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RAPID project: Here are the shocking details
Power of student activism
Could Malaysia's ruling coalition be swept from power?
Malaysia’s Coming Election: Beyond Communalism?

RAPID project: Here are the shocking details

Posted: 04 Oct 2012 03:41 PM PDT

The Australian government does not want Lynas, and no thanks to BN, it is now in Pahang, the homestate of Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak. The Taiwan government has refused to extend the tenure of its state-owned China Petroleum Company (CPC)'s refinery and petrochemical facilities. Again, no thanks to the BN, we welcome CPC with open arms in the form of RAPID.

Victor Lim, Harakah

Malaysians are so informed and familiar with the land grabs in Sarawak and its Taib Mahmud. However, land grabs have also been taking place in Johor for decades and it is ongoing. Only, now it has become more blatant.

The BN government would abuse, exploit and use the Land Acquisition Act 1960 to freeze the prices of parcels of land eyed by its well-connected cronies to facilitate the gazetting of acquisitions. The prices are always very much below market value.

The latest land grab in peninsular Malaysia is in the form of the RM60 billion Petronas Refinery and Petrochemical Integrated Development (RAPID) mega project.

The approval of RAPID is not only a front to grab land belonging to poor villagers, it is also a dirty political ploy to falsely give the Barisan Nasional federal government's Economic Transformation Programme (ETP) a boost.

The BN is using the Land Acquisition Act to force sell 22,500 acres, belonging to thousands of poor villagers, at dirt cheap prices.

In the first place, why does Rapid need such a ridiculously massive 22,500 acres?

Also, in relocating the people of the 17 affected villages, the villagers or land owners were offered an average of RM2.80 per sq foot (psf) for their land.

According to property surveyors, the land is worth between RM12 and RM15 psf! If this is not a land grab, what is?

Why is the BN government so eager and fond of welcoming foreign investors that even their countries of origin have rejected and don't want to have anything to do with them.

The Australian government does not want Lynas, and no thanks to BN, it is now in Pahang, the homestate of Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak. The Taiwan government has refused to extend the tenure of its state-owned China Petroleum Company (CPC)'s refinery and petrochemical facilities. Again, no thanks to the BN, we welcome CPC with open arms in the form of RAPID.

CPC had initially approached the Selangor Pakatan Rakyat (PR) government for approval to invest and set up a petrochemical complex in Malaysia, specifically in Selangor. This was initiated by Everwish Sdn Bhd (subsidiary of Rimbunan Hijau Group Of Companies) with a presentation to the Selangor government.

Everwish submitted that a Joint Venture Company (JVC) would be set up with two other foreign national oil companies for the project and that state/federal government agencies are welcome to participate in the investment.

The estimated cost of the refinery and petrochemical complex is about RM10 billion, and when operational, capable of producing 100,000 barrels a day. It would require 2,889 acres in Pulau Indah.

The project would have a potential employment opportunity for 2,500 people, stimulating direct and indirect work opportunities for 2,600 and 20,000 people respectively.

Everwish claimed in its presentation that the project had a potential to accumulate foreign exchange reserves of US$4.26 billion (about RM13 billion) a year.

HOWEVER, the Selangor PR government rejected the proposed project on grounds that the project proposal:

is in conflict with the local government's approved plan (2002-2015) for Pulau Indah;
will change the landscape of the approved plan, affecting Pulau Indah's maritime industry, West Port's agreed future development, the construction of the proposed SKVE-Pulau Indah Ring Road (PIRR), Pulau Indah's natural forests thereby posing severe and adverse ecological impact and jeopardising the regulated coastal buffer zone;
is a high risk industry jeopardising public safety and health; and
involving the processing of imported crude oil for export will not have high add value to Malaysia's technology but instead pose high risks to public safety and health. The industry's extremely high water consumption will also be a serious strain on the water needs of other existing industries and domestic consumers.

The Selangor government rejected the proposed project in February 2011 and the Taiwanese then sold their proposal to and accepted by the Johor BN government and Petronas. Najib then announced RAPID on May 13, 2011, barely three months after Selangor's rejection! Do you believe all the socio-economic and environmental impact assessments have been conducted before making such an approval for a mega project?

Unlike the caring Selangor government, the Johor BN government approved the project without giving an iota of consideration for the misery of the affected rakyat and the wanton wastage of existing infrastructure and property. RAPID will wipe out:

six mosques;
11 suraus;
Nine non-Muslim religious structures;
Five national schools;
Five Islamic religious schools;
Three Chinese national type schools;
Three government quarters;
Three rural clinics;
Two police stations;
11 Muslim cemeteries;
Seven non-Muslim cemeteries; and
Nine community halls.

The BN is also deceiving the rakyat by claiming that RAPID will benefit Pengerang residents when it is only benefiting BN-UMNO cronies like:

Dialog Group Bhd;
Tebrau Teguh Bhd;
Johor Menteri Besar Abdul Ghani Othman's cronies;
Housing developers who are also BN-UMNO cronies;
Foreign construction workers; and
Highly-skilled workers outside Pengerang.

RAPID is also expected to release toxic materials to the environment thereby posing a serious public health hazard causing diseases such as:

Nasal cancer resulting from inhaling toxic gases daily;
Colon cancer from consumption of food produced from contaminated land;
Blood cancer due to constant exposure to radiation; and
Asthma due to fumes from the oil refinery.

All the facts point to greed, and to ensure BN-UMNO cronies benefit from RAPID, the Land Acquisition Act 1960 is invoked to ensure the land bank is expanded cheaply. The prices of such land are frozen for two years to facilitate the gazetting of the acquisition.

At this point of time, some affected villagers have been told to evict without any alternative housing while waiting for their compensation and new houses. This is only the beginning of a nightmare for those to be uprooted by RAPID.

Under Phase 1, 292 land owners and their families, and 500 other displaced families are to be evicted. The Johor government must come clean with their compensation plans for those affected and the number of phases to displace human settlements.

Wiping out human settlements, uprooting people's livelihood and destroying the eco-socio environment of Pengerang is surely not caring.

Is it worth the development and investments?

Power of student activism

Posted: 03 Oct 2012 01:59 PM PDT

It is fair to say that the students can be the spark for a broader struggle ahead.

By Khoo Ying Hooi, FMT

Given the current dynamic atmosphere of Malaysian politics, campus elections in the public universities are steadily gaining attention.

Last year, a Pro-Mahasiswa (Pro-M) candidate Masturah Abu Bakar from Universiti Malaya was allegedly kidnapped during the campus elections.

(Pro-M is widely regarded as an anti-establishment party as opposed to the pro-government Pro-Aspirasi.)

This time, Pro-M student leaders claimed that they received intimidation and death threats while UM Pro-M national chairman Edikoup Lakip Sediyantoa claimed that he was assaulted by unknown assailants.

With the rise of the new generation, voices of dissent are shaking the foundations of the old order around the globe.

When it comes to campus polls, the question always arises: should students be kept away from politics or should they be allowed to take an active part in politics?

Historically, the 1960s saw student activism and discontent erupt all over the world and were seen as a significant force for social change.

Student movements have played a crucial role in many major social and political transformations. Clearly, students around the world have been part of various movements to promote democracy and human rights.

Their role is indeed crucial as they are the backbone of society. Nowadays, students are often asked to reflect on the future challenges of their society. So, if they are not taught in the way they should, the future of society will be in danger.

Interest in politics as an academic subject in Malaysia is certainly increasing and it is undeniable that the university serves as one of the places to nurture political ambitions.

Looking at the development of student activism in the country, are our students nowadays like their counterparts in the 1960s?

The student activism in the 1960s was so influential that it not only changed the political climate, it also paved the way for the rise of the current generation of students.

Student activism elsewhere

It is important to look at the famous national student organisation, Students for a Democratic Society (SDS).

The SDS was founded in 1960 at the University of Michigan by a group of students and youths intending to search for an alternative path to Cold War politics. It was the largest and most influential student organisation in the US during the 1960s.

Posted: 02 Oct 2012 12:53 PM PDT

(Value Walk) - Even if BN should retain its majority and Prime Minister Najib continues to enjoy high approval ratings, there is a high risk that he will be pushed from office anyway.

Since its independence in 1957, the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) has ruled over Malaysia uninterrupted. UMNO has controlled Malaysia through a coalition, first called the Alliance, and later expanded and renamed Barisan Nasional (BN). In the recent 2008 elections BN lost its absolute majority, marking the first time the ruling coalition has lost its absolute majority since 1969, the year of the Race Riots. BN could now find itself losing its majority position entirely in the up-coming elections.

UMNO and BN have traditionally controlled the political scene in Malaysia. UMNO relies on the "Malay" vote from the Malay community, which makes up approximately 50 percent of the population. The Chinese, who are by far the wealthiest demographic in Malaysia, make up 25 percent of the population, and Indians make up an additional 7 percent. Other Bumiputras, or "sons of the land" make up most of the rest of the population.

The date for the election has not been set, but must be held by June 27, 2013. Many observers believed that elections would be held this past summer, with tell-tale signs, including increased investments in public projects and reduced toll charges. Often, as elections approach BN will push for the increased provision of social services. Trains start to run more frequently, subsidies and cash payments will be handed out, and numerous other policies will be instituted, which critics charge as "vote buying." So far, the election date has not been announced but must be approaching soon.

In recent years Malaysia has seen mass protests and heightened demands for political reform. The Bersih movement, or "coalition for clean & fair elections" has attracted a large following in Malaysia. The movement has staged several rallies in recent years. In April 2007, the first Berish rally attracted some 30,000 people, and is credited with having a major impact on the 2008 elections that saw BN lose its absolute majority for the first time in decades. In July 2011 the Bersih 2.0 movement was launched and staged another rally, attracting between 10,000 to 20,000 protesters, though many more were kept out of the Kuala Lumpur city center due to government clamp downs. Bersish 3.0 in, April 2012, saw renewed strength and effort from protesters, with approximately 100,000 people protesting for reform.

Meanwhile, Barisan Nasional is increasingly losing the trust of the Malay community, which it has relied on to stay in power. Traditionally, BN and especially UMNO has relied on the rural Malay vote, which through gerrymandering has a disproportionately large representation in parliament. Now educated and urban Malays are starting to turn to the opposition. At the same time, UMNO is losing some rural votes in some areas to the Pan-Malaysia Islamic Party (PAS), an Islamist political party.

BN has never fared as well in cities, or among the middle class. With Malaysia's population rapidly urbanizing and becoming better educated, BN's traditional base of power is shrinking. Unless the party can adapt to changing times and modernize its policies, it may someday find itself representing a "minority" segment of society.

The domestic scene can be described as complicated, at best. Malaysia has posted strong growth since its independence, with national development projects being fueled by petro-dollars. The country also enjoys a strong manufacturing sector, though many of the workers in this sector are foreign.

The nation has had a harder time competing in high-value industries, and its education system remains subpar. In order to keep unemployment low, the government has traditionally "mopped" up unemployed graduates, especially Malays. As a result, government payrolls have expanded to some 1.4 million people, in a nation of only 30 million. With petro-dollars running out (Malaysia is projected to run out of oil as soon as 2030), the government will not be able to afford expanding payrolls forever.

Certainly Malaysia has launched attempts at reforms. Prime Minister Najib has launched a "1Malaysia" campaign to try to rectify the tensions between the three major races. The Prime Minister has also launched the New Economic Model (NEM), which will increase emphasis on creating high-skilled middle class jobs and ensuring that Malaysia does not fall in the Middle Income trap.

Malaysia’s Coming Election: Beyond Communalism?

Posted: 01 Oct 2012 11:53 AM PDT

Both sides are furiously making calculations about tactics to win seats, tailoring their message to the communities concerned. The two eastern states of Sabah and Sarawak could be kingmakers, because they control 25 per cent of the available seats.

International Crisis Group

Malaysia's thirteenth general election, which Prime Minister Najib Razak will have to call by April 2013, could be a watershed in communal relations. More than ever before, there is a chance, albeit a very small one, that opposition parties running on issues of transparency, economic equity and social justice could defeat the world's longest continually-elected political coalition, the National Front (Barisan Nasional), that has based its support on a social compact among the country's Malay, Chinese and Indian communities. That compact, granting Malays preferential status in exchange for security and economic growth, has grown increasingly stale as the growing middle class demands more of its leaders. Both ruling party and opposition are using images of the Arab Spring – the former to warn of chaos if it is not returned to power, the latter to warn of popular unrest unless political change comes faster.

Social and demographic change, coupled with effective opposition leadership and the rise of a broad-based movement for electoral reform, are likely to make this election at the very least a close contest. The ruling coalition, composed of the dominant United Malays Nationalist Organisation (UMNO); the Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA); and the Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC), as well as several smaller parties, faces the People's Alliance (Pakatan Rakyat), composed of the People's Justice Party (Partai Keadilan Rakyat, PKR), led by former Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim; the Democratic Action Party (DAP) and the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (Partai Islam Se-Malaysia, PAS). More than ever before, the swing vote may be the Malay middle ground: urban professionals, students and "netizens" – internet users – who have benefited from constitutionally-protected preferential status for Malays but who are tired of cronyism and corruption and are chafing under the tight controls on civil liberties.

The deck is stacked against the opposition for many reasons, not least because of an electoral system based on questionable voting rolls and carefully gerrymandered, single-representative constituencies where victory requires only a plurality (first past the post). Demands for a more level playing field gave rise in 2007 to a broad-based civil society movement, the Coalition for Free and Fair Elections, known as Bersih (Clean), that has held four mass street rallies drawing tens of thousands of participants: in November 2007; July 2011; April 2012 and August 2012. The first three were broken up by police with hundreds of arrests. In the third, violence on the part of a few participants led to harsh police counter-actions and allegations of brutality. Former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, now retired but leading UMNO's ultra-conservatives from the sidelines, has been warning Malaysians to expect more violence in the streets if the opposition loses.

The big issues are the economy, corruption and political reform. Bread-and-butter topics matter most to the electorate, and Barisan's vast resources enable it to dole out economic favours to strategic constituencies in the lead-up to the election. The opposition is getting plenty of mileage out of corruption scandals involving top UMNO officials, although UMNO is fighting back with legal challenges and defamation suits. Political reform is seen by both sides as a political winner. Prime Minister Najib has rolled back or reworked some of the draconian legislation – most notably the colonial-era Internal Security Act (ISA) – that Mahathir used to curb dissent during his 22 years in power, but the opposition denounces it as too little, too late.

Two huge issues are largely off the official agendas of both coalitions but dominate them in many ways. One is the preferred treatment for Malays in virtually all spheres of public life and whether opening political space and promoting social justice would diminish that status. The ultra-conservatives within UMNO are determined to protect Malay rights at all costs. The other is the question of Islamic law and religious tolerance. Under Mahathir, Malaysia embarked on a program of Islamisation of the government and bureaucracy, culminating in his declaration of an Islamic state in 2001. PAS, once known for a hardline Islamist agenda, is now led by pragmatists who are willing to put contentious issues like Islamic criminal justice on hold, at least temporarily, in the interests of trying to defeat Barisan. But neither side is above trying to scare non-Malay communities, particularly the Chinese, by predicting greater intolerance if the other wins. Within the opposition coalition, relations between PAS and the Chinese-dominated DAP remain fragile.

Ultimately the question Malaysians will have to answer on election day is which of the two choices will be better able to accommodate political change, while protecting minorities against the hardline forces that more openness can produce.

Read at: http://www.crisisgroup.org/en/regions/asia/south-east-asia/malaysia/235-malaysias-coming-election-beyond-communalism.aspx

Kredit: www.malaysia-today.net

Jumaat, 5 Oktober 2012

Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News

Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News

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