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Parliament debate history of budget instead of Budget for 2009

Datuk Seri Najib Razak failed his first test in Parliament as Finance Minister as he was nowhere around this morning to present a revised 2009 Budget for debate or to explain why a revised 2009 budget is not necessary.

When the Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim spoke this morning, the two blocks of Cabinet benches were totally empty – not a single Cabinet Minister was present.

Not only the second Finance Minister even the two deputy Finance Ministers were absent.

Where have they gone to? What could be more important than the start of the parliamentary debate on the 2009 Budget unless Parliament is totally unimportant in their eyes.

In fact, as I pointed out to the House, there was not a single official representative of the government who was present in the House to respond to the Pakatan Rakyat demand that the new Finance Minister should present a revised 2009 budget because the whole set of the 2009 Budget data tabled in Parliament on August 29 had been made obsolete in the past six weeks by the worst economic crisis confronting the world in 80 years.

In fact, the Barisan Nasional government has lost all sense of direction and is presenting a spectacle of a “headless administration” in Parliament – may be this was why there was the need for an “agricultural” study tour of BN MPs to Taiwan last month! Continue reading “Parliament debate history of budget instead of Budget for 2009”

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Culture reinvestigated — or must we preserve age-old traditions?

by Azly Rahman

The festive season brings me to this argument I am having silently with myself: Must core values of a society be preserved, through the rites and rituals and pomp and pageantry of that elusive concept called ‘culture’? Race theorists would call for a debate between the ‘Essentialist’ and the ‘Progressive’ schools of thought on culture.

In looking at the question of Cultural Essentialism, the arguments for and against it, on whether adherence to this concept divides or unites, and lastly to offer my own view on this important concept, I begin with the general statement that “Cultural Essentialism” is the belief that in every civilised society or a cultural group, exists a core culture which governs the ‘life sustaining’ forces of that particular culture.

From the core, moral or religious doctrines are derived, cosmological views or metaphysical conceptions are drawn, knowledge bases are founded, principles and ethos are constructed, and socialising agents as cultural values transmitters are established. So that the core culture can continue to be passed down from one generation to the next in order for society to be maintained of its order and harmony although technological, political, economic, and ideological winds of change may be sweeping seasonally into the core culture’s residence. Continue reading “Culture reinvestigated — or must we preserve age-old traditions?”

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Revised 2009 Budget tomorrow – Najib’s first test as Finance Minister

Tomorrow when Parliament reconvenes to start the 2009 Budget debate is the first parliamentary test of Datuk Seri Najib Razak as Finance Minister – whether he has a revised 2009 Budget to take corrective measures to shield the country from the world’s worst economic crisis in 80 years so as to enhance competitiveness, boost growth and tamp down inflation.

The first thing Malaysians want to hear from Najib are not platitudes like Malaysia enjoying strong economic fundamentals, financial markets and infrastructure and immunity from external shocks but how the country could be shielded from the worst fallouts of the looming world economic crisis.

Secondly, how Najib proposes to tamp down inflation which had hit a 27-year high largely because of the sharp and unconscionable 41% increase in petrol pump prices in early June.

The price of crude oil has now plunged by almost 50 per cent since striking record high levels above US$147 per barrel on July 11.

The price dropped US$5.61 to US$77.05 a barrel on London’s ICE Futures exchange on Friday.

Energy experts believe prices could go even lower, going down to the US$60 a barrel range.

As Najib has been Finance Minister for 25 days, there is no reason why he is unable to announce a revised 2009 Budget in Parliament tomorrow taking fully into account the sharpest drop of the price of oil in 13 months by lowering the pump prices of petrol. Continue reading “Revised 2009 Budget tomorrow – Najib’s first test as Finance Minister”

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Gerakan has not risen above its infantile subservience to Umno

The first post-March 8 Gerakan national delegates conference is supposed to send out one message – that Gerakan has finally come of age as a political party as it has heard loud and clear the message of the political tsunami in the March general election seven months ago.

I had looked forward to such a Gerakan “coming of age” as a healthy development of Malaysian politics in the post-tsunami era.

But it is not to be and I am disappointed. It was very clear from yesterday’s opening session of the Gerakan conference that it has not risen above its infantile political subservience to Umno despite all the Gerakan posturing, “thunder and lightning” in the past seven month.

When Gerakan President Tan Sri Dr. Koh Tsu Koon could call Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi the “Father of Democracy”, it was a most adverse reflection on the former Penang Chief Minister than on the Prime Minister. Continue reading “Gerakan has not risen above its infantile subservience to Umno”

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Wake up – we are all Malaysians!

[The following piece was emailed to me. I do not know who is the writer. But it should be a wake-up call indeed for all Malaysians if Malaysia is to stand up and stop being overtaken and left behind by one nation after another. Kit]

This is our wake up call!!!

Indonesia is one of the world’s richest countries in terms of natural resources. God has blessed Indonesia with gold, uranium, copper, oil, timber, beaches, seas and other wealth. The land is fertile with abundant rain. Stick a twig into the ground and it grows into a tree. Yet Indonesians sleep in the streets. Food is expensive. The average Indonesian eats some rice, tempe,tauhu and may be some vegetables for breakfast, lunch and dinner everyday. An average Nasi Padang meal for four persons in a single star Indonesian restaurant can cost RM60.00 (160,000 Rupiah). This is way beyond the income of the average Joko or Ketut in Indonesia.

Why is this so? The answer is because the ruling elites in Indonesia do not care about the people. They have pillaged the country. They craft policies that only serve to keep the elites in power and the wealthly. The same thing is happening in Malaysia. There are also millions of Indonesians who go to school and university but do not learn skills that can help them survive in the real world. They are very poor in European languages like English or Dutch. All their education is in Indonesian. So they cannot keep up with the latest developments and technologies. They cannot compete. They remain poor.

The children of the elite are sent overseas for their education. An average Indonesian university graduate cannot bring world class skills to his employers. He or she therefore earns a pittance. This is happening in Malaysia. Bumiputra university graduates only strike it rich if they get Government jobs where they do not do much work but earn a good salary with a pension. In the private sector they may not get a job or earn only a pittance. That is why 100,000 graduates remain unemployed in Malaysia. Continue reading “Wake up – we are all Malaysians!”

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World crude oil below US$78 a barrel – Najib should “burn midnight oil” to present lowered pricing for petrol on Monday

For the past month, two questions have obsessed Malaysians.

The first has been answered, viz: whether Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi will bow down to pressures from inside Umno for a quick exit as Prime Minister by announcing that he would not defend the post of Umno President in the forthcoming Umno General Assembly.

The second question, still awaiting answer, is whether the government could respond nimbly to the rapid fall in world crude prices to undo its unconscionable 41% hike in fuel prices in June which had kicked off a relentless inflationary spiral hitting a 27-year high.

When the price of petrol in Malaysia was hiked by 41% by 78 sen from RM1.92 to RM2.70 a litre, the price of world crude oil was around US$140 per barrel.

World oil prices have plummeted to a one-year low below US$78 a barrel, but the price of petrol is RM2.45 or reduced by a mere 25 sen in two reductions.

This is clearly unacceptable and the situation is not made any more palatable with the statement yesterday by the Minister for Domestic Trade and Consumers Affairs Datuk Seri Shahrir Samad of the possibility that the price of petrol reverting to the old price of RM1.92 a litre if world crude oil price continues to dip below US$72 per barrel. Continue reading “World crude oil below US$78 a barrel – Najib should “burn midnight oil” to present lowered pricing for petrol on Monday”

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Sean Connery, Catherine Zeta, Chow Yun-Fat, Ang Lee and Aaron Kwok also to be honoured for filming in Malaysia?

A reporter just phoned up, asking for my comments on popular Bollywood star Shahrukh Khan as one of the 77 new Malacca Datuks on the occasion of the 70th birthday of the Malacca Yang di-Pertua Negeri Tun Mohd Khalil Yaakob.

I was astounded and I said so. Are there no Malaysian film stars, artists or sports-people who have greater title to be honoured and encouraged as compared to Shahrukh?

I don’t think the reason that has been given for making Shahrukh Khan a Malacca Datuk would impress or convince many – that the Bollywood actor-dancer had “contributed to our tourism industry when he acted in a movie filmed in Malaysia”.

On this basis, shouldn’t Hollywood stars Sean Connery and Catherine Zeta Jones be honoured for their 1999 film “Entrapment” which first promoted the Twin Towers to the world shortly after they were completed when the Twin Towers was used as the film location – although the film was subsequently accused of “distortion” when images of Malacca slums were spliced with shots of the 1,482ft-high skyscrapers.

Or the 2000 Academy Award-nominee film “Anna and the King” (a remake of “The King and I”) starring Jodie Foster and Chow Yun-Fat (and our Patrick Teoh) which was mostly shot in Ipoh?

Or are Taiwan Gold Horse Award 2005/6 Best Leading Actor Aaron Kwok to be similarly awarded for his 2006 film “After This Our Exile” and world-famous director Ang Lee for his 2007 film “Lust, Caution”. starring Tony Leung & Tang Wei, as both promoted Malaysia as having been filmed or used footages from Perak?

What about other foreign stars in films which had used Malaysia for their location?

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The cries of Sabahans (2)

Don’t neglect Sabah, please

by Another Doctor

I refer to the Malaysiakini article Kota Marudu needs more than wireless Internet.

I read Dr Hams letter and cannot help but agree with many of his observations. I worked in Sabah for over seven years as a house officer and medical officer.

After my housemanship, I was sent to Ranau to serve in the district hospital. What Dr Hams described in Kota Marudu is not something isolated to that district alone in Sabah. It is an often repeated story in the whole of Sabah.

My first introduction to the poverty in Sabah came during my first months there, when a sweet 70- year-old lady from Kota Marudu was sent to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital with deep jaundice. She lived alone in a small village off Kota Marudu and noticed the jaundice about a month before.

She had no money for the taxi fare and so waited a month to sell off her chickens to have enough money to pay RM50 for the transport to Kota Marudu Hospital. She had to walk two miles to get to the road to get to the taxi. Continue reading “The cries of Sabahans (2)”

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Black Friday – Najib should present revised 2009 budget on Monday

Today is Black Friday. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index plunged 34.88 points or 3.6 per cent to close at 934.01, falling to its lowest level since July 2006.

We are feeling the effects of the world financial meltdown as the United States Government’s US$700 billion (RM2.5 trillion) bailout has failed to inspire confidence that it is sufficient to avert a looming world economic depression.

But this is not the only bad news for Malaysia, which has been aplenty lately particularly our deteriorating national competitiveness.

Yesterday, for instance, it was announced that for the second consecutive year, not a single Malaysian university has succeeded to get listed in the 2008 THES-QS World Top 200 Universities while a fortnight ago, Malaysia’s ranking on the Transparency International Corruption Perception Index 2008 plunged 10 places to No. 47 in 2008 from No. 37 five years ago in 2003 when Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi became Prime Minister.

What disturb Malaysians is that the Barisan Nasional government is totally at sea and unprepared to face the looming world financial crisis, as the Ministers and BN leaders are too preoccupied fighting for survival in their respective political parties to be able to plan out a strategy to save the Malaysian economy from the world financial meltdown. Continue reading “Black Friday – Najib should present revised 2009 budget on Monday”

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Police should stop harassing Hindraft/RPK supporters over PM’s Hari Raya Open House

Police are taking things too far in initiating investigations against two groups over their presence at the Prime Minister-cum-Cabinet Hari Raya Open House last Wednesday – the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) members and “I’m with RPK” supporters who had turned up at the Open House with T-shirts bearing the theme of their cause.

Four Hindraf members, K Shanti, wife of Hindraf leader-in-exile P Waythamoorthy, Hindraf information chief S Jayathas, Selangor coordinator K Tamilselvam and national events coordinator R Kannan have been served with written notice under Section 111 of the Criminal Procedure Code to report to the Dang Wangi district police headquarters on Tuesday to give their statements for illegal assembly under Section 27 (5) of the Police Act, as well as trespass under Section 447 of the Penal Code.

Three persons, lawyer-blogger Haris Ibrahim, lawyer Amarjit Sidhu and blogger P. Surind Raj are required to report to the police in connection with their “I’m with RPK” demonstration at the PWTC Hari Raya Open House.

Are the Umno leaders and Police seriously suggesting that the allegedly 200,000 people who visited the Prime Minister-cum-Cabinet Open House, particularly who went with more than five in number, could be investigated by the police for illegal assembly and trespass? Continue reading “Police should stop harassing Hindraft/RPK supporters over PM’s Hari Raya Open House”

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Abdullah forewarned – avoid valedictory judicial scandal with new Chief Justice Zaki Azmi

The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi reiterated yesterday that he would concentrate on five initiatives he wanted to see through in his final five months in office, viz: to table three bills in Parliament to strengthen:

(i) the judiciary; and

(ii) the anti-corruption enforcement;

(iii) increase the effectiveness and integrity of enforcement agencies;

(iv) to enlarge the social safety net to ensure aid to all who needed it; and

(v) to hold a Barisan Nasional convention to improve inter-racial and inter-religious relations.

Abdullah must be realistic enough to know that the overwhelming majority of Malaysians are skeptical that he could accomplish any meaningful institutional reform in his last five months in office when he was helpless and impotent in the past five years.

The outgoing Prime Minister does not have the luxury of time – as he could be put to the test whether he has found the resolve to implement reforms he promised two days ago in a matter of a week, particularly on judicial reform. Continue reading “Abdullah forewarned – avoid valedictory judicial scandal with new Chief Justice Zaki Azmi”

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The cries of Sabahans

[Received the following email:

“Dear YB Lim,

“Kindly please assist to post the article below on your blog, this is written by one of my friends from Sandakan, it reflects the true situation we are facing in Sabah, and East Malaysia, do hope it can be done. I wish to remain anonymous.”

I read it and felt very ashamed as a Malaysian that after 45 years of Malaysia, there is still such an ocean of ignorance among West Malaysians about Sabah and Sarawak.

Barisan Nasional is not prepared to create a truly Malaysian nation where Sabahans and Sarawakians can fully feel that they are an integral part of the nation.

This is why BN has become quite irrelevant, not only to Sabahans and Sarawakians but to all Malaysian communities, whether Malays, Chinese, Indians, Kadazan-Dusun-Muruts, Ibans, Orang Aslis.

Let Malaysians join hands as one people despite the obstacles and baggages of BN.- Kit]

As 916 (September the 16th) – the day where the change of Federal Government is rumoured could happen. I suddenly have the urge to say a few words for my beloved hometown and state – Sabah, the Land below the Wind.

I am not very good in writing, but I will try my best, to let our voices be heard throughout the world.

Many people assume that we Sabahans are a proud bunch of people, hence the name “Proud Sabahans”; I do admit, Sabahans generally do have a biased perceptions towards West Malaysians, me myself included. Although Sabah is the poorest state amongst all the 13 states in Malaysia, it’s not the fault of the peninsular people. (It’s the fault of the Federal Government), but the lack of understanding of West Malaysians towards us – East Malaysians, makes me feel ashamed of myself.

Because they – West Malaysians, they never really encountered what we as East Malaysians faced, nor do they understand the distresses we are in.

This is the story of one country, two different encounters, as fate would have it. Continue reading “The cries of Sabahans”

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Malaysia out of THES Top 200 Universities for second consecutive year – another fall of domino

In his press statement to announce his decision to step down as Prime Minister next March, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi spoke of the initiatives to “regain our country’s competitiveness” which are “necessary to enable our nation and our society to face the challenges that the world has in store for us”.

But in actual fact, under his five-year premiership, one domino after another of our national and international competitiveness has been collapsing one after another.

Two weeks ago, one such falling domino was Malaysia’s ranking on the Transparency International Corruption Perception Index 2008 which plunged to No. 47 placing, a fall of ten places from No. 37 in 2007.

Another domino has collapsed today when it is revealed that for the second consecutive year, Malaysia has fallen completely out of THES-QS 2008 World Top 200 Universities – further testimony of the country’s deteriorating competitiveness. Continue reading “Malaysia out of THES Top 200 Universities for second consecutive year – another fall of domino”

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Wise Decision And A Class Act

by M. Bakri Musa

Prime Minister Abdullah’s decision to resign is wise. That decision is good for him, his party, and most of all, for our nation. I am certain it was not easy for him to reach that decision but in the end he did it, “guided by my conscience” and placing “the interests of the nation above all else.”

I applaud him, especially considering the intense last minute pleas by his many well-meaning supporters. It was a decision that was not expected by many, yours truly included. This is one instance where I am only too happy to acknowledge my misjudgment of the man.

Abdullah’s plaintive admission, “I know I’ve not been doing well; it’s time for someone else to take over,” must come only after the most difficult introspection. To admit to one’s limitations is never easy, especially for a leader, as there are always supplicants and subordinates who are only too willing to filter the harsh reality. Some leaders never get it at all. Saddam Hussein went to the gallows still believing that he was Allah’s gift to the Arabs. Continue reading “Wise Decision And A Class Act”

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Abdullah – can he redeem his premiership by instituting three fundamental reforms?

Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi is a decent human being.

He was always personable and very approachable until he was cut off from the public by his gatekeepers whether fourth-storey or otherwise – and the common complaint after his first two years as Prime Minister was that he was more difficult to see than Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad in the latter’s 22 years as Prime Minister!

I had two meetings with Abdullah in his first two years as Prime Minister which led to the establishment of parliamentary select committees but since then I had stopped trying to meet him for it was just impossible to get through his handlers.

I do not know whether it is possible to see Abdullah again in has last five months as Prime Minister.

In his press statement yesterday, Abdullah said that he would complete three reforms he had pledged when he became prime minister before stepping down by tabling three bills in Parliament to establish the Judicial Appointments Commission, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption and a Special Complaints Commission.

The question is whether Abdullah can redeem and salvage his five years of ineffective premiership by instituting three fundamental reforms in last five months in office?

I am surprised to read a very objective and level-headed political commentary in today’s New Straits Times, “In the end, he made a sensible decision” by Zubaidah Abu Bakar, with the very telling opening:

Continue reading “Abdullah – can he redeem his premiership by instituting three fundamental reforms?”

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Abdullah – Flip-flops to the very end

Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi flip-flops to the very end!

This morning, the grapevine was abuzz with his latest flip-flop that he has decided to defend his positions as Umno President and Prime Minister after a three-hour meeting with some 200 of his supporters at his Putrajaya official residence which started at about 11 pm last night and dragged into the wee hours of the morning.

This was blogged by three-term Umno MP for Parit Sulong and former Backbenchers Club, Ruhanie Ahmad at 3.32 am.

If so, that was the penultimate flip before the ultimate flop, which Star editor-in-chief Wong Chun Wai blogged at 3.53 pm that SMS flying out from the ongoing Barisan Nasional Supreme Council meeting at PWTC was that Abdullah had thrown in the towel and succumbed to the Umno Supreme Council pressures for an early exit in March next year.

There was a pathetic last stand by a handful of Abdullah’s supporters at Putrajaya this morning and PWTC this evening, urging him to remain steadfast to the mid-2010 power transition plan instead of being forced out 15 months earlier in March next year.

The die is cast. This die was actually cast seven months ago in the March 8 political tsunami. Continue reading “Abdullah – Flip-flops to the very end”

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D-Day for Abdullah – honourable or dishonourable exit?

It was exactly seven months ago this day that the March 8 political tsunami struck the Malaysian political landscape, resulting in today as D-Day for Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi – whether he will defend the Umno presidency.

Yesterday was a day of utter confusion with conflicting news throughout the day that Abdullah had been persuaded to “fight it out” including against his deputy, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, with all the weapons available to him to defend the posts of Umno President and Prime Minister.

The general consensus, however, is that “sanity will finally prevail” and Abdullah will succumb to the Umno Supreme Council pressures for an orchestrated five-month exit as Prime Minister by not contesting for the top Umno post.

If so, then the two most pertinent questions are:

1. Is it going to be an honourable or dishonourable exit for the fifth Prime Minister? and

2. Will the five-month succession interregnum pave the way for an end to the worsening multiple national crisis of confidence in the past seven months or whether it will plunge the country into a deeper rut and rot?

Continue reading “D-Day for Abdullah – honourable or dishonourable exit?”

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Rest in Peace, Islam Hadari

By Farish A. Noor

Observers of Malaysian politics both at home and abroad have already begun to write the political obituary of the country’s embattled Prime Minister, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. While the global economy goes into a tailspin and markets across Asia tumble on an hourly basis, Malaysians seem more engrossed in the country’s on-going political drama that has turned into a comical farce of near-epic proportions: The fate of Prime Minister Badawi hangs in the balance as rival contenders for the coveted post of leader of the UMNO party and Prime Minister of Malaysia come to the fore, ranging from his current deputy Najib Razak to even veterans like Tengku Razaleigh whom many had written off years ago.

To be sure, the immediate verdict on Badawi’s period of rule will not be a pleasant one. The picture that is being painted at the moment is that of a less-than-rosy canvas, and the list of Badawi’s failings is as long as it is impressive. The man who started with such promise, and who promised so much to the electorate, may well end up in the history books of Malaysia as the one who lost it all. Continue reading “Rest in Peace, Islam Hadari”

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Abdullah last acts as PM – reach out to Hindraf supporters and stop excoriating Hindraf

I am taken aback by the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s comments yesterday concerning Hindraf, which Utusan Malaysia used in its front-page headline: “Kecewa sikap Hindraf: Penyokong buat bising, enggan bersalam dengan TPM, Menteri – PM”

In the past few days, Hindraf has come under intense attack, with even MIC leaders like its President Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu and Secretary-General Datuk Dr. S. Subramaniam joining in the Hindraf-bashing.

Tomorrow, Abdullah would most probably be announcing that he would not be defending the post of Umno President in the March Umno General Assembly.

Whatever his announcement, among Abdullah’s last acts as Prime Minister should be to reach out to the Hindraf supporters to end the status of Malaysian Indians as a new underclass instead of excoriating and demonizing Hindraf.

Abdullah should initiate this healing process which is an important integral part of Malaysian nation-building, to end the marginalization of the Malaysian Indians in their own country – just as a similar healing process must also begin to address all other marginalized Malaysians in the country, particularly in Sabah and Sarawak. Continue reading “Abdullah last acts as PM – reach out to Hindraf supporters and stop excoriating Hindraf”

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Release Hindraf 5, RPK and all ISA detainees by Deepavali – or leave Barisan Nasional

With the approach of their respective party conferences and elections, It is common nowadays to read of the fierce speeches and statements by leaders and ministers of MCA, Gerakan, MIC, SUPP and other Barisan Nasional component parties, undertaking to learn from the mistakes of the past and pledging to stop being puppets or parrots of UMNO “Big Brother” and to speak up for the basic rights and interests of the people.

All these are political “sharp practices” – as the leaders and Ministers from MCA, Gerakan, MIC, SUPP and other BN component parties are equally guilty as their Umno counterparts for the worsening multiple crisis of confidence in the past seven months because of their failure to insist on government reforms after the March 8 political tsunami.

Seven full months have passed since the March general elections – and it is not only the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and UMNO which have nothing to show, the MCA, Gerakan, MIC, SUPP and other BN component parties have also nothing to show in terms of long-needed reforms.

What is worse, things have gone from bad to worse as could be seen by the worsening multiple crisis of confidence, whether political, economic, educational, institutional, anti-corruption or nation-building.

In the last seven months, nation-building suffered a major setback when Umno leaders took communalism to a new height in drumming up slogans on “ketuanan Melayu” when all Malaysians should be focusing on “ketuanan rakat Malaysia” after more than half-a-century of nation-building.

UMNO Bukit Bendera division chief Ahmad Ismail’s “Chinese are penumpang” was the last straw, furnishing another completely unacceptable example of first-generation or second-generation locally-born “bumiputras” questioning the loyalty and patriotism of sixth or seven-generation locally-born “non-bumiputras”! Continue reading “Release Hindraf 5, RPK and all ISA detainees by Deepavali – or leave Barisan Nasional”