Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News
Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News |
- I have resigned as MCLM president
- Malaysia in the Era of Globalization #95
- RPK speaks his mind on Politics in Malaysia
- Will we see a change of government in Malaysia in the coming general election?
- Malaysia would be a better place without Umno
| I have resigned as MCLM president Posted: 01 Jan 2012 04:44 PM PST My faith, though, in seeing this realised, has been with an awakening people working with the non-BN political parties who are truly pro-rakyat. This, too, remains unchanged. On 30th October, 2010, whilst attending to guests at an SABM dinner, lecture, I received an sms from RPK informing that that very night, in London, at the inaugural meeting of the Malaysian Civil Liberties Movement, I had been unanimously elected as president. 3 weeks later, I was in Manchester where, after much deliberation with RPK, I agreed to accept the position subject to our agreement on several issues. I will only mention two here that I believe relevant to the difficult decision I have made today. First, matters of policy and direction of MCLM were to be determined and made after mutual consultation and consensus between us. Second, RPK would oversee the administrative affairs of MCLM, in his capacity as chairman, as well as look into all overseas matters. whilst I would drive our operations here at home. In December, 2010, in London, RPK announced the launch of our Barisan Rakyat Independent Candidate Initiative. In July, last year, MCLM announced the deployment of our first candidate, Dr Neduchelian, in the Kapar consitutuency. In December, last year, after conferring with RPK, MCLM joined several other groups in issuing a warning to Najib that should he call snap elections without first carrying through the electoral reforms demanded by BERSIH 2.0, he should brace himself for street rallies that might culminate in his government being toppled. I wish to reiterate here that this was no idle threat. Again, after conferring with RPK, MCLM had, last month, firmly aligned itself with the many NGOs and several political parties that hve given life to the Asalkan Bukan Umno / Anything But Umno (ABU) initiative. Yesterday, the New Straits Times published an interview with RPK that was conducted in Singapore last week. I had been informed by RPK whilst I was with him in Phuket over the Christmas holiday that this interview was to take place. I was not, however, fully appraised of all that was to be said in the course of the interview. The matters spoken of by RPK have been quite wide-ranging. I only propose to allude here to the two parts that have led me to the decision I have made today. Under the heading "Rights group not a third force – RPK" that appeared in the NST and is reproduced in full on Malaysia Today, RPK is reported to have said that "MCLM had decided it would not field any candidates for the coming general election". I can confirm now that no such decision has been made after due consultation. And under the heading "RPK – Anwar may become irrelevant", also reproduced in full on Malaysia Today, RPK is reported to have said that "the Egypt-style people's revolution was not an answer for Malaysia due to the delicate racial balance. "They (Chinese voters) don't want Tahrir Square type of change"." These comments just referred to greatly undermine efforts I am making, albeit through MLCM, in the ABU initiative. It also saddens me that even as initiatives like SABM and so many others continue daily to undo the ill-effects of UMNO/BN's 40 over years of race-based, divide-and-rule, my friend should continue to see us as Malays, Chinese, Indians, dll. I remain committed to all efforts to see this a nation of a single people, all equal. And I am fully committed to the cause of ABU. In the circumstances, I find it impossible to continue to serve MCLM as its president. I have communicated my resignation to RPK by email.
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| Malaysia in the Era of Globalization #95 Posted: 01 Jan 2012 09:23 AM PST These central planners presume to know the traits of a successful would-be businessman. That these planners—politicians and bureaucrats—have no experience in starting or running a business is conveniently ignored. Such hubris! No surprise then that the pseudo entrepreneurs that the system produced were more adept in cashing in their close association with the politically powerful rather than being true creators and builders of wealth. They in turn perpetuated that same system in choosing their own set of suppliers, subcontractors, and vendors. Thus was born a class of Bumiputra entrepreneurs and businessmen more skillful at commercializing their political ties rather than being true wealth creators; a class of rent seekers and economic parasites rather than of genuine entrepreneurs. These individuals with their new wealth and political clout began flexing their power. They easily convinced the government that juicy public contracts and privatization projects be reserved for them in the belief that their enterprises would quickly reach a sufficient size and strength that they could then take on the world. They wanted to create their own kampong version of the Japanese keiretsu and Korean chaebol. These big Bumiputra companies would then act as a locomotive to carry the rest forward. That at least was the theory. The reality, as with all centrally hatched plans, was far different. The relationship these new companies had with their suppliers and vendors down the feeding chain was more predatory than supportive. These companies acted less like locomotives and more like the head of a serpent devouring every competitor, Bumiputra and non-Bumiputra alike. They effectively snuffed out other new entrants. One example would suffice to illustrate the massive clout of these new Bumiputra pseudo entrepreneurs and their destructive predatory behaviors. In Kuala Lumpur of the 1970s, the government issued a number of bas mini (mini bus) permits to provide transportation services to the many small suburbs sprouting around the capital city. These new settlements were too small to merit regular bus services. Thus the bas mini was an ideal compromise between cheap public buses and the more expensive taxis. That brilliant strategy resulted in many mini bus owner-operators. The program succeeded in creating a class of true small-time entrepreneurs not only in the form of owner operators but also in the supporting services, including repair shops and coach builders. The public too benefited from the frequent and convenient bus service. It became a point where these mini buses became ubiquitous in the capital city, and plans were afoot to introduce them at other major urban centers. They also have a cute acronym, BMW – Bas Mini Wilayah (Federal Mini Bus). It would certainly impress your co-workers when you assert that you come to work in a BMW! It did not take long for the powerful government-sponsored pseudo entrepreneurs to muscle in. They convinced the government to cancel those permits and to give the franchise to their major bus companies instead. Overnight these owner-operators saw their investments became worthless. The government decided, persuaded undoubtedly by the politically connected entrepreneurs, that the big bus companies could provide a better service than the mini bus operators. Of course the government never bothered to ask the consumers. A better strategy would have been to let them battle it out in the marketplace. Whoever provides the better service would win. This hubris of top government officials presuming to be able to pick winners in the private sector is major factor in the economic crisis of 1997. Sadly, the government has yet to learn its lesson. It continues with the same pattern. Only this time some other new favored players are replacing the Tajuddin Ramlis and Halim Saads of yore. Contracts and projects are still being awarded sans competitive bidding. A decade hence the story would be the same, only the characters and ventures would change.
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| RPK speaks his mind on Politics in Malaysia Posted: 01 Jan 2012 07:56 AM PST If he has sold his allegiance to any side of our politics, then his friends in Malaysian Civil Liberties Movement like the committed Haris Ibrahim and his associates would have abandoned him. They are still with him. He may be critical of both UMNO-BN and Pakatan Rakyat these days. That is understandable. And I think I know why. They all are disillusioned with politicians on both sides of the political divide. I recall having a meeting before the 2008 General Elections with my good friend Haris Ibrahim at the Cobra Club House in Petaling Jaya. Haris wanted to know from me whether PKR (at that time I was in Anwar Ibrahim's Office) and its associates, DAP and PAS, would endorse their Peoples Declaration. I spoke to all top guns in PKR including Anwar Ibrahim and Tian Chua, and came back and told Haris that PKR would endorse it and so would DAP and PAS. As a result of that endorsement, Haris Ibrahim, RPK, Bernard Khoo and others took part on the campaign for the March 8, 2008 elections and subsequent by-elections. RPK went to hell for the cause, spending some time in Sungei Buloh under ISA until he was won his habeas corpus case in the Shah Alam High Court. His high profile case was ably handled by Malik Imtiaz, Art Harun and others. RPK is passionate about the cause of freedom, human right, justice and democracy. He has written a book, The Silent Roar, containing his views on Malaysian political issues. Writ of Habeas corpus petition, as you know, is a petition filed with a court by a person who objects to his own or another's detention or imprisonment. The petition must show that the court ordering the detention or imprisonment made a legal or factual error. Habeas corpus petitions are usually filed by persons serving prison sentences. When their agenda as embodied in the Peoples Declaration was not taken up in earnest by Pakatan Rakyat, RPK and Haris Ibrahim formed the Malaysian Civil Liberties Movement (MCLM) to promote political reform in our country. I have a lot of regard for RPK, Haris Ibrahim and the people who are from civil society in this worthy cause. In this interview, he mentioned some outstanding names. But he was critical of Ambiga, the hero of Berish 2.0. Please read this interview in its entirety with care and critique his views if you must but do not cast aspersions on RPK. I trust you can do that. I am afraid I do not have an English version, but the interview he gave to the New Straits Times which I posted earlier can give some idea of what he is saying in this Mingguan Malaysia interview.
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| Will we see a change of government in Malaysia in the coming general election? Posted: 01 Jan 2012 07:47 AM PST Nationally, after taking into account of votes from Sabah and Sarawak, the tally was reversed with BN 51 per cent versus the opposition at 49 per cent. In terms of seats, on 8th March 2008, BN gained 85 seats in the Peninsula while the opposition 80 seats. The opposition managed to get only one (Bandar Kuching) of the 31 parliamentary seats in Sarawak and one (Kota Kinabalu) of 25 in Sabah. In the Peninsula, the opposition won one (Bakri) of 26 seats in Johor and two (Kuantan and Indera Mahkota) of Pahang's 13 parliamentary seats. The four "fixed deposit" states of BN has a total of 95 seats. A change of federal government will happen if the opposition wins a third of the parliamentary seats in the states of Sabah, Sarawak, Johore and Pahang. Besides the economic issues such as inflation and depleting value of income, the coming 13th general election will also be based on these factors: 1. Malay votes are sensitive to issues of corruption, abuse of power and bullying tactics against political foes (think about Anwar Ibrahim, Adam Adli, etc); 2. At least two traditional vote banks of Umno — Felda and the civil service — are in jittery due to poor policy choices (listing of FGV and the new salary scheme). 3. The Indian support for BN is not as solid as it was thought. There are divides along the line of North-South (Pakatan Rakyat is not very strong in southern Peninsula), urban-estate (access to alternative information is minimal in estates), middle class-poor (the poor being more supportive of BN, for whatever reasons). 4. The Chinese support for BN has further eroded since 2008, thanks to Perkasa and Utusan. 5. In Utusan and Perkasa's zeal to promote its exclusivist causes, a huge segment of "fixed deposits" — the Sabah and Sarawak Christian Bumiputra — are alienated. 6. Sabah Umno as possible king maker. Umno won only 79 of the 112 federal seats it contested in 2008. Of which 13 comes from Sabah and one from Labuan. Essentially, the Peninsula Umno won only 65 seats. 7. Sarawak Chief Minister Taib Mahmud as possible king maker. Allegedly Najib Razak dislikes Taib. If the Prime Minister does not do anything before the next poll, with 14 parliamentary seats which his Parti Pesaka Bumiputra Bersatu (PBB) is likely to retain, Taib may hold the balance of power.
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| Malaysia would be a better place without Umno Posted: 01 Jan 2012 07:45 AM PST It is palpably not the Opposition. The Opposition on their part are seriously working with the marginalized minorities as well as the majority race in instilling peace and unity in the society. Ethnic diversity is no doubt a distinctive feature of Malaysia but the Barisan Nasional (BN) ruling parties – led by the 'Big Brother', UMNO – opt to promote individual self-serving racial schema all in the name of promoting the interests of their own ethnic group against the other. This has led to a divisive kind of politics in the coalition since the country's independence and it has caused grave disunity among the people of various races and religions. The only party in the country that often uses race, religion and ethnic 'rights' to stay relevant in politics is UMNO. For this reason, UMNO does not deserve to talk about racial unity. Constitution was carved in good faith Article 153 visibly states that it is the King's responsibility "to safeguard the special position of the Malays and natives of any of the States of Sabah and Sarawak and the legitimate interests of other communities in accordance with the provisions of this Article". Sadly, some racial zealots are using this Article as a weapon of aggression just to score some brownie points in politics. This symptom is not boding well for the country. Malaysians in general have never questioned the special position of the Malays and natives of Sabah and Sarawak. The minorities among them only demand that their positions too be acknowledged by the majority race. Notably, the Constitution was carved with good faith to create a united Malaysian race. It explicitly covers the special 'position' of the indigenous and unreservedly recognizes the 'rights' of all Malaysians. The Constitution is not deliberately tilted towards any single group of citizens to favour them more then the others. The lexis 'rights' and 'position' are semantically disparate, though. Unfortunately, some UMNO politicians and their soul mates care more to argue on the deeper structure of the terminology. A Malay lawmaker has this to say: "When politicians talk of the special 'rights' of only one group of people, it smacks of unfairness, as the Constitution also implicitly prescribes for the 'rights' of other Malaysians." There is a harmonious gamut to the positions of all races in the country in the Constitution, which some politicians prefer to ignore. They are immaturely trying to practise divisive politics by toying with the issue of 'a chosen people' versus ' the marginal group' and this has perceptibly caused covert but marked disunity among people of different races and religions in the country. As commented by the Malay lawmaker, "No one disputes the Constitution and no minority groups are for civil strife just by asking the majority to be fair to them as the rightful citizens of the country." UMNO and some deep-seated NGO leaders are too quick to demean those who bring to facade the above notion – erroneously implying that any attempt to honestly decipher the semantic of the Constitution is to question UMNO and undermine what they term as 'the unity foundations they have long built'. Too many political observers, this is too opinionated in temperament. The lawmaker added: "The Constitution belongs to all Malaysians and not any political party per se. Some politicians are actually destroying racial unity in manipulating the neat foundation of the Constitution when they insinuate that the minorities must accept themselves as second-class citizens." To reject a government More often than not, the word 'unity' becomes a hallowed formulate expansively used by UMNO just before elections to win support. The word disappears from their political repository just after an election. Unity rhetoric is only for UMNO's political expedient. In truth, national unity has virtually been shattered by the UMNO government. Unity in its truest sense can only be seen if the rights of all Malaysians are taken care of. For that matter, safeguarding the indigenous rights does not come at the expense of the legitimate interests of the minorities. It is a fundamental human right that the minorities in any nation are treated fairly. When the minorities come to realize that they are neglected in all societal sectors they are bound to have animosity against the majority. They, therefore, deserve the right to reject a government that advocates injustice and unfairness. A sociologist has this to say, "A social contract bounds the rights of all citizens. Nothing absolute pertaining to race is actually sealed in a social contract. The deprived in the society need to be helped. Poverty eradication involves people from all ethnic groups – not just confined to a single race. The poor among all races have to be factored in. Racial unity prevails when a government is sincere in narrowing this gap." Promoting racial unity for UMNO is like playing a hide and seek game. To the sociologists, the framework for racial unity has to be based on the true aspirants of the people – the majority and the minority. UMNO's mode of silencing the parties representing the minority ethnic groups in the BN coalition with a 'Big Brother' mentality – on the issue of rights and special position of the indigenous has not helped promote good racial relations in the country. UMNO cannot call for unity and yet with the same breath spew out racist remarks against the non-Malays. Neither is it right for UMNO to rancorously create an imaginary Christian onslaught on Islam, as this has given rise to a widening gulf of misapprehension between the Muslims and the Christians in the country. Cycle of poverty It is an accepted reality that not all Malaysians are ready to totally shed their racial identity and call themselves Malaysians. For this ideal to morph into reality it may take another few generations. But UMNO does not seem to have the formula for this quandary. First, the poor and marginalized Malays, Indians, Chinese and the Indigenous are those that need to be helped to pull them into a level playing ground. As practised by UMNO, enriching a selected few among their cronies is not the solution to national unity. Over 70 percent of the indigenous people of Sabah and Sarawak are still poor after many years of independence. Over 65 percent of the Malays are still in the poor category despite the long years of NEP. The marginalised Indians constitute 58 percent of the poor within this community. The Chinese too are not spared by poverty. 35 percent are still under the poor category within this community. Building richness solely within a single racial group is not going to bring unity or harmony to the society. Many bigots, opportunists and self-serving leaders in UMNO prefer to ignore the fact that there are also many deprived people from among the minorities who need help in many ways. Unity does not mean that UMNO and their BN parties should come together to help themselves with the nation's wealth, with UMNO taking the biggest share. Racial unity also becomes a mockery if all opportunities are given to a single race with crumbs thrown to the minorities. Practising tokenism for the minorities will only demoralize the marginalized more. A local economist has this to say: "Preferential treatment of a single race may not augur well for the nation when there are many who are equally deprived in the society. In a need-based economic approach to nation building would see a better Malaysia for all. UMNO does not need to enrich the rich but empower the poor from among all the races to drag them out of the cycle of poverty and into the level playing ground. This will help promote racial unity in the long run."
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