctoral experience. Two, I would fund faculty members so they could present papers at international meetings. That would encourage them to submit their papers to international bodies. Three, grant all faculty members automatic research funding equal to their annual salaries, and spread over three years. Four, I would supply each faculty member with a free laptops and unlimited WiFi access so they could download lectures by leading scholars elsewhere for presentation to the students, as well as access to professional journals. Many of those publications offer free access to academics from the Third World. That alone would pay for the computers, by sparing the library from having to subscribe to those expensive journals. Five, I would treat our academics with great respect beginning with getting rid of that idiotic Akujanji pledge.

If our policymakers think that my suggestions are expensive, think how much more it would be to have our universities remain in the academic cellar and continue producing mediocre products! That would be the greatest disservice to the students, as well as to the country.

Bersih 2.0: The Agong fills growing vacuum

Posted: 06 Jul 2011 12:31 PM PDT

By Ooi Kee Beng

The showdown scheduled for Saturday between the Malaysian government and the group of non-government organisations calling itself Bersih 2.0 has taken a turn.

What would probably have been a long peaceful march by 100,000 Malaysians of all races, dressed in royal yellow T-shirts, towards the palace to hand over a memorandum seeking wide-ranging electoral reforms, will in all likelihood now be a rally taking place inside a stadium.

This compromise was reached after a momentous meeting between Malaysian King Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin and three leaders of the non-government organisation (NGO) coalition: Front person Ambiga Sreenevasan, steering committee member Zaid Kamaruddin and national laureate A Samad Said.

The aged and highly-respected A Samad Said is being investigated under the Sedition Act and the Police Act related to unlawful assembly. His offence was a recent recital of a poem at a Bersih 2.0 event.

But, whether the stadium rally happens peacefully will depend on how the Malaysian police choose to handle the issue over the next few days. An application for the demonstration will still be required of Bersih.

It is also vital that Prime Minister Najib Razak, whose suggestion it was initially to move the rally to a stadium, shows some national leadership and gets the Home Ministry and the police to simmer down as well.

If the Home Ministry continues to feel that the compromise is a victory for the government, then one may expect more flexing of muscles from the beleaguered and agitated police force.

In the weeks prior to the march, the Home Ministry and the police had been taking messy Draconian measures to intimidate the public and discourage supporters of Bersih 2.0. These included roadblocks, arrests of members of the Parti Sosialis Malaysia on the ludicrous suspicion of trying to revive communism in the country, the detention of people wearing yellow shirts and the holding and questioning of opposition leaders and activists.

For now, calls for the release of detainees have gone unheeded, and the police have been causing huge rush-hour traffic jams outside KL with roadblocks at entrances and exits to major highways. This is highly reminiscent of the days before the first Bersih rally in November 2007 and the Hindraf Hindu rights march in December that same year.

As with these earlier cases, the rally planned for Saturday was also banned, along with Bersih 2.0 itself, by the highly unpopular Home Affairs Minister Hishammuddin Hussein, who is the Prime Minister's cousin.

The drama of recent weeks, ending with compromises on both sides, has, to an extent, overshadowed the key issue — and this is what has left many Malaysians unhappy about the compromise stadium rally. Once the impetus of the march has died down, there is little that suggests the Prime Minister will be more willing to negotiate with Bersih 2.0 than before the intervention of the King. Electoral reforms may not take place at all.

Indeed, it is the King's intervention that carries great significance. Whether it was the Prime Minister or not who had asked for him to intervene last Sunday, the fact remains that Mr Najib has failed over the past three years to build up his standing as a national leader, despite his various reform initiatives and One Malaysia slogan.

His refusal to act against right-wingers in his party for apparent sedition has undermined what was a weak reputation to start with. By failing to use the law in a clearly fair manner and through the continuation of dubious electoral practices, he bears responsibility for heightening the public's need to respond against the downward trend in governance.

In the end, only the institution of the King could act as mediator between the two sides.

Through his intervention and decision to meet Bersih leaders, the King basically neutralised the Home Ministry's ban on Bersih. It is now up to the government to act in accordance with the unique stand taken by the King, or run the risk of being disrespectful to the only office left in the country which commands nationwide esteem. — Today

* The writer is a Senior Fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. His latest books include "The Right to Differ: A Biographical Sketch of Lim Kit Siang" and "In Lieu of Ideology: An Intellectual Biography of Goh Keng Swee".

Kredit: www.malaysia-today.net

Khamis, 7 Julai 2011

Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News

Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News

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