Damning Diaspora Data
Posted by Kit in Martin Jalleh on Thursday, 10 March 2011, 11:28 am
By Martin Jalleh
On 4 Oct. last year, PM Najib Razak expressed his concern that the exodus of local talent to developed countries has threatened his vision of transforming Malaysia into a high-income nation by 2020.
Below are some statistics gathered from various sources and highlighted in 2010 to show how serious the brain drain is and the fact that more and more Malaysians are leaving since Najib took over:
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785,000 Malaysians are working overseas. Unofficially, the figure is well over 1 million (or even 1.5 million) (Malaysian Employers Federation executive director, Shamsuddin Bardan).
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Of those who have left, nearly 40% of them have settled in Singapore; 30% in the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries such as Australia, USA, UK, Canada and New Zealand; 20% in other Asean countries and 10% in the rest of the world.
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An Australian immigration agency in Perth with offices in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor has reportedly said that the number of Malaysians enquiring about moving to Australia rose by 80% since 2008. Read the rest of this entry »
Longing for A Free Mind (Part 1 of 14)
Posted by Kit in Bakri Musa on Thursday, 10 March 2011, 11:24 am
[Presented at the Fifth Annual Alif Ba Ta Conference at Stevens Institute of Technology, Hoboken, NJ, organized by UMNO Club of New York-New Jersey, January 29, 2011.]
[A nation aspiring for greatness needs leaders with free minds; only they are capable of carving new paths. The Pak Turut (me too) leaders we have today, content merely to regurgitate what had been programmed in them, will at best only maintain the status quo. To elect leaders with free minds, citizens too must be free-minded.]
Let me first congratulate Amer Shukri, President of UMNO Club NY-NJ, and Zaid Nabil, President of the Malaysian Students Association here at Stevens, for organizing this Fifth Annual Alif Ba Ta conference. Despite changes in leadership through graduations and the like that are inherent in organizations like yours, you and your team have demonstrated admirable staying power. I applaud you, especially the hard work of the organizing committee, and thank you for inviting me again.
There are other UMNO Clubs much bigger and more established. At one time the UMNO Club of California counted its members in the hundreds, but the best that they could muster was in organizing gatherings to greet visiting UMNO dignitaries. Those were occasions less for the exchange of ideas, more for ambitious leader wannabes to ingratiate themselves to senior party members. So I congratulate you for putting together a substantive program all these years.
Read the rest of this entry »
Answering the people’s call is the way to winning the next GE
By N H Chan
The call of the people is accountability which is the ultimate checks and balances of democracy
There is an excellent article by an astute young lady in the Sun, March 3, 2011:
Checks and balances imperative
By Yap Mun ChingWhen former transport minister Chan Kong Choy was charged with … cheating amounting to RM1.9 billion … it was as though the winds of accountability sweeping across the Middle East had finally gusted over. …the former minister looks set to join his predecessor Dr Ling Liong Sik on a list of former cabinet ministers accused of less than hounourable activities while in office.
Viewing these developments against the backdrop of the events in the Middle East, several important lessons stand out. Firstly, it is never healthy to have leaders hold on to power for too long a period without proper checks and balances. It is not by coincidence that the heads of government facing the strongest opposition in the Middle East now are those who have hung on for decades by crushing all opposition. Tunisia’s deposed Ben Ali ruled for 23 years while Egypt’s Mubarak sat at the helm … for 29 years. Embattled Libyan leader Gaddafi is one of the world’s longest-serving leaders at 42 years, while … Yemen and Bahrain, the incumbents have been in power for 30 and 40 years respectively.
Read the rest of this entry »
Najib takes country on a “quantum leap” into greater losses
Posted by Kit in Martin Jalleh, Najib Razak on Wednesday, 9 March 2011, 11:29 am
By Martin Jalleh
When delivering the 2011 Budget speech in Parliament on 15 Oct. 2010, Prime Minister and Finance Minister Najib Razak said that he will lead the country to make a ‘quantum leap’ to become a develop and high-income nation by 2020.
Such a promise became a mere joke when one looks at the leakages, laggard government ministries and agencies, scandalous losses by GLCs, the economy which drifted listlessly and “looting” by the political elite – all of which marked Najib’s second year as PM (in 2010). Below are some examples:
Blocks L and M in South China Sea: In May 2010, Pas proposed to file a suit against the Federal Government for ceding away the oil and gas-rich offshore Blocks L and M in South China Sea to Brunei to protect the rights of future generations of Sarawakians, Sabahans and Malaysians. Mahathir had estimated that the worth of oil and gas rights for both blocks are in the region of US$100 billion (RM320 billion).
Read the rest of this entry »
Cops question students for 10 hours over ‘Interlok’
Posted by Kit in 1Malaysia, Education, nation building on Tuesday, 8 March 2011, 6:20 pm
by Zaidatul Syreen Abdul Rashid
Malaysiakini
Mar 8, 11
Three Form Five students were yesterday taken to the Kuala Kubu Baru district police headquarters and traumatised by being questioned for 10 hours – all for wanting to return the novel Interlok to their headmaster last Friday.
Initially, seven SMK Kuala Kubu Baru students, who wanted to return the book because they were not happy with its contents, were stopped by a discipline teacher who allegedly abused them verbally.
“All seven of us we were walking calmly towards the headmaster’s room when our discipline teacher stopped us and started making comments at us, which hurt our feelings,” said one of the students, who was with four others at the Human Rights Party headquarters today.
According to the student, the discipline teacher said the students were purposely creating problems because of their race.
The teacher reportedly said, “Kenapa orang India garang? India memang suka rosakkan nama sekolah. Keling memang dasar pariah sejak sejarah lagi” (Why are the Indians so fierce? Indians really like to tarnish the school’s name. The keling have been pariahs since historical times).
The students were not able to return the novel as the teacher told them to disperse immediately. Read the rest of this entry »
Senior Gerakan leader resigns, blames Umno
Posted by Kit in 1Malaysia, Gerakan, nation building on Tuesday, 8 March 2011, 3:30 pm
The Malaysian Insider
Tuesday, 08 March 2011
KUALA LUMPUR, March 8 — A senior Gerakan leader announced his resignation from the party today, blaming it on the Umno’s “hegemonic race politics” that has changed little since the political tsunami in the last general election.
Dr Hsu Dar Ren said, in a statement today, that he was resigning from all his positions in Gerakan, including that of central committee member, Federal Territory state liaison committee member, division chairman, branch chairman and ordinary membership.
“Parti Gerakan is a party with good ideology to establish a fair and equitable society in Malaysia. It too has many conscientious members who subscribe to this ideology. Unfortunately, within the framework of BN, where the hegemonic race politics of Umno predominates, it is impossible for Gerakan to realise this ideal,” he said.
The disheartened Dr Hsu (picture), who has been a vocal leader, said that after more than five decades of “race-based politics”, the country has drifted so much apart that “racial polarisation has never been as bad as now”. Read the rest of this entry »
Malaysia in the Era of Globalization #55
Posted by Kit in Bakri Musa, globalisation on Tuesday, 8 March 2011, 10:35 am
Chapter 7: Enhancing Human Capital
Enhancing Human Capital Through Education
Globalization is driven essentially by knowledge; the new economy is appropriately called the K(for knowledge)-economy. Knowledge is the important ingredient of the new economy, and also its measure. Knowledge has replaced the economists’ “factors of production” – land, labor, and capital – as the chief economic resource.
The philosopher Saidina Ali perceptively observed that knowledge, unlike wealth, protects us under all circumstances, but we have to protect our wealth constantly against theft and inflation. The world around may crumble but with my knowledge and skills as a surgeon, I can still contribute and be productive. Further, wealth is diluted when shared; knowledge on the other hand, increases and gets enhanced when shared. A discovery in one field often stimulates innovations in another, thereby increasing our overall knowledge. Knowledge is also amplified through such exchanges. The nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) that was used initially in basic research to identify chemical molecules is now used routinely in clinical medicine. Indeed the market for this is worth considerably more. Wealth if kept secret may retain its value, but knowledge kept secret will quickly become obsolete and worthless.
Read the rest of this entry »
Don’t gamble away our children’s future
Posted by Kit in Thomas Lee on Tuesday, 8 March 2011, 10:34 am
By Thomas Lee
The issue of gambling is again hogging the political limelight, following the PAS Kelantan state government decision to disallow the sales of Big Sweep lottery tickets in coffee-shops and other business premises.
The common perception at present is that since the Big Sweep lottery scheme has been given a licence to operate, the Kelantan state government has no authority and power to ban its sale of lottery tickets in the state.
On the contrary, although the licence to operate the lottery is given by the federal government, the authority responsible for issueing permits to premises to operate as lotttery outlets is the local council.
The lottery can be sold in Kelantan, but only in premises which have been specifically licensed for the purpose, i.e.legally permitted to operate as lottery outlets.
Read the rest of this entry »
Selangor DAP tells PAS to stop anti-gaming talk
Posted by Kit in DAP, Pakatan Rakyat, PAS, Religion on Monday, 7 March 2011, 7:34 pm
By Debra Chong
The Malaysian Insider
Mar 06, 2011
KUALA LUMPUR, March 6 — Selangor DAP chief Teresa Kok warned political ally PAS to stop pushing for all Pakatan Rakyat (PR) states to adopt Kelantan’s controversial gaming ban for fear of losing non-Muslim votes in the coming general election.
“If PAS pushes this further, it’s not going to help them win more Malay votes and it might cost them non-Malay votes,” she told The Malaysian Insider today.
Kok was weighing in behind DAP national chairman Karpal Singh who had yesterday criticised the Kelantan government for enforcing a state law which, he said, had denied the rights of its non-Muslim citizens. Read the rest of this entry »
It’s a sham! It’s a show! It’s a Shame – it’s our Sick Economy!
Posted by Kit in Martin Jalleh on Monday, 7 March 2011, 7:03 pm
By Martin Jalleh
· “The present PM has made some helpful gestures towards liberalising the economy…These initiatives, however, must do more than skim the surface of what must be done. (7 January 2010)
· “Malaysia is a sham democracy, one which existed only in name but grievously compromised in substance, reality and fact… Reforms could not be expected from the incumbents in power.” (8 February 2010)
· “Our economy has stagnated. Productivity remains low. We now lag our regional competitors in the quality of our people, when we were once leaders in the developing world.” (23 March 2010)
~ Tengku Razaleigh, former Finance Minister and veteran leader of Umno
Below is a glance at the sad and scandalous scenario of how the country’s once strong economy has fallen sick with the government putting up a big show (performance now!) of economic reforms in 2010 – full of sound and fury signifying nothing.
1. Flight in capital
Read the rest of this entry »
Why Chua Soi Lek dare not declare that Ling and Chan were innocent and that they are victims of selective prosecution by Attorney-General?
Posted by Kit in Corruption, MCA, PKFZ on Sunday, 6 March 2011, 5:23 pm
Just saw the unusual Merlimau and Kerdau double by-election polling day statement by MCA President Datuk Seri Dr. Chua Soi Lek, which is reported by The Malaysian Insider under the headline “Dr. Chua: Kit Siang using PKFZ as vote bait”.
Congratulations! The MCA President has issued a statement which even MCA leaders and members don’t believe, let alone the Malaysian people at large.
I am not interested in trading accusations.
What is obvious is that Chua continues to avoid the issues raised by the corruption charges preferred against the former No. 1 and No. 2 of MCA when they were Transport Ministers in connection with the RM12.5 billion Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) scandal, including:
Firstly, why the MCA President dare not declare that the MCA and in particular the MCA leadership are convinced that the two former top MCA leaders were innocent of the corruption charges made against Ling and Chan in connection with the PKFZ scandal?
Secondly, why he dare not declare that Ling and Chan are victims of selective prosecution by the Attorney-General, Tan Sri Gani Patail, when no other political personalities particularly from UMNO, have been charged for the same PKFZ scandal? Read the rest of this entry »
Fools No More, They’re Breaking Out
Posted by Kit in university on Saturday, 5 March 2011, 4:52 pm
By Kee Thuan Chye
MALAYSIAN university students must surely realize that they have more power now than they have ever had in the last four decades. This accounts for their robust participation in politics in recent days. Not only in university campuses, but also in the public sphere.
Suppressed for so long by the Universities and University Colleges Act (UUCA), introduced in 1971 because the ruling party feared the rise of student activism, today’s students are breaking out.
The political landscape that emerged from the March 8 phenomenon has no doubt been an encouraging factor. Inspired by the aspiration of a more politically aware rakyat demanding greater democracy, students have been challenging university and government authorities by taking part in political activities they are banned from doing so by the draconian UUCA. Read the rest of this entry »
Why no protest by CSL at Ling and Chan being singled out for corruption charges in connection with RM12.5 billion PKFZ scandal without any Umno personality being charged?
Posted by Kit in Corruption, MCA, PKFZ on Friday, 4 March 2011, 2:48 pm
Many questions are swirling in the minds of Malaysians over the corruption charges against former MCA President, Tun Dr. Ling Liong Sik and former MCA Deputy President, Tan Sri Chan Kong Choy in connection with the RM12.5 billion Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) scandal which do not enhance public confidence in the independence, professionalism and integrity of the Attorney-General, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) and the judiciary.
Firstly, why the MCA President Datuk Seri Chua Soi Lek endorsed the Attorney-General Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail’s prosecution of Ling and Chan as Chua had publicly said after Chan was charged in court on Monday that “anyone who had committed an offence in the eyes of the Attorney-General’s Chamber should face the music”.
It is no secret that there is considerable questioning, not only among the general public but particularly at all levels of the MCA leadership and membership, why the two former Transport Ministers who were MCA No. 1 and 2 had been singled out for corruption charges for the PKFZ scandal when there has not been a single prosecution against any Umno personality. Read the rest of this entry »
NEP overwhelming Najib’s reforms, say reports
Posted by Kit in Najib Razak, NEP on Friday, 4 March 2011, 12:02 pm
By Shannon Teoh
The Malaysian Insider
March 04, 2011
KUALA LUMPUR, March 4 — New York-based business newspapers took aim at the Najib administration’s reform policies today, claiming that a “phony war on affirmative action” has failed to overcome pessimism in the local market.
The Wall Street Journal said in an opinion article that the government’s failure to speed up economic reforms while racial tensions increase have slowed productivity as the country labours under the legacy of the New Economic Policy (NEP).
“The risk now is that political parties representing the three races will be steered by extremist groups that exacerbate conflict for their own gain,” the Wall Street Journal said today. Read the rest of this entry »
Emergency MCA GA to decide whether MCA should make public apology for producing MCA President /Deputy President charged for the RM12.5 billion PKFZ scandal?
The assertion by the MCA President Datuk Seri Dr. Chua Soi Lek that there was no reason to apologise for the two top MCA leaders who were Transport Ministers, Tun Dr. Ling Liong Sik and Tan Sri Chan Kong Choy as whatever happened was the personal conduct of the leaders concerned and his strident denial that “MCA is a cheating party” have raised eyebrows nation-wide, even in Barisan Nasional parties including his own MCA!
Firstly, let me clarify that I had not asked Chua as MCA President to apologise over Ling and Chan on the ground that they were guilty of “grand corruption” as their trials have not even started – and I go along with the legal maxim that a person is innocent unless found guilty by the courts.
I had however asked Chua whether as MCA President he would apologise to Umno, Barisan Nasional and all Malaysians for producing a MCA President and MCA Deputy President who are charged in court for corruption in the RM12.5 billion Port Klang Free Zone scandal based on Chua’s own comments as published by the Star on Tuesday (1.3.11), viz:
Dr Chua said anyone who had committed an offence in the eyes of the Attorney-General’s Chamber should face the music.
“This shows that the Government is fair because it doesn’t just go after the small fish but also the big fish,” he said.
Since Chua as MCA President fully supported the Attorney-General’s prosecution of the two top MCA leaders for corruption in the RM12.5 billion PKFZ scandal, isn’t his next logical and responsible action (regardless of the outcome of the trials) should be to make a national apology for a MCA President and MCA Deputy President being charged for corruption in the PKFZ scandal when they were Transport Ministers? Read the rest of this entry »
An impossible dream for the MCA?
By Thomas Lee
MySinchew.com
2011-03-02
Both MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek and party secretary-general Datuk Seri Kong Cho Ha have declared that the party has regained the support of Chinese community, and would do well in the next general election.
They claim that the Barisan Nasional victory in several recent by-elections in constituencies with considerable number of Chinese voters is an indication of the Chinese community support for the MCA.
How substantial is the claim?
An objective look at the roller-coaster history of the MCA will give some clues on whether or not such a claim for the current situation is justifiable, plausible and credible. Read the rest of this entry »
Ex-judge Shaikh Daud should not have compromised his stature by allowing himself to be dragooned by BN propagandists to run down Teoh Beng Hock’s family and lawyers
Posted by Kit in Teoh Beng Hock on Wednesday, 2 March 2011, 4:36 pm
Former Court of Appeal judge Datuk Shaikh Daud Ismail should not have compromised his stature by allowing himself to be dragooned by Barisan Nasional propagandists to run down Teoh Beng Hock’s family and lawyers for the family’s decision to withdraw from the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Teoh’s mysterious death at the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) headquarters in Shah Alam in July 2009.
Another example of such a media blitzkrieg was the comment by the Universiti Teknologi Mara Assoc Prof of Law Datuk Halim Sidek.
I agree with the advice yesterday by the DAP National Chairman Karpal Singh to Halim that he should “in future demonstrate maturity by checking his facts before making public statements” so as “to set a good example to would-be lawyers under his charge”.
It is most unbecoming of a former judge of the Court of Appeal to make the baseless allegation that Teoh’s family had shown “clear disrespect” to the Yang di Pertuan Agong by pulling out of the Royal Commission of Inquiry.
Read the rest of this entry »
CSL and MCA leadership should declare whether they believe in Ling and Chan’s innocence or that both were “political scapegoats” for Umno
Posted by Kit in Corruption, MCA, PKFZ on Wednesday, 2 March 2011, 1:41 pm
The MCA President Datuk Seri Dr. Chua Soi Lek and the MCA leadership should declare their stand – whether they believe that former MCA President Tun Dr. Ling Liong Sik and former MCA Deputy President Tan Sri Chan Kong Choy are innocent of the corruption charges which have been preferred against them when they were Transport Minister in connection with the RM12.5 billion Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) scandal or that both were “political scapegoats” for Umno.
Ling and Chan have made infamous Malaysian history for being the first two Cabinet Ministers to be charged for “grand corruption” in misleading the Cabinet in September/November 2002 (Ling’s charge) and the Prime Minister in February 2004, October 2005 and March 2006 (Chan’s charges).
Two of Ling’s contemporaries as Cabinet Ministers in 2002 are still MPs although backbenchers – Datuk Ong Ka Ting who was then the Minister for Housing and Local Government and Datuk Fong Chan Onn, then the Minister for Human Resources. Read the rest of this entry »
When Change Beckons
NB: This article was first published in the March 2011 issue of The Rocket.
“A new star rises in the eastern sky – a star of freedom for yet another Asian people. A new hope comes into being, a dream long cherished now materialises. It is freedom for the Malayan people and once this torch of freedom is lit let us hold it up high so that all around us will glow with radiant happiness. Let freedom be secured for all the law-abiding people. There shall be freedom of worship, freedom of speech, freedom of want, freedom of association, freedom of assembly and freedom of movement.” – Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra, 1957
The aspirations above were cast 54 years ago by the buoyant father of a fledgling nation. Were he alive today he would undoubtedly lament over the fact that we, his children, have collectively failed to live up to his ideals of nationhood. The torch that he lit is now all but extinguished.
Over the last five and a half decades, every basic tenet aforementioned has been compromised for the sake of political and economic expediency by a government intent on maintaining their stranglehold on power. But what’s worse, we let it happen.
Read the rest of this entry »
Yes, It Could Happen Here – Why Saudi Arabia is ripe for revolution
Posted by Kit in Middle East/Africa on Tuesday, 1 March 2011, 7:13 pm
BY MADAWI AL-RASHEED | FEBRUARY 28, 2011
Foreign Policy.com
In the age of Arab revolutions, will Saudis dare to honor Facebook calls for anti-government demonstrations on March 11? Will they protest at one of Jeddah’s main roundabouts? Or will they start in Qatif, the eastern region where a substantial Shiite majority has had more experience in real protest? Will Riyadh remain cocooned in its cloak of pomp and power, hidden from public gaze in its mighty sand castles?
Saudi Arabia is ripe for change. Despite its image as a fabulously wealthy realm with a quiescent, apolitical population, it has similar economic, demographic, social, and political conditions as those prevailing in its neighboring Arab countries. There is no reason to believe Saudis are immune to the protest fever sweeping the region.
Saudi Arabia is indeed wealthy, but most of its young population cannot find jobs in either the public or private sector. The expansion of its $430 billion economy has benefited a substantial section of the entrepreneurial elite — particularly those well connected with the ruling family — but has failed to produce jobs for thousands of college graduates every year. This same elite has resisted employing expensive Saudis and contributed to the rise in local unemployment by hiring foreign labor. Rising oil prices since 2003 and the expansion of state investment in education, infrastructure, and welfare, meanwhile, have produced an explosive economy of desires. Read the rest of this entry »
