Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News
Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News |
| Are we stupid enough to fall for the same scam? Posted: 24 Nov 2011 01:10 AM PST By Kee Thuan Chye I can't help but wonder if the government really thinks that Malaysians are stupid. So stupid that we can be hoodwinked into believing that the changes they propose to our laws amount to actual reform.Two months ago, when Prime Minister Najib Razak announced that newspapers would no longer have to renew their publishing licences annually, he might have expected us to go ga-ga and applaud and say that the media would now be freer. But if we had done that, we would indeed have been stupid. Because we would not have realised that there is really no change. Even if the newspapers need not renew their licences every year, the fact remains that the home minister still retains the power to suspend or close down any newspaper at any time - if he feels it is too free in expressing its views, or for whatever reasons.  So, whether there is renewal or not, it does not matter. As long as the home minister is still as powerful as before, your newspaper can still get into trouble with him. What's more, his decision cannot be challenged in court.Ah! If you now say that stinks like a scam, that the government is actually trying to deceive us, you would be right. But if you still think, like the mainstream media does, that there is actual reform in that licence renewal waiver, then the government would be right in thinking that Malaysians are stupid. Or, at least, some Malaysians. You may be surprised that there are indeed such stupid Malaysians. They are the ones who continue to support the ruling party and defend its policies, including its numerous flip-flops. They are the ones who will vote for that party at the next general election and say it is better to go with the devil they know than the devil they don't know. They are the ones who don't know they are being fooled. They might even be people who know they are being fooled, but still choose to go with the devil who is fooling them. Needless to say, the ones who know they are being fooled and still continue to support the party are even more stupid. Disturbing restrictions And they will continue to be stupid if they believe that the Peaceful Assembly Bill, which the government tabled two days ago, is a step forward, guarantees more freedom, and will lead to Malaysia being "the best democracy" as promised by Najib. Their stupidity will not allow them to see that it's another attempt to hoodwink Malaysians. They will say it's good because it allows Malaysians to gather in public without having any need to apply for a police permit. Yes, on the surface, it looks good that a police permit is no longer required. But now consider the other conditions. The most disturbing one is this - although you don't need a police permit, your assembly cannot proceed if there is objection by the police. What? Isn't that like getting a police permit?  Let me repeat. You don't need a permit but if the police object, your assembly can't go on. So, what does that mean? Your assembly is still dependent on police approval, isn't it? So what's new?If you straight away say, "That police permit waiver is a scam!", then you're not stupid. Because there is no change. And you can see it for what it is. In fact, it has now become worse. You have to give the police advance notice of your assembly 30 days before it is due to be held. Thirty days! That's a long time to plan. And what happens if you want to stage a spontaneous assembly? What if the government does something cruel and unfair and unlawful and citizens feel compelled to take to the streets to protest against it immediately? Well, that will be considered illegal. And if you don't provide the 30-day notice, you can be fined up to RM10,000! Youth discriminated And did I mention the words "streets" and "protest"? Well, according to the new bill, no street protests will be allowed. What? Then what's the point of an assembly? Only for socialising? For merely hanging about in public? No placards? No cheering? No chanting?  The new bill is obviously designed to protect the government, not to give more democratic space to the citizens. It is designed to prevent people from protesting against the government.In fact, the new bill transgresses the rights of freedom guaranteed in the federal constitution. One, if you are below the age of 21, you cannot organise an assembly. Is that fair? Are those below that age not citizens who should enjoy equal rights? Is this democracy? Is this "the best democracy"? Two, if you are below the age of 15, you cannot take part in an assembly except cultural and religious ones, like funeral processions, or events approved by the home minister. Again, discrimination. Again, power to the home minister. Three, areas at which public gatherings cannot be held have now been specified. Has this ever been done before? Bill gives cops more power And if you were to look at the list of prohibited areas, which include petrol stations, hospitals, mosques, fire stations, kindergartens, schools, etc, you would see that the democratic space - also in physical terms - has become even smaller. Especially since there must also be a buffer zone of 50 metres around each of these areas that public gatherings cannot traverse. Most districts, especially in city centres, have a few of such areas in close proximity to one another. As such, the interstices between the buffers would be too small to accommodate a mass of people. How then would a public assembly be able to fill these little spaces? This condition is clearly aimed at discouraging assemblies in city centres. Four, the police have even more power now. They can decide to arrest any assembly participants they deem a problem, and those arrested can be fined up to RM20,000. Is that providing more freedom or more deterrence? And who is to say the police decisions may not be arbitrary?  So, my fellow Malaysians, are we going to be stupid? Are we going to accept this bill that discriminates against some of us, throttles our freedom and disregards the constitution?Are we going to be fools and be thankful to the government and say the bill is providing reform and taking Malaysia forward, and should therefore be passed into law? Are we going to be twice bitten by the same scam and not be aware of it? Well, there's no fine imposed yet for taking to the streets. And there's still leeway to do it without giving 30 days' advance notice. Once the law is passed, however, it will be too late. |
| Economic policies that do not add up Posted: 23 Nov 2011 04:39 PM PST The lack of economic expertise in Pakatan Rakyat underlines the many difficulties the Opposition would encounter if it captures Putrajaya. Except for Tony Pua, the DAP MP for Petaling Jaya Utara, there are no competent economic advisers working with Opposition controlled states that are struggling to line up economic advisors, the cable noted. By Baradan Kuppusamy, The Star WHILE Pakatan Rakyat has been quick to capitalise on Barisan Nasional's political setbacks like the current controversy over the National Feedlot Corpora-tion, it is weak in its economic policy formulation, and one reason is the lack of qualified economists. This shortcoming would weigh heavily on the coalition if it were ever to capture Putrajaya. Its weakness in formulating economic policies like the Alternative Budget 2012 that Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim read out to reporters a day before Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak presented his Budget in Parliament, is a sign of its incompetency in ruling the country. The Pakatan Rakyat budget was a wishy-washy affair. More thought should have gone into it beyond a cursory glance at where revenue is coming from and the expenditure incurred. Instead Anwar just "handed out cash to the poor, teachers and farmers". The failure to formulate a serious, alternative Budget is yet another example of the weakness of the coalition that would affect their ability to rule the country. Its inability to go beyond making unrealistic and populist demands and criticising the policies formulated by the experts i.e. Bank Negara economists, is a setback to Pakatan growing into a valid and competent coalition. Populist policies are easily made but their implementation is hard, if not totally unrealistic. For instance, Anwar campaigned in 2008 that if you voted for him and he takes Putrajaya, the price of oil would be lowered the very next day.. He can do it by further subsidising the price of "subsidised oil" and that is economic madness and unsustainable. Furthermore, Anwar is economic adviser to the Selangor government, earning a fee of just RM1 another populist measure that gels well with the rakyat in the state. But how much FDI (foreign direct investment) has he brought into Selangor? Beyond sloganeering like merakyatkan ekonomi, what are the realistic economic steps that he has taken thus far? The lack of qualified economic formulators is glaring and shows how the Barisan federal government is far superior in that respect to the proposed Pakatan government when it comes to administering the economy, warts and all. This lack of economic know-how was apparent in a leaked US State Department cable by Wikileaks on Nov 8, which stated that Pakatan lacked economic policy formulators within its ranks and how this shortcoming weighs on them as a coalition. It also speculated why this was so and suggested that it could be due to Pakatan's failure to give them high wages and that "politics" could have frightened them away. The lack of economic expertise among them underlines some of the many difficulties they would encounter if they capture Putrajaya. While the Opposition-run states are struggling without competent experts, their politicians also show little aptitude for heavy economics. Except for Tony Pua, the DAP MP for Petaling Jaya Utara, there are no competent economic advisers working with Opposition controlled states that are struggling to line up economic advisors, the cable noted. Pua is a one-man-band and he has his hands full. Besides, "one swallow does not make a summer". And, if Pakatan captures Putrajaya, PAS will pull the country one way and PKR in another and the DAP, a third way demanding that affirmative action policies are abolished immediately. Each is committed to its own constituents in different ways. There is little cooperation among them on economic matters beyond agreeing on political matters like seat sharing and working to capture Putrajaya. There's is no deal on how Pakatan would rule the country, no documents stating the basis of their rule and no power-sharing formula. They have no shadow Cabinet. Their power-sharing formula, in the event they capture Putrajaya, is simply that Anwar would be prime minister and his deputies would be DAP's Lim Kit Siang and PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang. There is also not much difference between Barisan and Pakatan in the broad policy framework for the country. They are both for an open economy and for FDI to grow the economy. But there the similarities end and the differences emerge. There are differences over affirmative action policies that is favoured by Barisan, PKR and PAS but not by the DAP. This is a cause for dissension. While all three Pakatan parties are against corruption along with Barisan there is a realisation that much of the corruption is linked to the affirmative action policies and that corruption can only be defeated if that policy is abolished. This is the DAP's stand and it is markedly different from the rest. Pakatan's weakness in economic matters would show immediately and in a serious manner if they ever were to capture power. There would be chaos as they find their bearings, if at all. The state will be pulled in different ways between Anwar's populist promises, PAS' Islamic economics and the DAP's desire to streamline the civil service and abolish affirmative action.
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