Archive for category 1Malaysia
The great pretenders
Posted by Kit in 1Malaysia, Najib Razak, UMNO on Friday, 2 December 2011
— Ali Kadir
The Malaysian Insider
Dec 02, 2011
DEC 2 — You can only carry pretence so far, eventually your true self will emerge. This fact is true for individuals like you and me and for organisations or political parties.
And so it is for the United Malays National Organisation. Outwardly, its president Najib Razak talks about the party representing all Malaysians and in the run-up to the general assembly, he even urged his party members not to hurt the feelings of non-Malays during debate time.
But this posturing gave way almost immediately after the start of the assembly. Bent on staying in power, Umno politicians have used every opportunity to make the Malays view the Chinese as a threat to their political party. Read the rest of this entry »
My dream Malaysia Part 1 – Home Front
Posted by Kit in 1Malaysia, nation building on Friday, 7 October 2011
by Richard Loh
October 5, 2011
My dream comes true in a dream within a dream. I woke up to find a total different Malaysia that most Malaysians have been waiting for even though we have yet to attain the developed status. But, is being a developed nation that important when the rakyat are just as happy and living a peaceful and prosperous life with a matured democracy?
Home Front
My daily routine after waking up is to stand at the balcony of my 900 SF apartment, breathing some fresh air generated from the greenery’s not far away. This apartment was bought by my daughter who can afford to do so because it was reasonably priced and an income that allows her to do so.
On my breakfast table there were three newspapers, Utusan, NST and The Star. I read through them one at a time and feel happy reading them. Utusan headlines “Timbalan Perdana Mentri, XYZ, di- arah ka MACC untuk siasatan korupsi”, The Star front page news ‘A top NGO leader was sentenced to five years imprisonment for calling other ethnic groups ‘pendatang’ while NST reported that an opposition MP was disqualified after he was declared a bankrupt. All the papers were reporting exactly what is happening around us and I could not find a report about religion or racial conflict.
After breakfast I took a drive to the market,(usually I would take the MRT, which is nearby and directly stop at destinations where I wanted to go) about 10km away to test my new 1.6 Protonsia. This Protonsia is 100% Malaysian make, body and engine designed by local engineers and safety test approved by the international automobile association. This car model was even exported to the United States with the same price tag as other imported cars like Toyota, Nissan or Mazda of the same engine capacity. Read the rest of this entry »
Slide began before Bersih
Posted by Kit in 1Malaysia, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Bersih, Elections, Najib Razak on Monday, 12 September 2011
— Lucius Goon
The Malaysian Insider
Sep 12, 2011
SEPT 12 — Sorry but I don’t buy this attempt to blame the slide in the prime minister’s rating to his mishandling of Bersih 2.0 rally.
What happened on July 9 and the twisting and turning of words after that by the PM (I offered the stadium and no I didn’t and yes I did) is just symptomatic of an administration which lost its direction and a leader who is afraid of his own shadow.
Long before Bersih happened, the country was in a drift towards worsening race ties, upsurge in the power of the right wing and flip-flops in policy reforms. Sad to say but Najib has become Abdullah Ahmad Badawi: good with slogans and rhetoric but very elastic with implementation.
Abdullah had Islam Hadhari and Najib has 1 Malaysia but under the umbrella of those two “concepts” is the same rubbish which has been stinking up Malaysia since the Mahathir administration: corruption by politicians, worsening race relations, abuse of powers, widening gap between the haves and have-nots, talent drain, inflated privatisation contracts, cronyism and nepotism and a complete hijacking of the Bumiputera agenda by Umno politicians and the decaying state of institutions. Read the rest of this entry »
Merdeka! Are we truly free?
Posted by Kit in 1Malaysia, Bersih, Corruption, nation building, Teoh Beng Hock, UMNO on Thursday, 1 September 2011
Jeswan Kaur
Free Malaysia Today
August 31, 2011
Corruption, nepotism, cronyism and the abuse of the judiciary and legislation have marred the significance of Aug 31.
COMMENT
Aug 31 is a day of reflection, of taking cognisance of the fact that the country’s independence or Merdeka can no longer be taken for granted, that too by the “keepers” of this nation.
Regrettably, it is the “powers that be” that have marred the meaning of Merdeka. Corruption, nepotism, cronyism and the abuse of the judiciary and legislation have marred the significance of Merdeka, especially for the younger generation.
Instead of imparting profound meaning to Malaysians, Aug 31 had been reduced from the sublime to the ridiculous by the power-hungry and “self-first” politicians-leaders of this country.
The fact is Malaysia is “independent” but only in name, not in act. The existence of draconian laws that are continuously abused by the “powers that be” to safeguard its position have turned the understanding of Merdeka into a laughing stock. Read the rest of this entry »
Quo Vadis Malaysia
Posted by Kit in 1Malaysia, Bersih, Muhyiddin Yassin, Najib Razak, nation building on Thursday, 1 September 2011
Never in recent decades had Merdeka Day on August 31 been marked with a greater sense of angst and disquiet by Malaysians than yesterday because of incessant disunifying developments not only over the past several months but also the past few days.
Malaysians flew the national flag yesterday but most of them have a common disquieting question – Quo Vadis Malaysia?
The third National Day of the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak should have been celebrated as a high-water point of his administration, coinciding with Hari Raya Aidilfitri festivities, but this was not the case.
In actual fact, many of National Day messages intended to inspire greater national unity and to exhort moderation and tolerance among Malaysians fell flat, failing not only to inspire the people but merely achieved the opposite of evoking alienation and disaffection because they were so empty and hollow, shouting out the loud contrast between word and deed of those in power. Read the rest of this entry »
Malaysia’s Slowing Performance
Posted by Kit in 1Malaysia, Economics, Najib Razak, NEM on Friday, 26 August 2011
by Greg Lopez
Asia Sentinel
25 August 2011
There are strong institutional reasons for the lagging performance against its regional neighbors
In the 70 years since World War II ended, East Asian economies, including Malaysia, appear to have largely got performance right. Malaysia was also one of 13 countries identified by the Commission on Growth and Development in its 2008 Growth Report to have recorded average growth of more than 7 percent per year for 25 years or more. Malaysia achieved this spectacular performance from 1967 to 1997.
However, since the Asian Financial Crisis of 1997 and1998, Malaysia’s economic performance when compared to previous decades has been lackluster and most macroeconomic indicators are trending downwards. This was confirmed by Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak himself in the publication on March 30, 2010 of the New Economic Model – Part 1. This was a very brave move but a necessary one by the premier as he acknowledged publicly the failures of Malaysia’s current economic model in order to demonstrate urgency for reforms. Read the rest of this entry »
Between fictitious and true unity
Posted by Kit in 1Malaysia, nation building on Friday, 5 August 2011
by Hafiz Noor Shams
The Malaysian Insider
Aug 05, 2011
AUG 5 — There is a strong emphasis on unity in Malaysia.
It is easy to rationalise why this is so. The country has been diverse from the very beginning of its modern history. Each group largely lives differently. While difference and diversity can be sources of strength, it is also a source of conflict.
Some believe that race relations nowadays are worse than they were in yesteryears, but the worst race riot of the country happened in Kuala Lumpur in May 1969. Another big race riot happened in Singapore in July 1964. Conflict between the races was part of the reason why Singapore was expelled from the federation in 1965.
Those conflicts have left behind a deep scar in Malaysian society, even as many Malaysians today never witnessed a race riot first-hand. These old fears are becoming irrelevant but it is still part of what describes our society. So entrenched is the fear of history repeating itself that many are mindful of the tiniest possibility of a race riot. Read the rest of this entry »
Christian cleric condemns Jais raid on PJ church
Posted by Kit in 1Malaysia, Najib Razak, nation building, Religion on Thursday, 4 August 2011
By Debra Chong
The Malaysian Insider
Aug 04, 2011
KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 4 — In an immediate reaction, Council of Churches Malaysia (CCM) secretary-general Rev Hermen Shastri hit out at Selangor’s Islamic religious authorities for “storming” a Petaling Jaya church last night on questionable grounds.
The Malaysian Insider reported earlier this morning that some 30 policemen and enforcement officers from the Selangor Islamic Religious Department (Jais) had barged unannounced and without a warrant into a multiracial dinner at the Damansara Utama Methodist Church (DUMC) here last night over an unspecified complaint.
But Shastri said he understands the raid was linked to attempts to preach to Malay Muslims about Christianity.
“Apparently there was a police report by Jais on proselytising to Malays,” he told The Malaysian Insider when contacted. Read the rest of this entry »
Malaysia’s 8TV pulls ‘racist’ Ramadan adverts
BBC News
3 August 2011
A Malaysian TV channel has withdrawn a series of public-service messages about the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, after viewers complained they were racist.
One of the adverts showed an ethnic Chinese girl acting in a rude manner towards Muslims, followed by a message saying: “Do not be loud or obnoxious.”
In another of the adverts the girl is wearing a vest-top and is told: “Do not wear tight and revealing clothes.”
The station, 8TV, apologised for any “inconvenience or uneasiness” caused. Read the rest of this entry »
Jais, cops raid church over multi-racial dinner
By Boo Su-Lyn
The Malaysian Insider
Aug 04, 2011
PETALING JAYA, Aug 4 — The police and Selangor religious authorities raided a multi-racial dinner at the Damansara Utama Methodist Church (DUMC) here last night over an unspecified complaint.
DUMC senior pastor Dr Daniel Ho said about 30 police officers and enforcement officers from the Selangor Islamic Religious Department (Jais) entered the church without a warrant at 10pm.
Ho explained that an NGO called Harapan Komuniti had organised an annual thanksgiving dinner at the church, which saw an attendance of between 100 and 120 guests of all races. Read the rest of this entry »
End of the rope for Najib
Posted by Kit in 1Malaysia, Bersih, Najib Razak on Tuesday, 2 August 2011
— Douglas Tan
The Malaysian Insider
Aug 02, 2011
AUG 2 — Over the past few months, we have all seen the steep decline of our Prime Minister. From calling on youth to “defend Putrajaya” as though the nation is expecting an invasion to being unable to back up his own 1 Malaysia policy when asked by a student at a recent Malaysian Student Leader’s Summit.
It truly seems that Najib is unable to do anything right at the moment. First he outright attacks the Opposition parties claiming that they would destroy this nation and that Barisan Nasional is the shining light to guide the nation forward. To ask the youth to help defend Putrajaya against the Opposition is nothing short of pretentious, as though UMNO/BN has the divine right to govern this country infinitum.
This was quickly followed by Bersih 2.0, where he exposed himself as a lame duck leader. Instead of assuming a non-partisan role and showing true leadership, he aligned himself more as Umno president than the Prime Minister of Malaysia by demonising the coalition as an “illegal organisation” and stooping so low to the extent of roping in mosque ceramah’s to spread their propaganda of the so-called “perhimpunan haram”. Read the rest of this entry »
Najib dodges ‘Malaysian first, Malay next’ question
Posted by Kit in 1Malaysia, Muhyiddin Yassin, Najib Razak on Sunday, 31 July 2011
By Shazwan Mustafa Kamal
The Malaysian Insider
Jul 31, 2011
KUALA LUMPUR, July 3 — Datuk Seri Najib Razak kept mum today when asked to state whether he was a proponent of his own two-year-old 1 Malaysia policy that espouses being “Malaysian first”.
The country’s sixth prime minister was responding to questions posed by Malaysian students at the Malaysian Student Leaders Summit (MSLS) here.
A student had asked Najib whether he was prepared to state that he was Malaysian first and what he thought of his deputy, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin’s infamous remark of being “Malay first and Malaysian next.”
Najib did not answer the question directed at him.
“I don’t want to respond in a way that will divide me from my deputy. Read the rest of this entry »
4 things Najib must do to salvage his tattered credibility after his greatest leadership failure as PM post-Bersih post-EO6
Posted by Kit in 1Malaysia, Bersih, Media, Najib Razak on Saturday, 30 July 2011
The past five weeks are undoubtedly the worst period for Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak since becoming the sixth Malaysian PM 27 months ago – making him the object of ridicule and scorn not only in the country but also internationally, forcing him to cut short his overseas trip.
It was his greatest failure of leadership as Prime Minister leaving his credibility in tatters – which is why his claim yesterday that the release of the PSM6 under the Emergency Ordinance was in accordance with the rule of law was met with nation-wide derision.
Najib cannot be more wrong if he thinks that he had restored his credibility with the release of the PSM6 yesterday, as nothing could wipe out the fact of his government’s high-handed and unsuccessful action to suppress the 709 Bersih 2.0 rally for free and fair elections, resulting in the arbitrariy and totally unjustifieable arrests of the PSM6, first on the ridiculous grounds of “waging war against the Agong” and “reviving communism” and then under EO for being “prime movers” of Bersih.
There are four things Najib must do, immediately and urgently, if he wants to salvage his tattered credibility after his greatest leadership failure as Prime Minister post-Bersih post-EO6. Read the rest of this entry »
Talking a good game with our PM
Posted by Kit in 1Malaysia, Najib Razak on Thursday, 28 July 2011
– Shannon Teoh
The Malaysian Insider
July 28, 2011
JULY 28 – Football is the people’s game. It’s simple, engaging and enjoyed by both players and supporters.
But Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s football analogy this morning urging Malaysians to move from tolerance to acceptance was none of the above.
He called our diversity the “strength of our nation. As in a football match, people from our various communities help one another for the success of our team.
“If one of us score an own goal, we will lose. This (solidarity) value is important to us all, no matter the colour of our skin or how we look,” said the prime minister. Read the rest of this entry »
Bersih 2.0 rally – a basketful of faux pas by BN Government, before during after and still ongoing!
Posted by Kit in 1Malaysia, Bersih, Jeyakumar, Najib Razak, nation building, Police on Thursday, 21 July 2011
If someone had been assigned beforehand to a special task to script the worst-possible scenarios for the Najib administration in relation to the July 9 Bersih 2.0 peaceful rally for fair and free elections, nobody could be so creative as to pre-plan the basketful of faux pas committed by the Barisan Nasional government before, during and after “709” and still ongoing.
Before
The basketful of faux pax before 709 included:
1. Arbitrary declaration of Bersih 2.0 as unlawful.
2. Ban on Bersih T-shirts and paraphernalia, to include even yellow T-shirts, coupled with indiscriminate arrests.
3. Police and government disrespect to the Yang di Pertuan Agong who had met with Bersih 2.0 leaders and suggested a compromise of a stadium rally instead of a march – accepted by Bersih 2.0 but reneged by the authorities. Read the rest of this entry »
Bersih rally was 1Malaysia in action
Posted by Kit in 1Malaysia, Bersih, nation building on Wednesday, 20 July 2011
Yin Ee Kiong | Jul 20, 11
Malaysiakini
EYEWITNESS
There’s light at the end of the tunnel and it is not from an on-coming train.
Malaysians are slowly but surely emerging from the dark hole that we have been in for well over 40 years. I am once again confident of our country’s future; recent events have convinced me of this.
I would be the first to admit that I have often doubted the resolve of Malaysians in the face of repression and abuse of power by its authorities. I look at Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines, even Myanmar, and wonder at the courage of their citizens who fight for change against almost insurmountable odds.
Then I look at ourselves and wonder why we seem so useless. Or perhaps we are not really useless – perhaps we are just a little more patient. However, 40 years of abuse of power will wear away even the patience of a saint. On July 9, that patience evaporated. Read the rest of this entry »
Doctored 709 photo — who’s responsible?
All top journalists as well as management personnel in New Sunday Times and Berita Minggu responsible for the photographic falsification of a PAS Unit Amal volunteer as a violent 709 protestor armed with knife when he was holding a Malaysian flag and not throwing rocks at police should step out and own up.
It is a violation of all the basic tenets of journalism of truth, fair play and responsibility for New Straits Times through the New Sunday Times and Berita Minggua to commit such a blatant and flagrant breach of journalistic ethics – a base and lowly act of irresponsibility not only to the profession of journalism but also a great disservice to the plural Malaysian nation-building.
The Malay daily Berita Minggu had on July 10 front-paged the picture of a heavily-built man in a white T-shirt with a black cloth wrapped around his face.
The man, shrouded in smoke, was depicted hurling an object with his left hand while in his right was what appeared to be a knife handle.
The caption read: “Seorang perusuh membawa pisau dalam perhimpunan haram” (A rioter brings a knife to illegal rally) and another subheadline read: “Perusuh guna senjata, batu, lawan polis” (Rioters use weapons, rocks to fight police).
Read the rest of this entry »
Building a new ‘We’ for the nation
Posted by Kit in 1Malaysia, Bersih, nation building on Saturday, 16 July 2011
By M Nadarajah
Jul 16, 11 | MalaysiaKini
Recently, I had to go to IJN to be with my brother-in-law who recently went through open-heart surgery to replace a faulty valve in his heart. He was in ICU.
As my trip was from PJ during peak hours, I had time to chat with the taxi driver – something I normally do with drivers who are friendly and willing to chat.
Most of the time, such conversations lapse into topical political issues, race relations, the economic situation and sometimes, personal challenges.
This time it led to conversation on Bersih and what it stood for. He was completely for it, showing a lot of knowledge about it. Read the rest of this entry »
Wear Yellow to support Bersih 1Malaysia generation coming of age
"Yellow Saturday" at DAP National Retreat in Seremban
DAP MPs and Assemblymen representatives meeting in the Seremban National Retreat are wearing yellow today to support the “Yellow Saturday” campaign.
We call on Malaysians to wear yellow every Saturday to support the Bersih 1Malaysia generation which came of age on 709, when Malaysians regardless of race, religion, region, age or gender braved police threats, mass arrests, tear gas and chemically-laced water cannons to endorse Bersih 2.0 demand for free and fair elections.
Let today, 716 be the beginning of the long march to A Clean Malaysia, not only in elections but also in political system and national governance. Read the rest of this entry »
On 709 Bersih 1Malaysia come of age
On 709, the Bersih 1Malaysia generation came of age, where Malaysians regardless of race, religion, region, gender or age overcame fear to come together for a peaceful demonstration of their love, loyalty and patriotism to king and country and their resolve and commitment to bring about change where there is clean elections, trustworthy politics and incorrupt national governance.
Let 716 be another gold-lettered day in Malaysian history when Malaysians all over the country and the world diaspora begin to wear yellow every Saturday until: Read the rest of this entry »
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