Day: March 13, 2013

I regret that the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, in his hour-long programme of “Conversation with the PM” televised on TV3, Bernama TV, RTM and Astro Awani last night failed to address adequately and fully the Sabah Sulu crisis which has entered into its fifth week, causing the death of eight policemen and one soldier and 56 Sulu terrorists.

I want firstly to convey my deepest condolences to Private Mohd Hurairah Ismail from Pasir Mas, Kelantan , the first soldier to be killed by Sulu terrorists in an exchange of fire in Sungai Nyamuk in Lahad Datu yesterday.

Mohd Hurairah, like the eight police commandoes who were killed by Sulu terrorists in Kampung Tanduo in Lahad Datu and Semporna, died as a national hero in the defence of national sovereignty and the security of the people of Sabah and the nation owes them an eternal gratitude.

This is why I feel very strongly that there should be a special session of Parliament not only for MPs from both sides of the political divide to express full support and solidarity for all necessary measures by the security forces to deal with the Sabah Sulu crisis but also to pay tribute and honour the nine brave fallen heroes from the security forces and to assure the nation that the government, from whichever political coalition, Barisan Nasional or Pakatan Rakyat, will look after the welfare, as well the life-long education needs of the children, of the bereaved families as an token of national appreciation of their sacrifices.

This is one reason why I am very disappointed about the Prime Minister’s hour-long television interview last night, especially as I had sent an Open Letter to him yesterday urging the Cabinet today to convene a special Parliamentary session within the week, to adopt an unanimous resolution on the Sabah Sulu crisis on at least six points, viz: Continue reading “Call on all parties and persons involved to unite as patriotic Malaysians to face the Sabah Sulu crisis as one united people to fully restore national sovereignty and security and welfare of Sabahans”

by Martin Jalleh

by CPI Asia

We, the undersigned individuals, support Himpunan Hijau’s proposal for its chairperson Wong Tack to stand as the green candidate under Pakatan Rakyat in Bentong, Pahang taking on Health Minister Liow Tiong Lai in the coming general elections.

Wong Tack’s candidacy signifies the frustrating scene of the green movement. Despite the unprecedented electoral setback in the March 8 political tsunami five years ago, the Government has demonstrated an arrogant and irresponsible attitude towards environmental protection. From the Lynas rare earth processing plant in Kuantan, cyanide gold mining in Raub, the proposed petrochemical plant in Pengerang, aluminum plant in Mukah, to the dams in Inland Sarawak and Cameron Highlands, environmentally harmful projects have been introduced or allowed operation in complete disregard of the well-being and health of the local residents and ecology.

Wong Tack’s candidacy is a milestone in green politics in Malaysia, which has so far been staying away from direct participation in electoral politics. Rallies and petitions in the past three years over the issues of Lynas, cyanide gold mining, Pengerang and other polluting projects have failed to bring any real policy changes. The angry roaring of communities and citizens has fallen on deaf ears of politicians and bureaucrats, who care more about the interests of foreign capital.

It is therefore time to have more green-minded lawmakers in our Parliament and State Legislative Assemblies to scrunitise our laws and policies to keep environmental disasters at bay. Wong Tack, whose team has effectively put Lynas in the minds of the Malaysian public, is certainly one of the most relevant and representative faces. In this regard, taking on Liow Tiong Lai will also be apt since the Health Minister has repeatedly neglected public interests and misinformed the public with regards to the Lynas plant, cyanide gold mining and the firing of tear gas and water cannons at Tung Shin Hospital in July 2011. Continue reading “Supporting Wong Tack as the Green Candidate in Bentong”

I do not envy in Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s shoes at present as he must continue to put up an external front of supreme confidence that he will not be the last Umno/Barisan Nasional Prime Minister and would even survive a coup d’etat in Umno ala-Abdullah Badawi after the 13GE while internally he must be quaking with gnawing doubts whether he could survive the final countdown for the “life-and-death” test for his political life.

As a result, he doth protest and claim too much.

Yesterday, the TV3 programme “Conversation with the PM” provided another example that the sixth Prime Minister of Malaysia “doth claim too much” when he said:

“And when you talk in terms of benefit for the people, within three years, from 2009 to the end of 2011, our GNI (gross national income) per capita, it grew from US$6,670 to US$9,970. That’s roughly a 49 per cent (increase). There is no country in the world that has achieved that kind of result”.

Najib’s claim to be the fastest country in the world for GNI per capita growth in the three years from 2009 to 2011 is as believable as his other claim to transform Malaysia to be the world’s best democracy, when he could not even stand up to national and international scrutiny for the conduct of a free, fair and clean general elections despite his recent signature of the Transparency International-Malaysia’s Election Integrity Pledge. Instead, Najib is branded internationally as a “false democrat”.

Najib made two false claims in one short assertion last night – for Malaysia’s per capita GNI did not increase by 49 per cent in the three years from 2009 to 2011, and Malaysia is definitely not the world’s fastest country in per capita GNI growth in those three years.

The World Bank website shows the true numbers for Malaysia’s GNI per capita for the relevant period, viz: Continue reading “29-Day Countdown to 13GE – Najib doth claim too much, that Malaysia is world’s fastest country in GNI per capita growth which is as believable as his boast to make Malaysia “world’s best democracy””

Malaysiakini-Bernama
11:38PM Mar 12, 2013

Before calling for the next general election, Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak said he first wanted to show to the people what had actually been achieved through the various initiatives in the country’s transformation agenda.

He said this in the ‘Conversation with the PM’ programme aired over TV3 tonight.

Noting that real changes were taking place since he took office in 2009, he said the government would need more time to ensure that the people felt the positive outcome of the transformation agenda.

“Because, when we plan things, it does take time (to show results), but I’m pleased that the outcome is positive,” he said. Continue reading “Najib: More time needed to show results before polls”

Melia Dangin
Malaysiakini
Mar 12, 2013

In the early 1990s, a small group of Filipino men heavily armed with M16s guns and grenade launchers appeared suddenly in Semporna town.

Their target? None other than the small Semporna police station, the nearby equally small marine base and the police barracks.

These marauders operated with military precision. How else do you explain their capability in trapping our security personnel in their own base?

They had positioned themselves strategically and rendered our men immobile.

They took control of Semporna for about 20 minutes from the time they cornered the police and moved to the town centre less than 800 metres away firing randomly into the air.

Fortunately, there were no casualties and a family of three who were taken hostage at a nearby kampung were unharmed. The marauders managed to escape the police cordon shortly before midnight that same day. Continue reading “We must learn from the lessons of Lahad Datu”

Anwar Ibrahim
Malaysiakini
Mar 12, 2013

COMMENT

The present Umno-BN government of Najib Abdul Razak is living on borrowed time. It doesn’t want to admit it but its legitimacy is now totally in question because constitutionally, its full term has expired.

The people’s patience is tested to the limit here by the audacity of a government that goes on ruling without a mandate.

A number of bogus analysts and self-appointed doomsday prophets, especially those driven by very personal agendas, have warned that Malaysia will descend into political and economic chaos in the event of a Pakatan Rakyat victory.

On the other hand, the more genuine and independent observers have expressed greater optimism. For instance, the original ‘Dr Doom’, Prof Roubini, says that our economy will stay robust even with a change in government.

We know that a mandate for change is not limited to the political sphere though it is true that without that mandate, economic management itself will be off to a false start.

When Indonesia made that break from military autocracy to constitutional democracy, much of the focus of the free world was on how its economy would weather the transition.

And in their case, transition would stretch for years and indeed the fruits of that initial process of political upheaval are for all to see.

In the case of the Arab Spring, the major worry remains the lack of clearly defined policies that would set the road map to economic recovery and growth.

They are still finding their way and it won’t be an easy way but that is no excuse for rejecting freedom and democracy.

Certainly, political stability is a key factor, and I might just emphasise the most crucial factor in setting the direction and objectives of economic management. Continue reading “Don’t fear the consequences of change”