Month: June 2013

by Chee-khoon Chan
23rd June 2013

In 2002, Narayan Sastry, currently a professor of demography at the University of Michigan published a paper entitled “Forest Fires, Air Pollution, and Mortality in Southeast Asia” in the February 2002 issue of the journal Demography.

The smog of 1997 coincided with an El Niño year which intensified the seasonal mid-year drought. The land clearing and forest fires in that year burned an estimated 2-3% of Indonesian land area, mostly in Sumatra and Kalimantan but also affecting sizeable tracts in Irian Jaya, Sulawesi, Java, Sumbawa, Komodo, Flores, Sumba, Timor, Wetar as well as areas in Sarawak and Brunei.

Sastry obtained daily mortality statistics from the Department of Statistics in Malaysia and correlated these with the daily Air Pollution Index (API) readings from the Malaysian Meteorological Department, in order to analyze the acute mortality in Kuching and Kuala Lumpur following upon days of high air pollution (defined as days when PM10 > 210 ug/m3). (The API is largely based on PM10, the concentration of suspended particulates of size 10 microns and below). Continue reading “Haze (Smog) Causes Not Just Discomfort, It Kills”

– Daniel Murdiyarso and Luca Tacconi
The Malaysian Insider
June 23, 2013

We write with a strong sense of déjà vu. Over 10 years ago, one of us published a letter in The Jakarta Post titled Fires: stop blaming others, just start acting! The cause of the haze that is affecting Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore has not changed since then; it is clear: Plantation companies deliberately light fires in degraded peatland areas on the island of Sumatra, Indonesia.

They use fire because it is the cheapest way to clear land. But, in particularly dry years, the peat below ground also catches fire and it continues to smolder for months, generating thick and noxious haze. It can quickly cause headaches, nausea and respiratory problems, particularly in children and the elderly.

In that letter, we identified that fire was being used not only as a tool to clear land cheaply but also as a weapon to claim property ownership when Indonesia’s governance system was more centralized than it is today.

The recurrence of fire and trans-boundary haze was then, and remains today, not only a problem but also a symptom of complex governance issues. Continue reading “A hazy climate: Will anyone do the right thing?”

The two-day remand of PAS Vice President Husam Musa by the police on grounds of investigations under Section 4 of the Sedition Act 1948 must be condemned by all right-thinking Malaysians as its constitutes a gross abuse of power and proof that nothing has changed as far as “transformation” to restore the independence, impartiality and professionalism of national institutions is concerned.

Malaysians are asking why the police have not even questioned, let alone remanded, former Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad who had been guilty of making a series of seditious statements before, during and after the 13th General Elections, utterly reckless of the damage he was doing to inter-racial harmony with his racist lies and falsehoods.

Similarly, Malaysians also want to know why the former Court of Appeal judge, Mohd Noor Abdullah had not been questioned, let alone remanded in a police lock-up, for making the most racist and seditious speech in the country in the past four decades when he warned that the Chinese Malaysians must be prepared for a backlash from the Malay community for their “betrayal” in the recently concluded 13th general election.

With Husam’s two-day remand, Malaysians are being told that the days of selective prosecution, discriminatory treatment and abuses of power by those in authority continues to be the order of the day. Continue reading “Husam’s two-day remand must be condemned by all right-thinking Malaysians as it constitutes a gross abuse of power”

Having declared emergency status for Muar and Ledang because the Air Pollutant Index (API) readings there have reached the dangerous level of 746 at 7 am today, and probably also for Bukit Rambai and Malacca town with API 428 and 415 respectively at 11 am, the time has come for the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak to fly to Jakarta for an emergency meeting with President Yudhoyono on the haze catastrophe choking millions of people in the three ASEAN countries of Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia.

Top of his agenda with the Indonesian President must be the Indonesian ratification of the Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution 2002 which provides for a ASEAN Regional Haze Action Plan with provisions on monitoring, assessment, prevention, scientific research and technical co-operation as well as lines of communication and simplified customs and immigration procedures for disaster relief.

Although the ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution have been ratified by nine ASEAN member states, Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia has not ratified it. Continue reading “With state of emergency declared for Muar and Ledang, and probably for Bukit Rambai and Malacca town with API 428 and 415 respectively at 11 am, time has come for Najib to fly to Jakarta for emergency meeting with Yudhoyono on haze”

I am both impressed and dejected – impressed by the professionalism of the Singapore National Environment Agency (NEA) in recording and posting on its website the hourly Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) to provide accurate and timely information about air pollution levels in the island republic; dejected by the contrasting failure and lack of professionalism of the Malaysian Department of Environment (DOE) to provide prompt readings on its website of the Air Pollutant Index (API) from its 52 Air Pollutant Index Management System (APIMS) locations in the country, although the API readings are only provided thrice a day at 7am, 11 am and 5 pm.

I was checking the 11 am API readings on the DOE website,
http://doe.gov.my/apims/, but the results only appeared after more than two hours, i.e. after 1 pm.

In contrast, when I checked the PSI readings of the Singapore NEA, its 1 pm reading promptly appeared at 1 pm sharp. Continue reading “Environment Minister Palanivel sleeping on his job when Malaysians particularly in Johore are suffering from haze hazards”

Koon Yew Yin
22nd June 2013

Zaid Ibrahim’s latest effort at redefining the Malay agenda is an interesting exercise coming as it is just ahead of the UMNO general assembly meeting. Although directed at UMNO leaders and members, I am sure that he intends to provide food for thought for everyone.

Like him, I hope it also opens the door to an honest, open and transparent appraisal of not just the party’s role in leading the Malays but also of where the Malays would like to go from their present situation and what needs to be done to help the Malays succeed in their aspirations.

Let me summarize what Zaid has written. Continue reading “Redefining the Malay Agenda: Another View”

The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak should make a special visit to Jakarta to meet with the Indonesian President, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to highlight the gravity of the current haze emergency to millions of people in three ASEAN countries, in particular to the three states of Johore, Malacca and Negri Sembilan in Malaysia, and the need for urgent common Asean action to bring the perennial transboundary emergency under control.

The Singapore Environment Minister Vivian Balakrishnan flew to Jakarta yesterday and met with his Indonesian counterpart Environment Minister Balthasar Kambuaya on the haze emergency, with a letter from the Singapore Prime Minister to the Indonesian President.

In contrast, the Malaysian Environment Minister Datuk Seri G. Palanivel is only going to Indonesia to meet with Indonesian government officials next Wednesday, more than a week after the outbreak of the latest haze emergency which have been posed serious health and environment threats to the people in Johore, Malacca and Negri Sembilan, resulting in the closure of some 700 schools.

Why is the Malaysian Environment Minister so slow and tardy in rising up to the challenges of the latest haze emergency afflicting Malaysians? Continue reading “Najib should make special visit to Jakarta to meet with Indonesian President Yudhoyono to highlight gravity of current haze emergency to millions in three ASEAN countries, and in particular the three states of Johore, Malacca and Negri Sembilan”

– Zaid Ibrahim
The Malaysian Insider
Jun 19, 2013

Some of my friends have been somewhat critical of my tweets and blog posts lately, simply because I have been commenting on UMNO and even praising Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad. The less sophisticated have interpreted this as my way of trying to get back into the UMNO fold. But the truth is it’s UMNO season and whatever happens in the party will affect all of us, whether we like it or not. Given that, I write with the hope that some of what I say can, in some small way, influence the delegates and the party chiefs.

Uppermost in the UMNO vocabulary is the expression of the Malay Agenda, a potpourri of rights and entitlements that the party claims is fundamental for the Malays. This will be the main thrust of the party leaders’ speeches during the upcoming UMNO General Assembly. With the results of GE13 and the Chinese and Indian communities’ rejection of UMNO/the Barisan Nasional, it’s natural to expect that everyone will have a wild time bashing the Chinese. Some nutty ones will ask for the Treason Act to be enacted—they will want the Chinese to be sent back to China and Islam and the Malay Rulers to be strengthened. These are the kind of steps the unthinking Malays in UMNO will be clamouring for, but all that will lead to is yet another show of misplaced anger and another round of wasted time.

It would be far more constructive if they were to instead talk sensibly about why the Malay/Bumiputera community has been steadily leaving UMNO. It’s no use ridiculing them for being “ungrateful”; instead, focus on the plight of young voters and how to overcome their concerns. To get these young voters back, party leaders have to offer more than just slogans and speeches laden with racial overtones. They need to address corruption, abuse of power, the wastage of resources and mindless bureaucracy. If Malay leaders could be honest enough to admit it, they would recognise that giving more power to the Malay Rulers and “strengthening Islam” (whatever that means) will not solve these problems. Continue reading “Redefining the Malay Agenda”

P Ramakrishnan
Aliran
21 June 2013

The Federal Court was wrong in its judgment in 2008 about the conversion of minors, says P Ramakrishnan.

A lot has been said that Islam is a just religion, a religion of peace and compassion. All this is true. In keeping with the virtues and values of Islam, Islamic adherents are under a solemn obligation to give meaning to this by what they do and practise.

In other words, the Islamic faithful cannot be indifferent to the fate of someone who is of a different religion. They cannot deny the rights of these people nor can they be dismissive of the suffering when one Islamic faithful leaves his former family in the lurch after converting.

As a human being, he is expected to provide for his wife and children notwithstanding his embrace of Islam. If he fails to discharge this responsibility that is expected of him, should Islam embrace him? Should a man who betrays the trust of a family and abdicates his responsibility be welcome into Islam? Should such people be allowed to bring disrepute to the religion?

Unfortunately this is what is too often happening today. Secretly, the man converts, and all hell breaks loose for the family. He is not bothered. He compounds the misery of his wife by unilaterally converting his children to Islam. He shatters the life of a mother; and claims refuge in Islam. There is a moral question here.

One would expect religious authorities to guide him in the path of righteousness before he is allowed to convert. He should be advised to exemplify Islamic virtues by displaying compassion and discharging his responsibility to his family before he can find a place in Islam.

The religious authorities contribute to the family break-up when they convert his children without the knowledge or consent of their mother. By so doing, they add to the suffering of the helpless mother. Is this fair? Continue reading “Conversion of minors: No justification”

Malaysia should convene an emergency meeting of the Environment Ministers of Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia for urgent common ASEAN action to deal with the haze emergency choking the three nations.

The haze condition in Johore state in general and in Johor Baru in particular continues to be in hazardous condition with the air pollutant index (API) readings in Kota Tinggi and Pasir Gudang reaching 314 and 323 at 11 am respectively.

Malaysians can still remember they were told that the government would declare a state of emergency once the API reached 301, but there seems to be a singular lack of seriousness whether by the National Disaster Relief Management Committee or the Ministry of Environment with the current haze emergency although hundreds of schools in Johore have been closed in the past few days because of the haze emergency.

Who should be the Malaysian “czar” in the war against haze in the current environmental disaster – the new Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department in charge of the National Disaster Relief Management Committee or the Environment Minister? Is it Datuk Shahidan Kassim or Datuk Seri G. Palanivel? Continue reading “Malaysia should convene emergency meeting of Environment Ministers of Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia for urgent common ASEAN action to deal with haze emergency choking three nations”

– Lionel Morais
Managing Editor
The Malaysian Insider
Jun 21, 2013

Federal Internal Security and Public Order director Datuk Saleh Mat Rasid hit a raw nerve yesterday when he said that the army will help the police, if necessary, at the Black 505 rally tomorrow.

He was roundly criticised and rightly so.

Use the army against unarmed Malaysians at a rally? Unbelievable!

These are just people fighting for what they believe is right. They are not the Sulu terrorists and this is not Ops Daulat II.

So what exactly is it that anybody thinks the police cannot handle?

There have been about a dozen protest rallies since the May 5 polls and not one turned violent or chaotic. Continue reading “Bring the army to a rally? Let’s dial it down, shall we?”

– Khoo Ying Hooi
The Malaysian Insider
June 20, 2013

Saturday 22 June marks the 15th Black 505 rallies since the May 2013 polls. One of the key aims of the protest is to press for the resignation of Election Commission members following the alleged irregularities and rampant electoral fraud during the 13th General Election. Just recently, the Co-Chair of Bersih, Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan has also conceded that perhaps taking to the streets could be the only way left in order to fight for electoral reform in this country should its extensive campaigns through legal channels to clean up the electoral system fails.

Bersih as the pioneer in electoral reform has so far held three massive protests in the past since 2007. Although the protests had drawn international attention and condemnation to the current administration, but the actual reforms have yet to be seen. For example, the Parliamentary Select Committee on Electoral Reform (PSC) that was established in 2011 was seen as a good move, however there is no follow-up mechanism for the lengthy 22 recommendations. Continue reading “Protests and Political Change”

— The Malaysian Insider
Jun 20, 2013

Former tourism minister Ng Yen Yen is expected to take up her position as the chairman of the Malaysian Tourism Promotion Board (MTPB) despite her party, the Malaysian Chinese Association’s (MCA) avowed stand not to take government posts due to their poor election results.

The Sun Daily reported today that the MCA politician appointed herself to the position just after the dissolution of Parliament and while she was still the tourism minister.

Her appointment is likely to become a bone of contention and the source of ridicule. Already, opposition politicians have been actively tweeting about Ng’s new position.

Ng did not defend her seat in Raub which as expected, fell to the DAP. Her tenure as the tourism minister was pockmarked with controversies over payment of RM1.6 million to set up a few Facebook pages.

Also enjoying a new lease of life after the elections is Datuk Jamaluddin Jarjis, much criticised head of Barisan Nasional war room. Continue reading “Former ministers do not fade away — they get appointed to plum positions”

The Election Commission Chairman Tan Sri Abdul Aziz bin Mohd Yusof, Deputy Chairman Datuk Wan Ahmad bin Wan Omar and the five other Commissioners should all resign as they have forfeited public confidence in their failure to conduct a free, fair and clean 13th general elections, which is the most important constitutional criteria for their appointment and continued service.

Article 114 of the Constitution provides that the Election Commission shall be appointed by the Yang di Pertuan Agong after consultation with the Conference of Rulers and that in appointing members of the Election Commission, the Yang di Pertuan Agong shall have regard to the importance of securing an Election Commission which enjoys public confidence.

After the 13GE, electoral management became a major controversy because of the failure of the Election Commission to carry out its constitutional mandate under Article 113 to “conduct elections” in the 13GE, which I have consistently argued in Parliament since the 70s that this constitutional duty implicitly connotes the conduct of “clean, free and fair elections”.

This is where the Election Commission has failed, whether in the very delible “indelible ink”; an electoral roll which is disreputable, unclean and not comprehensive; an election campaign marred by the worst electoral offences and corrupt practices in nation’s history in particular the blatant, flagrant and unconscionable last week of the general election campaign in Penang when Penangites did not have to cook with the week-long feast of free food, free drinks, free entertaintment and free lucky draws of very expensive gifts just to topple the Pakatan Rakyat state government; the one-sided printed media slant against Pakatan Rakyat and the shameless abuse of government 3Ms, media, machinery and money! Continue reading “Election Commission Chairman, Deputy Chairman and five other Commissioner should all resign as they have forfeited public confidence which is the most important constitutional criteria of their appointment”

The Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Shahidan Kassim thought he was doing the Chinese in Malaysia a great favour and service when he gratuitously advised them to break away from the “extreme racism” indoctrinated by the DAP, so that “Malaysia would one day have a Prime Minister of Chinese ethnicity”.

Shahidan could not be more wrong, as he committed two fatal errors, firstly in falsely alleging that DAP had “inculcated” the Chinese in Malaysia with “extreme racism” and secondly, the issue whether a Chinese could become a Prime Minister in Malaysia was never on the political radar of any Malaysian Chinese.

For the edification of Shahidan Kassim, the issue has never been whether a Chinese can be Prime Minister but whether the country has a Prime Minister for all Malaysians, regardless of race, religion, region or socio-economic status.

Furthermore, DAP had never indoctrinated or inculcated the Chinese in Malaysia with any “extreme racism” as right from our formation 46 years ago in 1966, our message to all Malaysians is to forge a Malaysian identity and consciousness, transcending racial, ethnic, cultural and regional differences – and this is why in the 46-year history of DAP, we have never called for any Chinese unity, Malay unity, Indian unity, Kadazan unity or Dayak unity, but the unity of all Malaysians regardless of race, religion or region in pursuit of a common Malaysian Dream, never a Chinese Dream, Malay Dream, Indian Dream, Kadazan Dream or Dayak Dream. Continue reading “The issue has never been whether a Chinese can be PM but whether the country has a PM for all Malaysians, regardless of race, religion, region or socio-economic status”

Mariam Mokhtar
Malaysiakini
Jun 17, 2013

A schoolchild knows that when conducting scientific experiments, a definite conclusion cannot be made if the analyses and observations are based on flawed data. In a post-mortem of GE13, it is a fallacy for experts or analysts to report on trends, when their assumptions are based on a set of doctored evidence.

Anyone who is foolish enough to believe that BN won 47 percent of the votes in GE13 is seriously deluded. If allegations of cheating have been recorded in one constituency, then doubt is cast on the entire voting process.

The rakyat has long been aware of wholesale fraud and blatant gerrymandering in previous elections, but they allowed Umno Baru’s intransigence to browbeat them into submission. Under pressure, Malaysians capitulated easily to Umno Baru’s weapons of apathy and fear.

Successive years of apparent electoral successes, won by blatant fraud and cheating, have given rise to the perception that Umno Baru is invincible. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Umno Baru cheats the rakyat before, during and after every election. The groundwork is laid to thwart the opposition with gerrymandering, the registration of foreigners as citizens, violent mob attacks on ceramahs and the denial of access to national media.

On polling day, vote-buying, intimidation, blackouts and low-quality indelible ink clinch the deal. Some voters discovered that their votes had already been cast, by an imposter.

After GE13, the Election Commission (EC) has continued to deny the allegations of cheating and refused to take responsibility for the mass electoral fraud. Continue reading “Umno Baru is not invincible”

– Dr Ahmad Farouk Musa
The Malaysian Insider
Jun 17, 2013

The Islamic Renaissance Front observes the protests in Turkey very closely. We believe there is much at stake in how AKP (The Justice and Development Party) will engage with the demonstrators at this point, especially with regards to the relationship between Islam and Democracy.

It is well known that the AKP, under the leadership of Reccep Tayyip Erdogan, rose to power with ideas for a modern and inclusive balance between politics and Islam. Despite its official ideology as a conservative party, it has nonetheless assured the Turkish people and the international community that it will abide by principles of transparency and openness in governing.

But we can discern some regressive trends after three terms. For one, Erdogan’s refusal to engage with the demonstrators, while blaming social media for stoking unrest, shows how far he has clearly strayed from his democratic ostentations. Continue reading “Lessons from Turkey: An Open Letter to Muslim Democrats in Malaysia”

The Najib government seems to be making a plausible case when its new media spokesman, the Youth and Sports Minister, Khairy Jamaluddin Abu Bakar, says that when it comes to custodial deaths and abuses of power, what is important is “stern action” and not which agency – whether IPCMC or EAIC.

He said the rakyat want “stern action”, whether from an Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC) or whatever agency.

He stressed that a strengthened Enforcement Agencies Integrity Commission (EAIC), if it could conduct speedy and thorough investigations into custodial deaths and abuse of power, would do just as well.

Khairy’s glib and slick defence of the government’s preference for EAIC instead of IPCMC would be plausible if the scourge of police custody deaths is a new one and not a problem of over a decade, or the government is a new one and not one where the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak has entered into his fifth year of premiership!

Or is Khairy admitting that for the past four years, despite the Prime Minister’s boasts of a very successful Government Transformation Programme (GTP), Najib and his Home Minister for the period, Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein, had failed miserably in addressing and resolving the issue of police custodial deaths?

Neither Khairy or any government spokesman can deny or ignore the fact that the IPCMC was proposed specifically by Dzaiddin Police Royal Commission of Inquiry in 2005 to end the outrage of high police custodial deaths while the EAIC was established specifically to neuter the IPCMC proposal and to avoid meaningful police transparency and accountability.
Continue reading “Whether IPCMC or EAIC matters as IPCMC was proposed to deal specifically to end police custodial deaths while EAIC was established to neuter the IPCMC proposal and to avoid police accountability”

By Nurul Izzah Anwar | June 18, 2013
The Malaysian Insider

JUNE 18 — Thousands of Malaysians voted abroad during the 13th general election. Many more returned from Singapore, Australia, Hong Kong, London and Taiwan, traditionally places with large numbers of Malaysians, to exercise their right to suffrage on May 5th.

This is a peculiar phenomenon.

Why do Malaysians who have found greener pastures abroad feel compelled to return to the country to cast their ballot? This certainly goes against the thesis of Albert O. Hirshman — who argued in a famous treatise in 1970 that when people have the chance to leave, they will, especially if they have found the entity to be increasingly dysfunctional and inefficient.

Malaysia, or rather its government, over the last few decades, has certainly manifested such features.

Concurrently, those who decided to ‘stay back’ would attempt to improve the country by voicing out. Be that as it may, those who have left the country are not expected to express their voices anymore let alone to vote. Yet, vote they did.
Continue reading “The Opposition’s new mandate”

– Ahmad Mustapha Hassan
The Malaysian Insider
Jun 17, 2013

At one time Malaysia enjoyed a free press. The printed media then competed to let readers know the truth of what was happening in the country.

None was directly or indirectly aligned to any political interests or groups. The reports were not biased or tilted to favour any one group. It was a real pleasure and joy to read the newspapers then. The news was never manipulated to please anyone.

The owners of the papers did not interfere in the editorial policies of their papers as the editors running the editorial departments were all professionals in their approach towards news writing. They reported what happened without fear or favour.

The venerable Straits Times of course, during the colonial era was very much pro-British but it was done in a very subtle manner. Readers would know that certain stories were written as being pro-British but not done in such a crude manner as to create animosity towards any quarter.

The editors were well experienced and even though the writings were slanted towards protecting British interests, they still maintained some decorum in the style and manner of writing.

And as for the vernacular papers, Utusan Melayu was one of the oldest that came into being. It was established in the late 1930’s by highly motivated personalities who wanted to nurture nationalist feelings among the Malays. And it was established in Singapore, a British colonial settlement or the Straits Settlement as these Malayan British colonies were known. Continue reading “Utusan merrily digging Umno’s grave!”