Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News
Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News |
- The Malaysian Cooperative Commission Annual Report for the year ending 2010 in Parliament
- DAP MP: Is BN in bed with Israel?
- When road thugs rule …
- Anwar Rallies The Students In London
- Dr M, before you look East, you should have looked after your backside first!
- PPSMI - Quality vs Language
| The Malaysian Cooperative Commission Annual Report for the year ending 2010 in Parliament Posted: 01 Nov 2011 05:16 PM PDT By Thuraisingham Shun For the year accounts for the years ending 2008 and 2009, it was identified that RM billions were missing from the system. Funds have been mismanaged and a host of shortcomings has been forwarded for the attention of Tan Sri Ambin, the Auditor-General himself, vis-a vis as follows. It is fervently hoped that the Wakil Rakyat will be alert this time to question the missing links and other details stated.
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| DAP MP: Is BN in bed with Israel? Posted: 01 Nov 2011 02:14 PM PDT (Harakah Daily) - Fresh from the revelation that it broke the country's immigration laws to allow an Israeli passport holder enter the country for a sports event, the government is now taken to task over its silence to answer allegations that it has been having secret trade ties with the Zionist regime. DAP's Bakri member of parliament Er Teck Hwa said the silence from Trade and Industry minister Mustapa Mohamad over his question in parliament pointed to "something fishy". "The government is trying to hide something behind Mustapa's silence. In fact, during the debate I only asked the minister to clarify whether it is true or not," said Er in a statement. Parliament speaker had earlier denied Er a chance to question Mustapa over alleged trade ties between Malaysia and Israel following a revelation on the internet. Er said the government must explain a statement by a former Israeli trade minister in an Israeli trade magazine a few years ago, welcoming Malaysia's intention to have economic ties. "If not, the Prime Minister must deny the statement made by Mischa Harish who stated clearly in a Israeli's trade promotion magazine that, 'The public declaration of the Malaysian Prime Minister and Minister of International Trade and Industrial that their country intends to pursue economic relations with Israel is another milestone in the development of trade this continent'," he added. Er said having economic relations with the Zionist regime not only hurt the feelings of Malaysian Muslims, but also anyone opposed to the injustice and atrocities committed by the Israeli army against the Palestinian people. Er said running away from the issue would only prove the BN's hypocrisy. "They (UMNO) often accuse Pakatan Rakyat of being Zionist agents, but instead, they are the one sleeping with them," he chided, referring to a constant accusation levelled by UMNO politicians. Er added that the issue was not a small matter, saying it would create suspicions about the country's initiative to assist Palestinians such as the humanitarian efforts in Gaza. |
| Posted: 01 Nov 2011 02:02 PM PDT hGoFyD5jDBc How else to explain the lack of action by the police against the road thugs? When they serve BN-Umno's interest, it is okay. Public safety can take a back seat. By Jackson Ng, Retired journalist WHAT was it that the police and Barisan Nasional (BN) government labelled the "Mat Rempit"? If the police and BN are suffering from amnesia, let me refresh their memory – road thugs. The police and BN had said the people should not glorify the term Mat Rempit because these road bullies are no different from gangsters and mobsters. They are a nuisance and a threat to peace-loving Malaysians. Then, what happened in George Town? There was no clampdown on the road thugs who were allowed to roam the streets and make their way to the Penang State Assembly to demonstrate, illegally I supposed. Or was there a police permit? Unlike the peaceful Bersih 2.0 demonstrators, who were brutally attacked by the police, this did not happen to the road thugs. And what were the demands of the Bersih demonstrators? They just want the universal rights of the people to have free and fair elections. In the case of the road thugs, the police just stood and watched, allowing them to create havoc and scream racially-tainted abuses. And do you remember there were injuries and deaths caused by such road thugs, as related by the police in the past? So, what do you have now in Malaysia? Like I had written and feared, Malaysia is today a lawless state. The law is used to serve only BN-Umno's interest, not the people. Umno is the law, not the Federal Constitution, the police or the judiciary. How else to explain the lack of action by the police against the road thugs? When they serve BN-Umno's interest, it is okay. Public safety can take a back seat. In defence of the road thugs, I won't be surprised if BN-Umno will respond next to say that Mat Rempit is our "kebudayaan" (culture). Buy that if you are a hardcore BN-Umno supporter. And what a ridiculous demand the road thugs are making? They want the state government to use taxpayers' money to build a race track for them. I guess the Pakatan Rakyat (PR)-led state government should for the first time support the BN-Umno's cause for the road thugs. Build the race track, let the road thugs zoom as they please and kill one another in crashes. The Police di-Raja Malaysia is in a shameful state. It has abandoned its most important role – to protect the people against criminals, mobsters. Imagine what would have happened if, in the midst of the rowdy demonstration by the road thugs, an accident had occurred? Who is to blame? The road thugs or the police? The Sun reported today (Nov 2, 2011) that Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng told the State Assembly that he was "a little bit shaken" by the demonstration by some 300 motorcyclists. I can see why Lim is shaken. The police let loose and allowed the thugs to roam the streets. We peace-loving Malaysians now cannot even rely on the police to provide basic public safety. The BN-Umno government and the system are in near collapse as can be seen by the police's support for the road thugs. The fear of losing political power has made them paranoid, resorting to devious and unethical means to drum up racial and religious discord to remain in power. The strategy of BN-Umno is clear – divide and rule. They have also forgotten the need to promote a conducive environment to maintain the confidence of investors – both local and foreign. As long as BN-Umno can stir racial and religious hatred in Malaysians, BN will have the advantage to remain in power, they think. Sadly, that is yesterday's thinking. Today, Malaysians are more informed and educated in the digital era. They can judge an issue better. Let us hope sanity prevails in the next general election before all is lost. |
| Anwar Rallies The Students In London Posted: 01 Nov 2011 01:56 PM PDT By Mariam Mokhtar via Malaysian Mirror Opposition leader, Anwar Ibrahim's talk at University College London (UCL), was on 'The Struggle for Justice and Democracy in Malaysia'. When Malaysia's political outlook is grim, with members of academia being suspended, students being hauled to court, and with the upcoming general election set to be anything but clean, his talk couldn't have come at a more poignant moment. Anwar reached out to the students and his message to them bodes well for the country.The historic decision by the appeal court to free university students from the ban on political involvement will reignite a new political awakening among our youth. Anwar asked if the critics and skeptics were right to say that justice and democracy are nice catch phrases and that democracy is over-rated. He criticised the BN government for not learning from the Arab Spring which was all about freedom and democracy. His contention was that dictators, including authoritarian leaders like those in the BN government would say: "There are riots in Jakarta, occupation of Wall Street…therefore support the Umno/ BN government. It is more peaceful." Anwar countered this and said, "But that is not the point. The issue of freedom and justice is sacrosanct. You are born to be free. It is not for governments to decide whether you should be free or not." And he demolished the argument that we should compare ourselves with failed states, Zimbabwe or Burma. The former Finance and Deputy Prime minister said, "In the late 70s and early 80s, Malaysia was at par economically with Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan. "In the 90s we were still number one in terms of growth, market capitalisation and foreign direct investments (FDI). We were number two compared with Singapore in terms of market competitiveness. "Now we are only better than Burma. We have lost our growth." When Anwar proposed, in 2007,that the NEP be dismantled, BN initiated a campaign with incessant propaganda among the rural Malays that Anwar was prepared to condemn his own race to appease the Chinese. "Dismantling the NEP is not about condemning my own people. No. "Do you mean to suggest that bright young Malays should not be given the necessary support? Yes. But not the rich Malays. Not the billions of shares allocated to cronies and family members of the ruling elite. Not the billions of contract awarded to them. "They say Malaysia is stolen by the non-Malays, but I am saying it is stolen by the Malay leaders – RM52 billion last year taken by ministers and their family members." He decried the hypocrisy of the BN elite and how they make a mockery of Islam and syariah. He spoke of the injustice meted out to Kartika, the girl who was punished for one glass of beer, whereas Mahathir's family, who are Indian Muslims, could own RM2.9 billion shares of San Miguel, a beer company. He challenged the students to ask: "How is it that a family of an ex-Prime minister can purchase shares of RM2.9 billions of one company, RM 1.9 billion of Esso (M) Berhad and RM10 billion of Kencana Berhad. A family owns at least RM15 billion worth of shares or contracts." He spoke about attempts by the authorities to undermine him with the incessant trials and sex videos and the ridiculous depths to which Malaysian politics had descended. He exposed the dealings of the BN leaders who squandered the agricultural fund, meant to help the padi farmers, the poorest in the country. Instead, BN leaders gave it to their crony friends who then sold it on for millions of ringgits in profit. The fund would have given relief for 150,000 families, 95% of whom were Malay, but it was stolen by the Malay leaders. He said, "You want to help the poor, you help the farmers. The Malay farmers may make up the majority, but also help the Chinese, Indian, Iban and Kadazans….across the board. That should be the way". Addressing the students in the audience, he warned them of the culture of fear which was waged by the Malaysian authorities. He related the incident where he was being trailed even when overseas. And he talked about Malaysian students, principally the Malay scholarship students being warned not to attend any 'opposition' lectures. He cautioned them that Najib's administration feared the truth. Anwar urged the audience to read Buku Jingga to be aware of Pakatan's policies. He was passionate about his party's vision of a Malaysia that will be shaped by itsyouth. His vision was of a multiracial Malaysia which is governed with transparency, accountability, and where the corrupt would be punished. He told the students of the important role they played as they will one day have the country's future in their hands, "Everyone is born to be free. Freedom cannot be negotiated," and he stressed: "You must ask questions. You must make a stand and exercise your rights…." His audience, which consisted of students and expatriate Malaysians working in England, were not disappointed. The event was oversubscribed and the lecture theatre was packed. Although most of the students were from universities and colleges in and around London, some had come from hundreds of miles to hear him speak. Many in the crowd had never seen or heard Anwar speak in person, but said he engaged them and was articulate and animated, coaxing and convincing. Their comments are published here: A Malaysian doctor practicing in London said, "The attendees had a good and engaging session all round." One person said, "I felt that what Anwar said was genuine. He does not look like a man seeking revenge despite being messed about by the "authorities" all these years. After all, it was Mahathir who has been concealing the truth, portraying him as the villian of the country all the while. Admittedly I believed what the media was saying back then, though on reflection I was still a kid and was naive about politics." "I sincerely hope Anwar will lead the Opposition to victory this coming general election, and start recovering from the damage that has been done to our dear country." "Anwaris a charismatic leader who can attract a whole spectrum of people from different races, religious background or social class & ages. "He seems able to engage with the Malaysian youth from any political ideology or persuasion, to convince them that Malaysiais ready for a change. "Malaysians who have taken up British citizenship came here to show that they care for Malaysia, despite suffering unfair & discriminatory treatments from the racist Malaysian government while living in Malaysia." "It was an extraordinary evening". One young man, Al-Jalori, a Malay reading Electrical Engineering at a London university, was full of admiration, "That was my first time at a talk by Anwar Ibrahim and I am amazed. I support his efforts to reform the country and be rid of corruption, to have an effective allocation of money for the poor, prevent wastage in the country's finances and have a surplus in economic development. "I believe that these will bring Malaysia one step closer to being a better country. Anwar mentioned young talented groups and this made me realise that future generations, should not be afraid to speak out. Who knows, some of us might become leaders of Malaysia in future?"
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| Dr M, before you look East, you should have looked after your backside first! Posted: 01 Nov 2011 01:50 AM PDT Todak To begin with, Mahathir did not make a voluntary decision in introducing his Look East policy; it was a vindictive decision specifically directed against England that denied him a university education due to his own lacking in the required qualifications. So he adopted his "Buy British Last" policy when he became PM of Malaysia to teach the Brits a lesson. An old friend of mine told me that when Mahathir looked east, he was looking at the Land of the Rising Sun, so much so his eyes were blinded by the sun rays that he could not see the huge land mass lying there as the sleeping Chinese Dragon. He had one eye on Japan and the other on Korea. Not only was Mahathir a bad doctor (his private clinic in Alor Setar failed, so he turned to easy hoodwinking politics with his Malay Dilemma), he was also a bad historian. The origin of most Japanese (except some in the Southern part) and Koreans were Chinese. Both these countries used the Chinese written language in the beginning. The Japanese then "invented" the present Hiragana and Katakana writings first, to have their own identity and second, to deprive the Chinese of this coded knowledge, while the Korean King Sejong Daewang, King of Joseon invented the present Korean written language in the 15th century, also for the same reasons as the Japanese. I would advise Mahathir to go to TV channels KBS and NHK and he will no doubt see that the Koreans and the Japanese still cannot totally get rid off the Chinese script (Kanji in Japanese), used in between. But we must admit that your entry in Malayan University did land you in good company of one Singaporean Rin Kin Mei whose residence then was in Watten Estate close by to Dunearn Road, Bukit Timah. This was the Chinaman together with a Japanese Kumei who spearheaded at least 7 major "Heavy Industry" projects the moment you became PM. Now, please do not say the West has failed. In the Hicom Perwaja project, the Japanese giant Nippon Steel Corporation failed miserably in their Direct Reduction plant, and had to be rescued by German Ferrostaal using Mexican HYL technology, for which Malaysia had to pay some RM800 million while receiving RM400 million as compensation from NSC whose President resigned as the result of this failure. As for your national car project, you picked the wrong partner Mitsubishi when you should have chosen Toyota or Honda, both of which are flourishing in Thailand. Because of Proton, all Malaysians are forced to buy this make, otherwise pay the super high duties they cannot afford. To get into overseas markets, Proton is selling cars at prices lower than locally, again forcing Malaysians to subsidize exports and pay for the survival of Proton. For years now, Proton has been looking for a foreign partner such as Volkswagen, but when the foreign party had studied the complete profile of Proton, they politely declined. If we go by the AFTA ruling, Proton will have to close shop as the whole country will be flooded with Toyotas from Thailand. You are saying China has USD3.2 trillion in reserves and the Chinese are swimming in money. Please bear in mind that before you can swim in money, you have to learn to survive swimming in the bitterest seas. The Chinese did, and now even the 2 countries you admired and told us to emulate, are looking to China for their future growth. You have the most Chinese population in Malaysia outside China and Taiwan, more than in Singapore. Your very own Chinese citizens have said you did not treat them well with your racist policies and many have migrated. I cannot tell you what you should do now, as it might be too late and you are old and the young Malays will not listen to you even though I know you are daily shouting aloud your outdated advices to all and sundry. When you looked East, your one eye was on Japan and the other Korea. Therefore it was not surprising that the Petronas Twin Towers were contracted to one each Japanese and Korean company. Now, you are sitting pretty in one of these ivory towers as Petronas Advisor. A few days ago, there was short-lived joy among foreign companies in upstream Oil and Gas activities when it was announced that Petronas license was not mandatory to register as a bidder. Two days later, Petronas came up with a statement that it was still the policy of the national oil company to invite only Petronas licensed companies, overseas or local. The Petronas license is nothing but a license for Bumiputras to be the middlemen in all Petronas projects. It is about time the Petronas Advisor wakes up and acts to change this policy before other countries start making retaliatory rulings against Malaysian companies operating in foreign lands. What are you going to say if for example, China says to do any business with them, Malaysian companies must be registered with their Central Bureau, and your Malaysian companies must have local Chinese Malaysian majority shareholding? Come on, Mahathir you often talk about fair playing field; now show us your sincerity and stop bull shitting.
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| Posted: 31 Oct 2011 11:41 PM PDT No number of Mathematics and Science references in English will be of any use to a 7 year-old who can't understand the language. Simple and clear. By Feizrul Nor Nurbi A question to start off today's discussion: "Will teaching Mathematics and Science using English as the medium of instruction at school-level, significantly improves the quality of learning experience leading to the improvement in the proficiency of learners in those two subjects?" Here are a few reasons why I decline to answer in the affirmative to this question. Firstly, there is the issue quality. To answer with a yes, a proponent will agree that teaching school-goers M&S in English will improve the student's understanding in the two subjects. The reason cited, among others, is the abundance of references available in English. While I certainly agree on the matter of English references available, it strikes me as odd that a school-goer from the age of 7 would ever need to depend on these cited abundant references. Do Standard One students need to study the Mathematical journals and papers written my MIT professors for them to learn addition, subtraction, division and multiplication? Or was I out of the school system for too long already to know that 7 year-old children nowadays are learning University-level Maths? Here is where I believe the proponent of this policy is missing the point - the misunderstanding of the effects of the policy on young minds just starting to enter the school-system. At this critical age of 7, when one begins Standard One in our country's schooling system, what they learn will set the tone for their entire life. The basics of numbers, the four operations; while seem insignificant compared to the mumbo-jumbo-MIT-level-Maths, these basics are the base that they need to depend on even when they pursue that doctorate in Mathematics 20 years down the line. Hence the importance of learning these basics, and also learning them well. Does teaching the basics in English add extra value to the whole experience? My answer is a wholehearted 'No'. Basics are basics, you can learn them in any language, 1 + 1 will always result in 2 and 5 x 10 will always give you 50. The issue of learning them well will inadvertently lead to the issue of quality. In Communications 101, the communication of information between two or more persons is only deemed as successful when the listener receives and understands what the communicator intends to communicate. Complicated? To simplify, you have bad communication skills if I cannot understand you, and vice versa. It does not matter if the speaker holds a doctorate in English from Cambridge when these kampung-folks cannot understand a word of English that he is saying. In this case, the speaker is a bad communicator. He might be a good speaker, but communication-wise - bad. How is this related to PPSMI again? At the age of 7, when the children need to learn the basics of M&S, the only way for them to learn and learn them well is for them to understand what the teacher in front is talking about. In going with the communication theme, utmost importance must be given to facilitate this communication process i.e. making it easy for the students to understand. It is no good to be 'syok sendiri' and for the teacher to blabber in English if the students can only understand Bahasa Melayu or Mandarin or Tamil or Iban/Kadazan etc at that point in life. Even if the teacher is an MIT grad coming direct from the States - in this instance, the teacher is a bad communicator. No number of M&S references in English will be of any use to a 7 year-old who can't understand the language. Simple and clear. A good quality education system will have to consider the need to have quality communication in and outside the classrooms. An education system with a bad quality communication policy is simply a bad education system. It also does not help to have poor, uninspiring syllabus, dispassionate teachers and an education system in shambles; having a bad communication policy compounds the problem even more. So how does not understanding the basics affect these students in their later years? The inability to comprehend the basics will haunt the students causing them unable to keep up with the syllabus. This will then lead to low test-scores and then the worst thing that can happen - being 'streamed' into the weak class and be left to their own devices under the care of 'couldn't-care-less' teachers when the best ones are given to the best class. No wonder that these students will lose interest in the subjects, which might lead cases of truancy and dropouts and even worse - gangsterism and teenage pregnancies, among others. The nation will suffer instead of benefit from this policy. Those kids with potential will end up being the victim of a policy which neither cares nor understands the affects of poor communication. Instead of helping the country, in effect this policy is totally detrimental for the majority of young minds in this country. Back in 2008, when the UPSR results were announced and the MOE elatedly stated 31% of candidates answered the Science paper in English - did any of the PPSMI-proponents stop and think of the remaining 69%? Were there any study done to understand why this majority elected to answer in their mother-tongue? Or was it just deemed as irrelevant? And also out of 69% who did not answer in English, what was the breakdown according to grades? I have this suspicion that the results of this 69% did not make for a good reading for the officials at the MOE. Yes, that is the problem actually. These parents in their blindness to care for their loved ones have dismissed the 'others' as irrelevant, as inconsequential, as collateral damage necessary for the greater good. It cannot be more correct in this case to say that 'the road to hell is paved with good intentions'. In their eagerness to provide the best for their children, they have knowingly or unknowingly trampled on the futures of the 69%, dismantling any hope for the majority which at the tender age of 7 had so much potential, so much vigor, so much ahead of them in life, but were undone by our government's careless planning and implementation of a policy that is doomed from the start. By all means - have good basics. What your children going to learn from Standard One up to Form Five are just basics. Learn from teachers that are able to communicate and articulate the intricacies of the subjects. And do learn them well. And also learn English for all its glory; for the beauty of the language and its literature; its nuances and idiosyncrasies. Learn to speak and learn to converse, learn to voice out your opinion and learn to speak your mind. Learn to read diligently and learn to write beautifully, for English by itself is a wonderful language to be learned and appreciated. For when the time comes to bid the country goodbye and jetting off to Harvard or Cambridge or MIT, it is the strong basics and your good English that will put you in good stead over there. And in good stead to make Malaysia proud.
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