Month: September 2013

The Malaysian Insider
September 29, 2013

Najib addresses the 68th United Nations General Assembly in New York yesterday. – Reuters pic, September 29, 2013.Najib addresses the 68th United Nations General Assembly in New York yesterday. – Reuters pic, September 29, 2013.Here is one reason why Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak enjoys being outside the country so much: it is only in the rarefied air of the United Nations assembly or in meeting rooms at the swanky Waldorf Astoria in New York that an audience still buys his talk about Malaysia being a model of moderate Islam.

Back home, here in Malaysia, with the right wing very much in ascendancy in Umno and with religious and racial intolerance at red flag levels, any mention of the word “moderation” is met with cynicism. Or worse yet, disdain.

It was revealed in Parliament that the Prime Minister spent a staggering RM44 million on travel abroad between March 2008 and May 2013.

It is a fact that has raised eyebrows even among Umno politicians. Some of them wonder why attending the UN assembly or opening the Khazanah Nasional office in San Francisco is so important, or why it was necessary to go to Thailand for his second break after the May 5 general election.

Actually, there is a simple explanation why he enjoys being outside the country so much. He needs a diversion from the daily mess that is Malaysia, a mess compounded by his willingness to allow shrill, fringe voices to dictate the tone of this country. And his inability to tackle the laundry list of issues from endemic corruption to the breakdown in law and order.

A laundry list that also includes: an increasingly right-wing Umno; an inept Cabinet; a combative opposition; fractured and irrelevant BN component parties; a widening budget deficit and the insatiable appetite of businessmen and cronies; and, not least, the hulking presence of Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad. Continue reading “Why Najib hightails it to New York and such…”

M. Bakri Musa
30th Sept 2013

In San Francisco recently, Prime Minister Najib confidently declared “to make corruption part of Malaysia’s past, not its future.” The man’s delusion never ceases to amaze me. The reality is of course far different; corruption defines the Najib Administration.

Nonetheless if Najib is serious, then he should heed Tengku Razaleigh’s call for Najib to declare his assets. Otherwise it would be, to put it bluntly in the vernacular, “Cakap kosong je ‘Jib!” (Empty talk only!)

Tengku Razaleigh’s suggestion, if implemented, would do far more good than all of Najib’s lofty declarations of “changing organizational as well as business cultures” or creating “a new governance and integrity minister” and “elevating the anti-corruption agency.” Malaysians have heard all those ad nauseum, not only from Najib but also his predecessors. Continue reading “Making Corruption History – Cakap Kosong Je ‘Jib!”

– Richard Loh
The Malaysian Insider
September 30, 2013

Which is more important and critical in a democratic nation, a general election or a political party election?

From what we observed in this nation, political party like Umno and its component Barisan Nasional parties have been postponing their party elections due to an impending general election hovering between last quarter of 2011 to 2013. This indicates that the general election is more important and critical that overrides any matters in a political party.

The overwhelming perception is that the laws of this nation can be manipulated, misrepresented and realigned to suit those in power. As they are only perceptions, we will not take them as face value and assume that no one is above the law and those in power are acting accordingly and abide by the law.

“RoS acted on the complaints of several disgruntled members who claimed the December election was not properly conducted after the party announced that a tabulation glitch had resulted in the wrong candidate being elected to the central executive committee.” reported by The Malaysian Insider

Accordingly, the Registrar of Societies (RoS) must have investigated the matter and came to the conclusion that DAP must hold a re-election. Their conclusion is not transparent without providing what exactly DAP has done wrong to insist that they hold a re-election but just base on complaints from a handful of members and an unverified anonymous handbook. Continue reading “EC must call for GE13 re-election”

By Syed Jaymal Zahiid
The Malay Mail Online
September 29, 2013

PETALING JAYA, Sept 29 — DAP delegates sent a clear message to the Registrar of Societies (RoS) by re-electing the same 20 people as the ones chosen in the ‘illegal’ party council polls held last year.

Compelled to re-hold elections by the regulatory body, the opposition party’s grassroots voted in the same central executive committee (CEC) lineup that made the cut in the party’s December polls, which the RoS later declared illegal.

Many more of the 2,000-plus delegates who qualified to vote also chose to cast their ballot for the sole Malay representative on the committee, Zairil Khir Johari, pushing his ranking from the bottom rung in December to 12th spot this time around.

The young politician garnered 1,132 votes or 329 more than the 803 votes in the December 15 party leadership election last year.

“I’d like to congratulate those elected and those who cast their votes because they endorsed the decision made by last year’s congress and they elected the same lineup,” party secretary-general Lim Guan Eng told a press conference after holding a brief meeting with the newly elected lineup here. Continue reading “DAP elections: Status quo for top leaders, more votes for Zairil”

by Nigel Aw and Koh Jun Lin
Malaysiakini
Sep 29, 2013

As DAP retained the exact 20-member central executive committee (CEC) line-up from the last election, it was apparent that delegates were determined to send a signal to the Registrar of Societies (ROS) that had created a host of problems for the party.

There was a sense of vindication among DAP delegates after the election results were announced this evening – that there was absolutely no manipulation of its CEC election held last December.

“Basically, it is a slap in the face of the ROS,” a delegate from Selangor told Malaysiakini.

The drama over the CEC election began in January after DAP admitted that there was a tabulation error resulting in Zairil Khir Johari being wrongfully excluded from the CEC. Continue reading “Post-polls, an air of vindication in DAP”

by P Ramakrishnan
28 September 2013

It is worrying and troubling that the BN government has chosen to return to the days of darkness and abuse.

This is what it means when the government tabled the Prevention of Crime Act 1959 (PCA) on Wednesday, 23 September 2013.

On the one hand, the BN government had repealed the Emergency Ordinance (EO) and Internal Security Act (ISA) with the Prime Minister guaranteeing over national television that there would be no more preventive detention.

On the other hand, this hypocritical government is now tabling laws that will bring back with a vengeance the same detention without trial along with the ouster of the court’s jurisdiction over this detention. Continue reading “PCA has all the characteristics of ISA!”

The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak yesterday delivered another “fantastic” speech abroad, stating his belief that many of the world’s current problems can be solved if society subscribed to the whole concept of moderation.

He said if the society and governments used moderation in their actions and policies, then the country would have a much more just, fair and inclusive society.

He said moderation was based on certain principles and sound values, like justice, sense of fairness, and choosing dialogue over confrontation, and negotiation over conflict.

One can easily imagine a national sigh at such a report with the overwhelming reaction from Malaysians the quite unanimous one that the country’s future will be fuller of promise if only Najib could practise in the nation the principles and values of moderation that he preaches at international forums.

If the Najib administration had stayed true to the principles and sound values of moderation in governing the country like justice, sense of fairness, and choosing dialogue over confrontation, and negotiation over conflict, Malaysia will not today be at the critical crossroads some five months after the 13th general elections, struggling to achieve a Malaysian Dream with all Malaysians regardless of race, religion or region as equal national stakeholders at a time of unprecedented racial and religious politicking and polarisation, with the well of public discourse continuously poisoned by language of hatred, intolerance and unethical resort to lies and falsehoods. Continue reading “Malaysia’s future will be fuller of promise if only Najib could practise in the country the principles and values of moderation that he preaches at international forums”

Dr Lim Teck Ghee
CPI
27th September 2013

In the last few weeks, with the chorus of chest-beating messages on the need for greater entrenchment of Malay rights and privileges growing stronger ahead of the coming Umno general assembly, there have emerged two Malay leaders who are willing to go against the chauvinistic tide to provide a different analysis of what is wrong with Umno and its political ideology and how to correct the Malay dilemma of poverty or stagnation for its masses amidst unprecedented wealth, power and privilege for its elite.

Datuk Zaid Ibrahim and Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah are no ordinary dissidents. They also cannot in any way be seen as traitors or disloyal to the Malay cause. They have been long-time staunch members of Umno with proven track records of dedicated public service and reputations of higher standards in integrity and honesty than most of their colleagues among our elite.

Their messages to the Malay heartland are sombre and brutal. They will certainly be seen as unwelcome and cruel. But in seeking to drive home the many uncomfortable truths that the contestants jostling for high positions pretend to not see or know about, they are doing the party and its followers much greater service than may be apparent.

Their views and the alternatives offered are important not only for Umno members and other Malays to appraise and debate; they are also important for all Malaysians to reflect upon as we search for the right road to ensure a fair and just future for all. Continue reading “Alternative messages to the Malay heartland: Will they be heard?”

The Economist
Sep 28th 2013 | KUALA LUMPUR

Politics in Malaysia – The ruling party returns to its old habits of race-based handouts

THE United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) is the dominant party in the coalition that has ruled Malaysia since independence in 1957. Only now, however, is it parading its democratic credentials, so far as its internal appointments go. Nominations have just closed for elections to a broad range of party posts, to be decided in the middle of October by 146,000-odd party delegates at local level. Previously, a mere 2,600 members, those who attended the party’s convention, had a say. UMNO’s boosters claim that these new elections will restore vim to an ageing organisation. They say it will make it the most genuinely democratic party in the country. Not bad for an outfit with a past reputation as a ruthless political machine.

Yet what might be therapeutic for UMNO could prove the reverse for Malaysia. For what has emerged during the electoral process is that the so-called “warlords” who run the party are determined to shift the country in a conservative, indeed reactionary, direction. They want to reassert the supremacy of ethnic Malays. Continue reading “Bumi, not booming”

by Melissa Chi
The Malay Mail Online
September 27, 2013

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 27 — DAP’s Lim Kit Siang filed a lawsuit today against Utusan Melayu over an article alleging he had manipulated the party’s central executive committee (CEC) election — the same day its newspaper Utusan Malaysia printed an apology to the party’s leaders over another article.

His lawyer, Gobind Singh Deo told reporters that the Umno mouthpiece was libelous in an article published on August 18 this year.

“The article in which Utusan used repeated information from the alleged book which quotes one Father Augustus Chen, which we say don’t exist.

“We challenge Utusan to come up with proof to show that Father Augustus Chen exist and to also prove that the allegations that he had made in respect to the 753 delegates did not get notice, proof that, and also the allegation in respect to the fact that there was 500 or more phantom voters from Penang,” he said after the High Court dismissed the bid for injunction against DAP polls.

The 16-page booklet surfaced in Penang sometime last month, claiming irregularities and vote manipulation allegedly to place cronies of both Kit Siang and his son, DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng, on the powerful CEC, among other allegations. Continue reading “Kit Siang sues Utusan over claims of CEC manipulation”

by Jennifer Gomez
The Malaysian Insider
September 27, 2013

Malaysia has been ranked as one of the most corrupt nations and listed as a country which is most likely to take shortcuts to meet targets when economic times are tough, according to a recent survey by Ernst & Young, signalling that the government’s Performance Management and Delivery Unit (Pemandu) has failed in its role to transform the economy.

Malaysia, along with China, has the highest levels of bribery and corruption anywhere in the world, according to the latest report, Asia-Pacific Fraud Survey Report Series 2013.

This year’s survey polled 681 executives in China, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia and South Korea.

About half of the 681 executives polled on their perception of fraud felt that China, Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam were the worst in bribery and corruption. Continue reading “Malaysia one of the most corrupt nations, survey shows”

– Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah
The Malaysian Insider
September 26, 2013

It is my singular honour to have been invited to such an august gathering as this. I am privileged to have this opportunity to talk about the birth of Malaysia. Allow me, therefore, to record my gratitude and appreciation to our host, the Malaysian Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, for the invitation in the first instance.

The timing is apt, coming as it does eight days after the 50th anniversary of her founding. It is also relevant given that Malaysia is facing unprecedented political and economic challenges. These challenges are formidable and, if left unsolved, could cause damage to the economy and political integrity of Malaysia.

The legitimacy of the formation of Malaysia is based on the fact that at the time of her formation, Malaya was the only country that was independent and had a democratic constitution, with institutions supporting such a constitution, within this region.

Her economic foundation justifiably gave Malayans, at that time, a vision that we would one day be the shining example in South East Asia. It was with this perspective that Malaya, under the leadership of Tunku Abdul Rahman, took the initiative in helping to maintain stability in the region. This was at a time when British colonialism was forced by international opinion and in particular by Asia, to retreat as the colonial power without leaving a vacuum. Continue reading “Malaysia and the non-fulfilment of two agreements with Sabah and Sarawak”

Pertayaan Dewan Rakyat:-

SOALAN :
Tuan Lim Kit Siang [Gelang Patah] minta PERDANA MENTERI
menyatakan sama ada Kerajaan akan menyokong pemberian kuasa penuh pendakwaan kepada SPRM dalam kes rasuah serta memberikan kuasa kepada SPRM menuntut kakitangan awam termasuklah Menteri, Ketua Menteri dan Menteri-Menteri Besar mengisytiharkan harta mereka sementara menunggu siasatan.

JAWAPAN : YB HAJAH NANCY SHUKRI
MENTERI DI JABATAN PERDANA MENTERI

Tuan Yang di-Pertua,

1. Kerajaan tidak bercadang untuk memberikan kuasa penuh pendakwaan kepada Suruhanjaya Pencegahan Rasuah Malaysia (SPRM) untuk memulakan pendakwaan bagi kes rasuah tanpa perlu merujuk Peguam Negara kerana dalam penyiasatan dan pendakwaan sesuatu kes, perlu ada ‘check and balance’.
Continue reading “Adakah Kerajaan menyokong pemberian kuasa penuh pendakwaan kepada SPRM, serta kuasa menuntut pengistiharan harta dari mereka yang sedang disiasat ?”

by Diyana Ibrahim
The Malaysian Insider
September 25, 2013

Education Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin (pic) stood by Putrajaya’s decision to pay RM20 million to consulting firm McKinsey and Co for the National Education Blueprint.

He said the sum was reasonable as it was a two-year-project involving large scale processes and input from international experts.

“I believe it was a reasonable sum as we needed assistance from experts. It was not something we could have done on our own,” said Muhyiddin who is also the Deputy Prime Minister. Continue reading “RM20 million for education blueprint is reasonable, says Muhyiddin”

Koon Yew Yin
25th Sept 2013

Almost two years after my meeting with Chin Peng in Bangkok on 2 October, I learnt – as did other Malaysians – of his death on 16th September 2013. His passing on is not unexpected as he had been ill for some years. What is unexpected is the Government’s refusal to allow his ashes to be returned to Malaysia, his home country for which he fought for liberty and freedom, initially against the Japanese and then against the British.

Chin Peng was a freedom fighter in every sense of the word. His record of defiance and opposition to Japanese and British colonial rule in Malaya is unprecedented. It is comparable or even exceeds that of anti-colonial leaders such as Ho Chi Minh, Mohammad Hatta, and Jawaharwal Nehru who were his contemporaries in Asia’s struggle to free itself from the yoke of western powers and Japan in the mid twentieth century. Other leaders that come to mind during that crucial period of nationalist ferment after the Second World War are Nkrumah, Nasser and Lumumba.

In all those countries whether in Asia, Africa or Latin America where the anti-colonial and nationalist freedom fighters fought, they have been accorded due recognition and honour.

But not in Malaysia where UMNO-putraism has sought to stamp its racial and religious politics on every aspect of life in the country –dead and living; past, present and the future. Continue reading “UMNO’s Blunder with Chin Peng’s Place in Malaysian History”

Ong
Sep 24, 2013

I do not understand the obsession with race and race-based policies in Malaysia. It has already been scientifically proven that everyone alive today on earth share the same ancestors who left Africa around 60,000-80,000 years ago. For the scientific proof, see National Geographic’s The Genographic Project

The scientific fact is, all humans alive today share a common African ancestor. Yes, this means we Malaysians are all genetically-related cousins. Humans may have developed a diverse range of cultures, civilizations, and languages over the centuries but it doesn’t change the fact that there is only 1HUMANRACE.

Think about it: When we humans get cut, we all bleed red. Doctors will tell you that when you compare the internal organs of two people from two so-called ‘different races’, you really can’t tell which internal organ came from which ‘race’–they function and look the same. Cosmetic differences like skin colour are nothing more than natural adaptations to climate and other environmental factors–just google ‘melanin’ to learn more about skin colour.

The truth is, ‘race’ is nothing more than a false mental construct that the political class use to coerce, terrorize, and oppress the masses, so that they can remain in control. But you already knew that.

This brings me to my next point: May 13, 1969. Continue reading “Happy One Tree Day!”

– Sakmongkol AK47
The Malaysian Insider
September 24, 2013

Najib has launched the Bumiputera economic empowerment Plan. BEEP. It has come to this now. Twittering, face booking, blogging, whats-apping and now beep-ing the country. Najib will be beep-ing the Malays so that they can take their rightful place in our country. After NEPing the country, Malay equity stands around 23%? Does ownership of this 23% mean anything to the ordinary Malays who have the face the daily grind of life?

Many of us know exactly what the BEEP means. It means a license to pillage and plunder in the name of king, religion and country. The Malay elite salivate at the prospects of carving out wealth earning resources.

23% is owned by GLCs, the Malay elite, the privileged and the Malay monied class. This BEEP is going to turn into another excuse to justify the rape and plunder. After raping the girl repeatedly, the rapist presents her with a bunch of flowers. This is exactly what the BEEP announced by Najib represents, the presentation of a bunch of flowers after the raping the Malay lady over and over again.

If you can’t dazzle people with your brilliance, confound them with your bullshit.

There are almost 10 million Malays living with a monthly income of RM1500. Why these people aren’t directly aided? Why do we arrogate ourselves the authority and omniscience to even claim we know what is best for the Malays? The ordinary Malay knows he wants to get out of poverty and destitution if only he has the means to. So why don’t we give them the means to? The problems of the present lot of 10 million people must be tackled immediately. Continue reading “Beep beep here comes the roadrunner!”

by Diyana Ibrahim
The Malaysian Insider
September 24, 2013

DAP has criticised the Registrar of Societies (RoS) for accusing the party of not conducting its central executive committee re-election according to party constitution.

DAP’s legal head Gobind Singh Deo said RoS director-general Datuk Abdul Rahman Othman Abdul Rahman had repeatedly accused the party of wrongdoings before hearing explanations given by party leaders.

“Abdul Rahman should know. If there are complaints, he needs to inform us and ask for an explanation before making a decision,” DAP’s legal head Gobind Singh Deo said in a statement today.

“This raises questions because I would like to know if he follows this procedure. If not, why? And what is his power to make decisions in such a manner?” he added. Continue reading “Registrar of Societies disregarding the law, says DAP”

Mariam Mokhtar
Malaysiakini
Sep 23, 2013

The Malaysian government intended to deliver a humiliating blow and final insult to Chin Peng, the late former secretary-general of the Communist Party of Malaya (CPM), by denying his dying wish.

Despite the sabre rattling by premier Najib Abdul Razak and extremist groups like Perkasa, it is Chin Peng who has won the psychological battle and more importantly, is having the last laugh from beyond the grave, leaving Najib with egg on his face.

Najib may wish to diminish Chin Peng’s role in our history, perhaps even airbrush him out of the struggle for Independence, but the irony is that his death on Sept 16, will mean that the Malaysia Day celebrations, will now also commemorate Chin Peng’s memory. Continue reading “Chin Peng has the last laugh”

Hafiz Noor Shams
The Malay Mail Online
September 23, 2013

SEPT 23 — A good dozen issues is holding Malaysia back. Several big ones are legacies originating from days long gone.

While we can never truly escape history, I feel it is dragging us down too much. So heavy is the baggage that sometimes, I feel the best way to move forward is to forget.

I write this because Chin Peng died on Malaysia Day. He fought for a very different version of Malaysia, possibly the very opposite of what we have today.

That makes the date of his death quite ironic, although it is arguable that his struggle hastened the independence of Malaya and later the formation of Malaysia.

We can never truly know how it would have been if he had his way. But, if offered the choice between a Communist state and today’s Malaysia, I will choose today’s reality—even with its lamentable imperfections—without hesitation. Continue reading “Thank you, now move on”