Category: Mahathir

International Trade and Industry Deputy Minister Datuk Mukriz Mahathir said today that the government will not look into claims by international financial watchdog Global Financial Integrity (GFI) that Malaysia had suffered illicit financial outflows in excess of RM888 billion or US$291 billion due to corruption and mismanagement between 2000 and 2008.

He categorically dismissed the GFI report listing Malaysia as the world’s top-fifth country with illicit financial outlays in the past decade due to corruption and bad governance as bizarre.

Mukhriz told a press conference after launching Google Malaysia’s new office in Kuala Lumpur:

“We do not see the need to look into it. If you go through the report, they have made quite a few bizarre claims against several countries.

“Going by Bank Negara’s figures, we know how much exactly is going out so you can hardly consider those figures (from GFI) as factual.”

Who is this “we” – Mukhriz and Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak or Mukhriz and his father, former Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohhamad? Continue reading “Mukhriz’ “bizarre” dismissal of GFI report Malaysia lost RM888 billion in 9 years in illicit capital outflows – a pre-emptive Mahathir strike to forestall full inquiry into corruption and financial scandals under his premiership?”

Another sign of the closeness of the 13th general elections is the RM3 billion 2011 election budget presented by the Sabah Chief Minister, Datuk Seri Musa Hassan to the Sabah State Assembly yesterday, with RM1.1 million allocation for every Barisan Nasional state assembly constituency to enable the BN Sabah State Assembly members to woo voters in their constituency with public funds.

This is political corruption at its most blatant and, although political or “grand corruption” has been identified by the Government Transformation Programme RoadMap and selected as one of the primary focus of the National Key Results Areas (NKRAs) to combat corruption, who believes that the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) would seriously check let alone wipe out such political corruption?

In his Sabah state 2011 budget presentation, Musa cited the Barisan Nasional by-election victories in Batu Sapi and Galas as signs that the people had continued confidence in the Barisan Nasional to remain in power.

The Galas by-election is in Kelantan and was a state assembly by-election. What has it got to do with the Sabah 2011 Budget presentation if it is not an election budget to sound the gong for full preparations for the 13th general elections expected to be held early next year?

In his interview with Bloomberg, former Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir said Barisan Nasional is capable of wresting one or two states from Pakatan Rakyat on the ground that the opposition is in disarray.

Mahathir was however of the view that although BN would be returned to power in Putrajaya, it would likely fail to regain its two-thirds parliamentary majority. Continue reading “Two fatal political assumptions – one for BN and the other for PR”

Human Capital Issues

The allocations announced in the Budget for human capital development are indeed impressive. However, the question arises if the nation will get value for its money. There can be no denial of the fact that the Malaysian educational system is in disarray.

Standards have fallen dramatically. Our universities turn out graduates who lack rudimentary skills demanded by employers thus contributing to low productivity and loss of competitiveness. Our secondary school system is in disastrous shape.

Those who are charged with educating the next generation of Malaysians to be responsible citizens are more interested in promoting race hate as recent episodes of misbehavior by teachers highlight.

The lack of an adequate reaction from the top echelons of the Government has sent a strong signal to others in the educational system to project the message of hate that BTN promotes with impunity. These despicable acts and patterns of behavior give credence to the notion that the 1Malaysia slogan is nothing more than a catchy slogan devoid of meaning or sincerity.
Continue reading “2011 Budget – Eulogy for NEM and relaunch of Mahathir economic model (Part 4 of 4)”

The Pivotal Role of the Private Sector

Much was made in the ETP presentation about reinvigorating private investment, with 92% of the total projected investment of US$444 being investment by the private sector. These expressions are repeated in the Budget Speech. However no details have been provided as to how this target is to be achieved.

The speech tantalizingly offers the suggestion that the Government will intensify the Public-Private Partnership to “… enhance private sector involvement in economic activities” To this end the Government proposes to invest RM 1 billion from the Facilitation Fund in support of several infrastructure projects.

On the one hand the formulation is built upon the notion that the private sector will be unleashed; and yet the ETP is in reality a top down creation. PEMANDU is seemingly picking “winners” and it would imply that Malaysia is about to embark upon a new form of central planning to get to highly untenable targets.
Continue reading “2011 Budget – Eulogy for NEM and relaunch of Mahathir economic model (Part 3 of 4)”

Recent Economic Performance & Prospects

In the formulation of the Budget for 2011, the Prime Minister made the claim that the Malaysian economy had recovered from the global economic recession.

In an act of self congratulation, he attributed this to the proactive measures taken by the Government through the RM 67 billion stimulus package. He however failed to acknowledge that other countries in the region had performed equally well or even exceeded Malaysian performance.

The statistics he cited refer to the short term and are soothing. However, he made no mention of the challenging issues that will determine the medium term performance of the nation’s economy.

He appears to be suffering from a bout of amnesia about the need to address the issue of subsidies and to achieve fiscal balance.
Continue reading “2011 Budget – Eulogy for NEM and relaunch of Mahathir economic model (Part 2 of 4)”

The Budget presented by the Prime Minister was a eulogy for the death of the New Economic Model. It provides a clear confirmation that this Government is incapable of living up to the rhetoric of reform that it had vigorously promoted over the past year.

The slogans and feel good speeches crafted by highly paid spin doctors have not been translated into clear action programs. The divided and weak BN Government remains mired and has now demonstrated its inability to deliver upon its promises of change.

The Budget marks the return to failed economic policies of the past. The Mahathir Economic Model built around mega projects, crony capitalists as key players, bailouts and handouts is once again alive and returns to haunt the nation.

The Budget yet again demonstrates that this administration is incorrigibly incapable of drawing lessons from the past and persists with policies that have entrapped Malaysia in the middle income trap.

The Budget for 2011 has all of the attributes of a blunt tool for distributing public funds to UMNOputras, BN cronies, and vested groups that constitute the vote bank of the Barisan.
Continue reading “2011 Budget – Eulogy for NEM and relaunch of Mahathir economic model (Part 1 of 4)”

Despite all its bombast and pyrotechnics, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s 2011 budget is not a child of the New Economic Model but bears all the marks of old discredited policies which have landed Malaysia in the middle-income trap for more than a decade, setting the country towards a failed and bankrupt nation come 2019.

Former Prime Minister Tun Mahathir’s obsession with mega projects like the proposed RM5 billion 100-storey Warisan Merdeka tower is back with a vengeance.

If Najib is seriously committed to a New Economic Model, based on economic, social and government transformation, wouldn’t it be more appropriate for Malaysia to achieve targets as being ranked among the first twenty if not first ten of the least corrupt nations in the annual Transparency International Corruption Perception Index or having at least 10 universities which are ranked among the Top 100 Universities in the world?

In fact, it must be asked whether Najib is secretly trying to out-Mahathir Mahathir not only to build a tower higher than Mahathir’s Petronas Twin Towers, but which could be acclaimed as the tallest in the world – however brief the claim? Continue reading “Najib’s 2011 Budget is not a child of New Economic Model but bears all the marks of old discredited policies”

By Clara Chooi
The Malaysian Insider
September 35, 2010

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 25 — Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s latest play at racial politics has earned him the wrath of his parliamentary foe Lim Kit Siang, who has now christened the former premier with a new nickname — “the number one racist in Malaysia”.

The DAP advisor slammed Dr Mahathir for playing the race card yet again when he claimed the Malays would lose power if Pakatan Rakyat (PR) defeats the Barisan Nasional (BN) in the next general election.

“Our beloved former Prime Ministrer Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said that in the next general election, the Malays would lose power if the PR forms the government.

“Imagine, a former Prime Minister, who ruled us for 22 long years, returning to politics as the number one racist in Malaysia,” he boomed to a crowd of over 1,000 people at a fundraising dinner in Bandar Menjalara here last night, organised by the Segambut DAP division. Lim’s rhetoric earned him thunderous applause from the crowd, who yelled in disagreement at Dr Mahathir’s latest assertion.

He also accused Dr Mahathir of appearing on the stump for Umno by trying to frighten off the Malay voters from voting PR.

“He is trying to instil fear in the Malays by playing the race card on them. This is the height of Dr Mahathir’s irresponsibility. He is becoming an ultra again,” Lim said. Continue reading “Kit Siang calls Dr M ‘No 1 racist in Malaysia’”

Eric Ellis
TheAge
Australia
September 23, 2010

ONE of Australia’s key partners in Asia is struggling. Given the way its leaders have taunted Australia over the years, schadenfreude at its plight would be understandable. But this should be resisted, for if Malaysia stumbles, the effects may ripple across the region.

Erstwhile sponsor of the Carlton Football Club, a cash cow for the Australian education sector, Australia’s 10th largest trading partner and a champion of ”Asian values” – whatever they are – Malaysia seems to be brimming with sky-is-falling Chicken Littles. And their analyses are alarmist; ”failed state”, ”deep pit”, ”national decay”, ”ocean-going corruption”, ”useless mega-projects”.

While some of these could be used to describe the Delhi Commonwealth Games – a massive undertaking Malaysia successfully pulled off 12 years ago by the way – it is about a country oft-regarded as an Asian success, whose rampant economy inspired a cockiness among its leaders to take racially tinged potshots at the ”decadent and immoral” West, and at Australia in particular.

And then there was the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank to demonise, indeed anyone its mercurial then prime minister Mahathir Mohamad didn’t like on any given day. And there was 23 years of it, the Mahathir monopoly on Malaysian power.

So what’s prompted such painful hand-wringing from a tigerish economy that likes to boast how it ditched traditional models to virtually promise endless riches? The answer is some of the nastiest foreign direct investment (FDI) statistics an Asian economy has served up in a generation. Continue reading “Malaysia stumbling”

Christopher Barnabas | Sep 20, 10
Malaysiakini

As the nation celebrated the 47th anniversary of the formation of Malaysia, it is crucial to note that we are a nation divided at unprecedented levels in the history of the country. While political ideologies may differ from both sides of the divide, it is the treacherous levels of racism and extremism that are most disturbing to the common people today.

It was timely that during his Malaysia Day message entitled ‘Our Fight against Extremism’, Najib Abdul Razak took upon himself to warn against the rise of extremism in the country, articulating his sadness that by rejecting the diverse way of life, they are rejecting his ‘1Malaysia’ vision.

Going through some government websites, I came across the ‘1Malaysia’ concept paper, with one key point that stood out particularly clearly: ‘Malaysians, regardless of race or religion need to think and act as one race, that is the Malaysian race, that thinks and acts towards a common goal to build a world that is prosperous, progressive, peaceful, and safe thus enabling it to compete with the other communities in the world’.

Now having read that, let us examine several unsettling incidences since its inception which have resulted to an absolute failure of this vision thus far:

1. The Mahathir factor: The longest-serving former Umno president/PM of Malaysia has been labeled the ‘father of all racism’ by an Umno cabinet minister last year. Not surprising therefore that he appears unconvinced publicly about the ‘1Malaysia’ vision. Recently, he went as far as to conclude that even the newly proposed NEM which supports ‘merit-based’ policies are clouded with a racist agenda, prompting Zaid Ibrahim to diagnose him as having a psychological disorder. Continue reading “‘1Malaysia’ – the enemy within”

Malaysiakini
AB Sulaiman
Sep 20, 10
COMMENT

The world can be a nasty place especially in terms of planning, where your best and well intentioned plans can produce the worst unintended results. The country’s numerous development plans is a perfect example of this.

Since Independence we have always strived to be a country with strong social, economic and political credentials: a strong healthy and united people, public safety and security, great infrastructure, mature democracy, clean human rights record, good education system, governed under rule of law, and of course, a justice-minded judiciary.

To top them all off we are to enjoy a per capita income equal to the peoples in advanced economies. We wish to be an advanced country in our own right.

The current realities are anything but. The people are fragmented while some are migrating to friendlier lands, our infrastructure while adequate is wasteful, our democracy is an ugly disguise for authoritarianism, our education system produces non-thinking graduates, the rule of law has become the rule by law, and the judiciary is an international laughing stock. Continue reading “A nation of failed economic development plans”

The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak yesterday defended his 1Malaysia concept, claiming that it had not failed but merely a “work in progress”.

He admitted that the concept could not become a “full realization” today but would do so eventually with the help of all segments of society.
Najib’s 1Malaysia concept is not “work in progress” but “work in regress”, especially if he proves to be a new Mr. Flip-Flop as Prime Minister, putting the former Prime Minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to shame.

In back-pedalling from Umno’s recent decision to disentangle and distance itself from Perkasa as announced by Umno Secretary-General Datuk Sri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor only a week ago, Najib has exuded negative vibrations and sent out the negative message that he is not prepared to be the leader for all groups and component parties in Barisan Nasional let alone be the Prime Minister for all Malaysians.

Nobody is expecting the impossible of “a full realization today” of the 1Malaysia concept but it is disingenuous and even dishonest to claim that his 1Malaysia concept is “work in progress” when he himself lamented in his Malaysia Day message at the rising tide of extremism in his 18 months of premiership with unprecedented outpouring of the rhetoric of race and religion unseen in the first 18 months of all the first Prime Ministers of Malaysia – Tunku Abdul Rahman, Tun Razak, Tun Hussein, Tun Mahathir and Tun Abdullah!

And what has made this “rising tide of extremism” in the first 18 months of Najib’s premiership even more unhealthy and undesirable is that they emanate primarily from the ranks of Umno and allied or outsourced groups! Continue reading “1Malaysia not “work in progress” but “work in regress” if Najib proves to be new Mr. Flip-Flop as PM overshadowing his predecessor Abdullah”

by Art Harun
Breaking Views
Malaysian Insider
September 17, 2010

SEPT 17 — I refer to a post at Rocky’s Bru titled “The irrational fear of Perkasa”.

Perkasa.

What does that name evoke? Fear? Unlikely.

To me and many others, that name is almost comical and tragic at the same time, quite in the same mould as Roberto Benigni’s “Life is beautiful,” only that the later was poignant and sorrowful, rather than tragic.

Perkasa is comical in the way it — through its leader, Datuk Ibrahim Ali, and its various extras whose names I do not even care to remember — went around calling people who do not agree with its views names. YB Khairy Jamaluddin knows about this well. Minister Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz also knows about this very well.

Whenever Perkasa’s views are opposed or criticised, Perkasa has been unable to counter such opposition or criticism. When Perkasa cannot rebut another’s opinion, what would it do? Yes, it will attack the person who expresses the opinion rather than the opinion itself. Continue reading “Do we fear Perkasa? — Art Harun”

Former Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad blogged on the 53rd National Day eve that “today the races are more divided than ever”.

The implications of Mahathir’s statement merits attention.

Here we have the country’s longest-serving Prime Minister in fact telling the current Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak that despite this year’s Merdeka Month theme: “1Malaysia: Transforming the Nation” and the latter’s 1Malaysia policy and National Transformation Programme for 18 months since assuming the highest office in the land in April last year, national unity and inter-racial relations had never been so bad at present as compared to any time in the 22 years Mahathir had been Prime Minister from 1981 – 2003.

Would Najib agree to this Mahathir assessment as the present Prime Minister was during those 22 years of Mahathir premiership either Pahang Mentri Besar or a Cabinet Minister, starting as Minister for Youth and Sports before being appointed to Education and later Defence portfolios – while in Umno, occupying the posts of Umno Youth Leader (especially during the Operation Lalang years) and Umno National Vice President from 1995-2003?
Continue reading “Mahathir is the major obstacle to Najib’s 1Malaysia and National Transformation Agenda”

by Thoma Lee
My.sinchew.com
August 30, 2010

Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has predicted that racial tension would escalate if the New Economic Policy (NEP) type of policies is removed in favour of open policies which disregard the disparities between races in the interest of equity and merit.

The former prime minister has also warned that the time is not right for changes to be made to the existing pro-Bumiputera affirmative policies.

He said that the violent Communist revolution in Europe was caused by the disparity between rich and poor, and hinted that such a scenario could happen in Malaysia if the so-called economic gap between the Bumiputeras and the other races is not narrowed.

Hence, he suggested that the affirmative policies and programmes be continued infinitum, arguing that such a protection for the Bumiputera is still necessary and that a 20-year timeline is not enough for them to become economically on par with other races. Continue reading “The Mahathir prediction”

By Jema Khan

AUG 30 — To make sense of the various ongoing debates on the NEP, one has to have a sense of history especially for the time when Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad was prime minister.

During his 22 years as PM, the main priority of the nation was to develop at all costs. The man worked 16 hours a day, was well-read, intelligent, soft-spoken and most of all, he listened well.

He was tenacious when it came to policy; it was often his way or the highway. His detractors would call him a dictator for undermining institutions such as the judiciary and using the ISA against his political opponents. Nevertheless, when he stepped down as PM in 2003, he was still largely popular among all the races in Malaysia.
Continue reading “Mahathir — Malaysia’s enigma”

By Sakmongkol AK47

Sometime in 2007, Lee Iacocca, wrote a book titled ‘Where Have All The Leaders Gone?. In light of what is happening, I find the subject matter of the book, becoming more relevant by each passing day. We should now begin asking the same question- where have all our leaders gone?

In the early part of the book, Iacocca asks a question which we Malaysians should also be asking- where the hell is our outrage? We should be screaming bloody murder at what’s going on.

The level of corruption goes unabated. Ezam Mat Nor says he has got boxes and boxes of hard evidence against Rafidah Aziz and Mat Nor Yaakob and a slew of UMNO leaders. Why doesn’t he turn them over to the government? Rais Yatim should be arrested for concealing material that can help the government bust the 18 high profile corruption cases that he once loudly announced. Was that his pompous piety and righteousness that were on display? Where are the evidence? RTM itself should be investigated as to why only one company seems to monopolize all the advertising rights?
Continue reading “Where has our leadership gone?”

By Art Harun

Every year, during the first two or three days of fasting, I suffer from headaches. That is because my blood sugar level drops. Thank God this will go away after the 3rd day of fasting.

Low blood sugar level may cause hypoglycemia. In some cases, symptoms of hypoglycemia include impaired judgment; irritability; belligerence; confusion; belligerence, combativeness and rage. Thankfully, as far as I know, I don’t have those symptoms.

When Tun DrM said yesterday that meritocracy and “meritocrats” are racists, my first reaction was one of irritation. Then I was bemused. Later I was amused. And finally today I think it must have been the fasting month and the obvious low blood sugar level which was affecting him.

Meritocracy as I understand it is the act of rewarding or awarding an individual or a body of individuals or any entity with anything based on merit. Like awarding a student who has scored 13 As in SPM a place in the university. Or awarding X Sdn Bhd a contract to maintain a submarine because X Sdn Bhd has successfully maintained 15 other submarines before this without any problem at reasonable costs as compared to any other company who were bidding for the job.
Continue reading “Eh, Tun dah lupa?”

Shock, outrage and consternation are understatements of the reactions to the latest outbursts by former Prime Minister, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad when he denounced the proponents of meritocracy as “racists too” and warned the Malay community that they risk losing political control of the country if they remain disunited.
 
It is not just the spectacle of the former longest-serving Prime Minister of Malaysia adding oil to the cauldron of the politics of race and religion  but the repudiation of the Vision 2020 and Bangsa Malaysia which he had proclaimed two decades ago.
 
In 1990, beginning his second decade as Prime Minister, Mahathir spelt out Vision 2020 to achieve in 30 years a fully developed Malaysian nation made up of one “Bangsa Malaysia” with a sense of common and shared destiny,  distinguished by the pursuit of excellence, fully aware of all its potentials, psychologically subservient to none, and respected by the peoples of other nations.
Continue reading “Has Mahathir crossed the Rubicon to declare war on Najib, 1Malaysia and NEM?”

By Karim Raslan
The Star
Tuesday August 24, 2010

All societies need change and countries that don’t change or can’t change remain ossified and stagnant.

A few weeks ago, I hosted a lunch for a Malaysian politician and an Indonesian businessman.

The politician and I were struck by the tycoon’s steadfast support of his nation’s democratic traditions.

He stressed that he would not be where he was now had it not been for Reformasi and the turbulence of 1998.

Indeed he made a powerful argument that his country wouldn’t be powering ahead were it not for the transformation that took place after Soeharto’s ouster.

Interestingly, I think most Malaysian businessmen, including those dependent on government contracts, would agree with my Indonesian friend.

All societies need change and countries that don’t change or can’t change remain ossified and stagnant. Continue reading “What’s next for Malaysia?”