Malaysia must adopt global policies and strategies to survive
Posted by Kit in Economics, nation building on Saturday, 1 September 2007, 8:07 pm
by Dr. Chen Man Hin
The Barisan Nasional government frequently makes pronouncements that the economy is sound, with GDP growth rates of 5% and above.
However the following statistics of per capita income do not give a flattering picture of Malaysia:
PER CAPITA INCOME OF SELECTED ASIAN COUNTRIES
1967/ 2005
Malaysia US290/ 5,042
Singapore 600/ 26,836
Hong Kong 620/ 25,493
Taiwan 250/ 15,203
S. Korea 160/ 16,308
In 1957, Malaysia had the second biggest per capita income after Japan, but now we are at the tail end among the front-rank developed nations in Asia. Read the rest of this entry »
Tall buildings, narrow minds – Malaysia at 50
Posted by Kit in ISA, Merdeka 50th anniversary, nation building on Saturday, 1 September 2007, 4:54 pm
From The Economist
Aug 30th 2007
After 50 years, Malaysia should stop treating a third of its people as not-quite-citizens
THE government of Malaysia has laid on all sorts of grand pageantry this weekend, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Malay peninsula’s independence from Britain. There is much to celebrate. Living standards and access to education, health services, sanitation and electricity have soared during those five decades of sovereignty. The country’s remarkable modernisation drive was symbolised, nine years ago, by the completion of the Petronas twin towers, in Kuala Lumpur, then the world’s tallest buildings.
Yet there will be a hollow ring to the festivities. Malaysia’s 50th birthday comes at a time of rising resentment by ethnic Chinese and Indians, together over one-third of the population, at the continuing, systematic discrimination they suffer in favour of the majority bumiputra, or sons of the soil, as Malays and other indigenous groups are called. There are also worries about creeping “Islamisation” among the Malay Muslim majority of what has been a largely secular country, and about the increasingly separate lives that Malay, Chinese and Indian Malaysians are leading. More so than at independence, it is lamented, the different races learn in separate schools, eat separately, work separately and socialise separately. Some are asking: is there really such a thing as a Malaysian? Read the rest of this entry »
Merdeka Golden Jubilee – National anniversary or Barisan Nasional anniversary?
Posted by Kit in Merdeka 50th anniversary, nation building on Saturday, 1 September 2007, 11:05 am
A fortnight ago, the Sultan of Selangor called on politicians regardless of parties to put politics aside and to celebrate the once-in-a-lifetime event, the 50th Merdeka anniversary, as one people.
He said: “The politicians, regardless of their parties, can have all the time they want to talk about politics after National Day but for now, I do not want to hear any issues that can hurt the feelings of any community.”
It is very sad that the Sultan of Selangor’s advice was completely ignored, as the two weeks before the 50th Merdeka anniversary had produced an unusually big crop of divisive and contentious issues which further divide rather than unify Malaysians as well as undermining public confidence in the independence and integrity of national institutions — not to mention the farce of patriotism staged by some Barisan Nasional MPs on August 29, which disgraced Parliament and demeaned the Merdeka Golden Jubilee celebrations.
After the Ambang Merdeka at the Dataran Merdeka, Kuala Lumpur culminating in the 50th Merdeka Anniversary countdown to midnight of August 30, many Malaysians asked whether it was a national anniversary or a Barisan Nasional anniversary.
Instead of uniting all Malaysians, regardless of generations, race, religion, territory or political party affiliations, the Ambang Merdeka programme polarized Malaysians between those in the Barisan Nasional/Alliance and the rest of Malaysians!
Although the Merdeka Parade at Dataran Merdeka yesterday morning and the Merdeka Mammoth Celebrations at Stadium Merdeka last night were not as blatantly “Barisan Nasional” as the Ambang Merdeka programme, the tone and motif of the official celebrations had been set and it is no exaggeration to say that many Malaysians were turned off by the anniversary programme for failing to be a powerful agent of Malaysian national unity for the country to face up to the many grave challenges of the next half-century. Read the rest of this entry »
Malaysia at 50: So far, so good
Posted by Kit in Merdeka 50th anniversary, nation building on Saturday, 1 September 2007, 9:13 am
By Philip Bowring
International Herald Tribune
August 28, 2007
HONG KONG: There is much celebration in Malaysia this month to mark the day 50 years ago when the new nation was born out of the British-ruled states of the Malay peninsula. But was it?
On Aug. 31, 1957 it was actually Malaya that became independent. Malaysia was not created until September 1963, when the Malaya states were joined by Singapore (briefly) and the British-ruled territories in Borneo, Sabah and Sarawak.
The difference between Malaya and Malaysia is not a semantic quibble. It lies at the heart of the nation’s identity issues which in turn are reflected in the racial and religious basis of its politics.
Is this a Malay/Muslim country, where the non-Malay 50 percent and non-Muslim 40 percent must accept a somewhat subservient position whether they are immigrant races (Chinese and Indians) or the non-Malay but indigenous majority in Sabah and Sarawak? Or is this a nation forging a common Malaysian identity from its disparate origins? Read the rest of this entry »
Just imagine that…
Posted by Kit in Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Foreign, Merdeka 50th anniversary on Saturday, 1 September 2007, 1:30 am
August 31, 2007
Malaysian PM Very Constructive Force For Region, Says Bush
By Salmy Hashim
WASHINGTON, Aug 31 (Bernama) — President George W. Bush has described Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s leadership as a very constructive force for Southeast Asia.
He said Malaysia was an interesting example of how a free society could deal with movements that could conceivably change and alter the nature of the free society.
“I respect the way the prime minister has used freedom and the openness of society to deal with frustration. I mean, all societies have frustrated people. The question is will the outlet of that frustration lead to violence or peace,” Bush said in a rare roundtable Thursday with five journalists from Asia Pacific, including Bernama.
“Malaysia is an example of a country where frustrations have been channelled in a positive way.
“I respect Prime Minister Badawi, admire his leadership,” Bush, who met Abdullah at the White House in 2004, said when commenting on Abdullah’s leadership in handling extremism and terrorism in the country.
Abdullah is a proponent for moderation, advocating Islam Hadhari (Civilisational Islam) in Malaysia and everywhere he goes.
The camaraderie between the two leaders could be seen when the president said: “When his wife (the late Datin Seri Endon Mahmood) died, I tried to call him early just to let him know I cared about him.”
When told that Abdullah had remarried, Bush appeared surprised and said: “Has he? Good. I’ll congratulate him. Thanks for giving me that heads-up. I’m going to congratulate him. That’s neat.
When told by his aide that he did congratulate the prime minister, Bush laughed at his memory lapse and said: “Exactly. I’m going to congratulate him again. I’ll double the congratulations.”
He later admitted that he forgot and asked his aide whether he had called or written a note to the prime minister. He was told that he had written a note.
“That’s right, yes. (I also) sent him a couple of flowers,” Bush said. Read the rest of this entry »
50th Merdeka anniversary – “Feel good” euphoria absent; instead a stifling “feel worse” sentiment among Malaysians
Posted by Kit in Merdeka 50th anniversary, nation building on Friday, 31 August 2007, 1:06 pm
50th Merdeka Anniversary Message
Unlike previous years, on the occasion of the 50th Merdeka anniversary, I am issuing a message on the day itself instead of the usual practice of on its eve.
Just one or even two months ago, no one would have predicted or expected that Malaysians would be troubled by many national issues of import come August 31 when the nation celebrates its Merdeka golden jubilee — whether about the Merdeka “social contract” on the fundamental cornerstone of Malaysian nation-building; racial and religious polarization; the independence and integrity of national institutions like the Cabinet, Parliament, Judiciary, Police, Anti-Corruption Agency, Election Commission, the public service; plunge in educational standards and international competitiveness; decline in quality of life with unchecked rise in crime; increasing intolerance towards dissent, press and internet freedom; or a host of other major concerns..
With the 50th Merdeka anniversary, the “feel good” euphoria in Malaysia should be even more effusive than in 2004 which gave Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi the unprecedented landslide general election victory, sweeping over 90 per cent of the parliamentary seats, a feat which had eluded all the four previous Prime Ministers.
In actual fact, the “feel good” euphoria is singularly absent in the country on the occasion of the 50th Merdeka anniversary. Instead of the “feel good” euphoria, there is the “feel worse” sentiment among the people which is even more prevalent and acute than at any time during previous Mahathir administration. Read the rest of this entry »
Makna Merdeka 50
Posted by Kit in Bakri Musa, Merdeka 50th anniversary on Thursday, 30 August 2007, 5:52 pm
Makna Merdeka 50
Merdeka negara! Merdeka bercita!
Bebas negara! Bebas bersuara!
Merdeka bukan hadiah penjajah
Kebebasan insan hasrat Allah.
Alam ku luas, borkat Illahi
Rezki ku Tuhan yang mengsukati.
Laut, gunung, sempadan tanpa ku segani
Gelombang dunia berani ku layari!
Kampong halaman bukan nya sauh
Ingin ku menghilir merantau jauh.
Di mana bumi ku pijak, di sana langit ku junjong
Selagi hati berhajat, cita ku jangan di kandong.
Hidup, bebas, bahagia, hasrat Allah
Pantang celaka lah jika di ubah.
Raja dan menteri mesti mempatuhi
Jangan kau mungkir perentah Illahi.
Rakyat negeri bukan nya kuli
Untok di kerah ka sana sini.
Zaman purba tak akan kembali
Mungkin menteri yang di buang negri!
Renungkan nasib si Idi Amin
Yang Shah Pahlavi pun tak terjamin.
Pemimpim negri mesti menginggati
Rakyat — bukan raja — yang di daulati.
Tidak ku sangka songsang
Anak dagang di negri orang.
Orang kita/orang sana, tidak bermakna.
Takkan Melayu hilang di dunia
Bukan kah itu gesa Laksmana?
Urat ku mendalam di bumi asing
Loghat ku pun ikut sama mengiring
Sambal belacan dah berasa lain
Teras ku tetap Melayu tulin! Read the rest of this entry »
RM4.6 bil PKFZ bailout scandal – nobody accountable for two weeks when Kong Choy on medical leave?
Posted by Kit in Good Governance, Transport on Thursday, 30 August 2007, 4:37 pm
When Malaysians heard or read the news about the RM4.1 billion investment from the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) countries for the Iskandar Development Region (IDR) in Johore, their first thought would be that Malaysians themselves have this amount of money to spare if they do not have to be squandered in a bailout of the RM4.6 billion Port Klang Free Zone (PFZ) scandal.
Up to now, there has been no proper and full accountability as to how the PKFZ, touted as a feasible and self-financing project which would not require a single ringgit of public funds, has ended up as a RM4.6 billion burden of the taxpayers.
This is why the report today that the Transport Minister, Datuk Seri Chan Kong Choy has gone on medical leave for health reasons attracted more than its usual share of attention.
His press secretary said Chan has to go abroad for a medical check-up and consultation.
I wish Chan speedy recovery, although two questions jostle for answer:
Firstly, is Chan another example of the present crop of Cabinet Ministers who have no confidence in Malaysian specialists and medical expertise that one after another has to go overseas for medical treatment and consultation. This question is particularly poignant when the Health Minister is another MCA leader, Datuk Dr. Chua Soi Lek.
Secondly, does this mean that for a fortnight, no one from the Transport Ministry need to be responsible to give full accountability for the RM4.6 billion Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) bailout scandal.
Knowing that he had to go on medical leave for two weeks, Chan was being most irresponsible in failing to give a full and proper accounting of the RM4.6 billion PKFZ bailout scandal in his written answer to my question in Parliament on Tuesday.
In his answer, apart from making a bald claim that there was no fraud, irregularity or malpractice, Chan failed to address the specific issues which I had highlighted in my urgent motion on the PKFZ bailout scandal on Monday but which was rejected by the Speaker, Tan Sri Ramli Ngah as not complying withy the three prequisite requirements of being urgent, definite public importance. Read the rest of this entry »
CJM debacle – one up for Conference of Rulers and one down for Pak Lah
Posted by Kit in Constitution, Court on Thursday, 30 August 2007, 2:25 pm
The appointment of Datuk Alauddin Mohd Sheriff as the Chief Judge of Malaya is one up for the Conference of Rulers and one down for Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi — as the debacle is a major setback to the prestige and authority of the Prime Minister as a result of the seven-month constitutional impasse and crisis.
The objection of the Conference of Rulers to the earlier nominee for the Chief Judge of Malaya resulting in the seven-month constitutional deadlock has proved to be fully justified and the Prime Minister most imprudent and ill-advised to give blind support to the proposal submitted by the Chief Justice, Tun Ahmad Fairuz Abdul Halim.
The question crying out for answer is why the Prime Minister placed himself in such an embarrassing and indefensible position and for such a protracted length of time.
Isn’t there a proper mechanism to vet candidates whether for judicial appointments or promotions?
The Chief Justice must bear great responsibility for the constitutional debacle but from the constitutional standpoint, the Prime Minister cannot shirk final responsibility as the buck must stop at his desk.
Fairuz now says that he is waiting for an explanation from a Federal Court judge on his failure to write the grounds of judgments in more than 35 civil and criminal cases. Read the rest of this entry »
Farce of patriotism by handful of BN MPs – black chapter for Parliament and blot for 50th Merdeka anniversary
Posted by Kit in Merdeka 50th anniversary, Parliament on Thursday, 30 August 2007, 11:57 am
A handful of irresponsible Barisan Nasional MPs had disgraced Parliament and demeaned the 50th Merdeka anniversary by staging a farce of patriotism in Parliament yesterday just to score cheap political points to catch Opposition MPs off-guard.
Yesterday’s Parliamentary sitting started at 10 am with the Speaker, Tan Sri Ramli Ngah making a statement on the 50th Merdeka anniversary before the start of the question session, which was quite unusual as the Speaker represents all MPs, both government and opposition, and should only make pronouncements unrelated to the duties of his office after consultation and mandate of both sides of the House.
Opposition MPs were completely unaware that the Speaker was going to make any such announcement on behalf of Parliament, and that was why I was not in the House at the time. Not only the majority of Opposition MPs were not in the House, this applies to the majority of BN MPs — resulting in the Speaker making an important announcement to an empty House!
What was clearly out of order was that the Chairman of the Barisan Backbenchers Club Datuk Raja Ahmad Zainudin Raja Omar (BN — Larut) followed up with a speech which he read from a prepared text (proof of prior knowledge and pre-planning) ending up with his call to MPs to emulate Bapa Malaysia Tunku Abdul Rahman 50 years ago with seven shouts of Merdeka in Parliament.
The farce ended with the BN MP for Kinabatangan Datuk Bung Moktar Radin deriding the Opposition benches and asking offensively whether the two Opposition parties did not celebrate Merdeka. Read the rest of this entry »
Non-bumis no more?
Posted by Kit in Azly Rahman, nation building on Wednesday, 29 August 2007, 4:38 pm
by Azly Rahman
Sometime ago in a column I wrote the following:
We are in the 21st century. About three years from now, we will arrive at the year 2010. The non-Malays and non-bumiputeras have come a long way into being accepted as full-fledged Malaysians, by virtue of the ethics, rights and responsibilities of citizenship. They ought to be given equal opportunity in the name of social justice, racial tolerance and the alleviation of poverty.
Bright and hard-working Malaysians regardless of racial origin who now call themselves Malaysians must be given all the opportunities that have been given to Malays since 40 years back.
Islam and other religions require this form of social justice to be applied to the lives of human beings. Islam does not discriminate one on the basis of race, ethnicity, color, creed nor national origin. It is race-based politics, borne out of the elusiveness of nationalism, that creates post-industrial tribalistic leaders; leaders that will design post-industrial tribalistic policies. It is the philosophy of greed, facilitated by free enterprise runamuck that will evolvingly force leaders of each race to threaten each other over the control of the economic pie. This is the ideology of independence we have cultivated.
I want to elaborate the point further: Read the rest of this entry »
MCA policy statement on “social contract” blacked out by MCA newspaper The Star
Posted by Kit in Constitution, nation building on Wednesday, 29 August 2007, 4:26 pm
This is most extraordinary and unthinkable — MCA newspaper The Star “blacking out” the MCA policy statement on the “social contract”!
The Chinese newspapers gave front-page headline treatment to the policy statement issued yesterday by the MCA Presidential Council following the shock declaration of the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi that Malaysia was an Islamic state and not a secular state.
Strangely enough, the policy statement was reported by the Sun but it is also conspicuously omitted in the New Straits Times and the Malay newspapers.
Releasing the MCA Presidential Council statement, MCA President Datuk Seri Ong Ka Ting said the Federal Constitution should be the reference to resolve controversies or confusion over the social contract.
The statement said that what had been agreed by the forefathers 50 years ago, especially the principles and the spirit in governing the country, must be preserved.
These principles and spirit were enshrined in the Constitution.
Two questions are in order:
Firstly, why the two-faced treatment of the MCA Presidential Council policy statement on the “social contract” by the MCA — having it published prominently in the Chinese media but blacked out in its own English-language newspaper, the Star and the New Straits Times as well as the Malay newspapers.
Secondly, why had the MCA Presidential Council betrayed the fundamental principles espoused by the early generation of the MCA founder-leaders like Tun Tan Cheng Lock and Tun Tan Siew Sin who had declared unequivocally both inside and outside Parliament 50 years ago that this nation was conceived as a secular state with Islam as the official religion and not an Islamic state. Read the rest of this entry »
FC judge with 35 outstanding judgments from High Ct – why PM only aware after more than a month it was reported publicly?
Posted by Kit in Court, Good Governance on Wednesday, 29 August 2007, 3:37 pm
The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said yesterday that the Chief Justice must answer the allegation that a Federal Court judge had failed to write grounds of judgment in 35 cases since his High Court tenure, covering both civil and criminal cases.
DAP National chairman and MP for Bukit Gelugor, Karpal Singh, has named Federal Court judge Datuk Hashim Yusuf in Parliament on Monday as the judge concerned.
The Prime Minister said it was disappointing to discover that there may be judges who had not performed their functions and duties adequately in the pursuit of justice.
The Prime Minister is right — the Chief Justice Tun Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim cannot continue to keep his silence after he had flatly denied that there was any Federal Court judge who had not written as many as 30 grounds of judgment and challenged for proof to be provided.
As such proof have been provided and the Federal Court judge concerned named, Fairuz should publicly apologise for misleading the Malaysian public and explain whether he is heading a competent, responsible, accountable and professional judiciary.
Will Fairuz take out the Federal Court judge concerned from all current Federal Court cases until he had written up all the grounds of judgments of 35 outstanding civil and criminal cases? Read the rest of this entry »
Malaysia and the Dilemma of Assimilation (part II)
Posted by Kit in Farish Noor, nation building on Wednesday, 29 August 2007, 9:07 am
By Farish A. Noor
And so it would appear that Malaysia is, after all, an Islamic state.
This was the conclusion that many Malaysians have had to accept after the recent pronouncement on the part of the Prime Minister that the country has apparently been run and governed on Islamic lines all along; a startling revelation to say the least for most of us who were unaware of the fact that the arrests under the ISA, the crackdowns during Operation Lalang, Operation Kenari, the numerous declarations of Emergency, et al. were all done under the auspices of Muslim governance. And are we right to conclude that the innumerable corruption scandals, the weakening of the judiciary, the instances of blatant double-standards in the enforcement of the law, et al. were likewise exemplary moments of Islamic governance in action?
The Prime Minister’s recent announcement must surely have come as a blow to those of us who have been calling for a return to the secular democratic foundations of the Malaysian Federation. But now it seems as if even the history of this country has been appropriated by the government, and written and re-written at whim to suit the agendas and interests of the powers that be. After half a century of existence and five decades of nation-building programmes that have taken us nowhere fast, the goalposts have been moved once again. How can there be any significant, meaningful long-term development in the country when the very rules of the political game change again and again? And if the very foundational terms of political engagement in the country are being changed all the time, we need to ask why and for whose sake? Read the rest of this entry »
Unfit To Lead
Posted by Kit in Abdullah Ahmad Badawi on Tuesday, 28 August 2007, 2:47 pm
M. Bakri Musa
After nearly four years as Prime Minister, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has clearly demonstrated that he is not fit to lead the nation. He does not have what it takes to hold the nation’s top post; he must be relieved of his office.
The man is too incompetent to be even aware of his own incompetence. His trademark answer to every serious query is a plaintive, “I dunno!” There is not even a hint of embarrassment on his part, or the desire and curiosity to find out. Truly revealing!
Consider this latest blunder: As Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, Abdullah is blissfully unaware of the RM5 billion blunder now unfolding at the Port Klang Free Zone project. If he is not aware (much less on top) of that impending financial implosion, chances are he is unable to comprehend the wider and more treacherous economic ramifications. Abdullah is instead riled up over some sophomoric rap rendition of the national anthem. Small mind, trivial preoccupation!
His election promises of 2004 turned out to be nothing more than the typical politician’s empty words, a cruel hoax perpetrated upon trusting citizens. For all his talk about greater transparency and combating corruption, it is nothing more than, to put it in the vernacular, “cock talk!” Under his “leadership,” all these are now much worse. His overly displayed public piety and religiosity are obviously for show only, as he is not fearful of Allah for having not kept his promises to the people.
He is consumed with the expensive trappings of his office, with luxury corporate jets ready to fly him and his family all over the globe. It is amazing how fast this kampong imam from Kepala Batas, a backwater of modern Penang, is acquiring the extravagant taste of the jet set, all at public expense of course.
Those closest to him personally and politically are serving their selfish interests in indulging his fantasy, or more correctly, daydream. The old man can hardly keep himself awake!
Unfortunately, it is the nation that is bearing the terrible consequences. The longer he stays, the heavier will be the burden, and costlier the price. We are now close to the point where the damages wrecked by this man would be irreversible. We cannot risk such a fate; the time for action is now!
This is a sobering thought, a definite damper on the current joyous mood in celebrating our 50th anniversary of Merdeka. Fortunately, despite Malaysia’s short history, the nation is sufficiently rooted in democratic principles and practices that it could effect leadership change without resorting to unconstitutional means. Read the rest of this entry »
Higher Education Strategic Plan Beyond 2020 – what for if no “political will” for meritocracy and colour-blind policies
Posted by Kit in Education, Parliament on Tuesday, 28 August 2007, 2:08 pm
The bubble of the “Strategic Plan for Higher Education: Laying the Foundation Beyond 2020” launched by the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi yesterday was punctured by the irresponsible denial syndrome of the Higher Education Minister, Datuk Mustapha Mohamad in Parliament the very same day.
Abdullah announced a three-prong strategy to turn Malaysia into a world education hub, viz:
- Apex University: where only the best brains — academic staff and students — will be admitted;
- Autonomy: public universities to be self-governing in funding and research & development;
- Audit Panels: Standard of all universities to be assessed by independent committee comprising only experts.
The Malaysian Government has honed to a fine art the preparation of grandiloquent plans (which is why every Minister wants to have a Masterplan of his own rejecting that drawn up by his predecessor and which is what happened in the short history of the Higher Education Ministry) although there is no political will to implement them — best example being the National Integrity Plan which has seen the country plagued with more rampant and uncontrolled corruption since its launch by the Prime Minister three years ago. Read the rest of this entry »
Good Intentions Perhaps, But What Were They Thinking?
Posted by Kit in Farish Noor on Tuesday, 28 August 2007, 8:59 am
By Farish A. Noor
There are blunders and there are blunders. There are blunders that are done
out of ignorance and are, upon hindsight, pardonable. But there are also
blunders that tell us more about the blunderers themselves and are at best
laughable and at worse deplorable.
The recent fiasco to come out of the deserts of Iraq falls in the latter
category and tells us a lot about the thinking going on among the real
powers-that-be in Iraq today; namely the Americans. When American soldiers
dropped footballs to Iraqi children from their attack helicopters, few of
them realised what the repercussions might be. Little did they realise that
not every Iraqi — football crazy some of them might be — would be all that
happy to receive free footballs with the flags of the world on them, when
one of those flags happen to be that of Saudi Arabia with the Kalimah, or
Muslim declaration of faith, on it.
Needless to say, some of the less tolerant Iraqi clerics were not about to
take the matter lightly as they pointed out that the footballs would have
been kicked around, and at some point or another an Iraqi child was more
than likely to kick the Saudi flag and thus the Kalimah as well. Tempers
flared, the footballs were confiscated by irate Muslims and the Americans
have once again had to flee the scene with egg on their face. Read the rest of this entry »
“Malaysia an Islamic State” – Now Pak Lah says it, in a threatening manner
Posted by Kit in Constitution, Islamic state, Parliament on Tuesday, 28 August 2007, 8:15 am
My first question for the first day of the budget Parliamentary meeting which started yesterday asked the Prime Minister whether on the occasion of 50th Merdeka anniversary, the Cabinet will reaffirm the Merdeka social contract and Malaysia Agreement that Malaysia is a secular state with Islam as the official religion but not an Islamic state.
The question was placed No. No. 24 out of 28 questions – no chance whatsoever to get answered during the 90-minute question session which saw only the first 10 questions answered.
It was a very simple and straightforward question which would have found favour and support from the first three Prime Ministers, Tunku Abdul Rahman, Tun Razak and Tun Hussein who were publicly committed to the Merdeka social contract and Malaysia Agreement that Malaysia is a secular state with Islam as the official religion but not an Islamic State.
In his written answer, the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has broken ranks with the first three Prime Ministers on this fundamental issue and has now come out into the public to give support to his deputy, Datuk Seri Najib Razak declare that Malaysia was an Islamic state – and in an unusually threatening manner which seemed to presage repressive times ahead.
This is the Q & A on Abdullah’s reply: Read the rest of this entry »
Malaysia’s axis mysteriously shifting
By Ioannis Gatsiounis
Asia Times Online
KUALA LUMPUR – When Abdullah Badawi became Malaysia’s prime minister in 2003, many thought the mild-mannered leader would take a more moderate approach to international relations than his prickly predecessor Mahathir Mohamad, who often locked diplomatic horns with the United States and other Western countries.
But a string of scandals and crimes with international dimensions, some even linked to Abdullah’s family members, have put his government’s relations with Washington on an uncomfortable footing.
US authorities last month arrested and charged Pakistani national Jilani Humayun for his alleged role in shipping contraband military goods to Malaysia, from where they were re-exported to Iran. He was also charged with conspiracy to commit money-laundering and mail fraud. The sensitive dual-use hardware, which was funneled through an as yet unnamed Malaysian company, included parts for F-5 and F-14 fighter jets and Chinook helicopters.
In April the US imposed sanctions on 14 companies, individuals and government agencies it accused of dealing in advanced weapon technology with Iran or Syria. Two of the companies listed were Malaysian, the Challenger Corp and Target Airfreight.
Moreover, a federal jury in New York last year convicted Singaporean businessman Ernest Koh Chong Tek of smuggling dual-use US military parts to Malaysia for transshipment to Iran’s military – a violation of the 1995 embargo the US placed on all exports and re-exports of commodities to Iran without approval by the US Office of Foreign Asset Control. He was also charged with laundering millions of dollars through his Singapore bank accounts in the smuggling scheme. Read the rest of this entry »
Can civil servants utilise government facilities for personal profit?
Posted by Kit in Health, public service on Monday, 27 August 2007, 2:23 pm
by Milton Combe
As leader of the opposition and a lawyer I would like to bring to your attention and query some incredible policy changes implemented overnight by the current Health Minister who appears to have a penchant for running roughshod of this country’s laws.
The Health Minister recently made a decision in allowing its specialists at the Putrajaya and Selayang hospitals to charge patients private sector fees. The primary reason of this policy appears to be to enable such specialists to remain in government service instead of opting for private practice for financial reasons. No doubt efforts must be made to ensure the continual presence of senior specialists in government service to enable tax payers the benefit of proper treatment in especially these trying times of declining medical standards. But is this modus operandi legal? These changes appear to have the support of the MCA’s Star columnist V.K. Chin who is notorious for his writings of skewed wisdom on many topics just so it pleases his political masters although they may defy logic. But we cannot blame V.K. Chin as his very existence depends on advocating such articles which unfortunate readers of the Star have to sometimes endure.
1. Unlike private hospitals which are built and managed through private financial initiatives, public hospitals are built with public funds sourced via income tax, etc. Is it lawful for government doctors who are civil servants to charge or profit using such facilities without undergoing a corporatisation exercise like TNB, Telekom, Klang Port Authority etc that is usually endorsed by our courts and advertised accordingly in the newspapers after of course the whole exercise is agreed upon in parliament and an Act passed? This is a dangerous legal precedent. If by all means policy makers feel that this is the way our specialists or skilled staff need to be rewarded then indeed this is what needs to be done. Which will then bring into question how is it the other GLCs took the right legal steps to privatization but the Health Minister, who is known for his lack of tolerance for “illegal” clinics but instead promotes traditional medicine in our hospitals, has suddenly decided it is OK if his ministry does not follow the rules?
2. Secondly, the report states that government policy is – general hospitals and clinics are meant for the lower income group and it was difficult to verify the financial status of everyone seeking treatment. The implication is that, those with financial means should seek private treatment. Now this is indeed news. Government hospitals are put up using tax payer’s money. It does not matter if the tax payer drives into GHKL with a Rolls Royce but he may indeed be paying far higher taxes then the average person. He should, like every other tax payer, be entitled to proper treatment and not be told that he needs to pay additional private specialist fees or shooed away to seek treatment at a private facility. Has the Treasury, Auditor General and Attorney General Chambers been advised of these arrangements? Read the rest of this entry »
