Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News
Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News |
- Ibrahim Ali and a sex-changed UMNO
- Democracy and freedom of expression
- A matter of dignity
- Bersih 2.0- to protest or not?
- Cuti2 or Curi2 Malaysia? A PR failure, nothing more
| Ibrahim Ali and a sex-changed UMNO Posted: 20 Jun 2011 04:43 PM PDT Ibrhaim Ali continues to humiliate UMNO and all we can do is say, Ibrahim Ali is harmless and he speaks for the unspeaking Malay. In July, Bersih is organizing a mammoth rally to demand our Elections Commission to conduct its business professionally. That means to ensure elections are fair and transparent. The intended rally has drawn some xenophobic response from various groups. None more exceedingly intolerant than the one shown by Perkasa, the organization headed by one Ibrahim Ali. If Ibrahim Ali is more UMNO than UMNO, what has the real UMNO become? UMNO has undergone a sex change. Probably in Thailand. What has Ibrahim Ali done? He is telling the world that he will mobilize a large number of people to confront Bersih's Rally. He's even talking about a physical confrontation and that he will be at the forefront ready to shed blood. In his self-induced state of hysteria, he has warned the Chinese community not to get involved raising the specter of the racial clashes of May 13 1969. Clearly what Ibrahim Ali is saying is incendiary and seditious. He's openly talking about bloodshed among the races. That's willful and intentional desire to kill other people. It's a murderous threat. Yet the security authorities appear ineffectual to act against Ibrahim Ali. If the government doesn't act against Ibrahim Ali it will be seen as an accomplice with Ibrahim Ali in the furtherance of an act or acts of allowing itself to be held at ransom by Ibrahim Ali. If that is not stupidity on our part, what else can it be? What's happening to UMNO? It's allowing Ibrahim Ali to be its voice? Where is the leadership material? What kind of material is UMNO made of allowing itself to be cuckolded by the incorrigible Ibrahim Ali? Why is UMNO applying kid's gloves on Ibrahim Ali? It must use its knuckle dusters and deal Ibrahim Ali as the law would want to. Quickly. Ibrahim Ali is not an UMNO member and he isn't a liability to UMNO. It's of no consequence to UMNO if Ibrahim Ali is dealt with properly by the laws of Malaysia. Apply ISA or whatever on him. Get him under the sedition laws of this country or whatever. If the government doesn't act against Ibrahim Ali, then it cannot but be seen as impotent. People can carry out threats and other transgressions of violent intent and import with impunity and the government stands back. It's puzzling why the Police has not acted against Ibrahim Ali for such incendiary and seditious remarks. It is also puzzling how he got a permit to hold such an aggressive rally so quickly from the authorities. Yet the same authorities are showing their lead-weighted feet in issuing a valid permit to the organizers of Bersih.
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| Democracy and freedom of expression Posted: 20 Jun 2011 04:13 PM PDT More importantly, I attempted to correct the popular notion that democracy was the cause of liberty. After alluding to Marx' Utopian state, I opined: "The obvious flaw in Marx's theory of a utopian society makes democracy a very alluring alternative. If at all, it pushes to the fore the false notion that liberty is the product of democracy, when in fact democracy is just but one of the many (flawed) ways of protecting liberty. Liberty is not caused by democracy. It rather is the cause for democracy." And I asked some sobering questions: "That brings us to some sobering thoughts. Can liberty be usurped by democracy? Is it possible for a democracy to destroy liberty in itself? In that event, what will happen to democracy? Can it exist without liberty?" I would like, in this article, to expand the theoretical postulation that the basis of democracy is liberty and freedom, in terms of the freedom of expression of the people in a democratic state. I feel that a deep understanding of this area of the democracy theory is important, more particularly due to the current climate in Malaysia, where BERSIH is planning a rally for electoral reform on the 9th July this year while at the same time, the usual suspects of horror and doom, Perkasa, Ibrahim Ali and their ilk are planning to create disturbances. Democracy, to my mind, starts with an expression of will by the people or a group of people. The will which was being expressed was the will to be represented in the governance and administration of the state which the people formed. That will was expressed through the process of elections.
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| Posted: 20 Jun 2011 10:42 AM PDT Everyone has his or her idea of what a perfect world is. Some might say that society should be less regulated and more space given for personal freedoms. Others might argue in favour of more regulation and control. Some might expound a more racialist perspective while others may be happy with just a modicum of fairness. Whatever the case, the realities of a societal existence compel us to find middle ground, a state of being where one has as much freedom to be human and to do all things vital to dignified existence as such while respecting the next person's right to do the same. This calls for compromise on the part of everyone who chooses to co-exist in a given society. This compromise necessitates relinquishing the right to 'self-help' to those tasked with administering that society. In Malaysia, that compact is entrenched as an essential feature of Malaysian existence by Constitutional guarantees of fundamental liberties. Though the administering of a society would necessarily involve some measure of regulation, the power of the state to regulate is not an absolute one. Its responsibility to do so is to be balanced against its responsibility to protect those freedoms that define that society. Any intervention by the state, and the character of such intervention, is to be determined by reference to both these considerations. There is however an unfortunate tendency on the part of our government to focus only on the need to protect public order. This often obscures the equally important responsibility of the government to protect the dignity of its citizens. The question that is more often than not overlooked is what is it that gives us dignity. The right to express, either as individuals or as a collective, is a crucial element in what it is that defines us as who we are. In most cases, the power to express ourselves is really all that those of us without access to the corridors of power have. Individuals may be stripped of their belongings and status, they may be constrained in a number of ways, but they do not stop being human as long as they have the ability to express who it is that they are to the world around them. The HINDRAF rally of 2007 illustrates that point clearly. For some, the need to express may be satisfied by their choice of the colour or design of their car, or outfit. For others, the need may be greater. They may wish to say that they are not happy with the state of government or that they are frustrated at the lack of response from agencies charged with administering elections. As much as some may disagree with their view, it is not for anyone to say that they have no right to think or feel what it is they are feeling. In the case of those seeking reform, their right to speak up is reinforced by the fact that Malaysia is a democracy. We elect our governments. For them to have the continued confidence of the rakyat, the integrity of the process by which they have been elected must be seen as being unimpeachable. That does not appear to be case though. Going by what BERSIH 2.0 is saying, a significant number of Malaysians believe that the process cannot be seen as being unimpeachable. This is not just about whether there is electoral corruption or whether there has been ballot stuffing, it goes deeper into the question of whether the system of elections as it is allows us to achieve the aim underlying general elections. Issues have been raised about re-delineation exercises, campaign periods, equal access to mainstream media by all political parties, amongst others. These are undoubtedly significant features of the process that all Malaysians ought be concerned with. BERSIH says that it has attempted to raise these matters with the relevant agencies but thus far its efforts have not got it anywhere and no resolution has been achieved. For this reason, BERSIH says it needs to express itself as a last resort through a rally. Judging by the studied silence or avoidance of those charged with responsibility over elections, it appears to be all that BERSIH, and Malaysians who support its cause, can do. In any modern nation state describing itself as one established on the Rule of Law, there would be no difficulty. BERSIH organizers would be told that they would have to march along a particular route, with a sufficient number of wardens at a particular time. The police would go to great lengths to ensure that those marching in the rally would be safe and would be able to go about their business uninterrupted. And if there were a group of individuals opposed to the BERSIH rally, and wished to march in protest, then the police would direct them to march along a different route. Our government however opposes it and says that the need to preserve public order is more a priority than allowing Malaysians to express themselves on the subject. With impunity PERKASA puts a spin on the matter and asserts that its supporters are happy with the way things are and will endeavour to thwart the BERSIH rally with a counter-rally. Read more at: http://malikimtiaz.blogspot.com/2011/06/matter-of-dignity.html
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| Bersih 2.0- to protest or not? Posted: 20 Jun 2011 10:18 AM PDT Bersih 2.0- to go or not to go? That must the question popping in everyone's minds especially those who have not attended street demos of that kind before. It's daunting, especially when the Home Minister promises to use the ISA on the Bersih participants caught on 9th July 2011. Not to mention the water canons, smoke-grenades, riot shields and batons awaiting. Some say let the ballot box do the talking, and street protests are not the way. Wangsa Maju had some fair experience in a street demo back in 2008. The demo was held at the DBKL HQ at Jalan Raja Laut and not in Wangsa Maju though. You see, somewhere in May 2008, after the 14th General Election, the DBKL saw fit to demolish about 8 major hawker areas in Desa Setapak and few other areas in Wangsa Maju. The reason for doing so was well, not a new reason- it was over a permit issue which spanned over more than a decade (I think). Yes, the hawkers, who had been operating a long time there, right on Government 'land', did not have the proper permits to build permanent structures. Some of the hawkers alleged that they had tried applying for permits for years but DBKL never approved them. So on the fateful day of 21st May 2008, while the Wangsa Maju MP was still at a Parliament session, the DBKL came with heavyweight equipment and ran the stalls to the ground. The machinery was so heavy that it left potholes on the tarred road of Desa Setapak. Watch video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_J4B3YwRUKI Such operations may be valid from the Town Council's viewpoint especially when it is a permit issue, but it causes more anguish when the demolishing of the illegal stalls are race-selected- ie Chinese stalls demolished but not the illegal stalls own by Malays sitting next to the Chinese-owned stalls. Many people were were saying- 'what the hell is this, DBKL?' Read more at: http://wangsamajuformalaysia.blogspot.com/2011/06/bersih-20-to-protest-or-not.html
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| Cuti2 or Curi2 Malaysia? A PR failure, nothing more Posted: 20 Jun 2011 10:09 AM PDT The latest little outrage hitting Malaysian shores involves something i deal with professionally on a daily basis -- Facebook pages. The Malaysian Tourism Ministry recently admitted that it had committed RM1.8 million on the development and maintenance of 6 Facebook pages.
Predictably, this prompted an uproar from the Opposition and much of the online community. In an attempt to prove how stupid the expenditure was, a satirical page named "Curi-Curi Wang Malaysia" was setup (for free) and practically overnight, attracted 120,000 followers, at least 3 times the number the main Cuti-Cuti 1Malaysia page. RM1.8 million for 6 Facebook pages. To the layperson, it seems like an exorbitant sum, especially since setting up a page is free. So where did all the money go to? Another prime example of corruption, kickbacks and Government wastage? Perhaps not, at least if you speak to people who are actually familiar with the media and branding industry. Don't take my word for it. Listen to what others in the industry have to say.
It isn't free, and it certainly isn't cheap. Pepsi spent US$20 million on a social media campaign. Yup, that includes ONE Facebook page. Closer to home, AirAsia spends nearly ALL of its marketing budget online. Yup, that includes a handful of Facebook pages too. Millions of ringgit, easily.
So where does RM1.8 million go? Contrary to popular belief (i.e. a 6 year old kid can setup a Facebook page that will attract tens of thousands of visitors and can turn social engagements into millions of ringgit of tourism revenue and forex), to setup a successful campaign that INCLUDES (though certainly does not end with) an active and well-moderated Facebook page costs big marketing dollars, as Kelvin Lim and David Lian allude to. There is just so many things to do as part of the media pie -- enterprise strategists, media planners, coders, traffic analysts, moderators, designers, IT hardware setup (yes, FB is free, but the scalability of the page for games and other apps require independent hardware setups), project managers, etc. The list is a very long one. And none of it comes free, and in most cases, is quite expensive, relatively speaking. Senior media planners easily make as much as high-end fund managers. |
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