Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News
Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News |
- Malaysia and the The Global Competitiveness Report 2011-2012
- GO or no GO, Zarinah and SC under scrutiny
- All rogues lead to SC
- Mat Indera & Mat Silam
- Outrage as Taib’s Ta Ann Files Losses in Tasmania
- Demand for democracy follows socio-economic transformation
- Not only the voting processes is screwed up, but the whole world too (dwi bahasa)
- Scholars’ views on nationalists and their struggle for Merdeka
- Nazri beheads MCA and Gerakan
| Malaysia and the The Global Competitiveness Report 2011-2012 Posted: 06 Sep 2011 07:29 PM PDT Apart from providing statistical data, the index also features data from the Executive Opinion Survey carried out by the World Economic Forum. The 2011 Survey captures the perceptions of over 13,000 business leaders from the featured 142 economies.
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| GO or no GO, Zarinah and SC under scrutiny Posted: 06 Sep 2011 07:24 PM PDT Sime Darby only purchase 30% stake in E&O from vendors Datuk Tham Ka Hon, Tan Sri Wan Azmi Wan Hamzah and GK Goh Holdings Ltd. The usual practise to require a Mandatory General Offer (GO) is 33% or more. READ MORE HERE. |
| Posted: 06 Sep 2011 07:19 PM PDT Azizan is the chairman of E & O. He was not party to the sale but considering that other E & O board members who were party to the sale had also bought E & O shares from the open market, one is left wondering: Did the Board members know of the coming "windfall"? Surprisingly, Azizan also emerged as a substantial shareholder of Kencana Petroleum Bhd in July, just days after an offcer was made to take over the company at RM3 a share! Wonder how shareholders of Ramunia Bhd felt upon finding out that their chairman was a substantial shareholder of a rival oil and gas firm? |
| Posted: 06 Sep 2011 04:21 PM PDT Mat Indera played a prominent role in the 1950 attack on the Bukit Kepong police station. The incident was eventually immortalised in a movie played by the legendary P Ramlee. In the movie, the policemen were portrayed as heroes who fought against the communists.
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| Outrage as Taib’s Ta Ann Files Losses in Tasmania Posted: 06 Sep 2011 03:11 PM PDT Ta Ann is the world's biggest hardwood timber company in terms of market capitalisation, achieving a revenue of over 800 million ringgit last year, a 25% increase on the year before. The company has also declared a 25% profit margin in its latest Annual Report. Yet, to the fury of environmentalists, the company managed to extract massive public subsidies to set up business inTasmania. It is now extracting timber from the remaining wild forest areas, amid huge controversy. And, despite those subsidies the company has just announced further losses. Yesterday the senator stated: "Since it began operation in Tasmania, Ta Ann has made a net loss of about $18 million, despite receiving $10 million in direct public subsidies and being housed in premises which cost Forestry Tasmania $22 million and which it runs at a loss….When public money is poured into poor business models in forestry, we have less to spend on our hospitals, schools and national parks" [Senator Bob Brown] Australians overwhelmingly reject logging The protest comes hard on the heals of a recent opinion poll conducted by the Green Party, showing just how unpopular logging is in Australia. 88% of people surveyed said they want all logging of their wild jungle stopped immediately and that the 570,000 hectares of native forests in Tasmania should be turned into a National Park. The Greens are therefore demanding to know why an apparently powerful lobby has nevertheless managed to extract such subsidies for Ta Ann and gain the company access to the state, only to see the money wasted? The poll was carried out late last month:
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| Demand for democracy follows socio-economic transformation Posted: 06 Sep 2011 02:40 PM PDT Although J. S. Furnivall first coined the term in his study of British and Dutch colonialism in Southeast Asia, most researchers ignore the fact that he discusses the emergence of 'plural societies', which he defines as lacking a common sense of cultural belonging, within the context of the rise of capitalism in colonial societies, dominated by a colonial power. Put another way, Furnivall situates his 'plural society' in the context of a changing society and economy. 'Plural society' explanation inadequate In this regard, although these researchers use the notion of plural society, in fact, their perspective is more closely related to the American anthropologist Clifford Geertz's notion of 'primordialism' which refers to strong ineffable sentiments and attachments based on the 'social givens' of human existence, like blood relations, kinship, tribe, race, language, dialect, religion, social customs and region. For Geertz, primordialism is invoked to provide meaning and solace to ordinary people when their societies are undergoing rapid change. In multi-ethnic societies like Malaysia, however, primordialism can lead to a heightening of ethnic group consciousness that threatens the nation-building process. Hence, an 'integrative revolution' that ushers in 'civic politics' is required, in order to prevent the break-up of these multi-ethnic nations. In Geertz's perspective, politics in a plural or multi-ethnic society is fractured along ethnic lines, and ethnic-based communities with recognisable leaders as well as common political interests and goals quite naturally emerge. It follows that electoral politics, too, is presumed to be ethnically determined and that voters, invariably, vote along ethnic lines. In a nutshell, the ethnic order of things is a 'given', almost natural. 'Consociationalism' explanations also inadequate To explain why the Barisan Nasional (previously the Alliance), a coalition of ethnic-based political parties, has ruled Malaysia since Merdeka in 1957, these researchers emphasise, or even essentialise, the BN parties and their leaders as inherently more moderate in outlook and more prepared to share power than their Opposition counterparts, who are characterised as extremist, narrow-minded and unwilling to share power. This is why the BN has come out tops time-and-time again. This is the 'consociational model' of politics, wherein the masses in a plural society are awash with communalism, the Opposition leaders are extremist and exclusivist in their views, and political stability and economic development can only be attained because of the altruistic and tolerant BN ruling elites. The theme of consociationalism is very popular, too, among researchers. Thanks to the propaganda disseminated via our schools, the mainstream media and the BN parties, the impression of a moderate BN and an extremist Opposition (Pas, DAP, PKR, PSM, etc) has also penetrated into the popular imagination of ordinary Malaysians Such a perspective underscores explanations of the BN's domination of Malaysian electoral politics. Often, references are also made to specific issues, episodes and events that occur when elections are held to explain variations in the BN's victories, sometimes spectacular, other times less so. For instance, the BN's narrow victory in the 1999 general election was attributed to the 'dual crises' which occurred in the run up to that election viz. the regional financial crisis of 1997/98 and the political crisis resulting from then deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim's sacking from Umno, both contributing towards a reformasi movement. In 2004, the BN's spectacular victory was explained in terms of the 'Pak Lah factor', namely, the ascendancy of Abdullah Badawi as Malaysia's new prime minister just prior to the 2004 polls, replacing Dr Mahathir Mohamed who had been at the helm for 22 years. It was Abdullah who led the BN into the 2004 polls and, apparently due to his more endearing political style and several reform initiatives, ensured a spectacular victory for the BN. Many Christians seemed to be taken up by the fact the Malaysian PM had for the first time sent Christmas greeting cards to church leaders. Many Malaysians were also enamoured by his catchy slogans such as "Work with me; not for me".
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| Not only the voting processes is screwed up, but the whole world too (dwi bahasa) Posted: 06 Sep 2011 01:29 PM PDT Saya terpegun tatkala membaca siding akhbar saudara Anthony Loke hari ini yang mendedahkan isteri anggota tenteta membawa IC berakhir dengan nombor ganjil (yang memang ditetapkan untuk golongan lelaki) dan mempunyai tarikh lahir yang sama dengan suami mereka. Sekiranya berlaku sekali dua kali, mungkin boleh dianggap sebagai kesilapan atau kebetulan namun mengapakah berpuluh-puluh kejadian ini menjelma serentak dalam suku tahun 2 2011 tatkala ura-ura pilihanraya akan diadakan?   They use the ordinary ICs of their husband to register but under the wives' names - a wife could still have the ordinary voter's right so she might be able to vote twice," exclaimed Loke in a press conference called to reveal the discrepancies. "The IC numbers definitely belong to men as these numbers are odd numbers, while female IC numbers are even numbers, and this clearly states that she is a voter in Rasah in the army camp," said Loke. For example, Noor Atikah Zakaria holds a male's MyKad, 840306-02-5561, and the army officer believed to be her husband, Mohd Hasbullah Abdul Wahab, has an army MyKad, T1140868 - where both are registered with the same date of birth, locality and voting district. "All these are new registrations, it can't just be a normal mistake. The roll has been updated so 19 incidents in one constituency can't be a mere coincidence," said Loke ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Are there similar cases in army camps all over the country? Call me a cynic but this looks more like systematic design rather than honest error. And EC and possibly JPN have hell a lot to explain. Adakah kes-kes seumpama ini berlaku di semua kem tentera seluruh negara? Keadaan ini nampaknya seperti hasil daripada rancangan yang teratur dan bukanlah kesilapan yang tidak disengajakan. SPR dan mungkin JPN perlu membuat penerangan teliti kepada rakyat Malaysia. And to think the big general asking his troops and the rakyat to be loyal to something that is proven to be tarnished? Ingat tak rayuan seorang jeneral besar baru-baru ini supaya tentera dan rakyat taat kepada sesuatu yang kini nampaknya sudah tercemar? Ordinary folks might shrug and say, "Oh yea, what is new? Does not impact me directly wat!" Orang ramai mungkin kurang peka terhadap keadaan ini dan tanya apakah pula hubung kait dengan hidup seharian mereka. Let's explore the possible consequences should a person can turn up with such I.C.to vote as well as other places that you and me visit on a daily basis. Who should feel afraid, very afraid? Marilah kita merenung sejenak siapakah yang harus rasa bimbang atau tertekan kini kerana sekiranya seseorang itu boleh muncul mengundi dengan IC palsu, maka beliau boleh juga bawa I.C. palsu ke merata-rata tempat (sekiranya I.C. palsu ini wujud) Bankers I can imagine bankers getting jittery. Already required by law to monitor money trails to detect money laundry activities, people running to them with fake I.C. to open bank accounts will hardly make the banks' jobs' easier. Criminals would be encouraged to commit more fraud as they can dupe people to deposit money into bank accounts controlled by them but not registered under their names. The Bank Negara Governor would be hard pressed to look respectable in international conferences that she attends. Pihak Bank Para bank harus takut kerana mereka diwajibkan undang-undang mengesan aliran wang haram. Kini dengan adanya orang membuka akaun bank dengan IC palsu, pemantauan mereka bertambah sukar. Para penjenayah pun digalakkan melakukan lebih banyak penipuan kerana mereka boleh menipu orang ramai memasukkan wang dalam akaun bank yang dikawal oleh penjenayah tetapi bukan bawah nama mereka. Gabenor Bank Negara pun tertekan tatkala menghadiri siding-sidang yang berkenaan di liar negara nanti Credit card companies It is so easy to obtain credit card nowadays so if a person with a fake I.C. can also come up with some fake payslips to dupe credit card companies into granting credit cards. The higher risk and instances of default will force the credit card companies to pass such cost of business to the genuine and law abiding credit card holders. This would create also, wide spread uncertainty to merchants accepting payments from credit cards too. |
| Scholars’ views on nationalists and their struggle for Merdeka Posted: 06 Sep 2011 12:18 PM PDT In this and subsequent posts, the Centre for Policy Initiatives reproduces various key articles written by authoritative scholars and academicians on the events and some of the main protagonists engaged in the struggle for the country's independence. I am grateful to the editorial board of the journal, Kajian Malaysia, and Penerbit Universiti Sains Malaysia as well as to the authors of the various pieces – C.C. Chin, Richard Mason, Leon Comber and Abdul Rahman Ismail for their permission to have their work featured in this CPI series. Other articles will be included in the series once permission has been obtained from their authors and publishers. I hope that the scholarly work provided here and from other sources can serve as the basis for more informed and historically truthful interpretations of the period leading to and immediately following the independence of Malaya in 1957 and the role of the major actors and political forces. ******************************* Revisiting 1948 insurgencies and the cold war in Southeast AsiaBy Richard Mason In 1948 left-winged insurgencies broke out in Malaya, Burma, Indonesia and the Philippines. These insurgencies continued to leave their imprint on the region today. The papers in this volume discuss the significance of these insurgencies in the course of Southeast Asian history, with particular reference to the Cold War in the region. These papers are part of a larger collection that were presented at a Roundtable on the Sixtieth Anniversary of 1948: Reassessing the Origins of the Cold War in Southeast Asia, organised by the Asia Research Institute (ARI), National University of Singapore (NUS), 10-11 July 2008. The central concern of the Roundtable was to discuss the significance of 1948 in Southeast Asian history and to determine "in what way 1948 was – or perhaps was not – 'the beginning of the Cold War' in Southeast Asia." Were the seemingly simultaneous left-winged insurgencies that broke out in the region in 1948 Soviet-directed as part of the Cold war in Asia or did the insurgencies emerged from local circumstances affecting the strategies of the struggles of these left-wings movements in the respective counties concerned? How important were the insurgencies in affecting the course of Southeast Asian history? Did 1948 constitute a watershed in Southeast Asian history? The papers in this volume address these issues among many others. Were the left-winged insurgencies which broke out in Malaya, Burma, Indonesia and the Philippines in 1948 directed by the Soviet Union as part of the Cold War in Asia? Known as the "Soviet Conspiracy Theory", the starting point for this postulation is Andrei Zhdanov's speech at the inaugural of the Cominform in September 1947 which argued that the world had been divided into two opposing camps: the Western capitalist countries led by the United States on the one hand, and the communist bloc led by the Soviet Union on the other. Zhdanov advocated that foreign communist parties should be in vanguard of spreading communism throughout the world. This line was repeated by E.M. Zhukov in an article published in the December issue of Bol'shevik, which advocated propagation of revolutions to the colonial areas. According to proponents of this Soviet Conspiracy Theory, it was at the Communist Youth Conference at Calcutta, convened 19-24 February 1948 that the Soviets passed on the "instructions" to representatives of Southeast Asian communist parties to seize the opportunity of the unstable conditions prevailing in Southeast Asia to rise against their colonial rulers. In March, left-winged insurgency broke out in Burma, followed by British Malaya in June, and Indonesia in September. Consistent with the thesis of monolithic communism, the conventional orthodox interpretation of these uprisings has it that they were Soviet-directed as part of the Cold War in Asia. Soviet interest in Southeast Asia had been notably absent before the Pacific War but by 1947 there were discernable evidence of Soviet's growing interest in the region. In 1947, the Soviet Union opened an embassy in Bangkok and this was shortly followed by the Communist Youth Conference at Calcutta in February 1948, and the subsequent the outbreak of the Southeast Asian insurgencies later that year. According to this school of thought, that these left-winged Southeast Asian insurgencies broke out almost simultaneously indeed suggest actions in response to instruction from Moscow. Predictably, both the United States and Great Britain immediately assumed that these insurgencies were Soviet-directed and formulated their responses accordingly.1
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| Posted: 05 Sep 2011 11:40 PM PDT (1) It seems UMNO already knows MCA and Gerakan can't win any seats in the next GE. Liow will lose out in Bentong. Chua Soi Lek stands no chance in any of the parliamentary seats in Johor. My friend Pang Tsu Ming in Semambu Indera Mahkota will have to become an accountant once again. The other MCA rep in Teruntum, Chang, will make his exit. (2) You have been in bed since the Perikatan days, you have not understood the Chinese psyche. They don't like handouts, brother. Looking after Chinese voters is a cinch compared to looking after non-Chinese. This accounts for the massive losses incurred by MCA. You don't allow MCA to be their Chinese self. (3) Even at this juncture - you can't help but cringe and grimace over his self-conceit - you mean only Gerakan and MCA represent the Chinese voters? But then, Nazri has never been known for his cerebral statements. He's more of the swashbuckling type - make things up as you go along type. So, we can't take him seriously on this. (4) Nazri has inadvertently acknowledged that the Chinese have another party of choice. That will be the DAP. By saying that, you direct Chinese attention and also that of non-Chinese to examine the DAP personality. (5). Nazri has given a free pass to DAP. Karpal Singh, the DAP chairman will have occasion to say thank you to Nazri instead of the usual barbs and punches he's fond of giving Nazri. Those who assailed DAP as being a carbon copy of PAP ignores the fact, that these two parties have lived worlds and time apart. PAP has evolved into an imperial party while the DAP, to its credit retains the image of no frills carry on ploughing political party. I have never got myself acquainted on the inner dynamics of how the DAP functions. I was fortunate to be invited to a social gathering during the recent fasting month which the DAP organized. The first thing that strikes you is the minimalist approach which I think is almost a doctrine in DAP. It's all business. Here you come to do only political business. No artificial gimmicks. You come dressed simply to work. You have a simple makan, engage in minimal small talks and then adjourned to do what is demanded on the agenda of the day. No singing, no show time by invited artists, no handing out hampers. You are quickly made conscious, that this is a party of the serious minded, do work - get results people. What does that tell you? It tells you, this party can sapu all the Chinese votes and if it pragmatically leavens its ethnic image can even entice support from non-Chinese. My point then is this - Hello brother - the Chinese will have their representatives - the majority in DAP and the rest in PKR. (6) Also Nazri is assuming, it is the BN which retains power. What if we have a new government? The Chinese can forget MCA because they are going to be vigorously represented by DAP and PKR. Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri said that BN would not "punish" the Chinese voters by simply yanking their representatives from Cabinet posts if they refused to vote for the two Chinese-centric component parties. How do you rate this kind of statement? It comes from an ingrained and dyed in the wool feudal chief who elevates himself as dispenser of the spoils of war. In other words he is actually saying: MCA lu tak perlu bikin apa apa, we will fight for you. Can MCA live without shame and indignity with this kind of partnership? No wonder the Chinese are abandoning MCA because MCA has forgotten how to be a real Chinese. The real Chinese doesn't go around with bowl in hand asking and begging for political succor. The Chinese earned their keep and it's a matter of pride – you get something by earning it. Obviously Nazri doesn't understand the Chinese mind.
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