Posted on

Two unreasonable and unacceptable conditions for the release of the 35,100 copies of Bahasa Malaysia Bible should be withdrawn immediately

The two unreasonable and unacceptable conditions for the release of the 35,100 copies of Bahasa Malaysia Bible, Alkitab – each copy should be stamped “For Christians only” and each copy should carry a serial number – should be withdrawn by the Barisan Nasional government immediately as they smack of discrimination at their worst and will expose Malaysia to international ridicule, scorn and condemnation.

In less than 24 hours, the goodwill which the Najib administration had hoped to generate from the release of the 35,100 copies of Alkitab – 5,100 copies in Port Klang and 30,000 copies in Kuching Port – had been dissipated not only by the two unreasonable and unacceptable conditions, but the most ham-fisted way and trigger-happy manner in implementing them.

The Bible Society of Malaysia, the importer of the consignment of 5,100 Alkitab impounded at Port Klang for about two years, has protested at the “defacement” and “violation” of the Bahasa Malaysia Bibles as it has been informed that the scriptures have been stamped with the words “Al Kitab Berita Baik ini untuk kegunaan penganut agama Kristian sahaja” (‘This “Al Kitab Berita Baik’ is only for the use by Christians only”) and the Home Ministry had stamped spaces for the serial numbers into the Bibles.
Continue reading “Two unreasonable and unacceptable conditions for the release of the 35,100 copies of Bahasa Malaysia Bible should be withdrawn immediately”

Posted on

Seizure of 35,000 Bibles in Bahasa Malaysia – another example that Najib is not master in his own house and the hollowness of 1Malaysia?

Is the continued seizure of 35,000 copies of the Bible in Bahasa Malaysia – 30,000 copies in Kuching Port and 5,000 copies in Port Klang – another example that the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak is not master of his own house and the hollowness of his 1Malaysia policy?

It is three days since the Christian Federation of Malaysia (CFM) has come out with a statement expressing that it is “greatly disillusioned, fed-up and angered by the repeated detention of Bibles written in our national language, Bahasa Malaysia”.

The CFM Chairman Bishop Ng Boon Hing and its executive committee in a joint statement on Thursday revealed the power of the “Little Napoleons” in the bureaucracy which could even thwart and veto the Prime Minister’s order for the release of the Christian scriptures in Bahasa Malaysia.

Why has there been no action by Najib to ensure that his order to release the 5,000 Bibles in Bahasa Malaysia held in Port Klang since March 2009 are complied with without any more delay or hassle? Continue reading “Seizure of 35,000 Bibles in Bahasa Malaysia – another example that Najib is not master in his own house and the hollowness of 1Malaysia?”

Posted on

Religious bigotry on the rise again under Najib’s 1 Malaysia policy

By Dr Chen Man Hin, DAP life advisor

The seizure of 30,000 Christian Bibles printed in Malay and imported into Malaysia is a serious breach of religious freedom. This is a glaring example of the failure of Najib’s promise of a better Malaysia for all, irrespective of race, culture and religion.

Reliable sources say that the Bibles do not contain any philosophy or teachings which are any different from the Bibles used in the country for centuries, since Christianity came into the country whether in the Peninsula or in Sarawak and Sabah.

It would appear that the Bibles were seized because the authorities consider the use of the word ‘Allah’ in the bibles was prohibited and therefore seditious. This is religious bigotry on the part of some fanatics in the muslim community.

ALLAH is the name of the God of the Christians and Muslims in Arab countries for centuries. They invoke the name Allah when they pray and, freely when they greet each other.
Continue reading “Religious bigotry on the rise again under Najib’s 1 Malaysia policy”

Posted on

Najib takes country on a “quantum leap” into greater losses

By Martin Jalleh

When delivering the 2011 Budget speech in Parliament on 15 Oct. 2010, Prime Minister and Finance Minister Najib Razak said that he will lead the country to make a ‘quantum leap’ to become a develop and high-income nation by 2020.

Such a promise became a mere joke when one looks at the leakages, laggard government ministries and agencies, scandalous losses by GLCs, the economy which drifted listlessly and “looting” by the political elite – all of which marked Najib’s second year as PM (in 2010). Below are some examples:

Blocks L and M in South China Sea: In May 2010, Pas proposed to file a suit against the Federal Government for ceding away the oil and gas-rich offshore Blocks L and M in South China Sea to Brunei to protect the rights of future generations of Sarawakians, Sabahans and Malaysians. Mahathir had estimated that the worth of oil and gas rights for both blocks are in the region of US$100 billion (RM320 billion).
Continue reading “Najib takes country on a “quantum leap” into greater losses”

Posted on

NEP overwhelming Najib’s reforms, say reports

By Shannon Teoh
The Malaysian Insider
March 04, 2011

KUALA LUMPUR, March 4 — New York-based business newspapers took aim at the Najib administration’s reform policies today, claiming that a “phony war on affirmative action” has failed to overcome pessimism in the local market.

The Wall Street Journal said in an opinion article that the government’s failure to speed up economic reforms while racial tensions increase have slowed productivity as the country labours under the legacy of the New Economic Policy (NEP).

“The risk now is that political parties representing the three races will be steered by extremist groups that exacerbate conflict for their own gain,” the Wall Street Journal said today. Continue reading “NEP overwhelming Najib’s reforms, say reports”

Posted on

Najib has tough fight against NEP ‘cancer’, says report

By Shannon Teoh

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 24 — Datuk Seri Najib Razak is taking “an unprecedented gamble” by pledging to dilute the system of Malay patronage that has kept Umno in power, said a foreign report yesterday.

The Centre for Independent Studies (CIS) — an Australia-based think tank — said that the large support for the status quo and Umno’s current vulnerability meant that “Najib will have a difficult task convincing his colleagues to ‘risk all’ for the sake of Malaysia’s long-term future.”

Its foreign policy research fellow Dr John Lee also questioned the prime minister’s capacity to introduce economic reforms as the introduction of the New Economic Policy (NEP) in 1970 has cultivated a “vast and deep network of rent-seeking and patronage.” While acknowledging that the New Economic Model (NEM) introduced by Najib last year was “enormously significant,” Lee said that the decades of pro-Bumiputera affirmative action was now a “millstone around the neck of the struggling Malaysian economy and the cancer behind the country’s growing structural problems.” Continue reading “Najib has tough fight against NEP ‘cancer’, says report”

Posted on

Dilemmas of a young Malaysian abroad

by Alea Nasihin (loyarburok.com)
The Malaysian Insider
February 24, 2011

FEB 24 — When I first stepped off the plane in Heathrow Airport three years ago, I was your average idealistic 19-year-old who thought she knew everything, and who thought she had it all planned out.

I was going to come to the UK, finish up my law degree and go home to Malaysia and single-handedly change the system. Everyone else who had trodden this path before me and failed just hadn’t tried hard enough. Everyone who went abroad and never came back were cowards who didn’t love their country.

Now, three years on, as I face my imminent graduation and the prospects of returning home for good, I find myself questioning the very beliefs I once held so dear.

It’s hard to leave the fact that I can walk a mile to class everyday and not fear for the safety of my handbag (or my lungs). It’s hard to leave the fact that I can discuss religion and race openly without getting accused of being an “infidel” or “ungrateful.”

It’s hard to leave the way I am allowed to think and question and express and explore for myself, and where my views are respected. It’s hard to leave when, here, youths are given a voice and never patronised, and nobody says “because I said so.”

It’s hard to leave the fact that I can walk down the street wearing anything I want and nobody will give me odd looks or whisper behind my back, or even force me to “cover up.” Continue reading “Dilemmas of a young Malaysian abroad”

Posted on

Malaysia’s Sorry Record on Press Freedom

by Malaysia Center for Independent Journalism
Ruling coalition’s ‘multi-pronged approach’ to curb expression

Malaysia’s Barisan Nasional, or national ruling coalition, has gone to extreme ends to control freedom of expression and monopolize the dissemination of information, according to the Kuala Lumpur-based Center for Independent Journalism.

The NGO’s report, released Tuesday, says the Barisan “adopted a multi-pronged approach, using the myriad of laws at its disposal to curb expression. The Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984 was used to intimidate The Star, China Press and Special Weekly, among others.”

A summary of the report, furnished by the center, follows. It is the fourth such report the organization has released.
Continue reading “Malaysia’s Sorry Record on Press Freedom”

Posted on

Not for PM to say one religion superior to another

By John Malott

Bernama recently commented that I have “gone off the rails” because of my Feb 8 op-ed in the Asian Wall Street Journal.

To prove its point, the news agency gave just two examples. First, that I was wrong in saying that Malaysia’s needs to grow by eight percent annually over the coming decade to achieve Vision 2020 and higher income status.

In my defence (Who’s off the rails, Bernama? Part 1), I revealed the source of my ‘error’ – a speech and report from Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak.

Bernama also took me to task for saying that racial and religious tensions in Malaysia are higher today than when Najib (right) took office and are worse than at any time since the riots of 1969.

It pointed out that one week after my article appeared, Najib attended a meeting of the Malaysia Interfaith Council to commemorate World Interfaith Harmony Week.
Continue reading “Not for PM to say one religion superior to another”

Posted on

The Najib position on pluralism

By Thomas Lee

Another religious controversy is brewing over the Prime Minister’s warning to Muslims last week that religious pluralism is un-Islamic because it places Islam on an equal footing with other faiths.

Datuk Seri Najib Razak has also asked government Islamic agencies and religious teachers to explain the issue of pluralism to the Muslim community.

Najib’s statement is being challenged by various quarters alleging that his stand would cause confusion and religious disharmaony among the people.

However, the Rev Thomas Phillips, president of the Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism (MCCBCST), has come out in defence of Najid, saying that all religions had their own theological stand and advised the people against taking Najib’s statement out of context.
Continue reading “The Najib position on pluralism”

Posted on

Critical test for Najib’s 1Malaysia

Yesterday, political scientist Farish Noor told the forum on public governance by the Perdana Leadership Foundation and the National Professors’ Council that Malaysia is dangerously close to absolutely breaking down if racial politics is not kept in check.

Farish, who said that Malaysia’s patterns of politics seem to reflect that of other countries which have suffered severe racial and religious discord, told the forum:

“I’ve spent more than 10 years studying dysfunctional countries and I believe we are going down the path of countries like Pakistan, Indonesia and Bangladesh.

“I have seen enough race and religious riots to see that Malaysia is close to going down that path.”

A week ago, former US ambassador to Malaysia John Malott warned that racial and religious tensions are higher today than when Datuk Seri Najib Razak took office in 2009 and even worse than at any time since 1969.

Najib’s 1Malaysia, which he promulgated as the signature theme of his premiership, is facing a critical test when more and more warnings are made inside and outside the country that racial and religious relations in Malaysia are at their worst since he became Prime Minister just short of two years ago. Continue reading “Critical test for Najib’s 1Malaysia”

Posted on

Mahathir rewriting history on Ops Lalang

Former Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad is rewriting history when he blamed the police for the 1987 Operation Lalang mass Internal Security Act (ISA) arrests, claiming that he was furious over the mass crackdown.

In the new book, “Doctor M: Operation Malaysia – Conversations with Mahathir Mohamad” by Tom Plate, Mahathir said:

“Well, I would have handled it differently, except that the police wanted to do these things because they say it is necessary…

“I actually met all of the opposition members (beforehand) and assured them that they would not be arrested. And you know what the police did? They arrested them. My credibility is gone.”

Mahathir is not only suffering from selective memory and faulty memory but is spinning untruths about his misdeeds in his 22 years as Prime Minister.

I never met Mahathir and he never gave me any assurance that I would not be arrested before the launch of Operation Lalang on Oct. 27, 1987, although a day earlier I had spoken in Parliament in the 1988 budget debate warning of escalation of racial tensions and calling on all political parties “to agree to a one-year moratorium where no racial, language, cultural or religious issues will be created or raised for every Malaysian to concentrate on the national priority of achieving economic recovery and growth”.

Let Mahathir name the Opposition leaders had had met and given assurance that they would not be arrested but subsequently overruled by the police in the Operation Lalang crackdown! Continue reading “Mahathir rewriting history on Ops Lalang”

Posted on

The Price of Malaysia’s Racism

Slower growth and a drain of talented citizens are only the beginning.

By JOHN R. MALOTT
The Wall Street Journal
Feb 8, 2011

OPINION

Malaysia’s national tourism agency promotes the country as “a bubbling, bustling melting pot of races and religions where Malays, Indians, Chinese and many other ethnic groups live together in peace and harmony.” Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak echoed this view when he announced his government’s theme, One Malaysia. “What makes Malaysia unique,” Mr. Najib said, “is the diversity of our peoples. One Malaysia’s goal is to preserve and enhance this unity in diversity, which has always been our strength and remains our best hope for the future.”

If Mr. Najib is serious about achieving that goal, a long look in the mirror might be in order first. Despite the government’s new catchphrase, racial and religious tensions are higher today than when Mr. Najib took office in 2009. Indeed, they are worse than at any time since 1969, when at least 200 people died in racial clashes between the majority Malay and minority Chinese communities. The recent deterioration is due to the troubling fact that the country’s leadership is tolerating, and in some cases provoking, ethnic factionalism through words and actions. Continue reading “The Price of Malaysia’s Racism”

Posted on

Withdraw sedition charge against Shuhaimi – first step to demonstrate Najib can learn from the lesson of Egyptian crisis

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has assured Malaysians that his administration will always put the interests of the people first, saying that the events of Egypt are a lesson for all.

He said in a democratic system “we must give priority to the people” who are empowered through globalization and ICT (information and communication technology).

Najib should show that his administration is capable of learning from the lesson of the Egyptian crisis by winding down and ending political repression in the country, starting with the withdrawal of the sedition charge against Selangor PKR Assemblyman for Sri Muda Shuhaimi Shafie, who is slated to be charged in the Shah Alam Sessions Court on Monday. Continue reading “Withdraw sedition charge against Shuhaimi – first step to demonstrate Najib can learn from the lesson of Egyptian crisis”

Posted on

Pakatan wants Najib’s reply to Dr M’s Tanah Melayu remarks

By Shazwan Mustafa Kamal
The Malaysian Insider

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 4 — Pakatan Rakyat (PR) lawmakers have demanded that Datuk Seri Najib Razak respond to Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s latest remarks that Malaysia belongs to the Malays and other races are expected to respect Malay sovereignity.

They want the prime minister to state his stand and views on the matter, and whether he subscribes to Dr Mahathir’s views or feels otherwise.

Opposition leaders said Dr Mahathir’s statement was a direct contradiction to Najib’s 1 Malaysia concept of equality. Continue reading “Pakatan wants Najib’s reply to Dr M’s Tanah Melayu remarks”

Posted on

Spammed by the Prime Minister!

By Kee Thuan Chye
Malaysian Digest
Tuesday, 01 February 2011

NO less than the Prime Minister has just spammed me! In an e-mail wishing me Happy Chinese New Year. I’m not pleased. In fact, when I got the e-mail, I freaked out. How did he get my address? I take strong umbrage against whoever gave it to him. It is an invasion of my privacy.

Najib Razak (or rather, his assistants) reportedly sent out that e-mail to 1.5 million people. The Star reported that many were happy to get it – in a report quoting only three people. And two of them had Muslim-sounding names! From the tweets I’ve seen, it seems many Muslims have been getting the e-mail too. Some tweeters considered the greeting “insincere”, some suggested reporting the matter to Cyber 999 and even the police.

Many questioned how Najib or his assistants got their e-mail addresses. There’s a theory going round that it came from the database of a media conglomerate. If this is true, the practice is, of course, not right. It contravenes the cyberworld law of data privacy. Whoever gave the data to him showed that they did not respect that privacy.

My wife got a CNY greeting from Najib too – via an SMS. Did her telco give her number to Najib and Co? Is that a proper thing to do? This episode shows that the personal details of Malaysians are not safe from prying and abuse. And that Big Brother is watching. That’s a scary prospect.

Najib’s greeting is yet another of the public relations campaigns he has been mounting for more than a year now. Those who are aware realize they are nothing more than efforts to win votes for the next general election, but there are plenty of others who are not so clued-in. Continue reading “Spammed by the Prime Minister!”

Posted on

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?

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?”

Posted on

MPs say press law changes will drive investors away

By Clara Chooi | The Malaysian Insider

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 26 — Opposition lawmakers piled criticism today on the government’s plan to regulate online media content, predicting that the move would see severe voter backlash and hamper investor confidence in Malaysia.

DAP advisor Lim Kit Siang told The Malaysian Insider today that the Najib administration’s latest attempt to quell online dissent was a clear violation of the Barisan Nasional government’s pledge not to enforce censorship on the Internet.

The promise, he noted, was made under the 10-point Bill of Guarantees (BoGs) of the Malaysian Multimedia Super Corridor launched in 1996.

“They should be aware of this violation and if they proceed with this, they will frighten away investors.

“If the guarantee is not honoured, investors will view Malaysia as losing its credibility,” he said when contacted.
Continue reading “MPs say press law changes will drive investors away”

Posted on

Can Malaysia graduate?

East Asia Forum
January 19th, 2011
Author: Hal Hill, ANU

Malaysia is one of the developing world’s great success stories. Few countries outside of East Asia can match its development record. Since its independence over 53 years ago per capita incomes have risen more than eight-fold, and absolute poverty has been all but eliminated.

But it currently faces three key, interrelated challenges, some generic to upper middle income developing countries, others specific to Malaysia itself.

The first, how to graduate to the rich-country club, has been clearly articulated by the country’s Prime Minister, Tun Najib: ‘We are now at a critical juncture, either to remain trapped in a middle-income group or advance to a high-income economy … We now have to shift to a new economic model based on innovation, creativity and high value added activities.’

The second, shared by some of its Southeast Asian neighbours, is the country’s slower development trajectory since the Asian financial crisis of the late 1990s. Even before the current global financial crisis, which it has navigated quite successfully, economic growth in the 2000’s was about two percentage points below that of the decade 1986-96.

Particularly worrisome is the slump in investment, which has been stuck at little more than 20 per cent of GDP since the late 1990s. This is 10-15 percentage points of GDP lower than the country’s historic ratio. With savings remaining buoyant, the country’s external position has been transformed dramatically. In 2002, the country had net liabilities equivalent to 35 per cent of GDP. By 2008, this had been transformed to net assets of 20 per cent of GDP. Put simply, Malaysians have been finding overseas investment increasingly attractive, while foreigners have been less attracted to Malaysia.

The third challenge relates to the development of high-quality institutions to underpin a modern market economy in a country that has experienced continuous one-party rule for over half a century. Malaysia’s ruling United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) is in fact the world’s longest-serving governing party currently in power among all ‘quasi democracies’. Not surprisingly, elements of UMNO exhibit the problems of complacence and arrogance that one expects from entrenched one-party dominance. Continue reading “Can Malaysia graduate?”

Posted on

Investors shun Malaysia as emerging market outlook cools

By Yow Hong Chieh
The Malaysian Insider
January 20, 2011

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 20 — Global investors are continuing to avoid Malaysia as fund managers trim investments in emerging markets over concerns that China’s economy will slow this year.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch said in a note this week that Malaysia remained a “big underweight” for investors in emerging markets, with its underweight rating increasing from 46 per cent in December to 55 per cent in the first month of 2011.

An underweight call is a recommendation for investors to reduce their investments in a particular security, asset class or, in this case, country.

Malaysia slipped from 14th place in December to dead last this month among the 15 countries studied by the investment bank, despite the roll out of big ticket Economic Transformation Programme (ETP) projects and speculation that snap polls will be held later this year.

Topping the list was strongly overweight Russia, followed by Thailand, Brazil, Turkey, South Korea, China, Indonesia and Mexico. Other emerging market underweights were Poland, Taiwan, Colombia, India, South Africa and Chile.

Malaysia’s underweight call also comes at a time when fewer investors are looking to increase investments in emerging markets due to worries that China’s “eroding” economy will have a knock-on effect on the market in Asia. Continue reading “Investors shun Malaysia as emerging market outlook cools”