Najib’s 1Malaysia concept means “a thousand and one” different things even to Umno and BN Ministers and leaders
Posted by Kit in Najib Razak, nation building on Tuesday, 9 February 2010, 3:22 pm
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak is unhappy about the various misconceptions over the 1Malaysia concept which he introduced upon taking office in April last year, causing him to lament yesterday in his keynote speech at the 1Malaysia Economic Conference: “I am greatly saddened that such an idea, which is not terribly complicated, is so often not understood.”
Najib has only himself to blame as the 1Malaysia concept has come to mean “a thousand and one” different things even to Umno and Barisan Ministers and leaders – let alone to the people at large.
This is why even his senior aide of some two decades, Datuk Nasir Safar, could interpret Najib’s 1Malaysia as inclusive of offensive and insensitive sentiments such as:
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Labelling Indians and Chinese in Malaysia as “pendatang”;
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“Indians came to Malaysia as beggars and Chinese especially the women came to sell their bodies (jual tubuh)”;
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Claimed that Umno was solely responsible in drafting the constitution sidelining the contribution of MCA and MIC;
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Threat to revoke the citizenship of those vocal about the subject cap for SPM examination.
Mandela-isation of Anwar?
Posted by Kit in Anwar Ibrahim, Azly Rahman on Tuesday, 9 February 2010, 8:38 am
by Azly Rahman
“Man proposes, god disposes”
Thomas a Kempis, ‘Of The Imitation of Christ’
While America awaits The Super Bowl, Malaysia awaits The Super Trial II this week to listen to the arguments concerning the predicament of Anwar Ibrahim.
Philosophically, what ought to be the shape of things to come? Where do we go from here, as a nation? Where do we wish to bring this nation that is in need of deep reflection on the meaning of nationhood and democracy?
Maturity after Mahathirism
If we take 1998 as a framework in looking at the changes this country is seeing politically, Anwar can be seen as an embodiment of Nelson Mandela.
His spirit did not die for the six years he was jailed and upon his release a momentum was created that grew in strength to first, become institutionalised in the form of a strong Parti Keadilan Rakyat and next, of Pakatan Rakyat.
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Malaysia has forgotten Tunku, and Tunku would not recognise Malaysia
Posted by Kit in History, nation building on Monday, 8 February 2010, 6:23 pm
By Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah
Tunku Abdul Rahman was the founder of Malaysia. That has been obscured by an intervening period in which his memory has been brushed out of our national consciousness.
He brought together a Malaysia that had come together “through our own free will and desire in the true spirit of brotherhood and love of freedom”, in a union arrived at “by mutual consent by debate and discussion…through friendly argument and compromise,” and “in the spirit of co-operation and concord.”
This was the basis for Malaysia he worked for and established, and that his life embodied. That basis has been replaced by something alien to it, his memory has been suppressed, and our history revised.
Part of the reason our collective memory of Tunku has faded, and that Tunku would not recognise today’s Malaysia, is that Tunku and his generation built institutions that empowered the people rather than cults of personality to concentrate power and wealth in themselves. They reached instinctively for democratic decision-making. The concepts and precepts of constitutional democracy were part of their natural vocabulary and instinctive reactions. They knew who the country belonged to, and that they lived to serve.
The day of Tunku’s funeral was not even declared a public holiday. It is no accident that the erasure of his memory has gone hand in hand with the erosion of our institutions. Tunku built up a system of good civil service in which ordinary citizens did not need to see so-and-so to get things done. This has been replaced by a domineering style of leadership in which what you get done depends on who you know. Of course the rich and powerful have better connections.
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UMNO leaders in Federal Government should not play with fire and mortgage credibility and success of 1Malaysia GTP Roadmap and Malaysia 2.0 new economic model
Posted by Kit in Media, Najib Razak, UMNO, nation building on Monday, 8 February 2010, 2:39 pm
UMNO leaders in the Federal Government, from the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin to Cabinet and sub-Cabinet levels should not play with fire and mortgage the credibility and success of the 1Malaysia Government Transformation Programme (GTP) Roadmap and Malaysia 2.0 new economic model yet to be announced by Najib.
They should be mindful that Malaysians and the world are watching whether they could separate their responsibilities as Federal Government officials from those of Umno leaders, which would have a great bearing on the credibility, trustworthiness and success of of Najib’s 1Malaysia GTP Roadmap and Malaysia 2.0 new economic model which is to be the basis for the Tenth Malaysia Plan to be presented to Parliament in June.
For instance, national and international credibility in the system of governance which plays a very important role in a country’s international competitiveness, would suffer grievously if Malaysians and the international community believe that the Najib premiership is unable to rise above narrow political party considerations to give top priority to national interests as to continue to compromise the independence, professionalism and integrity of national law enforcement agencies.
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Why the prosecution of Anwar Ibrahim matters to the West
Posted by Kit in Anwar Ibrahim, Court on Monday, 8 February 2010, 1:06 pm
The Washington Post
FEB 7 – In the past two years, Malaysia, which has been a one-party state since it gained independence in 1957, has made remarkable strides toward becoming a democracy. That it has done so is mostly due to the efforts and political talent of one man – Anwar Ibrahim.
So the fact that Anwar went on criminal trial last week should deeply concern the democratic world. The outcome could determine whether one of Asia’s most economically successful countries preserves its stability and embraces long-overdue reforms.
A former deputy prime minister in the ruling party, Anwar was deposed and jailed in 1998 by former Malaysian strongman Mahathir Mohamad.
A manifestly unfair trial followed in which Anwar was convicted of homosexual sodomy, which shamefully remains a crime in Malaysia.
Six years later, the conviction was overturned by a court, and Anwar resumed his political career – this time as an open champion of democracy in Malaysia and other Muslim countries.
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Towards A Developed Malaysia – Part 1
Posted by Kit in Bakri Musa, Law & Order, nation building on Monday, 8 February 2010, 5:01 am
By M. Bakri Musa
[Presented at the Third Annual Alif Ba Ta Forum, “1Malaysia Towards Vision 2020,” Rochester Institute of Technology, NY, December 5, 2009, organized by Kelab UMNO NY-NJ. The presentation can be viewed at www.youtube.com (search under “Bakri Musa RIT”) or through this link]
Part One of Six: Definition of A Developed State
Thank you, President Shahrir Tamrin of Kelab UMNO-NY/NJ for inviting me again. I still savor the many pleasant memories of last year’s event. To President Arif Aiman of the Malaysian Students Association, RIT, your warm welcome and generous introduction more than made up for the chill of a New York autumn! To Nur Fauzana and her committee, I congratulate you for your grit in holding this forum in December when American campuses are typically gripped with term paper deadlines and final examinations.
To fellow panelist Dr. Azly Rahman, it is good to see you again! I was in Greece recently and imagined you conducting a Socratic-like seminar on the meaning of truth, wisdom, and knowledge, under those imposing columns! To Ambassador Jarjis, it is a pleasure meeting you and your wife again. That was an impressive picture of you with President Obama, a portrait of a Malay hulubalang (knight), fearsome yet elegant, with his tanjak (keris) discreetly tucked underneath the samping. You effectively demonstrated that a genuine hulubalang need not brandish his keris to convey his message!
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How can Najib inspire confidence in Malaysia 2.0 new economic model when he has done nothing in past ten months to stop brain drain or achieve brain gain
Posted by Kit in Economics, Najib Razak on Sunday, 7 February 2010, 12:14 pm
When he became Prime Minister in early April last year, one of the first things Datuk Seri Najib Razak announced was a new economic model for the country to ensure Malaysia make a quantum leap to escape the middle-income trap to become a high-income country.
At first, this new economic model of Malaysia 2.0 was to be announced by the second half of last year, then delayed to January of the new year and now to the first quarter of the year.
In actual fact, the World Bank had recommended that Malaysia adopt a new economic model three years ago, stressing that industrial countries are already aiming for economic model 3.0, and with competition at economic model 1.0 intensifying, striving to achieve economic model 2.0 is not an option for Malaysia but a necessity.
The question is why the World Bank’s advice that Malaysia migrate to a new economic model 2.0 was ignored for three years, losing more precious time for Malaysia to catch up in the international competitiveness race when the country had become a straggler as compared to other countries.
When the country achieved nationhood in 1957, Malaysia was the second most economically-advanced country in Asia after Japan.
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Open Letter to ALL Pakatan MPs
Posted by Kit in Letters, Pakatan Rakyat on Sunday, 7 February 2010, 5:02 am
Open letter by Emmanuel Joseph
Dear Few Pakatan Rakyat Elected Representative (You Know Who You Are)
Yang Berhormats,
I am writing this to vent my frustration, irritation, disgust, disbelief and anger on how many of you are acting recently. Its with sincerest and most honest intention that I am writing this, as a Pakatan grassroots ’small fry’ member, who like the millions of Malaysians came out in full force to support you all when you were practically nobodies and put you where you are today, sitting in the highest decision making bodies in your own states and country respectively. Some of you were luckier than others, and been appointed to important government posts, some even head entire state governments. Congratulations, your long wait and tireless effort paid off. But please do kindly remember, it was not only your effort alone, but the effort and will of more than half the Malaysian electorate that put you where you are. You did not win entirely on your own charm, your education level, your profile in your respective fields of expertise or struggle. Frankly, most Malaysians who supported you did not even care who you were or what you did, as long as you were not donning a dark blue cap with a BN logo on it. That is the reason we had aircraft mechanics voted into power in the last General Election.
The next time any of you decide to foam in the mouth about lack of funding, lack of resources and other similar grumbles, please bear in mind these few facts. Firstly, you stood for the election on your own free will. Nobody put a gun on your foreheads asking you to run for elections, nobody begged you to contest. Out of your own reasons, rightly or wrongly you stood, representing the people, and because of that, the people rallied behind you and riding on this, you were catapulted into where you now are. Secondly, others have had far less than you, suffered much more than you and been doing it for far longer. Take a look at the likes of YB Dr Tan Seng Giaw, YB Fong Kui Loon, YB Dr Wan Azizah, YB Mustafa Ali, YB Nasharuddin Mat Isa and many more. Read the rest of this entry »
Twitter exchange – Anwar’s Sodomy 2 and NEM
Posted by Kit in Anwar Ibrahim, Economics, Najib Razak, Twitter on Saturday, 6 February 2010, 7:01 pm
02/06/2010 06:54 PM
limkitsiang: @saiwanstar Journos owned by politicians shld not talk high and mighty about “NEM is 2 impt to leave 2 politics n politicians”.
02/06/2010 06:49 PM
limkitsiang: @saiwanstar “NEM is 2impt to leave 2 politics n politicians” – Najib n MCA Ministers not “politicians”? Star owned by MCA – so? Warped logic
02/06/2010 06:46 PM
limkitsiang: @saiwanstar “I agree with u tht sodomy 2 ws a fixed up but …” who said this? Backing off so quickly? Deny when cornered?
02/06/2010 06:38 PM
saiwanstar: @limkitsiang Don’t recall ever saying who fixed sodomy 2 did I? :) no bullseye uncle lim. NEM is 2 impt to leave 2 politics n politicians.
02/06/2010 06:21 PM
limkitsiang: @saiwanstar Y classic mca kneejerk allegation dap will sabo d country’s economy? U have sole claim 2patriotism? U owe public apology
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Stop Anwar Sodomy2 trial if Najib is serious about Malaysia 2.0 new economic model …
Posted by Kit in Anwar Ibrahim, Economics, Najib Razak on Saturday, 6 February 2010, 2:13 pm
In his 2010 New Year Message issued on 31st December 2009, the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak forecast that Malaysia will emerge stronger in 2010 with the long-term as well as short and medium-term initiatives taken by the Government.
However, Malaysia has becoming weaker instead of stronger whether in terms of national unity or in international competitiveness since the first day of the new year.
The first month of the new year was marred by irresponsible mischief to create inter-religious discord over the Dec. 31 judgment of the Kuala Lumpur High Court judge Datuk Lau Bee Lan lifting the 2007 Home Ministry ban on the Catholic Church weekly Herald and allowing the use of the word “Allah” in its Bahasa Malaysia version – with a spate of desecration of churches, mosques, surau and Sikh Gurdwara.
As a result, Malaysia’s international image and standing suffered unprecedented battering in the first month of the year, aggravating Malaysia’s crisis of confidence, undermining Malaysia’s international competitiveness and tarnishing Malaysia as a safe and secure haven for FDIs and as an ideal location for tourists and students.
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Kit Siang Online
