Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News
Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News |
- 8 Realities Why the Malaysian Government should fund Higher Education
- Inilah sikap cybertrooper UMNO
- Only in Malaysia : Tayar Untuk Disewa Harian (Sehari RM300) Untuk Tujuan Pemeriksaan JPJ dan ...
- Response to statements by Tunku Aziz and Anthony Loke
- No Boycott for Penang Run
- Sugumar's family rejects inquest, calls for murder investigation
- Many shortcomings in the RCI proceeding
- Listen…
- Even the Devil (You Know And Not The Angel That You Don’t?) Should Be Given the Benefit of ...
- Atrocities of the illegal car park operators and the negligence of Selayang Municipal Council
- MTUC Calls for Royal Commission Inquiry on Foreign Workers
- For God, King and Racism
| 8 Realities Why the Malaysian Government should fund Higher Education Posted: 28 Jan 2013 04:22 PM PST
Investing in education may cost the society tax Ringgits, but the consequences in failing to do so will be devastating. Anas Alam Faizli Education was institutionalized to formalize the process of knowledge acquisition and research in man's quest for understanding. Earliest universities in the history of mankind namely Al-Azhar, Bologna, Oxford, Palencia, Cambridge and University of Naples (world's first public university, 1224) have one thing in common; they were built by notable early world civilizations as institutions of research, discourse, learning, proliferation of knowledge and documentation. This contrasts largely from the role of universities today as institutions of human capital accreditation, qualification, and most unfortunately, business and profits. Ibnu Khaldun, father of historiography, sociology and economics, in his work Prolegomenon (Muqaddimah) argued that the government would only gain strength and sovereignty through its citizens. This strength can only be sustained by wealth, which can only be acquired through human capital development (education), which in turn can only be achieved by justice and inclusiveness for all. Aristotle too proposed "Education should be one and the same for all." A system that discriminates, in our case, based on household economic ability, can and will rile an unhealthy imbalance in the quality of the resulting labour force and society. These form the basis of our argument here. In America, the individual funds his higher education while many European countries have public-funded institutions of higher learning. The latter is the best for Malaysia. Our societal and economic progression (or digression) does not depend on any one factor, but on the interaction of economic, social and political factors over a long period of time. Let's first look at some realities that we need to contend with to understand why the Malaysian government should fund higher education.
Reality #1: Society benefits from education We can never truly measure the immense positive externalities derived from an educated society. Outcomes of university education and research continuously found the progress of mankind. In developing Malaysia, higher education is an impetus for establishing a civic-minded society, highly skilled manpower and competitive value proposition for capital and production. Investing in education may cost the society tax Ringgits, but the consequences in failing to do so will be devastating. Walter W. McMahon (economist at University of Illinois) outlined the "private non-market benefits" for degree-holders. These include better personal health and improved cognitive development in their children. Alongside is the "social non-market benefits", such as lower spending on prisons and greater political stability. Reality #2: "Neither here nor there" Malaysia is neither here nor there, and education opportunity is a major contributing factor. Robert Reich, former U.S. secretary of labour and professor at UC Berkeley, made a compelling argument that is very applicable to Malaysia. To attract jobs and capital, nations and states face two choices; one is to build a low-tax but low-wage "warehouse economy" competing on price, another is to compete on quality, by increasing taxes and regulation to invest in human capital for a highly productive workforce. In Malaysia, wage growth caught up with productivity growth only up until the late 1990's. Since 1996, we have been living in the "middle income trap", stunted at the World Bank's definition of upper middle income; neither high nor low income. In fact, for the past 10 years real wage growth has been negative. Having 77% of the Malaysian workforce with only SPM and below qualification is a structural barrier to us crossing over to the higher income group. The labour force is largely unskilled and unable to move their labour services up the value chain where higher salaries are paid. Reality #3: Education is fundamental to a competitive value proposition Another case for education is competitiveness for both FDI and outputs. On the FDI side, our factors of production, in this case labour, needs to be attractive enough. With a labour force that is neither highly skilled nor cheap, our value propositions dwarf next to the likes of Vietnam and Singapore. As a result, technology and automation service the lower-value processes replacing need for labour, while R&D and origination have not caught up due to lack of expertise. Malaysia has been the only country in the region facing net outflow in FDI since 2007. On the output side, our goal to move away from producing lower-value manufacturing and primary goods, into the higher-value services sector too have been held back by limited talent and capabilities. Lack of advanced education is one major factor causing this lack of competitiveness. Reality #4: Efficiency driven economy versus Innovation driven economy A study released by the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) categorizes Malaysia as an efficiency-driven economy, behind innovation-driven economies. We focus on improving existing processes, but we are not out there inventing new things where the big money is. Focusing on the latter is extremely important now more than ever for Malaysia, because we can no longer offer very cheap labour, land and factories to produce mass generic products competitively. The number of researchers in Malaysia for each 1 million population is only 365 behind Japan's 5,416 and South Korea's 4,231. We are in dire need for more trained professionals and innovators, and we could have harvested them from talents that did not pursue tertiary education due to the lack of opportunities. Reality #5: Education is an investment… Like parents investing in their children's future, the state must invest in the population for the future of the nation. An educated society is able to position themselves into higher standards of living characterized by higher income, production of high value goods and services, longer life expectancy, subscription to civic and moral values, political stability, existence of civil liberties and openness to change and development. While highly developed nations like Denmark and the Netherlands invest 11.2% and 10.8% (respectively) of GDP in education, we invested only 4.8% last year (majority on infrastructure and emoluments!). To make matters worse, the education budget education is slashed from RM50 billion to RM37 billion this year! To get an idea of how counter-intuitive this is for a developing Malaysia, even Afghanistan (7.4%), Vietnam (7.2%) and Timor Leste (12.3%) spent more. Currently, about 80% of the bottom 40% income households are only-SPM qualified and below, while only 5% received higher education. The rest never made it to school at all. The reason is crystal clear; it is education that can lift households into higher income thus significantly reducing poverty and its consequences. If this group were to receive higher education, it is the state that ultimately benefits as social capital is returned from the household to the state in increased production and tax income. Social justice is served; while nobody is left discriminated or neglected from being given an opportunity to develop his or her own merits. Reality #6: … with a Positive Net Return-on-Investment (ROI) Entertain this simple simulation: Consider a fresh graduate entering the workforce with a salary of RM2,500, working for 30 years with a modest increment of 5% a year. Upon retiring at the age of 55 years, he would have paid back at least RM290,000 to the government only in income taxes. Even after discounting, payback in taxes is significantly beyond the investment cost providing education. Reality #7: Education correlates with wealth and income Tertiary-educated individuals have an average of RM182,000 in wealth to their name, while SPM holders have only an average RM82,000 in net worth. Degree holders have at least 2.2 times the wealth of SPM leavers. But the tertiary education penetration rate for Malaysia stands at only 36.5%. This is only measured at point of enrolment (not completion)! Not only we are significantly behind "very high human development" nations' average of 75%, we are also behind "high human development" nations' average of 50%. In contrast, 86% of Americans, 84% of Kiwis, 100% of Koreans, 99% of the British, 45% of Thais, and 38.4% of Turks are university-trained. As a result, the bulk of our workforce is unable to position themselves in higher-earning jobs. The bulk of our jobs involve the lower portions of the industry value chains. How are we then to move our economy into higher GNI territory, and inclusively move the majority of our population into higher income brackets? Current practice of relying on one-off mega construction projects will not ensure Malaysia move into high-income status, and stay there for the long run! Reality #8: Education will reduce income inequality Malaysia ranks as the third most unequal nation in Asia, based on a GINI coefficient of 0.4621 (World Bank). Using only GINI, a simple measure of dispersion between the richest and poorest in an economy, we can already see that there are structural problems with the kind of growth that we have been enjoying. A household that earns RM10,000 monthly and above is already considered the top 4% Malaysian households! 60% of the highest earning income households have at least one member that received tertiary-level education. But 60% of the lowest-earning households have only SPM-holders as their most qualified household member. Not coincidentally, only the top 20% income households in Malaysia have experienced substantial income growth. For the remaining 80% it has been moderate. The gap between the rich and poor has been consistently growing from year 1970 until today. Only non-discriminatory access to education for the bottom 40% will arrest the growth of this gap. America perceives that the benefits of tertiary-level education are enjoyed most by the individual himself, thus the individual funds his higher education. The Scandinavians believe that the government should pay for higher education. On one hand, we see a privately funded education system in America, and growing inequality between the relatively richer and poorer households. There is at least $902 billion (NY Federal Reserve) in total outstanding student loan debt in the United States today. In contrast, government-funded higher education Scandinavia ranks as most equal nations in the world. The apparent causal-effect relationship here is hard to dispel. We expect free access to education to allow inter-generational mobility and narrow this inequality gap. If we let economic disability become a prohibitive factor for education, relatively poorer households will never be lifted out of the low-income bracket.
One graduate for every Malaysian family We need an education system that is inclusive, does not neglect academically-struggling yet vocationally-advantaged pupils, matches industry requirements, yet streams students into disciplines where they will excel most. Most importantly, the system must not allow students to find themselves at the point of entering the industry, handicapped with a student loan on their shoulders, only to realize that they are not employable.
Malaysia has progressed in many aspects by making primary and secondary education free. 100% of Malaysians finish at least primary 6 and 68% finish form 5. The current socio and economic condition in Malaysia now calls to make finishing form 5 legally compulsory and providing free and accessible tertiary education for all.
I humbly urge the government, non-governmental bodies, policy-makers, and lobby groups to move towards providing free tuition fees for higher education at all our public universities. Where public universities are unable to cater for surplus of qualified students, it is suggested that the same equivalent amount of tuition fee funding is to be provided for private universities in a staggered manner, so as to ensure education accessibility by all. I also propose the target of one graduate in each of the 6.4 million Malaysian households to ensure inter-generational mobility; that is for at least one child of a self-subsistent fisherman or low-salaried factory worker to uplift the entire family into a higher income bracket. A graduate in each family will be the change-agent that ensures his generation improves the family; via a chain reaction multiplying effect, ultimately affecting the graduate's surroundings. Education is way too important for us to risk any mismanagement, oversight and underfunding. The generations that go through a robustly managed quality education system, or lack of them, will ultimately decide Malaysia's direction and the society that we will live in. Only then we can fundamentally assure that our true north for a high income Malaysia is sustainable, inclusive and is enjoyed by all layers of society - not just for the Top 1%. Let us reflect what Nelson Mandela said for a better Malaysia! "Education is the most powerful weapon you can use to change the world." *Anas Alam Faizli is an oil and gas professional. He is pursuing a post-graduate doctorate and is the executive director of Teach For The Needs (TFTN). ** Datas and figures are derived from EPU, DOSM, HIS 2009, HDR 2011, World databank and BNM. For details, please refer BLINDSPOT (http://www.facebook.com/blindspot.msia)
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| Inilah sikap cybertrooper UMNO Posted: 28 Jan 2013 04:09 PM PST
Kebanyakan cybertrooper BN adalah tidak beretika dan kuat membuat fitnah. Mereka inginkan Malaysia ini tidak aman dan tertekan dengan isu agama dan perkauman. Anti-tipu Fakta tetap fakta, kebenaran tetap kebenaran, walaupun mengubah suaikan gambah dan melemparkan fitnah terhadap masyarakat Kristian tetap kena tanggung dosa di sisi Allah. u868mLIvuD0 Or watch at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u868mLIvuD0 Ini bukanlah perjuangan dan mempertahankan agama Islam, tetapi ini adalah kebiadapan dan sengaja mengaibkan masyarakat Malaysia yang berbilang agama dan bangsa. Perbuatan demikianlah menjadikan masyarakat pecah belai. Perbuatan inilah memalukan penganut agama Islam di Malaysia. Dalam internet, facebook, apa-apa media sekalipun, kegiatan ini patut dihina dan dicaci masyarakat Malaysia. Kunjungilah facebook yang bernama Ambo Pakoh BN. Anda tetap marah atas perbuatannya. http://www.facebook.com/pages/Ambo-Pakoh-BN/228666897183218?ref=ts&fref=ts
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| Only in Malaysia : Tayar Untuk Disewa Harian (Sehari RM300) Untuk Tujuan Pemeriksaan JPJ dan ... Posted: 28 Jan 2013 03:53 PM PST
Kos menyewa tayar untuk sehari ialah RM300. Selepas pemeriksaan dan diluluskan, tayar ini dipulangkan semula. ExPet Beberapa hari lepas, semasa sedang menunggu isteri yang sedang berurusan di dalam bank, saya mengunjungi booth jualan kereta Toyota yang dibuka di hadapan bank tersebut. Saya dijemput duduk oleh pegawai jualan. Untuk memujuk saya membeli kereta Toyota, pegawai jualan tersebut memberitahu saya, "Ini model Avanza fully-imported, CBU (completely built-up) dari Indonesia. Bukan macam model dulu yang dipasang di sini (Malaysia)". "Ini model Hilux pun fully imported, CBU dari Thailand", boss beliau pula menyampuk. Saya meminta maaf kepada pengendali kenderaan awam sekiranya pendedahan saya ini bakal menyusahkan hidup anda. Mengenali cara kementerian dan jabatan berfungi, saya menjangkakan satu undang-undang baru yang akan menyusahkan anda bakal diperkenalkan, iaitu anda dikehendaki menunjukkan resit sebagai bukti pembelian tayar lori atau bas anda. Setiap kali membeli tayar, anda mesti menyimpan resit ini untuk dibawa bersama dengan lori dan bas semasa pemeriksaan. Resit ini akan dicop supaya ia tidak boleh dipinjamkan kepada pemilik lori dan bas yang lain. Saya tidak menafikan rasuah, penyalahgunaan kuasa dan ketirisan dana boleh menjejaskan kualiti hidup rakyat, tetapi perkara terbesar yang merugikan rakyat ialah apabila kerajaan berlagak pandai dan mencampuri tangan di dalam kuasa pasaran (market forces) pada tempat yang salah. Sepatutnya kerajaan mencampuri tangan (interfere) di dalam kuasa pasaran untuk menyediakan jaringan keselamatan (safety net) kepada golongan tercicir dan tertinggal akibat kerakusan pasaran dan membenarkan rakyat menikmati faedah daripada persaingan di dalam pasaran. Jika kerajaan tidak menjolok tangannya ke dalam lubang pasaran ini, rakyat akan menukar tayar kereta, bas dan lori tanpa disuruh atau dipaksa oleh kerajaan. Ini kerana harga sebenar alat gantian kenderaan rendah dan semakin rendah akibat persaingan dan juga skala pengeluaran yang tinggi. |
| Response to statements by Tunku Aziz and Anthony Loke Posted: 28 Jan 2013 03:47 PM PST
Tunku Zain Al-'Abidin Tuanku Muhriz, The Malaysian Insider I will be writing about the statement by Tunku Abdul Aziz Tunku Ibrahim and the response by Anthony Loke Siew Fook more fully in my usual column on Friday, but for now, I emphasise the following: It is unfortunate that private discussions have been made public. Political parties should be able to freely engage any Malaysian citizen to discuss confidential proposals within the boundaries of the law. I am grateful to Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah, Deputy Minister of Higher Education, for his tweet: "klu x terima, kita senyap jer. Hormatilah privasinya. Mcm meminang x jadi, x perlu heboh." However, now that this has been brought to the public domain, I can confirm that the descriptions of the contents of my conversation with the DAP some months ago are broadly accurate. As it was an informal conversation, no minutes were taken. It should be noted that I have been invited to similar informal and private conversations with representatives of other political parties as well. As I have written in my articles over the past five years, I respect and admire principled and hardworking politicians regardless of the party they belong to. However, in my view, no political party today articulates the vision of our Ayahanda Kemerdekaan with sufficient conviction and consistency for me to consider joining them. It has been alleged that it is improper for a child of a Ruler to participate in party politics. However, five children of Rulers have already done so, namely: a) YTM Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj ibni Sultan Abdul Hamid Halim Shah of Kedah (MP for Kuala Muda 1955-1970 and Prime Minister 1957-1970; Umno and Semangat 46) b) YAM Tunku Panglima Besar Tunku Abdullah ibni Tuanku Abdul Rahman of Negri Sembilan (MP for Rawang 1964-1974; Umno) c) YAM Tengku Sri Paduka Raja Tengku Ibrahim ibni Sultan Ismail Nasiruddin Shah of Terengganu (ADUN for Ajil 1990-1995; Semangat 46 and PAS) d) YAM Tengku Dato' Sri Azlan ibni Sultan Abu Bakar of Pahang (MP for Jerantut 1999-present and Deputy Minister of Transport 1999-2008; Semangat 46 and Umno) e) YAM Dato' Seri DiRaja Syed Razlan Jamalullail ibni Syed Putra Jamalullail of Perlis (MP for Arau 2004-2008 and ADUN for Pauh 2008-present; Umno) Malaysian civil society space has grown significantly in the past few years, and I have long been active in that environment, since before my father was elected the eleventh Yang di-Pertuan Besar of Negri Sembilan. It is in this space that I wish to continue to contribute, particularly through the Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (IDEAS) and the various foundations in which I serve.
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| Posted: 27 Jan 2013 01:07 PM PST
I am proud to be working for a state government that is open, fair, respect our rights and able to differentiate right from wrong by not blaming the participants, as runners only want to run. Media Officer To The Penang Chief Minister, Heng Lee Lee I am surprised that the BN media is twisting my participation in the BN sponsored Penang Run event yesterday as PR contradicting itself and disproving PR's claim that the Penang Run event had disrupted Thaipusam Day celebrations. This is untrue as Penang PR state government leaders had neither called for a boycott for Penang Run nor said the Penang Run event had disrupted Thaipusam Day celebrations. The Penang state government had earlier clarified that it was not behind the Penang Run as this is a federal government sponsored event and disagreed with the involvement of Federal government agencies such as USM and Jabatan Belia dan Sukan Pulau Pinang held on Thaipusam Day. Unlike the private sector, a government should be sensitive to religious celebrations and not support events held which may prevent Hindus from participating because they have to prepare for Thaipusam religious celebrations. The Penang state government was speaking up for Hindus who felt slighted by the federal government supporting the event held on Thaipusam Day. However no action was taken to stop the event even though the organizers refused to postpone it. No action was taken to prevent the runners from participating whether the Indians or Hindus or non-Hindus. There is no quarrel between the state government and the runners, which is why I participated in this event with my regular group of runner friends. Just as we may be unhappy with American government policy over the sufferings of the Palestinian people, this does not mean that we are unhappy with the American people. Similarly the problem is not with the runners but with the federal government's involvement in an event on Thaipusam Day. I am proud to be working for a state government that is open, fair, respect our rights and able to differentiate right from wrong by not blaming the participants, as runners only want to run.
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| Sugumar's family rejects inquest, calls for murder investigation Posted: 27 Jan 2013 12:25 PM PST
An inquest under section 328 of the Criminal Procedure Code is only necessary where there is serious doubt as to the cause of death. An inquest is not a substitute for a proper criminal investigation. Why call for an inquest when there is adequate evidence to bring a criminal prosecution for murder? N Surendran, Latheefa Koya We refer to the statement by Selangor police deputy chief Datuk Thaiveegan on 27 January 2013 that an inquest will be held into the death of C.Sugumar in police custody. The family of C.Sugumar absolutely rejects an inquest into Sugumar's death. Instead, the family again calls for the arrest, investigation and prosecution of all police personnel involved on murder charges under section 302 of the Penal Code. An inquest under section 328 of the Criminal Procedure Code is only necessary where there is serious doubt as to the cause of death. An inquest is not a substitute for a proper criminal investigation. Why call for an inquest when there is adequate evidence to bring a criminal prosecution for murder? In this case there are eyewitnesses who have come forward to say that Sugumar was chased down, handcuffed, smeared with turmeric and beaten to death by police personnel. This should have resulted in an immediate classification of the case under s.302 Penal Code; the calling of a mere inquest is inconsistent with the available evidence.
For too long now, the police and A-G's Chambers have been abusing the inquest process to cover-up physical abuse and murders by the enforcement agencies. This can be clearly seen in the futile Teoh Beng Hock inquest process. The announcement of an inquest is merely being done to assuage public outrage, and not to get to the truth of the matter. An inquest in cases like this is nothing more than a ploy to cover-up the case by producing biased and incomplete evidence before the coroner. Unlike in some other Commonwealth countries, the coroner in Malaysia is not empowered to conduct his own investigations and must rely on the tainted and biased police investigation. We note that despite repeated requests by Sugumar's family, the police have refused to consent to the carrying out of a second post-mortem upon Sugumar's remains. This again proves that the police have no interest in uncovering the real truth in Sugumar's case. We call upon the Home Minister and IGP to act fairly and professionally, and to immediately launch a murder investigation into Sugumar's death. The family and eyewitnesses are prepared to cooperate fully with the authorities in a murder investigation. Meanwhile, the 'Justice for Sugumar' protest demanding a second post-mortem and a murder investigation, on Tuesday 29/1/12 at Bukit Aman at 10.30am will proceed as scheduled.
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| Many shortcomings in the RCI proceeding Posted: 26 Jan 2013 03:55 PM PST
It is a wonder why these parties, why after making such loud noises about the issue of illegal immigrants all these while they have not pursued or even clamoured for participation in the RCI proceeding.
Richard Libun Adou
After attending the proceedings of the on-going Royal Commision of Inquiry (RCI) on illegal immigrants in Sabah for just two days, I have observed quite a number of shortcomings in terms of participation in the inquiry process, i.e. on the way it is conducted. It is very clear that these shortcomings are seriously hinder the original purpose of the RCI – to seek the truth for the sake of justice.
The RCI was decided to be carried out to enable a panel to hear witnesses' testimonies as well as to question and dig for deeper information from them, with lawyers (including from the Sabah Law Association or SLA) and members of political parties given the opportunities to pose their own questions. So other than members of the RCI panel, several lawyers have been given the authority to pose more questions to those making testimonies for the purpose of clarification and obtaining of more details.
What I find wanting is that the political parties such as Umno, MCA, PBS, PBRS, Upko, Star, Sapp and other parties have not sent their representatives to be among those who could pose such queries. It is a wonder why these parties, why after making such loud noises about the issue of illegal immigrants all these while they have not pursued or even clamoured for participation in the RCI proceeding. I applaud Hj Ansari Abdullah, Datuk James Ghani and the SLA representative for being active in posing very good and relevant questions.
I suspect one or two of these parties are afraid to be in the proceeding because they may be afraid that they, or some of their leaders, may be identified by witnesses as the culprits or perpetrators of the illegals problem in Sabah. I am also flabbergasted that Tan Sri Pairin had made a statement asking people not to make any comments on the RCI testimonies until the whole process if over. I find his remark to be evident of his cowardice in the issue; what he said actually had disappointed a lot of the people, especially the KDMs. Many are questioning his motive in making such a call when there is much worry among his people about this mother of all problems.
In the matter of those giving testimonies many people who can present their cases have been excluded and deprived of their opportunity to speak up. Our biggest loss is the absence of Suhakam in the list of those testifying because, as I have been made to understand, Suhakam requested to contribute in the matter even as those to pose questions were rejected for unknown reasons.
The number of individuals from the public allowed to pose questions are also limited; the opportunity should be opened to more people. It is such a loss; we can now only imagine what great revelations Suhakam could have offered the world on their own findings about the illegal immigrants issue because we know Suhakam, being the main body dealing with matters of human rights in Malaysia, have files and files of reports! Why was Suhakam rejected? Who were the parties privy to the surprising rejection? Is the RCI also practicing what we can call selective witnessing? Even the Kota Kinabalu DAP's member of parliament, was reportedly rejected like Suhakam.
I had also noticed that the Sabah Law Association (SLA) is not serious enough in its participation, because when its representative missed one Thursday afternoon session of the inquiry, no one was sent as a temporary replacement. So why is the SLA, a highly professional body, playing a disappearing act in such an important undertaking in our history?
And last but not least is the quality of the performance by some of the panellists. One or two of them are obviously there just to warm up their chairs because during the two days I was there they hadn't spoken a single word in addition to smiling and grimacing! It appears that only the chairman, Tan Sri Steve, Datuk Henry Chin and Tan Sri Herman Luping are the ones most active in probing the testifiers.
I find it shocking that the other panelists being also personalities of high calibre and experience with high positions behind them are not curious or serious enough, not able to ask a single question day in and day out? I can't believe they are ignorant or dumb, nor can I believe that they are afraid of talking too much because as retirees who can touch them? To me this is a serious failing of the panel and I believe if you can't speak, you might as well leave the chair and give it to someone who can perform. What a huge loss that Tan Sri Simon Sipaun, the capable and dynamic activist, was not included in the panel!
I feel that it is still not too late to overcome these serious shortcomings and improve the situation by amending the policy and revamping the panel to replace those who don't speak up with others who can perform better. As it is, because of these weaknesses, we are losing a tremendous lot, and the final report of the RCI may not do justice to the seriousness of the illegals problem.
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| Posted: 26 Jan 2013 03:36 PM PST SV Often we hear We hear the voices of hatred When race and religion And in their ignorance To them I say … listen Listen and you will hear Those who speak the language of hate Listen … Thank you Sharifah Zohra Thank you Sharifah Zohra Thank you Sharifah Zohra Thank you Bawani Thank you to the students in the hall Thank you to the organisers Thank you to the ones who recorded and shared this event Thank you to the beautiful Malaysians To those who ask I say
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| Even the Devil (You Know And Not The Angel That You Don’t?) Should Be Given the Benefit of ... Posted: 25 Jan 2013 11:11 AM PST
Back in the Henry VIII days, the punishment for high treason was "hanged, drawn and quartered". Convicts were fastened to a wooden panel, and drawn by horse to the place of execution, where they were hanged (almost to the point of death), disembowelled and quartered (chopped into four pieces). Nicole Tan Lee Koon The following article by Kim Quek is basically a "Project M or Project IC for dummies" : http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/sideviews/article/sabah-rci-what-next-kim-quek/. I would like to add my two sens' worth of thought on it. You see, it is a well-known secret that Dr M started this clandestine project in the 1990's to capture Sabah for UMNO. After much pressure from the Opposition, a Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) on Integrity headed by Bernard Dompok was set up in February 2007. Three months later, Dompok quit as chairman of the committee over disagreements on the function and scope of the committee, in particular, over the refusal of the National Registration Department to appear before the committee. The findings of the PSC were never made public. In May 2008, Lim Kit Siang tabled a motion to set up a Royal Commission to investigate the problems relating to illegal immigrants in Sabah. The motion however was rejected by the Deputy Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat, Ronald Kiandee. Subsequently, Pak Lah announced the setting up of a high powered cabinet committee chaired by the then Deputy PM Najib Tun Razak. However, it was pointed out by a senior Sabahan politician Chong Eng Leong similar committees were set up in 2000 and 2006 without any results. Merely lip service to pacify Sabahans. There were several government crackdown operations to deport illegal immigrants since the 1990s. The last crackdown was in August 2008. These operations served to deport immigrants without proper documentations but it does not serve to address the issue of Project IC. Najib not only did not produce any results from the so-called high powered cabinet committee, he became an expert in giving out citizenships to illegal immigrants himself as it was stated whilst Dr M had given citizenships to foreigners in Sabah to stay in power, Najib is now doing the same in the whole country! (http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2013/01/24/you-help-me-i-give-you-ic/) The whole exercise, according to Raja Petra, was like a Hollywood movie script. It seems that UMNO used funds from Libya to cut a deal with Abu Sayyaf to overthrow PBS in Sabah. Dr M finally admitted that he gave out citizenships during his tenure and claimed that it was legal. Dr M conveniently disregarded the Reid Commission by saying that what he did was as legal as what Tunku Abdul Rahman did by giving out citizenships to Chinese and Indians! Remember the unsuccessful coup d'etat by the Al Ma'unah? Mohamed Amin and his group were charged for "waging war against the King" or treason, and became the first people convicted of such an offence in Malaysia. I opine that what Dr M, Megat Junid, Aziz Shamsuddin and Najib did (if found to be true) was even more serious than Al Ma'unah and if found to be true, they should be charged with high treason! Interestingly, Al Ma'unah was charged for treason which is a British legacy under the Malaysian common law. Back in the Henry VIII days, the punishment for high treason was "hanged, drawn and quartered". Convicts were fastened to a wooden panel, and drawn by horse to the place of execution, where they were hanged (almost to the point of death), disembowelled and quartered (chopped into four pieces). Their body parts were then displayed in prominent places across the country, such as London Bridge. I know one anti-Dr M guy who used to jokingly say that he wants to see Dr M hanged between the Petronas twin towers in his inebriated state. It may be proper during the Middle Ages but not at this time and age. As I subscribe to Sir Thomas More's contention that even the devil (that we know and not the angel that we don't?) must be given the benefit of the law. In conclusion, I hope that perpetrators of such blatant and treasonous acts of giving out citizenships to illegal immigrants in order to continue their hegemony be brought to justice with the due process of law.
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| Atrocities of the illegal car park operators and the negligence of Selayang Municipal Council Posted: 25 Jan 2013 11:02 AM PST
It is to be noted here with due emphasis that Selayang Municipal has been notified about this exasperating behavior via multiple phone calls and reports but it seems they are shutting one eye to the obvious as to this matter. During the lodge of report every year, Selayang Municipal comes with the same excuse that they will deal with this matter every single year but till this day, nothing appears to have changed. Justina Illegal car parking is widely reported on the Net and in newspapers. Adding to this queue, the Batu Caves Temple during Thaipusam is a perfect example demonstrating the atrocities and aggressive behaviors of illegal car park operators. Its obvious to all who park their cars outside Batu Caves Temple during Thaipusam that the car park rate is at rocket prices. The illegal car attendants charge rates ranging from RM5 to RM10 for a car to be parked the whole day. This is made even worse when they charge for cars parked just nearby the road and claim that they will be taking good care of the car but the hidden truth is the moment the car park space is full, they abscond with the money. Upon confrontation with them, they appear to demonstrate their aggressive behaviors towards car owners and insult them with humiliating vulgar words. Some even have the courage of telling the car owners that if they wish to park here, they can park at their free will and nobody is forcing them to do so. It is to be noted here with due emphasis that Selayang Municipal has been notified about this exasperating behavior via multiple phone calls and reports but it seems they are shutting one eye to the obvious as to this matter. During the lodge of report every year, Selayang Municipal comes with the same excuse that they will deal with this matter every single year but till this day, nothing appears to have changed. Hope this year will be different as the Thaipusam festival is one of the main attractions of Malaysia and matters such as this tends to disturb the occasion and contaminate the reputation of Malaysia for tourists.
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| MTUC Calls for Royal Commission Inquiry on Foreign Workers Posted: 25 Jan 2013 10:56 AM PST
Quite frankly, if they cannot afford to pay a minimum wage that is just at the poverty line they have no business to be in business. Andrew Lo, Secretary MTUC Sarawak Division CHUA SOI LECK & Small Businesses - Don't cut your noses to spite your faces. The latest woeful attempts by certain business groups to squeeze more out of their workers, especially foreign workers just show the true colours of Malaysian employers. To resort to threat of demonstration show how low they can stoop to. The Minimum Wage policy was finally introduced precisely because of the exploitation of workers especially by these small businesses who contrary to popular thinking, actually make much more than you and me. There are 600 thousand businesses in Malaysia. If it is not lucrative, why are there so many wanting to be in business? I am shocked that the President of MCA has openly threatened to support demonstrations to get their way. His statement only goes to show that he is only serving the interest of MCA leaders who own such businesses. This is what he is reported to have said; "If it fails to do so by then and if many small and medium sized enterprises, including those run by MCA leaders, want to have a demonstration against the ministry, we will support them." MCA, said Dr Chua, had proposed to the ministry almost a month ago that foreign workers pay for their own levy, transport and housing costs following the implementation of minimum wage. Transport and accommodation allowances for foreign workers, he said, could be deducted from their minimum wage. MCA should do so after the employment agents who charge exorbitant fees and make billions out of the whole foreign workers racket, instead of asking the poor foreign workers, who bear subsistence expenses to pay for the levy transportation and housing cost. It beggars believe that these employers, who are the most vocal opponents of the minimum wage can proudly claim that they are still paying RM500 wages to even local employees. The Minimum Wage Order gave them the chance to apply for deferment but they refuse to produce audited accounts to back up their claims that they will go bankrupt saying that it is a trade secret. Quite frankly, if they cannot afford to pay a minimum wage that is just at the poverty line they have no business to be in business. Please understand that one of the main objectives of the MW is to reduce our reliance-addiction on foreign workers. By demanding that they bear food and levy will only serve to encourage these unscrupulous employers to continue to employ more foreign workers at huge social, security and cost to the country. We believe that it's at least 2 to 3 millions of them. It will open up to the possibility that soon unscrupulous party may issue I/C to them. MTUC has been calling for a Royal Commission Inquiry on the whole racket of recruiting and employing foreign workers. Please also think carefully as all these attempts to squeeze them will come back and bite the employers as one day foreign workers may not even want to come to this country. So don't cut your nose to spite your faces.
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| Posted: 22 Jan 2013 03:01 PM PST
RAJA PETRA KAMARUDIN to talk at the Cambridge University Southeast Asia Forum (CUSEAF) For God, King and Racism Date: 30th January 2013 (Wednesday) Time: 5.30pm Venue: Mill Road Lecture Room 4, Cambridge University Religion, Race and Royalty are the 'three Rs' of Malaysian politics. Both sides of the political divide have played up the issue of race, religion and royalty to the hilt for more than 55 years since independence or Merdeka. The March 8, 2008, general election was hailed as a watershed in Malaysian political history. Fast-forward five years and we are once again anticipating another general election. How has Malaysia changed, if at all? Raja Petra will speak on the upcoming general election expected over the next two months or so, and on whether Malaysians are finally beginning to shift away from race and religion to focus on other substantive issues. SEE MORE HERE: http://www.cusu.cam.ac.uk/ |
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