Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News
Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News |
- Who or what is Malaysia’s most threatening enemy?
- Puluhan ribu risalah fitnah sedia diedar di Perak
- Pakatan & PTPTN
- The Myth of the Rich and Poor
- Is the HINDRAF blueprint a fact or fallacy for the survival of humanity?
- My political thoughts during the Hunger Viratham Day Ten 19th March 2013
- The preferential voting system
- GE 13 : NO FREE RIDES Campaign
- Special Branch survey regarding GE13
- Dr Chandra Muzaffar – just an open note for you
- Big Growth in Indonesia
- Media should not play up Mahathir
- Are political parties like DAP, Umno a berhala?
| Who or what is Malaysia’s most threatening enemy? Posted: 19 Mar 2013 01:15 PM PDT
J. D. Lovrenciear The Lahad Datu 'intrusion' or 'invasion' or 'guerilla attack' (or whatever label you prefer to ascribe to the mess in Sabah) is not Malaysia's ultimate enemy. The vested claims over Sabah do not make a foreign or neighboring nation or nations the threatening enemies of Malaysia. The politicians who are now engaged on an over-drive mode to annihilate their opponents as we gingerly inch to a General Election not knowing when, are not the priority enemies of Malaysia. The host of NGOs who are unearthing seemingly endless irregularities and creating more awareness among Malaysians are not the devastating enemies of Malaysia although often times we may be led to believe so by the masters of the nation. The citizens who are getting involved in various protest marches demanding clean and fair elections, for example, are not the enemies of security and stability. There was a time when we had real enemies from outside of the nation. In the bygone decades we witnessed the Communist threat and then followed by the Insurgency – these were the real enemies of Malaysia, coming in from outside of the sovereign borders of this young nation. But today we are tethering on the edge of knowing there is truly an enemy of State. The expose by the Global Witness on how horrifying land deals (or land grabs, to be precise) are struck in Sarawak – implicating the Chief Minister and all those aligned under his canopy, provides an edifying lesson to all Malaysians. It is not about wheteher this expose is a paralyzing truth or lie. In fact it is even beyond the confines of mere allegation given the content, presentation and the extensive coverage on the global media terrain. That precious awakening is that Malaysia's real enemy is not from outside but an enemy who is tunneling its way east and west, north and south of the country right here from within. The real enemy goes beyond individuals. It has well crossed beyond the walls of corporations and organizations too. That real enemy is corruption and greed.Corrupted and greedy individuals, corporations, organizations. Period. Anything else is only the tip of the iceberg. denying this truth or down-playing it is akin to coating gloss to the rotting filth of decadent human greed. What does the Tun Dr. Mahathir have to say about this recent red-hot expose by Global Witness? What do all his entourage of patronizing leaders as well as puppets have to say? What do the subservient followers of the UMNO Baru have to say? What do the BN component party leaders have to say? Maybe Malaysians will be reprimanded for jumping the gun. "Listen you silly, willy Malaysian citizens. Who is Global Witness? Do you know? They are our nation's enemies out to destroy Malaysia's progressive and transforming track record." And if you persist in asking what really is going on in Sarawak, be ready for another lesson. "Do not be sucked in by all these lies. The actors in the video posted by Global Witness are fake, look-alike artists on hire. And do you know who is behind all these?" Who, ask the naïve Malaysians. "Aiyaa, the opposition political parties lah. They are so desperate that they will lose in the GE-13 and so they have hired this 'apa nama – Global Witness' to come up with this video." In the face of this expose there surfaces yet another truth -- for as long as there are no principle centered leaders, followers, professionals, congregations and organizations that can converge and emerge in solidarity to plug the corruption and greed on this Malaysian soil, the country remains susceptible to the irreversible damage that is being created by the enemy from within, i.e. the world's and humanity's worst enemy – corruption and greed. Indeed the video by Global Witness is the mother of all exposes on the nation's state of greed and corruption. Woe be thine, if we choose to find solace under that infamous statement so often heard from Malaysian politicians: Who isn't corrupted? Or how about: Even the USA is corrupted lah. Yes, there is no utopia on earth. But the gravest sin against humanity is corruption and greed. And the greatest disgrace to humanity is to steal right under their innocent, unknowing eyes and return to society a pittance act of charity or a trumpeted CSR (corporate social responsibility) razzmatazz. The bottom line is, no society can ever progress and remain sustained under uncontained corruption and blatant, widespread greed. It is only a matter of time before the entire nation sinks into the deep recesses of a distinct divide of rich and poor, on a ratio of 80:20, respectively.
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| Puluhan ribu risalah fitnah sedia diedar di Perak Posted: 19 Mar 2013 01:03 PM PDT
Jawatankuasa Strategik dan Isu PAS Perak hari ini mendedahkan agenda jahat pihak tertentu dalam menghadapi PRU13 yang akan diadakan pada bila-bila masa. Muhammad Faeez Azahar Koordinatornya, Salman Saleh berkata, pihaknya mendapat banyak maklumat tentang kontena diseluruh negeri Perak yang membawa risalah berbaur fitnah.Menurutnya, puluhan ribu risalah fitnah itu sudah siap dicetak dan dipercayai akan diedarkan kepada masyarakat pada pilihanraya nanti setelah mendapat arahan. 
Katanya, risalah fitnah dalam bentuk buku kecil bertajuk "Drama Pecah Panggung; Box Office" itu ternyata merbahaya kerana ianya terkandung pelbagai fitnah yang bersifat perkauman dan penipuan.
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| Posted: 19 Mar 2013 12:37 PM PDT
Rafizi Ramli says PTPTN should be abolished sooner than later, otherwise the nation will go bankrupt. But, with PTPTN abolished, and with the provision of free tertiary education, will not the nation go bankrupt even faster? Arshad Mohd Nor At the rate Pakatan leaders are contradicting each other, it is becoming increasingly clear that they cannot provide a credible alternative to BN. A simple example of their credibility gap is how they have been addressing the PTPTN issue. To date 1.9 million students have availed themselves of PTPTN loans to the tune of RM 43.6 billion. This figure has been estimated to grow at 11% annually. So, by next year end, PTPTN loans would have increased to RM53.21 billion. Pakatan supremo Anwar Ibrahim has been quoted as saying that, if Pakatan were to come to power, he would write off the PTPTN loans. Pakatan has also promised free tertiary education in public institutions. So, that will probably cost another RM10 billion, at a conservative estimate. That makes it a total of over RM60 billion in year one of Pakatan rule. That's RM60 billion down the drain. Where will they find the funds to finance this massive expenditure? That's the curious part. But the curiouser part is this: PKR strategy director Rafizi Ramli says PTPTN should be abolished sooner than later, otherwise the nation will go bankrupt. But, with PTPTN abolished, and with the provision of free tertiary education, will not the nation go bankrupt even faster? Pakatan should re-do its maths. If it really insists on fulfilling all its shaky promises, the education bill alone will hang over its neck like an albatross. It has been acknowledged worldwide that Malaysia already spends a large chunk of its budget on education. In the world ranking it is No. 10, spending 8.1% of GDP on education. That is higher than all the developed countries. Malaysia therefore has its priorities right. Nobody should be allowed to tamper with a winning formula, especially not those with nothing else on their mind except political advantage at the expense of the rakyat.
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| Posted: 19 Mar 2013 12:26 PM PDT
Consequently, the levers of power will be in the hands of corporations and the wealthy, which will have a bigger say in public policies, thus countering the libertarians' intended "democracy". Unlike the government of the day, boards of directors are not voted in by the people. Anas Alam Faizli "They are simply lazy" "His father is a Tan Sri" "He knows someone from the inside" "I made it purely out of effort; I worked hard to get where I am today" These are some typical expressions that are sure to be heard in coffee chats, every time the topic of rich and poor is brought up. People have grown easily accustomed to brushing off the topic of inequality as welfarist or socialist. This happens even amongst supposedly "middle class" Malaysians, not realizing that they are in actuality, most likely top income earners and wealth owners. Households earning RM10,000 a month above already qualify as Top 4% Malaysians! In fact, while partisan voices continue their discourse in the racial imbalance tone, Malaysia has silently migrated into new battles, concerning intra-racial, income, and class-based imbalances. It is often argued that the poor and the low income earners are plain lazy and do not work hard; that one earns what one deserves. This is not true. Many are simply unlucky, to be born to parents who lack education or skills to escape from the clutches of poverty. Some were born with disabilities and diseases, while some others live in flood-prone or hazardous places. On the other hand, we have sub-quality undeserving businessmen linked to political patrons, estate and fortune inheritors, and individuals plainly lucky to be placed in lucrative industries with high economic rent. Accusations like laziness then become hardly the issue. The rich can be lazy too! There are those who do not deserve to be in poverty, just as there are those who do not deserve their wealth. The cases above are simple yet fitting examples to describe that not all poverty is a result of unwillingness for hard work, and not all wealth is a result of it. Thus, the fight against inequality is rather a fight to equalize opportunities so as to reach more equitable outcomes, not to distortively equalize outcomes. This is not a crusade against the rich, but a crusade to help the poor. What's the Big Deal with Inequality? Inequality is very real, whether or not we have problems with the GINI coefficient as a measure. In fact, the attention regarded to inequality is very much driven by consequences of inequality, rather than pre-emptive. We can see real consequences to the society; including societal backlashes, power imbalances, effects on wages, effects on growth, crime and quality of living, to name a few. As long as the income and wealth inequality gap remain large and public investment for education, training, childcare and public infrastructure remain inadequate, progressive taxes and affirmative action in its true and productive spirit have a place within public policy. It is imperative that the richer within the society share the responsibility of helping the poor; in the bigger picture, it is actually in their interest to do so, as they too will feel the consequences of inequality. The Fallacy of the Free Market In any discourse of inequality and the rich and poor, the "free market" will almost immediately arise. The basic tenant of a free market is well described by the "Invisible Hand" coined by 18th century economist, Adam Smith. It argues that prices, and thus distribution of goods, services, labour, capital goods, land and human skills are all determined by market forces, or this "hand" that cannot physically be seen. Proponents of this market-based allocation system are naturally against increased forms of government intervention like transfers, donations, taxes, subsidies and benefits. To put simply, they believe that letting the market run its course freely will reach desirable market equilibriums in the fairest manner, thus achieving productivity and wealth for a nation. The marketplace does have some elements of arguable fairness; hard work will get you higher income, and laziness will be punished. Jobs, goods and wages are "naturally" supplied to and demanded by society, according to their needs and capabilities, instead of government allocation which is dangerously prone to over or under budgeting. However, one must note critically that the fairness of the marketplace should not be exaggerated. Market forces can be "brutally unsentimental", as put by Jeffrey Sachs. Pockets of failures in the market are impossible to deny because not everyone in the economy starts from the same baseline. Endowments like wealth, opportunities, or physical health vary extremely amongst people within the system. While some manage to climb out of low income brackets and make it, as a result of opportunities and big breaks, others remain pressed in a vicious downward cycle. Indeed, not everyone gets a big break. The Taxation Antagonist The most common proponents of the free market are libertarians; whose ethical core is liberty. They hold the best economic outcomes will only prevail when each individual is left free to act economically and live without an authority governing their economic decisions. Individuals are in no way held responsible to the society, other than to be respectful towards the liberty and property of others. The government's sole responsibility is to only maintain law and order such as protection of private property. Extreme libertarians even hold that there is no requirement for government to build infrastructures, road or highways; such should be left to market forces because the need for them itself is incentive enough for someone to build them. Libertarians are like "taxation antagonists". Amongst other forms of government intervention, libertarians reject governments promoting fairness and efficiency through a system of taxation. Tax is regarded as just another form of government extortion; de-motivating those who work hard while potentially over compensating those who don't. In summary, libertarians hold that free market is the only way economic allocations are done "democratically"; hence it is the savior of democracy and enough on its own to ensure prosperity. Therefore, talk of government intervention in helping the poor will also become a point of contention in the books of libertarians. Malaysian Libertarians Many quarters have easily discarded the New Economic Policy (NEP) in hindsight, but it arguably did its job to almost eliminate poverty; reducing it from 50% in 1970 to the current 3.8%. Previously poor now form middle class and professional Malaysians. Unfortunately, there is nothing to be proud of with the NEP mid 90s onwards. Rampant corruption, leakages and a breakdown in the integrity system demonstrated by those within the government have further worsened the situation. Perhaps this frustration in the government is behind the mushrooming of libertarian ideologies in Malaysia. Is Libertarianism for Malaysia? We can first answer this by revisiting typical problems of missing a government sector. There is the question of who will provide public and common goods. We also do not need more than one police force, firemen, or court of law competing against each other. Without the government, who will then take care of the environment, regulate moral hazards, ensure individuals do not hurt each other, and protect the sovereign rights of Malaysians? Reducing government role is perhaps agreeable, but its total elimination has grave repercussions. We then approach the issue of poverty. In all its admirable intentions of rewarding hard work and reducing influence of corrupt governments, libertarianism leaves too much room for an upward continuity of wealth and a downward spiral of poverty. As argued earlier, people start from different baselines. Holders of wealth are in the position to continue leveraging on existing wealth, to create more wealth- they can hardly be blamed as they are only incentivized and allowed to do so! It is worse when wealth comes from extracting economic rent, rather than the creating of true values that ultimately increases the size of the economic pie. Consequently, the levers of power will be in the hands of corporations and the wealthy, which will have a bigger say in public policies, thus countering the libertarians' intended "democracy". Unlike the government of the day, boards of directors are not voted in by the people. Their fear of how a socialist nation will lead to fascism can also happen in free market except under the disguise corporate power. The free market failure then becomes as much political as economic! Now imagine this "free market" is Malaysia, with one of the highest inequality levels in Asia (measured by GINI). The helpless poor will be left drowning in the currents of this market force, contending against the rich. This is exactly where a true, free, and liberal form of the market may not be able to generate the pristine intended outcomes it initially set out to do. The Pakatan Rakyat Manifesto: A Manifesto for its Time Political preference aside, there is cause to applaud the recent Pakatan Rakyat Manifesto. Tackling core economic issues, its four pillars hit home the concerns of the common rakyat; fraternity of the people, the people's economy, people's well-being and people's government. In Malaysia, the published absolute poverty number may be low, but in relative terms, many rakyat including daily creation of urban poor are effectively impoverished by demanding cost of housing and living that are unmatched by salary levels, high indebtedness, and low productivity levels due to limited skills and education. For the government to maintain relevance in the face of libertarian claims, government interventions need to be tactical. If the government's stance is pro-business, it must be backed-up with robust social safety nets to hoist up and bring along poor households in the sprint towards growth and wealth creation. If the focus is the rakyat, care must be put to ensure business appetite is not suppressed. Such aspirations will be impossible to achieve without policies such as those proposed by the PR Manifesto; such as expanded educational opportunities (by making tertiary education free), reduction in the cost of living (utilities and tolls), targeted instead of blanket subsidies, and an upward pressure towards wages and salaries that are currently depressed by influx of foreign labour. We have yet to see what Barisan Nasional has to promise with its manifesto but as a start, it should be more defined than its 2008 one; "to grow the economy" and start quantifying them. In fact, growing the economy is really a given. Uplifting the Poor: Leveling the Playing Field This is no plan to pull a modern-day Robin Hood, robbing the rich off of their hard work to reassign some wealth to the poor. The rich may be reached out to, to shoulder some responsibility to raise the level of education, health and productivity of the poor. Imagine the difference between a community with a billionaire worth RM40 billion and lots of poor people, versus one with 400 households worth RM10.0 million each. We might not love to pay tax but we accept its legitimacy as long as it is properly enacted into law and is used properly. This by no means entails slacking off on the part of the poor. Opportunities are provided, but they still need to be capitalized upon. The idea is a bigger economic pie and an unleashing of further values that the poorer population could have produced and Malaysia could have enjoyed. Putting all these into consideration, where does it leave libertarianism, minimal taxes to the rich and businesses, and the free market? Need bigger government roles necessarily mean bigger inefficiencies, and more corruption? Welfare states in Scandinavia have ranked higher than America in terms of the Human Development Index (HDI). At the same time, Scandinavian nations are among the most equal nations, high in governance and control over corruption, despite the bigger size of their government. Ultimately, a healthy economy is a mixed economy, in which both the government and market forces both play their role. The exact balance remains an ongoing battle; but it's good to start with unraveling the realities of inequality. Inequality is neither a hobby for anti-capitalist activists, nor development economists looking for the next trendy topic for their thesis. It's true that government intervention in the shapes and sizes that they take form, may have distortive capabilities, but the "lazy poor and the hardworking rich" is a myth. For a better Malaysia, we have no choice but to continue our strive for productivity albeit with a new focus; inclusiveness. Otherwise, Malaysia will be dragging its feet into the future, carrying the baggage of the past policies and its repercussions. "A statesman is he who thinks in the future generations, and a politician is he who thinks in the upcoming elections." – Abraham Lincoln * Anas Alam Faizli is an oil and gas professional. He is pursuing a post-graduate doctorate, executive director of TFTN and tweets at @aafaizli
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| Is the HINDRAF blueprint a fact or fallacy for the survival of humanity? Posted: 18 Mar 2013 02:29 PM PDT
Malaysian Indians are not relevant in Malaysia except when we want their votes; fact or fallacy? R.Shan (Human Being) Pre-GE12, you had more than 100,000 Malaysian Indians gathered to voice their grievances. Fact or fallacy? The opposition parties ran their political agenda solely on Makkal Sakthi. Fact or Fallacy? These opposition parties should watch their videos. They even promised the Kg Buah Pala folks but we all know what happened when politically expediency was at play. Post GE12 with Pakatan in power, nothing changed for the Malaysian Indians because 110,000 land titles in 349 Rancangan Kampung Tersusun were for Malay Muslims in Perak; 102,000 land titles for 134 Chinese New Villages in Perak; 10 acres to each and every Orang Asli in Perak; 1,000 acres of land and RM100 Million for pig farming in Sepang, Selangor and more than 607 (Chinese) New Villages nationwide with 1.2 million villagers. Fact or fallacy? Looking at Indian villages within PR's hold like Kg Muniandi, Kg Ghandi, Kg Kanchang Puteh, Kg Chikadee, Kg DBI, Kg Buah Pala, Kg Bengali, nothing happened. Fact or fallacy? Let's look at the PR manisfesto for Sabahans/Sarawakians; Orang Asli : For Chinese : For Malays: Now, as a Malaysian Indian, I try to understand why do we need to be the scapegoat when we have the same aspirations as the rest of the Malaysians? Is this a fact or fallacy? Malaysian Indians are not relevant in Malaysia except when we want their votes; fact or fallacy?
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| My political thoughts during the Hunger Viratham Day Ten 19th March 2013 Posted: 18 Mar 2013 01:54 PM PDT
When this kind of situation is occasional, you can say it is because of the individual. But when you see the same phenomenon repeated at a social scale across the country, it is no more individual caused. This is exactly what the political class does not accept.
P. Waythamoorthy
Today is the 10th day of my Hunger Viratham. Over the weekend we have had people streaming in steadily to the temple, all feeling an inner compulsion to share in my prayers. The warm touches, the hugs, the tears, Vibuthi to my forehead, their words, and their looks all keep feeding me with strength. I may be getting weak physically but my strength to fight this oppressive system only gets stronger with every passing day and with every warm touch.
Today I want to write about Displaced Estate Workers to clarify some history. This knowledge of history and the consequences are necessary for informed decision making to solve national social problems, something which is sorely lacking. I hope this will help.
Part five
Displaced Estate Workers.
In my presentation at the UN office in Geneva in April 2008, I was not sure if using the term "Internally Displaced Persons" for the evicted Estate workers in Malaysia was appropriate,. Part way through my presentation, I paused and asked the officials of the UN if the term "Internally Displaced Persons" was accurate to describe the workers in Malaysia who were evicted from the estates and they readily agreed with me. So, there we have it, another distinct problem that we have identified and given expression to.
The UN Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement defines Internally displaced persons as "persons or groups of persons who have been forced or obliged to flee or to leave their homes or places of habitual residence, in particular as a result of or in order to avoid the effects of armed conflict, situations of generalized violence, violations of human rights or natural or human-made disasters, and who have not crossed an internationally recognized State border."
In the case of displaced Malaysian Indians they are forced to leave their homes and places of habitual residence as a result of development programs of the state and in violation of their fundamental rights. The Indians have lived and worked in the estates for generations and in some cases the forefathers may have lived there as far as the late 1800s.
The British brought in South Indian laborers – whom they considered best for the picking jobs in the plantations for a good 100 years from 1830s- 1938. They modified both British India policy as well as British Malaya policies with the tacit approvals of the Malay rulers to facilitate this mass movement. They set up infrastructure on both sides of the Ocean to facilitate the flow of South Indian labor, the British splurged on significant false propaganda to the gullible South Indian poor about the good life, about a good future in the "land of plenty in Malaya".
The British offered free and heavily subsidized fares to travel to Penang, to Port Swettenham and to Singapore for these laborers from Nagapattinam, a port town in India. These laborers could hardly afford the tickets from their villages to the port town of Nagapattinam let alone to Malaya. Historical records that I have collated clearly tell this tale of forced migration to Malaya all for the profit of British enterprises and only for the profit of these enterprises.
This stream of migrants coming into Malaya was termed assisted migration. This accounted for the largest part of the migration. There was yet another stream of migration called unassisted migration. These were the traders, the teachers, the hospital assistants, the money lenders, the policemen, the lawyers, the doctors etc. These unassisted migrants mainly populated the urban centres while those that came in as assisted migrants formed the hundreds of rural Indian communities deep within the estates.
To further boost migration each labourer who had completed his/her indenture period of 2 years were promised a minimum of 5 acres each for them to settle in Malaya permanently. So this is clear proof that for the most part Malayan Indians were not "pendatangs" but invitees of the Malay Rulers and British Government then acting in the capacity of advising the Malay rulers.
But the promises of land were never fulfilled by the Malay Rulers and the British Government ruling in Malaya. The Indians effectively became slaves. For generations they had the "Nambikei" that one day the British and the Malay Rulers would take care of them. Even at the point of independence they were not granted land by the British as what had happened to similar workers exported by the Britishers to Guyana and Surinam.
Post independence the Indians went about their lives believing the estates would be forever. In the 1970's however, when rubber price fell the Government devised new plans for the economy and for the plantations. These plans were to have disastrous effects on the lives of the estate workers in the ensuing years. The estate workers were evicted from the estates as these estates were turned into development land for commercial, industrial or residential purposes or were replanted with oil palms. These workers were evicted without adequate compensation, housing, alternative temples, alternative job opportunities or new skills training. Most estate workers are given compensation ranging from RM3,00 –RM5,000 in the 1970's and in the current times about RM10,000 for working and contributing to the country's economy for almost 4-5 generations – a pittance.
The implications of this devastating forced displacement are best understood by looking at the life of one evicted worker who is a 4th generation Malaysian Indian. When she talked to me about the eviction she was so distraught and she said that all the family had known was the estate for 3 generations. And they were summarily told to leave. Their option was to move to the fringes of the town adjacent to the estate. Before this eviction their visits to the towns were mainly for some occasion. Otherwise their lives revolved within the estates. They had a small kebun a couple of cows, some chicken and grew some vegetables. The estate temple was the centre of their social and religious lives. Her parents were married in that temple; her marriage was in that temple too. Now it was all gone. So, too with the estate school. It was gone too. Her community was completely destroyed when they were all evicted. Each family found their different ways out of this eviction and moved out helter skelter. Now she was staying in one of the low cost flats. Before moving to these flats they had lived for many years on tanah haram. Their children now grown up had put together enough money to purchase this flat. If they had not the children, they would have been condemned to a perpetually squalid life in their tanah haram shacks. With their incomes and the pittance for compensation there was no way they could have bought a flat on their own and no bank would give them a loan either to support their purchase.
This is just one of the stories of the 800,000 displaced estate workers. Each displaced worker will have a story similar to tell. Almost all Indian households have a link to this common past. Most are still stuck in this trap of poverty. This is why Hindraf seeks a permanent solution in the form of state intervention to get these people out of the trap and to put them on a level playing field and to give them an even shot at life.
Without a proper program to support the displaced during the displacement process, the result contains many of the elements of the life described above. When this kind of situation is occasional, you can say it is because of the individual. But when you see the same phenomenon repeated at a social scale across the country, it is no more individual caused. This is exactly what the political class does not accept. The outcomes of these are daily visible in the social statistics – yet the politicians across both sides of the divide prefer to remain ignorant. Their way of dismissing all this is to simply think of all our demands to correct this situation as "terlalu".
The displaced estate worker problem is a long recognized problem by the elite. They just do not care enough to address it. These displaced workers are the ones that form the lowest ranks of Malaysian society. The way they got there or what is needed to get them out of there is unique to the extent of the specific historical circumstances. So, the statement of some half baked politicians that the source of poverty is the same for the Chinese, the Malaysia and the Indians is plain dumb and at best is just self serving.
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| The preferential voting system Posted: 18 Mar 2013 01:43 PM PDT
If there is a three-corner fight between PSM, DAP and BN, the BN candidate will most likely win the seat because PSM and DAP have diluted the opposition votes. The current electoral system only functions as "the winner takes all" and does not sufficiently read the general intent of voters. Kuo Yong Kooi The current voting system in Malaysia favours and benefits the big political parties. |
| GE 13 : NO FREE RIDES Campaign Posted: 18 Mar 2013 01:24 PM PDT  Anas Zubedy We are launching a NO FREE RIDES – choose the best, screw the rest campaign from the 19th March to the date of GE 13th (whenever it may be). This is a non-partisan initiative with the goal to better Malaysia. Come join us! Here are the details. WHAT? 'NO FREE RIDES' campaign wants you to choose the best calon, regardless of what party they represent. WHY? We, the rakyat, deserve the best. And only by having the best in Parliament can we ensure positive change for Malaysia. HOW? Choose to be a real patriot. Choose the better candidate even if he or she is from the other side. WHEN? 19th of March until GE13 Election Day -------x------- Step by step approach to NO FREE RIDES: Choose the Best, Screw the Rest 1. List down your wish list for your lawmakers. 2. Go see them, alone or with friends. Be sure to bring a recording device. 3. When you meet them, offer a warm greeting, be respectful, and calmly present your wish list. 4. Ask if they agree to your list. If yes, ask permission to record their agreement. 5. Thank them and wish them all the best. 6. Upload the recording with #NoFreeRides in the title; link and share it on social media sites or upload it herehttp://www.facebook.com/pages/No-Free-Rides/178358378977850?notif_t=fbpage_fan_invite 7. Come GE13, vote the candidate that agrees to most things in your list. 8. If both are equal, use your instinct, and choose the better of the two. For more details go to : 1. I BELIEVE http://letusaddvalue.blogspot.com/2012/02/i-believe.html 2. Sample letter to MP 1 http://letusaddvalue.blogspot.com/2012/02/my-letter-to-raja-nong-chik.html 3. Sample letter to MP 2 http://letusaddvalue.blogspot.com/2012/02/my-letter-to-nurul-izzah.html 4. The Third Force http://letusaddvalue.blogspot.com/2012/01/third-force-no-free-rides.html 5. Young Malaysians as the Third Force http://letusaddvalue.blogspot.com/2011/12/in-sundaily-today.html
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| Special Branch survey regarding GE13 Posted: 18 Mar 2013 12:46 PM PDT
"Appreciation'' – It was the first time in GE12 that Penang was captured by the opposition and ruled. They never waited 52 years to decide to appreciate the senior citizens with RM100. With short term rule and efficient spending, they helped the needy. Ambrose Sabastian Dear Prime Minister, "Promises fulfilled'', "Share the wealth of the nation'' and "appreciation'' are three different phrases of words. Ask yourself, which phrase sounds better? It must consider the timing, when and why it was mentioned. Let me put clearly why it looks different. "Appreciation'' – It was the first time in GE12 that Penang was captured by the opposition and ruled. They never waited 52 years to decide to appreciate the senior citizens with RM100. With short term rule and efficient spending, they helped the needy. They cannot aid every citizen because funds were limited. They do not have abundant money like the federal government. With limited funds, the Penang government did such a good deed within their short period of rule. They used proper words like "Appreciate the senior citizen''. Actually Lim Guan Eng is very smart to hit two mangoes with one stone. He appreciates the senior citizen because their elderly advise had turned their family to vote and select his government. Another he expects the elders' influence to make him another winner in GE13. He made the scenario attractive. "Promises fulfilled'' – These words are not suitable for BRIM 0.1 because it has no connection with each other. Did the BN promise to give RM500 to the poor Rakyat and RM100 to every student during GE12? If it has been promised in the previous election then the "Promises fulfilled'' words are suitable to use for BRIM. ''Share the wealth of the nation'' – Also these words are making things worse. It contradicts BRIM 0.1 and BRIM 0.2! At least you can escape with "Promises fulfilled'' but not ''Share the wealth of the nation''. Why? Rakyat has been quietly asking the question, what have the previous prime ministers done with the wealth of the nation? They never shared with the Rakyat. Where did the money go? Was it was absconded to their own pockets and the pockets of former ministers? These questions can able to sway votes. You should recheck all your PhD advisors around you. Let me tell how you should quote for BRIM assistance. "With the economic slowdown, most daily needs costs have risen. Poor Rakyat cannot cope so many wrote and appealed for assistance at least once a year to reduce their burden of their family, school going children and senior parents. This made me shed tears in my heart so I decided in the BN cabinet to help the needy. We came up with the idea of BRIM to help the poor Rakyat. It is alright, whoever accepts these cash assistance by our government is not obligated to remember or thank me. I do it as a servant of God to help all Rakyat as my own family. I will be very happy if my BN government helps to lessen your burden. In God's will, if Rakyat chooses to have me lead in future, I may come with some new ways to help the Rakyat." In Politics, words and actions are important to win people's heart. If you had used what I quoted above, it will psychologically pull the crowd to your side. To win further, you must spend three days in a poor family's house and use it to highlight to the press and media that ''you clearly understand what the poor Rakyat needs. If Rakyat gives me another term, I may use my power to help in more ways.'' It sounds better. Now, come back to BRIM assistance. My wife was very happy that that small assistance helped my son's school needs. To collect the cheque, I followed the instruction letter to the destination. In the hall, they talked about BN's past deeds and asked us to continue supporting BN. Some people along my row told me BRIM is a bait to catch votes. I smiled at them and did not comment. After receiving the cheque, I went out of the hall. Alas, a few Special Branch Police were roaming around. I intended to slip away quietly but they saw me and came to me. Most of the SB Police know me. Once our usual talk finished, they asked me my opinion about the Rakyat support in Penang and Malaysia. They know I will give them blunt answers. I told them, Penang is very hard to take back. Next five years people had decided to back the opposition. Some people had earlier told me that they will support Najib but later changed their minds after Tun Mahathir's filthy mouth. This time, maybe Federal Territory will fall to the opposition. Even some UMNO members intend to vote opposition because they were not taken care of well in the last 30 years. Whatever promised were given to some and not to all. They believe the government had used the Bumiputra 30% to earn privately by government administrators, family members and close friends and even become world richest people by robbing the Rakyat's money. These angry Bumiputras were left idle and got cheated. After all they are UMNO grassroots' members, too. Last month, when I was talking about the "Allah'' issue with my paper vendor in Bayan Baru market, one Muslim entered our conversation. Later I was told that he was a Bernama reporter. He told me that Tun Mahathir secured to rule by corrupted way for twenty-two years by blackmailing. In his rule he allowed everyone from government officers, Police, UMNO division leaders and some others to freely accept corruption money. Suddenly he took control of the Anti Corruption Agency under his arm pits. All the officers should submit the files to him directly and not the Attorney-general. He used these files to blackmail the concerned person to support him continually or face the legal consequences. No one dared go against him in whatever he does. For example, how was Anwar treated by Tun Mahathir? Finally they asked me who am I am going to support? I told them, "Here they give I take. There others give I take. Finally I never vote for anyone. If I work only I got money and I can see my rice bowl. By voting them, are they go to help me? No. In fact, during Tun Mahathir era, I had applied 'Private Investigator Permit'. I was interviewed by a high ranking Police officer. Some days later I received a letter from the Ministry that the Minister vetted my application 'dengan teliti' (Indian say, 'puliti') and rejected it. Private Investigation is not asking for a government grant, or asking for his fathers' money. It is entirely a private job but they did not allow me to practice as a PI because I am Indian. Tun Mahathir got his vengeance against the Indians. Why did Tun Mahathir never admit the Indian Muslim political party (KIMMA) into the BN fold? Think! Later, one police officer told me that Tun Mahathir wants me to convert to Islam then he will give me the PI permit. What can you see? Tun Mahathir likes to sell the religion with favours and money in corrupted ways. He doesn't care whether a person is a hypocrite or not? What happened in Sabah? Now I remember that the Mount Everest climber's name was deliberately changed to a Muslim name by Tun Mahathir's order. He doesn't like an Indian name as a champion in Malaysian History. This was told to me by one SB police officer several years ago. Government is urging Rakyat to be patriotic to the nation and fight crimes. These words are only whitewash slogans and not reality. Indian Police officers run brothels in Penang. As a patriot to the country, I wrote in detail a complain letter to the IGP. What happened? The same police involved in the brothel business arrested me under ISA (emergency ordinance) and detained me. During the detention, they showed me the same letter I wrote to IGP. This is where the whistle blower should be protected. They fabricated charges and detained me. All the crime they charged on me was false. The real criminal is still walking free after paying bribes. I was not satisfied so I lodged police reports twice to investigate my case. I even wrote to Tun Mahathir. Until now, the police refuse to investigate. The police are waiting for all witnesses to die then they will take action. In fact I was told by one special branch police officer that Tun Mahathir had ordered the police to put my case into cold storage. Tun Mahathir had filled the minds of police to hate the Indians and make them blacklisted by police. In this way he has suppressed the Indians from coming up. In another incident, I was charged in court for rioting in front of Penang Police HQ. Later I was discharged not amounting to an acquittal (DNAA). I pled to the magistrate for trial and he refused. Later I had written many times to the Public Prosecutor to bring the case to court. They are refusing to bring the case to court. Not satisfied I had sued the police and the government but the case was thrown away because it was still DNAA. They refuse to discharge and acquit. Even the magistrate told me that it is my funeral and he doesn't care. Later I learned from SB Police, here too Tun Mahathir had sniffed. I told the SB police that after all this happened to me, how can I support BN? If I support BN, then it looks like I am supporting Tun Mahathir. If BN wins, Tun Mahathir will be the winner. That is what I had told SB. Maybe if you (PM Najib) stand in my area, I will vote for you. Definitely you will not stand in my area so I will vote only for quality candidates and not political parties. For example, my area state assemblyman (Paya Terubong) Yeoh Soon Hin can be visible in my area monthly but not a member of Parliament (Bukit Gelugor) Karpal Singh. I saw this dun move freely every corner to meet people all through the years. Maybe I may vote for Yeoh Soon Hin but not for Karpal Singh. I have been living here for the last five years and have never seen him except on banners. I think sometimes he talks nonsense. Sikh people from Bayan Baru were struggling to build the Sikh Temple next to the Penang snake temple. He should concentrate in helping the Sikh community and stop putting his nose in the Hindu community like the Hindu Endowment board. When Karpal Singh was standing for election one of my friends, Thomson, helped him put up posters and distribute leaflets without taking any money from Karpal Singh or his party. Once he won, he gave a letter of appreciation saying that if my friend needs any legal assistance, he can see him. A few months later, my friend got a case and went to Karpal Singh for help with his appreciation letter. Karpal Singh told him that he will charge others five thousand but he will only charge my friend three thousand. My friend tore the appreciation letter and threw it at Karpal Singh's face. Later, my friend went to a simple lawyer who settled his case for a fee of eight hundred ringgit only. We all know him only for making money and not serving the Rakyat. What a waste to elect him as a Member of Parliament.
Best regards, Ambrose Sabastian.
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| Dr Chandra Muzaffar – just an open note for you Posted: 18 Mar 2013 12:40 PM PDT
Choo Sing Chye Once your heart was filled with egalitarian ideals which copiously propagated into the pages of your books and Aliran Monthly. I admired your courage to say these forbidden ideals which in the eyes of the UMNO's kingpins were seditious. I believed that you had the passion then, to offer solace for the poor without fear of offending the BN elites of the day. You didn't speak for the Opposition, nor the BN government, but you spoke up eloquently for the poor and for injustices. In your heart you felt the anguish, despair, misery and wretchedness of the poor. But today I see a different you. You have unmistakably soaked up the best tradition of the 5th Century Greek Sophist, Thrasymachus where he expounded his theory that "justice is simply whatever is to the interest of the stronger party." (1 ) Today's reality and challenges are the same as the day you wrote this book in 1989, Challenges and Choices in Malaysian Politics and Society. Below are some of the quotes from your book which are still as relevant as today's woes: "The instability within Barisan parties, the cliques and factions that have emerged in some of them, the fierce and ferocious competition for power among groups and individuals, the buying and selling of votes even in divisional and branch elections, and indeed the foul filth that oozes out of every pore of Barisan Nasional politics… "Perhaps most of all, it is the growing gap between word and deed, promise and performance that has disenchanted the people. "One talks all the while of trust and integrity and yet there is no determined, concerted endeavour to unravel the truth about the shameful, scandalous BMF affair. "One talks all the while of the danger of corruption and money politics and yet corruption through cronyism and the politics of money are allowed to flourish. "One talks all the while of clean, healthy business practices and yet small but powerful cliques and coteries have entrenched themselves in the world of commerce and industry. "One talks all the while of thrift and austerity and yet there is lavish spending on prestige projects, tourist complexes, exclusive clubs, expensive mansions, grand celebrations, extravagant ceremonies, and costly trips and travels abroad. "One talks all the while of how important national unity is and yet one does not cease to divide the people by racialising issues. "One talks all the while of how liberal the administration is and yet one imposes the severest curbs upon ceramahs and publications. "One talks all the while of hard work and yet whenever the apostle of hard work visits a state or district everyone stops working! "It is these blatant contradictions between what is said and what is done which has now led to a serious crisis of credibility. When a government's credibility is at stake, it must know that it is in trouble. For the crisis of credibility is the stage that precedes the crisis of legitimacy. Once a government faces a crisis of legitimacy, it ceases to command any moral authority. It is a sure sign of its downfall. Needless to say, our government is still some distance away from that stage. "In this sort of situation, it is quite possible that unscrupulous elements among the ruling elites seeing that both their Malay and non Malay bases of support have been weakened considerably may in desperation try to create ethnic tensions which may lead to ethnic conflicts. They may then use the resulting ethnic breakdown as an excuse to set aside democratic procedures and rule by decree in order to consolidate and expand their power. "If this happens, it would be a grave blow to the people's power. It would be a betrayal of the will of the rakyat. This is why though we may never be able to prevent a formal authoritarian regime from establishing itself, we should not do anything that will make it easier for anyone to impose such rule..." I believe what you had written then was based on egalitarian idealism that was close to your heart and ours too. Gone are the days when you spoke like an idealist, and today you speak like a BN politician and write like The Star's columnists Joceline Tan and Baradan Kuppusamy. Whatever you write now does not matter to us and the poor anymore and perhaps to you now the "foul filth that oozes out of every pore of Barisan Nasional politics," smells like roses.. Reference: 1. "An introduction to Political Philosophy," A.R.M. Murray, Published by Cohen and West Ltd, London, 1953.
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| Posted: 18 Mar 2013 12:33 PM PDT
Alan Fairclough Malaysia will keep burying its head in the sand about 'economic threats' from ASEAN countries and how the Govt of Malaysia portrays Malaysia as the be-all-and-end-all of SEA and where it sits economically as a front-runner, but Indonesia will overtake Malaysia within the next 10 years. I've worked in Malaysia for 20 years, but last year worked mostly in Jakarta and from an 'on-the-ground' aspect this report is quite credible - Indonesia just has the population and statistics that should frighten Malaysia (for example 700,000 motorcycles per month sold in Indonesia). See below: Indonesia's Rising Middle Class and Affluent Consumers Asia's Next Big Opportunity Indonesia's economy is growing rapidly, and a large portion of the population is entering the middle-class and affluent consumer (MAC) socioeconomic category. As those in this group begin to ramp up their spending in key segments—such as home goods, vehicles, consumer durables, and financial services—this is a critical window of opportunity for companies that sell consumer goods. Demographic trends show the size of the opportunity. There are currently about 74 million MACs in Indonesia, and this number will double by 2020, to roughly 141 million people. During that period, some 8 million to 9 million people will enter the middle class each year. Perhaps because of this rising economic tide, Indonesians are extremely optimistic about their financial futures—more so than people in any other country, including both emerging and developed markets. They expect to make more money next year than this year, and they believe that their children's lives will be better than their own. The growth of the MAC population is occurring throughout the country. There are now 25 locations in Indonesia (both cities and regencies) with MAC populations in excess of 500,000, and there will be 54 by 2020. As a result, companies that wish to keep reaching the same proportion of the MAC population will need to double their presence in the country. This has huge implications for the way businesses operate—for example, how a company organizes its sales force, structures its supply-chain network, and expands its distribution footprint. While the population is not homogenous, our research indicates some broad characteristics that apply throughout the country. Indonesian consumers are extremely family oriented, and as they move from lower and aspirant classes into the middle and affluent classes, they initially focus their spending on improving living conditions for their families rather than splurging on themselves. They trust traditional media and tend to believe marketing messages, advertisements, and advice from salespeople—all of which makes them more likely to try new products. Indonesians shop primarily at warungs (small shops) and minimarts for the majority of their necessities, along with wet markets for fruits, vegetables, and other perishables. Large-format stores such as supermarkets and hypermarkets are becoming more prevalent. These consumers are extremely connected through digital technology. Regardless of their wealth level, they enjoy hunting for bargains. And they are value conscious; when buying large-ticket items, they like to think they are buying tangible benefits, such as greater functionality, in order to justify their purchases. If companies are to capture this opportunity, they will need to understand the country's demographic and regional trends, and they must tailor the right product mix and go-to-market strategy. In addition, they must customize their value proposition, marketing message, use of media, and the shopping experience they offer in order to meet the needs and preferences of the growing consumer base.
Login and download pdf at: http://www.bcg.com/expertise_impact/publications/PublicationDetails.aspx?id=tcm:12-128800 |
| Media should not play up Mahathir Posted: 17 Mar 2013 12:49 PM PDT
How can we have two Prime Ministers, in fact three if we include Muhyiddin Yassin as well. The Constitution makes no provision for a Deputy Prime Minister. It's just an administrative device but the man (Muhyi) seems to be getting carried away by his post. Samy Vellu was right to tell then Deputy Prime Minister Musa Hitam to "go jump into the lake". Joe Fernandez The way former Prime Mahathir Mohamad has been carrying on since retiring, keeping himself very much in the public eye, it appears that he wants his old job back and this time perhaps until he dies and that could be at 97+. That could be the real reason why the 13th General Election has been unduly delayed. |
| Are political parties like DAP, Umno a berhala? Posted: 17 Mar 2013 10:16 AM PDT
FMT LETTER: From Anas Zubedy, via e-mail Last week as I scrolled my twitter home page I chanced upon a tweet quoting the Quran by Khalid Samad the current MP and YDP of PAS Shah Alam and also a member of PAS Central Committee. The tweet conversation went like this. Khalid: Renung2kan "…tidak kami sembah mereka kecuali utk merapatkn diri kami kpd ALLAH.." Surah Az-Zumar 3. Alasan musyrikin menyembah berhala Anas: Political parties can also be those berhala bro. Salam, anas Khalid: Yup unless they specify that the Quran and Sunnah are their guiding principles. Those using other guides may be a berhala. Anas: Specification or practice? And r u saying d DAP is a berhala if u follow them coz they specify otherwise? The good YB did not follow-up with the tweet. Perhaps he is busy. Perhaps the road the tweet conversation was heading may bring him to a conflict between his religious belief and political expediency. Perhaps he himself is grappling with an answer. So, is a political party a berhala? When does it become one? On what grounds, based on what they say or what they do? But first let's look at Verse 39:3 in full. "Is it not to God alone that all sincere faith is due? And yet, they who take for their protectors aught beside Him [are wont to say], "We worship them for no other reason than that they bring us nearer to God." Behold, God will judge between them [on Resurrection Day] with regard to all wherein they differ [from the truth]: for, verily, God does not grace with His guidance anyone who is bent on lying [to himself and is] stubbornly ingrate! " The above verse relates to practices where followers hope that a third party will 'mediate' between God and himself. This is done with the faith that the third party can act as a protector and insurance provider providing a passageway towards God and Heaven – a stand categorically rejected by the Quran. The third party is symbolic and can take the forms of anything from material objects, humans (dead or alive), movements and fundamentally everything man made or God made – including political parties. The question is then, on what criteria? The good YB suggested that a political party is a 'berhala' unless they specify that the Quran and the Sunnah are their guiding principles. Those who use other guides may be a berhala. This is where the problem starts. Following this criteria, the good YB is to a large degree suggesting that only PAS is not while the others including fellow PR coalition partners DAP and PKR are likely berhalas. I have a problem with that.
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