Rabu, 11 September 2013

Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News


Klik GAMBAR Dibawah Untuk Lebih Info
Sumber Asal Berita :-

Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News


Stop grumbling and find solutions instead

Posted: 10 Sep 2013 04:38 PM PDT

Far too often, we place convenience ahead of conservation. We take for granted that electricity will always flow when we flip a switch. Some of us talk about subsidised petrol as if it is a birthright. Fuel subsidies feed such a mindset. That is a handicap when you consider we may one day have to pay market prices when we refill at petrol stations.

The Star Editorial

WE have choices. We always do. And here is definitely a situation that requires us to decide what to do next: Continue grumbling about last week's fuel hike and its impact, or accept that sometimes our sentiments cannot overturn reality and we should adapt accordingly?

We have grown accustomed to low petrol and diesel prices although oil is a depleting commodity and the world never seems to get enough of it.

The Government's annual bill for fuel subsidies is huge – RM24bil last year – and this makes it hard to narrow the fiscal deficit.

If the deficit is not reduced by a meaningful extent soon, there will be painful consequences for the Government, the economy and, of course, us.

Subsidies are bad if they encourage inefficiency and wastefulness, and if the undeserving enjoy them as well.

All these realities were at the core of the Government's decision to cut fuel subsidies on Sept 2 and increase the prices of RON95 petrol and diesel by 20 sen per litre. It was a way to rationalise subsidies to trim the fiscal deficit.

Naturally, people are unhappy about having to pay more for petrol and diesel, and quick to express worry about the inevitable rise in prices of other goods and services.

Is that all that we can do – complain and fret about the impact of the fuel hike? That cannot be so; we are not as helpless and insignificant as some of us think.

It is time we become disciplined, enlightened and empowered consumers.

We should start by being more conscious and responsible in how we use energy (and not just petrol and diesel, because the demand and supply for the various energy resources are entwined).

Do we jump into the car and drive short distances when we can walk instead?

Do we prefer to move around in our own vehicles although we have the option of car pooling?

Are we careless in our electricity consumption? How often do we think about energy-saving solutions?

Far too often, we place convenience ahead of conservation. We take for granted that electricity will always flow when we flip a switch. Some of us talk about subsidised petrol as if it is a birthright.

Fuel subsidies feed such a mindset. That is a handicap when you consider we may one day have to pay market prices when we refill at petrol stations.

It is best we start learning from now to cope with the fact that energy is a terrible thing to waste.

Also, as consumers, we can strike a blow against profiteering by refusing to be customers of opportunistic businessmen.

If a coffeeshop charges an extra 20 sen for a cup of teh O in response to the fuel hike, why go back there? After all, whether or not to swallow that ridiculous price increase, the choice is yours.

 

Awaiting Justice in Malaysia

Posted: 10 Sep 2013 02:31 PM PDT

http://dinmerican.files.wordpress.com/2011/03/judicial-independence1.jpg 

Malaysia needs a genuinely independent oversight body that has the power to investigate cases on its own. This body must be accountable to Parliament and the public, and be given enough resources to investigate claims thoroughly and promptly. 

Isabelle Arradon, wsj.com

When P. Karuna Nithi died in police custody in Negeri Sembilan, central Malaysia, on June 2, the local police chief immediately denied any "foul play." But then the autopsy showed 49 injuries on Nithi's body. Most of the injuries were bruises apparently caused by a blunt object to the chest and limbs, according to the autopsy report cited in media.

For Nithi's family, who say they saw blood coming out of his head when they identified the body, the denial of foul play was difficult to accept. They suspected that he had died after a police beating. But while Nithi's family, Amnesty International and others have called for an independent investigation into his death, the authorities have yet to publicly commit to do so. The autopsy listed his cause of death as "fatty liver."

Nithi's tragic death raises difficult questions. Reports received by Amnesty International suggest that Malaysia has seen a shocking number of deaths in policy custody in recent years, many as a result of torture or other ill-treatment. The Malaysian Parliament has recorded more than 230 deaths in custody since 2000, and the number is growing.

According to official government figures, nine people held by the police died in the entirety of 2012, while 12 people have already been reported dead as of June 2013. Those found dead had been suspected of a range of crimes, not just violent ones—but like Nithi, who was arrested for alleged domestic violence, the majority of deaths in custody since early 2012 were Malaysians of Indian descent.

In recent weeks, a string of deadly shootings and other violent crimes across Malaysia has sparked an intense debate about the efficacy of the country's police force. In response to the turmoil, government hardliners have called for the return of draconian colonial-era laws that prioritize stability over human rights. But the human rights of criminal suspects cannot be sacrificed for law and order, not least when the police's own conduct towards detainees is still so questionable.

In an open letter this July, Amnesty International and the rights group Suara Rakyat Malaysia (SUARAM) urged authorities to go beyond paying lip service to the issue and put in place concrete mechanisms to end police abuse. Yet it's not clear if the National Front government is taking seriously the alarming rise of deaths in custody.

For example, in June it announced plans to establish centralized police lockups in state capitals, and permanent coroner's courts. This would keep criminal suspects out of the smaller local jails where monitoring abuses is more difficult and establish a new system of accountability when inmates die. Facing mounting public outcry, Prime Minister Najib Razak also announced a new task force, led by the Inspector General of the Police Khalid bin Abu Bakar, to establish measures to prevent further deaths in custody.

But the government has established similar task forces at politically opportune moments in the past, only to accomplish very little afterward. The Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission, a body established in 2009 to handle public complaints against government bodies including the police, has not been given enough resources for its broad mandate, nor has it investigated any past cases of custodial deaths. And notably, the new task force does not have power to investigate past cases of deaths in custody. 

Malaysia needs a genuinely independent oversight body that has the power to investigate cases on its own. This body must be accountable to Parliament and the public, and be given enough resources to investigate claims thoroughly and promptly.

The proposed coroner's court must be fully independent and impartial, with wide investigative authority so as not to rely exclusively on police-supplied evidence. Likewise, police must strengthen procedures around arrest, in particular the systematic gathering of data like the detainee's time of arrest, place of detention and the identity of the arresting officers. Granting Malaysia's Human Rights Commission and other independent inspection panels regular access, including unannounced visits to all detention facilities, also would go a long way toward preventing human rights violations against detainees.

 Read more at : http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323595004579064560176938696.html 

 

Bersediakah Umno melakukan transformasi?

Posted: 10 Sep 2013 02:01 PM PDT

http://mstar.com.my/archives/2009/3/25/mstar_berita/najib_berucap.jpg 

Apa yang menimbulkan kemusykilan ialah sikap pucuk pimpinan tertinggi parti itu. Apakah mereka benar-benar bersedia menerima proses transformasi dalam parti itu atau ia hanya sekadar retorik?

Berapa ramai Ketua Bahagian veteran atau yang telah lanjut usia menyatakan kesediaan berundur dan memberi laluan kepada pemimpin pelapis?

oleh Musli Oli, FMT

Pemilihan Umno pada Oktober depan merupakan pemilihan pucuk pimpinan terakhir sebelum Umno menghadapi PRU14.

Sungguhpun penggal parti Umno akan berakhir dua tahun lebih awal sebelum penggal kerajaan berakhir, namun dari pengalaman lalu, pemilihan parti akan ditunda untuk elakkan perpecahan sebelum hadapi pilihan raya umum.

Ringkasnya pemilihan tahun ini adalah pemilihan terakhir parti itu memilih barisan kepimpinannya sebelum menghadapi PRU 14. Pendek kata, ia adalah peluang terakhir memilih bakal-bakal pemimpin untuk menggalas tanggungjawab meyakinkan rakyat untuk terus memberi sokongan kepada kerajaan yang ditunjangi Umno.

Sejak sokongan yang merudum pada PRU 2008, parti Umno, di bawah pucuk pimpinan baru Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak berusaha memperkasa Umno dan menjadikan parti itu lebih menarik terutama kepada golongan muda. Dalam ucapan pertama sebagai Presiden, Najib laungkan slogan,"Berubah atau Rebah". Ia kemudian diikuti dengan mesyuarat agung khas cadangan pindaan perlembagaan parti yang termasuk mengubah kaedah menentukan pemimpin dengan menghapuskan sistem kuota.

Selain itu, jumlah perwakilan juga lebih ramai dan menyeluruh. Harapan Najib, bila jumlah itu bertambah ia lebih mencerminkan hasrat lebih 3 juta ahli Umno berbanding hanya 2,600 orang sebelumnya.

Membuahkan

Usaha Najib mentransformasi Umno mula membuahkan hasil dengan sokongan yang meningkat kepada parti itu berbanding 2008. Kerusi Umno bertambah daripada 79 kepada 88. Sungguhpun begitu, persoalan dibangkit, apakah transformasi bakal berlaku dalam Umno?

Apa yang menimbulkan kemusykilan ialah sikap pucuk pimpinan tertinggi parti itu. Apakah mereka benar-benar bersedia menerima proses transformasi dalam parti itu atau ia hanya sekadar retorik?

Berapa ramai Ketua Bahagian veteran atau yang telah lanjut usia menyatakan kesediaan berundur dan memberi laluan kepada pemimpin pelapis?

Sana-sini kedengaran cadangan termasuk daripada perhubungan negeri meminta dua jawatan tertinggi parti jangan dipertandingkan. Apakah cadangan itu selaras dengan falsafah transformasi yang mereka laung-laungkan?

Apa yang ingin dilihat dalam era transformasi parti bila mana calon-calon yang menawar diri untuk jawatan tertinggi seperti timbalan atau VP adalah dari kalangan pemimpin generasi baru seperti KJ, Mukhriz, Razali Ibrahim, Nur Jazlan dan yang lain bukan dari golongan veteran seperti Isa Samad dan Ali Rustam. Apakah golongan veteran lebih menghayati konsep transformasi daripada pemimpin muda?

READ MORE HERE 

Sabah/Sarawak at 50, ignoring history at your own peril

Posted: 10 Sep 2013 10:09 AM PDT

http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/assets/uploads/resizer/malaysia-at-50-Malaysia-Day_129_100_100.jpg 

Also, as I understand it, the history textbook was actually written by a historian who also happens to be a supreme council member of Perkasa. Do I need to say more about the sort of history that is being taught in school?

James Chin, TMI 

As we approach the 50th anniversary of the Federation of Malaysia, there will be a lot of articles about three things.

First, Sarawak (and Sabah) did not "join" Malaysia but help establish the Federation of Malaysia. Second, Sarawak (and Sabah) should be treated as equals, rather than merely a state in the Federation.

After all, Sarawak became "independent" or "self-government" on July 22, 1963 while Sabah achieved the same on August 31, 1963.

Third, the promise of autonomy in the "20 Points" was never kept. For example, how many of you know that there was supposed to be a review of the guarantees 10 years after Federation? As far as I know there was no formal review in 1973 although some letters were exchanged.

Where you stand on the three things I mentioned above will largely depend on your political leanings. It is also dependent on how well you know your history.

And this is where the problem starts.

In general, Malaysians do not know their history because the "official" history taught in secondary school is a version of history that is supposed to shape you into a Malaysian nationalist, i.e. do not challenge Malay authority. It is not meant to provide an unbiased view of history.

Also, as I understand it, the history textbook was actually written by a historian who also happens to be a supreme council member of Perkasa. Do I need to say more about the sort of history that is being taught in school?

In short, Malaysians know little or next to nothing about Malaysian history and East Malaysians know even less about the history of Sabah and Sarawak.

Read more at: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/sabah-sarawak-at-50-ignoring-history-at-your-own-peril 

Kredit: www.malaysia-today.net

0 ulasan:

Catat Ulasan

 

Malaysia Today Online

Copyright 2010 All Rights Reserved