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So, what was the ‘red shirt’ rally really all about

BY SHERIDAN MAHAVERA
The Malaysian Insider
17 September 2015

Despite the belligerent rhetoric, yesterday’s “red shirt” rally in Kuala Lumpur was more about supporting embattled Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak rather than protecting Umno, much less about defending the rights and dignity of Malays.

A few things which happened prior to the rally indicated this. The night before the rally, Umno’s deputy president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin urged Malays not to attend the rally.

At the same time influential Umno strongman Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamed disparaged it. A report by The Malaysian Insider also quoted several Umno grassroots leaders who said they were against it.

Both Muhyiddin and Dr Mahathir are Umno leaders who have clashed with Najib and are figureheads for party members disenchanted with the Umno president. Continue reading “So, what was the ‘red shirt’ rally really all about”

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Sabah and Sarawak should appoint State Ministers of Education not only in anticipation of grant of education autonomy to the states by Putrajaya, but to discuss with Federal Government and stakeholders on the definition and scope of state autonomy on education

In keeping with his promise to empower both Sabah and Sarawak, the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak yesterday unveiled a slew of measures to benefit both states.

He said 90% of teaching posts in both states will be filled by Sabahans and Sarawakians within three years.

With this, the number of Sarawakian teachers will be increased from 32,168 now to 38,082 in the state, with a similar increase in Sabah.

Najib said approval for tenders involving federal projects would be done at the state level by a committee comprising the state secretary and other civil servants.

A joint committee of federal and Sabah/Sarawak officers will be set up to evaluate the administrative aspects of the empowerment exercise so that it would be carried out in an orderly manner.

It is however totally unsatisfactory in the decentralisation of powers and functions from Putrajaya to Sabah and Sarawak is solely in the administrative and not in ay substantive sense. Continue reading “Sabah and Sarawak should appoint State Ministers of Education not only in anticipation of grant of education autonomy to the states by Putrajaya, but to discuss with Federal Government and stakeholders on the definition and scope of state autonomy on education”

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Three lessons in a national soul-searching as to what has gone wrong with over five decades of nation-building that there was a Red Shirts Malay Rally replete with racial slurs and provocations on Malaysia Day itself and with government approval

Malaysians must conduct a national soul-searching as to what has gone wrong with over five decades of nation-building that there was a Red Shirts Malay rally replete with racial slurs and provocations on Malaysia Day itself and with government approval.

Police estimated that some 35,000 Malays from all over the country converged in Kuala Lumpur – a few not knowing why they were being brought to the Federal capital – to uphold Malay dignity on the ground allegedly that Malay rights were under threat.

UMNO veteran and stalwart, Gua Musang MP Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah rightly said today that he did not know where the perceived threats to Malays were coming from.

He said: “You have got the government that is headed by a Malay, state governments headed by Malays with the exception of one in Penang. The civil service is mostly made up of Malays.

“The army are mostly Malays and we also have Malay rulers. I don’t know where the threats are coming from.”

Even the fourth and longest-serving Prime Minister of Malaysia, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad said that he was clueless about the objectives of the Red Shirts Malay rally, although it was meant to be a counter-demonstration against the allegedly Chinese-dominated and DAP-masterminded (completely untrue and baseless allegations) Bersih 4 overnight rally on August 29 and 30. Continue reading “Three lessons in a national soul-searching as to what has gone wrong with over five decades of nation-building that there was a Red Shirts Malay Rally replete with racial slurs and provocations on Malaysia Day itself and with government approval”