Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News
Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News |
- Anwar squashed by Najib's speech
- Hate language still holds sway
- Taib’s Timber Connections – More Business Links To Top Tycoons
- WIKILEAKS: ANWAR TELLS DIPLOMATS HIS FUTURE IS PRIME MINISTER OR JAIL
- PM: Opposition spews nothing but lies, lies and more lies
- Transform, reform or deform?
- Between principles and popularity
- Khairy: ‘Winnable’ candidates must be all-rounders
- It won't be long before the battle starts
- UMNO- dari Modal Insan ke Modal Lembu dan kemaraan Fascime UMNO
- Umno inciting power struggle with dominant DAP role, says Pakatan
- Malaysia’s Militant Headache
- Mahathir Wrong on India
- Shafie Apdal: Comfortable victory will preserve sovereignty of Islam, survival of Malays
- Najib: We want a strong government
- Najib: The Opposition only knows how to 'gloat'
- Umno will never change: A blessing M’sia now has a two-party system
- Are you sure Malaysia is still a democracy?
- Stamford Holdings Sdn Bhd
- Najib’s choice: glory or infamy?
- Misconception of the Truth
- Najib: DAP knows all of Anwar’s secrets
- UMNO - Yang boleh memerintah hanyalah AKU, yang boleh menjamin kehidupan kamu adalah AKU... ...
- Umno’s future depends on support of other races too
- Muhyiddin leads Umno loyalty pledge
- Been chilling out
- UMNO not dominating, not racist?
- Rosmah: Don’t fall for online news
- Umno sees Pakatan a threat to Islam
- Ku Li is opposition’s ‘meal’ ticket
- NFC issue not over yet, says Hishammuddin
- Pornography, prostitution will surge if women drive: Saudi clerics
- RCI: Is Umno ready to ‘harakiri’?
- India could be China if it was less democratic: Dr Mahathir
- New initiatives to raise Bumi equity, says Shafie
- A GLC director’s ‘politics of hatred’ in ‘Airport Spring’
- Indonesia elects lawyer as new anti-corruption leader
- Game changer, PRU 13 dan masa depan Umno
- Concept must be translated in Sabah also, says LDP
- “I back Najib, he is a better man,” says Dr Mahathir
- Tunku ’Abidin Muhriz apologises for leeches comment
- MAHB chairman backs Bashir as MD
- Until Hindu Temple demolishments stop there is no freedom and there is no equality
- Umno can ‘overcome’ PKR and PAS but not DAP, says minister
- Najib thinks twice on reform
- Hisham: Winnable candidate has good track record, work ethics, people’s support
- Pua: Ministry admits some Kedai Rakyat items not up to the mark
- Tony Fernandes’ car is ground zero in airport tax hike spat
- Opposition leaders are liars, only focus on achieving personal agendas - Umno debaters
- Why DAP?
| Anwar squashed by Najib's speech Posted: 03 Dec 2011 12:03 PM PST We all know now that the apologists' scenario is croc: if Anwar had truly secured the numbers, especially the incredible defection of 30 Umno MPs from Sabah, he would have clawed his way into Putrajaya come hell or high water, Malay unity be damned. By Azmi Anshar, New Straits Times SEPT 16 has two nuances – the real deal of celebrating Malaysia Day where Malaya, Singapore, Sarawak and Sabah ganged up to form Malaysia back in 1963 and the false synopsis – the date transfixed by Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim as the day 30-odd Umno parliamentarians would betray the party to shift power to the party of the pretender. Sept 16, 2008, the date of political infamy promised by Anwar as the day he would snatch Putrajaya from Barisan Nasional and installed himself as premier, came and went unceremoniously: the brother is still the undemocratically anointed leader of PKR, still facing a sodomy rap and still shrieking away as his Pakatan Rakyat cohorts in Pas and DAP muscles in into PKR territory. Despite the fiasco that Anwar scripted, some apologists insisted in claiming that the PKR de facto leader commanded the numbers to topple the BN federal government, only that he dropped the ball in the last moment on the account that he did not want to "break" Malay unity and create unprecedented political bedlam. We all know now that the apologists' scenario is croc: if Anwar had truly secured the numbers, especially the incredible defection of 30 Umno MPs from Sabah, he would have clawed his way into Putrajaya come hell or high water, Malay unity be damned. The truth of the matter is Anwar did make the devil's offer, only that none of the MPs bit notwithstanding the intense advances. But of course, in rejecting Anwar's bidding price, the Sabahans enjoyed newfound attention, more so as the party's kingmakers. Defections between BN and PR elected representatives are a regular highlight for as long as there are politics but Anwar's proffer will be seen as the most outrageous. The Sept 16 fiasco became a key rallying cry when Umno president Datuk Seri Najib Razak wrapped up the party's three-day general assembly yesterday, alluding to that moment has to why Umno have to always remain vigilant against being blindsided by the opposition, especially one of Anwar's scheming. Najib's speech, peppered with inspired battle cries and clarion call to arms, was the harbinger to the 13th general election expected next year. His animated hints could not be clearer. But the key elements of his speeches, including the presidential address on Thursday, are also much more than that: it is an earnest expression of a true democrat. In all his calls for winnable candidates and caution against the Opposition's undemocratic forays, Umno and their BN brethren, remain committed to the idea of democracy, that everyone shall vote according to their conscience because the vote is free from any political interventions. Because the vote is free, Najib's warning also include the prospects of BN still losing crucial seats and that future sequence of events is something BN and Umno must work and battle hard to resist. Still, the tone of his speech strongly suggest a deep and unshakeable confidence, that in the arduous campaign ahead, his party will prevail handsomely. | |
| Hate language still holds sway Posted: 03 Dec 2011 11:26 AM PST Again and again in Malaysia, those who defend the rights of citizens to exercise their fundamental liberties are treated as offenders. Muslim feminists, human rights defenders, and LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) groups and individuals are among those most vilified and demonised. Zainah Anwar, The Star WHERE should we draw the line between freedom of expression and incitement to hatred? This is a debate that occupies the international human rights system today as governments grapple with the need to fully respect freedom of expression as protected by international human rights law and comply with the prohibition of incitement to hatred. As democracy matures, the public space for debate opens up further. Citizens, educated and aware of their rights, begin to articulate their demands for justice and social change. Diverse voices will compete for public attention and support. Traditionally marginalised groups will assert their right to be treated as citizens with equal rights and dignity. This is all good for democracy, respect for human rights and the well-being of society. However, the problem arises when those identified as "others" are constructed by the dominant community "as people who do not share a community's history, traditions and values" and, as a result, are "all too often perceived as predatory competitors, or at least a threat to the stability of that community's belief system", as the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said. And thus they get demonised, threatened, discriminated against and even murdered just because they are different. This is a global problem. In the name of "war on terror", Muslims are vilified, attacked, or discriminated against. A whole community is demonised for the actions of a tiny minority who abuse Islam to justify their violence and terrorism. In the name of ethnic or religious homogeneity, whole communities are physically removed from a territory by driving them out, deported to concentration camps, or murdered. In modern times, the forcible expulsion and murder of Jews in Europe, Muslims in the former Yugoslavia, and Tutsis in Rwanda stand out. In the name of religion and culture, homosexuals are stigmatised, attacked and murdered. It is obvious that human beings are not born to hate those who think, act or look differently. Just look at a playground of toddlers of all colours and backgrounds playing together. All too often, hate, fear and insults are manufactured to serve a political agenda. And it is convenient to manipulate and abuse religion, ethnicity and culture to create fear and anxiety in order to delegitimise the rights and interests of the "others". In modern times, the media have been used as tools to inflame perceived grievances and rouse emotions, escalating tensions and conflict that can result in violence. Much research has been done to show how in Serbia, Serb supremacists used television to stir up ethnic tensions prior to the civil war. In Rwanda, Hutu propagandists used the radio to lay the groundwork for genocide. While such atrocities seem impossible in Malaysia, the fact is in our country today, fear and hatred are manufactured on a daily basis and public opinion inflamed through screaming headlines in some mainstream newspapers and television stations, and in the venomous hate language in the alternative new media. Muslim feminists, human rights defenders, and LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) groups and individuals are among those most vilified and demonised. Recent events are cause for much concern. Many feel we are on a slippery slope to potential outbreak of violence. A country that has thrived, celebrated and been enriched by its history of embracing diversity and pluralism is today dominated by extremists who manufacture threats to race and religion supposedly posed by those they disagree with. Thus, we see the demonising and defaming of Datuk Ambiga Sreenivasan for her courage and resolve to go ahead with the Bersih rally. The fact that government leaders took the lead in depicting Bersih as a threat to national security opened up the space and gave legitimacy to the even more belligerent voices among non-state actors. Death threats were sent; vile, abusive and hate messages proliferated by SMS and on the Internet, Bersih supporters were labelled "communists", "anti-Islam", or "funded by foreign Christian groups". The attacks against Seksualiti Merdeka are yet another public contestation that swiftly escalated into a shrill and belligerent public discourse. First, a forum to discuss the rights of LGBTs was portrayed by the media as a festival to promote free sex and a threat to security. Ambiga who was due to launch the event was once again demonised, this time labelled the "anti-Christ" by the right-wing group, Perkasa, which demanded that her citizenship be stripped. Datin Paduka Marina Mahathir, who defended Ambiga against these unjust attacks, in turn became the target of hate mail. As expected in Malaysia today, close to 200 police reports were lodged all over the country against the organisers and supporters of Seksualiti Merdeka. The police banned the event and many activists were called in for questioning. It is one thing to exercise one's right to differences of opinion, but it is another when stigmatising, demonising, fear and hate-mongering language and accusations are hurled at marginalised and discriminated groups and human rights defenders. Irresponsible newspapers day after day use inflammatory headlines to build up the frenzy. Mobs are hired to intimidate organisers and the police intervene, not to disperse the hooligans but to raid legitimate meetings held indoors to discuss issues of public interest and concern. Again and again in Malaysia, those who defend the rights of citizens to exercise their fundamental liberties are treated as offenders, while those who incite fear and hatred and inflame racial and religious sentiments are given the upper hand to dictate the agenda through compliance, support or inaction by key state institutions. While Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) protects the right to freedom of expression, Article 20 also requires governments to prohibit the "advocacy of national, racial or religious hatred which constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence". While striking the right balance is no easy task, the clear meaning is that freedom of expression is to be upheld for as long as it does not advocate hatred and incite discrimination, hostility or violence against an individual or group. Any limitations should take place only in the pursuit of justice and democratic principles, not against those who stand for justice and democracy. But all too often, restrictions on freedom of expression are enacted in order to protect the interests of those who benefit most from silencing criticism, dissent and public debate on contentious issues. That a group like Sisters in Islam which upholds equality and justice for Muslim women is demonised as anti-God, anti-Islam, and anti-Syariah, a coalition like Bersih 2.0 which demands for free and fair elections, is portrayed as a threat to national security and public order, or an event like Seksualiti Merdeka to recognise the human rights of people of diverse sexual orientations and gender identities is deliberately stigmatised as a "free-sex" festival, arguably does not constitute a legitimate exercise of free speech but incitement to discrimination and hostility that could potentially result in conflict and violence. The Prime Minister in his Malaysia Day speech promised the dream of a new Malaysia "that practises a functional and inclusive democracy where public peace and prosperity is preserved in accordance with the supremacy of the Constitution, rule of law and respect for basic human rights and individual rights". How do the hate language and the relentless police reports by extremists against those demanding their constitutional right to fundamental liberties, and the continual phone calls to activists to visit Bukit Aman or a police station for yet another round of questioning under one restrictive law or another, create this democratic and inclusive Malaysia? A government that practises democracy must protect and nurture a public space that promotes justice, equality and democratic and human rights principles.
| |
| Taib’s Timber Connections – More Business Links To Top Tycoons Posted: 03 Dec 2011 11:19 AM PST SARAWAK REPORT It is time the forces of law and order came to the assistance of the Penan people, who are bravely continuing to resist the illegal destruction of Sarawak's rainforest by Taib Mahmud's logging cronies. Instead they are helping the loggers tear down Penan blockades to protect their native lands. "The whole world should know that we have given the logging companies four warnings already", Penan leaders (above) announced last week, after their blockade had been ripped down by the logging companies, backed by the police for the 4th time in a week.
Mental illness of greed Why are these gentle people being forced into such a perilous stand by this assault on their very existence and the remaining few trees left standing in Sarawak's Borneo Jungle? The reason lies with the terrible sickness of mind that now afflicts the Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud. As we have demonstrated time and again on this site, Taib has run all the logging, plantations and exports from the state purely for his own enrichment. The land has been destroyed and the people are far worse off than before. Extremely valuable trees and resources have been plundered with the excuse of a 'development' that has never happened. Now Taib promises that his latest mega-project, SCORE, will provide the promised wealth to his people that logging and oil palm have failed to do. It will not. In fact, it can already be demonstrated that this entire project is also purely designed to push more public money (or worse, borrowed money) through companies run by his own family mafia. WTK – criminal conflicts of interest
Sarawak Report has already demonstrated the extensive links between Samling and Taib family concerns. All the crony timber tycoons have had to bribe heavily for their favoured status and permits from Taib to continue their psychopathic destruction of the jungle. We can now reveal how WTK's own shareholder lists expose the extensive and corrupted Taib family interests in that company. As major shareholders this means the Taibs benefit every time WTK cuts down a tree thanks to a permit from Taib. This is why it is a criminal conflict of interest for Taib to issue such permits (without tender) to companies where his close family are major shareholders. Marjaharta again To begin with the company Marjaharta, the main shareholder in CMS, which we demonstrated is controlled and to all purposes owned by Taib himself, has also been a major shareholder in WTK. Marjaharta started out 'belonging' to Taib's brother Onn Mahmud, but was then handed to Taib's sons in 2003 when Taib and Onn quarrelled. It has now been handed on again and put in the hands of Taib's daughters Jamilah and Hannifah! Jamilah has stated that she is just "a passive investor in Sarawak", yet Majaharta is investing in WTK which is actively destroying the rainforest. Another of the main shareholders in WTK has been Taib's other brother Tufail. Tufail remains the Director of one of WTK's subsidiaries Song Logging Company. We have already exposed how Tufail Mahmud was given shares in another major logging company Sanyan, which he attempted to conceal under proxies at the time that huge timber concessions were being granted by Taib to the company.
| |
| WIKILEAKS: ANWAR TELLS DIPLOMATS HIS FUTURE IS PRIME MINISTER OR JAIL Posted: 03 Dec 2011 11:07 AM PST
Anwar Ibrahim told 40 assembled diplomats on July 22 he would either become Prime Minister or end up in jail, "and this time I'm not going to jail." While Anwar put on a brave face for the gathered diplomats, if indeed there are only two possible outcomes, at this point it is far more likely that Anwar finds himself behind bars rather than sitting in the Prime Minister's office. THE CORRIDORS OF POWER Raja Petra Kamarudin Classified By: POLITICAL SECTION CHIEF MARK D. CLARK, REASON 1.4 (B AND D). Nevertheless, Anwar and his lawyer anticipated prosecutors would soon file formal charges. Anwar said he quickly would announce his decision to run in by-election so as to become a member of Parliament by September. Anwar's entry into Parliament was "critical" as a condition for those MPs who have agreed to defect to the Opposition. Anwar specifically thanked Ambassador Keith and the State Department for statements of concern, looked to the EU to take a similar stand, and urged other countries at least to raise privately their human rights concerns with Malaysian leaders. While Anwar put on a brave face for the gathered diplomats, if indeed there are only two possible outcomes, at this point it is far more likely that Anwar finds himself behind bars rather than sitting in the Prime Minister's office. End Summary. The Opposition leader also claimed to have medical reports from an examining doctor who concluded that Saiful had not been sodomized or assaulted, but police suppressed the information. Anwar explained his concern over providing DNA samples that could be planted by police to falsify evidence against him, as reportedly happened in the 1998 case. (Note: Only as an MP would Anwar be eligible to become Prime Minister. End Note.) All but "several" MPs have stuck with their promise to cross-over, Anwar claimed, and the ruling UMNO party and police internal intelligence (Special Branch) knew this. Noting the Electoral Commission must hold a by-election within two months of a vacancy, Anwar indicated he would very soon decide on which race to pursue so as to become an MP by "mid-September." Malaysia needed "social and distributive justice" not based on race, but on need. In foreign affairs, Anwar said he would seek to maintain strong relations with the U.S. and EU, while also pursuing close ties to all countries, including "Iran and Sudan." He noted his strong objection to the U.S. "occupation of Iraq," while recognizing the Saddam Hussein committed many atrocities against the Iraqi people. Anwar said he expected the U.S. and the EU (heretofore silent) to speak out on important human rights and rule-of-law aspects of his situation. He skillfully prodded other countries by noting he understood their concern for their bilateral relations with the Malaysian government, and urged them at least to take up such human rights issues in private. "You must demonstrate the international community is not deaf and dumb to these human rights violations," he concluded. We agree with his assessment that the government will soon take the next step and bring charges. While Anwar is an extremely resourceful politician, and largely enjoys public sympathy in this situation, the ruling UMNO party sees the case as a critical power match, controls the law enforcement apparatus and appears willing to do whatever it takes to stop Anwar's political designs.
| |
| PM: Opposition spews nothing but lies, lies and more lies Posted: 03 Dec 2011 10:51 AM PST (The Star) - DATUK Seri Najib Tun Razak condemned Pakatan Rakyat as deceitful and said that it had told "the biggest lie in Malaysian history". Obviously referring to Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, although never mentioning the Opposition leader by name, the Umno president said: "He is only good at crowing, but he has nothing to show for it," he said, as he related the story of how Anwar boasted that he was going to take over the Government on Sept 16, 2008. Najib said the Barisan foe had said he was on the way to Putrajaya and the King was prepared to swear him in as Prime Minister. "I asked the Yang di-Pertuan Agong about it and he shook his head (in puzzlement)," Najib said. Then he claimed that 30 Barisan MPs were ready to defect, but it was all a lie, he added. "After that he claimed that the chief of the armed forces was supporting him, but I knew it was a lie because (then armed forces chief) Tan Sri Aziz Zainal is my friend." Najib said offers of high posts were made to Barisan MPs through a third party but none of them were interested. "I swore on the Quran four times, but he was unwilling to do so. He did not even want to make a statement in court under oath. It (the unsworn statement he made in court) was a political statement (for which he could not be cross-examined)." While his nemesis attacked Umno and Barisan, his own party was in disarray with a record number of leaders quitting, including a deputy president, vice-president, secretary-general and supreme council members, Najib said. "Even his personal lawyer has left him," the Umno president added.
| |
| Posted: 03 Dec 2011 10:11 AM PST Umno is not forgiving of leaders who cannot deliver what they require to continue having their way with our country. Najib is caught up in lies of his own making. He pretends to be a blogger when he obviously is not. He makes himself believe that he is connecting with the young when what he is he truly doing is acting out the instructions of his PR people.CT Ali, Free Malaysia Today Najib Tun Razak reminds me of the little boy who wants to be liked and does all he can to please everyone. He is for 1Malaysia. He is for Ketuanan Melayu. And he insists, without showing how, that the two are compatible. In the process, he antagonises both the Malays and non-Malays.He has seen it fit to embark upon a zealous path of transforming and reforming, riding his high horse like a crusading avenger hell bent upon eliminating any restriction on our civil liberties and any barrier that will prevent our people from developing their minds. Or so it seems. He would like us all to believe that he at last has heard what the rakyat wants and now wants to do their bidding. Suddenly, in 2011, our students have become mature and responsible enough to dabble in politics. Suddenly, the ISA is no longer necessary and the PPPA is an anachronism from a dark age. He runs full tilt into this reforming zeal without understanding that one's enemy sometimes gives one enough rope to hang oneself. Amazingly, he apparently cannot tell that he has already taken enough rope. He speaks of transforming and reforming, but he in fact deforms. The Peaceful Assembly Bill is a case in point. If he had taken the effort to work out what the rakyat really want, then he would have spared himself the insult of being told that his proposal is more draconian then what Mynmar is doing. So what does he do now? He was already basking in the glory of announcing the bill, with grand assurances of grand intentions. Now he realises that it is easy to announce initiatives but hard to make them happen. So he tweaks them, like one would tweak the carburettor of a car. But the last carburetted car stopped production in the early 1990s. And this is the problem with Najib. He thinks 1990s when people are already in the 21st century. The ISA, PPPA and the law that violated our right to assemble should have been jettisoned well before the turn of the century. So Najib is playing catch up. But will Umno let him? What I would like to know is who advises Najib? Who looks at the pros and cons of introducing the Peaceful Assembly Bill and all the other initiatives he has announced? I do not need Lim Kit Siang or Anwar to tell me that these are not really initiatives, but simply Najib playing to the gallery of voters. There is no need for a court challenge or a walk by a group of lawyers to tell me that the Peaceful Assembly Bill is another one of those poorly thought of moves that are heavy on PR and zilch on substance. Living the moment Does nobody tell Najib that he is making an ass of himself when he replaces a draconian legislation with another draconian one? I would have thought that at least Idris Jala would have put his hands up and say, "Excuse me Datuk Seri, but I think we need to go through that PA Bill again." Or is he too busy plugging up leaks? Najib seems oblivious to what is happening around him because he lives with the moment. He does not understand that he cannot be all things to all people. Najib has a blog. I have one too, and I know the amount of work required to make it relevant and interesting to people who you hope will read what you write. How much time does Najib spend on his blog? I think not enough to write even one article a week. And he says he talks to us through his blog. He even sends me emails to inform me about what is happening on his blog. Should I be grateful for this or should I see it for what it really is: a cheap shot at "connecting" with us bloggers and the rest of the Internet community. It insults my intelligence. It is yet another attempt by the Najib to seen as Mr Cool, and I am sure it costs the rakyat money. No, you are not cool, Mr Prime Minister. You are wasting our time and our money for no gain to you or to us.
| |
| Between principles and popularity Posted: 03 Dec 2011 10:08 AM PST Wan Azizah's assurance the PKR will not choose dubious candidates for the coming polls augurs well for party, if only it walks the talk. Obviously, the BN and Umno chief is concerned about winning, hardly about serving the rakyat, a factor which PKR is very careful not to overlook. Jeswan Kaur, Free Malaysia Today While the federal government under the Barisan Nasional banner believes it can win the coming 13th general election by fielding 'winnable' candidates, it's nemesis PKR is banking on 'principled' contestants to help it take over Putrajaya. Unlike BN which has never believed in placing emphasis on the character of the candidates, PKR's assurance that 'principles' is what will win them the people's trust does sound attractive. The assurance came from PKR president Dr Wan Azizah Ismail when she addressed about 2,000 guests while officiating the party's eight national congress in Johor last week. Making it clear that PKR would not compromise on the enemies within, Wan Azizah sent the message out that the party will never choose 'suspicious' candidates for the coming polls. "We (PKR's top leadership) guarantee that we will consult the divisions and grassroots in choosing the candidates. "The candidates should be those who are qualified, hold true to the principles of our struggle and will not be tempted by the millions of ringgit from the enemy (to defect). "That aside, PKR will also not tolerate its elected representatives who failed to address the plight of the rakyat." It seems PKR has wisened up after its share of trials and tribulations when it's trusted representatives decided to abandon ship in favour of pursuing their own vested-interests. To Wan Azizah, the defectors who decided to quit PKR and turn 'independent' candidates were no loss "They have become the tools of corruption,' was how she referred to these individuals. PKR has got it right To BN chief and prime minister Najib Tun Razak, 'winnable' candidates are their ticket to winning the general election, with 'character' being of no interest to Najib. Does 'winnable' here allude to representatives who indulge in the dirtiest tactics possible in politics to ensure victory is BN's? Obviously, the BN and Umno chief is concerned about winning, hardly about serving the rakyat, a factor which PKR is very careful not to overlook. There is no denying the mistakes that PKR has made but unlike BN, it is learning from its mistakes and hoping to avoid making the same blunders. For instance, PKR had no issue sacking the Kulim-Bandar Baru MP, Zulkifli Noordin, when he chided the party for not doing enough to protect Islam, the nation's official religion. Former PKR representatives like Zahrain Mohamed Hashim (Bayan Baru MP) who turned 'independent' after quitting PKR has since been bad mouthing the party. And he is not alone in doing so – PKR defectors like Wee Choo Keong (Wangsa Maju MP) and N Gobalakrishnan (Padang Serai MP) have also been consistently denigrating the party.
| |
| Khairy: ‘Winnable’ candidates must be all-rounders Posted: 03 Dec 2011 10:03 AM PST (The Star) - Candidates deemed "winnable" must be all-rounders and not just look credible on paper, said Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin. He said they should understand what the party president wanted of them, too. "If the candidate is excellent on paper but not well-accepted by our machinery, the party will not go anywhere," he said in his winding-up speech. He urged Umno members to stand behind the decision the president had made for the general election. "We already have a 'winnable' president and a 'winnable' party," he said. "Let's now make sure we are a 'winnable' team." Khairy also noted that more youths had understood the Government's transformation plans and accepted them, too. "They have seen how serious we are," he said. "We have introduced many attractive programmes, such as the My First Home Scheme and minimum wage for youths," he added. The younger generation had also commended the Government for giving them more liberties such as repealing the Internal Security Act and amending the Universities and University Colleges Act 1971, Khairy said. "We have changed our world views, accommodated their demands and allowed more freedom for youths."
| |
| It won't be long before the battle starts Posted: 03 Dec 2011 10:00 AM PST The assembly set the stage with a spirited call to restore Umno's pride and glory
THE true success of Umno's general assembly will be known in the coming weeks. Once the lights are dimmed and the doors to Dewan Merdeka are shut, delegates would make their way to their hometowns with thoughts of their own. There is much to chew on. Plenty of take-away messages, pledges to fulfil and some delegates have their own soul searching to do, too. | |
| UMNO- dari Modal Insan ke Modal Lembu dan kemaraan Fascime UMNO Posted: 03 Dec 2011 09:48 AM PST SAKMONGKOL AK47 PAU 2011: Dari modal insan ke modal lembu dan kemaraan fascime.bahagian 1 Apa sudah jadi kepada UMNO? Mana parti yang di ransang oleh fikiran besar dan idealism? Mana parti yang di ransang oleh perjuangan emansipasi daripada belenggu penjajahan fisikal dan minda? Sayang seribu sayang, parti tersebut sudah jadi arwah dan sudah di talqinkan. Sebaliknya, ucapan yang berapi api dari pemimpin biasa sehinga pemimpin besar UMNO di dengar sebagai jeritan nyaring dan kasar pemimpin2 dari sebuah parti yang lebih mirip kepada kumpulan yang di pimpin oleh Benito Mussolini. Ini suara dari parti fasis! Ini pandangan saya mengenai PAU 2011. Ramai sudah pulang ke kampong halaman. Peniaga pun buat cheap sale saat akhir. Mungkin ada yang masih tingal di Kuala Lumpur sebab pemimpin mereka sudah bayar bilik dan beri duit belanja. Ini kelaziman para perwakilan. Apa sebetulnya yang mahu di cerna selama PAU 2011? Fikiran besar dan pengucapan yang bertanggung jawab? Pengucapan yang mengutamakan kesejahteraan negara keseluruhan nya? Tidak ada benda2 ini. Yang ada yang di cernakan ialah perkara perkara yang menyeramkan orang Melayu. Para perwakilan UMNO yang di sifatkan sebagai askar barisan depan UMNO di tanam dengan rasa cemas dan ketakutan. Orang Melayu terancam, mereka tidak selamat, harta benda mereka akan di rampas, kuasa mereka akan hilang, lambang2 budaya Melayu seperti insitusi raja akan di basmikan dan seumpamanya. Apa objektif cara ini? Pengawalan dan pengekangan keatas minda bangsa Melayu melalui cerita seram dan takut adalah cara sebuah parti yang fasis ( fascist) mengekalkan sokongan dan kuasa. Ia bukan amalan parti yang demokratik. Inilah yang sekarang terjadi keatas UMNO. The rise of UMNO fascism. Perkara yang paling di fikirkan oleh pimpinan UMNO ialah sama ada para perwakilan yang bermukim selama 4-5 hari di KL akan membawa api semangat yang di nyalakan selama mereka berkampung disini. Bolehkah rasa cemas yang di cipta selama 4-5 hari tersebut dan cerita2 yang menyeramkan mengenai ancaman terhadap bangsa Melayu, agama mereka dan rasa benci yang di di tanam, dapat mengekalkan momentum askar2 barisan depan UMNO tersebut? Pengekalan rangsangan emosi tersebut amat penting kepada pimpinan UMNO. Jika api rasa cemas, terancam dan marah jadi pudar, UMNO akan berada dalam bahaya. Jika perasaan itu terus membuak buak, maka UMNO ada peluang terus hidup.
Apakah yang akan di lakukan supaya perasaan tersebut di kekalkan? UMNO ada Ahmad Maslan untuk menentukan program menanam rasa benci dan sieged mentality Melayu berterusan. Maslan akan menjaja kesana sini bagaimana Islam terancam, orang Melayu berduyun duyun di kristiankan.
Kesemua alatan media pandang dengar dan penulisan akan di gembelingkan untuk menanam rasa benci , cemas dan ketakutan di kalangan orang Melayu. Dalam bulan2 yang akan datang, kita akan lihat pimpinan UMNO akan menjadi lebih bingung, bernada bermusushan dan rasis. Semua pemimpin UMNO akan mengatakan orang Melayu berada dalam bahaya dan terancam. Musuh orang Melayu, bangsa bangsa lain di ketuai oleh komrad Guang Eng and Kit Siang, di sokong oleh Mulla Hadi dan Ayatullah Nik dengan kerjasama dari gayboy Anwar Ibrahim semua sedang berkonspirasi mengambil alih kuasa orang Melayu, merampas segala hak, menghapuskan budaya Melayu dan memurtadkan orang Melayu. Semua wanita akan di paksa membeli coli RM 26 ribu, lembu2 di hantar mendiami One Menerung, atau the Troika di ibu kota. Untuk mengelak ini semua, UMNO mesti mengekalkan kuasa mutlak bagi pihak orang Melayu!. Kita akan lancarkan projek2 raksasa untuk meningkatkan kemajuan ekonomi. Kita akan agihkan projek2 tersebut sesame sendiri supaya ianya kekal di kalangan baka UMNO yang tulin. Apa ini semua? Ini cara kuasa fasis mengekalkan kuasa dan bukan cara negara yang bercakap besar mengenai mengujudkan demokrasi yang terbaik di dunia. Tapi apa sebenarnya bermain di benak para perwakilan dan para penyokong UMNO yang datang berkelana dan bermukim di ibu kota seminggu yang lalu? Ada mereka fikirkan dan kisahkan apa yang di bahas dalam dewan? Rasa nya mereka tak kisah pun. Beli belah saat akhir lagi penting. Malam akhir di ibu kota, mesti di manfaatkan semaksima mungkin. Tahun depan, kalau ada rezeki, boleh jadi perwakilan lagi. Kalau UMNO tidak jadi kerajaan, PAU mesti di adakan. Masa itu perwakilan akan korbankan mereka yang di anggap telah menyebabkan kekalahan UMNO.
| |
| Umno inciting power struggle with dominant DAP role, says Pakatan Posted: 03 Dec 2011 07:56 AM PST (The Malaysian Insider) - Pakatan Rakyat (PR) leaders scorned Umno's latest strategy to portray DAP as the dominant party in the opposition pact as an attempt to incite a power struggle among the three political allies. "They say that PAS is being used by DAP, this is the strategy they use among the Malays, Muslim. With the Chinese, they say that PAS is using the Chinese. "They have used that for some time now but people know that even in terms of figures and numbers, DAP is stronger but we work collectively," PAS secretary-general Datuk Mustafa Ali told The Malaysian Insider over the phone yesterday. DAP Parliamentary leader Lim Kit Siang pointed out that Malays will continue to be the majority population in the country but Umno is creating the fear that DAP is anti-Malay, anti-Islam, and anti-ruler. He reiterated his support of the constitutional monarchy. "Nobody has undermined the Malay rulers. It is Umno and Umno leaders themselves," he said, adding that BN leaders are contradicting themselves in their attacks against PR. "In Barisan Nasional, it is very obvious that Umno is the hegemon and now they say that DAP is the dominant party. What has Chua Soi Lek been saying? MCA has been saying? That DAP is the puppet to PKR, to PAS, that the rights of the Chinese would be completely lost (in our hands). "Now you have Umno saying the rights of the Malays will be completely lost. Who is lying?" he said. Attacks against the opposition party have served as a focal point for this year's Umno assembly, with delegates accusing DAP leaders of marginalising Malays in PR states, and challenging the sanctity of Islam as the country's "official religion". While some have dismissed renewed attacks against DAP as mere "Pakatan bashing," some Umno leaders have insisted that DAP poses a "real threat" to Malays, and that a future with DAP in power would spell disaster for the community. Umno minister, Datuk Seri Khaled Nordin admitted yesterday his party viewed DAP as its biggest threat in the next general election, but he confidently predicted that PKR and PAS could be beaten. He reasoned that this was why delegates had focused their attacks on DAP when speaking about PR throughout the Umno annual general assembly so far.
| |
| Posted: 03 Dec 2011 06:28 AM PST Recent arrests have sparked fears that militants may be eyeing a Mumbai-style attack. Foreigners would be the likely target. THE DIPLOMAT Tawau is a quiet little place – and possibly the remotest city in Malaysia. Tucked away near the Indonesian border in the state of Sabah, it's well known in diplomatic circles as a Malaysian transit hub between Indonesia and the Southern Philippines. It's also a favorite stop over for pirates, smugglers, mercenaries, illegal workers and the Darul Islam movement, whose roots can be traced back to Indonesia's independence almost 65 years ago. Since then, Darul Islam has spawned a litany of Muslim militant groups like Jemaah Islamiyah (JI). Most who pass through continue on, but some stay to stock-up on supplies, reload and plan for another day as authorities found out when 13 suspected terrorists were arrested in Tawau last month under the Internal Security Act. Among them were seven Malaysians, five Indonesians and a Filipino, all of whom were initially labeled as suspected members of JI and alleged to be gathering weapons and bomb making material from The Philippines to be used against the Singaporean Embassy in Jakarta. "The arrests…raise fresh concerns over the threat of a terrorist attack utilizing small arms and targeting foreigners," says Todd Elliott, a security analyst with Jakarta-based Concord Consulting. He also says that according to his sources, it was likely not the first time the Umar group had attempted to smuggle firearms into Indonesia from the southern Philippines, allegedly with the assistance of corrupt Philippines police officers and Umar's son, who is said to be a member of the Abu Sayyaf Group. Other plans included a plot to kidnap a police officer to exchange for other militants under detention and to "start activities that would be harmful to the country." The arrests and pending prosecutions have landed the authorities in an unwanted political mess.Local journalists and analysts have been warned not to speculate, and religious parties like PAS have been urged not politicize the arrests. Rights groups, meanwhile, are disturbed the police used the ISA to make the arrests after Prime Minister Najib Razak announced he would repeal the widely loathed law. The Sabah branch of the Parti Islam Se-Malaysia (PAS) reacted strongly, saying all 13 were members or supporters and called on police to either release or charge them.Under the ISA, police can detain indefinitely without reason. PAS was rebuked for admitting foreigners to a Malaysian political party with Chai Kim Sen, Youth Secretary General of the Chinese dominated MCA, saying it "should be left to the police to decide whether the persons arrested are missionaries or terrorists." "The security of our country is at stake here…PAS and its allies in Pakatan Rakyat should not politicize the issue further by making up lies and distorting the truth," he added, referring to opposition groups.
| |
| Posted: 03 Dec 2011 06:26 AM PST THE DIPLOMAT Former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir bin Mohammed, while at an annual newspaper summit in New Delhi this week, argued that India could do with a little less democracy to promote quicker economic development. There's little question that under his authoritarian tutelage, Malaysia was transformed from a largely plantation economy to an Asian "tiger" economy. His rule also saw a substantial reduction in overall poverty and through an affirmative action program on behalf of the majority Malay population, a significant improvement in their economic lot. There's no gainsaying his achievements in Malaysia. However, India's policymakers can safely ignore his advice about the need for placing constraints on democracy to boost economic growth. First, while authoritarianism may have worked well in Malaysia, it has produced rather unhappy results in many other parts of the world including in various resource-rich states. For example, Nigeria is awash in petroleum and other natural resources. However, authoritarian regimes have neither promoted growth or equity. Second, Malaysia has a total population under 30 million. Only a small handful of Indian states have a population less than that of Malaysia. Consequently, someone needs to remind him that scale does matter. Third, India did briefly experiment with authoritarianism under Indira Gandhi. The results were far from exemplary and resulted in her ouster the moment she chose to hold elections. Contrary to Mr. Mahathir, democracy isn't India's problem. The problem that plagues India is the inefficacy of its institutions. India's policymakers would be wise to safely ignore his counsel and instead focus their attention on making India's existing institutions more responsive to the vast and crying needs of its citizenry. http://the-diplomat.com/indian-decade/2011/12/03/mahathir-wrong-on-india/
| |
| Shafie Apdal: Comfortable victory will preserve sovereignty of Islam, survival of Malays Posted: 03 Dec 2011 06:15 AM PST (Bernama) - Umno must not only ensure victory at the next general election, but must also ensure comfortable victory in order to preserve the sovereignty of Islam and the survival of the Malays in the country, said Umno vice-president Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal. He said a comfortable victory could lead to the formation of a strong government, and hence, making it possible for any policy to defend Islam and the Malays, as well as the poor in rural areas, be implemented. The BN government will have problems to draft and approve new laws if it fails to maintain the two-third majority in the next general election, he said when winding up the debate at Umno General Assembly 2011 here today. He also expressed confidence that BN was capable to win the next general election as it had been the most credible and trusted government with proven track record and was willing to carry out transformation for the wellbeing of the people. The government has also proved its ability to face the economic crises in 1997 without taking any loan from the International Monetary Fund, he said. He said while the United States and European countries were facing global economic downturn, Malaysia, under Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak's leadership, had managed to record a Gross Domestic Product growth of 5.8 per cent in the third quarter this year. Mohd Shafie, who is also Rural and Regional Development Minister, said Mara, an agency under the ministry, would also strive to increase the participation of young people in entrepreneurship, besides continue sponsoring excellent students to pursue their education abroad. He also refuted the allegation that the prime minister was not fighting for the Malays, saying that Najib had approved an allocation of RM800 million for Mara students overseas, despite the initial application of RM500 million allocation made by Mara.
| |
| Najib: We want a strong government Posted: 03 Dec 2011 06:14 AM PST (Bernama) - Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said Barisan Nasional (BN) and Umno want to form a strong government in the next general election. "Whatever constitutes the definiton of a strong government, this is what we want. A two-thirds (majority) is something which is ideal but what is important is a strong government," he said at a news conference at the end of the 2011 Umno General Assembly, here. He was responding to a question whether he would be happy with a two-thirds majority or a simple majority for the BN in the election. He added that a strong government could be formed from a working majority or a two-thirds majority. Najib, who is Umno president, also said that the BN was capable of winning the four opposition-ruled states in the coming election but said that he would not want to underrate the opposition.
| |
| Najib: The Opposition only knows how to 'gloat' Posted: 03 Dec 2011 06:12 AM PST (Bernama) - Umno president Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said the opposition is not strong but is merely 'boasting loudly' and spreading slanders to gain the people's support. "We have never let the people down, nor lie to the rakyat. What poses a problem is the other side. They are not that strong but they know how to gloat. Like the chicken, they crow loudly, but they only have one egg, at times they don't have any egg, like the rooster. "They crow there, they crow here, lie there, lie here, slander here, slander there, play here, play there. They never stop lying but later they claim they are the champion although the party is in disarray," Najib said in his winding up speech at the Umno General Assembly 2011, which was greeted with loud laughter from the delegates. The atmosphere became more clamourous when Najib's question on the biggest lie by the opposition was simultaneously answered by the delegates, referring to the Sept 16, 2008 mission, which was the promise to capture Putrajaya. "I don't have to mention, the delegates already mentioned -- Sept 16. They wanted to march to Putrajaya. They could say the Yang di-Pertuan Agong (Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin) was waiting for him (Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim) to take the oath as prime minister. "I and Pak Lah (Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi) at that time, we shook our heads. Where was he speaking from? I asked the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, the Agong too shook his head," Najib said, greeted with loud applause from the delegates. The interjection by permanent chairman Datuk Badruddin Amiruldin who, on several occasions, copied the dialogue "cer citer-cer citer" (do tell, do tell) from the film "Hantu Kak Limah Balik Rumah" (Kak Limah's Ghost Returns Home) to ask Najib to continue to expose the slanders of the opposition party, turned the atmosphere even more lively. Najib said the opposition also claimed that 30 BN Members of Parliament would cross over to the opposition, but this too did not happen, thus exposing the lies of the opposition. "Of course there were offers, but none of our Members of Parliament crossed over. They promised all kinds of positions, but they were smart, they used a third party, a process that is undemocratic. "Then they claimed that the Malaysian military was behind them, Navy Chief Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Jaafar purportedly supported him. I am his friend. I know he (Abdul Aziz) is loyal to the government. This is the biggest lie in our history," he said. Najib said that since he assumed the post of Prime Minister almost three years ago, the opposition had continuously 'attacked' him and his wife. This in fact caused him to swear at the mosque on four occasions to refute the allegations and slanders directed at him. "I want to ask, how many times had he sworn? Had he sworn in the mosque? Outside the mosque? Even at the court he was afraid to swear. Even in the dock for the accused, he was afraid to swear," he said. Najib also hit out at the Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) advisor who was said to have created the Guinness Book of Records as the party with the biggest number of members quitting the party. At the same time, Najib described the incident where Anwar and PAS deputy president Mohamad Sabu claimed to have been injured during the Bersih 2.0 assembly as a mere drama by the opposition. "There was also the script about him being warded at the hospital because suddenly he was being assisted, people say he can win the Hollywood Oscar (for acting). In actual fact, there was nothing wrong with him. I had told the police not to touch him, but he pretended as though he had been assaulted although no one had touched him," the Umno president said.
| |
| Umno will never change: A blessing M’sia now has a two-party system Posted: 03 Dec 2011 06:06 AM PST Moaz Nair, Hornbill Unleashed A leopard will not change its spots. Same goes for UMNO. In this case, UMNO leaders at its AGM will not cleanse all their past 'sins' to make it a party of choice for the Malays and other races in the coming general election. They use the AGM not to be meditative or introspective of their weaknesses as a political party, but choose to turn it into a political forum to childishly put down the Opposition. This is a big letdown on their part. They are obviously on a defensive mode –- shielding the many issues affecting their leaders – personal, corruption and incompetency –- thinking that the delegates are 'village fools' who have come to listen to their side of the stories. They have under-rated the intelligence of the delegates and the people at large. One delegate from Johore snapped: "We are talking the same old stories. We want to be defensive on everything even though we have done many wrongs. We are not admitting all our wrongdoings. We just don't want to admit our mistakes. This is not the way for UMNO to win the Malay hearts. The people are not happy with many things going on in the country." The unpopular Youth leader To most of the delegates, the present UMNO AGM is more of the usual rhetoric – race, religion and the perceived or tenuous 'threats' of other races to the Malays and their rights and privileges. They forget that like the Malays, the non-Malays too have their rights and privileges in this country. The AGM seems to imprudently use the race platform to sock the Opposition on personal issues that their own leaders are worse at. They choose to deny interpolating on their leaders' wrongdoings but act like spotless saints preaching on the stage to 'mesmerize' the delegates into thinking that UMNO is 'God' and others are devils. Many in the audience though are not convinced with their daft rhetoric. The unpopular Youth leader and his team, as customary, had all the uncouth words for the Opposition and the marginalized 'social groups' in society. The people just could not understand why they should despise others using lexis like 'pondan', 'anak haram' and 'bapok'. What have these 'socially ostracised' people done to harm UMNO Youth? Could this be the product of ill breeding on UMNO Youth's part? The dim-witted Chief himself is trying hard to impress the top leadership but, unfortunately, in a very rough and ready manner. Little does he realise that his future and his chance of climbing up the political ladder in UMNO is already bleak. A delegate from Kedah had this to say of him: "If he were to contest for the same post again, he would lose." They yap on Malay survival thinking that only UMNO could represent the Malays. They fail to realise that PAS has become a more popular party among the young and educated Malays. They woof at the Chinese considering them as a big threat to the Malays when they themselves are working with MCA and Gerakan Chinese parties. Just because a Chinese from DAP is helming a thriving Penang they try to bilk the delegates into thinking that soon a Chinese will eye for the prime minister's post. UMNO will never underscore the fact that Penang never had a chief minister other than a Chinese since Merdeka. Thus, all the hue and cry at the AGM is just a hypocrisy. Helps make the Opposition stronger The delegates at the AGM will prefer not to touch on money politics, corruption, financial leakages at all levels of governance and management, the poor state of the country's economy, the feudal mindset of the Malays and the many social problems faced by the Malay race. These, startlingly, are not central to party leaders and delegates. They prefer to adopt to worthless rhetoric tinged with emotions and hatred for others. By bashing the Opposition is not going to drag UMNO out from quicksand. It only helps make the Opposition stronger. The rhetoric on Chinese threats on Malay power is not going to sell either. Malaysians in general realise that no Chinese or Indian is interested in becoming the prime minister of the country. It is not the solemn ambition of any non-Malay in this country to become the prime Minister. Their heartfelt aspiration is to see a serene Malaysia for all the people to cherish. Let an accomplished and righteous Malay lead them. A delegate from Melaka had this to say: " We should have spent more time debating on how to resolve the many social problems facing the Malays rather than condemning the Opposition or the Chinese. By attacking the Opposition we are actually giving credits and more sympathy for them using our platform." Only one state headed by Chinese UMNO AGM is again used to offend the non-Malays. An Indian Muslim Youth leader of UMNO from Penang bleated with hot air, despising the Chief Minister (CM) of Penang with all the disparaging words he has picked up from his parents. He must have forgotten that Penang was also under a Chinese CM since Merdeka and there has not been a slightest whinge on this issue before this. Why the yelping and bellowing now when the majority Muslims in Penang are comfortable with the present State Government? UMNO is indeed giving the wrong impression to the people that the Chinese will take over the country if UMNO is weak This is a weird and unfounded theory by UMNO rumour mongers and it has offended the Chinese who MCA and Gerakan are trying hard to woo for UMNO. UMNO is bound to lose more votes in the coming general election for this irrational statement by its nutty leaders. UMNO is ignoring the fact that Malaysia is what it is now in terms of economic development hugely due to the diligent Chinese. The illustrious city landscapes in the country are Chinese contributions to the nation. The economy of the country is flourishing immeasurably due to the assiduous Chinese. The Chinese do not disguise themselves to become 'Malays' or UMNO members to achieve economic progress. This is unlike what the people on the ground observe is happening within UMNO. UMNO is now taken over by pseudo-Malays disguising themselves as the 'Indigenous' people. This, supposedly, is more of a threat to the real Malays and the Indigenous than the unpretentious Chinese or Indians. The next general election will most probably see the Opposition taking over the government with a simple majority. UMNO or the Malays have nothing to fret about. The country will still see only one state headed by a Chinese CM and that is in Penang. Penang has been traditionally headed by a Chinese and the progress of the state goes well without saying. All other Malaysian states – in all probability – will be headed by Malay CMs or Menteri Besar. So in this circumstances, will there be any difference between Barisan and the Opposition political status quo in the country? The only difference will be that the Opposition would, by all accounts, be more competent, responsible and transparent in governance of the country, as already seen in the present four states controlled by them. The modern Malays are aware of this. Thus UMNO's inane rhetoric on the Chinese or DAP threat does not carry weight at all. This publicity stunt by UMNO will make them lose more votes to the Opposition in the next general election. They have failed to grasp the fact that DAP to PAS and PKR is more or less analogous to what MCA and Gerakan are to UMNO; PAS and PKR will be akin to UMNO –- representing the majority Malays. A delegate from Sabah rightly said: "When we are politically wrong we need to have it corrected and diligently find solutions to ensure that the other races are not offended. A two-party system augurs well for the country. This is a wake-up call for all parties. The best party will be the people's choice."
| |
| Are you sure Malaysia is still a democracy? Posted: 03 Dec 2011 06:04 AM PST Nawawi Mohamad, Hornbill Unleashed The line separating good and evil passes neither through states nor between political parties either, but straight through the human heart – Alexander Solzhenitsyn To measure success, there has to be a bench mark or a comparison to a similar situation elsewhere; we cannot compare Malaysia with Malaysia, it will prove nothing. However today, Malaysia is at crossroads in almost every aspect of our daily lives and activities; social, religious, economy, education and politics. Which nation should be compared to Malaysia at this point of time as the situation is much worse than that expected? Lest, readers should jump on Singapore – it is in a league in a league of its own. A popular 'dictatorship' is indeed a real rarity. So, let's compare Malaysia with Russia, which has just only experienced democracy in 1990. Russia has also experienced turmoil, upheavals, revolutions and has also been bailed out twice – once by the USA to the tune of about USD1 billion to stabilize the rouble in 1996, and another by the IMF and Japan amounting to USD 22.6 billion in 1998 under President Boris Yeltsin. These bailouts were necessary to prevent the Russian economic meltdown which would have affected the world's economy. Snap shots of early post perestroika Russia compared with Malaysia today Immediately after communism was rejected by the Russians with the fall and disintegration of the USSR in 1990 under Mikhail Gorbachev with his perestroika, the country turned chaotic without a coherent system of running the country. But it is a norm during the transition period for any mass changes or revolution. Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak too has his own version of change – the Economic Transformation Program. In Gorbachev's Russia, those in power were the same people from the Communist party but in different clothes. The most peculiar aspect of the Russian problem was the mafiya who got things done for the authorities; in fact they controlled the authorities. They are the big criminals, the ones called vory v zakone – thieves in law! They have their mafiya lieutenants, the brodyagi – pit bulls – to harass any stubborn citizens. Our Polis Di Raja Malaysia and the Malaysian Anti Corruption Commission have apparently been acting that way too. Anyway, the pitbulls and the mafiya had the most advanced weapons, cars and all the good things in life that money could buy. The local government was so corrupt that fake items sold by street vendors were often of better quality then those supplied by government outlets. By the way, this has some similarity to Najib's Kedai Rakyat 1Malaysia or KR1M products! Still, capitalism had arrived in Russia, wrapped in hope and glory. At that time though, it didn't seem as if it had come to save Russia, but to finish it off instead. The word "demokrad" grew to have two meanings; the first was obvious, the second was thief. Russia was then from its own citizens' point of view the vorovskoi mir – or thieves' world, and in which runs the krugovye poruki or family circle. This sounds quite familiar to the Shahrizat Jalil-family run NFC in Gemas but more so in terms of what the UMNO-BN government has done with our funds and resources thus far as one big family, helping themselves without being invited and often without permission. With capitalism, more foreigners continued to come to Russia and to be Russian is to be suspicious of foreigners. Look at what has happened in Malaysia – forreign workers fare better than many of the poorer Malaysians! The ordinary Russian citizens lamented, "It is one thing to be poor when you are building something. It is another thing to be poor so that some rich thief can get richer". Isn't the situation in Malaysia the same as this? Present day Russia Anyhow, that was before. The present day Russia has been able to get back its greatness, well at least it is much better off anyway, so much so that the Russian president was recently able to tell NATO-US that Russia would boost its strike nuclear capabilities if NATO refuses to cooperate with Moscow in the European missiles defense project. Contrast with Malaysia, who cannot even fire a single missile used by the RMAF fighter jets unless the US gave the password. This fact was admitted to by Mahathir not too long ago. We can't even control our borders against the tide of illegal immigrants marching in. A report in EUobserver in September this year that Russia is also in a position to help bail out another Eurozone economy. Eurozone member Cyprus is set to join Greece, Ireland and Portugal by seeking external aid to prop up its finances. But unlike the EU and IMF bail-out packages, its loans are to come from Russia with "no strings attached". In November, Reuters reported that Russia led a second USD 440 million bailout fund for Belarus part of a USD 3.0 billion package. Malaysia, on the other hand, may soon also be on the list of those who need bailing out. But by whom, is the question? The IMF? Won't it impose the strictest conditions with so many strings attached? Russia has also been able to tap its natural resources for development and its oil and gas are being supplied to almost all of the east European countries and many other natural resources are still waiting to be tapped. As for Malaysia's own natural resources – well, put it this way. We can't even get some decent discount although the country is a net exporter of oil!
| |
| Posted: 02 Dec 2011 11:03 PM PST Muhyiddin called up Stamford again, and told them, "Look, I have this piece of paper in front of me on my desk. All I have to do is sign it and Stamford Holdings will no longer own the 4,000 acres of land. Now, do you agree or not to develop the land and I take 70%?" Stamford again refused. The following week, they received a letter from the Johor State Government signed by Muhyiddin stating that the government has taken over the land. By Hakim Joe Stamford Holdings Sdn. Bhd. is a plantation company registered in Malaysia under the Companies Act and 90% of its equities are owned by the Seet family from Singapore, the Gan family and the Wang family from Malaysia. In 1994, Stamford applied to the Johor government for permission to develop a light industrial estate on part of its huge land holdings near the state capital of Johor Baru. However nothing happened during the subsequent four years. In 1998, two Malaysians approached Stamford alleging that they were the Johor Menteri Besar's (Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin), business associates and that they were able to able to get Stamford's application approved promptly. The two individuals were Syed Mokhtar In late 1989, Stamford agreed to the proposal and the four parties formed a JV company, which resubmitted a fresh application to the Johor State government to convert the 1,766 acres of plantation land to industrial use. The new application was promptly approved. Meanwhile in 1992, Syed Mokhtar Albukhary and Datuk Yahya Taib again approached Stamford's directors, proposing to develop the remaining 6,544 acres of Stamford's Johor prime land holdings. However the conditions were different this time around. They were The following week, they received a letter from the Johor State Government signed by Muhyiddin stating that the government has taken over the land. In July 1994, the State Government of Johor officially acquired the land on behalf of the Johor Islamic Economic Development Corporation (Perbadanan Kemajuan Ekonomi Islam Negeri Johor) under the Land Acquisition Act. Stamford Holdings, through its director, Gan Tee Kian, filed the suit in the Kuala Lumpur High Court on February 4, 1995 claiming that Muhyiddin, Syed Mokhtar and Yahya contravened the provisions of the Land Acquisition Act in acquiring the piece of land through the Johor Islamic Economic Development Corporation and sued the trio for damages for alleged conspiracy in acquiring land in Johor through the Land Acquisition Act. In the suit, Stamford Holdings claimed the three had abused certain provisions of the Act to acquire its 6,600 acres of land through the Johor State Islamic Economic Development Corporation using one of its subsidiaries, Kelana Ventures Sdn. Bhd. Stamford Holdings also It had also claimed that Syed Mokhtar and Yahya had conspired with Muhyiddin to press for the land acquisition. In the suit, Stamford Holdings sought a declaration that the land acquisition exercise was not done in good faith and was therefore null and void. Two weeks later, the case was transferred to the Johor Baru High Court. On February the 24th, 1995, the Johor Baru Land Administrator made an award sum of RM239,099,583.00 over the said property to Stamford Holdings. This comes to about RM36,670 per acre. On April the 15th, 1995, the Johor Baru High Court struck out with costs Stamford Holding's suit, saying that the company had no reasonable cause of action against the five defendants. Stamford's solicitors then brought the case to the Court of Appeal. On December the 28th, 1995, Kelana Ventures Sdn. Bhd. deposited the award amount with the Johor Baru High Court. On March the 14th, 1996, another RM10,585,894.90 was deposited by Kelana Ventures with the Johor Baru High Court as accrued interest. Subsequently when Stamford Holdings challenged the Land Administrator's award, the said award sum was revised by the Johor High Court by RM63,565,982.20 making it a total of RM313,251,460.10 (about RM48,000 per acre). On November the 12th, 1996, the said differential sum of RM63,565,982.20 was likewise deposited with the Johor Baru High Court by Kelana Ventures Sdn. Bhd. It was during the time when this case appeared in the Court of Appeal that Asiaweek did a comprehensive investigative report on it, quoting ad verbatim Muhyiddin's phone call to one of Stamford's directors. The Johor MB then publicly denied all allegations made in an On December the 11th, 1997, the Court of Appeal overruled the Johor Baru High Court's decision and ordered all proceedings in the civil suit to proceed pending an appeal by the defendants. On June the 10th, 1998 the Federal Court granted leave to the defendants to appeal to the Federal Court against the decision of the Court of Appeal and further ordered that there be a stay of proceedings in the Johor Baru High Court civil suit. Instead of pursuing the case in the Federal Court, all parties agreed to an out of court settlement and a Consent Order was recorded at the Johor Baru High Court. Judge Zainun Ali recorded the order after lawyers for the company and the defendants agreed to settle the matter in the judge's Chamber and all parties concerned agreed upon a final figure of RM405 million as due compensation for the compulsory acquisition of the said property by the State Government in accordance to the Land Acquisition Act (about RM62,000 per acre). The judge then ordered Kelana Ventures to pay the differential amount of RM92,115,606.80 directly to Stamford Holdings but allowed them a period of 18 months to complete the payment. The sum was not ordered to be paid as damages but compensation in lieu. He Meanwhile, the judge also ordered Stamford Holdings to hand over the land title to Kelana Ventures within two months from the day the Consent Order was recorded, and pay retrenchment benefits to workers affected by the transfer of the land to Kelana Ventures. The judge further ordered that all the civil suits, civil appeals and miscellaneous civil applications by the plaintiff be settled and be disposed of. No further action was taken against Syed Mokhtar Albukhary, Datuk Yahya Taib or Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin who later became the Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia. | |
| Najib’s choice: glory or infamy? Posted: 02 Dec 2011 10:57 PM PST Is the 1Malaysia concept merely an illusion and Najib is nothing but a dream peddler? Is he living in a dream world? Why is it that he has failed to see the rot in his own camp? How can he be credible when those in his own party are bent on instilling fear, hatred and animosity in the citizens via Umno scaring the Malays and MCA scaring the Chinese? Selena Tay, Free Malaysia Today Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak is on a precipice. Make no mistake about that. One wrong step and he is a goner. Why is that so? None other than because those closest to him seem to want to put a damper on his plans and vision.Take the 1Malaysia slogan which Najib is bent on promoting as a unifying force for racial unity and harmony. But Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin throws a spanner into the works by saying that he is Malay first and Malaysian second. This certainly does not bode well for Najib. Still, the prime minister has no choice but to keep quiet in order not to seem at odds with his deputy. He has said that Umno is not a racist party but the other Umno warlords seem to be targeting the Chinese and DAP as wanting to grab political and economic power. This is a clear indicator that Najib is a lone voice in his idealistic dreams of being the leader of Utopia. He must wake up to the fact that there are dangerous elements in his own camp who seem to be thwarting his every move. And this is sending out conflicting signals to the rakyat. Another "frenemy" (a deadly term used to describe someone who is also a friend as well as an enemy) of the prime minister is none other than MCA president Dr Chua Soi Lek who is bent on disparaging hudud law. Najib is working hard to portray himself as a Muslim leader but as MCA's Chua is so against hudud, it will dent Najib's Muslim leader image because if you are a Muslim leader, how can you not support hudud? Of course, there are political pundits who say that BN's two-pronged strategy is this: Umno will use DAP/the Chinese to frighten the Malays; and MCA will use hudud to scare the Chinese in order to maintain their hold on power by presenting their respective parties as the best political choice. Be that as it may, Najib must not forget that the rural Malays will also question why as a Muslim leader he is allowing MCA to bad-mouth hudud while at the same time always proclaiming that Umno is the only party which can champion Islam! The rural Malay folks can see that his words and his actions are definitely not in sync. Najib needs to be firm The prime minister has to be decisive. He has to weed out all those who do not seem to share his dreams of an Utopian Malaysia. He has to take a firm and forceful stand to see that everyone in his camp vigorously promotes 1Malaysia. All those who bash the non-Malays must be severely dealt with and there must be no more of those who dare to promote the "I am Malay first and Malaysian second" line. If Najib does not take steps to rein in the hate-mongers and war hawks in his party, then he is nothing but a leader with empty talk and he will go from hero to zero. This is where Najib has failed. 1Malaysia is more like 1Najib with the "1" showing Najib to be the sole believer in his own ideals. Is he living in a dream world? Why is it that he has failed to see the rot in his own camp? How can he be credible when those in his own party are bent on instilling fear, hatred and animosity in the citizens via Umno scaring the Malays and MCA scaring the Chinese? Najib has always tried to endear himself to all races, but his men are issuing hate-speeches against the Chinese. His men's actions are in direct contrast with his words. Why this confusing stand from his own party? As head of Umno, is he not able to command and elicit a unified stand from his party men? 1Malaysia shows Najib to be the lone wolf in Umno. He must have the courage to forge ahead with political reforms and transformation instead of just mouthing these words every now and then. He must not give in to ethnocentric Malay NGOs. Otherwise, 1Malaysia is merely an illusion and he is nothing but a dream peddler. Has Najib got what it takes to execute his plans? Does he dare to forge ahead or is he held back by fears of lack of support? Even schoolchildren these days are chanting "1Malaysia, 1Malaysia" but when they grow up, they may say, "Now what was that all about?"
| |
| Posted: 02 Dec 2011 10:57 PM PST From the very beginning and even before Merdeka in 1957, the concept of sharing has never existed in Umno plans. By Hakim Joe "Umno is most definitely not racist. We could have built a government on our own (before independence), but we decided to share." - Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, DPM Malaysia. Untrue. When negotiations for self-governing were undertaken between the British and the Malayans before the 1955 general elections, inter-ethnic cooperation was a definite prerequisite established by the colonial authorities as they truly believed that the races needed to work together to create the necessary conditions for a smooth political transition, and that this cooperation could be the only counteraction to the Malayan Communist Party's claim of being the only movement representing the people's struggle. This meant that Umno alone could not have formed the government and gained independence on their own as Britain would not grant independence to Malaya if Umno acted individually. Additionally MCA was invited to the negotiation table by the British alongside Umno after the British realized that in the battle against the communists, the support of the Chinese was crucial and that alienating the Chinese community from the mainstream of politics could undermine the political stability of the entire country. Two forms of inter-ethnic cooperation were attempted in the pre-independence period. The first was a single multi-ethnic party, the Independence of Malaya Party (IMP) formed by Dato Onn Jaafar (founder of Umno) and Tun Tan Cheng Lock (founder of MCA), and Other prominent MCA leaders that supported IMP were Tan Siew Sin, Khoo Teik Ee, Leong Yew Koh and Yong Shook Lin. MIC under K.L. Devaser also supported IMP while H.S. Lee and Ong Yoke Lin (ex-Victoria Institution boy) proposed an Umno-MCA alliance instead and talks were initiated with Yahya Razak (ex-Victoria Institution boy). Surprisingly, in the 1952 federal capital (Kuala Lumpur) local elections where IMP fielded candidates in all 12 wards, the Umno-MCA Alliance won 9 of the 12 contested seats. Although the electorate numbered only about 11,000 and turnout was 75%, the result was a major boost to the new alliance and it marked the beginning of IMP's demise. After the resounding victory, H.S. Lee favored expanding the Umno-MCA alliance and Tunku Abdul Rahman concurred. Even with the IMP on the decline, Tan Cheng Lock was still a powerful political figure as he still commanded unwavering support from the more influential MCA leaders. H.S. Lee managed to eventually bring Tan Cheng Lock to his viewpoint. On March the 5th, 1952, H.S. Lee alerted Tan Cheng Lock to the Select Committee's Report on the Immigration Ordinance of 1950. Onn Jaafar was a signatory to the Majority Report with recommendations unfavorable to the Chinese and this was opposed by Chinese members of the Legislative Council. H.S. Lee therefore raised doubts in the mind of Tan Cheng Lock about Onn Jaafar's commitment to multi-racial fairness. Eventually, Tunku Abdul Rahman and Tan Cheng Lock met on March the 18th after being invited by Ong Yoke Lin. After several more rounds of talks involving other MCA leaders, a nationwide Umno-MCA alliance was institutionalized. IMP hit rock bottom when the news After the Alliance Party won resoundingly in the 1955 general elections (51 of the 52 seats), they took the lead in negotiating for independence with Britain. PMIP (now PAS) won the other remaining seat while Parti Negara lost in all contested seats. Why did the founder of Umno, Dato Onn Jaafar leave the party he created? On August the 26th, 1951, Onn Jaafar resigned from Umno after becoming increasingly disgusted with what he considered to be Umno's communalist policies, and after his repeated calls for From the very beginning and even before Merdeka in 1957, the concept of sharing has never existed in Umno plans. From the very beginning and even before Merdeka in 1957, the concept of being non-communal (non-racist) has never existed in Umno plans. From the very beginning and even before Merdeka in 1957, Umno's concept of forming the government alone was never sustainable, as the British has made it a stipulation that inter-ethnic cooperation was a condition for self-government. | |
| Najib: DAP knows all of Anwar’s secrets Posted: 02 Dec 2011 10:49 PM PST That explains the rising dominance of DAP in the Pakatan Rakyat, claims the Umno president. (Free Malaysia Today) - Umno president Najib Tun Razak said DAP knows all of Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim's "secrets", which explains its alleged rising dominance in Pakatan Rakyat. The prime minister in his winding-up speech at the Umno general assembly here said Karpal Singh's appointment as Anwar's lawyer in his ongoing second sodomy trial had made it possible for them (DAP) to gain confidential information from the PKR leader. "He (Karpal) is his lawyer. Of course, he knows everything. That's why DAP is so bold now," Najib said to thunderous applause from the delegates. Najib pointed out that Karpal, who is DAP chairman, had replaced Zulkifli Noordin, a known Islamic hardliner, who was sacked from the party following a fallout with PKR's moderate leanings. Zulkifli was among the six PKR MPs who defected which Najib said signalled the party's fragile state. The prime minister said Anwar had tried to blame Umno for the sodomy (II) charges, and also he and his wife Rosmah Mansor for his problems. "My wife is sitting there harmlessly and she still gets attacked," he joked. Anwar had openly accused Najib and Rosmah of masterminding the sodomy charges and planting Saiful Bukhari Azlan, his accuser, to trap him. Both of them denied the allegation. Najib said today the charges had nothing to do with Umno. "This is not between us and them but between Anwar and Saiful," he said. Najib took the same line as the delegates, saying that Pakatan rule would signal the country's destruction. He cited PKR's disastrous party polls as a clear indication of what is to come should the opposition wrest Putrajaya. "Zaid Ibrahim said he cannot withstand the party… he said there were more ballots than there are voters," he said, referring to the disgruntled former PKR leader who quit the party after accusing the leadership of rigging its internal votes. Ironically, Najib said that PKR and Pakatan are also calling for free and fair elections.
| |
| UMNO - Yang boleh memerintah hanyalah AKU, yang boleh menjamin kehidupan kamu adalah AKU... ... Posted: 02 Dec 2011 10:46 PM PST ASPAN ALIAS Dalam kita menanti pilihanraya umum ke13 ini masing-masing terlalu sibuk untuk mengambil tempat sebagai calon terutamanya dalam UMNO. Masing-masing yang berminat untuk di pilih menjadi calon bercakap yang mereka adalah 'winnable candidate' dan pasti menang jika pucuk pimpinan sedar tentang kehadziran mereka dalam politik tempatan. Dalam pada itu pimpinan tertinggi menggunakan segala tenaga dan fikiran untuk membelasah pihak yang tidak mahu mengikut telunjuk mereka. Siapa sahaja yang tidak sebulu dengan UMNO atau pun BN, bermacam-macam nama di gunakan mereka untuk melabelkan seseorang yang tidak bersama mereka. Yang paling kuat sekali ialah TS Muhyiddin Yassin yang memanggil orang itu pembelot dan pengkhianat, seolah-olah mereka itu bukannya pengkhianat kepada bangsa dan negara mereka.Elok kita kupas sedikit tentang isu pembelot ini. Siapakah pembelot itu dalam konteks politik dan kenegaraan? Apa kah yang di lakukan oleh seseorang itu untuk boleh di labelkan sebagai pembelot? Definasi pembelot ini sangat luas jika dipandang dari sudut makronya. Tetapi biar kita berbahas dalam konteks politik pilihanraya yang hampir tiba ini. Pembelot dan pengkhianat negara boleh ditafsirkan sebagai sesiapa yang melakukan kejahatan kepada negara. Apa pula perkara-perkara yang dianggap jahat yang dilakukan kepada negara? Perkara-perkaranya banyak. Rasuah merupakan pembelotan terbesar kepada negara. Perasuah itu adalah pengkhianat, apatah lagi kalau dilakukan oleh mereka yang telah diberikan tanggungjawab untuk menjaga harta benda rakyat melalui pilihanraya. Perbuatan rasuah itu adalah satu dosa besar kepada negara. Dalam kejadian rasuah ianya melibatkan wang rakyat dan sesiapa yang menerima wang rasuah itu, ia adalah satu kegiatan mencuri. Mencuri wang rakyat adalah pengkhianat negara. Se sebuah negara yang baik, negara itu mesti berjuang untuk bersatu padu dan mempunyai tahap 'national unity' yang tinggi. Jika pemimpin-pemimpin terutamanya yang sedang memerintah bercakap dan bertindak dengan tujuan untuk memecah belahkan rakyat bagi mengambil kesempatan untuk mendapat undi dan sokongan dalam kekeliruan itu, pemimpin-pemimpin seperti ini adalah pengkhianat negara. Berkata-kata untuk memecah belahkan perhubungan baik di antara rakyat berbilang kaum itu merupakan pengkhianatan yang tidak terperi tahapnya kerana jika berlaku perpecahan itu yang bertanggungjawab adalah individu pemimpin atau parti yang melakukannya. Mereka yang melaga-lagakan rakyat yang berlainan agama dan kepercayaan itu juga merupakan pengkhianatan kepada rakyat dan negara. Kegiatan ini sedang giat dilakukan oleh pihak tertentu untuk menaikkan suhu perpecahan di antara rakyat yang berlainan agama bagi kepentingan politik untuk mempertahankan kuasa. DAP yang hampir kesemua ahlinya beragama Buddha, di tuduh mengkristiankan orang Melayu Islam. Semuanya ini adalah pengkhianatan kepada negara kerana ia boleh mencetuskan pergaduhan di antara rakyat yang berbilang agama dan kepercayaan.
| |
| Umno’s future depends on support of other races too Posted: 02 Dec 2011 10:40 PM PST (The Star) - Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said Umno has never ignored the struggle to promote the agenda of the Malays and the Bumiputeras but, at the same time, it still needed the support of the other races to ensure its survival as a party. The Prime Minister and Umno president said the implementation of 1Malaysia, a concept that he had promoted, did not mean that Umno's commitment to champion the Malay agenda would be neglected, because it was introduced to ensure the support of all races in the country. "When I go down to the ground, the plantations, the estates, the Chinese New Villages, it does not mean that I am less committed towards championing the cause of the Malays and Bumiputeras. "I do it because we must ensure that our country, Malaysia, gets the support of all the ethnic groups because the future of Umno depends on the support of the other races too," he said. Najib said this in his winding up speech at the Umno General Assembly 2011, thus concluding the five-day assembly. Najib said as the government leader, he must think of the direction that the country was heading so that the rakyat would continue to have confidence and trust in the present leadership. As such, he said, thorough planning must be carried out to ensure that in the next 10 years, Malaysia would emerge as a developed nation with a high income under the Umno and Barisan Nasional leadership. "That's why we undertake many things to achieve the developed nation status such as the Economic Transformation Plan (ETP), whereby we have determined the types of projects required to achieve the status. "Alhamdulillah, with the launch and implementation of such programmes, if the European economy were to collapse, or if there is uncertainty in the United States, we in Malaysia, Alhamdulillah, will have a sustainable and stable economy and can show a positive growth," he said. He pointed out that the success was not a personal achievement but that of the leadership in the country, which should prove to the rakyat the capability of Umno and Barisan to lead the government.
| |
| Muhyiddin leads Umno loyalty pledge Posted: 02 Dec 2011 10:38 PM PST (The Star) - Umno deputy president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin on Saturday led party members to pledge their loyalty to the party in conjunction with the Umno General Assembly 2011, which is said to be the last to be held before the 13th general election. Muhyiddin called upon the 5,447 delegates from the 191 divisions present at the assembly at the Putra World Trade Centre, here to stand up with him and make the pledge of loyalty to the party to ensure the continuity of its struggles in defending the sanctity of the religion, the integrity of the race and the sovereignty of the country. "Let us stand together in the spirit of unity and solidarity, honesty and sincerity, confidence and determination in winning the solid support of the rakyat for the sake of our party's victory. "We, the Umno people, pledge to close ranks, promote brotherhood, eliminate disputes, avoid jealousy and feeling of envy, and to place party interest above self-interest. "We, the Umno people, pledge to be loyal to the party by giving our full trust and solid support to the President to lead us to a handsome victory in the next general election. "We, the Umno people, swear to work hard and diligently, in a proper and planned manner, to fight a holy war in sincerity in the name of Allah to ensure victory for Umno and the Barisan Nasional in the 13th general election. "We, the Umno people, pledge to give our solid and undivided support to the candidates to be selected by the party's top leadership to contest in the next general election. "To all the delegates, men and women, I say thank you," the Deputy Prime Minister concluded. The pledge of loyalty was made at the conclusion of his winding up speech in conjunction with the Umno General Assembly 2011.
| |
| Posted: 02 Dec 2011 08:24 PM PST Sorry I haven't been writing much the last couple of days. I've been chilling out and catching up with friends in sunny Bangkok. Furthermore, I am working on my final paper for my course, which ends this month. The last few months I've been busy with my essays on Philosophy of Religion, a course run by Oxford. Will then take a short break before my new course on European History starts on 1st February 2012. NO HOLDS BARRED Raja Petra Kamarudin
| |
| UMNO not dominating, not racist? Posted: 02 Dec 2011 04:30 PM PST If Umno is really serious about reformation and transformation for the nation, then it should set an example by becoming a non-race party like PKR and Kita. This step will go a long way towards eradicating racial politics in Malaysia. DANIEL JOHN JAMBUN I congratulate the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak for his sterling performance in his speech at the on-going Umno General Assembly. Even Tun Mahathir who had been so critical of Najib all this while was impressed and expressed support for him because now "he is a different man." The speech achieved its purpose of raising the spirit of the delegates and observers. He may even have discouraged certain factions in the party from possibly putting up a challenge to his leadership. However, there are two points in the speech which I would like to address, i.e. Najib's assertion that Umno is not dominating, and that it is not a racist party. While I appreciate the good intention of these statements, I feel that they are not totally accurate if we look at the real situation today. Najib's reference to not dominating is on the way he handles party elections, i.e. without dominating the party electoral process like what Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim had done in PKR's last party election. However, at the BN level, Umno cannot deny that it is the dominating power over all the other components. It is Umno which decides many things in the country, e.g. it implements the unwritten rule that only the Umno leader can become the Prime Minister and the Prime Minister and several other senior cabinet posts. The national Barisan Nasional Supreme Council very rarely meets because Umno feels it can make all the decisions without consulting the other component parties because Umno's decisions are seldom, if ever, questioned. And this Supreme Council is very much dominated by Umno as well because Umno holds the post of Chairman (Najib), Deputy Chairman (Tan Sri Muhyiddin), Secretary General (Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Bin Tengku Mansor), and Treasurer General (Dato' Seri Hj. Ahmad Husni Mohd Hanadzlah), Youth Chief (Datuk Khairy Jamaluddin, who is also the Umno Youth Chief) and Women's Chief (Dato' Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil, who is also the Umno Wanita Chief). The various component party leaders are appointed as Vice Chairmen and their Deputy Chairmen and Secretary Generals as Committee Members. At one time the MCA had questioned this arrangement in which the BN Supreme Council doesn't have any say on the appointment of the Prime Minister and cabinet members. In fact, one can ask what the BN Supreme Council is really for if almost all BN decisions are made by Umno. At the state level in Sabah, the Umno is also the one dominating all the senior posts, including the Executive Secretary's post. In the same style as the national BN, the state BN also seems to have little purpose because it seldom meets. Because it rarely meets, the component parties have no opportunity to express their views on many issues, and this causes them to voice out all sorts of grievances about their own coalition or about other components through the media. As to the issue of whether Umno is racist or not, it is quite clear that this time around the Umno is trying very hard to show that it doesn't want to hurt the feelings of other races, like it did a few years ago during which the delegates spokes so angrily about Malay rights that an MCA leader admitted he feeling was hurt. But being racist doesn't mean you hate other races. Racism can also be expressed by too much talk about your own race, to demand rights for your race and your religion. In this General Assembly, Umno delegates still had not managed to control themselves from doing this. Before the assembly, Perkasa had urged the delegates focus on Malay interests. After all, this has been the tradition of Umno for half a century. As "the" Malay party, it is supposed to keep fighting for Malay rights and interests, because it must also try to upstage PAS in the effort to garner Malay support. So in a lot of sense, Umno is racist and has to be racist, just like MCA and MIC also have to be racist because they are not multiracial parties. This makes us wonder, if maybe Umno needs to reevaluate its position as a Malay party. As the backbone of the BN, shouldn't Umno be trying to be the leader of all Malaysians regardless of their race and religion? Why should it continue harping on Malay interests, rights and to keep hinting on Malay supremacy as the senior partner in the ruling national coalition? Realistically, it should be a party of Malaysians, not of Malays. If Umno is really serious about reformation and transformation for the nation, then it should set an example by becoming a non-race party like PKR and Kita. This step will go a long way towards eradicating racial politics in Malaysia. If Umno continues to talk about transformation while it continues to be a racial movement, then Umno is just being hypocritical about change and renewal for the country.
| |
| Rosmah: Don’t fall for online news Posted: 02 Dec 2011 04:16 PM PST Use your intelligence to evaluate any issue, the wife of the prime minister tells students. (BERNAMA) - Malaysian students studying abroad are advised against believing rumour or slanders spread by irresponsible groups via the Internet, said the Prime Minister's wife, Rosmah Mansor. She said that being in the educated group, they should not easily believe any "news" posted but should use their wisdom to evaluate its validity. "Don't listen to slanders… they have an opportutnity to study abroad and should utilise this opportunity and use their intelligence to evaluate any issue," he told reporters after attending a closed-door session with members of the Overseas Umno Club, here, today. Rosmah said these students should also use the knowledge obtained abroad to help the government implement all programmes drawn up, especially in the field of education. "I advise these students to study diligently, bring back whatever is good to assist the Malaysian government and to leave behind what is bad," she said. Commenting on the closed-door meeting, she said it was held to meet the request of the students who wished to know about various issues including the "Program Permata Negara" under her patronage. The meeting was attended by 65 delegates from five Overseas Umno liaison bodies, namely the United Kingdom, Indonesia, Australia-New Zealand, Egypt and Russia.
| |
| Umno sees Pakatan a threat to Islam Posted: 02 Dec 2011 04:14 PM PST Umno delegates continue to play the religious card in their relentless attack on the opposition. (Free Malaysia Today) - Umno continued its attack on the opposition today, claiming that the country's official religion Islam will come under grave threat should Pakatan Rakyat take over. The delegates, who were debating the president Najib Tun Razak 's speech on the last day of the Umno annual general assembly, said that only under Umno's continuous rule would the position of Islam be protected. They said that events after the 2008 general election have shown that Pakatan's "liberal" tendencies were "humiliating" the Muslims. From allowing non-Muslims to use the term "Allah" to the silent endorsement of Seksualiti Merdeka, a group fighting for freedom of sexual orientation, Umno members said that Pakatan rule would mean "the end of Islam in Malaysia". "Why not? Why can't this happen? Look at what they (Pakatan) have fought for since 2008? They have done well in raising matters sensitive to Islam," said Rizalman Mokhtar, an Umno delegate from the Kuala Lumpur Federal Territory. Seksualiti Merdeka took the spotlight when the authorities banned its festival this year. The group claimed the ban was a deliberate move by the Barisan Nasional (BN) government to divert attention from its weaknesses. The "Allah" issue sparked heated debates and controversy last year, resulting in attacks against churches and mosques. Rizalman said PAS, as the Islamist component in Pakatan, had failed to defend the religion as it was "kowtowing" to the DAP, which has become "the new authority on Islam". PAS a waning influence Observers believe that the frenzied assault on the DAP, seen as a threat to the Malays and Islam, is an age-old tactic employed by Umno to exploit Malay's distrust towards non-Malays. Surveys have shown that the tactic has been effective in wooing back the Malay votes towards Umno, which is seen as the only party capable of preserving Malay rule.
| |
| Ku Li is opposition’s ‘meal’ ticket Posted: 02 Dec 2011 04:09 PM PST If a 'hung' Parliament does befall Malaysia, Pakatan Rakyat's Anwar Ibrahim will be kept waiting at the royal gates. Meanwhile, Anwar Ibrahim is jumping up and down at the palace gates screaming: "I have the number! I have the number! I have a signed declaration from the MPs they want us (Pakatan Rakyat) to form a government!" Mohd Ariff Sabri Aziz, Free Malaysia Today Last week I wrote that the 13th general election will deliver a clear winner simply because that's what Malaysians "would prefer". But let's now assume the next GE delivers a hung Parliament.How can this happen? More importantly, why have the opposition extended an invitation to Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah (Ku Li)? And in what capacity do they see him? I believe the answer lies in the hard realities of Malaysian politics. Let's look at a likely scenario if there's a hung Parliament. A "hung" Parliament can take place when not one single party has the majority in Parliament. Any one party can have the largest number of seats which, if it is less than 112, can never go on to form the government. Let's say Umno garners the most seats – at least 70 from its current 79. It then becomes the party with the largest number of seats. Sarawak not enough What happens when the results of the elections come out? The first person or persons to see the Yang di-Pertuan Agong will be the chief secretary and possibly the Attorney-General (AG) because of the constitutional implications. He will look around and inform the King that the party which has the largest number of seats is Umno. The King then summons Umno to inquire whether it can form the government. Umno will look around and it will see its traditional partners decimated. It will then cast its eye on Sarawak and sees possibly Taib Mahmud's Pesaka Bumiputra Bersatu (PBB) which probably retains 12 seats. But what if 16 seats are won by the opposition there? PBB has only three more seats friendly to offer. Then Taib will say, "boss I can only offer 15 seats". The other 16 have gone to DAP and PKR and to those who don't want BN anymore. I can't "gawai" and "ngajat" anymore. It makes me dizzy. Umno plus the Sarawak party now has 85 seats. If we are kind enough, let's say MCA managed to wriggle through with three seats – Umno-Barisan Nasional now has 88. MIC delivers one seat. Now it has 89. Out of the 25 seats in Sabah, the state Barisan Nasional coalition (after excluding Umno) takes another eight. Now Umno and BN have 97 seats. Still not enough ma… Mana mahu cari lagi? The Umno president then goes on air and proclaims that we can't form a federal government if we can't show we are multiracial. Since my macai party MCA has not enough seats, in order to show we are inclusive, 1Malaysia, multiracial and all that, I now call upon my old friend uncle Kit (Lim Kit Siang) to join us. DAP is invited to join the new coalition party. Uncle Kit will say: "Mo-wa thank you." The story we wish we can expand is thus cut short. Uncle Kit and Uncle Karpal (Singh) will say: "Over my dead body. Nahi!" So Umno and BN have run out of options and so they will declare that BN can't form a government.
| |
| NFC issue not over yet, says Hishammuddin Posted: 02 Dec 2011 08:03 AM PST (The Star) - The National Feedlot Corporation (NFC) issue should not be considered closed yet just because preliminary police findings found no element of criminal breach of trust, Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein said. He said police investigations were still ongoing. "Just because no element of CBT has been found, it does not mean the case is over. The matter (NFC case) will still continue. At the end of the day all of us have our responsibilities to carry out," Hishammuddin said after meeting members of the Umno Overseas Club on the sidelines of the Umno general assembly. Hishammuddin added that it would be "irresponsible" to comment further on the issue because the probe was still incomplete. The Umno vice-president also said that it was up to the rakyat to decide whether Wanita Umno chief Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil was considered a liability due to her family's involvement in the NFC case. Asked to comment on growing concerns among some delegates that Shahrizat could be a liability to the party because of the case, he said: "It is not those people who speak at the assembly who will decide whether she is a liability. "At the end of the day, it is the rakyat who will decide and we will know in the next general election," Hishammuddin said.
| |
| Pornography, prostitution will surge if women drive: Saudi clerics Posted: 02 Dec 2011 07:08 AM PST (International Business Times) - A "scientific" report published in Saudi Arabia has claimed that lifting the ban on women drivers would result in "no more virgins". The report also warned that such a move would also make more Saudis, both men and women, turn to homosexuality and pornography. The study also predicted a surge in prostitution and divorce. Such startling conclusions were drawn by Muslim scholars at the Majlis al-Ifta' al-A'ala, Saudi Arabia's highest religious council, working in conjunction with Kamal Subhi, a former professor at the King Fahd University, according to the Daily Mail. The study was made to assess the possible impact of repealing the ban in Saudi Arabia. The country is the only place in the world where women are not allowed to drive a vehicle. The report was submitted to all 150 members of the Shura Council, the legislative body. Within 10 years of the ban being lifted, the scholars said, there would be "no more virgins" in the Islamic kingdom. The religious group pointed to is visible "moral decline" in other Muslim countries where women are allowed to drive. "All the women were looking at me," Subhi writes of how women behave in other Arab countries, while he sat at a coffee shop in an unnamed state. "One made a gesture that made it clear she was available. ... This is what happens when women are allowed to drive." The study was undertaken after Shaima Jastaniya, a 34-year-old Saudi woman, was sentenced to 10 lashes with a whip after she was caught driving in Jeddah. Despite strong protests in the country about the sentence and the law in general, there has been little hope for any reforms among conservative royals and clerics.
| |
| RCI: Is Umno ready to ‘harakiri’? Posted: 02 Dec 2011 06:41 AM PST Setting up an RCI in Sabah is empty talk because to do so would be to expose the 'biggest and gravest ever case of treason in this country's 48 years'. "This PSC thing is just a smokescreen to dupe the people of Sabah into believing that Prime Minister Najib Razak is finally listening to the genuine natives of Sabah who are now under the threat of being sidelined in every aspect of life in their own country," he told FMT when contacted yesterday. Luke Rintod, Free Malaysia Today A cross-section of Sabahans are doubtful that the federal government will ever admit to putting into motion a covert operation in the 1980s to re-engineer the demographics of the state in favour of Umno. Well-known Sabah consumerism activist, Patrick Sindu, brushed aside talk that the federal government would finally do something to solve the problem of the illegal immigrants population in Sabah, who have been the back-bone of Umno here in the last few general elections.
| |
| India could be China if it was less democratic: Dr Mahathir Posted: 02 Dec 2011 06:36 AM PST (Bernama) - India could have achieved as much as China in terms of development had it been less democratic, former Malaysian Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said here Friday. Dr Mahathir, who ruled Malaysia for 22 years, said though democracy was the best form of government, it was not the easiest way to govern, Press Trust of India (PTI) reported. If India is not too democratic it will be like China in terms of development," PTI quoted him as saying in an interactive session at the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit in New Delhi. Minister of state for commerce and industry Jyotiraditya Scindia and BJD MP Jay Panda, however, disagreed with Mahathir's contention arguing that India looked towards development as a marathon and not a sprint. Panda said the Indian democratic system was evolving and there were plenty of countries in the world which do not have democracy and have not developed. "As far as whether democracy is more of a hindrance to India, it is certainly more difficult. Our system is evolving, our trajectory of growth is certainly better than it was in earlier decades. We do need to tweak our system, but we do not need to change our system," Panda said. Dr Mahathir said though India has been a democracy for a long time but its socialist leaning had come in the path of growth. Suggesting a model of a strong Centre and less powerful provinces for India, he said such an approach would help promote development. "You need a much stronger central government and less powers to the provincial governments, because there will never be an agreement between the Centre and the provinces. This makes it difficult for the government to promote any policy," Mahathir said. The Hindustan Times Leadership Summit is an annual event hosted under the auspices of India's HT group of newspapers. Prominent national and international personalities are invited to take part in the summit.
| |
| New initiatives to raise Bumi equity, says Shafie Posted: 02 Dec 2011 06:34 AM PST (Bernama) - The Bumiputera Agenda Development Council headed by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak plans to introduce new initiatives to increase Bumiputera equity in the economy, said Umno vice-president Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal. He said the government was also looking at the quality of entrepreneurs rather than quantity to ensure viable and diverse Bumiputera businesses could stay competitive in the economy. "We want them to grow big and make a breakthrough globally, especially in the petroleum exploration, plantation and property development sectors," he told reporters after launching the Puteri Umno's Entrepreneurs and Economic Enhancement Bureau portal at the Putra World Trade Centre here on Friday. He was commenting on worries raised by Puteri Umno at the Umno General Assembly here that the Bumiputera corporate equity ownership was marginal. On Puteri Umno proposal for the setting up of the First Bumiputera Entrepreneurs Scheme for entrepreneurs below 40 years by capitalising on funds for Mara and Tekun, he said it was a good idea and the government would study it.
| |
| A GLC director’s ‘politics of hatred’ in ‘Airport Spring’ Posted: 02 Dec 2011 06:27 AM PST Big Dog AirAsia CEO Tony Fernandes behaviour and arrogance is getting very uncouth and overbearing. His incessant morbid and rabid gnarls against Ministry of Transport and Malaysia Airports (MAHB) is getting too far fetched. His blatant gross disregard against civil servants are becoming exactly like the Opposition. Earlier last week, he lambasted the Chief Secretary of MOT Dato' Loong See Wool in social media.  Unbecoming of a director of GLC rubbishing KSU of MOT in social media Then, in a campaign against MAHB's increase of airport tax, Fernandes did the sticker thing at AirAsia's home for the past six year, the low cost carrier terminal (LCCT).
| |
| Indonesia elects lawyer as new anti-corruption leader Posted: 02 Dec 2011 06:24 AM PST (Asia One) - JAKARTA - Indonesia revamped its corruption-fighting agency Friday with the election of a progressive lawyer as leader, amid widespread anger over government inaction on graft. "What I'd like to do is focus on completing the big cases that the public have been waiting to see prosecuted," Abraham Samad, the new chair of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), told Metro TV. "We will try our best to collect enough evidence for each case to prosecute in the fairest way according to the law." The 45-year-old was named the new chair by a special House of Representatives team which also elected Bambang Widjojanto, a human rights activist and lawyer, as one of four commissioners. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's popularity has steadily fallen throughout his second term as the public loses faith in his fight against graft. The KPK was the centrepiece of his 2009 election campaign, having achieved a 100 percent prosecution rate, putting some of the country's most senior officials and business tycoons behind bars. Samad will head the KPK until 2015 and replaces Busyro Muqoddas, a former prominent judge, who will be kept on as a commissioner. Muqoddas was elected in 2010 to replace Antasari Azhar, who is serving an 18-year jail term for orchestrating the murder of a businessman in a scandal involving a love triangle with a young female golf caddie. A Gallup poll released in October found that 91 percent of Indonesians believe corruption in government is widespread, compared to 84 percent in 2006. On Thursday, Transparency International gave Indonesia a dismal score of three out of 10 for transparency among public officials and politicians, although its ranking improved from 110 last year to 100 out of 183 countries.
| |
| Game changer, PRU 13 dan masa depan Umno Posted: 02 Dec 2011 06:19 AM PST Peringatan bersedia menghadapi elemen yang mencetus perubahan dramatik permainan politik (game changer) yang diucapkan Najib mendedahkan kebimbangan parti pemerintah itu terhadap realiti semasa seperti bahasa baharu politik dan peranan media sosial yang semakin berpengaruh. Siasah Presiden Umno Datuk Seri Mohd Najib Abdul Razak telah memberikan isyarat paling jelas untuk parti utama pemerintah pusat itu bersedia hadapi Pilihan Raya Umum ke-13.
| |
| Concept must be translated in Sabah also, says LDP Posted: 02 Dec 2011 06:07 AM PST (Daily Express) - Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) is heartened by the Prime Minister's continued recognition that the concept of power sharing must be reflected and translated in all level of the government administration including in the state government in Sabah. "He has taken us through a historical journey of how Umno was formed and to the formation of the coalition that led to the development of political and economical stability we have today. "He recognises the concerted effort of everyone in bringing Malaysia to be what it is today, prosperous and modern. "He contributed the success to the formula of 'power sharing' amongst the various races in the various component parties despite the fact that Malay being dominant," said LDP President Datuk VK Liew. Liew, who is a Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department, said that as Najib said the proof of the pudding is in the eating. It is therefore of great significance that such concept be respected and put in practice without prejudicing the spirit of the coalition that has existed for this long, he said. "In this regard, I like to stress that we must not let our personal differences and conflict cloud our better judgement and hence affect our emotion. "The long established principle of power sharing must not be disregarded to the detriment of BN as a whole," he said. Liew said the Prime Minister had also inspired the Umno delegates to rise in preparation for the coming general election. He said Najib also reminded all to be in synch with the development of information technology and to use all the available gadgets such as mobile phones and internet portals such as FB, Twitter and others to transmit correct information to the Rakyat. The campaign method has taken a different dimension in view of this advancement of information technology."
| |
| “I back Najib, he is a better man,” says Dr Mahathir Posted: 02 Dec 2011 06:04 AM PST (Bernama) - Former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad gave a terse political tip for Malaysian voters. Crediting Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak for "correcting wrongs" in the political system, he said the prime minister should be given a chance to lead the country. "He is gaining popularity, he is correcting wrongs did (committed) by my successor. "I back Najib, he is a better man, he deserves to be given a chance," Dr Mahathir said at a media conference in Delhi today. The 86-year-old statesman is here to attend the annual Hindustan Times Leadership Summit where he presented a keynote address. In his speech, he warned global leaders to note key changes taking place -- failure of central planned economy, influence of social media and the speed of people crossing borders. "These are radical changes happening in the 21st century. All these will impact whatever we do, political, economic, social or financial areas. "If we are not willing to admit these changes, we will not be able to attend to these challenges," noted Dr Mahathir. In his keynote address themed 'The Challenges of Changes in the 21st Century', he said democracy was not a bad system, but not a panacea for all political shortcomings. "Democracy is the best form of government, it is not the easiest to govern because people do not understand the limitations of democracy," he added.
| |
| Tunku ’Abidin Muhriz apologises for leeches comment Posted: 01 Dec 2011 10:57 PM PST (The Star) - President of Ideas Tunku 'Abidin Muhriz apologised Friday for remarks he had made in his article that was published in the column Roaming Beyond the Fence. "I would like to apologise for the misunderstanding caused by my comment pertaining to leeches at PWTC this week. "Although I clearly restricted the analogy to "some" individuals, several quarters have interpreted my comment as applying to all those participating in the Umno General Assembly. This is most unfortunate. "Anyone who has been reading my articles over the past three years will know that I admire and deeply respect many Umno leaders," Tunku Abidin said in a statement. He was criticised at the Umno general assembly for implying that some of the delegates were leeches "So, when I implied that leeches had penetrated the party, it was out of a sense of disappointment, not of an intrinsic hatred of the party, as has been suggested." Tunku Abidin pointed out that he had deep respect for Umno leaders like Datuk Onn Jaafar, Tunku Abdul Rahman and Tun Hussein Onn "Most recently, I have consistently praised the efforts of Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah in fighting for further democracy and freedom for all Malaysians. "Furthermore, I have been consistent in congratulating the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak for his courageous attempts to reform the country under the Government Transformation Programme and Economic Transformation Programme." Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin welcomed Tunku Abidin's apology as well as the clarification on his stand. "It was not fair of him to make a generalised statement against Umno," said the Rembau MP.
| |
| MAHB chairman backs Bashir as MD Posted: 01 Dec 2011 10:55 PM PST (Bernama) - Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad (MAHB) chairman Tan Sri Dr Aris Othman today extended his full support to a proposal to extend the service of Tan Sri Bashir Ahmad as the company's managing director. "I can say with confidence that the entire Board of Directors will extend their full support to him being retained as the managing director. Bashir's contract with MAHB ends in June next year. The proposal to extend Bashir's service was voiced by the President of the Peninsular, Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad Workers Union, Hussin Shaharn at the same ceremony. It was also proposed at the event that a memorandum be sent to the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, on the proposal. Hussin also proposed that another memorandum be sent to the Prime Minister on the confusion at the Low Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT)yesterday in relation to the, "Say No To Airport Tax Increase", by Air Asia. Air Asia is protesting MAHB's decision to raise the airport tax by between RM7 to RM14 at its five airports in the country, effective yesterday. Meanwhile, the joint agreement signed today will see 2,705 non-executive workers of MAHB, receiving a new salary structure involving increases of 7-43 per cent. There is also a salary adjustment of six per cent for 4,051 workers not involved in the restructuring. | |
| Until Hindu Temple demolishments stop there is no freedom and there is no equality Posted: 01 Dec 2011 09:11 PM PST The first thing that needs to be done in order to find a robust solution is to accept that a problem exists. Any argument that tries to deny the existence of the problem or to talk down the problem by ridiculing it or by downplaying its significance has to be first stopped. N. Ganesan, National Advisor to Hindraf The demolishment of Hindu temples seem to be an ongoing saga. We thought the 2007 Hindraf Rally and the Tsunami of 2008 would have seen an end to such wanton abuse of power against the minority Indian poor in the country. But this seems not to be the case.The most recent demolishment of the Glenmaries Mathuraiveeran Temple in Shah Alam, and at least three others before that in Selangor in the last two years, the near demolition of Sri Raja Muniswarar, in Jalan Tun Dr Ismail, Seremban in August this year and the current issuance of an eviction notice to the Sivasakthi Kuan Yin Temple in Bagan in Penang with the possibility of ultimate demolishment, are indications that the problem is rearing its ugly head again. It certainly has found no solution yet.
We have known for some time that the BN government does not have within its DNA to solve this problem at the root. We however expected that the Pakatan Governments in Selangor, Penang and Kedah to show more imagination and competence in dealing with these issues. This is not a simple issue, by any stretch of imagination. We expected them to have it within them to deal with this problem in more effective ways. But that seems not to be happening, with what we see in Selangor and Penang. The same careless approach of the BN is rearing its head again, in the Pakatan avatar too.
Simplistic approaches do not make for robust solutions
The BN and Pakatan Governments seem to take a very simplistic approach to this problem and want to wish the problem away. However there are fundamental issues of minority rights, of law, of morality and of the role of the State. In addition there are issues of history, traditions, ways of lives and allocation of the national resource involved. But all these seem not to be significant considerations by those in power. They seem to think them irrelevant because in their reckoning, the Indian poor do not count for much more than their votes.
The first thing that needs to be done in order to find a robust solution is to accept that a problem exists. Any argument that tries to deny the existence of the problem or to talk down the problem by ridiculing it or by downplaying its significance has to be first stopped. There needs to be an understanding that what is being destroyed is not just the structures and the idols of the deities that make the temple, but indeed a way of life of the poor and marginalized Indians.
What is being destroyed is a way of life, not just the temples
The Indian poor not only have to give up the structures and representations of god that make up the temple whenever the temple is demolished, they have to give up their community activities in and around this temple that forms a major part of their social lives, gathering in their small communities every so often for festivals, for marriages and for other religious events, to replenish their spirits and to lighten up their otherwise heavy lives. When their temples are destroyed, they are forced to give up this way of life. Yet the destruction is necessary only to maximize the profits of the rich. These poor end up subsidizing the profit of the rich by having to give up their way of life. And that is a major problem. It is a major issue of their rights.
The next thing to do is to accept that the problem cannot be solved by using the same old methods and arguments of the BN government - demolish first then justify afterwards if needed. This is what we see happening in Selangor now, demolishment happens stealthily and then the State Government rushes to justify it with vexatious arguments. This is exactly the kind of thing BN used to do under Khir Toyo and Mahathir. They used to collude with their erstwhile Mandores in MIC. This is what we see happening in Selangor with the most recent demolishment of the Glenmarie Temple. There was the demolishment of the Sri Maha KaliammanTemple, Ampang on the 9th of September 2008, Muniswara Temple in Port Klang on the 11th of Aug 2010, then Sri Srinivasa Perumal Temple on 8th of November 2010 and now the Mathurai Veeran Hindu Temple, Jalan Glenmarie in Shah Alam a few days ago.
Too many temples?
One argument used to justify the demolishment is that there are too many temples, and that that is the source of the problem. There are 2000 temples for about a half million Hindus in Selangor said the State Rep. What he was insinuating was that there are too many temples resulting from irresponsible and wanton building of temples. That there are these many temples bring out some useful history. These temples were the centre of communities. And the numbers of temples reflect the number of communities - rural Indian estate communities. These rural communities were effectively self contained Indian village communities tucked deep inside Malaysian rubber plantations.
The owners of plantations knew that they needed a self sustaining and self perpetuating pool of labour and they had to create such communities for the needs of their profits. Effectively the elite of the day created rural Indian villages in Malaya and with them, these temples on their land. These temples were not wantonly or irresponsibly built as the State rep would have us believe. They are a direct outcome of the history of the country and the hunger for profit by the elite.
And when Malaya became Malaysia and these plantations gave way to a variety of other development, and estates gave way to cities, this labour force became steadily superfluous. Disintegration of these rural communities began. This touched most of these several thousand communities all over the country and with them, their temples. The temples were all now sited illegally on someone else's land, as the estates dispossessed these communities. The practice in these rural communities had always been that temples were on estate land – nobody in the community owned the land – the land was provided; anyway, they could not afford it. That is all still very true today – the poor and marginalized Indians cannot afford the land.
But the new rules required that they own the land. The fact that the temples served a necessary social function for the communities that had lived there for years and continue to serve did not seem to matter anymore. The rights to the religious practices of these people did not count in these changed circumstances. This is the unsaid part of the arguments of the politicians. The truism once more confirmed – the Indian poor mean nothing more to the politicians in Government other than their votes.
We demolish shrines, not temples – really?
Another argument often proferred is that the demolished structures are not temples but are just shrines - shrines built all over the place, under the trees, in god forsaken places and so on. And therefore what they are demolishing are not temples but just shrines. If these dimwits in Government had true knowledge they would immediately recognize that shrines are only the beginnings of temples. In the hearts of the people, shrine or temple, the belief is what draws them there and they represent the same religious significance to them. As more visit the shrine and the shrine gets drawn into the mainstream of society, the structures upgrade to reflect and support the increased traffic and morph to become temples, small at first and then bigger with time – along with other changes inside the temples. And it is also common knowledge that shrines begin mostly by trees. So to imply that shrines by the trees are wanton religious practices on the basis of some alien understanding only demonstrates the ignorance and mischief in these arguments.
The wantonness of the Indian poor or the wantonness of the politicians?
All the nonsense that has occurred in demolishing temples must stop. It is necessary that some sense come into all of this. Temple demolishments only tugs at the core fabric of Malaysian society. It is not only a problem of the Indian poor, it is a problem of Malaysian society, as a whole. I do not know how many Malaysians have the courage to accept that this is really the case.
What the Governments in the States must now do is to stop the wayang and get down to brass tacks by addressing the problems. It is all a matter of political will. Do the governments have that political will to resolve this problem? Do they want to find a permanent solution to this problem or not.
And, they must stop the practice of giving excuses for not doing what is right. If the Indian poor are indeed sons and daughters of this soil, this will be a concrete opportunity to express that idea. Recognizing that these impoverished sons and daughters of the soil have these religious beliefs and practices, the Governments in the States need to intervene appropriately. The methods employed till now are just not cutting it. The simplistic approaches only result in continuing damage. There are far too many issues involved. This requires an informed solution.
Only when this happens will the saga of demolishments of temples stop – only then will true and free rights for religious beliefs and practices prevail.
| |
| Umno can ‘overcome’ PKR and PAS but not DAP, says minister Posted: 01 Dec 2011 08:03 PM PST (The Malaysian Insider) - An Umno minister admitted today his party viewed DAP as its biggest threat in the next general election, but he confidently predicted that PKR and PAS could be beaten. Pasir Gudang MP Datuk Seri Khaled Nordin reasoned that this was why delegates had focused their attacks on DAP when speaking about Pakatan Rakyat (PR) throughout the Umno annual general assembly so far. "Because they believe, and it has been some sort of perception, whether real or imaginary, that the dominant force (in the opposition) is not PKR — it is DAP. "Therefore, Umno members have been focusing (on) and criticising DAP ... because Umno feels they can overcome the other Malay-based parties," he told The Malaysian Insider when approached on the sidelines of the party's AGM today. The higher education minister was commenting on the direction of debates during the assembly so far and how delegates have been targeting DAP in their criticisms. Attacks against the opposition party have served as a focal point for this year's Umno assembly, with delegates accusing DAP leaders of marginalising Malays in PR states, and challenging the sanctity of Islam as the country's "official religion". While some have dismissed renewed attacks against DAP as mere "Pakatan bashing," some Umno leaders have insisted that DAP poses a "real threat" to Malays, and that a future with DAP in power would spell disaster for the community. "The party (Umno) is a platform. Our main concern is the future of Malays and Islam. "This goes beyond political differences between PAS and PKR. Malays have a right to be worried. The position of Malays and our religion has been challenged subliminally and one day before we realise it, it will be too late to do anything," said Umno delegate Abdul Rahim Kamarudin.
| |
| Posted: 01 Dec 2011 06:49 PM PST The new law in Malaysia means large street protests such as the July 9 rally this year organized by the Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (Bersih 2.0) which saw tens of thousands of people taking to the streets would be effectively outlawed in future. By Anil Netto, Asia Times he speedy passage of the ironically named Peaceful Assembly Bill - which effectively legally bars street protests - has put Prime Minister Najib Razak's avowed commitment to ushering in greater democracy and civil liberties under intense new scrutiny.On September 15, Najib surprised many when he announced a repeal of the Internal Security Act, the lifting of various 1970s era "emergency" promulgations and related orders, and an easing of strict laws governing publication permits and public gatherings. Since then, however, little has actually changed in practice. The ISA will be repealed in March, but detention without trial will continue under two new laws to deal with terrorism and maintain public order. Last month 13 people, including six Indonesians, were detained under the ISA in Tawau, Sabah, for alleged terrorist activities, sparking criticism that the arrests made a mockery of Najib's earlier avowal to repeal the law. Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said the arrests were in line with the new anti-terrorism law that would replace the ISA. The Indonesians would be deported upon completion of investigations, "but the Malaysians will be charged if there is sufficient evidence," he said. Critics have pointed out that the existing Penal Code was already amended a few years ago to deal specifically with terrorism. Even more contentious was the manner in which the Peaceful Assembly Bill was stream-rolled into law on Tuesday, even as the Malaysian Bar Council rallied a thousand lawyers and activists for a peaceful "Walk for Freedom of Assembly" march to parliament. Despite the government making half a dozen amendments to the original Bill, opposition parliamentarians walked out of parliament after the speaker allowed only three from their ranks to debate the bill. The bill forbids street protests and imposes a host of rulings for other assemblies, though it allows gatherings at designated areas away from public or government facilities. Initially, the bill also provided for a 30-day notice period for organizers to inform the police of assemblies at non-designated areas. Following a public outcry, the notice period was reduced to 10-days. Critics pointed out that even under traditionally military-run Myanmar's new public assembly law, organizers need give only five days notice. The new law in Malaysia means large street protests such as the July 9 rally this year organized by the Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (Bersih 2.0) which saw tens of thousands of people taking to the streets would be effectively outlawed in future. The July 9 rally was declared illegal at the time, but that didn't stop thousands from marching in support of electoral reforms. The next time, potential protesters will have to contend with heavier penalties. Even before the Arab Spring in the Middle East and North Africa, large street rallies have rattled the Malaysian government. In March 2008, for instance, the political opposition made sharp inroads in the general election after two large rallies, one of them by Bersih, were held and repressed in November 2007. Malaysia's ruling party, the United Malays National Organization (UMNO), in power since independence from colonial rule was achieved in 1957, has cast a wary eye over what is happening in the Middle East. An UMNO Youth leader, Khairy Jamaluddin, has accused opposition leaders of drawing comparisons with the Middle East to "to instigate people to take part in street revolutions and in the process manufacture a Malaysian version of the Arab Spring".
| |
| Hisham: Winnable candidate has good track record, work ethics, people’s support Posted: 01 Dec 2011 06:25 PM PST (The Star) - KUALA LUMPUR: A winnable candidate is not defined by his age, position or even religion, said Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein. Instead, said the Umno vice president, it was determined by his track record, work ethics and the people's support. "As long as you win the hearts of the people, even the party president will not stop you from contesting in the election," he said on the side-lines of the Umno general assembly Friday. He urged Umno leaders to go down to the ground and do their job in serving the people if they want to be chosen as election candidates. Hishammuddin said a good candidate was a Barisan Nasional candidate who had a better chance of winning. "Barisan Nasional is a party which is able to translate unity in our diversity and this has become our strength," Hishammuddin said. On having two-thirds majority in the Parliament, he said many Western democracies did not have such results and some even had a hung Parliament, like in Britain. "It is only us who are used to the idea of having a two-third majority. However, the message from the last elections is clear. We have to work harder and close ranks," he said. Datuk Seri Najib Tiun Razak, in his policy speech at the opening of the 2011 Umno General Assembly on Thursday, emphasised that as Umno people, the elements that members must uphold were loyalty, love for the party and a willingness to serve and sacrifice for the party. | |
| Pua: Ministry admits some Kedai Rakyat items not up to the mark Posted: 01 Dec 2011 06:09 PM PST By Melissa Chi, The Malaysian Insider The DAP today said the Health Ministry has admitted that some of the products sold at Kedai Rakyat 1 Malaysia shops failed to meet legal requirements although it did not take any action against the supplier. "(They admitted we were right) except the sweet creamer, the 10 per cent fat content, there is a bit of discrepancy, they will check but the rest, they are all considered (to have failed to meet the legal requirements)," DAP publicity chief Tony Pua said today after meeting Health director-general Datuk Dr Hasan Abdul Rahman at the ministry here.
| |
| Tony Fernandes’ car is ground zero in airport tax hike spat Posted: 01 Dec 2011 06:03 PM PST By Yow Hong Chieh, The Malaysian Insider SEPANG, Dec 2 — Parked just outside Coffee Bean at the low-cost carrier terminal (LCCT) here is an unlikely focal point of AirAsia's fight against a recent airport tax hike — a white Peugeot 308cc. Prevented from putting up anti-tax hike displays in the terminal, AirAsia staff have transformed their boss Tan Sri Tony Fernandes' convertible into a striking display for the campaign, armed with nothing but posters and a miniature Christmas tree. An equally festive message on the bonnet read, "Help Tony share the holiday spirit. Take a picture for beautiful, lasting memories," and urged the public to share their photos on AirAsia's Facebook and Twitter pages.
| |
| Opposition leaders are liars, only focus on achieving personal agendas - Umno debaters Posted: 01 Dec 2011 05:58 PM PST (Bernama) -- Debaters at the 2011 Umno General Assembly today continued hitting out at the opposition, describing them as liars who would continue ridiculing Barisan Nasional government and making baseless allegations against Umno leaders. Datuk Hasnoor Sidang Husin from Melaka said the opposition were not voicing out the people's problems, but merely cheating the people to achieve their personal agendas. "They (opposition) demanded the abolishment of the Internal Security Act (ISA) by manipulating democracy and the freedom of speech, but when the government announced that the ISA will be abolished, they did nothing to express their thanks or support to the Prime Minister," he said debating the motion of thanks for the president's speech. He said the opposition would also continue making baseless allegations to create negative public perception on Umno and its leaders. Datuk Wan Amizan Wan Abdul Razak from Pahang, on the other hand, said that the tactics used by the opposition to spread lies about Umno, if not tackled, would affect Umno's chances to win the hearts of the people and ensure victory in the general election. "The opposition has been spreading continuous lies about our president (Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak) and had also made numerous baseless allegations on his Haj pilgrimage," he said. As such, Wan Amizan said Umno members should rise and counter the allegations made against Umno and its leaders. At the same time, he also called on Umno top leadership to avoid controversy as it could cause the people to lose faith in the party. He said a controversy would also make it difficult for Umno members to explain the real situation to the people at the grassroot.
| |
| Posted: 01 Dec 2011 05:49 PM PST Moreover, attacking the DAP would only cause more non-Malays to sympathise with the DAP and could not help the MCA or the Gerakan at all. Then why is Umno still doing so? By TAY TIAN YAN Like London in the World War II, the DAP has been lambasted at the Umno general assembly. From Umno Deputy President Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin's speech to debates of the delegates, the DAP has been regarded as an organisation of "anti-Malays" and "anti-Islam". It was accused of intended to abolish the monarchy, form a republic and launch the May 13 incident. Umno information chief Datuk Ahmad Maslan straightforwardly said that a hung parliament, namely when both the BN and the Pakatan Rakyat fail to gain more than half of the total parliament seats, would lead to an unstable government and the DAP would take the advantage to seize power. If so, the Malays will lose everything. Some people might ask, since the DAP is not a direct rival to Umno, and the two parties seem to have no direct confronting seat, why then Umno attacks the DAP, instead of the PKR or PAS? Moreover, attacking the DAP would only cause more non-Malays to sympathise with the DAP and could not help the MCA or the Gerakan at all. Then why is Umno still doing so? Of course, it is a strategy of Umno. Umno has to strengthen its racial and religious characteristics on the eve of the general election to gain recognition of Malay voters. It also meeds an imaginary enemy to highlight its status in defending its race and religion. Non-Malays were often targeted in the past party general assemblies but since the general election is too close this time, they cannot simply offend the general non-Malay voters. Moreover, it would also contrary to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak's slogan of 1Malaysia. Since they cannot attack non-Malays while have to stimulate the sense of racial and religious crisis of the Malay community, they can only concentrate on attacking the DAP. The Malay community generally still thinks that the DAP is representing the Chinese community and some even believe that the DAP is an extreme Chinese chauvinism party. Exaggerating the DAP's threat can cause some pressure on the Malay community. While bulging the DAP, they also have to narrow the statuses of the PKR and PAS. Therefore, the DAP is turned into a big brother followed by two little brothers. The little brothers, the PKR and PAS, might betray the racial group at any time because they have been misled by their big brother. Linking all these points together, it then forms a set of strategy logic. However, although non-Malays have not been drawn into the strategy, it has still caused a certain level of anxiety. After all, excessive emphasis on the sense of racial and religious crisis will bring more harm than good to the harmony and unity of a pluralistic society. Najib said in his speech that Umno must have more new ideas to keep pace with the changes of times. New ingredients must be added into new ideas and the problems that are faced by Umno today are not caused by the DAP. To win support of the Malays, Umno should show its ability in leading the Malay community and the country forward, instead of relying on creating an imaginary enemy and the sense of crisis.
|
| You are subscribed to email updates from Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
0 ulasan:
Catat Ulasan