Archive for category nation building
Struggle to stem ‘brain drain’ as talent departs
Posted by Kit in 1Malaysia, Brain drain, Najib Razak, nation building on Thursday, 30 December 2010
Malaysiakini
Dec 30, 10
(AFP) When computer engineer Wan Jon Yew left Malaysia in 2005 for a job in Singapore, all he wanted was to work in the city state for a few years before going home. Now, he says, he will never return.
With a family, a home and a car, he now plans to settle in Singapore for good – just one of the many Malaysians stampeding abroad every year in a worrying ‘brain drain’ the government is trying to reverse.
“I wouldn’t consider going back to Malaysia, I won’t look back. If I were ever going to leave Singapore, I would migrate to Australia,” said the 28-year-old, who now has permanent resident status.
“It’s not about the money. I could have a better quality of life in Malaysia with my pay. I could have a semi-detached bungalow and have a maid there, but I would rather live in a government flat in Singapore.”
Wan, who is ethnically Chinese, is one of some 700,000 Malaysians – most of them highly educated – who are currently working abroad in an exodus that Prime Minister Najib Razak’s government is struggling to reverse. Read the rest of this entry »
Chief Secretary’s appointment of Selangor State Secretary without consultation with Mentri Besar violation of both the spirit and letter of Selangor Constitution
Posted by Kit in Constitution, nation building, Pakatan Rakyat, Selangor on Thursday, 30 December 2010
The appointment of Datuk Mohd Khusrin Munawi as the new Selangor State Secretary by the Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Mohd Sidek Hassan on behalf of the Public Service Commission, without consultation with the Selangor Mentri Besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim, violates both the spirit and letter of the Selangor Constitution.
It has been argued that there is no mention in the state constitution that the Mentri Besar must first be informed of the appointment nor that his consent was needed.
This is a flimsy and unacceptable argument, for going by this literal interpretation, Putrajaya should not have involved the Sultan in the appointment of the state secretary as there is equally no mention in the state constitution that the Sultan must first be informed of the appointment nor that any royal consent is needed.
What is pertinent is that constitutional conventions like meaningful consultation with the Mentri Besar and the Sultan on the appointment of the top state civil servant are carried out to uphold the integrity of the state constitution and to fulfill the mandate given by the people of Selangor when they voted for the government of their choice in the last general elections.
Although the Selangor State Constitution is silent on the role of the Mentri Besar on the appointment of the state secretary, just as it is silent on the role of the Sultan on the same matter, the Chief Secretary who has been delegated the constitutional task to make the appointment, should be mindful of the different political coalitions running the Federal and Selangor state governments and the importance of ensuring an appointee who could work as a bridge-builder or at least not seen as inimical to the Selangor state government interests vis-à-vis the Federal government. Read the rest of this entry »
Softening up students to Islam with History syllabus
Posted by Kit in Education, History, nation building, UMNO on Thursday, 30 December 2010
Commentary
Written by Centre for Policy Initiatives
Wednesday, 29 December 2010
Whose history is the government pushing on our students and to what effect?
On Oct 23, Education Minister Muhyiddin Yassin announced that History will be made a must-pass subject for the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia beginning 2013. This puts the subject on par with Bahasa Malaysia in its degree of importance.
The ministry will introduce a revised SPM History curriculum in 2017 as in that year the cohort which started Form One in 2013 would have reached Form Five. Fresh elements to be incorporated when the History syllabus begins its new cycle are ‘patriotism’, ‘citizenship’ and ‘the constitution’, which by extension implicates the so-called social contract.
Muhyiddin said the reason for the move to expand the History syllabus is so that patriotism can be instilled in Malaysian youths.
On Dec 16 – responding to objections raised by some quarters on his proposal – Muhyiddin guaranteed that the government does not have any “ulterior motives” and reiterated that the government in its decision “only want to introduce a history education to appreciate [patriotism] to help them [the Fifth Formers] become more patriotic”.
Is this the real agenda of Umno and the Ministry of Education bureaucrats and their support group of academics or is this another Umno political lie? Read the rest of this entry »
Najib’s suicidal slogan
Posted by Kit in 1Malaysia, Corruption, Media, Najib Razak, nation building on Wednesday, 29 December 2010
by Dean Johns
Malaysiakini
Dec 29, 10
It seems to me that the more persistently Najib Abdul Razak propounds his “1Malaysia. People first. Performance now” slogan, and the more desperately he defends it, the more damage he does to himself and Barisan Nasional. So naturally I’m 1 big supporter of the thing.
For a start, the “1Malaysia” part of it is so blatantly false that all it does is remind the hearer or reader of BN’s long-term strategy of dividing the nation’s races and religions, the better to try and ensure its eternal rule.
And this is not just an allegation, but an absolute fact. As evidenced by the BN government’s stacking of the civil services with employees of one particular race, through the wildly unequal allocation of government scholarships and contracts, to its supporting the concept of ketuanan Melayu through official economic policies, racist pressure-groups like Perkasa and publications like Utusan Malaysia.
Thus the “1Malaysia” phrase itself is such an outright and obvious lie that the long-running controversy over its originality appears virtually irrelevant. Yet Najib persists in claiming authorship as though his political survival depended on it. Which I fondly hope it does, given that the version of the concept with which I’m most familiar, “One Nation”, was the name of the notorious Pauline Hanson’s Australian political party, which long ago self-destructed. Read the rest of this entry »
Reconceptualising federalism
Posted by Kit in Azly Rahman, nation building on Tuesday, 28 December 2010
By Azly Rahman
“… Democratic and aristocratic states are not in their own nature free. Political liberty is to be found only in moderate governments; and even in these it is not always found. It is there only when there is no abuse of power. But constant experience shows us that every man invested with power is apt to abuse it, and to carry his authority as far as it will go. Is it not strange, though true, to say that virtue itself has need of limits? …
“To prevent this abuse, it is necessary from the very nature of things that power should be a check to power. A government may be so constituted, as no man shall be compelled to do things to which the law does not oblige him, nor forced to abstain from things which the law permits … .” – Baron de Montesquieu, The Spirit of Laws, Book XI
Read the rest of this entry »
Najib is denying the undeniable when he claimed his 1Malaysia slogan is not political
Posted by Kit in 1Malaysia, Muhyiddin Yassin, Najib Razak, nation building on Sunday, 26 December 2010
The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak is denying the undeniable when he claimed that his 1Malaysia concept is not political but a tool to foster unity among the different communities for nation-building.
Najib cannot deny that in the 20 months since the introduction of Najib’s “1Malaysia, People First, Performance Now” slogan, instead of giving Malaysians a new sense of being Malaysian, the reverse has taken place.
As a result, the brain drain of talented Malaysians regardless of race has again returned to the fore, despite the proposed establishment of a Talent Corporation to attract the best brains in the world to Malaysia.
In the past 20 months, despite Najib’s 1Malaysia concept to create a Malaysia where every Malaysian perceives himself or herself as Malaysian first and by race, religion, geographical region or socio-economic background second, there had been an unprecedented rhetoric of irresponsible politicking, racist extremism and religious bigotry.
The year could not have ended on a worse note for 1Malaysia when even Malaysia’s religious pluralism came under attack as if it is something anti-national, un-Malaysian and a great liability when the country’s racial, religious, cultural and linguistic diversity are the nation’s greatest assets and keys as to whether Malaysia can achieve inclusive, sustainable high-income developed nation status. Read the rest of this entry »
Winners ignored, 5th placers lauded?
Posted by Kit in 1Malaysia, Education, Letters, nation building on Saturday, 25 December 2010
by Ooi Chin Wah
Letters
Malaysiakini
Dec 22, 10
The World Robot Olympiad (WRO) is an event for science, technology and education, that brings together youths from all over the world in order to develop their creativity and problem solving skills through challenging and educational robot competitions.
Participating teams need to create, design and build a robot model that looks or behaves like human.
This year the task of organising the competition was given to the Philippines. The Ministry of Education and many private companies in the Philippines jointly sponsored the event.
The steering committee consists of well-known academicians from China, Taiwan, Japan, Korea and Singapore. 250 teams from 22 countries participated. Read the rest of this entry »
The future!! Happy people!? Beautiful country!?
Posted by Kit in nation building on Wednesday, 22 December 2010
By Ahmad Mustapha Hassan
The Malaysian Insider
December 22, 2010
In the 50s and the early 60s, when I was actively involved in the struggle for independence, I was more than convinced that with independence the country would experience a future full of promise, stability, prosperity, with a happy and united nation.
During the colonial period, economic activities had been segregated by race. The British were only interested in making as much as possible from the country. The arrangement that they had created had served them well.
Independence would mean the integration of all these activities, and as such, there would be interactive relationships among all. The breaking down of these segregated economic walls, however, did not materialise in a systematic and speedy way. Thus conflicts occurred.
Read the rest of this entry »
Selamatkan Impian Bapa Kemerdekaan
Posted by Kit in DAP, nation building, Pakatan Rakyat on Tuesday, 21 December 2010
Ubah sekarang, selamatkan Malaysia!
Empat patah perkataan yang secara ringkasnya mengungkapkan segala belenggu sosial, kepincangan ekonomi dan kemelut politik yang sedang melanda negara kita pada hari ini.
Apakah yang telah terjadi? Bagaimanakah kita boleh sampai ke tahap yang parah ini? Tanah air kita sudah tenat, dan kini terpaksa diselamatkan. Kemanakah perginya impian tokoh-tokoh pengasas negara kita, seperti Al-Marhum Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra, yang telah bermimpikan sebuah negara yang maju ekonominya, demokratik institusinya dan bersatu padu masyarakatnya. Tetapi alangkah malangnya pada hari ini, setelah 53 tahun pemerintahan Barisan Nasional, segala impian dan harapan Bapa Kemerdekaan bukan sekadar tidak tercapai malah sudah hancur terkecai.
Inilah hasil satu pemerintahan yang berlandaskan formula ‘pecah dan perintah’, di mana rakyat marhaen dipecah-belahkan dan kemudian diperintah secara berasingan oleh golongan elit daripada UMNO (untuk orang Melayu), MCA (untuk orang Cina), MIC (untuk orang India) dan sebagainya. Tiada bezanya dengan sistem yang dipraktikkan oleh penjajah British.
Read the rest of this entry »
Why is Malaysia experiencing a brain drain?
Posted by Kit in Brain drain, nation building on Tuesday, 21 December 2010
by Evelyn Wong, Guest Contributor
New Mandala
December 20th, 2010
In the past six months, there’s been a surge of local interest in the trend of brain drain in Malaysia. Out of a population of 27 million, there are an estimated 1.5 million Malaysians living abroad. Many of these Malaysians are skilled workers who emigrated to Singapore and OECD countries such as Australia, UK, and US. In response to this, the government has set up the Talent Corporation under the 10th Malaysia Plan to attract and retain highly-skilled human capital. Operating under the Prime Minister’s Department, Talent Corp will commence operations in January 2011.
While this is a promising step towards ameliorating the problem, the causes of brain drain are complex and deeply-entrenched in other aspects of Malaysian society. Read the rest of this entry »
Malaysian History Syllabus: Delusion, Amnesia, Inertia and Arrogance
Posted by Kit in Articles, Education, nation building on Saturday, 18 December 2010
by Dr. Lim Teck Ghee
A few days ago, two senior academics involved in the writing of history textbooks emerged from the shadows with the public allegation that the history textbooks in the country are biased and littered with errors. According to Dr. Ranjit Singh Malhi, one of the two authors, “secondary text books have been used to promote political interests”. Ng How Kuen, the other concerned author, expressed his fear that making history a compulsory pass subject would mean that students would have to subscribe to the official version of events or risk failing the entire examination.
It is said that history is written by the victors but it is also true that we get the history we deserve. The disclosure that the teaching of history in schools has been skewed and has a political agenda – besides suffering from distortions and errors – is not the first time this issue has been brought to the public’s attention.
Earlier attempts to highlight the issue of what constitutes the true history of Malaysia and what is passed off as officially sanctioned history in the schooling and larger public system such as the BTN courses may have begun with a bang but they have all ended with a whimper. Read the rest of this entry »
“Can a Chinese become Deputy Prime Minister?” – shows up MCA true colours when MCA leaders could ask such a question!
Posted by Kit in 1Malaysia, Constitution, MCA, nation building on Thursday, 9 December 2010
“Can a Chinese become Deputy Prime Minister?”
Although this question was posed by the MCA Youth leader and Deputy Education Minister Datuk Wee Ka Siong as a challenge to me, it shows up MCA true colours when MCA leaders could ask such a question.
Are top MCA leaders, including Ministers and Deputy Ministers, ignorant of the Malaysian Constitution?
Is there any provision in the Constitution which bars a Chinese or Malaysian of any race or religion from being Deputy Prime Minister? Or for that matter even as Prime Minister?
No wonder MCA Ministers and Deputy Ministers maintain monumental silence when MCA Cabinet posts have suffered one degradation after another, from Finance Minister and Minister for Industry and Commerce in Merdeka days to Deputy Finance Minister and Deputy Minister for International Trade and Industry. Read the rest of this entry »
A better place for their children, not Malaysia
Posted by Kit in 1Malaysia, globalisation, nation building, NEM on Tuesday, 7 December 2010
By Melissa Chi
The Malaysian Insider
December 07, 2010
KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 7 — First-class education system, a corruption-free government, zero tolerance on racism and the basic skill to communicate properly are all on one Malaysian’s mind when he chooses to work in Australia.
Anthony Leong, 30, an application support programmer, said he is considering giving up his Malaysian citizenship and live in Australia permanently, for the sake of his future family.
He said he had become frustrated at the corrupted system, the quality of local university graduates and the red tape he had to go through to apply for welfare support for his 70-year-old disabled aunt, among other things.
He is now a permanent resident in Australia, working for the Queensland Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation, and is considering applying to be an Australian citizen once he has convinced his father and sister to move with him.
Low purchasing power, racism, political instability, low income, race-based policies, crime rates and non-dual citizenship laws are seen as some of the reasons that have kept a lot of Malaysian talents anywhere but here, 300,000 annually to be exact. Read the rest of this entry »
Ketuanan Melayu: A risky experiment
Posted by Kit in Mariam Mokhtar, nation building on Monday, 6 December 2010
Mariam Mokhtar | Dec 6, 10
Malaysiakini
I was born Malay and was hardly conscious of my race, either at school or at home. Race hardly cropped up in conversation except when we had form-filling to do – like applying for an identity card. Religion was something sacred and the only time we’d be aware of our racial and religious differences was deciding what to wear for a wedding or whose open house to visit, during the various festivities.
Thus, the recent clamour for “ketuanan Melayu” is destructive and damaging – not just for Malaysia but more so for the Malays, the very people that the “ketuanan Melayu” concept is supposed to protect. It is wrong because “ketuanan Melayu” is a dangerous experiment in social engineering.
Our neighbours were both Chinese and Indian. As children, we studied and played with each other, even hitched lifts to school when necessary, whilst the adults shared garden produce, swopped certain special dishes for the various ‘open houses’ and practiced their own version of ‘neighbourhood watch’.
Read the rest of this entry »
NEM (Part 2) cannot mark beginning of quantum leap for Malaysia when country is drowned by divisive cacophony like Ketuanan Melayu (Malay supremacy) calls contradicting Najib’s 1Malaysia concept
Posted by Kit in 1Malaysia, Corruption, Najib Razak, nation building, NEM on Saturday, 4 December 2010
The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak said yesterday that with the New Economic Model (NEM) Concluding Part released by the National Economic Action Council (NEAC), Malaysia is all set to make the quantum leap into the future and realize its goal to emerge as a high-income, developed, sustainable and inclusive nation.
If so, yesterday should be one of the major milestones in Najib’s premiership and the event would have been marked with unprecedented fanfare.
But this was not the case, for the simple reason that NEM (Part 2) cannot mark the beginning of a quantum leap for Malaysia to become a developed, high-income, sustainable and inclusive nation especially when the country is drowned by a divisive cacophony like Ketuanan Melayu (Malay supremacy) calls which stands in contradiction to Najib’s signature concept of 1Malaysia.
In its chapter on “From Vision to Results”, the NEM Part II stressed that an important prerequisite for the success of the national economic transformation blueprint is for all Malaysian citizens, “irrespective of race, ethnicity, religion or gender…to look past what sets Malaysians apart, focus resolutely on our common interests, and work together with determination towards the success of this transformation and our collective prosperity”. But these are just words without meaning. Read the rest of this entry »
Wan Azizah has a dream of a ketuanan rakyat to build a united progressive Malaysia
Posted by Kit in Dr. Chen Man Hin, nation building, Pakatan Rakyat on Wednesday, 1 December 2010
By Dr Chen Man Hin, DAP life advisor
Wan Azizah policy speech at the recent PKR congress was a breath of fresh air into politics in the country. She did not introduce some policy of the nature of 1 Malaysia. What she gave was a dream of building a united and progressive Malaysia with a policy designed to change the political landscape.
Wan Azizah has a dream for Malaysia where all Malaysians whether Malays, Chinese, Indians or Kadazanas are considered as masters and equals in their own country. Her dream is to spread the concept of KETUANAN RAKYAT which means that all Malaysians have the same status and equal opportunities in all the fields of human endeavour.
This is a bold step by Wan Azizah, and just as Martin Luther King had a dream which unleashed a new era for the blacks of America, so will Azizah’s dream open up a new world for Malaysia to be as progressive, compeitive and a high income economy as the tigers of Asia like Singapore, Hong Kong, S Korea and Taiwan.
Read the rest of this entry »
Patriotism in perspective
Posted by Kit in Articles, Defence, nation building on Monday, 29 November 2010
By AB Sulaiman
Defence Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi stated recently that there have been too few non-Malays serving in the armed forces because “they lacked patriotism”. Malaysian politicians are not renowned for coining any worthwhile wisdom, and this one may prove hard to beat.
Sure enough this statement angered the public. But it’s so very odd. Where else have we heard an incumbent defence minister claiming his own illustrious soldiers and pool of citizens as not patriotic enough? In this writing I am trying to have a modicum of understanding to this bizarre situation.
Thanabalasingam, the former Navy chief, and Goh Seng Toh, a retired general, came up with their disappointment and anger, the former describing the minister’s remark as “it hurts,” and the latter with “unfair, stupid and racist”.
D Swami, a retired officer, then wrote on CPI of many cases of (non-Malay) military officers showing patriotism in warfare both within the country and abroad. They have clearly denied the ministerial accusation.
Read the rest of this entry »
In the military, the non-Malay is ridden like a horse
Posted by Kit in Articles, Defence, nation building on Friday, 26 November 2010
Written by Major (Rtd) D.Swami
Friday, 26 November 2010
Centre for Policy Initiatives
Defence Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi remarked that non-Malays shun a military career because they lacked patriotism. His sense of history and of the contributions of the Chinese, Indians and our brothers from East Malaysia towards the sovereignty of Malaysia leaves something to be desired. Zahid’s is a racist and bigoted view, pure and simple.
I’ve previously blogged about the winners of valour awards, not including those who had laid down their lives, are maimed, and not forgetting the non-Malay police officers.
I guess when the Chinese and Indians were bleeding and dying for this country, Zahid might just have been a dirty glint in his father’s eyes. I am not insulting this dull fellow, just that this shallow-minded individual needs some input regarding who was the first Malaysian to be awarded the Pingat Gagah Berani. He was a Chinese! Sergeant Chong Yong Chin PGB of the First Federation Regiment.
Dey Zahid, I suppose you did not know that. Insults have to be politely reciprocated with civility, I am doing just that. Read the rest of this entry »
Chong Eu a great Penangite, a great Malaysian, and a great patriot
Posted by Kit in nation building, Penang, Politics, Thomas Lee on Thursday, 25 November 2010
By Thomas Lee
Mysinchew.com
2010-11-25
Wednesday 24 November 2010 was a sad day for Malaysians, especially Penangites. It was on that day that the beloved Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu passed away.
Chong Eu was born in Penang on Wednesday 28 May 1919 to a young medical doctor Dr Lim Chwee Leong and his wife Cheah Swee Hoon. He was given the name Chong Eu, which roughly translated from Chinese means “heaven’s blessing”.
Dr Lim Chwee Leong was just 22 years old when he graduated as medical doctor and left his hometown of Singapore to work and settle in Penang. The young doctor’s decision to make Penang his permanent abode was certainly a heavenly blessing for the island state as his first child Chong Eu was destined to be the person who would bring abundant blessings to the people of Penang.
Chong Eu was born and grew up during a very exciting epoch-making period of world history, involving two great World Wars, several national revolutions, especially those of Russia and China, many regional wars, including the Korean War and Vietnam War, and the emergence of the anti-colonialism liberation movement in the Third World countries. Read the rest of this entry »
Tun Dr. Lim Chong Eu 1919-2010 – Malaysia has lost last surviving giant of Merdeka era
Posted by Kit in nation building, Penang on Thursday, 25 November 2010
With Tun Dr. Lim Chong Eu passing yesterday after a month-long stroke, Malaysia has lost the last surviving giant of the Merdeka era who became Penang’s longest-serving Chief Minister.
Malaysia and Penang have lost a great son.
Tun Dr. Lim’s contribution to Malaysian nation-building in general and the Penang state and economy in particular is acknowledged by all Malaysians.
Although we were opponents in the political and electoral arenas, I always have the highest respect and regard for Tun Dr. Lim’s political struggles and integrity.
My deepest condolence to the bereaved family particularly Toh Puan Goh Sing Yeng, Chien Aun and Chien Cheng.
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