Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News
Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News |
- Malaysia’s record of engagement with the World Bank
- Suspicious Secrecy From the Swiss!
- Isu agenda Melayu sejak dari dulu sampai sekarang- Melayu tidak kemana juga
- Longer campaign period, fairer access to media needed
- Kes penyenaraian Felda GV- kajian semula
- The power brokers in Umno, and who do they support?
- Iran, Islam and the ‘Axis of Evil’
- Reckoning the peace/violence ambiguity in the apostasy debate
- Ketirisan RM1 trillion wang rakyat ke luar negara - ABU adalah jawapannya
- Where's the Art Scene? In Malaysia, Politics is Everything!
- A bad govt represses its good citizens
- Malaysia in the Era of Globalization #93
- They don’t seem to have a clue!
- ‘TENDER GATE’ KKLW (SIRI PERTAMA)
- Magnificent Pearls Of Wisdom
- Sailing into a sea of corruption
- Refining the misconception of apostasy in Islam
- Fixation Over Pakatan's Cracks is Unwise for Barisan Nasional
- Najib knows not what he does!
- Sadaqallaah Al Azeem
- Running Scared?
| Malaysia’s record of engagement with the World Bank Posted: 20 Dec 2011 04:22 PM PST The Malaysian policy on public access to the documentation of this engagement is severely restricted under the Official Secrets Act.
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| Suspicious Secrecy From the Swiss! Posted: 20 Dec 2011 11:24 AM PST The country's financial regulators FINMA would not be able to publicise the findings from their investigations into Taib's assets, Widmer-Schlumpf explained, owing to Swiss confidentiality laws. She announced that FINMA has "no possibility, nor the right" to disclose any information on its findings to the public. Rather, it "will inform the directly affected persons only" on the results of its investigations. Those interested parties are, presumably, Taib himself and the Malaysian Government. But what about the people of Sarawak, who have lost billions in revenue owing to the Chief Minister's handouts of public property, concessions and contracts to his own companies and to his family? Still on the hook!
While this cryptic response has infuriated campaigners, who had been given to understand that Switzerland's new drive for more openess in its banking system would bring swift and clear answers, it has done little to help Taib. The reply that would have benefitted the Chief Minister, of course, would have been a straight confirmation of his own declaration earlier in the year, after the investigation was announced, that he had no assets in Switzerland at all! Indeed, Sarawak's billionaire politician had laid his reputation on the line by standing up in his own state assembly and announcing:
The Swiss Finance Minister has refused to corroborate this statement. Instead her reply seems to give the strong impression that there ARE interested parties who need to be informed of the results of this investigation! How long are his secrets safe?
Campaigners are hardly going to allow the situation to rest there. The Swiss, who have been trying to wipe clean their reputation as a country that made itself rich off the back of Nazi gold and the ill-gotten gains of the world's worst dictators, are in the middle of a national argument over ending its obsessive banking secrecy. The Finance Ministry may be on the side of conservatism, however the former President Micheline Calmy-Rey, who ordered the enquiry, made clear that she was in favour of openess and yesterday the Green MP Maya Graf said:
It is not the sort of endorsement that Taib would have wished for from Switzerland and it is a clear sign that the story is by no means finished as campaigners step up their noise on this matter. The Sarawak-focused Bruno Manser Fund demanded:
Taib will know that the longer an issue is bottled up, the bigger the bang when it is finally un-corked!
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| Isu agenda Melayu sejak dari dulu sampai sekarang- Melayu tidak kemana juga Posted: 20 Dec 2011 09:14 AM PST UMNO masih mengharapkan yang isu ini akan dapat menyatukan orang Melayu di bawah ketiak UMNO kononnya untuk menyempurnakan agenda Melayu. Kalau agenda Melayu sudah begitu lama di nyanyikan oleh kepimpinan Melayu UMNO, bagaimana orang Melayu terutamanya yang terlingkung dalam kumpulan generasi muda masih mahu mempercayainya?
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| Longer campaign period, fairer access to media needed Posted: 19 Dec 2011 08:01 AM PST Currently, the usual eight-day duration of campaigning during elections is too short. This very brief campaign period undermines a key basis of a democracy namely that voters make informed choices about whom they want as their elected representatives and which party they wish to represent them in government. The current time frame of eight days is insufficient since it does not allow for any substantial discussion of the real campaign issues and no robust evaluation of party manifestos and the candidates contesting the election. The performance of power holders is seldom scrutinised. The quality of the opposition is seldom evaluated. Consequently, election campaigns in Sarawak often end up being ethnic, religious or developmental 'beauty contests' in which contesting parties attempt to outdo their competitors by showing how good they are in relation to how bad their competitors are! There is too much ridicule and disparaging of the competition by all parties involved given the short election period. There is no discussion of issues, little debate and still less comparison of candidates and party platforms. As well, the brevity of election campaigns often sees candidates distributing money and all sorts of developmental goodies to voters to solicit their support instead of sharing their well-thought out ideas and party manifestos in support of good governance and democracy to solicit support. Lack of equal and fair access to the media Presently, the structure of the Malaysian media industry is such that most mainstream media is owned by the government or interests closely aligned to or linked to political parties and individuals in government. During elections, the mainstream media have consistently acted as the unvarnished propaganda arm of the governing political party. This has been eloquently documented in numerous articles, the key ones being Zaharom Nain (2002), Mustafa K Anuar (2002), various issues of Aliran Monthly and the work of the Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ). [Zaharom Nain, 'The Structure of the Media Industry. Implications for Democracy' and Mustafa K Anuar, 'Defining Democratic Discourses. The Mainstream Press'. Both articles were published in an edited volume by Francis Loh Kok Wah and Khoo Boo Teik (2002), Democracy in Malaysia. Discourses and Practices, Surrey: Curzon Press. Aliran Monthly monitors and regularly comments on the health of the mainstream press in its publications and website.] In the interest of freely and fairly informing the electorate about the key electoral issues, party manifestos, candidates, their positions on issues, etc. and to allow for a critical evaluation of past performance and future commitments/pledges, the mainstream media have a key role to play in strengthening democracy and informed choice. But for this, there needs to be fair access to the media for all. As well, there is a need for the media to report truthfully and without bias on all issues and all parties contesting an election.
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| Kes penyenaraian Felda GV- kajian semula Posted: 19 Dec 2011 07:40 AM PST Sebab utama, saya memikirkan ini suatu silap mata beberapa orang untuk mendapat wang runtuh. Berapa ramai peneroka felda boleh beli blok blok saham itu nanti? Kenapa jika ada jalan yang direct untuk buat duit, kita memandai mandai nak buat duit cara indirect? Cara direct yang saya maksudkan ialah peneroka tanam sawit dan jual sawit kepada Felda Holdings pada harga yang baik. Dan mereka akan lebih untung jika buat macam Air Asia mahukan- harga input semua murah. Jika AA mahukan cukai airport di turunkan supaya kos input rendah- peneroka yang rata rata nya Melayu mahukan kos input seperti baja, perkakas, jentera, barangan dan perkhidmatan semua murah. Bukan kah cara yang demikian menguntungkan para peneroka directly? Tidak perlu trick sana dan trick sini. Kita dah bosan dengan IPO ni. Yang mendapat laba ialah mereka yang mengetahui terlebih dahulu, Felda mahu di senaraikan. Taruh dan bubuh lah apa sahaja syarat- moratorium kah, atau apa apa- tipu muslihat oleh pegawai tinggi felda akan tetap berlaku. Jadi, apa makna nya penyenaraian tersebut? Ianya suatu alasan untuk suatu kumpulan orang membuat wang yang banyak. Itu objection kita yang pertama. Apa akan jadi apabila penyenaraian berlaku? Yang terjadi ialah konsentrasi kuasa pada satu orang iaitu Isa Samad. Ini kita kena tentang. Isa Samad pengerusi Felda. Dia pengerusi Felda Holdings. Dia jadi pulak pengerusi KPFB. Dan tentu dia nak jadi pengerusi FGV. Berapa banyak daa…. Yang di kehendaki ialah agihan kuasa supaya sesuatu unit perniagaan boleh berfungsi secara merdeka dan bebas dari keputusan satu orang. Konsentrasi kuasa atau monopoli is bad economics. Apabila kuasa di konsentrasi pada satu orang sahaja, ia mendedahkan Felda kepada salah guna kuasa dan pertimbangan yang kurang bijak. Dan isa samad tidak ada rekod pengurusan perniagaan yang baik. Tanah di negeri Sembilan yang leasehold di agihkan kepada peniaga bukan melayu bertukar menjadi tanah freehold. Bolehkah kita menganggap Isa SAmad pembela kepentingan orang Melayu? Jerit dan memekik sambil menghayun tangan macam kartun, itu Isa Samad boleh buat. Dan kita tahu attitude Isa Samad- den MB, dia punya hal lah sekarang akan bertukar, den pengerusi felda, ikut suka den lah. Boleh jadi saya telah lihat banyak sangat kebejatan yang di lakukan oleh puak2 UMNO, maka saya ada in built cynicism bila kerajaan comes up with a business plan. What to do- I am an incorrigible cynic. That is my more endearing personality trait.
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| The power brokers in Umno, and who do they support? Posted: 19 Dec 2011 07:12 AM PST The most powerful of these four men and the one who has the most at stake is former premier Mahathir Mohamad. Next is the fabulously rich former Finance minister Daim Zainuddin, former premier Abdullah Badawi and another former Finance minister Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, who holds the least clout amongst the 4 most influential power-brokers in UMNO. Analyzing the UMNO elite's current game plan, it looks like it's Mahathir's kitchen that is the most busy at the moment. The feisty 85-year-old who ruled Malaysia for 22 years is said to have given the thumbs up to Najib. But in reality, it is more of a goodbye gesture! Goodbye Greedy-Najib Mahathir realizes now that Najib has his own agenda; to be in power and establish his family and relatives in long-term businesses that may later cross or rival those interests held by his sons – Mokhzani, Mirzan and even Mukhriz. But ambitious as Mahathir may be, due to the talent vacuum in UMNO, the only horse that he can rely on is just Muhyiddin Yassin, the deputy prime minister. The connection between Mahathir and Muhyiddin goes back a long way, when Muhyiddin together with Defense minister Zahid Hamidi were part of an UMNO faction called the Wawasan 2020 team led by Anwar Ibrahim. Anwar, now the Opposition Leader, was then the UMNO deputy president and Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia. But Mahathir, fearful of losing his seat to the extremely popular Anwar, decided to sack him on manifestly trumped-up sodomy charges. Mahathir's horse Both Muhyiddin and Zahid had been 'devoted' lieutenants to Anwar then. Thus, to swing them back to his side, Mahathir promised both men some very important positions that would yield great benefits in the longer term, although they may not seem lucrative then. Mahathir did all he could to to isolate Anwar, and this is why Muhyiddin and Zahid are still Mahathir's men. Recently, Muhyiddin tried to stand up to Mahathir by insisting on going through with a ban on teaching mathematics and science in English. But teaching the two subjects in English is Mahathir's prized legacy and sure enough, Mahathir straightaway issued comments that amounted to a public scolding for Muhyiddin. Muhyiddin's supporters had no choice but to bite the bullet. Muhyiddin was just trying to score brownie points with the Malay electorate, they clarified, claiming that Mahathir also needed Muhyiddin to "be his horse". Daim, Badawi and Ku Li would prefer to back Najib As for Daim, the former Finance minister will only support Najib because Muhyiddin is already Mahathir's man. Daim had been caught scheming under Mahathir's nose when he was the Finance Minister. All the banks and the rich Malays tycoons are Daim's men. So far Najib has not dug up any dirt on Daim. Even for RM12bil PKFZ financial debacle, Najib took pains to ensure that only the parts connected to Mahathir were revealed. Badawi too has no choice but to support Najib because Mahathir is still mad with him for reversing several of his mega projects including the crooked bridge to Singapore. As far back as 2004, Badawi made Muhyiddin the Agriculture Minister, regarded as a lowly ministry. Even then, Badawi knew Muhyiddin was Mahathir's man.
Mahathir is also very angry with Khairy. Mahathir also hates Rosmah. Khairy has no hope other then to align himself with Najib. Khairy was the one who defended Najib when he was accused of using public money to attend the engagement party of his daughter in Kazakhstan. Then again, if Khairy had been more tactful over the Kazakh episode, fewer people would have known of it, prompting suspicion that Khairy may be playing a "double-game". Nevertheless, Tengku Razaleigh or Ku Li, if given a choice between Muhyiddin and Najib, he would definitely support Najib since he also knows that Muhyiddin is Mahathir's man. So it looks like Mahathir and Muhyiddin are one team, while Badawi, Daim and Najib form the other team. Mahathir Mohamad First and foremost, Mahathir wants to wield power. He resigned with mixed feelings. He was not able to accomplish many things and was actually very reluctant to lose power. Yet he knew that he had committed too many blunders and Malaysia was going south too rapidly, he knew he must wash his hands and let someone else to take the fall. From the economy to corruption to social integration, the judiciary to the police to the institutions, Mahathir had erred in all his decisions. He was desperate to protect his name and legacy. He also had his sons' future, their businesses and political careers to care about. Not to mention, his cronies and diehard supporters had to be protected too. After all they were the ones who have been relentlessly supporting him from day one until now. Make no mistake, Mahathir still wants to hold on to power.
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| Iran, Islam and the ‘Axis of Evil’ Posted: 19 Dec 2011 07:08 AM PST The party has engineered ambitious internal reforms and has progressed through the years, arguably further than any other political party in Barisan Nasional or Pakatan Rakyat. PAS has come to choose to emphasise its commitment to the welfare state rather, than Islamic theocracy. PAS recognises that an all-encompassing Islamic theocracy is a far-fetched concept in multicultural Malaysia. Yet many Malaysians remain skeptical. Some Malaysians even believe the story that Iran, for example, is a member of a so-called totalitarian 'Axis of Evil', together with Iraq and North Korea. This made-for-television soundbite was first trotted out in 2002, and then mumbled repeatedly by George W Bush, during his two catastrophic terms as president. George W Bush used this 'Avis of Evil' propaganda, fabricated 'evidence' for weapons of mass destruction and pretended that Iraq had links to Al-Qaeda, in order to invade Iraq in 2003. Just as George Jr was continuing his father's 1991 Gulf War, America's military industrial complex still harbours dreams of invading Iran. War on Iran 'has begun' Seumas Milne of the left-leaning Guardian newspaper in Britain argues that war in Iran has already begun. Milne notes that spy drone flights, covert operations – including assassinations of scientists and an Iranian general – and cyberwarfare are already taking place. He urges citizens in Western countries to campaign against a full scale invasion. America's propaganda campaign against Iran has focused on Iran's nuclear power programme. Iran has never denied an ambition to have a nuclear weapon one day, although it is a current signatory to the global nuclear non-proliferation treaty. This is unsurprising, since Russia, Pakistan and Israel, in its close vicinity, are all nuclear powers. Iran and other regional military powers will not give up this ambition – unless Israel and the superpowers renounce the nuclear threat too, in an ideal, though inconceivable, scenario. Every American military expedition in the last half century has followed a similar pattern as this campaign against Iran. America's leaders begin with righteous indignation over some enemy's threat to an all-important 'way of life', wring their hands, rachet up pressure on the enemy, and finally set off fireworks (napalm in Indochina, cluster bombs in Afghanistan, 'shock and awe' in Iraq). Television images of military coffins draped in American flags follow shortly afterwards, accompanied by photo opportunities of solemn but determined presidents. But who exactly is the enemy? Mainstream American news networks concentrate on Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as a hate figure. Rightwing commentators claim the Iranian president is an Islamic fanatic. Ahmadinejad, they keep repeating, has denied the Holocaust ever took place, and has threatened to 'wipe Israel off the map'. America, these pundits insist, must defend its ally Israel from attack. Pro-war cheerleaders in both Washington and Tel Aviv are unimpressed by the argument that Iran has no nuclear weapons, and would face decimation by nuclear-armed Israel if Iran were to directly attack Israel. The warmongers are urging yet another battle in a Muslim nation, the sixth in ten years, after Afghanistan in 2001 and Pakistan (by remote control), Iraq in 2003, Lebanon in 2003 (by Israeli troops) and Libya this year. The pro-war lobby is excited that US troops are being withdrawn from Iraq, allowing another potential front to be opened up.
The New York Times painstakingly explained, five years ago, that Ahmadinejad had never declared war on Israel. Of course, that does not mean Iran supports Israel's existence. After all, Iran does not hide its support for Hezbollah and Hamas, two militias dedicated to destroying Israel. Even so, Iran has never invaded another country since the Islamic Revolution in 1979. When Iraq invaded Iran in 1980, Iranians did fight a desperate war against a Saddam Hussein aided by the American and Soviet superpowers at the time. Iran and Iraq fought to an exhausted standstill after eight years. At least 500,000 people had died, including many child soldiers – both nations lost the war. Israel, on its part, has launched five recent wars in southern Lebanon alone, invading in 1978, 1982, 1993, 1996 and 2006. Each time, civilians suffered the brunt of the killing. The sickening massacre of children and unarmed civilians in the Palestinian refugee camps of Sabra and Chatila in 1982 are an indelible stain on the history of the 20th century. Israel has claimed provocation each time, citing attacks on its civilians from Lebanese territory.
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| Reckoning the peace/violence ambiguity in the apostasy debate Posted: 18 Dec 2011 08:57 PM PST Such notion is simply too familiar to human experience. This peace/violence ambiguity is observable in recent history. For instance during the first half of the 20th century, the Japanese propagated the ideology of 'Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere', which presented them as the messenger of peace and the liberator of Asia from western oppressors. The caption of one of the Japanese poster reads: "With Japanese, Chinese, and Manchu working together, a great peace can be brought to the world." We can always ask those who lived through the war to find out what kind of "great peace" the Japanese brought. In China, such peace is remembered as the Nanking massacre. In the Malaya peninsular, the Sook Ching massacre. The point here is not to identify any religion to the aforementioned horrendous acts, but to establish the crude reality of one's 'peace' can be violence to another. If we learned anything from history, it is the way to reckon the peace/violence ambiguity by evaluating the relationship between the advertised peace and the actual act of the regime. Zulkifli Hasan's article 'Refining the misconception of apostasy in Islam' attempts to demonstrate that the 'peace' of Islam as he understands it does not contradict the "sanction on the matter of apostasy." He asserts that Islam recognizes the liberty for non-Muslims to join any religion, yet it is a different matter for Muslims to convert out of Islam. In showing how such 'peace' is conceptualized, he wrote:
There are several matters in this quotation for us to look at. Firstly, this gives the impression that western-orientation is somewhat political in a way that problematize the issue on apostasy in Islam. This means, to Zulkifli, that the root cause of the current debate on apostasy lies in the difference between the 'West' and Islam: The former is political, while the latter is not. Therefore, the solution to the problem is to loosen the root, to "put aside" such western-orientation. I find that this point is too presumptuous in a way that does not do justice to the 'West'. To illustrate what I mean, let us first consider another article written by Zulklifi, titled 'The Challenges of Globalization to Muslim Youths'.
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| Ketirisan RM1 trillion wang rakyat ke luar negara - ABU adalah jawapannya Posted: 18 Dec 2011 08:52 PM PST Jumlah penyelewengan yang tidak pernah kita bayangkan akan berlaku dalam negara yang melaungkan slogan-slogan, lepas satu slogan dengan slogan yang lain yang kesemuanya untuk memberikan 'branding' individu pimpinan masing-masing.
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| Where's the Art Scene? In Malaysia, Politics is Everything! Posted: 18 Dec 2011 03:05 PM PST For a note, Beijing is fast becoming Asia's cultural city and a hub for International Chinese music and film production. There's a growing number of International artistes shifting their base from Taipei or Hong Kong to Beijing.
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| A bad govt represses its good citizens Posted: 18 Dec 2011 02:52 PM PST Yet the message of Christmas is hope for all mankind. That is why the angel could proclaim, 'Joy to the world...a savior has been born to you.' And Magi – the three wise Oriental kings came to worship him and place gifts at his feet. How such a simple message of hope that Christians tell others can be offensive I haven't the slightest clue, except when I consider the 'god of this world' – the devil – wants people not to be reconciled with God as the Scriptures tell us. How else do we explain the greed and evil, the inexplicable cruelty of the politicians and those in power, they who would be seen to pray and go to religious houses only to act in the unkindest manner? How can you send planes to bomb and kill innocent civilians along with your enemies? Or how can you justify blowing innocent bystanders to pieces in the name of God? But we know the devil comes to kill and destroy, so guess whose will is being done when people harm one another? Foremost in our minds is the imminent verdict of Anwar's sodomy trial, more like an ordeal. When all is considered he had no more chance than Jesus did before Pilate who washed his hands clean of the blood of an innocent man. Whatever the court's verdict, in the eyes of many Malaysians and foreign observers, they will deem Anwar innocent, the ultimate political sacrificial lamb. The country can only hope that the judge will do the right thing but don't hold your breath. If Anwar stood a chance there would have been no trial because the prosecution can't win when there has been proven to be reasonable doubt and the taint of political conspiracy is too overwhelming. Sodomy may be a crime but when has anyone been convicted of sodomy? Despite kicking against the goads, Anwar and his defence team have earned our respect for still abiding by the rule of law, even as it appears bent, and subjecting himself to the indignity and injustice. Spirit of moral conscience Intrinsic in the message about the birth of Jesus is the hope when people come to their senses and submit to God and allow his Spirit to in-dwell and guide them, they will do the right things though living in a depraved world. But if they fear man and like Pilate washed his hands clean and did the politically expedient, they will forever bear the scourge of their cowardice and their name will be dragged through slime for many generations. 'God with us' is the theme of Christmas and it is worthwhile to remember that whatever our beliefs, we need to learn to live with and care for one another. 'What good is it for a man to win the world and lose his soul?' is a piercing question we need to consider even if we devalue our souls. The truth is not subject to our ideas. Because we criticize those who do wrong does not negate our duty to pray for and love them. And if people don't believe in prayer then what harm does it do? Even Christopher Hitchens, the noted atheist did not mind people praying for his healing, even his redemption. And although he thought religion was a bane to society he nonetheless acknowledges that it is an integral part of human society. Jackboot of religious fascists By now people should realize that there is something innate in every human being that protests against the lies and untruths and acts of injustice they see around them, regardless of their religion. It is called moral conscience. It is a human and divine attribute to oppose evil and to be civic-minded and to take part in peaceful efforts to right the wrongs in your country. Only good governance can solve the problem of bad governance for it takes a bad government to repress good citizens who protest for the welfare of their nation. The government made a mistake with Interlok and has tried to remedy it. Similarly it has made a mistake with the Peaceful Assembly Bill and should redeem itself. The United Nations thinks so too and has criticized the bill. It is too obvious, too crass, too politically motivated, and when tested will be found to be unconstitutional. TIME magazine has named 'the protestor,' as its Person of the Year in 2011 and in so doing indirectly opposes government attempts to stifle legitimate political dissent. Martin Luther was the original 'protestor' who dared prove the religious authorities were wrong. His remonstrance was met with persecution but the world would have been under the jackboots of the religious fascists had the Reformation not taken place. If true, name the Christian offenders There is right and wrong protesting. When a politician harps on Christians proselytizing Muslims in the country, there are two things he can do. Name the organization, provide the proof or zip up. Nothing annoys as much as an alarmist troublemaker crying wolf and protesting over nothing once too often. Why should society be disrupted by the antics of these subversive creatures whose mission in life it seems is to create trouble for others? So what if Christians are proselytizing when state-sanctioned Muslim groups are proselytizing everyone? Which religion has grown by not proselytizing? Why make a fool of yourself by denying others what you claim as your God-given right? Usurping the rights of others that the Constitution gives them makes a person guilty of lawlessness. Mahatma Gandhi emulated the life of Jesus in his teaching on non-violence and was inspired by Christ's sayings known as the 'Beatitudes' found in Matthew 5 in the New Testament. Gandhi in turn inspired American civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr to regularize the freedom and equal rights for all black Americans. Human civilizations progress from the cross-fertilization of ideas and it is wrong to keep Malaysians under a coconut shell. The notion of separate development is so like South Africa's once damned apartheid. And if some politicians hold their sway, Malaysia is headed in that downward spiral.
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| Malaysia in the Era of Globalization #93 Posted: 18 Dec 2011 11:34 AM PST It is at this point that the religious types sense an argument against capitalism. Their argument is simply this: capitalism feeds on the individual's motivation to make a profit, to get rich. My rebuttal is equally simple. The entrepreneur provides a much-needed service or product where none exists before. If that product or service is not needed, then his enterprise will fold soon enough. As for the personal greed motive, it is worthwhile to note that every successful entrepreneur ignites a chain of events that brings benefit to countless others. Ray Kroc who founded McDonalds restaurants with the simple premise that consumers need a reliable place to get consistently tasty and affordable meals, started a chain of process that helps ranchers and butchers (source of meat), potato growers (the chips), and countless youngsters with their first job. This is separate from the great services it provides consumers. As for the personal greed argument, it is well to remember McDonalds create more Black millionaires in America than the all the professional sports leagues combined. Similarly when Bill Gates created that software operating system, he also provided opportunities for thousands of other software engineers to write applications for his Windows program. Of course Ray Kroc and Bill Gates became fabulously rich, but they were not alone; they brought along countless others. Equally important and bears repeating, they provided much-needed services, products, and most importantly, jobs. The value of the benefits to society they created with their services and inventions far outweigh the wealth and rewards that they get. That is the beauty and genius of free enterprise. While the religious types may emphasize the material gains accrued on the individual businessman and trader, I emphasize the goods, services, and jobs she provides to the community.
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| They don’t seem to have a clue! Posted: 18 Dec 2011 09:14 AM PST Thank you Speaker, Sir, for giving me this opportunity to address the House on the 2012 Budget. I would like to start by referring to two articles that appeared recently in our newspapers. On 13 October 2011, Starbiz carried an article that read, "The Philippine President unveiled a 72 bilion peso (US$1.7bn) stimulus package of public works and poverty reduction projects as a weakening global economy forced the country to cut growth forecasts." On the same day there was another article in The Star which said among other things, "The Monetary Authority of Singapore warned that the headwinds from slower global growth will mean slower growth in Singapore in the next few years." In denial mode It is clear that our neighbours are worried. They are aware that there is a real possibility of a global recession, and they are lowering their forecasts for growth of their GDPs. But we in Malaysia appear oblivious to this! Our Finance Minister declared during his budget speech that our GDP will attain an overall growth rate of 5.5 per cent for 2011. This is despite the fact that (annualised) growth rate for the first quarter was only 4.5 per cent and that for the second 4.0 per cent. Yet our Finance Minister remains confident that we can attain 5.5 per cent for 2011, and that we will grow our GDP by 5-6 per cent in 2012. Our Finance Minister claims that our "fundamentals" are strong. What fundamentals may I ask? We are a trading nation – about 53 per cent of the goods and services we produced in 2010 were exported. Which among our "fundamentals" can protect us from a global downturn in demand? But our government is in denial. They claim that a downturn in Europe will not affect us much as we have diversified our trade. According to their statistics for the period January-July 2010, exports to Europe ranked fourth, only RM39.8bn, compared to Singapore (RM48.6bn), Asean, and China (RM46.7bn). Therefore, argue the government planners, a recession in Europe will not have much of an effect on us! What kind of thinking is this? Are they really that confused? Sure, Singapore was the number one destination for our exports for that period. But would Singapore have consumed most of what she imported from Malaysia? Surely not. Singapore would have exported to other countries including to Europe. Another argument that our government trots out is that the slow rates of growth in Europe and the US will not affect us much because of the much faster rates of growth in China and India. Mr Speaker, the GDP of the European Union region was US$16.2 trillion in 2010 according to the IMF, even larger than the GDP of the US, which stood at US$14.5 trillion! Taken together the GDP of Europe and the US represents close to 50 per cent of global GDP, which stood at US$62.9 trillion in 2010. In comparison, the GDP of China in 2010 was US$5.9 trillion while that for India US$1.6 trillion. So to argue that the 7-10 per cent growth rates seen in these two countries will offset a downturn in Europe and America is not based on fact. It is mere wishful thinking. And it does not take into account the fact that economic growth in China and India is based to an extent on the demand from the EU and the US. Permit me to quote an article from the Business Times on 10 October 2011, which said, "The European Union is the world's biggest buyer of Chinese exports – worth about US$380bn in 2010 – and a collapse in demand could trigger heavy job losses in China." And that is the sober truth of the matter! So the government's estimation that the Malaysian GDP will grow between 5-6 per cent in 2012 is not only unrealistic but also irresponsible. Why do I say "irresponsible"? The Annual Budget is the economic plan for the nation. Through it the government of the day informs the public and the business community how the government intends to steer the economy especially in times of uncertainty and turbulence. We need a realistic budget to reassure all parties that the government knows what it is doing. Larger deficit looms The government says it wants to reduce the budget deficit to RM43bn for 2012. However, the government's income is predicated on a GDP growth of over 5 per cent. Taxes, which make up about 70 per cent of the government's income, are forecast to be RM35.6bn. What if we only grow at 2-3 per cent because of the downturn in Europe and America? Definitely tax revenue will drop. But public expenses will remain the same. It is almost certain that our deficit for 2012 is going to be much higher than the RM43bn forecast! If our government takes a realistic look at the global economic situation, it would realise that a default in sovereign debt in countries such as Greece is almost a certainty. This has the potential to shake the banking system in the West and precipitate a sharp downturn. The capacity of many European countries to re-finance their private banks in their countries is severely curtailed by the size of public debt in Western countries. Public debt in Greece has reached 147 per cent of GDP. But public debt for Germany has already exceeded 80 per cent of their GDP, while that in the US stands at 99 per cent of the GDP of the US. If we are realistic, if we are responsible, we can take several steps to protect the most vulnerable in our society from the effects of a serious downturn. We could, for example implement a Retrenchment Fund. During a time of recession, some workers will experience "lock-outs", where their employers run away because they have no cash to meet their commitments. This happened to the Nikko workers in Butterworth not too long ago. And workers in this situation get no compensation at all. Even the pay for the last month of work may not be paid to them. If there was a retrenchment fund, this group of workers will get some relief! Many families face problems keeping up with loan payments when there is a downturn. The government should set up a fund to help such families restructure their debts so that they do not lose their homes or their businesses because of the downturn. We have set up Danaharta and Danamodal for the big companies. Why not something similar and smaller for the ordinary citizens? A government that is sensitive to the needs of its people will set up several funds and programmes that can help the ordinary citizens if a recession were to take place. But to be prepared in this way, the government must first recognise the risk of a recession. Unfortunately our government is in denial. They reject the possibility of a recession. We shall continue to enjoy a 5.5 per cent growth rate, says the Finance Minster.
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| ‘TENDER GATE’ KKLW (SIRI PERTAMA) Posted: 18 Dec 2011 08:37 AM PST
Surat Pekeliling Perbendaharaan (SPP) Bil.9 tahun 2009 dan SPP Bil.2002 jelas menyebut bahawa semua tender melebihi RM10 juta perlu kelulusan Kementerian Kewangan terlebih dahulu. Ini bermakna kuasa tender KKLW di bawah RM10 juta adalah di bawah kuasa sepenuhnya Menteri KKLW.
Adalah jelas Menteri KKLW telah menyeleweng dan mengarahkan tender terhad kelas B diluluskan dalam Lembaga Perolehan KKLW untuk Projek Jalan Access Kg. Menawo, Keningau Sabah.
Namun selepas tender dijalankan, kos melaksanakan projek tersebut melebihi had tender PKK Kelas B dan terpaksa melantik Syarikat Juz Jati Sdn Bhd (Syarikat Kelas B) dengan harga RM 11 juta.
Sehubungan itu KKLW terpaksa membuat permohonan semula kepada Kementerian Kewangan agar meluluskan projek tersebut di atas secara khas memandangkan segala urusan tender dan pelantikan kontraktor telah dibuat.
Kementerian Kewangan melalui suratnya S.K.KEW/PL/KI 1/700/810209/156/12-43 JLD 12 SK 3 (7) bertarikh 3 Oktober 2011 telah memaklumkan kepada KKLW bahawa pelaksanaan tender terhad bagi projek di atas tidak teratur kerana tidak mematuhi peraturan yang ditetapkan dalam Surat Pekeliling Perbendaharaan (SPP) Bil.9 tahun 2009 dan SPP Bil.2002.
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| Posted: 18 Dec 2011 08:12 AM PST Most of the following hadith are from the collection of Bukhari - which is considered to be the most 'sahih' or authentic. There is also one from Abu Muslim - who is considered the second most authentic after Bukhari. . . It is said by many that hadith represent the most important source of reference for the Ahlul Sunnah Wal Jamaah (the Sunnis) after the Quran. . . I have given the references for these hadith as I found them through the Internet. I hope all these references are the correct ones. There are so many. I have just picked a few. . . For non-Muslims and anyone else who does not know, hadith are extra-Quranic writings of the religious scholars who came long after the Prophet had died. . . Muslims must believe that the Quran is revealed by Allah to His Messenger (the Prophet). The hadith however represent (what the religious people think) the sayings of the Prophet. By their context, sometimes the actions of the Prophet are also described in some of these hadith. The big issue that has always bugged the 'hadith' is their authenticity. Among the Sunnis, they have six major compilations of hadith of which the compilation by Bukhari is thought to be the most authentic. Abu Muslim's collection is ranked number two and so on. That is why I have chosen the following hadith from Bukhari and one from the Muslim collection. Some admirers of the Bukhari collection of hadith say that they are like "magnificent pearls of wisdom". Just another point of accuracy - the hadith collection of Bukhari does not come to us directly from the hands of Bukhari himself. Bukhari is believed to have died in 256 H or 835 AD - about 200 years after the Prophet. So he compiled information that was about 200 years old. However what is generally accepted today as the Bukhari collection of hadith was actually put together by someone else, by the name of Ibnu Hajar Askalani in Cairo in 852 Hijrah or 1430 AD (over 800 years after the death of the Prophet) and 596 years after Bukhari. Ibnu Hajar's work was called the "Fath Al Bari" from which the present collection of Bukhari hadith has been compiled. Ibnu Hajar in turn based his selection of Bukhari hadith from other earlier sources like Khushaymani (389 H / 960 AD) 470 years prior to him and Firabri (320 H / 910 AD) 520 years before him . Here is a timeline : 11 H / 632 AD death of Prophet 256 H / 835 AD Bukhari 320 H / 910 AD Firabri 389 H / 960 AD Khushaymani 852 H / 1430 AD Askalani Here is some reference : "The scholars themselves say that "Bukhari's text has not come down to us in a single uniform version, but exists in several 'narrations' (riwayat), of which the version handed down by al-Kushaymani (d.389 H) on the authority of Bukhari's pupil al-Firabri (d. 320H) is the one most frequently accepted by the ulema" (Abdul Hakim Murad, Cambridge University). So Ibnu Hajar did not have a complete, fully bound set of "Bukhari hadith" to work with. They were in various collections. OK here are some of those 'magnificent pearls of wisdom'. I have some comments only.
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| Sailing into a sea of corruption Posted: 18 Dec 2011 07:42 AM PST With corruption, people can cut corners. It turns our society into marauding groups of shysters and hustlers. Already we are now experiencing some sort of a perverted Stockholm syndrome. Kidnapped victims get syok with the kidnappers. In our case, captive minds get captivated with our captors through their hustles. We get enamored with crooks and hustlers. We induct into the committee on education celebrities and all that. Where are the serious academics and thoughtful people? Why can we induct Danny Quah into our committee if we are serious about education? But then, I quickly appease myself when I remember, we have a PM who is at home launching premium outlets as he is with public toilets. Back to the scourge of corruption. How was it, I asked, the double tracking project originally given to China Railways which was endorsed by the cabinet was rescinded? How did it come to the state, when cabinet revised its earlier decision and in light of new 'data and information', the project was taken away from China Railways and given to China Harbours? Who provided new data and information? Who directed the provider of the information to submit new evidence? Any layman would think, China Harbours is a company expert in doing harbours and China Raiwlays in rail lines. The proper thing is to give it to China Railways. The Oracle answered as a matter- of- factly- because huge sums of money have changed hands. This is the number one problem of our country. Once our leadership is corrupt, it's difficult for the leadership brought up within the same system to correct things. It will take paramount political will by a leadership and a messianic zeal to stem corruption to succeed. In our country, the only answer is a change in leadership. The present leadership has no political will and no messianic zeal. As Dr Mahathir said, the whole country, from top to bottom is corrupt. I take that to mean, Dr Mahathir also includes the PM. Money changing hands- that's bribery simpliciter. The businessmen who pays the aides to the PM and DPM monthly allowances, engages in bribery. The politician, who pays Najib's people to always say good things about him so that he continues to be minister or CM, does a bribery number. Where the money involved run into hundreds of millions and even billions, the bribery reaches a more sophisticated levels. The oracle must have meant that- manipulation of facts and figures and methods to arrive at decisions. Appointing a project management consultant that deducts points from the track record of China Harbours to make it look unqualified and extolling the virtues of another competitor. These manipulations take place. This is corruption of a more sophisticated level. It means, the level of corruption here in Malaysia, takes a network of likeminded people to work. Corruption is a team effort. These teams are running wild in this government. This government is suffering from a serious credibility problem. Every purchase, contract and project that it dishes out is never free from suspicions of financial improprieties. Every damn business decision involving for example even GLCs or any companies linked to the government is not above shiftiness. We haven't got answers about allegations surrounding E&O business. We haven't got answers behind the questionable MAS-AA deal. Mahathir wants the proton shares to be sold- but already has the buyer in mind. His method is the Henry Ford method- you can have any color as long as it's black. Hence, you can sell to anyone as long as its DRB and Syed Mokhtar. It seems that politicians are coming out with all sorts of projects and purchases in order to make money on the side. Everyone seems to be on it. They make hay while it shines. The number one issue of this country is corruption. Over the last 10 years, we lost over 1 trillion through illicit transfer. What does this term mean? It means precisely that- money gotten through illicit means is transferred into accounts belonging to groups of people. Perhaps one day, the identity of these people will be published so that people can get heart attacks going through the gallery of rogues. The recent exposure of the Nataional Feedlot Centre (NFC) scandal represents yet another chapter in a seemingly unending series of gross financial irregularities. That has become the hallmark of the BN government beginning from the 1980s. These scandals always involved politicians. The BMF affair for instance was used by politicians to assassinate rivals. The main protagonists in that scandal were Dr Mahathir and Tengu Razaliegh Hamzah.
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| Refining the misconception of apostasy in Islam Posted: 18 Dec 2011 07:31 AM PST Freedom of religion is frequently misunderstood by many and this includes the issue on apostasy. The misunderstanding by the public and even in the Muslim community on the concept and legal position of apostasy has negated the image of Islam as a religion of peace. This is not surprising as there are numerous negative allegations upon the religion of Islam such as condemning it as barbaric and incompatible with modernity and human rights. This serious misconception should be rectified and in fact, it is a religious duty for every Muslim to portray a true picture of Islam and to respond to any allegation and negative arguments upon this issue. In view of this negative phenomenon, this article aims to refine the misconception of apostasy in Islam and attempts to respond to two articles published by New Mandala entitled 'Apostasy in Malaysia: The hidden view' by Joshua Woo Sze Zeng and 'Malaysian Muslims Responses to Conversion' by Norani Bakar whereby the former heavily relies on the essay written by Abdullah Saeed entitled 'Freedom of Religion, Apostasy, and Islam' and online resources and the latter highlights Malaysian Muslims responses to apostasy with reference to the HIMPUN initiative by several non-governmental organisations. Before presenting my arguments on the issue of apostasy in Islam, it is important to note that ABIM was not involved with the HIMPUN initiative. It is worth to emphasise here that ABIM has been very consistent with its stand to promote healthy discussion, interfaith dialogue and intellectual discourse rather than advocating any confrontation or provocation. With the aim of refining the misconception of apostasy in Islam, the preceding discussion in this article will consist of the position of the law of apostasy in other religions; the position of Islam in guaranteeing the freedom of religion, the limitation on freedom of religion, framework for implementation and finally the concluding remarks. Apostasy is not unique to Islam only The offence of apostasy is not unique to Islam and applicable to the Muslim community alone. The other religions such as Christian and Judaism also have their own legal mechanism to resolve problems on apostasy. In fact, both religions clearly declared apostasy as public offense and punishable by law. For instance in Deuteronomy 13:6-11, the stipulated punishment for an offence of apostasy is death penalty. This indicates that apostasy is not unique and exclusive to Islam but other major religions in the world also considers apostasy as a serious offence which is contrary to their basic religious epistemological foundation. Islam guarantees freedom of religion Islam is the religion of peace and it protects the basic individual rights and these include freedom of religion. Islam treats freedom of religion as a matter of right. Every individual has the right and free to choose his religion either Islam or any other religions that he likes. This is unconditional freedom guaranteed by Islam. To evidence this, al-Quran strongly repudiates religious coercion as stated in (10:99) "Had your Lord so willed, all the inhabitants of the earth would have accepted faith altogether. Would you then coerce people to become people of faith". In another verse (2: 256), Allah says "Let there be no coercion in religion." Freedom of religion is not absolute Nevertheless, the situation is different once an individual is a Muslim. The right and freedom of religion is not absolute. As a matter of fact, the notion of absolute freedom is against the principle of natural justice. The freedom of religion should not be abused and any elements of irresponsible religious anarchy that may lead to religious disharmony should not be allowed. This is because Islam considers religious freedom as a matter faith and not as legal or political issues. In this instance, in order to protect the sanctity of this religion, Islam has laid down specific sanction on the matter of apostasy.
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| Fixation Over Pakatan's Cracks is Unwise for Barisan Nasional Posted: 17 Dec 2011 06:53 PM PST The aim of defeating Barisan Nasional is strong enough for the three major parties to put aside their party's agenda for a moment. The fact that the newly minted coalition has achieved very little in integrating their political platforms is going to be a flash point for the parties should they succeed in capturing Putrajaya in the next general elections.
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| Posted: 17 Dec 2011 06:26 PM PST He has dealt with the problems and issues that besets him in the only way he knows, run away or use the sanctuary of his office to keep himself hidden and untouchable from the possible repercussions of his deeds. Altantuya and Saiful are two instances of his cowardice. In both situation he is quick to involve himself at the first opportunity. With Altantuya there would be no Razak Baginda without Najib Razak's connivance! And without Najibs connivance in giving Razak Baginda that hideously profitable submarine contract there would not have been a Razak Baginda Altantuya liaison - a liaison that led to her death! With Saiful he took it upon himself to meet and discuss with Saiful before the fact. After the fact he was quick to deny his involvement in same until confronted by irrefutable evidence. Does he think us stupid enough to not be able to put two and two together? By all means he might win in court against DSAI but this deed of his will be remembered by the people when they cast their votes at the 13th general elections. Some would see his shenanigans in Perak as a mastery act to bring Perak back into Barisan Naasional fold. Many would see it as an act of arrogance by Najib in ignoring the wishes of the people of Perak who had already voted for a Pakatan Rakyat state government. Najib's use of money and Royalty to further his end only proves a point: That the Sultan of Perak can be bought notwithstanding his previous judicial pedigree. Everyone has his price –some cheaper then others! Najib being Najib at the recent UMNO general assembly was his pièce de résistance, the crème de la crème of Najib at his best or his worst – depending on how you would want to see him! It was Najib in full flight, full of himself and his self importance in an assembly in which he was the alpha male! In the land of the blind the one eyed is king. In this assembly Najib by virtue of being its president, had no equal. Just as Pak Lah had no equal in the general assembly that he attended when he was President of UMNO. When he could have raised to the occasion and made the assembly to be a memorable one for UMNO and for the country he chose to go the easy route of race and religion. Blaming the Chinese for the deplorable economic situation of the Malays and the Christians for the supposed danger that Islam now faces in Malaysia. No serious discussions on what was needed to bring the Malays and the country to the level aspired – only the apportion of blame to the Chinese and the Christians for non existent threats. All this would have been laughable had it not been for the self centered seriousness by which the UMNO faithful chose to take these 'threats'. Echoing Najibs clarion but empty calls to be ready for God knows what, the UMNO faithful managed to work themselves into a frenzy of empty rhetoric's and promises to the Chinese and the Christian's that the day for retribution is nigh! A comical general assembly indeed had it not been for UMNO's ability to deliver what retribution they promise upon the Chinese and the Christians if they chose to do so. So far nothing yet but all it would take is for Najib to rouse them from their slumber and all hell could break lose! Another May 13th is a distinct possibility!
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| Posted: 17 Dec 2011 11:09 AM PST A friend who attended a sekolah pondok in Gunung Semanggol (in the 50s?) recalls how the 'guru' made the students fetch water from the well for him. The students were made to perform chores around the sekolah pondok for the material comfort of the guru. All humans need material comforts.
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| Posted: 17 Dec 2011 10:37 AM PST Even more astonishing, the journalists were barred from the building, as if they were unwanted intruders. It is often such small, but extremely strange signs, that make us aware of developments that are seismic behind the scenes. Like when a beach suddenly bares before a tsunami or there is rumbling before an earthquake. So what has made Taib act so out of character? What pressure is he under that he and his ministers have suddenly decided they dare not face what has for so long been their 'lapdog' press? The inescapable conclusion is that the evidence has now piled so high, that Taib suddenly realises that he can no longer brush aside the questions about his corruption and the squalid wealth of his family, both in Sarawak and abroad. With the issue now making headlines in Malaysia and reaching the international news, even the controlled pressmen of Sarawak would not be able to avoid asking questions about it. And, by cancelling the press conference, it seems clear that Taib has no idea how to answer them. It is a sign of fatal weakness at the heart of his regime that Taib no longers dares to face the press. People should remember that Taib has already been suffering under siege in the State Assembly. He may have been able to rig the recent election to produce his customary 2/3 majority of seats yet again, but even after all the bribery and manipulation 45% of voters still voted against him and there now is a strong body of PR opposition YBs, who are fearlessly giving him a far tougher time than before. So how has he dealt with their outraged questions about corruption and cronyism? How has he met their complaints about lands and contracts being handed out to his unqualified children and siblings, instead of being tendered properly for the benefit of the people of Sarawak? It turns out he has been reduced to having to switch off their microphones, rub out their statements from the Hansard record and even to throwing these individuals with their rightful concerns physically out of the DUN building! The only reason for such a farcical reaction has to be that he finds such questions impossible to answer, so he needs to pretend that they haven't been asked. In exactly the same way, now that it is the turn of the press to ask the same set of questions, he has been forced to lock the doors and shut them out! The questions that Taib is frightened of being asked So, what are the questions that any decent set of journalists would have put to Taib, if he had agreed to open the door? We suggest the following top five:
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