FDIs into Malaysia from Singapore to drop?

Klick4Malaysia

Tuesday, 10 May 2011

The outcome of the recent general election in Singapore could spell the end of many Malaysians landing good-paying jobs there and worse, put a dent on foreign direct investments (FDIs) in top notch projects here such as Iskandar Malaysia, an industry observer said.

Provectus managing principal Sreedhara Naidu said the election, which saw the People’s Action Party (PAP) lose 40 per cent of the votes, meant that Malaysia’s dependence on Singapore’s FDIs could also see a slight fall within the next three to four years as the island republic looks more inward in terms of investments.

He suggested that the government create more skilled jobs as Singapore immigration rules may be tightened, making it difficult for Malaysians to land jobs there.

“FDIs into Iskandar Malaysia and job opportunities for Malaysians, particularly in Johor, could be affected by last week’s Singapore general election outcome as the Singapore cabinet addresses key election issues that lost them 40 per cent of popular votes.

“With only 60 per cent of voters happy with PAP, the leadership will pull out all stops to quickly remedy immigration, housing, urban poverty, health services and education issues.

“They may choose to tighten skilled and semi-skilled foreign worker intake, which will affect Malaysians’ skill pool with Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia to diploma education that have traditionally looked to Singapore as an attractive destination (for employment),” Naidu said.

Iskandar Investment Bhd chief executive Datuk Syed Mohamed Syed Ibrahim, when contacted by Business Times yesterday, disagreed.

He said investments into Iskandar Malaysia would not be affected by the election outcome. He, however, did not elaborate.

Iskandar Regional Development Authority chief executive Ismail Ibrahim, meanwhile, reiterated that Singapore has been the top investor for Johor and Iskandar Malaysia.

“From 2006 to February 2011, Singapore registered a total investment of RM3.49 billion in manufacturing. For the services sector, until today, investments from Singapore was RM463 million in healthcare and education,” he said.

Ismail added that the total cumulative committed investments into Iskandar Malaysia was RM73.24 billion from 2006 till the second quarter of this year. Of this, 59 per cent was domestic investment while the rest was foreign.

“So far, 40 per cent of the total committed investments has been spent on projects and developments. Investments came in from countries such as Australia, Singapore, Abu Dhabi, Kuwait, United States and India,” he added.

Provectus is a performance transformation specialist which has advised Iskandar Malaysia, the Economic Planning Unit, the Prime Minister’s Department on the Economic Transformation Programme, Government Transformation Programme, Sabah and Sarawak Bumiputera development and other programmes.

Elaborating on his views, Naidu said the Singapore government is expected to invest in new rail-based public transport, housing for locals, and more education and health facilities.

“Interestingly, these are the very same investments that Iskandar Malaysia is targeting to attract from Singapore businesses and government funds,” he added.

Hence, he said, Iskandar Malaysia should now look at other countries such as China and India for investments in the future.

“It would be a paradox for Singapore to focus on external investments for commercial reasons when local social demands are not met. That would not be palatable for the population and the six new opposition parliamentarians will lose no time in pointing these out.”

Naidu said Iskandar Malaysia aims to attract investments worth RM73.3 billion in the next five years, much of it from the Middle East, India, Singapore and China.

“But in reality, most it would come from Singapore businesses and government agencies.

“Relationship with Singapore, which has improved since Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak came to power, was supposed to facilitate faster and bigger investments from Singapore.

“But the (recent) general election changes everything and Iskandar Malaysia has to re-strategise.

“Even our Ministry of Human Resources will have to conduct an assessment on the potential impact as many young Malaysians may soon find it harder to land good-paying jobs in Singapore,” he added.

Business Times

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 10 May 2011, 9:11 pm and is filed under
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Help, Umno has contracted panic disease!

By
Shanker

May 10, 2011

The Malaysian Insider

They say that when the US sneezes, the world catches a cold. Well, I think in Malaysia, the equivalent comparison is when Umno goes into panic mode, the rest of the country suffers alongside their anxiety attacks.

Has Umno contracted panic syndrome? Well, the symptoms are there for us to observe; from racist and religious diatribes spewed by its mouthpiece Utusan and the various sub-contractors Umno employs, to demonising sections of society that dare vote against their wasteful rule of this country, to getting their crumb-seeking support-club members (especially the MCA) to play the fear factor card by “threatening” that Chinese representation in the government would diminish should their votes shift away from BN.

Yo MCA — dudes, I think these days your reasoning couldn’t even convince a housefly to come by and taste your pudding. Just how do you manage to put on a straight face and offer pitiful excuses to the many who pay their taxes faithfully year in, year out; but whose deserving children otherwise struggle to secure places in public universities?

What you state is nothing more than an excuse to justify your political survival rather than your sincere concern for the rakyat’s struggles.

Change is hard, ain’t it? And change does cause anxiety, especially to those so used to a certain lifestyle and its entrapments; like those who have been in power for a long, long time, and who are used to getting their way through the system.

The whole world is changing. The US has a black man as President; the Middle East is rocking with cries for democracy; and yet individuals like Mahathir deem that the BN – specifically Umno — needs to retain the two-third parliamentary majority for Malays to remain in power.

What is this obsession with a two-third majority, Mahathir?

Why, aren’t you happy with just one version of Barry Wain’s “The Malaysian Maverick”?

Or are you longing for a sequel?

Because Barry gave us an insight into how Umno had wasted US$100 billion (RM299 billion) of our money, and all that happened because the rakyat consistently gave Umno that coveted two-thirds for more than 30 years.

It’s amazing because, if the size of the crowd is any indicator of just how they resonate with their target audience, then I’d be embarrassed if I was a Pembela member. Just look at the number of attendees at their recent forum — ‘Islam Under Siege: What Can We Do?’. Hardly more than 20 per cent filled the large hall; it looked more like a gathering of syok sendiri types, trying to savour their 15 minutes in the spotlight.

But are they bothered that few showed up, whilst the rest of the country is grappling with concerns over rising costs, security, corruption, education, the effects of globalisation, or that our young adults could no longer afford a decent house?

No siree, but come what may — Umno and its support-club members have no qualms about letting their anxiety attacks get the better of them, and as far as they’re concerned, every other Malaysian — must suffer along with them.

Think it’s really time to send them for a long overdue vacation.

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 10 May 2011, 2:00 pm and is filed under
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Ignorance – the enemy of change

By
Philip Ho

klik4malaysia

We are in the 21st century, and would be celebrating our 54th Merdeka in less than three months time but what is becoming of Malaysia?

Has Malaysia progressed politically, socially, economically and technologically after almost 54 years of independence?

Especially when extremist NGOs like Perkasa whom the UMNO-led Barisan Nasional government are even afraid of, continues to spew garbage from their progress-challenged minds?

The racial and religious rhetoric has come to a sickening point in the past 36 months, but Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak has just refused to take decisive action against what would have been deemed seditious and an outright threat to the peace and harmony of Malaysians.

It did not take long before Najib’s administration also joined in the bandwagon of racial and religious attacks against non-bumiputeras.

Malaysians, born in Malaysia, were ridiculed, insulted, looked-down upon and asked to go back to where we came from – China and India.

However, things took an ‘interesting’ twist when our Defense Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi blamed non-bumiputeras for not being patriotic enough as the civil defense force were primarily made up of bumiputeras.

If non-bumiputeras were ‘immigrants’ or ‘squatters’ as alleged by politicians, political parties, civil servants and certain NGOs like Perkasa, is it even logical to expect non-bumiputeras to join the defense force to defend a country that gives them an identity card but denies their citizenship?

More importantly, did not the current ruling government, BN, stay in power for over 53 years due to votes from 40% of the population in Malaysia, roughly 11 million non-bumiputeras?

How could they have achieved two-thirds majority in Parliament if not for the votes from the non-bumiputeras?

Who is being ungrateful now?

And why did the elected representatives continue accepting votes from ‘immigrants’ and ‘squatters’? This is such a mind-boggling mystery.

Anyhow, there is no Malay dilemma, Chinese dilemma, Indian dilemma, Dayak dilemma, Kadazan dilemma, and definitely no religious dilemma here.

The only issue that has been plaguing millions of Malaysians is the resistance to change.

The outdated monolithic system of race and religion-based politicking of over 50 years had failed to arrest the decay in family, cultural and community values our nation’s forefathers once held close to their hearts.

If Najib’s strong ‘recommendation’ of the mainstream media’s reporting is a true reflection of the political, social and economic climate of our country, then it would mean that the reports of Malays being a majority of the poorest people would be authentic.

This brings forth an extremely important question that must not be overshadowed by wild and baseless allegations of Christians taking over the government or Christianity taking over as the nation’s official religion.

Why do the suburban and rural Malays still make up the majority of the hardcore poor after 53 years of Merdeka?

Why are the suburban and rural Malays still unable to stand on their own after more than 30 years of NEP?

Should the suburban and rural Malays worry about Chinese, Indians, Christianity or even Hinduism, when their difficulties lies in putting food on the table?

When petrol, cooking gas, sugar, water and many other food stuffs are increasing in prices, do the politicians think Malaysians care about the alleged sex exploits of an Opposition Leader?

With household debt over 70%, does the government think Malaysians care about 100-storey tower, MRT, Iskandar region, national space program and also neverending Onederful slogans?

According to recently published statistics by the National Statistics Department, although the population has grown overall by 2%, the breakdown of the demographic details shows an alarming decline in the younger generation.

For instance, the population within the age group of 15 and below, had dropped to 27.2% in 2010 from 34% in 2000 while those above the age of 65 had increased from 4% in 2000 to 4.7% in 2010.

We are heading towards an aging population, but the leaders of the country are more preoccupied with feel-good slogans.

Life expectancy remained at 71 for the men and 76 for the women in the past 5 years, which could either signify the stagnation or even the decline of our country’s health and medical services in relation to new techniques, technology and medical discoveries.

However, politicians are more interested in their own political life expectancy after the elections, forgetting their promises to their electorate in the process.

Stillbirths and infant deaths reached 2,400 and 3,200 cases respectively in 2010, as compared to 2,200 and 2,800 cases in 2006.

It is unknown if there would be another increase in infant deaths in 2011 but one thing is certain, even if the 3,200 infants had not died in 2010, 1,280 (40%) of the infants would mature into adults one day only to be labeled as ‘immigrants’ and ‘squatters’ again 20 years later, although their votes would be much sought after when they reach the age of 21.

That, would be the future that awaits the next generation.

We should be ashamed to leave such a barbaric, if not prehistoric legacy of patronizing politics behind for a future generation while watching them sink in the dragnet of ignorance.

Because ignorance is indeed, the worst enemy of change.

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 10 May 2011, 2:50 pm and is filed under
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Malaysia’s Brain Drain: Government in Perpetual Denial

by
Koon Yew Yin
 | CPIAsia

Monday, 09 May 2011 14:07

For some years now, various analysts have written about the brain drain from Malaysia arising from the country’s racist policies. Now the World Bank has finally come out with a definitive report   detailing that the number of skilled Malaysians living abroad has tripled in the last two decades with two out of every 10 Malaysians with tertiary education opting to leave for either OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development) countries or Singapore.

The report also studied the factors that would entice Malaysian currently staying overseas to return. The top picks were a change in the country’s race-based policies and fundamental reforms in the public sector with “Paradigm shift away from race-based towards needs-based affirmative action” and “Evidence of fundamental and positive change in the government/public sector” receiving 87 and 82 per cent positive responses respectively.

The brain drain report mainly focused on the human capital outflow of migrants with tertiary level qualifications.  If it had taken into account the out-migration of those with upper secondary and other desirable vocational and other skills, the human capital haemorrhage from the country arising from the New Economic Policy and other racially skewed policies would be far worse than the report’s findings show.

The Past and Present Prime Minister’s Responses

What has been the response to the report? Not surprisingly, the chief critic has been Dr. Mahathir who has derided the report as useless and politically motivated. As Dr. Mahathir has been the main architect of the socio-economic policies that have been responsible for the brain drain, his reaction is predictable. The country’s leadership and citizenry should ignore his criticism as the ranting of a seriously flawed leader whose shelf life has expired and who has long lost his credibility to comment sensibly on any public policy subject – whether this relates to the New Economic Model or human capital development – and especially if it concerns governance issues of which the former Prime Minister has been fundamentally compromised and incorrigibly irresponsible.

The present Prime Minister’s response has been guarded but no less disappointing. Dato Seri Najib Razak, whilst acknowledging that the brain drain is “one of the problems that must be resolved”, has pointed to the recent pickup in foreign direct investment to argue that the Bank report was not “quite correct”. The Prime Minister is grasping at straws to deny the undeniable. He must surely know – as any sane and reasonable person in the country would – that the emigration of Malaysian talents has been disastrous to the economy and is an exodus the country can ill afford.

He must also be aware that the outflow of another generation of young Malaysians (this time, including many Malays) is presently taking place and will continue unabated so long as racial (and religious) discrimination, and the self enrichment and political bankruptcy of the UMNO elite and its cronies, remain unchecked.

Incentives such as lowered income tax and other material or monetary sweeteners promised by the Talent Corporation are not the solution. They do not address the sense of not belonging, social injustice and lack of belief in the country’s future that are at the heart of why Malaysians have chosen to abandon the country of their birth, and to seek what – for most migrants – are less materially privileged but more psychologically fulfilling alien lands, despite being cut off from families and friends.

The Reverse Brain Gain

There is a key related topic which the World Bank report failed to deal with – the lower quality human capital inflow that has replaced the outflow of highly educated, skilled and talented Malaysians. During the past 30 odd years, there has been a massive officially sanctioned influx of migrants, especially from Indonesia and the Southern Philippines aimed at ensuring ethnic and religious dominance of the Malays. Millions of poor, uneducated, unskilled or semi skilled migrants have been permitted – rather, encouraged – to work and stay in Malaysia, thus offsetting the skilled brain drain with a cheap labour influx. According to the 2000 Census, 1.3 million or about 5.9 percent of Malaysia’s population of 21.9 million was comprised of foreigners. This estimate does not include other categories of non-citizens, such as permanent residents, spouses on a social visit pass, and stateless persons born in Malaysia. The latter number, of which there are no officially available figures, could bring the total number of non-citizens living in the country to close to 4 million or more.

Should the higher figure be used as the basis of calculation of the foreign component of the population, and even if the high birth rate of the Malay population were taken into account, it would imply that up to 25 per cent or one quarter of the country’s present total population are unskilled or semi-skilled migrants who have settled in Malaysia recently, especially since 1970. The influx of over 4 million lower quality human capital at the same time that over one million highly skilled Malaysians have left the country is probably unprecedented in the history of global migration flows (for a profile of the countries where Malaysians have moved to, see table below reproduced from Lee Wei Lian,“A Snapshot of Malaysia Talent Outflow”.)

I have no doubt that many recent migrants to Malaysia are hard working and good people, and deserve to have their rights protected. However, they would never have been allowed into the country or given easy access to citizenship in the normal circumstances of any other country in the world. What has made the difference has been a racially obsessed regime with a political agenda to artificially bolster the Bumiputra component of the population, and to provide that component with citizenship and voting rights aimed at ensuring Malay dominance of the government and country.

The pro-Nusantara cheap labour, easy assimilation (if the migrant is a Muslim or has no objections to “conversion”) policy of the last 30 years and its socio-economic costs and benefit needs to be studied by the World Bank team as a logical complement to the brain drain one. I have no doubt that should this lower level “brain gain” study be conducted, its findings will more fully explain the economic decline that the country has experienced. It will also expose fully the crude demographic numbers game that UMNO under Dr. Mahathir and his civil service underlings have engaged in to ensure continued Malay hegemony.

Ketuanan Melayu forever – the Perkasa slogan – is not a new one. It has been the bedrock of UMNO’s ideology since Dr. Mahathir came to power and will continue to be that way until the Malay population comes to its senses and realizes that the non-Malay communities are not their enemy – it is Malay political leaders that have failed them and are now looking for non-Malay scapegoats to explain why poor Malays have been left behind in the country’s socio-economic development.

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 10 May 2011, 10:50 am and is filed under
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Malaysia: Transforming to Vision 2020

By
Khalid Noorshah

Globalia Magazine

Malaysia is fortifying her resolve to achieve her ideal, Wawasan 2020 or Vision 2020 within the nine years left, to be a self sufficient industrialised nation encompassing all aspects of life from economic prosperity, social well being, world class education standards and facilities, political stability as well as psychological well being. Prime Minister Dato’ Sri Najib Tun Razak showed that, since taking office in April 2009, he was focused in making Vision 2020 a reality within the timeline. He was well aware that he needs to improve the government to be more effective and at the same time he needed the people to be united as one to face the challenges of a new Malaysia.

In his maiden speech, he announced the One Malaysia (1Malaysia) concept tagged with a slogan People First Performance Now by calling on the Cabinet, government agencies and civil servants to more strongly emphasize ethnic harmony, national unity and efficient governance and attached with it the values of perseverance, a culture of excellence, acceptance, loyalty, education, humility, integrity and meritocracy. Immediately after assuming office, Najib introduced a series of Key Performance Indicators (KPI) in order to measure and improve efficiency and quality of government services and its delivery as well as realising the 1Malaysia concept. The KPI provides a mechanism for evaluation of ministers and other government agencies including performance reviews carried out every six months. Najib identified six major policy areas in which the KPI will play an especially important role in improving the effectiveness of the Malaysian government.
These are known as National Key Result Areas (NKRAs). The NKRAs includes crime prevention, reducing government corruption, increased access to quality education, improvements in the standard of living for low income groups, upgrades to rural infrastructure and improvements in public transportation. Although the move seemed to be geared towards better governance for economic development and the general well being of the nation, it does however, have a political bearing. Najib succeeded the premiership after Barisan Nasional (National Front/BN), the ruling political alliance since independence, yielded one of its worst results in the coalition history when it failed to retain its usual two thirds majority in Parliament in the last general election held in March 2008 and in addition, lost five of the 13 state legislatures compared to only one in the previous general election of 2004. The result of the 2008 general elections was like a wakeup call for BN to shape up or ship out. Since governing Malaysia after she gained independence from the British in 1957, the ruling coalition is now threaten with a new political landscape of which the younger generation who are new voters and internet savvy has easier access to more information through the world wide web and were leaning towards the opposition propaganda that the government is corrupt and was only interested to enrich an elite few.

Among the other issues that influenced public sentiments during the run up to the general elections, according to a survey ran by The Merdeka Centre in 2008 were of inflation, shortage of goods, cuts in fuel subsidies, rising crime, majority government mismanagement, racial equality, the demand for free and fair elections, the Internal Security Act (ISA), considered draconian by the opposing political parties and the eligibility of former Deputy Prime Minister, Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim who became the de-facto leader of Parti Keadilan Rakyat (People’s Justice Party), to stand for election. Although the United Malay National Party (UMNO) of which Najib was its Deputy President then, did fairly well winning almost all seats contested, the performance of the other members of the coalition party, namely the Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA), the Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC) and Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia or The Malaysia People’s Movement Party (Gerakan) which is dominantly Chinese were dismal where they lost almost all seats contested.

Therefore, the 1Malaysia concept also aspires to strengthen relationships among the various ethnic groups and ensures Malaysians sow the seed of unity so that no one ethnic feels alienated because everyone belongs to one race, the Malaysia race that has the same goal and aspirations to develop the country as a developed nation in 2020 and beyond. Democracy in Malaysia is presently organised through ethnic based political parties. BN for example is a coalition of 14 or sometimes less or more – according to the interest of the day – political parties in Peninsular Malaysia and East Malaysia. Each party are defenders of the interest and concerns of the ethnic group they represent and to a certain extent, some politicians are of the view that it is a means to safe guard the survival of their ethnic group. Some political observers note that as long as political parties are organised along racial lines, a truly unified Malaysian race is difficult to achieve. The population of Malaysia is reported to be just over 28 million as in July 2010 of which 5.2 million lives in East Malaysia, comprising Sabah dan Sarawak, the two northern states of Borneo and 22.5 million lives in Peninsular Malaysia. The ethnics are listed as Bumiputra (son of the soil) and non-Bumiputra. The Bumiputras are the Muslim Malays, the 30 ethnic groups of the indigenous people of Sabah and the 27 ethnic groups of the indigenous people of Sarawak.

Malays constitutes 50.4% of the total population while other Bumiputras are 11%. There are also non-Malay indigenous people accorded Bumiputra status for example, people of Thai, Khmers and Cham descendents. The Chinese population constitutes 26% and Indians 7.1% and other unlisted ethnic groups 1%. The majority of the Chinese and Indian population are descendents of Chinese and Indian migrants who arrived during the colonial period.

Although multiethnic, multicultural and multi religious peoples of Malaysia do generally work and play together in harmony, some observers note that they live separately and is the cause of polarisation which have always been a national concern but it is only natural because in certain aspects, people are defined by their cultural and religious believe and practices and there are limits that they observe.

On a more positive note, racial, cultural and religious difference have never been a hindrance for Malaysians to come together and unite feverishly to support the national team in sports, in appreciating the arts and culture of the different ethnic groups, to work together and promoting Malaysia abroad especially in the music and film industry and it is a normal to find the various ethnic groups being partners and shareholders in business concerns. Studies have shown that race conflicts are rooted in social economic problems and not ethnic hate. Unity among the various ethnic groups will certainly be a stabilising element for the country and the aspiration of 1Malaysia to strengthen race relations would complement efforts of the earlier Muhibbah (Goodwill) Campaign launched by the government in 1970 after the race riots of 1969.

Clearly the underlying key to the 1Malaysia concept is the catchphrase unity in diversity. It is not a government sponsored programme in which to dilute the beautiful background of variations and create a singular hegemonic society but rather to appreciate the plurality that is Malaysia and work together as one nation towards a better future. When Vision 2020 was unveiled in 1991,former Prime Minister Dato’ Seri (now Tun) Dr. Mahathir Mohamad said that in order to achieve Vision 2020, the nation required an annual growth of 7% (in real terms) over the thirty year period (1990-2020) so that the economy would be eightfold than its 1990 Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of RM115 billion. This would translate to a GDP of RM920 billion (in 1990 Ringgit terms; RM2.50 to US$1.00) in the year 2020.

From 1957, after gaining independence, Malaysia was an agricultural economy until the 1970s and from then on started moving into industrial until the mid 1980s and from 1985 onwards became a new industrialised economy and was on her way to become a knowledge base economy that would have put her in good stead compared to the other South East Asian nations.

The vision was then viewed as a natural progression for the newly industrialised economy, where between 1988 and until the East-Asian Crisis of 1997, the Malaysian economy grew at the rate of about 9% per year and was the emerging Tiger of South East Asia. The ambition was to become the 5th Tiger Economy after the Asian Tigers of the developed economies of Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan. Two major economic crisis after, Malaysians are wondering whether Vision 2020 can become a reality and achievable in the time period given. It was first hit by the East Asian Monetary Crisis of 1997-1998. Three of the worst hit countries, Thailand, South Korea and Indonesia were forced to call in the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and were to embark on IMF-supported and IMF-design programmes in order to cope with the financial crisis.

Malaysia on the other hand took a controversial step by imposing sweeping controls on capital account transactions, fixed exchange rate at RM3.80 per US dollar, cut interest rates and embarked on a policy of reflation. Although Thailand, South Korean and Malaysia recovered from the crisis, some economist argued that the Malaysian move made investors shy away and its economy stagnate by a decade due to the loss of the much needed Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). The Sub-prime Mortgage Crisis in 2007 turned into a United States financial crisis. It had adverse effect particularly on Western Europe and had affected global economy in general from the slowdown of the US economy. Although direct impacts on the Malaysian financial institutions have been avoided, the Malaysian economy is not completely insulated from the happenings in other parts of the world. Trade links and various other channels have enabled some of the adverse economic pressures to pass through into the Malaysian economy and financial situation.

In view of the changing global conditions amid the global financial crisis of 2007 – 2010, Najib had in August 2009 said there was a need to redefine and recalibrate Vision 2020 in terms of how to achieve it, as well as its timeline and added that it was necessary to undertake bold economic reforms. He also said that in order for Malaysia to achieve a developed nation status by 2020, the country has to grow at annual rate of 8% over the next ten years. He cited that a lower hypothetical growth of 6% per annum would delay Malaysia’s vision to become a developed country by 10 years to 2030. Malaysia’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate averaged 7.2% per annum in the 1990s and slowed to 5.4% per annum in the following decade. Malaysia, however, had also fiscal deficits every year since 1998, with a deficit of 7 percent of GDP recorded for 2009.

Within the 1Malaysia concept, the Government Transformation Programme (GTP) was introduced, aimed at radically transforming the way the government worked so it could quickly deliver real solutions to real issues and tangible outcomes that can be felt and experienced by the people. The objective is to improve the lives of all Malaysians regardless of race, religion and social status.

To propel Malaysia towards becoming a high income developed nation, the Economic Transformation Programme (ETP) was introduced. It is focused on key growth areas know as 12 National Key Economic Areas (NKEAs) namely oil, gas and energy; palm oil, financial services; tourism; business services; electronic and electrical, wholesale and retail, education, healthcare, communications content and infrastructure, agriculture and greater Kuala Lumpur/Klang Valley. It aspires to achieve a Gross national Income (GNI) growth of 6% per annum that will allow Malaysia to achieve the targets set under Vision 2020. Malaysia is targeting a GNI per capita from $USD6,700 or RM23,700 in 2009 to more that $USD15,000 or RM48,000 in 2020 in accordance to the current World Bank’s definition of high income.

A total funding of over RM1.4 trillion is required for the duration of this economic push, with 92% of the funding expected to come from domestic investments and public funding expected to take up the remainder. The non government-linked companies (non-GLCs) are expected to fund 60% or RM824 billion with GLCs funding 32% or RM446 billion. Public spending is estimated to be around RM105 billion.

Under the ETP, 131 Entry Point Projects (EPP) and 60 business opportunities have been identified. These are high impact projects to spur the growth of the NKEAs. Some involve large infrastructure investments while others have a more direct effect on the output of their sectors and on the life of Malaysians.

The government will also encourage employment-rich growth that creates 3.3 million new jobs of which half will require diploma or vocational qualifications. In addition, specific attention will be paid to lifting the incomes of the bottom 40 percent of households, with a target of increasing the monthly mean income of this group from RM1,440 in 2009 to RM2,300 in 2015.

In mid April this year, presenting the fifth ETP Progress Update, Najib said that 72 projects within the 54 EPP announced to date with a combined investment value of RM106.41 billion and GNI of RM153.84 billion and 298,865 new jobs created signifies that 41.2% of the 131 EPPs have already commenced, all in less than six months since the launch of the ETP.

The blueprint to achieve Vision 2020 within its timeline, it seems, has been well laid out coupled with the political will to do so and the infrastructure that is already in place. Whether Malaysia will achieve her goals in full or partly, depends on the execution of Najib’s transformation programmes. At best the perception is the government is willing to bring about change that will benefit all.

Even then, it is interesting to see whether the transformation programme will increase equity holdings among the Bumiputras who until now, according to government statistic s have not yet reached the 30% mark as envisioned by New Economic Policy (NEP), an ambitious and controversial social economic restructuring affirmative action programme launched by the government in 1971 to reduced the socioeconomic disparity between the Malays and the other ethnic groups.

In spite of the policies implemented under the NEP which was often criticized for not dealing directly with issues of wealth distribution and economic inequality, the share of the national wealth owned by the non-Bumiputra ethnic groups increased beyond the 40% mark. This figure, however, does not reflect that certain segments of the non-Bumiputra population do live in poverty.

Among other things to consider is that the measurement of high income developed nation is based on GNI that is valued against the US dollars whose value is volatile and who knows what will happen to the US economy in the coming years based on the present scenario of global crisis. There is no guarantee there will not be another global monetary or economic crisis again because it has become a common trend in the prevailing economic system.

Malaysians would surely expect and anticipate higher living standards and better quality of life without the need to worry about the effects of price hikes. It is meaningless to achieve a high income developed nation status but still need to pay things through the nose and everything is more expensive than it used to be.

One thing, however, is certain. In 2020, the Vision 2020 Time Capsule that was embedded by Dr. Mahathir at Dataran Pahlawan Megamall Melaka will be read. If Dr. Mahathir is blessed with a long life, he will be 95 years old by then and Malaysians can all cherish that historical moment. Malaysians will then know for certain the message that has kept them guessing its contents, but for now the question is, will Malaysians be able to transform to Vision 2020 with flying colours?

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 10 May 2011, 1:03 pm and is filed under
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Mind the gap: Asian income gulf shows economic model’s flaws

By
Alan Wheatley
, Global Economics Correspondent

BEIJING | Mon May 9, 2011 12:55pm EDT

Reuters

(Reuters) – Asia should have a smile on its face. The region’s economy is displaying resilience in the teeth of a structural rise in oil and commodity prices. Overheating is a greater threat than a swoon in growth.

Yet the tone of some officials’ recent comments has been strikingly cautious, reflecting an awareness that Asia has failed to seize the chance during the past decade of strength to address long-standing vulnerabilities.

Asia is still hopelessly dependent on final demand from rich countries. Investment, the seed corn of future growth, remains far below levels scaled before the 1997/98 financial crisis — except for China and India.

Cross-border financial and monetary linkages are puny. Infrastructure, the sinews of every economy, is patchy. Asia generates less electricity than Latin America and has proportionately fewer phone connections.

So far, so familiar.

But policy makers are drawing increasing attention to another shortcoming of Asia’s export-oriented growth model: inequality.

Disquiet over a widening gap between the haves and the have-nots was a factor in Singapore’s election on Saturday, which resulted in unprecedented gains for the opposition.

And the urban-rural fault line running through Thai politics is in good part a rich-poor divide.

“There has been a significant increase in attention to inequality globally, and particularly in Asia,” said Xiaoqing Yu, the World Bank’s lead economist for social protection in East Asia and the Pacific.

“Countries realize that inequality is contributing to social tensions and lost opportunities,” Yu said. “Global events in recent months point to that,” she added, alluding to turmoil in the Middle East.

UNEQUAL, UNBALANCED

Even the International Monetary Fund, synonymous with stony-hearted austerity, has taken to stressing that “inclusive” growth is critical for the credibility of market-oriented reform and long-term development.

Inequality, up to a point, is a spur to efficiency. But excessive inequality holds people back and stifles consumption. No one can be expected to spend freely if they have precarious, poorly paid jobs and scant social protection.

It’s really important for the region to continue to target more inclusive growth,” Anoop Singh, director of the IMF’s Asia-Pacific department, said recently in Hong Kong.

“It would not only reinforce stability, it would also help facilitate the rebalancing that Asia needs toward domestic demand and against simply an export-led model over the medium term,” he added.

China is the best-known illustration of the economic and income imbalances spawned by such a model. Living standards on the seaboard, where export industries are concentrated, are many times higher than in the interior.

But South Korea is also counting the cost of a political economy geared toward supporting exporters at the expense of consumers and domestic service providers, according to Young Sun Kwon, an economist at Nomura.

The Korean economy recovered strongly from the 2008 global financial crisis thanks to a largely undervalued won, huge fiscal stimulus and lower interest rates.

The ensuing increase in inflation and domestic debt overhang penalized wage earners, while corporate profits rose as a share of national income.

The resulting widening in income inequality was one reason why the ruling Grand National Party fared poorly in by-elections held on April 27, Kwon wrote in a report.

He expects the government to tweak policy in response, favoring consumers, smaller firms and lower-income families rather than producers, big companies and rich families.

TIME TO ACT

Other governments across Asia are also reacting. China is ramping up health and welfare spending, while Hong Kong has just introduced a minimum wage. The Philippines is experimenting with a conditional cash transfer program to help the poorest.

Yu at the World Bank said the 2008 crisis had brought home the need for a degree of social protection in a region where the umbrella of the extended family has largely substituted for public welfare.

“Even governments that traditionally have not put a lot of emphasis on poverty, inequality and protection now realize that they need some kind of mechanism, even if it’s modest, to cope with a shock,” she said.

Of course, it will take more than a social safety net to temper inequality. As technological progress puts an ever-growing premium on skills, poorly educated workers are falling behind.

Here, the task for governments was to ensure a more level playing field by investing in skills development, Yu said, adding that Singapore, Australia and South Korea were showing the way.

In the grander scheme of things, nurturing a more equal, better-educated society will be critical if Asia is to avoid falling into the middle-income trap.

This is when per capita incomes stall because countries fail to graduate from a reliance on resources and/or cheap labor to growth based on innovation and productivity.

South Korea has successfully made the transition. Malaysia and the Philippines are struggling to escape the trap.

If it avoids the trap, Asia would account for half of world output by 2050, up from 27 percent now; if it fails, the proportion will be about 32 percent, according to a report prepared for the annual meeting of the Asian Development Bank, held last week in Hanoi.

The report captured the prevailing circumspect mood, warning that Asia needed to address “daunting multigenerational challenges and risks”.

The ADB’s managing director general, Rajat Nag, said the message was clear. “Your rise is not preordained; it is plausible, but you’ve got to earn it,” he said.

“You’ve got to make some policy decisions now to reduce inequity, increase the basic education, address issues of governance and corruption, show leadership and have strong regional integration if you are going to avoid the middle-income trap,” Nag said.

(Additional reporting by John Mair in Manila; Editing by Mathew Veedon)

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 10 May 2011, 12:56 pm and is filed under
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PAS says mandatory Muslim PM unconstitutional

By
Asrul Hadi Abdullah Sani

The Malaysian Insider

KUALAL LUMPUR, May 10 — PAS vice president Mahfuz Omar said today that the party would not oppose a non-Muslim prime minister as it is constitutional.

Mahfuz, however, said that it is unlikely that a non-Muslim will lead the government as the Muslim community still forms the majority in the country.

“The constitution does not bar a non-Muslim from becoming prime minister. This is not about PAS. PAS cannot stop the constitution but it will not happen because of the current majority we have,” he told reporters during a press conference here.

Mahfuz added that Malay-majority seats will continue to dominate parliament as DAP and MCA will only contest Chinese-majority seats.

The Pokok Sena MP also called for Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein to temporarily suspend Utusan Malaysia for inciting racial hatred in a recent article.

The Malay daily carried a front-page article on Saturday claiming the DAP was conspiring with Christian leaders to take over Putrajaya and abolish Islam as the country’s official religion.

The report, based entirely on unsubstantiated blog postings by several pro-Umno bloggers, charged the DAP with sedition for allegedly trying to change the country’s laws to allow a Christian prime minister, pointing to a grainy photograph showing what they described as a secret pact between the opposition party and pastors at a hotel in Penang on Wednesday.

MORE TO COME

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 10 May 2011, 1:11 pm and is filed under
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Penang increases funds for Islamic projects

By
Yow Hong Chieh
 | May 10, 2011

The Malaysian Insider

KUALA LUMPUR, May 10 — The Penang government has increased allocations for Islamic projects in the state by 22 per cent to RM33.3 million this year from RM27.4 million last year, Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said today.

He said the state government would provide funds to the Islamic Affairs Department and the state secretary’s office to assist “religious projects” like religious schools, mosques and syariah courts in Penang.

He added the Penang government has also set aside RM2.3 million this year to acquire land for the purpose of building religious schools.

“This is far more … than what was allocated in the final year of my good friend’s administration,” Lim said, referring to former Penang chief minister and Gerakan president, Tan Sri Koh Tsu Koon.

“As a state government that is fair and sensitive to the needs of the people, regardless of religion, the state government has worked towards providing sufficient land for the construction of religious schools.”

Lim also lamented the constant attacks by Barisan Nasional (BN) component party Gerakan that label his administration as “anti-Chinese” and asked why Umno, which has called the current Penang government “anti-Malay”, has not criticised or demonstrated against Gerakan for its remarks.

He argued this proved that both Umno and Gerakan only know how to divide the people for the sake of their “narrow political interests”.

“These two parties are racist parties that pose a danger to plural society,” he said.

“I wish to stress that the PR (Pakatan Rakyat) Penang government has never been anti-Malay or anti-Chinese. We are only anti-Penang BN.”

Penang Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Mansor Othman told The Malaysian Insider in December last year that PR could lose some state seats in the next general election owing to Umno-owned Utusan Malaysia’s persistent attacks against the DAP-led state government.

PR controls 29 of the 40 seats in the state assembly, with DAP holding the lion’s share of 19 seats.

“Malay support is dwindling … To me, it is a result of continuous blasting, attacks by the media, mainstream media. If you lie once, twice people won’t believe you. But if you lie 20 times, things start to sound convincing,” Mansor said in an exclusive interview.

The first-term deputy chief minister listed the state seats which could face a significant shift of Malay support back to Umno, namely Seberang Jaya and Bayan Lepas. He also said the Jelutong and Tanjong Tokong federal seats could also fall back to Umno.

Mansor, however, said the Penang government was “not too worried” about rural Malay support as they are traditionally Umno supporters.

Utusan has labelled DAP “the king of racism” owing to Lim’s alleged laundry list of anti-Malay acts. They include claims that the DAP secretary-general banned a Maulidur Rasul procession, prevented Malay traders from participating in the Ramadan bazaar in Komtar and approved the demolition of several Malay villages.

The Malay daily had also alleged that Lim used gambling revenue to fund compassionate payments to senior citizens, some of whom were Muslims.

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 10 May 2011, 3:43 pm and is filed under
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Prove your mettle, MCLM tells Najib

By
Tashny Sukumaran
 | May 10, 2011

Free Malaysia Today

KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak must prove his mettle as the “leader of 1Malaysia” by speaking out against Utusan Malaysia over its Christian plot report.

In making the call, Malaysian Civil Liberties Movement (MCLM) president Haris Ibrahim also wondered why the authorities were slow in acting against the Umno-owned newspaper.

“Why has there been no action against Utusan under the Sedition Act?

“Is the Umno-led BN government complicit in this attempt to sow racial and religious discord or else powerless to act against an emerging group of fascists?” he asked in a statement.

He urged the BN government to defend the right of all Malaysians to live in peace and to worship freely.

Last Saturday, Utusan had published a report claiming that DAP was conspiring with Christian leaders to convert the nation into a Christan state and install a Christian prime minister. Both DAP and the Christian leaders had denied this.

Meanwhile, MCLM also slammed the government’s assistance for the “fascist” militant wing of Perkasa, Briged Setia Negara

Describing Briged Setia Negara as a “dangerous extension” of Perkasa’s 1Melayu agenda and drawing parallels to Nazi stormtroopers, Haris questioned why the hardline NGO was endorsed by Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein.

“To use the government’s resources to train what is so obviously a private militia belonging to an organisation that champions Malay supremacy is a betrayal of the rakyat,” he said, flaying Hishammuddin for condoning the existence of private militia.

Haris demanded that Perkasa’s agenda – which was in “blatant contradiction of the Federal Constitution” – should not be supported by the home minister.

He urged Hishammuddin to personally rescind his approval for the Briged Setia Negara and ensure its disbanding for the sake of national security.

“If he fails to do so, he must be held accountable for any and all violent incidents involving Briged Setia Negara,” he warned.

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 10 May 2011, 2:32 pm and is filed under
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Psychiatrist: Teoh is in low risk of suicide group

S Pathmawathy

Malaysiakini

May 10, 11

Teoh Beng Hock had killed himself… things are likely to have occurred both to undermine his psychological stability and to frighten him literally to death, opined a forensic psychiatrist today.

According to a report by Dr Paul E Mullen, which was submitted to the royal commission of inquiry (RCI) investigating Teoh’s death, the deceased was classified to be in the “low risk group”.

Mullen, a professor of forensic psychiatry at Monash University, Melbourne, Australia, was engaged by the Bar Council to determine Teoh’s personality and state of mind in order to assist the RCI resolving the circumstances surrounding and contributed to his death.

“Enquires made from those interviewed suggested that Teoh was a well-organised, tidy man with a tendency to be perfectionistic.

“No evidence was found, however, for dysfunctional obsessional traits or unusual rigidity.

“In my opinion, what we learned of Teoh’s personality and behaviour do not suggest any increased risk of suicide.

“In brief, it is my opinion that Teoh Beng Hock was firmly in the lowest risk group for suicide when he was taken into MACC custody,” stated Mullen.

Meanwhile, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) had engaged consultant forensic psychiatrist Dr Badi’ah Yahya and community psychiatrist Dr Nor Hayati Ali.

Badi’ah is based in Hospital Permai in Johor while Nor Hayati is from Hospital Selayang, Selangor.

Both Badi’ah and Nor Hayati in their report had come to an inconclusive summary.

“In our opinion Teoh has both risk factors favouring him for suicide and proctective factors that reduce his likely risk for suicide,” they said.

Teoh was taken to the Selangor MACC headquarters at the 14th floor of Plaza Masalam in Shah Alam on July 15, 2009, for questioning on alleged irregular disbursement of state funds by his employer, Seri Kembangan assemblyperson Ean Yong Hian Wah.

He was discovered dead on the fifth floor corridor of the building the following day.

Testimony presented by a senior MACC officer during the proceedings has cleared Ean Yong of any wrongdoing.

An 18-month inquest returned an ‘open verdict’, leading to the formation of the RCI. It will present its report to the Agong by June 25.

Testimonies before RCI taken into account

Mullen’s report focused primarily on the probability of Teoh having committed suicide.

He and the local experts had conducted a string of interviews with Teoh’s family members – brother Meng Kee, sister Lee Lan and wife Soh Cher Wei, as well as with his friends and colleagues.

Mullen supported his conclusion by taking into evidence from testimonies given during the RCI proceedings which begin on Feb 14, among them:

•On July 15, 2009, officers of Selangor MACC carried out a raid on the political offices of Ean Yong, culminating in Teoh being taken to the Selangor MACC office for questioning about 6.30pm. That he drove his own car, accompanied by two officers, to the MACC office may suggest that he was cooperating voluntarily.

•Teoh was questioned by MACC officers between 6.30pm and 10.30pm. At this point the questioning was transferred from the lounge area to a meeting room where it continued until 12.30am on July 16. The procedure is then said to have moved to the recording of Teoh’s statement, possibly by different MACC officers. This is said to have taken place between 12.30am and 3.30am on July 16, though this is disputed. Mullen says he is led to understand that MACC officers claim to have told Teoh that he could leave at this point, but he voluntarily chose to stay.

Taking into account that Teoh was questioned for a total eight hours and there were no audio and video recordings nor detailed interview notes, Mullen said there were disputed “elements in the case”.

“The most important, from the psychiatric viewpoint, is the note said to have been discovered in Teoh’s bag, left in the MACC office.

“The view the commission comes to, firstly, is whether this note was written by Teoh on the day of his death, and secondly, whether the content can plausibly be considered a suicide note, is critical to any consideration of the possibility of suicide,” said Mullen.

MACC lawyers had previously tried to establish Teoh’s death as an “honour suicide” to protect the integrity of his boss Ean Yong and DAP, the political party Teoh was affiliated to.

In his findings, Mullen pointed out that risk of suicide in those taken into custody is “usually related to panic… this can be induced by confusion and/or disorientation”.

Teoh a precise and well-organised man

In most common circumstances, such a situation is caused by the withdrawal effects of drugs and alcohol, and it can also be attributed to physical illness, particularly “head injury”.

“A state of panic can also be induced by interrogation techniques, which induce fear through frightening threats, serious bullying, or overwhelming physical stress and/or by deliberately inducing disorientation of time and place”.

He said interviews with Teoh’s family members, particularly Lee Lan, portrayed her brother as “devoted to his family” and presented a picture that was “partial and, to some extent, idealised”.

However, the interviews established that Teoh was “precise and well-organised”.

Mullen also raised the issue of Teoh’s romantic relationship with Soh, which resulted in her becoming pregnant before their marriage.

Yesterday, Soh testified that Teoh was excited when she told him she had conceived as he was pressing the idea of marriage months before that.

She had told the RCI that both families were enthusiastic upon knowledge of her pregnancy and were in the process of preparing for a wedding on Oct 3.

Soh (right) married Teoh posthumously in a Chinese traditional ceremony on Aug 15, 2009, and gave birth to their son, Er Jia, on Feb 22 last year.

It was also established that pregnancy prior to marriage was neither unusual or a subject for shame and negative comment.

Mullen said Teoh’s employer Ean Yong provided a less idealised and more balanced account of Teoh’s behaviourism, although he emphasised on Teoh’s positive qualities of responsibility and commitment to his family.

He also said that MACC officers who testified before the RCI painted a picture that Teoh was cooperative throughout and appeared relaxed.

Teoh was in a regular employment, had a partner who he was soon to marry, had close family ties, a range of friends and colleagues, had not suffered a recent bereavement, and had no known financial problems.

Factors decreasing the risk of suicide

“These are all factors decreasing the risk of suicide. He was in early adult life (25-40 years), had no history of suicide attempts or self harm, did not gamble excessively, and had no family history of suicide.

“Teoh showed no evidence for a lowered mood, let alone depression, prior to being taken into custody, in fact, he appeared to have been more elated than usual because of the prospect of marriage and fatherhood,” said Mullen.

He also contradicted MACC’s argument that Teoh could have felt that his statement to the investigators led to “shame or the betrayal” of his colleagues.

“There is nothing I have been made aware of to explain panic and distress sufficient to drive him to conclude his honour had been irreparably tarnished. The reported suicide note does nothing in my opinion to clarify this,” said Mullen.

The RCI had summed up its evidence taking today, after the submission of the psychiatrists’ reports.

To date, 70 witnesses have testified, among the most controversial being, differing views from forensic pathologists and a slew of MACC officers who were directly and indirectly involved in the probe of state funds misappropriation in 2009.

Thailand’s forensics pathologist Dr Pornthip Rojanansunand deduced that the contusions and other injuries on Teoh’s body indicated an 80 percent probability that his death was homicide.

British pathologist Dr Peter Vanezis projected a different viewpoint that Teoh was conscious at the time of his fall and injuries sustained were in line with that found in cases of fall from height.

There were also MACC officers, particularly assistant superintendent Azeem Hafeez Jamaluddin and senior enforcement officer Azian Umar, who revealed about an order to cover-up the involvement of their then commanding officer, Hishamuddin Hashim.

As the RCI completed its probe today, the representatives of the Bar Council and MACC to prepare their submissions which should be sent directly to the royal panel’s secretariat by May 25.

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 10 May 2011, 8:02 pm and is filed under
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The one who refuses to fade

By
RK Anand
 | May 10, 2011

Free Malaysia Today

“Scary isn’t it? One minute, you’ re revelling in all that pomp and pageantry and then suddenly, zilch.”

Although it was a remark made in jest, the prospect of facing such a situation had obviously sent a chill down his spine as the politician squirmed uncomfortably in his chair.

And as if to distract himself from such a ghastly premonition, he reached for his coffee, never mind that it was piping hot, and took a gulp. His eyes registered alarm as the simmering dark liquid made its way down his throat, and he stuck out his tongue to let the cool air salve the stung muscle.

This is why we need the rehabilitation centre, he continued when his tongue returned to its normal temperature, mustering a nervous smile in between his words.

The topic was about political casualties, leaders who suddenly found themselves cast out from the corridors of power onto the streets.

So the politician had joked about the need for a rehabilitation centre exclusively for politicians whose careers meet a premature end.

These people, he said, should be psychologically re-programmed to lead ordinary lives and for those who were once at the peak, the rehabilitation must also include lessons on dealing with the stress of being stuck in traffic jams with no police outriders.

Humour aside. From a politician’s perspective, especially those from Barisan Nasional, who had frolicked in the spoils of being part of the ruling government for decades, this prospect would be nothing short of daunting. And in the 2008 election, many experienced it first hand.

No ordinary feat

As the Election Commission’s solemn-faced officers announced results after results, official cars, perks, power and respect started to vanish . Also disappearing were the retinue of apple polishers who once trailed behind, closer than their shadows. In a blink of an eye, these politicians were reduced from heroes to zeros.

But there was one man, who had refused to die with his career and fade into oblivion.

He was not voted out, but booted out, and that too in the most unceremonious manner. But like a phoenix, which rises from its ashes, he emerged stronger and rattled his adversaries to the core. Till this day, he remains a force to be reckoned with.

Anwar Ibrahim’s mental fortitude is definitely worthy of admiration – from deputy prime minister to prisoner, he managed to overcome all the odds designed to pin him down. From being a leader on this side of the political fence to becoming a leader on the other side of the fence, is no ordinary feat.

During that fateful month of September in 1998 when Anwar was given the marching orders, many political pundits believed that his political career had been laid to rest. It was the tragic case of a man in a rush, who underestimated his mentor, and now had to deal with the fact that he would never become prime minister.

On the night of his sacking, Anwar arrived fashionably late for the Umno supreme council meeting, which had convened to decide the fate of its deputy president and quipped to journalists that he was caught in a traffic snarl since he no longer had police outriders.

Hours later, he emerged from the iconic building and addressed his supporters. Standing on a plastic chair, he bellowed: “They asked me to resign but I refused. If I am to go down, I will go down fighting like a warrior.”

Anwar left after uttering those words but not before sending his supporters into a frenzy and ushering the birth of a powerful force, which would eventually be named as “Reformasi”. What happened next, in the absence of the alternative media then, did not make the news here.

Tarmac street fighter

Despite the heavy police presence, Umno’s top leaders, including its then president Dr Mahathir Mohamad, were verbally abused and pelted with mineral water bottles as they exited the building. One prominent politician, fearing the wrath of the crowd, had to bolt through the back door.

Anwar, on the other hand, drove back to his home and immediately transformed from a red-carpet deputy prime minister into a tarmac street fighter. A lesser man would have cracked. But not him. Even the possibility of landing behind bars and being separated from his wife and children did not deter this man.

Instead of locking himself in a room and sulking over the reversal of his fortunes, Anwar took to the streets, tearing Mahathir to shreds with his razor-sharp oratory skills and setting the town ablaze with protests. He shamed Mahathir and his government on an international scale, and opened up the democratic space for dissent. The once impregnable fortress called BN suffered its biggest crack, and Anwar single-handedly altered the Malaysian political landscape.

Being socked in the eye, leaving it blue and black, also failed to dampen his spirits whereas six years in prison did not silence him either. This man, unlike his contemporaries in Umno, appeared to be cast in a different mould, a sturdier substance for sure.

Ironically, almost all of those who were accused of playing key roles in the alleged conspiracy to oust Anwar in 1998, save for its chief architect, Mahathir, had fizzled out. But even then, Mahathir is now considered by many as a bitter spent force, who only makes news for the wrong reasons. One wonders if it would be the octogenarian’s curse to see his once heir apparent-turned-nemesis conquer his brainchild, Putrajaya.

While the rest disappeared one after the other, Anwar remained relevant. He even outlived Mahathir’s successor Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s political career. The latter had made the biggest mistake of setting this political tiger free. He ended up being mauled and was forced to retire to a quiet life of agricultural pursuits with his new wife.

Sacked from his job, convicted of sodomy, stripped of all pride and dignity, assaulted and imprisoned, Anwar still managed to lead the opposition to seize five states and rob BN of its two-thirds majority in Parliament, just four years after Abdullah had secured the biggest mandate ever for the ruling coalition.

Now, Abdullah’s successor and Mahathir’s protege, Najib Tun Razak, is faced with the same ferocious animal. Another sodomy charge had surfaced which could land the tiger back in the cage and a sex video was recently thrown into the mix, for good measure.

Three years had passed since the epochal 2008 general election, and support for the opposition, riddled with infighting and defections, had been waning.

But for many, Anwar continues to be the political messiah who would deliver Malaysia from the clutches of tyranny and corruption. As far as his critics are concerned, he is a charlatan, hoodwinking the public to achieve his goals.

Love him or loathe him, one undeniable fact remains: This man has guts! And without guts, there is no glory.

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 10 May 2011, 2:23 pm and is filed under
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Two Penang Umno reps don’t buy Utusan report

Susan Loone | May 10, 11

Malaysiakini

Two Penang Umno assemblypersons said today they do not believe last Saturday’s front page report in Utusan Malaysia that DAP and a group of Christian pastors were plotting to establish the country as a Christian state.

During the tabling of a motion to bar the Umno-owned news daily from covering the next state assembly sittings, Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng had asked Hilmi Yahya (BN-Teluk Bahang) if he believed the report.

Lim, who tabled the motion against Utusan over a report on Nov 11 last year on the renovation cost of his official residence, went on to condemn the Malay daily for frequently raising sensitive issues to cause divisions among the different races in the country.

Hilmi had earlier admitted that Umno may be Utusan’s biggest shareholder, but it may not necessarily condone everything the newspaper does.

He said Utusan, like any other newspaper, was a business entity and prone to sensationalising its articles to increase readership.

“But let’s wait for the outcome of the investigation and see who had actually spun the news,” he added.

Jagdeep Singh Deo (DAP-Datuk Keramat) was rather excited hearing this and pressed Hilmi to admit that the controversial report was a “spin to create racial issues”.

He urged Hilmi, as an Umno leader, to ensure that the newspaper stopped repeating such mistakes as these were detrimental to multireligious and multiracial Malaysia.

“You say other papers sensationalise issues, but we do not see others doing it, only Utusan… so what action is Umno going to take to make sure this does not happen again?” Jagdeep asked.

‘We have lived together in harmony’

Lim then asked Hilmi for his personal view if he believed the report, which was based on unverified information posted on two pro-Umno blogs.

“As a Malaysian citizen, when I first read the report, I did not believe at all,” said Hilmi.

“We have lived together in harmony with all races for a long time already… so let’s wait for the investigation and then we can verify who did this… I believe we are all rational,” he added.

Lim then exclaimed “syabas!” and went on to ask another Umno assemblyperson if he believed in the report.

Muhammad Farid Saad (BN-Pulau Betong) was rather coy in his reply, saying “I want a peaceful country.”

When Lim pressed him further, Farid said, “Lets wait for the investigation.”.

Asked to answer truthfully from his heart, Farid said: “I do not believe the report.”

Hilmi and Farid were the only Umno assemblypersons in the house when the motion to bar Utusan from covering the next sitting of the assembly was tabled. The motion was later passed.

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 10 May 2011, 7:31 pm and is filed under
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Umno’s Christian plot to bag Muslim votes’

RK Anand

Free Malaysia Today

May 10, 2011

In an interview with the Vatican Radio, the Herald’s editor Father Lawrence Andrew says the government is stirring up a controversy to revive Muslim support.

KUALA LUMPUR: The allegation of a Christian coup being planned is an attempt by the Umno-led government to stir up controversy to revive Muslim support, said the editor of Catholic weekly, Herald.

Speaking to the Vatican Radio, Father Lawrence Andrew claimed that the government felt that it was losing the popularity it once commanded.

“Because they are losing popularity, they will enjoy some uneasiness that will create confusion – that will create fear – in the people,” he said.

He said the allegation was absurd, pointing out that Christians made up less than 10% of the population.

Andrew had also criticised Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein for the latter’s remarks regarding the issue.

The minister, he said, was not being “prudent” in describing the allegation as serious, and stating that the government would take action.

“If I were to have said that (a similar allegation about other faiths), I would have been arrested immediately, and I would have been brought to the police station.

“But (since) it is being done by the Muslims, none of them have been arrested till today,” he said.

Last Saturday, the Umno-owned Utusan Malaysia published a front-page report claiming that Christian leaders were conspiring with DAP to make Christianity the official religion in Malaysia instead of Islam.

Hard truth

The report, based on unsubstantiated claims by pro-Umno bloggers, also accused the groups of praying for a Christian prime minister.

Both DAP and Christian leaders had denied the allegation, and lambasted Utusan for spreading dangerous lies.

In his interview with the Vatican Radio, Andrew said he agreed with Penang Chief Minister and DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng that Utusan was “setting fire to the land”.

Since the 2008 general election, Barisan Nasional had failed to win back support from the Chinese community, illustrated again in the recent Sarawak polls.

Whether or not the Utusan article was a plot, a political observer said that BN and Umno realise that as far as Chinese votes were concerned, the writing on the wall was clear.

“BN can no longer depend on Chinese voters, that is the hard truth.

“The prime minister’s 1Malaysia concept and other inclusive policies have failed to make an impact on them. So BN and Umno must rely heavily on the Malay vote-bank.

“Malay voters are split three ways between Umno, PAS and PKR. So striking fear in their hearts about a Christian plot involving DAP will definitely erode support for PKR and PAS, since the two are DAP’s allies,” added the observer.

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 10 May 2011, 6:39 pm and is filed under
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UMNO fiddles while Malaysia Burns!

by
Damian Murphy Denis

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

www.realitybytesdmd.blogspot.com

Waking up two mornings ago to hear Utusan ranting about a group of Christian leaders were praying to change this country to a Christian state with a Christian PM was almost laughable.

Not that a Christian PM is impossible if you go by the provisions in the constitution but a Christian state? They’ve got to be joking. Or so it seems!

UMNO got to be worried sick that all it’s propaganda and maneuvering were not working but it’s backfiring them instead. From Anwar Ibrahim Sodomy 2 trial and the so-called sex video seems to be falling on deaf ears and the rakyat don’t seem to buying into that and rightly so!

Then, they train their guns on PAS and almost in a begging stance to join them under the pretext of Islamic struggle. UMNO went on to alleged that their partnership with DAP will not get them anywhere coz after all DAP  was against the setting up of an Islamic state by PAS.

“So, why stay on with DAP/PR” asked Najib? Their wooing and begging has been derided by PAS as Mahfuz Omar succintly puts it “How can PAS unite with Umno when it is Umno that is oppressing Malaysian citizens?” he argued.”

He went on to condemed UMNO as Public Enemy # 1 and they are the worst “national robbers” we have ever seen. This definitly is a tight slap for Najib as the UMNO President has himself extended the invite to PAS themselves. For the record, UMNO has extended 8 invitations to PAS to form a unity government so far!

Not wanting to let go as most UMNO leaders are (even the retired ones) Pembela came up with a statement alleging that Islam is under threat in Malaysia because of Christians now. That a majority population (60%) can feel and be threatened by merely a 10 % of the population is mind boggling to start with.

Their argument was since Christians are being appointed in some non-Muslim affairs portfolio and are still confused by the Allah & Al-Kitab issue will lead to massive apostasy in this country.

Now let us be clear on this. If the Muslim population is confused by all this then the onus is on them to educate and clear any misgivings which they have and NOT to make a scapegoat of others. This is a simple common sense but instead this issue has been turned by UMNO-BN to propagate fear and to further sow their inferioity complex on the majority population of this country.

The Quran first revealed word is “Read” which implies knowledge seeking and the ability to distinguish right from wrong. But here we see Pembela wants Muslims in this country to remain in their ignorance so that the powers that be can control and direct the minds of the Malays according to their whims and fancies!

Then, this sets the stage a few days later for UMNO mouthpiece Utusan to shock the nation that indeed Islam is under threat  as Christians are taking over this country. The plot thickens when Utusan alleges that Christians are praying for a Christian PM and and to change the religion of the federation from Islam to Christian.

What nonsense? How far will UMNO go to ensure it wins the next GE13? Are they willing to stoop this low by coming up with such wild allegations without an ounce of truth or evidence. But of course,  UMNO-BN has never been concerned with TRUTH since their formation in 1940/50’s.

Is it a sign that they are very desparate and willing to go as far as to burn Malaysia down as long as the UMNO-BN is in power. If it is then they have lost their moral right to be leaders of this country. It is truly dangerous to be led by this kind of immoral and unscropulous leaders who are bent on doing anything just so their status quo remains.

The wedge UMNO is trying to drive between Pakatan partners has not been effective enough. Indeed, many are able to see their dangerous game that UMNO is playing with. Let me reiterate that UMNO will not give up playing with this kind of fire. It won’t as long as their position as the number one party in this country is so threatened today.

The real party who feels threatend is not the Muslims as many thinking Muslims has said but UMNO themselves. UMNO are the ones who is fiddling with many unnesasary issues for their own survival while Malaysia burns!

Let’s bring them down once and for all for the good of this nation in the next GE13!

Let’s Press On!!!

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 10 May 2011, 6:26 am and is filed under
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UMNO’s invitation to PAS

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 10 May 2011, 12:56 pm and is filed under
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Western Australia said no to Lynas, Pahang Bar reveals

By
Debra Chong

The Malaysian Insider

May 10, 2011

KUANTAN, May 10 — The Pahang Bar revealed today a Western Australian local council had “vigorously” opposed Lynas Corp building a rare earth refinery in its home state as the main reason for the Australian miner to ship its ore some 3,000km to Malaysia to be processed.

State Bar chief Hon Kai Ping said his team of lawyers had unearthed the minutes of the meeting of the Council of the Shire of Northam dating back to November 23, 2005 which recorded the local government “vigorously opposes the siting of a hazardous waste disposal and treatment plant at the Avon Industrial Park (in Meenar) based on the negative perceptions that the location will cause to Grass Valley, the Town of Northam and the Avon region.”

The document, Hon added, stated among other things: “The Town of Northam, along with other Councils in the Avon Valley, has been promoting the Valley as a clean and green tourism and lifestyle experience. Having a hazardous waste site on the Town’s doorstep would undo a lot of the work that has been undertaken by Council…”

“Pahang Bar is not certain but this may or may not throw some light as to why the proposal was not proceeded with despite all the convenience of distance as there is a highway running from Mount Weld, Laverton to the Town of Northam with no necessity of shipping the ore overseas,” Hon said in a statement today.

Hon observed that Lynas had hid this crucial piece of information even as unsatisfied Malaysians demand to know the logic behind the rare earth company’s expensive move.

The Pahang Bar is among the swelling tide of critics who have voiced objection to the Lynas Advanced Materials Plant being built in the Gebeng industrial zone, calling on Putrajaya to act on this new piece of information.

“The Pahang Bar in the circumstances reiterated its call that all aspects including the effects on tourism, economy, the way of life, environment,” he said.

He pointed out that Gebeng was, like Australia’s Avon region, a top tourism magnet and close to the world-renowned Cherating beach, which is part of the Club Med hotel circuit.

Hon also said Lynas failed to disclose the company had won the support of the Western Australian Environmental Protection Authority as far back as 1992 to build a plant to process the Mount Weld ore in an place called Meenar, 18km east of Northam and somewhere between Laverton and Perth.

The lawyer urged the authorities to probe deeper.

He also called for the independent review panel, which will include members from the United Nations International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

The Vienna-based agency has confirmed participation and is set to come to Malaysia at the end of this month.

Lynas has said it does not expect the review will slow the start-up of its refinery, scheduled to power up in September.

Civil groups have stepped up their protests against the plant, including marching on Parliament while in session, prompted by radiation leakages from Japan’s nuclear power plants last month following a massive earthquake and tsunami.

While the technology used in rare earths processing is different, residents and non-governmental organisations fear a similar backlash.

They are reminded of the Bukit Merah disaster in Perak nearly 20 years ago, where radioactive waste left behind by the Asian Rare Earth (ARE) plant was blamed for the area’s high cancer rate and newborns with birth defects.

Lynas’ shares have tripled in the past year as global demand for its minerals — especially those for telecommunications — boomed. Rare earth metals are key to a global switch to cleaner energy — from batteries in hybrid cars to magnets in wind turbines.

But mining and processing the metals causes environmental harm that even China, the world’s biggest producer, is no longer willing to bear.

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 10 May 2011, 7:53 pm and is filed under
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Will the Chinese Vote Swing Epidemic Spread Across the Nation?

By
Dajmarizal Zolkipli

Malaysian Digest

After Malaysians were struck by the Bieber ‘fever’ in recent weeks, Malaysian politics are now rocked with an epidemic of a different sort: the Chinese vote swing fever. This latest vote trend was evident in the recent Sarawak state election result. However, the Chinese vote swing may well have started when Gerakan was rejected by the Penangites in 2008 general ‘tsunami’ election when DAP took over the state – an apparent validation that the majority-Chinese (43.6 percent) population there favored the Opposition. In Penang, Malays make up 40 percent of its population while 9.9 percent are Indians.

DAP’s commendable performance – snatching 12 out of 15 seats they contested – in the 10th Sarawak state election proves that they are the dominant opposition party in Sarawak. Analysts suggest a certain kind of resurrection of Chinese protest votes taking place in the April 16 state election.

Post-Sarawak Election

Barisan Nasional (BN), Parti Pesaka Bumiputra Bersatu Sarawak (PBB) in particular, did well to retain its two-third majority. Taib Mahmud’s party, as always, did an impeccable job at toeing BN’s line by maintaining their 100 percent record. However, the same can’t be said about its ally Sarawak United Peoples’ Party (SUPP). And boy, what an upset it was. The party’s president George Chan himself, a veteran politician, lost to a 28-year-old DAP newcomer.

When the focus returned to the Peninsular, a lot of hype was on the Chinese vote swing and, in the BN camp, they were trying to figure out – how was it possible for DAP to have such big of an influence over the Sarawakian Chinese? So the pressure is on MCA and Gerakan to contain this epidemic and things are looking desperate for these two Chinese-majority parties. With the first post-tsunami general election nearing it’s really a matter of now or never.

It didn’t take long for MCA to launch their attacks on DAP. First, they accused DAP of endorsing a racial election campaign and even Utusan Malaysia joined in by publishing pieces lambasting DAP’s allegedly racist campaign. Within a few days the Malay daily called for a short-sighted movement they call ‘1Melayu, 1Bumi’. Perkasa was also quick to endorse Utusan’s call to no one’s surprise. From then on other mainstream media began running articles on racial tensions and the potential of conflicts escalating into the streets.

MCA Invites DAP to Boycott Utusan

There’s no denying that DAP’s impressive performance in Sarawak has made a huge impact on the political scenario. The obvious vote swing is a cause for alarm to BN. They are worried about Sarawak’s neighbor, Sabah, as the ‘epidemic’ may have already made its way there. The mainstream media played their parts as political tools with Utusan’s timely call for ‘1Melayu, 1Bumi’ and its echoing of Chua’s accusation of DAP running a racist election campaign in Sarawak. It’s as if Utusan itself have not been practicing such political juggernaut.

The whole absurdity continued with MCA chief Chua publicly objecting against the ‘1Melayu, 1Bumi’ campaign and called for the boycotting of Utusan. DAP was also invited to protest against Utusan but refused to take part as they believe that Chua and Utusan were orchestrating the issue to trap the party. In press conference, Lim Guan Eng said that DAP would not allow themselves to fall for the double-dealing ploy.

“Why should we fall into their trap yet again? Now when they are in crisis with Umno, all the suggestion for DAP to work hand in hand with MCA arise, but what will happen when they are again to be okay together?” said Lim Guan Eng.

“We are still fresh from the 1987 incidents (Operasi Lalang),” he added.

Surprising Factor Behind DAP’s Success

A few weeks back, DAP publicized its own analysis of their performance in the Sarawak polls. Its secretary-general, Lim Guan Eng said their analysis revealed that 30 percent of their voters were non-Chinese. According to him, their 30 percent non-Chinese supporters is higher than what MCA and Gerakan had garnered in many parts of the Peninsular during the 2008 general election.

“This proves that DAP has more credibility in the eyes of many non-Chinese voters in Sarawak when compared to the credibility of MCA and Gerakan in the eyes of Chinese voters in Peninsular Malaysia,” Lim claimed.

DAP’s analysis shows that, contrary to popular belief, their success came from their outstanding non-Chinese support that surpassed their own expectation.

 While many believe it was DAP’s alleged racial campaign which proved to be the main basis for their big gain in Sarawak, the party claim three major factors that sees the vote went their way proficiently.

“The people of Sarawak are just getting ‘sick of the state administration’, ‘ongoing corruption’ and the ‘Sarawakians are keen for a change’,” said Guan Eng when highlighting their foundation of success in the Sarawak polls.

That Critical Chinese Votes

The Chinese population and their political views will always be in the interest of the Malays and other political players in this country. That is the reason why the DAP’s commendable results in Sarawak is such a big fuss. It is ultimately up to MCA and Gerakan to rectify the Chinese vote situation and to do this they themselves have to change. For one, leaders that pose liability to these two parties must go. They must not just talk about practicing clean politics but start walking the walk.

The results of the Sarawak election has given DAP a big boost of confidence in time for the 13th General Election. With DAP snatching away Chinese votes, Lim Kit Siang’s party has become a big threat to BN. The only way for MCA and Gerakan to recapture the hearts and minds of the Chinese voters is to rol up their sleeves and start working hard for their party, the people and their own sake by delivering their promises. Like Justin Bieber’s famous song, they must “Never Say Never…”

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 10 May 2011, 3:02 pm and is filed under
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10 days in May (2) (Updated)

Tweets
@limkitsiang
 :-

Najib’s response? Lunch! Not even dinner? Not serious enuf,Mr PM! http://bit.ly/lweDoc PM 2meet church leaders amid Christian Msia row (TMI)

Q is not lunch/dinner but what Najib doing 2penalise/stop Utusan rampage 2undermine race/religious relations n scare off foreign investors

Will Najib come clean tmr n admit Utusan committed heinous anti-national act n explain Umno role as UMNO PolBiro sets weekly Utusan agenda?

Pleasure mine. So refreshing 2hear ppl’s voice “@debslym. thanks 4publishing my post “What this pendatang thinks” ..so humbled honoured”

Msians shld unite 2compete rest of world. Y 2yrs Najib’s 1Msia slogan we r more divided – all bcos of rhetoric of hate/lies by Umno/Utusan?

Was lunch arranged by G’kan Minister KTK. Is that all he cld do? Will it end up in “smoke n frus” (Bishop PaulTan) as w previous dialogues?

Right. Y then did Utusan – UMNO organ – tried 2set country ablaze? http://bit.ly/lBGsuC Islam’s position cannot b changed, says Najib (TMI)

Najib’s lunch meet w Church leaders: not PM’s promise but proof of action agnst Utusan – stern action agnst seditious treasonous activities

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 11 May 2011, 6:42 pm and is filed under
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10 days in May (updated)

Tweets
@limkitsiang
 :-

10 days in May – 5 days when my dominant left eye went blind/5 days initial recovery after vitrectomy ops. But also 10 “black” days 4Msia

10 days when reputation of leaders crashed/causes destroyed. Eg: Fullpage advert 65th UMNO ann but 1 logo no more 1Msia but 1Melayu. Y?

Is Najib PM of 1Msia or 1Melayu? Is Hisham Home Minister 4Msia or UMNO? 1Msia N H never suffered greater damage 2credibility these 10 days

Christian Msia conspiracy? How ludicrous! Height of irresponsibility not just Utusan but Utusan’s boss- UMNO ie Najib/Hisham who must answer

How can Najib salvage 1Msia after Utusan/Umno “Christian Msia” lie 2set plural Msia afire? Does PM realise 1Msia slogan now in cinders?

But pro-UMNO blogs r still dripping with such lies poison on race religion – will Najib try 2save 1Msia n order deletion of all such stuffs?

The 1 logo is perceived by public as 1Melayu no more 1Msia as 10 days ago @giamsk i still see 1Malaysia logo …not 1melayu as u claimed.

According 2Hata, UMNO political bureau Najib Muhyiddin Hisham Zahid Shafie Adnan Maslan set weekly Utusan agenda http://ow.ly/4RNFn

Q Najib Hisham must answer – did they/Umno PolBureau give green light 2Utusan 2go on “ChristianMsia” rampage? Who in top UMNO 2accept blame?

10 days ago, 1 logo idntfd w 1Msia slogan though fraudulent – just 1T-shirt 1Tupperware 1Burgher 1mineral water. Now 1 is 1Melayu also bluff

It is not even 1UMNO. Its only 1UmnoPutra @niknazmi @limkitsiang in reality only 1UMNO @giamsk

Did MCA Gkan MIC SUPP othr BN Ministers demand @cabinet meeting 2day from Najib Hisham re Umno organ Utusan’s “Christian Msia” rampage?

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 11 May 2011, 12:04 pm and is filed under
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ACT MEAN AND FAST AGAINST UTUSAN MALAYSIA

by Rtd Brig-Gen Mohd Arshad Raji

mind NO EVIL

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

What words can I use to describe Utusan Malaysia’s (UM) recent report that some Christian group is plotting to turn Malaysia into a Christian State? What words can I describe a UM report which says that a Christian group together with the DAP is plotting to appoint a Christian as the Prime Minister? The only words that I can used to describe all this are DISGUSTING, IRRESPONSIBLE, DANGEROUS and a pack of LIES.

How on earth could the editors of the daily approve such a report that is unsubstantiated, and knowing full well that the report can be a cause for serious racial strife between Christians and Muslims of this country. This is not the first time UM has reported on issues that can bring devastation and worse still the disintegration of a well tested multi racial and multi cultural Malaysian society. How could the Home Minister be so lame in not wanting to impose stricter rules to prohibit UM from publishing reports that can bear serious effect on racial harmony?

Personally, I have had enough of UM, and I dread the day when this blessed nation of ours sees the repeat of the bloody May 13 incident. I would like to ask the entire UM editorial board, where were they during May 13, 1969 i.e. 42 years ago? I think most were mere kids sucking milk bottles. Some may be slightly older who knows not what suffering and fear is all about. Just ask the soldiers on how they felt trying to maintain the peace throughout the entire troubled period, and most will say that they do not wish to go through a similar period again. I was lucky because I was in Tawau then, but my parents who were residing at Kg. Datuk Keramat lived in fear.

Let me tell this to the entire UM editorial board that you don’t know what it is like to go without sleep. You do not know what it is like to be shot at. You do not know the ordeals that your parents have gone through to protect you. You do not understand what fear is and how it affects your physical and psychological well being. You do not understand what pain is, and there are thousands of others that you do not understand. So please cease writing all this garbage, and stop practicing gutter journalism.

Personally, I do not think what was reported is true. And I do not believe the Christians in this country would want to do what was stupidly reported by UM. The repercussion is too great and no one would want to see this country disintegrate and destroyed by some unscrupulous instigators of violence who gleefully hides themselves behind their sponsors. And if ever your report turns to be true and is realized in the future, I will not blame anyone else but the UM and your sponsors for their own stupidity.

To the Home Minister Hishamuddin Hussein, you have to act mean and fast, and do not let the instigators and those behind these reports be left scot free. The people know who owns UM and if you fear to act professionally, then you deserve to be called a COWARD.

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 11 May 2011, 11:05 pm and is filed under
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Bidayuh villagers burn timber camp

By
Keruah Usit

May 11, 2011

Malaysiakini

ANTIDOTE Natives from 10 villages in Tebedu, Sarawak, are said to have torched dormitories, bulldozers, tractors and other machinery at a timber camp on May 9.

The Bidayuh villagers had been blockading the timber access road of logging contractor Alliance Bahagia to defend their Native Customary Rights (NCR) land.

According to witnesses, nobody was injured in the arson attack. Police arrived at the scene in Tebedu, about 90 minutes’ drive from Kuching, in time to see the equipment and buildings aflame.

Police were far outnumbered by “emotional” villagers and did not make any arrest.

“When we arrived, the machinery and the workers’ quarters were already on fire. As the situation was tense, we decided to monitor the situation only,” Serian police chief ASP Awangku Ahmaddin Awang Wang said, according to local daily The Borneo Post.

The villagers said their reports to the government on the loggers’ incursions onto their NCR land were ignored.

Instead, local assembly representatives and state Infrastructure Development and Communications Minister Michael Manyin Jawong angered the constituents by claiming that the villagers had been protesting for money.

‘Land and jungle are our ancestral properties’

A spokesperson for the 10 communities, Bisa Duda, had told The Borneo Post on April 29 that Manyin had been lying. He said the villagers rejected the timber company’s intrusion because “our NCR land and our jungle… are our ancestral properties.”

Bisa said the company and five ketua kampung or village chiefs had signed a secret contract, allowing the company to use the land belonging to the 10 communities, without the knowledge of the people. The signing had been witnessed by the penghulu (community leader), Jen anak Landong.

He said the contract stipulated RM1.50 would be paid for every tonne of logs extracted, to be shared equally among the five signatories, but made no mention of the rights of the villagers owning the NCR land.

After the fire at the logging camp, one unnamed villager was quoted by the newspaper as saying, “They have tested our patience and we just cannot take it anymore. We have lodged several reports and complaints to the authorities, but the logging activities continued. We are fed up. Our rights have been encroached, our crops destroyed.”

Dr Christopher Kiyui of the PKR, who lost to Manyin in the recent state assembly election, told shortwave station Radio Free Sarawak that 500 unnamed villagers had “burnt 13 Caterpillar and tractor machines and some lorries, around 10 in the morning. About 50 people came from each village.

“Bidayuh are mild and gentle people, but now they have lost patience. I hope the government gets this message… that what they are doing is too much.”

Christopher said the villagers’ actions had taken him by surprise, but he understood their frustration.

“This is their life, their land was taken,” he explained.

Defending their land in the courts

A leading land rights lawyer in Kuching told Malaysiakini that the communities would fare better by pursuing their NCR claims in court. He said the alleged arson might work against the NCR claimants in the long run.

Sporadic acts of defiance, sparked by disputes over land, have broken out during the reign of Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud over the past 30 years.

Taib’s family has profited handsomely from logging concessions and takeovers of NCR land throughout the state, while logging and oil palm plantation blockades have been erected by the Iban, Malays, Penan and other Orang Ulu in various parts of Sarawak.

This, however, is the first incident of the Bidayuh taking the law into their own hands on this scale. The Bidayuh live mainly near the urban centre of Kuching and many have been well educated in mission schools.

However, within an hour’s drive from Kuching, many Bidayuh rice farmers live in startling poverty, without treated water or electricity.

These isolated acts of resistance against logging companies and their powerful backers in the ruling party are unlikely, by themselves, to change Sarawak’s political landscape. They will not translate to a mass movement of civil disobedience in this vast state.

Rural communities remain unconnected with one another, with the people largely unaware of land conflicts affecting NCR landowners in different parts of the state, separated by hundreds of kilometres.

However, NCR issues continue to stir disillusionment with Taib’s “politics of development”, often seen to directly benefit his family members and their close business associates.

There was a swing to the opposition among the Bidayuh and other Dayak communities in the recently concluded state election, although this translated to only two rural seats for the opposition, Krian and Ba’Kelalan.

The political awakening caused by NCR discontent among these rural communities may yet translate to greater opportunities for opposition parties DAP and PKR to lay their groundwork for rural support in the coming parliamentary election, and subsequent contests.

——

KERUAH USIT is a human rights activist – ‘anak Sarawak, bangsa Malaysia’. This weekly column is an effort to provide a voice for marginalised Malaysians. Keruah Usit can be contacted at
[email protected]

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 11 May 2011, 3:36 pm and is filed under
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