Endorse call for Royal Commission of Inquiry on Poverty in Malaysia

Menyokong seruan untuk penubuhan Suruhanjaya Siasatan Diraja untuk isu kemiskinan di Malaysia

Dalam menghampiri ulang tahun ke-56 penubuhan Malaysia pada 16 September 2019 ini, kita boleh renung semula beberapa perkara yang dapat kita syukuri bersama.

Walaupun menghadapi ketidaktentuan global, KDNK untuk suku kedua negara meningkat sebanyak 4.9%, satu-satunya negara di Asia Tenggara yang mana pertumbuhan KDNK suku keduanya lebih tinggi daripada suku pertama.

Dalam separuh pertama tahun 2019, pelaburan asing yang telah diluluskan, dalam sektor pembuatan, perkhidmatan, dan industri utama meningkat sebanyak 97.2% kepada RM49.5bn daripada jumlah RM25.1bn pada separuh tahun pertama 2018. Kadar pengangguran kekal pada kadar yang rendah setakat 3.3% pada Jun 2019.

Namun begitu, dalam kegembiraan kita meraikan pelbagai berita baik ini, marilah kita beringat kepada saudara kita yang kurang bernasib baik. Kemiskinan dan golongan yang kurang bernasib baik ini tidak hilang begitu sahaja selepas kerajaan Pakatan Harapan mengambil alih tampuk pentadbiran negara pada Mei 2018.

Kumpulan ini adalah satu peringatan yang jelas, mengenai tugas yang perlu kita pikul untuk menaikkan taraf hidup mereka dan anak-anak mereka.

Mereka adalah keluarga berempat yang tinggal di pangsapuri kos rendah di Kuala Lumpur dengan pendapatan sekeluarga yang tidak lebih daripada RM2000. Mereka adalah ibu tunggal di Lumut yang menjaga dan membesarkan empat orang anak selepas kehilangan suaminya dalam kemalangan motosikal. Mereka adalah keluarga FELDA di Rompin, yang pendapatannya telah jatuh selari dengan kejatuhan harga minyak sawit. Mereka adalah keluarga bekas penoreh getah yang kini sedang cuba untuk mencari punca pendapatan di dalam bandar baru yang telah dibangunkan di sekitar mereka. Mereka adalah keluarga Orang Asli di Gua Musang yang punca pendapatannya kini terancam dan tidak menentu akibat pencerahan hutan dan pembalakan haram yang telah mengancam akses mereka kepada sumber makanan dan rezeki daripada hutan.Mereka adalah orang Penan di Sarawak yang kehilangan tanah dan gaya hidup mereka kepada jual beli tanah yang korup. Mereka adalah anak-anak Bajau Laut di Lahad Datu yang berhadapan dengan masa depan yang gelap kerana tidak mempunyai kerakyatan yang mengurangkan akses persekolahan mereka.

Berdasarkan pemerhatian peribadi sahaja, saya pasti ramai Ahli Parlimen di Malaysia tidak merasakan yang kadar kemiskinan di negara ini telah jatuh ke kadar 0.4% seperti yang dilaporkan. Di mana pendapatan 27000 isi rumah yang berada di bawah Pendapatan Garis Kemiskinan daripada sejumlah 6.7 juta isi rumah dalam negara. Secara puratanya, ini bermakna hanya 121 isi rumah miskin tegar dalam setiap 222 kawasan parlimen. Jika kita lihat kepada jumlah orang yang datang ke pusat khidmat rakyat untuk meminta bantuan kewangan, kadar kemiskinan yang dilaporkan ini tidak mencerminkan realiti yang dihadapi.

Keperluan untuk mengkaji semula Pendapatan Garis Kemiskinan (PGK) ini adalah sesuatu yang telah disokong oleh Ahli-ahli Parlimen dan parti komponen PH sebelum PRU14.

Institut Rakyat, sebuah institusi kaji selidik PKR, pernah mencadangkan kepada kerajaan yang lepas untuk bertukar kepada konsep kemiskinan relatif dan bukannya bergantung kepada konsep kemiskinan absolut yang diasaskan oleh PGK.

Ahli Parlimen Klang, Charles Santiago juga pernah menimbulkan isu mengenai garis kemiskinan ini seawal 2008 lagi.

Pada tahun 2014, Ahli Parlimen Lembah Pantai buat masa itu, Nurul Izzah telah menyeru kepada kerajaan untuk menggunakan Indeks Kemiskinan Multidimensi untuk membolehkan kerajaan mendapatkan gambaran yang lebih jelas mengenai kadar kemiskinan di negara ini. Indeks ini kemudiannya diperkenalkan di dalam Rancangan Malaysia Ke-11.

Dalam ucapan debat parlimen saya sendiri pada bulan April 2006 mengenai Rancangan Malaysia Ke-9, saya juga telah menekankan mengenai perlunya satu cara yang lebih baik untuk mengukur kadar kemiskinan dalam negara.

Komuniti akademik dan penyelidikan di Malaysia telah lama memberikan cadangan untuk mendapatkan pemahaman dan ukuran yang lebih baik berkaitan kemiskinan.

Professor Ragayah Haji Mat Zain, seorang sarjana yang berkecimpung dalam bidang kemiskinan di Malaysia telah menekankan kepentingan untuk mengemas kini ukuran kadar kemiskinan termasuklah paras Pendapatan Garis Kemiskinan (PGK) dalam kaji selidik beliau.

Baru-baru ini, Khazanah Research Institute telah menekankan keperluan untuk mengukur kadar kemiskinan relatif, bagi menambahbaik kadar kemiskinan absolut yang diukur di dalam negara.

Pada Februari 2018, satu kajiselidik yang diterbitkan oleh UNICEF dan DM Analytics mendapati hampir semua kanak-kanak yang tinggal di pangsapuri kos rendah di Kuala Lumpur hidup dalam kemiskinan relatif dan sejumlah 7% kanak-kanak secara amnya hidup dalam kemiskinan relatif.

Kadar kebantutan di kalangan kanak-kanak ini, yang menjadi kayu ukur kekurangan akses kepada makanan yang sihat dan mencukupi, berada pada tahap 20%. Ketua Penyelidik kajiselidik ini, Dr Muhammed Abdul Khalid yang kini berkhidmat sebagai Penasihat Ekonomi Perdana Menteri, menyatakan yang perkara ini sekarang berada di tahap kritikal.

Saya juga membaca kolum Dr Muhammed dalam Sinar Harian baru-baru ini yang menyeru supaya ukuran kadar kemiskinan kita dikemas kini dengan memasukkan ukuran indeks kemiskinan multidimensi dan kadar kemiskinan relatif.

Dibaca di dalam konteks ini, komen yang dibuat Pelapor Khas UN untuk Kemiskinan Ekstrem dan Hak Asasi Manusia, Professor Philip Alston, pada 23 Ogos 2019 — yang mengatakan Malaysia telah mengurangkan kiraan rakyat miskin — tidaklah mengejutkan sama sekali.

Seruan supaya lebih banyak penerbitan dan perkongsian data pada tahap mikro mengenai kaji selidik isi rumah yang berguna dalam pengajian isu kemiskinan bukanlah satu perkara yang baru. Seorang lagi serjana dalam bidang kajian kemiskinan Professor Martin Ravallion yang memegang jawatan Pengerusi Kajian Kemiskinan Professor Diraja Ungku Aziz di Universiti Malaya juga telah membuat pemerhatian yang sama awal tahun ini.

Saya berbesar hati dengan kenyataan Perdana Menteri yang mengatakan bahawa kerajaan akan mengkaji dengan teliti laporan yang diterbitkan oleh Pelapor Khas UN tersebut dan kerajaan akan mengkaji semula cara pengukuran kadar kemiskinan jika perlu.

Akhirnya, sebarang perubahan dalam cara kita mengukur kadar kemiskinan mestilah tidak berakhir hanya sebagai satu perbuatan teknikal. Ukuran ini perlu dikemas kini supaya kita dapat menggunakannya untuk membantu golongan yang kurang bernasib baik ini, terutamanya komuniti B40. Perkara ini telah dinyatakan dengan jelas sekali oleh Christopher Choong, seorang pakar ekonomi di Khazanah Research Institute.

Berita baiknya, kerajaan PH telahpun fokus kepada keperluan golongan B40 dan telah memperkenalkan beberapa polisi baharu dalam tahun yang lepas untuk mereka.

Ini termasuklah Skim Perlindungan Sosial Automatik MySalam, Skim Kesihatan Peka B40, caruman KWSP i-Suri untuk surirumah B40 dan lain-lain lagi.

Saya pasti, polisi-polisi yang boleh disasarkan dengan lebih baik akan dapat dilaksanakan dengan ukuran kadar kemiskinan yang dikemas kini. Seruan Perdana Menteri Tun Dr Mahathir untuk fokus kepada “Kemakmuran Bersama” juga konsisten dengan fokus untuk menaikkan taraf kehidupan golongan B40.

Sudah semestinya kita perlu sentiasa peka dengan cubaan pihak tertentu untuk menyalahkan kerajaan PH keatas sebarang peningkatan kadar kemiskinan jika PGK dan indeks kemiskinan multidimensi ini diselaraskan semula dan jika ukuran kemiskinan relatif diperkenalkan. Dalam era berita palsu masa kini, tidak mengejutkan jika DAP dipersalahkan untuk perkara ini!

Tetapi kita tidak harus gentar dengan cabaran ini. Seperti yang dikatakan oleh Pakar Ekonomi Kanan Bank Dunia, Kenneth Simler “keberanian politik dan komunikasi yang baik akan diperlukan untuk menaikkan taraf kemiskinan rasmi Malaysia” walaupun “sudah pasti sesetengah pihak dengan silap akan berkata, yang kadar kemiskinan sudah meningkat”.

Sehingga hari ini, saya sokong seruan daripada beberapa NGO dan individu untuk menubuhkan satu Suruhanjaya Siasatan Diraja untuk meneliti kandungan laporan Pelapor Khas UN dan memberikan cadangan untuk menambah baik ukuran kadar kemiskinan di Malaysia. Saya juga mencadangkan individu tersebut sebagai ahli kepada Suruhanjaya ini:

1. Tan Sri Dr Kamil Salih, pengerusi Malaysian Institute of Economic Research yang merupakan seorang ahli akademik yang dihormati sebagai pengerusi Suruhanjaya ini

2. Datuk Dr Denison Jayasooria — seorang professor di IKMAS UKM yang mempunyai latar belakang dan pengalaman akademik dalam kajian kemiskinan dan hubungan antara etnik

3. Dr Lee Hwok Aun — Penyelidik di Yusof Ishak Institute of Southeast Asian Studies dan salah seorang penulis Laporan Pembangunan Malaysia 2013

4. Professor Madya Dr Madeline Burma — Pesuruhjaya SUHAKAM dan pengarah di Tun Fatimah Hashim Women’s Leadership Center di UKM

5. Seorang wakil daripada World Bank Research Group di Kuala Lumpur

6. Seorang wakil daripada UNICEF Malaysia

Saya harap rakyat Malaysia dapat memberikan cadangan mana-mana individu yang apolitikal dan boleh memberikan pengalaman teknikal dan lapangan dalam bidang kajian dan polisi kemiskinan.

Apabila kumpulan yang kurang bernasib baik ini dapat menyertai visi kemakmuran bersama kita, barulah dapat kita meraikan Hari Malaysia di masa hadapan yang lebih bermakna!

(Ucapan Ahli Parlimen DAP Iskandar Puteri Lim Kit Siang di Retreat DAP Johor di Hotel Crystal Inn, Batu Pahat pada hari Sabtu 7 September 2019, 10 pagi)

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As we approach the 56th anniversary of the formation of Malaysia, on the 16th of September, 2019, we can reflect on some things which we can all be thankful for.

Despite global economic uncertainties, Malaysia’s 2nd quarter GDP grew by 4.9%, the only country in South East Asia where the 2nd quarter

GDP growth was higher than the 1st quarter GDP growth.

In the first half of 2019, approved foreign investments in the manufacturing, services and primary sectors increased by 97.2% to RM49.5billion from RM25.1billion in the first half of 2018. The overall unemployment rate remains at a relatively low rate of 3.3% as of June 2019.

However, even as we celebrate the many things which we can enjoy, we must not forget the marginalized communities around us. Poverty and marginalized groups did not disappear overnight after Pakatan Harapan became the government in May 2018.

These groups are a stark reminder of how much more work we need to do in order to uplift their lives and the lives of their children.

It is the family of four living in a low cost apartment in the heart of Kuala Lumpur with a household income of less than RM2000. It is the single mother in Lumut who has to take care of her four children after her husband was killed in a motorcycle accident. It is a FELDA family in Rompin whose incomes have fallen in tandem with the fall in the global Crude Palm Oil (CPO) prices. It is the families of former rubber estate workers who have to transition to making ends meet in the urbanized world that has developed around them. It is the Orang Asli families in Gua Musang who have unstable incomes because deforestation and illegal logging have decreased their access to food sources and other resources from the forest. It is the Penans in Sarawak who find their land and livelihood taken away from them as a result of corrupt land deals. It is the Bajau Lauts in Lahad Datu whose children face bleak economic prospects because of their statelessness restrict their schooling options.

Anecdotally, many Members of Parliament would not have the impression that Malaysia’s poverty rate has dropped to a mere 0.4%. This works out to be approximately 27,000 households below the poverty line income (PLI) out of a total population of 6.7 million households. This translates into an average of 121 households below the PLI in each of the 222 parliamentary constituencies. If we judge by the number of people who come to our service centers to seek for financial assistance, this low poverty rate does not seem to reflect the reality on the ground.

The need to look or relook the PLI has been something which PH MPs and our parties have supported before GE14.

Institut Rakyat, a PKR think tank, asked the then government to use relative poverty rather than only relying on absolute poverty based on the PLI.

MP for Klang, Charles Santiago, have raised issues to do with the poverty line way back in 2008.

In 2014, then MP for Lembah Pantai, Nurul Izzah, called for the use of a Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) to better reflect the incidence of poverty on the ground. This was later introduced in the 11th Malaysia Plan.

In my own speech in the parliamentary debate in April 2006 on the 9th Malaysia Plan, I also highlighted the need to have more accurate measures of poverty in the country.

The academic and research community in Malaysia have long had many inputs with regards to the understanding and measurement of poverty.

Professor Ragayah Haji Mat Zain, a noted scholar of poverty in Malaysia, highlighted the need to update poverty measurements including the poverty line income (PLI) in her research.

More recently, the Khazanah Research Institute (KRI) has highlighted the need to measure relative poverty to complement more updated measures of absolute poverty in the country.

In February 2018, a study published by UNICEF and DM Analytics found that almost all of children living in low cast apartments in KL were in relative poverty and 7% were in relative poverty.

The rate of stunting among these children, which is a measure of the lack of access to adequate food, stood at over 20%. This led the study’s chief researcher, Dr. Muhammed Abdul Khalid, who is now the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisor, to say that this has reached crisis levels.

I also note that Dr. Muhammed, in a recent column in Sinar Harian, has called for our poverty measures to be updated including adjusting the measures of the MPI and to take into account relative poverty.

Read in this context, the recent comments made by the UN special rapporteur on extreme poverty an human rights, Professor Philip Alston, on the 23rd of August 2019, which included the assertion that Malaysia undercounts the number of poor, should not be that surprising.

The call to have more transparent publication and sharing of micro level data for the household surveys which are used to measure poverty is also not something new. Noted scholar of poverty, Professor Martin Ravallion, who held the Royal Ungku Aziz chair of Poverty Studies at Universiti Malaya (UM) made the same observation earlier this year.

I am glad to note that Prime Mininster Mahathir has said that the government will study carefully the report published by the UN special rapporteur and that the government will review the poverty measurement if necessary.

Ultimately, any changes in the way we measure poverty in Malaysia should not be merely a technical exercise. These measurements have to be updated so that we can use them to better target our policies to help the marginalized groups especially the B40 communities. This point was clearly made by Christopher Choong, an economist at the Khazanah Research Institute (KRI).

Encouragingly, the new PH government is already focused on the needs of the B40 communities and have introduced new policies in the past year which target the B40 specifically.

This includes the MySalaam automatic social protection scheme, the Peka B40 health care scheme, the I-Suri EPF contributions for B40 housewives, just to name a few.

I am sure that policies which are better targeted can be implemented with an updated measurement of poverty. Prime Minister Dr. Mahathir’s call for the government to focus on “Shared Prosperity” is also consistent with a focus to uplift the livelihood of the B40 groups.

Of course, we must be cognizant of possible attempts by certain groups to ‘blame’ the PH government for any increase in the poverty rate if the poverty line income as well as the MPI measures are adjusted upwards and if relative poverty measures are introduced. In this day and age of rampant ‘fake news’, it would not be surprising if someone, DAP will be blamed for this!

But we should not be afraid of this challenge. As noted by World Bank Senior Economist, Kenneth Simler, “it will take political courage, and good communications, to raise Malaysia’s official poverty standards” even though, “inevitably some will claim, incorrectly, that poverty has increased”

To this end, I support the call by certain NGOs and individuals to form a Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) to study the contents of the UN special rapporteur’s report and to make recommendations on how to improve the measures of poverty in Malaysia. I also propose the following persons as members of this RCI:

1. Tan Sri Dr. Kamil Salih, current chairman of the Malaysian Institute of Economic Research (MIER) and highly respected academic and economist – to be the chair of this RCI

2. Datuk Dr. Denison Jayasooria – a professor at IKMAS, UKM with a long track record of research and experience in poverty studies and inter-ethnic relations

3. Dr. Lee Hwok Aun – researcher at the Yusof Ishak Institute of Southeast Asian studies and one of the co-authors of the 2013 Malaysian Development Report

4. Associate Professor Dr. Madeline Burma – current SUHAKAM commissioner and director at the Tun Fatimah Hashim Women’s Leadership Center at UKM

5. A representative from the World Bank Research Group in Kuala Lumpur

6. A representative from UNICEF Malaysia

I encourage Malaysians to propose additional names of individuals who are apolitical and can provide technical and on the ground experience in the area of poverty research and policy.

When the marginalized groups in Malaysia can partake in our vision for shared prosperity, we will be able celebrate Malaysia Day in the future with greater conviction!

(Speech by DAP MP for Iskandar Puteri Lim Kit Siang at the DAP Johor Retreat at Crystal Inn, Batu Pahat on Saturday, 7th of September 2019 at 10 am)

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Two Challenges to Youths in Malaysia – spearhead a national campaign to clean up the Malaysia social media by combating fake news and hate speech to incite inter-racial and inter-religious suspicion, fear and hatred and to prove to the world that Malaysia is  a successful example of Alliance of Civilisations and not an example of failure from  Clash of Civilisations

Two things struck me last night when I attended the first series of the Parliamentary Debaton 2019 Youth in Parliament by 46 youths in the 16 – 25 year-old age group – firstly, empowering Malaysians youths and inspiring  them to transform Malaysia into a top world-class nation of unity, freedom, justice, excellence and integrity; and secondly, harnessing the energies of youth for the country’s reform and the  reset of nation building policies  to build a New Malaysia.

I was impressed with the seriousness, intensity and  passion of the young debators last night on a subject, ‘Precariat Workers in the Gig Economy’, which few Malaysians are familiar with – reinforcing the hope and belief that Malaysians must depend on the youths of today to take the country to greater national heights in the coming years and decades.

Young Malaysians must dare to dream big  and have  great vision for the country. When the DAP MPs were first elected to  Parliament in 1969, we had three  DAP  MPs who were in their twenties – Fan Yew Teng (Kampar), Lim Cho Hock (Batu Gajah)  and myself (Bandar Malacca).

The Pakatan Harapan Government has taken the rights steps to re-set nation building efforts, including the Constitutional amendment to lower the voting age from 21 to 18 year-olds; the appointment of the youngest Youth Minister in the history of 18  Youth Ministers in the history of the  country, Syed Saddiq bin Syed Abdul Rahman who was 25 when he appointed to the Cabinet  (despite his various faux pas); the Parliamentary Debaton 2019 Youth and the historic event last Friday where after more than 40 years, the University of Malaya Students’ Union (UMSU) revived its tradition of holding a convoy during the university’s orientation week.

I am therefore emboldened to issue two challenges to the Malaysian youths – those in the 16-25 age group: firstly, spearhead a national campaign to clean up the Malaysia social media by combating fake news and hate speech to incite inter-racial and inter-religious suspicion, fear and hatred and secondly,  to prove to the world that Malaysia is  a successful example of Alliance of Civilisations and not an example of failure from  Clash of Civilisations.

If fake news and hate speech calculated to incite inter-racial and inter-religious misunderstanding and undermine inter-racial and inter-religious  tolerance and harmony are not checked, the only outcome is a racial  and religious conflagration in multi-racial, multi-lingual, multi-religious and multi-cultural conflagration with all Malaysian as the losers.

This is not the future that Malaysians want, as we want  a win-win formula through an Alliance of Civilisations as Malaysia is a confluence of four great civilisations of the world – Malay/Islamic, Chinese, Indian and Western – and Malaysians  should leverage on the best values and virtues  of these four civilisations instead of being a  failed, rogue and kleptocratic state because of  a Clash of Civilisations in Malaysia.

(Media Statement by DAP MP for Iskandar Puteri Lim Kit Siang in Gelang Patah on Sunday, 8th September 2019)

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 8 September 2019, 12:19 pm and is filed under
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Third challenge to youths in Malaysia – to promote social media literacy among youths so that they could be informed citizens and critical thinkers to detect lies, half-truths and falsehoods

The Yang di Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah’s message on his official birthday celebration today has reinforced my challenge yesterday to Malaysian  youths to prove to the world that Malaysia is a successful example of Alliance of Civilisations and not an example of failure from Clash of Civilisations.

In his message, the King has called on Malaysians to stand tall as a nation that transcends all differences to create lasting unity and togetherness.

His Majesty said to create such an atmosphere, the people and leaders at all levels should not just do nothing and yet dream of achieving success.

On the contrary concerted efforts should be taken to break down elements that would hinder the unity.

The King said:
“The fact is that it is not an easy task to manage the divisions and differences that exist in a country. This is due to the fact that every single thing will tend to be viewed and interpreted from different angles.”

As such, ever since taking his oath as the 16th Yang di-Pertuan Agong on Jan 31, the Yang di Pertuan Agong  has travelled to every corner of the country to stay close to all Malaysians regardless of differences.

In his message, the Yang di Pertuan Agong invited leaders from all walks of life to put aside their differences to serve the people in efforts to establish a harmonious and united society.

With the amendment of the Constitution lowering the voting age from 21  to 18 years, youths in Malaysia are reminded of Sukarno’s famous quote:  “Give me 10 young men, I’ll shake the world”.

All the national leaders of today had started young. The Prime Minister, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad,   the PKR President, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and DAP Secretary-General Lim Guan Eng   had started their political activism in their teens and  Guan Eng became the President of the Monash University Malaysian Students Union (MUMSU) before he was 20 years  old.

The Bersatu President Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and  Amanah President, Mohamad Sabu, both started their political activism  when  they were 21.

I remember that in early 1955, when I was 14 and in Form One, I cycled from Batu Pahat to Malacca for an overnight expedition with two of my classmates, the subject which dominated our conversation during the trip was the seminal  Afro-Asian Conference in Bandung, Indonesia which brought together for the first time Afro-Asian leaders like Sukarno of Indonesia, Zhou Enlai of China, Jawaharlal Nehru of India, U Nu of Burma and   Gamal Abder Nasser of Egypt.

I started and edited the Form II, II and IV class magazines in High School, Batu Pahat when I was 15-17, became editor of school magazine,  the Pilot,  when I was 18  in Form V.

In 1962, at the age of 21, I became Secretary-General of the Singapore National Union of Journalists (SNUJ). In December 1965, when I was 24, against the advice of my family and friends, I took the plunge into full-time in politics to establish the Democratic Action Party (DAP).

In 1969, at the age of 28, I was elected Member of Parliament for Bandar Melaka, followed by my first detention under the Internal Security Act (ISA) a week later. I first became Leader of Opposition in the Malaysian Parliament when I was 31 years old.

I refer to these episodes to illustrate that youths do have the ability and energy to “shake the world” if they apply themselves with dedication and commitment to improve the lot of their fellow-citizens, the nation and the world.

Yesterday, I had issued two challenges to Malaysian youths in the 16-25 age group – to prove to the world that Malaysia is  a successful example of Alliance of Civilisations and not an example of failure from  Clash of Civilisations as well as to spearhead a national campaign to clean up the Malaysia social media by combating fake news and hate speech which incited inter-racial and inter-religious suspicion, fear and hatred.

Today, I wish to issue a further challenge to  the youths of Malaysia – to  promote social media literacy particularly among youths so that they could become informed citizens and critical thinkers who could detect lies, half-truths and falsehoods.

We are in the age of Internet and social media, which are pervasive in everyone’s lives.

Unfortunately, it has  become increasingly difficult for everyone  to appropriately address the digital challenges as the new media can present with ease  lies, falsehoods, fake news and hate speech with explosive speed.

To acquire social media literacy, Malaysians must become engaged and informed citizens and  need to become critical thinkers and active creators of content rather than passive consumers of online content and technology.  They must be able to distinguish fact and truth  from lies, half-truths  and falsehoods on the Internet, in particular fake news and hate speech.

A good  example is  furnished by the Gerakan leaders, who accused me of “showing my true colours”,  advocating the introduction of Jawi for Chinese and Tamil primary schools as well as accusing me of going back on my words on what I said about Jawi. (Sin Chew 9.9.19)

If there is social media literacy, a reader will check whether what the Gerakan leaders are saying are  true or false – whether I had advocated the introduction of Jawi for Chinese and Tamil primary schools and whether I had gone back on what I said about Jawi in 1984.

Malaysians with social media literacy will find that the Gerakan leaders (as well as MCA leaders) are  telling lies on both counts – that I have not advocated the introduction of Jawi for Chinese and Tamil primary schools and that I had not gone back on what I had said about Jawi in 1984.

Three weeks ago, I had expressed shock that after a month of controversy over Jawi in Chinese and Primary schools, 95% of Chinese and Indian Malaysians were still not aware that there was Jawi in Std. V Bahasa Malaysia textbook for many years and that the revised curriculum to introduce Jawi in Std. IV was decided by MCA, Gerakan, MIC, SUPP and UMNO Ministers in Sept. 2015.

It is this ignorance that the MCA and  Gerakan leaders are  trying to exploit while condemning the introduction of Jawi in Chinese and Tamil primary schools, although this decision was taken by their Ministers (UMNO, MCA, MIC and Gerakan)  four years ago in 2015, to be implemented yearly in the revised textbooks from 2017 – 2022.

The Jawi subject controversy was a legacy of the former government, as the final decision on the new textbooks for Chinese/Tamil primary schools to introduce the Jawi subject for Std. 4 pupils in 2020 was made by Education Ministry Curriculum Committee chaired by the then Education Minister, Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid and attended by the then two Deputy Education Ministers, Datuk Chong Sin Woon (MCA) and P. Kamalanathan (MIC) in a meeting of Sept. 21, 2015.

After that it became an administrative matter for the relevant Education Ministry divisions to implement the policy decision of Sept. 2015.

If there had been no change of government in the 14th General Election on May 9, 2018, the implementation of the Education Ministry decision on new curriculum in Sept. 2015 would probably result in “Three Wants” in the new textbooks for Chinese/Tamil Std. 4 primary school pupils – Want to be compulsory, Want to have examination and Want students to learn to read and write Jawi.

Now, the “Three Wants” had become “Three Nos” — No Compulsion, No Examination and No learning/writing of Jawi but only introduction.

These are the facts and background information of the Jawi controversy which the Gerakan President as well as the MCA leadership are hiding from  Malaysians.

How did I renege on what I said about Jawi in 1984?

My statement is easily available online, and if Gerakan and MCA leaders do not understand what I said in 1984, which had the heading “
Education Ministry’s regulation that Jawi is a compulsory subject violates Article 152 of Malaysian Constitution”
,  I am prepared to give the Gerakan and MCA Presidents free tuition on how to understand simple statements.

It is no wonder that the Gerakan President Datuk Dr. Dominic Lau was trounced by an Independent novice and a law student, P. Prabakaran M. Parameswaran in the Batu parliamentary constituency in the last general election  to become the country’s youngest Member of Parliament at the age of 22.

Do you want a free tuition on how to understand simple statements, Dr. Lau?

(Media Statement by DAP MP for Iskandar Puteri Lim Kit Siang in Gelang Patah on Monday, 9th September 2019)

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Fourth Challenge to Malaysian Youths – Be in  the frontline to fight corruption and to achieve  the objective for Malaysia to be among world’s top 30 countries in integrity by year 2030

For the third time in ten days, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah reminded all Malaysians about  the fundamentals of nation-building in a plural Malaysia as spelt out by the Malaysian Constitution and the Rukunegara.

Speaking at the investiture ceremony of federal awards and honours at Istana Negara yesterday  held in conjunction with his official birthday celebration, he reminded all Malaysians  not to play up sensitive issues in the interests of any party.

He said that every citizen has been promised rights and freedoms in accordance with the Federal Constitution, but that freedom must not go beyond the values that are fundamental to national unity.

He said: “So as in politics. There must be a line and limit that should not be crossed. If political polemics were left prolonged, sooner or later it will start taking its toll on the people.

“Believe me, the unity, peace and harmony that have been built over these 62 years, if we ever lose them, will be very difficult to get back.

“My advice is, let bygones be bygones, forgive and forget past disputes so that the broken relationship can be fixed and restored.”

In the past ten days, the Sultans of Perak and Selangor have also expressed similar concerns  when they spoke on the importance of national unity and the dangers of uncontrolled spread of fake news and hate speech to destroy inter-racial and inter-religious understanding, tolerance and harmony in Malaysia.

Sultan Nazrin Shah of Perak described racial provocations “were like setting up time bombs which were waiting for the right time to explode” while Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah of Selangor reminded Malaysians not to easily believe fake and slanderous news on the social media as they can jeopardise the country’s peace and security.

If we go on by the social media, the picture  from the  uncontrolled spread of fake news and hate speech is a  Malaysia that is  never been more polarised in racial and religious terms in the nation’s history as if the country is teetering on the verge of a racial and religious conflagration.

But this “social media Malaysia” is a false picture of the Malaysian reality on the ground, as instead of inter-racial animosity, distrust, fear and hatred, there is general  goodwill, understanding, harmony and tolerance among Malaysians, whether Malays, Chinese or Indians – regardless of race or religion.

But do not discount irresponsible political opportunists and desperados who are doing their utmost  through the  uncontrolled spread of fake new and hate speech to incite inter-racial and inter-religious suspicion, doubt, fear and hate to ensure that real-life Malaysia mimic social-media Malaysia – “setting up time-bombs waiting for the right time to explode”,

This is the immediate battle in Malaysia – between the merchants of fear and hate who want to see  a racial and religious conflagration in  Malaysia through unchecked spread of fake news and hate speech vs Malaysian patriots to prove them wrong and demonstrate instead  that Malaysians, regardless of race, religion or region, are united to build a New Malaysia which is a top world-class nation of unity, freedom, justice, excellence and integrity.

The youths of Malaysia should be in the thick of this battle to be in the frontlines  to save the soul of Malaysia and  establish  a New Malaysia which is a top world-class nation of unity, freedom, justice, excellence and integrity and an example of the world of the success of the Alliance of Civilisations instead of a failure from the Clash of Civilisations.

In both the speeches of the Yang di Pertuan Agong and the Prime Minister at the investiture ceremony yesterday, there was reference to the important subject of  corruption.

On building a society of integrity, the Yang di Pertuan Agong urged that  the younger generation  be equipped with knowledge and called for programmes that could inculcate good and noble values, develop a strong sense of identity and spirit of patriotism, to be organised nationwide.

There can be no room  in Malaysia for perverted ideas such as a corrupt Muslim is better than a clean,  honest and incorrupt non-Muslim.

The Prime Minister, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad,  pledged the Pakatan Harapan government’s commitment in a New Malaysia to rehabilitate the country and liberate it from corruption and abuse of power.

With the lowering of voting age from 21 to 18 years and a political environment dedicated to democracy and human rights, integrity  is a subject which the liberated youths of today must play a pivotal role, and this is  why I am issuing a fourth challenge to the Malaysian youths – to be in  the frontline in the war against  corruption and to achieve  the objective for Malaysia to be among world’s top 30 countries in integrity by year 2030!

The objective for Malaysia to be among the world’s top 30 nations in integrity can never be achieved unless the youths of Malaysia are prepared to be  in the frontline in the war against corruption.

This is particularly pertinent as a survey by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) from 2014 until June this year shows that corruption is rampant among civil servants in the country, as they make up 46.3 per cent of 4,860 persons arrested for graft offences over the period.

A MACC survey revealed that 22.1 per cent respondents in the public sector said they were willing to accept bribes if they were in a position of power.

Instead, Malaysia fell to No. 62 out of 180 countries in the TI CPI 2017  with a score of 47/100.

It will not be an easy target for Malaysia to catapult some 30 places in 10 years to be ranked among the top 30 countries  in integrity in the TI CPI 2030.

The question is whether the youths in Malaysia, regardless of race, religion or region,  are prepared to take up the cudgels to ensure that Malaysia is one of the top 30 nations in integrity by 2030?

(Media Statement by DAP MP for Iskandar Puteri Lim Kit Siang in Gelang Patah on Tuesday, 10th September 2019)

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 10 September 2019, 8:32 am and is filed under
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“M for Malaysia” a must-see film  for every Malaysian as it’s a powerful  antidote to the recent  barrage  of fake news and hate speech to create racial and religious conflagration on the baseless premise that the Malays have lost political power as the May 9, 2018 historic change  was a Chinese conspiracy to grab power from the Malays

“M for Malaysia” is a must-see film  for every Malaysian as it’s a powerful antidote to the recent barrage of fake news and hate speech to create racial and religious conflagration on the baseless premise that the Malays have lost political power as the May 9, 2018 historic change  was a Chinese conspiracy to grab power from the Malays.

Former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak was the pedlar-in-chief of fake news and hate speech during the 14th General Election, utterly reckless of their divisive, provocative and polarizing character to tear asunder a fragile plural society comprising of diverse races, religions, languages and cultures!

Who will forget what Najib said on the eve of the 14th General Election on May 9, 2018 when he said that there were no Malays at Pakatan Harapan ceramahs and that the tens of thousands who gathered to hear Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad in the various parts in the country were DAP supporters “bussed in” by DAP, when the Special Branch and the various intelligence agencies of the government  should know  that in its 52-year history, DAP had never bused anyone to any DAP or Pakatan Harapan function!

Malaysians would be reminded from the film “M for Malaysia” that the crowds at the ceramahs for Mahathir and Pakatan Harapan in the 14th General Election campaign  were very spontaneous and  representative of the Malays, Chinese and Indians in Peninsular Malaysia,  exposing  the lies and falsehoods – escalated in the recent  barrage of fake news and hate speech in the last few months – that the change of government on May 9, 2018 was Chinese grabbing Malay political power.

Spreading lies, falsehoods, fake news and hate speech to create  racial and religious tension and conflagration is now regarded as the only way for the  thieves, kleptocrats and liars to recapture power in Malaysia.

Just as there were lies and fake news in the last two Parliamentary meetings  that lurking in the shadows were “no confidence” motions against the Prime Minster, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, the coming budget parliamentary meeting starting on Oct. 7 would be no exception.

I expect soon to read  juicy reports about non-existent conspiracies involving Pakatan Harapan Members of Parliament plotting to move a “no confidence” motion against Mahathir when the forthcoming parliamentary budget meeting nears.

In fact, the political opportunists and desperados are getting so desperate that they are predicting racial riots in the country at the end of the year. They hope that the “hothouse” atmosphere in the social media over race and religious polarisation would spread from the Internet  to real-life Malaysia.

Every Malaysian should watch the “M – for  Malaysia” film for this would be the most effective way to prove wrong the political opportunists and desperados who expect racial riots at the end of the year, for the film is an antidote to the lie and falsehood that the Malays have lost power to the Chinese in Malaysia.

(Media Statement by DAP MP for Iskandar Puteri Lim Kit Siang in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday 11th September 2019)

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 11 September 2019, 5:38 pm and is filed under
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Another reason “M for Malaysia” a must-see film  for every Malaysian – to reaffirm  that the historic decision of 9.5.2018 must succeed although it would take a longer time-span to accomplish  instead of being an ignominious failure

There is another reason why the film
 “M for Malaysia”
 should  be a must-see film for every Malaysian – an occasion for Malaysians to reaffirm that the historic decision of 9.5.2018 must succeed although it would take a longer  time-span to accomplish instead of being an ignominious failure.

The film
 “M for Malaysia”
documents the 14th General Election on May 9, 2018, when Malaysians shocked the world and themselves with a miraculous transition of power, peaceful and democratic, overthrowing one of the longest ruling governments in the world to reset nation-building policies to build a New Malaysia to become a country which is a top world-class nation of unity, freedom, justice, excellence and integrity.

Malaysians were so focussed on accomplishing the seemingly impossible job  of  overcoming insuperable odds to change the government through the ballot box that they overlooked the fact that May 9,  2018 was not a bloody  revolution where the heads of those who dissented can be chopped but a peaceful democratic transition where we must win over those who had earlier disagreed with a change of government – while restoring the fundamental rights of freedom of speech and expression which were quelled by repression by  the previous government.

While the film celebrates the miraculous victory of Malaysians on May 9, 2018 , it is a salutary reminder that only a battle had been won  but  not a war.

Just as the May 9, 2018 victory  was the result of decades of
 “blood, sweat and tears”
 of courageous, passionate and patriotic Malaysians, the mission to build a New Malaysia to  reset nation-building policies to undo the injustices, abuses of power and corruption of  the past six decades cannot  be undone in one or two years, but will take more than one general election cycle to accomplish.

The film
“M for Malaysia”
 is a reminder that if the miraculous victory of May 9, 2018 is not to go to nought, we must  have the stamina, perseverance and foresight not only to win a battle on May 9, 2018 but to win the war to build a New Malaysia for future generations of Malaysians.

Malaysia in post-14th General Election have become very racially and religiously polarised especially through untrammelled fake news and hate speech on the social media.

This is because the thieves, kleptocrats, crooks and liars in Malaysian politics see lies, falsehoods, fake news, hate speech to pit race against race and religion against religion as the only way to restore their political empire and stern and immediate  action to curb such divisive and destructive fake news and hate speech to create racial and religious conflicts are  urgently needed before Malaysia is engulfed in a racial and religious conflagration

The war for a  New Malaysia  has not been lost yet although we must be nimble and agile to adapt to the new battleground to win the hearts and minds of the people – from television and earlier forms of media to social media whether Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and, most important of all, WhatsApp.

Just as we must dare to dream Big Dreams, we must have a positive and optimistic attitude about Malaysia’s future, to believe that the overwhelming majority of Malaysians regardless of race or religion will support a New Malaysia of unity, justice, freedom, integrity and excellence, or the miracle of May 9, 2018 would not have taken place.

The enemies of a New Malaysia have placed themselves on the wrong side of history by resorting to the toxic and vicious politics of lies, hate, fear, race and religion and  must face a diminishing market over a period of time.

DAP had been accused of all sorts of sin in the past five decades, of being Chinese chauvinist, Communist and Christian, but we have proven our critics wrong – that while  we are proud of our different ethnicities,  we are first and last Malaysians.

From being accused of being anti-Malay and anti-Islam by Malay and Muslim extremists, DAP is being accused of having sold out Chinese and Indian rights by extremists in MCA, MIC and Gerakan!

There is now a video on the social media which defames some  DAP leaders claiming that they have renounced their Chinese ethnicity in claiming to be Malaysians. This is a new low in dirty politics and character-assassination in Malaysian politics.

Previously, Malay leaders and members in DAP were accused of betraying the Malay race and Islam by being in DAP. Now DAP leaders of Chinese descent are accused of betraying the Chinese.

How low and illogical can Malaysian politics be?

How in the world is it possible for anyone to accomplish both contradictory goals one and the same time?

What is possible and true, is that both these charges are wrong and baseless.

Just as Malaysians have arisen above two ignominies in its history, the May 13, 1969 racial riots and being condemned by the world as a global kleptocracy, Malaysians must continue to aim high and be a top world class nation for harmony, freedom, justice, integrity and excellence to build a New Malaysia, where Malaysians can hold their heads high because they come from a country which not only tolerate, but respect and accept  racial, religious, linguistic and cultural diversity as well as a country which is a leading nation of integrity in the world.

Just as  Malaysians must reject those who advocate that a corrupt Christian is better than a non-corrupt non-Christian, a corrupt  Buddhist is better than a non-corrupt non-Buddhist, a  corrupt Hindu better than a non-corrupt non-Hindu, we must reject those who advocate that a corrupt Muslim is better than a good, honest and non-corrupt non-Muslim.

Malaysia is a confluence of four great civilisations of the world – Malay/Islamic, Chinese, Indian and Western.

Let Malaysia  show the world the success from the Alliance of Civilisations instead of a failure from the Clash of Civilisations.

This is the battleline between Pakatan Harapan and the Opposition.

(Media Statement by DAP MP for Iskandar Puteri Lim Kit Siang in Gelang Patah on  Thursday 12th September 2019)

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 12 September 2019, 10:46 am and is filed under
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Great urgency to address the issue of poverty with formulation of  12th Malaysia Five Year Plan

Tindakan segera diperlukan untuk menangani isu kemiskinan dalam merangka Rancangan Malaysia ke-12

Banyak kenyataan yang dikeluarkan kebelakangan ini telah mempersoalkan kadar 0.4% isi rumah yang hidup di bawah garis pendapatan kemiskinan (GPK) yang diterjemahkan kepada 27,000 daripada sejumlah 6.7 juta isi rumah dalam negara.

Anggaran ini telah dipersoalkan oleh ramai pihak yang memerhatikan realiti di kehidupan yang sangat berbeza; sama ada di kelompok kemiskinan bandar, komuniti luar bandar, ataupun di dalam kumpulan sosial di Sabah dan Sarawak.

Dalam kenyataan saya yang dikeluarkan pada 4 September yang lepas, saya telah mencadangkan supaya satu Suruhanjaya Siasatan Diraja (RCI) ditubuhkan untuk menyiasat isu kemiskinan di dalam negara. Saya juga telah cadangkan nama beberapa individu yang terkenal dalam bidang ini sebagai ahli Suruhanjaya ini dan supaya Suruhanjaya ini diberikan terma rujukan yang luas.

Saya telah menerima beberapa maklumbalas mengenai cadangan saya. Walaupun terdapat pelbagai pandangan mengenai kesesuaian penubuhan RCI untuk menyelesaikan masalah ini, hampir semua maklumbalas bersetuju yang garis pendapatan kemiskinan memerlukan semakan semula sebelum Rancangan Malaysia ke-12 dirangka dan dibentangkan.

Semakan ini perlulah mengambil kira semua pandangan dan komen yang telah diberikan, yang pada masa yang sama menjadi peringatan kepada semua terhadap komitmen yang telah dibuat oleh Pakatan Harapan mengenai isu ketelusan dan akauntabiliti.

Garis Kemiskinan

Penentuan garis kemiskinan adalah merupakan satu langkah yang penting untuk membuat anggaran jumlah penduduk yang berstatus miskin. Bahagian Statistik Pertubuhan Bangsa-bangsa Bersatu telah memberikan cadangan tentang bagaimana garis kemiskinan dapat ditentukan. Tiga kaedah mudah yang digunakan secara meluas untuk menentukan garis pendapatan kemiskinan adalah:

1. Garis kemiskinan mutlak

2. Garis kemiskinan mengikut persetujuan sosial

3. Garis kemiskinan relatif

Di sini saya memetik dari buku panduan PBB:

Garis kemiskinan mutlak

Kaedah ini mengenal pasti individu yang hidup di dalam isi rumah yang berisiko untuk menghadapi kemiskinan. Garis pendapatan kemiskinan mutlak adalah kos yang diperlukan untuk memenuhi keperluan asas kehidupan sesuatu isi rumah tersebut. Individu yang hidup di dalam isi rumah yang meraih pendapatan di bawah garisan pendapatan mutlak ini dianggap sebagai berisiko tinggi menghadapi kemiskinan.

Di dalam sesetengah perkiraan, had ini ditetapkan sebagai beberapa kali ganda harga bakul makanan asas bagi mengambil kira perbelanjaan bukan makanan. Bakul makanan ini boleh ditentukan pada asas per kapita (garis pendapatan kemiskinan untuk setiap individu) ataupun ditentukan secara khusus untuk setiap jenis isi rumah berdasarkan beberapa faktor seperti jumlah ahli keluarga dan sebagainya.

Bagi memastikan keberkesanan, garis kemiskinan mutlak ini perlu ditetapkan mengikut harga dan corak penggunaan semasa tempatan. Kandungan “bakul makanan” ini juga perlu dikemas kini dari masa ke masa mengikut perubahan masyarakat.

Garis kemiskinan mengikut persetujuan sosial

Kaedah ini menetapkan garis kemiskinan mengikut persetujuan sosial, di mana tinjauan dilakukan terhadap satu kumpulan masyarakat untuk menentukan kadar pendapatan minima yang mereka rasakan mencukupi untuk memenuhi keperluan asas kehidupan mereka dan purata daripada tinjauan ini dijadikan garis pendapatan kemiskinan yang dianggap bersesuaian untuk komuniti tersebut. Kaedah ini memberikan satu garis kemiskinan yang lebih telus tetapi pada masa yang sama lebih subjektif.

Garis kemiskinan relatif

Sementara garis kemiskinan berasaskan “bakul makanan” dipergunakan dengan meluas di negara yang sedang membangun, garis kemiskinan relatif lebih banyak digunakan di kalangan negara maju. Pendekatan relatif dalam mengukur garis kemiskinan ini menggunakan data agihan pendapatan dalam negara dan menetapkan garis kemiskinan sebagai sebahagian daripada taraf hidup.

Kaedah ukuran yang paling banyak digunakan adalah nisbah individu yang dikira berdasarkan nisbah individu yang berpendapatan di bawah suatu peratusan pendapatan median di negara tersebut. Peratusan ini berbeza mengikut negara, sebagai contoh, Eurostat mengklasifikasikan individu yang berpendapatan di bawah tahap 60% daripada pendapatan median sebagai miskin manakala OECD menggunakan tahap 50%.

Kebanyakan negara yang sedang membangun menggunakan ukuran mutlak ataupun “bakul makanan” untuk menentukan garis pendapatan kemiskinan. “Bakul makanan” ini ditetapkan mengikut corak penggunaan tempatan yang diukur melalui Tinjauan Pendapatan-Perbelanjaan Isi Rumah.

Pendekatan Malaysia dalam menentukan Garis Pendapatan Kemiskinan

Satu-satu penjelasan metodologi yang digunakan oleh pihak berkuasa untuk mengukur tahap kemiskinan telah dijelaskan di dalam Rancangan Malaysia ke-9. Di dalam debat parlimen mengenai Rancangan tersebut, saya telah membangkitkan isu terhadap metodologi ini yang berbunyi seperti berikut:

“Terdapat satu masalah yang lebih mendalam dan membimbangkan berkenaan dengan kaedah perkiraan ini. Kotak 16.2 menunjukkan yang GPK ini terdiri daripada dua komponen — komponen makanan dan bukan-makanan.

“Rancangan ini juga menyatakan yang komponen makanan telah dikira berdasarkan nasihat daripada pakai pemakanan dan ahli perubatan.

“Masalahnya di sini ialah corak pemakanan SEBENAR yang diukur melalui Tinjauan Isi Rumah telah diabaikan dan digantikan dengan angka-angka yang dianggap ‘wajar’. Angka ini kemudiannya digunakan untuk menetapkan garis kemiskinan yang digunakan untuk menjangka jumlah penduduk miskin tegar.

“Impak pendekatan ini terhadap GPK adalah sangat besar dan ia menyebabkan kesalahan dalam anggaran jumlah sebenar penduduk miskin tegar. Ini adalah satu kecacatan yang besar dan pendekatan ini tidak dicadangkan atau digunakan oleh mana-mana pihak berkuasa yang lain untuk menetapkan GPK.”

Kebimbangan ini kemudiannya diabaikan dan pihak berkuasa berterusan menggunakan metodologi yang bermasalah ini yang tersimpang jauh daripada amalan terbaik antarabangsa.

Kini jelaslah penggunaan kayu ukur bermasalah yang telah memberikan kita anggaran isi rumah miskin yang tidak realistik ini tidak mempunyai kredibiliti.

Penyelidik bebas dalam bidang kemiskinan yang pernah cuba untuk mengkaji dan menganalisa masalah kemiskinan di negara ini telah lama menyatakan kekecewaan mereka terhadap kesukaran untuk mendapatkan data tinjauan asli yang disimpan seakan-akan ianya rahsia besar negara. Perkara ini bukanlah sesuatu yang biasa dilakukan di negara-negara maju.

Langkah seterusnya

Wacana baru-baru ini berkenaan isu kemiskinan telah membangkitkan isu kesilapan dalam angka anggaran isi rumah miskin tegar ini.

Anggaran 0.4 peratus isi rumah miskin tegar ini bersifat delusional dan mestilah tidak digunakan sebagai asas perancangan dan pengagihan kekayaan negara.

Metodologi sedia ada perlu digantikan selari dengan amalan terbaik antarabangsa dengan sesegera yang mungkin.

Pertama sekali, Unit Perancang Ekonomi dan Jabatan Statistik haruslah menerbitkan data terpecah (selepas memadamkan maklumat peribadi individu) daripada Tinjauan Pendapatan dan Perbelanjaan Isi Rumah yang terbaru bagi membolehkan ahli akademik membuat kajiselidik bebas.

Penerbitan ini menjadi bukti komitmen kerajaan Pakatan Harapan terhadap ketelusan dan keterbukaan dalam berkongsi maklumat, selari dengan manifesto PH. Reformasi ini telahpun dijanjikan dan ia mestilah dipenuhi.

Penting untuk kita ingat kembali yang penerbitan maklumat-maklumat ini adalah satu perkara yang biasa dilakukan dan selari dengan Prinsip Statistik PBB. Tidak ada mana-mana negara yang matang dari segi statistik di dalam dunia ini yang menyorokkan datanya seperti Malaysia.

Walaupun penubuhan RCI mungkin ditangguhkan, penetapan semula GPK adalah satu isu teknikal yang tidak memerlukan penubuhan RCI dan boleh dijalankan secepat mungkin.

Terdapat pelbagai pilihan untuk digunakan sebagai metodologi pengiraan yang diterima pakai oleh pelbagai negara dan institusi yang boleh kita gunakan. Masalah kita selama ini adalah kengganan kerajaan Barisan Nasional sebelum ini untuk menggunakan metodologi yang diterima pakai umum.

Bagi memperbetulkan yang salah, apa yang kita perlukan ialah penubuhan satu Kumpulan Pakar Teknikal yang bebas.

Perkara ini biasa dilakukan di negara maju apabila berdepan dengan masalah dalam perkiraan ukuran statistik yang penting dan sensitif.

Sudah tiba masanya untuk Malaysia maju ke hadapan ke arah pendekatan yang lebih telus dengan meninggalkan pendekatan yang hanya bertujuan untuk mewujudkan angka-angka yang membuatkan kita “rasa gembira”.

Menjadi satu kepentingan untuk kita menangani isu ini dalam kita melakukan persediaan untuk merangka Rancangan Malaysia ke-12 bagi membolehkan kita mencapai kemakmuran yang boleh dikongsi bersama oleh semua rakyat Malaysia dan mencapai cita-cita menjadi negara maju.

(Kenyataan Media Ahli Parlimen DAP Iskandar Puteri Lim Kit Siang di Kuala Lumpur pada hari Khamis 12 September 2019)

==================================

Recent statements have questioned the reports that there are .04 percent of households that remain below the national poverty line.

This works out to be approximately 27,000 households below the poverty line income (PLI) out of a total population of 6.7 million households.

These estimates have been seriously questioned and point to a possible gross underestimation given the realities on the ground: whether in the marginalized urban pockets, rural communities or social groups in Sarawak and Sabah.

In a statement that I made on Sept 4th, I proposed that a Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) be convened to look into poverty in Malaysia. I had proposed a broad terms of reference and a list eminent personalities as prospective members.

My proposals have been commented upon by a multitude of individuals. While opinions about the appropriateness of establishing a RCI have differed, there appears to be a broad consensus that the manner in which the PLIs have been calculated needs a review in the context of the preparation of the 12th Malaysia Five Year Plan.

The review needs to take account of the range of comments that have raised issues and reminded us of the commitments made by the Pakatan Harapan leadership concerning fuller transparency and accountability.

Poverty Lines

The determination of Poverty Lines (PLs) is a key step in the estimation of the population falling within a status of poverty. The United Nations Statistical Division has laid out recommendations concerning the derivation of PLs. Three basic, but widely used, approaches to define income poverty lines are :

a.Absolute or basket of goods poverty line

b.Poverty line based on social consensus

c.Relative or distribution based poverty line.

I quote from the UN Handbook:

a.Absolute or basket of goods poverty line

“The methods described below identify people living in households at risk of income poverty. Absolute or basket of goods poverty line ‘… represent the cost of buying a basket of goods that allows one to meet the absolute thresholds of satisfying certain basic needs’ Persons living in households with income below that needed to purchase the items required are deemed to be at risk of poverty. In some variants the threshold is set as a multiple of the price of a basic food basket to allow for non-food expenditure The basket of goods can be determined on a per-capita basis for each individual or can be distinguished for different types of households, thus providing an implicit scale of equivalence. To be effective, poverty lines which are based on a basket of goods need to reflect local prices and consumption patterns………. Also the base of the absolute measure, that is the basket of goods, is likely to need updating over time as community standards or expectations change.”

“b. Poverty line based on social consensus

Other poverty lines use minimum thresholds decided by societal standards. For example, persons may be asked what minimum level of income they consider as adequate for a given type of household. The average of these responses would then provide a simple income cutoff for determining who is at risk of income poverty for any type of household. This idea inspired more refined, so-called subjective poverty lines ,,,,,,”

“c. Relative or distribution based poverty lines

While basket of goods based poverty lines have traditionally dominated the practice of poverty measurement in developing countries, relative poverty lines are more commonly used in developed countries. A relative approach to poverty measurement uses data on the distribution of resources and defines the poverty line as a proportion of some notion of standards of living (Rio Group, 2006).

The most common measure is the ‘headcount ratio’ based on the proportion of people within a country with an income below a certain fraction of median equivalised disposable household income in that country, e.g. Eurostat commonly uses 60% while OECD reports often rely on 50%.”

Most developing countries have tended to use the absolute or basket of goods approach in establishing the PLI. The basket of goods is determined on the consumption patterns as measured by Household Income-Expenditure Surveys (HIES).

Malaysian Approach to Calculation of PLI

The only explicit description of the methodology used by the authorities in measuring poverty is provided in the 9th Malaysia Five Year Plan. In the Parliamentary debate on the Plan, I had raised issue with the methodology used. I quote:

“A deeper and more troubling issue concerns the calculation methods used. Box 16.2 indicates that the new PLI is made up of two components – the Food and Non-Food components.

“The Plan goes on to state that the Food component has been calculated on the basis of the ‘ … advice of nutritionists , dieticians and medical professionals.’

“The point to note is that ACTUAL consumption patterns as measured by the Household surveys were ignored and substituted with notional figures on ‘desirable’ calorie values. This then is the measure used in defining the poverty line to estimate the hardcore poor.

“The impact of this approach grossly affects the PLI and ultimately understates the estimated number of the hardcore poor. This is a very deep flaw. This approach is neither recommended nor used in deriving PLIs.”

These concerns were ignored, and the authorities continued to use this highly flawed methodology which seriously deviated from international best practice for establishing an appropriate PLI.

It is now patently clear that the continued use of the flawed methodology yields unrealistic estimates of the number of households in poverty that lack credibility.

Independent researchers on poverty who have attempted research and analysis have expressed great frustration in their inability to gain access to the raw survey data which is hoarded as a state secret. This again is an uncommon practice in statistically advanced countries.

Next Steps

The recent discussion of the issue of poverty estimates has brought forth a clear recognition that the estimates of poverty are in gross error.

The estimate of .04 percent estimate is delusional and cannot be used as a basis for planning and allocation of resources.

The methodology in place needs replacement and be brought into line with international best practice. There is a certain urgency for action.

First and foremost, the EPU and Dept of Statistics need be directed to release disaggregated data (anonymized in keeping with the requirements of the Statistics Act) from the last Household Income-Expenditure Survey to permit researchers to undertake independent analysis.

The release would represent the commitment to open and transparent sharing of data consistent with the PH Manifesto. This is a promised reform and needs to be met.

It is noteworthy that release of such data are a basic and common practice and in keeping with the UN Principles of Statistics. No statistically mature country hoards survey data in the way Malaysia does.

While the convening of a RCI may be deferred, the calculation of a PLI is a technical issue and need not await the convening of a RCI and therefore should proceed forthwith.

The options concerning the methodology for calculating are well established and internationally known. The problem we face arises from the fact that the previous Barisan Nasional masters circumvented that methodology.

To put matters right, what is needed is the establishment of an independent Technical Expert Group.

This is the commonly accepted approach adopted by a large number of advanced countries when calculating important/sensitive statistical measures.

It is time for Malaysia to move towards a fully transparent approach by abandoning outdated practices designed to generate “feel good” numbers.

There is great urgency in addressing this issue of credible measures to coincide with the preparation of the 12th Malaysia Five Year Plan to achieve shared prosperity for all Malaysians and achieve the goals of becoming an advanced nation.

(Media Statement by DAP MP for Iskandar Puteri Lim Kit Siang in Kuala Lumpur  on  Thursday 12th September 2019)

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 12 September 2019, 12:37 pm and is filed under
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Who will be the Prime Minister if PAS-UMNO alliance of klepto-theocracy  wins the 15th General Election – Najib again or Hadi or Zahid Hamidi?

Siapa yang akan jadi Perdana Menteri jika gabungan klepto-teokrasi PAS-UMNO menang Pilihan Raya Umum ke-15 – Najib lagi? Atau Hadi? Atau Zahid Hamidi?

Siapa yang akan jadi Perdana Menteri jika gabungan klepto-teokrasi PAS-UMNO, yang akan diputuskan esok, menang Pilihan Raya Umum ke-15 pada 2023?

Adakah Datuk Seri Najib Razak? Yang kini berdepan 43 tuduhan rasuah dan digelar sebagai kleptokrat global — sekaligus menyelematkan dirinya daripada dipenjara seumur hidup di penjara Sungai Buloh?

Adakah rakyat Malaysia akan terpaksa sekali lagi menerima “Malu Apa Bossku” sebagai PM?

Adakah PRU15 akan menyelamatkan Najib daripada skandal 1MDB, membuka jalan untuk Tan Sri Mohamad Apandi Ali kembali sebagai Peguam Negara untuk mempertahankan skandal 2MDB, 3MDB dan skandal-skandal seterusnya?

Yang lebih “menarik”, adakah negara ini akan kembali dikawal oleh penjenayah dalam buruan yang kini cuba mengelak perbicaraan; Jho Low yang “pro-Melayu, pro-Islam”, yang mana akan membawa Malaysia ke arah kegemilangan – seorang Cina yang akan mengawal Malaysia menerusi proksinya “Malu Apa Bossku”!

Pun begitu, “kemahsyuran” Najib bukan datang daripada “dalang 1MDB” itu sahaja. Malahan Najib juga bertanggungjawab terhadap pembohongan terbesar dalam sejarah Malaysia – kononnya DAP adalah anti-Melayu, anti-Islam dan anti-Malaysia, bahawa saya kononnya Syaitan Besar Malaysia.

Satu lagi contoh ketoksikan Najibisme boleh dilihat dalam Perhimpunan Agung UMNO, sebelum dan selepas PRU14, termasuk tuduhan liar bahawa saya kononnya seorang komunis; boneka kuasa asing; kononnya saya menguasai Pakatan Harapan dan membuatkan pemimpin lain seperti Mahathir, Anwar Ibrahim, Wan Azizah, Muhyiddin Yassin dan Mohamad Sabu sebagai pak turut dan boneka saya; bahawa kononnya saya mahu jadi Perdana Menteri; bahawa kononnya kerajaan Pakatan Harapan (PH) mengamalkan agenda Kristianisasi – dan terbaru, kononnya saya ingin merebut jawatan dalam Kabinet!

Pada masa sama, saya dituduh oleh oportunis dan desperado dari MCA dan Gerakan kononnya saya kini menjadi “anjing suruhan” yang menjual hak, kepentingan dan masa depan orang Cina.

Biar saya jelaskan secara tuntas bahawa dalam 53 tahun saya berkecimpung dalam politik Malaysia, saya tidak pernah sekalipun terfikir untuk jadi PM Malaysia.

Mereka yang menyebarkan pembohongan bahawa DAP mempunyai agenda Kristianisasi adalah pihak tidak bertanggungjawab yang mahu melihat Malaysia gagal sebagai sebuah negara. Kepercayaan yang amat dangkal bagi mereka yang yakin bahawa DAP dan saya sendiri kononnya mahu menolak Islam sebagai agama rasmi dan digantikan dengan Kristian, sedangkan saya sendiri bukan penganut agama Kristian.

Sekali lagi, ingin saya tegaskan bahawa sejak 53 tahun lalu, agenda kristian atau seumpamanya tidak pernah dibincangkan dalam mesyuarat DAP, sama ada di peringkat kebangsaan, negeri mahupun tempatan – termasuk dalam Kongres DAP Kebangsaan.

Pendirian DAP terhadap Islam sebagai agama rasmi adalah jelas dan tuntas, kerana kami telah berulang kali menyatakan sokongan penuh terhadap peruntukan asas dalam perlembagaan tersebut.

Ia adalah objektif utama dalam gabungan Pakatan Rakyat dahulu dan dalam kerajaan Pakatan Harapan hari ini.

Atau adakah jawatan PM akan diberikan kepada Presiden PAS, Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang, yang membunuh Pakatan Rakyat dengan menolak pencalonan Presiden PKR ketika itu, Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, untuk jawatan Menteri Besar Selangor bagi menggantikan Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim pada Ogos 2014?

Saya masih ingat ucapan saya pada forum PAS di Melaka, 19 tahun lalu pada Jun 2000, berikut beberapa soalan yang saya ajukan pada forum tersebut:

– Adakah PAS serasi dengan demokrasi

– Adakah PAS serasi dengan pluralisme

– Adakah PAS serasi dengan hak asasi manusia

– Adakah PAS serasi dengan kepelbagaian budaya

– Adakah PAS serasi dengan hak-hak wanita, prinsip kesaksamaan untuk wanita termasuk peluang kepada wanita dalam pejabat awam dan kehidupan awam

– Adakah PAS serasi dengan pembangunan dan pemodenan.

Pada awal pembentukan Pakatan Rakyat dari tahun 2008 hingga 2013, PAS berkempen atas platform “PAS for All”, membawa perjuangan gagasan politik Islam yang bersesuaian dengan enam objektif yang dibangkitkan saya pada 2000.

Namun pada 2014, kepimpinan PAS di bawah pimpinan Hadi menentang pencalonan Wan Azizah sebagai Menteri Besar Selangor atas dasar bahawa beliau seorang wanita, sehingga mencetuskan perpecahan Pakatan Rakyat sebagai sebuah gabungan yang diasaskan pada 2008 dan terdiri daripada DAP, PKR dan PAS.

Kini, kepimpinan PAS yang dikemudi Hadi menyokong tesis bahawa pemimpin beragama Islam yang korup lebih baik daripada pemimpin bukan beragama islam yang bersih, jujur dan tidak korup. Kepimpinan Hadi malah mengikut rentak pemimpin UMNO dengan menyebarkan pembohongan, fitnah, berita palsu dan ucapan kebencian yang melaga-lagakan kaum dengan kaum dan agama dengan agama. Akibatnya, kita kini dihidangkan dengan pembohongan “patuh syariah”, fitnah, berita palsu dan ucapan kebencian!

Hadi mungkin sudah lupa bahawa beliau pernah secara terbuka mengaku bahawa DAP pernah mempertahankan PAS semasa kerajaan Kelantan jatuh ke tangan Barisan Nasional pada 1978, sehingga mencetuskan kekacauan di negeri tersebut.

Barisan Nasional, yang bekerjasama dengan PAS ketika itu, tidak melakukan apa-apa untuk membantu PAS dan hanya DAP yang mempertahankan PAS.

Atau adakah Presiden UMNO sekarang, Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, Raja Tuduhan Rasuah dengan 87 tuduhan jenayah, akan menjadi PM Malaysia jika gabungan klepto-teokrasi PAS-UMNO menang PRU15?

Saya pernah nyatakan sebelum ini bahawa gabungan yang diputuskan esok itu adalah gabungan PAS-UMNO dan bukannya UMNO-PAS, kerana jelas PAS memainkan peranan “Abang Besar” dalam gabungan itu.

Sejak beberapa bulan lalu, pemimpin UMNO lah yang banyak memuji pemimpin PAS dan bukan sebaliknya, kerana pemimpin UMNO berharap gabungan dengan PAS akan menyelematkan mereka.

Sudah dua minggu berlalu, tetapi saya masih ternanti-nanti jawapan daripada Zahid tentang parti politik mana yang sebenarnya mengalami “kelemayuh politik” dan telah “ditendang keluar dari tampuk kuasa dalam PRU14 pada 9 Mei 2018”, meskipun PM dan Presiden UMNO/BN malah semua kepimpinan Barisan Nasional menjangkakan bahawa mereka akan bukan sahaja mendapat semula mandat untuk mentadbir, tetapi memperolehi dua pertiga sokongan Parlimen?

Lebih-lebih lagi, saya telah bertanya kepada Zahid mengapa beliau terpaksa bercuti daripada jawatan presiden UMNO pada 18 Disember 2018? Selepas beliau merujuk kepada keadaan memalukan yang sedang dihadapi UMNO dan dimalukan dan ditolak dalam mesyuarat yang dihadirinya.

Jadi siapa calon PM gabungan klepto-teokrasi PAS-UMNO – Najib lagi atau Hadi atau Zahid? Atau mereka tidak berani untuk memperkatan tentang perkara itu dan mahu terus memesongkan rakyat Malaysia?

(Kenyataan Media oleh Ahli Parlimen DAP Iskandar Puteri, Lim Kit Siang di Gelang Patah pada Jumaat, 13 September 2019)

==============================

Who will be the Prime Minister if the PAS-UMNO alliance of klepto-theocracy, to be finalised tomorrow, wins the 15th General Election in 2023?

Will it be Datuk Seri Najib Razak again, with his 43 corruption charges  hanging over his head  and his notoriety as a global kleptocrat, saving him from spending the rest of his life in Sungai Buloh Prison?

Are Malaysians going to have “Malu Apa BOSSKU” back again as the tenant in Sri Perdana in Putrajaya and their Prime Minister?

Will the 15th General Election rescue Najib from the 1MDB scandal, paving the way for the return  of Tan Sri Mohamad Apandi Ali as the Attorney-General with the country poised for even greater  2MDB, 3MDB and 3MDB scandals?

Even more “exciting”, the country will be back under the control of the international fugitive from justice, the “pro-Malay, pro-Islam” Jho Low, who will return to Malaysia in a blaze of  glory – the Chinese who will be controlling Malaysia through his control of “Malu Apa BOSSku”!

But the “1MDB Man” is not Najib’s only notoriety. In fact, Najib is responsible for the greatest lies in the history of Malaysia – that the DAP is anti-Malay, anti-Islam and anti-Malaysia, that I am the Devil-in-Chief in Malaysia.

Other toxic Najibisms are to be found at recent UMNO General Assemblies,  during and after the  14th General Election,  including the  wild allegations that I was  a communist; a stooge of foreign powers; that I dominated Pakatan Harapan and made other leaders like Mahathir, Anwar Ibrahim, Wan Azizah, Muhyiddin Yassin and Mohamad Sabu my stooges and puppets; that I wanted to be Prime Minister; that the Pakatan Harapan Government was adopting the DAP’s Christianisation agenda – and the latest, that I am angling for a position in the Cabinet!

All at the same time, I am accused by MCA and Gerakan opportunists and desperados of having becoming a “running dog” selling out the rights, interests and future of the Chinese  – but nobody is the wiser as to how this circle could be squared!

Let  me state  categorically and unequivocally that in the 53 years that I have been in Malaysian politics, the thought of my becoming Prime Minister of Malaysia had  never entered even once  into  my mind.

Those who spread the lies that DAP has a Christianisation agenda are  mere mischief makers who want Malaysia to fail as a nation. It really beggars belief that DAP and I want to do away with Islam as the official religion and bring about a Christian Malaysia, when I am not even a Christian!

Again, let me state categorically and unequivocally that for the past 53 years, no such Christian agenda had ever been raised in any DAP meeting, whether national, state or local – including the DAP National Congress.

DAP’s position on Islam as the official religion is clear and unequivocal, as we have many a time expressed full support for this basic constitutional provision in the country.

It was a major objective in the former Pakatan Rakyat coalition  and in the present Pakatan Harapan Government.

Or will the post of  Prime Minister  if PAS-UMNO alliance  of klepto-theocracy wins the 15th General Election go to the PAS President, Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang, who killed Pakatan Rakyat by vetoing the nomination of then PKR President, Datuk Seri Dr. Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, for the post of Selangor Mentri Besar to replace Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim in August 2014?

I remember that I gave a talk to a PAS forum in Malacca 19 years ago in June 2000, and I posed the following questions:

(1) Was PAS compatible with Democracy.

(2) Was PAS compatible with pluralism.

(3) Was PAS compatible with human rights.

(4) Was PAS compatible with cultural diversity.

(5) Was PAS compatible with women’s rights, the principle of equality for women including women’s access to public office and public life.

(6) Was PAS compatible with development and modernity.

In the early years of Pakatan Rakyat from 2008 to 2013, PAS campaigned on a platform of “PAS for All”, demonstrating that it represents a political Islam compatible with the six objectives I had asked in 2000.

But in 2004, Hadi’s PAS leadership opposed Wan Azizah’s nomination as Selangor Mentri Besar on the ground that she was a woman, leading to  the eventual death of Pakatan Rakyat as a coalition of DAP, PKR and PAS which as formed in 2008.

Now, Hadi’s PAS leadership supports the thesis that a corrupt Muslim leader is better than a clean, honest and non-corrupt non-Muslim  leader and together with UMNO leaders, are   disseminating lies, falsehoods, fake news and hate speech to pit race against race and religion against religion. As a result, are we having  Shariah-compliant lies, falsehoods, fake news and hate speech!

Hadi had forgotten what he had admitted  publicly,  that it was DAP  which had  defended  PAS when the Kelantan government fell to  Barisan Nasional in 1978, causing chaos within the state.

Barisan Nasional, that was working with PAS then, did nothing to help PAS  and only  DAP defended PAS.

Or will the present UMNO President, Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, the King of Corruption Charges with 87 charges hanging over his head, going to be the Prime Minister of Malaysia if the PAS-UMNO alliance of klepto-theocracy wins the 15th General Election?

I had mentioned the alliance which will be finalised tomorrow as a PAS-UMNO alliance and not UMNO-PAS alliance, as it is clear that it is PAS which will play the role of the “Big Brother”.

In the past few months, it is the UMNO leaders who had been singing  praises of the PAS leaders and not the other way round, as UMNO leaders are hoping that the alliance with PAS will provide  UMNO with life support.

It is more than a fortnight but I am still waiting for an answer from Zahid as to which political party was suffering from “political gangrene” and got “booted out of power in the 14th General Election on May 9, 2018”,   although the then  Prime Minister and UMNO/BN President  as well as the entire Barisan Nasional leadership had expected not only to regain the mandate to govern, but to recapture two-thirds parliamentary support?

Furthermore, I had asked Zahid why he had gone on “garden leave” as UMNO President on 18th December 2008, after he had referred to “punishing” conditions imposed on UMNO and the humiliation it suffered in a number of meetings he attended, where he not only faced rejection and insults, but even “humiliation, as if Umno was as unclean as the faeces of animals deemed haram”; and why did he end his “garden leave” as UMNO President on 30th June 2019 after he accumulated a total of 87 corruption charges?

So who is the  Prime Ministerial candidate for the PAS-UMNO alliance of  klepto-theocracy – Najib again  or Hadi or Zahid? Or they don’t dare to talk about it and want to continue to mislead the people of Malaysia?

（Media Statement by DAP MP for Iskandar Puteri Lim Kit Siang in Gelang Patah on Friday, Sept. 13, 2019）

                This entry was posted on Friday, 13 September 2019, 10:48 am and is filed under
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Free all arrested under Sedition Act as Pakatan Harapan government has promised to revoke it under Promise 27 of the 14th General Election Manifesto

Bebaskan semua tahanan di bawah Akta Hasutan kerana kerajaan Pakatan Harapan  sememangnya telah berjanji untuk menghapuskan Akta tersebut menerusi Janji 27 dalam Manifesto Pilihanraya Umum ke-14

Pihak polis harus membebaskan semua tahanan di bawah Akta Hasutan kerana kerajaan Pakatan Harapan sememangnya telah berjanji untuk menghapuskan Akta tersebut menerusi Janji 27 dalam Manifesto Pilihanraya Umum ke-14.

Penahanan bekas ketua pemuda PSM Khalid Ismath dan individu-individu lain di bawah Akta Hasutan 1948 adalah satu perbuatan yang tidak boleh dipertahankan memandangkan ianya bertentangan dengan apa yang telah dijanjikan oleh Pakatan Harapan.

Tindakan Raja Permaisuri Agong Tunku Azizah Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah yang menyatakan rasa kedukacitaan baginda terhadap tindakan penahanan oleh pihak polis ini adalah satu tindakan yang amat terpuji.

Semua penjawat awam dan pihak polis seharusnya membiasakan diri mereka dengan manifesto PRU ke-14 Pakatan Harapan untuk memahami semangat, falsafah serta hala tuju kerajaan Pakatan Harapan sungguhpun undang-undang dan dasar-dasar negara masih belum lagi diubah supaya mereka mengambil tindakan yang bertentangan dengan manifesto kerajaan semasa dalam usaha membina sebuah Malaysia baru.

(Kenyataan media Ahli Parlimen kawasan Iskandar Puteri, Lim Kit Siang, di Kuala Lumpur pada 14 September 2019)

================================

The Police must free all arrested under the Sedition Act as Pakatan Harapan government has promised to revoke it under Promise 27 of the Pakatan Harapan 14th General Election Manifesto.

The arrest of former  PSM Youth chief, Khalid Ismath  and others under the Sedition Act 1948 is completely indefensible as  the Pakatan Harapan had pledged to abolish the repressive Act.

It is most commendable that the Raja Permaisuri Agong, Tunku Azizah Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah has expressed her upset at the police crackdown and arrests.

All police and civil service personnel should familiarise themselves with the Pakatan Harapan 14th General Election manifesto to know the spirit, philosophy and direction of the Pakatan Harapan government even though  laws and policies have not yet been changed so that they would not act in open opposition of the Pakatan Harapan pledge for a New Malaysia.

(Media Comment by DAP MP for Iskandar Puteri Lim Kit Siang in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday, 14th September 2019)

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 14 September 2019, 11:11 am and is filed under
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Let the best in Thirukkural and Confucianism on how to be a good human being be  part of the Malaysian heritage for Malaysia to be example to the world of the success of Alliance of Civilisations

I am like a fish out of water, launching this new book in Tamil by my friend and comrade of over fifty years, K. Siladass, which is a collection of his short stories in Tamil.

I do not understand Tamil, but before the function, I was privileged to be given a copy of Thirukkural with translation in Malay and English by Dr. Singaravelu Sachithananthan, former head and professor of Indian Studies, University of Malaya – which must the first book of its kind in the world.

This highlights the powerful symbolism of this occasion, that Malaysia is a confluence of four great civilisations in the world – Malay/Islamic, Chinese, Indian and Western – and Malaysia must strive to become an example to the world of the success of the Alliance of Civilisations instead of being a failure because of the  Clash of Civilisations.

I browsed through the Thirukkural couplets, which is some 2,300 years old,  dealing with everyday virtues, ethics and morality, which had influenced scholars across the ethical, social, political, economic, religious, philosophical and spiritual spheres like Tolstoy, Gandhi and Albert Schweitzer.

Let the best in Thirukkural and Confucianism on personal and government morality, in particular on how to be a good human being, be part of the Malaysian heritage for Malaysia to be example to the world of the success of the Alliance of Civilisations.

Let us benefit from the best values and teachings of these great civilisations which meet in confluence in Malaysia to build a great Malaysian civilisation which is inclusive and all-encompassing, instead of being narrow-minded, regressive and exclusive!

Malaysia as two choices – become a success because of the Alliance of Civilisations or become a failure because of the Clash of Civilisations.

Tonight’s event reminded me of a public debate I had 51 years ago in Kuala Lumpur, where I argued that Malaysian literature is not based on the language it is written, whether Malay, English, Chinese or Tamil, but whether it expresses Malaysian consciousness, identity, purpose and loyalty.

This was also the occasion where I made public reference to the large corpus of political literature which inspired the Indian independence movement and the   great Indian personalities, like Tilak, Aurobindo, Gandhi, Nehru, Subbas Chandra Bose, C.R. Das, Vivekananda, Rabindranath Tagore, Sarojini Naidu and Dr. S. Radhkrishnan.

Let us affirm on this occasion that Malaysia’s racial, linguistic, cultural and civilisational  diversity is our asset or  strength and not our  liability or weakness, and that we should unite to achieve the great Malaysian dream as all Malaysians, regardless of race, religion or region, have shared  destiny in Malaysia.

(Speech by DAP MP for Iskandar Puteri Lim Kit Siang at the launching of the  book by K. Siladass which is collection of short stories in Tamil at the Wisma Sambanthan, Kuala Lumpur on Friday, 13th Sept. 2019 at 9 pm)

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 14 September 2019, 3:24 pm and is filed under
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Najib would have fully  approved of the PAS-UMNO alliance of klepto-theocracy as his global kleptocracy has continued to make waves – paving  the way to make  PAS and UMNO “one family”

Barisan Nasional  Adviser, Datuk Seri Najib Razak would have fully approved of the PAS-UMNO Alliance as his global kleptocracy is continuing  to make waves – paving the way to make PAS and UMNO “one family”.

Imagine getting an Islamist party to virtually accept kleptocracy as a major plank of the alliance, which must be a “first” in the world – a founder of the Global Movement of Moderates moving on to be a founder of the Global Movement of Kleptocrats!

And even more “satisfying”, MCA and MIC are again playing ball and giving their blessing for the PAS-UMNO alliance of klepto-theocracy, despite the earlier MCA threat to “kick” UMNO out of Barisan Nasional if it “coddles up with PAS” to form an unholy pact with PAS.

A wag would have said that in celebrating the PAS-UMNO alliance of klepto-theocracy, PAS has become “kafir” which UMNO had accused it of, and UMNO become “deviant” as it had been denounced by PAS, with both endorsing the global kleptocrat as their leader, open or covert.

With the PAS-UMNO alliance of klepto-theocracy, the toxic politics of race and religion will be escalated to a new level never seen in Malaysian politics, and cybertroopers – man and machine – will swamp the Internet, in particular the social media,  with  a sea of lies, falsehoods, fake news and hate speech, pitting race against race, religion against religion, civilisation against civilization.

Malaysiakini yesterday carried eight  stories related to the PAS-UMNO alliance, viz:

· Together again after 41 years: What PAS and Umno leaders say;

· How Harapan is reacting to Umno-PAS union

· Despite appearances, Zahid assures Umno-PAS pact not about racial politics

· Hadi: We’re family now, Umno may be brought into PAS-led gov’ts

· Ending decades of rivalry, Hadi cites common ground in new PAS-Umno marriage

· Umno, PAS ink charter formalising political alliance

· Thousands throng PWTC to witness historic Umno-PAS joint charter signing

· Umno-PAS alliance – who’s to blame?

In every one of these eight stories, the following “comment” appeared, viz:

“Anonymous 0123456789

“I came… I saw… and I can confidently conclude that the PAS/UMNO Penyatuan Ummah is a force to be reckoned with.

PH will be only a one term government.

Not Mahathir, not Anwar nor Azmin can stop the PAS/UMNO ‘Muafakat Nasional’ phenomenon.

DAP is the poison that will kill PH.”

“Anonymous 0123456789” is the top cybertrooper and will be able to claim quite a hefty sum of money for his ingenuity, inventiveness and enterprise from his paymaster. I think he deserves a bonus too!

That is the “face” of the enemy of Malaysia  – who wants the New Malaysia objective of Pakatan Harapan government to fail, even if it destroys Malaysia as a viable, just, progressive and prosperous Malaysia, and misses the boat in resetting nation-building policies to transform Malaysia into a top world-class nation of unity, freedom, justice, excellence and integrity.

When PAS was betrayed in the first PAS-UMNO alliance and the Kelantan Government fell to Barisan Nasional in 1977, as Secretary-General of DAP and Parliamentary Opposition Leader, I was the only voice speaking in defence of PAS in Parliament, where I said (November 8, 1977):

“If parliamentary democracy and the Federal-State system is to survive, it is paramount that those in power realise and understand that whatever the political differences or however intense the party rivalries, democratic principles and the fundamental safeguards in the Constitution for a democratic society should not be sacrificed in the furtherance of partisan political interests.

“Government Ministers have often warned that the communists want to use ‘democracy to destroy democracy’; but let us remember that in many Asian and African countries, ruling parties through their dominant parliamentary majorities have used ‘democracy to destroy democracy’ and instituted instead authoritarian and totalitarian regimes.

“It is not good enough that what Parliament is being asked this evening, to impose NOC-type of rule in Kelantan, that it is permitted under Article 150 of the Malaysian Constitution; for strict and scrupulous adherence to the laws of the land can also lay the basis for a undemocratic, authoritarian and even totalitarian system in Malaysia.

“As the Deputy Dean of the Law Faculty of the University of Malaya, Nik Rashid, at the recent Law Conference on ‘Erosion of Fundamental Rights’ said,  unless there were checks and balance on the executive powers, it was not unreasonable to suggest that there would come a day when the executive could table a Bill in Parliament amending the Constitution and giving it the power to legislate and to amend the Constitution by regulation. And this too will be legal!”

When emergency was declared in Kelantan  and the PAS Government fell in the state after the parliamentary bill in November 1977, I pointed out at the time that the originators of Barisan Nasional had claimed that it represented the wave of the future, that Barisan Nasional would reduce politicking and concentrate on development efforts, and there was even talk that there was no need for an Opposition which was described by one Minister at the time as “unnecessary and evil”!

It has taken four decades for the Barisan Nasional concept to collapse, and BN was in power. As the nursery rhyme “Humpty Dumpty sat on a Wall”  goes,

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall,

Humpty Dumpty had a great fall;

All the king’s horses and all the king’s men

Couldn’t put Humpty together again.

And that was when the coalition was in power.

In Opposition, I am very skeptical that the PAS-UMNO alliance of klepto-theocracy can take off.

Pakatan Harapan has two choices – to out-Malay UMNO and out-Islam PAS, and further alienate the 5.5 million voters from all races and  religions who made history and created a miracle on May 9, 2018 to carry out a peaceful and democratic transition of power, first time in six decades or to keep faith with the 5.5 million voters  to implement the New Malaysia agenda and win over the 2.5 million voters who voted for UMNO and the two million voters who voted for PAS in the 14th General Election, and create the greatest body of moderate Middle Malaysia.

Pakatan Harapan will fail and fall between two stools if it opts for the first choice. It must be sincere, courageous and visionary – the stuff that made the history and the miracle of 9th May 2018 – and move purposefully in pursuit of  the second choice in the national mission to Save Malaysia and transform the country into a New Malaysia which is a top world-class nation of unity, justice, freedom, excellence and integrity, proving to the world that Malaysia can be an example of the success of the Alliance of Civilisations – as Malaysia is the confluence of the four great civilisations in the world, Malay/Islamic, Chinese, Indian and Western – and not a failure from the Clash of Civilisations.

The PAS-UMNO alliance of klepto-theocracy is banking on the hope that the Pakatan Harapan government is a one-term government – and it will be right if Pakatan Harapan responds to the  challenge of the PAS-UMNO alliance by opting for the first choice of trying to out-Malay UMNO and out-Islam PAS.

But if the Pakatan Harapan Government takes the high ground and is guided by the five pillar-promises of the Pakatan Harapan Manifesto in the 14th General Election, the PAS-UMNO alliance of klepto-theocracy is likely to  implode even before the next 15th General Election.

This is because the National Co-operation Charter of  the PAS-UMNO alliance had been violated even before the ink of the Charter was dry.

The first principle of the five-point Charter is about “honour and defence” of the Federal Constitution – but the PAS leadership had violated  this vital principle as it  does not accept a Chinese, Indian, Kadazan or Iban who is a Malaysian citizen as the Prime Minister of Malaysia, which is provided by Article 43 of the Malaysian Constitution.

I have said that I do not foresee a non-Malay becoming Prime Minister of Malaysia in my life-time, but the PAS leadership rejects any possibility of an  “Obama moment” for Malaysia, even if it takes 100 years!

A kleptocrat can become the Prime Minister of Malaysia, but not a clean, honest, God-fearing Chinese, Indian, Kadazaan or Iban. Yet PAS leaders claim that they are not racist, narrow-minded,  extremist or  anti-Malaysian!

The Charter also becomes a farce when it talks about “good governance” and yet the PAS-UMNO alliance is  silent about Najib’s kleptocracy!

(Media Statement by DAP MP for Iskandar Puteri Lim Kit Siang in Gelang Patah on Sunday, 15th September 2019)

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 15 September 2019, 9:01 am and is filed under
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