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An eventful year for Najib
Bersih 2.0: It’s 50k, and a big success
Adam Adli — student activist, villain, folk hero
Battle to light political fire in students
Business of corruption thriving
Stepping out of Anwar’s shadow
Third Force to encircle Umno
Pakatan kept intact by sense of history and destiny
How we fail the Malaysian Indian poor
Towards a bankrupt Malaysia?
Uitm Poll: Most Youths Not 'Anti-Establishment'
Christmas Eve 2011 in Phuket

Posted: 29 Dec 2011 10:01 AM PST

The year 2011 has been a challenging one for the prime minister at home and abroad.

IIUM's four-year study pointed out that Najib's popularity among the Malays shows a marked improvement from 35 percent in 2008 to 59 percent in 2011, an increase from 33 to 45 percent among the Chinese and from 41 to 62 percent among the Indians.

By Ali Imran Mohd Noordin, Free Malaysia Today

Though 2011 has been a challenging year for Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak, both at the domestic and the global front, it was still an eventful year.

At the domestic front, Najib continued with the transformation programmes while addressing the ever-changing aspirations of the people. He continued with radical changes including abolishing the controversial Internal Security Act (ISA).

At the global front, the economic decay of the West in particular has created new challenges in promoting the national economy. The prospect of an impending global recession prompted Najib to thread a cautious path in managing the country's financial resources.

Nonetheless, Najib, known for his tenacity and unwavering commitment, took on the task of leading the country based on his mantra – "People First, Performance Now".

The year witnessed numerous bold transformation initiatives by the "Father of Transformation" based on the 1Malaysia aspiration that has been the hallmark of Najib's initiatives.

It is apparent that many of his efforts are showing results. The people too in general appreciated his strategies and public approval on Najib's leadership has improved tremendously.

A popularity study by Universiti Islam Antarabangsa (IIUM) and Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) indicated greater approval for Najib from all races in the country.

A similar study conducted by UPM this year on the minorities – Indian Muslims, Portuguese, Baba Nyonya, Orang Asli, Siam and Chitty – found a total of 54.2 percent of the minorities giving their thumbs-up for Najib.

1Malaysia brand

Just mention the rhyming acronyms – KR1M, PR1MA, MR1M, BR1M and the latest KIR1M – they immediately refer to Najib's effort to touch base with the people, especially the needy.

The KR1M or the Kedai Rakyat 1Malaysia are retail outlets offering daily necessities at affordable prices, up to 60 percent below other retail outlets.

The whole idea is to reduce the burden of urban poor, with KR1M offering daily necessities like rice, egg, milk, flour and chili sauce. Also available are frozen items, diapers and detergents.

KR1M is further complemented by Kedai Ikan Rakyat 1Malaysia (KIR1M) launched this month, offering fresh seafood at prices 30 to 40 percent lower than prevailing market price.

Menu Rakyat 1 Malaysia (MR1M) ensures the man on the street enjoys a meal worth up to RM2 for breakfast and RM4 for lunch.

As at Dec 16, the number of vendors who joined the MR1M scheme had roughly doubled, with 1,155 MR1M outlets opened all over the nation, compared with 611 when launched last July.

In the latest move, the MR1M outlets would be available at all higher education institutions starting with Universiti Malaya.

The 1Malaysia Public Housing Project (PR1MA) was launched on July 4 as a strategic initiative to fulfil the housing needs of the people, especially the urban middle-class.

In Putrajaya, under the programme 560 affordable homes priced between RM120,000 and RM150,000 in Precinct 11 were allocated for local youths with household income below RM6,000. This project is expected to be extended to other places like Johor Baru and Penang.

The 2012 Budget allocated RM100 to every school student and book vouchers worth RM200 for undergraduates. The government's goodwill was further extended with the RM500 hand-out under 1Malaysia Public Assistance (BR1M) for households earning less than RM3,000.

Making the transformation a reality

Realising that the people have been yearning for positive changes, a number of transformation programmes has been launched. Among them is the Economic Transformation Programme (ETP) that puts Malaysia on the path to emerge as a high income nation by 2020.

One of the 85 programmes implemented in 2011 is the Small Retail Outlet Transformation Programme (TUKAR) to help modernise small-time retailers and help them to compete with other players.

The programme is expected to contribute RM5.56 billion and create 51,540 employment opportunities.

On the whole, all the ETP initiatives launched in 2011 are expected to contribute RM150 billion and create more than 300,000 employment opportunities by 2020.

The government transformation, too, is showing results. Malaysia was listed on the 19th spot among the safest country index, a significant improvement from the 38th spot in 2008.

The same index also picked Malaysia as the safest country in Southeast Asia and fourth safest spot in the Asia-Pacific region, behind New Zealand, Japan and Australia.

One of the seven National Key Result Areas (NKRA) is reducing crime.

Najib etched his name in the nation's history when he repealed the controversial Internal Security Act 1960 (ISA) and Banishment Act 1959.

He also said that the Restricted Residence Act 1933, Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984 would be reviewed. The move was welcomed by most, within and outside the country.

Also on review is Section 27, Police Act 1967 that provides discretionary powers to the police to control and issue permits for rallies.

The latest, and another landmark decision by Najib, is the amendments to Section 15 of the Universities and University Colleges Act 1971, allowing undergraduates to join political parties upon reaching 21 years of age.

READ MORE HERE

Bersih 2.0: It’s 50k, and a big success

Posted: 29 Dec 2011 08:55 AM PST

In this last week of 2011, we will be re-publishing selected stories carried in FMT throughout this year. We find that these stories still remain relevant in the present context.

Undoubtedly the Bersih rally on July 9 was one of the biggest stories for 2011. Reproduced here is a July 9 report of a post-rally press conference from the organisers who were happy with their rally despite intimidation from the authorities.

Tarani Palani and Tashny Sukumaran, Free Malaysia Today

Bersih 2.0 has called its rally a "big success", but added that it is just one more step in the long walk towards free and fair elections.

Speaking at a press conference here, Bersih 2.0 steering committee member Subramaniam Pillay said the rally exceeded expectations.

"It's a big success but this (fighting for electoral reforms) is not a one day event. It was sucessful beyond expectations," he said, adding that the objective of raising awareness had been achieved.

Bersih 2.0 believes that the crowd could have been as big as 50,000 but conceded that reporters would be able to judge the number better.

Bersih 2.0 also condemned the arrests of more than 600 people, including that of its chairperson Ambiga Sreenevasan and Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin.

'Ambiga says she's fine'

Steering committee member Andrew Khoo said he had received a text message from Ambiga stating that she was fine.

"She said that she was okay and that her phone battery was dying and that she wants to save it for important messages," he added. She is expected to be released later today.

Meanwhile, national laureate A Samad Ismail said that another date would be fixed to hand over a memorandum to the King on electoral reforms.

"We tried to head towards the palace several times, but the police kept turning us away and threatened us with arrest," he said.

Samad also criticised the police for acting in a "cruel" manner. "I saw them randomly firing tear gas at the crowd," he said.

One of the questions posed during the press conference was whether the rally had been multiracial, to which the steering committee replied that people of all races had participated.

Posted: 29 Dec 2011 08:12 AM PST

(The Malaysian Insider) — Adam Adli Abdul Halim would have just been another student activist until his act of bringing down a banner bearing a picture of Datuk Seri Najib Razak during a peaceful demonstration drew more media attention than the cause itself.

Following the incident, what started out as a small student protest for academic freedom on December 17 has now escalated into a growing movement of undergraduates, university lecturers and members of the public, uniting and demanding the government repeal the controversial Universities and University Colleges Act (UUCA), which strictly prohibits political activities on campuses.

File photo of Adam Adli (centre) speaking to the press in Kuala Lumpur on December 23, 2011. — Picture by Jack Ooi

It had also put the 22-year-old student of the Sultan Idris University of Education in the public limelight, drawing both admiration and disapproval alike.

Despite his sudden catapult to fame and accelerated awareness of the UUCA, Adam Adli remains unfazed and hopes this exposure "will be the end of our 40 years of unfinished struggle".

"Academic freedom will be another big cause to be fought together in the struggle to rebuild our corrupted country... It is just as important as other issues discussed in society," he told The Malaysian Insider.

"Many people, including the students, have never heard of academic freedom, UUCA, and 'magna carta' (a Bill drafted by students to replace the Act) until this (incident) happened. (Now), it seems that even the pro-government bloggers are struggling to understand our cause," he said.

The self-professed rebel stands by his actions and reiterates "lowering the banner was a sign of protest".

"But another reason unnoticed was, if I didn't lower the banner, how on earth would I be able to raise the academic freedom's flag?" he asked.

"It was two birds with one stone. It was a sign of protest on (Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak's) policy on students and universities and also a sign of victory for the many hours of protest on that day."

Adam Adli said his interest in student activism dates back to 2010 when he was banned from campus elections for participating in Demonstrasi Air 2009, a protest against the Selangor water price hike.

"Since there, there was no turning back for me. The reason is clear: we need to prove to the people that we, as students, are part of the people and system. We want to represent the people," he said.

"Students had their role in history of fighting for the people, thus within this short time we would like to carve our own history. But first we have to free the students and universities, then we will prove to the people what can we do for the country," he added.

Posted: 28 Dec 2011 05:31 PM PST

Student groups are getting bolder by demanding the right to publish independent student newspapers and called for academic freedom for lecturers.

(Free Malaysia Today) - Microphone in hand, college student Muhammad Nasrul Alam rails against political restrictions on Malaysian campuses as well as bread-and-butter concerns like his school's unstable wi-fi network.

But he faces a tough crowd: fellow students who are just waiting for a bus on the University of Malaya campus and who show a lack of interest in politics — something that Malaysian student leaders hope to change.

Those hopes have soared since Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak vowed in November to end a ban dating from the 1970s on college students joining or supporting political parties, the latest in a series of pledges to reform oppressive laws.

The ban has stunted student activism on campuses like the University of Malaya — the top university in this multi-ethnic, Muslim-majority country.

But with Najib expected to call pivotal elections in 2012, the political attitudes of Malaysian students like Nasrul, 22, loom larger than they have in decades.

"It's important for me now that students can participate in politics, whether in the government or in the opposition," Nasrul told AFP after his appearance at a tightly controlled "speakers corner" on the campus near the capital Kuala Lumpur.

Malaysia, a country of 28 million people, has about 12 million registered voters. But it also has at least 2.5 million young people who have reached voting age since 2008, when the opposition made historic parliamentary gains.

The enlarged youth vote is viewed as crucial in upcoming polls. Najib's student pledge was aimed at wooing young voters to prevent a further setback that could threaten the five-decade rule of his United Malays National Organisation.

It is a heady time for university students.

In October, a court ruled the politics ban unconstitutional, siding with four students accused of supporting the opposition in local polls.

In July, throngs of students defied threats of disciplinary action by their colleges to join thousands of people at a rally for electoral reform in the capital that was broken up by police, who arrested 1,600 people.

UUCA is like a ghost

Many Malaysians are fed up with corruption, tensions among its many races and a perceived sense of drift under Najib's ethnic-Malay party and want change, said Ahmad Syukri Abdul Razab.

"That is also the main objective of the student movement. For 40 years we have fought for the abolition of (the student politics ban)," said Ahmad Syukri, who heads the umbrella student organisation Student Solidarity Malaysia (SMM).

But doubts linger over how much freedom students will be allowed — or how much they even want.

Malaysian universities were once politically active. Anwar Ibrahim, former deputy prime minister and now opposition leader, rose to prominence as an Islamic student agitator at the University of Malaya in the 1970s.

But they have been quiet since, in contrast to political ferment on campuses in neighbouring Thailand, Indonesia, and even China in recent decades.

On the University of Malaya's leafy campus, a group of students — some in traditional Malay and Islamic dress — expressed little interest in politics as they ate curry lunches under a hot sun.

"Our job at the university is to study, not to get involved in politics and other things," said an economics student who gave only her first name, Nabila.

Much of the blame for the apathy is pinned on the Universities and University Colleges Act (UUCA), which was amended in 1975 — after student protests the previous year — to include expulsions for students involved in politics.

"The UUCA is like a ghost to the students. It scares them," said Ahmad Syazwan Muhammad Hasan, of the Islamic student organisation Gamis.

But student groups are getting bolder. In November, leading organisations demanded the right to publish independent student newspapers and called for academic freedom for lecturers.

Student groups have organised increasing numbers of discussions and even recent demonstrations. Some have been broken up by police.

"The student movement must educate Malaysians to let them know it is not a crime to change the government. It is not a sin," Ahmad Syukri said.

READ MORE HERE

Business of corruption thriving

Posted: 28 Dec 2011 09:05 AM PST

Is it fair to deduce that a lack of political will is the reason corruption in Malaysia is doing brisk business?

Pressure has been mounting on Shahrizat to quit serving the rakyat but no thanks to the nation's top two leaders i.e. Najib and his deputy Muhyiddin Yassin who are playing "godfathers" to her, the 58-year-old Shahrizat seems unfazed and is capitalising on her 16 years experience as a politician to cover up her tracks.

Jeswwan Kaur, Free Malaysia Today

One must beware of ministers who can do nothing without money and those who want to do everything with money – Indira Gandhi.

Corruption has become a way of life for politicians in this country. Under the disguise of defending the rakyat's well-being, these unscrupulous politicians are in actual fact looking after the welfare of their own kith and kin.

This "C" (corruption) factor while a favourite among the politicians has become a menace and bane for the people, most whom have become exasperated at the after-effects of a corrupt system.

Earlier this month, the Transparency International Malaysia survey revealed that for the third consecutive year, Malaysia recorded a decline in its Corruption Perception Index score, its 4.3 score slightly lower than the 4.4 recorded in 2010 and much lower than the government benchmark of 4.9.

Is it fair to deduce that a lack of political will is the reason corruption in Malaysia is doing "brisk" business? If the recent cases of palm greasing involving politicians who also hold ministerial responsibilities are any indication, then yes, there is no commitment coming from the "powers that be" to weed out corruption from the system.

Nipping the malignant bud of corruption is not something the federal government is interested in. Instead, the government under the Barisan Nasional flagship is doing the reverse.

When Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak "unceremoniously" deported French human rights lawyer William Bourdon five months ago, Suara Rakyat Malaysia or Suaram was convinced that the premier and his government are "inextricably linked" with the Scorpene submarines corruption scandal.

Bourdon was representing Suaram in a high-profile case filed against submarines' vendor DCN at the Parisian courts.

(In 2002, Najib then the defence minister, sanctioned the purchase of the Scorpene submarines amid accusations of gross over-pricing and kickbacks).

"It is the biggest mistake yet by the Malaysian government for it is an affront to diplomacy, to international law and common decency. It was a totally arbitrary act by the Home Ministry and a gross abuse of executive power of the Najib administration," Suaram director Cynthia Gabriel retorted via a statement on July 27, four days after Bourdon's deportation.

'Leadership by example'

Najib has since denied having had a hand in any financial impropriety in the submarines deal. Now, following in his wrong steps is the Women, Family and Community Development Minister Shahrizat Abdul Jalil who is vehemently denying any involvement in the misappropriation of funds allotted to the National Feedlot Centre which is headed by her husband Mohamad Salleh Ismail and the couple's children.

Details furnished by the opposition party PKR allege that Shahrizat and her family have misused the RM250 million meant for NFC by purchasing a luxury condominium in Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur and another one in Singapore, a Mercedez Benz and an all-paid Umrah pilgrimage.

Najib thought deporting Bourdon would be the end of his worry, but not as far as Suaram is concerned, with this human right group going all out to pin the premier down.

Shahrizat should learn her lesson and own up before she is rejected by the people, "unceremoniously" that is.

READ MORE HERE

Stepping out of Anwar’s shadow

Posted: 28 Dec 2011 09:03 AM PST

In this last week of 2011, we will be re-publishing selected stories carried in FMT throughout this year. We find that these stories still remain relevant in the present context.

Nurul may have risen in the party ranks but she hasn't forgotten her first political appointment. The Lembah Pantai constituency remains just as precious to her as when she won her seat in 2008 and she is determined to defend it in the next general election.

Stephanie Sta Maria, Free Malaysia Today

This article was first posted on Jan 19, 2011. FMT still considers Nurul Izzah Anwar, the Lembah Pantai MP and the PKR vice-president, as a rising star in PKR.

Being elected the youngest vice-president of PKR wasn't part of a preordained plan. Neither was winning the Lembah Pantai parliamentary seat.

In fact, Nurul Izzah Anwar used to duck the political spotlight until it was rudely thrust upon her in 1998. And even then there was no plan.

The then 18-year-old would have been forgiven had she wound up submerged by the waves of political pressure. Instead, the daughter of PKR de facto leader, Anwar Ibrahim, not only stayed afloat but sailed through her baptism of fire to earn the moniker Puteri Reformasi.

Some call it destiny, others call it an obligation. Nurul herself simply calls it putting things into perspective. And it was a perspective that seared itself so deeply within her that she still speaks of it in befittingly hushed tones.

"A part of me changed forever that day," she said softly. "It wasn't just about my father's sacking and eventual arrest but having everything I held sacred just crumbled before me. I felt the fragility of life."

"It then dawned on me that it wasn't about any single individual but about a movement and the need to be part of something you believe in. That was my earth-shattering moment. And that has made me the person I am today."

The people who ushered her onto the "reformasi" path were those who were by her side during Anwar's arrest. After enveloping her with support, they told her that she had to take up the fight, not just for her father but for the scores of other political prisoners. Nurul didn't hesitate.

"If I didn't do it then no one would know of our plight," she said earnestly. "They wouldn't know of the judicious arguments for my father's release, about the other political prisoners and why the Internal Security Act is unacceptable. These messages need to be propagated."

First hurdle

Nurul's first hurdle was persuading her reluctant mother and PKR president, Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, to bestow her blessings upon her daughter's new career. Then she turned to PAS, DAP, Abim (Muslim Youth Movement of Malaysia) and even Suaram (Suara Rakyat Malaysia) to seek guidance in learning the ropes. A trait that perhaps further strengthened her tenacity was her disinterest in "what ifs".

"I never thought about what I would have done if 1998 didn't happen to me because it is an exercise in futility," she reasoned.

Then with her tongue firmly planted in her cheek, she added, "I'm very glad that 1998 did happen because I certainly wouldn't have wanted to join Puteri Umno!"

Indeed, Nurul has come a long way from the young woman who once didn't relish the political association that was packaged into her name. Her strong embrace of political activism therefore greatly astonished her. It also taught her the importance of owning an idea before bringing it into reality.

"There was a sense of obligation certainly," she readily admitted. "But I also owned the idea of becoming a politician. If I felt forced into it, I would have led a very unhappy life and let down all my supporters."

"So the process of owning this new life and identity has been a very important and invaluable one for me. It has been a very steep learning curve and I'm glad I stayed the course. But my husband was still surprised by my decision to contest for vice-president!"

Was vice-presidency really not part of a blueprint? Nurul sighed quietly. It was obviously a question that she has been asked too many times. She looked up and straight into the camera.

"No," she said clearly. Then she smiled. "But now that I am, I have a plan."

Laying the groundwork

The moment her vice-presidency was announced, Nurul hit the ground running. Before the first week was over, she found herself assigned to Negri Sembilan and Malacca where she was tasked with obtaining feedback from members on the party's first direct elections.

Her other assignment was to lay out the groundwork that would help the party design programmes aimed at garnering support from the younger electorate. Nurul's hands are also full at the Federal Territory level where she has commissioned a 100-day programme for Kuala Lumpur if Pakatan Rakyat were to take over the federal government.

"My plan is clear but I'll need at least a month to assess the needs of the different states and the party before implementing them," she said. "And I'll be working closely with the secretariat because they too have planned many programmes."

"The challenge here is to work cohesively. It's not going to be an individual pursuit because that would never achieve the intended results."

The project that is closest to her heart at this point of time, however, is the Democracy Rehabilitation Act, a bipartisan Bill which encompasses the six principal prerequisites for a thriving democracy.

A one-million signature campaign for a memorandum of the Act kicked off this month which will be subsequently submitted to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong. Pakatan will also propose this Act to the ruling government to move during the next parliamentary sitting.

"We've used the word 'rehabilitation' as a sign of respect for what is enshrined in the Federal Constitution," she explained. "We're drafting the actual Bill but the petition has begun because we urgently need to revoke all emergency declarations."

"We have to explain to the people that we are democratically poor as a nation. We're still living under Emergency Rule! So I'm bringing this matter down to the grassroots and getting them to sign the petition."

READ MORE HERE

Third Force to encircle Umno

Posted: 28 Dec 2011 09:00 AM PST

The current political landscape in the country is fertile for all minority parties in Barisan Nasional or otherwise to opt for a direct coalition system.

Within the state BN, especially for Sarawak, minor parties can work out a cooperation pact namely the newly revamped SUPP (Sarawak United Peoples Party) with PRS (Parti Rakyat Sarawak) and SPDP (Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party).

Awang Abdilllah, Free Malaysia Today

After the 12th GE of 2008, what we are witnessing are structural changes in the Malaysian political landscape – the emergence of a two-party system in Malaysia – Umno the main component of the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition, and the opposition pact led by PKR and PAS.

Unlike the two-party system in some countries such as the US, either one of the two parties can win an election and form the government and the other automatically becomes the opposition.

But in Malaysia the dual party system is unique. Firstly it is a Malay based two-party system and secondly neither party can form a government on its' own without a coalition with the non-Malay minority parties.

Hence the political landscape in the country provides the right scenario for all minority parties in BN or otherwise to opt for a (direct) coalition system of government whereby the minority parties will contest using their own party ticket.

And after the general election is over, these minority parties can negotiate to join either one of the two Malay based parties.

Therefore the formation of a federal government would then be based on the two-party system and a coalition system.

As we have known or rather common knowledge, that there have been so many gross abuses committed by Umno under the name of the government and the BN entity.

Only Umno wields so much political and economic powers leaving the other minor component parties sharing the leftovers.

This has been Umno's policy and practices since 1981 following the Mahathir undemocratic-authoritarian rule.

The other component parties though members of the BN are all tied down under the Umno system of controls which enables the latter to become the de facto federal government.

Since 2009 when Najib took over the premiership, initially he tried more democratic approaches such as the 1Malaysia slogan , economic, political and electoral reforms but with little success.

However of late it is getting clearer that like Mahathir, the former shares similar beliefs that only through the undemocratic-authoritarian rule can Umno continue to hold such political and economic powers and maintain its' grip on other races and parties .

Two-pronged strategy needed

This special two-party political system requires a third force that has the two pronged strategy to encircle Umno's despotic power and to prop up the opposition – Pakatan plus coalition – and strengthen the system.

Lets look at the components of the Third Force:

i) Direct coalition system at national level and state levels.

Across the country there are many minor political parties whether in the BN or opposition that can team up and forge a common platform through the direct coalition system.

Parties like DAP, MCA, MIC, PRS, SPDP, SUPP, PESAKA, SAPP and others can contest in an election using their own party symbols.

I believe the people can accept such a united political body to breakup Umno and PBB hegemony (in Sarawak). A direct coalition system acts as a check-and-balance against the dominance of an undemocratic, dictatorial kind of government.

After the 13th GE, these third force political parties can work out which of the two main Malay parties they wish to join enbloc or on individual basis.

Under a direct coalition system, a coalition partner is not tied down to a main or even a majority component party in the government.

It is a loose partnership whereby any partner can quit the government and join the opposition.

However if the partners who quit have a majority seats, then they can proceed to form another different new coalition government.

So there is freedom of choice – any party can join or leave the ruling party or the opposition.

Hence in the formation of the federal government and the respective state governments in Malaysia, the direct coalition system is the best alternative for every minority party.

If all the minority parties in BN or opposition team up to join PKR and PAS, then Umno's dominance is history at the national or state levels in Semenanjung Malaysia and Sabah.

ii) Cooperation pact in Sarawak

The latter two can even forge a merger pact to form a stronger entity.

This kind of cooperation pact can form a third force component at state level to counter PBB's hegemony of power.

If the Pesaka wing of PBB (Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu) snaps and attaches itself to the grouping, the more the merrier.

If the state Pakatan wishes to join the pact, then PBB is completely encircled.

I believe a majority of the Malays would support such a pact.

This may compel some of the PBB leaders who are not aligned with Taib to consider crossing over to PAS or PKR to spearhead its presence further in the state before the 13th GE though the state would not be holding any state election.

Posted: 27 Dec 2011 12:08 PM PST

Contrary to Umno's wishful thinking, the opposition pact is much more than just a marriage of convenience

The BN cannot win even a single Chinese-majority seat. Only the opposition matters in such seats, and doubly so if Indian and Chinese voters are treated as one voting block. DAP can easily end up as the party with the largest number of seats in Parliament.

Joe Fernandez, Free Malaysia Today

Most of us have become tired of hearing from Pakatan Rakyat detractors that the opposition alliance is a marriage of convenience, an unholy pact motivated solely by a common hatred of Umno, but Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak keeps singing the same tune—and ever more loudly these days.

According to this theory, the marriage will not last; the pact will fall apart immediately after the next general election.

It is a theory based mostly on wishful thinking and urged on by hype. And Najib, as everyone would have noticed by now, is one man who believes in hype. So he keeps on singing his signature tune, at a higher and higher pitch.

If it is true that Pakatan will fall apart, he should have nothing to worry out, and does not have to sing himself hoarse. Obviously, he has yet to convince himself that he is right.

If there is one factor that will keep parties together in a coalition, it is the common fear of losing power. This has been amply demonstrated by Barisan Nasional over the last 50 years or more despite there being a great deal of unhappiness within the coalition with Umno's disproportionate share of the spoils of office and power.

The Pakatan parties will be no different on that score as demonstrated by their ability to hang on to power in the states now under their control. Umno's best efforts, after Perak, were not good enough to sow the seeds of division in the opposition pact.

All that the hard work has yielded are a few defections to the BN-friendly camp. And this is not so surprising, given the "every man has his price" measuring rod worked out by the Special Branch for Umno.

What is keeping Pakatan together is a profound sense of history and manifest destiny.

All ruling parties bite the dust sooner or later, and it will be poetic justice indeed to see Mahathir Mohamad, Najib & Co jostle with each other in a mad scramble to leave the country and avoid counting the bars for the rest of their days.

Umno's day of reckoning is coming sooner rather than later and the opposition alliance is geared for that challenge. They believe—and there is no reason why they should not—that they will be in Putrajaya as surely as the sun will rise in the east tomorrow.

Umno, having outstayed its welcome, is not the only factor motivating and driving the opposition and giving it a sense of history and manifest destiny. But one cannot deny that this is the main factor. Adding to the worry of the Umno warlords, Umnoputras and the various varieties of sycophants and hangers-on is the fact that the party can no longer rely on political detention as a weapon to drag out its days in power.

The result of the opposition leaders cooling their heels in prison under the draconian Internal Security Act (ISA) has often been complete disruption of any organised opposition to the ruling party. In effect, the ruling party has all these years been returned to power by default as much as by massive electoral fraud.

READ MORE HERE

How we fail the Malaysian Indian poor

Posted: 26 Dec 2011 03:09 PM PST

Among the reasons why the Indian community is still stuck in the trenches of poverty is because the NEP was not extended to help those in the estates

What we did not realise is that the Indians are not a homogenous group, but made up of different groups that came in several batches. While there are a small group of Indians who were wealthier, about 10 million of them came to Malaya as buruh kasar.

By Anas Zubedy, Free Malaysia Today

After 54 years as a country, it is unfortunate that a lot of non Indian Malaysians do not yet know the Indians. For example, a lot of Malaysians still do not know the difference between Punjabis and Bengalis, and in some instances in recent years this confusion has been the topic of public discussion. This goes back to the time of Independence and the formulation of our principal social engineering programme, the NEP With all due respect to the Tun Abdul Razak administration which created it, one of the main reasons why some parts of the Indian community is still stuck in the trenches of poverty are because the NEP was not extended to help those in the estates. While the NEP helped the Malays and Bumiputera out of poverty and managed to create a group of middle class Malays, it overlooked the needs of the real composition of Indians.

The NEP was designed based on the per capita income of the Malay, Indian, Chinese and foreigner population. At the time, the Chinese had the highest percentage of per capita income, the Indians second, the Malays had the lowest. However, as for the Indians, because we did not understand them, we grouped all of them in one big group.

Based on the average between the incomes of the small group of middle class Indians and the larger community of poor Indians, the statistics drawn were inaccurate. It shows as if the Indians were doing okay, but in reality a big cluster of them were as poor as the Malays and Bumiputera.

It is sad that because we do not really understand our Indian brothers and sisters, we have allowed their poverty problem to continue as a legacy until today. Now that our PM has vowed to address this issue, it is important that we know who they are, where they are and where they are going. I recommend a book by Muzafar Desmond Tate called 'The Malaysian Indians: History, Problems and Future'.

Here are several important points from the book. As I mentioned earlier, the Malaysian Indians are not all the same, but are made up of different smaller communities. One major way the Malayan Indians were divided were the separation between Hindu and Muslim. Another thing was social division into four major class groups:

'1) The elite, consisting of professionals, high government officials and senior executives in leading private firms;

2) An upper, English-educated middle class consisting mainly of government servants;

3) A lower, vernacular-educated middle class, comprising merchants, school teachers, journalists, smallholders, all largely outside government service;

4) Labourers in government service – the PWD, medical services, railways, the docks and the municipalities of large towns – and in private employ, particularly on estates.'

Tate writes that the Indian community remained highly compartmentalised as there was very little interaction between these groups, and hardly any social mobility existed for them.

A large number of Tamils who arrived in Malaya during the British colonial period were drawn from the lowest ranks of Tamil society and came as contract labourers for tin mines and agricultural estates.

They were 'virtually debt slaves' from the point they came to Malaya, having to work off the costs of their passage and recruitment under the contract system. Their wages were so meager that this would take them their whole term of service.

Besides this large group of Tamil labourers, there was also a small group of upper-class Tamils who came by their own resources. These were men of trade, commerce and finance, and Tate writes that this upper class, though small in numbers, were very significant as they 'exerted an influence out of all proportion to their numbers'.

After Merdeka, the rift between the more affluent middle class and the larger number of Indian estate workers who 'hover on the borders of poverty', continued to exist. The middle class was doing fine, dominating certain professions like law and medicine. The enrolment of children into primary and secondary schools also remained the same. But for those in the rural areas, especially in the estates, the problem of poverty seemed intractable.

At the same time, the greatest shift that happened post-independence is urbanisation, which brought new social problems with it.

This was the 'new poverty syndrome' of the rootless Indians in the town. While the strategies of the NEP brought growing industrialisation, the Indian workers who left the estates found that they were in no position to compete in the towns. They were uneducated and had no command of English, they lacked technical skills and were once again forced to live under squalid conditions.

The NEP, on the other hand, did not extend its benefits to the estate workers. The official rationale was that these workers were employees of the private limited companies who owned the estates, and thus they did not fall under the scope of the NEP.

In reviewing the Second Malaysia Plan (1970 – 75), the authors of the Third Malaysia Plan concluded that the aim of eradicating poverty in the plantation sector did not make progress. Two-fifths of the estate workers were still living below poverty levels and unemployment was high.

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Towards a bankrupt Malaysia?

Posted: 26 Dec 2011 08:10 AM PST

Since the 1998 Asian Financial Crisis, government expenditure has consistently exceeded its revenue by a considerable margin. For example, in 2011 the spending is estimated to be RM229 billion while the revenue will be only RM183 billion. So the shortfall of RM46 billion has to be met by borrowing.

Subramaniam Pillay, The Malaysian Insider

That the Budget that was tabled in the Dewan Rakyat on 7 October 2011 was an election budget is very clear. There have been numerous detailed comments on the Budget by politicians and analysts (since then). In this article, we are just going to focus on one of the long term issues from the Budget. It concerns the increasing debt burden of the federal government.

How big is the government debt?

The federal government's outstanding debt has been increasing since 1970. From the detailed data available from Bank Negara's website, in 1991, it reached a temporary peak of RM99 billion and then decreased to RM90 billion by 1997. From then, it has been virtually doubling every five years. By the end of 2011, we can expect the figure to reach RM450 billion.

In other words, since the Asian crisis of 1998, we have been growing by borrowing heavily. In the 10 years since 1999, our debt has quadrupled. If we continue on this path, by 2020, our national debt will reach RM1.6 trillion. If our population is 40 million then, each Malaysian will have a debt burden of more than RM40,000 and this does not include our own personal borrowing. Assuming an interest rate of five per cent, paying the interest alone will cost the taxpayers RM80 billion per year!

The government has been reassuring us by saying that our debt is manageable. It argues that the debt at the end of 2012 will be only 54 per cent of our GDP, which is relatively low compared to the current crisis nations like Greece and Italy. (GDP is a measure of the total value of all the goods and services produced in a year in the country.) While it may not reach the levels of Greece by 2012, at our current rate of borrowing it won't take long before we become another Greece. Just to put this in perspective, our giant neighbour, Indonesia has a debt of only 23 per cent of GDP! Singapore has no debts.

The federal government debt alone does not tell the full story. Many government-owned enterprises also have borrowings. If these figures are included, then the total debt would be much higher. It is difficult to get the complete data on these borrowings.

Why has the debt been growing so rapidly?

Of course it is not expected that the government balances its books every year. Prudent economic management requires the government to balance its budget over an entire business cycle. So we can have deficits during bad years and budget surpluses during good years. Since 1998, we have had at least two business cycles; yet every year without fail we have had budget deficits!

This is evidence of fiscal irresponsibility. Here is a government which does not know the meaning of saving for a rainy day. A good example is the situation in the current year.

Actual revenue for 2011 is going to be higher than the budgeted figure by RM17.6 billion. This is mainly due to the increased income from the rise in oil prices in 2011. The federal government relies heavily on different forms of revenues (corporate tax, petroleum profit tax, royalties, Petronas dividends, etc) that originate from the production and export of oil and gas in Malaysia. The proportion can be 30-40 per cent of the total government revenue. Thus a rise in the world price of oil translates directly into higher income for the government. So essentially, we had a windfall income.

What would a prudent government do with this windfall? It would reduce the planned borrowing. But that's not our BN government's way of financial management. Uncannily, the increase in the actual spending is going to be the same amount of RM17.6 billion!

When asked about this at one of the post-budget forums, a Treasury official explained that it was mainly due to higher spending on salaries and increased subsidy for petrol and diesel. We can understand the increased subsidy but why the higher salary? Did we just increase the size of the bureaucracy? This is a clear case of a government that has no control on its spending.

Posted: 25 Dec 2011 11:00 AM PST

(Bernama) - Initial findings of a just completed study show that 70 percent of youth feel more connected to the government now as a result of Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak's moves to get closer to the group.

The youth, who were surveyed since 2010, welcome Najib's use of interactive social media allowing them direct contact to share their opinions, ideas and criticisms on issues, with him.

"The results of my study show 70 percent of youth support the government because they like being engaged through various programmes," said University Technology Mara (UiTM) Dungun political science lecturer Che Hamdan Mohamed Razali to Bernama recently.

Apart from the connection through social media, he said the respondents, who were between 18 and 40 years old, from students and professionals to fishermen and farmers, felt Najib's government was now also more open.

The respondents clearly acknowledged the Barisan Nasional government's initiative which involved more youths and their importance in outlining programmes such as affordable housing for young people who just joined the workforce, assistance for young entrepreneurs and higher education aid, he added.

'Youths like gov't attention'

He further agreed it was not true to say that youths liked to challenge the government and were 'anti-establishment', which the opposition tried to portray by getting them involved in street demonstrations and being disrespectful to leaders.

"It's typical for a handful of youth to rebel. My early findings show youth are not 'anti-establishment' as claimed by many parties. They just get upset when sidelined. When the government pays them attention, they'll give their support," he explained.

However, Che Hamdan was not willing to provide further details on the findings of the study, saying it was still ongoing and would only be announced when it is finalised.

His initial conclusion was that youths would not gamble their future for sweet promises but were prepared to join forces and work with the government which has proven it has better plans for them and has a proven track record.

Meanwhile, when contacted by Bernama, Malaysian Youth Council vice-president Datuk Irmohizam Ibrahim said," The government has done its best by making various efforts to get closer to the youth. So claims saying the youth are anti-government are not true, it's only a handful."

Youths more vocal

Irmohizam, who is also (UiTM) Shah Alam law lecturer said," In my observation many youths, who are still undecided, are grateful to the government for their education, skills and employment opportunities. Maybe they just want a system which satisfies them better."

"Voicing such a hope doesn't mean they're anti-government, they just want improvements," he added while noting there were an estimated 11.2 million youths in the country.

Apart from recognising youths in the 2012 Budget, the government is also prepared to amend Section 15 of the University and University College Act in relation to the involvement of undergraduates in politics.

The Prime Minister likened the youth as ideal heroes who had the power to turn the nation's transformation programme into a reality and admitting they were an established voice, on Dec 12 Najib said the government is always open to the views, ideas and criticisms from them so that each transformation programme would be successful with their involvement.

Furthermore, he admitted that there were efforts by certain parties which tried to exhort university youths to hate the government for their own political agenda and in their quest to wrest power.

"But youths nowadays who are exposed to a lot of information are not easily swayed and would not accept everything without checking the truth first.

"It's the same with opposition promises, we're aware it's all only a gimmick to gain votes without any concrete plans for the youth such as the BN government has implemented now," he emphasised.

Christmas Eve 2011 in Phuket

Posted: 24 Dec 2011 09:30 AM PST