Archive for May, 2010
Call on Najib to suspend UUCA for five years to demonstrate he has the political will to implement NEM priority to “retain and attract talent”
Congratulations to the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak that Malaysia has broken into the top 10 list of the world’s most competitive countries, taking the 10th spot on the Switzerland-based IMD’s World Competitiveness Yearbook for 2010 – up from 18th placing last year.
Malaysia, however, has still a long way to go if we are to break away from the decade-long economic stagnation, escape from the middle-income trap and take our rightful place in the international community of nations, catching up with nations which have overtaken us economically although we were ahead of them when we achieved Merdeka 53 years ago – like South Korea, Singapore, Taiwan and Hong Kong.
For a start, has the Najib premiership the political will to break the logjam of resistance by vested groups represented by former Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad and various interest groups which have been outsourced by Umno to champion rightwing, extremist and racist views like Perkasa and Gertak?
As a test whether Najib has the political leadership and will to implement New Economic Model (NEM) reforms, I call on him to suspend for five years the Universities and University Colleges Act which acts like a suffocating blanket stifling creativity, innovation and excellence among university lecturers and students, reducing the public universities into second class universities not only in the world but also in the country.
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Putrajaya dream not far-fetched, says Kit Siang
Posted by Kit in Pakatan Rakyat on Thursday, 20 May 2010
KUALA LUMPUR: Pakatan Rakyat’s victory in the recent Sibu by-election proved that all is not lost for the coalition in its hopes of winning the 13th general election, and forming the next federal government.
In his blog, DAP veteran Lim Kit Siang also said the days Barisan Nasional considered Sabah and Sarawak as its “fixed deposits” are over.
“The BN survived the onslaught of the 2008 political tsunami due to the support from Sabah and Sarawak.
“However, it must have realised now that it cannot take the voters of the two states for granted by disregarding their legitimate grievances and discontent,” he said.
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Malaysia in the Era of Globalization #15
Posted by Kit in Bakri Musa, globalisation on Thursday, 20 May 2010
By M Bakri Musa
Chapter 2: Why Some Societies Progress, Others Regress
The Seminal Role of the Individual
The preceding discussion focused on society. It is the function of society and its culture to mould its members into a preexisting pattern through socialization and acculturation. The intention is to maintain the status quo; it is necessarily static to ensure that the values and nature of that society are propagated and maintained; it is a mechanism to ensure societal stability.
Individuals are by nature unique, each of has our own preferences and choices, our likes and dislikes. Left to our own devices, human society will not be possible. We would be like a bunch of wild cats, marauding on our own. Ever try to corral a bunch of them? But even with wild animals a certain pack behavior is identifiable – a primordial societal form.
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What more do we want from the Chinese?
I find myself in a strangely odd position – an Indian speaking up for the Chinese. It has recently been asked of them: “What more do the Chinese want?”
If it were merely rhetorical, I will defend the right to ask questions of such a nature in the name of free speech and healthy discourse. Unfortunately it is not a question. It is a blatant threat. The politicians behind the threat have clearly identified themselves. They have also now shown their hand. They are shamelessly indulging in the gutter politics of communalism.
A demonstration 10,000-strong had been planned for May 13 in Terengganu. We should reject this threat for the same reason we reject a bribe. Racial politics and corruption are slowly and surely destroying the very fabric of nationhood. A country that was put together carefully with effort, toil and sacrifice deserves better.
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Surprising signals from Sibu
By Bridget Welsh
The real measure of change among the electorate is how they mark the ballot paper.
This analysis explores how people voted in Sibu, drawing from the polling station results and local interviews. The results from the Sibu by-election point to major transformations in voting behavior in Sarawak.
T?hey show swings among voters of all the different ethnic communities towards Pakatan and consistent youth disenchantment with the BN.
The results also reveal a crack in the rural-urban divide in Sarawak voting. Even the composition of the low voter turnout under close scrutiny points in Pakatan’s favour.
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Najib’s infamous Sibu campaign speech – Seeing is Believing
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Election, Najib Razak on Wednesday, 19 May 2010
I read Mariam Mokhtar’s article “‘Deal or no deal’ falls flat” in Malaysiakini this morning dismembering Prime Minister Najib Razak’s RM5million-for-offer speech at Rejang Park, Sibu in the final hours of the Sibu by-election campaign Polling Eve on Saturday.
I knew about Najib’s dishonourable RM5 million offer to the people of Rejang Park to mitigate their flood problems – a drop in the ocean as Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin had admitted that it would cost at least RM1 billion to resolve Sibu’s long-neglected floods problem – in return for BN candidate Robert Lau elected as MP for Sibu.
But I had not seen the video of Najib’s infamous speech and I did not fully believe what Mariam wrote – as I just could not imagine the Prime Minister of the country saying, doing and behaving the way she has written.
This is why I started on the hunt for the video on the Internet. It was not difficult to find. The Malaysiakini video had been put up on many sites, including other electronic websites.
I was just astounded that Mariam was 100% right and Najib did say, act and behave as she has described and rightly castigated him.
It is indeed “Seeing is Believing”.
Mariam’s was a Must Read article. This is a Must View video!
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Call on Rais Yatim to lift all RTM restrictions on Chou Z Lam’s Bakun Dam documentary and ensure that the remaining episodes of the television documentary is aired
The Information, Unity, Culture and Arts Minister Datuk Seri Dr. Rais Yatim should intervene to lift all RTM restrictions on producer Chou Z Lam’s television documentary on the Bakun Dam.
There had been unacceptable political interference in RTM’s TV2 resulting in Chou’s documentary on the Bakun Dam being taken off the air because of Barisan Nasional concerns over it chances in the Sibu by-election during the campaign period.
The documentary was taken off the air under the direct instruction of RTM’s chief broadcast executive Ibrahim Yahya.
RTM’s newsroom chief executive Jumat Engson had said the documentary was taken off the air because it had sensitive elements that could be harmful for BN in the ongoing Sibu by-election.
Now that the Barisan Nasional had lost the Sibu by-election even without the Bakun Dam television documentary, this rigmarole of political interference with media freedom should be stopped immediately.
Diplomatic claims by the authorities that the documentary would be postponed to ‘a more appropriate time’ is not acceptable.
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Radzi doing the nation a grave disservice in down-playing the public crisis of confidence facing MACC
Posted by Kit in Corruption on Wednesday, 19 May 2010
The Chairman of the Special Parliamentary Committee on Corruption, former Home Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Radzi Sheikh Ahmad is doing the nation a grave disservice in downplaying the crisis of confidence facing the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).
Radzi said in Parlimanet after the meeting of the Special Committee on Corruption that MACC’s image has suffered after Teoh Beng Hock’s death and loss of several court cases.
MACC’s image was already on the nosedive before Teoh Beng Hock’s tragic death at the MACC headquarters in Shah Alam on July 16 – as the MACC did not act as an independent, professional and fearless fighter against corruption but conducted itself as a shameless catspaw of Umno/Barisan Nasional to further their ulterior political agenda against the Pakatan Rakyat – but Teoh Beng Hock’s death sent MACC into a tailspin into the abyss of infamy from which it had not yet been able to redeem itself.
This was why nobody shed any tears when the first MACC Chief Commissioner Datuk Seri Ahmad Said Hamdan retired early under a cloud for MACC under him had ended its first year with lower public confidence and esteem than when it started – actually fulfilling the worst fears of former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.
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Election Commission’s professionalism, credibility and integrity plunged to its lowest point
The Election Commission’s professionalism, credibility and integrity plunged to its lowest point in its 53-year history in the Sibu by-election unless it could satisfactorily explain the two-and-a-half hour delay in announcing the results on polling night and the 9.37% or 5,172-voter mistake in voter turnout.
Counting for postal ballot ended at around 8.30 pm on polling day and almost instantaneously, Barisan Nasional and SUPP leaders left the Counting Centre at the Civics Centre – a sign to all that they knew at that time that the BN had lost the by-election.
The mystery remains three days after the by-election as to why the Election Commission delayed for two-and-a-half hours before announcing the results.
DAP leaders did not “storm” the Sanyan Building where the postal ballots were counted, but we went over there from the DAP Sibu Ops Centre to find out what was happening.
When I arrived there with DAP Secretary-General and Penang Chief Minister, Lim Guan Eng, as well as a battery of DAP MPs and State Assembly representatives from all over the country at about 9.30 pm, counting of postal ballots had already been completed for an hour but there was a “standoff” as there was no Election Commission official to issue Form 15 to certify the final tally for the postal ballots counted.
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‘Deal or no deal’ falls flat
As they say, politicians are like nappies – they should be changed often and for the same reasons. Yesterday, the people of Sibu made history when they elected DAP and rejected BN.
Days earlier, at Rejang Park, the prime minister convinced me that BN does not have the interests of the people of Sibu at heart.
1. He said: “I don’t have to come here…..to Rejang Park……This is not the place for a prime minister to come.”
2. He insulted the intelligence of the people by making deals in exchange for public service.
3. He lowered the tone of his speech by saying “Bull Shine”. Is vulgar slang accepted speech by a prime minister?
Without the involvement of money politics, DAP’s majority could easily have been in the thousands rather than just 398 votes.
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Iban vote remains elusive for Pakatan
COMMENT Last Sunday was an eventful day for me personally. I took part in my first 15km pacesetters run which took me through the rolling hills and grand mansions of Bukit Tunku. I dropped by a friend’s church in a refurbished part of Petaling Jaya which looked very different compared to three years ago.
I played basketball in the evening at a friend’s apartment just off Jalan Ipoh complete with its own private park. I then had dinner at a newly-opened restaurant in nearby Kepong with a few newfound friends. Finally, I returned home, fired up my computer and checked the Sibu by-election results.
It turned out that it was also an eventful day for the voters in Sibu. For the first time since the 1982 general election, the parliamentary seat of Sibu fell into the hands of the opposition, by a narrow margin of 398 votes.
Someone asked me if I was surprised by the result and I answered in the negative. After all, I had predicted that the DAP would win this seat by a margin of 500 votes.
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Sea change in Sibu
By Bridget Welsh
The moment I sensed a sea change in the Sibu by-election campaign was during the Friday ceramah, two days before polling. The event reminded me of a similar mood on the eve of the Sarawak state polls in Kuching. The momentum was clearly moving in the opposition’s favour.
The votes are now counted and the opposition managed to pull off an extremely close victory of 1% majority in the final tally. Coming after the defeat in Hulu Selangor and without expectations, this victory was especially sweet for Pakatan Rakyat and bitter for BN, particularly those with personal stakes in the contest, namely Prime Minister Najib Razak and Sarawak Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud.
The blame game has begun within the BN camp as the shock has yet to subside. The reasons for this close victory are multiple and cannot be boiled down to specific individuals or communities. This piece focuses on the factors that were decisive in the campaign for both sides.
My final piece on Sibu tomorrow will showcase an analysis of the results and flesh out the political implications of these results.
What went right for Pakatan
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Sibuans on why they created the Sibuan Miracle
Letter from Gabriel
Dear Kit,
After the recent election in my hometown, Sibu, a lot of my former schoolmates have been storming the internet and started voicing their grievances online, especially in social network portal like Facebook. Just a while a go, one of my ex-classmates showed me a link where people post feedback to SUPP Robert Lau’s status and one of the feedback is as follows and myself being a local Sibu, do totally agree with this Adam’s point of views :
Adam Tang
Let’s go down to the bottom. State down at least 3 to 7 reason why you vote or not vote Mr. Robert. Let Mr. Robert analyze himself. Fair?I didn’t vote Mr. Robert Lau because
Perkasa said our grandmother came to Malaysia just to sell their body last time. (Those who voted Wong Ho Leong are those who are willing to sacrifice Sibu to tell BN from the other side that if BN continue mess with Perkasa, we will vote PR again. Respect please for the people who vote DAP).
DAP/PR victory in Sibu sparks new hopes for a PR Federal Government in next general election
Posted by Kit in Election, Pakatan Rakyat, Sarawak on Tuesday, 18 May 2010
The Sibu by-election result has triple far-reaching implications for Sibu, Sarawak and Malaysia.
Most important of all, the DAP/PR victory in the Sibu parliamentary by-election on Sunday sparks new hopes for a Pakatan Rakyat Federal Government in the next 13th General Election in Malaysia.
In one fell swoop, the Sibu Miracle achieved triple national impacts: viz:
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Steadied parliamentary democracy and strengthened Pakatan Rakyat’s parliamentary position to ensure that the Barisan Nasional does not steal back its previous unbroken two-thirds parliamentary majority;
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Sent a clear and unmistakable signal that Sarawak and Sabah are no more Barisan Nasional “fixed deposit” states which had saved the Barisan Nasional federal power in the 308 political tsunami of the 2008 general election and Umno and Putrajaya cannot continue to take the people of Sarawak and Sabah for granted in disregarding their legitimate grievances and discontents.
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Demonstrated growing maturity and effectiveness of the Pakatan Rakyat political alliance. The Sibu by-election is the first foray of Pakatan Rakyat Sarawak comprising PKR,PAS, DAP and SNAP. The campaigning by all Pakatan Rakyat leaders including Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, Datuk Seri Azizah Ismail, Azmin Ali, Saifuddin Nasution, Zuraida Kamaruddin, Fuziah Salleh, Nurul Izzah, Zaid Ibrahim (PKR) and Datuk Seri Hadi Awang, Read the rest of this entry »
Call for clear Cabinet position tomorrow: whether Najib’s promise of RM5 flood mitigation project for Rejang Park in Sibu made on eve of Sibu by-election will be honoured or not
Posted by Kit in Election, Najib Razak, Sarawak on Tuesday, 18 May 2010
The Cabinet meeting tomorrow should come out with a clear position – whether the RM5 million flood mitigation project promised to the voters of Rejang Park in Sibu on the eve of the Sibu by-election polling on Saturday night will be honoured or not.
This is the Sunday Star report “PM woos ‘black area’ folk’ – Najib elicits cheers from voters in Rejang Park”:
Sibu: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak elicited cheers from residents Rejang Park when he announced an allocation of RM5 mil to solve its perennial drainage problem.
The poor drainage and sewerage system in the housing estate are among the reasons why it is a “black area” for Barisan Nasional in past general elections.
This is one example of Najib’s infamous “I give you what you want, you give me what I want” style of campaigning.
Yesterday, however, Najib said he is rethinking his RM5 million campaign promise to Rejang Park, adding that he has yet to decide if he will approve the RM5 million flood mitigation project promised to Sibu voters if Barisan Nasional (BN) won yesterday’s by-election.
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Malaysia’s Ruling Coalition Loses a Sarawak Race
Asia Sentinel
Chinese voters refuse blandishments of school and development money, go for the opposition
Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak’s 1Malaysia campaign, designed to bring the country’s three main ethnic groups back together and abate racial tension, suffered a setback Sunday when Chinese voters in the Sarawak town of Sibu deserted the national ruling coalition to narrowly elect a candidate to Parliament from the opposition Democratic Action Party.
Najib had made three trips to the town of Sibu, some 50 km up the Rajang River from the coast, and offered a cornucopia of goodies including RM18 million in financial assistance to 65 Chinese schools in what was called the most intensive campaign in the district’s history as the Barisan sought to win back the seat. That included RM10 million for Chinese primary schools, RM5 million for Chinese independent secondary schools and RM3 million for Christian missionary schools. Government workers repaved roads in an attempt to woo voters.
Najib promoted his 1Malaysia slogan as being “the only spirit and philosophy that can hold this country together.” He added that, “There is no reason why Muslims and Christians cannot work together under the spirit of 1Malaysia.” One blogger, however, wrote that Najib should just have abandoned the Chinese voters in Sibu and spent the education and development funds on poor rural voters, who are mostly other ethnic groups than the majority Chinese.
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Sibu the “Sifu”
Posted by Kit in Pakatan Rakyat, Sarawak on Tuesday, 18 May 2010
Sixteenth of May a date to remember
In Sarawak a history was created
The people awaken, tis the signal
In her fortress BN was defeated
It is historical, this month of May
A tragedy in nineteen sixty nine
Never should it be repeated, we pray
And that’s your wish and mine.
The youths had a grand celebration
And the teachers day too did follow
Whilst Pakatan was in jubilation
Barisan Nasional plunged in sorrow.
It was the bye-election in Sibu
The spirit that we shall nurture
Little Sibu became the “SIFU”
Giving hope to Malaysia’s future. Read the rest of this entry »
Call for public inquiry into the two-and-a-half hour delay in announcing the results of the Sibu by-election last night
The Election Commission has blamed DAP for the delay in tallying the results of the postal voting in Sibu denying that it had wanted to manipulate the outcome in favour of the Barisan Nasional.
However, the Election Commission has not been able to give full and satisfactory explanation for the two-and-a-half hour delay in the announcement of the Sibu results which was the cause of a twitter offensive by me last night, viz:
#P212 #Sibu Told BN leaders left counting centre virtually admitting defeat. Some time b4 off results are known awaiting postal ballot.
05/16/2010 08:44 PM#P212 #Sibu Majority prob v narrow but its Sibu Miracle if true. Will not update further as results incomplete. Keep fingers crossed n pray.
05/16/2010 08:48 PMGoing over 2Sanyan Bldg w Penang CM PR MPs 2find out from Election Comm what is holding up anncement of #Sibu #P212 results
05/16/2010 09:23 PM
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Quality, Quantity, and Equity in Malaysian Education #2
Posted by Kit in Bakri Musa, Education on Monday, 17 May 2010
By M. Bakri Musa
[Second of Three Parts]
[In Part One I discuss the crucial role of workers’ cognitive abilities (language skills, mathematical competency, and science literacy) rather than years of formal schooling in determining and contributing to a country’s economic development. In this second part, I address quality, quantity and equity in Malaysian education.]
Trinity of Quality, Quantity, and Equity
The UN lauds Malaysia for meeting – indeed exceeding – the Millennium Development Goal of universal primary education. I caution against taking too seriously such praises. The UN works from the base of such countries as Afghanistan and Sub Sahara Africa; they should not be our reference point.
The dilemma of quality versus quantity is old and familiar. Retired Malaysians wistfully remember the old colonial English schools. Yes, they were good, and when you scored an “A” then, you knew that you were on par with those students in London and elsewhere who also scored an “A.” It was essentially the same examination. There was pride of achievement in that.
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“Battle of Century” Grand finale ceramah – tweets
#P212 #Sibu DAP grand finale crmh near Paramount Hotel MPs ChienJen Teresa NieChing SAs To speak Karpal Anwar Hadi LGE WHL Huge crowds bldg
Saturday, May 15, 2010 8:17 PM
#P212 Roaring +10k crowd near Paramount Hotel – record ceramah turnout in #Sibu history: testimony Sibuans want 2lead change 4Sibu/Swak/Msia
Saturday, May 15, 2010 9:53 PM
#P212 PM Najib in 3rd visit #Sibu promised RM5 mil Rejang 4flood mitigation if BN wins The +10k ppl roared approval 2hold Najib 2account (1)
Saturday, May 15, 2010 9:59 PM
#P212 If Najib does not honour RM5mil flood scheme when HoLeng is wins MP #Sibu serves notice dat Najib will b Opp Leader not PM after 13GE
Saturday, May 15, 2010 10:05 PM
#P212 From chanting +10k crowd #Sibu is prepared 2Lead Swak/Msia 4Change. 2hrs 2go – Odds r now 50-50. We have fighting chance. Go Sibu Go!
Saturday, May 15, 2010 10:18 PM
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