for Malaysia
by Charlie
Letter
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Continue reading “1-AP”
By Debra Chong
Malaysian Insider
June 03, 2010
KUALA LUMPUR, June 3 — Datuk Seri Idris Jala’s plan to save Malaysia from going broke appears to be stillborn, as Umno’s constant attacks on the minister show that the Najib administration has no appetite for subsidy cuts.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak also appears to have distanced himself from Idris’ proposal, after he told the Perkasa-led Malay Consultative Council meeting last week that proposals to save RM103 billion in subsidies were not yet finalised.
“Idris’ proposal is stillborn. I don’t think the Najib administration has the courage to carry out the cuts… not across the board and not as Idris planned it,” DAP publicity chief Tony Pua said.
Analysts contacted by The Malaysian Insider agreed. Continue reading “Rebuking Idris show Umno’s distaste for subsidy cuts”
by A
Subject: Re: BERNAMA – Forget The Origin Country, We Are Malaysians – Mahathir
On my way to London yesterday, I finished 3/4 of the book on the Maverick, my conclusion long before reading this book was; all of us , Malaysians ( my ancestors came from China to Malaysia more than 150 yrs ago) have been divided ( or screwed) by all these greedy and heartless politicians, whether they are from UMNO, MCA, Gerakan or MIC, and they are all the same. The wealth in the country should be shared by all of us, but UMNO started NEP, AP, MARA, etc etc to split us in the name of wealth distribution. But after 40 years since May 13 1969, what have we achieved? The govt still think that all the targets set under NEP have not been achieved? How could these be possible if 30pc of PLC shares must be allocated to bumiputras, Non-bumis not allowed to get APs, open new petrol stations, scholarships, all govt contracts must have Bumis equity, certain sectors of the businesses were not opened to non- bumis until the recent years but still tightly controlled, and Bumi controlled companies so as GLCs don’t have to hire non-bumis. So how could the nation be united, progress or the lastest favour of the day, 1Malaysia be successful if meritrocracy is not relevant in practice? And each day we become more suspicious of each other’s co-existance. Continue reading “Mahathir the Maverick at it again”
The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) must act fast – prevent another multibillion-ringgit Matrade 2 scandal after the 10-year RM287 million Matrade 1 scandal.
The PAC had previously held several meetings on the Matrade 1 scandal, but they were of no practical relevance or consequence as what the PAC did was to lock the stable door after the horses had bolted.
As far as I know, not a single sen had been recovered by the government despite solemn assurances in Parliament by the Ministers concerned to pursue legal actions and penalties against the defaulting parties – with the Umno cronies laughing all the way to the bank with their ill-gotten multi-million ringgit NEP gains.
In the first Matrade scandal, the 24-storey Matrade building took some 10 years to be completed at a RM120 million cost overrun resulting in a final cost of RM287 million, i.e. at over 70 per cent of the original estimates of RM167 million. For years, the cracked façade of the incomplete Continue reading “PAC must act fast – prevent another multibillion-ringgit Matrade 2 scandal after the 10-year RM287 million Matrade 1 scandal”
By Koon Yew Yin
Wednesday, 18 November 2009 07:54
Centre for Policy Initiatives
It is an indictment of our system that IJM is able to compete internationally for contracts but yet is required to work as a sub-contractor to Bumiputera companies on the North-South Highway in Malaysia.
On Oct 25, 2009 our Second Finance Minister Ahmad Husni Mohamad Hanadzlah said that government has vowed to cut down on wasteful spending to lower its budget deficit and all major public projects must go through the open tender system.
Earlier, the Auditor-General’s report for 2008 revealed continuing financial management weaknesses at every level of the government. Delays in project completion seem to be a perennial problem and the lack of oversight by various ministries and departments in the procurement of goods and services continue to cost the government hundreds of millions of ringgit.
Continue reading “Bumiputera contractors: A wasteful national mission to date”
In his first budget, the 2010 budget, presented to Parliament last Friday, the Prime Minister and Finance Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak claimed that he is laying the foundation for the development of a new economic model to become a high-income economy.
He stressed that the new economic model must be based on innovation, creativity and high-value added activities so that Malaysian can remain relevant in a competitive global economy.
Najib announced that his government “will transform Malaysia through a comprehensive innovation process, comprising innovation in public and private sector governance, societal innovation, urban innovation, rural innovation, corporate innovation, industrial innovation, education innovation, healthcare innovation, transport innovation, social safety net innovation and branding innovation.”
Continue reading “End NEP which has trapped Malaysia in middle-income group instead of becoming a high-income economy”
By JAMES HOOKWAY | The Wall Street Journal
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — Tony Fernandes, the chief executive of Malaysia’s upstart AirAsia airline, seldom shies away from a fight.
A former executive at Time Warner Inc.’s music division, Mr. Fernandes bought the debt-laden carrier in 2001 for 27 cents and turned it into Asia’s biggest budget airline with $754 million in annual revenues. It hasn’t been easy. To expand AirAsia Bhd., he’s battled reluctant governments for landing rights and routes and has endured price wars with regional competitors.
Now, as Mr. Fernandes pushes to build a new low-cost global hub and expand into Europe, Australia and the U.S., he is running into a tenet of modern Malaysia: affirmative action. Malaysia’s political leaders prefer to see big business such as airports in the hands of the ethnic-Malay majority, and often that means government control.
“A lot of Malaysians are proud of what AirAsia has achieved,” says Mr. Fernandes, a 45-year-old Malaysian of Indian descent. But successes such as his, he believes, are outnumbered by the economic problems created by the affirmative action system. “It’s a very Jekyll-and-Hyde situation here.”
Continue reading “Affirmative Action Spurs Asian Debate”
By Dr Chen Man Hin, DAP Life Advisor
REFORMS BY PRIME MINISTER NAJIB RAZAK ARE NOT LIBERAL OR MODERN ENOUGH TO PROPEL MALAYSIA TO BE COMPETITIVE TO MEET THE CHALLENGES OF A GLOBAL WORLD
PM NAJIB RAZAK have introduced a series of reforms in an attempt to transform Malaysia to a high income country. He has slimmed down the NEP by reducing the 30% bumiputra equity quota to 12.5%. He has also curbed the powers of the Foreign Investment Committee and substituted it with a smaller committee.
To reassure the bumiputras, he has retained the 30% bumiputra equity target, but will use different modes to achieve the objective.
It is a pity that the PM has not understood why the 40 year old NEP has failed to help poor Malaysians, whether Malays, Chinese or Indians. The average poor Malay household only earn about RM3,000 per household or only RM500 per person (in a family of 5). Admittedly, the NEP enriched Umno cronies who became obscenely rich, while the Malays in rural areas are still mired in poverty.
PM NAJIB SHOULD LEARN FROM THE NEP EXPERIENCE
The 40 year old NEP slowed down economic growth since it was implemented in 1971. In 1957 at independence, Malaysia had the second highest per capita income (PCI) in Asia, after Japan. The World Bank has statistics that showed the per capita income slowed down since 1971, and has fallen behind S Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore. In 2008, Malaysia has a PCI of US$6,000, while S Korea has US$19,000, Taiwan US$17,000, Hong Kong US$30,000 and Singapore US$34,000.
Continue reading “Reforms must be liberal, must promote a competitive and meritocratic society”
In his interview with Sin Chew Daily in the past two days, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi made the most sensible and commendable comments on nation-building in Malaysia.
The greatest pity is that he did not adopt them when he has the real power to influence the government and nation in his heyday as Prime Minister.
Firstly, in “Change Or Perish, Pak Lah Tells UMNO”, Sin Chew reported:
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said the Malays have changed their old thinking and value system, only that UMNO seems to have “forgotten” that the Malays have indeed changed.
He said the Malays have changed, but if UMNO remains unwilling to change, then the party will eventually head for destruction.
“UMNO has forgotten that the Malays have changed their own thinking and perspectives. It has forgotten that the Malays have changed their value system. The Malays are no longer what they used to be. They unreservedly express themselves. They even wave the DAP flags!” Continue reading “Abdullah’s sensible/commendable comments on nation-building – why not adopted in his heyday as PM?”
Letters
by Allan C
I am a Chinese Malaysian male with diverse groups of friends – Tamils, Malayalees, Sikhs, Jaffna Tamils, whites, Eurasians, and Babas and Nyonyas.
The problem is I have very few Malay friends.
Umno tells them I am a threat to them..
Umno tells them I am undeserving of equal rights.
They might even believe it, and since I don’t want to think any less of them, I prefer to keep my own counsel.
Generally I don’t talk much about anything important with Malays, and certainly not about politics.
I think meaningful friendships between Malays and non-Malays are becoming rare in Malaysian society.
There is not enough dialogue between Malays and non-Malays at the ground level. Umno speaks from both sides of its mouth – telling the Malays the non-Malays are a threat to them, and then turning round to tell the non-Malays that their rights will be protected.
At other times it may say the reverse, the key denominator being what it needs to say to win votes at the time, and the ethnic composition of the audience. After 51 years of Umno’s divide and rule, it is no wonder that race relations are a joke.
With Biro Tata Negara, Khir Toyo and Ahmad Ismail to lead the way, only a fool will think Umno wants good race relations. Umno leaders wants good race relations only when it will keep them in power. Power and money are the real motivations for Umno’s political leaders.
After the twisted judicial treatments and twisted sentences meted out to the likes of Lim Guan Eng, Anwar Ibrahim, Teresa Kok and Raja Petra Kamaruddin, I think we can safely rule out any semblance of a sense of right and wrong and common decency as a meaningful guide to Umno’s decisions. Continue reading “The biggest obstacle to Malay progress…”
I am still recovering from my shock in Parliament on Thursday night when the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Amirsham Aziz former CEO of Maybank, pleaded ignorance when I asked him whether he agreed that the New Economic Policy (NEP) cannot be equated with Article 153 of the Constitution. Amirsham claimed that he was no expert on constitutional law!
It is outrageous that after more than half-a-century of nationhood, Barisan Nasional (BN) Ministers and leaders cannot or dare not answer a simple question – whether they agree that the NEP cannot be equated with Article 153 on special provision for Malays and the bumiputeras in Sabah and Sarawak.
As I argued in Parliament when I posed the question to Amirsham, if NEP is equated with Article 153, then Deputy Prime Minister-cum-Finance Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak would be guilty of challenging Article 153 and Malay special rights when he told Bloomberg recently that “all the elements of NEP” would be phased out in stages, adding “If we do not change, the people will change us”.
The NEP had been a divisive instrument in nation-building, even more so today, as it is being used to benefit rich and privileged Umnoputras rather than the poor bumiputras. Continue reading “New politics of “Beyond NEP””
After embarrassing the professional-technocrat non-politician Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Amirsham Aziz with a planted supplementary question and a planted answer during Question Time in Parliament this morning, the Prime Minister’s son-in-law Khairy Jamaluddin (MP for Rembau) has aggravated Amirsham’s embarrassment in coming to the former banker’s defence!
Rebutting the suspicion that Amirsham was “under the thumb of the world’s richest unemployed” in reading out a prepared answer to a supplementary question which the Minister should have no prior knowledge, Khairy said:
The Oxford graduate is being most condescending in conceding the intelligence of Amirsham. But he was talking bunkum as there were no “facts” for Amirsham to “look at” in his answer to Khairy’s supplementary question. Amirsham was just reading word-for-word the “planted” answer to Khairy’s “planted” supplementary, as if afraid that he might miss out some words or phrases painstakingly prepared for him beforehand!
With such a friend, Amirsham does not need enemies!
KJ’s “kiss of death” is to be found in today’s online New Straits Times “Dewan Dispatches”, as follows: Continue reading “KJ comes to Amirsham’s rescue”
(Media Conference Statement by DAP Parliamentary candidate for Ipoh Timur Lim Kit Siang at the DAP Ipoh Timur Ops Centre on Wednesday, March 5, 2008 at 1.30 pm)
When MCA should be most influential and powerful after the 1999 general election when Chinese voters saved Umno and Barisan Nasional to ensure their getting two-thirds parliamentary majority, MCA was weakest in allowing the rise of Umno political hegemony
New Straits Times has turned into a MCA and Barisan Nasional (BN) propaganda broadsheet today with the front-page headline: “Chinese voters have a simple c hoice: a bigger say in parliament and government, or a louder voice in parliament without real influence…”
Quoting the MCA strategist, Datuk Wong Mook Leong,said “the reality was that whenever the DAP did better than MCA, it was a major setback for the community”.
Wong said: “In 1986, DAP won 24 seats while MCA got 18. In 1990, DAP continued to lead MCA by two parliamentary seats.
“DAP claims that in those two terms, it was a major step for democracy. But the truth is, it was two terms of major setbacks for the Chinese community.”
This is a very dishonest distortion of Malaysian political history. Continue reading “More seats won by MCA will only result in worsening Umno political hegemony”
by Richard Teo
This govt would be foolish to ignore the pleas of the silent miniority. Any ill-conceived policies that benefit only one segment of the population cannot prevail over a length of time.
First and foremost the govt must realise that every right-minded Malaysians would still want the NEP to continue but not in its present form.
The NEP must adhere to its stated goals of eradicating poverty irrespective of race. It must be need-based and not race-based.There are still many pockets of poverty that exist across every racial divide.
I have seen poor Malays, poor Indians, poor Chinese families living only on two scanty meals a day. I have also seen poor Indian children, poor Chinese children and poor Malay children struggling to have money to attend school. This only serves to reinforce the perception that poverty does not respect race or
creed. It is a common thread among many of our fellow Malaysians irrespective of race who sadly still live on this poverty line. Continue reading “Review NEP before its too late”
by Dr. Chen Man Hin
The frustration in the hearts of Malaysians at the stubborn attitude of Umno leaders and the greed of their cronies is mounting by the day.
Even the advice of foreign dignitaries like Thierry Rommel had been rejected haughtily by DPM and the Umno Youth chief. The EU envoy had no axe to grind except to see that justice is done.
World Bank statistics have shown that the NEP is jeopardising the economy, and is marginalising the poor whether Malays or non-Malays.
Umno leaders are the economic masters and the non-Malays are the economic slaves. Continue reading “Economic masters and economic slaves”
Just as Vice Chancellors must be held responsible for the poor rankings of their universities, the Higher Education Minister, Datuk Mustapha Mohamad must bear personal responsibility for the dismal international ranking of Malaysian universities – particularly for Malaysia falling completely out of the list of the world’s Top 200 Universities this year in the 2007 Times Higher Education Supplement (THES)-Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings.
I find it scandalous that the shocking fall of the ranking of Malaysian universities THES-QS 2007 world Top 200 Universities was totally ignored by last week’s Umno General Assembly, whether by Umno delegates or leaders, although the 2007 THES-QS rankings were revealed when the Umno General Assembly was in session.
This shows the superficiality of the commitment of Umno leaders to the slogan of “Cemerlang, Gemilang and Terbilang” and to transform Malaysia into a knowledge-based innovative economy marked by a world-class university system.
Further details and studies have shown that Malaysian universities have suffered a very serious drop in the international league of the world’s best universities, virtually undergoing a free fall when compared to other Top Universities.
For the first time, there is not a single university in the op 200 Universities list.
Both Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) and Universiti Malaya (UM) had fell out of the Top 200 Universities ranking, with UKM plunging from 185th slot last year to 309th while University fo Malaya plunged from 89th in 2004 to 169th in 2005, 192nd in 2006 to 246th in 2007. Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), which was ranked as the only “outstanding” five-star university in a recent government survey, fell to 307th spot from 277 last year. In 2005, USM was in the 326th spot.
But this is not the only dismal result for Malaysian universities in the THES-QS 2007 ranking. Also for the first time, there is not a single Malaysian university in the separate listing of Top 100 Universities for five subject areas — Natural Sciences, Social Sciences, Arts and Humanities; Life Sciences and Biomedicine; and Engineering and Information Technology. Continue reading “End NEP in universities – why Malaysia has fallen out of Top 200 Ranking”
The national shame of Malaysia falling completely out of the list of the world’s Top 200 Universities this year in the 2007 Times Higher Education Supplement (THES)-Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings had been equaled by the scandal that this Malaysian ignominy had been totally ignored by last week’s Umno General Assembly, whether by Umno delegates or leaders.
This shows the superficiality of the commitment of Umno leaders to the slogan of “Cemerlang, Gemilang and Terbilang” and to transform Malaysia into a knowledge-based innovative economy marked by a world-class university system.
The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi had after the Umno General Assembly expressed his concern about the fall of Malaysian universities from the international league of best universities, but why wasn’t there a single reference to this shocking result in the Umno General Assembly, touted as the most important national political assembly of the country?
Further details have shown that Malaysian universities have suffered a very serious drop in the international league of the world’s best universities.
For the first time, there is not only not a single university in the Top 200 Universities list, there is also not a single university in the separate ranking of Top 100 Universities for five subject areas — Natural Sciences, Social Sciences, Arts and Humanities; Life Sciences and Biomedicine; and Engineering and Information Technology.
For the Top 200 Universities List, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) and Universiti Malaya (UM) had fallen out of the ranking, with UKM plunging from 185th slot last year to 309th while University fo Malaya plunged from 192nd last year to 246th spot. Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), which was ranked as the only “outstanding” five-star university in a recent government survey, has fallen to 307th spot from 277 last year. In 2005, USM was in the 326th spot. Continue reading “Check annual 4-figure brain drain of STPM and Chinese Independent Secondary School students”
Letters
by Richard Teo
Mahathir was right when he said that we have a indecisive PM with half past six cabinet ministers. Even his accusation that his son-in law Khairy was calling the shots from the 4th floor of the PM’s office was proven correct.
During the recent UMNO General Assembly Khairy gave a long winded exposition why there should be a two tier subsidy system for petrol and diesel subsidy. He questioned the wisdom of giving subsidy to rich towkays who owned luxury cars. This racist insinuation of course implied that most rich owners were mostly Chinese while most Malays were driving around in Kapchais (Honda cub).
However, Khairy’s proposition would have been more creditable had he also said that subsidy for Bumis to buy houses should also be removed since it was also benefitting the rich Malay class. Why should non-Malays have to subsidise rich Malays to buy luxurious houses and condominium costing a few million? Shouldn’t we implement a housing policy that would subsidise those who are poor and irrespective of race. Continue reading “Khairy, Dont forget also to remove the Housing subsidy for Bumis”
Letter
by Loh Meng Kow
PM AAB said the New Economic Policy (NEP) was being continued to help develop professional classes among the Malays and eradicate poverty among Malaysians regardless of race, and it was never intended to make Malays rich by seizing the wealth of non-Malays. (The Sun, 9 November 2007)
If PM AAB is sincere that he wanted only to implement what he has stated in the paragraph above, through the extension of NEP, then he should declare that two new programmes, namely one, Development of Malay Professional Class, and two, Eradication of Poverty for Malaysians are hereby established, and NEP is abolished forthwith. Indeed a policy which was established 37 years ago can hardly be known as New.
PM AAB will not be truthful if he does not accept the fact that implementations of NEP until now, beginning especially from the reign of TDM 26 years ago have deviated from the stated objectives. By retaining the name NEP, PM AAB will not be able to stop government departments continuing with what they have been wrongly doing in the name of NEP. It is not unlike a mouse carrying an elephant through the gate of NEP. If he retains NEP, then PM AAB shows his intention of speaking with a fork tongue, and of utilizing skillfully the boiling frog syndrome.
PM AAB might have his subordinate BN component parties believed that for the sake of political expediency, he had to retain the term NEP. If he does not have the political will to remove NEP, then he would not have the political guts to stop UMNO continue with the old practices in the name of two programmes he has identified. Continue reading “Can we trust PM AAB to keep his promise on the limit placed on NEP continuation?”
Letter
by Loh Meng Kow
PM AAB is reported to have said to the UMNO GA yesterday that since the list of richest individuals in the country was not led by Malays, NEP targets had still not been achieved. On record, the NEP objectives did not have the objective of making Malays the richest persons in the country. The PM’s statement shows that UMNO leaders can add to the list of NEP targets as it wishes, and hence NEP should read never ending policies.
Clearly the PM did not utter those words without having thought about the issues. NEP as implemented has always involved using government funds for the intended beneficiaries. When it was the intention of the government to create the richest Malay to head the list of richest individuals, now announced by the PM, the government adopts the policy to give public funds directly or indirectly to private individuals so that he/she can become the richest individual Malay in the country. Continue reading “PM AAB is PM for his family only”