Archive for September, 2010
Sosilawati murders – incompetence or corruption?
Letters
by Charles Tojo
Malaysiakini
Sep 17, 10
I refer to the horrific murders of Malaysia ‘s cosmetic queen, Sosilawati Lawiya and three of her colleagues in a not so remote farm outside Banting.
These murders could have been avoided if our police force had been more professional. Clearly the police took a tidak apa attitude or were ‘in it’ in all previous deaths/disappearances. The number of ‘missing persons’ reports all linked to these lawyers emerging all of a sudden out of the blue is testimony to this.
Do you know where this lawyer’s office? Its right across the police station’s reception counter, hardly 50 meters away. And do you know where he stays? In Taman Cempaka, also right across the police station. That their ‘farm’ at Taman Endah was conveniently located only a stone throw’s away from the Hindu disposition site for the cremated ashes of the dead could explain why some of the dead have disappeared without a trace. How very convenient. Kill the victims, cremate them and throw the ashes together with the rest of the Hindu dead at Morib’s established beach site location. A slick morbid operation indeed, if everything is proven true.
It is inconceivable that the police were oblivious to all their wrongdoings, especially since we now have at least two complainants coming forward, a wife of a Chennai businessman who disappeared after meeting the lawyers a year ago, and a local mechanic who had his wife slashed to death at Taman Cempaka itself with the mechanic himself ending up in the lock-up instead of both the lawyers being thrown in the slammer after a financial deal had gone wrong. This scenario looks more like a 1 Corrupted Malaysia Boleh story. Read the rest of this entry »
Ku Nan now denies BN leaders snubbed Perkasa
Posted by Kit in 1Malaysia, Najib Razak, Perkasa on Sunday, 19 September 2010
The Malaysian Insider
By Boo Su-Lyn
September 19, 2010
Kuala Lumpur – Tengku Adnan denies that his BN counterparts have agreed to distance the ruling coalition from Perkasa. – file picKUALA LUMPUR, Sept 19 — Umno secretary-general Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor has now denied that his Barisan Nasional (BN) colleagues agreed to keep the ruling coalition from Perkasa as it was eroding their support.
His denial came shortly after Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s statement yesterday that Umno did not want to stir conflict with any non-governmental organisation (NGO), despite the recent move by Umno leaders, including himself, to rebuff the Malay rights group.
“When we had a meeting with BN secretaries-general, we never talked even a little bit that we wanted to distance ourselves from anybody,” Tengku Adnan told The Malaysian Insider today.
“Our policy is to be close with everybody. We should even go and approach opposition members and explain what our policies are because they are misguided,” the BN secretary-general added.
Earlier, Tengku Adnan reportedly said his BN counterparts had agreed that distancing the ruling coalition from Perkasa was the best way forward to halt the erosion of non-Malay support for BN.
He had also told them that Umno would not back the strident Malay rights group or Ibrahim in the next general election.
Tengku Adnan however denied stating that BN had to distance itself from Perkasa. He pointed out that he merely said the Malay group has tried to undermine the coalition’s chances in the next general election by sabotaging the racial harmony between BN component parties.
“I never said we have to distance ourselves from Perkasa. I just said Perkasa is trying to jeopardise BN’s position for the next general election by destroying the racial harmonious position between my component parties,” said Tengku Adnan.
The Umno secretary-general went a step further and said that he had never asked party members to sever ties with Perkasa, accusing its president Datuk Ibrahim Ali of blowing the issue out of proportion.
“I didn’t even ask members of Umno to relinquish their relationship with Perkasa. It was totally blown out of proportion by Ibrahim Ali,” said Tengku Adnan.
Perkasa claims to have a membership base of 300,000, of whom 80 per cent are said to be Umno members.
He however, was quick to deny that his statement today was a reversal of his earlier stand against Perkasa. Read the rest of this entry »
Malaysia’s religious problems: The way forward
Posted by Kit in 1Malaysia, nation building, Religion on Sunday, 19 September 2010
by Pak Sako
Centre for Policy Initiatives
Saturday, 18 September 2010 15:06
“You are my brother and I love you. I love you worshipping in your church, kneeling in your temple, and praying in your mosque. You and I and all are children of one religion, for the varied paths of religion are but the fingers of the loving hand of the Supreme Being, extended to all, offering completeness of spirit to all, anxious to receive all.
“I love you for your Truth, derived from your knowledge; that Truth which I cannot see because of my ignorance. But I respect it as a divine thing, for it is the deed of the spirit. Your Truth shall meet my Truth in the coming world and blend together like the fragrance of flowers and becoming one whole and eternal Truth, perpetuating and living in the eternity of Love and Beauty.”
— Kahlil Gibran, A Tear And A Smile (1914)
Religious pluralism is a cornerstone for achieving harmony in societies with people of varied faiths. Yet in multi-religious Malaysia politicians shy away from discussing religious pluralism. It is difficult to get straight answers about their stand on or commitment to it.
Take for example the recently concluded panel discussion on ‘National Unity through Religion, Law and Shared Values’ at UCSI University in KL. It is unclear whether religious pluralism or religious bigotry were fruitfully discussed. The contents of the discussion are not made public enough. It can be gleaned from news reports that there were barely satisfactory answers to barely satisfactory questions.
What is conspicuous is that there is an excruciating lack of focus on the heart of the issue.
Here I refocus attention on what really matters. Read the rest of this entry »
Judiciary fails to protect minority rights: Sri Ram
by Hazlan Zakaria
Malaysiakini
Sep 16, 10
Former Federal Court judge Gopal Sri Ram said today that the judiciary has failed in its duty to defend minority rights.
Since the executive branch is elected by the majority, and as such it represents the rights of the majority, Sri Ram argued that the judicial branch has the duty to protect the rights of the minority.
“It is the judiciary which must fulfill this task,” said the former judge in his speech at the National Conference on Integrity in Kuala Lumpur today.
Sri Ram told the 350-strong audience that if the question was asked on whether the judiciary has performed its duty, the answer he said would be an “emphatic no!”.
According to him, this was because the judiciary has become so “executive-minded” that the judges have become creatures of the government. Read the rest of this entry »
1Malaysia not “work in progress” but “work in regress” if Najib proves to be new Mr. Flip-Flop as PM overshadowing his predecessor Abdullah
Posted by Kit in 1Malaysia, Mahathir, Muhyiddin Yassin, Najib Razak on Saturday, 18 September 2010
The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak yesterday defended his 1Malaysia concept, claiming that it had not failed but merely a “work in progress”.
He admitted that the concept could not become a “full realization” today but would do so eventually with the help of all segments of society.
Najib’s 1Malaysia concept is not “work in progress” but “work in regress”, especially if he proves to be a new Mr. Flip-Flop as Prime Minister, putting the former Prime Minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to shame.
In back-pedalling from Umno’s recent decision to disentangle and distance itself from Perkasa as announced by Umno Secretary-General Datuk Sri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor only a week ago, Najib has exuded negative vibrations and sent out the negative message that he is not prepared to be the leader for all groups and component parties in Barisan Nasional let alone be the Prime Minister for all Malaysians.
Nobody is expecting the impossible of “a full realization today” of the 1Malaysia concept but it is disingenuous and even dishonest to claim that his 1Malaysia concept is “work in progress” when he himself lamented in his Malaysia Day message at the rising tide of extremism in his 18 months of premiership with unprecedented outpouring of the rhetoric of race and religion unseen in the first 18 months of all the first Prime Ministers of Malaysia – Tunku Abdul Rahman, Tun Razak, Tun Hussein, Tun Mahathir and Tun Abdullah!
And what has made this “rising tide of extremism” in the first 18 months of Najib’s premiership even more unhealthy and undesirable is that they emanate primarily from the ranks of Umno and allied or outsourced groups! Read the rest of this entry »
Sabah, Sarawak losing points to KL
By K Pragalath
FreeMalaysiaToday
COMMENT
Malaysia is 47 years old through the unification of Malaya, Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore in 1963. (Singapore was separated from Malaysia in 1965.)
The Kuala Lumpur-Kota Kinabalu-Kuching relationship must be relooked because of the imbalance between the centre and the periphery.
Most importantly, the 20-Point Agreement has been largely ignored in making the Malaysia that we have today.
Initial attempts by Sabah first chief minister Fuad Stephens to do so resulted in him being made Australian High Commissioner.
As a result, there were regressions from Sabah’s 20-Point Agreement and Sarawak’s 18-Point Agreement as seen in the “Allah” controversy and the ban on the Malay language Bible. Read the rest of this entry »
Do we fear Perkasa? — Art Harun
by Art Harun
Breaking Views
Malaysian Insider
September 17, 2010
SEPT 17 — I refer to a post at Rocky’s Bru titled “The irrational fear of Perkasa”.
Perkasa.
What does that name evoke? Fear? Unlikely.
To me and many others, that name is almost comical and tragic at the same time, quite in the same mould as Roberto Benigni’s “Life is beautiful,” only that the later was poignant and sorrowful, rather than tragic.
Perkasa is comical in the way it — through its leader, Datuk Ibrahim Ali, and its various extras whose names I do not even care to remember — went around calling people who do not agree with its views names. YB Khairy Jamaluddin knows about this well. Minister Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz also knows about this very well.
Whenever Perkasa’s views are opposed or criticised, Perkasa has been unable to counter such opposition or criticism. When Perkasa cannot rebut another’s opinion, what would it do? Yes, it will attack the person who expresses the opinion rather than the opinion itself. Read the rest of this entry »
MUSA: Last Sermon on Bukit Aman
Posted by Kit in Police, Tunku Abdul Aziz on Saturday, 18 September 2010
by Tunku Abdul Aziz
15 September 2010
I squirmed. All of a sudden a wave of nausea of tsunami proportions swept over me as I munched my buttered toast while reading a news report in the NST (Sept. 9) that IGP Musa Hassan’s parting wish was that Ismail Omar, his deceptively docile successor, would “emulate him in bringing about changes to the force and lifting its integrity.”
My breakfast to which I had looked forward with great anticipation came to an abrupt end; it became quite unpalatable and totally indigestible. A more insincere and hypocritical load of rubbish would be difficult to imagine, especially coming as it did from the man who confessed, so I was reminded, at the Anwar Ibrahim show trial some years ago that he would not hesitate to tell a lie if ordered to do so by his superiors. We deserved, I suppose, to have Musa set loose amongst us, the unsuspecting long suffering public, as the country’s Inspector-General of Police because we have done nothing, or very little, to stop the general rot in our country.
For Musa, his promotion to the post of IGP was a well-deserved reward for his “turning” operations and for being economical with the truth. Musa was denounced as an unreliable witness in a Sabah law court, a euphemism, if there ever was one, for a hostile witness. In truth, we must not be too hard on the poor man because it is quite possible that “truth” was not in the lexicon of ethics as far as he was concerned. Read the rest of this entry »
The knockout punch Najib failed to deliver
Posted by Kit in Anwar Ibrahim, Najib Razak, Pakatan Rakyat, Sabah, Sarawak on Friday, 17 September 2010
Wong Choon Mei
Malaysia Chronicle
Friday, September 17, 2010
The much longed-for recognition for Malaysia Day finally came in the form of a public holiday for the entire nation, but it failed to do anything to shore up the political position or the popularity of Prime Minister Najib Razak and his BN coalition.
And for this Najib has to take the blame. Not only has he been hiding behind glitzy public relations that do nothing but burn a hole in taxpayers’ pockets, even his Malaysia Day message was laughed at by the people for perceived cowardice. For while the 57-year old Najib disavowed ‘extremism’ in his speech, he took great care to do it as vaguely as possible so that no one knew what he was talking about or was referring to. Intentional or not, the end result was that no one took him seriously. And that is serious. Read the rest of this entry »
Najib should seriously implement 20-Points Agreement on Borneonisation by setting target to fill at least half of 59 Federal departments in Sabah with Sabahans as heads before the next Malaysia Day on September 16, 2011
Posted by Kit in nation building, Sabah, Sarawak on Friday, 17 September 2010
Sabahans are disappointed that the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak has come to Sabah completely empty-handed for the first Malaysia Day national public holiday in 47 years.
This makes a complete mockery of the belated recognition of the importance and significance of September 16 as Malaysia Day in the history of Malaysian nation-building process, which involves the rightful place of Sabahans and Sarawakians in the Malaysian scheme of things.
If not for People’s Power as represented by the emergence of Pakatan Rakyat, Malaysia Day on September 16 would not have been declared a national public holiday by the Prime Minister even after 47 years!
This is why the people of Sabah and Sarawak do not want to see the declaration of Malaysia Day as a national public holiday as a mere political ploy but want it to symbolize a belated recognition by and wake-up call for the Federal Government after 47 years to take seriously and address full-heartedly the frustrations, grievances and alienations suffered by Sabahans and Sarawakians for three generations at not being given full and fair treatment as Malaysian citizens – by removing once and for all the nagging sense felt by Sabahans and Sarawakians that they are not accorded recognition and rights as first-class citizens of Malaysia.
This is why Sabahans and Sarawakians expect more than having Malaysia Day declared as a national public holiday – why Sabahans expect Najib to come to Kota Kinabalu and Sandakan on the occasion of Malaysia Day to announce concrete measures how the Barisan Nasional Federal Government proposes to begin to address and resolve their 47-year-old grievances, frustrations and disaffections at not being given fair and proper treatment under the Malaysian sun. Read the rest of this entry »
Waiting for promises made three generations ago
Posted by Kit in nation building, Sabah, Sarawak on Friday, 17 September 2010
By Leon Donald
SRI AMAN, Sept 16 — As we celebrate Malaysia Day, my thoughts roll back to my 95-year-old grandfather in Sri Aman.
He has shared many a story with me on how his grandmother brought him to Kuching to meet the Rajah in court, reminisce on the hardship during the Japanese occupation and then continue on the tragedies he had to go through during the early days of Malaysia during the Confrontation and Communist insurrection.
Then he would tell me about the hardship of campaigning with his cousin, the Paramount Chief of the Ibans, the late Tun Jugah anak Barieng, trying to convince the Ibans to agree to the formation of Malaysia.
He must be wondering the same as I, why only now, the government declares a public holiday on September 16?
Malaysia was formed 47 years ago, not 53 years mind you as Umno would lead us to believe, and only now there is an urgency to recognize the date.
Read the rest of this entry »
August 31st Merdeka Day to Sept 16 Malaysia Day – “bumper harvest” of bad news for Malaysia
Posted by Kit in Education, Media, Najib Razak on Thursday, 16 September 2010
Never before in the nation’s history has the country been buffeted by such a “bumper harvest” of bad news in the 17 days between Merdeka Day on August 31 and Malaysia Day on September 16.
This plethora of bad news for Malaysia cannot be more detrimental to Malaysia’s ability to escape from her decades-long “middle-income trap” and the terrible fate of a bankrupt nation in 2019 by undertaking a national transformation to achieve an inclusive and sustainable high-income developed nation in 2020.
Today for instance, there are two such bad news.
First is today’s Malaysian Insider story “Investors shun Malaysia for neighbours” which reports:
“Malaysia is now the “least favoured market” in Asia Pacific for investors after nearly doubling its underweight rating from last month, according to a recent Bank of America Merrill Lynch report.
“The country slipped two spots — from 10th place to dead last — in the investment bank’s latest Fund Managers Survey, even as the Najib administration prepares to unveil ambitious economic reforms meant to boost investor confidence.
Read the rest of this entry »
Najib’s job as Prime Minister is not just to express sadness at rise of extremism but to provide leadership to stamp out racial bigotry and religious extremism especially when they come from UMNO and allied or outsourced groups
Posted by Kit in 1Malaysia, Najib Razak, nation building, UMNO on Thursday, 16 September 2010
In his Malaysia Day message, the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak expressed strong opposition at the rise of extremism which is a stumbling block in the nation’s progress.
He said he is “saddened” that despite living in an independent multi-cultural nation, there are still those who cannot tolerate, much less accept the benefits of a diverse society and reject the 1Malaysia concept and policy propounded by him since becoming Prime Minister in April last year.
Najib’s job as Prime Minister is not just to express sadness at the rise of extremism but to provide leadership to stamp out racial bigotry and religious extremism especially when they come from UMNO and allied or outsourced groups.
There can be no question that the rhetoric of race and religion had reached an unprecedented level in the past 17 months since he took over the helm of federal government, and what compounded the problem was that the racial bigotry and religious extremism were all coming from one direction – UMNO and its allied or outsourced groups, raising the fundamental question whether Najib has the political will and leadership to stand up and be counted to stamp out extremism coming from his own camps.
Read the rest of this entry »
Malaysia in the Era of Globalization #32
Posted by Kit in Bakri Musa, globalisation on Thursday, 16 September 2010
By M. Bakri Musa
Chapter 5: Understanding Globalization
There is no doubt that globalization is an idea whose time has come….[But] the fact that [it] has come…does not mean we should sit by and watch as the predators destroy us.
—Mahathir bin Mohamad, Prime Minister of Malaysia
The one dominant force shaping the world today is globalization. That is, the increasing integration of markets, economies, infrastructures, and other institutions into one world standard. As a consequence, there is increasingly free movement of goods, capital, services, and ideas across borders.
Globalization, observes the World Bank, is not just an economic phenomenon. While the accounting of benefits and costs of globalization depends very much on one’s perspective, there is no question that it is a relentless and inevitable tidal wave. And like any tidal wave, one is more likely to survive and even thrive, if prepared. A non-swimmer will be swept away and drowned, but a skillful surfer will exhilaratingly ride the crest.
Read the rest of this entry »
Najib should not come empty-handed to Sabah for first Malaysia Day celebrations as national public holiday but should address problem of “Sabahans losing patience over 20 Points” as articulated by UPKO Senator
Posted by Kit in Najib Razak, nation building, Sabah on Wednesday, 15 September 2010
Malaysia Day on September 16 tomorrow will be celebrated as a national public holiday for the first time in the nation’s history.
The very fact that it has taken 47 years for Malaysia Day to be recognized officially as a national public holiday is testimony of why Sabahans and Sarawakians feel so aggrieved at not being accorded full and proper treatment as an integral part of Malaysia.
This prevailing sense of alienation, discrimination and even marginalization is best illustrated by a newspaper headline in the Sabah press today, viz: “Sabahans losing patience over 20 Points – Maijol”.
United Pasokmomogun Kadazan Dusun Murut Organisation (UPKO) vice president Senator Datuk Maijol Mahap was quoted as declaring that “Sabahans are fed up with the Federal Government’s failure to fulfill what have been promised in the 20 Points Agreement”.
Read the rest of this entry »
Najib’s words, words and more words!
Fight extremism, says PM | Bernama
KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 15 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak today expressed strong opposition to the actions of extremist groups or individuals who believe in their radical views and actions against others.
“It saddens me that despite living in an independent multi-cultural nation for over 50 years, there are still those among us who cannot tolerate, much less accept the benefits of a [peaceful] society,” he said.
He said this in his latest entry entitled “Our Fight Against Extremism” in his blog, www.1malaysia.com.my here.
Najib said he was sad because by rejecting Malaysians’ way of life, these groups were rejecting the 1 Malaysia concept.
Read the rest of this entry »
ANALYSIS – Malaysia “top-down” reforms set to disappoint
Posted by Kit in 1Malaysia, Economics, Najib Razak, NEM on Tuesday, 14 September 2010
By David Chance | Reuters
Malaysia’s plans to revitalise investment by backing national champions and ending race-based policies may sound ambitious, but the details are hazy and real economic reform will face formidable obstacles.
The government starts public consultations this month on a new round of reforms, but there is growing resistance from voters and disappointment from investors over measures taken so far.
A government think tank has identified a dozen growth industries such as oil and gas, biotechnology and Islamic finance to focus on in a drive to double Malaysia’s income per capita and propel it into the ranks of “developed nations” by 2020.
Prime Minister Najib Razak’s record on reform is patchy — he shied away from big subsidy cuts and reversed tack on race-based preferential equity ownership rules for the majority ethnic Malay population under pressure from activists.
Read the rest of this entry »
Will PM Najib Razak push through an effective NEM to transform a failed problem ridden Malaysia?
Posted by Kit in 1Malaysia, Dr. Chen Man Hin, Economics, Najib Razak, NEM, NEP on Tuesday, 14 September 2010
by Dr Chen Man Hin, life adviser DAP
IT WILL TAKE A LIBERAL NEW ECONOMIC MODEL AND A STRONG PRIME MINISTER TO PUSH MUCH NEEDED REFORMS TO TRANSFORM MALAYSIA INTO A HIGH INCOME COUNTRY WITH DEMOCRACY, JUSTICE AND PROSPERITY FOR ALL REGARDLESS OF RACE OR RELIGION.
The political and economic outlook for the country is critical. We are riddled with multiple problems of corruption, lack of judicial independence, racialism, brain drain, with 40% of households living below the poverty level of RM1,500, and four out of five poor households are bumiputras.
All these things are happening even after two years of PM Najib rule since April 2008. His 1 Malaysia and mediocre attempts at reforms have failed.
WORLD RANKINGS OF MALAYSIA
The sorry state of political and economic development is reflected in the world ranking status of Malaysia on areas which indicate whether a society is honest, democratic, transparent,and just.
Read the rest of this entry »
Utusan champions Dr M’s views in campaign for Perkasa
Posted by Kit in nation building on Tuesday, 14 September 2010
KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 14 — Umno’s Utusan Malaysia continued its campaign backing Perkasa today, and appears to throw its weight behind Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad by citing the former leader’s arguments for the Malay rights group.
In what appears an attempt to show detractors that the Malay rights group has widespread public support, the Malay daily carried opinions, features and stories directly backing Dr Mahathir and Perkasa.
Dr Mahathir recently said that Umno risks losing the next general elections — if it snubbed Perkasa as the party is according to him, weak.
Perkasa leaders have joined that chorus and warned Umno that it could lose the backing from a majority of Malays if it continues plans to distance itself.
Utusan’s support for Perkasa in an editorial on Sunday had already raised questions about whether it was still backing party president Datuk Seri Najib Razak. Read the rest of this entry »
INDONESIA: We Are NOT, I Repeat, Your Whipping Boy
Posted by Kit in Foreign, Tunku Abdul Aziz on Monday, 13 September 2010
If media reports on the meeting in Kota Kinabalu between our Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Anifah and his Indonesian counterpart Dr. Marty Natalegawa are accurate, then I am afraid we ended, as usual when dealing with international issues, drawing the “short straw.” The Malaysian Foreign Minister in his anxiety to show his newly minted diplomatic template, designed on the trot, totally missed the point about the need to drive home to the Indons, in the strongest possible terms, the increasing difficulty of our trying to contain and control the anger of our people.
How much longer can we be expected to continue to stand by and watch the flag we ran up, so proudly for the first time 53 years ago, trampled and desecrated by one ugly and uncivilised mob after another? The official Indonesian response borders on the moronic arrogance of a people sustained by delusions of moral and cultural superiority. I am always amused listening to countries such as Indonesia parading their democratic credentials, including the freedom to participate in aggressively violent demonstrations, and looking down on us for our poor democracy record by comparison. My one liner rejoinder which puts the cat among the pigeons, as I am wont to do in such a situation, and which always works is, “What use is your democracy on an empty stomach?”
Read the rest of this entry »
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