Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News
Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News |
- In quest to regain Selangor, Najib uses Budget as soapbox
- We can deliver
- 2012 Budget – Cornucopia Of Goodies For Votes
- No Need To Criticise Budget, Says Abdullah
- Hudud will empty out PAS’s non-Muslim wing, says chief
- Budget 2012: Hardly transformative
- Premier on roadshow to highlight Budget goodies
- You mess with the Sultan at your own peril
- WIKIELAKS: 2007 UMNO GENERAL ASSEMBLY FIZZLES, BUT KHAIRY STANDS OUT
- Replace Your Priorities In The Budget Or You Will Soon Be Replaced!
- Errant policeMAN will face disciplinary committee
- Kelantan to go ahead with hudud
- Najib budgets for Malaysian election
- Budget 2012: Nothing for Sabah
- ‘Unhealthy to overspend’
- “Borrowing spree to finance budget’
- Not talking about the budget
- 2012 Budget Highlights
- After brain drain, now capital flight?
- Dr M warns of long financial crisis
- Samseng bermotor serang ceramah Mat Sabu
- Najib defends his 2012 Budget
- Perkasa marah Namewee kebal undang-undang
- DAP lifts Manoharan’s suspension
- Greenpeace Speaks Up In Support Of The Vet Taib’s Assets Campaign!
- Malaysia Unveils Plan for Handouts
- QE II
- How to deal with racial politicking
- WIKILEAKS: VIDEO OF JUDGE FIXING ROCKS MALAYSIA'S JUDICIARY
- Something is not right at all!
- Malaysia’s Twisted Past
- Malaysia to Boost Spending, Help Poor in Pre-Election Budget
- Party matters most to voters
- Najib unveils ‘feel good’ Budget
- Budget fails to live up to reform pledges
- Allow me to respond
- ‘M’sia should have been a federation of three nations’
- Najib, wake up!
- ‘Rough sex very unlikely for Anwar’
- Najib to announce Felda's listing at KLSE?
- A free-for-all at PAS ceramah in Rembau
- Malaysian unis fail to make THE 400
- Unions flex muscles as BN, Pakatan vie for votes
- Dua Pandangan Juling
- Najib, what’s it to be? Free and fair elections after electoral reforms, or Tahrir Square?
- Putrajaya stands by refusal to charge A-G
- Media: Ketua Hakim Syarie dakwa Kelantan tak pernah serius laksana hudud
- Moving forward from racial tensions in Malaysia
- No Malaysian university in Times Higher Education (THE) 400 Top World University Ranking 2011/12
- So, teach me the 'jalan yang betul' then!
| In quest to regain Selangor, Najib uses Budget as soapbox Posted: 08 Oct 2011 11:51 AM PDT By Melissa Chi, The Malaysian Insider KUALA SELANGOR, Oct 9 — Two hours before Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim showed up in Ijok yesterday, Datuk Seri Najib Razak was already in the Selangor mentri besar's constituency, promising pay increases and clean water and electricity. Just the day before, the prime minister has tabled a record RM230 billion budget.
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| Posted: 08 Oct 2011 11:38 AM PDT By Eileen Ng, R. Sittamparam and V. Shuman, NST RAWANG: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak yesterday dismissed the opposition's description of the 2012 Budget as unrealistic, stressing that he would not have tabled it if the government was not confident of fulfilling its promises. "Of course we have the money and capabilities. If not, I won't be brave enough to table it. I would be committing political suicide if I tabled a budget that the government couldn't implement," he said after meeting some 2,000 residents of Kundang at SJK(C) Kundang yesterday.
Najib said: "T h at 's his answer, it'sa political answer. I want to know what he will say when we have fulfilled our promises." Najib stressed that the government's budget was drawn up based on facts, with the help of various exper ts. "The budget proposals were drawn up by experts in the Finance Ministry, Bank Negara, Economic Planning Unit and other agencies — not by fools. They are brilliant people. "We do not deceive the people. It is a commitment of the Barisan Nasional government. Our budget is transparent." He said what was important was the implementation, adding that all doubts would be laid to rest when it took off. He also said the budget was manageable as the government had pledged to reduce its deficit to 4.7 per cent. "This year, we had a 5.4 per cent deficit and we are monitoring our total debt, so we should be quite comfor table." On criticisms by some quarters that the government's projected growth of five to six per cent was too optimistic, Najib said it was made according to the present economic scenario and he was confident it could be achieved due to strong domestic demand.
"Given the economic scenario, we are confident of success, especially if the Economic Transformation Programme and other government projects are implemented according to schedule." Replying to a question, Najib said he was made to understand that opposition members of parliament were keen for a review of the allowances of MPs, adding that he was surprised Anwar had responded otherwise. "I understand his (Anwar's) MPs are asking for it. They told (Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Mohamed) Nazri (Abdul Aziz), so it is a surprise to me that Anwar has different views." To another question, Najib said cigarette prices might be increased in the future. "We didn't increase the prices (in the 2012 Budget) because it will encourage the smoking of illicit cigarettes." On preparations by BN Selangor to face the general election, Najib, who is also BN chairman, said everything was on track. But he said more effort was needed to increase support for BN. Addressing the people earlier, Najib announced that a 3.2km shortcut linking Kampung Baru Kundang and Bandar Tasik Puteri Rawang would be built by the Public Works Department at a cost of RM4.2 million. He said the road would benefit about 10,000 people who would be able to cut travel time from 30 minutes, over a 20km route, to just five minutes In Ijok earlier, Najib said the opposition 's criticisms of the budget showed that it had run out of ideas to attack the government. He said this at a meet-the-people event at Tuan Mee Estate. Najib spent about an hour with more than 3,000 people. He also presented Deepavali and Hari Raya gifts to about 600 people. Najib said the aim of the 2012 Budget was to ensure the well-being of the people and prosperity of the nation. He said the government had done an in-depth study of what the people needed. "I have outlined in the 1Malaysia concept several pillars, one of which is to be inclusive, meaning that everyone is taken care of by the government. The budget has fulfilled this principle as it will benefit all groups of people." He said the 2012 Budget had also focused on the Indian community whereby the government had allocated RM50 million for basic facilities in plantations. Najib said in the case of Tuan Mee Estate, he had spoken to Kuala Lumpur Kepong Berhad chief executive officer Tan Sri Lee Oi Hian and the latter had agreed to provide clean water to the estate. He also said prior to the tabling of the budget, he had asked all plantation owners to raise the wages of estate workers. Najib said he was told that many workers of Tuan Mee Estate had been given a pay rise of RM200 each. "I hope all estate workers will get a pay rise. We will take care of the welfare of all workers." He also said grievances about bus services and floods raised by BN coordinator for the Ijok state constituency, K. Partiban, would be attended to immediately.
At another meet-the-people session in Gombak later, Najib said the government did not copy the opposition's budget. "If we had, the country's economy would disintegrate." Najib also announced to the 3,000 people at the gathering that the government was allocating RM1.2 million to paint the Samudera Flats there. |
| 2012 Budget – Cornucopia Of Goodies For Votes Posted: 08 Oct 2011 11:32 AM PDT By Lim Kit Siang Prime Minister cum Finance Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak's 2012 Budget on Friday was a veritable cornucopia of goodies for votes in the 13th general elections – the most brazen and cynical budget exercise in the nation's history to reach out for voter support from a whole swathe of targetted groups comprising important vote-banks. But the inequitable and corrupt system which bred decades of injustice, inequality and exploitation remains completely untouched. The 2012 Budget is designed to win the next general elections for Najib and not to reform and transform the country's system, structures and institutions to end the rot which has seen Malaysia losing out in international competitiveness and being overtaken by more and more countries in national, economic and human resource development including in South East Asia. It is no surprise that reactions to Najib's "election budget" apart from the Barisan Nasional bandwagon had not been so ecstatic, with Transparency International lamenting that the 2012 Budget "fails to inch the country towards any form of transparency and accountability" while economic analysts describing it as a "non-event for the market" because of its over-rosy projections whether revised economic growth target of 5 to 5.5 per cent of GDP for 2011 and from five to six per cent next year or the projected budget deficit of 4.7 per cent next year. The question all are asking about the 2012 Budget is not whether Malaysia will become more competitive and better positioned to achieve the goal of a developed and high-income nation but whether it will fortify UMNO and Barisan Nasional's position in the next general election and save Najib's premiership. This in a nutshell is what is wrong about Najib's 2012 Budget.
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| No Need To Criticise Budget, Says Abdullah Posted: 08 Oct 2011 11:30 AM PDT (Bernama) PUTRAJAYA -- The opposition should not criticise the 2012 Budget just because they are desperate to make a statement. Instead, it should cooperate to implement the budget for the welfare of the people and national development, said former prime minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. He described the budget tabled by Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak as a "good budget" that would benefit the people in general. "They (opposition) only oppose. They also criticised me when I was prime minister. This is a good budget and I hope the government will implement it quickly," he told reporters after an appreciation ceremony for Artis Pencipta Alam (APA) organised by the Pulau Banding Foundation here on Saturday. The ceremony was in appreciation of 11 artistes who were involved in a visit to the Belum Rainforest in Pulau Banding, Grik, Perak. The visit in July was aimed at upgrading their knowledge in the functions of the forest in the protection of the climate and controlling global warming. |
| Hudud will empty out PAS’s non-Muslim wing, says chief Posted: 08 Oct 2011 11:13 AM PDT By Yow Hong Chieh, The Malaysian Insider KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 9 — PAS risks losing the support of and triggering an exodus from its non-Muslim wing if the Islamist party does not yield on the hudud issue, says PAS Supporters Congress (PSC) chairman Hu Pang Chaw. He said many members were unhappy about PAS's plans to introduce hudud law in Kelantan and warned this could cause non-Muslims to desert the congress en masse, damaging the party's chances at the polls.
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| Budget 2012: Hardly transformative Posted: 08 Oct 2011 10:26 AM PDT By Sakmongkol AK47 Here is the reason why PM Najib isn't heeding the unsolicited talking-tos and advice of Dr Mahathir. He has that one tool which he thinks can earn the loyalty and allegiance of people who will ensure BN stays in power. The BUDGET. It's themed as a transformative budget. The only transformative feature in a budget described to induce that effect, is converting a cashless person to a person with some cash through a sudden but temporary windfall. The jaga who is a former home-guard will get a RM3,000 windfall after which he remains a jaga to sustain a living. The language used is the language of a gambler. Hence, his minders leaked information that this is a break the bank budget, a language more suited to the roulette table. The house doesn't have sufficient funds to cover the value of the chips on the table. Yet it lets people win to encourage more to play at the table. Because in most cases the house eventually wins, so the PM's minders reasoned, that law will also operate on the 2012 budget. So spend. PM Najib is gambling. Create the illusion that voters can win by getting money now, while the house is depleting itself. But in the end because the house usually wins, Najib is going ahead to spend. At around the same time, a former PM who was also a former finance minister also never known for fiscal frugality, warned the west not to spend in denial. Was he also targeting our current PM? In a world set upon by slower economic growth, where do we sell our exports? Can we maintain our price of oil and gas to ensure we have enough funds to finance the 2012 budget? These seem to worry the finance minister the least for now. So, he will and can call elections any time. Best, call it before the end of the year. But then, Umno people are just going through the drill attending courses here and there. The Umno Assembly is slotted sometime at the end of the year. The PM is leaving for Hajj pilgrimage for about two weeks. Perhaps there he will be seeking divine signs on the dates to hold elections. God is on BN's side just as God is a Republican in the US. It's impossible not to win. I will say, the elections will be around March 2012. In recent years, the budget instead of being a solemn account of what the government earns and how it will apply and appoint the revenue has become Santa Claus's bag of goodies. The 2012 budget breaks all barriers — all social groups conceivable by the finance minister and the group which prepared the budget are included as recipients of some sort of money. It pays everyone to secure their vote. How the nation's budget is employed is not dissimilar from the way the Ketua Bahagian Umno of Pekan sorts out problems in Pekan — pay every damn person. That's a small way to make people forget about the trials and tribulations of life — the rising prices of food stuffs and goods, the horrendous levels of corruption and abuse of office for self-aggrandisement, the unfair distribution of wealth, the rapacious profiteering around government projects, the arrogance of those in power. The 2012 budget gives a pain killer to treat a more troublesome agony. With all the money that is going to be given out, the country will have excess liquidity unless it has the absorptive capacity. So where is the build-up of productive capacity to absorb the excess liquidity that will surely add to inflationary pressures? What we see is a catalogue of spending and not much information on an overall plan to do justice to the 2012 budget theme — to transform society. Mr Finance minister, Mr Optimus Prime falls short here. How do you do that? We can achieve that transformative agenda by building capacity, cultivating skills and other productive enhancing capabilities. We are deluged with the overzealous desire to hand out money to all sorts of people. Indeed, we appreciate and salute the sacrifices of the home guards, special constables and so on giving them RM3,000 one-off payment. That's RM500 per month if you earn a salary of a jaga which will last you for six months. The retraining scheme of our servicemen who serve no longer than 21 years has been an ongoing program since so many years back. So, it's just a re statement of an existing plan. There is always this funfair atmosphere surrounding the presentation of our national budget. Everyone thumps the table upon hearing this group will receive a one off payment, that group another lump sum payment. The loudest response of course came when PM announce MP's allowance will also be revised. A budget is a solemn document. It's an account of how much this country earned as revenue, its sources and then the proposals to commit that income. It's a revelation one the exercise of financial management and discipline. Those are the things we must direct our attention to. For example, everyone clapped when the finance minister said; this year's budget is a lower proportion of our GDP. Yes, but isn't our GDP this year bigger than last year's? Look at the absolute figure too. It's still a deficit suggesting perhaps financial indiscipline and even worse unjustifiable leakages. Have the leakages been dealt with? The budget is humongous — RM232.8 billion which is a lot of money, especially with a 9.4 per cent rise in expenditure. Despite the country's deficit being reduced to 4.7 per cent from 5.4 per cent of GDP, the fact remains that in terms of absolute mount, it would be the biggest deficit in Malaysian history. Biggest deficit. Our growth rate of five to six per cent? Malaysia should be performing a miracle next year. Our finance minister is confident that Malaysia will do a five to six per cent growth rate, whereas the world will grow from a negative figure to maybe three per cent max. So is the five to six per cent growth rate realistic and achievable? Or is our finance minister confidently pulling wool over our eyes? Please tell me — when is it, during the 50 over budgets presented have we ever heard the commentaries that followed the budget ever described the budget in negative terms? The analysts sometime behave like children just given some lollipops gushing with uncontrollable exuberance. Before the 2008 elections, Pak Lah presented the budget in much the same way — giving out goodies to everyone he can capture in the dragnet, yet it didn't stop the BN losing a large number of seats. So when friends told and confided in me, then the 2012 budget strikes fear in the hearts of the opposition, I told them to let the realities of the budget sink in first. Similar feelings were evident after the budget before the 2008 GE. I don't watch TV at all during a budget presentation preferring to listen to old school radio. Listening to just a verbal presentation, excludes the urge to agree on account of facial expressions, speech giving antics and so forth. Also I usually refrain from giving a spontaneous response again preferring further analysis of the budget. People can easily be overwhelmed by the feel good nature of an election budget. Did I say an election budget? That's what it is really despite the DPM's usual dour rejection to suggestions that it is. But nowadays not many people take the DPM seriously. So we can excuse his monotonal warnings and posturing. Nowadays people are easily charmed by the form by which the budget is presented. Hence people will comment on the language used by the PM, the way he presented it and so forth. This reminded me of the time when Anwar Ibrahim was the finance minister. He presented his budget quoting phrases from the Quran, almost all the philosophers known and read by him, used new phrases — prompting Johan Jaafar, then head honcho of Utusan Malaysia then, to describe Anwar Ibrahim as our best finance minister. We could almost imagine Johan Jaafar getting wet in the pants when describing Anwar Ibrahim as such. Today, Johan Jaafar is of course ensconced in the bowels of BN's media citadel somewhere. If he were asked to describe PM Najib yesterday when presenting the budget, he will likely do so with the same awed glorification. I don't understand why there is so much hype around a budget unveiling. It seems the politics is more important then the contents, ramifications and implications of a budget. It's also erroneously used as a platform to announce a slew of projects which has nothing to do with a budget. But this year, we are spared the announcement of construction of towers by PUNB, Felda and so forth. The finance minister stays close to the script. The budget is an account of money coming in and where the money is going. That's it. Then the issues and factors that have affected the coming ins and going outs. How has he addressed the issue of rising cost of living? People are sceptical about the official inflation rate said to be around five per cent. What goods and services are contained in the basket of goods chosen by Bank Negara? One year ago one kilo of ikan kembong was 60 per cent cheaper. So inflation can't be five per cent. The most important goods and services which the public are looking at are the price of foodstuffs — easily rising beyond five per cent, education, housing, transport, cost of fuels etc. inflation just can't be around five per cent. Will the disposable cash increases all around tackle the root cause of rising prices? What's the cause of rice shortages that forces us to incur large import bills on rice? Why should be allow Bernas to own a monopoly over rice imports causing market distortions? The minister has announced plans to develop the agriculture sector so that we can increase food production and so forth. That will take a few years down the road so that the immediate and effective way to sort out food import bills is to remove any form of monopolies.
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| Premier on roadshow to highlight Budget goodies Posted: 08 Oct 2011 10:11 AM PDT (The Star) - A day after tabling the Budget, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak went on a roadshow to four towns in Selangor to highlight the basket of goodies that the Government will dish out next year. He started the day by meeting hundreds of estate workers at Tuan Mee Estate in Ijok, where he explained that households with an income of below RM3,000 would be entitled to RM500 assistance. He said the Government had also set aside RM50mil to develop basic facilities for Indian communities in plantations. Before he left, he gave out 600 goodie bags in conjunction with Deepavali. Najib then headed over to Kundang New Village, where thousands gathered at SJK(C) Kundang to greet him. He managed to squeeze in some time to attend a private function before arriving slightly late in Rawang where thousands were also waiting for him. "I'm sorry I'm late. I attended a wedding earlier. I was early but the bridal couple was late," he said. He criticised the Opposition for calling the Budget he tabled "unrealistic" and a copy of their shadow Budget. "First they said it was unrealistic. Then they said we copied their Buku Jingga alternative Budget. "If it is true that we copied their Budget, then it means their Budget is unrealistic," he said. Najib later gave out RM215,000 to 39 hawkers whose stalls were affected by the construction of a highway in Rawang. His last destination for the day was Gombak, where he pledged RM1.2mil to repaint flats in Sri Gombak. |
| You mess with the Sultan at your own peril Posted: 08 Oct 2011 01:16 AM PDT
Dear Pete, After reading my piece in your website about Rosmah's presence in the closed door meeting between Najib and his aides in the Ministry of Finance prior to the presentation of 2012 Budget in Parliament, a veteran Johor UMNO friend of my Dad sent me an e-mail about the case of the Sultan of Johor being offended by Lim Guan Eng's speech. The gist of his very long e-mail summarised as follows: According to this friend, the Johor Royal Family has always stayed above politics and hates to be dragged into it, and the present Sultan has made this point crystal clear. It is the Johor UMNO that is always looking for opportunities to get the Royal Family involved to lend credence to their ulterior motives. UMNO has not learned their lesson after what happened during the Constitution crisis during the Mahathir–Iskandar era. Starting from the north, Kedah, Mahathir's home-state, UMNO organised rallies to gain support for Mahathir's proposals to amend the Constitution shaving off the powers of the Rulers, specifically that of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong for Dr M feared that the incoming Agong (which was to be Sultan Iskandar of Johor) would not give assent to bills passed by the Mahathir-controlled Parliament. When the rally came down south to Johor, who was to speak up for UMNO but Johorean Musa Hitam, the DPM then. Musa was obliged to speak and he did. His Highness Sultan Iskandar was fuming mad, and he ordered that all photos of Mahathir and Musa be taken down from all State Government offices. At a function in Saujana (the Johor MB's residence), the Sultan purposely arrived late to make Mahathir wait, a lesson Dr M never forgets. Then came the opportunity for the Sultan to teach 'this kurang ajar' anak Johor, Musa, a lesson. During a Friday prayer session at the Mosque in Kg Baru, KL, TV3 filmed this incident when Sultan Iskandar told Musa to apologise before Allah and the congregation. "The noble Brutus hath told you Caesar was ambitious: If it were so, it was a grievous fault, and grievously hath Caesar answer'd it," said Shakespeare. If Guan Eng had in fact uttered those words, Guan Eng has paid for it by publicly apologising to His Highness Sultan Johor, even though the Tuanku did not insist on it but was demanded by DPM Muhyiddin. DPM Muhyiddin knew what happened to Musa Hitam at the mosque in Kg Baru, KL, and he is very careful now to not step on the Sultan's toe. This sly fox is just waiting for Najib to make a mistake, for he also knows that Najib has been snubbing the Sultan -- probably because of some mega-projects in Johor which Rosmah wants for her cronies, but the Sultan disagrees. The Sultan is fully aware of Rosmah's unsatisfiable and boundless greed (maybe in her desire to overtake Daim Zainuddin in wealth). Muhyiddin is praying and playing to the Sultan that His Highness might explode and expose Rosmah's scheme of things to pave the way for Muhyiddin to move into whatever projects Rosmah is after, and also move into Najib's seat in Putrjaya. Don't forget, Johor State is the bastion of UMNO, which can tell Najib to go and fly a kite. It is common knowledge to Singaporeans that whenever they are in Johor Bahru they are targets for highway robbers, kidnappers, extortionists, etc., because of their vehicle registration plates. Big-time Ah Longs and 4D gambling syndicates operate in Johor Bahru. Before Singapore legalised horse racing punting within Singapore, all the bookies operated from JB. There are more money changers in JB than any Malaysian town, KL included, to cater for the gamblers rather than the shoppers. Obviously, the Home Minister, who is also a Johorean, has not been directing his policemen to get rid of these menaces from the Royal Town, and the Sultan being the Head of Islam in Johor, is not amused at all. We have heard rumours that Hisham is now aligned to the DPM and is forsaking his own cousin; politics at play. To all who dares to engage the displeasure of His Royal Highness Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar, let it be known that the same fate that befell Tun Musa Hitam awaits the idiotic challenger! As for Rosmah, her pedigree, background and education are thousands of miles behind those of the Consort to the Sultan of Johor, Raja Zarith Sofia except perhaps in money and branded handbags. J. ONG
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| WIKIELAKS: 2007 UMNO GENERAL ASSEMBLY FIZZLES, BUT KHAIRY STANDS OUT Posted: 08 Oct 2011 01:05 AM PDT
UMNO Vice President and controversial Chief Minister of Malacca Mohd Ali Rustam, just weeks after telling the press that UMNO did not need the votes of the ruling coalition's Chinese or Indian constituents, pledged that "in the coming election, BN (Barisan Nasional) will win in Kelantan." Mohd Ali claimed the Islamic Party of Malaysia (PAS) only won control of the Kelantan State Assembly in 2004 because UMNO members in Kelantan had failed to register to vote. THE CORRIDORS OF POWER Raja Petra Kamarudin
Classified By: Political Section Chief Mark D. Clark for reasons 1.4 (b, d). 1. (C) Summary: The United Malays National Organization (UMNO) held its 58th Annual General Assembly in Kuala Lumpur from November 5 - 9 and despite the usual fanfare proved to be little more than a pep rally for the upcoming general election. Although party elections remain a year away, changes were bothrumored and evident in UMNO's Youth, Women's, and Young Women's organizations. Son-in-law to the Prime Minister and Deputy Youth leader Khairy Jamaluddin appeared to be the heir apparent for the Youth chief post and rumors continued to float that Youth and Sports Minister Azalina Othman Said would challenge International Trade Minister Rafidah Aziz for the top Women's post next year. Considerably toned down from last year's convention, delegates abandoned attacks against other ethnic groups as the party focused on issues of unity, solidarity and electoral preparedness. Khairy Jamaluddin was the charismatic star of the assembly and seemed to set the agenda for his father-in-law, party president and Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi. Khairy and Abdullah spoke on a number of similar issues, including the necessity of ending fuel subsidies and of the need for the police to deter illegal street demonstrations. Abdullah threatened the opposition not to challenge his authority and resolve, but found himself and the whole assembly upstaged by a mass street protest on November 10 (ref A). Recent mass demonstrations seem to have undermined UMNO's election optimism, and Abdullah finds himself in a particularly difficult position of having to repeat his performance of the 2004 general elections when his coalition parties won 90 percent of the seats in Parliament. End Summary. Focusing on the general election 2. (SBU) UMNO's 58th Annual General Assembly, which ran November 5 - 9, was little more than a pep rally for the upcoming general election, and one whose impact lasted less than 24 hours as public attention shifted to the successful opposition-led Bersih rally on November 10 (ref A) and the ensuing street demonstrations that dominated November and December. Gone were the television cameras which showed to Malaysia's minorities the hate speeches of the 2006 assembly and the political maneuvering of the Abdullah - Mahathir rivalry. Instead, UMNO politicians from the grassroots to the Supreme Council pledged solidarity, tolerance, and above all else, electoral success. Leaders warned members to steer clear of divisiveness ahead of the general elections, focused on interracial themes, and promised that party elections and internal politics could wait until after the general elections were held. Throughout the week UMNO owned and controlled newspapers ran headlines with themes of "SOLIDARITY" and "WE'RE READY". Auxiliaries look toward succession 3. (SBU) As is the annual fare for all UMNO General Assemblies, the Youth, Women's and Young Women's assemblies occupied the first two days of the conference. Despite pledges to delay maneuverings for party leadership positions until after the general elections, rumors continued to circulate that Youth and Sports Minister Azalina Othman Said would challenge International Trade Minister Rafidah Aziz for the top Women's post next year. Young Women's leader Noraini Ahmad has already surpassed the maximum age for membership in UMNO's Puteri organization, and her speeches clearly indicated this was her farewell year as Young Women's (Puteri) chief. Youth Chief and Education Minister Hishamuddin Hussein was also on his farewell tour, evidenced by nearly every Youth speech thanking him for his leadership and honoring him as the inspiration of UMNO Youth. At one point early in the Youth assembly, a video was played with accolades for Hishamuddin's leadership and concluded with a clip of Deputy Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin raising the national flag during the recent Independence Day celebration. Hishamuddin then began his address by speaking of unity and continuity within UMNO Youth, symbolically placing the future of UMNO Youth into the care of his deputy Khairy. Abdullah's leitmotif 4. (C) UMNO President and Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi opened the 2007 General Assembly in his typical lack-luster, uncharismatic style, but touched on his standard tranche of issues that promised to be campaign topics for the upcoming elections. While a noticeable number of UMNO delegates read newspapers or napped, Abdullah spoke for some 80 minutes on Islam, government linked companies (GLCs), public services, growth corridors, human capital and education. Noticeable sound-bites for upcoming Barisan Nasional campaigns were scattered throughout his speech, and Abdullah made frequent reference to harmony among Malaysia's various communities and national development projects that would address the needs of all Malaysians. Nevertheless, the Malay agenda remained an underlying message and attracted the most audience interest. Abdullah ensured that threats to Malay supremacy would not be tolerated: "Other communities must appreciate the sensitivities of Malays," Abdullah said. "Basic matters relating to the sanctity of religion, beliefs and practices, Malay interests and the social contract between the communities are sacred to us and should not be raised. Similarly, the basic issues that were agreed upon at the time the Federal Constitution was drafted are non-negotiable." 5. (SBU) As he has done every year since 2004, Abdullah gave particular attention to Islam and reiterated his concept of Islam Hadhari or "Civilizational Islam". Of note, Abdullah stated: "UMNO is committed to strengthening Islam and will not apologize for doing it. Islam promotes moderation. . . We give the assurance that UMNO will not endorse a narrow interpretation of Islam. UMNO opposes the culture of violence...Islam must be identified as a religion that dispenses justice, prohibits inequity and rejects violence." Abdullah spent considerable time touting Malaysia's efforts and successes in the Islamic finance sector and in the halal food sector. He promised that Malaysia would continue its efforts aimed at becoming "a premier global Islamic center." "We're ready, Pak Lah. Call the elections" 6. (C) Over the proceeding two days, dozens of delegates addressed the assembly with their usual calls for limiting the number of foreign workers in Malaysia, demanding expanded use of the Malay language in public schools, and encouraging development in the Malay heartland. However, notwithstanding the usual ethno-centric appeals to the UMNO base, the topic of the coming general elections always returned. UMNO Vice President and controversial Chief Minister of Malacca Mohd Ali Rustam, just weeks after telling the press that UMNO did not need the votes of the ruling coalition's Chinese or Indian constituents, pledged that "in the coming election, BN (Barisan Nasional) will win in Kelantan." Mohd Ali claimed the Islamic Party of Malaysia (PAS) only won control of the Kelantan State Assembly in 2004 because UMNO members in Kelantan had failed to register to vote. "I hope after this assembly, the delegates can prepare a list of members who have yet to register as voters and register them so that they can vote in the coming elections." Indeed, delegates throughout the convention waited with baited breath for the Prime Minister to call the elections, but such an announcement was not forthcoming. As one Puteri delegate said in her closing speech, "We're ready, Pak Lah. Call the elections. We just can't stand it anymore." UMNO is not racist, says Khairy 7. (SBU) Even the first son-in-law, Khairy Jamaluddin, spoke of the upcoming elections and warned BN's component parties to be happy with their share of the pie. "No one should accuse UMNO of being a racist party or label the Malay agenda as being a racist agenda," he said. "If we look at the allocations of electoral seats, the truth is UMNO could have contested more seats than what it has now, but this was not the case, as we are willing to give way for our BN partners to be better represented. If we are racists, we would not give away Malay majority seats," Khairy argued. With echoes of the 2006 assembly, Khairy warned that if any minority group wanted to raise issues of political equality among the races, then UMNO Youth would reciprocate by asking for equal economic clout. Khairy sets Abdullah's agenda 8. (C) Khairy's speeches, emotionally eloquent and charismatically superior to almost all the other delegates, were not limited to defending the Malay agenda. He also set the tone for many of the topics that would later be covered in his father-in-law's final address to the assembly. Two of the principal topics which Khairy introduced for Abdullah were, firstly, the need to end gasoline subsidies, and secondly, a demand for a police crackdown on the November 10 Bersih rally (ref A). 9. (C) Venturing away from his typical racial and political pandering, Khairy ventured into new waters by addressing issues of the nation's economic longevity, and tied future budgetary concerns to the government's RM40 billion in yearly subsidies for gasoline, natural gas, and agricultural produce. Khairy recognized the political suicide in ending subsidies outright, but argued that RM40 billion each year in the government coffers could "build at least two cities just like Putrajaya, nine bridges like the Penang bridge, or about 500,000 low-cost houses." Khairy argued that the government should implement a tiered subsidy system; continue subsidies for the poor but not the rich: "Why should we be giving subsidies to well-to-do people? This is not fair." With oil prices hovering at USD100 per barrel, Khairy argued, the current subsidies could not continue, or it would eventually bankrupt the country. Just "don't do it drastically" he asked. "Give us notice so that we can brace ourselves and not make it too burdensome on the people." 10. (C) In his final speech on November 8, Khairy also lambasted the opposition for calling on 100,000 people to take to the streets to demand "a clean election" (ref A). Khairy boasted that UMNO could certainly match their numbers in the streets, but such an act would only cause a riot. Instead, he called on "the police to arrest the organizers of the illegal rally." Nevertheless, despite his charismatic delivery, Khairy utterly missed the irony of his words when he issued the challenge: "To these people, I call on them to stop going to the streets and behaving like monkeys, and instead go to the polls if they want to challenge us," for only five weeks prior Khairy was leading street demonstrations in front of the Burmese embassy to protest the junta's violent crackdown on pro-democracy protesters (ref B). Abdullah agrees subsidies cannot continue 11. (SBU) In his closing remarks to the 58th General Assembly, Abdullah Badawi returned to his Wagnerian leitmotif and preached of economic prosperity, religious tolerance and the need to "grow human capital". Highlighting the economics section of his speech, however, were talks of ending subsidies. Abdullah agreed that fuel subsidies could no longer be sustained with the steep rise in global oil prices. He proposed a two-tier structure to ensure the impending price increase was affordable to those in the lower income groups. "For those who can pay, we set the price a little higher," said the UMNO president, but he did not indicate when the price increases would take effect. "We will restructure and subsidize at suitable rates and this will be the approach we will take in the future," Abdullah said, admitting that the RM40 billion-a-year subsidy for fuel was too much for the government to bear. "If the subsidy is reduced, we will have a lot of money to develop our country," he said, echoing Khairy's words from the day before. Abdullah: I will not be challenged! 12. (C) As calls from the Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (Bersih) resonated through the alternative media, NGO, and opposition network for a November 10 march on the national palace (ref A), Abdullah again was compelled to echo the words of son-in-law Khairy and called on the police to arrest the leaders of the "illegal demonstration." "They challenge our laws and our public order. They challenge the people because the people want safety, security and lasting stability. That's what they challenge, not me. But I say, I will not be challenged," declared Abdullah. "What changes do you want? Wait until the elections, then we will see together who will win. Or are you afraid of the elections, " Abdullah mocked. On the morning of the Bersih demonstration, Malaysia's newspapers headlined his warning: "I will not be challenged!" And yet, as the morning rose on November 10, and tens of thousands assembled in Kuala Lumpur from around the country to participate in the Bersih rally, UMNO's week-long annual general assembly was upstaged and lost all public resonance. Comment 13. (C) So similar were the key points of the PM's speech with Khairy's that some observers half-heartedly joked that Khairy must have written Abdullah Badawi's closing remarks. It seems improbable that there was no correlation of the two men's speeches, but it was Khairy and not Abdullah that had the most to gain from this year's assembly. Khairy's foray into the technical and economic realms of UMNO politics marked a strong departure from his previous role defending issues such as Hishamuddin's love affair with the Malay dagger (keris) and championing calls for Palestinian independence. The 2007 UMNO assembly marked a new era for the heir apparent, and his path to the UMNO Youth chair currently appears unchallenged and unimpeded. 14. (C) UMNO's principal objective in this year's assembly was to saddle the horses and prepare the foot soldiers for battle in the upcoming general elections. UMNO also intended the general assembly's messages to reassure its BN partners, particularly MCA and its Chinese voters, in sharp contrast to last year's divisive racial rhetoric that went out unfiltered to the Malaysian public. The ensuing street demonstrations of November and December, however, sapped away any momentum from this year's UMNO gathering. The government's counter-attack through its harsh law enforcement approach following the November 25 ethnic Indian protest appears to be an attempt to retake the initiative. Nevertheless, the recent mass demonstrations seem to have undermined UMNO's election optimism, and Abdullah finds himself in a particularly difficult position of having to repeat his performance of the 2004 general elections when his coalition parties won 90 percent of the seats in Parliament. KEITH (December 2007)
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| Replace Your Priorities In The Budget Or You Will Soon Be Replaced! Posted: 07 Oct 2011 06:49 PM PDT By Teo Nie Ching Najib Razak took two hours to deliver his Budget speech in Parliament yesterday - his longest speech ever since he was appointed as the PM of Malaysia. As expected, the goodies and sweeteners made the headlines in all the mainstream media but beneath the surface, the real extent of the Government's practice of cronyism and misplaced priorities is revealed. In the 2011 Budget tabled in October 2010, Najib announced a five-year freeze on toll rates on four highways owned by PLUS Expressways and in January this year, Najib again told us that several toll operations have been restructured following a review of transportation costs aimed at easing the people's burden. But the truth is, the compensation paid out to toll concessionaires has increased from RM200 million in 2011 to RM343 million, amounting to an increase of 71.5%! Therefore Najib's so-called grand transformation and restructuring plan is nothing but a scam as the Government is simply passing on the financial burden of motorists to all taxpayers in Malaysia. In Budget 2012, Najib also announced that all primary and secondary school fees will be abolished, beginning with the 2012 school term and RM1 billion will be allocated for the betterment of school premises. But what he conveniently chose not to mention in his speech was that the Federal Government's total development expenditure for education and training has been reduced from RM12 billion (2010) to RM8.5 billion - slashed by nearly 30%. As a direct consequence, there is less allocation for building new schools. According to the guidelines set out by the Department of Town and Country Planning, Peninsula Malaysia, in areas with a population of 7,500, a primary school should be built while a secondary school should be built in areas with a population of 15,000. In line with this ratio, we need 9 new secondary schools and 18 primary schools by the year 2015 in the areas that fall under the authority of Majlis Perbadanan Kajang. That's not all, our country needs more special education institutions for disabled children. Currently there are 21 special education institutions for the disabled in Singapore but there are only 32 in Malaysia despite the fact that Malaysia is approximately 500 times larger than our southern neighbour. I find it even more disturbing that the Federal Government's total development expenditure for defence has increased from RM2.6 billion to RM3.6 billion. Malaysia does not face any immediate threats to its national security. BN should review its priorities, failing which its position as the Government of Malaysia could soon be replaced.
TEO NIE CHING is MP for Serdang |
| Errant policeMAN will face disciplinary committee Posted: 07 Oct 2011 06:37 PM PDT (The Malaysian Insider) - KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 8 — City police chief Datuk Mohamad Salleh pledged today that action would be taken against the police corporal responsible for the tear gas incident at the Tung Shin Hospital during the Bersih 2.0 rally. In a report made public on Tuesday, the Health Ministry had ascertained that the policeman acted in an unethical manner and breached standard operation procedures (SOP) when dispersing demonstrators who gathered to call for free and fair elections on July 9. The report prompted a statement from the Home Ministry secretary-general Tan Sri Mahmood Adam that the policeman would be referred to the police disciplinary committee. "He is still performing his duties as a policeman for now as we have yet to record his statement over the matter," Mohamad said today. Police had absolved themselves of any wrongdoing during the July 9 rally after setting up six internal teams to investigate claims of police brutality that followed after nearly 1,700 were arrested, scores injured and an ex-soldier died during chaotic scenes in the capital. But Health Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai ordered a second probe into the Tung Shin incident on July 14 after a group of medical consultants had written to the media refuting the hospital board and police who claimed that no gas canisters or water cannons were fired into the hospital.
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| Kelantan to go ahead with hudud Posted: 07 Oct 2011 05:56 PM PDT By Sulaiman Jaafar, NST KOTA BARU: Kelantan is ready to implement hudud without getting the approval from the Federal Government. However, Menteri Besar Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat said yesterday that it would take some time before this could be realised. Nik Aziz, who is Pas spiritual adviser, said a special committee would be formed soon to ensure that the process of implementation was done smoothly. "The committee will undertake the task of how to gazette (the laws), the appointment of judges and various other matters while all technical matters will be undertaken by officers. "It cannot be done quickly although we have been giving courses each year to our officers," he said after his weekly religious talk at the state Pas headquarters here. The Kelantan state assembly passed the Syariah Criminal Code enactment (hudud) in 1993 but it has not been implemented. He said the state had been advised by constitutional lawyers that it did not need the approval of the Federal Government for the implementation of Islamic law as it was under the state sultan. The opposition leadership meeting last month on the issue ended in a stalemate. |
| Najib budgets for Malaysian election Posted: 07 Oct 2011 05:50 PM PDT By Kevin Brown, FT.Com When a middle aged prime minister appears in public in a t-shirt and cycling helmet, it is reasonable to assume that an election is in the offing. Najib Razak, head of Malaysia's National Front coalition government, said nothing about an early poll when he donned cycling gear at a rally in the opposition held state of Penang last month. But any doubt that an election is likely within months disappeared on Friday with a budget aimed at shoring up the economy and the coalition's core support among public sector workers and ethnic Malay voters. The budget offered what Bernama, the national news agency, described as "a gamut of incentives" to strengthen the economy, including a M$6bn ($1.9bn) stimulus package, incentives for the finance, tourism and hospitality industries, support for small businesses and tax breaks to help a proposed Kuala Lumpur financial district get off the ground. The budget provided assistance for regional development projects and the fast growing Islamic finance industry, together with a cash payment of M$500 to poor households. There were bonuses for 1.3m civil servants and more than half a million public service retirees – a core constituency for the governing coalition and its dominant party, Mr Najib's United Malays National Organisation. Mr Najib said the government's persistent budget deficit would fall to 4.7 per cent of gross domestic product next year from 5.4 per cent in 2011. But the fall appeared to depend on forecast GDP growth of 5 to 6 per cent next year despite the global economic slowdown and soft commodity prices. The Asian Development Bank last month reduced its forecast for 2011 to 4.8 per cent from 5.3 per cent. A significant slowdown could threaten the government's prospects in the election, which must be held by 2013. The governing coalition has ruled Malaysia since independence in 1957 but suffered a shock in 2008 when the opposition People's Alliance coalition won a large minority of parliamentary seats. The Alliance, which awkwardly groups liberal, social democrat and Islamist parties, has faced problems on religious and social policy issues and is hampered by the long-running trial of Anwar Ibrahim, its leader, on sex charges that he says are a government conspiracy. His government's popularity has improved following a series of economic and civil liberties reform initiatives, including the proposed repeal of laws allowing indefinite detention without trial. But the government also angered many Malaysians by its suppression of a peaceful march for electoral reform in the summer. "It is a roller coaster in Malaysian politics right now, and Najib's star is rising a bit," says Bridget Welsh, a Malaysia specialist at Singapore Management University. "But a lot of it is based on promises rather than delivery." |
| Budget 2012: Nothing for Sabah Posted: 07 Oct 2011 05:43 PM PDT By Queville To, FMT KOTA KINABALU: Former chief minister, Yong Teck Lee, said he is disappointed with the 2012 budget as once again Sabah is being treated as the poor cousin. He said Sabah is considered the poorest state in Malaysia but Najib's budget is only pandering to sectors where Barisan Nasional is likely to get votes. The leader of the Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) said it was clear that the RM232.8 billion budget is solely aimed at pleasing civil servants, teachers, Felda settlers, military and police personnel and the Indian community ahead of snap general elections. "These are the voting groups that the BN is now trying to improve upon compared to the results of the last general elections in 2008," he said. Yong noted that missing from the budget was allocation for the 300MW natural gas-powered electricity generation plant in Lahad Datu to power-up the electricity-starved east coast of the state. The plant was supposed to replace the cancelled coal-fired plant. Another disappointment for Sabah is the silence on plans to upgrade the Sandakan airport to international standards as promised by the Sabah Chief Minister Musa Aman last year. "The proposed Sandakan airport upgrading is now confirmed to be another empty promise of the BN government," said Yong adding that in the 10th Malaysia Plan (2011-2015), there was no mention of such plans for Sandakan and Sabahans had expected the 2012 budget to address this.
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| Posted: 07 Oct 2011 05:42 PM PDT By Teoh El Sen, FMT KUALA LUMPUR: An economist has expressed worry over the country's spending in Budget 2012, describing the huge increase of 9.4% to total RM232billion budget, from RM212 billion last year, as "not so healthy". "This is the largest budget in the whole history of Malaysia, though of course we are expecting it to increase every year…but this is a huge increase and that's not so healthy," said Federation of Chinese Assocation Malaysia (Huazhong) deputy secretary-general Dr Chin Yew Sin. "The government should be more prudent in the face of the expected economic slowdown next year and cut down on operating expenses," said Chin. Chin said it was also an unhealthy trend to continue to increase spending in operational expenses(RM181.6 billion, up 11.5%) as opposed to development expenditure(RM51.2 billion, up 4.1%). "If we look at the spending proportion, this year we've actually increased spending on operations from 77 to 78%(compared to 23-22% development expenses). During Pak Lah's(former Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi) time it was 75%," said Chin. Chin said it was better for the country to spend more on development–such as having more construction of transportation services, roads,and so on– as that would bring about more positive effects on the economy. "I suggest we should spend 70% on operations and 30% on developments. More development would only be good for the country," he said. Commenting on the country's bloated civil service, Chin said the government has yet to cut down on operating expenses,especially the RM52billion in salaries for civil servants. "The sum of RM52billion is about 1/3 of the entire operational costs. That's a big sum, and its still increasing, and that's not healthy." He noted that the numbers of civil servants is increasing , from 1.2million to 1.3 million. Chin commented that the government was attempting to pump more cash into the civil service to spur domestic consumption, and in turn, encourage economic growth. "I think the increase in government salaries and one-off bonuses would spur the economic growth of the country, as (those) would lead to more domestic consumption," said Chin, who added that Malaysia's current domestic consumption takes up 55% of the GDP. "Once they get the increment they would spend more, and we know that's a very large group. So once money is spent it was then would lead to higher economic growth," said Chin. Chin, who last year had expressed worry over the country's continually increasing debt, said it was a pleasant surprise that the government has projected a cut in deficit to 4.6% of the GDP. "The government has shown its determination to cut down 5.4% fiscal deficit, in this year, they are going to cut to 4.7% is considered a very good projection. Even my own prediction was 4.8%, market analysts had put it at 5%. It's out of our expectations and this is good," said Chin. "ETP, KPI, NKRA, they needed to spend. Now after the second year, the economy is more under control," he said, adding that the rate of smaller deficit this year gives greater promise that the nation can reach the targetted 3% deficit by 2015.
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| “Borrowing spree to finance budget’ Posted: 07 Oct 2011 05:39 PM PDT By G Vinod, FMT PETALING JAYA: Budget 2012 failed to address ways for the economy to remain resilient in the light of an impending global economic crisis, said Klang MP Charles Santiago. With the US and the European Union, being Malaysia's traditional export market, bracing itself for another economic slowdown due to its debt crisis, Santiago said Malaysia is going on a spending spree without a proper direction. Yesterday, Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak announced a RM230.8 billion budget that included a lot of goodies catering for the lower income group and the civil servants. Among others, Najib announced windfall for Felda settlers next year and pay hikes for civil servants from RM80 to RM360 depending on their grades. Calling the budget an election gimmick, Santiago said Najib failed to find ways to increase the nation's revenue base in Budget 2012. "And with our commodity prices falling, obviously we are going to continue borrowing money to finance this budget," said Santiago. Currently, he said, the nation's debt stood at RM456 billion, which is 53.8% of the nation's Gross Domestic Product (GDP). "And despite the huge amount of debt, we are still borrowing like there is no tomorrow. The fact is, our future generation will be shouldering the responsibility to pay off our dues," said Santiago. Citing example of the RM100 cash handout to students, the DAP leader said it would cost taxpayers RM53 million which could be better used to provide scholarships and rebuild dilapitated schools.
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| Posted: 07 Oct 2011 05:20 PM PDT
So, we will eventually lose these people when Malaysia is no longer lucrative. And we have already lost many Malaysian citizens who have sent their money overseas to invest in other countries. And this is not only of late but has been happening over the last 20 to 30 years, but has become more critical over the last five years or so. NO HOLDS BARRED Raja Petra Kamarudin
No, I am not going to talk about the budget. So many others have analysed the budget in detail so you can read what they have to say. What I do want to talk about is: how is Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak (or even Anwar Ibrahim for that matter, if he happens to become the next Prime Minister) going to stop Malaysia from continuing down the slippery slope? First we had the brain drain. More than one million Malaysians, the majority of them non-Bumiputeras, of course, live and work overseas. These are people with education, qualifications, and/or skills/abilities (and in many cases, money as well). I met many waiters/waitresses and restaurant workers all over the UK (all Chinese, of course) who were from Ipoh, Penang, Sungai Siput, Bukit Bintang, Jalan Ipoh, and so on. And now they work all over London and in Nottingham, Manchester, Liverpool, etc. And you know what? The minute I walk into the restaurant they start whispering. Then, one by one, they come over to our table to talk to me. They recognised me the minute I walked into the restaurant -- and this is because they read Malaysia Today. Yes, they may be merely waiters/waitresses or restaurant workers, but they are internet-savvy and loyal Malaysia Today readers -- even though you may think they are merely 'labourers'. And they are not here in the UK working in restaurants because they are stupid, unqualified, uneducated, etc. It is because they have lost confidence in Malaysia -- plus they get more money working in the UK than in Malaysia. You may think that the cost of living in the UK is higher. Maybe it is higher in some areas but not in everything. You can buy a house for 100,000 pounds (which will cost RM1 million or more in Malaysia for the same type of house) and a car for 8,000 pounds (which will cost more than RM150,000 in Malaysia for the same car). You earn ten times or more in the UK than what you earn in Malaysia for the same job but the cost of living is not ten times higher, especially outside London. Anyway, we have more than one million talented Malaysians serving foreign countries when they could be serving their mother country instead. And they spend their money here. They don't send it home to Malaysia. How are we going to convince them to come home to Malaysia and serve Malaysia? Then we replace these one million Malaysians with four million 'imported' workers. For every one 'quality' Malaysian we have lost we replace him or her with four 'lower quality' foreign workers. Is this a good exchange, quality for quantity? Then these four million foreign workers (many now given citizenship so that they can vote for Barisan Nasional) send more than half their earnings home. They don't spend their money in Malaysia. So Malaysians don't get to see any trickle-down affect. They send their money home. So billions of Ringgit leaves the country every month. Go check with Bank Negara if you want the details (which is what the opposition should be doing instead of arguing about hudud). Okay, that is about the brain drain. Now what about capital flight? Do you know that for the last 20 to 30 years, Malaysian tycoons have been quietly investing overseas? Some have even wound down their businesses or sold off their investments in Malaysia to transfer their operations and investments to other countries. The government screams about how great Malaysia's FDI is. It is like screaming about how much money I earn every month. Yay, I earn RM5,000 a month! But I do not tell you that I spend RM10,000 a month. So what's so great about my RM5,000 earnings a month? Sure, we have FDIs. But the foreign investors are only here because they can make money. Many foreign companies even have a policy of not buying property in Malaysia. They would rather rent, even if they have to pay more for rental compared to if they bought this property. This is so that they can wind up their operation and go home super-fast if they need to. If they own property, it takes longer to get out of Malaysia because they need to sell of their assets first. So rent, don't buy. So you see, they do not intend to become Malaysian 'corporate citizens'. They just want to make money and then go home when they can't make money any longer. They are not loyal to the country. They are just loyal to money. So, we will eventually lose these people when Malaysia is no longer lucrative. And we have already lost many Malaysian citizens who have sent their money overseas to invest in other countries. And this is not only of late but has been happening over the last 20 to 30 years, but has become more critical over the last five years or so. As I said, I do not want to talk about the budget. That's because I am not impressed. I want to know how the government (and the opposition if it becomes the government) is going to stop Malaysia from continuing down this slippery slope of brain drain and capital flight. Please also read this: After brain drain, now capital flight? |
| Posted: 07 Oct 2011 04:17 PM PDT
TAN SRI ROBERT PHANG he following are the highlights of the 2012 Budget tabled by Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak, who is also Finance Minister, at the Dewan Rakyat on Friday: * Government will introduce other transformation programmes, culminating in the National Transformation Policy, effective 2011-2020. * RM232.8 billion allocated to implement all government development plans, focusing on the well-being of the rakyat, with RM181.6 billion for operating expenditure and RM51.2 billion for development expenditure. * RM13.6 billion allocated to the social sector, including education, training, health, welfare, housing and community development. * Government will implement a special stimulus package through private financing initiative, through which total projects amounting RM6 billion will be carried out. * 2012 announced as the year of National Innovation Movement, with a RM100 million allocation to implement several strategic initiatives. * RM50.2 billion for the education sector, with a development allocation of RM1.9 billion for the Education Ministry to be spent on all types of schools. * RM1 billion to be provided through a special fund for the construction, improvement and maintenance of schools, particularly to cater to their immediate needs. * Abolition of RM24.50 and RM33.50 for co-curriculum, internal test papers, Malaysian Schools Sports Council fees and insurance premium involving students in primary and secondary schools respectively, beginning the 2012 school year. * Financial contributions from companies and individuals to upgrade school facilities to be eligible for tax deductions, to encourage more charitable activities. * Existing National Agrobusiness Terminal (TEMAN) in Wakaf Che Yeh (Kelantan) and Gopeng (Perak) will be developed as Rural Transformation Centres pilot projects, with four more RTCs to be developed in Kedah, Johor, sabah and Sarawak. * Establishment of Professional Services Fund to encourage professionals such as lawyers, doctors and accountants to set up firms in small towns, with BSN providing RM100 million for soft loans with an interest of 4 per cent. * RM110 million for the implementation of the Rural Mega Leap Programme covering 6,500 hectares in 11 Agropolitan Projects nationwide for the cultivation of commodity and cash crops as well as cage fish culture. * RM140 million to implement RISDA's new planting and rubber re-planting programmes benefiting 20,000 smallholders. * RM5 billion proposed to strengthen the development of rural basic infrastructure in a more comprehensive manner. * RM500 million to continue implementing projects to upgrade basic infrastructure under "Projek Penyelenggaraan Infrastruktur Awam" and "Projek Infrastruktur Asas", providing opportunities for 29,000 Class F contractors registered with the Contractor Service Sector. * RM50 million to expand rainwater harvesting programme to Sabah. * RM400 million to upgrade water supply infrastructure in selected Felda areas, besides RM50 million to connect the reticulation system in estates to the main pipes. * RM150 million to be provided to the Public Transport Development Fund in the SME Bank to enhance bus services for the rural community. * RM90 million for the provision of basic necessities which includes expanding the clean water supply project as well as income generating programmes for the Orang Asli community. * Introduction of the New Civil Service Remuneration Scheme (SBPA) to replace the current scheme. * Improving the salary of civil servants through a single-tier structure with additional increments to enable civil servants to continue receiving annual increments over a longer period. * Annual increment of civil servants to be increased between RM80 and RM320 according to their grades, beginning 2012. Those who opt for the SBPA will receive an annual increment of between 7 per cent and 13 per cent. * With the implementation of SBPA, more than 600,000 government pensioners will benefit from a pension adjustment involving an allocation of RM600 million. * Effective 2013, the government will implement an annual pension increment of 2 per cent without having to wait for any review of the remuneration system or salary adjustments. * Extension of compulsory retirement age from 58 to 60 years old to optimise civil servants' contribution. * Additional bonus of half-month salary with a minimum payment of RM500 for civil servants and an assistance of RM500 for government pensioners, to be paid together with December 2011 salary. * RM120 million to offer 5,000 Masters and 500 doctoral scholarships for eligible civil servants, including teachers. * The government will offer 20,000 places for diploma teachers to pursue undergraduate studies. * A special one-off payment of RM3,000 to 4,300 individuals who have completed their contracts with the Department of Special Affairs (JASA) and Social Development Department (KEMAS).
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| After brain drain, now capital flight? Posted: 07 Oct 2011 04:07 PM PDT
The flip flops by BN on the abolishment of racial quotas under the NEM, the inability of MACC to make an effective dent on systemic corruption, the tolerance provided by the government towards Perkasa and the prolonged debate on PPSMI have all raised the level of uncertainty within the minority racial communities in Malaysia. Kapil Sethi, The Malaysian Insider PNB's takeover bid of SP Setia, merger talks between OSK Holdings and RHB Capital and Sime Darby taking over 30 per cent of E&O have set alarm bells ringing in the business community despite the prime minister's reassurance that the deals are strictly on a willing buyer-willing seller basis. For one, these deals fly in the face of the government's avowed determination to let the private sector be the engine of economic growth while it takes on the role of a facilitator. Where is the rationale then for the government taking over the management of relatively well-run private businesses? Even more significantly what is worrying is not the nature of the transactions themselves but the racial undertones to these deals. In most instances the sellers are Chinese and the buyers government linked companies. Even where the government is not involved, there are reports of major Chinese-owned conglomerates like Genting and YTL diversifying out of the country by making significant investments overseas. While it is nobody's case to argue that businesses should not be able to take corporate decisions as they see fit, are these isolated cases or part of a larger trend towards a minority community losing faith in Malaysia and expressing it through capital flight and physical migration? As it is, the World Bank recently estimated the size of the Malaysian diaspora at close to 1 million. Even more tellingly, 88 per cent of the Malaysian diaspora in Singapore with tertiary education is of ethnic Chinese origin. Decades of affirmative action has to a large extent contributed to this phenomenon, but recent statements from both sides of the political divide may have exacerbated the problem. The flip flops by BN on the abolishment of racial quotas under the NEM, the inability of MACC to make an effective dent on systemic corruption, the tolerance provided by the government towards Perkasa and the prolonged debate on PPSMI have all raised the level of uncertainty within the minority racial communities in Malaysia. If the growing emasculation of MCA at the hands of Umno is added to the mix, the picture for those ethnic minority supporters of BN looking for a continuation of its largely tolerant past begins to look bleak. The opposition too has not helped matters with PAS' strident stand on the hudud issue backed by Anwar Ibrahim's tacit "personal" endorsement of the same. DAP, despite its protestations of leaving PR if hudud is implemented, seems to be risking its support from its primarily ethnic Chinese base by its inability to rein in its coalition partners on this issue. Unless PR is able to revert to a unified position based on its vision of Malaysia as a merit- and needs-based welfare state rather than a theocratic Islamic state, it risks losing its support amongst the liberal educated urban voter across all racial communities, which have been its most vocal supporters so far. When social justice and economic equality are not forthcoming and both political options seem to be inimical to the minority interest, leaving the country for greener pastures may seem to be the only solution for some people. This has critical implications for the current and future competitiveness of Malaysia in the global economy. If the tipping point is reached (if it has not been already), the extent of human and capital flight will result in the country struggling to retain its current economic position, far from accelerating towards developed nation status. The current woes of MAS and TNB under government appointed boards and the lack of high quality local talent across business sectors are symptomatic of what the future of Malaysia could look like if these issues are left to fester.
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| Dr M warns of long financial crisis Posted: 07 Oct 2011 03:58 PM PDT
(The Malaysian Insider) - Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad warned the ongoing global economic crisis will continue long into the future as the West continues spending in a "state of denial." The former prime minister said in his blog yesterday that Western countries continue "believing that they can somehow continue to remain rich. They are unable to behave like poor people." On the same day Datuk Seri Najib Razak tabled a budget that aims to rein in the deficit to 4.7 per cent, Dr Mahathir said the West "will not recover because they are still in a state of denial. "They still believe they are rich, as rich as before they plunged into the crisis. They must keep up the big power wealthy country image even if their people have no jobs, riot and protest. "The great financial crisis will be with us for a long time. Even when it is resolved the aftermath will see slow recovery for the giants of the West," he wrote. "How nice it would be if our pocket is picked, we are allowed to print some money to replace what is lost," he said, mocking the United States' quantitative easing measures which has seen its federal reserve print US$3 trillion (RM9.5 billion) since the start of the financial crisis in 2008. "Now Britain is following in the footsteps of elder brother," he added, referring to the United Kingdom's recent move to print £75 billion (RM370 billion) to help distressed banks.
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| Samseng bermotor serang ceramah Mat Sabu Posted: 07 Oct 2011 03:50 PM PDT
(Gambar: Amer cedera dimuka terpaksa menerima tujuh jahitan) (Harakah Daily) - Persatuan Anak Peneroka Felda Kebangsaan (Anak) kesal dengan insiden gangguan pada program anjurannya di Dataran Cikgu Mala, Tenang, malam tadi meskipun ianya mendapat permit. Kemeriahan Program Pelancaran Kempen Mansuh Hutang Peneroka dan NGO baru di bawah Anak, Gerakan Kebangkitan Peneroka Felda (Bangkit) itu dicemari gangguan melampau sekumpulan remaja bermotosikal sehingga menyebabkan kecederaan di muka seorang anggota Jabatan Amal Johor. Difahamkan, kira-kira 50 penunggang motosikal itu muncul secara-cara tiba dan berlegar-legar menganggu orang ramai yang hadir mendengar ceramah Timbalan Presiden PAS, Mohamad Sabu. Presiden Anak, Mazlan Aliman ketika dihubungi hari ini mempersoal sikap polis yang seakan-akan 'melepaskan' mereka membuat gangguan di tempat ceramah. "Saya sangat dukacita dengan gangguan malam tadi dalam pada program itu dapat permit polis. Ada dalang Tanpa mengetahui motif gangguan, Mazlan yakin ada dalang di sebalik insiden tersebut.
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| Posted: 07 Oct 2011 03:46 PM PDT
(Bernama) - Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak today dismissed the opposition labelling of Budget 2012 as unrealistic by saying they are just devoid of ammunition to attack the government. He said the proposals in Budget 2012 which he tabled in the Dewan Rakyat yesterday can be implemented by the government and are not empty promises. "The budget proposals were drawn up by experts in the Finance Ministry, Bank Negara, Economic Planning Unit and other agencies, and not by fools. They are brilliant people, with PhD. "The budget is not aimed at pleasing the people; we do not deceive the people. Instead, it (the budget) is a commitment of the Barisan Nasional government," he Najib spent about an hour with more than 3,000 people at the location and presented Deepavali and Aidiladha gifts to about 600 people. Najib said the aim of Budget 2012 was to enable the government provide for the well-being of the people and prosperity of the nation. He said the government had undertaken an in-depth study of what the people really needed. "I have outlined in the 1Malaysia concept several pillars, one of which is that we must be inclusive, meaning that everyone regardless of ethnic group or location is taken care of by the government. "In line with this, Budget 2012 has fulfilled the fundamental principle of, among other things, ensuring benefits for all groups of people," he said. The prime minister said Budget 2012 had also focused on the Indian community whereby the government has provided a special allocation of RM50 million for basic facilities for the Indian community living in plantations. Najib said that especially for Tuan Mee Estate, he had spoken with Kuala Lumpur Kepong Berhad CEO Tan Sri Lee Oi Hian and the latter had agreed to take immediate measures to provide clean and quality water to the estate. He also said that prior to the tabling of the budget, he had asked all estate owners, both government-linked companies (GLCs) and private, to raise the wages of estate workers. The prime minister said he was informed that many of the workers of Tuan Mee Estate had received a rise of RM200 in their monthly wage. "I hope that in the near future, all estate workers will get a pay rise … we will take care of the welfare of all workers," he said. He also said that several grievances associated with bus services and floods raised by the Barisan Nasional coordinator for the Ijok state constituency, K. Partiban, would be attended to immediately. "It was announced in Budget 2012 that households with a monthly income of RM3,000 and below will be given an assistance of RM500. "This means that every family living in estates in the country will receive RM500 next year," he said. Also present with Najib at the event were Selangor Umno Liaison Committee deputy chairman Datuk Seri Noh Omar, MIC president Datuk G. Palanivel, People's Progressive Party (PPP) president Datuk M. Kayveas and Selangor BN leaders.
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| Perkasa marah Namewee kebal undang-undang Posted: 07 Oct 2011 03:40 PM PDT
"Namewee ini bebas buat apa sahaja selepas dimaafkan," kata Nurul Izham Anuar. (Free Malaysia Today) - Naib Ketua Wira Perkasa, Nurul Izham Anuar menggelar kerajaan sebagai `serigala hilang taring' kerana takut bertindak ke atas Namewee yang kini menjadi pengarah filem Nasi Lemak 2.0. "Namewee ini bebas buat apa sahaja selepas dimaafkan," katanya. Menurutnya, pandangan beliau itu bukan kerana Namewe seorang yang berketurunan Cina. Beliau bertanya adakah Namewee dihukum atas kesalahannya mempersendakan lagu Negaraku dan azan? "Jawabannya tidak. Namewee terus kebal, tiada tindakan diambil ke atas penghinan Negaraku sehingga kini. "Mengapa dia begitu kebal,? tanya Nurul. Namewee pernah mencetuskan kontroversi pada tahun 2009 apabila menyanyikan lagu Negarakuku ketika belajar di Taiwan. Contoh buruk Beliau berkata, pendirian Wira Perkasa mengenai perkara itu adalah jelas dan konsisten. Katanya, Namewee adalah contoh yang buruk untuk diikuti oleh
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| DAP lifts Manoharan’s suspension Posted: 07 Oct 2011 01:56 PM PDT By G Vinod, FMT PETALING JAYA: The DAP leadership has decided to set aside its decision to suspend M Manoharan for talking about the national flag on his Facebook account. On September 16, Manoharan, who is also Kota Alam Shah assemblyman,, had written on his Facebook saying that the Jalur Gemilang flag should be modified claiming the national flag resembled the Barisan Nasional coalition flag. The DAP assemblyman went on to say that he had distributed the DAP flags instead of the national flag on Malaysia Day as he did not have the "heart" to wave the national flag. Manoharan was subsequently slapped with a six months suspension on September 27 by the party's disciplinary committee for his offensive remark. In a statement today, its central executive committee (CEC) said Manoharan's suspension was lifted as he had shown remorse by issuing an apology for his remarks. "And he had also deleted his Facebook statement," reads the statement. Meanwhile, the CEC upheld the party disciplinary committee's decision to suspend a Johor DAP leader for abuse of power. |
| Greenpeace Speaks Up In Support Of The Vet Taib’s Assets Campaign! Posted: 07 Oct 2011 12:02 PM PDT By Sarawak Report The Australian branch of the highly influential international environment organisation Greenpeace has stepped in to support the campaign to investigate Taib's assets abroad. The Chief Executive Officer of Greenpeace Australia Pacific, Dr Linda Selvey, has personally written to Prime Minister Julia Gillard, backing requests by the Bruno Manser Foundation, PKR and Sarawak Report for an investigation into the Taib family's string of investments in that country.
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| Malaysia Unveils Plan for Handouts Posted: 07 Oct 2011 11:54 AM PDT By James Hookway, Wall Street Journal Malaysia's Prime Minister Najib Razak unveiled a government spending plan for 2012 that pledged cash handouts and more benefits for ordinary Malaysians, while also shoring up the country's finances and reining in its budget deficit at a time of global economic uncertainty. Political analysts said Mr. Najib had at least one eye on the election that must be called within the next 18 months. Over the past month this aristocratic son of the country's second prime minister has staked out the center ground of Malaysia's politics, pledging to roll back laws that allow for detention without trial and to allow a greater degree of media freedoms in what is still a very closely controlled country. |
| Posted: 07 Oct 2011 11:48 AM PDT By Dr Mahathir Mohamad, The Malaysian Insider No. QE II is not short for Queen Elizabeth II. Nor is it about the great cruise ship QE II. It is about Quantitative Easing II, i.e. quantitative easing for the second time. What is quantitative easing? It is about printing and issuing money to overcome a financial problem. Lately Britain has printed 75 billion pounds to help distressed banks and others. It is very innovative. And very easy. When you lose money just print the replacement. If Malaysia had done a Q.E. during the Asian Currency Crisis, what would the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, the financial and monetary experts say? We would be condemned. We would be told that the Malaysian economy would collapse. They would make dark predictions about black markets in dollars as the Ringgit would be useless. It would be rejected. It is not money!! etc. etc. But the United States of America did a Quantitative Easing with the printing and issuing of three trillion dollars to help distressed banks and insurance companies. Now Britain is following in the footsteps of elder brother. How nice it would be if our pocket is picked, we are allowed to print some money to replace what is lost. But of course we cannot. Even our country cannot, although our central bank, unlike the Federal Reserve Bank of America, is Government owned. We were told that the best way to handle a financial crisis was to let our banks and businesses go bankrupt. How that would help I do not know. What I could see were people being thrown out of jobs and any number of social problems. But that was the "conventional wisdom". Why are the great institutions not advising Western Governments to let businesses go bankrupt? Ah! But they did. Lehman Brothers was allowed to go bankrupt. Did it solve the financial crisis? No. As far as I can tell the crisis simply got worse and refused to go away. They resorted to all the things they told us not to do when our financial situation was in a tailspin as the currency traders devalued the Ringgit. They bailed out failed companies and banks with huge sums of money, they stop short selling, they talk of controlling the currency traders, etc. etc. We recovered by doing the forbidden. But they have not recovered. My feeling as an economic and financial ignoramus is that they are not going to recover any time soon. They will not recover because they are still in a state of denial. They still believe they are rich, as rich as before they plunged into the crisis. And believing that they can somehow continue to remain rich, they are unable to behave like poor people.
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| How to deal with racial politicking Posted: 07 Oct 2011 11:44 AM PDT By Lee Wei Lian, The Malaysian Insider ANALYSIS, Oct 8 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has continued his pace of policy tweaks and minor reforms over big sweeping changes in his third budget since taking office despite the ambitious theme of "national transformation policy." After a week of heightened expectations that the budget will transform the nation and lower the cost of living, the budget speech delivered yesterday lacked any "Wow" factor in terms of deep structural reforms but instead contained a series of selective liberalisations, incentives and cash grants to target groups.
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| WIKILEAKS: VIDEO OF JUDGE FIXING ROCKS MALAYSIA'S JUDICIARY Posted: 07 Oct 2011 01:00 AM PDT
The reference to Wee Choo Keong seems to confirm that Lingam was talking to Chief Justice Fairuz as it was Fairuz who in 1995 as an election court judge upheld an election petition contesting DAP candidate Wee's victory as a Member of Parliament in Kuala Lumpur's Bukit Bintang district. Instead of calling for fresh election, Fairuz made an unprecedented decision by dismissing Wee and naming the losing Barisan Nasional MCA candidate Dr. Lee Chong Meng the winner. THE CORRIDORS OF POWER Raja Petra Kamarudin
Classified By: Political Section Chief Mark D. Clark for reasons 1.4 (b and d). Summary 1. (C) Former Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim rocked Malaysia's legal establishment on September 19 when he held a press conference to release an eight minute videotaped conversation purportedly showing a phone conversation between a famously corrupt Malaysian attorney and the current Chief Justice of Malaysia's Federal Court engaged in a judge fixing scheme. The Malaysian Bar Association and opposition parties called for immediate inquiries into the allegations and for the establishment of a royal judicial commission to investigate the Chief Justice. Malaysian political leaders, including current Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak, downplayed the revelations in the press, calling into doubt the authenticity of the taped conversation. Government controlled and influenced newspapers printed but downplayed the release of the tape, often burying the article to the lesser-read center pages, and avoided printing the names of the judges and political leaders discussed in the tape. There is speculation that Anwar released the tape at this time in an effort to strengthen his appeal in a recently dismissed defamation suit against former Prime Minister Mahathir. It may also be true that the tape is intended to force the retirement of Chief Justice Ahmad Fairuz whose ordinary contract expires in October 2007. End Summary. Anwar alleges Chief Justice involved in "judge fixing" 2. (U) Malaysia's judiciary came under the spotlight again on September 19 after former DPM and de facto Peoples Justice Party (PKR) leader Anwar Ibrahim released an eight-minute video clip showing senior Malaysian lawyer VK Lingam in a mobile phone conversation allegedly with current Chief Justice Tun Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim fixing the appointment of "friendly" senior judges. The video supposedly filmed in 2002, was posted on the online news portal Malaysiakini and on PKR's party website. At the time the tape was allegedly recorded, Ahmad Fairuz was the Chief Judge of Malaya, in charge of all High Court judges in Peninsular Malaysia. Among the cases "discussed" by the chief justice and the senior lawyer were Anwar's appeals and the potential appointment of Ahmad Fairuz as the Chief Justice of the Federal Court-- an event which eventually took place in 2003 when he bypassed several other senior judges in line for the position. At the September 19 press conference, Anwar claimed the revelations proved that his previous appeals against his sodomy and abuse of power convictions were tainted and that he was denied a proper and fair trial. Explosive Conversation 3. (U) In the video clip, VK Lingam is heard telling a person alleged to be Fairuz that "key players" should be nominated for judicial appointments in order to hear cases and deliver judgments accordingly. He exhorted Fairuz's loyalty and "sacrifices" and added that even former Chief Justice Tun Eusoff Chin had told him that Fairuz is "110% loyal." Lingam stressed, "We want to make sure our friends are there for the sake of the (then) PM (Mahathir) and the sake of the country. Not for our own interest, we want to make sure the country comes first." 4. (U) Also implicated in the conversation were business tycoon and former PM Mahathir crony Vincent Tan and his business partner Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor, then minister in the PM's Department, and currently the Tourism Minister. Based on Lingam's conversation, both Tan and Adnan had apparently played an instrumental role in the appointment of judges as well to secure the honorific title of 'Tan Sri' for Ahmad Fairuz. Towards the end of the eight-minute video clip, Lingam acknowledged, "you (Fairuz) have suffered... so much you have done, for the election, Wee Choo Keong, everything. . .nobody would have done all this. . . God bless you and your family." The reference to Wee Choo Keong seems to confirm that Lingam was talking to Chief Justice Fairuz as it was Fairuz who in 1995 as an election court judge upheld an election petition contesting DAP candidate Wee's victory as a Member of Parliament in Kuala Lumpur's Bukit Bintang district. Instead of calling for fresh election, Fairuz made an unprecedented decision by dismissing Wee and naming the losing Barisan Nasional MCA candidate Dr. Lee Chong Meng the winner. VK Lingam "Judge Fixer Extraordinaire" 5. (SBU) VK Lingam is a senior lawyer who came into the spotlight during former Chief Justice Tun Eusoff Chin's term (1994 - 2000) in office. Dubbed locally as the "judge fixer extraordinaire," Lingam was a sought after lawyer as he had the ears of the then Chief Justice and his clients won all their cases. Lingam's relationship with the former Chief Justice was so close that their families were known to go on joint holidays paid for by Lingam. There were also allegations that Lingam wrote some of the judgments for his own cases. In one example of a defamation case involving his client Vincent Tan against journalist the late MGG Pillai, it was alleged Lingam who wrote the judgment in his firm and dispatched the "floppy disc with the judgment" to the judge's chambers. He was also implicated in the Perwaja Steel Mill fiasco (a failed development project during Mahathir's era) where government appointed auditors investigating the failure of the project found exorbitant fees paid to Lingam's firm "for unsubstantiated services." However, Lingam's influence within the judiciary waned during the term of Chief Justice Dzaiddin (2000 - 2003) until Fairuz was named the Chief Justice in March 2003. Lingam represented former PM Mahathir in a defamation suit filed by Anwar Ibrahim for calling him a homosexual at a press conference in 2005. In July 2007, Judicial Commissioner Tengku Maimon Tuan Mat dismissed the suit without hearing the merits of the case and ruled that the suit was "obviously unsustainable" and "clearly an abuse of the court process." The former DPM has filed an appeal against the decision. Reactions to the Expose 6. (U) Former DPM Anwar stated that the revelations proved his appeals against his sodomy and abuse of power convictions "were tainted" and that he was denied a proper and fair trial. He added that the "scandalous" expose, "serves to collaborate our allegations of a political conspiracy of the highest level and corruption of the highest judicial office, seriously bringing into question the impartiality of judicial proceedings, including mine." Anwar, who was sacked as Deputy Prime Minister in 1998, spent six years in jail after he was convicted of sodomy and corruption charges. Although his sodomy conviction was later overturned, the corruption verdict was upheld. He added that the People's Justice Party will file a special appeal with the Conference of Rulers (a constitutionally formed council of Malaysia's nine sitting monarchs and four non-royal governors), to assume their "constitutional roles" and take appropriate action. The party has also lodged a report with the Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) and the Bar Council. 7. (SBU) Responding to the expose, Bar Council President Ambiga Sreenevasan urged the government to establish a royal commission of inquiry to investigate the video and the judiciary. She pointed out that rumors and allegations of such machinations have been rife and therefore, "With the emergence of this video clip, the concerns expressed by various quarters in relation to the judiciary can no longer be swept aside." Echoing the Bar Council President's call, former UN Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers Param Cumaraswamy (who helped represent Anwar Ibrahim in his defamation suit against Mahathir) told poloffs that only an independent commission of inquiry and "nothing less" will be able to clear the tainted image of the judiciary. However, he acknowledged that the UMNO centric government does not have the "political will to investigate the shenanigans in the judiciary." 8. (U) Opposition leader Lim Kit Siang stated in a letter to PM Abdullah that Chief Justice Fairuz should be suspended citing constitutional provisions that allow the removal of a Federal Court judge for ethical breach. He added that he had asked the Prime Minister to appoint an Acting Chief Justice and take "concerted efforts to restore public confidence in the independence, impartiality, professionalism, and integrity of the judiciary." Human Rights NGOs have also called on the Chief Justice to resign and urged the government to conduct a judicial review of all politically connected cases including former DPM Anwar Ibrahim's cases, appointment of judges and the sacking of the former Chief Justice and two Supreme Court Judges in 1988. A Mooted Response from GOM and Local Media 9. (SBU) The GOM's response to the allegation has been extremely feeble. Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Mohd Nazri Abdul Aziz, who handles the law portfolio, stated that anyone with evidence of wrongdoing involving the appointment of judges should forward it to the proper authorities to investigate. He added he would wait for the ACA to complete its investigations before making further comments. Similarly, Attorney General Gani Patail opined, "No criminal offense appears to have been committed in the video recording" but added that he was getting further opinion on the matter and studying other information in the video clip. Current Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak commented to the press that the "Government will first confirm the authenticity of the video before deciding on the next course of action." 10. (SBU) Interestingly the mainstream newspapers, all government controlled or heavily influenced, carried the story but downplayed the news by placing it far from the front page and by not naming the people mentioned in the clip. Instead the printed press chose terms like "a prominent lawyer", a "very senior judge", "a number of prominent judges", "a prominent businessman and a politician, both of whom were close to the then Prime Minister". UMNO-owned, Malay language newspapers did not publish former DPM Anwar Ibrahim's press conference September 20 but instead carried pictures of the Chief Justice breaking fast with the King and the Prime Minister at an official function. However, in the September 21 edition although they still had pictures of the Chief Justice breaking fast with prominent UMNO politicians, the Malay papers carried a brief report on the issue, buried in the back pages of the paper. Even "The Sun", an English language newspaper considered "more independent" than the other newspapers buried the news among other reports, seemingly because Vincent Tan, who is mentioned in Lingam's conversation with Fairuz, owns the paper. Former High Court judge Visu Sinnadurai opined to poloffs that the poor response from the government and the press was because, "it was former DPM Anwar who released the video." He told poloffs that the GOM will naturally maintain a distance when any issue involves the former DPM. Comment 11. (C) Malaysia's judiciary has suffered from allegations of corruption and political interference since the constitutional crisis of 1988 when the PM Mahathir fired the Chief Justice and several other judges and stripped from the constitution clauses guaranteeing the independence of the judiciary. Anwar's allegations and video-taped evidence came as little surprise to the nation, but highlighted and reinforced long-held doubts concerning the lack of independence in Malaysia's judicial system. The allegations of judge fixing involve several senior UMNO leaders and supporters, and it is highly doubtful the Government will find the political will to thoroughly and honestly investigate the veracity of the claims. Set against the back-drop of Malaysia's pending elections, Anwar's release of the tape appears to have political, as well as personal, motivations. Anwar's PKR party, and the opposition in general, have focused many of their recent campaigns on anti-corruption platforms, and this story adds another anti-corruption arrow in the opposition's campaign quiver. These accusations also give weight to Anwar's claims that he was unjustly convicted in 1998 and therefore should not be prevented from contesting a seat in parliament in the next election. While such a contention will undoubtedly fail before the UMNO-controlled election commission, it reinforces Anwar's PR-influenced role as a victim of a corrupt system. 12. (C) Given the story's limited billing and self-censorship among the mainstream press, it is likely the story will wither on the vine. In general, only Fairuz's contract extension lies on the chopping block. Fairuz has reached the mandatory retirement age for judges of 66, but it is common practice for the Chief Justice to receive an intial six-month extension possibly followed by subsequent extensions up to the age of 68. It is commonly held among Malaysia's legal professionals that Fairuz was seeking his initial extension in October when his current contract was set to expire. Whether the axe will swing remains a question. KEITH (September 2007)
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| Something is not right at all! Posted: 06 Oct 2011 11:24 PM PDT
J. Ong Prior to the presentation of the 2012 Budget by the PM in the Dewan Rakyat, Najib had a closed door meeting with his top aides of the Finance Ministry and the presence of Bank Negara Governor and the Chief Secretary to the Government. What we do not understand is what the f**k is the pseudo "First Lady" Rosmah among the attendees? She has no locus standi to be there, except if she wanted first-hand knowledge of the Budget, which is supposed to be confidential until and unless it has been presented to the Parliament. She wants to make sure her own pet projects are safely there, as she does not trust her husband's words! Is she telling us that she rank pari pasu with the other top cats, or even higher? No previous Finance Minister had their wife around during such private previews before Budget is presented. Not even Tun Dr Siti Hasmah. This woman is definitely going to cause the downfall of Najib and nullify all the hard work of Najib walking around among the Rakyat recently. UMNO insiders will not tolerate such behavior by Rosmah, and before Mahathir blows his trumpet of disapproval, I am beating Dr Mahathir to the gun, this time. **************************************************** NAJIB CHECKS ON FINAL 2012 BUDGET PREPARATIONS Najib, who is Finance Minister, spent about one hour at the ministry, during which he also chaired a closed-door meeting with senior ministry officials. Present were his wife, Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, Second Finance Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah, Deputy Finance Ministers Datuk Dr Awang Adek Hussin and Datuk Donald Lim Siang Chai. Treasury Secretary-General Tan Sri Dr Wan Abdul Aziz Wan Abdullah, Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Mohd Sidek Hassan as well as Bank Negara Governor Tan Sri Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz were also present. Najib is scheduled to table Malaysia''s 2012 Budget at the Dewan Rakyat at 4pm. In remarks made ahead of the event, the prime minister said that it would be a transformational budget for all Malaysians in line with the concept of 1Malaysia: People First, Performance Now.
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| Posted: 06 Oct 2011 07:24 PM PDT By Luke Hunt, The Diplomat Nationalism in Malaysia is a peculiar thing. And, at the end of the day, it's more about being Malay, Muslim and from Peninsula Malaysia as opposed to any of the other religious or many ethnic groups who have called this country home for centuries. Royal connections also help. The West Malay Islamic influence permeates across the country, often reinventing history with its own spin. Anybody who questions this is to be cast aside with the Christians, Shiites, Buddhist and Hindus who struggle to believe Malaysia is a secular country. In recent weeks, two people have emerged from the back rows of history to help recount that past. The first was pushed to the fore by PAS Deputy President Mohamad Sabu, or Mat Sabu as he's better known, who stirred up a hornet's nest by portraying Mat Indera as some type of original freedom fighter. It is, of course, nonsense. But PAS remains the voice of hard-line Muslim politics and many of them just don't like the idea that Indera was indeed a Communist who in 1950 led an attack on a police station at Bukit Kepong, killing 25 colonial-era policemen and their families. He was loathed by the British and locals of all stripes. As such, the attack would be far more acceptable if Indera's Communist bent could be replaced with something a little more worthy – like independence. This would make all those killings acceptable. But this would also be nonsense. No one knew this better than 86-year-old Chin Peng, Malaysia's best known Communist, who has lived in Thailand for half a century, where he is currently in a coma and is unlikely to recover. The family knows Chin Peng, who led the bloody 1948-1957 insurgency, is on his deathbed and would like the Malaysian authorities to overturn a previous ruling and allow him to return home. Should he die, they want him buried in his hometown alongside his parents. Malaysians don't like this idea because they fear his return will upset many. The truth is Malay leaders, particularly the Sultans, were happy to maintain the colonial status quo until Commonwealth troops had succeeded in quashing the Communist insurgency and the pre-ordained Malay leaders could take control of a fledgling independent country. Independence was gifted in 1957, and a vote of thanks for the 70,000 British, Australian, New Zealand, Gurkhas and Fijian soldiers who fought here and subdued the Malay enemy is unlikely. However, several attempts have been made to venerate Malaysia's first leaders as those who fought and won independence for a grateful nation. The reality is the likes of Chin Peng and Mat Indera were the only ones who fought, but they did this as Communists who wanted Malaysia transferred from the British Empire and brought under Beijing's broader sphere of influence.Malaysia, like Vietnam and Cambodia, was a battlefield in the Cold War between East and West. This wasn't what the sultans had in mind. To twist this conflict into a battle for independence is also to pre-suppose the British were desperately clinging on to a Malaysia they cherished and couldn't tolerate to see go. Far from it, fearing the insurgency was not yet over, many Malays were initially reluctant to accept the days of colonialism were at an end in 1957. To pretend any different is to insult the memory of 10,000 people who died during the conflict, which had one act still to play. Fearing the insurgency might reignite, and doubting their own ability to cope, the new government passed the Internal Security Act. This draconian law allowed for the detention – without much reason – of anyone the authorities didn't like for the next 54 years. This was one lasting legacy that can be traced back to Chin Peng, Mat Indera and the Communists who supported them. The repeal of that odious law has, thankfully, just been announced by current Prime Minister Najib Razak. |
| Malaysia to Boost Spending, Help Poor in Pre-Election Budget Posted: 06 Oct 2011 07:22 PM PDT By Shamim Adam, Bloomberg Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak pledged to boost help for the poor to cushion the impact of inflation and said the government will proceed with rail and housing projects to spur growth as the global economy slows. Najib, also finance minister, may table a 2012 budget plan for government spending of 230.8 billion ringgit ($73 billion), 0.5 percent larger than this year's outlay, according to the Ministry of Finance's 2011/2012 economic report today. Gross domestic product may expand 5 percent to 6 percent next year after growing as much as 5.5 percent in 2011. The budget deficit is forecast to narrow to 4.7 percent of GDP from 5.4 percent. The prime minister plans to transform the Southeast Asian nation's economy by improving efficiency, spurring investment and cutting a budget deficit that counts as one of the largest in Asia as a proportion of GDP. Najib has also promised to roll back laws that allow the government to detain citizens without trial, described by critics as draconian, as he seeks to bolster support before elections that must be called by early 2013. "Amid a challenging external environment, coupled with inflationary pressures, there is added pressure on fiscal resources to ensure that the domestic economy remains resilient and generates higher growth," the government said. "The 2012 budget will reinforce efforts to boost the competitiveness of the economy through the timely realization of reform initiatives while promoting inclusive and sustainable growth." 'Transformation Agenda'Malaysia has eased barriers to foreign investment since 2009, when the global recession hurt exports of the country's semiconductors and palm oil. Foreign direct investment rose 75.4 percent in the first six months of 2011 after growing six-fold to 29 billion ringgit last year, the fastest in Asia, the government said in the report. "The transformation agenda that we have embarked on will energize and return the private sector to its role as the engine of economic growth," Najib, 58, said in the report. "The private sector must commit to their investment and spearhead growth." Europe's sovereign-debt crisis and the threat of a U.S. recession have roiled global stock markets, erasing almost $10 trillion from equities last quarter. The benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI Index has dropped more than 7 percent this year, while the ringgit has declined 3 percent. The currency traded at 3.156 per dollar as of 3:46 p.m. today. "The challenges to the Malaysian economy have increased since the second quarter of 2011," Najib said. "These include slower global growth due to the fiscal problems of the U.S. and European countries, volatile international financial markets and elevated commodity prices." Economic GrowthMalaysia's economic expansion will be 5 percent to 5.5 percent this year, the government said today, lower than an earlier target of as much as 6 percent growth in 2011. The economy grew at the slowest pace since 2009 in the second quarter, climbing 4 percent from a year earlier. "The growth momentum is expected to pick up in the second half of the year on the back of resilient private consumption and strong private investment," the government said. "For 2012, GDP growth in Malaysia will remain largely domestic driven, due to heightened uncertainties in the global economy." Construction on the first phase of Malaysia's biggest infrastructure project, a mass rail network, will begin next month, the government said today. The building of a 100-storey tower, a new financial district and a township covering an area of 1,060 hectares will commence in 2012. Government ExpenditureTotal government expenditure in 2011 may reach 229.6 billion ringgit, according to the ministry. State revenue may rise 1.9 percent in 2012 to 186.9 billion ringgit amid higher contributions from corporate and personal taxes and income from petroleum, the report showed. The spending and revenue estimates in the economic report may change after Najib delivers his budget speech, which may include additional tax and other measures. Najib has tried to cut operational expenses, including trimming subsidies for sugar, gasoline, diesel and liquefied petroleum gas. The government will maintain the subsidy program to ease the impact of rising prices on its citizens and implement it in a more targeted way, it said today. Subsidies paid by the state to keep prices of fuel and other essential goods and services low will "remain stable" at 33.2 billion ringgit in 2012 from 32.8 billion in 2011, the ministry said. "The government recognizes the burden of subsidy outlay on the country's fiscal position and the need to strengthen it," it said in the report. "However, any subsidy rationalization will be gradual and the government will ensure that the poor and low-income group will continue to receive government support." Accommodative PolicyMalaysia's monetary policy remains accommodative and supportive of growth, the finance ministry said today. Inflation has probably peaked and price pressures may ease as the global economy deteriorates, central bank Governor Zeti Akhtar Aziz said Sept. 25. Bank Negara Malaysia kept borrowing costs unchanged at 3 percent for a second straight meeting in September after four increases from early March 2010 to May this year. "Domestic inflation is increasingly affected by external factors, including supply constraints," the government said. "Under such circumstances, sustaining a low inflation environment domestically is more challenging than in the past." |
| Posted: 06 Oct 2011 07:11 PM PDT By Santhi Oorjitham, NST Voters in the next general election are 10 per cent more likely to look at the party rather than the candidate compared with those who cast their ballot in the 2004 polls, according to a recent survey by the International Islamic University of Malaysia (IIUM). Crunching such numbers could prove useful as parties plan their election strategy -- right down to when they should announce their line-up of candidates.
Of those who looked more at the candidate when voting, the highest number came from the young voters -- 37 per cent of those aged 21 to 35.
The biggest jump is for supporters of DAP and PKR. In 2008, 54 per cent of each party's supporters would vote based on party, but this jumped to 67 per cent and 69 per cent this year. |
| Najib unveils ‘feel good’ Budget Posted: 06 Oct 2011 07:06 PM PDT (FMT) - KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak is unveiling the Budget 2012 in the Dewan Rakyat, which is expected to be loaded with goodies since the general election is around the corner. In his televised speech, the premier said the total revenue for 2012 is forecast to increase 1.9% to RM186.9 billion and the deficit to decrease to 4.7% of GDP from 5.4%. Last year, Najib said the FDI growth was the strongest in Asia and in the first six months of this year, it had already reached RM21.2 billion. Below are some of the salient points from the Budget, themed: "National Transformation Policy: Welfare for the Rakyat, Well-Being of the Nation."
READ MORE HERE. |
| Budget fails to live up to reform pledges Posted: 06 Oct 2011 07:02 PM PDT By Tony Pua, FMT The expectations were high for a pre-election budget where Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak will stamp his "reformist" credentials. It is for the prime minister to put into action the various reform pledges made in his cornerstone policy blueprints – the New Economic Model (NEM), Government Transformation Programme (GTP) and the Economic Transformation Programme (ETP). However, the announcement of the budget left much to be desired as little has changed beyond tweaking the budget of the previous financial year. Instead what is perhaps the most worrying is that Malaysians are like the proverbial frog in the hot soup – where the frog does not realise the soup is slowly but surely reaching the boiling point. We may not yet be facing the crisis of Greek proportions, but Budget 2012 is doing very little to avert such eventuality, leaving the Malaysian economy nakedly exposed to the inevitability. Our federal government debt has increased rapidly from RM242 billion in 2004 to RM363 billion in 2009 and RM456 billion in 2011. That represents a marked 88.4% increase in debt over the past 7 years. It is also an increase of 25.6% or nearly RM100 billion over two years. The increase in debt has increased the pressure on reigning in our budget deficit as our annual debt service commitments have increased to RM20.5 billion next year from only half the amount five years ago in 2007. While our federal government debt to GDP ratio is still at a moderate 53.8%, a far cry from Greece's 117%, we are not far from Spain's 64% or Ireland's 67%, both of whom are facing economic turbulence of their own. Our debt levels will only worsen in the next few years as we embark on record levels of infrastructure spending such as the RM53 billion Klang Valley MRT project which is expected to be funded entirely on debt. Wages and pensions At the same time, our public sector expenditure is increasingly mirroring that of the European countries with ballooning civil service obligations. The budgeted expenditure for wages and pensions for 2012 is a whopping RM64.1 billion, an increase of RM6.2 billion or 10.8% budgeted for 2011. The increase is even more worrying when contrasted against the budgeted RM36.9 billion 2007, a 73.7% increase in just five years. The GTP had promised a more efficient and cost-effective government and civil service. What we are seeing from the budget is only one which is indebting our children, entrenching our structural problems and very weak expenditure controls. Economic growth Despite the government's efforts in the ETP, our manufacturing and export statistics paint a starkly different picture. Our export sector grew a miserly 2.7% in 2011 against 13.2% in 2010. However, we should be further alarmed by the fact that the growth was a result of increased contributions from exports of rubber, paper, textiles, clothes and shoes which grew in excess of 15%, and the petroleum products by 9.3%. Our electrical and electronics sector, which constitutes 26.4% of our total exports industry, shrunk by 4.9% in 2011. From the above indicators, there appears to be a shift away from higher value-added export sectors to the primary products industry such as rubber, wood, textiles and crude oil. This is the exact reverse of what we are trying to achieve via the ETP. Budget deficit Based on the Economic Report, we are expected to meet our deficit target of 5.4% for this year only because our revenues had grown beyond the expected in the 2010 budget due to very strong commodity prices. The government has managed to collect RM21.1 billion of extra revenue on top of the originally budget RM165.8 billion. If not for the unexpected increase in government revenue, our budget deficit would have been a shocking 7.9%.
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| Posted: 06 Oct 2011 06:26 PM PDT
Below are just some of the many comments in my article 'So, teach me the 'jalan yang betul' then!' I would like to respond to them as I feel further debate or clarification is required so that we can 'clear the air' on this matter that appears to be dividing us and threatens to break up the opposition like it did once before about a decade ago. NO HOLDS BARRED Raja Petra Kamarudin
Dear RPK Recently your posts have become more convoluted with everything ending up in a paradox. Bear in mind I believe the majority of Malaysia Today readers are reasonably educated and have broader mindset, If they weren't they won't even bother visiting. I'm afraid if this continues, such tedious yet complex arguments may deter the growing viewership might plummet to the depth of the ocean. Malaysia Today is the instrument of the third force as you claim so cater to the third force. Stop this nonsensical bashing and continue to direct people to the right path. I feel that Malaysia Today has entered another stage of in its struggle for freedom. I'm pretty much aware that most of the people that visit have realized the Injustice that they are living in yet we are still confused on what to do. Yes, we know the system is corrupt, so what do we do? Do we just quit our jobs and protest everyday on the street or just keep on and increasing our political bashing on the net. Therefore I hope you could focus your efforts on the next step, which is showing the people what to do next. written by Almassy, October 07, 2011 05:39:22
MY RESPONSE: The fight for reforms or change is not a 'single-focus' job. It is 'multi-prong' job. We have to do, as what in the IT world they would say, multitasking. So we do not talk about just one issue. We take about many issues because there are so many things that ail Malaysia. We continue to reveal the transgressions of those in the corridors of power -- although due to the 'selective prosecution' policy that is being practiced in Malaysia (where those close to the powers-that-be are 'immune' from the long arm of the law) very little is going to come out of this effort other than merely 'educating' the Malaysian public so that at least they get to know their government better. To you, getting to the bottom of the hudud matter may be nonsense. As you said: 'Bear in mind I believe the majority of Malaysia Today readers are reasonably educated and have broader mindset….' I suppose this also means you. However, judging by the quality of the comments that you read in Malaysia Today, does this give you the impression that 'the majority of Malaysia Today readers are reasonably educated and have broader mindset'? The impression I get is that the reverse is true. Anyway, we should not just focus on the comments to form our opinion. Can 100 readers who comment give you a good yardstick when more than a million others who read Malaysia Today do so quietly without commenting? What about the private e-mails and phone calls I receive from readers who express their opinion and their opinion is they are not sure yet whether they are going to vote for Pakatan Rakyat come the next election? So we need to respond to what people say. This is because other people may get influenced by what is being said. For example, some are of the view that if hudud is implemented, pork, gambling, liquor, etc., will be banned. So we have to counter that. Some are of the view that if they vote Pakatan Rakyat then for sure hudud is going to be implemented. Again, we have to counter that. So we need to constantly rebut and reply to negative comments because, if we don't, then people might believe these comments to be true and Pakatan Rakyat is going to suffer a serious erosion of support come the next election. We are not talking religion here. We are talking about politics and reforms. But when religion is being dragged into politics, then we have no choice but to face it head on and address the issue. And that is what I am doing: engaging the religionists who want to treat this matter as if it were a religious issue when in fact it is a political issue. ****************************************** Pete, You are learned man and I sense that as you are getting old and perhaps been 'exile' for such a long time you are getting 'religious' in your posting. Also most of the posting are for argument. When one gets older he tends to be closer to his God or his beliefs. But Pete, MT is getting too 'religious'. Its time you go to Malaysian politics and as our election is looming you may have to use your MT to drive in some message of changes so that readers will be more updated about what is going on with our political parties. You have deep throat around and of course you always get the wind first. written by neilahmad, October 07, 2011 08:10:55
MY RESPONSE: I think I have covered most of the points in your comment in my response above. I just want to add one more point. Malaysia Today is not getting more religious. Religion is being used more now than before to gain political mileage. And this hudud issue has set the opposition back a wee bit and has given Umno a slight upper hand (which can escalate if we are not careful). So we avoid addressing this matter at our own peril. ****************************************** RPK, I would like to say that even you are not in the position to comment about Hudud unless you know more than the others. Why not we let people know what hudud is all about. Its not merely chopping off people hands... written by monty, October 07, 2011 09:29:10
MY RESPONSE: Hudud is not about religion. It is about the law and the Federal Constitution of Malaysia. And people well versed in the law and the constitution ARE addressing this matter. (See here: 'Right to question hudud law' and 'At variance with the Constitution') But then the religionists (in this case the Islamists) are shouting them down and telling them that they should not talk about hudud and that only religionists should talk about it. This is where we have to 'out-shout' them. Is hudud a religious issue or a legal cum constitutional issue? I say it is a legal/constitutional issue and it not only affects the constitution but democracy as well (if the minority pushes it down the throat of the majority). ****************************************** RPK, I think you should stop wasting time in changing or bashing the Malay Muslim. They are not going to change since they are brought up in such narrow minded. Don't talk about ordinary people even the educated Malays also sometimes act very funny when comes to religion. You should continue write about Islam because I believe more non-Muslim are starting to understand the beautiful of Islam and how open is Islam is. written by DR Politics, October 07, 2011 09:35:13
MY RESPONSE: Ah, this is my favourite topic. The non-Malays and non-Muslims lament that the 'noisy minority' is screaming their heads off while the 'silent majority' is keeping quiet. "Where is the silent majority Malays-Muslims?" they ask. "Why are they keeping quiet? They should speak up!" Well, I am one of those in the 'silent majority' that you are talking about -- only that I am not silent but I speak up. Do you want me to keep quiet and just let the noisy minority go on screaming? I can, if you wish. At least the Malays would not become so angry with me, like now. ****************************************** Most of the Malays can't even understand Arab language, what more to say understanding Hudud? They are depended to Ustaz, Imam and etc. Ask that particular Malay, does he fully understand Islamic law or the Quran? written by Meh, October 07, 2011 10:49:02
MY RESPONSE: There is nothing complicated here. Hudud laws, as the name implies, are about the law. The question is: which laws do we want for Malaysia? My answer is: parliament makes the laws. That is why we call them lawmakers. So, can we let parliament do its job? Now, if you are not happy with parliament, then vote the parliamentarians out of office. Install a new parliament. Just hope that the new parliament is better than the old parliament. And that is our job as voters. ****************************************** Conclusion : All Muslims are taught to think that way, but some like Azmi dare to risk his life and question the religious teachers and the Quran. That is the argument about. If no one question Islam, then the nation will be like Somalia and the Islamic nations. Saudi and Brunei had the money and their countries are built by infidels or kafirs or using kafir's technologies. What is there to be proud of? And for the information, today a Nobel peace prize may be awarded to a Muslim, but a woman, for questioning the Islamic authorities. Are you going to say that the Nobel committee had intended to insult Islam? In a democracy, we question all things and are free to think and follows our faith or believe in anything we want to believe. Sadly Malaysia is a false democracy - a semi theocratic and racist nation. How much longer are we going to lie to the world? written by earthman, October 07, 2011 11:09:43
MY RESPONSE: And this is the crux to the whole matter. In a democracy, we have a right to question and to express our views. However, when it comes to hudud, suddenly we have lost that right. Why is that so? Because, according to the Islamists, hudud is God's law so we cannot question it. So, are you saying that we need to suspend democracy? PAS introduced the slogan 'PAS for all'. 'All' would mean non-Muslims as well, right? Or is PAS going to change its slogan to 'PAS for all-Muslims only'? Malaysians have a right to defend their democratic right to question and to disagree. PAS should be the first to recognise this since it is accusing Barisan Nasional and Umno of being undemocratic. ****************************************** There are highly intellectual Muslims who support Hudud. Not just narrow minded ones. Why we support? We have digested in our mind that Islam is the correct religion. Then it follows the Quran is the word of God. And since the Quran says Hudud is just as wajib as solat and fasting we support Hudud. A lot of people do not even understand Islam how do we expect them to understand Hudud. The least they could do is to follow Dr Tan the Catholic Archbishop and study the Quran. Dr Tan after studying the Quran supports Hudud. But these people think they are cleverer than Dr Tan, the Catholic Archbishop. He is a well read intellectual with a PhD! I rest my case. written by johann, October 07, 2011 11:33:48
MY RESPONSE: I have already responded to this above. Hudud is about the law and the constitution, not about religion. You don't need to understand Islam to understand that. ****************************************** Generally it is true that an expert of any subject or skill is more knowledgeable than the non-expert. That is true for a Hudud expert when compared to the layman. However, in this case and the main point of Azmi Haron's contention is not about the contents of Hudud but rather 'In a democracy, EVERYTHING can be questioned'. If Hudud and its limits cannot be questioned because it is divine and God's law, then it should not be proposed for implementation in a democratic nation like Malaysia. Even if it is not democracy, normal human rights should grant permission to any human to question everything as a critical thinker. To demand that one should not question Hudud because one is not a Hudud expert is beside the point, irrelevant and a 'strawman' to the point debated in that article. As normal human beings with basic human rights, we need not be an expert on Hudud to question its effectiveness and impact on society. One need not be a professional engineer, theologian, drug scientist or gambler to raise questions when there are negative impacts arising from their activities. One can apply out-of-the-box critical thinking techniques besides employing other experts to handle the in-the-box questions. It is very easy to tackle the Hudud question. If one must insist on God-commanded-Hudud, prove God exists first. If one cannot prove God exists, then one should keep God & Hudud private for psychological/emotional reasons and not bring it into public where it can effect (in grey cases) non-believers negatively. No immutable laws carved in stone tablets for 2011 onward pls written by TMT, October 07, 2011 14:57:09
MY RESPONSE: I doubt I need to add anything more to the above. He/she took the words right out of my mouth. |
| ‘M’sia should have been a federation of three nations’ Posted: 06 Oct 2011 04:36 PM PDT
Civil society activist Haris Ibrahim says the original agreement in 1963 called for the setting up of the Federation of Malaysia as three separate nations. (Free Malaysia Today) - United Borneo Front (UBF) chief Jeffrey Kitingan wants two administrative systems to be implemented in Malaysia but civil rights activist Haris Ibrahim says this is not in the spirit of the 1963 Borneo Agenda. Instead, Haris suggests that Malaysia should have been a federation of three nations. The UBF is pushing for a "1-Country, 2-Systems" type of administration in Malaysia – one for Peninsular Malaysia and the other for Sabah and Sarawak. Jeffrey said this was in line with its Borneo Agenda and aspiration to restore political autonomy to Sabah and Sarawak. Speaking at its recent Borneo Tea Party gathering and Hari Raya open house held in Dataran Bengkoka, Pitas, Jeffrey said the vast distance between the two regions with the South China Sea between them emphasised their differences. "The differences in indigenous people, culture, language and heritage should be taken into consideration in the administration of the Borneo states of Sabah and Sarawak in addition to the historical fact that Sabah and Sarawak together with Singapore and Malaya formed the Federation of Malaysia on Sept 16, 1963," he said. Responding to this today, Haris wrote in his blog: "The then federation of Malaya, Singapore, North Borneo and Sarawak had agreed to come together and, without any loss or reduction in their respective status as independent sovereign nations, form the federation of Malaysia as equal nation-state partners within that new federation." He backed his view by quoting clause three of Sabah's 20-Point Agreement, which reads: "Whilst accepting that the present Constitution of the Federation of Malaya should form the basis of the Constitution of Malaysia, the Constitution of Malaysia should be a completely new document drafted and agreed in the light of a free association of states and should not be a series of amendments to a Constitution drafted and agreed by different states in totally different circumstances." Haris argued that Jeffrey's proposal did not honour the 18 and 20 points signed respectively by Sarawak and Sabah.
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| Posted: 06 Oct 2011 04:11 PM PDT
He must know that his credibility in the international arena is nothing to shout about and take serious steps to address the issue of electoral reforms. Nazri's statement proves that all along the government is not concerned with electoral reforms. Its claim is that "everything is fine, if not, how could the opposition win five states in 2008?" This statement is meant to deceive the gullible among the rakyat because the opposition won in spite of the dubious electoral system due to the overwhelming support from the rakyat and not because the election process is clean. Selena Tay, Free Malaysia Today The July 9 Bersih rally came about mainly due to the fact that the voter rolls were dirty and are still dirty. Hence, the name Bersih, which means "clean" in English. Due to the pressure exerted by the rakyat who came in droves to participate in the rally, Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak announced that a Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) will be formed to see to electoral reforms. The keywords here are "to see to". This does not mean that electoral reforms will necessarily be implemented. The nine MPs sitting on the PSC are made up of fve Barisan Nasional MPs: chairman Maximus Ongkili (PBS, Kota Marudu), Alexander Nanta Linggi (PBB, Kapit), Mohd Radzi Sheikh Ahmad (Umno, Kangar), Fong Chan Onn (MCA, Alor Gajah) and P Kamalanathan (MIC, Hulu Selangor). The three opposition MPs from Pakatan Rakyat are Azmin Ali (PKR, Gombak), Anthony Loke (DAP, Rasah) and Dr Hatta Ramli (PAS, Kuala Krai). The Independent bloc is represented by Wee Choo Keong (Wangsa Maju). Although the PSC seems to be a good move by the BN government, its sincerity and seriousness in implementing electoral reforms is doubted by its detractors who claim that the PSC is only "for show" and "an eyewash to hoodwink the public". Still, there are many who lauded the government's move as sincere and commendable. However, the PSC started on a wrong note when Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Nazri Abdul Aziz stated that reforms can still be implemented after the 13th general election if Parliament is dissolved before the reforms are implemented. It is pointless to have reforms after the 13th general election. This only goes to show that the government is not really serious about electoral reforms as what the sceptics have trumpeted all along. Bersih 2.0 has thus issued a press statement on Oct 4 denouncing Nazri's statement and urging the prime minister to give all Malaysians his word that the polls will not be held before the recommendations from the PSC are implemented. Government is not concerned Nazri's statement proves that all along the government is not concerned with electoral reforms. Its claim is that "everything is fine, if not, how could the opposition win five states in 2008?" This statement is meant to deceive the gullible among the rakyat because the opposition won in spite of the dubious electoral system due to the overwhelming support from the rakyat and not because the election process is clean. Had the election process been clean, the opposition would have already taken over the seat in Putrajaya! On Oct 6, the government's sincerity in electoral reforms was again in doubt when Ongkili made a statement that the views of Bersih 2.0 would not be taken into account! This is shocking indeed as the PSC was set up due to pressure from Bersih 2.0. Therefore, to ignore Bersih 2.0 is like eating nasi lemak without the sambal! Bersih 2.0 has indeed been cleaned out by the PSC, given that the statement came from none other than the PSC chairman himself. This brings to light the poignant question: why is the PSC chairman making a unilateral decision without the consensus of the other eight PSC members as the first PSC meeting has yet to begin? With the PSC starting on a wrong footing, it is highly doubtful that much can be achieved and it is likely that it will end up as a rubber-stamp committee to approve the current flawed electoral system. Thus, the PSC's sceptics have been vindicated even before the first meeting has begun. Foreign vote bank The three opposition MPs must do their utmost to see to it that the PSC is not a toothless tiger. As it is, there have been many adverse reports pertaining to the malpractice or oversight committed by the Election Commission (EC). Chief among these are the proven evidence that the names of foreign workers have been inadvertently or mistakenly entered into the electoral rolls although how this could have happened is anyone's guess. Coincidentally, the legalisation of the foreign workers came at a most crucial time (in August 2011), with the 13th general election widely tipped to be held by March next year.
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| ‘Rough sex very unlikely for Anwar’ Posted: 06 Oct 2011 04:07 PM PDT
Dutch expert Dr Thomas Hoogland says it is very unlikely for the opposition leader, who has a back problem, to indulge in the type of sexual act described by the complainant. (Free Malaysia Today) - It is unlikely for Anwar Ibrahim to indulge in rough and vigorous sex as described by complainant Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan, according to the opposition leader's spinal surgeon Dr Thomas Hoogland. Testifying at the Sodomy II trial today, the Dutch orthopedic doctor said that a back and forth movement done repeatedly would have caused "significant pain in Anwar's back". Asked by Anwar's defence lawyer Sankara Nair how he came to such conclusions, Hoogland said that as a spine expert it was his opinion based on examinations of Anwar and findings of MRI scans. "For Anwar to really vigorously use his back… I think when we consider the sexual act, it is very, very unlikely that it is possible; based on examination of Anwar and findings of MRI, it is not possible for a man his age (to have performed the alleged act)," he told the High Court here. When asked, Hoogland agreed that it would also be painful for Anwar to kneel on a carpeted floor. Hoogland had performed surgery on Anwar's back in 2004 in Munich, Germany. He also recently re-examined Anwar last month on Sept 8 and testified yesterday that it would have been painful for Anwar to bend his body for even 10 degrees, or to partake in "vigorous activities". Hoogland had said yesterday that even after surgery, which improved Anwar's walking abilities, the latter still suffered from arthritis in his facet joints, limited movement as well as nerve roots damage caused by a police assault in 1998. The then inspector-general of police Abdul Rahim Noor was charged with assaulting Anwar in the infamous "black-eye incident" which resulted in the latter falling and hurting his back. Hoogland said Anwar's 1998 injuries were "significant" and "traumatic" and described them as the beginning of all of Anwar's back problems as they were not caused by degenerative age reasons. CCTV footage shown During cross-examination by lead prosecutor Solicitor-general II Mohd Yusof Zainal Abiden, Hoogland was shown a CCTV footage depicting what appeared to be Anwar in a lift. Yusof pointed out that in the video, dated June 26, 2008, Anwar could be seen bending over several times while easily putting down and picking up his briefcase when he was in the lift. Quizzed on this, Hoogland said he could not really comment on the recording as some parts of the video playback was faster than normal and he could not ascertain how quickly Anwar was bending. "The video is speeding faster than normal. Some parts are real speed. People don't walk so fast," complained Hoogland, who said that he could not see if Anwar was bending all the way or just picking up his briefcase. He also said that he could not see the expression of Anwar to determine if he was in pain or not. "He is like Anwar (in the video) and he is able to bend. I never said he cannot bend in my medical report. Only that there is pain while bending and he has to do this motion slowly. Here we can't see if he is in pain," added the doctor. Hoogland had earlier said that it would be "very painful" for Anwar to bend his back and to pick up something, noting that he would need to bend at the knees. However, he admitted that it was possible to bend slowly. Could he be pretending? Yusof had earlier asked Hoogland if a person could easily bend and pick up a pen, without displaying any pain or hampered movements, what would his conclusion be. Hoogland, however, said that such an observation was not a usual functional test for doctors. Yusof: How about we regard this as a new test? Hoogland: Well I will suggest to my colleagues from now on and perhaps call it the 'Kuala Lumpur Test'.
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| Najib to announce Felda's listing at KLSE? Posted: 06 Oct 2011 02:22 PM PDT (Harakah Daily) - Prime Minister Najib Razak will announce Felda Holding's listing at the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange during the 2012 Budget speech today, according to a source. The source added that the decision was seen as climax in the ongoing clash between politicians and the management of Felda opposed to the move. |
| A free-for-all at PAS ceramah in Rembau Posted: 06 Oct 2011 02:17 PM PDT By Zehfry Dahalan, FMT REMBAU: A free for all broke out last night between supporters of PAS, PKR and a group calling themselves the movement to dignify national heroes at a PAS ceramah here. The group's, Gerakan Memartabatkan Pejuang Nasional (GMPN), target was PAS deputy president Mohamad Sabu, better known as Mat Sabu.
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| Malaysian unis fail to make THE 400 Posted: 06 Oct 2011 02:04 PM PDT By Yow Hong Chieh, The Malaysian Insider KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 7 — No Malaysian university made the grade in this year's Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings, which lists the world's top 400 universities. This is despite Universiti Malaya's (UM) greatly improved performance in last month's QS World University Rankings, leaping 40 places from 2010 to 167. Malaysia's oldest university was the only local institution to breach the QS top 200 mark after improving its academic, employment and international scores. US, UK and European universities continued their traditional domination of the league tables in the THE rankings released yesterday. The California Institute for Technology — or Caltech — secured top spot, followed by Harvard, Stanford, Oxford, Princeton. In the bottom half of the top 10 were Cambridge University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Imperial College London, Chicago University and Berkeley. Only 18 Asian universities made the top 200, led by the University of Tokyo (30), University of Hong Kong (34), National University of Singapore (40) and Peking University (49).
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| Unions flex muscles as BN, Pakatan vie for votes Posted: 06 Oct 2011 02:01 PM PDT By Shannon Teoh, The Malaysian Insider KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 7 — Local unions are re-asserting themselves in their quest for more rights and money, using threats of pickets over a key law and tapping rival political coalitions' eagerness to court workers' support ahead of a general election expected early next year. With Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak expected to announce an "election budget" later today, the umbrella Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) has vowed nationwide pickets against amendments to the Employment Act, which it said will allow employers to turn a blind eye to workers' rights.
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| Posted: 06 Oct 2011 11:33 AM PDT
DARI JELEBU Hishamuddin Rais Dari pengamatan perdebatan tentang Hudud hari ini ada pekara yang wajib saya timbulkan. Pekara yang ingin sata tuliskan ini ternyata amat terang dihadapan mata kepala kita semua. Pekara ini sedang berjoget dan bertandak dihadapan mata kita. Hanya kita enggan melihatnya. Kita gagal untuk merobek dan menilai pekara ini dengan kaca mata ilmu. Lalu kita semua membiarkan pekara ini terus berhegemoni dan membudaya. Pekara yang saya maksudkan ini ialah: Pandangan Islam terhadap Barat. Dan Pandangan Barat terhadap Islam. Dua pandangan ini untuk saya sama juling malah kadang kala bukan juling tetapi hampir buta. Biar saya huraikan disini dari mana datangnya kejulingan ini. Read more at: http://tukartiub.blogspot.com/2011/10/islam-dan-barat-barat-dan-islam.html |
| Najib, what’s it to be? Free and fair elections after electoral reforms, or Tahrir Square? Posted: 06 Oct 2011 11:30 AM PDT
Even as the committee discusses and discovers serious flaws in our electoral process, we, the rakyat, are expected to acquiesce to UMNO and BN going ahead to hold the 13th GE without those flaws being first put right. By The People's Parliament These were the electoral reforms for which thousands of Malaysians converged on the streets of Kuala Lumpur to send a strong message to Najib's government : we, the rakyat, are not prepared to have another general election until we have the reforms we have demanded. You will all recall that between the BERSIH 2.0 event on 19th June to announce the rally of 9th July, and the days after leading up to the rally itself, Najib, his ministers,Ibs and Perkasa, UMNO bloggers and the mainstream media were in complete denial that our 8 demands for electoral reforms had any basis. The sheer numbers, the determination and the solidarity of the rakyat out there on 9th July, notwithstanding the blockades to prevent thousands getting into the city that day and the brutal treatment meted out by the FRU on those who managed to get into the rally, however, must have sent a chill down Najib's spine. On 15th August, Najib announced the intention of the government to form a parliamentary select committee to look into reforms to our electoral system. "Recently there have been demands for free and fair elections. The government's response is that we will propose the setting up of a parliamentary select committee soon, which will be made up of members from both BN and opposition…The committee will discuss all electoral reforms that needs to be implemented in order to achieve bipartisan agreement without any suspicion that there is manipulation by the government," , Malaysiakini reports Najib as saying. Najib is also reported to have said that he will not form a government unless it is truly elected by the people. "Don't think that we do not want a clean process of electing the government, we are committed to the tradition of parliamentary elections," he is reported to have said. Two days later, Nazri Aziz brushed aside demands from the opposition that assurances be given that no general election will be called until the requisite electoral reforms are put in place. "They are a minority and this is the right of the government. They cannot dictate to us," , Malaysiakini reports Nazri as saying. Two days later, as reported in Malaysiakini, Najib reiterated what Nazri had said : the next general election can be held anytime and is not bound by the work of the parliamentary select committee on electoral reforms. Since then, rumours abound that the 13th GE is imminent. 11th November, 2011, cause Najib is fixated with the number 11. 5th November, cause, it seems, that is Rosmah's preference. On 3rd October, Parliament passed a motion to establish the parliamentary select committee (PSC) to look into electoral reform. Malaysiakini reports that Nazri Aziz, who tabled the motion in Parliament, when winding up the debate on the same, said that "PRU-13 (the upcoming 13th general election) will not be the last GE for Malaysia and after that the world ends. If a snap election is called, the PSC's recommendations can be implemented in the 14th, 15th, 16th and GEs thereafter." In other words, even as the committee discusses and discovers serious flaws in our electoral process, we, the rakyat, are expected to acquiesce to UMNO and BN going ahead to hold the 13th GE without those flaws being first put right. |
| Putrajaya stands by refusal to charge A-G Posted: 06 Oct 2011 10:47 AM PDT
Abdul Gani has been hit by a stream of accusations from Mat Zain and Raja Petra. — File pic (TMI) Putrajaya has insisted it will not take action against Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail despite renewed allegations of corruption and fabricating evidence made against the country's top lawyer. Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Aziz said that last year's decision to close the door on the A-G's alleged involvement in Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's 1998 "black eye" case still stands. "Same reply, same reply. I replied to (DAP adviser Lim) Kit Siang in Parliament before. The reply is the same," he told The Malaysian Insider when asked if Putrajaya would act on the latest allegations against Abdul Gani. When asked to state if the government would take action against Abdul Gani's accusers, Nazri repeated, "Same reply." In Parliament last December 14, the government side-stepped the damning accusations made by former investigating officer Datuk Mat Zain Ibrahim that Abdul Gani had falsified documents in the "black eye" case, brushing aside several open letters and appeals issued by the retired policeman.. Instead, Nazri had told the House that there was no need for Mat Zain to complain that the independent panel formed to investigate the claimed evidence fabrication had failed to clear his name in the incident. This, said Nazri, was because Mat Zain had never been the subject of the panel's probe and had merely been called forth as a witness to testify. "The MACC's (Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission) advisory board, though its letter to Datuk Mat Zain on July 23, 2009, had already stressed that there was no need for the independent panel or the MACC to clear Mat Zain's name, seeing as he was not the subject of the investigation in the first place," he said. Nazri also said that the panel had been constitutional, despite Mat Zain's claim that the Solicitor-General had no right to appoint the members. In his first open letter to Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Ismail Omar, Mat Zain had claimed that the right to appoint a tribunal only lay with the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, based on the prime minister's advice. Despite Nazri's response, Mat Zain continued his relentless pursuit to convince the government to charge Abdul Gani in court and, over recent months, penned more letters to IGP Ismail. The former senior police officer also went a step further recently by accusing Putrajaya of admitting to Abdul Gani's role in allegedly falsifying evidence when Nazri appeared to back the independent panel's findings on the case. He said with Putrajaya's endorsement, there was no longer a need to form a royal commission of inquiry or a tribunal to investigate Abdul Gani's involvement. Mat Zain also claimed that Najib was aware of Abdul Gani's involvement as the prime minister had been briefed and was provided "complete evidence" in October 2008, when he was still the country's deputy premier. Mat Zain said he had briefed Najib at the latter's Finance Ministry office in Putrajaya, adding that he had "assumed" the leader would take appropriate action once he took up the prime minister's post. Read more at: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/putrajaya-stands-by-refusal-to-charge-a-g/
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| Media: Ketua Hakim Syarie dakwa Kelantan tak pernah serius laksana hudud Posted: 06 Oct 2011 10:33 AM PDT (TMI) Ketua Hakim Syarie negeri, Datuk Daud Mohamad menegur kerajaan PAS Kelantan kerana tidak pernah serius memberi penerangan kepada masyarakat mengenai hukum hudud sekalipun sudah meluluskan peruntukannya hampir 20 tahun lalu. Daud berkata, kempen dan pendidikan berterusan kepada rakyat mengenai hudud sepatutnya dilakukan tanpa henti sejak Enakmen Kanun Jenayah Syariah (II) Kelantan diluluskan pada tahun 1993 lagi. Beliau berkata, kerajaan negeri tidak sepatutnya hanya lantang bercakap mengenainya pada waktu-waktu tertentu sahaja kerana ia boleh menimbulkan keraguan niat sebenar kerajaan dalam melaksanakan hudud. "Kerajaan mungkin mengambil masa pada peringkat awal. Namun supaya benda ini tidak berlaku pertikaian atau pertentangan, eloklah beri penerangan dan penjelasan, tapi ini pun satu hal kerana dari 1993 sampai sekarang kita tidak dakwah betul-betul pun pasal hudud ini, tidak ada. "Padahal kita boleh dakwah dengan pelbagai cara, dengan risalah dan macam-macam. Pegawai dakwah kita ramai, ia sepatutnya berterusan, jangan hanya tunggu masa-masa tertentu sahaja, orang akan pandang lain pula," kata beliau pada Wacana Pelaksanaan Hudud di Dewan Teratai, Kota Baru semalam. Wacana khusus kepada pegawai kerajaan negeri dan persekutuan itu turut dihadiri pakar perlembagaan Prof. Dr. Abdul Aziz Bari dan Ahli Majlis Agama Islam Dan Adat Istiadat Melayu Kelantan (Maik), Datuk Mohamed Daud sebagai ahli panel. Daud yang merupakan salah seorang yang terbabit dalam merangka Enakmen Kanun Jenayah Syariah (II) Kelantan juga berkata, kerajaan negeri sepatutnya tidak takut untuk melaksanakan hukum hudud sekalipun mendapat tentangan dan ugutan daripada banyak pihak. Read more at: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/bahasa/article/media-ketua-hakim-syarie-dakwa-kelantan-tak-pernah-serius-laksana-hudud/ |
| Moving forward from racial tensions in Malaysia Posted: 06 Oct 2011 10:14 AM PDT
There is also genuine ideological belief amongst Malaysia's extreme right-wing Malay ethno-nationalists that the Federal Constitution is based on Malay Supremacy. They conveniently forget that the same document—as abovementioned—also provides for the protection of the legitimate interests of the other communities. By Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad (New Mandala) Politics in Malaysia is centred on race and religion. This Southeast Asian nation is in many ways a modern and moderate Muslim majority country. But this carefully-cultivated international image belies the underlying tensions of Malaysian society. Like many countries in the region, Malaysia's ethnic diversity is largely a legacy of colonial policy. Large numbers of Chinese, Indian and Indonesian migrants were brought in either directly by the British colonial administrators or commercial agents as part of their plans to exploit the economy of the various Malay states during the 19th and early 20th centuries. There was naturally much debate—especially when it became evident that the British would be winding back their empire—over the place of these non-Malays, who had settled and largely became part of the local fabric. What for instance, would the religion and language of the proposed free-state be? Many ethnic groups felt their claims in these matters to be equal, if not better than the others. Thus when Malaya achieved its independence in 1957, the Federal Constitution of Malaya (nowMalaysia) reflected a consensus and compromise between the different ethnicities and the preference of the retreating colonialists. Islam was to be the religion of the Federation, but other faiths were allowed to be practiced. Malay was made the official language but other communities were allowed to use, teach and learn their own. Finally, the King – the Supreme Head – of Malaysia was given the power not only to protect the "special position" of the indigenous Malays and natives of Sabah and Sarawak, but also the legitimate interests of the other communities on the advice of the Prime Minister. Thus, while many see the Federal Constitution as an imperfect document, it still has a strong imperative for liberty and justice. True, the institutions it created were generally conservative, but they functioned with integrity and efficiency. There was rule of law. Much was spent on education and infrastructure development.Malaysiawon a place of respect in the world. This, however, was undone during Dr. Mahathir Mohammad tenure as Prime Minister. He fought to shore up his power at the expense ofMalaysia's royal families, judiciary, civil service, media and civil society. Malaysia's fledgling democracy seemed headed towards one-party, and indeed one-man rule. Malaysia suffered one Constitutional crisis after another as he brooked no dissent. Mahathir's era also saw a change in Malaysia's social fabric. The global Islamic revival made politicised Islam became more visible in the public space, which the ethnic Malays, who are constitutionally also Muslim, flocked to as a means to articulate their identity more clearly. At the same time, ethic polarization increased as non-Malays became disillusioned with the limited opportunities available to them in the public sphere and an increase in socio-economic inequalities across all-races. On the other hand, the advent of the Internet saw the slow dismantling of the government monopoly on information and capital. This was the background to the Reformasi movement that emerged after the sacking of Mahathir's third Deputy Prime Minister, Anwar Ibrahim in 1998. The movement derailed Mahathir's attempt to recreateMalaysia in his image as a developed nation by 2020, and led many Malays to vote for the Opposition in the 1999 elections. Thus, Mahathir's dominant UMNO party tried to shore-up its Malay support. It increased its rhetoric of Malay supremacy ("ketuanan Melayu") to frighten the community into thinking they would be "swamped" by the other races while abandoning moderate Malays and the non-Malays. UMNO's racialism led to the BN losing unprecedented ground in the 2008 elections. Barisan Nasional (BN) was denied its traditional two-thirds Parliamentary majority and lost control of five state governments. The present administration led by Najib Razak has realised on the need for change and launched a "1Malaysia" campaign that talks of multiracialism and unity. Unfortunately, while Najib has been saying the right things, there seems to be a lack of political will to push through reforms that would upset the various vested interests in the establishment. This was also true of his predecessor's – Abdullah Ahmad Badawi – tenure. There is also genuine ideological belief amongst Malaysia's extreme right-wing Malay ethno-nationalists that the Federal Constitution is based on Malay Supremacy. They conveniently forget that the same document—as abovementioned—also provides for the protection of the legitimate interests of the other communities. While the Federal Constitution provides for asymmetrical freedoms and responsibilities, equality as a fundamental liberty is enshrined. Thus, Malaysia's rising tensions have less to do with its formal structures than its entrenched authoritarian political culture. The mistaken belief that the Constitution embodies Malay Supremacy – a term only introduced in the mid-1980s – is a result of the hijacking of history by political propagandists, racist brainwashing camps for university students and civil servants and extremist sentiments being played up by BN-owned media. Read more at: http://asiapacific.anu.edu.au/newmandala/2011/10/07/moving-forward-from-racial-tensions-in-malaysia/ |
| No Malaysian university in Times Higher Education (THE) 400 Top World University Ranking 2011/12 Posted: 06 Oct 2011 10:08 AM PDT By Lim Kit Siang The release today of the Times Higher Education (THE) 400 Top World University Ranking 2011/12, where not a single Malaysian university is included, has punctured the elation and euphoria just two months ago over the QS 200 World University Rankings 2011/12 which saw University of Malaya making it to the top 200 Top Universities moving 40 places to 167 compared to 2010. In the QS World University Rankings 2011/12, four other Malaysian universities slid down the rankings – University Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) ranked 279 this year compared to 263 in 2010; Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) ranked 335 (309 last year); Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) ranked 358 (319 last year) and Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) at between 401 and 450 (365 last year). But in the just-released THE 400 Top World University Ranking 2011/12, none of the Malaysian universities made it into the placings. For the first time, Harvard (with Stanford) is at number two, failing to take the top spot in the list's eight-year history – with California Institute for Technology named the best university in the world. The rest of the Top Ten spots are Oxford (4), Princeton (5), Cambridge (6), Massachusetts Institute of Technology (70), Imperial College London (8), Chicago (9) and California (Berkeley) (10). The top Asian universities in the THE World University Ranking 2011/12 are: 30 – University of Tokyo (Japan) 34 – University of Hong Kong (HK) 40 – National University of Singapore (Singapore) 49 - Peking University (China) 52 – Kyoto University (Japan) 53 - Pohang University of Science and Technology (S.Korea) 62 - Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Hong Kong) 71 – Tsinghua University (China) 94 - Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (South Korea) 108 – Tokyo Institute of Technology (Japan) 119 – Osaka University (Japan) 120 – Tohoku University (Japan) 124 – Seoul National University (South Korea) 151 – Chinese University of Hong Kong (Hong Kong) 154 – National Taiwan University (Taiwan) 169 – Nanyang Technological University (Singapore) 192 – University of Science and Technology of China (China) 193 – City University of Hong Kong (Hong Kong) Worth noting is that while not a single Malaysian university made it into the Times Higher Education (THE) 400 Top World Universities, Thailand through Mahidol University is ranked in the final category between 351-400. |
| So, teach me the 'jalan yang betul' then! Posted: 06 Oct 2011 03:31 AM PDT
Next, he or she assumes that the writer of the article, in this case Azmi Sharom, is not knowledgeable about the subject matter that he wrote about. And he or she made this assumption merely because the writer of the article, in this case Azmi Sharom, has a different view. Therefore, if you have a different view, then this means you are not knowledgeable about the subject. NO HOLDS BARRED Raja Petra Kamarudin Saudara azmi anda kena jelas betul2. Anda Muslim Dan org yg berpelajaran tinggi Dan ramai pengikut....jgn samapi kita bawa mereka ke Jln yg sesat.....sy tk kata u sesat....tp rujuklah dulu pd mereka yg lebih mahir dlm bab Hudud. Yg u baca bukan maknanya u faham...u faham cara u...maybe betul maybe tak betul!!!! Innalillah...... ******************************** The above comment was posted by Eshmaelajenoor in the news item 'Right to question hudud law' by Azmi Sharom, originally published in The Star. |
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