Archive for April, 2010
Koh Tsu Koon under thumb of Umno – cannot and dare not declare “Malaysian first Chinese second” (Video)
Posted by Kit in Gerakan, Parliament, UMNO on Saturday, 3 April 2010
Part 1
Why are Malays poor? Blame it on Umno!
By P. Ramakrishnan
APRIL 2 — Of late, the pressure is building up to convey the impression that the Malays are poor because of the non-Malays. It is trumpeted that the non-Malays are enriching themselves at the expense of the Malays.
This erroneous and mischievous line of argument is deliberately pushed to achieve two objectives: One, to get the Malays riled up and to create hatred for the non-Malays as the source and cause of Malay poverty. Two, this is a ploy to consolidate the position of these hate-mongers so that they can be accepted as the defenders of the race and champions who would deliver the Malays from their wretched situation.
But these extremist elements do not reveal how they have benefited from the policies of Umno that were meant for the welfare of the majority poor Malays. They do not reveal how the benefits have gone to the crony corporate figures and the well connected political elite irrespective of their ethnicity.
They do not disclose how billions of ringgit had been squandered to rescue the failed ventures of their elite group. They do not disclose how billions were pumped into Bank Rakyat and Bank Bumiputera to sustain them. They do not disclose why Mirzan Mahathir’s floundering and debt-laden shipping empire had to be bailed out with our national wealth. They do not disclose why Tajudin Ramli’s stake in MAS was bought over for RM8 per MAS share when the market price was only RM3.62.
Read the rest of this entry »
A Blueprint for Malaysia
Posted by Kit in Economics, Najib Razak on Friday, 2 April 2010
Opinion Asia | The Wall Street Journal
Prime Minister Najib Razak sounds a reform note, but will he follow through?
The times they are a-changin’ in Malaysia. A few years ago it was inconceivable that a Malaysian premier would express dissatisfaction with the “rent-seeking and patronage” inherent in the country’s four-decade-old affirmative action policies and call for a more “transparent” system based on merit and need. Former strongman Mahathir Mohamad used to label people with such ideas “extremists.”
Yet today Dr. Mahathir, who has thrown his lot in with nativist groups like Perkasa, looks extreme. Prime Minister Najib Razak, by contrast, is reflecting the popular will. In announcing what he dubbed a “New Economic Model” Tuesday, Mr. Najib is responding to the obvious: His country’s extensive system of hiring rules, investment quotas and various other perquisites for the majority ethnic Malays drives away capital and labor and entrenches corruption and poverty.
It’s a story investors already understand. For the past few years, foreign direct investment in Malaysia has slowed to a trickle in an economy that used to be one of Southeast Asia’s dynamos. On a net basis, money is flowing out of the country. Part of this trend has to do with state-owned oil behemoth Petronas’s investments abroad. But it also reflects that many Malaysian companies don’t repatriate capital because they see fewer decent investment opportunities at home. The same goes for foreign investors.
Read the rest of this entry »
Najib’s first anniversary marked with his 1Malaysia signature theme in complete tatters – will the NEM go the same way as 1Malaysia?
Posted by Kit in Najib Razak, nation building, Parliament on Friday, 2 April 2010
Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s first anniversary as sixth Prime Minister of Malaysia is marked with his 1Malaysia signature theme in complete tatters, raising the question whether the other pillar of his premiership, New Economic Model unveiled three days ago will go the same way as his 1Malaysia slogan.
When Deputy Speaker Datuk Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar made an arbitrary last-minute rejection of my amendment to the Motion of Thanks for the Royal Address late last night, provoking a collective protest walk-out of the Chambers by Pakatan Rakyat Members of Parliament from PAS, PKR and DAP, it was not only a black-letter day for parliamentary democracy but also for Najib’s 1Malaysia concept and slogan.
I had moved the amendment motion for the establishment of a Parliamentary Select Committee on 1Malaysia Government Transformation Programme Roadmap to monitor and report on its progress and development at the conclusion of my speech in the debate on the Royal Address two weeks ago on March 18, and it was seconded by the PAS MP for Kuala Krai Dr. Mohd Hatta bin Mohd Ramli and had been accepted by the Chair.
It is against all parliamentary precedents and practices for the amendment motion, which had been properly moved, seconded and accepted two weeks ago, to be suddenly rejected at the last-minute just before voting on the specious ground that it had nothing to do with the Royal Address.
Read the rest of this entry »
NEM and NEP – Only One Letter Different!
Posted by Kit in Bakri Musa, Economics, Najib Razak on Friday, 2 April 2010
By M. Bakri Musa
With threatening clouds overhead, there are no prizes for predicting the flood, only for designing or building the ark. The recently-released New Economic Model (NEM) Report draws our attention (not that we need it!) to the darkening Malaysian skies, and then goes on advising us to build an ark.
That is as far as the report goes. There are no hints on whether the clouds would bring a tropical drenching or just a midday sprinkle. There are also no suggestions on the type of vessel we should build. A barge, yacht or a sampan will all keep us afloat, but beyond that they serve vastly different purposes, not to mention their enormously varying costs. And if the forecast calls for only a light sprinkle, then a simple umbrella would do; no need to expend scant resources on an unneeded ark.
We are told that following “public input,” another report will be released by June, in time for its recommendations to be incorporated into the Tenth Malaysia Plan and the 2011 Budget. This second report, we are further assured, will contain specific policy prescriptions – the ark design, as it were.
The current report is silent on how this “public input” would come about. Before deluding ourselves that we could participate in robust public debates, let me intrude a cautionary note. Acknowledging that there will be opposition, the report urges the government to take “prompt action when resistance is encountered.”
Read the rest of this entry »
Najib Stalls on his New Economic Policy
Posted by Kit in Economics, Najib Razak on Friday, 2 April 2010
Asia Sentinel
Fleshing it out is probably impossible
As expected, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak unveiled his New Economic Model in an 8,000 word speech on March 30 to a national investor conference in Kuala Lumpur. And, as expected, despite the hype and favorable news stories in the international press, it contained virtually nothing of substance. The speech can be found here.
Najib remains caught between the need to eliminate costly subsidies enshrined in 40 years of economic policy that benefit ethnic Malays and the fact that eliminating them would alienate a major part of his United Malays Political Organization political base.
His pledge in the speech to eliminate rent-seeking is fraught with political danger, since UMNO has largely been built on party cadres who have made fortunes on government contracts or other arrangements. As Lim Kit Siang, the leader of the opposition Democratic Action Party, pointed out to Asia Sentinel, Najib’s promise to end rent-seeking was almost an exact echo of speeches by his predecessor, former Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, who was unable to make any progress whatsoever in the face of implacable opposition from UMNO cronies.
Read the rest of this entry »
Challenge to all the other 17 UMNO Ministers and other BN Ministers to stand up and be counted to declare whether they are Malaysians first and Malays, Chinese, Indians, Kadazans or Ibans second or the reverse
Posted by Kit in Muhyiddin Yassin, Najib Razak, nation building on Thursday, 1 April 2010
In response to my challenge on the four acid tests of whether he really supports Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s 1Malaysia concept, Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin declared he is “Malay first” and then only a Malaysian.
He said: “I am Malay first! But being Malay does not mean you are not Malaysian. It is not a race issue.”
Again accusing me of trying to drive a wedge between him and Najib, he said:
“The question of 1 Malaysia should not be brought up. When a leader talks about the interest of his own race, it does not mean he doesn’t support 1 Malaysia. 1 Malaysia is based on the Constitution.
“How can I say I’m Malaysian first and Malay second? All the Malays will shun me and say that it is not proper.
“There is nothing wrong in leaders fighting for their own race. Don’t tell me Kit Siang does not fight for the Chinese?”
Read the rest of this entry »
Malaysia in the Era of Globalization #8
Posted by Kit in Bakri Musa, globalisation on Thursday, 1 April 2010
By M Bakri Musa
Chapter 2: Why Some Societies Progress, Others Regress
Geography As Destiny
It is easy to understand and accept the premise that geography plays a major role in deciding the fate of a nation. Intuitively one can readily see that the Arabs are fabulously wealthy because of their vast oil deposits. Economists have long clung to the idea of comparative advantage afforded by the luck of geography. Portugal’s Mediterranean climate enables it to produce cheaper and better wines than Britain. The easy availability of coal in Britain on the other hand, made possible the steam revolution.
Access to navigable waterways and oceans confer immense advantages. For this reason Malacca was a center of vigorous Malay civilization for a long time. Through international commerce and the consequent intermixing of various cultures, Islam entered and became established in the Malay world through that port city.
Yet like many ideas that seem right, geography cannot be the full answer. There are too many exceptions of countries doing well despite seemingly no natural resources or favorable geographic factors. Hong Kong and Singapore are two oft-cited examples. But even here one cannot ignore geography entirely. Read the rest of this entry »
-
You are currently browsing the archives for April, 2010
