Archive for March, 2010
Parliamentary Select Committee on 1Malaysia Government Transformation Programme Roadmap headed by an Opposition Member of Parliament
Posted by Kit in nation building, Parliament on Saturday, 20 March 2010
Unfortunately, we do not have efficient, independent and professional national institutions whether the Attorney-General’s Chambers, the Police, the Judiciary or the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) to fairly and fearlessly uphold what is right and true as they all have bent themselves to serve the political dictates of their political masters although they vary from the national interests.
Malaysians are entitled to ask why the Home Ministry is completely insensitive, unconcerned and indifferent about the long-standing exploitation of the “race and religious” cards by Utusan Malaysia and Berita Harian making a mockery of Najib’s 1Malaysia, while trigger-happy like the latest case concerning the China Press – for wrongly reporting that the Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan has resigned when his termination would be effective and final in September!
Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein has denied that the China Press editor is being pressured to resign or face three to six-month suspension of the newspaper – saying that only a show-cause letter had been issued.
Let Hishammuddin answer in Parliament – what is the big deal about the China Press report? It had made a mistake and a correction had been made.
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Hishamuddin punishment of China Press shameful
Posted by Kit in Dr. Chen Man Hin, Media on Friday, 19 March 2010
By Dr Chen Man Hin, DAP Life Advisor
Home Minister Hishamuddin vents anger at China Press for prempting him in announcing news of termination of the services of IGP. The China Press did what a newspaper does, print news as they come in. They had information that the IGP was being terminated and they duly reported it – ahead of all the other newpapers including the Utusan and Straits Times.
Immediately, the home minister promised to take action against the China Press threatening punishment. Unfortunatelyfor him, the news by China Press was true news and not false news. The next day, the Home Minister was compelled to announce that the services of the IGP was to be terminated and that he would serve as IGP up to the end of the year.
Despite the fact that China Press reported true news, the Home Minister continued to hound them, until China Press took action against its staff. So China Press was forced to take action ‘internally’ to save face for the Home Minister.
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Umno media are ironically furnishing the best evidence of the rise of Middle Malaysia
Posted by Kit in Media, nation building, Parliament, UMNO on Friday, 19 March 2010
The 1Malaysia GTP talks about “promoting an all-inclusive 1Malaysia media”. It said:
“However, when some of the reporting and writing becomes too ethno-centric or even takes on a more race-centred angle, it raises, rather than breaks down, barriers. Further, instead of providing constructive and valid criticism, some writers abuse the greater freedom of expression now available to use terms and express feelings that are racist or inflammatory in nature and tone.
“While censorship is antithetical to democracy, there is a need to introduce, instill and internalize a commitment to journalistic professionalism, a sense of responsibility and self-restraint, with sensitivity to the divergent views and feelings of the diverse communities in Malaysia.”
Any independent survey of the mass media scene will show that those most guilty of the sins of being “too ethnocentric or even takes on a more race-centred angle” and abuses of using “terms and express feelings that are racist or inflammatory in nature and tone”, totally insensitive to “the divergent views and feelings of the diverse communities in Malaysia” in the past two years since the March 8 “political tsunami” of the 2008 general election are the Umno media of Utusan Malaysia and Berita Harian.
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Video : 3 Acid Tests for 1 Malaysia
Posted by Kit in Najib Razak, Parliament, UMNO on Friday, 19 March 2010
How many Cabinet Ministers, including the DPM, have the 1Malaysia DNA as to be able to pass three simple 1Malaysia tests? (Part 3)
Posted by Kit in Muhyiddin Yassin, Najib Razak, nation building, Parliament, UMNO on Thursday, 18 March 2010
I had proposed the establishment of an Opposition-headed Parliamentary Select Committee on 1Malaysia which had been met with indifference and disinterest from Muhyiddin and the overwhelming majority of Barisan Nasional Ministers.
This is really quite ridiculous as Muhyiddin and the Najib Cabinet should be persuading the Pakatan Rakyat MPs to agree to the establishment of a Parliamentary Select Committee on 1Malaysia and not the other way round!
Why is this so? Is this because the Najib Cabinet is full of Ministers who are quite skeptical about the 1Malaysia concept treating it as nothing more than political theatre not to be taken seriously?
Who are the Ministers in the Najib Cabinet who have the 1Malaysia DNA? I do not see anyone. No wonder neither Muhyiddin nor the other Cabinet Ministers comport themselves with any conviction that they are the standard-bearers of the 1Malaysia slogan and concept.
There are three simple tests as to whether Muhyiddin and Cabinet Ministers are sincerely and seriously committed to Najib’s 1Malaysia, viz:
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How many Cabinet Ministers, including the DPM, have the 1Malaysia DNA as to be able to pass three simple 1Malaysia tests? (Part 2)
Posted by Kit in Muhyiddin Yassin, nation building, Parliament on Thursday, 18 March 2010
I had occasion to ask publicly last month whether the Deputy Prime Minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin is sincerely and seriously committed to Najib’s 1Malaysia concept – whether he is the right-hand man of Najib or former Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir as the custodian and surrogate of the Mahathir legacy in the Najib premiership.
I had asked Muhyiddin whether he had Najib’s endorsement and approval for all his utterances and actions which are inimical to the realisation of the 1Malaysia slogan and concept, including:
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His defense of the racist “brain washing” and indoctrination on “ketuanan Melayu” by Biro Tata Negara despite criticisms and expose of its racist, divisive and seditious content for the past two decades;
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His attempt to mitigate the Nasir Safar outrage claiming that it could have been “a slip of the tongue” when Najib’s senior political aide labelled Indians and Chinese in Malaysia as “pendatang”, alleging that the Chinese came as beggars and the Chinese women as “prostitutes”; claimed that Umno was solely responsible in drafting the constitution sidelining the contribution of MCA and MIC; and issued the threat to revoke the citizenship of those vocal about the subject cap for SPM examination.
How many Cabinet Ministers, including the DPM, have the 1Malaysia DNA as to be able to pass three simple 1Malaysia tests? (Part 1)
Posted by Kit in Najib Razak, nation building, Parliament, UMNO on Thursday, 18 March 2010
In about a fortnight, Datuk Seri Najib Razak will be celebrating his first full year as the sixth Prime Minister of Malaysia.
In the past year, the slogan of 1Malaysia has dominated the media, the airwaves and the television channels while the 1Malaysia logo in different shapes and sizes had littered the national landscape.
Paradoxically, however, Najib is fighting a losing battle for his 1Malaysia slogan and concept and the most disturbing recent example of such failure was when early this month, a rational and level-headed Umno leader like the Second Finance Minister Datuk Ahmad Husni Mohd Hanadzlah could make a racist remark when egged on by anti-1Malaysia elements when he came under the influence of Penang Umno.
Husni has yet to apologise for his racist remark at a dinner organized by the Penang Malay Chamber of Commerce, where he said: “Kalau orang Cina di Pulau Pinang buli kita, kita lawan balik orang Cina” and what Husni said had been caught on tape.
I am very surprised as DAP MPs have always found Husni as a very rational, level-headed and reasonable Deputy Minister and since Najib’s elevation as Prime Minister last April, as Second Finance Minister, and we find it most shocking that he could have uttered such a racially-laden statement, which runs counter to what Najib’s 1Malaysia represents.
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MCA ‘s three-ring circus rolls around
Posted by Kit in Kee Thuan Chye, MCA on Wednesday, 17 March 2010
By Kee Thuan Chye
Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat just doesn’t know when to quit, does he? Despite his bravado in promising to step down before the mess hit the fan at the MCA’s extraordinary general meeting last Oct 10, he is still adamant that he will be an asset to a beleaguered party split apart by his high-handedness as president. He has declared — the first candidate to do so — that he will defend his position at the coming party elections on March 28.
This is the very man who promised to quit as president if the no-confidence vote against him at the EGM was passed by just one vote. It was actually passed by a margin of 14, with 1,155 delegates voting for it and 1,141 against. He should have kept his word, and done the honourable thing; instead, he chose to stay on.
That more than 600 members attended the party’s annual meeting on March 7 indicates that he enjoys their support, but that is only a quarter of the 2,379 delegates who will vote in two weeks. Besides, some of those 600 could have attended the AGM just to hedge their bets; there may be opportunists among them who will switch loyalties if another faction looks the surer winner. Furthermore, the political complexion has just changed, now that former president Tan Sri Ong Ka Ting has also announced his candidacy.
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Hishammuddin denies demanding China Press editor’s resignation
By Clara Chooi | The Malaysian Insider
KUALA LUMPUR, March 16 – Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein today denied accusations by the Opposition that his ministry had threatened the China Press chief editor with suspension if the latter did not resign.
He said that the accusation, made by DAP adviser Lim Kit Siang in Parliament, was just the Opposition’s ploy to gain political mileage by sensationalising “common procedures”.
“No it is not true (the allegations). From what I know is that what happened with China Press was no different from the others (media publications) like Star and Al-Islam. What we did was merely to send them a show-cause letter and asked them for an explanation,” he said.
China Press was hauled up by the ministry after reporting on Saturday that Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan had submitted his resignation letter to the Prime Minister and the Home Minister.
The IGP’s term of office expires in September.
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Towards A Developed Malaysia (Last of Six Parts)
Posted by Kit in Bakri Musa, globalisation on Tuesday, 16 March 2010
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 Six of Six: Q&A Con’td
Q 10: Can you give us examples of successful countries we can emulate? In one of your books you suggest South Korea, but it is so far ahead to make it a valid model for us.
MBM: Did you know that in the 1950s the Philippines was sending foreign aid workers to South Korea? How the world has changed! Today it is the Philippines that is an economic basket case. That is precisely my point; countries can change quickly, for better or worse. To re-emphasize, if you do not strive to reach Montreal, you would quickly slide back to Tijuana. Standing still is not an option.
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Open debate on New Economic Model (NEM)
Posted by Kit in Dr. Chen Man Hin, Economics on Sunday, 14 March 2010
By Dr Chen Man Hin, DAP life adviser
CALL FOR AN OPEN DEBATE ON THE NEW ECONOMIC MODEL AS IT IS A POLICY THAT WILL IMPACT ON THE ECONOMIC WELL BEING OF THE PEOPLE, AND AS SUCH THEY SHOULD HAVE THE RIGHT TO DISCUSS AND DEBATE ON THE NEW ECONOMIC MODEL BEFORE IT COULD BE IMPLEMENTED.
This is absolutely necessary as the New Economic Policy was pushed through parliament in 1971 without a full discussion by the people. Only the cabinet and government under the then prime minister were privy to the details, and it was rushed through parliament.
Implemented from 1971 until today, the aim was to restructure society, to rescue the Malays from poverty and to give them access to all strata of the economy.
Today, admittedly there are more middle class Malays, but the vast majority of them still live in grinding poverty, and many others still live below the poverty line where families subsist on RM1,500 a month.
The wealth which was supposed to be transferred to the Malay poor was hijacked midway by Umno cronies. They have become rich beyond their wildest dreams.
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Why is Hishammuddin breathing down the neck of the media threatening “all hell to break loose” when all that is needed is a correction for any incorrect report about resignation of Musa Hassan as IGP?
The Home Minister, Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein is breathing fire and brimstone, threatening “all hell to break loose”, demanding an explanation from China Press for its report that the Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan had tendered his resignation letter.
Warning China Press not to publish reports which are not true, Hishammuddin said he had instructed the Home Ministry secretary-general Datuk Seri Mahmood Adam to ask the newspaper editor to explain the report.
Why is Hishammuddin breathing down the neck of the media threatening “all hell to break loose” when all that is needed in the relevant case is a correction for any incorrect report about the resignation of Musa Hassan as IGP?
Is the stability and strength of security in the country and in particular the Malaysian police force so brittle and fragile that a report like that of China Press today could seriously compromised or jeopardized them?
In fact, Hishammuddin should know that if the China Press report is true that Musa has resigned as Inspector-General of Police, there would be joy and jubilation not only among loyal and patriotic Malaysians who have always put national interests above self, but also among top police officers as well as the rank-and-file.
This is why – Read the rest of this entry »
The 200 top SPM students should all be given full pre-university and university scholarships to usher in a new era of meritocracy
Posted by Kit in Education, Muhyiddin Yassin on Saturday, 13 March 2010
Yesterday, the Education Ministry released the Top 10 students and the Top 10 Schools for Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) 2009 – with only two students and three schools coming from the 20 High Performance Schools announced by the Education Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin in January this year.
But why just announce the Top 10 students and the Top 10 Schools for last year’s SPM?
I call on Muhyiddin, who is also Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the Cabinet Committee on Human Resources, to announce the top 200 students for SPM last year and the Top 100 Schools for SPM 2009 as well.
It will be interesting to know whether all High Performance Schools announced by Muhyiddin come within the Top 100 Schools for SPM 2009.
However, what is more important is that the government should usher a new era of meritocracy by awarding full scholarships for both pre-university and university, whether local or foreign, studies to the top 200 top SPM students, regardless of race, religion or region.
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Four MCA Ministers and seven deputy ministers should take collective official leave for next fortnight to concentrate on their party tussle in the run-up to the fresh MCA party elections on March 28
Yesterday, the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak called for a solution to the MCA crisis so that the party can emerge as a credible force to represent the Chinese community and country.
MCA has become a pale shadow from the days of its founding fathers led by Tun Tan Cheng Lock more than half a century ago, when MCA could be said to be on an equal footing with Umno in the Alliance.
Today, MCA has been reduced to such a pathetic status that despite having four Ministers and seven Deputy Ministers, MCA does not even have the weight and leverage in the Barisan Nasional of an outsider and Johnny-come-lately organization like Perkasa and Ibrahim Ali!
When Umno proposed at the Barisan Nasional Supreme Council meeting last month to scrap the rule of unanimity and to amend the BN constitution to allow direct membership of NGOs, individuals and other political parties, MCA leaders dare not even object although they know that their status in Barisan Nasional will be reduced to that of Ibrahim Ali or even lower, whether Perkasa is eventually admitted into the BN or not.
The “Three Kingdoms” battle in MCA has nothing to do with the rights. Interests and future whether of the Chinese community or the Malaysian nation but the political stakes of the different MCA factions.
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Barisan talks up chances ahead of Sarawak polls
by Leslie Lau, Executive Editor | The Malaysian Insider
KUCHING, March 13 — Sarawak’s Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri George Chan (picture) is confident of a near clean-sweep for the state’s Barisan Nasional (BN) amid growing talk of impending state elections, as the ruling coalition seeks a major boost ahead of the next general elections.
He told The Malaysian Insider earlier this week that national Pakatan Rakyat (PR) leaders like Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and the DAP’s Lim Kit Siang have little traction in the state.
“Even at Anwar’s height Pakatan lost Batang Ai to BN in big numbers,” he said in reference to the by-election last year won easily by BN.
State elections must be called by May 2011, but speculation is rife that it will be held this year in what could be a barometer of how voters in the state will swing in national elections.
With voter support in peninsular Malaysia still appearing to be evenly split between BN and Pakatan Rakyat (PR), Sarawak, and Sabah have become strategic states in the fight for federal power.
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MCA’s harakiri and its repercussions on the Chinese
MCA is an ineffective political force in part because it has long played only a marginal role in the previous Malaysia Plans — implemented by the Umno-aligned, Malay dominated civil service — that have shaped socio-economic development in the country.
The Malaysian public, especially the Chinese, must be wondering if MCA can ever get its house in order so that it can attend to the important affairs of state, especially the economy.
Besides the economy which affects the wellbeing of all households in one way or another, there are many other issues that should occupy the time and attention of the party.
Rising religious tensions; increasing intolerance of Islamic zealots; growth of rightwing Malay NGOs and extremism; lack of education opportunities for young Chinese and other Malaysians – the list is formidable. Many of these issues have implications not only for the Chinese but for the whole country.
The Najib administration’s New Economic Model (NEM) is being touted as the way forward. Do the MCA leaders know or even care what is in the model?
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Was Anwar’s sacking 11 years ago lawful?
Posted by Kit in Anwar Ibrahim, Judiciary, NH Chan on Friday, 12 March 2010
By NH Chan
MARCH 12 — On Tuesday March 9, 2010 the Sun reports:
Federal Court: Anwar’s sacking from cabinet lawful
Putrajaya: The sacking of Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim as deputy prime minister and finance minister 11 years ago was lawful, the Federal Court ruled yesterday.
Court of Appeal President Tan Sri Alauddin Mohd Sheriff and Federal Court judges Datuk Wira Mohd Ghazali Mohd Yusof and Datul Abdull Hamid Embong unanimously dismissed Anwar’s final appeal for a declaration that his dismissal from his cabinet posts in September 2, 1998 was unconstitutional.
Alauddin held that the then prime minister, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, had the authority under the Federal Constitution to sack his cabinet minister.
He said, the King, as a constitutional monarch, was required to act in accordance with the advice of the prime minister.
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Top 10 students and Top 10 schools in SPM 2009 a slap-in-the face to Muhyiddin’s list of High Performance Schools
Posted by Kit in Education, Muhyiddin Yassin on Friday, 12 March 2010
The list of Top 10 students and Top 10 schools in the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) 2009 is a slap-in-the-face to Education Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin for his list of High-Performance Schools (HPS) announced at the end of January.
The two SPM 2009 lists have validated the criticisms leveled against Muhyiddin’s HPS list, that it is an insult not only to students and teachers from Sarawak and Sabah but also to their counterparts in Peninsular Malaysia when none of their schools was selected.
Congratulations to Gladys Tan Yee Kim of SMK Green Road, Kuching, the top SPM student in the country in SPM 2009 scoring 10A+s as well as the other nine SPM top scorers.
Gladys Tan has vindicated the honour and quest for excellence of Sarawakians by topping the national list.
However, out of the Top 10 SPM students, only two were from Muhyiddin’s list of HPS, namely second top scorer Grace Kiew Sze-Ern from SMK(P) Sri Aman, Petaling Jaya and fifth top scorer Syamilah Mahali from Kolej Tunku Kurshiah, Seremban.
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Najib has forgotten his first promise as PM that “The era where the government knows best is over”
Posted by Kit in Local Goverment, Najib Razak on Thursday, 11 March 2010
The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak has forgotten his first promise as Prime Minister in April last year that “The era where the government knows best is over” when he gave an instinctive “No” to the proposal by the Penang Chief Minister and DAP Secretary-General Lim Guan Eng for the restoration of local government elections even without referring to his Cabinet.
This is most irresponsible on the Prime Minister’s part. The important issue of restoration of local government elections deserve more serious response from the Prime Minister, the Cabinet and the government.
In fact, one prominent article in a current magazine which belongs to the Umno stable of media publications, has the lead article: “Getting Local Councils to Deliver” and posing the question: “A recent survey showed that local councils are a big letdown to rate payers. Will having local council elections, or better, yet, the Government Transformation Plan, help?”
Najib’s instant and summary rejection of the idea of local government elections could be interpreted as the Prime Minister having little confidence or even having utter contempt for the Local Government Minister Datuk Seri Kong Cho Ha and the KPI Minister, Tan Sri Dr. Koh Tsu Koon who is supposed to spearhead the 1Malaysia Government Transformation Programme (GTP) Roadmap.
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Is Hishammuddin involving police in greater political harassment of PR leaders when he should be asking the police to single-mindedly fight crime to make Malaysia a safe country?
When DAP Penang State Assemblyman for Komtar, Ng Wei Aik, lodged a police report against the Second Finance Minister Datuk Husni Hanadzlah for uttering racially inflammatory remarks on Tuesday, there was an immediate response from the Federal CID director Datuk Seri Mohd Bakri Mohd Zinin who was in Penang at the time.
Bakri asked at a news conference: “Do you want the police to fight crime or investigate political matters?”
The answer is clear and unequivocal, the first task of the police is to fight crime and to ensure that Malaysians, investors and tourists feel safe from crime and are liberated from the fear of crime – two major failures of the Malaysian police in the past decade.
Despite the establishment of a Royal Police Commission and its recommendations in 2005 to create an efficient, incorruptible, professional world-class police service in Malaysia, crime index in the country has continued to mount until the sixth Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak had to admit that it is one of the six priority challenges of his administration.
Despite all the publicity of KPI (key performance index) and NKRAs (National Key Result Areas) in fighting crime in the past year, the police has yet to break the back of the problem of high crime rate and prevalent fear of crime among Malaysians, tourists and investors – the very definition of an unsafe country!
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