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Whose decision was it anyway?

KJ John
Malaysiakini
Jul 17, 2012

I am a proud former Administrative and Diplomatic Service (PTD) officer. I thoroughly enjoyed my service as a PTD officer when in the public services. In our day we were taught to assume the role and responsibility of policy advisers to the minister to whom we were fully accountable to. Therefore, during our time, when the minister, for example, said, “Jump,” we would not just ask, “how high?” but instead ask “why not run, or walk, or skip?”

I get the feeling, from today’s kind and quality of decisions being made, that most officers only proffer the minister three options on simply how to jump, instead of alternative policy options which include “the walking and skipping or running”. Therefore, today’s options are what I call “project-management options but not policy consideration options”.

Any such policy option would also stipulate the intended outputs of the agenda, some interpretation or evaluation of the potential impact, and even some plausible outcome related considerations with views about them.

My greatest fear today is that this kind and quality of public policy analysis is not fashionable any more. More fashionable are MBA-type project management potential costs and benefits calculation, but with all assumptions based on project level extrapolations which cannot be concretely tested or verified.

And when all these are reduced to numbers with a bottom line, they aid decision-making without a full review of all longer term considerations. Therefore, whether we call such projects PKFZ or the Cowgate or Syabas water supply; the so-called Public Policy Analysis stinks and therefore there is much that is rotten in the state of Malaysia!

Therefore and consequently, I am rather amused that the out-going public services chief was dismissed from his job and he apparently does not even know the reason. How can this be? Continue reading “Whose decision was it anyway?”

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Najib has lost best timing for dissolution of Parliament and his window to choose the best time for 13GE has closed

Firstly, let me pay tribute to Malaysians, particularly in Petaling Jaya and Selangor, for their public-spiritedness, powerful sense of justice and the ability to distinguish between public right and wrong, in their splendid one-week response online and offline in coming to the support of DAP MP for PJ Utara, Tony Pua, among the foremost warriors for the water rights of the people of Selangor, who had lost in the first round of the defamation suit by Selangor state water concessionaire Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor (Syabas) with the Kuala Lumpur High Court awarding RM200,000 damages to Syabas.

Tony is appealing against the KL High Court judgment but Syabas is demanding payment of the RM200,000 damages.

If Tony is finally vindicated and wins the defamation suit against Syabas, the collection will go to the Party’s national funds to be expended for the forthcoming general elections or other public interest litigation cases.

Tony’s defamation suit is one of the many tests and challenges DAP leaders have to face after the 308 political tsunami of the 2008 general elections, which saw an unprecedented change in the national political landscape with the formation of five state governments (Selangor, Penang, Kedah, Kelantan and Perak – although an unconstitutional coup subsequently robbed Pakatan Rakyat of the Perak state government but we are confident winning Perak in the next general election) and the unprecedented denial of BN’s two-thirds parliamentary majority).

The whole country and all Malaysians will be faced with two critical tests when the long-delayed 13th General Election is finally held, whether in another two or three months or next year. Continue reading “Najib has lost best timing for dissolution of Parliament and his window to choose the best time for 13GE has closed”

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Najib doing the greatest disservice to national unity and 55-year Malaysian nation building by insisting that the BN 13GE campaign theme of “Janji Ditepati” is adopted as this year’s theme for National Day and Malaysia Day celebrations

The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak is doing the greatest disservice to national unity and 55-year Malaysian nation-building by insisting that the Barisan Nasional 13th General Election campaign theme of “Janji Ditepati” (Promises Fulfilled) is adopted as this year’s theme for National Day and Malaysia Day celebrations.

National Day and Malaysia Day should be national occasions where Malaysians, regardless of race, religion, region, class, gender, age and most important of all, political beliefs and affiliations, can come together as Malaysians first and last to celebrate the attainment of Merdeka on August 31, 1957 and the formation of Malaysia on Sept. 16, 1963.

However, when the National Day and Malaysia Day theme this year is the blatant and partisan Barisan Nasional 13GE campaign theme of “Janji Ditepati”, whose dissemination had been spearheaded by the Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, in a highly politicized tour dubbed “Jelajah Janji Ditepati” all over the country in the past few months, the Barisan Nasional government is deliberately provoking instead of avoiding a national division among Malaysians based on their political beliefs and affiliations on these two national occasions.

The question that must be asked is – Who is being petty-minded and even being anti-national? Continue reading “Najib doing the greatest disservice to national unity and 55-year Malaysian nation building by insisting that the BN 13GE campaign theme of “Janji Ditepati” is adopted as this year’s theme for National Day and Malaysia Day celebrations”

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Don’t be deceived, Malaysians

— Gomen Man
The Malaysian Insider
Jul 17, 2012

JULY 17 — Get ready for the wayang kulit to begin. Elections will be held after Hari Raya, probably in September. And how do I know?

Do I have a crystal ball? Definitely not but Najib Razak is doing what Abdullah Ahmad Badawi did when he also needed a mandate from the voters.

1) Get the authorities to charge a so-called big fish with corruption to show the “government’s resolve” in fighting corruption. Abdullah picked Eric Chia, Kasitah Gaddam, Ramli Yusof and a couple of others. Hey, did anyone remember that everyone was cleared!

Now we are told that ex-Sime Darby CEO is going to be charged with CBT. This case is going to be milked by Najib administration and the MACC, both bodies with little credibility. Will anyone remember if and when Zubir Murshid is acquitted, the same way that Ramli Yusof was cleared?

2) The Klang Valley water rationing. This must be the only country in the world where some private sector company can decide it wants to ration water and where the corrupt and imbecile mainstream media goes on a rampage again the state government which will not give in to blackmail and threats. Continue reading “Don’t be deceived, Malaysians”

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The question of housing (Part 2): Towards a sustainable solution

by Zairil Khir Johari
The Malaysian Insider
Jul 17, 2012

JULY 17 — I have previously written about the housing situation in Penang, in which there is a stark mismatch between supply and demand. This mismatch takes the form of an oversupply of housing stock at both the lowest and highest range of income earners, while there is an undersupply at the middle-income range.

For the bottom 40 per cent of income earners, the number of affordable housing stock doubles the number of families at that income range. At the opposite end, there are more luxury residential developments compared to the number of households at the highest income bracket, though this represents a completely different problem altogether.

However, the real problem of housing in Penang is the unavailability of housing stock to supply the middle-income earners. Currently, there is a shortage of 70,052 units for this group of typically newly-wed professionals and young middle-class families.

This glaring affordability gap threatens to be a serious problem, especially considering the fact that Penang is a middle-income state with a higher-than-national average mean household income of RM4,407 per month. Continue reading “The question of housing (Part 2): Towards a sustainable solution”

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Najib’s 1Malaysia Social Media Conventions to raise an army of over 10,000 UMNO/BN cybertroopers most anti-national in their utter disregard of 1Malaysia objective to create an united, harmonious and ethical Malaysian society

In November last year, the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak launched the 1Malaysia Social Media Convention at the Putra World Trade Centre in Kuala Lumpur, anointing 2,000 social media practitioners who attended it as the new army of UMNO/Barisan Nasional cyber-warriors.

Since then, about 10 social media conventions had been held in different states as part of the programme to raise an army of over 10,000 UMNO/BN cybertroopers in advance of the 13th General Election.

As the Minister for Information, Communication and Culture, Datuk Seri Dr. Rais Yatim exhorted at the launch of the Selangor edition last month, the Umno/BN cybertroopers should “counter all the slander that has been happening on line”.

He continued: “If people keep tweeting that ‘Bersih is bersih’, people will believe that the movement is genuine. Tweet back and start saying that Bersih is ‘kotor’ (dirty).”

Najib should explain why public funds should be spent to help raise an army of over 10,000 UMNO/BN cybertroopers in advance of the 13th General Election, whether through the Biro Tatanegara (BTN) or the 1Malaysia Secretariat.

Malaysians taxpayers are also entitled to know how much public money had been spent on each of the 1Malaysia Social Media Conventions since November last year to help raise the army of over 10,000 UMNO/BN cybertroopers, particularly under the guise of the Prime Minister’s Jelajah Janji Di-Tepati programme.

Malaysians are equally concerned that Najib’s 1Malaysia Social Media Conventions to raise an army of over 10,000 UMNO/BN cybertroopers have proven to be most anti-national as they are held in utter disregard of the 1Malaysia objective to create an united, harmonious and ethical Malaysian society. Continue reading “Najib’s 1Malaysia Social Media Conventions to raise an army of over 10,000 UMNO/BN cybertroopers most anti-national in their utter disregard of 1Malaysia objective to create an united, harmonious and ethical Malaysian society”

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Only 8pc of RM6.3b for cops to probe crime, Budget shows

By Debra Chong, Assistant News Editor | UPDATED @ 01:36:51 PM 16-07-2012
The Malaysian Insider

KUALA LUMPUR, July 16 — Only a paltry eight per cent was set aside for the police to investigate crime despite Putrajaya raising the annual security budget to RM6.3 billion this year, amid growing safety concerns from the public.

Citing the Budget allocation for 2010, 2011 and 2012, opposition lawmaker Liew Chin Tong today called on the authorities to review the police budgetary arrangements to better fight crime.

“Budgetary figures of 2010, 2011, and 2012 show that the Najib administration is more interested in using the police to maintain power than to fight crime,” he said in a statement today.

The police was given an allocation of RM4.5 billion in 2010, RM5.8 billion in 2011 and RM6.3 billion in 2012 respectively, he noted, saying that the budget for the men in blue grew by RM1.8 billion or 40 per cent between 2010 and 2012.
Continue reading “Only 8pc of RM6.3b for cops to probe crime, Budget shows”

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Kudos to Khalid and Selangor state assembly for land reform measure

By Koon Yew Yin | July 16, 2012
The Malaysian Insider

JULY 16 — Recently, the Selangor state assembly passed a new regulation barring any state representatives and local council members from applying for state-owned land. This is a really brave and unprecedented move which deserves more public attention than it has drawn so far. One question is whether the new rule also applies to the members of the royal family. There are probably many examples of members of royalty applying for state land. Should they be given special consideration or be treated the same as the public? I am sure there are pros and cons when it comes to applying the rule to royalty. The important thing is for the issue to be brought out into the open and for rational public opinion to prevail.

Among the physical assets belonging to the state, land is undoubtedly the most valuable. According to the federal Constitution, land is a state matter. Even if land is not owned by the state, the state still has control over the development and use of land through administrative and executive council rulings.
Continue reading “Kudos to Khalid and Selangor state assembly for land reform measure”

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The question of housing (Part 1): Understanding the problem

By Zairil Khir Johari | July 16, 2012
The Malaysian Insider

JULY 16 — As far as Penang is concerned, housing has become a hot button issue. Critics are aplenty and everyone, from the locals at the kopitiams to the expatriates at the cocktail bars, seems to have an opinion on it. However, before lamenting about the housing situation in Penang, one first needs to understand it.

The general grouse is twofold. Firstly, it is said that housing prices are exponentially increasing with no signs of a slowdown. Secondly, complaints are heard that there is not enough housing to cater for the lower-income groups. The fear is then raised that the shortage of low-cost housing coupled with ever-increasing property prices will eventually drive people out of the state, especially from the island.

Now, the first contention is admittedly true. There is no denying the fact that property prices are on the rise, having averagely increased by 50 per cent over the past five years. However, the causes of this phenomenon are often misunderstood. On the second count, to say that there is an undersupply of low-cost housing is inaccurate. In fact, it is a statistical fallacy. Both require further explanation.
Continue reading “The question of housing (Part 1): Understanding the problem”

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Umno itu sudah terlalu fakir dalam perjuangan

— Aspan Alias
The Malaysian Insider
Jul 15, 2012

15 JULAI — Muhyiddin menyeru agar Umno mempertahankan kerusi Gelang Patah habis-habisan kerana Gelang Patah merupakan kawasan yang menempatkan pusat pentadbiran negeri Johor dan mempunyai infrastuktur yang terbaik di negeri Johor. Di dalam kawasan ini jugalah terletaknya Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) dan berbagai-bagai infrastruktur terbaik di negeri Johor.

Kenyataan seperti ini yang datangnya dari Timbalan Perdana Menteri dan ianya membayangkan bahawa negeri Johor juga merupakan negeri yang sangat ditakuti oleh BN dalam menghadapi PRU yang akan datang ini. Kenyataan yang membayangkan ketakutan dari pihak BN tidak pernah kita dengar sebelum ini jika ia melibatkan negeri Johor kerana Johor sebelum ini merupakan kubu kuat BN sejak negara mengadakan pilihanraya.

BN dan Umno di negeri Johor sebelum ini hanya mengambil pilihanraya umum sebagai satu pesta sahaja kerana bak kata orang Umno semasa parti itu kuat dahulu, ‘calon Umno tidak payah turun berkempen. Hantarkan songkok untuk mewakili calon-calon-calonnya sahaja sudah cukup dan BN akan menang’. Tetapi kenyataan yang datang dari seorang Timbalan Perdana Menteri yang juga merupakan anak Johor ini, amat jelas yang BN di Johor tidak boleh lagi bercakap takbur seperti dahulu. Keadaan sudah berubah dan rakyat lebih fokus untuk mencari pemimpin dan parti yang lebih berguna dari dahulu. Continue reading “Umno itu sudah terlalu fakir dalam perjuangan”

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Wanted: Not just bersih elections but also parliamentary reforms

— Francis Loh
The Malaysian Insider
Jul 15, 2012

JULY 15 — Deputy Speaker Datuk Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jafar recently admitted that under the present system of parliamentary democracy, there does not exist a clear separation of powers between the Executive and Legislative arms of government on the one hand, and between the Executive and Judiciary on the other. It’s only ‘illusionary’, he clarified to a group of law students who visited him (The Sun, 11 July 2012).

In the case of Executive-Parliamentary relations, Wan Junaidi clarified that the ruling party is in a dominant position to control the Speaker and the House. For him, politicians no longer speak based on their conscience. Instead, the PM and members of the Cabinet yield significant influence over decisions made in the House by ‘twisting their (MPs) arms through the whip’. Therefore, it is very much the case that the Executive rules, rather than Parliament.

As for the separation of powers between the Executive and the Judiciary, Wan Junaidi admitted that the line is also blurred as the PM has a say in the appointment of judges despite the actual process of selection coming under the purview of the Judicial Appointments Commission.

However, he stressed that this was not tantamount to direct ‘interference’ by the Executive into the Judiciary, for there ‘has not been any evidence to prove any such claims made by certain parties’. One could, of course, differ from his qualification. Correct, correct, correct?

Wan Junaidi laid the blame for this state of affairs on ‘the Westminster system’, which Malaysia inherited from its colonial masters. Continue reading “Wanted: Not just bersih elections but also parliamentary reforms”

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Day of infamy for Malaysian journalism – Utusan Malaysia defending the indefensible instead of apologizing for being foremost “Lies-paper” in Malaysia

Today is a day of infamy for Malaysian journalism – with the UMNO publication Utusan Malaysia defending the indefensible instead of apologizing for being the foremost “Lies-paper” in Malaysia in the past three years under the premiership of Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

At a forum on social media organized by Biro Tata Negara (BTN) of the Prime Minister’s Department and the 1Malaysia Social Media Convention secretariat, Utusan Malaysia’s deputy chief editor Mohd Zaini Hassan claimed that media practitioners are allowed to spin the facts to paint a “desired picture” to the reader and to launch a “gentlemanly attack” against the Opposition.

Claiming that there are three categories of “fact, spin and blatant lies”, Zaini purports to distance himself from “lies” but gives his approval to “spin”, saying: “Spin we can; no matter how we spin a certain fact to be biased in our favour, that’s okay.”

Zaini is insulting the intelligence of Malaysians in trying a “spin of all spins” attempting to pass off lies and blatant lies as mere “spin”!

Spin must clearly be delineated from lies and blatant lies. Spin occurs when facts are linked in a deceptive way that attempts to portray an individual or organization in the best or worst possible light.

But what Utusan had been most guilty off in the past three years is not just deception through “spinning” certain facts while omitting other facts, but the retailing of downright lies and falsehoods. Continue reading “Day of infamy for Malaysian journalism – Utusan Malaysia defending the indefensible instead of apologizing for being foremost “Lies-paper” in Malaysia”

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Public gave RM143,000 towards Pua’s Syabas suit damages

By Ida Lim
The Malaysian Insider
Jul 14, 2012

KUALA LUMPUR, July 14 — In just one week, tens of thousands of Malaysians rallied around the DAP’s Tony Pua and donated RM143,256, nearly three-fourths of the RM200,000 in damages he owed water company Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor Sdn Bhd (Syabas) after losing a defamation lawsuit last month.

The opposition party had started an online campaign to raise RM100,000 to help the federal lawmaker pay the amount by July 16, but the financial support from the public was beyond expectation.

“As at 4pm 13/7/12 (Fri), the online donation campaign has raised RM143,256, a remarkable achievement of small contributions from tens of thousands of Malaysians in less than a week,” Pua wrote on his Facebook page this morning.

He also said that the party “will end the online fund-raiser today.”

Last month, Syabas had won a defamation suit against the DAP national publicity secretary, who was ordered to pay RM200,000 in damages besides costs and interests.

Although Pua has filed an appeal against the decision, he had said on micro-blogging site Twitter that Syabas wants him to pay the RM200,000 by July 16.

He has also said today that Syabas was seeking an additional RM80,000 in costs, but the amount is still under negotiations. Continue reading “Public gave RM143,000 towards Pua’s Syabas suit damages”

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Selepas berjumpa PM, bekas wakil-wakil rakyat bersungut

— Aspan Alias
The Malaysian Insider
Jul 13, 2012

13 JULAI — Rupa-rupanya semalam PM Najib Razak telah memanggil semua bekas-bekas wakil rakyat Barisan Nasional seluruh negara ke kediaman beliau untuk meminta bantuan untuk BN menghadapi pilihanraya yang paling getir buat parti pemerintah sejak negara merdeka.

Dalam keadaan sebegini tentulah sebab kenapa mereka dipanggil itu ialah kerana Najib tidak begitu yakin meraih kemenangan apabila menghadapi parti-parti “alternative” dalam PRU akan datang ini.

Dua orang bekas Adun dan seorang bekas ahli parlimen telah menghubungi saya dan ketiga-tiga orang ini mempunyai cerita yang sama.

“Dah nak tergolek baru panggil kami,” kata salah seorang yang menghubungi saya itu.

Menurut kata ahli Mubarak itu, Najib mengakui yang tekanan terhadap Umno dan BN sangat kuat dan pihak Pakatan Rakyat begitu serius dalam usaha untuk ke Putrajaya itu. Continue reading “Selepas berjumpa PM, bekas wakil-wakil rakyat bersungut”

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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”