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Subsidies for the poor or Umno-putras, part 1

— Koon Yew Yin
The Malay Mail Online
June 29, 2014

JUNE 29 — Every now and then we will get statements from government on how much it is spending on subsidies for the poor.

This message is especially loud and clear during vote canvassing in elections or by-elections; or when there is an intended rise in the price of goods and commodities.

A few days ago, the Najib administration announced that it will increase electricity prices by an average 7.12 per cent from 1 June so as to trim the subsidy.

Natural gas prices will also rise by RM3 per mmBtu every six months until it reaches market levels.

So far there has been little public reaction to this price increase partly because it has not been factored yet into the monthly bills of the public.

But be warned that this increase in electricity bills will affect all households — poor, middle class and rich. Even the poorest households spending less than RM20 will be affected as the free service to them will be discontinued at the end of the year. It looks like the children of poor households will have to read by candle light in the night. Continue reading “Subsidies for the poor or Umno-putras, part 1”

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Malays must stand up to the extremists

by Ahmad Hafidz Baharom
Malaysiakini
24 June 2014

First and foremost, I am a third generation constitutional Malaysian Malay Muslim, as far as I can tell from my secondary school history project I did in 1996. That being said, there are those who may have a history of their ancestors and families living in this nation longer than I have.

I am partially Chinese, Indian, Indonesian Malay and Malaysian Malay, which we can all say are the four biggest populations in Malaysia currently. All I can say about this is that my parents must have taken Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s racial genetic co-mingling which he suggested in The Malay Dilemma seriously.

As much as I am a Malay, I am not a supporter of Umno, nor am I a supporter of PAS or any political party.

Instead, I align myself to individuals, among them PAS’ Khalid Abdul Samad and Mujahid Rawa (regardless of his anti-smoking crusade), DAP’s Charles Santiago and Tony Pua, PKR’s Nurul Izzah Anwar, Elizabeth Wong, Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad and Rafizi Ramli, and Umno’s Saifudin Abdullah, Ahmad Husni Hanadziah and Nur Jazlan Mohamed.

As a graduate of UiTM, I am thankful for what Umno has done in the past, but that doesn’t exclude them from criticism. Nor does it exclude UiTM from criticism.

As such, I don’t find an insult to Umno as an insult to myself as a Malay, nor do I see urging UiTM to be opened up to non-bumiputeras as an insult to myself. Continue reading “Malays must stand up to the extremists”

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At their first Cabinet meeting, will the three MCA/Gerakan new Ministers insist on Jamil Khir retracting two parliamentary statements for flouting BN consensus and established policies or choose to keep quiet to keep their Ministerial posts?

The Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikkhism and Taoism (MCCBCHST) has issued a most timely statement to point out that there are no historical document to contradict the fact that Malaysia was intended to be a secular state all the way back to Merdeka in 1957 and the formation of Malaysia in 1963.

Contradicting the recent parliamentary statement of the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Seri Jamil Khir Baharom that Malaysia was not a secular state, MCCBCHST president Jagir Singh said historical evidence and provisions in the Constitution dispel any doubts that the nation’s founding fathers had intended the nation to be a secular, not an Islamic state.

He cited historical documents such as the Alliance Memorandum submitted to the Reid Commission in 1956, and the white paper issued by the British government in June 1957, to contradict Jamil Khir’s claim that Malaysia was not intended to be a secular state.

For instance, the Alliance Memorandum jointly submitted by Umno, MCA and MIC to the Reid Commission specifically stated that they wanted a secular state, although the religion of the state was to be Islam. Continue reading “At their first Cabinet meeting, will the three MCA/Gerakan new Ministers insist on Jamil Khir retracting two parliamentary statements for flouting BN consensus and established policies or choose to keep quiet to keep their Ministerial posts?”