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Winning back FDIs – fundamental policy changes needed and not merely incentives

Winning back FDIs

Winning back FDIs
by Dr. Chen Man Hin

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi announced a bouquet of incentives to induce foreign investors to put their money in Johore’s Iskandar Development Region (IDR). Undeniably the incentives are attractive.

While the development of IDR is important and should be encouraged, it is vital to realise that foreign investments are needed badly for the country as a whole. Therefore, the incentives for IDR should logically be implemented for the whole country.

Malaysia unfortunately is bypassed by foreign investors and is low in their choice to park their money. It is definitely not on the radar of foreign investors, contrary to the claim of the Minister for International Trade, Datuk Paduka Rafidah Aziz.

UNCTAD report on FDI shows that Malaysia has much lower FDIs than many other countries in ASEAN – Continue reading “Winning back FDIs – fundamental policy changes needed and not merely incentives”

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RM70 million for AVSS to collect traffic fines from Singaporeans – 24 years to recoup if system can last that long

RM70 million for AVSS to collect traffic fines from Singaporeans

A news report in last week’s New Sunday Times (18.3.07) caught the attention of an eagle-eyed reader, Tan Poh Soon, who has emailed about how ridiculous it was to spend RM70 million to instal a system to collect traffic fines from Singaporeans, which will take some 24 years to recoup the cost if the system could last that long:

While reading a news regarding Singaporean motorists paid a total of RM8 million in Malaysia traffic fines over the past three years, i noticed that it is also mentioned that the outstanding summon are being track down with a system known as Automated Vehicle Screening System.

According to the news, there are currently 24 unit of such system, where each unit cost RM2.9 million. The news also reported that the relevant department will add more of such unit at various places.

I’m wondering what is the rationale of installing such system which is so much expensive. Even if the system are able to track down RM8 million of unpaid summons every 3 years. It will still need at least 24 years to recoup the investment.

Do take note that this does not include the opportunity cost, interest and maintenance cost. Furthermore, i doubt that such system will be able to last 24 years. Continue reading “RM70 million for AVSS to collect traffic fines from Singaporeans – 24 years to recoup if system can last that long”

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PSCI hearing for Zulkipli/Ramli – review on Tuesday

PSCI hearing for Zulkipli/Ramli - review on Tuesday

The Parliamentary Select Committee on Integrity (PSCI) will be asked on Tuesday to review the “on/off/on/off hearing of Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) director-general Datuk Seri Zulkipli Mat Noor and whistleblower/former ACA Sabah director Mohamed Ramli Abdul Manan.

This follows the latest development where Ramli’s counsel, M. Manoharan, had given assurance that the issue of sub judice at the PSCI hearings for Zulkipli and Ramli does not arise as the serious allegations of corruption against Zulkipli has no bearing on Ramli’s civil suits against the ACA chief. The civil suit involved non-payment of salaries, pensions and gratuities.

As for the corruption trial of former minister Tan Sri Kasitah Gaddam, both Zulkipli and Ramli are not material witnesses.

Furthermore, the Ramli civil suit could take years to be decided while the Kasitah trial is still in the prosecution stage.

As the PSCI is meeting in Parliament on Tuesday in its continuing inquiry into the Sabah Project I/C scandal, I will raise the letter from Ramli’s counsel and his request for an early date for a hearing for deliberation and decision.

There is now even more compelling reasons why the PSCI should neither flinch nor hesitate from holding hearings for Zulkipli and Ramli if the Select Committee is to remain true to its terms of reference to uphold and promote national integrity. Continue reading “PSCI hearing for Zulkipli/Ramli – review on Tuesday”

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Judges who accept bribes – Fairuz must take action or resign as CJ

Judges who accept bribes - Fairuz must take action or resign as CJ

When I was speaking in Parliament on Wednesday during the debate on the Motion of Thanks on the Royal Address and touching on the judiciary as another institution which had suffered in the last 50 years of nationhood in terms of loss of public confidence in its independence, impartiality and integrity, DAP National Chairman and MP for Bukit Glugor Karpal Singh interrupted me to raise a specific question.

Karpal asked whether I agree that as the Chief Justice of Malaysia, Tun Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim had made it very clear that there are judges who are corrupt, it has become the duty and responsibility of the Chief Justice to lodge a police report to enable a full investigation to be conducted to ascertain as to who are the corrupt judges.

In my response, I expressed my full agreement that to protect the good name of the judiciary, Tun Ahmad Fairuz should either lodge a police against the corrupt judges who “accept bribes” which he had stated publicly or resign as Chief Justice.

There is actually another option open to the Chief Justice — which is to invoke Article 125(3) of the Federal Constitution to set up a judicial tribunal for the dismissal of the judges who accept bribes. This Article provides that the Chief Justice, after consulting the Prime Minister, is empowered to represent to the Yang di Pertuan Agong for the establishment of a tribunal for the removal of a judge for judicial misconduct.

Tun Ahmad Fairuz must take action against the judges he had accused of taking bribes, whether by lodging a police report or invoking Article 152(3) of the Federal Constitution, and if he not prepared to do either, he should resign as Chief Justice to protect the reputation and integrity of the Malaysian judiciary.

There can be nothing more serious against the reputation and integrity of judges than the charges which the Chief Justice had levelled in his speech during the swearing-in ceremony of eight new judicial commissioners on March 1 – that there are judges who accept bribes. Continue reading “Judges who accept bribes – Fairuz must take action or resign as CJ”

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Why Iskandar Development Region will fail

Why Iskandar Development Region will fail
by Richard Teo

The response from the foreign investors to the Iskandar development Region is quite evident. After few months from its launching, the Iskandar Development Region has received lukewarm response from the foreign investors.

This prompted Tun Musa Hitam, a member of the Iskandar Development region Authority(IRDA)advisory Council to say unequivocally that ‘it was time to give up the New Economic Policy (NEP) for the success of the Iskandar development Region(IDR).’

On 22nd March 2007, our P.M declared that six sectors would not have to have Bumiputra equity participation.

For 50 years our malay political masters have deemed fit to cling to the NEP policy and now without much persuation they have willingly relinquish that condition for the Iskandar development Region. Why?

The simple reason is that Malaysia has missed the boat. Most of the FDI’s that we are targeting have taken flight to China’s economic region of Shenzan, Hangchou and to India’s Mumbai and Bangalore region.

Of late whatever FDI left have gone to Vietnam. So who are we trying to attract to the IDR? In order to answer this question let us examine the profile of the investors in Malaysia. Continue reading “Why Iskandar Development Region will fail”

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Malaysia-US FTA – Questions for Rafidah

Questions for Rafidah on Malaysia-US FTA

On Tuesday, Minister for International Trade and Industry, Datuk Paduka Rafidah Aziz, gave a 21-page reply to questions on the Malaysia-US FTA talks and developments.

Rafidah said that the sovereign right of the government to make and implement certain national policies for the interests of the rakyat and country is one of the fundamental issues that are non-negotiable for Malaysia in any bilateral FTA.

Malaysian sovereignty

I want to raise 3 matters of vital public importance that are on the negotiation list.

First is the issue of the mandatory labelling of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and products containing GMOs. The Biosafety Bill that has passed the first reading in this House is necessary to safeguard public health and the environment. An important provision is the one that requires mandatory labelling, and we understand that Draft regulations for labelling of genetically modified food are ready and notified to the WTO. For consumers who may have allergenic reactions to certain GM products or have religious reasons to reject such products labelling is essential.

I raise this because the US Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) Act expressly states that labelling of biotechnology products is a practice that should be eliminated as it decreases US export opportunities when consumers choose not to consume GM food.

The US Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) and the AMCHAM Malaysia/US Chamber of Commerce have opposed mandatory labelling of genetically modified products or foods in their public submissions to the US Trade Representative. In particular, AMCHAM Malaysia/US Chamber of Commerce state that such labelling “should be firmly opposed by the U.S. in the FTA Negotiations”.

Many countries (such as Japan, China and many European countries, and even Australia which signed an FTA with the US) already require mandatory labelling. This is consistent with the WTO Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade which states that “technical regulations shall not be more trade-restrictive than necessary to fulfil a legitimate objective”.

The legitimate objectives include “national security requirements,
prevention of deceptive practices, protection of human health or safety, animal or plant life or health, or the environment” (emphasis added). The prevention of deceptive practices includes product information and labelling, so it is clearly within our sovereign right to have mandatory labelling of GMOs and GM products.

Under the Codex Alimentarius Commission, the joint WHO/FAO body regulating international food standards, the Committee on Food Labelling has been discussing a global standard for mandatory GM food labelling. The draft standard on GM labelling has support from a majority of the Committee, including Malaysia.

Is this one of the areas of national sovereignty that will be non-negotiable?
Continue reading “Malaysia-US FTA – Questions for Rafidah”

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Why still no Chief Judge of Malaya after 2 1/2 months?

Chief Judge of Malaya 2007

Fourthly, on an independent judiciary — Malaysia was held in high international esteem until the 1988 judicial crisis, and the nation has not fully recovered from the trauma and fall-outs of the successive series of judicial crisis for the ensuing 15 years. How to restore full public confidence in the system of justice in the country?

The answer by the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Nazri Aziz to Karpal Singh (DAP-Bukit Glugor) yesterday that the government has no plans to set up a Judicial Commission for the appointment of judges is most deplorable.

What is even more shocking is that this is also the view of the Chief Justice, Tun Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim who had likened the proposal for an independent judicial commission on appointment and promotion of judges as akin to nudity rather than transparency. Such comment by the higher judicial officer in the land is most ill-advised, in poor taste and reflect badly on the office of Chief Justice.

Ahmad Fairuz may be unhappy with the proposal of an independent judicial commission to oversee the selection and promotion of judges, but he should realize that this proposal pre-dates his appointment to the top judicial post in the land and meant to enhance public confidence in the system of justice and in that context, there is nothing personal against any personal holder of the office.

Ahmad Fairuz should not have questioned the motives of those who had made the proposal, such as the Bar Council and several prominent lawyers, posing the rhetorical question: “Are we to allow whoever has cases in court and who lost to decide on the fate of judges?” He ignores the support of retired judges for the proposal.

It is absolutely wrong and inapt to categorise the proposal of an independent Judicial Commission as an exercise in nudity rather than transparency, especially when this judicial reform had been adopted by other countries such as Canada, New Zealand, South Africa and the United Kingdom. Continue reading “Why still no Chief Judge of Malaya after 2 1/2 months?”

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Musa Hitam’s merit call for IDR to attract FDIs – extend to whole country

Musa Hitam's merit call for IDR to attract FDIs

Thirdly, on international competitiveness.

The Royal Address quoted the World Competitiveness Yearbook 2006 where Malaysia’s position has improved from 28th place in 2005 to 23rd place in 2006.

Since last month, the government has tried to generate a “feel good” atmosphere among the people with the message that good economic times are back.

Parliament was told that since 3rd January 2007, the Bursa Malaysia Composite Index has been recording an encouraging performance and exceeded 1,200 points, a level which has not been reached since the Asian currency crisis in July 1997. There was the record 2006 trade volume breaching RM1 trillion. We are told that in 2006, “total investments in the country remained strong, reaching its highest level in the history of our nation”.

On February 13, International Trade and Industry Minister, Datuk Seri Rafidah Aziz announced that Malaysia is back on the global investment map, with a record RM46 billion investments in 1,077 approved manufacturing projects last year by local and foreign investors — a 48 per cent jump from the RM31 billion invested in 2005. This was made up of RM20.2 billion of foreign investments and RM25.8 billion in local investments.

Is the government right that Malaysia is “out of the woods”, dispelling the gloomy news in the past few months that Malaysia is in danger of dropping out from the radar of foreign investors because of increasing lack of international competitiveness, whether in efficiency of public service, quality of education, good governance, transparency and integrity?

The United Nations Conference Trade and Development (Unctad) World Investment Report 2006 last October revealed unflattering figures about Malaysia for the year 2005, viz: Continue reading “Musa Hitam’s merit call for IDR to attract FDIs – extend to whole country”

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PM – address cumulative Article 11 concerns

Secondly, on Inter-religious relations today and the past 50 years. In the first two decades of nationhood, the government sponsored the establishment of a Inter-Religious Council headed by a Cabinet Minister to promote inter-religious dialogue, understanding and goodwill. Today, a very similar proposal, the Inter-Faith Council, is regarded as highly sensitive and intolerable by the government-of-the day. What has gone wrong?

It is most regrettable that despite six requests in the past nine months, the Prime Minister has refused to meet the Article 11 coalition of 11 civil society groups to uphold the Federal Constitution as the supreme law of the land — or even to give any response.

Why is the Prime Minister who preaches inter-religious dialogue in international conferences adopting such a hostile attitude to Article 11 and domestic inter-religious dialogue?

Non-Muslim concerns about religious freedom as entrenched in Article 11 have been re-ignited by the latest Court of Appeal judgment in the R. Subashini case.

Just like the S. Shamala case in 2004, the Hindu women found they could not seek legal remedy in the civil courts to protect their rights after their husbands converted to Islam and unilaterally converted their children.
Continue reading “PM – address cumulative Article 11 concerns”

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“Bangsa Malaysia” – has it been abandoned by Cabinet, UMNO and BN?

Bbangsa Malaysia

It is most ironical and tragic that the government’s nation-building objectives had come under a cloud on the occasion of the nation’s 50th Merdeka anniversary — whether the Barisan Nasional government is still committed or has abandoned the objective of creating a Bangsa Malaysia.

After the denunciation of the Bangsa Malaysia concept and objective by the Johore Mentri Besar, Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman at a Umno Johore conference in early November last year – a run-up to the “fire-and-brimstone” Umno and Umno Youth general assemblies the following week — the Federal and State Governments appear to have distanced themselves from the Bangsa Malaysia objective.

Let us not forget history. The Bangsa Malaysia concept was proclaimed in Vision 2020 in 1991 with the objective that it be achieved within three decades in 2020 with the emergence of a people entirely Malaysian in perspective, transcending ethnic, religious and cultural differences

This was how Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, who proclaimed Viksion 2020, explained the Bangsa Malaysia concept at the time:
This is the report from the Star (Sept. 11, 1995), which carried the front-page headline “ESCHEW ETHNICITY’, with a secondary headline of “PM: Be proud of being Malaysians”:

“Kuala Lumpur – Datuk Seri Dr. Mahathir Mohamad said Malaysians should reduce their strong sense of ethnicity in order to achieve Bangsa Malaysia.

“He said citizens should be proud of being Malaysians and work together instead of being preoccupied with ethnic origin.

“‘Bangsa Malaysia means people who are able to identify themselves with the country, speak Bahasa Malaysia and accept the Constitution,’ he said at a dialogue with the Malaysian Students Executive Council of the United Kingdom here yesterday.

“The Prime Minister said to realise the goal of Bangsa Malaysia, the people should start accepting each other as they are, regardless of race and religion.

” Dr. Mahathir said certain quarters may condemn him for wanting to achieve Bangsa Malaysia and not struggling for the Malay cause as he did during his early years in politics.

“He said when he was fighting for the Malay cause per se, he was young and his thoughts were that of an inexperienced politician. Continue reading ““Bangsa Malaysia” – has it been abandoned by Cabinet, UMNO and BN?”

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National service programme and Hisham’s keris-wielding

National service programme and Hisham's keris-wielding

This year is a the 50th Merdeka Anniversary for the nation.

There are two ways to celebrate the half-century of nationhood – in a lavish expenditure of public funds in fireworks, extravaganzas and pageantry or to celebrate it in a meaningful manner to instill greater national solidarity and sense of purpose in the nation’s journey to achieve a Bangsa Malaysia and a fully developed nation status.

Parliament, as the highest political forum in the land, should set the national example to celebrate the half-century of our nationhood in a meaningful manner, with Malaysians regardless of race, religion, class or political beliefs standing up for fair, just and progressive nation-building policies to create towering Malaysians and to stop Malaysia’s loss of international competitiveness.

The most meaningful way to celebrate the country’s half-century of nationhood is to seek a national consensus as to what had gone wrong with nation-building and how we can learn from the mistakes and failures of the past decades so that we can be more successful in the next 50 years, in particular on the following issues:

Firstly, National unity — why after nearly five decades of nationhood, race relations in Malaysia is “not good, fragile and brittle”, as publicly admitted by the Prime Minister recently. Racial and religious polarization have never been more serious today than in the past five decades.

The introduction of the national service training programme in 2004 is testimony of the failure of the national education system to create national unity in the country — and this is no surprise when the Education Minister, Datuk Seri Hishamuddin Hussein is the very symbol and cause of such polarization with his racist keris-wielding histrionics at Umno general assemblies. Continue reading “National service programme and Hisham’s keris-wielding”

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Trend of greater official secrecy under Pak Lah government

The third front where I had hoped would be special mention of new policy initiatives in the Royal Address is in connection with Abdullah’s pledge to lead an open, accountable and transparent administration — in particular a firm government commitment to introduce a Freedom of Information Act to replace the Official Secrets Act (OSA) and the removal of the OSA and declassification of all privatization contracts, whether toll contracts, power and water concessions, to put them in the public domain for the scrutiny of the Malaysian public.

The Works Minister, Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu was recently very incensed and hurt. He appeared on the front page of New Sunday Times (Feb. 25, 2007) with blaring headlines: “‘Works Minister, still smarting over being accused of ‘going for blood’, says… ‘I’m no Dracula'”.

Samy Vellu accused me of calling him a Dracula.

He said: “Lim Kit Siang said I was going for blood. He was indirectly saying I’m a Dracula. Only a Dracula goes for blood. A man and politician of his age and experience should be more cultured when he talks about other people.”

I said he was “bloodthirsty” and I stand by what I said. But I never said he is Dracula. If he is a Dracula, then it is his own self-description!

LDP OSA

Let me state in this House that “Dracula” had never entered my mind when in my statement of 3rd February I had demanded to know why Samy Vellu was “suddenly so ‘bloodthirsty’ as to want four Opposition leaders, namely Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim and Tian Chua of PKR, Ronnie Liu of DAP and Dr. Hatta Ramli (PAS) jailed for at least a year under the Official Secrets Act (OSA) for revealing that the government had guaranteed profits to Litrak in the Lebuhraya Damansara-Puchong (LDP) concession agreement?” Continue reading “Trend of greater official secrecy under Pak Lah government”

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40 months as PM – Malaysians even more unsafe from crime

Crime Index 2003 to 2006

The second front where I had hoped there new policy initiatives would be announced in the Royal Address is on police reform and in particular to establish the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC) with the announcement that the bill for its formation would be taken through all three readings in the current meeting of Parliament in view of the worsening crime index as well as repeated blows to public confidence in the ability of the police to implement the 125 recommendations of the Royal Police Commission to become an efficient, incorruptible, professional world-class police service to combat crime, uphold law and order and respect human rights.

The crime index in the country has worsened from 156,315 cases in 2003 to 226,836 cases in 2006 — a sharp rise of 45.1% in the past three years when the police force had set the target of reducing the crime index by five per cent each year!
In the past three years, violent crime had skyrocketed by 85.8 per cent from 22,790 cases in 2003 to 42,343 cases in 2006, with rape cases registering the highest increase of 65.5 per cent — reaching an average of 6.7 women raped daily in 2006 compared to an average of four women raped daily in 2003. In 2003, an average of 1.5 persons were murdered daily; but in 2006, this has increased to an average of 1.65 persons murdered daily.

I want to remind the Prime Minister of his pledge 40 months ago that one of his top priorities would be to reduce crime to restore to Malaysians their fundamental right to be free from crime and the fear of crime, whether in the streets, public places or the privacy of their homes? Today, Malaysians feel even more unsafe from crime than when he became Prime Minister.

Abdullah had been the Minister in charge of police for the past seven years and it is time he take full personal responsibility for the worsening crime situation in the country by providing personal leadership in the campaign to reduce crime — starting by ending all the procrastinations in the establishment of the IPCMC to create an efficient, incorruptible, professional and world-class Police Service. Continue reading “40 months as PM – Malaysians even more unsafe from crime”

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Royal Commission of Inquiry on Corruption and ACA

Some 40 months after Abdullah’s pledge to “walk the talk” to eradicate corruption, Malaysia is faced with the worst crisis of national integrity in the 40-year history of the Anti-Corruption Agency and 50-year history of the nation, with a spate of corruption scandals in the past two weeks, viz:

  • Serious corruption allegations against the Anti-Corruption Agency director-general Datuk Zulkipli Mat Noor;
  • Serious corruption allegations against the Deputy Internal Security Minister, Datuk Mohd Johari Baharun; in the Emergency Ordinance (EO) “freedom for sale” scandal; and
  • Serious allegation by the Chief Justice, Tun Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim of judges who accept bribes.

Internationally, Malaysia’s anti-corruption perception had been on a downward spiral ever since Abdullah’s takeover as Prime Minister.

Only last week, there was more bad news for Malaysia and Abdullah’s 40-month premiership.

The Hong Kong-based Political and Economic Risk Consultancy (PERC) 2007 corruption table in Asia, which is released every year based on a poll of expatriates working in Asia on their perceptions on corruption, is bad and grim news for all Malaysians concerned about national integrity, good governance and international competitiveness.

In a grading system with zero as the best possible score and 10 as the worst, Malaysia was ranked sixth in Asia with a score of 6.25 by PERC Corruption Asia 2007.

In 1996, Malaysia was ranked No. 4 with a score of 5, a reflection of the relentless deterioration of the corruption problem in the country over the years.

As the PERC annual corruption ranking is one of the polls used by Transparency International (TI) for its annual Corruption Perception Index (CPI), this is very bad news as the PERC 2007 Corruption Table is a forewarning that Malaysia is heading south towards No. 50 placing in TI CPI 2007 on the occasion of Malaysia’s 50th Merdeka anniversary this year. Continue reading “Royal Commission of Inquiry on Corruption and ACA”

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Neither new policy initiative nor legislative programe for the new year

Disappointments 2007 - Neither new policy initiative nor legislative programe for the new year

As the third annual policy speech of the Abdullah premiership, the Royal Address is a disappointment as it offered neither new policy initiatives nor any legislative programme for the delivery of the Prime Minister’s pledges of an efficient, clean, incorruptible, accountable, transparent, just, democratic and progressive administration which is overdue by 40 months.

Last week, I had publicly urged the Prime Minister to come personally to Parliament on Question Time yesterday to answer the question asking him “to give a progress report on his reform pledges in the past 40 months, highlighting the reasons for the failures/shortfalls and how he could assure Malaysians disappointed that he had failed to ‘walk the talk’ on his reform agenda”.

This is because of the widespread and deep disappointments among Malaysians at the failure of the Prime Minister to live up to the high hopes of Malaysians to “walk the talk” to honour the pledges of reform agenda he had made when coming into office.

This question was “personal to holder” and could only be answered by the Prime Minister himself, as it concerns the pledges he had made when he became Prime Minister and during the 2004 general election for which he won an unprecedented 91% parliamentary majority. It could not be delegated to another Cabinet Minister, whether the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Nazri Aziz or even the Deputy Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

But this was not to be. Although Abdullah urged Barisan Nasional Backbenchers Club (BNBBC) members on Monday to perform “something extraordinary” to bring back the glory days of parliamentarians in line with the country’s 50th anniversary celebrations this year, no return of such “glory days” is conceivable firstly, when the Barisan Nasional has a suffocating 91% parliamentary majority and secondly, the Prime Minister stays away from Parliament even on questions directed at him personally.

I believe that the four previous Prime Ministers, from Tunku Abdul Rahman, Tun Razak, Tun Hussein Onn and Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad would not have stayed away from Parliament and delegated away the answer to such a “personal to holder” question.

The Prime Minister’s absence is most telling — for it is as good as an admission that he has very little to show to Parliament and the nation about honouring his reform pledges and agenda in the past 40 months — or he would not have allowed any other Minister to answer the question. Continue reading “Neither new policy initiative nor legislative programe for the new year”

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Abdullah govt’s anti-blog and anti-Internet Portals mindset/culture

Abdullah govt's anti-blog and anti-Internet Portals mindset/culture

I know I am going against the grain of government thinking in asking Parliament to give serious attention to blogs by Malaysians, especially when the Internal Security Ministry has just warned the mainstream newspapers in the country against quoting and publishing “anti-government articles” from online portals and blogs.

The clarification by the Internal Security Ministry’s Publications Control and Al-Quran Texts Unit senior officer Che Din Yusof who sent out the warning to mainstream newspapers that his letter was a “request” and not a “directive” does not wash, when newspapers were also reminded that condition 11 of their publishing permit required them to “follow and not act against” such directives issued by the ministry.

Che Din has said that the Internal Security Ministry does not want the newspapers to get the people to believe everything that comes from blogs and the Internet portals.

Is it the business of the Internal Security Ministry to get the people to believe mainstream media and disbelieve blogs and Internet portals? Isn’t this a violation of the Bill of Guarantees proclaimed to the world by the Malaysian Government when launching the Multi-Media Super Corridor in 1996 — in trying to influence the mainstream media and the people at large to disbelieve blogs and Internet portals?

In fact, isn’t the government turning its back to the knowledge-based economy and the information and communication technology in adopting such an anti-blog and anti-Internet portals mindset and culture? Continue reading “Abdullah govt’s anti-blog and anti-Internet Portals mindset/culture”

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Who is more unpatriotic, disloyal and anti-national?

Unpatriotic, Disloyal and Anti-National

I am very concerned that in Paragraph 15 of the Royal Address, the government regards “excellence” as a goal to be achieved in 13 years’ time in 2020, when it should have been a constant and unbroken standard of both public and private service from Independence half-a-century ago.

The most meaningful way for the nation to celebrate our 50th Merdeka Anniversary is for the government to end the denial complex and recognise that driving over a million talented, creative and enterprising Malaysians from our shores in the past four decades because of discriminatory policies is one of our greatest nation-building failures and to summon a national resolve to end the root causes of such continuing brain drain.

Let no one stand up to say that the over a million talented, creative and enterprising Malaysians who had been driven from our shores in the past four decades because of discriminatory policies are unpatriotic, disloyal and anti-national, for if such an argument is to be accepted, then those who had been responsible for the discriminatory policies which caused such a costly brain drain to the country would be even more unpatriotic, disloyal and anti-national.

This brain drain problem must be given utmost importance and priority to stem a new exodus of emigration of Malaysian talents, both Malay and non-Malay. Continue reading “Who is more unpatriotic, disloyal and anti-national?”

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Million-Malaysian brain-drain – a national disaster

Million-Malaysian Brain-Drain - A National Disaster

I have quoted extensively because the brain drain in the past four decades of over a million talented, creative and enterprising people — although there are those who would say it is double this figure — must be regarded as a national disaster and not just a personal or family tragedy.

The world has moved into the knowledge economy where the foundation of a nation’s power are more likely to rest on brains rather than brawn, on the creativity, energy and talent of its people rather than on the size of its population and the extent of its territory.

I submit that it is the brain drain of Malaysia’s precious human capital in the past four decades which had been the principal reason why the nation had failed to achieve the full potential of our excellent economic advantages and rich resource endowments at Independence. Continue reading “Million-Malaysian brain-drain – a national disaster”

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More blog wisdom on Malaysian diaspora for MPs

Po Kuan’s blog also evoked responses about real life trials and tribulations such as the posting by Taja Enjok:

I know Mr. A for the past 9 years. He was a clerk and his wife is a general worker. They have 2 sons. It was around that time their eldest son failed to make it into any of the IPTA. His eldest son decided to join a private college for a twinning programme. Meanwhile he worked part-time to finance his studies. Then came the final year. Both father and son couldn’t save enough for the overseas fees and expenses. The father remembers what he learned during his school days.

? ? ? ? ? ?

? ? ? ? ? ?

Others give son chest full of gold.
I teach son only one classic.

Classic given a modern interpretation:

People give their children wealth.
I can only afford to give them education.

Mr. A went for optional retirement. This enabled him to obtain his gratuity and thus finance the eldest son’s final year. As he is still strong, he took up part-time job to support his younger son’s secondary education. Fortunately the younger son got a place in the IPTA. Otherwise it could have been his wife’s turn to make the sacrifice.

And this posting from K.S.Ong:

Malaysia’s loss is US’s gain. Not many people have the stamina to struggle against an entrenched system of discrimination. Yet, I believe there are growing number of people, especially young citizens of all races who are growing weary of our racially based political parties and the discrimination in the name of helping the majority race. Continue reading “More blog wisdom on Malaysian diaspora for MPs”

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Blogs on Malaysian diaspora raised in Parliament

The second comment, by firstMalaysian:

My son left the country to pursue his Bachelors degree in BioMedical Engineering and is currently doing his PhD in a foreign land, without any scholarship or any recognition from his own homeland. He was given every assistance and opportunity from a foreign university to pursue his PhD and he is in the midst of a breakthrough in his research. Certainly, a Malaysian born scientist in the making and his students and professors in the foreign land called him a Malaysian and he is proud to be one but whenever he steps down at KLIA, he felt the difference, he is a second class Malaysian. There is an identity crisis back home.

In the foreign land, he has helped many Malaysians irrespective of ethnic background to excel and he loved to see Malaysians excel, whether Chinese, Indians or Malays. He was Malaysian first in a foreign land but in Malaysia, it is ethnic origin first.

This brain drain will continue

Another comment, Cool Man:

Reports of ethnic-minority students with near-perfect STPM results not getting a place at the local university have become the norm, and yet objections are often ignored – the government claims that it is a fair game for all.

Personally, I had no choice but to go overseas to study, and my parents had to spend their entire pension savings on financing my undergraduate degree in Australia. After graduation, most of my Malaysian classmates chose to either stay in Australia or work in Singapore, where equal opportunities and fair competitions give them better job prospects.

Before coming to the London I did my masters degree in Singapore, where I met many Chinese Malaysians in this situation. Most of us would like to return to Malaysia, but we know that research prospects for minorities are limited. No matter how talented we are, it seems we still have to travel outside our country to seek opportunities.

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