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Public building mishaps – once is accident, twice is coincidence, thrice is systemic government collapse

The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi was angry yesterday. He ordered an immediate inspection of all government buildings for defects.

He said: “I feel angry. I feel ashamed. What the hell is this? It’s so new and such a thing happened.

“Something must have gone wrong somewhere. We need to know. I can’t be jumping all over the place!”

The Prime Minister was referring to a spate of embarrassing defects in new government offices — the collapse of a ceiling due to a leaky sprinkler system at the Entrepreneur and Co-operative Development Ministry in Putrajaya on Saturday, the ceiling collapse in a secretary’s room at the world’s largest court complex at the Jalan Duta court complex yesterday and on April 11, the Immigration Department headquarters in Putrajaya had to be closed after water flooded the seven-floor building following a failure in plumbing, turning and evacuating more than 1.000 people.

On March 22, Abdullah reacted in disbelief when what he never expected happened — a landslide in Putrajaya (Precinct 9) only inches away from three 15-storey government apartments, damaging 25 cars and evacuating more than 1,500 people from Blocks A, B and C in Phase 11 of the government housing complex.

The Prime Minister said he was angry and he “can’t be jumping all over the place”. But there were no signs that he was really either. Continue reading “Public building mishaps – once is accident, twice is coincidence, thrice is systemic government collapse”

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Ijok – Raja Nazrin has answer for swing of Chinese voters to Opposition

The front-page headline of Sin Chew Daily today blared: “Chinese in Ijok support Opposition — PM wants to know why from MCA and Gerakan” .

The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and the other Barisan Nasional top leaders especially MIC President Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu are elated by the Barisan Nasional victory at Saturday’s Ijok by-election with a bigger majority than in the 2004 general election — but whether the country has anything to be jubilant about over the Ijok by-election on the occasion of the 50th Merdeka anniversary of the nation is a subject which should engage the serious debate of all thinking Malaysians.

Abdullah’s public puzzlement as to the reasons for the swing of Chinese voters to the Opposition in the Ijok by-election and wanting to be enlightened by MCA and Gerakan bear testimony to the validity of my question as to whether the country has anything to celebrate over the Ijok by-election – whether, for instance, Najib is right that the Ijok by-election is proof that Malaysian democracy is “vibrantly alive” or whether it is the symbol of the worst culmination of electoral corruption in the past 50 years of Malaysian election history.

But what cannot be in doubt is that the Ijok by-election represents a great failure not only for MCA and Gerakan but also of Pak Lah as Prime Minister who had pledged to “hear the truth” when the reasons for the swing of Chinese voters to the Opposition in the by-election continue to elude them.

In the first place, how can Abdullah hear any “truth” from the MCA when the MCA supremo in the Ijok by-election, MCA Secretary-General Datuk Ong Ka Chuan had only a day earlier publicly denied that there was any swing of Chinese voters to the Opposition in Ijok by-election? Continue reading “Ijok – Raja Nazrin has answer for swing of Chinese voters to Opposition”

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Singapore Malays better off than Chinese in Malaysia

Singapore Malays better off than Chinese in Malaysia
by Richard Teo

It is rather ironic that Baki Aminuddin could venture to write in Malayisakini that “S’pore Malays worse off than Chinese here” when in fact the opposite is the truth.

Before I begin to answer his fallacious argument I would like to pose one very simple question to him. If S’pore Malays are really worse off in Singapore why is there no exodus of Malays from S’pore to Malaysia? Instead the opposite is happening where the Chinese are making a beeline to Singapore for work and education?

Baki is naive to deny that LKY’s statement that the BN govt is systemmatically marginalising the Chinese and non-Malays. Before condemning the S’pore govt of marginalising the Malays and their education Baki should support his assertion with facts rather
than spurious allegations.

There is no official policy to deny the Malays the chance to further their education till tertiary level provided they have the abilty to compete on a level playing field. Can Baki honestly say that the Chinese and non-Malays in Malaysia are given the same opportunity in education? Is it not a fact that Malays are exclusively given places in Mara schools where with their one year matriculation exams they can hop into any of the local universities whereas non-Malays have to undergo the more rigorous two year STPM exam to gain admission? Continue reading “Singapore Malays better off than Chinese in Malaysia”

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Ijok and the eclipse of reason

Ijok and the eclipse of reason
by Azly Rahman

In Ijok last Saturday, did the people vote wisely?

Or did they vote for the continuation of the use of totalitarian instruments such as the Internal Security Act, Universities and University Colleges Act, irrational preferential treatments, unsolved mysteries of massive corruption cases, rise of dynasties, political violence, postponement of trial of hideous political murders, abuse of “at-risk youths”, political-economy of controlling interests, age-old vendetta, hideous nature of the separation of power between the executive, legislative, and judiciary, and an ever-growing range of complex “rational” acts that have become our “political culture”?

What does “wise” mean? Is the level of wisdom dependent upon the levels of consciousness of the different “class” and “caste” of people?

Looks like the middle class is co-opted to support the dominant political group, the lower-class is busy making ends meet, and the lowest class is now the unsung heroes of the postmodern indentured slavery.

We do not have yet have a critical mass that can think critically to effect critical change. Continue reading “Ijok and the eclipse of reason”