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MCA policy statement on “social contract” blacked out by MCA newspaper The Star

This is most extraordinary and unthinkable — MCA newspaper The Star “blacking out” the MCA policy statement on the “social contract”!

The Chinese newspapers gave front-page headline treatment to the policy statement issued yesterday by the MCA Presidential Council following the shock declaration of the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi that Malaysia was an Islamic state and not a secular state.

Strangely enough, the policy statement was reported by the Sun but it is also conspicuously omitted in the New Straits Times and the Malay newspapers.

Releasing the MCA Presidential Council statement, MCA President Datuk Seri Ong Ka Ting said the Federal Constitution should be the reference to resolve controversies or confusion over the social contract.

The statement said that what had been agreed by the forefathers 50 years ago, especially the principles and the spirit in governing the country, must be preserved.
These principles and spirit were enshrined in the Constitution.
Two questions are in order:

Firstly, why the two-faced treatment of the MCA Presidential Council policy statement on the “social contract” by the MCA — having it published prominently in the Chinese media but blacked out in its own English-language newspaper, the Star and the New Straits Times as well as the Malay newspapers.

Secondly, why had the MCA Presidential Council betrayed the fundamental principles espoused by the early generation of the MCA founder-leaders like Tun Tan Cheng Lock and Tun Tan Siew Sin who had declared unequivocally both inside and outside Parliament 50 years ago that this nation was conceived as a secular state with Islam as the official religion and not an Islamic state. Continue reading “MCA policy statement on “social contract” blacked out by MCA newspaper The Star”

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Malaysia and the Dilemma of Assimilation (part II)

By Farish A. Noor

And so it would appear that Malaysia is, after all, an Islamic state.

This was the conclusion that many Malaysians have had to accept after the recent pronouncement on the part of the Prime Minister that the country has apparently been run and governed on Islamic lines all along; a startling revelation to say the least for most of us who were unaware of the fact that the arrests under the ISA, the crackdowns during Operation Lalang, Operation Kenari, the numerous declarations of Emergency, et al. were all done under the auspices of Muslim governance. And are we right to conclude that the innumerable corruption scandals, the weakening of the judiciary, the instances of blatant double-standards in the enforcement of the law, et al. were likewise exemplary moments of Islamic governance in action?

The Prime Minister’s recent announcement must surely have come as a blow to those of us who have been calling for a return to the secular democratic foundations of the Malaysian Federation. But now it seems as if even the history of this country has been appropriated by the government, and written and re-written at whim to suit the agendas and interests of the powers that be. After half a century of existence and five decades of nation-building programmes that have taken us nowhere fast, the goalposts have been moved once again. How can there be any significant, meaningful long-term development in the country when the very rules of the political game change again and again? And if the very foundational terms of political engagement in the country are being changed all the time, we need to ask why and for whose sake? Continue reading “Malaysia and the Dilemma of Assimilation (part II)”

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50 Years of Merdeka: Past and Future — A Reflection

The nation achieved independence in 1957 at the same time as Ghana, when both countries were almost on par economically. Both countries are celebrating their golden jubilee of national independence this year, but Ghana is a failure in economic development, with its per capita income only about one-tenth that of Malaysia.

Should Malaysia feel proud that we are now ten times better off than Ghana, as had been suggested by a Barisan Nasional MP in Parliament?

This depends on whether we want to compare with the best or with the worst. There is no point in talking about” excellence, glory and distinction” if we are only proud to be compared with failed states and not prepared to compete with our equals or betters.

Malaysia was No. 2 in Asia after Japan in terms of prosperity and income when it achieved independence in 1957, despite having a per capita income of only US$200 per year. However, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore have caught up with us and gone ahead.

Although Malaysia’s per capita GNP had started to trail behind Hong Kong and Singapore in the first decade after independence, we were still ahead of South Korea and Taiwan. Malaysia’s per capita GNP in 1967 stood at US$290 as compared to Taiwan’s US$250 and South Korea’s US$160.

In 1967, Singapore’s per capita GNP was US$600 while Hong Kong US$620.

In the past four decades, South Korea’s per capita income multiplied about a hundred-fold, Taiwan by some 60-fold, Singapore by 45-fold, Hong Kong by some 40-fold with Malaysia lagging with an increase of only some 17 fold.

The brain drain of over a million talented, creative and enterprising Malaysians in the past four decades as a result of the New Economic Policy must bear primary responsibility for Malaysia trailing so behind Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan and South Korea.

Let us not indulge in any finger-pointing exercise but let us own up to our mistakes and have the courage to correct them in the best interests of the nation and future generations. Continue reading “50 Years of Merdeka: Past and Future — A Reflection”

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Looking back to look ahead

Conversations

The Sun
23rd August 2007

Looking back to look ahead
Zainon Ahmad and Maria J. Dass

Parliamentary Opposition Leader Lim Kit Siang likes to believe his contribution to nation-building has been his efforts to keep alive the aspirations of Malaysians for democracy, justice, freedom and integrity. The man who has been in parliament since 1969, except for an absence for one term following his defeat in 1999, tells ZAINON AHMAD and MARIA DASS that many people are sad because many institutions that had been established 50 years ago have lost their effectiveness.

theSun: We are coming up to 50 years soon, so what do you think we have achieved in that time?

LKS: I think it’s a very mixed result. I think when we achieved independence 50 years ago and then with Sabah and Sarawak we formed the Malaysian federation, we all had one aspiration – that we would become more Malaysian over the years.

Which means we would become less Malay, less Chinese, less Indian, less Kadazan and less Iban and so on, but on the 50th year looking around, especially with the events in the last two months, we seem to have become less Malaysian and more Malay, more Chinese, more Indian, more Kadazan and more Iban than anything else.

What has happened? Of course, after 50 years that seems the most important question to ask.

Of course. But in terms of development if you compare to Ghana which also achieved independence in the same year, I think we are 10 times ahead.

But we should not compare ourselves with the not-so-well-off nations. We should compare ourselves with those countries that are at the same level as us. Maybe even with Japan.

And if you look back on that perspective when we achieved independence, we were second in Asia after Japan in terms of development. But since then we have fallen behind. Other countries have moved ahead to become first world and developed countries – Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, not to mention Hongkong.

Whereas for us it is still a distant vision. Why?

It’s not that we lack potential, capabilities, resources and brain power. The problem is with our nation-building policies. These policies, over the decades, have not been able to fully develop our human capital. Instead we see the grave problem of brain drain among our best and brightest. All because of nation-building policies and problem with our education system. And these problems are still going on.

So that’s what you mean by very mixed results.

Yes. But what concerns me most is the people, “us” – that we are not able to identify ourselves more as being Malaysians. Instead we are identifying ourselves more as Malay, Chinese, Kadazan and so on.

That should be more alarming, don’t you think?

Yes, very alarming. In particular the issues that came to the fore during the last one or two months has brought us to the very core. In fact many people are wondering what is the meaning of this 50th Merdeka anniversary if they are feeling more alienated, more divided and more polarised.

That should in fact be the focus of attention.

In fact, the MCA general assembly is the best illustration – that it is not to celebrate the 50 years of greater nationhood but to highlight a greater division.

Sometimes a small case become the obsession of an entire cabinet while there are more important issues about integrity, development, corruption and how Malaysia can compete with the rest of the world.

We should move away from this Malays vs non-Malays or bumis vs non-bumis situation. More and more we should think about Malaysians vs the rest of the world. But we seem to be losing more of that focus.

Don’t you think that we have reached a stage of intolerance that at the slightest provocation we shout “withdraw his citizenship.” Seems like the queen in Alice in Wonderland forever shouting “off with his head.” A bit extreme isn’t it?

More than that, it is seditious. When Parliament was reconvened following the May 13 incident the Constitution was amended to address four sensitive issues that cannot be questioned. These are those relating to the special privileges of the Malays, language, the Rulers and a person’s citizenship.

If you remember back in the 1960s Umno leaders were very fond of shouting “strip him of his citizenship” at those they thought were being disloyal. For a while the amendment stopped that. But it is still a sensitive issue to demand for the removal of your citizenship.

Now it is suddenly fashionable again to call for the stripping of someone’s citizenship. Is that what you want to say?

Yes. Now, you even have ministers, mentris besar and chief ministers shouting “withdraw his citizenship”. Aren’t they going to be charged for sedition? They can be charged for sedition per se – just based on that. Because on that constitutional amendment there is no need for proof of malice or no malice.

There have been many incidents where the government acted hastily. No to this, no to that. No more discussion on this, no more discussion on that. Also there was this allegation of mass conversions of Muslims to Christianity, for instance. And it involved mariner Datuk Azhar Mansor.

Some double standard in their reaction here. You want to talk about seditious, it is seditious because it incited the feelings of some 500 Muslims who surrounded a church near Ipoh because they believed that Azhar had become a Christian and he was going to baptise other Malay-Muslims who had been converted to Christianity. As it turned out it was not true whatsoever.

If we want to talk about seriousness, that is very serious. It was capable of creating a riot, but no action was taken against the person who made the allegations. Continue reading “Looking back to look ahead”

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Malaysia and the Myth of ‘Tanah Melayu’

By Farish A. Noor

We are sustained by myths only as long as they are empowering, inspiring, instrumental and serve our interests; yet when those very same myths provide us with little else than the false comfort of an unreconstructed nostalgia for a past that never existed, then they turn into cages that imprison us for life. The myth of a unique European ‘civilisational genius’ has only helped to parochialise Europe even more; the staid discourse of ‘Asian values’ merely denies the fact that Asian civilisations would not have
developed as they did without contact with the outside world; and the myth of a pure and uninterrupted development of Indo-Aryan culture has only opened the way for the rise of right-wing Hindutva Fascists in the Indian subcontinent. Notwithstanding their claims to standing proud and tall, the demagogues who utter such pedestrian nonsense remain stunted, as their logic, on the stage of global history: testimony to the claim that those whose confidence is founded in stilts can only remain handicapped for life…

A nation that is grown up is one that is mature enough to realise that it can dispense with such myths, particularly when the honeyed nectar of mythology reveals itself as nothing more than poison. Yet poison has become our draught, and this nation of ours is ailing to the core by now.

The symptoms of the malady are all around us these days and we see them readily enough: As the asinine debate over a rap rendition of the national anthem turns bilious and takes on an increasingly racialised mien, forcing all sides to retreat to the hallowed sanctuary of communal and racial identity, the nation’s attention has been diverted from truly pressing issues concerning the economy and the spate of potentially explosive legal cases currently being fought out in the courts of the land.

The vernacular press assumes the role of champions of each respective community, and racial overtones are clearly seen and felt in the language of national politics. Yet nobody points to the real issue at stake, even if we need to discuss the rap video rendered by the young Wee Meng Chee, which surely should be this: If a young Malaysian has seen fit to deliver his
tirade against all that he sees wrong in the country in terms that are racially-determined, is this not a reflection of the racialised and divisive politics that already reigns in Malaysia, courtesy of the ruling National Front coalition led by UMNO in the first place? The racialised logic that rests in Meng Chee’s rap is only a mirror reflection of the racialised politics already at work in Malaysia already. So are we Malaysians so ashamed of ourselves that we can no longer look at ourselves squarely in the face and accept the monstrosity that stands before us today?

Yet the editorials in the vernacular press are baying for blood and Meng Chee, they insist, must be brought to book. Amidst this furore of chest-thumping theatrics and protestations of communal insult and outrage, we hear the communitarians among us blare out again and again: ‘Jangan tunduk’, ‘Defend our pride’, ‘kurang ajar’ and so forth. No, reason and rational debate are no longer welcomed in Malaysia that is ‘truly Asia’, and this homeland for some will demand its pound of flesh from others. Meng Chee is not the first and certainly will not be the last to suffer from the slighted sensitivities of those whose comfort zones and essentialised identities are sacrosanct and inviolable. Previously others have also been brought to the village tribunal of the mob for allegedly insulting race and religion as well. (Here I write from bitter experience myself.) Continue reading “Malaysia and the Myth of ‘Tanah Melayu’”

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Negarakuku – Cabinet tomorrow last chance to ensure 50th Merdeka not celebrated under dark cloud of worst generational polarisation

The Cabinet tomorrow has the last chance at its meeting tomorrow to act with statesmanship and maturity to put the Wee Meng Chee Negarakuku rap controversy to rest in view of his apology or the 50th Merdeka anniversary will be held under a dark cloud and unprecedented dissension particularly from the young generation.

Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi had often said that he wants to be Prime Minister for all Malaysians and not for any one racial group and that he wants to hear the “truth” from the people however unpleasant.

It is time he walks the talk in both by ending the orchestrated campaign led by Umno Ministers and leaders to demonise, criminalize and crush a 24-year-old Malaysian undergraduate in Taiwan for articulating the frustrations and grievances of his generation and in fact of all Malaysians, particularly about police corruption, public service bureaucracy and inefficiency as well as government insensitivity to the rights and interests of all communities.

Wee may be faulted for his rough language, irreverent expressions and lack of sensitivity in dealing with religious matters — but all these shortcomings do not add up to the capital crime of treason or sedition or the grave charges of being unpatriotic, disloyal, anti-Islam or anti-Malay.

The 50th Merdeka anniversary celebrations run the risk of becoming a mockery, both national and international, when the whole power and machinery of the state is being deployed as a sledgehammer to demonise, criminalize and crush Wee, despite his public apology.

In declaring war on Wee, the Cabinet and government is declaring war on Malaysians and in particular the young generation of Malaysians, causing one of the worst generational polarizations in the nation’s history.

Umno Youth leader and Education Minister, Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein was again in the forefront demanding a “pound of flesh” from Wee, as reported by today’s Utusan Malaysia: “Meng Chee tetap kena tindakan”.

The two salient points made Hishammuddin in Johor Baru yesterday demanding a “pound of flesh” from Wee are:

  • Although he sympathise with Wee, the Muar undergraduate must be punished for his offence.
  • Wee cannot escape legal consequences just because of his apology. Can a person who murder or burn the national flag be let off scotfree just because of an apology?

Was Hishamuddin speaking as Umno Youth leader or Education Minister? The views expressed by Hishamuddin is typical of an Umno Youth Leader, who could brandish the Malay keris in utter contempt of the rights and sensitivities of the non-Malay communities in the country — but completely unacceptable for an Education Minister who should set an example of national unity instead of dissension.

This is why I had told Hishammuddin in Parliament last year that he should choose whether he wants to be Umno Youth Leader or Education Minister, because he cannot be both, with his former position requiring him to pander to Malay communal impulses and sentiments resulting in his weidling the Malay keris while the latter office demands a person who is a model and symbol of unity of races, religions and generations instead of polarization. Continue reading “Negarakuku – Cabinet tomorrow last chance to ensure 50th Merdeka not celebrated under dark cloud of worst generational polarisation”

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Sightings: A Monkey’s Last Stand

Highly recommended — famed Malaysian blogger TV Smith’s photo essay “A Monkey’s Last Stand” . Eloquent. Evocative. Powerful. A sad commentary of Malaysia celebrating 50th Merdeka anniversary.

This is TV Smith’s first of four photo-essays:

Bukit Melawati, 22nd August 2007: Despite his patriotic stand, he will soon be stripped of his citizenship and banished to another country. Perhaps, our monkeys were already doomed when people in authority likened bloggers to them.

The Cabinet has literally signed their death warrant by withdrawing protection for the so-called urban monkeys under the Wildlife Protection Act. How can we stand tall as a nation, when we so casually shrugged-off our responsibility to protect the weak and defenseless?

Visit http://www.mycen.com.my/sightings/sightings220807_monkey.html to ponder whether it is “The Alamo” for another of our great fundamental rights.

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What Has Oxford Done?

by M. Bakri Musa and Din Merican

Both are graduates of Oxford, but what a difference between the two! What separates them is that elusive quality: class. One has it; the other does not. When you have class, Oxford will bring out the best in you. When you do not, not even esteemed Oxford can do much for you.

One is a crown prince, a sultan-to-be whose recent wedding warmed the hearts of Malaysians for its elegant simplicity and regal restraint. His eloquent speeches inspire the young and old alike; they enthusiastically embrace his enlightened vision of Malaysia. He appeals to their idealism and decency, and they in turn respond in kind. His understated passion and cool rationality resonate with the citizens. He elevates the tone of our civil discourse. In short, Raja Nazrin is “Yang Teramat Mulia” (“The Most Esteemed”) personified.

The other is a neophyte political operative, with grand pretensions of being the next Prime Minister. For now however, he is till struggling just to have the title (but not the qualities) of a “Yang Berhormat” (“The Honorable”) that goes with being a Member of Parliament. His obscenely ostentatious wedding a few years back dragged on for days, with multiple ceremonies. Its extravagance easily outmatched the wedding of Prince Charles and Princess Diana, minus of course the royal elegance. Today he is again indulging in excesses; this time hurling insults at Malaysians and assaulting their sense of decency.

In his speeches to his followers in UMNO Youth, he instigates and brings out their dark side. To him, the Mat Rempits, those midnight marauders of unemployable youths who terrorize our streets, represent the best of our community. He champions them. Like them, his trade in stock is taunting and provoking, with undisguised racist undertone. Lately he resorts to simian references; no surprise as he is surrounded daily by the opportunist monkeys in the jungle that is UMNO. This fraud of a leader coarsens our public debates, dragging them to his barnyard level.

We humbly apologize to Raja Nazrin for this jarring juxtaposition of images. We are comforted by the fact that a Prince Charming beside a toad will never lose his regal bearing. A toad beside a prince however, will make its warts all the more revolting to behold, and its croaking unbearably grating.

While the constant croaking of a toad may be harsh on the ears, the repeated racist rhetoric of a leader, genuine or fake, can have devastating consequences. We would have thought that this would be obvious; we need not remind ourselves of the ghastly tragedy of May 1969.

This wet-behind-the-ears pseudo-leader is oblivious of these dangers. Born years after those horrific days in 1969, he did not live through the calamity that nearly ripped our nation apart. It would be unlikely for him to have learned that part of our history at Oxford. It is also painfully obvious that no senior leaders in his party have taken him aside to apprise this uncouth young man of that blemish in our history. This glaring omission speaks volumes of the caliber of UMNO’s current leadership. Continue reading “What Has Oxford Done?”

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We are law-abiding patriots

by Dr. Chen Man Hin

Malaysians have proven to be patriotic since merdeka in 1957, and are now asking that the Constituion be respected and honoured.

On Saturday, the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Abdullah Ahmad Badawi in a speech to the 2007 Youth Patriotism Congress at PutraJaya, called on the people to be patriotic and warned not to play with fire when speaking on sensitive issues.

It can be said that at least half the populatioon are born on and after Merdeka. they form the active adults who have demonstrated loyalty to the country by being law-abiding citizens.

They are questioning why they should be discriminated since Merdeka. Now at the 50th merdeka anniversary they are asking to be treated equally as citizens of the country in accordance with the Constitution. Continue reading “We are law-abiding patriots”

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Negarakuku rap — end the persecution mania and listen attentively to the legitimate grievances sung by Wee

When Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi became Prime Minister 45 months ago, he invited Malaysians to speak up and pledged to “hear the truth, however unpleasant”, from the people.

Wee had acted on Abdullah’s invitation and spoken up about the injustices and wrongs in Malaysia 50 years after Merdeka so that the country could be improved to become a better nation capable of competing with the rest of the world.

Instead of a “thank you” from the Prime Minister, Wee is now the target of a sledgehammer attack by the entire government machinery led by a cohort of Umno Cabinet Ministers orchestrating a campaign to demonise, criminalize and crush him.

The very spectacle of the entire state machinery led by Cabinet Ministers to crush a 24-year-old undergraduate for his rap on internet conjures an image of shame for Malaysia on the occasion of the 50th Merdeka anniversary, both nationally and internationally.

Is the campaign to demonise, criminalize and crush Wee, with irrational, excessive and outrageous demands of prosecutions under the National Anthem Act, the Sedition Act and even the Internal Security Act, the stripping of citizenship, the cancellation of passport and extradition of Wee from Taiwan to Malaysia, the signal of the end of another one of Abdullah’s reform pledges when becoming Prime Minister 45 months ago — to “hear the truth” from the people?

As I informed the Malaysian Dialogue in Petaling Jaya yesterday afternoon, Wee can be faulted for his rough language, irreverent expression and lack of sensitivity when touching on religious matters, but he cannot be accused of being unpatriotic, disloyal or guilty of the capital crime of treason or sedition.

Wee had done what very few Malaysians had done, taking the national flag Jalur Gemilang with him when he went overseas to study, and waving the national flag when his multi-national university sports team won a game, showing his pride and love for the nation.

Which Umno Minister or leader demanding for a pound of flesh from Wee for his Negarakuku rap had such love and pride for the country as to take the national flag with him or her when going overseas? Continue reading “Negarakuku rap — end the persecution mania and listen attentively to the legitimate grievances sung by Wee”

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MCA and UMNO — From “brothers” in Alliance to “master and slave” in Barisan Nasional in five decades?

The Chinese night editions this evening, front and inside pages, are dominated by news of the MCA Youth annual general assembly in Malacca this morning with the cover photograph of the entire MCA Youth Central Committee members on stage standing up to wave copies of the Malaysian Constitution when the MCA Youth leader Datuk Liow Tiong Lai said that instead of brandishing the keris to make a point, it is better to wave the Federal Constitution.

In blaring headlines, the newspapers quoted the eight words of “ren bu fan wo, wo bu fan ren” in relation to Liow ‘s speech when he said: “We in MCA and MCA Youth won’t be easily bullied by others, ren bu fan wo, wo bu fan ren; ren ruo fan wo, wo bi fan ren. In the BN family, we are brothers, there is no master and slave, there is no question of who is being scared of who or whom should kowtow to whom,”

The Chinese saying is a warning of retaliation when one is offended.

But the high-point of the whole proceeding was that the Umno Youth deputy leader, Khairy Jamaluddin, who attended the MCA Youth annual general assembly instead of the youth leader, Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein, did not understand a single word of Liow’s fierce speech and warning as this part of the MCA Youth leader’s speech was completely omitted in his Bahasa Malaysia delivery.

This immediately raises the question whether the whole proceeding was just a “sandiwara” for the Chinese media and Chinese audience.

Liow made a good point that instead of brandishing the Malay keris, one should wave the Federal Constitution to defend and uphold one’s fundamental rights as entrenched in the Constitution, the Merdeka social contract and the Malaysia Agreement which brought Sabah and Sarawak into the federation.

But the place to wave the Federal Constitution is not at the MCA Youth Assembly with the Umno Youth deputy leader not understanding what all the “show” was all about, but in the Cabinet and Parliament and at a time when fundamental nation-building principles and rights were being unilaterally, arbitrarily and unconstitutionally undermined! Continue reading “MCA and UMNO — From “brothers” in Alliance to “master and slave” in Barisan Nasional in five decades?”

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China formula for transformation to a world economic power — Can Malaysia emulate?

by Dr. Chen Man Hin

In 1977 when China launched the four modernisations in industry, agriculture, science and technology and military defence by Deng Xiao Peng, China’s GDP (gross domestic product) was only US$253 per person.

In 2006 the GDP per person had risen to about US$2000.

China is now a world economic giant in fourth position after USA, Japan and Germany.

In 2004, the gross domestic product of China was estimated to be US$2 trillion as compared to US$12.5 trillion for USA.

In 2006, its foreign currency reserves was US$1 trillion, most of which are in US bonds. If this was withdrawn, it would trigger a world economic chaos.

World economists predict that China would overtake the USA as the world’s largest economy in 2035 to become the world economic superpower. Continue reading “China formula for transformation to a world economic power — Can Malaysia emulate?”

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Inept/irresponsible mishandling of Meng Chee Negaraku rap confirms Mahathir’s indictment of “half-past-six Cabinet”

The Cabinet’s inept and irresponsible mishandling of undergraduate Wee Meng Chee’s six-minute rap music video on Negaraku in creating a new and major cause of national dissension especially among the young generation of Malaysians on the occasion of the nation’s 50th Merdeka anniversary has vindicated former Prime Minister, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad’s epithet of a “half-past-six Cabinet”.

It has made more and more Malaysians, particularly the young generation, disgusted with the MCA, Gerakan, Umno and other Barisan Nasional Ministers and leaders who are unable to differentiate between the important from the less important issues.

The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi confirmed that the Cabinet on Wednesday discussed at length (“kita bincang lama” — Utusan Malaysia) Meng Chee’s public apology to the government and Malaysians for his rap video because it was “an important or big issue”. (Sun)

Nobody can fault the Cabinet for discussing Meng Chee’s Negaraku rap video clip, but when Ministers had no time for bigger and more important national issues, Malaysians have a right to demand to know why the country does not have a more dedicated, competent, professional and more patriotic Cabinet!

The country is at present drowned by a plethora of bigger and more important national issues than Meng Chee’s six-minute Negaraku rap video which should have been the focus of the Cabinet attention last Wednesday, such as:

  • The failure of the Prime Minister and his Cabinet to make the 50th Merdeka anniversary really meaningful by “walking the talk” in the past 45 months to deliver the pledge of a clean, incorruptible, efficient, accountable, trustworthy, just, open and democratic administration which is prepared to “hear the truth” from the people;
  • The RM4.6 billion Port Klang Free Zone scandal, the breach of Abdullah’s pledge of no mega-billion-ringgit bail-outs and the top-most question among Malaysians – why no one had been arrested or brought to book for the biggest financial scandal in the start of any Prime Minister.
  • The shocking comment by the nation’s most famous Inspector-General of Police and Deputy Chairman of the Royal Police Commission, Tun Hanif Omar on Sunday that 40 per cent of the senior police officers could be arrested for corruption without further investigations based “strictly on their lifestyles” and the total lack of action by the Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) in the past 27 months to arrest a single one of the 1,400 out of the 3,502 (i.e. 40 per cent) senior police officers from the rank of Assistant Superintendent to Inspector-General of Police since the publication of the Royal Police Commission Report.
  • The unilateral, arbitrary and unconstitutional revision of the Merdeka social contract and Malaysia Agreement on the fundamental nation-building principles agreed by the forefathers of the major communities on the attainment of Independence half-a-century ago.
  • Malaysia’s continued omission from the World’s Top 500 Universities ranking for the fifth year in succession in the Academic Ranking of World Universities 2007 just released by the Shanghai Jiao Tong University.
  • The constitutional crisis and impasse with the Prime Minister’s nominee for the post of Chief Judge of Malaya unable to get past two meetings of the Conference of Rulers since the retirement of Tan Sri Siti Normah Yaakob on January 5, 2007, raising the question whether the Conference of Rulers is mere rubber stamp or has important check-and-balance role to ensure good governance.

Did the Cabinet on Wednesday have time for these bigger and more important national issues than Meng Chee’s six-minute rap video, and if so, why there had been no proper public accounting of the Cabinet decisions? Continue reading “Inept/irresponsible mishandling of Meng Chee Negaraku rap confirms Mahathir’s indictment of “half-past-six Cabinet””

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Scarf Issue in IIUM

An email from G on the perennial problem of dress code for non-Muslim graduates for the International Islamic University of Malaysia (IIUM) convocation:

With reference to the above subject matter, I would like to direct your attention to the following url:
http://www.iiu.edu.my/convo/dress30.php
*particularly on the “Notes”.

Ms Fong (Po Kuan) and DAP had fight fiercelessly for non-Muslim females’ rights in IIUM, which resulted to the change of dress code from compulsory wearing of tudung to optional (even though we still need to wear a small bandana). However, this changes does not seem to take effect on the dress code on non-muslim female during the Convocation, as pointed out bluntly in the abovementioned website.

I believe, convocation ceromony is one of the “proudest” moment for every parent. However, for a non-Muslim parent to witness this precious moment while their child is wearing a tudung with a string hint of alien religion, is upsetting and embarassing. So, should they absent from the ceromony as how the University suggest? Or, put down their pride to cheer for the child?

We were brought up in a belief that (at least I worship this), a must for convocation is the “Cap”. Perhaps for a Muslim, wearing a tudung with a funny looking band over it is proud. but for non-Muslim, the Cap is almost everything. To wear it when receiving the roll, throw it to the air after completion of convocation, take family photo wearing the Cap, hanging it in the living room..the Cap signifies a huge and respective
moment!

During our 49th Convocation, a top student refused to attend the convocation simply because she opposed strongly for the wearing of tudung. The consequences were for her to give up the some awards. This year, the student who is a named and expected Best Student Award recipient refused to attend the ceromony for the same reason. Continue reading “Scarf Issue in IIUM”

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50th Merdeka: Now, everyone can be a Bajau!

by – Product of the System

An Unbooked Pregnancy

A 42-year-old lady presents with strong contraction pains at 3am. Of Filipino descent and speaking no Bahasa Malaysia, she was unable to provide any valuable clinical history pertinent to her current pregnancy.

In addition, she did not seek any antenatal care. A multiparous lady with 12 other children, she gave birth uneventfully but her premature 31-week baby developed breathing complications from his immature lungs.

He was referred to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit in Likas, where he was treated for the next 48 days with costly first-line medications and neonatal supplements. Further investigations revealed congenital syphilis contracted from his mother.

Unable to settle the five-figure hospital bill, the father paid a meagre RM 10.00, vowing to settle the outstanding amount on their next clinic visit.

Seen in the clinic one month later, the couple returned with their child and – brand new Malaysian ICs. Declaring themselves now to be Malaysian Bajaus, they were absolved of all their hospital debts and spirited onto the red carpet of Bumiputeraship.

A Neglected Child

A frail 3-year-old Indonesian boy was admitted for severe dehydration from a two-week history of infective diarrhea.

The second youngest of 14 children, the family lives in a 5m X 8m stilt house built over sea water, aptly known as kampong air. They draw water and electricity from illegal connections made stealthily to the homes of local Sabahans.

Domestic waste and human excrement are disposed off by open sea dumping and drop latrines. On examination, the child was drowsy in hypotensive shock and was severely malnourished.

Over a period of 4 weeks, he was given intensive care and nursed back to health with adequate rehydration and total parenteral nutrition costing RM 1,000 per day.

Upon discharge, the parents swore themselves to be Bajau, flashed newly-minted Mykads and laid claim to the privilege of free healthcare.

From pendatang tanpa izin just a month ago, they’ve become warganegara Islam and are therefore eligible to the broad spectrum of bumiputera privileges under UMNO’s New Economic Policy.

The child went back to the family home, where he nonchalantly resumed his daily routine of waddling barefooted in the filthy mud of kampong air littered with human excrement.

A Jobless Lad

An unemployed 28-year-old man was admitted after a freak road accident. After a heavy alcohol binge, he went on a terror joyride with a friend equally under the influence.

He suffered a grade 3 open fractures of both his right forearm bones with multiple tendon and nerve cuts. He underwent a complicated and costly emergency surgery, the first of many to come.

Over the next two months, he underwent repeated reconstructive procedures — readjustments of metal fixator, wound debridements and skin flaps.

He was seen in the clinic a week after discharge whereby he now professes to be a Bajau. His outstanding hospital bills were consequently declared null and void. Continue reading “50th Merdeka: Now, everyone can be a Bajau!”

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Wee Meng Chee – will Umno Ministers/leaders now apologise to Malaysians offended by their extremist reactions?

Wee Meng Chee, 24-year-old undergraduate, has issued an open apology to Malaysians offended by his six-minute Negarakuku video rap, which as of this morning, has been accessed more than 1.5 million times on YouTube sites put up by others as Meng Chee had removed the video clip from his blog several days ago.

Three questions that immediately arise are:

  • Will UMNO Ministers and leaders who have persecuted and demonized Meng Chee by making irresponsible, extremist and seditious statements, and even demanding the stripping of Meng Chee’s citizenship, now publicly apologise to all Malaysians offended by them;
  • Will Umno Ministers who had been guilty of keris-waving in circumstances and context contemptuous of the legitimate sensitivities and rights of all Malaysians publicly apologise to all Malysians offended by them?
  • Will MCA Ministers and leaders publicly apologise for failing to draw attention of the Umno leaders to the expression of patriotism by Meng Chee in articulating the frustrations of the ordinary rakyat at police corruption, civil service bureaucracy, discrimination against Chinese education and the insensitivity of the authorities — which is the reason why his rap video had struck such a deep chord among Malaysians particularly among the young generation?
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Merdeka Dialogue: Whither Bangsa Malaysia?

50 years ago, we were promised democracy. We were promised justice. We were promised equality. We were promised to be treated with human dignity. We were promised freedom.

In 1963, we became Malaysians and the notion of a Bangsa Malaysia was born. This was given form and substance by former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad in his Vision 2020 that set out 9 challenges for Malaysians to achieve a developed country.

No mention is made of Bangsa Malaysia by the Abdullah administration. Is the concept of Bangsa Malaysia still important or relevant in the light of failed promises in our original social contract?

The DAP is holding a Dialogue in conjuction with the 50th Merdeka Anniversary celebrations this coming weekend.

Date: 19 August 2007 (Sunday)
Time: 2.00pm
Venue: Crystal Crown Hotel, Petaling Jaya

The panel of distinguished speakers include:

*Tunku Abdul Aziz, former President, Transparency International Malaysia

*Datuk Param Cumuraswamy, former Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers, United Nations

*Yeo Yang Poh, former Malaysian Bar Council Chairman

*Lim Kit Siang, Parliamentary Opposition Leader

*Lim Guan Eng, DAP Secretary-General

Following the session, a dialogue will be conducted with the participants hosted by another distinguished panel (subject to change):

M Manogar, President, Malaysian Tamil Education & Research Foundation

Haris Ibrahim, Human Rights Lawyer

Jeff Ooi, Prominent Malaysian Blogger

Oh Ei-Sun, East Malaysian Socio-Political Analyst

To ensure sufficient seats allocation, please register in advance with Lim Swee Kuan (03) 79578022 or via email at limsweekuan(at)gmail.com.

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Demonisation of Wee Meng Chee dampening national mood for 50th Merdeka anniversary

The extreme over-reaction and concentrated attacks by UMNO Ministers and leaders against Wee Meng Chee for the “Negarakuku” rap video-clip should immediately end before further dampening and damaging the national mood for 50th Merdeka anniversary celebrations.

There were many among Chinese-speaking Malaysians, including youths, who did not agree with some of his rough language and irreverent expressions when they saw Meng Chee’s rap for the first time, although his articulation of the ordinary rakyat’s dissatisfactions and frustrations at police corruption, civil service bureaucracy, discrimination against Chinese education and insensitivity of the authorities struck a deep chord and found great resonance.

However, when Meng Chee became the target of a systematic attack of Umno and media demonisation, with one UMNO Minister after another including the Education Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister jumping on the bandwagon to paint as an ogre and “traitor” as if he single-handedly threatens the very fabric, stability and integrity of plural Malaysia, there is full rally of support for Meng Chee for nobody buys the canard that Meng Chee was unpatriotic, disloyal, anti-national, anti-Islam, anti-Malay or was attempting to be seditious to incite hatred and ill-will between the races or religions.

I just did a search on youtube where the Negarakuku rap had been put up by dozens of various people although Meng Chee had removed it on his website. There had been over 1.2 million access on the youtube, with the top two sites registering 768,231 and 164,849 visits respectively.

Is anybody suggesting that the overwhelming majority of the Malaysian visitors of youtube for the Negarakuku rap are unpatriotic and seditious in wanting to incite inter-racial and inter-religious ill-will and hatred in our country?
If so, then there is nothing to celebrate the 50th Merdeka anniversary as the nation would have failed dismally in the five decades of nation-building.

In fact, Meng Chee’s rap was his expression of his patriotism and love for the country, to make it a better country for all Malaysians.

Meng Chee may be faulted for his rough language or irreverent expressions but these cannot be equated with being unpatriotic, disloyal or seditious. Continue reading “Demonisation of Wee Meng Chee dampening national mood for 50th Merdeka anniversary”

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Merdeka social contract/Malaysia Agreement principle of secular Malaysia “driven underground”?

This Parliamentary Roundtable on the occasion of the nation’s 50th Merdeka anniversary is to reaffirm the Merdeka social contract and Malaysia Agreement that Malaysia is a secular state with Islam as official religion and not Islamic state.

One of the causes of gloom for many Malaysians on the occasion of the 50th Merdeka anniversary comes from the question whether Malaysia has lost one of its fundamental nation-building underpinnings agreed by the forefathers of the major communities in the Merdeka social contract and Malaysia Agreement half-a-century ago that ours is a secular state with Islam as the official religion and not an Islamic state?

I have no doubt that the first three Prime Ministers, Bapa Malaysia Tunku Abdul Rahman, Tun Razak and Tun Hussein would have had no hesitation in any period of their lives to reaffirm that Malaysia is a secular state with Islam as the official religion and not an Islamic state.

It is a sad reflection of 50 years of Malaysian nation-building that this cannot be said for the present generation of government leaders.

The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said last Saturday that Malaysia was not a secular or theocratic state but one which was based on parliamentary democracy.

What Abdullah did not say is as important as what he said. Although he deliberately omitted reference to the Islamic state, the “929 Declaration” of the then Prime Minister, Dr. Mahathir Mohamad on Sept. 29, 2001 that Malaysia was an Islamic state and the “717 Declaration” of Deputy Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak on July 17, 2007 that Malaysia was an Islamic state was not and had never been a secular state remain unchallenged.

Tun Dr. Mahathir said in Langkawi on Tuesday that Malaysia is an Islamic state even though it is not officially called that.

He said: “Officially we are not an Islamic state, neither are we a secular state. But by definition, as recognized by most international societies, Malaysia is an Islamic state.”

For 44 years until the Mahathir’s “929 declaration” in 2001, the position of the UMNO and Barisan Nasional leaders were clear and unequivocal – that Malaysia was conceived as a secular state with Islam as the official religion and that It was not an Islamic state — backed up by constitutional documents and history as well as the highest judicial pronouncements of the land.

On the 50th Merdeka anniversary, the position has varied to: Malaysia is not a secular state. It is an Islamic state. It is not a theocratic state. Continue reading “Merdeka social contract/Malaysia Agreement principle of secular Malaysia “driven underground”?”

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Merdeka statement – Cabinet should deplore the Zainuddin-led attack

With two Muslim groups joining the Information Minister, Datuk Zainuddin Maidin in his attack on the Merdeka Statement initiated by the Asian Strategy and Leadership Institute (Asli)’s Centre for Public Policy Studies (CPPS), which had the endorsement of 42 supporting organizations, the Merdeka Statement has proven to be more than right when it said “recently the state of unity has been fraying at the edges”.

The Merdeka Statement said:

“Ethnic, linguistic and religious divides have deepened, causing genuine pain and hurt to many in our nation. Such a fragile state of unity should not have happened after 50 years of nation building”.

The accusation of the two Muslim groups, Allied Co-ordinating Committee of Islamic NGOs (Accin) and Muslim Youth Movement (Pembela), which have opened their fire at those behind the Merdeka Statement for having a hidden agenda to renegotiate the social contract is most shocking, as it is clear that this was never the intention of the Merdeka Statement.

Such an accusation is most surprising coming at a time when the country is witnessing a blatant rewriting of the Merdeka social contract and Malaysia Agreement, totally in an arbitrary, undemocratic and unconstitutional manner, with regard to the fundamental nation-building principle of Malaysia as a secular state with Islam as the official religion and not an Islamic state.

The Merdeka Statement is a commendable roadmap to achieve a more united, competitive, innovative and prosperous Malaysia, which celebrates the nation’s diversity and avoids past pitfalls and mistakes.

If such a sincere, genuine and patriotic effort to help chart future nation-building directions could be the subject of a Minister-led attack for being “anti-national”, it raises grave questions as to whether any purpose is served in having grand and costly “sight-and-sound” celebrations of the 50th Merdeka anniversary without addressing the issue why Malaysians seem even more divided than ever before in the nation’s half-a-century history.

The solution is not to impose further clampdown on public debate on the future direction of the nation but to have trust and confidence in the maturity, good sense and patriotism of Malaysians after 50 years of nationhood to have open, rational and responsible discussion of the best nation-building policies for the country. Continue reading “Merdeka statement – Cabinet should deplore the Zainuddin-led attack”