Day: May 14, 2012

— Aspan Alias
The Malaysian Insider
May 14, 2012

14 MEI — Saya mencadangkan supaya Umno mengadakan perhimpunan seperti yang diadakan di Stadium Bukit Jalil pada 11 Mei yang lepas sekali lagi. Pada perhimpunan Umno di Bukit Jalil baru-baru ini seramai 100,000 orang telah dapat dihimpunkan oleh Najib Razak untuk menunjukkan sokongan ramai terhadap Umno dan Barisan Nasional.

Saya kira Umno perlu melakukannya sekali lagi dan himpunkan seramai dua juta manusia untuk menyamai “equation” himpunan Bersih 3.0 yang dihadiri oleh 300,000 orang pada 28 April yang lalu.

Lain-lain perkataan hanya himpunan dua juta rakyat sahaja boleh menyamai kekuatan 300,000 kehadiran dalam himpunan Bersih itu untuk mendapat “legitimacy” sokongan rakyat. DAN dalam perhimpunan itu nanti bawa bersama rakyat dari kaum-kaum lain untuk menyatakan yang Umno serta BN iu mendapat sokongan rakyat berbilang kaum.

Setakat 100,000 orang yang mampu dihimpunkan oleh Umno itu sangat tidak seimbang dengan belanja dan kemudahan yang diberikan oleh Umno kepada siapa yang datang untuk berhimpun di Stadium Bukit Jalil itu. Seperti biasa Umno akan memberikan “5-T” untuk menghimpunkan orang ramai. Continue reading “Umno patut berhimpun sekali lagi”

The Pakatan Rakyat Leadership Council today reaffirmed unswerving commitment to common policy agreements reached by the three component parties, namely PKR, PAS and DAP, whether before or after the 13th General Elections, in the PR Common Policy Framework of December 19, 2009, Buku Jingga of 20th December 2010 and the Joint PR Leadership Statement of 28th September 2011.

As stated in PR Common Policy Framework unanimously adopted at the First Pakatan Rakyat Convention in Shah Alam in December 2009, Pakatan Rakyat is committed to uphold the spirit and provisions of the Federal Constitution, in particular, to

1. Defend the Federal Constitution, Islam as the religion of the Federation while other religions can be practiced peacefully anywhere in the country and protecting the special position of the Malays and the indigenous peoples anywhere including Sabah and Sarawak, and the legitimate interests of other races in accordance to Article 153.

2. Defend the role and responsibility of the institution of Constitutional Monarchy.

3. Uphold the use of Bahasa Melayu in accordance to Article 152 of the Constitution and promote Bahasa Melayu as the regional lingua franca, while protecting and strengthening the use of mother tongue languages for all races. Continue reading “PR Leadership Council reaffirms unswerving commitment to common policy accords before or after 13GE and the principle that there must be consensus for any change of PR policy”

— Hal Hill
The Malaysian Insider
May 14, 2012

MAY 14 — There is much to admire about Malaysia, in addition to it being arguably the world’s best place to eat. Its development record is admirable. Since independence in 1957, its per capita income has risen eight-fold. It has long since left behind its two earlier comparators, Ghana and Sri Lanka. It features prominently and positively in all major international economic comparisons, from the World Bank’s 1993 East Asian Miracle to the 2008 Growth Commission report. The 2.5 million to three million migrant workers are there for a good reason — even if they are sometimes subject to abuse, life is a lot better than in their homelands.

As a result of the country’s adept macroeconomic management, it has suffered just one serious economic setback, in 1997-98. That event had its origins at least partly in external factors, and it was promptly overcome, without the “assistance” of the IMF. The country has managed to avoid the “resource curse”, which has bedevilled the majority of resource-rich developing countries. It features well on most comparative rankings, such as the Bank’s Doing Business, and the Global Competitiveness Report.

Along with Singapore, it has enjoyed an early mover advantage from its adoption in the early 1970s of export-oriented industrialisation through foreign direct investment, before it was fashionable to do so. As a consequence, it is a major player in the global electronics industry. And although inequality remains high, there is no doubt that the bottom 40 per cent of Malaysian citizens have benefitted materially from the country’s economic growth.

What’s the economic problem, then? Principally, that the economy has yet to regain the dynamism evident before the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis. Even before the more recent global financial crisis, which Malaysia navigated quite successfully, economic growth in the new millennium was at least two percentage points below that of the decade 1986-96. Continue reading “Malaysia after regime change”

— Jaleel Hameed
The Malaysian Insider
May 13, 2012

MAY 13 — It is interesting that Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop is talking about Malaysian history, that the country would revert to the year 1511, when the Bumiputera agenda didn’t exist, if Barisan Nasional (BN) loses in the next general election.

Thank you, sir. Where did you learn your history? Because that’s pure bovine excrement.

What Bumiputera agenda was there before the May 13, 1969 race riots? In fact, BN came into being after the riots, when the then-Alliance government realised the majority Malays felt disenfranchised in their own country.

Let’s not even talk about Penang or the Malays in the state, of which you are one.

You mean to say the Malays entered the poor house only when Pakatan Rakyat (PR) took over in 2008?

You mean to say they were richer when BN was in power?

You mean to say that after 40 years of the New Economic Policy (NEP) by BN, all the Malays are richer? Continue reading “Nor Mohamed Yakcop should learn history”