Budget 2011: Would Razaleigh’s warning be heeded
Posted by Kit in 1Malaysia, Economics, Najib Razak, NEM, Razaleigh Hamzah on Thursday, 28 October 2010, 3:48 pm
2011 Budget not a child of New Economic Model but bears all the marks of old discredited Mahathirish policies (Part 2 of 5)
A veteran leader had warned that “It is time to wake up”.
He said: “Without a doubt, Malaysia is slipping. Billions have been looted from this country, and billions more are being siphoned out of the country as our entire political structure crumbles.”
Warning that corruption is the single biggest threat to the nation, he warned that corruption has become institutionalized in our political system and ruining Malaysia.
Who is this veteran leader? He is the head of the Barisan Nasional by-election in Galas, the MP for Gua Musang Tengku Razaleigh.
Will his views about the crisis of nation-building now be heeded? Of course not – just as it is clear that the Prime Minister does not have the political will to implement the New Economic Model (NEM) which he launched on March 30 to transform Malaysia into a developed, competitive and high-income economy with inclusivity and sustainability.
Read the rest of this entry »
Budget 2011 : Malaysia towards a failed state and bankrupt nation 2019
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Economics, Media, Najib Razak, public service, university on Thursday, 28 October 2010, 3:37 pm
2011 Budget not a child of New Economic Model but bears all the marks of old discredited Mahathirish policies (Part 1 of 5)
On Monday, the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak launched the Economic Transformation Programme (ETP).
It was also the start of a week which saw the Government Transformation Programme (GTP) suffering a triple blow.
The first blow was Monday’s tabling in Parliament of the 2009 Auditor-General’s Reports which continues to be annual tale of horrors of waste, mismanagement, misuse of public funds and corruption – as highlighted by headlines like:
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Federal government debt hits five-year high;
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KTMB mired in RM1.45 billion debt;
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Only 18.2% of pupils bring free eBooks to school;
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Stimulus funds used for chandeliers, home theatre, government audit shows;
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PTPTN to face whopping RM46 bil deficit;
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PTPTN okayed RM23 mil to students who didn’t apply;
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Million-ringgit scanner stuck in KLIA, under-utilisation woes;
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‘Sandwich kosong’ for school kids, sardines missing.
Malaysia in the Era of Globalization #38
Posted by Kit in Bakri Musa, globalisation on Thursday, 28 October 2010, 12:13 pm
By M. Bakri Musa
Chapter 5: Understanding Globalization (Cont’d)
The Forces Driving Globalization
Much as the Industrial Revolution of the 18th Century was driven by machines, so too is today’s globalization propelled by technology, in particular Information Technology (IT), and knowledge. The Industrial Revolution began with the invention of steam engines that were used primarily to pump water out of mines. Later they were adapted for other uses, from weaving machines to steamships and locomotives.
The mechanized weaving mills revolutionized the textile industry; locomotives and steamships, transportation. Machines could produce goods not only in mass quantities but also of consistent and reliable quality. And those goods could now be transported to vast distant markets, thanks to cheap mechanized transportation modes. The locomotive was also instrumental in opening up the vast American continent and propelling America into a major economic power.
Read the rest of this entry »
Of megalomaniacs and mega-towers
Posted by Kit in Azly Rahman, Najib Razak on Thursday, 28 October 2010, 10:17 am
By Azly Rahman
Here is an excerpt from the Facebook campaign, now numbering to almost 160,000 members, rejecting the Menara Warisan proposal:
“Rakyat Malaysia mengatakan TAK NAK kepada Menara Warisan 100-tingkat yang memakan kos RM5,000,000,000 yang dicadangkan oleh PM Najib Razak dalam Bajet 2011. … Malaysians saying no to the RM5-billion 100-storey Mega Tower proposed by PM Najib in the 2011 budget. Malaysia needs better education, better health care, better public transportation, safer neighbourhood, cleaner water, but not taller building. We don’t need another white elephant! …
“Malaysia perlukan pendidikan, perubatan dan pengangkutan awam yang lebih baik, jiran-tetangga yang lebih selamat, air yang lebih bersih, dan bukannya bangunan yang lebih tinggi. … Kita tidak perlukan seekor lagi gajah putih yang membazirkan wang rakyat jelata. … Wahai, saudara-saudari warga Malaysia sekalian, biar kita bersatu tak mengira kaum, agama, budaya, bahasa, pendirian politik, geografi atau kelas. Biar kita bersatu dan membela nasib endiri. Merdeka! Merdeka! Merdeka!”
I am beginning to sense that the issue will contribute to the downfall of the current regime of Barisan Nasional in the next general election. It is as if the last BN hurrah to showcase megalomania and illusions of grandeur will be a rallying point for the masses/rakyat fatigued by he struggle to survive the daily grind while robber barons rob, dine, and wine.
Read the rest of this entry »
The ‘social contract’ — Concerned Scholars
Posted by Kit in Constitution, Najib Razak, UMNO on Wednesday, 27 October 2010, 5:42 pm
by Dr Lim Teck Ghee, Dr Mavis Puthucheary, Dr Azmi Sharom, Dr Toh Kin Woon and Dr Wan Zawawi Ibrahim
October 27, 2010
We would like to provide some feedback to the speech made by Prime Minister Najib Razak on 21 October 2010 to the Umno general assembly in which he gave the impression that there is a ‘social contract’ whose terms are set in stone. He also told the delegates that no Malaysian should question it.
It is necessary to note that there is a range of views amongst us on the social contract issue and on how to respond to the Prime Minister’s advice.
One colleague has argued that it is not yet time for an “organized effort” of civil society to make such a statement as it may provoke negative reactions that may be harmful to our common pursuit of a fair and united nation.
Another has expressed concern that we must not play into the hands of politicians who will mobilize Malay support by trying to show that the non-Malays have reneged on their so-called promise to accept Malay political superiority in exchange for citizenship.
Read the rest of this entry »
Malaysia Chronicle denied basic right of legal representation by MCMC
Posted by Kit in Human Rights, IT on Tuesday, 26 October 2010, 9:32 pm
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
by Wong Choon Mei
Malaysia Chronicle
When my hand-phone alarm woke me at 5am this morning, it was with reluctance and a heavy heart that I opened my eyes. At the back of my mind the whole weekend was my 11am interview or interrogation by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission.
And true enough, it turned out not to be a pleasant experience.
Less than 10 minutes into the meeting at the MCMC headquarters in Cyberjaya, my lawyer Latheefa Koya was ‘booted out’ from the room by none other than the director of the enforcement department, who personally came to ‘collect’ her.
And in doing so, he denied me of my fundamental right to legal representation. Read the rest of this entry »
Malaysia down slightly in graft index
Posted by Kit in Corruption on Tuesday, 26 October 2010, 9:01 pm
By Asrul Hadi Abullah Sani
The Malaysian Insider
October 26, 2010
Kuala Lumpur – Malaysia has dipped slightly lower in Transparency International’s (TI) Corruption Perception Index (CPI) this year after the country experienced its worse ranking ever last year.
The anti-graft watchdog TI announced today that the country’s corruption index score declined from 4.5 to 4.4 out of 10, with 10 being the least corrupt. Malaysia’s ranking still remains the same as last year, at 56 out of 178countries.
The annual TI CPI measures how corrupt a country is in the public sector based on data sourced from 13 different polls and surveys from 10 independent institutions over a period of two years. The three least corrupt countries in the world are, in order, Denmark, New Zealand and Singapore.
Malaysia’s previous worst scores below 5 were 4.8 in 2000, 4.9 in 2002 and 4.5 last year.
The country’s ranking puts it on par with Namibia and Turkey. Read the rest of this entry »
Building projects unsustainable in long run, say analysts
Posted by Kit in Budget Debate, Economics, Finance, Najib Razak on Monday, 25 October 2010, 10:19 am
By Boo Su-Lyn
The Malaysian Insider
October 25, 2010
KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 25 — Putrajaya’s focus on mega construction projects instead of key reforms in its economic plans — symbolised by the 100-storey Warisan Merdeka tower — will hamper the country’s goal of becoming a high-income nation, analysts have said.
They have stressed that economic and institutional reforms to increase market efficiency and human capital development were the crucial elements to lift Malaysia out of its middle-income trap.
“It is not sustainable as we will have first-class infrastructure and facility and third-world work ethics and mentality,” RAM Holdings group chief economist Dr Yeah Kim Leng told The Malaysian Insider.
“The soft part of the development, which is the human capital, will have to take centre stage for the high-income transformation drive to be successful,” he added.
Yeah noted that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s reform commitments in his New Economic Model (NEM) have been eclipsed by the mega construction projects announced in Budget 2011 and the Economic Transformation Programme (ETP). Read the rest of this entry »
“No Mega Tower” fb campaign – 157,264 @ 8.30 am 25/10/10
Latest score of “No Mega Tower” fb campaign – 157,264 @ 8.30 am today, 25/10/10.
Forty-eight hours ago, it was 113,205, an increase of 44,059 or about 1,000 addition per hour.
In contrast, the support Mega Tower fb campaign recorded 1,585 at 8.30 am 25/10/10, an increase of a miserable 960 in the past 48 hours or 20 per hour – as it was 625 previously.
Umno must avoid PAS’s old blinkered views, says Asri
By G. Manimaran (Bahasa Malaysia Editor)
The Malaysian Insider
October 24, 2010
KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 24 — Umno must be practical in its approach and must shed its narrow views which were no longer relevant now, Islamic scholar Dr Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin said.
The former Perlis Mufti described Umno’s tackling of issues now was similar to PAS’s approach in the 1980s, noting that the Islamist party has progressed by presenting itself as a moderate alternative.
In the past two years, PAS has been seen as becoming more progressive and this was highlighted by Umno delegates during the party’s recently concluded annual general assembly, which also tabled a motion on religion and education.
Asri stressed that Umno and other political parties must consider the country’s multi-racial composition when expressing their views on religion or risk Islam becoming politicised.
“In my opinion, it is sad to see that Umno has recently played up issues that made it look like PAS in the 1980s. When PAS is beginning to assert itself as a moderate party, Umno instead are trying to play up issues that are unnecessary. Read the rest of this entry »
PM Najib threatening speech at UMNO Assembly, a sign of desperation
By Dr Chen Man Hin
Najib’s opening speech at the UMNO Assembly has shocked bloggers, internet surfers and the public.
The main media has censored Najib’s opening speech before the UMNO Assembly, filled with threats of crushed bodies, lost lives and ethnic cleansing to avoid causing panic and loss of support among the people and investors.
The Altantuya murder and the trumped up sodomy charge against Anwar and now a speech laced with threats of ethnic cleansing reveal the dark side of Najib.
How do you reconcile this with the sweet talk of 1 Malaysia and Malaysia is for all races? Read the rest of this entry »
Two-generation home loans may bankrupt the next generation
Philip Ho
Klik4Malaysia
23 October 2010
Petaling Jaya, Oct 23 – Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Chor Chee Heung has urged house buyers to sign up two-generation housing loans so that more Malaysians can afford to own houses.
“The most important thing is for the individual to own a house for his family to live in. If loan repayment is extended to the second generation, that means the family will remain intact,” said Chor yesterday after launching the Malaysia Building Society Bhd’s Ultimate Mortgage programme on Friday (Oct 22).
Chor said that the newly announced 2011 Budget also encouraged the two-generation loan term while denying that the move would increase the financial burden of the next generation.
“I don’t think it is a burden for the next generation because the repayment will be spread over a long period and the younger generation are financially strong. They can even buy a second house,” he added.
Klik4Malaysia (K4M) contacted Selangor state government’s chief executive of economic advisory Rafizi Ramli for comments from an accountant’s perspective, regarding the implications on the younger generation’s financial burden. Read the rest of this entry »
Consensus on ‘social contract’ imperative
Posted by Kit in Constitution on Saturday, 23 October 2010, 12:49 pm
By Clive Kessler | Oct 22, 10 8:52am | Malaysiakini
The nature of the current disagreement about “the social contract” should be clearly identified.
Nobody is seriously suggesting that “the social contract” be repudiated, set aside, rejected. Nobody is arguing that it is fictive, a pure fantasy, an illusion. On all sides, everyone in their own way is arguing that it should be honoured, respected and upheld.
People just need to be clear, and find a way to agree, what its terms were, what “upholding the social contract” means and entails.
People are broadly agreed that in the years between 1955 and 1957 certain basic inter-ethnic or inter-communal understandings were reached. Through them a national “accord” was solemnly affirmed and politically “enshrined” that made the nation possible.
Known informally in earlier times as “the Merdeka agreements” or “Merdeka understandings”, these were subsequently, in the 1980s, relabelled, or as people now say “rebranded” with a new identity as “the social contract”.
Read the rest of this entry »
Umno and PM declaring war against the rakyat?
Posted by Kit in Elections, Najib Razak, UMNO on Saturday, 23 October 2010, 10:11 am
Richard Loh
Malaysia Chronicle
October 23, 2010
Is our country at war? Is our country being attacked by outsiders? It looks that way when we heard the Prime Minister declaring “Even if our bodies are crushed and our lives lost, brothers and sisters, whatever happens, we must defend Putrajaya.” I would be the first to stand by the PM and sacrifice my life to defend Putrajaya and the country if we are at war with outsiders. When an enemy attacked a country they will go for the capital city, trying to capture it, and if they succeed, the country will be theirs and they win the war.
This morning when I woke up, I hear no gun fire nor any bombing, just the normal sound of vehicles passing by and a beautiful sunny day.
So, what is the PM declaration all about? After reading it more closely I realized that it was umno and it’s president that is declaring war against the rakyat. They have taken control of Putrajaya and that Putrajaya belongs to umno, no one else has the right to it and they will protect it at all cost. Read the rest of this entry »
We all grieve for a Malaysia that could be!
Posted by Kit in 1Malaysia, Constitution, Najib Razak, nation building on Saturday, 23 October 2010, 9:47 am
by Romerz
October 22, 2010
In his presidential address to the 61st UMNO general assembly, a lot of things said by PM Najib could be argued against simply on the basis of logic, history, proper understanding of Malaysia’s federal constitution, democracy and a host of other things. But I will not argue against Najib’s fallacious arguments because I’m tired of warped views and I believe my readers are of a higher mentality than those he was addressing.
Instead I will focus on only one thing he mentioned in the speech. Najib said “the Malays were hurt when the social contract agreed upon by the forefathers of various races who had agreed to make sacrifices to gain the independence, was now being questioned.”
In the first place I know of no such social contract as after 53 years of independence, no one can show me a written copy of this contract nor explain to me what was it that was agreed upon specifically by our forefathers. Even assuming that such an agreement exists (possibly and perhaps reached privately by the leaders of UMNO, MCA and MIC then, which may explain why we know so little of this often touted social contract), hadn’t this preceding social contract been documented and articulated in the Constitution of Malaya 1957? Read the rest of this entry »
“No Mega Tower” fb campaign reached 113,205 at 8.30 am – 625 in support
Posted by Kit in IT, Najib Razak on Saturday, 23 October 2010, 8:50 am
(Opposition to the RM50 billion 100-storey Najib Tower in the “No Mega Tower” facebook campaign reached 113,205 people at 8.30 am this morning after breaching the 100,000 mark at 9.20pm last night.
In contrast, the facebook campaign in support of the Najib Tower, “Kami Sokong Menara Warisan”, has collected a miserable
625 supporters.)
Anti-Warisan Merdeka Facebook campaign hits 100,000 mark
By Shazwan Mustafa Kamal
The Malaysian Insider
KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 22 — As at 9.20pm tonight, more than 100,000 in a week have signed on to a Facebook campaign opposing the Najib administration’s Warisan Merdeka skyscraper.
The proposed 100-storey building in the city, has stirred up spontaneous grassroots opposition, moving the issue to the front and centre of current Malaysian politics.
More so impressive is the pace of recruitment — that only seven days ago Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak announced the plan, during his budget speech. It is clear the groundswell opposing it is considerable and now has shaped into a major political minefield for the Barisan Nasional(BN) government. Read the rest of this entry »
Malays competitive and competent – need for New Pro-Poor Economic Policy/Reform
Malaysia’s Development Strategy Revisited (5)
by Dr. Mohamed Ariff*
A New Pro-Poor Economic Policy and Reform
There is certainly a need for a clear focus on the needs of the poor and marginalized regardless of race, colour or religion. In other words, Malaysia needs a ‘new’ New Economic Policy that is explicitly pro-poor. The main beneficiary of such a policy would still be Malay households, as they account for roughly three-quarters of the bottom 40 per cent of households in terms of income distribution. Read the rest of this entry »
NEM stillborn?
Malaysia’s Development Strategy Revisited (4)
by Dr. Mohamed Ariff*
New Economic Model Up Against Formidable Challenges
The structural change agenda presents formidable challenges. The kinds of skills that the new paradigm demands cannot be provided by Malaysia’s archaic education system, which needs a complete overhaul. At the same time, the country is suffering from a serious brain drain caused by both push and pull factors. The importance of a truly independent judiciary cannot be exaggerated: anecdotal evidence suggests that Malaysia’s tarnished judiciary and gutter politics are among the push factors. Seen in these terms, the brain drain is largely a manifestation of frustration that has led some people to vote with their feet.
All this calls for bold structural changes, including institutional reforms encompassing everything from education to the judiciary, backed by governance reforms to strengthen fiscal discipline, transparency and accountability. Nothing short of a holistic approach will set the Malaysian economy far enough or fast enough on a true development path. The politics of policy making, however, may hobble the reform process. Read the rest of this entry »
NEP “outlived its usefulness” – does not make sense to keep an obsolete policy ticking along on life support
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Economics, Finance, NEP on Friday, 22 October 2010, 11:37 am
Malaysia’s Development Strategy Revisited (3)
by Dr. Mohamed Ariff*
The New Economic Policy: Pervasive Poverty in the Malay Community
Multi-racial Malaysia’s major structural problems are largely attributable to the New Economic Policy initiated in 1970 in the aftermath of the May 1969 racial riots. With its emphasis on ‘positive’ discrimination in favour of the then backward Bumiputeras (literally ‘sons of the soil’), the objectives of the policy were laudable, serious misgivings about its implementation notwithstanding. The New Economic Policy continued to exist after reincarnating itself in various forms beyond the original 1990 deadline. While it has undeniably helped narrow interethnic income differences, all is not well judging by the outcomes. While interethnic income disparity has narrowed considerably, intraethnic income disparity, especially within the Bumiputera community, has widened. Read the rest of this entry »
Middle income-trap – Malaysia has shot itself in the foot!
Malaysia’s Development Strategy Revisited (2)
by Dr. Mohamed Ariff*
Input-Driven Growth unsustainable
It goes without saying that Malaysia must grow at a faster pace if it is serious about joining the club of developed countries by 2020 – hence the need to reinvent itself through reforms that can help restore the lost growth potential. Malaysia has learned the hard way that input-driven growth is unsustainable. It is instructive to note that the economy was growing at a rate of over 8.0 per cent in the early 1990s despite declining total factor productivity. To stay competitive, the growth strategy then was to keep wages low with the aid of a large migrant workforce. Obviously there was a dismal failure to understand that there were limits to economic expansion through input increases.
Migrant Workers depress wages
It was a major policy blunder to let migrant workers depress wages in the country, thereby throttling productivity improvements. Malaysia locked itself into low value-added manufacturing by allowing foreign workers to work in the sector for low wages, thus removing the incentive for manufacturers to automate. The size of the problem is huge: the country reportedly has 1.9 million registered migrant workers and another 600,000 unregistered ones (probably an underestimate), accounting for nearly one-fifth of the working population. These workers are not confined to the so-called 3D jobs – the difficult, dirty and dangerous jobs that the locals shun – but compete with Malaysians in the wider labour market. Read the rest of this entry »
