Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News
Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News |
- Malays should wisen up
- 10 reasons for Indians to drop BN
- Keep faith out of politics
- Bigots, cronies, tyrants and thugs
| Posted: 13 Nov 2012 03:01 PM PST After being ruled by Barisan Nasional for 55 years, the Malays must now realise that they do have a choice not to continue to live in poverty, says PKR veep Chua Jui Meng. Malaysians, including Malays, are at a critical political crossroad. We must start asking ourselves intelligently and come up with honest answers and decisions. By Chua Jui Meng, FMT Malaysians, especially the Malays, cannot and must not continue to live in poverty. After 55 years, you must surely say that is enough. You have a choice and you can show that through your ballots in the next general election. Use your ballots to make change so that another government can try to make life better for everyone. Umno's battle cries for 55 years have been – Ketuanan Melayu (Malay Supremacy), Menyelamatkan Melayu (Save Malays), Bela Melayu (Defend Malays), Jangan Hilang Kuasa Melayu (Don't lose Malay Powers). What Malay Supremacy? More like Umno Supremacy. Save Malays? From what? Defend Malays, from whom? Don't lose Malay power? More like don't lose Umno powers. Malaysians, including Malays, are at a critical political crossroad. We must start asking ourselves intelligently and come up with honest answers and decisions. It is clear for all to see that the corrupt BN government has only been plundering and enriching their cronies, family members and themselves. It all started with the 22-year Dr Mahathir Mohamad's rule, followed by Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and now Najib Tun Razak. Their plundering has saddled us with a more than RM502.4 billion federal debts, as revealed by Budget 2013, which we and our children and generations will have to bear. Before the Mahathir regime, the Land Acquisition Act 1960 was used to acquire land for infrastructure and public development projects, like roads, schools, hospitals etc. In 1991, Mahathir amended the Act to enable state governments to acquire such land, and then to alienate such land to their cronies and crony Umno companies for development. The agriculture village land, mostly Malay customary-owned, are acquired cheaply by the state government and then converted to property development to enrich their cronies and themselves. Such land grabs have been carried out by Mahathir, then Abdullah, Najib and in Johor, we are seeing Mentri Besar Abdul Ghani Othman at work in Pengerang. Did you not see this happened in Gelang Patah, Pasir Gudang, Denga Bay, etc? We are seeing thousands of Malays driven out of their kampungs (villages) when such land grabs are initiated by Umno leaders. Are these stories made up by us? Umno manipulation The BN-Umno brainwashing Biro Tata Negara (BTN) has for years, and is still doing so, telling their civil servants to go into the interiors and Malay villages and promise the villagers everything they want. After the general election, no need to deliver the promises.
|
| 10 reasons for Indians to drop BN Posted: 11 Nov 2012 04:23 PM PST Here are 10 reasons why the Indian community should not vote for Barisan Nasional in the next general election, according to Kota Alam Shah state rep M Manoharan. By M Manoharan, FMT Umno's 'Malay Supremacy' agenda I would be echoing the sentiments of the great majority of Indians in Malaysia when I say they are effectively second class citizens under Umno's rule. Umno and BN can be used interchangeably because Umno is not only the dominant party but the de facto ruling party as well. The much entrenched 'Ketuanan Melayu ' or Malay Supremacy is the unwritten code of Umno's rule. The ruling party has perfected this philosophy to the extent of rivalling the notorious racist agenda of apartheid South Africa. Basically, Ketuanan Melayu aims to contain the progress and prosperity of the non-Malays. The Indians have traditionally looked to the civil service for employment but in the last few decades they have seen their share of public sector jobs severely curtailed. Too many Indians have to eke out a harsh living outside the comfort of the government service and the GLCs. Many resort to low paying jobs which in turn locks them in a vicious cycle of poverty. Also, the high crime rate among Indians is a direct result of the lack of access to good, high- income jobs for Indians. NEP's lopsided implementation The NEP introduced in 1970 and which has set the direction of the nation ever since was designed to: a) restructure society so that race is no longer identified with occupation, and b) eradicate poverty irrespective of race/ ethnicity. However, none of these noble intentions ever reached the Indian community. The implementation of the NEP has bypassed the Indians. In the past, Indians were identified with the civil service, professions and the plantations. Today, they are increasingly associated with low pay jobs and hard, physical labour. Many flagship projects of the NEP offered little to the Indian community. Felda which transformed the landless and the poor among the Malays to proud land owners had little impact on the Indians. It was the same story with Felcra, Risda and the numerous other schemes designed to uplift the rural poor. Somehow, the Indian poor, a large proportion of whom were in the plantations were invisible to the formulators and the implementers of the NEP. There were no quotas assigned to the Indian community for jobs in the GLCs or the private sector. If the BN government could do it for the poor Malays, why did it overlook the poor Indians? Was not the NEP designed for all Malaysians? Why the lop-sided implementation? Today, we have an Indian community that has high endemic poverty, the highest violent crime rate and a decreasing proportion in the top professions. The pathetic state of the Tamil schools Any responsible government would look into the education needs of its entire people. But then, BN has never been a responsible government. The BN government has systematically marginalised vernacular education. Fortunately, the economic and philanthropic strength of the Chinese community has mitigated the many challenges facing Chinese schools. There are 523 Tamil schools in the country, but up to 79% or some 379 of these schools are still occupying dilapidated, termite infested, semi-permanent buildings built on private land before Merdeka. The bigger majority of these schools are in a pathetic state – undersized classrooms, leaking roofs and some even without water or electricity. Almost all face teacher shortage of some kind, some more acute than others. Promises are made from time to time by the government to improve trainee teacher intake, training temporary teachers and offering them permanent positions but the reality is the opposite. Some 40% of all Tamil school teachers are contract or temporary teachers. This potent combination of poor infrastructure and teacher shortage is a definite recipe for the high failure rate of Tamil school students. Tamil schools are a neglected lot and the BN must be held responsible by all Indian voters. Limited opportunities in the civil service and GLCs Indians and other non-Bumiputeras are severely discriminated both in the intake as well as in subsequent promotions. For instance, there is not a single Indian judge in the Federal Court. The BN government must look into an Equal Opportunity Commission & an Equal Opportunity Act to redress the gross imbalance among the races in the Government service. Citizens denied citizenship Almost 300,000 Indians who are eligible for citizenship do not have MyKads. They are children born to citizen parents whose births were not registered for one reason or another. In a nutshell, they have been denied citizenship due to a government bureaucracy that is callous to their plight. Many dreams have been shattered, jobs and careers foregone and households mired in poverty due to citizenship denied. Almost all are deserving cases because most were born in Malaysia or have lived here all their lives. Of late, the MIC has organised citizenship for about 4,000 cases but this hardly scratches the surface of the problem. It is more of a publicity stunt for the BN to dupe the Indian electorate as many of the cases publicised in the media are senior citizens in their twilight years and well past their prime. Sadly, it is a case of political gimmicking taking precedence over resolution of people's grievances. Indians have the highest unemployment rate among the major races in the country. The neglect of the Tamil schools means it ill-prepares the students for secondary school and beyond. Many Indian students lack the linguistic and numerical skills needed for today's job market. Moreover, Indians do not have access to skills training institutes like GiatMara, polytechnics, Mara Training Institutes, vocational schools and numerous other training institutes' set-up with public money at the state and national levels. Certainly, there is a lack of concerted action by the BN government to train and equip Indian youths with the necessary job skills. The typical response by BN leaders is that Indians do not apply for these opportunities. How can Indians apply for these places when it is not made known to them? As a result, the majority resort to the private sector. With low levels of education and absence of marketable skills, they are forced to work as lorry drivers, road sweepers, dishwashers, free-lance house maids, cleaners, despatch clerks, personal drivers, etc. These jobs are shunned by the other races because of the low pay, long working hours and physical risks involved. The situation has got so bad that Indians are forced to compete with foreigners for these very jobs.
|
| Posted: 10 Nov 2012 04:23 PM PST
Religion and politics — that's a potent mix guaranteed to be explosive. Nurul Izzah's slip has been seized on by Umno because the fight in the polls is essentially over the majority Malay votes, especially in the rural constituencies which are heavily in favour of the ruling party. Of the 222 parliamentary seats, only about 45 are Chinese-majority in urban areas and there is not a single seat with an Indian majority. Wong Chun Wai, The Star IN the run-up to the general election, holding forums on political issues, even in churches, has become fairly common. While most churches would be careful about bringing politicians into a house of worship to talk politics, there are some that are prepared to organise or at least play host to such events. Last Saturday, the Oriental Hearts and Mind Study Institute (OHMSI) conducted a talk on "Islamic State: Which Version? Whose Responsibility?" with the keynote address by Dr Ahmad Farouk Musa, director of the Islamic Renaissance Front. The forum was held at a church in Subang. But the person who captured the headlines was PKR deputy president Nurul Izzah Anwar who was one of the moderators. In response to a question from the floor, she found herself caught in a controversy over whether Malays have a right to choose their religion. She was speaking to a largely urban non-Malay audience and, as seen in a video recording of the event that has now gone viral, she was greeted with loud applause. The feisty politician has since denied making any statement suggesting that there should be no compulsion on Malays to be Muslims. But she earned a royal rebuke from the Sultan of Selangor and she has quickly blamed Utusan Malaysia for allegedly distorting and twisting her reply to a member of the audience. To make things more complicated, the person who posed the question to Nurul Izzah has now expressed her disappointment over the latter's about turn on the issue. Lawyer Siti Zabedah Kasim was quoted as saying by news portal Free Malaysia Today that "I believe Nurul Izzah was just trying to impress the people. She didn't think of the consequences." For many non-Muslims, especially those living in urban areas, the issue was probably dismissed as a non-starter and seen as another political move to discredit Nurul Izzah. But for conservative Muslims in the rural areas, it would be unthinkable and unacceptable. Luckily for Nurul Izzah, the language used at the forum was English and the video that's currently going around does not have Bahasa Malaysia subtitles, thus making the damage less severe – for now. But for Nurul Izzah to deny it vehemently now would suggest that she has woken up to the grave political consequences of what she has done. If there was no impact, she would have just shrugged it off. She now wants to get out of this tricky spot. The easy part is to blame Utusan Malaysia, which is well known for its nationalist slant, but the pro-Pakatan Rakyat news portal Malaysiakini also carried the same story using the same angle on Nov 3. Nurul Izzah has also put PAS in a corner. On Friday, PAS spiritual adviser Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat said that if Nurul Izzah had indeed made her controversial statement on religious freedom, "then something is not right" while PAS president Datuk Seri Hadi Awang wanted to hear from her. Their only purported concerns, or a way out, seem to be that they have doubts over the accuracy of reporting by the media. DAP strongman Ngeh Koo Ham tweeted last week in support of Nurul Izzah, quoting Article 11 of the Federal Constitution which states that every person has the right to profess and to practise his or her religion. But Ngeh, a lawyer, did not say it has to be read with other applicable laws. There are laws restricting the propagation of other religions to Muslims. Article 160 of the Federal Constitution, for example, is clear that all ethnic Malays are Muslims. A Malay is defined as someone who professes to be a Muslim, habitually speaks the Malay language and adheres to Malay customs. The fact remains that the majority of Malays want this to remain as law and as practice and convention. Nurul Izzah's slip has been seized on by Umno because the fight in the polls is essentially over the majority Malay votes, especially in the rural constituencies which are heavily in favour of the ruling party. Of the 222 parliamentary seats, only about 45 are Chinese-majority in urban areas and there is not a single seat with an Indian majority. Nurul Izzah's case will also have a deep impact in PAS where the divide between those regarded as sympathetic to Anwar and the more orthodox ulamas is concerned. Former deputy president Nasharuddin Mat Isa, for example, is solidly in the Islamist party despite his overtures to Umno. He has regularly spoken up against the DAP, a PAS ally, but remains untouched because he is said to be protected by the anti-Anwar forces in the party. The church in Subang has found itself in the spotlight for hosting the forum. Recently, another church which hosted a forum on the elections found its speakers and the media squabbling over the accuracy of some negative remarks made on Pakatan Rakyat. There's a lesson here – keep religion out of politics. But as long as there are politicians masquerading as theologians of their respective faiths, no one will take this advice kindly.
|
| Bigots, cronies, tyrants and thugs Posted: 10 Nov 2012 02:17 PM PST Religious bigots and feudalists, Umno and its business cronies, Malay supremacist and their secret spies and Trojan horses are all coming together. Religious bigots and feudalists, Umno and its business cronies, Malay supremacist and their secret spies and Trojan horses are all coming together. Mohd Ariff Sabri Aziz, FMT Umno is marshalling all the reactionary forces in this country to put down the majority. Religious bigots represented by the likes of Hasan Alis, Zulkifli Nordins and the racial bigots represented by the Ibrahim Alis. Their running dogs are now resorting to (i) attacks on the person, and (ii) patronising comments. A specter is indeed haunting our country — the specter of Malaysians reclaiming lost rights. All the powers of the corrupt government have entered into an unholy alliance to exorcise this specter. Religious bigots and feudalists, Umno and its business cronies, Malay supremacist and their secret spies and Trojan horses are all coming together. The specter that is coming back is the specter of Dr Mahathir Mohamad and his ilk. It's bulldozing over us. Post-independence, this country was tugging along on the road of democracy and was doing fine. It was a slow process as Malaysians underwent a period of growing pains. Frankly, we have just begun to learn the dynamics of democracy. Suffrage means people acquire rights to self-determination. Participatory democracy meant, they can define their being and determine their future instead of having their lives run by dictates and central command of a society structured on feudalism – a paramount master and his cabal at the top, enslaving the rest. Malays are beginning to free themselves from being defined and determined by their feudal masters. Power corrupts We are moving away from a central command society to a modern one embracing democracy. We could have matured into a better society faster save for the route being suddenly and rudely interrupted by the emergence of Mahathir.
|
| You are subscribed to email updates from Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
0 ulasan:
Catat Ulasan