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Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News

MCA and hudud: Part 1
Development? Really? For whom?
Sudden switch to BM for science students
Documents from the Bruno Manser Foundation about Taib Mahmud's money laundering in Australia
Less value for ringgit

Posted: 17 Oct 2011 06:22 PM PDT

The party can't hold a candle to DAP when it comes to principled opposition to Islamic state ambitions.

Stanley Koh, Free Malaysia Today

Two questions arise from MCA's recent call on DAP to abandon the Pakatan Rakyat coalition because PAS is pushing for hudud punishments and, ultimately, an Islamic state.

First: Why did former MCA president Dr Ling Liong Sik fail to protest when former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad declared Malaysia an Islamic state in 2001?

MCA Youth chief Wee Ka Siong's recent defence of Ling's silence does not hold water. He said Mahathir's declaration did not include a threat to change the Federal Constitution. Neither has Pakatan said it would change the constitution to suit PAS's ambition.

Second: Since MCA is questioning DAP's commitment to principles, what has happened to its own principles in the face of Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin's recent remark that Malaysia was merely "not ready" for hudud?

Muhyiddin's statement seemed to suggest that Umno, like PAS, longs to turn Malaysia into an Islamic state.

If PAS's insistence on pushing for hudud is a "methodological tactic", then what should we call Umno's long-term process of Islamisation?

When it comes to opposing hudud and other proposals that could lead to the establishment of an Islamic state, MCA's track record is dismal. It does not come anywhere near DAP's standards of consistency in commitment to principles.

It was on Sept 29, 2001, that Dr Mahathir claimed Islamic-state status for Malaysia.

"Umno wishes to state loudly that Malaysia is an Islamic country," he said in his address at Gerakan's 30th national conference. "This is based on the opinion of ulamas who have clarified what constitutes as Islamic country.

"If Malaysia is not an Islamic country because it does not implement the hudud, then there are no Islamic countries in the world."

Kelantan Menteri Besar and PAS spiritual leader Nik Aziz Nik Mat responded immediately and furiously. "You can talk all you want," he said. "You can declare a piece of wood to be gold or a wheelbarrow to be a Mercedes, but in reality nothing has changed."

According to Nik Aziz, his party's definition of an Islamic country meant a nation governed according to the tenets of the Quran and Hadith. Malaysia was still a secular state, he said. "If the present Malaysia is already an Islamic state, then what do you call the state ruled by the Prophet and his companions?"

DAP, like PAS, was shocked by Mahathir's declaration. It called for an urgent parliamentary debate on the subject.

MCA's forum and Ling's remarks

On Oct 20, 2001, at the request of several members of the Inter-Religious Council, MCA organised a closed-door forum on the issue.

Among the participants were Dr Hamid Othman (the Prime Minister's Department Religious Adviser), Shad Saleem Faruqi of Universiti Teknologi Mara, Zainah Anwar of Sisters in Islam and several representatives of the Inter-Religious Council.

Ling chaired the session. In his opening remarks, he said: "No one can claim monopoly of knowledge, because the frontier of knowledge keeps on expanding. This seminar is an opportunity to explore, discover and learn.

"There are many questions in mind. Is Umno correct in declaring Malaysia an Islamic country? Or an Islamic nation? Or an Islamic state? Or a Negara Islam? Have the Umno ulamas been correct in defining or in getting the right definition that Malaysia is qualified to be, like the OIC says, not just an Islamic state, but a shining example of a Muslim state?"

The following are unedited transcripts from tape recordings of some of Dr Ling's remarks:

"We'd like to know what are the criteria for these definitions. We'd like to know are all Islamic countries the same? Is there a single model? What are the basic criteria that would qualify a nation to be defined as an Islamic nation?

"When the PM explained to the BN and the Cabinet about Umno's position on Malaysia being declared to be qualified as an Islamic state, he also made this very liberal comment: 'While Umno feels … ulamas feel … and the people who know this religion feel … Malaysia qualifies just as OIC who declared Malaysia or recognizes Malaysia an Islamic state, there is also this pertinent and relevant point of view that Malaysia is not a theocratic state. And that point of view, if you want to call Malaysia a secular state, it's still correct. Because we do not call ourselves a theocratic state, we can still call ourselves a secular state.'

"We want to ask ourselves. Can we call a country by two or three different names—an Islamic state, a secular state?

"My simplistic thinking … if we look at a rose, being English educated, I would call it a 'rose'. But other Chinese-educated call it 'mei gui' in Mandarin. A Malay friend will call it 'bunga mawar'. And 'roja' in Tamil.

READ MORE HERE

Development? Really? For whom?

Posted: 17 Oct 2011 12:25 PM PDT

By Gan Pei Ling, The Nut Graph

MOST of us living in Peninsular Malaysia take electricity for granted as we have hardly experienced a blackout since the 1990s. But how many of us have stopped for a moment to think where the electricity, that allows us to turn on our TVs and computers, comes from?

What are the impacts of the power plants that generate our electricity — be they coal, hydropower and perhaps in the future, nuclear — on the environment and local communities living near these plants?

Coal plant and fishes

At a climate and energy forum in Universiti Malaya in Kuala Lumpur on 8 and 9 Oct 2011, Peninsular Inshore Fishermen Action Network president Jamaluddin Mohamad, from Johor, talked about the impact of the Tanjung Bin coal plant.

"They are using chlorine to prevent sea water from corroding the pipes in their power plant. But it is polluting the ocean, and the water that they use to cool the plant is being released back to the sea in high temperature. Our catch has been dwindling over the years," Jamaluddin told the forum that was jointly organised by Third World Network, Consumers Association of Penang and Sahabat Alam Malaysia.

Run by independent power producer Malakoff Corp Bhd, the 2,100MW Tanjung Bin coal plant was built in 2003. The power producer intends to expand the plant's capacity by another 1,000MW.

Jamaluddin noted that Tanjung Bin was rapidly developing into an industrial area: "The areas where we can fish are shrinking and becoming increasingly limited."

He said none of the affected communities are against "development" but the coal plant and rapid industrial development are threatening their livelihoods: "That's why we're protesting against the coal plant's expansion."

Dams and livelihoods

Across the South China Sea, natives in Sarawak have been displaced by the Bakun dam and more will be displaced by 12 dams the state government is planning to build to boost its power capacity to 7,000MW, over 600% of its 2008 capacity.

Philip Jau, a Kayan from the Baram valley, said 20,000 people from various communities will be displaced by the Baram dam the Sarawak government intends to build. "This does not include those who are living downstream yet. Up to 38,900 hectares of our native customary land will be submerged. Our land is our life. We cannot live without it. It is as simple as that," said Philip.

The Baram dam will also cause deforestation and biodiversity loss.

Philip said the communities affected by these dams are establishing a network to create a united movement against what he described as the "damned" dams. "We want electricity but we hope the government will explore other alternatives like micro-hydro, which is more environmentally-friendly, though it may not generate as much profit as building a mega dam," he said.

Philip said he has been to the Sungai Asap settlement where the affected communities from Bakun were relocated to. "They're suffering. Most of the villagers feel that they have no future," said Philip. The communities in Baram do not want to suffer the same fate with good reason.

Of broken promises

The Bakun dam flooded 69,000 hectares of land, around the size of Singapore, and forced the relocation of 10,000 people. Construction began in 1996 and the project eventually cost RM7.5bil.

Wing Mikiu from the Sungai Asap settlement told the forum the Sarawak government only allocated three acres of land to each family that were relocated from Bakun in 1999. "My family has eight children. Three acres of land is not enough for us. We've 2,000 new couples in our settlement to date and most of them have no land [to cultivate]," said Wing.

He said the government promised to build the villagers a new town with an airport, jetty, highway and even an international school in the effort to persuade villagers to leave their ancestral homes. But today, many youths have moved to Bintulu or other towns due to the lack of job opportunities in Sungai Asap.

To add insult to injury, Wing said the compensation villagers received for their now submerged native customary lands range from RM0.30 to RM3 million. "If you're unhappy with the amount, you can bring it to court or complain to the district office, but you'll have to pay for the cost to resurvey the land yourself," Wing explained.

"Perhaps the project profited the company and the people in this state [when the dam starts producing energy], but what about us? Our people didn't enjoy any development as promised, and we've lost our land and heritage," said Wing.

Posted: 16 Oct 2011 06:38 PM PDT

Students who had been studying in the English stream from Standard One to Form Three now have to do their Science and Maths in BM when they move to Form Four next year.

(Free Malaysia Today) - Students who began their Standard One in 2003 under the English stream – where Science and Mathematics were taught in English – are now expected to learn Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Mathematics in Bahasa Malaysia when they go to Form Four next year.

The change in the "teaching process" has got parents in the urban Klang Valley are all frantic with anxiety. They are trying to get the Education Ministry to clear up the matter.

So far the bewildered parents have received no statements from their respective school heads but worried students have told their parents that "all Form Four subjects will be taught only in Bahasa Malaysia".

A housewife, who wanted to be known only as Siva, from Subang Jaya said: "Everyone is confused… I went to inquire from my son's school and was told that they were waiting for the ministry's directive. But they said they were unofficially told that the teaching will be in Bahasa Malaysia if you have more than 15 Malay students in Form Four.

"I called the Education Ministry last week to verify this and an officer told me that the teaching of all science subjects in Form Four will be in Bahasa Malaysia.

"She also said some schools have a choice of teaching in English or Bahasa Malaysia depending on how many Malay students they have."

Let them complete SPM

Another worried parent, who preferred to be called Tan, from Taman Desa, said the new policy was "not fair to our children".

"We were told at the onset when this batch started Standard One in 2003 that they will complete their Science and Maths in English until SPM (Form Five).

"They should just let them finish it. How can they (the ministry) victimise this batch of students now?

"It's rubbish to say the exams will be set in dwibahasa (dual language), but all the teaching in the class will be in Bahasa Malaysia.

"Why confuse the students? Already, they are under so much pressure.

"What will happen if the students answer the exam questions in English? Are there enough English proficient teachers and examiners who can give them a fair reading?

"Can the ministry guarantee that our children who answer their exam paper in English will not be victimised?" asked Tan.

No 'dwi' bahasa textbook

Another concerned parent, Dr Raja, from Damansara, said he had gone around the bookshops and private stores looking for Form Four Chemistry and Biology books for his son and was shocked to find only Bahasa Malaysia textbooks.

He said the government had promised that the Science and Mathematic books would be ready before it implemented the MBMMBI (Upholding the Malay Language, Strengthening the English Language) policy in 2012.

But now that parents are wanting to prepare their children for the hard days ahead, there are no books available.

"How are we supposed to assist and prep our children if we cannot find dual language textbooks? I assume the teachers are also not readyto teach the subjects," said Raja.

"This is crazy. We are not against the Education Ministry's Bahasa Malaysia policy.

"But it is absolute stupidity to teach the students in English from Standrad One until Form Three and then switch to Bahasa Malaysia in Form Four and Form Five.

"What assurance is there that there are sufficient and capable examiners who will mark their English answers in SPM fairly?

"As it is, my wife spotted so many errors in the ministry-level quarterly tests papers the students sat for regularly before PMR," said Raja.

Posted: 15 Oct 2011 09:08 PM PDT

Less value for ringgit

Posted: 14 Oct 2011 05:38 PM PDT

Amid the sovereign debt problems continuing to brew in the 17-nation eurozone and growing fears of a double-dip recession in the United States, economists believe the weakness of the ringgit against major currencies, especially the US dollar or greenback, will likely persist for at least the next few months.

By CECILIA KOK, The Star

MALAYSIANS are now getting less bang for their buck, compared to early this year, as the value of their ringgit has depreciated against most major currencies in the world.

Against the widely perceived safe-haven currencies, US dollar and yen, for instance, the value of ringgit has fallen by about 2.3% and 8.4% year-to-date, respectively. Against other major currencies, the value of ringgit year-to-date has depreciated by around 3.4% against the British pounds; 6.7% against euro; 3.1% against the Singapore dollar; 2.6% against the Australian dollar; and 6.1% against the renminbi or yuan.

But maybe the depressed ringgit could spell some good news to local exporters, as the value of their goods and services will now become more attractive and relatively cheaper to foreign buyers. This could help cushion companies' overseas sales, which is a saving grace, especially at a time when international trade is expected to enter a slow and sluggish pace (if not falling off the cliff) because of the ongoing global economic uncertainties.

And perhaps, Malaysia will be able to draw more foreign tourists, as the weakness of ringgit has likely made the country a more affordable holiday destination to many. This presents a contrast to Malaysians with plans to travel to certain countries overseas, as the volatility of the ringgit, which will likely continue over the medium term, will likely give them less value for their money.

It was just three to four months ago when the ringgit was seen strengthening, touching a record high of 2.939 against the US dollar on July 27, while its performance against other currencies were mixed. It has since lost about 6.8% to be trading at around 3.139 per US dollar on Thursday.

The weakening trend of the ringgit first became noticeable early last month, as the reversal of short-term foreign capital flows, driven by fear, accelerated between August and September. The unwinding of foreign investors' position in Malaysia was well reflected in the plunge of local equity prices during that period.

To put that into perspective, recent data released by Bank Negara showed that foreign investors were net sellers of Malaysian equities in August and September, having liquidated about US$290.6mil and US$149mil, respectively, of their holdings in the country. And as a reflection of the huge capital outflows from the country, the central bank's foreign exchange reserves fell sharply by US$5.3bil to US$131bil as at the end of September.

CIMB Investment Bank Bhd chief economist Lee Heng Guei explains to StarBizWeek that the volatile capital flows will remain the source of wild swings in the ringgit movement over the medium term.

But such predicament is not common only to Malaysia.

Asian currencies, save for the Chinese yuan and Hong Kong dollar, have all weakened against the US dollar quite significantly since the beginning of August due to capital outflows.

Greenback still reigns

For instance, the Indian rupee has fallen by more than 10% against the greenback in less than two months, while the South Korean won has fallen by about 9%, Singapore dollar by almost 6%, Taiwanese dollar by about 4.8%, Indonesian Rupiah by about 4.6% and Thai Baht by about 3.6%.

(Hong Kong dollar is pegged to the US dollar, while the Chinese yuan is traded in a managed-float system and face increasing US political pressure to appreciate at a faster pace. The value of the Chinese yuan has gained only by about 0.8% against the US dollar over the last two months and 3.5% since the beginning of the year. It is still deemed significantly undervalued against the greenback at current levels.)

The resurgence of the US dollar, economists say, is attributable to growing concern of investors over the increasingly gloomy global economic outlook for the medium term. The market has noted that investors have been scaling back their foreign holdings to put more money in US dollar-denominated assets, such as the US Treasury bonds, which have traditionally been regarded as safe haven, to protect their assets amid the global economic storm.

"In foreign exchange terms, there is simply nowhere else to hide; investors have bought the US dollar by default," HSBC Global Research's foreign exchange strategists explain in their newly published report.

Analysts at the international financial services provider reckon investors' retreat to the US dollar is not motivated by any particularly strong positive sentiment towards the greenback per se. In fact, they note that investors are well aware of the persistent structural problems in the world's largest economy.

"The fundamental rationale to be bullish on Asian currencies remains, but position reduction and the preference for US dollar liquidity in times of heightened stress overrides the underlying positive fundamental story," HSBC Global Research's analysts say, adding that they believe Asian currencies could face stronger headwinds ahead.

Such likelihood is accentuated by the dismal outlook issued by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) over the week, citing increasing risks "decidedly tilted to the downside" for Asia because of the ongoing debt woes in Europe and a slowdown in the US economy. Reuters quoted the intergovernmental organisation warning about a risk of capital outflows from the region, as foreign investors from advanced economies could reverse the large positions they had built in Asian markets since 2009.

According to economists, the scope for real strengthening of Asian currencies is also limited by possible expansionary monetary policy measures, which regional central banks would likely implement to help sustain their domestic economic growth amid slowing external demand. Such measures could include cutting of interest rates, such as Bank of Indonesia's slashing of the country's benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points to 6.5% over the week. Reducing interest rates could narrow the interest-rate differential between the United States and emerging Asian economies, hence making it less appealing than before for investors to park money here.

In addition, some Asian policymakers would likely prefer to have a not-so-strong currency in order to sustain their export competitiveness and support economic growth. Singapore's policymakers, for instance, have signalled their preparation to intervene in the currency market to slow the appreciation of their dollar to help the country's main engine of growth, exports.

It's interesting to watch how the global economic situation will pan out in the next few months. While investors wait for the dust to settle, fear and uncertainties will remain the name of the game, and for Asia, it will mean vulnerability to downside volatility.

Kredit: www.malaysia-today.net

Rabu, 19 Oktober 2011

Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News

Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News

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