Archive for category Malaysian Dream
Lim Kit Siang (In Honour Of His 75th Birthday)
Posted by Kit in DAP, Malaysian Dream on Saturday, 20 February 2016
by Allan Goh Chay Foo
Class of ’59
When you answer the country’s urgent call
To help build a nation for one and all,
You dedicate your whole life for the quest
Of making Malaysia the very best!
You have never flinched from this steadfastness
In your tireless crusade for righteousness.
Though threatened endlessly with dark prisons,
And bedeviled with crude verbal poisons,
You soldier on for the best Malaysia,
Full of real fairness and sweet ambrosia,
With none standing as a diminished son,
Under Malaysia’s benevolent sun. Read the rest of this entry »
Umno, what price loyalty?
Posted by Kit in 1Malaysia, Malaysian Dream, Najib Razak on Friday, 18 December 2015
Dennis Ignatius
Malaysiakini
17 Dec 2015
COMMENT | Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak, hounded by scandal and facing open rebellion within his ranks, made an impassioned plea at his party’s general assembly last week for unity and support. He demanded loyalty and obedience from all. He invoked God, race and country to justify his leadership.
But what price loyalty and obedience?
Great leaders appeal for support on the basis of a great cause, in defence of righteous principles or to uphold great ideals. They inspire support by their vision, by their integrity, by their example, by their commitment to great national goals.
Prime Minister Winston Churchill, for example, in his nation’s darkest hour, inspired his countrymen to stand firm against Nazi tyranny despite the odds. Mahatma Gandhi summoned his nation to the great ideals of tolerance and respect for diversity and human dignity.
President John F Kennedy appealed, in his inaugural address, for sacrifice and commitment to make America that shining light upon a hill, an inspiration to the world. Nelson Mandela urged a nation divided by decades of apartheid to reconcile, to build a new nation based on justice and inclusiveness.
They invited their countrymen to join them in a great quest, and millions freely and willingly rallied to them.
Despots, dictators and demagogues, on the other hand, bankrupt of vision, devoid of principle, blinded by avarice and ambition, demand mindless obedience, blind loyalty and passive submission. Read the rest of this entry »
Let’s kill hate now
Posted by Kit in 1Malaysia, Malaysian Dream, nation building on Friday, 18 December 2015
Syerleena Abdul Rashid
The Malaysian Insider
18 December 2015
Those in the corridors of power know that our country is not under any kind of threat.
They also know that a large majority of Malaysians regardless of ethnicity, religion and gender support the liberties bestowed upon us by our great Federal Constitution – even if it has undergone numerous amendments and omitted certain important details which made it rather different than its original intention.
In the midst of calls to foster greater union and camaraderie among citizens of this federation, there are those in high positions who continue to contradict calls for “social unification”. Read the rest of this entry »
My six-month suspension from Parliament a most symbolic way to mark my 50 years in politics in pursuit of the Malaysian Dream
Posted by Kit in Malaysian Dream, Politics on Wednesday, 2 December 2015
Fifty years ago, I started my involvement in Malaysian politics and my current six-month suspension from Parliament in a most symbolic way marked my half-century of political work and patriotism where I dedicated virtually my whole life to the pursuit of the Malaysian Dream of an united, inclusive, progressive, just and prosperous Malaysia for all Malaysians, regardless of race, religion, language, culture, region, politics or class.
My six-month suspension from Parliament is a salutary reminder that the pursuit of the Malaysian Dream is not a completed journey but very much a work-in-progress, that it is not a smooth-sailing venture but requires courage, commitment and vision to overcome the trials and tribulations of an upstream, against-the-current struggle to build a better Malaysia for all Malaysians, where good governance and justice is the order of the day and an end to the ever-lengthening list of political and economic scandals suffocating the country. Read the rest of this entry »
Time to take stock of Malaysia, change mindsets, says Rafidah
Posted by Kit in Malaysian Dream on Wednesday, 28 October 2015
by Jennifer Gomez
The Malaysian Insider
28 October 2015
Malaysia must identify what has made it fall behind and determine whether such factors were reality or people’s perceptions, outspoken former minister Tan Sri Rafidah Aziz said today.
She said the country must take stock of what areas needed to be transformed, adding that transformation could not take place in conferences, seminars or laboratories.
“You must have a developed country that is matched by a society that can think forward, that is not lagging behind in terms of expectations of a developed country,” she told reporters after speaking at a conference by the Malaysian Institute of Accountants in Kuala Lumpur. Read the rest of this entry »
It is Ugly Singaporeans like Bilahari Kausikan who suffer the delusion that they understand the dynamics of what is happening in Malaysia
Posted by Kit in Malaysian Dream, nation building on Sunday, 11 October 2015
In the past few days, a top Singapore diplomat had been making waves with his delusion that he understands the dynamics of what is happening in Malaysia, causing him to pontificate on the do’s and don’ts for the Young Chinese in Malaysia.
Bilahari accused the “young Chinese in Malaysia” as being “delusional” if they believe that Malay dominance in politics can be replaced by a change in the system, claiming that this “dominance” will be defended “by any means”, including a possible political alliance between UMNO and PAS.
He said: “It is my impression that many young Malaysian Chinese have forgotten the lessons of May 13, 1969. They naively believe that the system built around the principle of Malay dominance can be changed.
“That may be why they abandoned MCA for the DAP. They are delusional. Malay dominance will be defended by any means.”
It is smart-alecks and Ugly Singaporeans like Bilahari who think they understand what is happening in other countries and even have the impertinence to prescribe how citizens in other countries should conduct themselves, such as expressing dismay that the young Chinese in Malaysia are abandoning MCA for the DAP, who are suffering from delusion. Read the rest of this entry »
Young Chinese in Malaysia ‘delusional’ to think Malay domination can change, says top Singapore diplomat
Posted by Kit in Malaysian Dream, Najib Razak, PAS, UMNO on Tuesday, 6 October 2015
Malay Mail Online
October 6, 2015
KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 6 — Malaysia’s ethnic Chinese youth are “delusional” if they believe that Malay dominance in politics can be replaced by a change in the system, Singapore’s ambassador-at-large Bilahari Kausikan has said.
Instead, the top Singaporean diplomat said this dominance will be defended by any means, including a possible political alliance between Malay nationalist ruling party Umno and opposition Islamist party PAS. Read the rest of this entry »
Has Najib lost confidence in Saifuddin as CEO of Global Movement of Moderates and looking for a new candidate?
Posted by Kit in Malaysian Dream, Najib Razak, UMNO on Monday, 5 October 2015
The mounting pressure for action to be taken against Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah, including open calls for his expulsion from UMNO, raises the question whether the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak has lost confidence in Saifuddin as CEO of Global Movement of Moderates and is looking for a replacement for Saifuddin.
This is one of the items Najib should clarify today on his return from Expo Milano 2015.
At the beginning of his fourth speech to the United Nations General Assembly on Thursday, Najib recounted how five years ago he had stood before the same assembly and called for a Global Movement – of Moderates of all religions and all countries – to marginalize extremists, reclaim the centre, and shape the agenda towards peace and pragmatism.
He said Malaysia had followed up his call with both practical action and by building intellectual capacity.
What has Malaysia to show in terms of the “practical action” and the building of “intellectual capacity” for a home-grown Movement of Moderates? Read the rest of this entry »
Whether Najib is ousted as PM or UMNO replaced, Malay political power is not threatened as a new PM will be a Malay and the new coalition will be Malay-dominated reflecting Malaysia’s demography
Posted by Kit in Mahathir, Malaysian Dream, Najib Razak, Parliament on Sunday, 4 October 2015
Former Prime Minister, Tun Dr. Mahathir in his talk at the hi-tea organized by the Pusat Bandar Taman Cempaka UMNO Branch yesterday urged Malays to emulate their Chinese counterparts in making their case against Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak by transcending party lines when their interests are under threat.
Mahathir is mistaken in his interpretation of the motives and meaning of the results of the 13th General Elections in 2013 when he implied that the Chinese voters “forget their party interests” if the interests of their race are threatened.
For Mahathir’s information, national interests transcending communal interests were the primary consideration for the Malaysian Chinese who voted in the 13th General Election – not just for DAP, but for Pakatan Rakyat candidates including candidates from PKR and PAS.
This was why the Chinese voters elected Malay MPs from Pakatan Rakyat parties, rejecting Chinese candidates from MCA.
This is what a mature democracy and a Malaysian-centric electorate should do, placing national interests above personal, party and communal considerations. Read the rest of this entry »
Malaysia is for all Malaysians
Posted by Kit in Malaysian Dream, Najib Razak, nation building on Sunday, 4 October 2015
— Tan Jin Huat
Malay Mail Online
October 3, 2015
OCTOBER 3 — The recent comments by Mohammed Yunos that have been reported in the press are uncalled for, offensive and not words from someone befitting the stature of a true leader. He was alleged to have said that Malaysia’s ethnic Chinese have the option of leaving for China if they are dissatisfied with their lives here. Further, he asserted that “They (the Chinese) have land or their country of origin China, and if anything were to happen to them they still have a place to rely on.”
I have often asked myself about the motivation behind such comments. What is there for him to gain from such comments? Read the rest of this entry »
The Malay agenda
Posted by Kit in Malays, Malaysian Dream, nation building on Saturday, 3 October 2015
– Nungsari Radhi
The Malaysian Insider
2 October 2015
The subject of Malay angst is a popular one lately. Not everyone is upset, of course, but there is a segment among the Malays, perhaps driven by a sense of insecurity, who have created mental models that put themselves under siege.
They feel disunited, threatened, and their honour besmirched. This, despite the Malays controlling almost all parts of officialdom in the country and constituting more than 60% of the population.
Many commentators have pointed out the unreasonableness of these sentiments. That this is an imagined reality, propagated for less than honourable intentions – to develop a political constituency among the Malays based on their fears and, perhaps, on their prejudices. Read the rest of this entry »
With the approach of a “perfect storm” of combined political, economic and nation-building crises, Malaysia needs statesmen and stateswomen from both sides of the political divide to save Malaysia and not racists, opportunists and charlatans
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Malaysian Dream, Najib Razak on Thursday, 1 October 2015
The signs of the coming of a “perfect storm” of combined political, economic and nation-building crises hitting Malaysia are to be seen everywhere except to the blind and bigots.
The latest sign of the coming of the “perfect storm” in Malaysia is the Reuters report yesterday quoting the Indonesian Finance Minister, Bambang Brodjonegoro saying that Indonesia will seek to shield itself from the spread of any financial contagion from Malaysia by improving market sentiment and using government borrowing to boost dollar inflows.
He expressed worries of Indonesian investors as the twin declines in the rupiah and reserves had revived memories of the Asian financial crisis of the late 1990s, as well as concerns about contagion from Malaysia “which is in the grips of an escalating political and financial crisis linked to a struggling state investment fund”.
This is evidence that the Malaysian governance has become not only a threat to our own national well-being but also a threat to the economic well-being of neighbouring ASEAN nations.
We should stop the pretence that everything is fine with Malaysia, what with Malaysia climbing two spots in the Global Competitiveness Report 2015-2016, (which is nothing much to boast about in a closer study of the latest World Economic Forum ranking) or that there is nothing for Malaysians to be shy or ashamed in having their Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak as the first serving head of government in the world to be investigated as a kleptocrat under the US Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative 2010 with the twin scandals of the RM50 billion 1MDB and RM2.6 billion “donation” in Najib’s personal banking accounts. Read the rest of this entry »
I am ashamed to be a Malaysian
Posted by Kit in 1Malaysia, Malaysian Dream, Najib Razak on Tuesday, 29 September 2015
Hafiz Noor Shams
Malay Mail Online
September 29, 2015
SEPTEMBER 29 — I think I am well-exposed to foreigners’ opinions about Malaysia beyond the editorial stance of various foreign newspapers. I have friends of diverse national origins and I work for a global organisation where many of my colleagues are not Malaysians. I keep in touch with them regularly and so I get to learn of their personal and professional views about the country.
Everybody has an opinion. But do they know Malaysia?
They might be able to tell you where it is on the map. They would know the Petronas Twin Towers. They might know who Mahathir Mohamad or Anwar Ibrahim is.
But if you dig a little deeper you will realise most of them usually do not track our news closely. Read the rest of this entry »
Seeking a new vision for Malaysia
Posted by Kit in Malaysian Dream, nation building on Tuesday, 29 September 2015
Murray Hunter & Azly Rahman
Malaysiakini
28th September 2015
“ … I am indeed proud that on this, the greatest day in Malaya’s history it falls to my lot to proclaim the formal independence of this country. Today as a new page is turned, and Malaya steps forward to take her rightful place as a free and independent partner in the great community of Nations – a new nation is born and though we fully realise that difficulties and problems lie ahead, we are confident that, with the blessing of God, these difficulties will be overcome and that today’s events, down the avenues of history, will be our inspiration and our guide…”
– Tunku Abdul Rahman, first prime minister of Malaysia, Proclamation of Independence, Aug 31, 1957
COMMENT Today’s debate in Malaysia has gone down to the lowest ebb. Discourse on democracy is dead; bludgeoned by the caretakers of the cult of secrecy of the ruling regime.
The dream of a progressive Malaysia conceived by her freedom fighters and founding fathers and mothers such as Burhanuddin Al-Helmy, Ibrahim Yaakob, Onn Jaafar, Tunku Abdul Rahman, Tan Cheng Lock, VT Sambanthan, and even the much contested heroic figures such as Chin Peng, Rashid Maidin, Mokhtaruddin Lasso, and Shamsiah Fakeh has turned into a nightmare in broad daylight.
If there is a period of decay in destruction of the democratic institutions yearning to grow well this is the time of chaos and anarchy: of Malaysia in the Age of Corrupt Systems.
The challenges of a nation-state today, seem insurmountable not because the idea of a ‘nation’ of many, hybridising with the singularity, sovereignty, and sensibility of the modern state is an impossibility, but because there is no political will to make Malaysia that nation-state be realised in its entirety. In other words, Malaysia has been made to become a neo-colonialist divide-and-rule hyper-modern polity.
The apartheidisation of society is deliberate and necessary a design in order for the political-economic elite to rule. Herein lies our intention to explore the theme of the ‘Malaysian Dream’, and propose explanations to the reasons for the rotting of this neo-colonialist construct and offer ideas towards a remedy.
In doing so, we are guided by these questions: What are the ills of this country? What remedies does she need? How do we Malaysians chart a new world of possibilities? What are our visions? – these are the questions we are exploring in this brief essay on the future of Malaysia. Read the rest of this entry »
Three questions Najib should explain to the Malaysian diaspora during his visit to United Nations and New York whether Malays and Islam in Malaysia are under threat and how to Save Malaysia
Posted by Kit in Malaysian Dream, Najib Razak, Parliament on Monday, 28 September 2015
There are three questions which the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najb Razak should explain to the Malaysian Diaspora during his 10-day visit to the United Nations and New York.
Najib will be having high-tea with the Malaysian diaspora at the Malaysian Permanent Representative Office in New York as part of the government’s outreach programme with overseas Malaysians who are residing, studying and working in the United States.
These three questions are highlighted by Malaysian patriot and leading NGO and human rights advocate, Zainah Anwar in her article in her regular column in Star newspaper entitled “Questions to ponder” on July 26, 2015.
I recently read Zainah’s original and unedited article, which posed these three questions in an even more succinct and eloquent manner.
Zainah started her article worrying about the nation’s future, and the opening paragraphs in her original and unedited article were as follows:
“I am beginning to feel as if this country and its rakyat are being crushed and pummelled by wrecking balls. The wrecking ball of race and religion, of insatiable greed, of desperation to stay in power, of never-ending sense of entitlements, of unpunished crimes and abuses, of ideology over rational thinking, justice, and fair play.
“These concerns are nothing new. What’s new is the breathtaking scale, the endlessness of it all, and the shamelessness with which the perpetrators display their unscrupulous, destructive and criminal behaviour, in words and deeds.
“The seeds of this rot were sown a long time ago. A party that has been in dominant power for over 50 years breeds its own seeds of destruction. For too long, too many of its leaders and party apparatchiks have been getting away with all manner of transgressions that they believe they are immune to any form of retribution.”
Zainah said she was in Geneva in early July and “UN officials and activists I met were all asking what was happening to Malaysia”.
Formation of Pakatan Harapan important milestone for moderates and patriots to reclaim and save Malaysia from the racists, bigots, extremists and the corrupt in the country
Posted by Kit in Malaysian Dream, Pakatan Harapan on Wednesday, 23 September 2015
The formation of Pakatan Harapan yesterday is an important milestone for moderates and patriots to reclaim and save Malaysia from the racists, bigots, extremists and the corrupt in the country.
Never before has race relations in Malaysia become so fragile and brittle. Every day, racial epithets, slurs, intimidation and even explicit threat of “bloodbath” are uttered with immunity and impunity.
The latest is the threat of a racial riot in Kuala Lumpur Chinatown, something which had never happened before in the past 58 years since Merdeka in 1957.
Where is the twitter-happy Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar? Read the rest of this entry »
Red Shirts do not represent the Muslims
Posted by Kit in Bersih, Malaysian Dream, nation building on Wednesday, 23 September 2015
By Tajuddin Rosli
Free Malaysia Today
September 23, 2015
After Bersih participants were filled with pride. After the Red Shirts rally most are filled with shame
COMMENT
Incidents that took place on 16 September coinciding with Malaysia Day have shamed the majority of Malays throughout the country. For the first time ever, I went to work with my face down, feeling ashamed to be called a Malay. I could sense my non-Malay colleagues looking at me and laughing in their heads to what my people have become. I had to put on a brave smile and pretend nothing ever happened.
But the reality is Himpunan Rakyat Bersatu has shown the world how low some Malays in the country have sunk to.
Please don’t get me wrong. The hooligans who gathered for the rally in no way represent the silent majority of Malays in the country who are civilized. Unfortunately, just as Bersih 4.0 was called a Chinese gathering because the majority who turned out were Chinese, Himpunan Rakyat Bersatu was a dark day for the Malays in Malaysia. Those in attendance did not look like they belong in today’s world. They seemed to look like a bunch from the Period of Jahiliyyah who travelled through time to get here. Read the rest of this entry »
Call for an overall review of Federal-State relations in Malaysia to effect greater decentralisation and confer greater autonomy from Putrajaya to all state governments, not just Sarawak and Sabah
Posted by Kit in Malaysian Dream, Sabah, Sarawak on Tuesday, 22 September 2015
September 16, Malaysia Day, was marred by the Red Shirts Malay rally organised by UMNO, although it did not officially showed its hand at the time and which, among other things, desecrated the meaing and importance of Malaysia Day as the foremost national public holiday in the country.
Sarawak and Sabah cannot but feel slighted that on Malaysia Day, UMNO had chosen to devalue Malaysia Day by sponsoring a Red Shirts Malay rally in Kuala Lumpur which not only stole the national and international spotlight from the 52nd anniversary of Malaysia’s formation, the federation of Malaysia was at best a second-thought after the primacy of Ketuanan Melayu of UMNO leaders.
However, Malaysia Day this year was a bit different from Malaysia Day of the past five decades, primarily because it is beginning to sink in among the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak and UMNO leaders and they owe their continued political rule of the country to the support and loyalty of the Members of Parliament in Sarawak and Sabah, as without the support of the 48 Barisan Nasional MPs in Sabah and Sarawak, Najib will not be Prime Minister of Malaysia today nor could UNMO continue as “Big Brother” in the Federal Government in Putrajaya.
With the approaching Sarawak State Government Elections in a matter of months and the 14th General Elections in the next 24 to 32 months, Sarawak and Sabah would expect a New Deal from Putrajaya to continue to be the fixed deposit states of the UMNO/BN coalition government in Putrajaya and this is the reason for all the talk about granting greater autonomy to Sarawak and Sabah in recent days. Read the rest of this entry »
Malaysia does not want to be a battleground of “yellow T-shirts” versus “red T-shirts” as we want all Malaysians united behind the Malaysian Dream for an united, harmonious, democratic, just, prosperous and progressive nation
Posted by Kit in Bersih, Malaysian Dream, nation building on Tuesday, 22 September 2015
Last week, Malaysia saw a 4-hour Red Shirts Rally in Kuala Lumpur as a counter to a 34-hour Yellow T-Shirts Bersih 4 overnight rally on August 29/30.
There can be no greater differences between the Red Shirts Rally and the Yellow T-Shirts Rally.
Firstly, the Yellow T-Shirts Bersih 4 Rally transcended race and was participated by hundreds of thousands of Malaysians, regardless of race, religion, region, gender, age or politics, who came together with one common national purpose – good governance and clean, free and fair elections.
Those who participated in the two-day Bersih 4 Rally never thought there could be any racial clash or confrontation, for that was furthest from their mind as they gathered not for or against any race but for the sake of a better Malaysia for all races.
The Bersih 4 participants were worried that there might be trouble, but not of any racial nature – for their only worry was that the Police might not be independent and professional enough and might wantonly and arbitrarily fire tear gas and shoot water cannons into a peaceful and defenceless crowds. That was why some of the Bersih 4 participants armed themselves with “goggles” and “smelling salts” not as weapons of offence but to protect themselves.
The Red Shirts Rally on the other invoked fear of racial incidents right from the beginning of the announcement of the event immediately after the Bersih 4 overnight rally, and for a fortnight, the country was inundated with highly-charged images of racial slurs, confrontation and even bloodbath, and the objective of the Red Shirts Rally veered from “Kebangkitan Maruah Melayu” to “counter Chinese Bersih 4”, “Teach Chinese DAP a lesson”, “Defend Najib Razak as Prime Minister” among others. Read the rest of this entry »
Ali Rustam and the prolonged May 13 trauma
Posted by Kit in Bersih, Malaysian Dream, Najib Razak, UMNO on Monday, 21 September 2015
Aidila Razak
Malaysiakini
21st Sept 2015
COMMENT National Silat Federation (Pesaka) chief Mohd Ali Rustam seems to be suffering from prolonged trauma.
The symptoms were striking in his interview with Mingguan Malaysia yesterday on the achievements of Himpunan Rakyat Bersatu on Sept 16.
Asked what the rally, meant to ‘reclaim Malay dignity’ had achieved, Ali turned Dr Who to travel close to five decades into time to the race riots of 1969.
“They (Bersih 4 organisers and participants) try to show that Kuala Lumpur belongs to Bersih and the DAP gang, and Malays should balik kampung (go back to the villages). But now the villagers are coming to Kuala Lumpur.
“They think we have lost our self-worth and that Kuala Lumpur does not belong to various races. They think Malays don’t belong to Kuala Lumpur, and it is only for DAP and Bersih.
“They try to show they are brave and that Malays are not. They held rallies four times, and yet no Malays were brave enough to fight back,” he said.
Note the mention of taunts of ‘balik kampung’. Read the rest of this entry »
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