The tragic case of a lunch meal: Revisiting corporal punishment in schools
By Shazeera Ahmad Zawawi (loyarburok.com)
November 18, 2010
NOV 18 — On November 5, a mother complained to the Sarawak Education Department that her son was caned by his teacher for bringing pork to school. As you notice (of which I hope you do), I did not mention the religious or ethnic background of the boy at all. There are two reasons why I left out those layers of fact.
First, I felt sick with how recently our statesmen, bureaucrats or politicians are missing the plot to this sad incident. The Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz, for example, called for an investigation of the boy’s religious status before conclusions can be drawn on why he was caned. Our independent parliamentarian, Zulkifli Nordin, utilised this issue against PAS and got into an unnecessary argument with Dr Zulkefly Ahmad, another parliamentarian from the Islamic party. Apparently, the righteous fight and egoistical call to defend Islam trumps a poor child’s “wrong” selection of lunch meal.
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Where are the Friends of Pakatan?
Posted by Kit in Pakatan Rakyat on Wednesday, 17 November 2010, 10:50 am
by Mariam Mokhtar
Malaysiakini
Nov 15, 10
Last July, the Friends of Pakatan Rakyat (FoPR) was officially launched in London to great acclaim by Zaid Ibrahim, who had specially flown into England, with his DAP and PAS colleagues.
For Pakatan Rakyat (PR) supporters worldwide, it was a new beginning. However, four months later, Zaid dropped his bombshell by withdrawing from the PKR deputy presidency elections and openly criticising PKR’s party leaders.
Whilst many are angry at Zaid’s (right) betrayal, FoPR’s silence about this important development is damning. Has FoPR lost its focus or is it just momentarily stunned? Where is the rallying cry at a crucial time like this?
The FoPR probably chose July 4 for its launch, presumably because of its significance – it is synonymous with the United States’ Independence Day. Even the venue was important – Conway Hall in Holborn is renowned as a hub for free speech and progressive thought.
Soon after its launch, the FoPR movement was being duplicated throughout Europe, Canada, USA, Australia, New Zealand and Singapore. In east Malaysia, FoPR helped create awareness, with its network of support and community services. Read the rest of this entry »
Salam Aidil Adha
Posted by Kit in Announcement on Tuesday, 16 November 2010, 3:11 pm
Season’s Greetings and Happy Holidays to fellow Malaysians!
Rental hikes and lack of parking bays a bane in Little India
By G Vinod | Free Malaysia Today
KUALA LUMPUR: After the pomp and pagentry at the launch of ‘Little India’ in Brickfields on Oct 27, the lights have dimmed and a pall of gloom has decended in the area.
Traders and businessmen at the 3km stretch of Brickfields are at crossroads with the prospect of ‘impending’ rental hikes and dwindling sales due to the absence of car parks.
Several businessmen voiced their frustration over these two issues which could hamper trade in the bustling area, where one could purchase almost all items found in India.
While an increase in rental could slice profits significantly, the lack of parking space could inflict severe damage to their business, which they claim had already been battered.
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Malaysia in the Era of Globalization #40
Posted by Kit in Bakri Musa, globalisation on Monday, 15 November 2010, 11:37 am
Chapter 5: Understanding Globalization (Cont’d)
Correlates of the IT Revolution
What marvels me is that this IT revolution has not even reached its maximal potential. Each day promises even more dramatic improvements and new achievements. Today’s personal computer is a quantum leap in performance over those of only a few years ago. Bill Gates is planning to encircle the globe with low orbiting satellites to enable any one anywhere to get Internet connectivity. While such a development may not seem impressive to someone in America who already has convenient Internet access, imagine what it would do for areas like East Malaysia and Africa. They would leapfrog into the IT age overnight. There would need to wait for the local government or telephone company to lay phone lines and cables.
With ease of communication, ideas and information would spread easily. News is no longer controlled by any one authority. Whereas in the past citizens had to rely on one government-controlled source (as in Malaysia) or a few commercial outlets controlled by powerful groups (as in America), today we have literally limitless sources of news and information on the Internet. Malaysia’s independent web daily Malaysiakini.com is now more popular than the established media. During the Afghanistan bombing in the war against terrorists following the 9-11 attacks, with the mainstream American media not doing any frontline reporting, readers could still follow the news by tuning into the Arab television channel Al Jazeera (available on cable and the Internet).
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Patriotism & the Little Napoleans
Posted by Kit in Defence, nation building, Police on Sunday, 14 November 2010, 3:13 am
By Damian Denis
In 1995/6 after my STPM exams I went to the Penang Police HQ (Penang Rd) to apply for the post of Police Inspector. The requirement was a STPM qualification at that time.
Once there we were given a physical routine check up and those who were qualified were given the application form. Simple as that!
But went it came to my turn the officer in charge refuse to hand-over the application form to me on the basis that my STPM results were good. My physical check up was fine.
He said “kamu tak payahlah masuk polis. Buang masa aje dengan result yg bagus cam tu”. (You don’t need to enter the Police Force. Just a waste of time since you have a good STPM results.)
Read the rest of this entry »
Malaysia Seeks World Bank Help to Cut Spending, Trim Deficit
By Soraya Permatasari and Barry Porter | Bloomberg
Nov. 12 (Bloomberg) — Malaysia will ask the World Bank to help in the country’s efforts to cut government spending as Prime Minister Najib Razak seeks to reduce the budget deficit from a 22-year high.
The nation is asking the Washington-based lender to review all areas of government expenditure, including how state contracts are awarded, to prevent waste from inefficiency, Second Finance Minister Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah said in an interview in Kuala Lumpur yesterday. Malaysia hopes the study will bolster the government’s credibility, he said.
“We just want a third party as a check and balance,” said Ahmad Husni, 58. An annual audit of spending at state agencies has shown “some negative findings and we hope that with the involvement of the World Bank, in the future we can see a clean sheet,” he said.
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Selangor seeks royal hand over water bondholders’ bailout
Posted by Kit in Financial Scandals, Najib Razak on Saturday, 13 November 2010, 3:50 pm
By Shazwan Mustafa Kamal
November 13, 2010
The Malaysian Insider
KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 13 — The Selangor government is planning a 100,000-strong protest to submit a memorandum to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong on December 5 over the federal government’s possible bailout of Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor (Syabas).
Top Selangor Pakatan Rakyat (PR) leaders informed The Malaysian Insider last night that the state’s move was part and parcel of a plan to “pressure” the Najib administration not to proceed with a multi-million ringgit bailout of the state’s privatised water industry, and that state-wide ceramahs and gatherings had already been planned in advance to mobilise the numbers needed to attend the December 5 gathering at Istana Negara.
“We are planning a 100,000-people gathering on December 5 to submit (a) memorandum to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong on the water issue. Venue will be at Masjid Negara, 12pm.
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Sultan to skip ‘wasteful’ RM300,000 Yayasan Selangor do
Posted by Kit in Good Governance on Saturday, 13 November 2010, 3:09 pm
By Boo Su-Lyn
November 12, 2010
SHAH ALAM, Nov 12 — The Sultan of Selangor has decided not to attend a RM300,000 40th anniversary luncheon by state education welfare body Yayasan Selangor over its excessive cost.
The decision was made after the Selangor Ruler this morning learnt of the bill for the event, state secretary Datuk Ramli Mahmud said today.
“The Selangor Sultan has cancelled his intentions to attend Yayasan Selangor’s 40th anniversary celebration that will be held on November 15, 2010 at Asrama Tun Dr Ismail in Kampung Pandan,” Ramli told reporters today.
“He felt shocked and was very sorrowful when he was informed that the cost of the anniversary celebration this year was very high.
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Malaysian education system in emergency
By Damian Denis
November 13, 2010
NOV 13 — After reflecting my schooling years I have to agree with my friends that those who started school in 1983 with the new KBSR format felt like guinea pigs. I did too!
Then, the Standard 5 exams were change to Standard 6 with the UPSR format. Well, I thought things were fine until they changed the year-end school holidays from December to October. We had to start our new school year in December. Remember?
I felt that was really weird starting our school term at the end of the year. Hhhmmm. Our Christmas holidays had to be cut short, and Christmas was never the same again.
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Why only very inclusive and 1Malaysia speeches/statements before by-elections but racist slurs and very anti-1Malaysia sentiments especially after Umno/BN by-election victories?
Posted by Kit in 1Malaysia, Media, Najib Razak, UMNO on Friday, 12 November 2010, 2:56 pm
Malaysians are entitled to ask the reason for the recent phenomenon – why only very inclusive and 1Malaysia speeches/statements before by-elections but racist slurs and very anti-1Malaysia sentiments especially after Umno/Barisan Nasional by-election victories?
Two days before the Galas and Batu Sapi by-elections on November 4, 2010, the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s speech to the World Chinese Economic Forum was described as a “reaching out” to the Chinese Malaysian Community conceding that Malaysia’s 2020 goal of a developed nation might fail without its support.
Najib’s speech said:
“Malaysia would not be what it is today without the industry, expertise and dedication of the Malaysian Chinese community.
“Likewise, there will be a bleak future for Malaysia without the Chinese community’s support. We would clearly fall short of reaching the goals to become a developed nation by 2020.”
Calling May 13, 1969 ‘sacred’ is sacrilegious
by John Baptist
The Malaysian Insider
November 11, 2010
I read with disgust Zaini Hassan describing in the Utusan Malaysia the tragic May 13, 1969 incident as “sacred”. The Oxford Dictionary defines sacred as either “connected with God or a god; considered to be holy” or “very important and treated with great respect.”
From general reading, the incident involved carnage, destruction of private and public property, ruining of families, instilling of fear, the destruction of years of trust between the races built by our forefathers and the maligning of our nation in the eyes of the world, setting us back years in the terms of our economic potential.
I need take only carnage to exemplify that it is prohibited by all religions and hence cannot sit comfortably within the first definition of “sacred” by the Oxford Dictionary. Read the rest of this entry »
Non-Malay patriotism: what is the truth
Posted by Kit in Defence, nation building on Thursday, 11 November 2010, 4:41 pm
Defence Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi should be commended for stating in Parliament that the reason Chinese and Indians made up only a tiny proportion of Army recruits was because their “patriotism spirit is not high enough”. This is because he has inadvertently brought out into the open a perception which is shared by the majority of Malay leaders and also possibly by a very large proportion of the Malay population. It is a perception that should not be suppressed – on the contrary, it needs to be fully aired and dissected so that rational thinking and fact-based policy formulation shall prevail.
What has been criticized as a “racially biased, shallow and chauvinistic” statement questioning the loyalty of young Malaysians may in fact be correct. Non-Malays may be much less patriotic than Malays which accounts for their low enrolment in the military and civil service, as well as for their lack of participation in other national activities when patriotism and loyalty to the country are showcased. But it could also be wrong as it ignores other factors that may be instrumental in explaining the low number of recruits.
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Last refuge of a scoundrel
By Kee Thuan Chye | Nov 11, 10
Malaysiakini
COMMENT “Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel.” So said Samuel Johnson, the famous British man of letters. He is believed to have said that to condemn the false use of the term “patriotism”.
The same can be applied to Defence Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi. However, in the Malaysian context, it might be read as “When you want to malign some people, you call them unpatriotic”.
In Parliament recently, this minister said that among the reasons for the small number of Chinese and Indians joining the armed forces was their lack of patriotism. It was so sweeping, so unsupported by evidence, that it could amount to nothing more than a false claim. What was his real motive for saying what he said?
More than that, it is indeed false patriotism to say that if you don’t join the army, you are not patriotic. Nothing could be more ridiculous than that. It is the same kind of thinking that goes along these lines – “if you are not with me, then you are not patriotic”.
Extended further, it is the same kind of thinking that informs the BN propaganda – if you don’t vote for BN, you are not patriotic. This, of course, is the ultimate hogwash.
Patriotism can be expressed in many ways that people tend to overlook. Those who campaign against a government that is corrupt because they want to see reform and the emergence of a better country are patriots. Those who stand up in defence of our institutions and our freedoms are patriots. Those who uphold principles in the work they do daily are patriots. Those who go out daily to do a decent day’s work to earn an income to feed their family and pay their taxes are patriots. Read the rest of this entry »
ASEAN must strengthen UN efforts to bring about peace and justice in Burma/Myanmar
For the AIPMC, the election in Burma/Myanmar was already a foregone conclusion.
We did not consider them an election at all. In fact, we named them a non-election for the country’s people.
Our conclusion was based on careful scrutiny of the facts on the ground, including a strictly controlled constitution-drafting process, a rigged referendum in the midst of the disaster caused by Cyclone Nargis, the use of the election laws and other laws to exclude the opposition, the widespread intimidation of political candidates and the exclusion of significant sections of the electorate from the electoral process.
Today, we are horrified that our worst fears are turning into reality. The counting process of the votes has not been transparent, and complaints about advance voting fraud and other irregularities are growing stronger. Burma/Myanmar’s Union Election Commission now needs to heed the call of the country’s citizens and political parties to ensure a transparent counting process, investigate all claims and refuse to certify any results until these investigations are complete.
ASEAN has welcomed the elections in Burma/Myanmar as a significant step forward in the implementation of the regime’s seven-step road map. The AIPMC does not share this assessment. These elections were a fake. They are not going to bring about a government by the people, with the people and for the people, a government that will wholeheartedly seek the sustainable development of Burma/Myanmar and its people.
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Best Bloated Bureaucracy to Bleed Bolehland to Bankruptcy!
Posted by Kit in 1Malaysia, Corruption, Martin Jalleh, public service on Wednesday, 10 November 2010, 8:45 am
by Martin Jalleh
9 Nov. 2010
Deputy PM Muhyiddin Yassin believes that the BN is “back in business”. The buoyant “Malaysian-second” in Bolehland, said that BN’s future is bright and the Opposition better not underestimate them!
Bolstered by two big by-election victories he even boldly declares that the bureaucrats in Bolehland are “the best civil servants in the world”! The civil servant “have done a lot, but the people want better”.
The Deputy PM was at his ironic best: “The people do not want rhetoric. The era for rhetoric has long gone. The era where the government knows all, like what the prime minister has said, has long gone.”
[Strange, but it is APCO (the international communications firm which Najib is paying a bomb to spruce up his image and lobby for support in Washington) which feels that Malaysia is just another backward hole where Government knows best and press freedom is a figment of the imagination (Malaysian Chronicle)!]
Yes, the rakyat knows best Muhyiddin and we fully agree with you that the civil service in Bolehland is the “best in the world” in the following ways: Read the rest of this entry »
Transformation starts with transition
By Thomas Lee
In one of my recent postings on Facebook, I stated that my choice for Prime Minister is Nurul Izzah, the intellectual and independent-minded eldest daughter of Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim.
My good old friend Chong Phow Yew asked why I opted for the unbranded maverick young lady, and not veteran DAP leader Lim Kit Siang or his popular luminous son Guan Eng.
True, either Kit Siang or Guan Eng will make a first-class PM, perhaps even better than Lee Kuan Yew of Singapore.
But the political reality in Malaysia is such that as long as the race factor is the major consideration in Malaysia, the pragmatism is that the time is not ripe yet for the acceptance of a non-Malay PM, even if the person is a Chinese Muslim. It took the US more than 200 years to finally accept and elect a Black American as its president. Even so, President Barrack Obama’s religious faith is a matter of controvery until now.
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Neo-Colonisation or Neo-Liberation?
Posted by Kit in DAP, Pakatan Rakyat, Penang Government, UMNO on Wednesday, 10 November 2010, 5:00 am
Did you just say what I thought you did?
It is back to the grind as the Penang State Assembly gets underway, as does the UMNO-BN’s theatrical onslaught on the State Government.
Last week, they managed to round up a motley group of protesters ostensibly comprising angry Malay residents from Balik Pulau and a member or three from the BN-friendly Parti Cinta Malaysia, a party made up of disgruntled former members of the DAP and the once-relevant ‘political NGO’ called Gerakan (I posit that a political party with unelected nominees in government more closely resembles an NGO than a political party proper).
Their grouse this time? Over an area of land in Balik Pulau that has been allocated for the development of an educational hub. Of course, it was invariably portrayed as yet another case of the sacrilegious ‘Chinese government’ cruelly robbing the ‘poor Malay peasant’ of his land and rights.
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Malaysia is the worst country in Asia-Pacific in Transparency International Corruption Perception Index in past 16 years since the start of the annual ranking in 1995
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Parliament on Tuesday, 9 November 2010, 3:19 pm
Malaysia is the worst country in Asia-Pacific in Transparency International Corruption Perception Index in past 16 years since the start of the annual ranking in 1995
Despite the “1Malaysia People First Performance Now” slogan and the alphabet soup of GTP, NKRA, MKRA, SRIs, ETP etc and one Roadmap after another of Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak and the National Integrity Plan of former Prime Minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Malaysia is the worst country in the Asia-Pacific in Transparency International (TI) Corruption Perception Index (CPI) in past 16 years since the start of the annual ranking in 1995.
In the first TI CPI in 1995, Malaysia was ranked No. 23 out of 41 countries or the 6th highest-ranked nation after New Zealand -1, Singapore – 3, Australia – 7, Hong Kong – 17 and Japan – 20, with a CPI score of 5.28.
Sixteen years later, after numerous anti-corruption campaigns, two major anti-corruption legislation and “transformation” of the former Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) into Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) with massive infusion of public funds and increase of staffing, Malaysia has continued to remain in the lowest TI CPI ranking of No. 56 as last year but with the lowest CPI score of 4.4 – falling to No. 11 country placing in the Asia-Pacific.
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Why AG is so eager to close the books over the two conflicting statutory declarations by Private Investigator P. Balasubramaniam on the heinous C4 murder of Mongolian Altantuya Shariibuu?
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Law & Order, Parliament on Tuesday, 9 November 2010, 3:13 pm
But there are many issues pertaining to public confidence in the independence, impartiality and professionalism of the Attorney-General that can be raised, but because of time constraints, I will just mention in passing the following:
Why AG is so eager to close the books over the two conflicting statutory declarations by Private Investigator P. Balasubramaniam on the heinous C4 murder of Mongolian Altantuya Shariibuu?
All Malaysians are asking why the Attorney-General is so eager to close the books over the two conflicting statutory declarations by Private Investigator P. Balasubramiam on the heinous C4 murder of Mongolian Altantuya Shariibuu in 2006.
In an extraordinary twist to the sordid saga of the C4 murder of Altantuya, Balasubramaniam has hit back at the government for closing the case on his double statutory declarations.
In an open letter to attorney-general Abdul Gani Patail the day after the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz told Parliament that the Attorney-General had closed the case, Balasubramaniam said that he was “surprised” that despite having conceded to signing a false statutory declaration, the police could not find evidence of any wrongdoing.
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