A dream of Malaysian unity
Posted by Kit in 1Malaysia, Brain drain, nation building on Thursday, 2 June 2011, 8:29 am
– CKL
The Malaysian Insider
Jun 01, 2011
MAY 31 — I have read with sadness the many letters you have published regarding Malaysia’s brain drain. I am one of those, who left Malaysia for many reasons, chiefly, because I did not see any future for my children in a country which had become increasingly racist, moving from moderate to fundamentalist Islamic and also increasingly intolerant.
To those who say that I am unpatriotic and that I should stay on to help change the country, I tell you that it cannot be changed! Whilst working as a professional in Malaysia, I also served for 14 years in the Territorial Army of Malaysia (Rejimen Askar Wataniah), rising to my last rank of Major.
Rejimen Askar Wataniah is the army reserves of Malaysia and we undergo weekend military training every fortnight. During those years, not only was I prepared to risk life and limb for King and country, but I also initiated and helped set up Askar Wataniah societies in mainly Chinese tertiary institutes which recruited Chinese students into the Askar Wataniah. Every year, those societies recruited some 100+ Chinese students into the Rejimen Askar Wataniah, compared with a miserly 10+ in the regular army.
I expected nothing from my efforts because I enjoyed my time in the Askar Wataniah and I was patriotic, then! But I certainly did not expect brickbats and every effort being made by my fellow Malay officers to run me down because they were jealous (my efforts in recruiting such large numbers of Chinese into the Askar Wataniah had caught the attention of the military top brass and also assorted politicians, in particular MCA politicians) or as one of them told me, “perasaan dengki” which Malays always seem to have for those who are more successful than they are. Read the rest of this entry »
Rakyat atau Kerajaan yang perlu berjimat?
– Mohd Yusof Hadhari
The Malaysian Insider
Jun 01, 2011
1 JUN — Sekarang kita semua perlu terus sedar bahawa penjimatan kini sudah menjadi wajib. Ia patut menjadi kata kunci kepada semua orang, bukan lagi kepada yang berpendapatan rendah sahaja. Kanapa saya berkata begitu. Harga gula sudah naik, harga minyak sudah berapa kali naik. Untuk harga barang yang lain harap tidak di naikan lagi, sekurang-kurangnya tidak dirasionalisasikan dalam masa terdekat. Harga petrol Ron95, diesel dan gas masih lagi bertahan, entah sampai bila subsidinya dapat diteruskan! Kita tunggu dan lihat.
Dan mulai kemarin (1 Jun), bagi pengguna elektrik antara 301kW dan 1000kW unit, tarifnya sudah dinaikan daripada 0.1 hingga 10 peratus, atau RM0.07 kepada RM30.30. Macam biasa, tenang semua. Harga gas asli di Malaysia masih lagi murah berbanding Negara jiran meskipun dengan kenaikan itu. Menurut kerajaan, sebelum atau selepas kenaikan, setelah dirasionalisasikan, harga di Negara ini masih murah jika di bandingkan dengan Thailand sebanyak RM18.23 setiap juta unit termal British (MMBtu). Indonesia RM21.04, Singapura RM43.32 dan Vietnam RM18.70.
Kerajaan kata kenaikan dalam bekalan gas ke sektor perindustrian adalah wajar, iaitu daripada RM15 setiap MMBtu kepada RM16.07 setiap MMBtu, jika dibandingkan dengan Negara serantau seperti Thailand (RM19.46), Indonesia (RM18.74) dan Singapura (RM113.45). Apa pun, yang jelas pengguna tidak akan selesa dengan sebarang kenaikan. Read the rest of this entry »
Something to ponder before migrating
Posted by Kit in Brain drain, nation building on Thursday, 2 June 2011, 7:48 am
– From a doctor who stayed
The Malaysian Insider
Jun 01, 2011
JUNE 1 — It has been illuminating reading the various stories of the people who left and the people who stayed. I personally feel it is the individual’s choice and I agree largely with the opinions of John Rahman. However, I do want to share a couple of angles from a physician’s perspective.
1. To all those who have migrated whose parents are still alive, please make provisions for them if they are left behind. Most people write about the opportunities they need to give to their children but rarely mention what happens to their parents when they migrate.
As a doctor, I see this every day. There are many elderly patients who are admitted to hospital and their children are all living abroad. It is very sad. Read the rest of this entry »
An insult to Islam?
Hafidz Baharom
The Malaysian Insider
Jun 01, 2011
JUNE 1 — First and foremost, having a Christian prime minister is not an insult to Islam, nor is allowing a nation to become secular or even Christian.
Take a look at Germany. Their president and chancellor belong to the Christian Democratic Union Party. Yet, Islam is still alive and well in their nation.
If that’s too much for you to imagine, take a look at Netherlands then. Ruled by a monarch and extremely secular, their prime minister is from the VVD and his deputy is from the Christian Democratic Appeal party. Yet still, Islam is there, alive and well enough to be the cause of Theo Van Gogh’s death.
Should Malaysia become a secular or Christian nation, it will not be Islam that is offended. It’s just people who obviously were not granted the brains, patience or even sensitivity to understand that the first basis of the religion itself is to find moderation.
If a Muslim does wrong, he or she is told to repent. If a non-Muslim says something wrong, we are told, through Islamic teaching, to educate them and find a peaceful solution. Read the rest of this entry »
Bigger landslide in the making
Posted by Kit in environment, Good Governance, Selangor on Thursday, 2 June 2011, 6:19 am
Stephanie Sta Maria | May 30, 2011
Free Malaysia Today
The situation in Bukit Antarabangsa is serious as the slope failures or shallow landslides are indications of an impending bigger landslide.
KUALA LUMPUR: Double landslides occurred side by side in Bukit Antarabangsa, Hulu Kelang, Selangor, 10 days ago but escaped public attention for both struck on the same day as the Hulu Langat tragedy.
As rescue personnel and the media rushed to the Madrasah Al-Taqwa Orphanage, business owners and employees watched mounds of wet earth sliding down the slope behind their commercial centre in Taman Ukay Perdana.
Unlike Hulu Langat, however, no property damages or injuries took place in the Bukit Antarabangsa incident.
The Ampang Jaya Municipal Council (MPAJ) moved swiftly in dispatching a team from its hillslope division to begin immediate work in containing the situation and repairing the slope.
MPAJ is currently the only authority with an existing hillslope division which was formed after the 2008 Bukit Antarabangsa landslide, which claimed five lives. Read the rest of this entry »
A fight for Malaysia
Posted by Kit in Brain drain, nation building on Wednesday, 1 June 2011, 11:09 pm
— Dr Kamal Amzan
The Malaysian Insider
Jun 01, 2011
JUNE 1 — The country of nasi lemak, rendang, pasembor, rojak and yong tau hu.
A nation of colourful festivals and public holidays that dot the yearly planner, turning any calendar into a polka-dot collage.
It is where you find everyone is related. We are somebody’s “uncles”, “aunties”, “pak ciks” and “mak ciks”, akin to a super big family celebrating our differences in fashionably colourful ways.
A country blessed with pristine, tranquil mountaintops, sandy white beaches and whatever remains of our rich rainforest heritage everywhere.
A place where the east converges before greeting the west.
This is my country. My home, my heaven and my paradise. Read the rest of this entry »
Through my aging eyes: Kaamatan – A Blend of Politics and Culture
By Dr Edwin Bosi
DAP Sabah State Secretary
Borneo Post
1.6.11
If my recollection is right the planting season used to be from February to May of each year. I remember the meticulous preparation from clearing a plot of land for the nursery to transplanting and harvesting. Each family had a fenced-up plot where every bit of herbage was removed, and using a sharpened pole my mom would plunge it into the ground, making sure the small holes thus created were in a neat roll. Then the best quality padi grains were placed into the tiny holes and buried by racking the soil at the surface. Up on the trees, little “pipit” or brownish sparrows were waiting to salvage whatever grains were found scattered on the plot. The size of the plot depends on the acreage of ones padi field.
The seedlings upon reaching about a foot tall were ready for transplanting onto the field. While the seeds grew the padi land was prepared by ploughing with the assistance of an obedient and trained buffaloes. The bunds were repaired and made strong enough to hold the water. The soil was then broken or harrowed before the seedlings were transplanted. Usually there were few people involved in the planting in unison using a short small sharpened wood to make the holes in the soil and then sticking the seedlings into them. The job was executed by stepping backward to ensure a straight line was achieved. If I can recall the planting distant between two seedlings was about 18 inches. Read the rest of this entry »
I will not give in to fear
Posted by Kit in 1Malaysia, Brain drain, nation building on Wednesday, 1 June 2011, 9:47 pm
— Lim Ka Joy
The Malaysian Insider
Jun 01, 2011
JUNE 1 — Dear Malaysia,
It is with great joy and hope and also some apprehension that I undertook this task of writing why I have decided not to forsake you even though I have watched you grow from bad to worse over the years.
I speak to you as a single entity because that is what you are. You are a nation. Though not every part of you will understand this, but I am sure your brain does and that is all we need at the end of the day.
Just for the purposes of a personal intro, I am your average Gen-Y Malaysian who hails form Kuching, Sarawak. I was a victim of discrimination after SPM and STPM. However, thanks to my parents who funded the major portion my tertiary education, I graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in December 2008.
That year, my dad encouraged me to look for a job overseas. “Don’t work in Malaysia,” he said, “it is not worth it. Salary is one reason for leaving, but with the current un-meritocratic and un-progressive stance on politics, education, economics and social issues, our country is going down the proverbial drain.” Read the rest of this entry »
Can PAS help bring about change in M’sia?
by Koon Yew Yin
Centre folr Public Initiatives
A few days ago, someone sent me an anonymous e-mail appeal addressed to voters. According to the appeal, the coming elections, more so than others, is a vital election because we are at a crossroad. If we get it right we will prosper; if we get it wrong, we will suffer as we have seen in our neighbouring countries. I cannot agree more with these sentiments. In the last three years, I have written about the socioeconomic and political crossroad that the country is at, but that has been to a general audience.
I am glad that I now have the opportunity to share my thoughts on this subject with a PAS audience. This is the first time that I am addressing PAS supporters and this is also probably the first opportunity PAS has had to interact with someone like me.
Let me begin by posing a question. The question that I and many other Malaysians want to ask PAS is how will PAS help the country and ordinary Malaysians take the right road to a brighter and harmonious future? Which is the road that PAS and its leaders want Malaysians to follow? Read the rest of this entry »
Intel report sees strife in BN, Pakatan
Posted by Kit in Elections, Najib Razak, Pakatan Rakyat, Sabah, Sarawak, UMNO on Wednesday, 1 June 2011, 7:32 pm
Malaysiakini
Jun 1, 11
Specialist publisher Economist Intelligence Unit has warned that Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak may face political revolt within Umno and from coalition parties in Sabah and Sarawak, should he fail to secure a clear victory in the next general election.
Divisions among the three Pakatan Rakyat component parties are also likely to widen if PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim is jailed for sodomy, the publisher said in the June report for Malaysia.
It predicted that Malaysia’s political stability will come under moderate threat in the next five years due to internal strife within the two main political alliances. Read the rest of this entry »
Current Bumi economic agenda not viable, says UDA chief
By Yow Hong Chieh | June 01, 2011
The Malaysian Insider
KUALA LUMPUR, June 1 — Putrajaya cannot keep throwing money at agencies tasked with furthering the Bumiputera economic agenda without consideration for profit unlike in the past, says Umno leader Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed.
The UDA Holdings Bhd chairman warned there will come a day when the government, whose finances were “being stretched over time”, would no longer be able to dole out grants to statutory bodies like Majlis Amanah Rakyat (Mara) as it does currently.
Read the rest of this entry »
Pass through… What??
By Shanker | June 01, 2011
The Malaysian Insider
JUNE 1 — I refer to the prime minister’s statement that independent power producers (IPPs) would not benefit from a power hike, as he’s quoted by The Malaysian Insider — “It is a pass-through tariff so nobody benefits.”
Er… what’s “pass through”? Could someone please explain in plain English, what is this new terminology? For the life of me, it sure seems to have escaped the notice of renowned economic and financial experts; don’t think you’d find it in anything that, say Paul Krugman, writes.
Read the rest of this entry »
Umno anti-1 Malaysia, Kit Siang tells Soi Lek
By Clara Chooi | June 01, 2011
The Malaysian Insider
KUALA LUMPUR, June 1 — DAP’s Lim Kit Siang told Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek today to observe Umno’s refusal to discard racial politics before defining 1 Malaysia as the government’s “Malaysian first, race second” vision.
Lim pointed out to the MCA president that Umno’s repeated attempts to lure PAS into forming a unity government with Barisan Nasional (BN) was in itself against the concept of 1 Malaysia.
Read the rest of this entry »
Putrajaya’s inflation forecast ‘delusional’, says Guan Eng
By Yow Hong Chieh | June 01, 2011
The Malaysian Insider
KUALA LUMPUR, June 1 — The government is fooling itself and lying to the people if it thinks the recent round of subsidy cuts will have a negligible impact on inflation, Lim Guan Eng has said.
The DAP secretary-general said the 0.27 per cent inflation increase expected by the government following diesel subsidy cuts and power rate hikes was not borne out by the facts on the ground, where prices of basic necessities have gone up more rapidly.
Read the rest of this entry »
RM450m Tambatuon dam controversy – Why MP Kota Belud never visited kampong? (2)
This is twitter sequel to “RM450m Tambatuon dam controversy – Why MP Kota Belud never visited kampong?”:
29th May – 1 June 2011
mpkotabelud Abdul Rahman Dahlan
Baru landing di KK. Buka phone, timeline dan DM saya flooded wt tweets abt @limkitsiang’s visit to my beloved Kota Belud. Ish..
29 May
mpkotabelud Abdul Rahman Dahlan
Saya dah bermesyuarat &trima memo JK Bertindak Empangan Tambatuon dua bulan lalu. Kluar dlm paper. @limkitsiang playing spin doctor lagi ke?
29 May
mpkotabelud Abdul Rahman Dahlan
Tak payah main politik dgn I. U all pun sama. RT @kaikiok: Read the rest of this entry »
Umno’s unfinished revolution
By Sakmongkol AK47 | June 01, 2011
The Malaysian Insider
JUNE 1 — Umno’s unfinished revolution: One step forward and two steps back.
We can’t go back to 1946 and wished the motivations and inspirations that awoken the Malays remained unchanged. That wish would have to assume that every leader is born at the same time and is of similar constitution — boldness in character, dedication to public service, possessing selfless dedication.
Read the rest of this entry »
Panel: Waste won’t be 100% radiation-free
Posted by Kit in environment on Wednesday, 1 June 2011, 11:34 am
Malaysiakini | Jun 1, 11
The international expert panel reviewing the controversial Lynas rare earth plant has conceded that the waste produced from the plant cannot be 100 percent radiation-free.
Based on Malaysian Medical Association’s (MMA) notes of the panel’s hearing yesterday, a panelist said that it was “very unlikely” to achieve zero thorium or uranium – both radioactive elements – in the waste produced.
Read the rest of this entry »
Using history to make us intelligent, not stupid
Posted by Kit in Education, History, nation building on Wednesday, 1 June 2011, 10:23 am
By AB Sulaiman | May 30, 11
Malaysiakini
Some years ago, a concerned parent and friend drew my attention to the peculiar case of the current History textbooks for Forms 4 and 5 students. He hinted that apparently they were decked with omissions, errors, half-truths, an exaggerated role of the Malay ethnic group, and minimising or omitting altogether the considerable contribution of non-Malay individuals.
The texts furthermore exaggerated the role and influence of Islam toward the development of human civilisation and the country. His daughter had found the subject unbelievable, bordering on the ridiculous, and also very boring, but had studied on because she had to.
Read the rest of this entry »
Pro-Lynas thugs too have police ‘protection’
Posted by Kit in environment, Police on Wednesday, 1 June 2011, 10:21 am
‘Only in Malaysia can violent gatecrashers forcibly end a peaceful protest even under the watchful eyes of the police.’
Uninvited guests crash anti-Lynas protest
Swipenter: “We are from Kuantan, this is the Malay land!” said a man who identified himself as Azman Attar.
Read the rest of this entry »
People come first – reveal the power agreements
‘If Mahathir could compel them to sign the deal with IPPs at a giveaway rate, why can’t they be asked to similarly disclose the agreements?’
Minister: Gov’t has no power to reveal IPP contracts
Swipenter: This is one of the many ways the Umno-led government abuse and misuse OSA (Official Secrets Act) for the self interests of their cronies in the privatisation of essential utilities.
Read the rest of this entry »
