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DAP chides Chua’s negative portrayal of Muslim nations

by Susan Loone | Aug 7, 10 11:57am

Malaysiakini

Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng has today rubbished the views of MCA chief Dr Chua Soi Lek, who has portrayed Muslim countries as “poor, backward and corrupt”.

Lim (right in photo) urged Chua to learn more about the history of Islamic civilisation, whose global empires had not only contributed breathtaking art and architecture, but also the introduction of numbers, algebra and astronomy.

“Muslim countries are suffering from the same problem suffered by India and China previously.

“Only when India and China were free, independent and not dominated by imperialist powers, that they were able to realise their potential and take their place in the world stage as economic powers,” he said at International Integrity Conference 2010 today in Penang.

“I believe that Muslim nations can also recapture their past glories if they were allowed to be similarly unshackled like India and China,” he added. Continue reading “DAP chides Chua’s negative portrayal of Muslim nations”

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Biggest flaw in Soi Lek’s new-fangled theory is whether he would back down from it when pressured by UMNO

The main objective of MCA President Datuk Seri Dr. Chua Soi Lek’s new-fangled theory that Malaysia had been trapped for a decade as a middle-income nation because of “non-progressive” competition between UMNO and PAS is to pass-the-buck and disclaim MCA responsibility for the deplorable state of the Malaysian nation 53 years after Merdeka to the extent that one Cabinet Minister had warned that Malaysia could go backrupt in the year 2019!

However, the biggest flaw for Chua’s new-fangled theory is whether he would back down from it when pressured by UMNO!

In the first place, Malaysia had been stuck in a middle-income nation trap for some two decades and not just the past 10 years – as admitted by the New Economic Model that since becoming an upper-middle income country in 1992, Malaysia has largely stayed where it is.

Can this be solely explained by the competition between Umno and PAS in using religion to strengthen their influence resulting in “non-progressive policies”? Continue reading “Biggest flaw in Soi Lek’s new-fangled theory is whether he would back down from it when pressured by UMNO”

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Kee Thuan Chye unmasked

by Jee Wan
Malaysiakini
Aug 6, 10

Kee Thuan Chye , a stubbornly patriotic writer, journalist, editor,playwright, and occasional actor, allows a peep into what makes him tick and what does not, particularly where big brother is concerned.

Jee Wan:Firstly, congratulations on the upcoming new edition of ‘March 8: The Day Malaysia Woke Up’. What started your involvement in politics?

Kee:Thanks. It may actually turn out to be a new book called ‘March 8: Time for Real Change’.

My political awakening occurred right after I graduated from Universiti Sains Malaysia when I personally suffered the effects of the New Economic Policy (NEP). I wanted to pursue my Masters but I wasn’t able to afford it unless I could get a tutor’s position. I applied, but didn’t get it – even though I was top in my class. It was given to someone else. So I had to go out and work.

Eventually, I was hired by The National Echo as literary editor. Part of my duties included writing editorials. During that time, I was able to write quite scathingly about political matters.

I remember one of my editorials criticised Mahathir Mohamad for warning that Malaysia would “shoot” the Vietnamese boat people if they tried to land on our shores. He later insisted that he said “shoo”, but I could already see then what kind of a guy we were dealing with.

I became more politically sensitised when I moved from Penang to Kuala Lumpur in the late 1970s, from The National Echo to the New Straits Times. In the capital, I began to see more sharply the contradictions in our society.

At the time, the social re-engineering that had come into place after 1969 was beginning to show its effects. They became more pronounced in the early 1980s when Mahathir Mohamad became Prime Minister.

Working at the NST made me see more clearly that things were going towards an authoritarian direction. I got numerous memos from my editor-in-chief for trying to push the parameters and opening up public discourse on ‘sensitive’ issues.

The most pressing issue then was race and how it had been politicised to divide the people. Mahathir was also showing signs of being increasingly dictatorial; he would tolerate no criticism of him in the media.

What I couldn’t express through the newspaper I eventually expressed in a play. Entitled ‘1984 Here and Now’; it spoke out frankly against Big Brother and institutionalised racial discrimination. It played to full houses in 1985 because it brought up issues of the day that people were afraid to discuss publicly. Those who came were surprised that it had obtained a permit to be staged.

I have since gone on to write more political plays. One of them, ‘The Big Purge’, brazenly satirises Mahathir (left) and Operation Lalang. Continue reading “Kee Thuan Chye unmasked”