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Peace in Malaysia not what it seems to be

— Adelene Teo
The Malaysian Insider
Jul 13, 2012

JULY 13 — Since Independence in 1957 from the British, Malaysia has generally been a peaceful country except for the Communist insurgency between 1948 and 1960, and the racial conflict in 1969.

It may have indirectly supported several wars but it has never gotten directly involved in any, and except for Konfrontasi that Indonesia started, has always existed harmoniously with its neighbouring countries.

Occasionally, gruesome crimes are reported but these were often, though not always, resolved by the relevant authorities. The national Street Crime Index showed a decline by 40.6 per cent since 2009, and the government also reported a reduction in society’s fear of becoming a victim to crime.

Thus, it came as no surprise that Malaysia was ranked 20th by the Institute of Economics and Peace (IEP) in the 2012 Global Peace Index (GPI). As urged by Prime Minister Najib Razak, Malaysians should take pride in this success.

Why then are Malaysians still casting doubts over GPI’s 2012 report? Continue reading “Peace in Malaysia not what it seems to be”

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Mahathirism is alive and kicking!

— Sakmongkol AK47
The Malaysian Insider
Jul 13, 2012

JULY 13 — Dr Mahathir seems unable to let go of the fact that he isn’t PM of Malaysia anymore. He plays the eternal busybody, offering unsolicited advice. He employs sophistry of reasons to convince people of his biased conclusions. So, he says almost sage-like that Malaysia will be in dire straits if Pakatan takes over. But the age of unidirectional reasoning is over. Previously he had help from the media industrial complex — TV and mainstream newspapers. That isn’t going to happen anymore.

No right-thinking person wants to read Utusex Malaysia where only reports on prayer times and the 4-digit lottery are true; readership of the NST has gone down because, as Lee Kuan Yew observed, the paper has lost credibility. People are turned off at watching TV3 because as soon as we switch it on we see the apparitions of Ustazah Ummi Hafilda berating Anwar; we see Hasan “membetulkan aqidah” Ali and all the other lost souls picked up ravenously by talent-starved Umno and now dancing to the tune the paying pied piper plays.

Now, the people can talk and reason back. What Mahathir says is no longer accepted unquestioningly. Continue reading “Mahathirism is alive and kicking!”

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Harassment of pro-democracy activists in Malaysia reveals a worrying undercurrent of racism

Economist
Jul 14th 2012 | KUALA LUMPUR
Politics in Malaysia
The racial question

THE house of Ambiga Sreenevasan in a leafy neighbourhood of Kuala Lumpur looks ordinary enough. Getting into it, though, betrays a different reality. A security guard greets visitors, who are then scrutinised by newly installed surveillance cameras. A bodyguard hovers somewhere inside the house.

The precautions are revealing. Ms Ambiga has become the target of what she describes as “relentless attacks”, including death threats. They have thrust a middle-class lawyer (she is a former president of the Malaysian Bar Council) into the centre of politics in the run-up to what could be a pivotal general election. Continue reading “Harassment of pro-democracy activists in Malaysia reveals a worrying undercurrent of racism”

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Malaysia safest country in Southeast Asia. Really?

By Ong Kian Ming
Malaysiakini

The issue of crime, especially in the urban areas, has once again surfaced as a hot political issue. The Home Minister, Hishamuddin Hussein, was quoted as saying that the fear of crime is a result of ‘public perception’ while the CEO of PEMANDU, Idris Jala, was reported as having asked the media to focus more on the crimes that have been solved rather than those which have been committed. Meanwhile, DAP MP for PJ Utara, Tony Pua, seems to have been given conflicting sets of crime data on Selangor and has called for PEMANDU and the Home Ministry to released detailed crime statistics by the type of crime and the places where they were committed.

It is very difficult to question the validity of the crime statistics since this data is collected, compiled and later disseminated to the various ministries and later the public at large by the police. An in-depth audit is required in order to get a better handle on the veracity of these statistics.
Continue reading “Malaysia safest country in Southeast Asia. Really?”

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Perceptions and deceptions

Rom Nain
Malaysiakini
Jul 12, 2012

Our political leaders evidently have a not-so-smart-ass response for everything under the hazy Malaysian sun.

Some – the few who can read – probably would have read that story about the French queen, Marie Antoinette, apparently saying `Let them eat cake’ upon learning that the French peasants had no bread.

Yes, perhaps that is why our home minister, upon hearing that the ISA detainees were on a hunger strike, twittered that it was the choice of the ISA detainees to hold the hunger strike, just as it was his choice to have lamb chops.

Not very sensitive of him, it could be argued. But then, neither was the French queen who, history tells us, was later executed by guillotine. Yes, she had her head chopped off.

Many of our politicians, I think, share this misconception that they are so darn smart and can deliver flippant comments, inane lines and get away with it. Continue reading “Perceptions and deceptions”

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Making of a great cover-up

Free Malaysia Today
July 10, 2012

The contact was more than physical: it was a brutal crushing of bodies.

The probe into the April 28 rally is turning out to be a sham. The panel chairman tasked with finding the truth about the events that led to the outbreak of violence on that dark day made a preposterous statement when he said the police were ordered not to come into physical contact with the protesters to avoid spilling blood. The chairman must have been wearing blinkers on the day when thousands converged on the barricades of freedom square. It was not a pretty sight when the clashes eventually broke out.

When the trouble erupted, the chief investigator was probably in his Genting redoubt and did not see what happened on the ground. Or maybe he saw on the idiot box the government version where the poor victims were his men in blue. The reality was different. Did the police hold back for fear of coming into contact with human flesh? No, sir! Switch off the propaganda stuff and watch the citizens’ videos to get the truth.

When the storm broke loose, all those men in uniform were transformed into ferocious animals who lost all restraint and attacked the defenceless people in a paroxysm of rage. The contact was more than physical: it was a brutal crushing of bodies. The arms and legs of the police were their batons: they used them to beat, stomp, trample, slap, punch, kick while at the same time unleashing salvos after salvos of tear gas directly into the trapped crowd.

In scenes after scenes, the guardians of law and order became the perpetrators of violence. There are photos of Federal Reserve Unit clutching batons, contrary to what the chief investigator claimed. He said the FRU contingent was not equipped with batons, which is a bared-faced lie. All the uniformed personnel were out in full force eager to do battle with citizens armed only with mineral water bottles and salt. Continue reading “Making of a great cover-up”

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Is Petronas an ungrateful child of Malaysia?

Anas Alam Faizli
Free Malaysia Today
July 12, 2012

In early June Petronas hinted publicly at the World Gas Conference that they are tired of being the Malaysian government’s cash cow. They said no to fuel subsidy and last year they said they wanted to pay less dividends! Is Petronas ungrateful? The money belongs to the rakyat anyway and hence the government.

While many have attempted to comment on the sustainability of Petronas’ payouts, this article aims to give some insights into the realities of the local oil & gas industry, and why returning all oil harvests back to Malaysians may not benefit them in the longer run.

In 1974, Petronas, fully owned by the government of Malaysia, was established and given full ownership and control of our Petroleum reserves. Today, it has evolved into a fully integrated oil and gas multinational corporation, ranked among FORTUNE 500’s largest and most profitable oil and gas corporations with a total workforce of more than 30,000. Continue reading “Is Petronas an ungrateful child of Malaysia?”