Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News
Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News |
- Set up Minority Affairs Ministry, says Hindraf
- MCA member slams leadership over education policies
- Najib’s message to Chinese voters
- DAP worried hudud will cover non-Muslims
- Muhyiddin lambasted for bad education policies
- General assembly will be a show of unity and discipline, says Najib
- Spike in new voters for Selangor ‘normal’, EC chief says
| Set up Minority Affairs Ministry, says Hindraf Posted: 24 Nov 2012 06:02 PM PST
The movement says that it will throw its backing to any coalition that sets up the ministry and endorses its five year blueprint. G Vinod, FMT Hindraf today demanded the government to set up a Minorities Affairs Ministry right after the general election. Hindraf national advisor N Ganesan said this at the movement's fifth anniversary gathering, held at the Kuala Lumpur-Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall, to commemorate its hugely succesful November 2007 rally. "Let Hindraf run the ministry as we are the only NGO that is steadfast in our cause. "We will only throw in our support to the coalition that will endorse our demand and our five year blueprint," said Ganesan, addressing the nearly 2,000 attendees. In Nov 25, 2007, tens of thousands of Indians marched to the nation's capital seeking for a betterment of the Indian community plight but the incident was marred when police used heavy handed tactics to break the crowd. Following the Hindraf rally, the traditional Barisan Nasional supporters threw their backing to Pakatan Rakyat in the general election in the following year, denying the ruling coalition its customary two thirds majority at the Parliament, and delivered five states to the opposition. Hindraf's six demands 1) Stop displacing Indian plantation workers and provide reasonable compensation, as well as, offer skills training to them, 2) Resolve Indian stateless issue, 3) Provide equal education opportunity to all Indian students via meritocracy, 4) Provide equal job and business opportunities to Indians, 5) Stop police brutality and death in custody, and set up the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC), and 6) Stop institutionalised racism and ratify United Nations convention against racial discrimination. Ganesan said that Hindraf would be able to resolve the six issues affecting the Indian community through the Minority Affairs Ministry. He also urged the government to allocate RM4.5 billion annually to the ministry for that purpose. "And don't tell me that the amount is big. Budget 2013 is worth RM230 billion and the amount we seek is not even five percent of the budget," said Ganesan.
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| MCA member slams leadership over education policies Posted: 24 Nov 2012 03:22 PM PST
The grassroots leader vows to pull out from the party if MCA fails to change the outcome of National Education Blueprint. Leven Woon, FMT The 6,000-strong Dong Zong rally against the National Education Blueprint 2013-2025 today saw the surprise attendance of a grassroots MCA member from Kota Tinggi, Johor. Breaking ranks with the party leaders who had openly snubbed the rally, the Kota Kecil MCA chairman Tai Foo Him led three busloads of people to support the rally which was held in Padang Timur here. He told reporters that majority of 110 people who came with him were MCA members. He drew a mixture of cheers and boos when asked to speak at the rally where some of the protesters had carried banners reading: "Shameless MCA president betrays Chinese education" and "BN MCA, Corrupt and Abuse of Power". "I feel ashamed when I saw your placards condemning our party. I think our leaders must change," he said. "If they don't, then maybe it's about the time for us to change," he added, without elaborating. He then cited the example of Black American activism in the 1960s to encourage the crowd to continue the struggle.
Speaking to reporters later, Tai said the MCA leaders did not dare to speak out against the blueprint because they were afraid to lose their government positions. The branch chairman who joined MCA in 1989 also criticised the party for openly rejecting the rally. "MCA and the Chinese community are from the same root. Nevermind if you don't support the rally, but why oppose the rally?" he said. Tai warned that should MCA failed to change the outcome of the blueprint, he would pull out from the party. He also said he has done nothing wrong for the party to level a possible disciplinary action against him.
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| Najib’s message to Chinese voters Posted: 24 Nov 2012 02:46 PM PST
(Bernama) - Datuk Seri Najib Razak said the Chinese community who likes his leadership, must give solid support to Umno and Barisan Nasional (BN) if they want him to bring more successes to the nation through the national transformation programme. The prime minister said this in a special interview prior to the 66th Umno general assembly next week, when asked to comment on remarks by political observers, that some parties in the Chinese community liked Najib's leadership but not his party and BN, and were divided over giving support. Najib, who is also Umno president, in the one-hour interview with Bernama and Utusan Malaysia, nevertheless, said he saw the wind of change blowing in the level of support towards the government including from among the Chinese community compared to 2008 because they liked the government's direction. Commenting further on the parties in the Chinese community who were still divided in their support of the government, he said: "If they want me as the PM who can bring transformation to the nation, as they had been convinced all these while, they must give their support to me." "Because a strong PM is a PM who has comprehensive support, so that more successes can be brought to the nation," he added. Najib said a prime minister without a comprehensive mandate was weak and could be disputed, including whatever innovation he wanted to implement because any change would face many challenges. "A leadership without political support is a leadership without moral strength. If a leader has no moral strength, the leader will find it hard to face challenges to bring about big changes to the nation," Najib said. Since becoming prime minister in April 2009, Najib has introduced numerous comprehensive transformation programmes encompassing the government delivery system and politics and economy which were starting to show very positive preliminary results. The prime minister said although Umno or BN had several weaknesses, yet they were much better if compared to the opposition pact. "So if they don't like UMNO or BN, at least we are solid, having the same aim and talking in the same tone compared to the opposition who are basically at odds, even in terms of ideology. They are also not in tune (among the opposition) as to who will become the PM. Najib also said in national political system, if the groups liked his leadership, whether they wanted to or not they must give support to his party, namely, Umno and BN. "Otherwise, another party will be PM and not me. This means, someone else they don't want will become PM. And the pillar in our system is whoever becomes the PM," he said. Commenting further on the increase in support from the Chinese community towards the current government, Najib said he was aware that a change in attitude took time. Conceding that the government had problems with Chinese voters, he said, nevertheless, the government should not shunt them aside but to intensify engagements to understand their needs and demands, and respond accordingly. He said he understood the Chinese in towns were not overly dependent on the government but they must be aware their successes as individuals and a community were the result of government policies. "The government created conducive surroundings where they can find business opportunities, opportunities to develop themselves. If they look at the future, they would also need a country that is well-administered. "So BN can do this and make adjustments to our policies they are unhappy about and the weaknesses they say we must correct… for example crimes in towns." He stressed that so long as the people were not satisfied with the rate of drop in crimes, the effort would be escalated to erase all their concerns. Najib also refuted allegations by opposition parties that Umno was racist when urging towards the unity of Malays, and purportedly, its struggle was only in the interest of Malays. "Malay unity does not mean we oppose other races because, as I had said, we must bring other communities together with us." "We have carried this spirit since long ago from the time of Tunku (Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj) and Tun Razak (Hussein). Why should we set aside what had been founded by our founding fathers." Najib stressed that the current Umno leaders, like its founding fathers who set up the Alliance and then BN, were aware the strength of the country hinged on cooperation between the communities. "This we must hold on to," he said, adding that several actions which gave the perception that Umno was racist should and would be corrected. Najib said, when the government introduced the 1 Malaysia concept, all communities understood better, that, in this country, all communities must benefit from the national leadership. He said, as a result of the efficiency in the administration of the country, the government could ensure quite a strong national economic growth, whereby, the third quarter of this year recorded a 5.2 per cent growth and 300,000 jobs were created. The increase in foreign direct investment continued to go up from RM5 billion in 2009 to RM29.3 billion in 2010 and RM36.6 billion last year. "All these achievements, people say went against the world economy," he said, adding that the nation developed a high level of confidence with the achievements. The prime minister said the policies and programmes of the opposition as contained in their "Orange Book" and 2013 Budget did not get rave reviews from economists. "If we ask investment bankers and their fund managers' financial analysts, they do not give a high valuation to what was forwarded by the opposition. This means that they only see BN as a viable government." He said the current national transformation programme to boost Malaysia into becoming a developed and high-income nation could not possibly be achieved in three or four years but needed a much longer time. "President (Barack) Obama also demanded another term as president (of the United States) because he said it was impossible to make amends on what was done during the tenure of (President George) Bush, in four years. Furthermore, Najib said if BN received a strong mandate from the people in the 13th general election, God willing, he would commit himself to using his post and the strength of moral leadership to carry out greater and grander achievements for Malaysia.
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| DAP worried hudud will cover non-Muslims Posted: 24 Nov 2012 02:35 PM PST
(The Star) - The DAP is worried that hudud law will be extended to non-Muslims, with the latest controversy involving hair salon operators in PAS-led Kelantan. Its chairman Karpal Singh said he was surprised that Kelantan decided to enforce a ruling prohibiting non-Muslim women from cutting the hair of men and vice versa. "The Kelantan Government has publicly declared that Islamic laws will not be extended to non-Muslims. PAS has also stated that hudud will only be applied to Muslims. "There's a lot of concern among the public on what has just happened in Kelantan. If hudud is allowed, they will come to be extended to non-Muslims," he told a press conference yesterday. Karpal, who is the Bukit Gelugor MP, said the municipal council ruling was unconstitutional. "In fact, it should be challenged in court. Those concerned should not pay the fines imposed. It is unlawful. "The municipal council in Kelantan is collecting fines on the basis of an unlawful law. "I hope that the PAS leadership will intervene on this matter and do something about it as soon as possible," he said. Karpal said Barisan Nasional should not be presented with issues that could be exploited with the general election looming, likening the law relating to hairdressers as an "unkind cut". On the upcoming two-day DAP national conference from Dec 15, he said 66 party members had been nominated for 20 positions in the central executive committee.
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| Muhyiddin lambasted for bad education policies Posted: 24 Nov 2012 02:20 PM PST
An Indian NGO rep tells some 6,000-strong crowd at the Dong Zong rally that Muhyiddin is a failed education minister. Leven Woon, FMT The Dong Zong rally against the National Education Blueprint kicked off today with various speakers training their guns at the ruling government, including one who labelled Muhyiddin Yassin as the "dumbest education minister in the world". Dubbed as "Peaceful Appeal Against National Education Blueprint", the rally saw more than 6,000 people gathering the Padang Timur here since 10am, many holding umbrellas under the hot Sunday weather. The protesters also displayed banners that among others read: "Safeguard SJK (C) and SJK (T)", "Guarantee existence and development of multi-stream schools", "Education blueprint stumbling block to unity" and "National school syllabus to fuse Chinese school". Both Barisan Nasional and the MCA were targeted by the protesters, as several placards were spotted reading: "Shameless MCA president betrays Chinese education", "BN MCA, Corrupt and Abuse of Power".
Thasleem Mohd Ibrahim, who heads the National Indian Rights Action Team (NIAT), said in his addressing speech that the people respected Bahasa Malaysia as the national language and only demanded the rights to learn mother tongue. He criticised Muhyiddin, who is also the deputy prime minister, over his controversial policies such as the introduction of the Interlok novel to secondary school students and the National Education Blueprint. "What does he know? He knows nothing about education. He is the most stupid education minister in the world," he said, drawing the protesters' applause.
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| General assembly will be a show of unity and discipline, says Najib Posted: 24 Nov 2012 12:33 PM PST
(Bernama) -- The 2012 Umno General Assembly is set to give a signal that the party is thoroughly prepared for the general election, that it has risen stronger, more disciplined, more solid and capable of assuring a better future for all Malaysians under the Barisan Nasional (BN). Umno president Datuk Seri Najib Razak said the gathering of 5,447 party delegates should portray a party which was prepared in the true meaning of the word. "Whether in terms of the image of our party, direction of the party, unity in the party, organisation, right up to the grass root, (the assembly) should portray a party which is already firm, strong and has a high fighting spirit and motivation to ensure a major victory for Umno and BN," he said. In a special interview with editors of Bernama and Utusan prior to the general assembly next week, the Prime Minister also stressed the importance of organisational discipline towards giving strength in ensuring the success of the party. Najib said, "If we have organisational discipline, I believe it will give us strength, a very great strength because we have the number which must be buttressed with the strength of party discipline. "If we do not receive an order following the chain of command, it means we have gone against discipline and as a consequence we can lose in a war." He said the focus of the debate must lead towards the positive attitude of Umno on its direction and confidence in the leadership, and subsequently to provide answers to accusations thrown by the opposition at the Umno and BN leaderships. Taking PAS as an example of a party hiding behind its Islamic image, Najib said, "This must be discussed by Umno and if possible we come up with strong arguments, so we can emerge as the main party among the Malays". The prime minister said Umno's situation was better compared to a year ago and "surely is better than the pictures which we see in the opposition pact which show parties not sharing the same aspirations, fragile ties and much of what they tried to hide all these while have been exposed". He said the difference in directions and opinions among the opposition was becoming obvious with the issues of who should be prime minister, views on freedom to change religions and opinions on practices not in line with Islam. "If we look between the two, Umno and BN had boosted confidence while the opposition parties had raised more question marks and controversies which can be questioned by voters," he said. Asked about his effort to revive Umno after BN's poor performance in the general election in 2008, Najib said, "I hold on to the principle of getting up after falling down and continuing to work hard after being successful". As such, he said when he took over the leadership of the party and government, he was committed to do whatever possible to revive Umno and BN, starting with the 1 Malaysia concept: People First, Performance Now as a master philosophy of his administration. He said his administration policies were inclusive by upholding social justice and forwarding new ideas which were more creative. "I truly understand, in this 21st century, supremacy can be obtained by those parties who win in contests of ideas. "This is why many programmes which we implement today were never thought of before. From 1 Malaysia People's Shop, 1 Malaysia Clinic, Urban Transformation Centre, Rural Transformation Centre, 1 Malaysia People's Taxi, 1 Malaysia People's Aid, et cetera," he said.
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| Spike in new voters for Selangor ‘normal’, EC chief says Posted: 24 Nov 2012 12:30 PM PST
(TMI) -- The controversial huge jump in first-time voters for Selangor is regular and to be expected as the country's richest state is a magnet for Malaysians seeking better jobs and lives, Election Commission (EC) chairman Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof has said. Abdul Aziz credited the spike to Selangor's status as a very popular state among Malaysians, saying that many voters are attracted by the job opportunities available to work and stay there. He was responding to the Selangor government's doubts and suspicion over the spike in the number of voters in its state assembly (DUN) and Parliamentary constituencies. "Throughout Malaysia, from 2008 up to 2012, three million new voters have been registered. "Out of the three million, 400,000 are from Selangor, because Selangor is a very popular state, so many people like to work (and) live in Selangor and they use (an) address in Selangor," he told The Malaysian Insider in a phone interview when contacted yesterday. The Pakatan Rakyat (PR) state government had recently carried out a study which showed the figures of newly-registered voters in constituencies held by one of the three political parties within its alliance — PKR, DAP and PAS — had steadily increased with every passing quarter this year, at 563,471; 600,406; and 625,210 respectively. Selangor Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim said in a statement on Friday that the state could not trace 28 per cent of its 497,084 voters who were registered in last year's fourth quarter. The PKR man also pointed to the incomplete electoral maps of five state assembly areas as justification for Selangor's worries. But Abdul Aziz said that a big chunk of Malaysia's newly-registered voters in the past four years use addresses in Selangor when registering with the EC. When registering voters, the EC has to follow the address as recorded in identity cards (IC) — now called MyKads. Voters can change their voting address if they change their MyKad address and inform the EC. Abdul Aziz said Selangor's popularity made it natural for some Parliamentary areas in Selangor to have an increase of new voters by 30 to 40 per cent. Other places like Ipoh, Johor Baru and Malacca have a percentage increase in new voters that is more or less like Selangor's, he said. "The increase of voters in Selangor, Parliament or ADUN (areas) in Selangor, are also happening in other places, other states. Not only in Selangor. "This is normal," he said. The commission chief also attributed the significant jump to the hard work of both the EC and political parties in registering those who are eligible to vote. "PKR, DAP, PAS are very active in registering voters in Selangor...They contribute a lot in terms of (registering) new voters in Selangor," he said, referring to the parties in PR. He said another 600,000 people in Selangor are eligible to vote, but have yet to register. Political parties have been working to get more citizens registered as voters, ahead of the 13th general elections that is expected to be the country's most intensely-contested polls. In the 12th general election, the three federal opposition parties had swept a total of 36 seats, with PKR taking the lion's share of 15 seats; and the DAP and PAS taking 13 and eight respectively. Selangor is said to be a state with hot seats because of its large number of newly-registered voters, as well as being the country's wealthiest state. The Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition is said to be eyeing the country's wealthiest state in the upcoming elections, with its chairman Datuk Seri Najib Razak recently pledging to cancel a controversial condominium project in the Batu Caves area if BN wins back Selangor. Najib, who is also Umno president, has repeatedly vowed to win back Selangor for his BN coalition by all means necessary.
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