Archive for category Najib Razak
MCA, MIC and Gerakan utterly irrelevant, but have Sarawak and Sabah also become irrelevant in BN national decision-making process on issues directly affecting the two states?
Posted by Kit in Najib Razak, Sabah, Sarawak, UMNO on Friday, 28 November 2014
When buckling under pressure from the rightists and extremists in UMNO and UMNO-sponsored NGOs, the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak not only reneged on his specific promise in July 2012 to repeal the Sedition Act, but added salt to injury by declaring that the Sedition Act would be further strengthened and become even more draconian and repressive.
MCA, MIC and Gerakan are utterly irrelevant in the UMNO-dominated Barisan Nasional scheme of things, as evident by the way the views of these three parties and their leaders were ignored and not even sought in Umno-BN’s major decision-making process.
However, are the views and legitimate interests of Sarawak and Sabah similarly disregarded in the Umno-Barisan Nasional national decision-making process, especially in matters directly affecting the people in the two states?
Najib announced yesterday that the Sedition Act would not only be retained, it would be fortified, so as to deal with calls for secession of Sarawak and Sabah.
Have the Sarawak and Saban Barisan Nasional leaders been fully consulted and given their consent to the proposal to criminalise calls for secession of Sarawak and Sabah by making them offences under the repressive Sedition Act?
DAP opposes any call for the secession of Sarawak and Sabah from Malaysia but I fully agree the Sarawak Land Development Minister Tan Sri Dr. James Masing that only a small group of people have advocated secession of Sarawak and Sabah and instead of criminalising such calls, the wisest political and nation-building response is to engage with these groups to find out what are the causes of their unhappiness. Don’t kill the messenger but miss the message! Read the rest of this entry »
Najib making Umno less relevant, says columnist
Posted by Kit in Najib Razak, UMNO on Friday, 28 November 2014
The Malaysian Insider
28 November 2014
Umno is losing its appeal among more Malaysians, and its president Datuk Seri Najib Razak has been the cause of this with new approaches that pushed the party out of the political spotlight, effectively making it less relevant to the people, The Edge Review columnist, Bridget Welsh, wrote.
Among these were the “outsourcing” of Umno’s traditional role as defender of the Malays to right-wing groups like Perkasa, competing with PAS to be the defender of Islam, use of government resources and machinery to dispense patronage, and relegating the party to the sidelines in the making of government policy.
Writing in this week’s edition of the digital magazine, Welsh, a political analyst, said Najib had changed Umno’s role and in so doing, made the party “less politically relevant”.
She noted that Umno has long relied on the “racial insecurity” of Malays to maintain power but outsourcing its role as defender of the Malays to other groups had “marked the start of Umno’s slide to the sidelines”.
Although these groups received government funding and were closely linked to Umno, holding memberships in both, they had come to take over Umno’s position in spearheading calls to protect Malay interests.
The next approach, competing with PAS to “position Umno as the defender of Islam in Malaysia” effectively moved Umno further from its “moderate roots”, causing it to be perceived by the public as becoming more zealous and hardline. Read the rest of this entry »
Will criticising Umno now be labelled seditious?
Posted by Kit in Human Rights, Najib Razak, UMNO on Friday, 28 November 2014
by Sheridan Mahavera
The Malaysian Insider
28 November 2014
The hardliners in Umno have won and they want every Malaysian to know this.
Any criticism that even touches on Islam, the Malays and the rulers will be seen as an attack against Umno, and vice versa.
This is the message from the first day of the Umno assembly and the party’s conservatives have proved how influential they are as they have managed to get their president, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, to go back on his own word.
And this has serious repercussions for the man on the street, said noted political analyst Prof James Chin, as it could signal an increased clamp down on legitimate dissent. Read the rest of this entry »
Najib buckles under pressure to renounce the repeal of Sedition Act and becomes hostage to rightists and extremists who are opposed to policy of moderation and GMM
Posted by Kit in Islam, Najib Razak, UMNO on Thursday, 27 November 2014
Although the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s buckling under pressure to renounce the repeal of the Sedition Act, which he had promised two years ago in July 2012, has not come as a total surprise to Malaysians, it is nonetheless heart-rending to see the sixth Prime Minister succumbing to threats by rightists and extremists in UMNO and UMNO-sponsored NGOs and becoming a hostage to elements which are opposed to the policy of moderation and the Global Movement of Moderates (GMM).
Now I understand why the sudden urgency for the Prime Minister to table a White Paper and move a motion in Parliament to condemn Islamic State yesterday – which was made without any advance notice to MPs as the decision was apparently made only on Monday night: – i.e. to camouflage Najib’s betrayal of the cause of wasatiyyah and his initiative of the Global Movement of Moderates, which had been the subject of his three speeches to the United Nations General Assembly since Sept. 2010, when he delivered his UMNO Presidential Address this morning.
The rightists, extremists and the opponents of the campaign of wasatiyyah have cause to celebrate, for they have made it very clear that they will be drawing the line in the sand at the 68th UMNO General Assembly whether to tolerate or topple Najib as Prime Minister and UMNO President before his terms were up.
Read the rest of this entry »
Call for Parliamentary Select Committee to mobilise support for moderation and draft laws and measures to deal with the Islamic State threat
Posted by Kit in Islam, Najib Razak, Parliament on Wednesday, 26 November 2014
DAP welcomes the White Paper “Ke Arah Menangani Ancaman Kumpulan Islamic State” and the Prime Minister’s motion seeking Parliament’s support with Government’s efforts to deal with the Islamic State threat and to “menyeru semua lapisan rakyat Malaysia mempergiatkan usaha dan komitmen mereka untuk bersama-sama menyokong Kerajaan menangani ancaman berkenaan”.
Before I proceed further, let me state that the White Paper on the Islamic State is one of the three unfinished business which Najib should have completed in the present meeting of Parliament which ends tomorrow.
While welcoming the White Paper on Islamic State, I want to place on record the people’s disappointment and disapproval that the Prime Minister has refused to complete the other two unfinished business before Parliament adjourns tomorrow, viz:
Firstly, the Report of the Royal Commission of Illegal Immigrants in Sabah (RCIIIS), which is meant to end once-and-for-all the 40-year problem of illegal immigrants in Sabah which had multiplied 15 to 19 times in four decades from 100,000 in the seventies to 1.5 million to 1.9 million at present.
Read the rest of this entry »
Seruan supaya sebuah Jawatankuasa Pilihan Parlimen ditubuhkan bagi menggembleng sokongan untuk kesederhanaan dan menggubal undang-undang untuk menangani ancaman Islamic State (IS)
Posted by Kit in Islam, Najib Razak, Parliament on Wednesday, 26 November 2014
DAP mengalu-alukan Kertas Putih “Ke Arah Menangani Ancaman Kumpulan Islamic State” dan usul Perdana Menteri untuk mendapatkan sokongan Parlimen ke atas usaha Kerajaan bagi menangani ancaman IS serta untuk “menyeru semua lapisan rakyat Malaysia mempergiatkan usaha dan komitmen mereka untuk bersama-sama menyokong Kerajaan menangani ancaman berkenaan”.
Sebelum saya teruskan, izinkan saya menyatakan bahawa Kertas Putih mengenai IS adalah salah satu daripada tiga urusan Najib yang belum selesai yang sepatutnya siap dalam sidang Parlimen kali ini yang berakhir esok.
Sambil mengalu-alukan Kertas Putih mengenai IS, saya ingin merakamkan kekecewaan dan rasa tidak senang rakyat kerana Perdana Menteri telah enggan untuk menyelesaikan dua lagi urusan lain yang belum selesai sebelum Parlimen ditangguh esok, iaitu:
Pertama, Laporan Suruhanjaya Diraja Pendatang Tanpa Izin di Sabah (RCIIIS), yang bertujuan untuk menamatkan masalah 40 tahun pendatang tanpa izin di Sabah yang telah bertambah sehingga 15 malah 19 kali ganda dalam tempoh empat dekad dari bilangan 100,000 orang pada tahun tujuh puluhan hingga 1.5 juta hingga 1.9 juta pada masa ini.
Read the rest of this entry »
UMNO must draw the line in the sand and the UMNO General Assembly this week is the last opportunity for UMNO to demonstrate whether it stands for moderation or extremism
Posted by Kit in Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Mahathir, Najib Razak, UMNO on Tuesday, 25 November 2014
The Prime Minister and UMNO President, Datuk Seri Najib Razak asked the very pertinent question on Sunday at the Federal Territories UMNO Convention on Sunday, “Where have we gone wrong?”, lamenting that whether UMNO had built mosques, set up parent-teacher associations or provided housing, none of these efforts had translated into political support because UMNO leaders hoarded handouts for their own supporters instead of giving it to the community.
Two former Prime Ministers and UMNO Presidents have given different responses to Najib’s question.
In his blog, Malaysia’s fourth Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad blamed the “warlord” mentality in UMNO, and urged the UMNO delegates at this week’s UMNO General Assembly to criticize the party leadership on several issues which are “hot” now.
He said previous UMNO Presidents had also been criticized and emerged victorious afterwards, citing as examples Tunku Abdul Rahman, Tun Razak and Tun Hussein.
He said he himself was “attacked and almost lost my position”. Read the rest of this entry »
Its Malaysia under threat – not Malays or Islam – if we aim to be one of the top countries in the world in terms of competitiveness, good governance, rule of law and crackdown on corruption
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Islam, Mahathir, Najib Razak, UMNO on Tuesday, 25 November 2014
The Prime Minister and UMNO President, Datuk Seri Najib Razak asked yesterday: “Where have we gone wrong?”
He lamented that whether UMNO had built mosques, set up parent-teacher associations, or provided housing, none of these efforts had translated into political support because UMNO leaders hoarded handouts for their own supporters instead giving it to the community.
Najib asked: “Where have we gone wrong? Is Umno too busy with its internal affairs until it is more important to defend our branch chiefs or higher positions, than to find supporters for Umno?
“Or is it that when we do something – whether to give houses, condominiums, or kind of aid – we give it to our lieutenants rather than our community.”
Najib struck a responsive chord as he received a loud applause and shouts of “”Yes” when posed these questions in his speech at the opening of the Federal Territories Umno convention yesterday.
These are pertinent questions although Najib avoided the real problem plaguing UMNO rule in Malaysia – the rampant corruption and abuse of power highlighted by Najib’s questions.
But Malaysians, Umno and non-Umno, Malays and non-Malays, should be asking a larger question of “Where have we gone wrong” affecting not just UMNO, but the Malaysian nation and people, Malays and non-Malays.
All Malaysians, UMNO and non-Umno, Malays and non-Malays should ask “Where have we gone wrong” that after 57-year UMNO rule and six UMNO Prime Ministers, a former Chief Justice (Tun Abdul Hamid Mohamad) could deliver a keynote address (ucaptama) at the so-called National Unity Convention yesterday warning that the Malays could suffer a fate similar to Red Indians in the United States unless PAS and UMNO unite to allegedly stop DAP from attaining federal power. Read the rest of this entry »
Three unfinished business which Najib should present to Parliament before it adjourns next Thursday until next March
Posted by Kit in Financial Scandals, Islamic state, Najib Razak, Sabah on Sunday, 23 November 2014
There are three unfinished business which the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak should present to Parliament before it adjourns next Thursday until March next year.
The first is the Report of the Royal Commission of Illegal Immigrants in Sabah (RCIIIS), which is meant to end once-and-for-all the 40-year problem of illegal immigrants in Sabah which had multiplied 15 to 19 times in four decades from 100,000 in the seventies to 1.5 million to 1.9 million at present.
If the Report of the RCIIIS, which was presented to the Federal Government on May 14, is not presented to Parliament next week for a full parliamentary debate, it could only mean one thing – that there is complete absence of political will to resolve the long-standing problem of illegal immigrants in Sabah and the establishment of the Royal Commission of Inquiry was just a Barisan Nasional electoral ruse for the 13th General Election in May 2013 to secure votes for BN from the people of Sabah, and for which it succeeded.
Furthermore, the establishment of the Joseph Pairin Kitingan Review Committee for the RCIIIS Report announced by Najib in Kota Kinabalu last week is just the latest “merry-go-round” sleight-of-hand to kick the problem of illegal immigrants of Sabah into a distant and indefinite future, while the problem snowballs to pass the two million mark for illegal immigrants in Sabah – reducing native Sabahans to a minority and foreigner status in their own land! Read the rest of this entry »
Najib should not set bad example to other Ministers by using threat of legal suit against Tony Pua to evade accountability and should make Ministerial statement to answer teeming questions on 11 aspects of the multi-billion ringgit 1MDB scandal in Parliament on Monday
Posted by Kit in Financial Scandals, Najib Razak on Saturday, 22 November 2014
The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, should not set the bad example to other Ministers by using the threat of legal suit against the DAP MP for PJ Utara Tony Pua to evade accountability and he should make a Ministerial statement in Parliament on Monday to answer teeming questions on 11 aspects of the multi-billion ringgit 1MDB scandal, viz:
1. Why did the Government issue a “letter of support” for 1MDB’s US$3.0 billion (RM9.6bn) bonds issued in Mar 2013 which not only explicitly binds the Government to repay the debt in the event 1MDB fails to do so, but surrendered legal jurisdiction to the Courts of London? Despite the denial that the letter represents an explicit “guarantee”, why isn’t this amount recorded as a Federal Government contingent liability since Malaysia is legally bound to repay the debt in the event of 1MDB default?
2. Why did 1MDB pay an average of more than 10% in “certain commissions, fees and expenses” to raise its loans – US$3.0 billion (Mar 2013) and US$1.75 bilion (May 2012), when other developing nations such as Uruguay pay as little as 0.1% to raise US$2.0 billion? Even Penerbangan Malaysia Bhd which raised US$1 billion recently paid only 0.5% in such fees. Read the rest of this entry »
Will UMNO General Assembly next week send out a clear and unmistakable message that UMNO will be the vanguard and not be the major obstacle to a movement of moderates against extremism in Malaysia?
Posted by Kit in Najib Razak, nation building, Religion, Sarawak on Saturday, 22 November 2014
I applaud the Sarawak Chief Minister, Tan Sri Adenan Satem’s call to the majority of Malaysians to be united and speak up against extremism as the country cannot afford to have extremists given its diversity in terms of race, culture and religion.
Speaking at a Barisan Nasional youth retreat dinner in Kuching last night, Adenan said the country could become a worse place not because the minority did not do enough, but the majority did nothing.
The Sarawak Chief Minister warned that the danger of extremism is looming in the country and it is for the moderates to speak up for moderation, pointing out that the majority cannot be silenced for the fanatics and extremists do not speak for the country.
Adenan’s speech is like a breath of fresh air after the surfeit of suffocating statements, speeches and demands in recent weeks and months giving the world the impression that extremism has taken over the country and that Malaysia’s multi-racial, multi-cultural and multi-religious diversity, tolerance, harmony and goodwill have suddenly become a liability instead of an asset – which seemed to be further reinforced by Malaysia’s shocking jump in the Global Terrorism Index 2014 to the Top 50 countries in the world to be watched for terrorism problems. Read the rest of this entry »
All Malaysians should be concerned that Malaysia has shot up to the Top 50 countries under Global Terrorism Index when we should strive to be one of the 40 countries with no terrorism problems
Posted by Kit in Najib Razak on Friday, 21 November 2014
Kiwanis Club of Skudai, like Kiwanis Clubs all over Malaysia, is to be commended for the noble motto to serve the children of the world.
All Malaysians, regardless of race, religion or region, must be united in a common Malaysian Dream to make the country a better place for our children where there is justice, freedom, unity, harmony and prosperity for all.
I have many differences with the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak but I agree with his call for the Global Movement of Moderates, which he has articulated in international forums including thrice in four years in his speeches to the United Nations General Assembly.
However, Najib seems to be waging a lose battle in his call for moderation to oust extremism in Malaysia. Read the rest of this entry »
Let the Global Terrorism Index 2014 be a wake-up call to all political parties, NGOs and Malaysians that we jeopardize the future of Malaysians if we do not check the rhetoric and politics of hatred, intolerance and extremism and hew closely to the path of moderation
Posted by Kit in Najib Razak, nation building, Politics, Religion on Thursday, 20 November 2014
Malaysia has climbed 42 places in an international terrorism indicator that has cited religious extremism as the primary cause of terror attacks worldwide.
In the 2014 edition of the Global Terrorism Index produced by the Institute of Economic and Peace, Malaysia is now 48th in a ranking that has Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan at the top, having risen from 91st spot in the 2012 issue of the report.
Malaysia’s score on the index measuring the number of terrorist incidents, fatalities and casualties as well as damage to property has also risen steadily from 2012, going from 0.415 out of a possible 10 to the current 3.04. Ten signifies the highest impact of terrorism.
Regionally, the Philippines, (9th/7.29), Thailand (10th/7.19) and Indonesia (31st/4.67) scored worse than Malaysia. Singapore was 124th, with a score of zero, indicating no negative effects from terrorism.
The Global Terrorism Index 2014 is bad news for Malaysia, for overnight, Malaysia has shot into the international radar of the top 50 countries under the world’s terrorism-watch, having overtaken 43 countries in a matter of two years as a country where terrorism is a bigger problem – overtaking countries like Uganda, Belarus, Saudi Arabia, France, Chile, Italy, Kazakhstan, Morocco, Tajikistan, Spain, Jordan, Switzerland, Zimbabwe, Sweden, Germany, Canada and Serbia.
What has gone wrong as Malaysia has always prided itself as a model for the world for inter-racial and inter-religious understanding, tolerance and harmony that we are now in the top 50 countries in the world in the Global Terrorism Index on the negative impact of terrorism, when Malaysia should be one of the countries with score of zero, indicating no negative effects from terrorism. Read the rest of this entry »
Would Najib ask all the 34 UMNO/BN Ministers who send their children to private or international schools, whether local or foreign, to resign for their lack of confidence in the Umno/BN national education policy and system?
Posted by Kit in Education, Mahathir, Najib Razak, UMNO, university on Wednesday, 19 November 2014
Malaysians must thank the former Prime Minister, Tun Mahathir Mohamad for highlighting the scandal of more and more Umno/BN Ministers and leaders sending their children to private or international schools, whether local or foreign, as it has been a standing example in the past decades of the hypocrisy of UMNO/BN leaders who preach one thing for ordinary Malaysians but do the exact opposite for themselves and their family.
Would the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak ask all the 34 Umno/BN Ministers who send their children to private or international schools, whether local or foreign, to resign for their lack of confidence in the Umno/BN national education policy and system?
I have been informed that one of the first things a Minister of the Najib Cabinet did on his appointment was to transfer one of his children to an international school.
Why?
Is this because Malaysia’s education system sucks, stuck in the bottom third of the countries surveyed in international assessments and not making any significant moves towards the upper tier of the top one-third of the countries with 15-year-olds in Shanghai, Singapore and South Korea performing as though they had four or even five more years of schooling than 15-years-olds in Malaysia in mathematics, science and reading? Read the rest of this entry »
Pairin special committee on Report of RCI on Illegal Immigrants in Sabah (RCIIIS) the latest chapter of the 40-year Great Betrayal of Sabahans as it is proof of continued lack of political will with solution of long-standing problem completely out of sight
Posted by Kit in Najib Razak, Sabah on Monday, 17 November 2014
On Saturday, the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak finally announced that the Cabinet at its Friday meeting on November 14, 2014 decided that the Report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into illegal immigrants in Sabah (RCIIIS) will be made public by the beginning of next month and that a special committee headed by the Sabah Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Joseph Pairin Kitingan would be formed to look into the findings and compile recommendations.
Although Najib’s announcement was hailed by Barisan Nasional leaders in Sabah, the formation of the Pairin special committee on RCIIIS is only the latest chapter in the 40-year Great Betrayal of Sabahans as it is proof of the continued lack of political will to resolve the long-stand problem with the solution of a problem which had spanned over two generations completely out of sight!
At the opening of the 29th PBS congress in Kota Kinabalu yesterday, Joseph Pairin Kitingan said the people have high hopes for the Federal Government to put to rest the long-standing issue of illegal immigrants in Sabah and many were looking forward to learn about the findings by the RCIIIS and the solutions to the issue.
He said: “Effective implementation is needed, including stern enforcement. It also requires a strong political will. We need to eradicate the perception among illegals that they have the right to encroach on Sabah.”
Fat hopes indeed, as such political will are completely absent, or it would not have taken some seven months before publication of the Report of the RCIIIS.
Dare Pairin state when he expects the long-standing problem of illegal immigrants in Sabah to be resolved? In 2015, 2016, 2017, before or after the 14th General Elections, 2018, 2019 or even 2020? Read the rest of this entry »
Call for three-day extension of Parliament for a full debate on “Are Malays and Islam under threat?” as this concerns not just Malays and Muslims, but all Malaysians who want a successful Malaysia
Posted by Kit in Mahathir, Najib Razak, nation building, Parliament, UMNO on Sunday, 16 November 2014
With the approach of the UMNO General Assemblies 2014 from Nov. 25 to 29, there is a build-up of the rhetoric and hysteria that “Malays and Islam are under threat”.
National laureate A. Samad Said made a most pertinent point when he pointed out that despite claims of a growing threat against the Malay community, the country’s leadership has remained in the hands of Malays and is still led by a party which claims to represent the Malay community.
I agree with Pak Samad that it is most peculiar that allegations of Malays under threat are constantly being played up, which is why he advised the Malay community not to be too obsessed about claims that Malays are under threat.
Pak Samad had asked the most relevant question:
“How are Malays under threat? How can religion (Islam) and Malays be threatened when those in power have been Malay for over five decades?
“What have they (Malay leaders) been doing for five decades (if Malays can be under threat)?”
What Pak Samad prescribed is most apt, and I don’t think it could be gainsaid by anyone, that if the country’s more than five-decade-old UMNO Malay leadership cannot put the Malay community at ease, then it should surrender power to let other Malays rule. Read the rest of this entry »
Release Sabah RCI report now, not next month, Pakatan MPs tell PM
Posted by Kit in Najib Razak, Parliament, Sabah on Sunday, 16 November 2014
Ida Lim
Malay Mail Online
November 16, 2014
KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 16 — Instead of next month, Putrajaya should release the long-awaited report on Sabah’s illegal immigrants issue immediately, in time for the document to be tabled in Parliament before it ends in two weeks, several Pakatan Rakyat (PR) MPs said.
The lawmakers said they want the report, which contains crucial findings by the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) on the influx of immigrants into the east Malaysian state, to be dissected, debated and passed by federal lawmakers in the legislative house.
DAP’s Lim Kit Siang, a veteran politician who has been fighting the issue for a good part of his career, even called it “completely unsatisfactory” that the federal government had chosen to sit so long on the RCI’s report, when it was already completed in May this year.
He pointed out that the issue has haunted Sabah for decades now, and has caused the state “grave” security, social and economic problems.
“It is not a signal that the government is serious and sincere in resolving the longstanding issue of illegal immigrants in Sabah, which has completely changed the political demography in the state,” he told Malay Mail Online when asked to comment on Putrajaya’s decision yesterday to make the report public early next month.
“And it would appear that the whole thing – the release – was timed to be made after Parliament and Sabah state assembly meeting,” the Gelang Patah MP pointed out. Read the rest of this entry »
Let the amicable resolution to the Selangor issue of the seizure of Malay language Bibles and Malaysia’s assumption of ASEAN Chair usher in a virtuous cycle of moderation and establish Malaysia as a regional and international model of moderation
Posted by Kit in 1Malaysia, Najib Razak, Religion, Selangor on Friday, 14 November 2014
Congratulations are in order to the Selangor Mentri Besar Azmin Ali in resolving the nearly year-long Selangor controversy over the seizure of the Malay language Bible with the return of the seized copies of the Bible to the Bible Society of Malaysia (BSM).
The amicable resolution to the issue of the seizure of Malay language Bibles and Malaysia’s assumption of the annual rotating ASEAN Chairmanship for 2015 are two welcome developments which should be the basis to usher in a virtuous cycle of moderation and establish Malaysia as a regional and international model of moderation.
The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak said in the handing-over ceremony of the annual rotating ASEAN Chair in Naypyitaw, Myanmar yesterday that Malaysia, as chairman of ASEAN, would promote moderation as a shared value in order to address conflict and find solutions to issues concerning regional peace and security.
He also called on ASEAN to avoid narrow nationalism which could go against the spirit of an ASEAN community. Read the rest of this entry »
Who can count more than two Ministers in the Najib Cabinet who are committed moderates in the great battle between moderation and extremism – the raison d’etre for the foundation of Najib’s Global Movement of Moderates?
Posted by Kit in Najib Razak, nation building on Wednesday, 12 November 2014
I said yesterday that the “ruckus” in Parliament on Monday created by the Selangor UMNO/Barisan Nasional chief, Datuk Noh Omar, the UMNO/BN MP for Tanjung Karang had thrown up a teaser – whether the majority of UMNO Ministers, MPs and leaders are like Noh Omar, who are not prepared publicly to endorse Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s Global Movement of Moderates (GMM) initiative and yet deny being an extremist.
Actually, the “ruckus” had done more, as it also raised the fundamental question how Najib’s GMM initiative could have any chance of success when it is impossible to identify more than a handful of committed moderates in Cabinet and UMNO/BN leadership!
For instance, how many Ministers and UMNO/BN leaders are fully committed moderates dedicated to the moderate agenda of the GMM campaign, as repeatedly spelt out by Najib in various international forums in the past four years, as follows:
“The fight against extremism is not about Christians versus Muslims, or Muslims versus Jews, but moderates versus extremists of all religions. We therefore need to rally a coalition of moderates; those willing to reclaim their religion, and pursue the path to peace.”
I cannot count more than two fully committed moderates in the Cabinet who are willing to take up the cudgel of moderation against extremism and rally behind a coalition of moderates to reclaim their religion and pursue the path to peace. Read the rest of this entry »
Negara-Ku starts roadshow to reclaim Malaysia from extremism
Posted by Kit in 1Malaysia, Najib Razak, nation building on Wednesday, 12 November 2014
by Jennifer Gomez
The Malaysian Insider
12 November 2014
New people’s movement Negara-Ku is set to carry out its “reclaim Malaysia” agenda nationwide with a roadshow beginning in Malacca tonight to return rationality, open and civil discussion, moderation and harmony to Malaysia.
“Kembalikan Negaraku” or “Return My Country” aims to take back Malaysia from racism and extremism, and provide a platform for safe debates, even on controversial issues such as the court’s recent decision on Negri Sembilan’s Islamic enactments on transgenders.
More than just focusing on issues themselves, the movement’s founder and chairperson Zaid Kamaruddin said they wanted to promote a climate where Malaysians could discuss matters without getting emotional.
Their aim was to also put forward the fact that all differences could be discussed with the Federal Constitution as a reference.
Zaid also said the roadshow was not just about promoting the movement but to draw all other civil society groups that wanted to promote healthy relationships among communities. Years before Negara-Ku, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak launched his 1Malaysia concept when he took office in 2009 but the slogan has since petered out.
“We support all other efforts that promote the coming together of Malaysians, to be able to express what they want,” he added. Read the rest of this entry »
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