Malaysia in the Era of Globalization #35
Posted by Kit in Bakri Musa, globalisation on Friday, 8 October 2010, 11:28 am
By M. Bakri Musa
Chapter 5: Understanding Globalization
Foreign Investments in the Third World
Countries like Malaysia that were once colonized are rightly sensitive about their independence. Thus they tend to look upon foreigners, including investors, with suspicion. The typical Third World initial experience with foreign investors had been with companies of imperial powers. These companies were concerned primarily with plantations and extractive industries. In Malaysia they were involved in rubber plantations and tin mining. The exploitative nature of such investments was quite obvious. Rubber, tin, and other precious commodities were exported to Britain where they were turned into high-value manufactured goods and then sold back in Malaysia and elsewhere at exorbitant prices. Meanwhile the rubber tappers and tin miners were paid pittance for their efforts. The bulk of the profits were kept in Britain with little if any repatriated to Malaysia. No wonder such investments became easy targets for the nationalists.
Even though those early investments were clearly lopsided and exploitative (asymmetric, to use a modern phrase), nonetheless Malaysia benefited immensely. First, the country would never have known that it was capable of growing rubber had the British not started the plantations. Rubber is not indigenous to the country; the British brought the seedlings from South America via London’s Kew Gardens.
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Why should MCA interfere with Utar?
Posted by Kit in MCA, NH Chan, university on Thursday, 7 October 2010, 8:03 pm
by NH Chan
Centre for Policy Initiatives
06 October 2010
Human nature is such that there are two kinds of human behaviour when it comes to charity – the pretentious and the altruistic donor. I have always doubted the sincerity of those who give to charity by proclaiming it under the flashbulbs of press photographers. In these amusing photo ops, you see the donors posing with an enormous mock cheque to emphasize the size of the donation. If you’re truly charitable, why not dispense with the fanfare and write the amount on a normal cheque?
Having said this, I can now tell you about the truly altruistic gesture of philanthropist Koon Yew Yin. He made an offer of RM30 million, quite gratuitously, for the building of hostels for University Tunku Abdul Raman (Utar) students in Kampar.
Ever since the university was founded, its students have had to find their own accommodation outside campus. In many cases, they have to pay exorbitant rents far beyond the means of poor or even middle- class students.
The generosity of Koon was brought to my attention by the unflattering headline ‘Tycoon wanted seat on council’ in theSun (Sept 3, 2010). The article’s sub-headline was ‘Koon also wanted Utar residential village named after him, says MCA division chief’.
The MCA division chief in question, Ipoh Timur’s Thong Fah Chong, had said Koon’s requests were not acceptable as they had “exceeded the university’s jurisdiction and [could be] deemed an interference in the management of the university”. Thong added that hostels could not be named at one’s whim and fancy.
In his immediate response, Koon countered that although it was correct that while the facility was to be named after him, what he had specified was that the hostel blocks should be named after the fundamental rights such as Liberty, Equality, Fraternity, Freedom, or the qualities of integrity such as honesty, justice, etc.
Koon also categorically denied he had ever requested a seat on the Utar council, clarifying instead that he had agreed to Utar’s counter-proposal for a task force to oversee the construction of the hostels.
He said his requests, including for a seven-man task force (four from Utar and three to be nominated by him) to oversee the construction of the hostels, and for all construction contracts exceeding RM10,000 to be open to competitive tenders, were to ensure everything was done in the interest of the students. He said it was not meant to interfere with the management of the university. Read the rest of this entry »
Najib should give local content to his call for a global movement of moderates against extremists
Posted by Kit in Najib Razak, nation building on Thursday, 7 October 2010, 12:16 pm
At the Eighth Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM 8) in Brussels on Tuesday, the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak reiterated his call for a global movement of moderates from all faiths to play a dominant role in a world threatened by extremism.
This was an expansion of his call he made last month at the United Nations General Assembly in New York in which he urged nations to reclaim the centre from extremists.
At the end of his six-day visit to the United Nations and the United States, Najib was uplifted by the positive response to his call and he told the accompanying Malaysian media that Malaysia’s profile had been enhanced, particularly in the West.
I was in Melbourne when Najib made the international call for global moderation, not only making it the theme in his maiden address to the United Nations General Assembly but also publicly commending United States President Barack Obama for the latter’s “courageous public position” in dealing with Islamophobia in condemning the proposed burning of the Quran by a Florida pastor and urging Obama “to galvanise the moderates, bring in the non-governmental organizations and social movements
I immediately came out with a statement urging the Prime Minister on his return home to lead a national campaign to galvanise moderates in Malaysia against the rise of extremism, whether racial bigotry or religious intolerance, which would be fully in line with his own declaration of “Zero tolerance for racism” made just before National Day on August 31. Read the rest of this entry »
Anti-Extremism Begins at Home
Posted by Kit in Kee Thuan Chye, Najib Razak on Thursday, 7 October 2010, 9:04 am
By Kee Thuan Chye
I TOTALLY agree with most of what Prime Minister Najib Razak recently said at the United Nations (UN) General Assembly, especially about the attempts in some parts of the world to demonize Islam and spread Islamophobia.
I find it alarming to see so many e-mails and videos being circulated warning people of the dangers of Islam and propagating the fear that, with the Muslims multiplying at the current rate, they would one day outnumber people of other faiths and take over the world.
This kind of fear propagation reminds me of that practiced by Mahathir Mohamad when he warned Malays that they would lose power to the non-Malays, especially if Pakatan Rakyat takes over the government. It’s destructive.
It appals me that even Malaysians are instrumental in spreading Islamophobia by forwarding these e-mails. When I get one, I often reply to the sender to tell them not to disseminate such hatred. I tell them this problem has arisen because of misunderstanding of history, and that these e-mails don’t tell the other side of the story, which is the plight of Muslims who have suffered because of the historical events fashioned by imperialists. Read the rest of this entry »
Perak DAP leaders, branches, members and supporters should rally behind Ngeh and Kula
On Sunday morning, I had sent the following sms to Perak DAP State Chairman, Ngeh Koo Ham and Perak DAP Deputy State Chairman M. Kulasegeran:
“Lets face it. What happened last 36 hrs have caused enormous damage to DAP leaders involved, DAP, PR – only question is who suffer more damage – which is utter madness. Its massive ‘lose-lose’ formula without any redeeming ‘win-win’ element at all. Public opprobrium all round. Nobody can hold head high. Decisive action needed.”
Ngeh and Kula have since issued apologies for the Perak DAP leadership crisis and have pledged to resolve party differences internally.
I urge all Perak DAP leaders, branches, members and supporters to rally behind Ngeh and Kula on an unity ticket to restore the Pakatan Rakyat government in Perak and to help Pakatan Rakyat to take over Putrajaya in the next general elections. Read the rest of this entry »
‘… I am proud of my ethnicity …’
I refer to the article titled Behind Perkasa’s pig obsession by your columnist Helen Ang. While I find it interesting I must take issue with her on two points, both related to DAP. Firstly (excuse the pun) it’s about her criticism of Lim Kit Siang’s ‘Malaysian First’.
She made a motherhood statement that the Malaysian First-ers hate to be called ‘pendatang’ and don’t like to be told ‘balik Cina’, but one that lacks relevance because really, which Chinese does?
Then she argued that though Dr Mohd Ridhuan Tee Abdullah has Chinese skin tone and Chinese facial features, no one has told him to ‘balik Cina’. And the reason is of course that Ridhuan is a Malay-speaking Muslim, ipso facto the ‘balik Cina’ jeer does not apply to him as he belongs here.
Then her logic plummeted when she averred that for Malaysian First-ers to avoid the ‘balik Cina’ gibe, they should emulate Ridhuan who is the model Malaysian First-er. She also quoted a blogger (I believe to be Shuzheng) who also argued that Malaysian First requires doing a Ridhuan Tee. Shuzheng argued that if a Chinese, like Ridhuan, no longer possesses Chinese characteristics, then nobody can ask him/her to ‘balik Cina’.
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Najib’s Pastoral Picture of Malaysia
Posted by Kit in 1Malaysia, Najib Razak, nation building on Wednesday, 6 October 2010, 11:46 am
Asia Sentinel | Correspondent
Despite the prime minister’s speech to the UN, his country is facing serious racial tension
Malaysia’s Prime Minister, Najib Tun Razak, made an eloquent speech to the United Nations earlier this week, telling the assembled body that, among other things, Malaysia “is a multi-racial, multi-religious, multi-cultural and democratic society that has benefited from the positive interaction and synergy between the various communities. Mosques, temples, churches and other places of worship co-exist in harmony.
“Although Islam is the official religion, we honor other religions – Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism – by making their religious and cultural celebrations as national holidays and celebrate them as national events. It is this equilibrium that leads to moderation or wasatiyyah in the Islamic tradition of mutual justice.”
That picture of Malaysia, thought to have been crafted by the giant US public relations firm APCO Worldwide for delivery in New York, is badly frayed, however. Many people in Kuala Lumpur say racial tension is higher than it has been since 1987, when former Prime Minister Mahathir cracked down in the so-called Operation Lalang and threw lots of top opposition politicians in jail under the Internal Security Act, which allows in effect for indefinite detention without trial.
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Why Islam And Democracy Are Destined to Coincide
Posted by Kit in Anwar Ibrahim, Islam on Wednesday, 6 October 2010, 10:47 am
First and foremost, there is essentially no problem in terms of compatibility, not a foundational problem at least that would make it impossible for a country with a majority of Muslims to be governed according to the requirements of a constitutional democracy. In other words, the notion of Islam being diametrically opposed to democracy and its principles is a fallacy.
Islam enjoins the faithful to uphold equality, justice, and human dignity. If violence and terror are being spread by Muslims in the name of Islam then it is an aberration reflective of such people and the focus should rightly be on the underlying causes of such actions, not Islam. Blaming Islam won’t solve the problem as long as the underlying causes are not addressed and resolved.
But detractors say that Islam not only condones but urges the faithful to commit acts of violence in the name of jihad. This is nonsense. But they cite chapter and verse to support this view. Yes, but it is only by extreme distorting of the textual interpretation. On the contrary, the truth is that Islam prohibits violence and terror by virtue of the principles of moderation and the protection of life, limb and property.
This is subsumed under the doctrine of the maqasid al-Shari’ah, a most crucial and significant tool for the progress of Muslim societies, a tool which unfortunately has been much ignored. By virtue of this doctrine for example, jihad is a call to the faithful to fulfill the tenets of the religion by doing good and averting evil, establishing justice, promoting charity and helping the weak and the marginalized. It is not a battle cry for war, let alone one to justify mayhem and murder. Above all, jihad enjoins Muslims to maintain peace and harmony and safeguard the sanctity of life and property. These are ideals completely in consonance with the dictates of democracy. Read the rest of this entry »
Will 8th Cabinet meeting tomorrow still end up empty-handed with no disciplinary action against the two principals who made racial/religious slurs against students in school despite 1st incident occurring 55 days ago?
Posted by Kit in 1Malaysia, Najib Razak, nation building on Tuesday, 5 October 2010, 3:16 pm
The question many Malaysians are asking is whether the eighth Cabinet meeting tomorrow will still end up empty-handed with no disciplinary action against the two principals, one in Johore and the other in Kedah, who made racial and religious slurs against students in schools despite the first incident occurring 55 days ago on August 12.
Another case of disgraceful conduct by public servants was discussed by the Cabinet last Wednesday – the derogatory, offensive and insensitive reference to the Chinese and Indian communities as “Si Mata Sepet” (“Squinty-eyed”) and “Si Kaki Botol” (“Alcoholics”) by the National Civics Bureau (BTN) deputy director Hamin Husin at a closed-door Puteri Umno function – but there was no satisfactory outcome although the open mockery of the Prime Minister’s 1Malaysia policy by public servants further undermined Najib’s authority, credibility and legitimacy.
The Cabinet meekly asked the Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Sidek Hassan to investigate the racist remarks by Hamim, who have meanwhile received the endorsement of Perkasa to lodge a police report under the tutelage of Perkasa.
Where does the Cabinet come in on this. Do the Ministers have any leadership role? Or are they completely impotent and irrelevant!
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Will Muhyiddin return to Treasury his salaries and allowances as Federal Minister for past 15 years so as not to be associated with forbidden money?
Posted by Kit in Finance, Muhyiddin Yassin, Penang Government, UMNO on Tuesday, 5 October 2010, 1:06 pm
Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and Umno Ministers should decide at the Cabinet meeting tomorrow whether they will return their salaries and allowances to Treasury as they do not want to be associated with gambling money.
Ten days ago on September 25, Bernama carried the following report:
MUAR, Saturday 25 September 2010 (Bernama) — Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin has called on Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng to answer allegations made by Umno Youth on the state government’s financial source to fund its poverty eradication programmes.
Muhyiddin said Muslims would not want to be associated should gambling money were used for the programmes.
“We want an answer from Lim. If the money is from a forbidden source, Muslims will have no part in it,” he told reporters after launching a Pagoh education excellence programme at the Dewan Sri Pekembar, here.
Muhyiddin was asked on a news report today quoting Umno Youth as claiming that funds from gambling activities were used to finance poverty eradication programmes in Penang.
The need to stand up and be counted
Posted by Kit in Pakatan Rakyat on Tuesday, 5 October 2010, 10:07 am
By Mariam Mokhtar
Monday, 04 October 2010 15:26
Last Saturday, a group of Malaysians, studying, living and working in the United Kingdom, spent the afternoon in the Cruciform Lecture Theatre in University College London listening to Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, Raja Petra Kamarudin, PKR information chief Tian Chua and DAP Senator Tunku Abdul Aziz discuss the current political climate in Malaysia.
Many Malaysians are already aware that the country is heading towards further instability. Corruption has compromised our institutions and when the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission is seen to be part of the problem, public confidence is shattered.
Tunku Abdul Aziz confirmed what many suspected – the infiltration of the Malaysian police at every level, from the lower ranks, the inspectorate and up to the top. But he added that not all policemen were bad or corrupt.
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Proposed Advisory Board Will Create More Bureaucracy
By Jerry Francis
Ipoh Echo
The Perak Government’s proposal to establish advisory boards in every district to hear public views from a broad spectrum in determining the state‘s direction, appears to be a good idea.
However, why is it necessary now? Is the state government admitting that what had been done in the past was not according to “public opinion and feedback” and therefore it needs to form the advisory board comprising NGOs and media representatives? Or, it is merely to satisfy those aspiring to hold official post?
This is the impression I got when state chairman for local government, Dato’ Dr. Mah Hang Soon, recently explained that the advisory board is merely to channel public opinion and feedback on issues and problems faced by the people. “Its role is only to give opinions and advice from their respective field of interest,” he stressed.
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The Benefit Of Being Malay First
Posted by Kit in 1Malaysia, Muhyiddin Yassin, nation building on Tuesday, 5 October 2010, 8:31 am
by Jacqueline Ann Surin
The Nut Graph
4th October 2010
ARE you Malay first? Or Malaysian first? That is the current rhetoric in some parts of our political landscape and is spurring some Malaysians to engage in a contest over what it means to be Malaysian.
For certain the question is not a new one. The DAP has for the longest time been brandishing the motto of “Bangsa Malaysia” in an attempt to dismantle the Barisan Nasional (BN)’s race-based politics. DAP advisor Lim Kit Siang, for one, is nowhere close to letting up on this issue. He has demanded repeatedly for, especially, Umno politicians to declare if they are Malaysian or Malay first.
And while Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin seemingly failed the test question, Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz recently scored some points by declaring he was “Malaysian first and Malay next”. But is the question really about which should come first? Why does it seem to matter so much? And which of the two labels — one about race and the other about citizenship — is more profoundly important to us as Malaysian citizens? Read the rest of this entry »
Anwar waves his magic and and thrills European audiences
Posted by Kit in Anwar Ibrahim, Islam, Pakatan Rakyat, Tunku Abdul Aziz on Tuesday, 5 October 2010, 8:09 am
by Tunku Aziz
My Sinchew
4.10.10
I have had to come all the way to Brussels and Berlin to discover a side of Anwar Ibrahim that I was wrong about.
Reading the Barisan Nasional-owned newspapers that consistently portrayed him as a “traitor to Malaysia” who exaggerated the situation obtaining in the country given half a chance, I have, I must admit, tended to view him as a self-serving political demagogue who could not care less about the fate of his country as long as he achieved his ambition of becoming prime minister.
Anwar spoke last Monday evening (28 September 2010), on “Liberal Values in the Muslim World – Why Islam and Democracy are Destined to Coincide” to a packed hall of some of Europe’s powerful decision makers. These were men and women with wide international experience and could not be easily hoodwinked even if he had tried.
It was vintage Anwar, perfect smooth as silk delivery of a complex, serious subject to a critical audience. He knew his stuff. His was more than a speech; it was an intellectual journey mapped out by someone who knew the area traversed like the back of his hand. Read the rest of this entry »
Last rites begin for Gerakan
Posted by Kit in Gerakan, Thomas Lee on Tuesday, 5 October 2010, 8:01 am
by Thomas Lee
My Sinchew
4th Oct 2010
The last rites for Gerakan have started to be performed by no lesser person that its former president Tun Dr Lim Keng Yaik, who has announced that he is quitting as the party advisor due to the lack of confidence in current party chief Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon.
The outspoken maverick KengYaik said on Monday 4 October 2010 that he would be resigning as the party advisor because of disappointment over the politically infirm Tsu Koon’s tendency to “bury his head in the sand.”
Formed on 24 March 1968, the party descended to its worst electoral performance during the March 2008 general election, losing control of the Penang state government which it held for nearly 40 years, and winning only two parliamentary seats compared to 10 previously. Tsu Koon was among those kicked out by the Penangites. Read the rest of this entry »
New IGP must seriously grapple with the new Malaysian phenomenon where crime index falls but Malaysians feel even more unsafe!
DAP Member of Parliament for Rasah and Negri Sembilan State Assemblyman for Lobak Anthony Loke, who is also DAPSY National chief, was the latest victim of crime when he was rudely awakened early this morning by five parang-wielding robbers who broke into his Seremban home and tied him up, along with his elderly parents.
The 4am incident took place after the robbers cut through the front door lock, and woke the occupants in the double-storey terrace house in Taman Yoon Chan, Seremban – hitherto quite crime-free but no more safe.
Recently, both the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak and Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein had made great play about the successful NKRA on crime reduction, claiming that there have been a drastic drop in the crime rate with improvement of the crime index since January this year.
However, up and down the country, ordinary Malaysians do not feel this dividend of fall of crime index in their daily lives as they do not feel comparatively safer in the streets, public places or privacy of their homes as compared to previous years as highlighted by the terrible ordeal which Loke and his parents went through early this morning.
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Can civil servants and BTN officials make incendiary, racist and insensitive statements going against Najib’s 1Malaysia concept and claim as protection that they are personal views made in private functions?
Posted by Kit in 1Malaysia, Najib Razak, Perkasa on Monday, 4 October 2010, 5:38 pm
Biro Tata Negara (BTN) deputy director Hamim Husain today lodged a police report at Sentul district police headquarters against news portal, The Malaysian Insider, and one of its journalists over an article that claimed that he had uttered racist remarks.
Hamim refused to comment when quizzed by the press as he left the police station, and declined to reveal the contents of his police report.
Instead, he merely recited the al-Fatihah and prayed for Muslim unity outside the police station.
Hamim has added salt to injury and compounded his utter contempt for Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s 1Malaysia concept.
Is the BTN committed to Muslim unity or the 1Malaysia and Malaysian unity?
Hamim was accompanied by the Perkasa youth chief Arman Azha Abu Hanifah when he went to the Sentul police station to lodge the report and acted as his spokesman.
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The Life Story Of A 100 Ringgit Note
by Richard Loh
I was having a beautiful dream, sleeping among the other 100 ringgit notes banded in stack of 100, when suddenly the loud noise from the opening of heavy metal door woke me up. The lights were switched on and by now all other denominations notes were wide awake as well.
We were inside a strong bank vault with two armed security guards guarding the opened vault. Inside, all new notes comprising of the various denominations were stacked separately from the old notes.
I was part of the new note, under the 100 ringgit denomination. I was just released yesterday, after being dressed so beautifully in colors with security input and a serial number which I supposed was to be my name, from the authority of Bank Negara to my new owner, the Bank.
The old notes were laughing at us, the new notes, and I asked why they are laughing at us. One 5 ringgit note started yelling, afraid that we could not hear him because the bankers inside the vault were talking so loudly. “You all are going out to face the world, you will be squeezed, splashed with saliva, argued and fought over, love and hate, all kinds of hands will be touching you and you may get to travel all over the world. The Chinese New Year is just a week away and you all will be in great demand. We the old notes are tired and needed some rest, so good luck to you all.” Read the rest of this entry »
The Tengku Razaleigh factor
Posted by Kit in Election, Pakatan Rakyat, PAS, UMNO on Monday, 4 October 2010, 1:03 pm
by Jema Khan
The Malaysian Insider
October 04, 2010
OCT 4 — The upcoming Galas state seat by-election is interesting on many fronts. It was a seat won by PAS in the last general election though Umno won the Gua Musang parliamentary seat which encompasses Galas.
By many accounts winning the Gua Musang parliamentary seat has nothing to do with Umno but more due to it being the stronghold of its long-standing MP, Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah.
Who is this man known colloquially as Ku Li?
Well, if you read “Malaysian Maverick” written by Barry Wain which is actually about Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, you would know. Ku Li is an elder statesman in Malaysia who also, by many accounts, could have been PM of Malaysia.
A jovial, effervescent and decent man who has within him the institutional memory of this country, he really personifies all that was good in our founding fathers. Ask him about any of them, be it Tunku Abdul Rahman, Tun Razak, Tun Hussein, you name it, he was there at the time and can still give you a decent recollection of what they stood for.
He has a very Malay way of putting his objections to all the bad things that are happening to our nation. See him on YouTube under Mycitizen and you will get a flavour of the man. Our founding fathers were the generation that really sacrificed their wealth and wellbeing for this country and their views would be very similar to that of Ku Li’s today.
In fact, the irony of it all is although Ku Li sacrificed so much personally for Umno, it is the opposition that today have a greater appreciation for his integrity and intellect. They accept him as an elder statesman that they would love to have on their side. Read the rest of this entry »
Crime index down but do you feel safer?
Horrible experience by AnthonyLokeMP/SA/DAPSY chief. He his father mother tied up by burglars @Taman YoonChan Rahang terrace hse 4am n robbed of $10k
10/04/2010 08:49 AM
(Contd) of cash valuables. Freed themselves abt 5am. House ransacked Luckily no one harmed by parang-wielding robbers. Loke’s area was quite crime-free but no more safe
10/04/2010 08:53 AM
Crime index down but ppl feel even more unsafe. Let’s have twitterpoll- do u (where?) feel safe? RT @ekpoptani Are our police stats correct?
10/04/2010 10:19 AM
