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Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News

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• My political thoughts during the Hunger Viratham Day Thirteen
• Urge the government to abolish the Federal Constitution 121(1A)
• Taib Mahmud Dynasty: A Regime Changing Time Bomb
• Indecent Haste that Ignored Tunnel Project's Viability Within a Risk-based Framework
• Some thoughts on the Bar Council AGM 16 March 2013
• Pakatan Rakyat's chances in GE 13
• GTP - It's easy to improve when you're shit
• Our Leaders and their followers need to know: All the glitter and promises galore cannot ...
• Who or what is Malaysia’s most threatening enemy?
• Puluhan ribu risalah fitnah sedia diedar di Perak
• Pakatan & PTPTN
• The Myth of the Rich and Poor (UPDATED with Malay Translation)

My political thoughts during the Hunger Viratham Day Thirteen Posted: 22 Mar 2013 01:43 AM PDT   This is the thirteenth day of my Hunger Viratham. The visitors are streaming in and it is becoming more difficult to stay focused on my writing. It has somewhat slowed down my writing. Still, therere is no let up in my resolve to achieve our goals of obtaining binding endorsement and commitment to implement Hindraf's proposals and I continue with my Hunger Viratham.   By P. Waythamoorthy  More people are beginning to ask just where the BN and the PR political leaders are. Do they not care? Well, I will let them answer the people.   For today I will discuss the question of the costs of implementation of Hindraf's 5 year Blue Print proposals.   PART SEVEN   IS 4.5 BILLION RINGGITS EXCESSIVE FOR CORRECTING A LONG STANDING PROBLEM?   The Politicians in power go to great length to propose, promote and implement mega project like the MRT, the High Speed Rail Link between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore and the Undersea Tunnel linking Penang to the mainland. These projects can cost when done, from RM10 Billion to RM80 Billion.   The politicians will tell you that these are infrastructure projects that improve quality of life and which anyway has a multiplier effect on the economy. But what they will not tell you is how this also plentifully fills the pockets of the elites. In these projects, there is abundant opportunity for rentier commissions, for bribes, for project super profit, for operational super profits, for high interests on low risk loans. All these significant financial benefits just flow in the large part to the elite. They say it creates wealth for the country. That is great, watch the GDP numbers.   On the other hand spending on making the lives of the people at the bottom end of society becomes only a passing priority for he political elite. The nation at large may benefit, but if the benefit is to be shared more equitably with the people, it becomes sacrilege – distribution of wealth cannot be a driver of policy. Creation of wealth can be the only driver of policy. This is conventional wisdom with the elite. If it cannot be justified on the basis of returns on investment or on what is considered a pressing need by the elite then the investment becomes a low priority project or a no priority project.   4.5 Billion Ringgits, the annual budgetary need for 5 years for Hindraf's Blueprint proposals is spread out on several key socio-economic projects which we say addresses a pressing need of our society. We say there are significant returns in these investments for the nation as a whole. But it meets with significant resistance from the elite because it does not meet the resource allocation criteria of the elite. The real issue is that the benefits from the projects are spread over too many people and becomes too thin. That does not serve the interest of the elite – they do not stand to gain from such allocations. So it cannot be a good investment or allocation. Unfortunately for the nation, it is the elite who decide this. They have total control over national policy. So they try every argument in the book to put such projects on the back burner. And they succeed most of the time.   Look at if another way. The annual budget of the government is about RM 250 Billion. RM 4.5 Billion is only 1.8 % of that. That still leaves 245.5 Billion for everything else, while a critical problem of our society gets resolved.  In the last 47 years 1,155 Billions have been spent on socio- economic development. If the Indian poor had got even 10% that would be 115 Billion Ringgits. We surely would not be having the problem we have today had that expenditure been made. But it was not made. We have a problem today as a result and we need to solve it. If that takes 20% of the allocation that should have been made, can that be considered excessive? It all depends on how you want to look at it. To kill off the request, the elite do not look at it this way. They just play up the size of the absolute number without looking at it in all these other related ways.   In the final analysis allocation of the national resource all comes down to national priorities. Today these priorities are determined by the elite. So, the system will continue to behave the way it does unless the decision makers change, The true representatives of the people or the people themselves have to become the decision makers for the national resource to be allocated more in the interest of the people.   The 5 years Blueprint is a bottom up document and an attempt to make the people the decision makers for the allocation of the resources needed to open up new life opportunities, by the members of a segment of society. This is a first of its kind.  Others will soon follow suit, if this attempt is successful.   This is also a major worry of the elite and an oft repeated argument that if we do this for one minority or marginalized community, then the others will also start making similar demands. How can we deal with that? Simple, allocate resources truly on the basis of need – do not just say it, do it. But that will not happen. The elite will say it, but they will not do it. In my opinion there is nothing wrong with al such segments making such demands. We just have to plan the demands in and allocate the resources appropriately... The people are the true owners of the resource of the nation. They have every right to make these demands.   RM 4.5 Billion for the resolution of the socio-economic woes of the impoverished Indian community cannot be excessive. It is an important allocation and has significant positive implications for our society. All those who block it or argue against it are doing it because of faulty and self serving economic logic. It is not as if they are right and we are wrong. They are wrong and they are deceitful.

Urge the government to abolish the Federal Constitution 121(1A) Posted: 22 Mar 2013 01:39 AM PDT Non-Islamic affairs should not be managed by Syariah court. Its setup is limited to hear only Islamic cases. Whenever it involves non-Islamic matters it should be heard in the Civil Court. If non-Islamic cases were heard in the Syariah Court, then it raises the suspicion that religious beliefs are abused, thereby also raising public doubts against judiciary fairness. Young Buddhist Association of Malaysia  In view of the issue where recently 72 Hindu organisations urged the government to amend the constitution -The rule that the Syariah court cannot handle non-Islamic affairs, a joint press release is issued from the Young Buddhist Association of Malaysia (YBAM), Buddha's Light International Association (BLIA) Malaysian Chapter, Malaysia Christian Youth Association (MCYA), The Federation of Clans and Guilds Youth Association of Malaysia, Gerakan Belia Bersatu Malaysia and Persatuan Graduan Muda Malaysia, to support such urge. Malaysia's Constitution ensures religious freedom of belief and worship to every citizen when Islam is the official religion thus ensures every religion can develop in a fair and free environment. Non-Islamic affairs should not be managed by Syariah court. Its setup is limited to hear only Islamic cases. Whenever it involves non-Islamic matters it should be heard in the Civil Court. If non-Islamic cases were heard in the Syariah Court, then it raises the suspicion that religious beliefs are abused, thereby also raising public doubts against judiciary fairness. In the past there were many non-Islamic cases that were heard in the Syariah Court including 'Snatching National Hero Corpse' case, Renouncing Islam when One-half died or Application of renouncing child's religion and once very Hot 'Lina Joy' case, etc. These have already caused mis-trust against Malaysian Judiciary, especially Interpreting'Freedom of Religious Belief'clauses in the Constitution has raised a lot of doubts and worries. Federal Constitution 121(1A) clause was formed to let Syariah Court has the same judicial status as the Civil Court that is,  Civil Court cannot review whatever decision made by the Syariah Court. This kind of judicial Double-Track phenomenon has made people doubtful of who has the ultimate power in the final decisions made. This also causes the nation to drop into limitless debates and protests. In the end, it will let our national judiciary falling into Confidence Crisis. In addition, on the legal cases that involves both Muslims and non-Muslims, whether the Syariah Court or Civil Court possess the power of final verdict is something questionable.  The loopholes in the legal provisions will lead the country into an endless controversy and confrontation, and in the worse scenario, broken trust in the national judicial. The government should be more sensitive towards the needs of various religions in this multicultural and multi religious country; the government should also realise the implication that arises following from this problem, how it brings to the disharmony among the people and religions.  The joint bodies urge the government to abolish the Federal Constitution 121(1A) clause as to resume the power of Civil Court for the final verdict. May the Blessings of the Triple Gem be with you and your family always.   With Metta,  Young Buddhist Association of Malaysia

Taib Mahmud Dynasty: A Regime Changing Time Bomb Posted: 22 Mar 2013 01:31 AM PDT   The lives and way of life of the indigenous are threatened, forcing them into the vicious cycle of poverty of "civilized" culture. Their heritage destroyed and burned to the ground. All for the sake of the greedy few with hands made of Velcro. Dipping their sticky fingers into coffers and taking what does not belong to them.   Think tank Political Studies for Change (KPRU) An investigator for an international non governmental organisation (NGO), Global Witness went undercover posed as a foreign investor in an undercover sting to expose the corrupted and fraudulent activities of the family members and business partners of Sarawak's chief minister (CM), Taib Mahmud that was committed at the expense of the people of Sarawak in order to gain illegal profits worth millions if not billions of Malaysian ringgit. Global Witness published an approximately 16-minute long short film, with a title aptly named Inside Malaysia's Shadow State, perfectly describing the beastly corruption of Sarawak CM Taib, his administration, family and business associates. Although during the course of the film Global Witness investigators did not negotiate with Taib himself, the Global Witness investigator did negotiate with the other family members of Taib, which claimed to have a close relationship with him and those close acquaintances include his cousins, lawyers, and others. Those negotiations with his close acquaintances proved that those individuals had heavy backing from Taib Mahmud himself.   Public discussion roared post video being published and also after the investigation was picked up and reported by Malaysiakini. Taib Mahmud was subsequently interviewed by reporters in which he denied having a close relationship with his cousins featured in the video. His denial is however, a mere denial in which the video still proves that his family members are involved in serious illegal business transactions that breach both criminal and civil law of Malaysia. And those criminal activities unfortunately are conducted by none other than the Sarawak's Ministry of Resource Planning and Environment, which is headed by Taib.  As a political think tank, Political Studies for Change (KPRU – Kajian Politik untuk Perubahan) opines that the video released by Global Witness records Taib's family as honestly and truthfully as possible without being slanderous. But, even with the expose on Taib, Najib's administration seems to be disappointingly indifferent and at the same time, as usual, blaming the rest of the world instead of reflecting deeply inwards. Even the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) seems to be suspiciously unaffected and neutral considering the gravity of the crimes committed by Taib and his cronies. The Richest Chief Minister cum Malaysian – Taib Mahmud Sarawak is the largest state in Malaysia, an outback of bountiful natural wealth and resources such as pepper, cocoa, palm oil, timber and oil and yet Sarawak holds one of the highest poverty rate in Malaysia. 40 percent household of Sarawakian's income the per capita are only worth RM 312 in which is a horrifying contrast to its richest individual - Taib Mahmud worth at RM 45.9 billion. Barisan Nasional (BN) has held the ruling political power over half a century creating a one-party political system rife with corruption and cronyism. The administrative power of Taib Mahmud in Sarawak has remained unchanged for 30 years. The only change felt in Sarawak is the increasing gap of the Gini Coefficient, in which the income gap between the rich and the poor has unfortunately grown over the years. The GiNI Coefficient rate rose from 0.441 in 1989 to 0.445 in 2002, and 0.448 in 2009. (Gini index: 0 for equal, 1 for inequality). According to the report "The Taib Timber Mafia- Facts and Figures on Politically Exposed Persons (PEPs) from Sarawak, Malaysia" released by the Bruno Manser Fund pointed out that Taib's wealth is estimated at $15 billion (RM 45.9 billion), enough to surpass the top richest man in Malaysia, Robert Kuok ($12.5 billion). And the Taib family's assets is estimated to top at $21 billion (RM64.2 billion), in which the wealth is distributed in 400 companies across the globe. The report also pointed out that Taib, who is also the Chief Minister of Sarawak of 30 years, holds the monopoly over timber harvesting and planting contracts, export of timber, providing services to other countries for the maintenance of public roads as well as the production and sale of cement, as well as other construction materials, in order to accumulate wealth for his family members and cronies. The Taib family holds a 29.3 percent stake in Cahaya Mata or CMS. CMS is the main contractor for several state construction projects; including the construction of the new Sarawak State Legislative Assembly building worth RM300 million, the maintenance contract over 4,000 km of roads throughout Sarawak, and the maintenance contract over 600 km of federal roads in Sarawak under a 15-year concession awarded by the State Government. In a stark contrast, the Taib's family reign has left the public infrastructure of Sarawak to remain at a snail-pace. Sarawakians are left with a public infrastructure 20 years behind the public infrastructure felt in the Peninsular of Malaysia. More than 70 percent of long house residents are living without water and electricity; the state's roads development index has remained at a low 0.38 percent, meaning, while Taib's family drive around in fancy cars, the local residents particularly Sarawakians living in remote villages still rely on the river and boats as their main transportation mode. This is turn causes the students to travel long distances and to walk kilometres of road every single day in order to go to school.  Sarawak's lack of basic infrastructure is one of the main causes of Sarawakians poverty in turn, negatively affects the economy of the locals to remain steadily behind the infrastructure development felt in the Peninsular.  In other words, Sarawakians are stuck in the past while Taib Mahmud's family bathe themselves in billions of Malaysian ringgit belonging to the Sarawakians. Sarawakians Stuck in Extreme Poverty Deputy Prime Minister and also Minister of Education, Muhyiddin bin Yassin claimed that Sarawakians are blissfully living and working in content during his three day trip to Sarawak (February 27 to February 29). However, as shown by relevant data, Sarawak has one of the highest percentage of families living in extreme poverty in Malaysia.   According to the speech by Minister in Welfare, Women and Family Development Sarawak, Fatimah Abdullah on January 31, 2013, 20,392 people are living in hardcore poverty with incomes of less than RM 590 a month. Meanwhile, 26,432 people are living below the poverty line with incomes of less than RM910 a month and 15,425 people are stuck in a low income household with income of less than RM2,000 a month.  The minister said that in the present situation, poverty and hardcore poverty rates in the state is recorded at 4.3 percent and 1.0 percent respectively as compared to 3.8 percent and 0.7 percent respectively at the national level. This means that Sarawakians live below the official poverty rate. According to the 10th Malaysia Plan in 2004, 34,800 Sarawak family household earn incomes per month less than RM912 with their monthly per capita income of RM167. By 2009, the poverty rate has fallen from 7.5 percent (2004) to 5.3 percent. However, out of 27,100 from 513,400 household earn an income less than RM912 with a monthly per capita income of only RM208. It also means that during the 5-year plan, only 7,700 households are lifted out from poverty with their per capita income enchanced at only RM41. Prime Minister, Najib Tun Razak on June 12, 2012,  in a written reply to the Member of Parliament for Bandar Kuching, Chong Chieng Jen also pointed out, according to the The Household Income and Basic Amenities Survey (HIS/BA) 2009 report, Sarawak's per capita income, the bottom 40 percent of household earn a monthly per capita income of RM312; whilst 40 percent of the middle-level families earn a monthly per capita income of RM822, and 20 percent of the upper household earn a monthly per capita income of RM2,600. Based on that data, a total of 80 percent of Sarawakians earn an income per capita of less than RM1000 per month. Comparing that to the data from Department of Statistic Malaysia by 2011 to calculate the inflation rate of 3 percent per year, between 2004 and 2009/2010, Malaysians suffer an increase of 102 percent on residential, utilities and other expenses with transportation costs rose to 94.6 percent, and food and non-alcoholic beverages 60.9 percent. The average monthly expenditure per household stands at RM2,190. It can be seen that even a family with two wage-earners, the standard of living is beyond their financial capabilities. According to the data provided by the Sarawak police, crime occurrences in Sarawak in 2012 stands at a total of 9,456, an increase 7.9 percent lower in previous years. However, the latest reports also pointed out that, in January 2013, the crime rate in Sibu, Sarawak as compared to January last year, jumped as much as 63.04 percent in the same period. In other words, Muhyiddin is disconnected with the realities of Malaysians on the streets living in fear and living in poverty caused by greedy politicians and dirty politics.  Muhyiddin fails to see eye to eye and understand the difficulties faced by the ordinary Malaysians.   Where is the Allocations for Infrastructure Development? Sarawak receives over RM41.8 billion for the infrastructure development under the 8th, 9th and 10th Malaysia Plan. Furthermore, allocation to Sarawak under the 9th Malaysia Plan accounts for 7 percent of the entire federal development cost, with majority of the allocation channeled to the development of basic infrastructure and the Sarawak Renewable Energy Corridor (SCORE). Najib introduced a series of key performance indicators (KPIs) in order to strengthen the infrastructure of rural areas after replacing Abdullah Ahmad Badawi as Prime Minister of Malaysia. Hence, Sarawak becoming the focus of development under the 10th Malaysia Plan.  In the 15 years from 2001 till 2015, Sarawak has received federal funding totaling at RM41.8 billion. Yet, within those 15 years, the citizens of Sarawak have not felt the development in public infrastructure as opposed to what was occurring in the Peninsular of Malaysia.  According to the 2011 Auditor-General's Report, the ministry approved a total of RM1.727 billion to implement 175 road projects in Sarawak from 2006 to 2010. From the total approved funds, as of December 31st, 2011 only RM1.024 billion (59.3 percent) has been spent. Of the 175 road projects in Sarawak planned, only 101 projects have been completed. 38 projects suffered delays of 15 to 242 days from the original schedule, and 74 projects have not yet been completed. Amongst them, 13 projects valued at RM229.27 million (17.6 percent) are classified as problematic projects.  In addition, the 2011 Auditor-General's Report also exposed projects handled without strict supervision, as well as several contractors found cutting corners in order to save money, resulting in badly designed roads and damages on the roads built incurred in just a short span of time post completion. Millions of ringgit have been spent on badly designed and lack of, if not, absent of quality infrastructures in which, fail to benefit the citizens of Sarawak. Hence, the lives of ordinary Sarawakians are arbitrarily jeopardised every single day, using those roads constructed by the greed of the few, affluent and influential.  Sarawak: The State of Dams Sarawak State is Malaysia's largest state with a dinosaur infrastructure. The BN lead government introduced the controversial project Sarawak Energy Corridor (SCORE) in 2008, with the plan to construct 18 large dams all over Sarawak, coal mining quarries, and oil and gas refineries. A relative to the Sabah Development Corridor (SDC), in which it was planned to develop Sabah into a center of trade and commerce, Sarawak's implementation of the SCORE is visibly aimed to milk Sarawak dry of its rich natural resources at the expense of the Sarawakians and the environment. SCORE was launched by Former Prime Minister and Finance Minister Abdullah Badawi in 2008 before the 12th general election. It is one of the five regional development corridors planned throughout the country. SCORE was expected to be completed after 23 years (2008-2030), at a total cost of RM334 billion. But the biggest beneficiaries are the Sarawak State Government-owned Sarawak energy corporation (Sarawak Energy) which received billions of ringgit worth of memorandums. Under SCORE, those 18 dams include 9 dams equivalent to 8 Singapore landsize, which is to be completed before 2022. Another 7 dams are expected to be completed post 2022.  The rest two dams were completed before start the project SCORE. Those two damns are the Batang Ai dam, completed in 1985 and the controversial Bakun Dam completed in 2011. The contstruction 18 large dams are expected to cost RM 44 billion. These large dams were constructed and planned to increase electricity supply. Yet the question is whether Malaysia is in need of that much wasteful energy? These plans do not even include nuclear power plant as proposed under Najib's administration.  As expected with mega projects, huge portions of land are needed. Hence, native lands are robbed, illegally seized and sold. Prime million year old rain forests are destroyed; rare flora and fauna are killed and chased out of their homes; thus increasing the chances of human and animal confrontation. Lives are lost and at stake. The environment is notoriously raped without remorse. The lives and way of life of the indigenous are threatened, forcing them into the vicious cycle of poverty of "civilized" culture. Their heritage destroyed and burned to the ground. All for the sake of the greedy few with hands made of Velcro. Dipping their sticky fingers into coffers and taking what does not belong to them.  In their feeble attempt to protect their lives and way of life, they resort to protests in which those protests and participants are treated like insects by Najib's administration. Under the banner of development, Najib's administration trample over these Malaysian citizens, ignoring their pleas, crushing their hopes with the law. Hence, the development championed by Najib's administration is no more than hypocritical, rhetorical and a sham. Those so called development and high income society are only felt by Najib's and Taib's cronies and not the Sarawakians nor the Sarawak indigenous people.    Conclusion As per the words of Muhyiddin;  "Under the governance of the Barisan National, have not heard of people starve to death, but there is a part of the encounter the problem of obesity." Muhyiddin confidently believes BN will regain Sibu parliamentary seats in the 13th general election.  However, behind every smile is a secret. The secret of Muhyiddin and those like him are greed and the fear of losing power.   Sarawak is known as the bastion of BN Due to poverty and the lack of access to knowledge and infrastructure, Taib Mahmud may have the added advantage over the poor of Sarawak, particularly those in the remote villages of Sarawak. To Taib, Sarawakians are easily bought over and bullied. To Taib, Sarawakian votes are his and only his. The relationship between Taib and his votes cannot be broken. But he forgets, all that is will not always be. Sarawakians are not blind; they are just precluded from their basic rights under his iron fists. The BN regime may have the administrative power for 55 years and Taib Mahmud's family have clutched 30 years worth of administrative power in Sarawak. They are blind to the beauty of Sarawak. Their blindness is caused by greed. The greed to rob, plunder and destroy. Their greed haunts them. As shown by Global Witness, Taib's family are frauds with their fraudulent and illegal activities are laid bare for the world to see. According to the MACC, "With the emergence of new evidence, the anti-corruption and will take appropriate action." In other words, the MACC will not take any action towards Taib nor his cronies. It would seem the only way to rid Sarawak of Taib and his cronies is for the citizens of Sarawak to rise up and realize only they themselves can save Sarawak from Taib as the Najib's administration has no intention of saving Sarawak.

Indecent Haste that Ignored Tunnel Project's Viability Within a Risk-based Framework Posted: 21 Mar 2013 01:57 PM PDT     For a technically challenging project, the proposed tunnel has not been through the required public selection processes for consultants and bidders, environmental studies, public hearings, design completion and independent reviews. It does not have a detailed, bottom-up cost estimate. It does not even spell out the number of lanes it going to build.   Ong Eu Soon  Lim Guan Eng refuted claims that the tender and subsequent award was a "rush job". Let see is it true or not.   For a technically challenging project, the proposed tunnel has not been through the required public selection processes for consultants and bidders, environmental studies, public hearings, design completion and independent reviews. It does not have a detailed, bottom-up cost estimate. It does not even spell out the number of lanes it going to build. If this is not a rush job, why has the state government opted for a short cut to bulldoze through the award of letter of intent?    Underground construction presents unique risks that are not typically encountered on other types of heavy civil construction. It is industry practice to evaluate any tunnel project's viability within a risk-based framework. This has not been done for the tunnel and it is not accounted for in the tendering process.   Until today there is no effort to carry out additional subsurface exploration and testing or revisit designs, construction sequences, and associated costs and schedules to mitigate the risks reflected in the anticipated subsurface conditions, and identify other elements including agency, owner/operator or local requirements, which could cause major scope increases during final design or construction.   Without preliminary engineering study, there is insufficient info to complete a level of tunnel design that can be used to conclude the selection of a tunnel boring machine (TBM) and arrive at a credible estimate of the TBM advance rate. One of the largest cost factors associated with tunnel construction is determining what kinds of geological conditions exist between the portals or shafts of a tunnel. Modern geotechnical engineers utilize a variety of imaging technologies and boring samples to determine rock type and groundwater penetration. These technologies can provide an acceptable level of confidence in the type of rock that needs to be bored through. The major geological and geotechnical factors that pose a high level of uncertainty to the current design and estimates of schedule and cost are totally ignored by Lim Guan Eng administration throughout the tendering process.   The developer is obligated to provide safety equipment and high levels of insurance. For example of a construction safety cost which must be considered is proper ventilation, which is necessary to provide for the health of workers during construction. These costs can be very high which often results in construction management companies making the bare minimum investment in safety required.    Since there is no preliminary engineering study, no normal operations ventilation analysis has been performed. This would normally be expected in order to give confidence in the sizing of ventilation system components, particularly the ventilation shafts. In the absence of this analysis, ventilation shaft sizes remain unconfirmed. An increase in shaft size will have significant cost implications.    Additionally, there are costs associated with providing for the safety of people using a tunnel after construction. All transportation tunnels will require more portals and ventilation shafts than may be necessary during the construction phase. One of the largest safety costs is associated with preventing and suppressing tunnel fires. Protecting against fire involves detection and communication systems to determine the source of a fire. Tunnel fires and smoke can spread rapidly, which necessitates fire suppression and ventilation systems. In addition, there is a need for a means of egress and regular intervals to allow for the swift exit of individuals using the tunnel in question.   Lastly, there is a cost associated with protecting structural elements from fire so that the tunnel will not immediately collapse in the event of a fire.    There have been cases of unexpected water penetration which have drastically increased the price of tunnelling and severely reduced the profit for the contractor. One such case was during the construction of the Burnley tunnel, part of Melbourne's CityLink project. The Burnley tunnel passes deep beneath the Yarra River, and consequentially resulted in having a very high water pressure surrounding the tunnel. As a result of unforeseen condition in the design stage, some of the 1.8m thick concrete floor panels or inverts were lifted out of place by the water pressure, causing the contractor to lose $154m in damages (Samuel, 2007). Problems like the Burnley tunnel cause contractors to place higher percentage contingencies into the bid price than any other infrastructure projects. This variance in the type of substrate present in different countries has a profound effect on the cost of tunnelling.   In the case of cost overrun, what should we do? Abandon the project? Bailout the developer at our expenses? Allow the developer to build sub-standard tunnel and ignore safety requirement in order to prevent cost overrun? Lim Guan Eng need to clarify how he going to handling issues of cost overrun and safety if he insists that the tunnel project should proceed as planned.

Some thoughts on the Bar Council AGM 16 March 2013 Posted: 21 Mar 2013 01:38 PM PDT   But what concerns me is that [Americk] Singh's statement was accepted as the gospel truth by the all the lawyers present without any verification or collaboration.  Desiderata  The Bar Council AGM was certainly one of more exciting meetings in the history of the Malaysian Bar, particularly the revelations by Americk Singh Siddhu, who rose to prominence for drafting SD 1. But what concerns me is that Singh's statement was accepted as the gospel truth by the all the lawyers present without any verification or collaboration. Singh claimed he met Abraham at a restaurant, where he confessed to drafting SD 2 at the behest of the Prime Minister. Singh also maintained that this was done in the presence of another lawyer who accompanied him (ie Singh). Why did not this lawyer speak up and collaborate Singh's accusation? Just going by Singh's statement is surely not enough to set up a disciplinary proceedings against Abraham. Why did Singh not name his collaborator? His case would have been stronger! Deepak Jaikishen has so far refused to co operate with the Bar Council. By a strange turn of fate, PI Bala, Singh's star witness has gone to meet his Maker. Should not the newly elected Bar Committee have written to Abraham and given him two weeks to reply, which is normal procedure. Based on just Singh's statement the committee decided to refer Abraham to the Disciplinary Committee. Singh is being considered by the Bar Committee to be the fount of truth and all moral authority. Further, Abraham is not even given the courtesy of the right to reply. Those, particularly in the legal fraternity who know Abraham well would vouch that Abraham and Singh are not fraternity buddies or have legal matters in common to discuss. They would also vouch Abraham is capable of keeping his own counsel and it is very unlikely that 'he would apologise to Singh and presumably to his silent collaborator too, and confess that he drafted SD 2' as claimed by Singh. In the first place, why should Abraham apologise to Singh? It is not surprising that the new committee and particularly the Chairman, Christopher Leong, are eager to show themselves as being pro active. Nailing Abraham may be a feather in your cap, Mr President, but at least follow the set procedures. Crying aloud for justice is good, but justice must be also seen to be done, for all parties concerned. Is not the axiom, 'a man is innocent until proven guilty" one of the first things taught in Law School? Please be more considered in your actions, less haste and impulsiveness would augur a good year for the new President and his committee. Best of Luck!

Pakatan Rakyat's chances in GE 13 Posted: 20 Mar 2013 01:52 PM PDT   Unlike 2008, Idealism is not going to be a dominant feature of the 2013 elections, pragmatism is. PR has not sufficiently differentiated itself from BN but BN has consistently proved that it is stronger. When the differences between two sides is not pronounced, the pragmatic inclination in people will generally sway their decision in support of the side that appears stronger.  An opinion of Nehru S.M, private citizen If the elections is called soon, I think the the list of factors that favors a Pakatan Rakyat victory in GE 13 is short. First, there is Anwar Ibrahim. Anwar Ibrahim has always attracted people with his aura of a hero and a underdog, but heroes need a strong villain and underdogs shine brighter in defeat. Since Dr. M's retirement and the opposition's substantial victory in the 2008 election, Anwar Ibrahim's heroic aura has generally been on the wane. Then there is the theme of change. The opposition represents the side that represents change in Malaysian politics and Malaysians are as a whole still pro change. However, a nation's inclination to change is powered chiefly by hopes of future profit. That the opposition has been largely unable to decide on how they are going to cut the profit pie as different segments of Malaysians clamor for their share would probably dampen Malaysians' eagerness for change. Third is the case of corruption. People might be against corruption, but in popular imagination, a person who steals 50 ringgit is a thief, but a person who steals a a billion ringgit is a great man. That the opposition generally exposes multibillion ringgit corruption cases has the unfortunate effect of elevating the personal prestige of those they seek to diminish. Also, too big a corruption case lacks emotional appeal. A thousand ringgit theft off a mother of 5 pulls the heartstrings of an average voter in a way that a 100 billion of illicit cash flow out of the country never could. Then there is the case of institutional reform to increase efficiency and correct past wrongs. This is probably the weakest of opposition promise because in truth, voters either don't really know what it means or they don't care. Chiefly, it excites only academics. Lastly, to curb the abuses in power amongst government officials. While outwardly, Malaysians generally are against the abuses of power by govt officials, especially by the police, but in principal, we are are not as against it as we appear to be. The truth is, we have always known that suspects are probably tortured during police investigations and that bribery is not an uncommon way to conclude business with government agencies, and we are ok with it. If we have any complains about about abuses of power, it tends to be about the scale. As strange as it sounds, Malaysians in general only disapprove of bribery and torture in custody if it is done without finesse and moderation. Also, the across board revolutionary fever that helped PR in gaining a foothold in the corridors of power in 2008 has cooled off. 5 years on, the belief that change will bring something better, or that the fight for change is a holy cause, or that change can be brought forth quickly and without much difficulty has largely dissipated. Unlike 2008, Idealism is not going to be a dominant feature of the 2013 elections, pragmatism is. PR has not sufficiently differentiated itself from BN but BN has consistently proved that it is stronger. When the differences between two sides is not pronounced, the pragmatic inclination in people will generally sway their decision in support of the side that appears stronger. Also, that the PR campaign has the misfortune of being viewed outside of the middle class, tertiary educated and Chinese electorate largely as a middle class, tertiary educated and Chinese agitation isolates their appeal and will cost them support. The Sulu army's incursion and the death of Malaysian army personals also does not favor the opposition. People have a natural inclination of forgetting their differences and rallying together when faced with external threats and this favors the incumbents. Also, the fact that all of the fallen army personals are Malays also rattles the "we are in this together through thick and thin" idealogy that is promoted by the opposition. Since the Malays would now feel that they have sacrificed more, they are less likely to be attracted to the idea of equal sharing promoted by the opposition. Combined together, and barring any drastic changes, not only do I think that PR's chances of winning is slim, but that BN is going to win with an improved margin.

GTP - It's easy to improve when you're shit Posted: 20 Mar 2013 01:24 PM PDT   "I've improved by three spots compared with the mid-semester's class ranking," I thought while paddling, convincing myself: "I did better this time, Papa won't be mad."   Jonathan Fernandez  THE longer I stared at it, the wider my smile grew. Soon enough the grin was ear to ear. "I did it!" the jubilant voice inside my head proclaimed.   After tucking the academic report card into my schoolbag, I hopped on my bicycle and excitedly headed home. "I've improved by three spots compared with the mid-semester's class ranking," I thought while paddling, convincing myself: "I did better this time, Papa won't be mad."   I had never cared how my mother would react. I was a mama's boy and I'm not at all ashamed. In fact poor Amma was as scared as me and my two younger siblings on "Report Card Day". All it would take was for any of us three to screw up and all of us would get a lashing, yes, even Amma – because she was "in-charge" of everything at home.   I slowed down as I approached the house. I then see a silver Honda Accord parked nicely in the shade of the old mango tree. My heart rate raced and something told me that it was not because of my Lance Armstrong antics.   Reality was creeping in, and it hit me: "Shit, Papa's home."   I unlock and unlatch the gate as quiet as I can, somewhat convinced that doing this was going to make any difference to the results on the card.   After parking my bicycle at the usual spot of the house compound, with a nonchalance Don Corleone would have been proud of, I stepped into the hall – where my brother and sister were already seated on the sofa with Papa flipping through their cards with a cane between his legs. Yes, he was shirtless, too. Because who wears a top when you're going to blow your top off, anyway, right?   All he needed to do was give me this piercing glare and my hand automatically, and a bit uncannily, reached out for my report card from my schoolbag. I pass it to him.   "What rubbish is this?" he asked with such a frightening calm. "Why are there so many Cs and Ds?" My legs were rooted; my body felt numb – all familiar sensations that I would feel all 26 times in my 13 years of schooling on the bi-annual report card days.   Desperately, I looked around ... Amma was nowhere to be seen. Siblings had come home earlier and would have gotten their share of the shelling already. Amma knew better than to stick around for Round Two. She had probably been in the kitchen at that time in order to avoid being unfairly dragged into this mess. I was left to fend for myself this time.   "Pa, look, I did better than last sem. Last time I finished 29th in class, this time I got No. 21."   If that was supposed to be my lifesaving excuse, then it failed big time and did the exact opposite. Until this day, I have never seen any face which had the "Do I look like I give a f***?" expression so obviously painted on it. Needless to say, he wasn't impressed, not a single bit.   Infuriated, he responds: "Don't ever give me that reason again. Anyone can improve once the person has hit rock-bottom. It's easy to do better when you're performing well below expectations.   "Next year you're going to sit for your PMR. You need to buck up and start fulfilling your potential ... because I know that despite how much your looks suggest it, you're actually not stupid. If you don't start changing, I'm sending you to a boarding school!" he threatened.   Papa had a point at that time, a point still applicable today. Papa should have a word with Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak and his administration about their so-called improvements based on the Government Transformation Programme (GTP) report. The Pemandu results are sure to drive him up the wall.

Our Leaders and their followers need to know: All the glitter and promises galore cannot ... Posted: 20 Mar 2013 01:19 PM PDT   If anyone cries of an allegation – or even goes beyond all reasonable doubt to help unravel the stink, our mainstream media takes the proverbial stance of 'see no evil, speak no evil, hear no evil'.   J. D. Lovrenciear  As we inch to our probably, most fiercely-to-be-fought general elections, the exposes of corrupt deeds and intentions are heart-arresting. Because one is innocent until proven guilty, all exposes remain as mere allegations until and unless due justice can ever be dispensed without fear or favor. But ask any humble simpleton on the street, "Is Malaysia not corrupted?" and you better be forewarned for the surprised frown you will get. What is mind-boggling however is the torrent of denials that cascade from the implicated crooks and the rebuttals of poison darts aimed at the whistle-blowers by the die-hard supporters. It is either we have lost all sense and understanding of the true essence of patriotism or those who support suspicious crooks and 'alleged' nation-robbers  are just as guilty as they may be siphoning parasites on the branch of corruption and greed. So how do we clean this nation and ensure a fair, democratic and equitable distribution of the nation's heavenly endowed resources and wealth so that all caring and hard-working Malaysians prosper and bask in the sunshine of progress and development? As it is, already Malaysians are on the dole - this is despite the claims by the powers that be that Malaysia is registering very healthy growth rates! The yardstick of sufferings brought about by corruption and greed is in the very grandiose and seemingly sensitively caring actions the PM of Malaysia is peddling. Take the case of the cash hand outs by the BN-administered government. It makes a mockery of aid and assistance. RM500 per year works out to RM41.67 per month. That is a distasteful RM1.39 per day handout to the recipient.  Holy of holies! What kind of beggars are Malaysians made out to be? Even a street bumpkin can stretch out his lazy hands and pocket a good RM30 to RM50 a day begging along Chow Kit, mate! Then you have a coffee table book launched by the Who's Who of Malaysia with a categorical proclamation that it would do well for all Malaysians for a 100 - 200 years to come. And we clap our hands in jubilation, while corporations snap up hundreds of books – making it into the Malaysia Book of Records for sales! And we proclaim that we may in all likelihood attain developed nation status well before the deadline of 2020? You have a video expose on land grabs, and you cannot even hear a whisper from within the corridors of power? Restricted ammunition was used to annihilate a sole, helpless fragile woman from a foreign land, and we are still waiting for justice to appease humanity? Cows go missing but we have no qualms in singing "what's wrong in parking a half-million ringgit car in my porch"? We let a water-village to mushroom over decades, and only now you hear of the need to place that large-scale dwelling under security vigilance? Take a look at the way the many more whale-size court cases are being dragged at snail's pace within the Palace of Justice. If 'sandiwara' is not the right word then pray tell what is. There was a time when we were led to believe that Malaysia is a corruption free nation. That was the time when we looked and jeered at our neighboring countries for all the sordid corrupt dealings. But today, we are at a point where our neighbors have fought well and are in the process of cleaning up the messes and putting transparent accountability on the table for all to view. Their media is the catalyst for that change. But can we say the same for ourselves now?   If anyone cries of an allegation – or even goes beyond all reasonable doubt to help unravel the stink, our mainstream media takes the proverbial stance of 'see no evil, speak no evil, hear no evil'.   The on-line media on the other hand has been labeled as untrustworthy anyway by the powers that be. And the authorities who are the vanguards of good conduct and law enforcement, will stand sheltered behind that often quoted statement that we cannot act until a report is lodged. If we can get away by saying 'semua-nya ok' and that infamous edict, 'tutup satu mata'; if we can state without batting an eye, 'aiya, who is not corrupt lah'; when we accept the mantra of 'if he is doing it why I cannot eh?' – then let us face the truth squarely: When our neighboring nations make progress having won their battle fighting corruption and greed with a resolute, national will and conscience, we Malaysians may in all likelihood be sinking with the very yoke of patronizing this sin against an entire nation – past, present and future while the handful laugh all the way to the bank. For as long as we are in denial, we are busted! For as long as we sing that rhyme, 'we have delivered on our promises of grandeur and progress; we will deliver more' when we cannot even lift a convincing finger to arrest the very disease that is depriving Malaysians and reducing them to a point that they have to accept RM1.39 a day of handout, we need to know that we are losers. Let truth be told: all the glitter and promises galore cannot whitewash the sins of corruption and greed. And it is that working rakyat who finally will have to pay that painful price.

Who or what is Malaysia’s most threatening enemy? Posted: 19 Mar 2013 01:15 PM PDT J. D. Lovrenciear  The Lahad Datu 'intrusion' or 'invasion' or 'guerilla attack' (or whatever label you prefer to ascribe to the mess in Sabah) is not Malaysia's ultimate enemy. The vested claims over Sabah do not make a foreign or neighboring nation or nations the threatening enemies of Malaysia. The politicians who are now engaged on an over-drive mode to annihilate their opponents as we gingerly inch to a General Election not knowing when, are not the priority enemies of Malaysia. The host of NGOs who are unearthing seemingly endless irregularities and creating more awareness among Malaysians are not the devastating enemies of Malaysia although often times we may be led to believe so by the masters of the nation. The citizens who are getting involved in various protest marches demanding clean and fair elections, for example, are not the enemies of security and stability. There was a time when we had real enemies from outside of the nation. In the bygone decades we witnessed the Communist threat and then followed by the Insurgency – these were the real enemies of Malaysia, coming in from outside of the sovereign borders of this young nation. But today we are tethering on the edge of knowing there is truly an enemy of State.  The expose by the Global Witness on how horrifying land deals (or land grabs, to be precise) are struck in Sarawak – implicating the Chief Minister and all those aligned under his canopy, provides an edifying lesson to all Malaysians.  It is not about wheteher this expose is  a paralyzing truth or lie. In fact it is even beyond the confines of mere allegation given the content, presentation and the extensive coverage on the global media terrain. That precious awakening is that Malaysia's real enemy is not from outside but an enemy who is tunneling its way east and west, north and south of the country right here from within. The real enemy goes beyond individuals. It has well crossed beyond the walls of corporations and organizations too.  That real enemy is corruption and greed.Corrupted and greedy individuals, corporations, organizations. Period. Anything else is only the tip of the iceberg. denying this truth or down-playing it is akin to coating gloss to the rotting filth of decadent human greed. What does the Tun Dr. Mahathir have to say about this recent red-hot expose by Global Witness?  What do all his entourage of patronizing leaders as well as puppets have to say?  What do the subservient followers of the UMNO Baru have to say?  What do the BN component party leaders have to say? Maybe Malaysians will be reprimanded for jumping the gun. "Listen you silly, willy Malaysian citizens.  Who is Global Witness? Do you know? They are our nation's enemies out to destroy Malaysia's progressive and transforming track record." And if you persist in asking what really is going on in Sarawak, be ready for another lesson. "Do not be sucked in by all these lies. The actors in the video posted by Global Witness are fake, look-alike artists on hire. And do you know who is behind all these?" Who, ask the naïve Malaysians. "Aiyaa, the opposition political parties lah. They are so desperate that they will lose in the GE-13 and so they have hired this 'apa nama – Global Witness' to come up with this video." In the face of this expose there surfaces yet another truth -- for as long as there are no principle centered leaders, followers, professionals, congregations and organizations that can converge and emerge in solidarity to plug the corruption and greed on this Malaysian soil, the country remains susceptible to the irreversible damage that is being created by the enemy from within, i.e. the world's and humanity's worst enemy – corruption and greed. Indeed the video by Global Witness is the mother of all exposes on the nation's state of greed and corruption. Woe be thine, if we choose to find solace under that infamous statement so often heard from Malaysian politicians: Who isn't corrupted? Or how about: Even the USA is corrupted lah. Yes, there is no utopia on earth. But the gravest sin against humanity is corruption and greed.  And the greatest disgrace to humanity is to steal right under their innocent, unknowing eyes and return to society a pittance act of charity or a trumpeted CSR (corporate social responsibility) razzmatazz. The bottom line is, no society can ever progress and remain sustained under uncontained corruption and blatant, widespread greed. It is only a matter of time before the entire nation sinks into the deep recesses of a distinct divide of rich and poor, on a ratio of 80:20, respectively.

Puluhan ribu risalah fitnah sedia diedar di Perak Posted: 19 Mar 2013 01:03 PM PDT   Jawatankuasa Strategik dan Isu PAS Perak hari ini mendedahkan agenda jahat pihak tertentu dalam menghadapi PRU13 yang akan diadakan pada bila-bila masa. Muhammad Faeez Azahar Koordinatornya, Salman Saleh berkata, pihaknya mendapat banyak maklumat tentang kontena diseluruh negeri Perak yang membawa risalah berbaur fitnah. Menurutnya, puluhan ribu risalah fitnah itu sudah siap dicetak dan dipercayai akan diedarkan kepada masyarakat pada pilihanraya nanti setelah mendapat arahan.   Katanya, risalah fitnah dalam bentuk buku kecil bertajuk "Drama Pecah Panggung; Box Office" itu ternyata merbahaya kerana ianya terkandung pelbagai fitnah yang bersifat perkauman dan penipuan. Jelas Salman, risalah tersebut dianggap haram kerana tidak mempunyai terbitan daripada mana-mana pihak. "Kami mengesyaki risalah tersebut dikeluarkan oleh pihak pro Umno-BN kerana ianya diedarkan bersama satu risalah berbentuk buku bertajuk 'Mengorak Negara Ke Hadapan" yang tertera dibelakang buku itu cetakan oleh Ibu Pejabat Barisan Nasional," katanya dalam satu sidang media di Pejabat PAS Perak, dekat sini hari ini. Hadir sama ialah ahli jawatankuasanya, Salman Saleh, Hafez Sabri dan Safarizal Saleh. Mengulas lanjut, beliau yang juga Setiausaha Jabatan Pilihanraya PAS Perak mendesak Kementerian Dalam Negeri dan pihak Polis merampas risalah haram itu kerana ianya bercanggah dengan undang-undang negara. Suruhanjaya Pilihan Raya (SPR) juga katanya turut harus mengambil tindakan sewajarnya agar risalah tersebut tidak diedarkan dalam pilihanraya nanti. "Kami desak pihak bertanggungjawab mengambil tindakan sewajarnya kerana cara kotor serta jijik ini menyalahi undang-undang dan akan memecah belahkan masyarakat di Negara ini," tegasnya lagi.

Pakatan & PTPTN Posted: 19 Mar 2013 12:37 PM PDT   Rafizi Ramli says PTPTN should be abolished sooner than later, otherwise the nation will go bankrupt. But, with PTPTN abolished, and with the provision of free tertiary education, will not the nation go bankrupt even faster? Arshad Mohd Nor  At the rate Pakatan leaders are contradicting each other, it is becoming increasingly clear that they cannot provide a credible alternative to BN. A simple example of their credibility gap is how they have been addressing the PTPTN issue. To date 1.9 million students have availed themselves of PTPTN loans to the tune of RM 43.6 billion. This figure has been estimated to grow at 11% annually. So, by next year end, PTPTN loans would have increased to RM53.21 billion. Pakatan supremo Anwar Ibrahim has been quoted as saying that, if Pakatan were to come to power, he would write off the PTPTN loans. Pakatan has also promised free tertiary education in public institutions. So, that will probably cost another RM10 billion, at a conservative estimate. That makes it a total of over RM60 billion in year one of Pakatan rule. That's RM60 billion down the drain. Where will they find the funds to finance this massive expenditure? That's the curious part. But the curiouser part is this: PKR strategy director Rafizi Ramli says PTPTN should be abolished sooner than later, otherwise the nation will go bankrupt. But, with PTPTN abolished, and with the provision of free tertiary education, will not the nation go bankrupt even faster? Pakatan should re-do its maths. If it really insists on fulfilling all its shaky promises, the education bill alone will hang over its neck like an albatross. It has been acknowledged worldwide that Malaysia already spends a large chunk of its budget on education.  In the world ranking it is No. 10, spending 8.1% of GDP on education. That is higher than all the developed countries. Malaysia therefore has its priorities right. Nobody should be allowed to tamper with a winning formula, especially not those with nothing else on their mind except political advantage at the expense of the rakyat.

The Myth of the Rich and Poor (UPDATED with Malay Translation) Posted: 19 Mar 2013 12:26 PM PDT   Consequently, the levers of power will be in the hands of corporations and the wealthy, which will have a bigger say in public policies, thus countering the libertarians' intended "democracy". Unlike the government of the day, boards of directors are not voted in by the people.   Anas Alam Faizli "They are simply lazy" "His father is a Tan Sri" "He knows someone from the inside" "I made it purely out of effort; I worked hard to get where I am today" These are some typical expressions that are sure to be heard in coffee chats, every time the topic of rich and poor is brought up. People have grown easily accustomed to brushing off the topic of inequality as welfarist or socialist. This happens even amongst supposedly "middle class" Malaysians, not realizing that they are in actuality, most likely top income earners and wealth owners. Households earning RM10,000 a month above already qualify as Top 4% Malaysians! In fact, while partisan voices continue their discourse in the racial imbalance tone, Malaysia has silently migrated into new battles, concerning intra-racial, income, and class-based imbalances. It is often argued that the poor and the low income earners are plain lazy and do not work hard; that one earns what one deserves. This is not true. Many are simply unlucky, to be born to parents who lack education or skills to escape from the clutches of poverty. Some were born with disabilities and diseases, while some others live in flood-prone or hazardous places. On the other hand, we have sub-quality undeserving businessmen linked to political patrons, estate and fortune inheritors, and individuals plainly lucky to be placed in lucrative industries with high economic rent. Accusations like laziness then become hardly the issue. The rich can be lazy too! There are those who do not deserve to be in poverty, just as there are those who do not deserve their wealth. The cases above are simple yet fitting examples to describe that not all poverty is a result of unwillingness for hard work, and not all wealth is a result of it. Thus, the fight against inequality is rather a fight to equalize opportunities so as to reach more equitable outcomes, not to distortively equalize outcomes. This is not a crusade against the rich, but a crusade to help the poor. What's the Big Deal with Inequality? Inequality is very real, whether or not we have problems with the GINI coefficient as a measure. In fact, the attention regarded to inequality is very much driven by consequences of inequality, rather than pre-emptive. We can see real consequences to the society; including societal backlashes, power imbalances, effects on wages, effects on growth, crime and quality of living, to name a few. As long as the income and wealth inequality gap remain large and public investment for education, training, childcare and public infrastructure remain inadequate, progressive taxes and affirmative action in its true and productive spirit have a place within public policy. It is imperative that the richer within the society share the responsibility of helping the poor; in the bigger picture, it is actually in their interest to do so, as they too will feel the consequences of inequality. The Fallacy of the Free Market In any discourse of inequality and the rich and poor, the "free market" will almost immediately arise. The basic tenant of a free market is well described by the "Invisible Hand" coined by 18th century economist, Adam Smith. It argues that prices, and thus distribution of goods, services, labour, capital goods, land and human skills are all determined by market forces, or this "hand" that cannot physically be seen. Proponents of this market-based allocation system are naturally against increased forms of government intervention like transfers, donations, taxes, subsidies and benefits. To put simply, they believe that letting the market run its course freely will reach desirable market equilibriums in the fairest manner, thus achieving productivity and wealth for a nation. The marketplace does have some elements of arguable fairness; hard work will get you higher income, and laziness will be punished. Jobs, goods and wages are "naturally" supplied to and demanded by society, according to their needs and capabilities, instead of government allocation which is dangerously prone to over or under budgeting. However, one must note critically that the fairness of the marketplace should not be exaggerated. Market forces can be "brutally unsentimental", as put by Jeffrey Sachs. Pockets of failures in the market are impossible to deny because not everyone in the economy starts from the same baseline. Endowments like wealth, opportunities, or physical health vary extremely amongst people within the system. While some manage to climb out of low income brackets and make it, as a result of opportunities and big breaks, others remain pressed in a vicious downward cycle. Indeed, not everyone gets a big break. The Taxation Antagonist The most common proponents of the free market are libertarians; whose ethical core is liberty. They hold the best economic outcomes will only prevail when each individual is left free to act economically and live without an authority governing their economic decisions. Individuals are in no way held responsible to the society, other than to be respectful towards the liberty and property of others. The government's sole responsibility is to only maintain law and order such as protection of private property. Extreme libertarians even hold that there is no requirement for government to build infrastructures, road or highways; such should be left to market forces because the need for them itself is incentive enough for someone to build them. Libertarians are like "taxation antagonists". Amongst other forms of government intervention, libertarians reject governments promoting fairness and efficiency through a system of taxation. Tax is regarded as just another form of government extortion; de-motivating those who work hard while potentially over compensating those who don't. In summary, libertarians hold that free market is the only way economic allocations are done "democratically"; hence it is the savior of democracy and enough on its own to ensure prosperity. Therefore, talk of government intervention in helping the poor will also become a point of contention in the books of libertarians. Malaysian Libertarians Many quarters have easily discarded the New Economic Policy (NEP) in hindsight, but it arguably did its job to almost eliminate poverty; reducing it from 50% in 1970 to the current 3.8%. Previously poor now form middle class and professional Malaysians. Unfortunately, there is nothing to be proud of with the NEP mid 90s onwards. Rampant corruption, leakages and a breakdown in the integrity system demonstrated by those within the government have further worsened the situation. Perhaps this frustration in the government is behind the mushrooming of libertarian ideologies in Malaysia. Is Libertarianism for Malaysia? We can first answer this by revisiting typical problems of missing a government sector. There is the question of who will provide public and common goods. We also do not need more than one police force, firemen, or court of law competing against each other. Without the government, who will then take care of the environment, regulate moral hazards, ensure individuals do not hurt each other, and protect the sovereign rights of Malaysians? Reducing government role is perhaps agreeable, but its total elimination has grave repercussions. We then approach the issue of poverty. In all its admirable intentions of rewarding hard work and reducing influence of corrupt governments, libertarianism leaves too much room for an upward continuity of wealth and a downward spiral of poverty. As argued earlier, people start from different baselines. Holders of wealth are in the position to continue leveraging on existing wealth, to create more wealth- they can hardly be blamed as they are only incentivized and allowed to do so! It is worse when wealth comes from extracting economic rent, rather than the creating of true values that ultimately increases the size of the economic pie. Consequently, the levers of power will be in the hands of corporations and the wealthy, which will have a bigger say in public policies, thus countering the libertarians' intended "democracy". Unlike the government of the day, boards of directors are not voted in by the people. Their fear of how a socialist nation will lead to fascism can also happen in free market except under the disguise corporate power. The free market failure then becomes as much political as economic! Now imagine this "free market" is Malaysia, with one of the highest inequality levels in Asia (measured by GINI). The helpless poor will be left drowning in the currents of this market force, contending against the rich. This is exactly where a true, free, and liberal form of the market may not be able to generate the pristine intended outcomes it initially set out to do. The Pakatan Rakyat Manifesto: A Manifesto for its Time Political preference aside, there is cause to applaud the recent Pakatan Rakyat Manifesto. Tackling core economic issues, its four pillars hit home the concerns of the common rakyat; fraternity of the people, the people's economy, people's well-being and people's government. In Malaysia, the published absolute poverty number may be low, but in relative terms, many rakyat including daily creation of urban poor are effectively impoverished by demanding cost of housing and living that are unmatched by salary levels, high indebtedness, and low productivity levels due to limited skills and education. For the government to maintain relevance in the face of libertarian claims, government interventions need to be tactical. If the government's stance is pro-business, it must be backed-up with robust social safety nets to hoist up and bring along poor households in the sprint towards growth and wealth creation. If the focus is the rakyat, care must be put to ensure business appetite is not suppressed. Such aspirations will be impossible to achieve without policies such as those proposed by the PR Manifesto; such as expanded educational opportunities (by making tertiary education free), reduction in the cost of living (utilities and tolls), targeted instead of blanket subsidies, and an upward pressure towards wages and salaries that are currently depressed by influx of foreign labour. We have yet to see what Barisan Nasional has to promise with its manifesto but as a start, it should be more defined than its 2008 one; "to grow the economy" and start quantifying them. In fact, growing the economy is really a given. Uplifting the Poor: Leveling the Playing Field This is no plan to pull a modern-day Robin Hood, robbing the rich off of their hard work to reassign some wealth to the poor. The rich may be reached out to, to shoulder some responsibility to raise the level of education, health and productivity of the poor. Imagine the difference between a community with a billionaire worth RM40 billion and lots of poor people, versus one with 400 households worth RM10.0 million each. We might not love to pay tax but we accept its legitimacy as long as it is properly enacted into law and is used properly. This by no means entails slacking off on the part of the poor. Opportunities are provided, but they still need to be capitalized upon. The idea is a bigger economic pie and an unleashing of further values that the poorer population could have produced and Malaysia could have enjoyed. Putting all these into consideration, where does it leave libertarianism, minimal taxes to the rich and businesses, and the free market? Need bigger government roles necessarily mean bigger inefficiencies, and more corruption? Welfare states in Scandinavia have ranked higher than America in terms of the Human Development Index (HDI). At the same time, Scandinavian nations are among the most equal nations, high in governance and control over corruption, despite the bigger size of their government. Ultimately, a healthy economy is a mixed economy, in which both the government and market forces both play their role. The exact balance remains an ongoing battle; but it's good to start with unraveling the realities of inequality. Inequality is neither a hobby for anti-capitalist activists, nor development economists looking for the next trendy topic for their thesis. It's true that government intervention in the shapes and sizes that they take form, may have distortive capabilities, but the "lazy poor and the hardworking rich" is a myth. For a better Malaysia, we have no choice but to continue our strive for productivity albeit with a new focus; inclusiveness.   Otherwise, Malaysia will be dragging its feet into the future, carrying the baggage of the past policies and its repercussions. "A statesman is he who thinks in the future generations, and a politician is he who thinks in the upcoming elections." – Abraham Lincoln * Anas Alam Faizli is an oil and gas professional. He is pursuing a post-graduate doctorate, executive director of TFTN and tweets at @aafaizli   ----------------------------------------------------------------- "Mereka miskin kerana mereka pemalas" "Ayah dia Tan Sri" "Dia kenal orang dalam" "Aku boleh berdiri seperti sekarang kerana usaha kuat aku selama ini" Luahan-luahan ini biasa didengari dalam 'borak kedai kopi', setiap kali topik kaya dan miskin dibincangkan. Ramai pantas menyamakan isu jurang pendapatan yang tidak sama rata sebagai isu kebajikan atau sosialis. Ini berlaku di mana-mana, sedihnya termasuklah golongan 'kelas menengah' Malaysia, yang tidak menyedari bahawa mereka sebenarnya penerima pendapatan dan pemilik kekayaan dalam kelompok teratas. Isi rumah yang memperolehi RM 10,000 ke atas sebulan sudah pun cukup meletakkan mereka dalam golongan 4% paling elit di Malaysia. Hakikatnya, ketika suara-suara kepartian terus menerus membincangkan wacana ketidaksamarataan bernada perkauman, Malaysia tanpa disedari telah bergerak ke dalam kancah peperangan baru, yang berkaitan dengan ketidaksamarataan di antara orang-orang sekaum, iaitu perang perbedaan kelas dan tingkat pendapatan. Sering dihujahkan bahawa orang miskin dan berpendapatan rendah wujud disebabkan mereka malas, tidak bekerja keras dan sering mengharapkan bantuan. Ini tidak benar. Ramai yang tidak bernasib baik, dilahirkan dalam keluarga yang kurang pendidikan dan kurang kemahiran untuk melepaskan diri daripada cengkaman kemiskinan. Ada yang dilahirkan dengan kecacatan ataupun penyakit kekal, manakala ada yang hidup di kawasan yang sering ditimpa musibah dan merbahaya. Di satu wajah kehidupan lain pula, kita melihat ahli-ahli perniagaan tidak berkompetensi yang dianak angkatkan oleh "ayahanda-ayahanda" politik, pewaris-pewaris kekayaan dan estet keluarga, serta individu yang bernasib baik ditempatkan dalam industri mewah dengan pulangan lumayan. Kemalasan di sini tidak lagi menjadi isu. Orang kaya pun boleh jadi malas! Ramai yang tidak berhak miskin, seperti mana juga ramai yang tidak layak menjadi kaya. Kes-kes di atas menggambarkan dengan jelas bahawa bukan semua kemiskinan ialah hasil daripada keengganan untuk bekerja keras, dan bukan semua kekayaan disebabkan oleh usaha dan penat lelah. Maka, perjuangan menentang ketidaksamarataan sebenarnya ialah perjuangan untuk menyamaratakan peluang bagi menghasilkan lebih keseimbangan, dan bukannya untuk menghasilkan kesamarataan dengan campurtangan yang merencatkan. Ini bukanlah perjuangan menentang orang kaya, tetapi perjuangan untuk membantu orang miskin. Ada Apa dengan Ketidaksamarataan? Ketidaksamarataan itu realiti, tidak kisahlah sejauh mana kita percaya dengan pekali GINI sebagai pengukurnya. Malah, perhatian kepada ketidaksamarataan banyak digerakkan oleh kesan ketidaksamarataan itu sendiri yang sudah menunjukkan taringnya, dan bukannya kebangkitan untuk mengelaknya. Kita boleh melihat kesan ketidaksamarataan kepada masyarakat; seperti ketidaksamarataan kuasa, kesan kepada kadar peningkatan gaji, kesan kepada pertumbuhan, jenayah dan kualiti kehidupan secara amnya. Selagi mana jurang pendapatan dan ketidaksamarataan kekayaan kekal luas, dan pelaburan institusi awam dalam pendidikan, latihan, kebajikan kanak-kanak dan kemudahan awam terus berkurangan, cukai yang progresif dan tindakan afirmatif dalam bentuk tulen dan mengekalkan cita-cita murninya, wajar diberi ruang dalam pembentukan dasar dan polisi institusi awam. Keperluan golongan kaya dalam masyarakat yang berkongsi tanggungjawab membantu golongan miskin cukup kritikal; sebenarnya demi kepentingan mereka juga, kerana kesan-kesan negatif ketidaksamarataan yang tinggi akan dirasai oleh semua. Salah Anggapan tentang Pasaran Bebas Dalam mana-mana wacana ketidaksamarataan kekayaan dan kemiskinan, isu 'pasaran bebas' tentu sekali akan diketengahkan. Ciri asas kepada pasaran bebas dapat digambarkan dengan konsep "Invisible Hand" yang diperkenalkan oleh ahli ekonomi kurun ke-18, Adam Smith. Konsep ini berpegang bahawa harga, pengedaran barangan, perkhidmatan, buruh, modal, tanah dan kemahiran manusia ditentukan oleh kuasa pasaran, atau 'tangan' yang tidak boleh di lihat secara fizikal. Penyokong sistem ini selalunya menentang peningkatan campur tangan kerajaan seperti derma, cukai, subsidi dan faedah. Ringkasnya, mereka percaya yang hanya pasaran yang dibenarkan bergerak bebas yang akan mencapai keseimbangan secara, seterusnya mencapai produktiviti dan kekayaan untuk negara. Pasaran mempunyai elemen keadilan yang tidak dapat dinafi; kerja keras akan membolehkan kita mendapat pendapatan yang tinggi, dan kemalasan akan dihukum dengan kesusahan. Pekerjaan, barang-barangan dan tahap gaji ditentukan secara 'semulajadi' seperti yang dimintakan oleh masyarakat, berdasarkan keperluan dan keupayaan mereka dan bukan berdasarkan pengagihan kerajaan, yang cukup terdedah dengan situasi terlebih atau terkurang. Walaupun begitu, keadilan dalam pasaran tidak boleh terlalu diagungkan. Kuasa pasaran boleh menjadi 'ganas tanpa belas ihsan', seperti yang dikatakan oleh Jeffrey Sachs. Kewujudan ruang kegagalan dalam pasaran tidak boleh dinafikan sama sekali kerana bukan semua manusia bermula daripada asas yang sama. Dalam sistem yang sama, titik permulaan seperti harta, peluang atau kesihatan fizikal berbeza antara satu sama lain. Ketika ada yang dapat keluar daripada kepompong pendapatan rendah dan berjaya, hasil daripada peluang keemasan, ada juga yang terus kekal terhimpit dalam kitaran ganas ini. Hakikatnya, bukan semua mendapat peluang keemasan. Antagonis Percukaian Antara penyokong tegar pasaran bebas ialah libertarian di mana etika asas mereka ialah kebebasan. Mereka mendukung idea bahawa hasil ekonomi terbaik hanya akan muncul apabila setiap individu dibiarkan bebas untuk bertindak dan hidup tanpa ada pihak berkuasa yang menetapkan aktiviti ekonomi mereka. Individu tidak perlu dan tidak bertanggungjawab kepada masyarakat, selain daripada menghormati kebebasan dan hak milik orang lain. Tanggungjawab kerajaan hanyalah untuk melaksanakan undang-undang dan mengekalkan keamanan bagi melindungi hak milik peribadi. Malah, pendukung libertarian yang ekstrem berpendapat bahawa tidak ada keperluan langsung untuk kerajaan membina prasarana, jalan atau lebuhraya; itu semua perlu ditentukan oleh kuasa pasaran kerana keperluannya sahaja sudah cukup untuk memastikan ada dalam pasaran yang akan membinanya. Libertarian ialah 'Antagonis Percukaian'. Antara banyak-banyak campurtangan kerajaan,  libertarian menentang kerajaan yang mempromosikan keadilan dan kecekapan menerusi sistem percukaian. Cukai dianggap satu bentuk peras ugut oleh kerajaan yang menghapuskan motivasi mereka yang berkerja kuat, dan berpotensi untuk memberi ganjaran kepada yang tidak berusaha. Tuntasnya, pendukung libertarian berpegang kepada pasaran bebas sebagai satu-satunya cara untuk mengagihkan ekonomi secara demokratik; kebebasan gaya libertarian ialah penyelamat demokrasi dan penjamin kemakmuran. Oleh itu, usaha kerajaan untuk membantu golongan miskin juga menjadi isu yang dibantah oleh kelompok libertarian. Libertarian di Malaysia Banyak pihak gemar meremehkan Dasar Ekonomi Baru (DEB), tetapi kejayaan dasar ini hampir menghapuskan kemiskinan tidak dapat dinafikan; kejadian kemiskinan telah berkurang dari 50% pada 1970 kepada 3.8% kini. Golongan yang dahulunya miskin, kini membentuk kelas menengah dan profesional Malaysia. Malangnya, tidak ada apa yang boleh dibanggakan daripada DEB selepas pertengahan tahun 90-an. Korupsi, ketirisan dan kepincangan integriti yang diperlihatkan dalam sistem kerajaan telah memburukkan lagi situasi. Mungkin kekecewaan terhadap institusi kerajaan inilah yang menyuburkan ideologi libertarian di Malaysia. Adakah Libertarianism untuk Malaysia? Kita boleh mula mencari jawapannya dengan kembali kepada persoalan keperluan mewujudkan kerajaan. Ada persoalan tentang siapakah yang bertanggungjawab untuk menyediakan kemudahan awam. Kita juga tidak memerlukan lebih daripada satu pasukan polis, bomba atau mahkamah undang-undang yang bersaing antara satu sama lain. Tanpa kerajaan, siapakah yang akan mengendalikan masalah alam sekitar, meregulasikan kebejatan moral, memastikan individu tidak mencederakan satu sama lain, dan melindungi kedaulatan rakyat Malaysia? Mengurangkan peranan sosok kerajaan mungkin boleh dipertimbangkan, tetapi menghapuskannya sama sekali boleh membawakan kemudaratan yang sukar dibayangkan. Seterusnya kita tiba kepada isu kemiskinan pula. Niat baik libertarian yang terpuji yakni memberi ganjaran kepada usaha keras dan mengurangkan pengaruh kerajaan yang korup, sebenarnya turut membuka ruang yang terlalu luas kepada kesinambungan kekayaan bagi yang sudah kaya dan kitaran kemiskinan yang semakin ganas. Seperti yang dihujahkan, setiap manusia bermula dari latarbelakang yang berbeza. Yang kaya terus berada dalam kedudukan yang membenarkan mereka meluaskan empayar kekayaan mereka- malah mereka tidak boleh disalahkan kerana mereka diberi peluang dan dibenarkan berbuat demikian! Lebih teruk lagi jika kekayaan datang dari pemerolehan dan penggarapan kekayaan yang sedia ada, dan bukannya lahir dari perekaan kekayaan yang baru dan  nilai tambah yang baru; lantas seterusnya meningkatkan saiz ekonomi. Akhirnya, kuasa akan berada dalam genggaman sektor korporat dan golongan kaya, lantas memberikan mereka kuasa mempengaruhi dasar awam secara signifikan, bertentangan dengan hasrat murni asal 'demokrasi' libertarian tadi. Ahli lembaga pengarah dan ketua syarikat tidak dapat dipilih oleh rakyat, seperti kerajaan yang terlantik. Ketakutan libertarian terhadap negara sosialis yang akan menuju ke arah fasism sebenarnya juga boleh berlaku dalam pasaran bebas yang menyamar sebagai sektor korporat. Kegagalan pasaran bebas kemudiannya akan menjadi persoalan kegagalan politik, dan bukan sahaja persoalan kegagalan ekonomi! Sekarang cuba bayangkan 'pasaran bebas' ini di Malaysia, dengan tahap ketidaksamarataan antara tertinggi di Asia (menurut ukuran GINI). Golongan miskin yang tidak berdaya akan terus ketinggalan dalam kuasa pasaran berbanding golongan kaya. Di sinilah keadaan di mana hasrat murni kebebasan ekonomi yang tulen seperti yang dicadangkan oleh libertarian tidak mampu menjanakan hasil yang diidamkan pada asalnya. Manifesto Pakatan Rakyat: Manisfesto Yang Tepat Pada Masanya Apapun pandangan politik kita, wajar kita bersetuju sedikit sebanyak dengan Manisfesto Pakatan Rakyat. Bagi menyelesaikan isu-isu asas ekonomi, empat teras utamanya selari dengan isu yang dihadapi oleh rakyat; yakni kebebasan rakyat, ekonomi rakyat, kesejahteraan rakyat dan kerajaan rakyat. Di Malaysia, statistik rasmi kemiskinan yang diterbitkan mungkin kelihatan rendah, tetapi secara relatifnya, ramai rakyat (terutamanya golongan miskin urban) boleh dikira miskin. Harga rumah yang meningkat dan taraf hidup yang semakin melonjak tinggi tidak selari dengan peningkatan gaji mengakibatkan rakyat biasa terhimpit dengan bebanan hutang yang banyak dan generasi-generasi yang terlahir mempunyai tahap produktiviti yang rendah disebabkan oleh kemahiran pendidikan yang terhad. Bagi kerajaan untuk terus relevan dalam menahan serangan libertarian, campurtangan kerajaan perlu bersifat taktikal, dan bukannya haru biru mengikut keperluan meraih undi. Sekiranya pendirian kerajaan ialah pro-bisnes, ia perlu disandarkan bersama dengan jaringan keselamatan sosial untuk melibatkan isi rumah berpendapatan rendah dalam pencarian kekayaan dan pertumbuhan. Jika fokusnya ialah rakyat, perhatian perlu diberikan bagi memastikan kehendak perniagaan tidak dilupakan. Aspirasi begini mustahil untuk dicapai tanpa dasar seperti yang dicadangkan oleh Manifesto PR; peluasan peluang pendidikan (dengan memberi pendidikan tinggi percuma), pengurangan kos sara hidup (utiliti dan tol), subsidi terpilih, dan penekanan soal gaji dan pendapatan yang pada masa kini ditekan di tahap rendah oleh kerana kemasukan besar-besaran pekerja asing. Kita belum melihat janji manifesto Barisan Nasional, tetapi sebagai permulaan, manifesto itu perlulah lebih diperincikan berbanding Manifesto 2008 yang umumnya berbunyi; 'berjanji akan memacu ekonomi ke arah perkembangan'. Hakikatnya, memacukan ekonomi memanglah sudah menjadi tanggungjawab kerajaan! Membangunkan Golongan Miskin: Menyamaratakan Padang Persaingan Artikel ini bukan menyarankan kemunculan Robin Hood zaman moden, merompak golongan kaya yang bekerja keras dan memberikan harta mereka kepada yang miskin. Golongan kaya boleh memberikan bantuan dengan mengendong sedikit tanggungjawab untuk menaikkan tahap pendidikan, kesihatan dan kadar produktiviti golongan miskin. Bayangkan perbezaan sebuah komuniti yang mempunyai seorang hartawan bernilai RM40 bilion dan golongan miskin yang ramai, dengan sebuah komuniti yang mempunyai 400 isi rumah bernilai RM10 milion setiap satu. Sejauh mana kita tidak suka membayar cukai sekalipun, kita menerima kesahihannya selagi mana ia dijadikan undang-undang dan digunakan sebaiknya. Hal ini juga tidak bermakna golongan miskin boleh goyang kaki. Peluang sudah diberikan, dan tiba masanya mereka menggunakannya. Ideanya ialah kek ekonomi yang lebih besar dan mewujudkan dan melahirkan nilai-nilai baru, yang Malaysia tidak dapat nikmati sekarang kerana golongan miskin yang berpotensi menghasilkannya tidak diberi peluang. Dengan mengambil kira semua perkara ini, di manakah kedudukan libertarianism, cukai untuk golongan kaya dan perniagaan, dan pasaran bebas? Adakah peningkatan peranan kerajaan semestinya wenatijahkan korupsi? Negara kebajikan di rantau Skandinavia mempunyai kedudukan yang lebih tinggi daripada Amerika Syarikat dalam Index Pembangunan Manusia (HDI). Pada masa yang sama, negara-negara terbabit adalah antara negara yang paling seimbang dengan tadbir urus dan kawalan terhadap korupsi terbaik, walaupun mempunyai saiz kerajaan yang lebih besar. Kesudahannya, ekonomi yang sihat ialah ekonomi campuran, di mana kerajaan dan kuasa pasaran memainkan peranan masing-masing. Nisbah yang tepat memang terus menjadi tanda tanya; tetapi permulaan yang baik adalah dengan berhenti daripada terus-menerus menidakkan realiti ketidaksamarataan. Ketidaksamarataan bukanlah sekadar hobi para aktivis anti-kapitalis yang cemburu dengan sektor korporat dan golongan cendikiawan ekonomi pembangunan yang sibuk mencari isu sensasi untuk penyelidikan mereka. Benar, campurtangan kerajaan pelbagai bentuk dan saiznya mungkin mampu merencatkan kemampuan, tetapi kefahaman 'orang miskin malas dan orang kaya rajin' itu hanyalah satu mitos. Ke arah Malaysia yang lebih baik, kita tiada pilihan selain untuk terus meningkatkan produktiviti dengan suatu fokus yang baru; iaitu penglibatan semua golongan dalam semua kelas dan tingkat ekonomi. Jika tidak, Malaysia akan terinjak-injak bergerak ke hadapan, dengan membawa bersama bebanan kesan dasar-dasar awam yang silam. 'Negarawan ialah mereka yang berfikir untuk generasi masa hadapan, manakala ahli politik pula ialah mereka yang hanya berfikir tentang pilihanraya akan datang'- Abraham Lincoln  * Anas Alam Faizli adalah seorang professional minyak dan gas. Beliau sedang menamatkan ijazah kedoktoran, pengarah eksekutif TFTN dan berTwitter di @aafaizli

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