Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News
Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News |
- PR Strategy Not To Dissolve State Assemblies In Four States?
- WIKILEAKS: Malaysia's Current Economic Performance Masks Need for Structural Change
- DAP, PAS 'agree to disagree' on hudud issue
- Mahathir: Malays will lose power in 10 years if they don't unite
- Malay votes in Penang may swing to Umno
- Free economy will lead to political and social freedom, say economists
- Lim Guan Eng on Budget 2012
- Proposal of A Different (Fair and Caring) Economical Framework
- Stemming the Malaysian Exodus
- KL land row threatens to derail MRT project
- Malaysia's new generation steps forward
- Jais-DUMC row: Sultan not properly informed
- Jais can’t hide behind spurious logic
- Freeing the Malays and Muslims from religious mind control
- What now for Dr Koh, Gerakan
- Recession risk high and rising, says RHB
- ‘Gambler’ Najib will ‘break the bank’
- More controversy with Taib-linked Ta Ann
- ‘Najib’s handouts bad for the country’
- Deflate the bloated civil service
- RM4.7 billion spent on National Service
- Now write your election manifesto
- SUBJECT: INDONESIAN TIES WITH MALAYSIA FALL VICTIM TO ANOTHER DUST-UP
- Malaysia's youth energises political landscape
- Wee defends MCA ‘glam girls’
- MACC urged to probe Ananda Krishnan
- Probe may hurt Ananda Krishnan’s Aircel loan plans, says Indian daily
- RM1 juta untuk PM ke Kazakhstan
- A philosophical comparison of the budgets
- Missing: The Auditor-General’s report
- Home Ministry under siege, mentally
- Firefly must be sold to avoid price fixing, says Pakatan
- Secret order to snoop on WikiLeaks
- Sarawak tycoon’s firm hired PNG cops to bash up locals, ABC reports
- Organisors slam police, question PM’s sincerity
- Malaysia 'better for refugees'
- Sexual diversion from Najib’s weak budget
- 'New' video: UMNO-BN must abandon guttter politics
- Sultan’s ruling given cautionary welcome
- Reason To Vote
- Ibrahim says Pemandu has ‘hidden agenda’
- MACC track record poor, public confidence low
- Paid cyber troopers
- Putrajaya paid RM94m to FBC Media for global airtime
- A CAT lesson from the Jais-DUMC fiasco
- What is ethics?
- WIKILEAKS: MALAYSIAN RACIAL ECONOMIC PREFERENCES CRITIQUED AT CONFERENCE IN KL
- Raja Nazrin asks Islamic religious council to review programmes
- Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad on 'Inertia or Ignorance: The Challenge of Dismantling Malaysia’s ...
- Adopt Zakat, Not Hudud
| PR Strategy Not To Dissolve State Assemblies In Four States? Posted: 12 Oct 2011 05:43 AM PDT
(Bernama) - The Pakatan Rakyat (PR) may not dissolve the legislative assemblies in the states under its rule simultaneously with the dissolution of Parliament in conjunction with the 13th general election, said former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad. e said this could be one of the strategies of the opposition pact to focus its attention and strength to the states under Barisan Nasional (BN) rule.
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| WIKILEAKS: Malaysia's Current Economic Performance Masks Need for Structural Change Posted: 12 Oct 2011 01:00 AM PDT
Education was among Ariff's primary concerns. Ethnic Malays were poorly prepared for university, he explained, largely due to a separate one-year "fast track" matriculation which was designed to enable them to secure a place in college more easily. Non-Malays were required to complete a more rigorous two-year program and pass an exam. The end result was that the non-Malays did better once they entered university. Moreover, separate education before college led to patterns of self-segregation at the university, and Ariff observed that the various ethnic groups had little interaction. THE CORRIDORS OF POWER Raja Petra Kamarudin
1. (SBU) Summary: Malaysia's central bank Deputy Governor considers the country's banking sector unexposed to the turmoil in the US sub-prime mortgage market and believes that the economy remains on track for six percent GDP growth in 2007. Private sector economists, however, point out that Malaysia's economy is performing under its potential growth rate by as much as two percentage points due to poor government policy. The racial preference policies set out in the New Economic Policy (NEP) are viewed as the primary source of growth-restraining distortions which primarily have served to enrich political cronies. In the process, not only has the NEP failed to reduce poverty among ethic Malays, it has directly contributed to greater income inequality and poverty. It continues to crowd out of healthy private sector investment by government linked corporations. Perverse education policies have chipped away at Malaysia's ability to produce a competitive work force for a global economy. Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi is not perceived as a politician prepared to make the hard decisions necessary to reform the policies upon which his political supporters have come to depend. Middle of the road rates of economic growth prevent a greater sense of urgency among policy makers, but over time these structural policy failures are expected to create even stronger constraints on Malaysia's ability to deliver on robust economic growth. End summary. CENTRAL BANK: LOOKING ON THE BRIGHT SIDE 2. (U) In a meeting with Economic Counselor and Financial Attach for Southeast Asia, Ooi Sang Kuang, Deputy Governor of Bank Negara, Malaysia's central bank, expressed confidence that the Malaysian economy would remain largely on track to reach government forecasts of 6% growth for 2007, even in light of the U.S. sub-prime lending problems. Ooi said that, although Malaysia was fairly insulated from the U.S. sub-prime lending market, he was concerned about how the "sentimental effect" of a significant reduction in financial markets could impact the global economy. He described the U.S. Federal Reserve's decision to lower interest rates by fifty basis points as having done "wonders" for the global economy. MANUFACTURING SECTOR MUST IMPROVE 3. (U) Ooi described Malaysia's overall manufacturing sector as "not robust" and said it would need to become more competitive. The sector that would suffer the most from an economic downturn in the U.S. was electrical & electronics (E&E), which was largely dependent upon U.S. demand for semiconductors, he explained. He said Malaysia was not moving up the value chain rapidly enough, and that the country needed to transform its economy, particularly in light of a strengthening currency that would make Malaysian exports more expensive. 4. (U) Ooi pointed out that the ringgit's long-term value was increasing, and said Malaysian manufacturers would be forced to either "move up the value chain" or relocate if necessary. He said many Malaysian companies were investing overseas, with labor-intensive manufacturing moving to Vietnam and Indonesia. "MANAGING" FOREIGN EXCHANGE RATES 5. (U) Ooi said Bank Negara continued to intervene in the foreign exchange market, but only to "smooth it out" and "manage" volatility, since large volumes could "disturb or excite markets" if they were not kept within "tolerable levels" of flexibility. He claimed that the central bank intervened in both directions - to smooth both the highs and the lows. (Note: when asked about this, one private sector banking professional responded that this might be true on a one-to-ten ratio, with the central bank mitigating the "lows" once for every ten times it intervenes to mitigate the "highs.") ECONOMY STILL CHUGGING ALONG 6. (U) In spite of the setback in E&E, strong domestic demand continued to fuel the economy, explained Ooi. Demand was being driven largely by higher rural incomes resulting from high commodity prices, a recent 35% civil service salary increase, and large government projects being implemented under the Ninth Malaysia Plan. He estimated that the government projects would remain the primary driver of domestic demand until mid-2008, by which time he expected the private sector would strengthen and the government-funded projects taper off. The economy would also benefit by the imminent opening of the Kikeh oil field, Malaysia's first deepwater operation. FINANCIAL SECTOR LIBERALIZATION 7. (U) For its part, the Government of Malaysia (GOM) would continue to enact financial liberalizations, just as it had been doing for the Islamic finance sector. According to Ooi, the GOM had been adhering to the ten-year Financial Sector Master Plan and in some areas was ahead of schedule. This, coupled with the GOM's recent announcement that corporate tax rates would be reduced to 25% in 2009, would help boost the Malaysian economy. AN ANALYST'S VIEW 8. (U) While Ooi was upbeat about the Malaysian economy's resilience, Dr. Mohamed Ariff, President of the Malaysian Institute for Economic Research (MIER), was more willing to discuss the weaknesses as well as the strengths. He cited similar economic indicators and pointed to the same strengths - strong domestic demand, government stimulus, and a reasonable forecast of 5.3 to 6 percent growth. But Malaysia had much more potential than that, he said. Malaysia would need to "move up the value chain" to position itself to complement, rather than compete with, China and other low-wage manufacturing centers in the region. In fact, he said the GOM had rejected many applications to bring low-tech labor-intensive manufacturing to Malaysia, some of which had requested bringing in a few thousand (low-wage) foreign workers. Rather, the GOM was approving higher-tech manufacturing in the E&E sector, but these more capital-intensive investments were not bringing in many jobs for Malaysians, with 20% of new jobs going to foreigners. REFORMS NEEDED 9. (SBU) To surmount the hurdles and achieve Malaysia's full potential for economic growth, Ariff argued that the GOM would need to enact some politically sensitive - and perhaps unlikely - reforms. First on the list would be to address the "New Economic Policy" (NEP), a system of race-based preferences for ethnic Malays. Most benefits were going to cronies; intra-ethnic inequality was increasing, especially among Malays; and the entire system was creating a "dependency syndrome," putting low priority on academic achievement, he said. 10. (U) Education was among Ariff's primary concerns. Ethnic Malays were poorly prepared for university, he explained, largely due to a separate one-year "fast track" matriculation which was designed to enable them to secure a place in college more easily. Non-Malays were required to complete a more rigorous two-year program and pass an exam. The end result was that the non-Malays did better once they entered university. Moreover, separate education before college led to patterns of self-segregation at the university, and Ariff observed that the various ethnic groups had little interaction. 11. (SBU) Government-linked companies were another politically sensitive issue that would need to be addressed, as they were crowding out other players in the market, according to Ariff. In 1985 the GOM privatized a number of companies, but these simply went to cronies, he said. It was time for another round, but this would need to be done fairly. 12. (SBU) The race-based preferences in general and the poor educational system in particular were impediments to reaching Malaysia's full potential, but Malaysians were afraid of change, he explained. "We need a new NEP," said Ariff, "and a free press not owned by the Barisan Nasional" (the ruling coalition which has been in power since independence in 1957). 13. (U) Ariff also was disappointed that the newly released 2008 budget contained no reference to the proposed Goods and Services Tax (GST) which had been pending since 2004. The GST, similar to a value-added tax, would be desperately needed in several years' time when Malaysia was expected to become a net importer of oil. Currently Petronas, the national oil company, provides 38% of the federal government's revenue, and the country's tax regime will need to be restructured to avert a crisis. 14. (U) Comment: There is widespread agreement on what to expect in the near term for the Malaysian economy: not much. The economy will continue to chug along, growing at five to six percent; cronies will continue to benefit from the current system; and, despite Malaysia's greater potential, there will be little demand for change until things get measurably worse. With elections near, no one expects the GOM to take actions that are politically difficult - least of all changes to the NEP, which is the Malays' sacred cow. KEITH (October 2007)
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| DAP, PAS 'agree to disagree' on hudud issue Posted: 11 Oct 2011 09:30 PM PDT
(The Star) - DAP and PAS have agreed to disagree on the hudud issue, following a high-level meeting between Pakatan Rakyat allies Monday. "Hudud is not the common agenda of Pakatan Rakyat for the forthcoming general election," DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng said, adding it would not be a common policy even after the next general election. He said "the meeting concluded with both DAP and PAS agreeing to disagree on the hudud law." It was the second such meeting held within a span of two weeks to end the deadlock. Among the Pakatan top guns present at the meeting were Lim Kit Siang, Karpal Singh, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, Azmin Ali, Dr Mohd Nur Manuty, Mohamad Sabu, and Datuk Mustafa Ali. Stressing that hudud was not part of Pakatan Rakyat's policy, Lim said it was neither included in the Common Policy Framework nor in Buku Jungga. Lim said the Pakatan government would only implement policies agreed upon by the three component parties.
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| Mahathir: Malays will lose power in 10 years if they don't unite Posted: 11 Oct 2011 07:07 PM PDT
(The Star) - BANGI: Malays will lose their power in the country in the next 10 years if they do not unite now, said former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad. He said if the community were to split into different factions, they would become minority groups in the country. "The minority cannot rule the country in a democratic framework, under which the majority rules," said Dr Mahathir, urging the Malay community to be united based on their Islamic faith. Dr Mahathir said this in his speech when launching the Ummah Unity and Economy Seminar organised by the Malaysia Islamic Welfare Organisation (Perkim) and Malay Chamber of Commerce here Wednesday. Dr Mahathir, who is also Perkim president, said Muslims in the country were not taught the importance of uniting when they were young. He also urged the Malay community not to look forward to receiving "free things" but instead work hard to reap rewards. He added that Muslims, which were among the poorest communities in the Malaysia, should work hard to be financially stable.
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| Malay votes in Penang may swing to Umno Posted: 11 Oct 2011 06:58 PM PDT
MCA and Gerakan may be wiped out again unless they changed their political outlook and strategies, says a NGO. (Free Malaysia Today) - The Malay votes in Penang may largely swing to Umno while the DAP will get the lion's share of the Chinese electorate in the coming general election, says a NGO here. Persatuan Anak Jati Melayu Pulau Pinang (Pajim) said the prediction is based on feedback from the grassroots and conversations with interest groups. Pajim adviser Ahmad Mokhtar Muhammad said this trend is unhealthy for multi-ethnic Penang where a party wins entirely on support from only one race. "It is unhealthy for a state as diverse as Penang. The mixed seats would definitely be up for grabs but essentially the battle is between Umno and DAP. It is not good as either side has the traditional support of only one race," he said in a statement sent via SMS. He said a state cannot be progressive if it is bogged down by a perceived lack of harmony among its inhabitants. Mokhtar also claims that support for PAS and PKR in Penang is eroding because their supporters are abandoning them due to their tolerance of DAP's alleged aggressive style of governance in Penang. He said DAP, in its haste to appease its traditional base of supporters, tends to overlook the interests of other groups such as hawkers, squatters, and the low-income earners. Such groups are mainly Malays, and hence their gradual shift to Umno, although the party may remain as the opposition here. "PAS and PKR may pay the price for being docile over certain DAP policies which are seen as an affront to the Malays," Mokhtar said. He added that the Malays may gravitate back to Umno because they believe that the party can solve their problems such as stable jobs and affordable housing. He said it remains to be seen if Umno's partners – MCA, MIC and Gerakan – can survive in the next general election in Penang.
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| Free economy will lead to political and social freedom, say economists Posted: 11 Oct 2011 06:52 PM PDT
(The Malaysian Insider) - Without a free economy a country is less likely to achieve political and social freedom, contrary to the impression most activists have in Malaysia, economists said here today. Dr Tom Palmer from the Atlas Economic Research Foundation emphasised that political liberalisation is very important for maintaining economical liberalisation. "One must understand the freedom of competition as a process, not as a stake of the market," he said during the Economic Freedom Network Asia Conference 2011 today. He suggested that it is important to build a regional free trade agreement and promote free trade on a unilateral basis like in Singapore. The emphasis on a free economy was also pointed out by Wan Saiful Wan Jan, chief executive of Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (IDEAS), one of the conference organisers. "Maybe it is time to suggest that we have a free and prosperous economy before achieving political and social freedom in Malaysia. This is because when the people are comfortable with the quality of life, they will also fight for political and social reform in the country. "To change, we need a bigger middle class, and this will only exist if our economy is free," according to Wan Saiful in the foreword of the Economic Freedom of The World 2011 annual report by the Fraser Institute. Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has liberalised foreign investment in 17 sub-sectors, which critics said had for years forced foreigners to partner Bumiputeras before being allowed to set up businesses in the country. Critics, however, said the reform measure will not have much impact because few of the workers hired in those sectors were Malays, who form the majority population and were the target of affirmative-action policies. The report also pointed out that a lot of activism in the country focuses too much on the political and social angles, while neglecting the importance of fighting for economic freedom. "If the people live in conditions that force them to constantly think of how to cope with the cost of living, there would be a high possibility that they do not have enough time to work on political transformation, or get involved in the civil society arena. "So if we want to shape a country which is politically and socially free, we have to ensure that our economical system is also free. The concerns about political and social freedom, and effective activism in all angles only exist and flourish once the economy needs are fulfilled," Wan Saiful said.
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| Posted: 11 Oct 2011 05:38 PM PDT By Lim Guan Eng Unlike PR State Governments That Funds Aid To The Poor From A Surplus Budget, BN's 2012 Election Budget Relies On Deficit Spending And Borrowed Loans To Give Money To The People That Has Still To Be Repaid By The People. Whilst giving out cash aid to the poor and Malaysians are welcome, questions are raised as to where the Federal government is going to find the money, when even Petronas is expected to contribute only RM28 billion next year or RM2 billion in dividends less as compared to 2011. The numbers just do not add up when the Federal government still expects revenues to increase from RM183 billion this year to RM186 billion next year despite the lower dividend payments from Petronas. | |||||||||||||||
| Proposal of A Different (Fair and Caring) Economical Framework Posted: 11 Oct 2011 05:32 PM PDT By Charlie Lee The Current Economical Framework Based on the some study that 20% of people controlling 90% of wealth and 80% of people owning the remaining 10% wealth in this world, it is obvious and dreadful to have such a wide gap between the wealthy and the poor. The wealthy have the tool (money) to invest and become market mover to make sure that they are on top and those not in their class unable to catch up with them. Therefore, the open and free market as promoted by the countries in the so-called developed countries will be heading to disaster in 10 or 20 years due to innovative/creative of financial tools giving benefits only to the wealthy or the elite circle, non-sustainability of welfare system, scarcity of basic commodities, likes minerals, foods, oil, etc, coupled with larger world population and climatic changes. Greediness of people is another factor aggravating the situation with now the wealthy and able seizing every opportunity, be it in bad or good times, to maximize income. Speculating on the future market is just one of the methods manipulating the prices of basic commodities and pushing the prices high rocketing later. Some say what go up must come down. Sure, it will but in drastic manners, like war, famine, riot, disease, other unrest etc, with world population substantially reduced as a result (nature self-adjusting). Why we have to wait the disaster to strike and not to warn all to take precaution to avoid such eventuality? Based on human history, there are sufficient preceding events on the matter and we shall start now to minimize, or even better, overcome the impact of such eventuality. The following will discuss on what as an individual (a person or a family or a community) and the government can do to resolve the not-so-distance bad eventuality. The Proposed Economical Framework Minimum Wages, Necessities and Luxuries First, the price of all goods and earning of people must be kept to fair and reasonable level. The minimum wage shall be formulated and based on education level, experience, frequency of absence from works, working hours and performance of the company. The wage increase shall also be specifically formulated accordingly so as to be fair to both employee and employer in the case of good profit or loss incurred. Here is example on minimum wage formulation. Goods can be categorized into foods, necessities and luxuries. In order to price goods fairly and reasonable, the prices for foods and necessities shall have profit fixed within the range of 5% ~ 20% and the prices for luxuries shall have profit no more than 200%. The so-called necessities and luxuries shall be studied and sorted out in priority list. Such list shall cover all items in everyday life, like hand-phone, computer, living facilities, car, house, vacation etc. This list is intended to advise people not indulge to pursue luxuries but contain with necessities. A proposed list of necessities and luxuries is tabulated below. In fact, cost prices of all goods can be worked out in details and, once the equations and formula set in place, it is just a click in front of the computer that one can know the cost prices of goods and the effect if there is price variation on some raw materials or components. With the limit set on profit, a seller has to sell more to earn more and he is not allowed to raise the price drastically if there is great demand or shortage. Looking at a boarder scenario, volatile market can be kept in check and the majority of obedient and hardworking class can be better ensured of a smooth and steady life style. Maximum Limit or Capping Limit of Earning Second, the government shall act as mediator or coordinator to distribute wealth of the country to all people fairly. It is hard to define and formulate a "fair" way to distribute the wealth among the people as people have diverse abilities, attitudes, background etc. Failure of communist country is living proof that same wage for all people or least difference in social status are not likely to motivate people to work hard and aim to earn for a good living. It would be unwise to limit creativities and abilities of people to earn for a good living. In contrast, the capable people shall be encouraged to develop and achieve higher and higher goal in life. The method proposed here is that earning by a person must be capped with a maximum limit and, from thereon, the maximum earning achiever shall assist others to earn until the maximum limit. On assisting the others to earn well, the maximum earning achiever shall be entitled for prestigious social status conferred by the government. The other consideration to implement the second method is to deter unlimited wealth gaining of a person, which may turn the person into a powerful long living tyrant/dictator/demi-god with assistance of genetic engineering, scientific breakthrough in medical research and advancement of new technology. They are other plus points for the maximum limit on earning because once a person has reached the maximum limit, he/she has to give up the excess either paying tax or giving out to assist other person, and this will discourage corruption as no one can have more than the maximum limit. To start with, the proposed maximum limit is as follows. To hasten the process of wealth distribution, the government can lower the maximum limit. Once implemented, there should not be any difficulty to change the current economical framework to the proposed economical framework. The big company can be divided into many smaller companies and, instantly, there will be many opportunities for other capable people because the big company will have to ensure the owners of the smaller companies are capable persons in order that all can work towards a common goal as a team. The only problem is that the current owners of the big company are not willing to accept the proposal. But if there is political will or very strong urge or movement from the 80% people, it is very like the few have to agree and accept the need of the majority. Discussion A government can implement either the first proposal or the second proposal or both at the same time. I strongly feel that it is time to reform the current economical framework as ideologies of both socialist and capitalist systems are good but need refining taking into account of bring out the good nature of man to give and assist one another to prosper. I hope one day to see that the above proposals be implemented to find out the results and suggest the first proposal to be implemented in socialist country and the second proposal in capitalist country. P/S: I am not an economist but just a simple guy after surviving donkey years of hardworking under the current economical framework. If you have any comment on the article, you are welcome to email to charlie.sabah@gmail.com. | |||||||||||||||
| Posted: 11 Oct 2011 05:28 PM PDT By The Voice of Reason Recently, YB Teresa Kok asked me "Why are Malaysians so keen to leave this country? Life overseas is not necessarily easier!" I agree that life overseas is not necessarily. In fact my cousins living in Hong Kong, Singapore and London tell me regularly that they miss the food and that things are much cheaper at home. They complain about the weather, high cost of living and their long working hours. Despite this, when the possibility of coming back home is raised, they give me a smile and a shake of their heads. Is living in Malaysia really so bad? What is it that other countries have that we don't? Lim Kit Siang posted on his blog in December 2009 that more than 630 Malaysians are migrating overseas everyday, and that number is increasing year on year. This is a worrying statistic and the brain drain issue is one that the current government acknowledges that it is a problem. However, the best they can come up with to make them come back are tax breaks, and tax free vehicles. From day one, it has become apparent these 'perks' would simply not work. This government has a habit of tackling problems in this country by providing quick fixes. The 2012 Budget should really be called the 'quick-fix' budget as RM232 billion is mindlessly spent, with unrealistic economic growth forecasts to back it up. Yes, 60% of households would receive a RM500 relief and we thank the government for it. What then? RM500 does not combat rising costs, or inflation. How far can RM500 bring us nowadays? Not very far. In no time at all, that RM500 has become a distant memory and we are back to square one. The Kedai 1Malaysia initiative was put in place by the government to sell cheap products subsidised by the government, and more are to be opened across the nation. Shop owners are now screaming in displeasure as they cannot possibly compete. If the government is intent on handing out subsidies, subsidise the shops which are already operating! Another poorly planned quick fix that provides no long term solution. Where is the long term economic plan? Where is the investment in our children's future? Fixing school buildings is an excellent initiative, but the real problem lies in the fabric of the education system. Our children are taught to be robots, to regurgitate material and not to question their teacher. Many scoff at the lowering of standards in the ongoing PMR exams, and an Additional Mathematics SPM paper was allegedly leaked out to tuition centres. Is all this in the name of grades, just to make the Education Ministry look good? How can this system prepare our children to be competent, effective members of society? The biggest losers in all of this are our nation's children. A friend over dinner told me earnestly that he was preparing to leave the country for the sake of his children. As disheartening as it was to hear, he proceeded to tell me why. His vision for his children was for them to grow up in a society in which they would not be discriminated against. Although racism is also prevalent in other countries, inMalaysia racism is institutionalised and sanctioned by the Barisan Nasional government. | |||||||||||||||
| KL land row threatens to derail MRT project Posted: 11 Oct 2011 05:15 PM PDT By Clara Chooi, The Malaysian Insider KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 12 — The ongoing land rights dispute between the MRT project owner and city traders here has turned into a political hot potato that could see the country's most expensive infrastructure project delayed. The months of discussions, public engagement talks, court challenges, street protests and interventions by civil society groups and politicians across the divide have made no headway in resolving the issue.
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| Malaysia's new generation steps forward Posted: 11 Oct 2011 05:11 PM PDT By ABC Radio Australia News Malaysia's youngest sitting politician says his generation of leaders is ready to move away from race-based politics. Politics in Malaysia is centred on race and religion, with the Malay UMNO dominating a multiracial political coalition. Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad: 'The younger Malays come back and they start to question the analysis that Malays . . . need political protection in order to survive.' [Australia Network] | |||||||||||||||
| Jais-DUMC row: Sultan not properly informed Posted: 11 Oct 2011 04:43 PM PDT
Ng Kam Weng, The Micah Mandate The Christian community has waited with anticipation for DYMM Sultan of Selangor to come out with a statement that will help resolve the inter-religious crisis sparked off by the Selangor Islamic Religious Department (Jais) raid on Damansara Utama Methodist Church on August 3, 2011. We welcome the Sultan's wish that religious harmony should continue in the state and his decree that there be no prosecution against any of the parties involved. However, the Sultan's statement does raise a few issues of serious concern for the non-Muslim community as there are views expressed therein that suggest that the Sultan may not have been properly informed by his advisers. First, the statement suggests that "the actions of Jais were correct and did not breach any laws enforceable in Selangor," as they "are in line with the jurisdiction provided under Syariah Criminal Procedure (State of Selangor) Enactment (2003), Syariah Criminal (State of Selangor) Enactment, 1995 and the Selangor Non-Islamic Religions (Control of Propagation Amongst Muslims) Enactment of 1988" (herein referred to as the "Selangor Enactment") With all due respect, I beg to differ from this interpretation of the state enactments. In the first place, the jurisdiction granted by Article 11(4) of the Federal Constitution was to permit the state to control or restrict the propagation of religion among people professing to be Muslims. This must be read in the context of the Article itself which fundamentally provides for every person the freedom to profess, practice and propagate his religion. Such power to control or restrict propagation cannot be understood as absolutely prohibiting any conduct or activity on the excuse of some unspecified complaint that they are for the purposes of propagation of religion. Such power cannot be taken as licence for officials to intrude or trespass into a function conducted within the premises of what is clearly a non-Muslim religious institution (in the present case a Christian institution) without legal authority There is no legal provision under the Propagation Enactment that allows Jais officials to intrude into the premises of DUMC, much less carry out a raid. From my reading of the Selangor Enactment (1988), the closest possible justification that can be offered by Jais are Sections 12 and 13, which specify that "an authorised officer may investigate the commission of any offence under this Enactment and may arrest without warrant any person suspected of having committed any such offence." He may also apply for warrants of arrest from a Magistrate to require the attendance of witnesses. There is, however, simply no unilateral power to carry out an entry and search under the Propagation Enactment or for that matter even to apply for a search warrant. If the officer responsible for the raid intends to conduct an entry and search, he must base his power from some legal source. Jais officers appear to have acted under Syariah Enactment that does NOT apply, however, to non-Muslims and cannot be imported into the Propagation Enactment. While superficially this provision seems to grant disturbing power to this "authorised officer", the enforcement must be consistent with the more fundamental provisions under Part II of the Federal Constitution relating to fundamental liberties and the provisions of the Criminal Procedure Code (Act 593) relating to search and arrest which presumes that a search warrant should have been sought as a matter of course, and that the warrant is granted only upon reasonable suspicion that a seizable offence has been committed at the DUMC premises. The requirement of a search warrant is a fundamental recognition of the right to privacy within one's own domain and space. More importantly, given the sensitivity of inter-religious relations and the sanctity of religious places of worship, such a warrant should be granted only by a magistrate or judge from the Civil Court and only upon firm and clear grounds. The fact remains that Jais carried out the raid with disregard for established provisions and procedure of law — the leader of the Jais party failed to present relevant identity documents to confirm he was indeed "an authorised officer", specify the offence(s) or suspected offence(s) relating to propagation under the Selangor Enactment that was alleged to have been committed and that he had obtained a search warrant from a Magistrate or the High Court, especially when a church was the target of the raid. For these reasons, it may be argued contrary to the Sultan's statement, that prima facie, Jais had not acted lawfully within the bounds of law when it raided DUMC. Second, it should be noted that the statement claims "there were attempts to subvert the faith and belief of Muslims but that the evidence obtained would be insufficient for further legal actions to be taken." The plural word "attempts" suggests Christians at DUMC were guilty of subverting Islam not only on August 3, 2011, but that they were repeatedly committing the alleged offence. This is a most unfair and misleading accusation that imputes guilt to DUMC without offering any evidence that could be verified or refuted. It may be noted that the English version of the Sultan's statement uses stronger words than the official Bahasa version — it translates the word "memesongkan (distort, deviate) fahaman dan kepercayaan fahaman orang Islam" with the word "subvert the faith and belief of Muslims" The statement unwittingly exposes the feeble foundations of its accusations when it concedes that there was insufficient evidence obtained for further legal action. In simple terms, this must means that Jais had FAILED to make a prima facie case against DUMC. I may add that despite the attempt to hide behind the legal term of "insufficient evidence", the reality is that there was simply NO evidence of subversion of the Islamic faith. Beating a hasty retreat from the threat of prosecuting DUMC was the best option left for Jais. Third, it is alarming that the statement describes the activities of DUMC as subversion of the Islamic faith. This charge is injurious to the integrity of Christians with regard to their profession and practice of faith.
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| Jais can’t hide behind spurious logic Posted: 11 Oct 2011 04:38 PM PDT
Bob Teoh, The Micah Mandate Jais cannot hide behind its spurious actions and be exonerated from its controversial intrusion into a charity dinner held at a church recently. It must be held accountable for its actions because it strikes at the very heart of criminal jurisprudence, law enforcement, and administration of justice; Islamic or otherwise. Jais cannot resort to "lempar batu sembunyi tangan" – being the hidden hand behind a spurious act and allowed to get away with it through flawed reasoning. Its actions are spurious simply because they are not what it purports to be. Its line of reasoning may be apparently valid but not factually so. Did Jais know what it did was wrong? If it did, then this alone can be indicted as a criminal offence. Jais has turned the table on itself – the law enforcer becomes the offender. In what appeared to be a vigilante action, Jais, or the Selangor Islamic Department, descended upon a charity function held at the Damansara Utama Methodist Church without invitation, permission or due authority on 3 August. While the media described this as a raid, Jais claimed it was a search. The problem is it did not have a search warrant. Conducting a search without a warrant or an order from the court is considered an extra-judicial action. Is Jais, therefore, exempt from due process? And if so, why so? Having exposed itself as the hidden hand that threw the proverbial stone, Jais resorted to more spurious actions. It hastily assembled a preliminary report to justify its action. That report found its way into Youtube and blogs complete with video streams of twelve Muslims found at the dinner that night together with their full names and identification numbers and photos. How did that report get onto the internet when it is obviously privy to only few top Jais officers? Following the sinister publication of the report, the twelve have been feathered and tarred as apostates without much hope of redeeming themselves. This is gross travesty of justice as it violates every rule of natural justice and that of a fair trial in the event that they are called to defend themselves later. This is nothing less than a miscarriage of justice. To compound their predicament further, the twelve are now directed to undergo counseling by Jais to "restore their faith and belief in the religion of Islam". What is intriguing is that it now appears that whatever evidence Jais purported it had was not even sufficient to press charges against the alleged offending parties. It now appears that Jais didn't have prima facie evidence. It was fishing for evidence in that raid but in vain. Strangely enough the Selangor executive councillor in charge of Islamic affairs, Hasan Ali, was quick to jump to the defence of Jais immediately following the uproar over the raid. But in the first place, as the state minister in charge of Islamic affairs, how come he was not keep informed of the raid?
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| Freeing the Malays and Muslims from religious mind control Posted: 11 Oct 2011 04:20 PM PDT
PAK SAKO, CPI There appears to be a Malay-Islamic Inquisition in Malaysia. It does not involve burnings at the stake. It comes as ostracism at school, the workplace and in the community for failing to comply with rigid parameters. Not wearing a headscarf is frowned upon. Transgenders are institutional pariahs. Religious arrogance and zealotry are norms. Muslim leaders can assuredly rebuff equal partnership on inter-religious discussion panels. The Islamic moral police is free to raid churches and insult the Malay person's dignity and autonomy. Refusal to play along with another community's passion for its customs is condemned as chauvinistic or unconstitutional – the fate of elected representatives in Sarawak who chose the customary suit and tie over expensive uniforms and songkoks for a state assembly opening. Closing the gap with South Korea or Singapore at the top of quality-of-life indicators such as the UN Human Development Index is a minor national concern. We are prouder to have been ranked by the Pew Forum's Government Restriction Index alongside Saudi Arabia and Iran as world champions in constricting religious freedoms and other civil rights. The time has come to face the facts. 'Moderate Malaysia' and 'moderate Islam' are as good as dead. If our interest is to revive moderateness, we do not flog dead hypes. We must address the causes of death. The problem Two pervasive mentalities stand out among the chief culprits. They are racial and religious supremacy. Racial supremacy expects non-Malay citizens to be eternally grateful to the Malay race for granting their forefathers citizenship at Independence. It demands from the non-Malays unquestionable deference to the Malays, their culture and arbitrary declarations of Malay rights or privileges. Religious supremacy is the conviction that the Islamic belief is superior to all other beliefs and that it is the only path to true spirituality. Its adherents must not compromise on officially stipulated Islamic ideas and practices and cannot opt-out of the religion. Non-believers are fodder for conversion. A set of underlying reasons drive these mentalities. Political motives aside, there is a historical fear of disenfranchisement; a concept of entitlement as an exclusive birthright; envy; low self-esteem; a craving for a source of self-pride; a fear of the new or alien; meekness; and narrow-mindedness. Supremacism is sold as the cure-all. But it only adds to the problem. The projection of cultural or religious might becomes a pretext for the powerful to impose conformity and thereby control upon a majority. Behind the false security of religious dogma or ethnic nationalism, it is spiritually and psychologically defeating. It turns what should be a happy bazaar of exchange between cultures into a cautious tightrope walk. It sabotages nation-building, whatever the unifying slogan or initiative devised. Consider how this plays out in Malay-non-Malay relations. The ordinary Malay in Malaysia is kept at a near constant state of anxiety by the tirade about the non-Malays seeking to usurp Malay political and economic rights. The Malays are repeatedly called on to be united in the name of race and religion to fend off this imagined strike. To alleviate his insecurities the Malay is offered:
There is no commensurate effort to unleash the Malay mind and encourage the Malay person to seize the day, excel, question, take charge, propose or dissent. Political leaders and the religious bureaucracy do not favour this; an empowered people puts at stake their political influence and economic privilege. The outcome is a large class of Malays that is averse to thinking, recoils from taking responsibility and content with following instructions. Ennui, the deep weariness and dissatisfaction stemming from mindless satiety and boredom, is a common affliction. It is to this oppressive vacuity that the non-Malays are portrayed as 'threats'. It is also implied that the non-Malay cultures and attitudes can weaken Malay religiosity or morals (see, for example, Jakim's 'Guidelines for Muslims celebrating religious festivals of non-Muslims'). The Malays, for their part, are seen by the non-Malays as being exclusive and hegemonic with their loudspeakers and educational and economic quotas. The result is isolation between the communities, the straining of social ties under the slightest provocation and the successful thwarting of real solidarity between the races. The usual prescription is for the non-Malays to toe the line, to adapt without protest, or— told more gently by a prominent Malay DAP member— to be "responsive" to the Malays' "primordial sentiments of culture and religion". This misguided paradigm must go.
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| Posted: 11 Oct 2011 03:59 PM PDT
Apart from that, chances of Gerakan retaining two parliamentary seats - Simpang Renggam (Johor) and Gerik (Perak), that the party won in the 2008 general election also seem to be getting tougher because Gerik was on loan and is speculated to be returned to Umno as Gerakan will get back its Taiping seat from the People's Progressive Party (PPP). Bernama With Sunday's Gerakan national delegates conference just days away, many delegates and political observers cannot help but ponder on at least five pertinent questions, answers for which must be made crystal clear for the party to steer its future. First and foremost, of course, is the question of whether first-term elected president Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon wants to go for a second term at the party elections next year. Dr Koh has stated his intention to lead the party for at least two terms but until now, after he was verbally attacked for not coming out strongly in defending himself and Gerakan, party members claim they are unsure of that as there have been no signals to that effect as yet. Secondly, many wonder if Dr Koh will contest in the next general election, the 13th, or choose to lead and strengthen the party's position in the Barisan Nasional without any other post for himself that could affect his solid focus on the party. "It depends whether he wants to continue to lead the party for a second term. If he wants to lead the party, then he has to contest," said political analyst Datuk Cheah See Kian in an interview with Bernama. He believes that should Dr Koh decide to lead the party for a second term, he would likely stand as a candidate in a parliamentary seat either Batu in the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur or Batu Kawan in Penang. "But I don't think he would want to go back to Tanjong (Penang). It very much depends on whether he wants to be in Kuala Lumpur or Penang. Even if he decides to lead Penang, I still believe Batu Kawan is still the better bet for him," he added. Dr Koh stood in Batu Kawan in the last general election, in 2008, and lost to Prof P. Ramasamy, the current deputy chief minister of Penang. Internally, some party members and leaders are already getting restless with Dr Koh who has so far kept the answer only to himself despite his earlier stand that he will lead the party in the next general election. He may already have the answer but is still keeping it very much to himself, being the careful leader that he is. There is talk that he may even decide to contest in Simpang Renggam (Johor), a seat considered safe for him. "However, many leaders and party members are against him standing in Simpang Renggam, including those from Johor. They feel it is inappropriate for him to do that," said a party insider. Many would love to see Dr Koh as a gallant party president contesting in a tough seat and being an undisputed winner, which would automatically earn him more respect from party members and even from BN leaders. Gerakan Youth chief Lim Si Pin announced two months ago that he would not defend his youth chief post and would not want to be a candidate again in the next general election. In the 2008 general election, Lim, who is the only son of former Gerakan president Tun Dr Lim Keng Yaik, was fielded to contest the Batu parliamentary seat but was defeated by PKR vice-president Tian Chua. Apart from that, chances of Gerakan retaining two parliamentary seats - Simpang Renggam (Johor) and Gerik (Perak), that the party won in the 2008 general election also seem to be getting tougher because Gerik was on loan and is speculated to be returned to Umno as Gerakan will get back its Taiping seat from the People's Progressive Party (PPP). Thus, another question arises and has put Gerakan Wanita chief Datuk Tan Lian Hoe (who represents Gerik) in limbo as to where she would be contesting in the next general election should the party decide to retain her in its line-up. Gerakan secretary-general Teng Chang Yeow did not rule out the fact that some delegates may raise this issue and seek clarification from Dr Koh during the delegates conference. "We can't stop delegates from asking that. It's the delegates' right and they can raise any issue they want at the conference," he said. However, party vice-president Datuk Mah Siew Keong believes that Dr Koh will do what he thinks is best for the party as the situation is quite fluid at the moment. "In not announcing ahead, Dr Koh has made the correct move. Why disclose everything before the time is ripe. I'm sure he has the party interest at heart and will make the best decision," he said. Apart from that, another question is whether Gerakan will take a similar stand as the MCA not to accept any Cabinet post if it fails to perform in the next general election. Dr Koh has said that the party has yet to decide whether or not to accept any Cabinet post if it fails to perform in the next general election. However, many political observers would like to hear what the party veterans, through the party's Life Members Council, have got to say about the current party affairs when they meet on Oct 15. Keng Yaik is the chairman of the Gerakan Life Members Council. Many party members believe it will only be fair to them to have Dr Koh give them crystal-clear answers to all the questions.
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| Recession risk high and rising, says RHB Posted: 11 Oct 2011 03:54 PM PDT
(The Malaysian Insider) - Malaysia's economic growth could slow to just 3.6 per cent next year from a projected 4.3 per cent this year due to the increasing risk of a double dip global recession, said the RHB Research Institute. The RHB unit's growth projection issued yesterday is significantly lower than Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak's forecast of five to six per cent growth for 2012 in his proposed RM232 billion Budget 2012 tabled last Friday. The research house said that the risk of a double-dip global recession is high and rising as both the US and Europe cannot withstand another shock although a recession could be averted if leaders in both continents act fast enough to contain the debt crises and avert a contagion that could lead to a complete meltdown in confidence. It also expected businesses to cut spending in view of rising uncertainties although some growth will come from the implementation of the Economic Transformation Programme (ETP). Private investment growth is projected to soften further to 4.6 per cent in 2012, after slowing to an estimated 5.7 per cent for 2011, the report added. Exports, meanwhile, are expected to grow at just 1.1 per cent compared to 3.4 per cent this year due to dampened foreign demand for electronics and electrical items. Domestic demand is projected to grow at a slower pace of 5.1 per cent in 2012, compared with an estimated 5.8 per cent for 2011. RHB said, however, that consumer spending is expected to remain "reasonably resilient" and grow at around 5.3 per cent in 2012, compared with 6.0 per cent for 2011, given high savings, rising consumerism and an increase in salary. Most research houses have lowered their 2012 growth projections for Malaysia despite Najib's optimism in the Budget proposals, which critics have say is primed for the next general election that must be called by early 2013. Bank of America Global Research estimated Malaysia's gross domestic product (GDP) to grow at 4.2 per cent in 2012 while Maybank Investment Bank said it expected Malaysia's GDP to expand at between 3.5-4 per cent. CIMB Investment Bank forecast a GDP growth of 3.8 per cent next year.
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| ‘Gambler’ Najib will ‘break the bank’ Posted: 11 Oct 2011 03:42 PM PDT
The language Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak used when presenting the budget was the kind often used by gamblers. Mohd Ariff Sabri Aziz, Free Malaysia Today I don't understand why there is so much hype over the unveiling of a budget. It seems the politics is more important than the contents, ramifications and implications of a budget. 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 Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak, who is also Finance Minister, announced that the allowances of all Members of Parliament would also be revised. A budget is a solemn document. It's an account of how much this country earned as revenue, its sources and the proposals to commit that income. It's both a revelation and reflection of an exercise in financial management and discipline. Those are the things we must direct our attention to. Biggest deficit in history For example, everyone clapped when Najib, said: "This year's budget is a lower proportion of our GDP (Gross Domestic Product)." 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 percent rise in expenditure. Despite the country's deficit being reduced to 4.7 percent from 5.4 percent of GDP, the fact remains that in terms of absolute amount, it would be the biggest deficit in Malaysian history. Hear this – "biggest deficit" in Malaysian history! While our finance minister is confident that Malaysia will do a five to six percent growth rate, the rest of the world will grow from a negative figure to maybe three percent at the maximum. So is the finance minister's five to six percent growth rate realistic and achievable? Or is he pulling wool over our eyes? Language of a gambler I would usually refrain from giving a spontaneous response; I would rather prefer giving 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 Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin's usual dour rejection of suggestions that it is. But nowadays not many people take the DPM seriously.
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| More controversy with Taib-linked Ta Ann Posted: 11 Oct 2011 03:37 PM PDT
An advert countering Ta Ann's claim to producing 'eco-wood' from Tasmania has drawn a response from the Australian Election Commission. (Free Malaysia Today) - The Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) has dismissed a complaint by the Liberal Party about an advertisement which clarified the status of the Tasmanian wood produced and marketed by controversial Sarawak timber company Ta Ann. Liberal Party state director Sam McQuestin said he had received a five-page response from the AEC to his complaint about an advert headlined "Truth in Advertising", which he claimed promoted Australia's Green Party. The AEC, however, was of the view that the advert was not an attempt to promote the Greens. The advert published in Tasmania's largest-circulating daily newspaper, The Mercury, last week was placed by online Sarawak Report founder-editor Clare Rewcastle Brown. Rewcastle Brown had placed the advert to counter Ta Ann's claims that its Tasmanian produce was "eco-wood". In the advert, RewcastleBrown states that Ta Ann has accused the Green Party of not telling the truth in advertising when in fact it was Ta Ann's company advertisements promoting its timber as eco-wood which is a "lie". In an e-mail to FMT, Rewcastle Brown said: "The 'Truth in Advertising' was the story I placed. "Our reports have shown that adverts describing Ta Ann's wood from Tasmania as eco-wood are false. "None of it is eco-wood. It is all taken from valuable old growth jungle that the Australian government has been trying to put a protection order over. "The logging of much of the wood is in defiance of an agreement between the state of Tasmania and the Australian federal government to protect these areas in return for a grant of millions of dollars."
Meanwhile, a disappointed McQuestin said he would accept the AEC's decision. Another Tasmanian publication "The Examiner" quoted McQuestin as saying that AEC chief legal officer Paul Pirani had noted in his five-page letter that "the advert did not constitute electoral material". The AEC also said it was beyond its jurisdiction to act on the complaint "because it was organised overseas". Ta Ann has been mired in controversy over its involvement in the Tasmanian timber industry. Early this month, the Green Party had put Ta Ann Tasmania "on notice" over its logging activities and six years of losses despite being awarded "numerous perks and subsidies" by the state. Rewcastle Brown in her FMT column said the "tactics of Sarawak's logging industry are causing increasing dismay in Australia, where Chief Minister Taib Mahmud-linked Ta Ann group has opened two major timber processing mills. "There has been a level of intrigue ever since 2005 as to how it was that Tasmania's state government was persuaded to welcome this foreign company at what have been clearly give-away rates."
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| ‘Najib’s handouts bad for the country’ Posted: 11 Oct 2011 03:30 PM PDT
The Wall Street Journal says the combination of temporary handouts and tax breaks doesn't help Malaysia's competitiveness. (Free Malaysia Today) - US business paper Wall Street Journal said today Najib's Budget 2012 handouts is bad for the country as it will not boost competitiveness. "This combination of temporary handouts and tax breaks on one hand and welfare spending on the other doesn't help Malaysia's competitiveness. "The export-dependent economy is already hurting from weak markets abroad and a rising cost of living at home—GDP growth fell below 5% in year-on-year terms for the last two quarters—and needs long-term incentives to invest and build a stronger domestic consumer market," stated the paper in an article today. Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak who also holds the finance portfolio was also criticised as the government failed to do away with food and fuel subsidies despite pledging to do so earlier. "He even likened subsidies to "opium" and made small but noteworthy cuts last year. He could have continued that rehab this year by incrementally raising regulated prices to bring them closer to market levels. In addition, WSJ also predicted that the 9.4% rise in expenditure only indicates wastage in resource because Najib did not propose permanent changes to tax structure. He also did not reduce regulation and spending. WSJ also had less than kind words for Najib on the reforms for 27 subsectors and instead called for reforms in major industries. "These are small industries that don't hire many Malays. The government needs to tackle bigger reforms in industries like manufacturing, where regulations still gives Malays dominance.
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| Deflate the bloated civil service Posted: 11 Oct 2011 03:25 PM PDT
It is time the government addresses the issue of the overbloated civil service. If you take pensions into account, emoluments and pensions as a percentage of the government's operating expenditure, the increase is from 29.8% in 2006 to 41.6% in 2010. Despite the fact that the annual budget is always increasing, the emoluments and pensions percentage proportion of the Budget is also ballooning! Selena Tay, Free Malaysia Today The 2012 Budget has failed to address the serious issues of soaring prices, rising inflation, minimum wage, corruption, cronyism, wastages and leakages in government departments but make no bones about it. Malaysia's civil service has got to go on record as being the most overbloated in the world. As at 2010, it numbers about 1.2 million employees on the government payroll out of a population of 28 million. What gives? The civil service has been expanding rapidly since the 1990s and its growth has been accelerated especially fast since 2007. In 1990, the government had 773,997 employees, by the year 2000 there were 894,788 staff members and by 2010 about 1.2 million. One of the key objectives of privatisation under the then prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad was to increase the efficiency of the delivery system and to reduce the civil service staff members to just above 500,000. Therefore, it could be said that the privatisation exercises were a complete and dismal failure in creating a lean and efficient civil service as the number now is more than twice its targetted size of 500,000. The overbloated civil service has for the most part to do with the government's policy of making our civil service the job saviour for the unemployable graduates, at least 70% of whom were Bumiputeras. This will result in a poor quality workforce but worse than that it also depletes the government's treasury. The Budget will be negatively impacted for the present and future years if the government does not restructure the civil service. Their pay rise itself will be a waste of public funds if there is a lack of efficiency and productivity. 'Iron rice bowl' This simply means that their paychecks are safely guaranteed by the government for the rest of their lives. This spurs them on to vote for Barisan Nasional come what may. Thus, their loyalty is secured as their morality and conscience go down the drain. In 2005, the government's emoluments expenses to maintain the civil service is RM25.6 billion and in 2008 it was RM41 billion (an increase of 60.2%). The civil service, therefore, is a heavy burden on emoluments as a percentage of Malaysia's financial budget. From taking up 23.3% of the nation's operating budget in 2006, it has been nothing but a yearly increase as it grew to 25.5% in 2007, 28.1% in 2008, 24.6% in 2009 and 33.1% in 2010 in spite of the yearly massive increase in operating expenditure from 101.2 billion in 2006 to RM154.2 billion three years later in 2009. If you take pensions into account, emoluments and pensions as a percentage of the government's operating expenditure, the increase is from 29.8% in 2006 to 41.6% in 2010. Despite the fact that the annual budget is always increasing, the emoluments and pensions percentage proportion of the Budget is also ballooning!
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation & Development (OECD) shows Malaysia having the highest ratio of civil servants to the population in the Asia-Pacific region at 4.68% with Indonesia having 1.79%, Philippines 1.81%, South Korea 1.85% and Thailand 2.06%. Therefore the overbloated civil service is a major contributory factor to the financial burden of the government. In 2007, the government created 2,000 jobs in the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs to give jobs to unemployed graduates as "price monitors". Their job was to jot down the prices of goods at wet markets, supermarkets and hypermarts. What is the purpose of this job is anyone's guess.
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| RM4.7 billion spent on National Service Posted: 11 Oct 2011 03:22 PM PDT
The Defence Ministry says there was no follow up on the training scheme, stressing that the programme was a success. (Free Malaysia Today) - The question members of Parliament wanted to know was how effective is the National Service programme since RM4.7billion has been spent on it over seven years. All they got was evasive answers from the Deputy Defence Minister Abdul Latiff Ahmad. He told the Dewan Rakyat that RM4.7 billion was spent but there was no follow up done to see how effective the programme was. Abdul Latiff Ahmad confirmed that the government did not conduct any studies in regards to NS trainees still being involved in crimes after their programmes ended. "No detailed studies linking the National Service (trainees) to crime have been conducted, but we will consider this in future studies." he said. Abdul Latiff, who is also Mersing MP, then defended the programme, and claimed that it was successful in instilling good values in NS trainees. He said this in response to a query by Tanah Merah MP (PKR) Amran Ab Ghani, who asked about the amount of money allocated by the Defence Ministry since the NS programme was introduced. The PKR MP had also asked if the NS programme was successful in creating an "early awareness" among youths, and if former trainees were still involved in crime. Amran then asked if these NS camps were still getting allocations from the government. Question of auditing At this stage the deputy defence minister lost his cool and insulted Amran by saying: "He is deaf, but good thing (for him) that he is not mute." This prompted Pakatan Rakyat MPs to demand that the Mersing MP withdrew his comment, which he eventually did after being advised by Deputy Speaker Ronald Kiandee. Abdul Latiff said that the 87 NS camps in operation were not owned by the government.
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| Now write your election manifesto Posted: 11 Oct 2011 02:45 AM PDT
We have discussed what we want to see in a government and what we want to see implemented in Malaysia. We have also discussed about our understanding of ethics. Assuming a political party appointed you to be in charge of drafting its election manifesto, what will this election manifesto look like? Now let's see you write your election manifesto. NO HOLDS BARRED Raja Petra Kamarudin POST YOUR COMMENTS HERE
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| SUBJECT: INDONESIAN TIES WITH MALAYSIA FALL VICTIM TO ANOTHER DUST-UP Posted: 11 Oct 2011 01:00 AM PDT
On October 6, members of a private, volunteer Malaysian militia (RELA) detained the wife of Indonesia's cultural attache to Malaysia. The latest incident follows on the heels of several cases of alleged mistreatment of Indonesian migrants working in Indonesia. For example, Indonesians were outraged when an Indonesian soccer coach was roughed up in August and when a young Indonesian woman, 20-year-old Suriyani Nas, alleged that in April she was bound, gagged and raped for a month by a Rela volunteer. THE CORRIDORS OF POWER Raja Petra Kamarudin
Classified By: Pol/C Joseph Legend Novak, reasons 1.4 (b)(d). 1. (U) This message was coordinated with Embassy Kuala Lumpur. 2. (C) SUMMARY: The brief detention--on illegal immigration charges--of an Indonesian diplomat's wife based in Malaysia has sparked an uproar in Indonesia. Despite a formal apology, the Indonesian national legislature (DPR) has demanded that the GOI take steps to freeze ties with Malaysia. The Indonesian government has rebuffed those demands and ties remain stable, but Indonesians--who are already inflamed over cases of alleged migrant labor abuse in Malaysia--are feeling increasingly touchy toward their neighbor. END SUMMARY. A BRIEF DETENTION 3. (U) On October 6, members of a private, volunteer Malaysian militia (RELA) detained the wife of Indonesia's cultural attache to Malaysia. The uniformed personnel--officially authorized to pick up illegal immigrants and deliver them to detention centers--reportedly failed to recognize Nurdin's diplomatic ID. Rela detained the woman for about two hours while her daughter fetched her passport, according to media reports. The Indonesian Embassy filed a formal protest. Embassy official Shanti Utami Retnaningsih was quoted as saying -- "They treated her like an illegal immigrant...It's unacceptable. This incident shows disrespect to members of our embassy." MALAYSIANS APOLOGIZE 4. (SBU) Reacting to the incident, Malaysia's Ambassador to Indonesia gave an official apology on October 10. Despite this, Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak went on to deny publicly that Nurdin was detained at all, claiming that she was merely asked to wait while authorities verified her credentials, according to a Malaysian media report which also received coverage in Indonesia. BACKLASH IN INDONESIA 5. (C) For their part, Indonesian legislators reacted strongly in the week following the incident. Several DPR members spoke out publicly, calling for withdrawal of the Indonesian ambassador to Kuala Lumpur, freezing the export of Indonesian migrant labor to Indonesia, and halting annual joint military exercises. Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda said--given the official protest and official apology--the matter should now be laid to rest. Based on Pol/C's soundings over the October 13-14 weekend, Indonesian politicians were still angry over the incident, claiming that it shows that Malaysians have "no respect" for Indonesians. 6. (SBU) Sentiments of bruised nationalism have spilled over into culture as well, with recent calls by prominent Indonesians to boycott Malaysian products because of allegations that Malaysia has infringed upon the copyrights of popular Indonesian folk song "Rasa Sayang" ("Feeling of Love"). A song with the same tune and near identical lyrics has recently been employed to promote Malaysian tourism. Theo Sambuaga, Chairman of the DPR's Commission I which deals with foreign and security affairs, stated publicly on October 9 -- "We ask Malaysia, its apparatus and the media, to stop denigrating Indonesians." TIES A BIT BRUISED -- BUT STABLE 7. (C) The latest incident follows on the heels of several cases of alleged mistreatment of Indonesian migrants working in Indonesia. For example, Indonesians were outraged when an Indonesian soccer coach was roughed up in August (ref B) and when a young Indonesian woman, 20-year-old Suriyani Nas, alleged that in April she was bound, gagged and raped for a month by a Rela volunteer (ref A). 8. (C) In spite of all the problems, Indonesian-Malaysian ties remain stable. The perception is growing among Indonesians that they are somehow not being treated with respect, however. At the heart of the matter, is sentiment among Indonesians that Malaysians have a superiority complex and treat Indonesians as if they are second-class citizens. A bit embittered, Indonesians increasingly are taking a touchy, nationalistic stance toward their cousins across the strait -- "They just treat us like dirt," said one official to Dep/Pol/C. HUME (October 2007)
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| Malaysia's youth energises political landscape Posted: 10 Oct 2011 08:47 PM PDT
Malaysia's youngest sitting politician says his generation of leaders is ready to move away from race-based politics. Politics in Malaysia is centred on race and religion, with the Malay UMNO dominating a multi-racial political coalition. 29 year old Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad says all signs are pointing to an early election - as soon as November this year, or in the first quarter of 2012. Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad also calls for a more equitable distribution of wealth in Malaysia. Sen Lam, Radio Australia Presenter: Sen LamSpeaker: Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad, Selangor state assemblyman, Malaysia and Communications Director for the opposition Parti Keadilan. He was in Melbourne as a guest of the Asia Institute, Asialink and the Asia Society
NIK NAZMI: The problem we have today is that the economic policy we have in Malaysia is very much a trickle-down one for the ordinary people, regardless of race. Of course, the politicians would like us to see in terms of racial paradigms but in reality, the ordinary Malaysians regardless of race, lose out, whereas those who are politically-connected, regardless of race benefit. So I think that currently, the government talks about liberalising the NEP (New Economic Policy), moving away from the NEP adopting our own rhetoric, which is good, but in terms of reality, we think that it also means an over-emphasis on liberalisation, without a balance in terms of social justice, which is bad I think, for the country as a whole.
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| Posted: 10 Oct 2011 07:43 PM PDT By Tarani Palani, FMT Are we so chauvinistic that we can't stomach pretty women in politics?
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| MACC urged to probe Ananda Krishnan Posted: 10 Oct 2011 07:38 PM PDT By Patrick Lee, FMT KUALA LUMPUR: A formal investigation by India's Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) against Maxis Communications Bhd tycoon T Ananda Krishnan and its director Ralph Marshall should spur its Malaysian counterpart to do the same, according to PKR. Subang MP R Sivarasa said that there was no excuse for the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) to claim ignorance over the matter. "It would be a bit difficult for the MACC to say that they don't know about this," he told reporters st the Parliament lobby here today. Sivarasa said this while holding today's edition of the Sun newspaper, with the headline: "India Probes Tycoon" on its cover. The paper was referring to a New Indian Express report – an Indian newspaper – that both Ananda and Marshall were being investigated on charges of criminal conspiracy under the Indian Penal Code and the Prevention of Corruption Act. India's telecom minister Dayanidhi Maran, his brother Kalanidhi as well as three companies (Astro, Maxis and Sun TV) were also implicated in the scandal. Citing the MACC Act, Sivarasa said that Malaysians guilty of bribery or corruption out of the country could be charged in Malaysia."The MACC should treat this report as a report to them. They should not wait for us to go to them and lodge a report," he said.
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| Probe may hurt Ananda Krishnan’s Aircel loan plans, says Indian daily Posted: 10 Oct 2011 07:33 PM PDT By Debra Chong, The Malaysian Insider KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 11 — India's fifth-largest mobile operator Aircel will find it tough to get banks to fund its expansion with police investigating its biggest shareholder T. Ananda Krishnan for criminal conspiracy over his stake in the company, the Times of India reported today. Indian investigators have named Ananda (picture), his top executive Ralph Marshall and two Malaysian companies, Maxis Communications Bhd (Maxis Communications) and Astro All-Asia Networks (Astro) in their probe which centres on graft allegations against former Indian telecommunications minister Dayadhini Maran and his media mogul brother, Kalainidhi. "Naming Aircel in the FIR is not significant. But with others like [Ananda] and Marshall named in the FIR, it would become difficult for Aircel to raise funds from banks," a lawyer told India's top English-language paper today, referring to the First Investigation Report. Aircel, which has 55 million subscribers, recently partnered Virtela — the world's largest independently-managed network in security and cloud computing services — to boost their global business operations through faster, safer and more mobile networks. The Indian telecommunications company had budgeted US$1.4 billion (RM4.4 billion) for its nationwide coverage expansion in June last year. Aircel planned to double its India investment to US$10 billion over the next four years to rollout new services and expand its existing network to include wireless broadband coverage nationwide. "We have already invested US$5 billion, including 3G spectrum price and network rollout, and by 2014, we will pump another similar amount to take up our investment to US$10 billion to ramp up our capacity," Aircel chief operating officer Gurdeep Singh was reported saying in February this year by several Indian media Ananda owns a 74 per cent stake in Aircel through Maxis Communications which also has a 70 per cent stake in Malaysia's telecommunications giant, Maxis Bhd. The 73-year-old telecommunications, media and property tycoon is reported to be worth US$9.6 billion and is ranked by Forbes as Southeast Asia's second-richest man and the world's 89th. The controversy centres on Maxis' 74 per cent stake in Aircel, which was said to have been bought for Rs78.81 billion (about RM506,556,185). Apart from the case filed against the Maran brothers, Ananda, Marshall and the Malaysian companies, India's Central Bureau of Investigations (CBI) has named the Maran brothers' Sun TV Network.
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| RM1 juta untuk PM ke Kazakhstan Posted: 10 Oct 2011 05:53 PM PDT
(Harakah Daily) - Kerajaan membelanjakan RM1,072,213.22 untuk lawatan rasmi Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Najib Razak ke Kazakhstan Jun lalu. Dalam satu jawapan bertulis hari ni, kerajaan memaklumkan lawatan 5 dan 6 Jun itu di atas jemputan Presiden Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazabayev.
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| A philosophical comparison of the budgets Posted: 10 Oct 2011 04:18 PM PDT
On the surface, both appear to be quite similar in intent and target, namely, to help alleviate the rising cost of living particularly amongst the lower-income groups. Yet the philosophical formulation of the two documents cannot be more divergent. Breaking through the sheath of populist pronouncements, one would discover a sharp contrast between the underlying ideologies that define the two budgets. Zairil Khir Johari, The Malaysian Insider And so it has come to this. The last push. With the general election expected soon, both Pakatan Rakyat and Barisan Nasional are preparing themselves for the final assault. Barricades have been erected, cannons lined up and guns trained on the other side. In the last week, we have witnessed the opening salvos launched by both sides. First to the tilt was Pakatan Rakyat with a modest offering encapsulated in the title "kesejahteraan untuk semua" or "prosperity for all'. And just as it was about to gain traction the ruling Barisan Nasional descended with a no-holds-barred mega welfare budget, coincidentally called "bajet membela rakyat, mensejahtera negara", or "defending the people and prosperity for the country". Without a doubt, both sides have angled the budget with an election in mind. Thus, there is no escaping the menial comparisons between the two sets of proffered "goodies" — RM500 for lower-income households compared to RM1,000 for lower-income housewives, or cash and book voucher bonuses for students compared to RM700 childcare allowances, or a restructuring of teachers' salary schemes compared to an outright increase in teachers' allowances. In short, most comparative discourse has been about whose sack contains bigger and better presents — Santa Najib or Santa. On the surface, both appear to be quite similar in intent and target, namely, to help alleviate the rising cost of living particularly amongst the lower-income groups. Yet the philosophical formulation of the two documents cannot be more divergent. Breaking through the sheath of populist pronouncements, one would discover a sharp contrast between the underlying ideologies that define the two budgets. Take the position on expenditures. Again, both appear similar on paper — BN's RM232 billion compared to PR's RM220 billion, with BN curtailing the long-running national deficit to 4.7 per cent of GDP compared to 4.4 per cent for PR, though the latter is based on a more conservative GDP projection. However, closer inspection would reveal that the essence of PR's spending policy is necessarily tempered by a commitment to prudence, efficiency and sustainability. For example, the PR document promises to issue Approved Permits (APs) at market value, thus raising RM1.2 billion in what can only be described as lost revenue. In addition, an open tender system as well as an Unfair Public Contracts Act is promised in order to increase value-for-money and to ensure public interest is protected. More importantly, there is also a commitment to reducing the Petronas dividend to 40 per cent of projected net profits, thus ensuring our national cash cow is able to plough its profits back for reinvestment. The BN's spending approach, on the other hand, is really just about spending. In this case, reducing the deficit merely means spending controls and reallocation of resources without necessarily addressing wastefulness, inefficiency and the need for sustainable economics. Another key difference is the discretionary budget of the Prime Minister's Department (PMD). The BN's budget has carved out RM13.5 billion for the prime minister's use, while PR has pledged to reduce that amount by a third, returning it to the levels of half a decade ago. Reducing the prime minister's spending is only half the story — the true intention of this exercise is to take steps towards decentralisation of power. Over the last few years, multiple new agencies have been created and parked under the blossoming aegis of the PMD. This has not only served to consolidate power under the prime minister, it has also emasculated various ministries which have seen their functions replicated and usurped. Seen in this context, PR's reduction of PMD expenditure is therefore not only an attempt to return power to its rightful ministries, but more importantly to reduce the arbitrary power of the prime minister. Following this, a promise was also made by the opposition leader, coincidentally also the last finance minister to table a surplus budget nearly 15 years ago, that a PR prime minister would not concurrently sign the treasury cheques — another clear commitment to devolvement and decentralisation of power. Both budgets also apparently target a very specific group — households with cumulative incomes of below RM3,000 — representing nearly 60 per cent of our population. To assist this group, BN is doling out cash bonuses of RM500 for each family, RM100 for schoolchildren and RM200 for tertiary students as a means of riding out the expected economic storm. The PR budget, while also promising assistance in the form of a RM1,000 homemaker allowance and a RM1,000 bonus for the elderly, will also grant childcare allowances of RM700 a year in addition to the facilitation and establishment of certified childcare centres. This incentive is designed to encourage female participation in the workforce, thus increasing productivity and income of the targeted households.
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| Missing: The Auditor-General’s report Posted: 10 Oct 2011 04:12 PM PDT (Harakah Daily) - Something has been missing prior to the debate of the 2012 Budget in parliament yesterday, as pointed out by Opposition Leader who is also the former Finance minister, Anwar Ibrahim. "Unfortunately, we are debating the budget today, but the Auditor-General's report has not been presented," Anwar told Dewan Rakyat yesterday.He questioned whether the delay was deliberate to prevent members of parliament from discussing the Auditor-General's contents. In his response to the budget tabled by prime minister Najib Razak last Friday, Anwar accused Najib of repackaging past failed programmes and unfulfilled promises under new names requiring large amounts of money. The Permatang Pauh MP also lashed out at Najib's growth projection of 5 to 6 percent for 2012, saying that the number was way too high based on various analysis and research. Anwar also said the 4.7 percent deficit prediction was without basis, saying such a projection must be based on economic growth in 2011 and the projected growth total national income for 2012, and added a country making unrealistic growth and revenue projection would suffer the repercussion. "First, it will worsen the country's deficit. Secondly it will also sideline the critical need to adhere to physical discipline and prudent spending of public funds," said Anwar, who also echoes an earlier statement by PAS information chief Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man that BN would table a supplementary budget bill by mid of 2012. As such, Anwar said if the forecast GDP could not be achieved, Parliament should convene a special sitting to take Najib to task.
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| Home Ministry under siege, mentally Posted: 10 Oct 2011 04:08 PM PDT By John Inbaraj, Aliran In an earlier article which appeared under this section entitled "Something is rotten about migrant workers' entry rules" (19 September 2011), I had quite openly implied that the government lacked the will to fight the undocumented workers problem in the country and that rampant corruption had blurred the vision of the authorities from within and without the country in creating a clean and safe environment for locals hiring foreign workers and for foreign workers themselves. I had also called for the authorities to stop the flood of undocumented workers and to keep our shores safe from health-related and social problems and "undocumented" criminals roaming in our midst without fear. It did not take long for all of the above to be reinforced in the media in the days that followed. theSun (21 September) carried a front page article which shouted "Unapproved labour"! The Star and New Straits Times carried similar articles. The Home Minister revealed that 2320034 foreign workers were registered via the biometric system. Of these 1303120 were illegals (almost 50 per cent), some 327991 of whom were employed in mining, car workshops, fast food restaurant and food stalls and as fishermen and newspaper vendors. Some of these illegals are self-employed and some have become employers. These areas are not in the approved list of work for foreigners. The saddest part of this whole episode is that Hishammuddin, whose Home Ministry was accorded No. 1 status for Key Performance Indicators (KPI) achievements, is quoted as saying "Even though the scenario is not new, it is difficult for the authorities to take action against them due to falsification of documents and identities and other abuses of work permits and passes." And mind you, he adds, "As such, the Home Ministry is considering suggestions by employers who have pleaded that special permission be given for the illegal workers in the non-approved sectors, to be included in the legalisation process." I am exasperated, breathless and completely lost. People who challenge conditions set by the Home Ministry, falsify documents, cheat, lie and abuse are granted a reprieve? You even have fast food chains – "respected" and probably internationally recognised food outlets – employing illegal workers? And you condone that! Hey Minister, have you any respect for yourself? Doesn't it anger you when foreigners and especially local employers don't give a damn for your rules and regulations and what you say? At this point let me digress a little and draw our readers attention to an incident that happened to a friend of mine some time back. This was over an sms informing him of a substantial cash winning. My friend, recognising that it was a scam originating from an Indonesian mobile number, called to threaten the sender with a police report but the response he got was "Report-lah! Malaysian punya polis semua bodoh-lah!" As a Malaysian how did I feel? Anger yes, but at the same time wasn't he right? Has this scourge now spread to the Home Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister too?
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| Firefly must be sold to avoid price fixing, says Pakatan Posted: 10 Oct 2011 04:04 PM PDT By Shannon Teoh, The Malaysian Insider KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 11 — Pakatan Rakyat (PR) lawmakers have told Malaysia Airlines (MAS) to dispose of its subsidiary Firefly to ensure competition for air travel after the national carrier's share swap with AirAsia. DAP publicity chief Tony Pua said the August 9 deal, which saw Tune Air Sdn Bhd hand over 10 per cent of the low-cost airline to Khazanah Nasional Bhd in exchange for 20.5 per cent of the flag carrier, will see "a collusive duopoly seeking to protect profits instead of being dictated by market forces." The Petaling Jaya Utara MP said even if there was no active price fixing "there will be collusion as 'I don't reduce, you don't reduce, we all make money'." He pointed out that despite fuel prices increasing by over five times since AirAsia began operations 10 years ago, passengers have enjoyed more than a 50 per cent reduction in domestic and regional air tickets. The controversial share swap has come under fire from politicians on both sides of the divide. MAS has said that Firefly will be turned into a full-service regional airline following the deal under the "Comprehensive Collaboration Framework" between MAS and AirAsia. PAS research chief Dzulkefly Ahmad said unless Firefly was sold to the highest bidder, "it is a case of one step forward, two steps back for Datuk Seri Najib Razak's liberalisation." The prime minister has introduced market reforms since taking office in 2009 but a recent spate of takeover bids by government-linked companies has raised questions over his administration's commitment to freeing the market for private sector players. Permodalan Nasional Berhad (PNB) has made a mandatory offer to take property development giant SP Setia private after increasing its stake to over 33 per cent. Sime Darby Bhd's recent acquisition of 30 per cent of property developer Eastern and Oriental (E&O) for RM766 million from a group of businessmen has also sparked concerns of insider trading and both counters were suspended this morning. Kuala Selangor MP Dzulkefly said these moves reduced competition and were a "bottleneck to an efficient market" which would lead to capital flight. | |||||||||||||||
| Secret order to snoop on WikiLeaks Posted: 10 Oct 2011 03:59 PM PDT
(Reuters) - WASHINGTON: The U.S. government obtained secret court orders to force Google Inc and a small Internet provider to hand over information from email accounts of a WikiLeaks volunteer, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday. The U.S. request included email addresses of people that Jacob Appelbaum, a volunteer for the campaigning website, had corresponded with in the past two years, but not the full emails, the newspaper said, citing documents it had reviewed. Internet provider Sonic said it fought the government order legally and lost, and was forced to turn over information, the company's chief executive, Dane Jasper, told the newspaper. Appelbaum, 28, has not been charged with any wrongdoing, the daily said. Google, the world's No.1 Web-search engine, declined to comment on the matter, the Wall Street Journal said. WikiLeaks last year angered the U.S. government by making public tens of thousands of secret U.S. files and diplomatic cables that embarrassed Washington, as well as a classified video of a contested American military operation in Iraq. The Google order dated January 4, 2011, directed the search giant to turn over IP address from which Appelbaum logged into his Gmail.com account and the email and IP addresses of the users with whom he communicated dating back to November 1, 2009. It isn't clear whether Google fought the order or turned over documents, the Journal said. The controversial court orders are expected to add fuel to a growing debate over a controversial law -- the Electronic Communications Privacy Act -- that allows the U.S. government to secretly obtain information from people's email and cellphones without a search warrant. This year, micro-blogging website Twitter fought a similar court order to hand over details of the accounts of several WikiLeaks supporters, including Appelbaum, as part of a criminal investigation launched by the Department of Justice into the major leaking of confidential U.S. documents. Appelbaum is a developer for the Tor Project Inc., a nonprofit organisation that provides free tools that help people maintain their anonymity online, the Wall Street Journal reported. Twitter has not turned over information from the accounts of the Wikileaks supporters, the newspaper said, citing people familiar with the investigation.
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| Sarawak tycoon’s firm hired PNG cops to bash up locals, ABC reports Posted: 10 Oct 2011 03:49 PM PDT
By Debra Chong, The Malaysian Insider Papua New Guinea (PNG) police admitted they were paid by a company owned by Sarawak tycoon Tan Sri Tiong Hiew King to crack down on locals protesting against a controversial oil palm project there, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported today. The state-owned media channel's "The World Today" programme reported that villagers in PNG's East New Britain province were arrested and beaten last week by a squad of police officers under orders from Rimbunan Hijau (RH). RH is Tiong's multi-industry company with the biggest logging and oil palm plantation shares in the South Pacific country. The 76-year-old is said to be worth US$1.1 billion (RM3.5 billion) and is ranked by Forbes to be the world's 840th richest man. The villagers were protesting the clearing of 44,000 hectares for an oil palm plantation by a company called Gilford Limited without their permission, the news agency said. The locals suspect Gilford is a front for RH as the hired security guards don the logging giant's uniform. According to ABC News, PNG's police assistant commissioner Anton Billy accused the protestors of trespassing into the plantation's work camp in another district, Pomio, and assaulting workers. Billy also said RH flew the police officers to the area and was paying their allowances and providing accommodation. But he did not see anything wrong with the arrangement. "We don't have any funds to get these people there and pay them allowances and all this stuff. That's normal," Billy was cited as saying by ABC News. A PNG local has refuted the police's claim, saying the officers were drunk that night when they acted against the protestors. "What they did is they bashed up the people in the village, young men and elderly men, this in front of us, and three of them said let's go because they were under arrest," said Paul Pavol, reportedly one of the protest leaders. PNG's top police commissioner has ordered an investigation into claims of police harassment, saying officers found guilty of abusing their powers will be dealt with. But RH has yet to respond to questions about its involvement with the police action or its connection to the oil palm plantation, ABC News said.
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| Organisors slam police, question PM’s sincerity Posted: 10 Oct 2011 03:43 PM PDT
By Michael Kaung, FMT KUANTAN: The protest against Lynas Corporation Ltd's plans to open a rare earth processing plant here is rapidly gathering steam forcing another display of force by the authorities just months after the Bersih rally for clean and fair elections. The organisors of the Himpunan Hijau 109 (Green Solidarity 109) gathering in Taman Gelora here hit out at Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak for allowing the police to intimidate the thousands who attended the peaceful meet on Oct 9. "We question the sincerity of our PM. Only less than a month ago, he said Malaysia should move towards a more open society and that peaceful assembly would be allowed but that was not reflected in Kuantan last week," they complained. "Police and the local town council took unnecessary actions to interrupt the event and intimidate the organizer and participants," said Wong Tack, chairman of the national steering committee formed to protest the construction of the plant. The plant is currently under construction and protesters say the disposal of radioactive waste from its operations will be damaging. On Sunday, protesters chanted "long live the people" whilst holding up umbrellas with an anti-nuclear sign and waved banners reading "Lynas get out" and were confronted by rows of police personnel. According to Wong, permits from both the police and local council were withdrawn at the eleventh hour. "Temporary tents and stage that were already set up by the organizers at the event venue were dismantled in the middle of the night. "Uniformed armed personnels were at the site. Roadblocks were set up and parking areas were sealed. "This is blatant abuse of power. The only reason given was 'instructions from above'," said Wong, who added he had tried to find out who had given the order and believed the crackdown was orchestrated. He stressed that the 'Himpunan Hijau 109′ event was a people's movement and organised by the local community. "It is a movement that transcends political boundaries," said Wong who was upset with how the government-controlled media distorted and misreported the event. "The national television (station) lied to the whole nation by saying that the event was a failure and was organized and backed by the opposition. "On the contrary … the event marked a major victory of the people and they know this is not the climax of our struggle. "It is only the first wave hitting the shore. We assure you that if nothing changes we will bound to see the greatest tsunami. "We want everyone to know that we will walk the streets one way or another. "Either to celebrate victory or to express the strongest anger. The people have already decided. "Now it's up to the authorities," he said.
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| Malaysia 'better for refugees' Posted: 10 Oct 2011 03:39 PM PDT
By Kirsty Needham and Michelle Grattan, The Age JULIA Gillard has received a rare boost ahead of this week's parliamentary vote on the Malaysia people swap plan, with the United Nations refugee agency saying asylum seekers would get better protection in Malaysia under her proposal than if held in indefinite mandatory detention in Australia. The House of Representatives will vote on Thursday on the legislation to bypass a High Court ban on sending asylum seekers to Malaysia. Greens MP Adam Bandt and independent Andrew Wilkie have flagged they will vote against the bill on human rights grounds, leaving its lower house fate in the hands of West Australian National MP Tony Crook. Mr Crook, who is not saying which way he is leaning, is preparing to meet the government and opposition today. Amid speculation about a possible return of Kevin Rudd as leader, how Mr Crook's vote falls will be crucially important for the embattled Prime Minister. If she loses the vote, it will be the first time a government has been defeated in the House of Representatives on a legislative vote since 1929, when the then government called an election - which it lost. The opposition would argue a loss was a defacto vote of no confidence and Ms Gillard should go to the polls. The regional office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, in response to questions from a Greens and opposition-led inquiry, has offered its strongest support yet for the Malaysia swap. The UNHCR has scrutinised Australia's own treatment of asylum seekers, saying mandatory detention does not allow asylum seekers to work or live in the community - whereas Malaysia would. Australia also denies asylum seekers the right to lawful stay, and is punitive to people arriving by boat. ''In the context of the Malaysian arrangements, the assurances of legal stay and community-based reception for all transferees can be seen as a more positive protection environment than protracted - and in some cases indefinite - detention that many face here in Australia, provided the assurances are carefully monitored,'' wrote the UNHCR regional representative, Richard Towle. The High Court struck down the refugee swap partly because Malaysia is not a signatory to the Refugee Convention. But Mr Towle says many Refugee Convention signatories did not meet ''the fundamental protection safeguards that were expected of Malaysia'' under the plan. The UNHCR has also dismissed what it said was a ''misperception'' that asylum seekers could be caned, saying the document to be issued to transferees to prove their legal status would have been ''a significant safeguard''. Mr Towle said Malaysia also planned to extend legal work rights to all refugees, not just those sent from Australia. ''All refugees in Malaysia would … be registered within the government's immigration database and thus protected from arbitrary arrest and detention. It would also mean that all refugees in Malaysia would have the right to work on a par with legal migrants in the country.'' This would allow them to access insurance and health schemes. When asked why the UNHCR hadn't endorsed or signed the Malaysia deal, Mr Towle replied that it was never envisaged the UNHCR sign or endorse it. ''No inference can reasonably be drawn from this,'' he wrote. The manager of opposition business, Christopher Pyne, said yesterday that Ms Gillard had stated the vote on the bill was about an executive's ability to govern effectively. ''On that basis alone, you would assume that if the government fails to convince the Parliament to pass the amendment, it would follow the last precedent in 1929 and advise the Governor-General of the need for an election'', Mr Pyne said. But Mr Crook told The Age he would not be swayed by whether the vote would be seen as a vote of confidence. ''I don't feel any pressure in that regard.'' He said the issues were border security, the welfare of people taking the risk of getting on boats, breaking the people smugglers' business model and giving the government the right to make decisions. Ms Gillard is already under criticism from some Labor MPs for persisting with the Malaysia legislation, which faces defeat in the Senate if it is passed by the lower house. Caucus sources continued to deny any move on Ms Gillard's leadership was likely soon. Mr Bandt said mandatory detention was ''appalling'' and ruined lives ''but Labor's soul-destroying practices at home don't mean we should start sending fairness offshore … If some other countries are said to treat asylum seekers a little better, that should make us lift our game, not make our laws worse.'' Mr Wilkie said: ''I do not support offshore processing in any circumstances. Nor do I support mandatory detention in Australia. One is not better than the other - both are fundamentally unethical and at odds with our obligations as a signatory to the refugee convention.'' Refugee lawyer David Manne, who stopped the Malaysia deal in the High Court said: ''The fact is that the Malaysia deal was unlawful. It doesn't provide adequate protections for refugees in law.''
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| Sexual diversion from Najib’s weak budget Posted: 10 Oct 2011 03:27 PM PDT
The latest video allegedly showing Anwar Ibrahim in a Thai hotel room is another attempt to divert people's attention from the weak budget. (Free Malaysia Today) - The latest video allegedly showing Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim being in a hotel room in Thailand is an attempt to divert people's attention from the weak Budget 2012. In a statement today, PKR vice president N Surendran said it was not surprising that the video was uploaded just days after Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak announced next year's budget. "It's no coincidence that the video was uploaded at a time Najib is trying hard to defend his budget. Economists and the public are unhappy with his budget," said Surendran. Yesterday, pro-Umno blogger Papagomo uploaded a clip allegedly showing Anwar, clad in a bath robe, walking around in a hotel room with a cell phone in his hand. The blogger claimed the video was shot on Jan 13 this year while Anwar was on a trip to Patpong, Thailand. However, the video failed to show the identity of the man clearly and the video was shot in black and white. Responding to the sex video, Surendran said such attacks against Anwar were nothing new as the current government was repeating the same attack done during the premiership of Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
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| 'New' video: UMNO-BN must abandon guttter politics Posted: 10 Oct 2011 03:26 PM PDT By N Surendran This type of sex-fixated smear politics was initiated by UMNO-BN during the Mahathir administration, when massive state resources were used to fabricate incredible sex-related charges and allegations against then Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim. Innocent individuals like Dr.Munawar Anees were arrested and tortured under the dreaded Internal Security Act, and forced to falsely implicate Anwar Ibrahim. Continuing in this distasteful tradition, UMNO-BN now tries to hide its economic mismanagement, abuse of power and corrupt practices by conniving at fabricated sex videos. These videos are released periodically by a sleazy website which is aligned to UMNO and heaps vile abuse on the opposition. During the earlier 'Datuk T' sex video fiasco, it was shocking to see the synchronised way in which public statements were being issued by the 'Datuk T trio, top Umno leaders and the police force leadership. It was nothing less than a carefully concerted effort to destroy the political career of Anwar Ibrahim and halt Pakatan Rakyat's march to Putrajaya. It is surely no coincidence that this new video comes at a time when Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak and his government are desperately trying to defend the recently tabled Budget 2012. The government's budget proposal has been convincingly exposed as dangerously weak and based on wildly optimistic growth projections. The budget does nothing to address longstanding imbalances and distortions in the economy, and one-off handouts are irresponsibly promised in order to create a feel-good factor in the run-up to the 13th general election. Respected analysts and economists have slammed it, and the public is extremely disappointed. The government should withdraw and drastically amend their budget proposal, and not seek to distract the rakyat by condoning and conniving at the dissemination of more fabricated sex-videos. We urgently call upon the Prime Minister, his government and top UMNO-BN leaders to abandon gutter politics, and dedicate themselves to the politics of rational debate and discourse. Issued by: N SURENDRAN VICE PRESIDENT KEADILAN | |||||||||||||||
| Sultan’s ruling given cautionary welcome Posted: 10 Oct 2011 03:24 PM PDT
Harapan Komuniti's lawyer says that the Sultan's statement suggests that proselytising did take place during the NGO's Thanksgiving dinner. (Free Malaysia Today) - The Sultan of Selangor's ruling that no group should be prosecuted over the controversial raid on the Damansara Utama Methodist Church (DUMC) on Aug 3 has been cautiously welcomed by a lawyer of one of the accused parties. The Selangor Islamic Affairs Department (JAIS) raided a Thanksgiving dinner organised by NGO Harapan Komuniti following a tip-off that proselytising activities were taking place during the event. Harapan Komuniti denied this and insisted that the event was a fundraiser for HIV/AIDS supporters. In a statement yesterday, Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah ruled that the JAIS report on the raid indicated that its actions were correct and had not breached any state laws. The sultan also ordered JAIS to provide counselling to the Muslims present at the dinner to restore their belief and faith in the religion. While DUMC has "warmly welcomed" the sultan's ruling, Annou Xavier of Messrs Azri, Lee Swee Seng & Co who represents Harapan Komuniti has refrained from expressing the same sentiments. "I can't say if I'm happy or not because the sultan's statement was neither here nor there," he told FMT. "If you read it carefully the sultan appears to have alluded to the fact that proselytising had indeed taken place during the dinner. "Also the manner in which JAIS had conducted the raid was thoroughly unprofessional in its casting of aspersions and leaking details of the initial findings of its investigations." Death threat on Harapan Komuniti A six-minute video clip showing scenes of the raid surfaced on pro-Umno blogs two weeks after the raid followed by photographs and personal details of the Muslim dinner guests. Questions were raised as to how supposedly confidential JAIS evidence had fallen into these bloggers' hands. Xavier also said that he hadn't yet seen JAIS' final report and wasn't privy to any of the details. "Since we are the accused party, the least JAIS could do is give us a copy of the final report," he said. "I'll have to ask the DUMC lawyers whether they have already requested one from JAIS."
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| Posted: 10 Oct 2011 03:24 PM PDT
By IkhlasMalaysia First of all, is casting a vote a 'right' (hak) or a responsibilty (tanggungjawab)? In some countries (including Singapore), casting a vote is a citizen's responsibility. If you don't cast your vote you will be fined. In Malaysia, the TV used to air the 'Mari Mengundi' song which sings, " Marilah mari, pergi mengundi.. jangan lupa KEWAJIPAN (responsibility), pada negara". Is the government sending the correct message to the people?
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| Ibrahim says Pemandu has ‘hidden agenda’ Posted: 10 Oct 2011 03:20 PM PDT
Opening up the economy to foreign ownership is also an opposition idea, according to the Perkasa chief. (Free Malaysia Today) - The government's liberalisation efforts took another beating from influential Malay rights group Perkasa which warned today against opening up the economy to foreign ownership. At the unveiling of Budget 2012, Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak announced the opening up 100 percent foreign ownership of 17 sub-sectors aimed at recapturing straying investments. Perkasa president Ibrahim Ali, a staunch advocate of Mahathir-era protectionist policies, said the move would sideline Bumiputera businesses, adding that liberalisation is an opposition idea. He also took a swipe at the Performance and Management Delivery Unit (Pemandu) for advocating the move to open the 17 sub-sectors. Ibrahim, the independent Pasir Mas MP, in his speech during the Budget 2012 debate in the Dewan Rakyat, said Pemandu had a "hidden agenda" in promoting liberalisation. "Liberalisation is an idea promoted by the opposition… the Malay Chamber of Commerce had even made a strong statement against it but it is not heeded. "I urge the government not to listen to Pemandu because if it implements liberalisation (as advocated by Pemandu), the latter's hidden agenda would take place," he said. Key sectors remain caged
Najib is trying to make liberalisation a key aspect of his New Economic Model (NEM) as he aims to resuscitate the country's ailing economy. Race-based affirmative action and Bumiputera protectionist policies have prompted capital flight and caused a deep drop in foreign investments, forcing Malaysia to play catch-up with its neighbours despite being Asean's economic powerhouse once.
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| MACC track record poor, public confidence low Posted: 10 Oct 2011 03:12 PM PDT
By Teo Nie Ching Last Wednesday, I questioned the Prime Minister in Parliament about the expenses incurred by the MACC in hiring: 1. The famous forensic expert from England, Peter Vanezis; and 2. Representing solicitor Datuk Seri Muhamad Shafee Abdullah According to the written reply from the Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Nazri Aziz, the total expenditure incurred by MACC for Peter Vanezis, including air fare, accommodation, food and beverage, transportation and professional fees, amounted to RM90,680; whereas the professional fees paid to Datuk Seri Muhamad Shafee Abdullah was RM150,000. Without a doubt, forensics and law are both highly specialised and complicated fields hence Professor Dr. Peter Vanezis and Datuk Seri Muhamad Shafee Abdullah can justify their high consultation fees. In light of that, their high charges make the voluntary and selfless contributions by renowned Thai forensic expert Dr Pornthip Rojanasunand and the solicitors representing the Teoh family, Karpal Singh and Gobind Singh, stand out even more. Their invaluable contributions are testament to their commitment and outstanding integrity. In order to seek truth and justice, Dr. Pornthip came to Malaysia 4 times to testify in the coroner's court and the Royal Commission of Inquiry, and participated in the 2nd autopsy on Teoh Beng Hock's remains. For all her efforts, she did not charge a single cent for her professional services because she is driven by her conscience. Both Karpal Singh and Gobind Singh have been fighting on behalf of the Teoh family in court since 2009, from the coroner's court to the current ongoing appeal and judicial review – a period of three long, painstaking years. The father-and-son team is also fighting for justice for the Teoh family on a completely pro bono basis. The operating expenditure for the MACC for 2010 and 2011 amounted to RM168 million and RM202 million respectively, and the federal allocation for 2012 has been increased to a whopping RM211 million. Therefore, the high fees charged by Peter Vanezis and Datuk Seri Muhamad Shafee Abdullah are not a big deal for the MACC. However, seeing as a huge amount of taxpayers' money has been spent by the MACC, it is only right that the people demand a satisfactory performance from the anti-corruption institution. Compared to conviction rates of almost 100% in Indonesia, 85% in Singapore and 95% in Hong Kong, the conviction rate in Malaysia is a pathetic 73% -- a poor track record when compared with its peers in the region.
For the year 2010 and 2011, resolved cases numbered 435 and 403 respectively. With a conviction rate of 73%, the average cost of a successful persecution was RM529,050 and RM457,754 for 2010 and 2011 respectively. Since its inception on 1 January 2009, the MACC has been implicated in 2 suspicious deaths within its premises. But until today, we do not see any "big fishes" being brought to book. As former MCA President Ling Liong Sik, former Transport Minister Tan Sri Chan Kong Choy and former Selangor Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Khir Toyo are currently being prosecuted, will they fall within range of the 73% that will be convicted, or will they be part of the 27% who are acquitted? TEO NIE CHING Assistant National Publicity Secretary-cum-Serdang MP
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| Posted: 10 Oct 2011 03:09 PM PDT
By Gomen Man via The Malaysian Insider I caution Malaysiakini, The Malaysian Insider and other websites that the Barisan Nasional government has hired about 200 cyber troopers to try and influence opinion on portals, social networking sites like Facebook. These paid hands will post inane comments and even challenge webmasters to put up their comments. The idea is to create the impression that there are many supporters of Najib Razak and his government in cyberspace and intimidate others. But in truth, they number about 200 and are paid by taxpayers. I urge the new sites not to put up their comments because they are paid hands and are not interested in any principles or in a better Malaysia. Their sole aim is to perpetuate the present system despite all its flaws. The Najib government has apparently been advised by its good friends in Singapore that it needs to influence opinions in social networking sites and the Internet. That is why they have hired these cyber troopers. So, please beware, Malaysiakini and others.
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| Putrajaya paid RM94m to FBC Media for global airtime Posted: 10 Oct 2011 03:06 PM PDT By Shannon Teoh, The Malaysian Insider KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 11 — The Barisan Nasional (BN) government paid RM94 million to raise its international profile over three years to FBC Media, which is under probe by British regulators for producing content on Malaysia without revealing that Putrajaya was its client. But the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) denied any involvement in how FBC Media secured coverage in the international press. In a written reply to a question in Parliament, Datuk Seri Najib Razak's office said that the 12-month contract that was signed in 2007 was renewed twice for a total cost of €19.6 million. "It is the responsibility of FBC Media to obtain airtime in international media and the government has no control over this matter. "This is a matter of discussions between FBC Media and the BBC," the PMO replied to Batu MP Chua Tian Chang's question posed last Thursday. Malaysia ended its contract with the public relations firm last month after it was revealed that government leaders routinely appeared in paid-for interviews on global television programmes on CNBC. FBC is now being investigated by British media regulator Office of Communications (Ofcom) as well as the BBC and CNBC for producing content on Malaysia without revealing it received money from Putrajaya. Both broadcasters have dropped FBC programmes from their lineup. The PMO terminated FBC Media's contract last month, the second PR deal it has ended in recent months after US-based APCO Worldwide was dropped for alleged links to Israel. Whistleblower website Sarawak Report had claimed that interviews and other programmes produced by FBC had cost the ruling BN coalition millions of ringgit as part of its bid to boost its international image. The deal came to light after supplementary supply Bills showed that the PMO paid RM57.7 million between 2008 and 2009 to FBC for a "Global Strategic Communications Campaign". | |||||||||||||||
| A CAT lesson from the Jais-DUMC fiasco Posted: 10 Oct 2011 06:01 AM PDT
However, I firmly believe that the unilateral Jais enforcement action without an official search warrant on the DUMC was certainly not appropriate, but surely appalling and apprehensive, especially when the victims concerned are generally peace-loving members of a church. Thomas Lee Seng Hock Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah of Selangor has issued an edict exonerating and absolving the Jabatan Agama Islam Selangor (Jais) from any wrong-doing in the fiasco involving its enforcement personnel in their controversial raid on a private party held on the premises of the Damansara Utama Methodist Church (DUMC) in Petaling Jaya.
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| Posted: 10 Oct 2011 01:00 AM PDT
Okay, in the posting yesterday (What are you looking for?), many comments have been posted as to what Malaysians would like to see in their government and what they would like to see implemented in Malaysia. But would not all this be possible and realised if we had a government (and politicians) that put ethics above politics, economic growth, development, etc? Would not what we want be automatically achieved through an ethical government? What, in your opinion, is ethics (from your understanding of the concept)? NO HOLDS BARRED Raja Petra Kamarudin
POST YOUR COMMENTS BELOW As a guide, maybe you would want to address the issue of RELATIVISM -- where what is ethical within one society may not be in another. Also consider what is 'morally acceptable' against the backdrop of Malaysian society and norms. Also note that 'morals' is subjective and depends on your upbringing and the community you live in plus your religious persuasion. Therefore, when you talk about ethics, you may want to qualify it as ethical relativism and not ethical absolutes. This discussion may help you understand how far you are prepared to go and whether you have set limitations and boundaries into achieving what you aspire to see and also how much compromises you are prepared to make on ethics as long as it achieves the end. | |||||||||||||||
| WIKILEAKS: MALAYSIAN RACIAL ECONOMIC PREFERENCES CRITIQUED AT CONFERENCE IN KL Posted: 10 Oct 2011 01:00 AM PDT
In response to Lim's presentation, a number of members of the audience spoke out angrily, including a member of the Government's Economic Planning Unit (EPU) who resorted to a personal attack on Lim rather than on the points he raised. Another critic in the audience, Ms. Aminah binti Pit Abdul Rahman who had been a government employee for 23 years, became visibly agitated and reminded the audience that ethnic Malays comprised 60 percent of the population; therefore, she argued (or rather shouted) that the government targets should be raised from 30 percent to 60 or 70 percent. THE CORRIDORS OF POWER Raja Petra Kamarudin
1. (SBU) Summary: Malaysia's race-based economic preferences were roundly criticized at the annual National Economic Outlook Conference hosted by the Malaysian Institute of Economic Research (MIER). In the keynote address, the Crown Prince of the State of Perak called for national unity and pragmatic economic policies designed to improve the country's competitiveness, essentially a polite rejection of race-based policies. Stronger attacks on Malaysia's racial preferences were made by a former World Bank economist and an Australian academic who argued that incentives in Malaysia's economy were becoming increasingly distorted, leading to a loss of competitiveness. While no one expects the government of Malaysia to undertake policy change in this sensitive area in the near term, it is notable that a government-funded think tank provided the forum for this much needed debate. End Summary. CROWN PRINCE OF STATE OF PERAK CALLS FOR CHANGE 2. (U) In his keynote address the Crown Prince of the State of Perak called for "pragmatism and fairness," a subtle attack on the government's current policies in terms of both its economic agenda and its divisive racial preferences. On the economic front, he described Malaysia as "squeezed between the low-cost economies of China and Vietnam and the high-technology economies of Japan and South Korea," and called for "the most competitive, innovative and flexible responses." 3. (U) He cited the oft-repeated mantra that Malaysia needs to move "up the technological ladder"; however, a far greater part of his address focused on social and human capital, which he said were essential to development. He said Malaysia must foster networks among its different ethnic, religious, and territorial groups. He called for "increasing opportunities for bonding and bridging in residential neighborhoods, classrooms and the workplace, all with the understanding that more cultural mix is better." 4. (U) Alluding to the ongoing brain drain, the Crown Prince asked, "Can entrepreneurs, scientists, and technologists be nurtured without an enabling political, social, economic and cultural environment? Can they flourish in the presence of perverse incentives and disincentives? ...There are countries today whose citizens are highly educated and whose scientists and engineers are at the leading edge in their fields but who want nothing more than to leave their countries. Countries must change in line with the aspirations of their citizens or they risk losing their best and brightest." MEASURING WEALTH BY RACE 5. (SBU) Lim Teck Ghee, a leading economic analyst and former World Bank staffer, calmly explained his earlier study on distribution of wealth among Malaysia's racial groups (reftels) which concluded that the wealth of ethnic Malays had already exceeded the government's targets. His conclusion effectively challenged the stated basis of the government's racial preference policies. Lim also briefly reviewed several other studies that had reached similar conclusions. Two studies from the late 1980s suggested that that the lower classes bore the highest social costs of the racial preference policies, while a small group among the upper classes enjoyed the benefits. Two other studies, one from 1989 and another from 2002, concluded that the government's wealth targets for ethnic Malays had been reached or exceeded, as did Lim's own 2006 study. 6. (U) Lim reviewed some of the findings and recommendations of his earlier study on the impact of Malaysia's racial policies on the economy and society. First, he pointed out that the government holds more than a third of publicly traded corporate equity, but that government-controlled companies reflected little entrepreneurial or manufacturing capacity. He recommended that government-owned entities be managed by competent professionals with expertise in the business of the company under their charge. Senior management positions should not be determined on the basis of race. 7. (U) Second, he pointed out that the current practice of distributing 30 percent of initial public offerings (IPOs) to individual ethnic Malays generally benefited only an elite few who often divested the shares immediately for huge profits. Lim recommended that Malay IPO allocations not go to individuals unless a mechanism could be introduced to ensure that the beneficiaries played a prominent role in the management of these companies. One option would be to make such allocations to existing trust agencies for Malays and to community-based trust agencies for Malaysian Indians and residents of Malaysian Borneo. [Note: among these two groups are some of Malaysia's poorest people. End note.] 8. (U) Third, Lim said GOM regulations and policies were stymieing entrepreneurial development and hindering domestic and foreign investment. Ethnic preferences undermined entrepreneurial endeavors and the creation of a competitive economic environment. The GOM could better achieve its goals through capacity building efforts such as education and skills training rather than through forced equity restructuring. ECONOMIC FREEDOM: FROM 9TH TO 60TH PLACE 9. (U) More Malaysian feathers were ruffled when Wolfgang Kasper, Emeritus Professor of Economics, University of New South Wales, Australia, displayed graphs demonstrating a direct correlation between economic freedom and prosperity and cited the Cato Institute's "Economic Freedom of the World" 2007 Annual Report which ranked Malaysia as 9th most free country in 1990 but as 60th in 2005. Kasper described Malaysia as having reached that halfway point in its development and outlined the elements of the rest of the journey: secure property rights, free markets, and a small, rule-bound, non-corrupt government. He summed up his analysis of Malaysia as follows: "The politicization of economic life leads to stagnation and social convulsion, a prospect that only the unrealistic and naive can face with self-satisfied complacency. It seems to me that it would be much more naive and unrealistic to tolerate the cancer of crony capitalism and heavy reliance on pervasive, top-down bureaucratic controls and big government.... It is the big political challenge of the present generation of decision makers to abandon short-sighted, selfish rent-seeking in order to ensure that the vision of the developed-country shore ahead can be attained." RESPONSES FROM THE AUDIENCE 10. (U) In response to Lim's presentation, a number of members of the audience spoke out angrily, including a member of the Government's Economic Planning Unit (EPU) who resorted to a personal attack on Lim rather than on the points he raised. Another critic in the audience, Ms. Aminah binti Pit Abdul Rahman who had been a government employee for 23 years, became visibly agitated and reminded the audience that ethnic Malays comprised 60 percent of the population; therefore, she argued (or rather shouted) that the government targets should be raised from 30 percent to 60 or 70 percent. Some respondents in the audience were upset about Kasper's comments, with one indignantly noting that Malaysia should be praised for progress achieved. 11. (SBU) Comment: In the run-up to national elections, due by April 2009 but expected before April 2008, there has been increased attention paid to the GOM's economic and social policies in general and its 37-year old race-based economic preference policies in particular. There is widespread concern among non-Malays that these policies are marginalizing them and therefore breaking down Malaysia's social cohesion. Many of the country's best and brightest non-Malay youth are migrating, perceiving little long-term hope of being treated as anything but second-class citizens in Malaysia. Many ethnic Malays, on the other hand, maintain a more defensive posture, apparently convinced of the rhetoric that they are more deserving of special protections because of their past disadvantage. Their outbursts at the conference in response to criticism of the status quo [except, of course, that of the Crown Prince of Perak] were more emotional than pragmatic. Despite a handful of such outbursts, the overwhelming majority of the audience remained silent. At lunch a Malay who had been government employee for many years expressed gratitude for Kasper's presentation on economic freedom, telling econoff, "We need foreigners to say these things." While little change can be expected in the near term, the biggest news is that these kinds of issues can be discussed at all in a conference hosted by a government-funded think tank. The conference would appear to be another example where Prime Minister Badawi's government is ready to allow more open debate as a first step toward possible revisions in policy at a future date when it becomes politically feasible to do so. KEITH (December 2007)
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| Raja Nazrin asks Islamic religious council to review programmes Posted: 09 Oct 2011 07:56 PM PDT (Bernama) - IPOH: The Raja Muda of Perak, Raja Dr Nazrin Shah, wants the State Islamic Religious and Malay Customs Council (MAIP) and Islamic Religious Department (JAIP) to review their programmes towards developing the Muslim community's economy in a sustainable manner. He said greater attention should be given to economic activities involving the role of the Perak Islamic Economic Development Corporatision, zakat and Baitulmal, and managing of funds to ensure viability and high impact of every programme implemented. Speaking at the 177th MAIP Conference here on Monday, Raja Nazrin said he not only wanted to see figures on vouchers and receipts audited, but also evaluation of programmes in terms of quality and impact towards achieving the objectives. He said for a meaningful impact, MAIP and JAIP needed to place the Key Performance Indicators at a more dynamic level. "The existing management culture needs to be revamped and the work culture of 'business as usual' be changed in every activity organised. "Each year, I attend functions organised by MAIP and JAIP such as the Maulidur Rasul and Maal Hijrah celebrations. A lot of time and money were spent on organising these events, but each year the programmes were the same without the injection of innovative ideas to make them more dynamic. "Such programmes have become ritual, merely to fill the calendar of events, and devoid of the spirit to touch the hearts of the attendees, thus not meeting the objectives." In fact, he said, those who came were just obliging the invitations and returned home spiritually unfulfilled. Raja Nazrin said MAIP and JAIP needed to take a new approach by giving a new image and content to the programmes to be organised in 2012. He said the content and venues for the programmes should be planned early and carefully and after approval by the committee, be presented to him for his views and consent, especially on the financial implications. The MAIP conference on Monday also recorded its condolences to the Raja Kecil Besar of Perak, Raja Iskandar Dzulkarnain Sultan Idris Shah, on the demise of his mother, Raja Perempuan Muzwin, on Oct 6. Raja Nazrin also presented the letter of appointment to State Financial Officer Datuk Ghazali Jalal as a member of MAIP, replacing Datuk Jamaluddin Al-Amini who has gone on compulsory retirement. - Bernama | |||||||||||||||
| Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad on 'Inertia or Ignorance: The Challenge of Dismantling Malaysia’s ... Posted: 09 Oct 2011 07:46 PM PDT Free public lecture with Nik Nazmi Nik AhmadTuesday 11th Oct 2011 6:30pm-7:30pm Register online to attend | Download the flyerCo-presented with Asialink and the Asia Society AustralAsia CentreMalaysia's Federal Constitution was formulated through a historical consensus among the Federation's main ethnic communities and the British administrators. While the Constitution provides for asymmetrical freedoms and responsibilities, equality as a fundamental liberty is enshrined. Yet as authoritarian racial politics becomes more enshrined and Malaysia's institutions have sacrificed their liberty, integrity and transparency, we see festering tensions in Malaysia's social fabric. But Malaysia has an emerging new politics and a society that is demanding change through the fledgling new media. What is holding Malaysia back from dismantling its race-based politics – inertia or ignorance? (Abstract provided by Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad.)
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| Posted: 09 Oct 2011 07:43 PM PDT
By M. Bakri Musa Malay politicians fall all over themselves in advocating hudud, the Islamic penal laws. That is less an expression of their commitment to Islam, more blatant pandering to Muslim voters. If these leaders are truly committed to advancing the cause of Islam, there is a more productive strategy: make zakat mandatory. Being one of the pillars of our faith, zakat is more defining of Islam. It is even ahead of performing the Hajj. Adopting zakat would bring the country closer to an Islamic state symbolically and operationally, certainly much more so than implementing hudud. |
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