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Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News

Youth in Asia Pacific face serious employment issues
Looking eastward after the Arab Spring
Malaysia’s Troubling “Peace” Bill
Umno to field many new faces
No easy task to transform Umno
Anwar squashed by Najib's speech

Youth in Asia Pacific face serious employment issues

Posted: 04 Dec 2011 10:29 AM PST

"In Malaysia, the median age of the population is 27, we are talking about 110 million young people in Indonesia and Malaysia alone. Employers here are constantly complaining that there is no talent and that university graduates are unemployable. Boys are expected to be engineers and girls are expected to be accountants. Attitudes towards women are very stereotypical. Employers have to give young persons a chance. If companies have to survive, they have to be innovative and they can't be that unless they hear the voice of the young," Ms. Mun says.

Mismatch between potential and experience confounds many a job-seeker, say managers.

By Meena Menon, The Hindu

Mun Ching Yap had gone as a journalist to an airline company to interview its executive official, but her excitement, passion and ability to learn earned her a job as the head of the company's strategic planning department.

Ms. Mun, now a columnist and entrepreneur from Malaysia, was 28 years old then.

"In Malaysia, the median age of the population is 27, we are talking about 110 million young people in Indonesia and Malaysia alone. Employers here are constantly complaining that there is no talent and that university graduates are unemployable. Boys are expected to be engineers and girls are expected to be accountants. Attitudes towards women are very stereotypical. Employers have to give young persons a chance. If companies have to survive, they have to be innovative and they can't be that unless they hear the voice of the young," Ms. Mun says.

A special Leaders' Forum on Youth Employment at the 15th Asia and the Pacific Regional Meeting (ARPM) of the International Labour Organisation (ILO), which opened on Sunday in Kyoto, raised the crucial issues of the prevailing mismatch between the available skills and the demands of current employers and the severe lack of options for the youth, who are left out of decision- and policy-making.

Moderator Paranjoy Guha Thakurta from India said the challenges before the youth were huge; close to 60 per cent of the young people in the world lived in the Asia Pacific region, which accounted for 45 per cent of all the unemployment on the planet.

Vocational training

According to Ms. Mun, the Malaysian government, now looking at promoting vocational education for students, had set up institutions, with Japanese and German help, to provide youth with actual work experience.

Along with Ms. Mun, youth leaders from the Asia Pacific region made a forceful pitch to demand that their voice be heard in the backdrop of the serious joblessness plaguing the region.

Noura Saleh Alturki, organisation development manager, Nesma Holding Company, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, says those who were educated were not employable, and were told, after four years of studying, that they did not have a work ethic or that they did not know English.

While both sexes faced challenges, women were worse off, and faced many issues, such as lack of public transportation and discrimination, Ms. Alturki said. As a result, women were seeking jobs in the private sector. Things were changing. "Since the time I joined [the company] in 2006, I see lot more job opportunities and it's a very exciting time to talk about employment in the Arab world."

However, Ms. Alturki said one was faced with a Catch-22 situation — if you have the skills, you don't have the experience.

"Interviewers should recognise people who have potential, train them and provide them with the skills they need," she said.

Xiaoshan Huang, 25, an entrepreneur and PhD student from China, said his was the post-80s generation, which was now entering the labour market. In China, 75 per cent of the job-seekers were under 35.

While enrolment was increasing in colleges, there was a mismatch between the skills you learn at school and the requirements in the labour market, Mr. Xiaoshan said.

To overcome this, the career coaching programme in schools invited resource persons as coaches for students — an exchange that created special relationships between teachers and students.

Innovation is the key issue, and young people are the main driving force behind innovation, he feels. Promoting entrepreneurship will increase employment and bring about benefits to economic growth.

Pranav Shagotra, youth-wing president of the International Trade Union Congress (ITUC), Asia Pacific, said policy-makers should understand the problems of young people and involve them in policy-making decisions.

Vocational and skill-level training was low. Women did not get jobs and in the Asia Pacific, he said, while the youth were highly qualified, they did not get the jobs they studied for.

The industries need something else and children of poor families often ended up in the informal sector.

In Palestine, things were more positive with the government taking into account the lacuna articulated by a recent research, according to Bader Zamareh, executive director of Sharek Youth Forum there.

The Arab states reported the highest unemployment rate in the region.

"I was one of a group which wrote about the reality of the young people in Palestine and later it involved the rest of the Arab world. We believed something would happen, there was an indicator that something would explode, and we expected it in three years," Mr. Zamareh said.

But things snowballed even sooner than expected.

What happened in Tunisia, Mr. Zamareh says, was a revolution for freedom and dignity, against the absence of opportunities, the marginalisation and daily violation of Arab and Palestinian dignity. "Therefore we have to see an end to occupation in Palestine. We will not have a future if everything is in the hands of the Israelis. Internal matters are not simple to handle. The Palestinians also have to think of education. There are 35,000 graduates who can't find a job in Palestine," Mr. Zamareh said.

"We managed to convey our experience to the Palestine Education Minister and this was taken note of. We diagnosed the problems and provided the solutions as well. We understand the market and what the market needs are. With 24 per cent of educated persons being jobless, innovative solutions were needed."

(The writer is part of a media facility trip by the ILO to Kyoto to cover the conference)

Looking eastward after the Arab Spring

Posted: 04 Dec 2011 10:23 AM PST

Today, the question facing a region living in the shadow a revolution is, "what next?" The Arab Spring took the world by surprise and it is therefore unsurprising that detailed plans for what to do next do not exist. How do new leaders begin the long work of building the democratic foundations their citizens' demand?

By Matt Baker and Nathan Gamester, The Jakarta Post

On Dec. 17, 2010, the single, desperate act of a 26 year-old Tunisian entrepreneur plunged a country and ultimately an entire region into chaotic and violent protests that marked the start of a revolution.

Mohamed Bouazizi, a university educated street vendor in the Sidi Bouzid region, was accosted by police who beat him and seized his goods, thereby removing his only means to livelihood. After trying to make an official complaint but finding no one interested in his case, Mr. Bouazizi, doused himself in petrol and immolated himself on the steps of a government building. This act represented the beginning of what we now know as the Arab Spring.

Today, the question facing a region living in the shadow a revolution is, "what next?" The Arab Spring took the world by surprise and it is therefore unsurprising that detailed plans for what to do next do not exist. How do new leaders begin the long work of building the democratic foundations their citizens' demand? To whom should they look for example and inspiration? Certainly Turkey has been held up as a model for the region by some.

Indeed in September of this year, Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan visited Egypt, Tunisia and Libya in an attempt to leverage Turkey's position in the region as a source of inspiration during their period of transition. However, while Turkey, may be to some extent, a good example of effective democratic governance among Muslim-majority countries, this is not the whole story. In other areas, notably the economy and important governance indicators, the post-Arab Spring countries could look to Indonesia and Malaysia.

Of course, there can be no single model for the region after the Arab Spring. Each country's path to prosperity is unique. However, findings from the 2011 Legatum Prosperity Index™ show that both Malaysia and Indonesia could offer a different example than the often touted Turkey.

The Prosperity Index shows that both Malaysia and Indonesia outperform Turkey on the Economy sub-index, ranking 17th, 44th and 78th respectively out of the 110 countries that the Index measures. In Malaysia this economic success is largely due to export-led industrialization, fuelled by foreign direct investment. In addition, the country has low unemployment and high public confidence in financial institutions (at 87 percent).

While, Indonesia's success partly comes from having the 19th largest market in the world following a good recovery from the 1997 Asian financial crisis, which has enabled the country to reduce poverty levels and maintain robust economic growth even during the recent global downturn. Further, job market expectations have continued to improve since 2008, while satisfaction with living standards has risen from 44 percent in the 2009 Index to almost 70 percent in this year's Index.

Despite its economic successes, democratic Indonesia still suffers from high levels of corruption and low levels of rule of law. But most notably, Indonesia, which started its transition from autocracy to democracy in 1998, has relatively high levels of political rights and democratic accountability. In contrast, is Malaysia's effective, yet relatively unaccountable, governance.

Malaysia's strengths are in areas such as the rule of law and business-related regulation. However, there may be signs that the political concerns that emerged during the July protests regarding electoral reform are being addressed. The setting up of an inquiry into electoral reforms by Prime Minister Najib Razak is a positive sign but it still needs to deliver tangible change. Like Indonesia, but for different reasons, there remain areas for Malaysia to improve in key areas of governance.

In the words of the cofounder of the Tunisian En-Nadha party, Rachid Ghannouchi: "...there are other successful Islamic models that are close to us, like the Turkish, the Malaysian and the Indonesian models — models that combine Islam and modernity?" While both Indonesia and Malaysia differ from many Arab Spring countries in both history and context, they may nonetheless be able to provide an alternate perspective than that of Turkey. It is important to not limit our attention to only those countries that are close at hand and convenient.

The power of example — the need for a model to inspire positive change — should not be underestimated. But because no model can ever be perfect, it is prudent to hold up more than one, and to keep in mind what the Prosperity Index continues to demonstrate: That the world changes, regions and countries change, but the foundations of national prosperity remain the same.

A commitment to free markets and democratic governance will remain central to the future success of not just the Arab Spring countries but also those that seek to offer themselves as an example to others.

The writers are co-authors of the 2011 Legatum Prosperity IndexTM, which can be read online at: www.prosperity.com. The annual Index is produced by the London-based Legatum Institute.

Malaysia’s Troubling “Peace” Bill

Posted: 04 Dec 2011 10:18 AM PST

After Bersih, everybody expected the government to implement reforms that would convince the people about its commitment to democracy and transparency. But with this bill, it seems the government prefers to provoke its enemies and weaken their ability to shape public opinion by banning street protests. The bill appears proof that the government is afraid of the radical potential of Bersih and the emergence of a Malaysian Spring that could finally deliver the fatal blow to the ruling coalition's decades-old reign in Malaysia.

By Mong Palatino, The Diplomat

The Malaysian Parliament has unanimously approved the controversial Peaceful Assembly Bill, which critics warned would make it extremely difficult for citizens to organize protest activities. Activists denounced it as a repressive measure intended to curtail the people's freedom of speech and expression.

The opposition, for its part, was so outraged by the hasty introduction of the measure (MPs received copies of the bill only on November 22) that they staged a walkout during the voting process. Outside the parliament, lawyers organized a "freedom walk" to dramatize their rejection of the bill, which they think is in violation of several international human rights norms. Protesters also took Prime Minister Najib Razak to task for reneging on his pledge during the Malaysia Day celebration in September to review section 27 of the Police Act 1967 in order to uphold the people's freedom of assembly.

Lim Chee Wee, president of the Malaysian Bar, identified the dangerous provisions of the bill that could undermine the constitutional rights of Malaysian citizens:

1) Prohibition of street protests;

2) Prohibition of organization of assemblies by persons below the age of twenty one years;

3) Prohibition of participation in peaceful assemblies of children below the age of fifteen years;

4) Unduly onerous responsibilities and restrictions on organizers and assemblies;

5) Excessive fines for non-compliance of the bill.

Civil libertarians are also horrified over the other insidious provisions of the bill, like the prohibition of rallies near a place of worship or any area that the government may declare as "protected," the banning of foreign journalists in a protest assembly, and the granting of power to the police to use tear gas, chemical-laced water, batons and shields as well as arbitrary arrests on participants if these are deemed necessary by authorities to make the assembly peaceful and orderly. Activists are also worried over a provision that gives police forces the right to disperse an assembly if participants are heard giving statements that "promote feelings of ill-will, discontent or hostility among the public."

Police are given such extensive powers to disperse assemblies without official permits that even an outdoor birthday party can be classified as an event that needs police approval. Furthermore, the police can impose numerous conditions when they approve the conduct of an assembly. And, if they decide to disperse a crowd, they are given the right to use "all reasonable force" in dealing with protesters.

READ MORE HERE.

Umno to field many new faces

Posted: 03 Dec 2011 11:19 PM PST

In the fourth objective, Najib wished for the assembly to become a fulfilment and to give a strong message to the 12.4 registered voters and 28 million population of Malaysia that they could rely on Umno to bring the country to a greater heights.

Daily Express

Umno is expected to field many new faces in the next general election compared to the previous elections.

Umno President Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said the move was not only necessary to strengthen the party but also to show that Umno was a dynamic party that was always willing to undertake changes.

"We normally do this during the general election...there will certainly be changes and in some areas, we find that innovations are certainly needed.

"Probably this time the line-up of new faces may be bigger, probably more than in the last general election in terms of new faces...," the Prime Minister told reporters at the conclusion of the Umno General Assembly 2011, here.

Also present was Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, who is also Umno deputy president.

Commenting further, Najib said there were Umno elected representatives who had seen him personally, expressing their willingness to make way for new faces in the next general election.

On the suggestion by the delegates that the names of candidates be announced much earlier, Najib said the announcement could not be too early nor too late.

"We are studying for the right time. If in the past, we found it very difficult to make the announcement late, but if the announcement is too early, there may be other problems," he said.

Responding to a question whether the existing elected representatives would be retained for the next general election, Najib said those showing good performance could possibly be renominated in the 13th general election.

"Because, when we sounded out the concept of a winnable candidate, we did not say two or three terms after which we replace them.

We hold on to the concept of a winnable candidate," he said.

Asked whether Umno and the BN would hold discussions with Independent candidates to contest in a particular constituency, Najib said this would be decided later.

Meanwhile, Najib hoped that the present Umno elected representatives who might not be renominated for the next general election would continue to give their support to the new candidate chosen by the top leadership.

"I hope that they support the new candidate because when they were first nominated, the people supported them and they had risen up because other people had made way for them, otherwise, they could not go up.

"So, when the time comes, they must make way for the sake of the party.

I hope they understand and will support the party, and accept the fact that they had benefited before from the support given by the other people," Najib added.

Najib also said Barisan Nasional (BN) and Umno want to form a strong government in the next general election.

"Whatever constitutes the definition 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.

He was responding to a question on 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 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.

He added it would be a mistake to underrate the opposition.

"When we want to take over a State, we need preparations and strategies which are far greater than usual," he said.

Asked whether he would want to announce that the assembly this year was the last before the next general election, as was speculated by many, he said, "If I do that, that would mean I'm giving the cue."

Preparations for the national polls would continue, he said, adding that BN and Umno leaders would carry on meeting the people throughout the country.

"It's an ongoing process. We are going to make rounds, more rounds and several more; for how many more, I won't know," he said.

On the BN convention in Perak next month, he said, nearly all the states had held similar conventions and that the next convention could be held in Umno's name.

To a question, Najib said, the BN had yet to decide whether to field candidates in areas contested by Independent Consensus members.

On the assembly, Najib said it had achieved all the four objectives which he had set out. Firstly, he said, he wanted the assembly to showcase Umno as a potent and united party and instil confidence among the millions of voters and the people that Umno was a family and a political organisation, and that the country's political backbone was strong and solid.

Secondly, Najib said, he wanted the assembly to prove that Umno was a party with dignity and in a state of preparedness to face the election.

"Thirdly, I want, through this assembly, the government to get the support for our vision to institute major changes as spelled out in the national transformation plan," he said.

Najib said the objective of the assembly was to get a full mandate from the delegates to make the transformation programme a success.

He said the assembly also created history when it ended with a unanimous pledge of Umno delegates, led by Deputy President Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, to remain loyal to the party and its leadership.

Najib said Umno's dismal performance at the 2008 general election was mainly due to betrayal.

"Like what was said by Muhyiddin, we have to have team spirit because when we analysed the reasons for our losses (in the last general election), we found out that we lost the battle because some Umno members had betrayed the party, right?" he said to loud cheers from the delegates and observers.

He said if all Umno members remained loyal to the party, Barisan Nasional would win the general election at any given time.

"When you go back to your constituency, don't frown when you see the face of your division head, and to the division head, when you see your deputy's face, please do not think that he is trying to topple you," he said.

Najib said all Umno members should realise that they had no choice because if Umno were to be defeated, the position of Islam and the Malays in the country would also be destroyed.

"This is the sign that the party's biggest transformation has begun.

In this historic moment, let us take the call of Allah, let us prepare ourselves with all our might to go to the battle field as a strong fighting team," he added.

Najib said the assembly this year was both historic and successful because it has not only inspired the revival of the party but created an awareness to face the challenges that lie ahead.

"Armed with unity, commitment and confidence, God willing, we can face and overcome any challenge.

The assembly, based on my assessment, I feel this assembly is the most successful and a historic because it has triggered the start of Umno's complete revival after the past election."

On comments that his speech when opening the assembly was not fiery enough compared with today's closing speech, Najib said he had saved his best for the last, in order to inspire the delegates during the closing.

"I want to stress that Umno's concept must be understood.

When we look at history, Umno has contributed immensely to the country and the Malays," he said.

No easy task to transform Umno

Posted: 03 Dec 2011 11:01 PM PST

The progressive ideas advocated by the liberals in the Malay party do not seem to sit well with the majority of the old-mindset members.

But the reality is, the transformation agenda is a minority agenda. Umno still remains entrenched in the old ways of politicking along racial and religious lines judging from the debates that took place in the five-day proceedings.

Syed Jaymal Zahiid, Free Malaysia Today

The central theme at the 62th Umno annual general assembly which ended last week has been about "transformation", an initiative that party president Najib Tun Razak tried to champion as Umno – the Barisan Nasional (BN) lynchpin – gears up for national polls.

From the shift in conservative mindset to a more progressive one and to the call for unpopular incumbents to make a graceful exit, it was clear that the transformation branding was aimed at winning back non-Malay support.

Najib had admitted that Umno cannot rely on its Malay power base alone; it desperately needs a stronger mandate to ensure his survival. Hence, winning back non-Malay support or the fence-sitters is key to realising his target.

Only a few delegates spoke of Najib's transformation quest while the others used age-old tactics of rousing the hardline elements in the party by focusing its fire on a predominantly Chinese party, the DAP, which they accused of having only one agenda – "to corrode Malay rule and the sanctity of Islam".

Najib's deputy Muhyiddin Yassin himself played on the same sentiment when he opened the Youth and Wanita assemblies, saying that Malay rule will diminish if Pakatan Rakyat, led by a dominant DAP, were to be voted in.

Furthermore, apart from some progressive ideas thrown around in the party's Youth wing proceedings, the general undertone of the debates signalled clearly Umno's refusal to shed its right- wing skin, thus exposing its arrogance.

It appeared that the majority of the delegates believed that all the party needs is greater Malay support.

To many of them, the non-Malays are no longer reliable, and are possibly traitors who do not recognise the good the Malay party had done for them.

This could be seen in the repeated calls for seats belonging to Umno's allies in BN with Malay-majority voters be returned to Umno.

READ MORE HERE

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.

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.

Kredit: www.malaysia-today.net

Ahad, 4 Disember 2011

Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News

Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News

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