Why Be Afraid of PAS?
Posted by Kit in Kee Thuan Chye, PAS on Tuesday, 10 August 2010, 11:17 pm
by Kee Thuan Chye
SHOULD non-Muslim Malaysians be afraid of PAS?
That is a question that will be extremely pertinent when the next general election comes around. With a large percentage of the non-Muslim population being currently disillusioned with Barisan Nasional (BN), how would they vote if they were faced at the next general election with choosing between a candidate from BN and one from PAS?
The people who are most suspicious of and averse towards PAS are the Christians. Not all are like that, however; for instance, I know Christians who voted for PAS in the 2008 general election, including a pastor in Kedah. A Catholic friend in Penang says she and her church members fully support PAS. And many among the flock of the Church of the Divine Mercy in Shah Alam, who gave PAS MP Khalid Samad a standing ovation when he visited it in 2008, must have voted for him.
But on the other hand, I have also come across Christians who are educated, middle-class and very sensible, but who are so scared of PAS that their fear seems irrational.
Read the rest of this entry »
Spies, secrets and smart-phones
SOME sort of a deal seems to have been thrashed out over the weekend, according to reports from Saudi Arabia, under which its spooks will be able to snoop to their heart’s content on messages sent over BlackBerrys within the kingdom. All last week, as it negotiated with the Saudi, United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Indian authorities over their demands for monitoring, the smart-phones’ Canadian maker, Research In Motion (RIM), was dodging journalists’ demands for proper explanations about what exactly is negotiable about the phones’ security. The Economist asked five times in four days for an interview, and got nowhere. Other news organisations had a similar experience.
The best we could get from the company was a series of tight-lipped statements, of which the least cryptic was this one: Read the rest of this entry »
Chinese-Malaysian a ‘living treasure’ in NZ
Posted by Kit in Health, nation building on Tuesday, 10 August 2010, 6:25 pm
Introducing cells to suicide
by Jane Tolerton | NZ Listener
A breakthrough strawberry-birthmark treatment discovered by a New Zealand surgeon and his team points the way to treatments for other tumours.
Swee Tan is a master of the rhetorical question. Outlining how his research into strawberry birthmarks could lead to a new way of treating cancer, he asks: “Would that be a good thing?” Suggest he could be making big money in cosmetic surgery overseas, and he asks, ‘Would I be a happy man?”
Hutt Hospital’s director of surgery should be happy enough – because what began as his research into disfiguring strawberry birthmarks has just won his four-strong research team a major international science prize. The implications for cancer treatment and regenerative medicine are so valuable that news of the award has been under wraps for a couple of months while the intellectual property involved has been registered internationally.
Read the rest of this entry »
Has Hishammuddin changed his mind about having a new IGP when Musa Hassan’s twice-extended contract expires next month?
Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein said the government will announce the status of Tan Sri Musa Hassan’s contract as Inspector-General of Police (IGP) at an appropriate time.
He said:
“This is not the right time to talk about it.
“When the time comes, we will make the appropriate announcement.”
This has caught the whole country and entire police force by surprise, as it is in complete variance with the stand taken by Hishammuddin in Parliament five months ago on March 15, when had told the press that Musa would be replaced as IGP.
He said: Read the rest of this entry »
Ten questions about ‘Teoh’s note’
Posted by Kit in Teoh Beng Hock on Tuesday, 10 August 2010, 11:24 am
KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 10 — Questions are now popping up over a “note” found last year in Teoh Beng Hock’s sling bag ‘that may throw some light regarding his death’ after the Attorney-General’s Chambers denied suppressing evidence in his death inquiry.
The AG’s Chambers issued a statement last night about the discovery of the note by Investigating Officer ASP Ahmad Nazri Zainal last October 7, more than two months after Teoh’s death.
Question 1 — Why did the investigating officer take two months to say he found the note in Teoh’s sling bag a day after the political secretary to Selangor executive councilor, Ean Yong Hian Wah, was found dead on July 16 last year.
Question 2 — Why do the police look like they are lackadaisical in investigating this death? Did they need a psychiatrist to tell them to look for a suicide note?
Read the rest of this entry »
Denying Anwar Natural Justice
Posted by Kit in Anwar Ibrahim, Court, Dr. Chen Man Hin, Judiciary, Najib Razak on Tuesday, 10 August 2010, 10:06 am
By Dr Chen Man Hin
IT IS NATURAL JUSTICE FOR ANWAR IBRAHIM TO HAVE ACCESS TO ALL EVIDENCE IN SODOMY 2 TRIAL
Denial of clinical evidence from Anwar Ibrahim to defend himself to face a charge of sodomy is a denial of natural justice for Anwar. Before this, he was also denied of evidence several times on previous occasions in the course of the trial.
In any trial, any one charged with a crime, surely has a right to ask his accuser (the prosecution) to produce the evidence. To deny the accused of the so called charge is surely a denial of natural justice for the accused.
This is substantiated by a clause in the INTERNATIONAL COVENANT IN CIVIL AND POLITICAL RIGHTS passed by the United Nations, ‘which guarantees the accused the right to have adequate time and facilities to the preparation of defence. Article 14 (3) (6) of the Covenant guarantees that legal representation of the defendant should have access to all relevant material and evidence.’
Read the rest of this entry »
The Distracting Bilateral Issue of Maids
Posted by Kit in Bakri Musa, Foreign on Monday, 9 August 2010, 1:04 pm
By M. Bakri Musa
It is telling of the state of development for both Indonesia and Malaysia that when their two leaders met recently, the key topic was Indonesian maids. Malaysia wishes to import more while Indonesia wants better working conditions for its workers in Malaysia.
I would have expected the two to discuss such consequential issues as jointly developing the region as a tourism destination to rival the Caribbean, harnessing the power of satellite and wireless communication to leapfrog the development of both countries, or perhaps conducting joint maritime research for both ecological and economic purposes. Alas, none of that!
It is reflective of the abysmal state of human development in Indonesia that maids are its major “export.” Likewise, it reflects the perverted status symbol of Malaysians that they consider having a maid as a necessity for a “luxurious” lifestyle.
Read the rest of this entry »
The speech that wasn’t delivered
Aliran
Friday, 06 August 2010 21:05
(P Ramakrishnan was supposed to deliver this address at an anti-ISA vigil in Penang on 1 August 2010, but before he could speak, four activists were arrested and police dispersed the crowd.)
50 years of ISA – Enough is enough!
This is our 53rd year of independence. But for 50 years, that independence has been marred and rendered meaningless by the continued existence of the ISA. It has been used and abused to silence critics and put away dissidents. It is an instrument that threatens our freedom and our civil liberties. It creates a climate of fear.
Read the rest of this entry »
Are you at home, minister?
By Kee Thuan Chye
COMMENT Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said this at the press conference in 2009 in which he defended the cow-head protesters: “In this day and age, protests should be accepted in this world, as people want their voices to be heard. If we don’t give them room to voice their opinions, they have no choice but to protest.” He should of course be held accountable for this statement.
Why then did the police clamp down so hard on the people taking part in the anti-ISA candlelight vigil on Aug 1? Why did Hishammuddin not come out to advise the police that this voicing of the people’s opinions was acceptable and room should be given for it?
Why was he so understanding towards the cow-head protestors – who were potentially more threatening to national security because they displayed violence against a sacred icon of the Hindus – and so intolerant of the people participating in a peaceful demonstration, some of whom were reportedly singing the national anthem when the police moved in on them?
Read the rest of this entry »
How graft, racial-religious politicking killed Malaysia’s economy
Posted by Kit in Corruption on Sunday, 8 August 2010, 1:26 pm
By Wong Choon Mei, Malaysia Chronicle
In 2019, Malaysia would be 62 years old. If that is all it takes – just 62 years – for a nation to go bankrupt, then it only shows how grossly mismanaged the country has been.
Of the six prime ministers who have led Malaysia since 1957, the leader who must take the greatest blame for the sorry state the economy is now in is Mahathir Mohamad, whose 22-year rule alone accounts for nearly half of the nation’s post-independence history.
Thanks to his chase for mega projects, political opportunists and cronies were able to benefit from massive overpricing in almost all of the major deals that framed his career. From the North-South Expressway to Perwaja Steel, 1st Silicon to Proton, Bakun Dam to PKFZ, few of his projects have not ended up requiring some form of bailout from taxpayers at one time or another.
The consequences of sleeping with the enemy
by Mariam Mokhtar
MCA president Dr Chua Soi Lek’s comments about both Umno and PAS using religion to dominate the Malays and influence their vote, is a bit too little, too late. For decades, he, like previous MCA leaders, pandered to the wishes of Umno. Now that PAS has teamed up with DAP and PKR to become a credible opposition party, it is Dr. Chua who must contemplate his standing in his community and evaluate the worth of his party’s friendship with Umno.
Dr. Chua’s hypocritical attack on PAS is ill-judged and offensive. PAS have always been consistent in its Islamic roots but when it morphed into a modern Islamist party, it created panic in Umno.
He should direct his vitriol at Umno only, for it jumped onto the religious bandwagon, to appear more conservative than PAS so as to lure Malay voters.
Perhaps it is Dr. Chua who has been caught on the hop, just as in his previous indiscretion?
Dr. Chua urged the Chinese community to think about the impact if PAS were to rule at the federal level. He said, “Do not be too optimistic that if PAS comes to power, the country will be free from corruption and other problems”.
This is a bit rich coming from him. Is this an attempt to suck up to Prime Minister Najib, to Umno or to his own party and community? Was he as voluble complaining about the excesses, in previous years? Read the rest of this entry »
DAP chides Chua’s negative portrayal of Muslim nations
Posted by Kit in Islam, Islamic state, MCA on Saturday, 7 August 2010, 5:20 pm
by Susan Loone | Aug 7, 10 11:57am
Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng has today rubbished the views of MCA chief Dr Chua Soi Lek, who has portrayed Muslim countries as “poor, backward and corrupt”.
Lim (right in photo) urged Chua to learn more about the history of Islamic civilisation, whose global empires had not only contributed breathtaking art and architecture, but also the introduction of numbers, algebra and astronomy.
“Muslim countries are suffering from the same problem suffered by India and China previously.
“Only when India and China were free, independent and not dominated by imperialist powers, that they were able to realise their potential and take their place in the world stage as economic powers,” he said at International Integrity Conference 2010 today in Penang.
“I believe that Muslim nations can also recapture their past glories if they were allowed to be similarly unshackled like India and China,” he added. Read the rest of this entry »
Biggest flaw in Soi Lek’s new-fangled theory is whether he would back down from it when pressured by UMNO
The main objective of MCA President Datuk Seri Dr. Chua Soi Lek’s new-fangled theory that Malaysia had been trapped for a decade as a middle-income nation because of “non-progressive” competition between UMNO and PAS is to pass-the-buck and disclaim MCA responsibility for the deplorable state of the Malaysian nation 53 years after Merdeka to the extent that one Cabinet Minister had warned that Malaysia could go backrupt in the year 2019!
However, the biggest flaw for Chua’s new-fangled theory is whether he would back down from it when pressured by UMNO!
In the first place, Malaysia had been stuck in a middle-income nation trap for some two decades and not just the past 10 years – as admitted by the New Economic Model that since becoming an upper-middle income country in 1992, Malaysia has largely stayed where it is.
Can this be solely explained by the competition between Umno and PAS in using religion to strengthen their influence resulting in “non-progressive policies”? Read the rest of this entry »
Kee Thuan Chye unmasked
Posted by Kit in Kee Thuan Chye on Saturday, 7 August 2010, 12:03 pm
by Jee Wan
Malaysiakini
Aug 6, 10
Kee Thuan Chye , a stubbornly patriotic writer, journalist, editor,playwright, and occasional actor, allows a peep into what makes him tick and what does not, particularly where big brother is concerned.
Jee Wan:Firstly, congratulations on the upcoming new edition of ‘March 8: The Day Malaysia Woke Up’. What started your involvement in politics?
Kee:Thanks. It may actually turn out to be a new book called ‘March 8: Time for Real Change’.
My political awakening occurred right after I graduated from Universiti Sains Malaysia when I personally suffered the effects of the New Economic Policy (NEP). I wanted to pursue my Masters but I wasn’t able to afford it unless I could get a tutor’s position. I applied, but didn’t get it – even though I was top in my class. It was given to someone else. So I had to go out and work.
Eventually, I was hired by The National Echo as literary editor. Part of my duties included writing editorials. During that time, I was able to write quite scathingly about political matters.
I remember one of my editorials criticised Mahathir Mohamad for warning that Malaysia would “shoot” the Vietnamese boat people if they tried to land on our shores. He later insisted that he said “shoo”, but I could already see then what kind of a guy we were dealing with.
I became more politically sensitised when I moved from Penang to Kuala Lumpur in the late 1970s, from The National Echo to the New Straits Times. In the capital, I began to see more sharply the contradictions in our society.
At the time, the social re-engineering that had come into place after 1969 was beginning to show its effects. They became more pronounced in the early 1980s when Mahathir Mohamad became Prime Minister.
Working at the NST made me see more clearly that things were going towards an authoritarian direction. I got numerous memos from my editor-in-chief for trying to push the parameters and opening up public discourse on ‘sensitive’ issues.
The most pressing issue then was race and how it had been politicised to divide the people. Mahathir was also showing signs of being increasingly dictatorial; he would tolerate no criticism of him in the media.
What I couldn’t express through the newspaper I eventually expressed in a play. Entitled ‘1984 Here and Now’; it spoke out frankly against Big Brother and institutionalised racial discrimination. It played to full houses in 1985 because it brought up issues of the day that people were afraid to discuss publicly. Those who came were surprised that it had obtained a permit to be staged.
I have since gone on to write more political plays. One of them, ‘The Big Purge’, brazenly satirises Mahathir (left) and Operation Lalang. Read the rest of this entry »
Malaysia in the Era of Globalization #26
Posted by Kit in Bakri Musa, globalisation on Friday, 6 August 2010, 11:39 am
By M. Bakri Musa
Chapter 4: Modern Model States
The Celtic Tiger (Cont’d)
Liberalization went beyond the economic sphere. It was Lemass’s political genius to use old-style nationalism, an inherent part of the Irish character, to forge progressive changes. A considerable part of that change involved a marked curtailment in the role of the Church both in the affairs of the state and in the lives of individuals. Thus birth control and sale of oral contraceptives were legalized in1979, despite severe opposition from the Church.
With the widespread use of birth control and the increasing participation of women in the workforce, Ireland’s former dizzyingly high birthrate declined substantially. The large unruly brood of yore is now replaced by one considerably smaller, but much better clothed, housed, and educated.
Read the rest of this entry »
Whose credit? Not MCA’s, of course
By Thomas Lee
The cabinet decision to allow school heads to decide on the setting-up of non-Muslim religious societies in schools, without the need to obtain approval of the state education director, is certainly welcome.
The decision, however, should not be taken as something magnanimous on the part of the federal government for according this “concession” to the non-Muslim community.
The fact is that it is not something to be considered as a concession or a privilege given by the federal government, but a fundamental right provided for in Article 11 of the Malaysian Federal Constitution and enshined in the human rights covenants and conventions of the United Nations.
Hence, the federal government, in particularly the Education Minister, should apologise to the non-Muslim students for unilaterally restricting and depriving them over the years of their fundamental human and constitutional right and freedom to practice their religious faiths, through the unwarranted and unjustified action of the Little Napoleons in the Education Ministry.
Read the rest of this entry »
Who decided on the Cabinet gag order yesterday on any public discussion of “Allah” controversy?
Who decided on the Cabinet gag order on any public discussion of the “Allah” controversy announced by the Deputy Prime Minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin after the Cabinet meeting yesterday?
Was it with the full support of the four MCA Ministers and all other non-Muslim Cabinet Ministers – or did they express and register their protest and objection?
Malaysians had been told that the Cabinet operates on the principle of consensus – which means that if there is one Minister objecting, a decision on a new policy or measure would not be taken by the Cabinet.
If so, if the four MCA Ministers had spoken out against the gag order and asked the Cabinet to consider resolving the long-protracted “Allah” controversy by deciding that the Home Ministry should withdraw its appeal against the Lau Bee Lan judgment in the Kuala Lumpur High Court in January this year
Read the rest of this entry »
Sime Darby to report biggest ever loss
Posted by Kit in Financial Scandals on Thursday, 5 August 2010, 10:51 am
KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 5 — One-time Malaysian icon, the 100-year-old Sime Darby Berhad, appears to be in a downward spiral as it faces huge losses again after the last one 13 years ago, with top officials being taken off from several units.
The Malaysian Insider understands that the government conglomerate will next month announce that potential full-year net loss could top RM2 billion — and go as high as RM2.5 billion. Most of the losses are down to ill-advised investments in the energy and utilities sector in Qatar as well as tardy business practices in the development of the Bakun dam in Sarawak.
The last time Sime Darby saw red on its balance sheets came after the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis, when a plunge in the stock market and a sharp depreciation of the ringgit led its financial arm, Sime Bank, to post a RM1.6 billion loss — the largest in Malaysian banking history — for the six months to December 1997. The conglomerate went on to post a six-month loss of RM676.2 million and closed the 1998 financial year with a net loss of RM540.9 million.
Read the rest of this entry »
The Malays in Singapore – no crutch mentality
(Speech by Berita Harian Singapore editor Guntor Sadali, at the Berita Harian Singapore Achiever of the Year Awards ceremony on July 28, 2010)
It is a fact known to all that Malays in Singapore are a minority.
However this minority is quite different from other minorities in the world.
Similarly, to some, Singapore is just a red dot in this vast Asian region.
But it is no ordinary red dot.
It is a grave mistake to equate size with ability, just as it is wrong to assume that being small and in the minority is to be weak and insignificant.
The recent World Cup proved this. While Spain may be the world champion, it was minnow Switzerland that became the only country in the tournament that was able to defeat Spain.
Forty-five years have passed since Singapore left Malaysia, yet every now and then we still hear non-complimentary comments from across the Causeway about the Malay community here. Read the rest of this entry »
Is this Muhyiddin’s 1Malaysia?
Posted by Kit in 1Malaysia, Education, Muhyiddin Yassin on Wednesday, 4 August 2010, 7:12 pm
Pakatan elected reps kept out of S’gor schools
Christine Chan
Malaysiakini
Aug 4, 10
A circular that allows specified BN leaders to attend events organised by Selangor schools but keeps out those from Pakatan Rakyat, has been criticised as an example of double standards.
The circular dated Feb 16, 2009 states that the education minister has appointed 57 leaders from Selangor Umno, MCA, MIC and Gerakan to represent him at these events in the state.
Signed by the principal secretary to the minister, the circular was sent to the director of the Selangor Education Department.
It also states that the BN representatives have each been issued a certificate of appointment, copies of which were attached to the circular with a full list of names and posts held in the respective political parties.
When contacted, Hannah Yeoh, the DAP state assemblyperson for Subang Jaya said that – by implication – school authorities have to get the minister’s permission to invite Pakatan representatives.
“(When the schools ask for permission), it is never given,” she claimed. Read the rest of this entry »
