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Lets make the 50th Malaysia Day next year really meaningful and historic not only to Sabahans and Sarawakians but to all Malaysians

49th Malaysia Day Message
15th September 2012

At a Sabah DAP forum in Kota Kinabalu on the 45th Malaysia Day on 16th September 2008, I pledged that a Pakatan Rakyat government in Putrajaya would do what the Barisan Nasional had failed to do – declare September 16 as a national public holiday.

This forced the hand of the sixth Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak who announced six months after assuming the premier’s office in October 2009 that Malaysia Day on September 16 would be a national holiday from 2010.

It took the Barisan Nasional 47 years to accord proper recognition to Malaysia Day on September 16, but the Barisan Nasional government has yet to seriously and fully address the frustrations, grievances and alienations suffered by Sabahans and Sarawakians for three generations at not being given full and fair treatment as Malaysian citizens.

Furthermore, Malaysia Day on September 16 cannot really be meaningful when it is regarded as in the past three years as a mere Sabah and Sarawak event rather than as a national celebration – making a mockery of the Prime Minister’s 1Malaysia slogan and policy. Continue reading “Lets make the 50th Malaysia Day next year really meaningful and historic not only to Sabahans and Sarawakians but to all Malaysians”

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Hishammuddin should apologise for his unbecoming and deplorable “No safety guarantee” stance or is he going to apologise only after the next general election like his keris-wielding as UMNO Youth Leader?

The Home Minister, Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein has made many outrageous statements and done many outrageous things in his political career, like

• his infamous keris-wielding as Youth Leader for three consecutive years since 2005 until he had to apologise for them when MCA, Gerakan and even UMNO leaders blamed him as one of the causes of “political tsunami” in the March 2008 general election;

• his defence and justification of the insensitive and sacrilegious cowhead demonstration in Shah Alam in September 2009;

• his xanthophobia (fear of the colour yellow) in the run-up to the Bersih 2.0 rally on July 9, 2011 when he declared the yellow Bersih T-shirt illegal and a police arrestable offence to wear them and his illogical, unreasonable and unlawful ban on Bersih 2.0.

• his wild, reckless and deplorable allegation that “some parties” wanted serious injuries and deaths at the Bersih 3.0 rally at Dataran Merdeka on April 28, 2012 in support of the Prime Minister’s equally wild, reckless and deplorable allegation that the Bersih 3.0 rally was an attempted coup d’etat to topple the government when the hundreds of thousands, regardless of race, religion, age and gender, who came out were peaceful, armed at most with salt and mineral water to protect themselves from police tear-gas and chemically-lacked water cannons, wanted only to send the message of clean, free and fair elections to the government.

However, Hishammuddin has put all his previous outrageous statements and acts in the shade with the “mother of all outrages” when he made it clear yesterday that there will be no guarantee of security for PKR’s nationwide Merdeka Rakyat tour. Continue reading “Hishammuddin should apologise for his unbecoming and deplorable “No safety guarantee” stance or is he going to apologise only after the next general election like his keris-wielding as UMNO Youth Leader?”

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Is there a home minister in the house?

— The Malaysian Insider
Sep 15, 2012

SEPT 15 — Considering the public perception of crime and a number of attacks on opposition politicians, one has to ask the question, is there a home minister in the country?

Is there someone responsible in the current government to ensure that each and every citizen can feel safe and secure in the country?

Is there someone responsible in the government to see to it that politicians of all stripes and hues and from any side of the aisle can move freely and campaign unhindered and unmolested?

Is there someone in the government who can rise above partisan politics to provide internal security for the country and not condone political hooliganism of any sort?

Is there someone in Putrajaya who will make sure that the international trade and industry minister and the foreign minister don’t have to make excuses to foreign investors and diplomats about the state of crime and political violence in Malaysia?

Why? Continue reading “Is there a home minister in the house?”

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Growth without private investment

— Jayant Menon
The Malaysian Insider
Sep 12, 2012

SEPT 12 — It was not long ago that the Malaysian development story was hailed as a model of FDI-driven, export-led industrialisation worthy of emulation by aspirants in the developing world.

Malaysia remains an outstanding model of how openness to trade and FDI can transform a poor, agrarian economy into a thriving, manufacturing-based, middle-income one in a generation. During this time, Malaysia also successfully preserved social harmony in its multiracial society, relying on economic openness to sustain growth under an expensive affirmative action programme that skewed incentives, the New Economic Policy (NEP). In this sense, the NEP performed an important signalling role and played its part in delivering the peace and stability that enabled Malaysia to sustain high growth. This growth, combined with revenues from large oil reserves, facilitated a massive tax-transfer scheme that favoured the majority, without significantly eroding macroeconomic stability.

But all that changed after the Asian financial crisis. FDI flows fell sharply and continued to remain low even after recovery. While foreigners continue to shun Malaysia, even domestic investors seem to have fled, with Malaysia becoming a net exporter of capital since 2005. Malaysia continues to grow, but without private investment it is unlikely to break out of the middle-income trap. Indeed, these days Malaysia is often discussed as a classic case of the middle-income trap. Growth without private investment is also unsustainable and Malaysia risks sliding back. Continue reading “Growth without private investment”

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Rakyat asing-BN vs rakyat berdaulat Selangor-Pakatan Rakyat

— Aspan Alias
The Malaysian Insider
Sep 14, 2012

14 SEPT — Selangor tidak akan membubarkan Dewan Undangan Negerinya jika pilihanraya di adakan pada bulan November atau sebelumnya. Kerajaan Pakatan Rakyat Selangor tidak akan bersama dengan negeri-negeri lain dengan membubarkan DUN jika Najib mengumumkan pembubaran Parlimen seperti yang lazim di lakukan oleh mana-mana negeri di masa-masa yang lalu.

Kita sudah mendengar pendirian dari Kelantan yang berpendapat tidak mempunyai masalah untuk membubarkan DUNnya mengikut tarikh yang akan di umumkan oleh Najib. Kita masih lagi menunggu respon P. Pinang dalam hal ini.

Sesungguhnya Selangor adalah salah sebuah negeri berdaulat yang berada di dalam Persekutuan Malaysia dan negeri itu berhak untuk membubarkan atau tidak Dewan Legislatifnya. Tidak ada pihak lain berhak untuk menentukan tarikh pilihanraya bagi negeri yang berdaulat itu.

Pendirian negeri Selangor iru bersebab dan bukannya membuat keputusan itu semata-mata kerana hendak berlainan dari negeri-negeri lain. Selangor telah menjadi medan pihak yang inginkan kembali berkuasa dengan melakukan berbagai-bagai tektik kotor yang tidak pernah dilihat sebelum ini. Pihak BN telah menambah lebih dari empat ratus ribu pengundi yang dipersoalkan “legitimacy”nya sebagai pengundi. Continue reading “Rakyat asing-BN vs rakyat berdaulat Selangor-Pakatan Rakyat”