Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News
Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News |
- Election dilemma among Indian voters
- White elephants of Penang
- Did BN’s Bumiputera policies backfire?
- The al-Bukhary story
- Why is it so difficult to give up a seat?
| Election dilemma among Indian voters Posted: 29 Oct 2012 08:11 PM PDT
"In relation to the job placement in Government, we are now having a 3% of Indians in the government work sector and we will further upgrade to advance the current percentage up to 7%. In terms of privilege, the government has allocated 180 million Ringgit Malaysia for the Indians in terms to consolidate any business", said Komala. The Malaysian Times The Indian community makes up a majority of two million in the current population, and to picture, if Barisan National loses this majority of voters due to their decline in involvement of voting, how would it be possible for the ruling party, to prevail in this election? Comparing the votes posted for BN from year 2004 to 2008, there is a radical drop in the number of votes. In year 2004, studies reveals that the vote count for BN was 90.87 and in year 2008 the total amount of votes dropped to 51.50 even though the percentage of electorates shows a sum of 100.00% electorates participated in the voting. We could assume that social disharmony is an aspect to be taken into account for the decline of Indian voters. Under the umbrella of one Malaysia, we are all supposed to be united regardless of racial, religious or cultural backgrounds. Be it BN or Opposition, they are still serving the country in different ways; nevertheless they still contribute to the same responsibility; to make the country a better place to live instead of fighting over power. The dispute over racial harmony can be visibly noticed when the very day, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, publicly unveiled the 1 Malaysia logo and Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said, Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister of Education, said " UMNO would fight to the last drop of blood to protect Malay rights". Highlighting the statement said above, has this probably affected the mentality of our Indian Community to not vote as they are perception that the government is biased? How can this type of biased statement be announced especially in a 1 Malaysia seminar? Shouldn't the statement be general and not too specific to ensure that the government is not mistaken by the Indians and even Chinese? This may be an explanation to why Indian voters are fading away time to time. COMMENTS To a further study on why Indian voters are declining; interviews were conducted by TMT reporter, in random with the public to observe their views on the decline of Indian voters. "I personally feel that there is a decline in Indian voters it is probably due to the distribution of wealth to the respective races, not on an equal basis and the Indians are looking for fairness", said Ahamad Azmi Alip, 36, a Bank Executive. "The Indians is not given adequate chance to fill the government jobs regardless if you are a Malay, then only you may be a part of the government sector, I also think that the current government should dissolve and new government should be established", said, Rajendran, 50, a driver.
"I would say it is all started from the government unfairness, and that can be visibly seen through the education system, whereby there is inequality when it comes to the receiving of scholarships and the entrance into local universities", said, Raaj Kumar, 22, a Software Engineer. In regards to these voices of the Rakyat, TMT reporter then carried out an interview with Datin Paduka Komala Devi, National Wanita MIC Chief, to give out her views based on the voices of the Rakyat. "We are doing our part for the Indians, I also know that many are dissatisfied about the government, but we are also doing our part as a government to serve all with benefits and privileges", said Komala. "We have set up SITF, Special Implementation Taskforce on Indian Community, which was established to ensure that Malaysian Indians are able to access the service, programs and projects of the federal government in a just fair and equitable way, which is wanted by everyone", added, Komala. "In relation to the job placement in Government, we are now having a 3% of Indians in the government work sector and we will further upgrade to advance the current percentage up to 7%". "In terms of privilege, the government has allocated 180 million Ringgit Malaysia for the Indians in terms to consolidate any business", said Komala. "Meanwhile about education, we have increased the amount of intake of students into the matriculation, and the scholarships will be given to those who have reached the standard qualification criteria". However, if they are not qualified for the scholarship, they still receive funds assistance from PTPTN thus they are still able to study, In addition to education fund assistance, MIED also helps those who are in need of financial help for education". Komala also continued further by saying, "We are expecting a percentage of 70-80% of votes from the Indians for BN, because we have taken up so many initiatives for the betterment of the Indians", added Komala. Thus we can conclude that the, Malaysian government must focus on building a strong, impartial executive, legislative and judiciary system, as a result to keep up with the Malaysian society of today. The government must grow up and shed its childish race-based mindset.
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| Posted: 29 Oct 2012 07:17 PM PDT  Wisma Central is an eyesore with its peeling paint and tired look. Many of the lots in the building are vacant. — Pictures by K.E. Ooi By Opalyn Mok, The Malaysian Insider Smack in the middle of George Town stands a tired-looking squat commercial complex with peeling paint and vacant windows that has seen better days. This is Wisma Central, a commercial building that used to be a hive of activities almost 20 years ago when it housed offices of airlines, travel agencies, hairdressers, tailors and also a college. Now, the building looks derelict and abandoned, with only a few businesses still in operation within the building.  Midlands Park used to be a major shopping centre but is now a forlorn, almost forgotten complex with only a few retail shops still remaining while the rest have moved out. Still, despite its choice location and with ample basement parking space too, businesses have either closed down or relocated over the years. In Penang, huge commercial and retail complexes, especially decades-old ones, often have a very low occupancy rate of between 20 per cent and 70 per cent. These are the very complexes that are becoming the white elephants of Penang, with barely struggling businesses occupying a few lots within the buildings while more spanking new complexes are being built elsewhere. A few years ago, a CIMB research report stated that there is a commercial glut in Penang, with the state recording the lowest occupancy rate for office space in the country at 76 per cent and the second lowest for retail space at 70 per cent. Now, the situation has worsened as the occupancy rate for commercial and office complexes in the state continues to dip and more buildings fall victim to neglect and poor management. Some investors saw the potential in some of the complexes and decided to give these buildings a new breath of life and, hopefully, bring back the crowds and economic activities to these places. One of these complexes, Island Plaza, was given a facelift in recent years. This was one of the first upscale malls on the island located in Tanjung Tokong.  The empty hallways of the mostly vacant Plazone in Pulau Tikus. Another one is Penang Plaza, also strategically located in Burmah Road. An investor bought over the building and gave it a new look, far different from its former "old-fashioned" appearance. Occupancy rate may have gone up compared to previous years but it is not attracting droves of shoppers either. In Pulau Tikus, two main complexes that are left to die a slow death are Plazone and Midlands Park as businesses moved out and occupancy drops to an all-time low. At Plazone, occupancy could be less than 20 per cent and its joint management body is at its wit's end trying to figure out a way to bring life back to the ailing complex. The eight-storey tall building now only has a small supermarket on the ground floor as the anchor tenant and a sporadic few businesses within it. "We are now thinking of how we can spruce up this place and make it a choice location for offices and retail lots again," said a management committee member. They have an uphill journey ahead as just a few kilometres down the road the more well-known Midlands Park is also suffering a similar fate. It is not only old commercial buildings that are suffering low occupancy rates and turning into white elephants but a few new ones are also going down the same path.  Even as older retail complexes are suffering from low occupancy rates, new ones are being built. Now, it is being promoted as a food mall with many food and beverage outlets opening there and yet, the occupancy rate is dismal compared to its nearest competitor, First Avenue. These white elephants, however, do not compute to a poor economic situation in the state as investors are taking up pre-war houses within the heritage zone and opening up restaurants, cafés and boutique hotels.
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| Did BN’s Bumiputera policies backfire? Posted: 29 Oct 2012 07:03 PM PDT Over the years, the National Economic Policy became an affair of the elite, leaving the masses stuck in the mirage of the 'Malay Dream'. Amir Ali, FMT The Barisan Nasional (BN) is having its back against the wall, accused of all sorts of misgivings and of being unfit to continue to rule the nation. But the real question is what has the BN not done for the majority community in the country? And this question leads us to a series of questionable policies that have failed the Malays, contrary to the assertions by Dr Mahathir Mohamad. The former prime minister has insisted time and again that the BN's policies have benefited the Malays, creating wealth for them and helping them to keep their political and economic strength. If that was the case, then why is it that a large majority of Malay citizens are still part of the middle class while the poverty level has also increased among the Malays? Why are there only a handful of really rich Malays (millionaires and billionaires) if the policies promoted by the BN for the past decades had really benefited the Malay-Muslim majority in the country? Why is it that many Malays are struggling to achieve a certain level of economic strength despite the National Economic Policy (NEP) favouring the Malays? The answer to that, according to Mahathir, is that the Malays are lazy and that instead of taking advantage of the facilities offered to them, they converted the "goodies", especially tailor-made for Malays, into cash machines. They sold their rights and businesses to non-Malays and this benefited the non-Malays while it only made those who were granted the goodies temporarily rich. It can be argued that parts of these assertions are true. There were always stories about how some greedy businessmen from the Malay community took advantage of the system only to turn the projects into cash cows. NEP, an 'affair of the elite' There were always stories of how they would sell the tenders, the projects and the contracts to others in order to make the easier money instead of being involved fully in the deals. And there were surely cases where some members of the majority community would siphon off the money rather than invest in the earmarked projects. All these tales have not helped the Malay-Muslim community in the country and it is this lack of tact from some people that has caused the community to be behind schedule of the NEP. The fact is that the authorities formulated policies that were made to benefit the masses but only a few, well-placed people with connections made it to the top. In their march to success, these members of the community failed to distribute the goodies and the benefits they earned to the masses. They probably thought their success were their personal achievements and was not achieved with a helping hand from the state. They also forgot, only too fast, that the financial, structural or logistic aid they received was designed to uplift the entire community. Over the decades the NEP became an affair of the elite, of those who were rising while the masses were stuck in the mirage of the "Malay Dream". The BN and Umno are trying very hard to get the support from the Malay-Muslims in the next general election. But the ruling coalition does not have the same "panacea" that they had before. The reason is that the Malay-Muslim community in general does not believe the NEP helped them or made them rich. No benefits Most of the goodies handed over by the BN during the course of this year have only been in the form of temporary aid and have been limited to a class of people that would probably have voted for the BN anyway. The Kedai Rakyat 1Malaysia, too, is not a populist step as it reflected that only those who are really struggling can benefit from this policy. Under the Abdullah Ahmad Badawi regime, there was much hooray about the new-found pro-Muslim policies under the concept of "halal" industries and businesses.
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| Posted: 29 Oct 2012 06:52 PM PDT An embarrassment of business opportunities, political patronage and debts. The Syed Mokhtar al Bukhary story. CT Ali, FMT Syed Mokhtar al Bukhary is like a king? First it was FLOM and now it is SMIK? (Syed Mokhtar is King).What will our king have to say about this pretender to his throne who also happens to be a tycoon – something which our king is not. All this came from that MP from Kinabatangan, Bung Mokhtar Radin. The first question I want to ask of this Sabah Umno leader is why has he got his beady eyes trained on this Syed Mokhtar guy? I am no fan of Syed Mokhtar but why is Bung Mokhtar breaking ranks with Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak in the same way he did with Shahrizat Abdul Jalil – and you know what happened to Shahrizat after that. Or is Bung Mokhtar taking a position to the rear of Najib's unprotected left flank ready to do battle against Najib? Or has Syed Mokhtar done a Abdul Razak Baginda on Bung Mokhtar? Remember what Razak Baginda did to Altantuya Shaariibuu? He did a runner on her once he was in the money! Did Syed Mokhtar not deliver on what he promised Bung Mokhtar? There may be loyalty amongst thieves but amongst politicians it is a scarce commodity. Today Najib, tomorrow Muhyiddin Yassin. Today one wife tomorrow two. This is the stuff Barisan Nasional MPs are made of… deceit, duplicity, greed, arrogance, large doses of libido and a misplaced self worth. But Bung Mokhtar's life is just a little sandiwara as opposed to the operatic saga that is Syed Mokhtar's. Is Syed Mokhtar too big to fail? I think the adage that when you owe the banks billions, your continued success in business is as much the banks' interest as it is yours rings true with Syed Mokhtar. Colossal debts This is Halim Saad all over again. Shades of Amin Shah creeps into the picture while Tajuddin Ramli smiles at the irony of it all – another bumiputera businessman doing his national service the hard way – raking a debt of RM34.3 billion courtesy of his political masters aka Umno. There are countries in Africa that have gone comatose with debts less than that. This all too familiar comedy of bumiputera businessmen doing business the Umno way is good for a laugh if not for the real tragedy that will befall our nation when they fail. And fail he will. RM34.3 billion buys a lot of coconuts but what does he do with RM34.3 billion worth of coconuts? What do you do with RM34.3 billion worth of debt? And so Syed Mokhtar has a lot of troubled companies in his stable and counting. When does he stop, how does he stop and when will Umno allow their cash cow to stop accumulating debts? When will Umno ever learn? Some very rich Malay now becomes richer as his political patron makes him richer in order for this very rich Malay to pay for his political patronage. Very soon no political solution can be found to resolve the RM34.3 billion debt he has incurred. His ability to manage his political patron it is not matched by his ability to manage his RM34.3 billion debt. Soon the very rich Malay fades to obscurity… preferably somewhere abroad. We have seen this comedy of errors enacted many times before in companies and businessmen linked to Umno. With very rare exception, the Chinese businessman who profited from political patronage goes from strength to strength and at times even from one prime minister to the next one. Not the Malay businessman. He has an embarrassment of business opportunities thrown at him by his political masters. Even more than what he, his family, his relatives and friends can handle – even his driver too. The banks are tripping over each other in offering him more money then there are PAS supporters in Kelantan. And still in the end they all fail. An embarrassment of business opportunities, an embarrassment of loans on offer and an embarrassment of debts – all too familiar a scenario with Malay businessmen who owed their fortunes to political patronage.
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| Why is it so difficult to give up a seat? Posted: 29 Oct 2012 04:30 PM PDT As a socialist party, the DAP must be just and fair to all and not favour a handful to contest in two seats as a safety net. Athi Shankar, FMT Two more DAP grassroots leaders here have rallied behind their party supremo Karpal Singh's call for a "one man – one seat" electoral formula. Welcoming the call as "timely and fair" to all party candidates, Pahang vice-chairman J Apalasamy and Taman Gembira branch chairman Ivan Ho Fook Keong also urged all nine party elected representatives who held two seats to heed Karpal's suggestion and publicly declare their choice of seat. The duo could not understand why it has been so difficult for the double-hat wearers to scale back on one seat. Both Apalasamy and Ho said if the elected representatives insisted on contesting double seats in the next polls, it would show that they were selfish and power crazed politicians. They accused the dual seat holders of wanting to monopolise power and enjoy multiple perks at the expense of majority party members. "They must put party interests above their selfish interests. "They should make way for other capable and dynamic party members to contest. "The party should build for the future," they told FMT here today. Penang has the most number of elected representatives who are both MPs and assemblymen. Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng is Bagan MP and Air Putih assemblyman, Deputy Chief Minister II P Ramasamy is Batu Kawan MP and Prai assemblyman and the state senior executive councillor and Penang DAP chief Chow Kon Yeow is Tanjung MP and Padang Kota assemblyman. Other DAP double-hatters are Beruas MP and Sitiawan assemblyman Ngeh Koo Ham, Taiping MP and Pantai Remis assemblyman Nga Kor Ming (Perak); Seputeh MP and Kinrara assemblywoman Teresa Kok Suh Sim (Selangor) and Rasah MP and Lobak assemblyman Anthony Loke Siew Fook (Negeri Sembilan). In Sarawak state DAP chairman Wong Ho Leng is Sibu MP and Bukit Assek assemblyman while state party secretary Chong Chieng Jen is Bandar Kuching MP and Kota Sentosa assemblyman. Strong support from grassroots Last Friday, Karpal who has all along proposed for a one man– one seat formula, called on all double-seat holders to declare that they would only contest a seat in the next polls instead of waiting for the party decide for them. Under Karpal's proposal, exemption could be given to the Penang Chief Minister and candidates in Sabah and Sarawak to contest dual seats on a-need-to basis. Karpal's call met stinging criticisms from likes of Chow and Teresa Kok. They described the issue as "an old story" and rebuked Karpal for highlighting it in the media. Supporting Karpal, Apalasamy said it would be an injustice if the party were to favour a handful to contest both federal and state seats as safety nets when majority candidates were going for broke contesting one seat. He also questioned the need to provide the safety nets to certain politicians. "Whats so special about them that they must be given two seats? As a socialist party, the DAP must be just and fair to all," insisted Apalasamy. He rebuked politicians who want dual seats as safety nets of lacking confidence and at the same time denying another winnable candidate a chance to serve the people. When these politicians go for double-headers, he said it showed that they lacked confidence in winning either one or both the seats.
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