Updating Dr M on who runs the country

By
Dr Lim Teck Ghee | CPI

Is it true that Umno has allowed the situation of Malay dominance to be so badly eroded that the community is facing a bleak and hopeless future?

The Ketuanan party is being overly modest if it refuses to take any credit for the Malays’ measurable success. In which case, we should all be content to attribute the advancement of Malays and Malaysia merely to takdir and the grace of Allah, and quite willing to discount human agency and Umno diligence.

But let’s see.

Bring back the civil service staff list

Until the early 1970s, the Malaysian government used to produce a federal civil service staff list annually that contained the details of key personnel heading the various ministries and departments of the federal authorities and agencies, and their positions in the service.

In most if not all states, there was also a similar staff list of officers serving in key management and administrative positions at the state and local levels.

This staff list served a number of purposes. It enabled the public and the people running the government at the highest level to keep track of which officer was in command of which agency as well as to get an overview of the total structure of government and its key personnel. It also enabled officials in service to keep in touch with their fellow officers, and to track each other’s career movement over time.

The staff list was a published document available at a small price to anyone. Although it was a practice that came to the country as a result of British colonial administration, it can be considered to be a good practice as it helped put names and details on an otherwise faceless, anonymous and often unaccountable bureaucracy, especially at its higher reaches.

That practice of a published and publicly accessible consolidated staff list was abandoned possibly because of the growth in the civil service and the increase in the number of senior positions which would make the publication a bulky one.

There may have been other reasons – possibly political. Perhaps the civil service leaders of that time and era such as Ramon Navaratnam can help explain the real reason.

With e-everything now …

Whatever the reason for discontinuing with the practice, the age of the Internet now provides the Malaysian government an opportunity to respond to calls for transparency and accountability of the civil service by producing an electronic list of its key personnel.

This e-list can be done cheaply, quickly and painlessly through an integration of the existing staff lists of all government agencies and ministries, and even extending to the GLCs and GLICs.

Such a measure is especially important to undertake because there has recently been concerns raised by the vocal former prime minister that Malays are being marginalized, and that the Chinese (and now, foreign immigrants) are taking over the country.

These concerns, echoed by Perkasa, and some of the mainstream Malay media, have confused many Malaysians, especially Malays, on what is the true situation today.

Besides responding to the communal hysteria being whipped up by Dr Mahathir Mohamad and his supporters, the electronic senior staff list is useful in the pursuit of greater transparency and accountability in the civil service – a sector that is paid for by all taxpayers.

Moreover, disclosure of who are the key personnel in the local, state and federal levels of the civil service will provide us with a factual basis for gauging the truth or otherwise of the public statements on the so-called Malay loss of power – an allegation that is gaining momentum as the next general elections draws nearer.

It is Dr Mahathir who gives the ballpark figure that “30 percent” power is what Malays will be reduced to holding if they are disunited.

He injects more venom into the throbbing vein of Malay insecurity with his acid-laced claim that they will lose out on the good jobs. Adopting a physician’s bedside manner, he says in the most syrupy of tones: “Tak apa lah. Buruk sangatkah menjadi buruh kasar dan pemandu kereta?” (Never mind lah. Is it all that bad to be a hard labourer and driver?)

Dr Mahathir’s chip on the shoulder the size of a Pontiac Catalina was already visible in the late 1950s when, with apparent deliberation, he chose to hire a Chinese man to drive him around Alor Setar in his gas-guzzling car.

Fifty years down the road, the country must once more exorcise his May 13 phantoms lest he derails Malaysia and sends us crashing again.

So let’s look at some empirical data of who is in control.

People really running the country

Public perception is that Malays dominate the police and armed forces. This idea is indeed correct and the police and military high command is indeed truly thoroughly controlled by Malays. See the two lists of office holders we’re reproducing as sourced from the Mindef, Home Ministry and Polis DiRaja websites.

In a later article, we will be taking a look at another popular perception that public universities are dominated by Malays. Meanwhile, what is the perception of the outside world as to which race is the face of 1Malaysia?

From the list below compiled by CPI, we can see that the ambassadors in plum postings like London, Paris and Berlin are Malays, and most notably Jamaludin Jarjis in Washington DC. Two Chinese were posted to Cuba and Kazakstan respectively, and Indians dispatched to Lebanon and Nepal. Nobody wants the Zimbabwe job.

A quick glance at the 103 names including high commissioners, consuls and one or two temporary heads of missions as sourced from the Wisma Putra website reveals a scant sprinkling of Chinese and Indian officials in an otherwise 85 percent Malay-dominated list.

Even the Malaysian ambassador in Beijing and the consuls-general in Shanghai and Kunming are Malay. Needless to say, almost if not all the overseas support staff in the diplomatic corps are Malay too.

On closer examination, among the non-Muslim names – Blanche Olbery, the Malaysian high commissioner in Papua New Guinea is the wife of a former deputy minister M. Kayveas, whereas the high commissioner in Pretoria, Kennedy Jawan (a Sarawak Iban) seems to be working harder than his Muslim-bumiputera counterparts as he is also concurrently overseeing five other African countries – Botswana, Lesotho, Madagascar, Mozambique and Swaziland.

A lot more work needs to be done in analysing the staff list and other key data related to the ethnic, regional and gender composition of the civil service; and the implications for 1Malaysia.

Hopefully the many hundreds of academicians and researchers in the field of public administration and political science can be persuaded to undertake this important work. It requires only simple empirical research on the civil service to answer the burning question of who runs the country.

Where have the ‘nons’ gone?

Slightly more complex research will be required to explain why there are so few non-Malays at the top rungs of the civil service, and likely even the middle rungs.

Is it because non-Malay civil servants are so incapable or that they are genetically engineered only to be successful in the private sector?

Is it because they lack the spirit of self-sacrifice and idealism to serve the country? Is it because of the way in which the intake operates?

Is there a ‘kulit-fication’ ceiling that holds non-Malays back in the way that a glass ceiling has traditionally held back women in the higher management ranks in many countries?

Is subservience to Malay dominance the price that more generations of non-Malay youth have to pay should they wish to join the service?

It should not be too difficult for the cabinet to make accessible a tiny portion of the huge pot of R&D funds contained in the 10th Malaysia Plan to help finance the research to answer the questions posed above.

CPI’s potential contribution

In the meantime, as part of our potential national service contribution to the country, CPI will be happy to establish and maintain this list of senior federal and state staff if the various agencies and ministries can provide access to their data bank. (Presently even some ministry web pages require authorized access to view).

We will also be happy to advise on the qualitative and quantitative methodologies and different sampling techniques available for Malaysian researchers wishing to undertake work on the other burning question: Why are there so few non-Malays in senior positions in the civil service?

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 7 July 2010, 5:14 pm and is filed under
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Where is the report of the Special Parliamentary Committee on Corruption on the first year of operation of MACC which is to be tabled and debated in present meeting of Parliament?

More than a month ago and before the start of the present meeting of Parliament, the Chairman of the Special Parliamentary Committee on Corruption Datuk Seri Mohd Radzi Sheikh Ahmad called for a parliamentary debate on its report on the first year of operation of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).

Radzi said allowing a parliamentary debate on the MACC would be a healthy development in improving the performance of MACC.

Under the MACC Act, the Special Committee on Corruption comprising MPs is to submit an annual report to the Prime Minister, who will then table it in Parliament.

The Special Committee on Corruption had completed its report. However, it is now at the end of the present meeting of Parliament which will end next week and there is no sign of the report  of the Special Committee on Corruption being tabled in Parliament to enable a special parliamentary debate to be held in the current session.

This is most troubling and goes against all the talk of achieving the NKRA targets which includes eradication of corruption especially “grand corruption”, which means action against the “big fishes”.

More than 18 months have elapsed since the launch of the MACC and public confidence in MACC and the campaign against corruption especially those in high places have suffered further setbacks.

Next week is the full anniversary of the mysterious death of DAP political aide Teoh Beng Hock who plunged to death from the 14th floor of the MACC Headquarters in Shah Alam on July 16 last year and the public uproar and controversy over the cause of Teoh’s death remain the major factor why MACC has not been able to gain public confidence in its independence, integrity and professionalism.

The many other outstanding unresolved, untouched or wound-down cases affecting corruption have aggravated public confidence in the MACC – whether the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) scandal, the MACC flip-flop on taking statement from Private Investigator P. Balasubramaniam in London on the C4 murder of Mongolian Altantuya Shaariibuu or  the alleged vast and unusual wealth of Sarawak Chief Minister.

As Chairman of the Special Committee on Corruption, Radzhi should ensure that his committee’s report is tabled in Parliament first thing on Monday and that a full parliamentary debate could be held before Parliament adjourns sine dine next Thursday.

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 8 July 2010, 1:05 pm and is filed under
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Introduce 1Malaysia pledge on occasion of 53rd National Day for all participants, schools, universities, 1.2 million civil servants, Ministers, MPs and all Malaysians to be “Malaysian first and race, region, geographical region or socio-economic group second”

Minister for Information Communication and Culture Datuk Seri Dr. Rais Yatim announced yesterday that the 53rd National Day theme from August 1 to September 16 is “1Malaysia Transforming the Nation”.

At present the 1Malaysia logo has flooded the country but it does not add one iota to the nation-building process.

Adding one sentence “1Malaysia Transforming the Nation” to the ubiquitous 1Malaysia logo also  does not make any meaningful contribution to the nation-building process.

If the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak is serious about the 1Malaysia policy  – with the officially-stated objective to create a Malaysia where every Malaysian regards himself or herself as Malaysian first and race, religion, geographical region or socio-economic group second, the government must  go beyond slogan, logo and other publicity stunts.

As a first step, it should introduce a 1Malaysia pledge on the occasion of the 53rd National Day celebrations from August 1 to September 16 for all participants to pledge to become “Malaysian first and race, religion, region or group second”.

This 1Malaysia pledge to be “Malaysian first and race, religion, region or group second” should be officially endorsed by the Cabinet and Parliament, and should be extended to the schools, universities both public and private, as well to 1.2 million civil servants.

If Ministers, MPs and civil servants are not prepared to set an example of striving to be “Malaysian first and race, religion, region or group second”, and if the schools and universities do not actively promote this 1Malaysia pledge, then the 1Malaysia mantra has not much meaning beyond the slogan, logo and publicity stunt stages.

This is a test as to whether the National Day theme of “1Malaysia Transforming the Nation” is going to be a meaningful or meaningless exercise.

                This entry was posted on Friday, 9 July 2010, 4:43 pm and is filed under
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Some thoughts/Q regarding JPA scholarship policy

by
Mary Mag

Letters

Just wanted to share some of my thoughts/questions regarding the JPA scholarships policy.

I believe it is important to recognize and reward merit and tap young potential , so it is important to continue with ‘merit scholarships’.

 But the government must clearly differentiate between ‘merit scholarships’ (that must be based solely on merit criteria) and others based on ethnic or socio-economic considerations.

At the moment, there is no clear demarcation and there is still a lack of transparency regarding many aspects. As taxpayers, we have the right to know all the information.

Regarding JPA overseas scholarships for SPM high achievers, the practice now is to send them to UiTM or slelected private colleges for ‘preparatory/foundation’ courses. A few questions arise:

Why send them for these courses, at the expense of taxpayers money, when the top scorers can easily get fee waiver from most local colleges to do their A-levels/Austmat/Canadian pre-U courses? After the students complete the A-levels/Austmat/Canadian pre-U, the government can select the top-scorers and then only sent them to the best universities overseas. By then, some of them will already be offered scholarships from other countries/universities and the pool of qualified candidates will be smaller.

Why not get the SPM top scorers to sit for the American SAT exams immediately and then sponsor those with high scores who are able to get into the top US universities?

How much is being spent on these ‘preparatory/foundation’ courses and how are these colleges selected? Is there cronyism involved? I have heard that some of the these colleges do not have competent lecturers and the top students even point out the mistakes made by these lecturers!

What are the criteria for selection of students for scholarships? Why are there still racial quotas if it is supposed to be on merit?

If it is a ‘merit scholarship’ why do they still consider the income of the parents?

Shouldn’t it be a separate category for  those from disadvantaged backgrounds, irrespective of ethnicity?

How do they check the accuracy of the income -related information given by the applicants?

What are the assessment criteria during the interview of candidates? Why do they have to go through an interview? How do they assess students during group interviews, as being practiced now?

Many students can score straight As for SPM because of all the tuition and coaching. That does not mean they are genuine top scholars who will do well in external exams.

There is still a lot of suspicion and claims of double standards/cheating/rigging of SPM exam results, not necessarily during the marking, as it can also happen at the recording/keying in stage at the Ministry. If marks can be tampered with for the CLP exams, what guarantee is there that it doesn’t happen in the SPM/STPM exams?

Why doesn’t the government publicize all the information regarding scholarships given out by PETRONAS, MARA, Bank Negara, Securities Commission, and all the GLCs? This is still taxpayers money, right?

Although JPA scholarships only affect a very small percentage of the population, it always gets a lot of political mileage.

I wish politicians will pay more attention to more basic issues that affect the larger population – e.g. the quality of primary and secondary education, wage levels, inflation rate, misuse of public funds, etc…

                This entry was posted on Friday, 9 July 2010, 4:42 pm and is filed under
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What about permanent residence for foreign spouses of Malaysian citizens?

by
A VERY FRUSTRATED SPOUSE OF A MALAYSIAN CITIZEN

Letters

It is heartening to note that the Government is making it easier for Professionals to get PR in Malaysia, I am even told that International Students excelling in their studies will be able to get PR in Malaysia.

I would like to ask our leaders, what about SPOUSES OF MALAYSIAN CITIZENS?

We are in the country for decades on “Long Term Social Visit Pass”  our visas state

 “Any form of employment is strictly prohibited, spouse of a Malaysian Citizen”

We are not here for social purposes, but here in the capacity of “Principal Care Givers and Providers for our Malaysian Families”

Spouses of Malaysian citizens face a whole range of challenges with regard to our application and renewals of the “social visit pass” and application for permenant residency, leave alone citizenship.

Apart from the frequent renewal of visas for non-citizen spouses for decades, we need to have our Malaysian spouses physically present even for renewals.  This puts pressure on our families, especially if the sponsoring Malaysian spouse is ill or is away on business.

Adding insult to injury, the women spouses are required to furnish immigration a letter from our spouses granting us permission to work!!!

Then again, a spouse who is estranged from the Malaysia or whose spouse has passed on, cannot get an endorsement to work for want of this letter!!! What then becomes of their Malaysian children who are dependent on them?? Who will provide for them?

Currently spouses like myself have to pay double charges for healthcare in Government Hospitals, unemployed spouses cannot open individual bank accounts, we pay tourist rates at tourist attractions, though we are residents in Malaysia.  What more if we wish to study further, we pay international student rates!! All this despite being a part of the Malaysian family.

Take for instance myself, a mother of two, living in Malaysia for 18 years, yet I am on a one years pass.  Though I am told that my Permenant Resident status is approved, I’m given to understand that there is a long queue awaiting the processing of the letter.

Many of the foreign spouses were very excited when they read in the media that the Home Ministry had expedited the approvals, however upon checking with the immigration, we could not get a confirmation as to when the letter would be sent out to us,  alas more than six months and our letter boxes remain empty.

The Government should take into consideration that non-citizen spouses are the key care givers and providers to their Malaysian families and therefore expedite the Permanent Residency for Spouses within reasonable time-limits.  Many of us are given a run around, even to secure a mere  application form for submission of PR.  There seems to be a gender discrimination for non-citizen husbands who are required to have 10 years continued stay, in comparison to non-citizen women spouses who are required to remain in the country for 5 years to be eligible to apply for PR.

There seems to be a lack of clear guidelines and protocols for approvals, often we are at the mercy of the attending immigration officers and their interpretation of the law and policy, which differs from Putra Jaya to Pusat Damansara!!

Whilst on paper the requirement is 5/10 years stay, in practice the approval process seems to be taking decades from the time of application to receiving the RED IC!!!  The colossal documentation ranges from submitting copies of all passports (old and new) for the entire family, to wedding invitations, etc etc… .

When applications are rejected it would augur well for the applicant to be given reasons for rejection, this would enable a clear and transparent appeal towards the resubmission of the documents, where necessary.     It would be a good practice to ensure that clear policies, time frames and protocols are not only set out but also implemented and delivered by respective departments.

It is also apparent that the processing for permanent residency ceases when the non-citizen spouses are estranged or widowed, what then becomes of their Malaysian children & other dependents, it really puts tremendous stress and pressure on the family unit.

In recent times, we have seen some positive steps being taken in certain areas, such as permitting Malaysian women overseas to register their children at the Malaysian high commission.  However there is still scope for review in areas pertaining to the policy at immigration department.

In the interest of many Malaysian families, it is expedient that not only procedures with regard to citizenship should be reviewed but it is also incumbent that guidelines and policy are clearly elucidated and implemented for the Permenant Residency of Spouses of Malaysian citizens,

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 10 July 2010, 6:28 pm and is filed under
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Ex-MIER chief questions Dr M’s NEP views

By Lee Wei Lian

Malaysian Insider

July 11, 2010

KUALA LUMPUR, July 11 — The country’s premier economic think tank’s ex-chief questioned Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s assertion that the country grew rapidly due to the New Economic Policy (NEP), and instead said Malaysia should thank external factors.

Professor Datuk Dr Mohamed Ariff, distinguished fellow at the Malaysian Institute of Economic Research and its former executive director, also suggested that Malaysia could have grown even faster if the NEP restrictions were absent.

“Mahathir’s argument that the country had developed more rapidly under NEP is questionable,” Ariff told The Malaysian Insider.

“Yes, Malaysia under Mahathir’s leadership did post impressive growth rates, but that cannot be attributed to NEP. A counter argument would be that the economy grew rapidly — not because of, but in spite of NEP.

“The high growth rates Malaysia registered during Dr M’s premiership was largely due to very favourable external circumstances, driven mainly by strong external demand for exports.”

He also warned that the external factors are much less favourable now and NEP type policies could not help the nation.

“NEP constraints will impair the country’s competitiveness in an increasingly competitive environment,” said Ariff.

Mahathir said on Thursday that the country has developed more rapidly under the NEP and the country’s performance outpaced other developed nations.

The former prime minister had also said that the controversial NEP, which was introduced in 1971 and gave economic and other privileges to the Malays, was to help them catch up to other communities and prevent racial riots.

Ariff said that affirmative action was relevant but Bumiputeras were shortchanged by the NEP as it benefitted the elite rather than the poor masses.

“The NEP version of affirmative action could not trickle down as the lion’s share of the benefits were arrested at the top by politically well connected people,” said Ariff. “No one would deny that all Bumiputeras have got something out of it one way or another, but what they got was crumbs falling out of the table.”

Malaysia, once counted as among Asia’s most prosperous countries in the 1960’s and even through parts of the 1970’ fell behind in the following decades.

Despite relatively high growth rates it is not kept pace with its Asian counterparts such as Singapore, South Korea, Hong Kong and Taiwan which are now regarded as developed high income countries.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has said however that affirmative action will be made more transparent and market friendly as part of his new economic reforms to boost the country’s competitiveness.

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 11 July 2010, 12:46 pm and is filed under
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Formation of Chinese Perkasa: A Dangerous Way to Win General Election

by
Kee Thuan Chye

Malaysian Digest

11 July 2010 | Sunday

The call for the setting-up of a Chinese Perkasa to counter the Malay right-wing group’s racial attacks is one of the most outrageous things I’ve ever heard. Yet this is a call that comes from none other than Deputy Finance Minister Donald Lim Siang Chai, who is also an MCA vice-president.

How can a deputy minister suggest such a thing? Is he speaking as an individual or does he have the endorsement of the MCA – or, worse still, the Government?

That he is part of the ruling administration makes the call suspicious. It seems to corroborate what many have come to suspect – that Perkasa (Pertubuhan Pribumi Perkasa Malaysia) is linked in an informal way to Barisan Nasional, that the NGO is actually doing the dirty work that BN cannot be seen to be doing, i.e. championing Malay rights and taking a hard line stance against perceived adversaries.

Chauvinism has been outsourced to Perkasa, observers say. In light of Lim’s statement, one might be persuaded to see a connection.

What is objectionable about Lim’s call is that it will reinforce what Umno itself has been drumming into the minds of the Malays – that the non-Malays, particularly the Chinese, are a threat to them, that the non-Malays want to take over the country.

This has been the crux of Umno propaganda since the day after the 2008 general election, with even people like former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad going around the country spinning the myth that “Malay land has fallen into non-Malay hands”. Most days when you open Utusan Malaysia or Berita Harian or switch on to TV3, you’ll get reminders of this insidious message.

It is unlikely that Lim and the MCA are not aware that the call for a Chinese Perkasa will reinforce the fear of the Malays about a takeover by the non-Malays. They would also be aware that although it’s an imagined fear with no basis whatsoever in reality, if you tell it often enough, it can become real. Even more effective is when the telling turns into showing. And that is what will happen if a Chinese Perkasa comes into being. When it starts yelling at the Malay Perkasa and proceeds to quarrel with it, it will automatically reveal its own aggressiveness. That will certainly make the Malays feel even more fearful of the Chinese.

That will turn Umno’s propaganda into palpable proof of Chinese ambitions. That will then ensure that the Malays vote for Umno at the next general election. Which will also translate into victory for BN.

Lim may be thinking that his suggestion could help the MCA win back Chinese votes because to the less enlightened Chinese, this could show that the MCA is finally standing up for their race. But this is a dangerous way of going about it.

The formation of a Chinese Perkasa will merely cause deeper resentment between the races. As it is, the country has become more divided than it has ever been; Lim’s suggestion can only make race relations worse. What happens when relations become so bad that they reach a point of no return? What good will it do for either the Malays or the Chinese? What good will it do for the nation?

Didn’t Lim think of this before he opened his mouth? Such irresponsible talk coming from a deputy minister must be censured. If his party does not do it, Prime Minister Najib Razak should. It is one thing to think of winning votes for your party and another to cause greater strife in society. Because the call comes from what will be perceived as an authorised source, it may just turn out that some fanatical Chinese individuals or groups will respond to it. If that happens, we may all be in for tumultuous times.

Lim has hinted that the Kuala Lumpur and Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall (KLSCAH) would be the proper body to play the Chinese Perkasa role. This is utterly misguided. The KLSCAH has been at the forefront of pushing for civil rights and social progress. It is by no stretch of the imagination a chauvinist body. It presents annual Civil Society Awards to individuals and organisations that promote multi-culturalism and multi-ethnicism.

I have attended several forums held on its premises that propagated the idea of working towards a better Malaysia for all Malaysians. Many of these activities are not organised by the KLSCAH itself but they reflect its broad-based leanings.

How could Lim even think of calling on the KLSCAH to perform a detestable role? Is it his ulterior motive to discredit the KLSCAH, whose orientation is antithetical to the MCA’s ethnocentricism?

For saying what he said, Donald Lim is not only prescribing trouble but also revealing how warped his thinking is. The MCA has been castigating Perkasa for its rightist, racist stance. How can he then propose the formation of something that is similarly rightist and racist? This is a clear-cut case of double standards and hypocrisy.

Is it any wonder, then, that if the MCA has leaders like Lim, Malaysians should have even more reason to reject the party?

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 11 July 2010, 2:32 pm and is filed under
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Aren’t we all Malaysians?

By
Dr Kamal Amzan
 | The Malaysian Insider

July 11, 2010

JULY 11 — When I was in standard one, my religious teacher asked the class ‘Is it okay for Muslims to worship praying idols?’ To her shock and horror I stood up and said, ‘Yes!’

I was asked to stand on the chair and my parents were called to school on the very same day to see the headmaster. At that moment I didn’t know why.I can vaguely remember words like naughty, hyperactive, less — Muslim used in their conversation.

I still remember the expression my teacher had on her face. It was a cross betweenSimba the lion cub and one of the gargoyles you see in the cartoon, ‘The hunchback of Notre dam.’

I know. It was scary. Imagine the trauma I had to go through then.

Some 20 years ago, my grandparents (from my Chinese side of the family) brought home some roasted meat and claimed that it was chicken. I remembered stuffing myself one after the other because it was very good. I ate so much that my tongue was numb and red (from the colourings) afterwards.

Later, the shock and horror were on the face of my parents when they came home. The chicken was not actually chicken. Apparently it doesn’t even have wings to begin with and were not available in the Halal version. (Thank god we can now find many Halal outlets selling such delicacies.)

These were few of the many memories I had when I was young, when religion and race were of no importance to me. It was so unimportant that I thought my father was Chinese and my mother was Malay and my grandparents Indians until I was about 5 or 6. And the fact that we speak Chinese, English and Malay at home did not help clear the air at all.

So if you think you were confused as a child, think again.

And as we approach Aidilfitri this year, I was reminded of the past when I collected both green and red packets from my family members. It doesn’t matter whether it was Aidilfitri or Chinese New Year, red and green packets were part of the celebration.

We had Chinese kiam chai theng (soup made of pickled vegetable) and Malay rendangon both occasions and life was great.

I was brought up as a Malaysian first and a Malay second and not the other way round. And I’m proud of it.

Racial identity is so important to many Malaysians. And after 49 years of nationhood, one would think that we would be more mature and wise in terms of racial relationships. But somehow we are more and more worried that we would lose our identity if we are not careful.

We see parents squabbling on whether ethnic and religious schools are better than national schools and not wanting their children to mix.

We see Malaysians debating and arguing whether it is appropriate teaching English and Science in school. Never mind the fact that it is the lingua franca of this planet.

We hear individuals not wanting to celebrate Raya and other celebrations together, citing religious reasons and wanting an end to our Kongsi Raya tradition.

Why are we so worried about becoming less Malay, Chinese and Indian? Aren’t we all Malaysians?

Have we not realised that the fundamental nature of our country and society does not lie with a single racial entity, but as a whole?

If the Malays, the Chinese, the Indians or any other races were to stand alone, they cannot claim to be Malaysian. They are simply Malays, Chinese, Indians and other races, period and should not claim to be citizens of this beautiful country.

Sorry I digressed a bit.

But to continue with my story, I still celebrate both occasions regardless of what some people think. And to be frank I will continue to celebrate both occasions, and will definitely give my children ang pau and qing pau (green packets) on both occasions. (Please note that I do not have any children)

My grandparents (from my Chinese side of the family) passed away more than ten years ago. But somehow it seemed like a longer time to me. I miss them, especially at times like this. They somehow made each celebration a momentous occasion. Somehow.

But as my mom always says, let us count our blessings.

We have always been able to observe Ramadan in peace, and soon celebrate Raya with our loved ones (sorry to those who will be working). And definitely later in the year we’ll celebrate Christmas, and then Chinese New Year early next year.

At the risk of sounding corny, I should also add that we should be thankful to live in such a peaceful country. And in this world and age, they both are a very rare commodity. We should cherish it and maintain it at all costs. For better or for worse, for richer or poorer till death come knocking on our door.

I offer no apology for saying all this and more.

To all Malaysians, Happy One Malaysia.

*
Dr Kamal Amzan is a Malaysian at a hospital in Kuantan, Pahang.

                This entry was posted on Monday, 12 July 2010, 10:29 am and is filed under
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Chinese Perkasa the most irresponsible and worse possible response by MCA to Perkasa

The proposal by the MCA vice president and Deputy Finance Minister  Senator Datuk Lim Siang Chai for the formation of a Chinese version of Perkasa to counter Perkasa is the most irresponsible and worst possible MCA response.

It is also the latest and most potent proof of the complete failure of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s 1Malaysia to unite Malaysians of diverse races, religions, cultures and languages in the country.

Is it seriously suggested that the way into the future for Malaysia is for the sprouting fo  ethnic versions of Perkasa – not only Chinese Perkasa, but also Indian Perkasa, Iban Perkasa, Kadazan Perkasa and Orang Asli Perkasa?

If Najib’s 1Malaysia policy is successful as a meaningful Malaysian nation-building policy, there would be no Perkasa let alone the ridiculous suggestion by a top MCA leader for the formation of a Chinese Perkasa to counter Perkasa.

Is the MCA leadership seriously suggesting that the best way to counter the race-baiting and racist provocations like Perkasa screaming “Ketuanan Melayu” is to counter-scream “Ketuanan Cina”?

This will in fact falling right into the trap of Perkasa and such-like manifestations, for it will give them justification to continue to try to provoke, scare and stampede further polarization in Malaysia by making baseless allegations that the Chinese will take over the country; that  the Malays will be oppressed and discriminated against in the next general election; that the Malays are losing political power marking the end of “Ketuanan Melayu” or the recent irresponsible claim that the ratio of registration of new voters between non-Malays and Malays are 40:1 when in fact it is a 2:1 ratio Malay to non-Malay.

If Najib’s 1Malaysia is sincere and serious in wanting to create a Malaysia where every Malaysian  perceives himself or herself as Malaysian first and race, religion, geographical region or socio-economic group as second, then there should be no talk of “Ketuanan Melayu”, “Ketuanan Cina”, “Ketuanan India’ , “Ketuanan Iban”, “Ketuanan Kadazan” or “Ketuanan Orang Asli” as all Malaysians should focus on “Ketuanan Malaysian”!

By proposing the formation of a Chinese Perkasa to counter Perkasa, the MCA leadership is indirectly admitting to the umbilical links of UMNO leadership to Perkasa, which has been outsourced by UMNO to ensure that national policies are Malay and not Malaysian-centric.

The MCA leadership should not disclaim its political responsibility for the anti-national Perkasa phenomenon by trying to outsource it to a Chinese Perkasa.

In the few months of its existence, Perkasa had been successful in burying the New Economic Model (NEM) by ensuring that the NEM proposals for a total revamp of national economic policies to escape the middle-income trap of the past two decades to become a competitive high-income developed country by dismantling the New Economic Policy (NEP) with its suffocating race-based quotas which only benefit a handful of Umno cronies and spawned crippling corruption in the country.

The MCA  leadership should speak up in Cabinet and Government to demand that UMNO leadership break all links and all forms of support for Perkasa and that the Umno leadership and the Cabinet do not succumb to Perkasa pressures for the abandonment of the NEM proposals to replace NEP race-based with NEM income-and- needs based affirmative policies.

                This entry was posted on Monday, 12 July 2010, 1:56 pm and is filed under
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National Health Financing Scheme…. more money for who?

Letters

By Liow Kevorkian

I refer to Health Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai’s statement to the New Sunday Times stating that to ensure all Malaysians get adequate healthcare, wage earners will have to make scheduled monthly contributions to the proposed National Health Financing Scheme (NHFS). The self-employed, those who have an independent income as well as employers would also have to contribute.

I do hope the Pakatan Rakyat take their gloves off and beat this guy to a pulp on behalf of us tax payers before this entire scheme becomes another national shark swallowing contributors’ and tax payer’s money ripping another financial hole in our already empty treasury. The current Health Minister who has no significant support from even his own community and his hopelessly inefficient Health Ministry officials must first be made accountable for all the healthcare disasters that have made this country firmly entrenched as a third world nation in healthcare.

We can first start with all the useless hospitals built all around the country only to make the BN’s cronies rich, including the current disastrous misadventure at the Section 7 Shah Alam Hospital and in Kota Kinabalu…no hospital at all! We can then move on to why these “new” hospitals started leaking, why the government has to pay for drugs at 20 times they used to cost before, why drug label holograms have come in, why only Bumi doctors are given top specialist posts, why only Malay doctors are given specialist scholarships, why non-Bumi doctors are consistently excluded from civil service top positions and instead these positions are given to expatriates of other Muslim countries, why only Bumi companies are allowed to tender for medical equipment or pharmaceuticals.

Why almost all Health Ministry Pengarahs, DGs, Deputy DGs and Deans of Medical Schools posts are given to only Malays or Pseudo-Malays. And why Health Ministry officials involved in massive corruption deals in the Ministry like failed multibillion dollar vaccination facilities and hospital software programs resulting in massive losses to this nation remain unpunished.

Before the people of this nation are forced to cough out even more money, the Health Minister must first answer and ensure that these corrupted deeds are dealt with first. The people of this country will not pay even one cent more unless the Health Ministry or this government comes out clean on these ludicrous deals that has left this nation now saddled in deep debt for decades to come.

Let’s not even talk about how this government sweeps under its carpet the unacceptable mortality and morbidity rates caused by its poorly trained specialists and its supporting staff. It is no secret that civil service doctors literally get away with murder with tax payers having to foot the bill for negligence suits over and above the death and maiming of patients. Its specialists and doctors still remain unpunished by even the government controlled Malaysian Medical Council even though the government’s own hopelessly biased courts have made the Ministry, its DG and its doctors liable on many occasions.

Malaysia cannot implement the NHFS without first correcting the gross inefficiency of the MOH. No use putting the cart before the horse. Almost everyone in the health industry know for a fact that this government is directionless. This confirms the fact that the government is not interested in change at all. We live today in a world where life expectancy has increased and costs of healthcare of the modern human being is technologically on that very steep exponential rise.

Like it or not, the modern Malaysian man, woman or child needs maintenance. Read that as healthcare. And this maintenance with current available technology is beyond many governments’ abilities, let alone a small nation like Malaysia. The zillion dollar question is, when we now have no financial resources, how do we sought this out? Do you invest in pricey acute, hospital based medicine or preventive healthcare or both?

Look around. The Aussies, Kiwis, Europe and Malaysia’s motherland…Britain. They are all pouring a greater proportion of their resources to that little guy out there called the …GP. Yep the General Practitioner. The GP needs to prevent and control hypertension, diabetes, heart disease, renal disease, early geriatric problems, almost anything from vaccinations to the flu before that flu becomes a full blown pneumonia.

And who killed the GP instead of developing them??? Yep the Barisan Nasional and its dense Health Ministry “head in the sand” health officials. So you now have a situation where patients walk into ERs (Emergency Rooms) and expect to be treated even at 2am for constipation. The BN dug its own grave.  They now have to lay in it.

And what of the side effects of sidelining the GP? You now have a scam specialty called Emergency Medicine with all the expensive salaries, allowances, etc etc with very very expensive ER Departments being built at almost every General Hospital. What is this? Another rip-off by the government to build giant GP clinics as part of its hospital set-up? You shouldn’t then complain if patients walk in at 3am for a flu, especially if you close your community clinics at 4pm sharp should you? Now, which dimwit came out with this idea to burn Malaysian tax payer’s dollars? And who are the bigger nincompoops who actually approved it?

There is apparently now a “war” between these substandard “Jack of all trades, master of none” ER “specialists” who now hold onto emergency patients trying all soughts of medical and surgical acrobatics before calling in the “real” specialists. The end result? Some hospitals “equipped” with these ER specialists has actually seen a 3 fold rise in mortality at its ER department. This scenario is now an open secret in the industry.

In the very first instance an experienced, alert GP could have actually counseled and treated a patient to avert a catastrophic ailment. Like please take your hypertension medication before you blow that artery out in your brain. Or how about you not taking Xanax before you drive that car. Or how about, you the bus driver, coming in for your urine amphetamine test before you drive off the cliff with 40 passengers.

There was a time when doctors were giving out milk to mothers to be and children and billing TNB. And TNB actually howled “Cheats!!!” and joined the entire chorus who sang “MCO” (Managed Care Organizations). Just so to save a few bucks? And for what? Today, if that GP had been allowed to develop and flourish, perhaps they could have been the conduit to educational counseling. Dont speed on the road. Healthy food. No miracle herbs that actually knock off your kidneys. Safe sex. Condoms. No smoking, etc etc. And if the government had invested that small amount into that little guy called the GP, we today will not be crying ‘CORPORATE HOSPITAL!!!!” And you know what? The Ministry of Health had to join the band wagon. They had to go ahead and build even bigger “IT” hospitals…with NO SPECIALISTS!!!

But the biggest blunder has to be the government’s “QUANTITY better then QUALITY attitude”. Just look at the number of housemen in our hospitals??? On some wards, more housemen than even patients! This mass low quality production of doctors is akin to Masterskill, MAHSA, etc, etc dishing out loads of physiotherapists and nurses who now have no jobs and are on the breadline.

Just walk into HSBC’s call center in Cyberjaya and you will find all these “health personnel” doubling up now as call center personnel. To rub it in almost all of them are saddled in deep debt courtesy of their massive study loans, with they receiving legal notices, black-listed by credit rating agencies, names splashed in newspapers as loan defaulters and passports blocked off – all before you are 23 years! Only in Bolehland can this occur. Just so some crony can milk the tax payer to feed his university cow to churn out a bankrupt graduate. It is actually better then the AP buisness.

Healthcare in Malaysia to the middle class in Malaysia is economically and technologically out of bounds not because of its lack of resources but because Malaysia has a huge boulder on its head called the Ministry of Health who have no management expertise and are completely clueless as to the strategies that need to be employed in a 21st century globalised Malaysia.

And why? Because it is run by civil service medical bureaucrats who technically become “policy makers” when they hit Jusa C and actually decide for the nation without having to work even one day in the private sector where the real world is ticking away! Just shut the hopelessly corrupted MOH down, and the free market will sought itself out on its own. Just like water, electricity and sugar. And only then should the insurance companies kick in. But if you choose to do it the other way round, you better be prepared to deal with an even larger financial leak five years down the road. Hopefully by then there will be an Obama born in whatever that is left of this nation to bail Malaysia’s sorry healthcare skin.

                This entry was posted on Monday, 12 July 2010, 11:30 am and is filed under
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Panel happy with Aminulrasyid shooting probe

Malaysian Insider

By
Clara Chooi

July 12, 2010

KUALA LUMPUR, July 12 — The Home Ministry’s panel on the fatal police shooting of schoolboy Aminulrasyid Amzah has completed its probe and is satisfied with how the force had investigated the case.

Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein, in a written reply to a question from Lim Kit Siang (DAP-Ipoh Timor) issued last Thursday, said that the special panel was “at this point” satisfied that the police’s investigation on the case had been “transparent” and that it had been concluded in a short time.

He noted that since Aminulrasyid’s case had been handed over to the Deputy Public Prosecutor’s office, the issue on why the government had not formally apologised to the youth’s family was now “irrelevant”.

“The issue of whether the suspect had committed an offence or not is now under the jurisdiction of the courts.

“Hence, it is not appropriate for the government to take any action before the case is heard in court,” he said.

In his question to Parliament last week, Lim had asked why the government had not issued a formal apology for carelessly “killing” the 14-year-old Aminulrsyid in Shah Alam on April 26.

He also asked why the investigation into the case was only carried out by the ministry’s special panel, led by deputy minister Datuk Wira Abu Seman Yusop, and why it had not been an open investigation.

Hishammuddin explained that the special panel was formed with two main objectives — to directly monitor the investigation process by the police to ensure that it was fair, transparent, fast and would be fair to all parties and to observe police procedures on the use of firearms as well as other procedures related to the operations and duties of the police.

“The panel was also set up to, after its probe, prepare proposals to improve police procedures,” he said.

Aminulrasyid was killed following a 6km chase in Shah Alam on April 26 after, as claimed by the police, allegedly reversing and ramming into policemen.

His family have cried foul over the death and have called on the authorities to apologise to them for accusing the youth of being a suspected criminal.

The eight-man government panel was formed to quell rising resentment towards the police following the shooting.

                This entry was posted on Monday, 12 July 2010, 9:57 pm and is filed under
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Postal Hike and Social Problems

Letter

By
Ganesh

The recent hike in the price of postal services is quite shocking.

The standard mail (up to 20g) tariff has shot up from 30 sen to 60 sen while the rate for letters weighing up to 50g soars from 40 sen to 70 sen. A 100% increase is a huge amount considering Pos Malaysia, for all intents and purposes, is a GLC (see breakdown) and the government should be thinking about the hardships that it would cause to its people with the new heavy postal fees.

The substantial shareholders of Pos Malaysia as at 15 March 2010 are:

Khazanah Nasional Berhad 32.21%

Employees Provident Fund Board 9.59%

Permodalan Nasional Berhad 8.45%

Amanahraya Trustees Berhad Skim Amanah Saham Bumiputera 8.18%

It cannot be argued that Pos Malaysia is not making money.

For the year ended 31 December 2009, Pos Malaysia posted a profit before tax of RRM109 million up from a loss before tax of RM0.5 million the previous year.

Its profit from operating activities in 2009 was RM82 million (on the back of turnover of RM902 million), only slightly down from its operating profit of RM86 million the previous year (turnover RM922 million).

So, I cannot understand the hike.

Furthermore, the hike is only justified if proper and efficient service is given. But this is not the case.

My postman often puts my neighbour’s letters into my house. Infact, the word often is an understatement. It happens at least 5 or 6 times a month.

All my neighbour’s confidential mail enters my post pox. Sometimes, if it is very wet due to rain water, I open them before giving my neighbour. I see how much he got in his bank and what he does with his credit card. To make matters worse, what if he visits massage parlours and other unhealthy joints and charges them to his credit card? I would obviously know his dark secret. Luckily he does not.

My mail goes missing too. Infact, since my neighbour is receiving my mail, I suspect my mail goes to other neighbour houses. Unfortunately, I am not in good terms with one or two neighbours because their dogs excrete infront of my gate and I had confronted them, thus souring relationships.

So, I am sure they either open my mail or just bin it.

This has caused me difficulty. I have missed credit card payments and had to pay penalty fees as well as fines.

Who is going to pay me for all the losses I have incurred ie my lost mail, my privacy being intruded (in that my neighbour receives my bank statements), my late credit card fines etc?

This story of mine is not new. Every person in Malaysia has faced this, receiving other people’s mail in their boxes is a common phenomenon.

How can Pos Malaysia raise their rates when do don’t even deliver the most basic of services properly which is getting one’s mail safely?

I have lived in other countries before and mind you, for years, I did not get my mail lost nor does people’s mail come into my postbox.

Besides the heavy burden on the public with the hike in postal rates, there is also the social repercussions. What are they? People will be sending less Birthday cards, Sympathy cards and so on. People become cold. Children and parents would reduce the number of cards sent to each other.

Traffic jams would increase too because people have no faith in the postal system, they drive just to send a cheque or send a wedding card. Thus an indirect increase in traffic jams. I know people, instead of posting a cheque, they drive all the way to a destination just to deliver a cheque.

Can you imagine what happens when you have a wedding and instead of posting 500 wedding cards, you drive and deliver them because of fear that the wedding cards would go astray?

I speak from experience because, when I had my wedding, of the 300 cards I posted, about 10% went missing, causing me a lot of embarrassment and the “uninvited” guests were offended. Till today, some of the so called uninvited guests still don’t even speak to me as they feel offended.

                This entry was posted on Monday, 12 July 2010, 11:58 am and is filed under
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Why have non-muslims religious societies in Klang High School been dissolved?

MCCBCHST MEDIA STATEMENT

The Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism & Taoism (MCCBCHST) notes the report on page 8 of The Sun (12 July 2010) that in Klang High School “… the Kelab Agama Hindu, Kelab Agama Buddha and the Christian Union have to be dissolved immediately” and that an announcement to this effect was made at the school assembly last week.”

There are very serious implications of such an action and therefore MCCBCHST seeks immediate confirmation from the Selangor Education Department whether this has indeed transpired and if so, a prompt explanation should be given to parents and the Malaysian public at large as to the reason/s for such a directive. If in fact such a directive had indeed been given, MCCBCHST would like to express its disappointment that there was no prior consultation with it over such a serious matter as this.

Owing to the gravity of such an issue, the Ministry of Education too cannot remain silent.

Needless to say, if indeed such a directive to close non-Muslim religious societies in schools or to not permit the setting up of such societies in schools, the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of National Unity should not be in doubt that MCCBCHST shall protest such a policy with the strongest possible vehemence.

MCCBCHST with its member bodies shall, however, be ready to assist the Ministry of Education in any way we can to ensure goodwill and mutual respect amongst all Malaysian students.

Rev. Dr Thomas Philips,

MCCBCHST President,

12 July 2010

———

Don’t poison children’s minds

By
R. NADESWARAN
 | The Sun

REGULARS of this column would have remembered the number of times this writer has reiterated that he would not write on race, religion or politics. The reason for this was simple – I have always believed in one race – the Malaysian race long before 1Malaysia, and that religion is a personal thing and that none has the right to advocate one is better than the other. As for politics and the dirt it brings out, the least said, the better. Yes, I mix with politicians from both sides of the divide (some of them have become good friends) but except for the general elections when all hands are on deck for a small crew like ours, the intra and inter-party bickering, the name calling, accusations and the lies that are perpetrated become unpalatable.

I am making an exception, nearly eight years after my self-imposed gag-order. I am doing it reluctantly after seeing how children at the age of 12, are being compelled to see themselves being segregated by race and religion. It sad that almost every issue is seen through the eyes of race or religion. Even scholarships for good students who excel academically are transformed by certain parties into “you got more than me” games. What is more pathetic is the one-upmanship practised by a few and the many who wait on the sidelines to score cheap political points. And yet, we go around talking about integration, unity and the like, and not practising what we are preaching.

There’s religious education and there’s the learning of one’s mother tongue or what they called “pupil’s own language” in our days in school. On Friday, I took a trip to my alma mater after more than 40 years (I used to go for its sports day or play cricket but these were limited to the school field). While waiting to meet the principal of the Klang High School, I couldn’t help but read the notices on the board. One involved the enrolment in what has now become a co-educational school. It gave the breakdown of the enrolment of each class by gender and race. The statistics made interesting reading and we will save it for another day.

The visit was prompted by complaints from parents that the “headmistress has dissolved all non-Muslim religious societies” in the school, which I later found out, was not true. The decision was not made by the headmistress – it was made by the Selangor Education Department.

Since the headmistress was not around, she asked one Mrs Chen, the teacher in charge of co-curriculum, to address the issue. She had a chat with me. “I am new. I only came in February. When I took over the guru besar asked me to check if all the clubs and societies in the school have been approved by the department. I went through the files and there were no approvals. So, I was asked to write to check if they had been approved.”

She wrote in March and last week, a note came from the department – the Kelab Agama Hindu, Kelab Agama Buddha and the Christian Union have to be dissolved immediately. An announcement to this effect was made at the school assembly last week.

But hadn’t these societies existed in the school for years? No one raised an issue; no one objected to their existence and as usual, students were allowed to take part in them. Were they previously in existence illegally and students who had participated in them could be considered past members of “secret societies”? It is merely an administrative decision to legalise (for the lack of a better word) these clubs. Couldn’t the school be told to make a fresh application for approval pending which activities can continue? How come they have to be dissolved while similar clubs in other schools can continue to exist?

As many students are members of these societies and as co-curricular activities form part of the grading for the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia examinations, it is causing concern. With three months to go before their exams, why are students put under such pressure? Do they now have to scramble to be members of other societies?

My umbrage is on two issues – don’t mess with our children’s education and don’t inculcate differentiation or classification to children based on religion. They will start viewing things from a racial and religious perspective. Once these are ingrained in their minds, no amount of program muhibbah or kursus toleransi is going to help. For the sake of the future of this nation, stop messing around with our children – the leaders of the future.

R. NADESWARAN
‘S “homecoming” was somewhat sombre seeing and hearing the deterioration of standards at the Klang High School which gave him a foundation in education, sports and leadership.

                This entry was posted on Monday, 12 July 2010, 9:07 pm and is filed under
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A Quick Look at Cyberjaya – Malaysia’s ‘Silicon Valley’

By
Eli James | e27

In the spring of 1999,
Businessweek ran a cover story
 titled ‘Mahathir’s High-Tech Folly’, on the challenges plaguing the then Prime Minister’s plan to set up a regional ‘Silicon Valley’ within Malaysia. The plan was ambitious: it detailed the development of a large economic zone, stretching 750 square kilometers, and promised fiber-optic networks, research facilities, tax breaks, and new ‘cyberlaws’, protecting any multinational setting up shop in the country. The economic zone was named the ‘Multimedia Super Corridor’(MSC), and the city in which this development was supposed to happen –
Cyberjaya
.

For a while, all was good. Mahathir had managed to convince Silicon Valley luminaries Bill Gates (Microsoft), Lawrence Ellison (Oracle) and Scott McNealy (Sun Microsystems) to sit on a 41-member advisory panel to the project. They lent the MSC immediate weight and credibility. In talks during a 1997 global tour to sell Cyberjaya, Mahathir called the city his ‘gift to the world’, and promised that it would be a ‘global bridge to the Information Age.’ The praise poured in. Businessweek reported that Mahathir was ‘regarded as something of a visionary in high-tech circles’. Microsoft then announced that it would make MSC its regional headquarters. For a brief moment, it seemed as if Malaysia — with its cheap land and inexpensive, English-speaking workforce — was set to become the region’s go-to choice for multinational technology companies.

Then the Asian Crisis hit. The
Businessweek piece
 mentioned earlier in this article was written shortly after the worst of the crisis had passed, and it covered the effect of the crisis on the MSC through the lens of its leader:

    While recession is partly to blame, Mahathir’s response to the crisis has dealt the most serious blow. His rhetoric blaming Jewish conspirators for his country’s woes has dismayed multinationals. So have his moves to impose currency controls–and his decision to arrest Anwar Ibrahim, his former protege and Deputy Prime Minister, and put him on trial. ”Mahathir’s behavior has set back the MSC several years, even in a best-case scenario,” says a Westerner who has advised on the project. ”Worst case, it has destroyed the momentum.”

Key foreign investors pulled out shortly after the crisis, and the Government has since stepped in to prop Cyberview Sdn Bhd – the company tasked with the management and development of the planned township. After an initial series of IT campaigns, the national agenda for MSC development has ground to a halt.

Today, Cyberjaya is but a whisper of that original promise. It is a moderately successful economic zone, with IT parks and office blocks and above-par Internet connectivity. But the hype is gone, and whatever coverage there exists today are mostly press-releases by Cyberview.

The township consists of commercial/office blocks, a science park, two universities, and a couple of residential buildings. It is this last point that is a sore spot for Cyberjaya — Cyberview has been working to rectify a lack of housing in the area, which has been responsible for an emptying out of the city at night. Unsurprisingly, there is not much of a nightlife in Cyberjaya — many workers there commute back to neighbouring Kuala Lumpur after the day is over, decreasing the township’s population count from 36,000 to about 14,000 at night. And it is telling that while there are people from Cyberjaya who commute to KL, few from KL come out to Cyberjaya for anything but work.

Cyberjaya has few shopping facilities and little or no entertainment outlets (beyond a township community club).

There are, however, signs of renewed interest in the project. Most recently Malaysian company Emkay Group and India’s Embassy Group entered a joint-venture project called the MKN Embassy Techzone. The project promises three million sq ft of office space on a 12-hectare land parcel in Cyberjaya, with the eventual aim of getting IT companies both foreign and local to relocate to the area. This effort seems to be rather successful – in 2009 Cyberview reported an expected 10% increase in companies moving into Cyberjaya.

And if that isn’t a good enough sign, Cyberview reports that in the coming months, the Hewlett-Packard (HP) Global Information Technology Hub is set to open in the township, along with an 80,000 sq ft SME Technopreneur Centre and Phase 2 of a K-Worker (Knowledge-worker) Development Centre.

But a March 2009 story is more telling of the current direction Cyberjaya is headed for. Malaysian newspaper The Star reports, that with an increased number of government-linked companies and departments, Cyberjaya is ’slowly moving away from being an information communication technology hub’. It appears that the original dream, at least, has been forgotten.

So what does this all mean? First, Cyberjaya is a development zone set up to attract foreign tech-based multinationals. As a township its function is primarily economic, with little non-essential amenities apart from that which is required for it to run. There are blocks built for the incubation of small and medium size enterprises (SMEs), but as of press time the entrepreneurship programs provided by the government in relation to Cyberjaya are patchy, at best. And it must be noted here that Cyberjaya is not focused on web startups – the majority of locally grown SMEs are companies like CRUiSE GPS Systems, a ‘Global Positioning System (GPS) tracking and navigational solutions provider’, and RL Dynamic Engineering, a ’specialist in advanced educative, entertainment and training motion simulators’. In simpler terms, Cyberjaya is more geared towards the Intels of the tech world, as opposed to the Twitters or Facebooks which seem to be all the rage in Silicon Valley today.

It is hard to say if Cyberjaya has been a success or a failure – my view is that the verdict is still out on this. On the one hand, the township has been a disaster for many of the original investors. After the Asian crisis and Mahathir’s resignation, there has been little impetus to grow Cyberjaya as originally planned. But on the other hand, Cyberjaya has managed to attract a significant number of companies over the past five years, and Embassy Group’s chairman Jitu Virwani has been reported saying “Here was a city with all its infrastructure just waiting to be tapped by IT companies. It was amazing. It’s something we dream about in India.”

Perhaps it is that last point we must remember: that although the infrastructure exists, Silicon Valley (and – by extension – Cyberjaya) is more than the sum of its parts; more than a collection of office blocks and incubation clusters and wafer fabrication plants. It is made of people – of venture capitalists and entrepreneurs and technologists – and people are what Cyberjaya needs the most.

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 13 July 2010, 5:00 am and is filed under
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Jokers Without Any Sense of Humor

By
M. Bakri Musa

 Banning books in Malaysia is now such a routine matter that it is no longer newsworthy.  That is the scary part.

             So when the Associated Press carried the news of the Malaysian government banning Zunar’s books of political cartoons, that perked me up especially when the news item was also picked up by major American papers such as the Washington Post and influential online portals like the Huffingtonpost.com.

             I have long been a fan of Zunar, or Zulkifli Anwar Ulhaque, ever since his cartoons appeared in Malaysiakini.com.  What struck me then were his astute observations, brazen courage, and devastatingly powerful caricatures.  Much to the discomfit of our politicians, Zunar has only gotten better.  Now he is even more biting, cuts even deeper, and as reflected by the government’s action, can goncang (shake) even the most powerful.

             In trying (that is the appropriate and operative word) to explain the government’s action, Home Ministry Secretary-General Mahmood Adam said, “[The books] have been banned for their contents that can influence the people to revolt against the leaders and government policies.”  Adding, “The contents are not suitable for and detrimental to public order.”  To think that this joker not only lacks a sense of humor but he is also the ministry’s highest civil servant!

             Another way of looking at the Secretary-General’s “explanation” is that Zunar has really goncang powerful folks.  Or that those seemingly powerful people are made up of softer stuff.  Zunar is not at all perturbed by the government’s latest stupid action.  On the contrary, like a Great Dane facing the irritating yelping of a diminutive pariah dog, Zunar is ready to pounce back, and with not an ounce of mercy.

             The publisher of his One Funny Malaysia, one of the banned books, has already initiated legal action.  As for Zunar, a cartoonist for over 20 years, his dismissive response was, “They can ban my books, they can ban my publications, but they can’t ban my mind!  I will not stop drawing till the last drop of my pen.”  That may not sound like a Great Dane ready to pounce on a pariah dog, more the flicking off an irritating flea.  But then that’s what Great Danes do to lull their prey.  So I am really looking forward to Zunar’s next cartoon following this latest government folly.

             Zunar now has three prime ministerial notches on his cartoon belt.  The materials on the first, Cartoons on Tun and Others, showed that Zunar was not in the least in awe of or intimidated by the most powerful and mercurial personality.  He was merciless in his treatment of Mahathir.  As Zunar rationalized in his introduction, “Why pinch when you can punch?”  Way to go, Zunar!

             Some would claim that at times he punches below the belt.  I disagree.  Rather that his victims have their belt and samping way too high!

             Zunar’s critics take exception to his caricaturing Mahathir’s nose.  Like Jews, we Malays are sensitive about the shape and size of our snouts, and Mahathir has been known to express his irritation to this less-than-flattering caricature.  Beyond that, there was nothing more.

             One of Zunar’s most memorable cartoons depicts a scene right after Mahathir’s shocking announcement of his resignation.  Many, and not just his supplicants, were pleading for him to change his mind.  There was Zunar appearing in his own cartoon lamenting whose nose he would be drawing now that Mahathir would be gone!

             Zunar’s fame has spread despite his intentionally bypassing the mainstream media.  Kowtowing to the establishment or the powerful is just not his style or mode of working.  That is what makes his work so refreshing and, well, Jebat-like.  Luckily, as Amir Muhammad noted in his preface to one of Zunar’s collections, “[His] talent matches his bile!”  I would also add, “And courage too!”

             Just as he was merciless with the mercurial Mahathir, Zunar was no less sparing with Mahathir’s pliant successor Abdullah Badawi.  In many ways Abdullah was more of a challenge as he was so pathetically out of his league.  Too tough and you would appear to be picking on the village idiot.  That could backfire, evoking sympathy instead.  At the same time you have to puncture the idiot’s increasingly uppity pretensions.  A delicate balance!

             Zunar was more than up to the task.  The one cartoon that best captures Abdullah’s tenure is one showing him slumped in an oversized chair issuing endless edicts:  “Zero Corruption! Zero Red Tape!” followed by a series of Zs ending with his snoozing in his chair.  That summarizes better than the kilobytes of critical commentaries by erudite columnists.  The chair was just a tad too large for him, or the man too small for it, and Abdullah was reduced to uttering useless slogans.  He succeeded only in putting himself to sleep.

             One would expect Abdullah’s successor to have minimal difficulty to shine.  Alas that was not to be with Najib Razak.  As for the reasons, you could torture yourself and read the various dry commentaries by the pundits and academics, or you could spend RM20 and get a copy of Zunar’s latest book, the one banned by the government, “1 Funny Malaysia.”  The title obviously pokes fun at Najib’s 1Malaysia slogan.  You will be entertained, as well as being educated.

             Thanks to the inefficiency of the Home Ministry, the publisher already sold the first printing of 5,000 copies before the ban.  With Internet marketing and with many of Zunar’s cartoons readily available free online (www.cartoonkafe.com), the Ministry’s ban is, like all the government’s actions, all fury with no significance.  That makes the whole banning exercise less scary than first thought.

             The cartoon cover of the banned volume is illuminating enough.  It shows Najib commanding his ship, KD Altantuya, presumably the newly-acquired and exorbitantly expensive submarine that would not sink, shouting out orders to no one in particular.  Or perhaps no one cared to listen!  Notice the ship’s name!

            In other cartoons Najib is reduced to his oversized glasses, pin-sized eyes, and prominent forehead, an unmistakable befuddled deer-in-the-headlight look.  That also describes Najib’s leadership – befuddled.

             Zunar was equally tough on all our leaders.  Not so the reactions of his subjects.  I am certain that both Mahathir and Abdullah were none too pleased to be so unflatteringly caricatured and mercilessly skewered by Zunar.  Nonetheless, very unlike Najib, they did not see fit to ban Zunar’s books or undertake any such nefarious actions.

             That is the significant difference between them and Najib, a “transformation” in our leadership that should scare us.  It is noteworthy that while the world notices this as evidenced by the extensive global coverage of the ban, the matter receives scant attention in the mainstream Malaysian media.  Nor has the ban attracted much commentaries or editorials.  That too is equally significant, and scary.

             Zunar, we need you now more than ever.  We need you to keep them straight when they strayed, soften them when they become sclerosed, and bring them down a notch or two when they get too uppity.  May the ink in your pen never run dry!

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 13 July 2010, 8:41 am and is filed under
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Every Cabinet Minister and Barisan Nasional component party should take a stand – whether in support  of Muhyiddin or Nazri on Perkasa and formation of Chinese, Indian, Iban, Kadazan Perkasas

Two diametrically opposite stand on the recrudescence of racist posturings and outpourings in Malaysia 53 years after Merdeka, 47 years after formation of Malaysia with Sabah and Sarawak and 15 months after Prime Minister’s Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s proclamation of 1Malaysia policy.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz rightly smacked down the ridiculous idea of the MCA Vice President Datuk Lim Siang Chai for a Chinese version of Perkasa to counter Perkasa.

I fully agree with Nazri when he described Siang Chai’s suggestion was “ridiculous” as it would only cause racial tension among the Malays and Chinese at a time when the government should be defusing it.

It is utterly shocking that a Deputy Minister of the Najib administration which advocated a 1Malaysia policy could envisage and even publicly propose the formation of Chinese, Indian, Iban and Kadazan Perkasa to counter the extremist racist posturings and outpourings of Perkasa, as it is a great disservice to five decades of Malaysian nation-building and a total repudiation of Najb’s 1Malaysia policy to create a vibrant, productive and competitive nation where every Malaysian perceives himself or herself as Malaysian first and by race, religion, geographical region or socio-economic group second.

But what is even more shocking is that the MCA Deputy Minister’s ridiculous suggestion of a plethora of ethnically-based Perkasas has the blessings of the Deputy Prime Minister and Umno Deputy President, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin who came to Siang Chai’s defence.

In doing so, Muhyiddin has confirmed that he is the foremost opponent of 1Malaysia in Cabinet and government  – as he had previously declared publicly that he is a Malay first and a Malaysian second!

The question is whether Muhyiddin will have the upper hand if every Cabinet Minister has to take a stand whether to support Muhyiddin or Nazri on the question of the spawning of ethnic Perkasas in the country.

Every Cabinet Minister and Barisan Nasional component party should take a stand – on  support for  Muhyiddin or Nazri on the issue of  Perkasa and formation of Chinese, Indian, Iban, Kadazan Perkasas in particular and the 1Malaysia policy in general.

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 14 July 2010, 12:48 pm and is filed under
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5-in-1 price hike: Fuel, sugar and gas up

Malaysiakini | 15 Jul, 10 6:19pm

Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak’s administration has taken a politically risky manoeuvre by raising prices of three types of fossil fuels, sugar and cooking gas.

Both RON95 and RON97 grade petrol and diesel prices will be raised by RM0.05 per litre, while liquified petroluem gas (LPG) will be raised by RM0.10 per kilogramme.

Sugar prices will be raised by RM0.25 per kg.

All price increases will take effect from midnight tonight.

The breakdown of the new prices are:

RON 95 grade petrol – RM1.85 per litre

RON 97 grade petrol – RM2.10 per litre

Diesel – RM1.75 per litre

White refined coarse granulated sugar – RM1.90 per kg

Liquified petroluem gas – RM1.85 per kg

For cooking gas: (each cylinder)

10kg – from RM17.50 to RM18.50, RM1.00 hike

12kg – from RM21.00 to RM22.20, RM1.20 hike

14kg – from RM24.50 to RM25.90, RM1.40 hike

It is learned that the Prime Minister’s Department intends to regulate the prices of RON 97 through a managed float mechanism.

Prices would then be adjusted monthly according to international oil prices.

Subsidy reduction plan

The statement added that the adjustment is the first part of the government’s plans to reduce subsidies for essential goods as proposed by the Performance and Delivery Unit (Pemandu).

Pemandu, a unit established under the Prime Minister’s Department, had warned that the Malaysia may face bankruptcy by 2019 should subsidies not be reduced.

Idris Jala, Pemandu’s chief executive officer, said that Malaysia risk becoming like Greece, which is now debt-ridden.

The Najib-administration had been working hard on its charm offensive to sell the necessity for subsidy reductions.

However, critics said forcing consumers to tighten their belts without the government undergoing an austerity drive was meaningless.

It must also be noted that this is the second time the federal government had increased sugar prices. On Jan 1, prices were increased by RM0.20 per kg.

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 15 July 2010, 8:05 pm and is filed under
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A year on, MACC tries to appease Beng Hock’s family

By
Debra Chong
 | The Malaysian Insider

July 15, 2010

KUALA LUMPUR, July 15 — In a move to placate Teoh Beng Hock’s family ahead of his one-year death anniversary tomorrow, Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief commissioner Datuk Seri Abu Kassim Mohamed pledged today not to “cover up” the actions of anyone who maybe found involved in causing the DAP political aide’s death.

“The MACC will not compromise or cover up the actions of any culprit or anyone found potentially involved in the death of Teoh Beng Hock,” the nation’s top graft fighter said today in a brief statement addressed to the Teohs.

The statement was issued only in Chinese.

The 30-year-old political secretary to Selangor state councillor Ean Yong Hian Wah was found dead last year on a 5th-floor corridor at Plaza Masalam in Shah Alam, nine floors below the MACC’s Selangor headquarters.

He had been interrogated overnight by anti-graft officers probing claims his boss was misusing state funds.

“I want to emphasise that we will respect whatever decision that comes out of the coroner’s court,” Abu Kassim stressed, adding he hoped the inquest will come to an end soon.

In the statement penned in Chinese, Abu Kassim also expressed his sympathy with the Teohs.

“On behalf of myself and all MACC staff, regarding the matter of what happened on July 16, 2009, we grieve with Teoh Beng Hock’s family.

“We continue to also feel their hurt and sadness. As a father and head of my own family, I can deeply understand the incomparable pain in losing a family member,” said the man who took up his current job from the first embattled MACC head, Datuk Seri Ahmad Said Hamdan, in January this year.

Abu Kassim highlighted that the MACC had taken steps to tighten security during questioning of its witnesses “to ensure there will be no repeat of such an incident”.

Beng Hock’s younger sister, Lee Lan, told The Malaysian Insider today she had not read the MACC statement and would respond to it at a public talk organised by the DAP at the KL-Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall here tomorrow night.

She said she had only been alerted to the news by a reporter from a Chinese newspaper.

The MACC statement was not available in Bahasa Malaysia or English.

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 15 July 2010, 6:43 pm and is filed under
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Malaysia in the Era of Globalization #23

by
Bakri Musa

Chapter 4:      Modern Model States

The Asian Miracle – South Korea

 In the 1950’s, the Filipino government was sending community development officers to the Republic of Korea (ROK) to help the Koreans recover from the devastations of war.  Today, the two Asian nations could not be more different in the quality of life of their people.

            The Economist noted that in 1964 Zambia had a per capita GDP twice that of South Korea, but by 1999 the Korean figures had rocketed to over 27 times that of Zambia’s.  South Korea is now among the top twelve trading nations.  Its upward trajectory was briefly interrupted by the Asian economic crisis of 1997, but it is now back on track.

             No one would have predicted back in the 1950’s that this Asian nation would be a model of success that it is today.  Indeed the first half of the last century had not been kind to South Korea.  Yet it succeeded, and did so by flouting every conceivable rule of modern developmental economics.  It unabashedly adopted central planning, complete with Soviet-style Five Year Plans and with the state assuming a dominant role in business and the economy generally.  The state directed major investment decisions and allocated scant resources, including credit.  It was not shy in strategically intervening in the economy when it deemed necessary.  South Korea’s strategy had been labeled “guided capitalism.”

             Politically, for most of the last half of the 20th century, it was ruled by a series of strong and autocratic military leaders.  Indeed Korea’s economic development began with its military dictators.

             Korea’s military rulers, through discipline, hard work, and commitment to trade, transformed the nation.  The generals treated the country like an army at war, with strict regimentation, top down command, and single-minded pursuit.  They brooked no insubordination or opposition.  The whole nation was conscripted into a war mode to develop the country.  This war mentality, partly egged on by the very real communist threat from the north, pervaded every sphere of South Korean thinking and action.  Every opposition and obstacle had to be crushed; every resource of the state had to be focused to this overriding goal of economic development.

             South Korea’s remarkable economic achievements were not however, accompanied by a comparable social and political development.  Nonetheless with it joining the ranks of the developed nations and with the increasing affluence of its citizens, democratic reforms and increased freedom and liberties for her citizens must necessarily ensue.  Besides, there is no value or joy in having democratic freedom while the citizens are starving.  Look at the Philippines and Haiti.  What a mess!

             The luxury of choosing one’s leader is just that – a luxury.  It is more relevant that the leader, whether anointed, elected, or one who simply grabbed power, be competent and dedicated.  As long as a leader is capable, it matters not how he achieved power.  The only advantage of representative democracy is that when you are stuck with a bad leader you may have a chance to get rid of him peacefully at the next election, assuming of course that it would be free and fair.  The disadvantage is that you cannot blame anyone else for choosing that leader.

             Whatever may be said of the South Korean generals, no one would dispute that they were indeed competent economic managers and pursued progressive economic policies.  They may not have been enlightened in the views of modern libertarians, but they had achieved their primary goal:  to make sure that their people were not starving.  Having accomplished that, the South Koreans could now look forward to loftier goals, like greater prosperity and increased freedom.

             For a significant part of the 20th Century Korea was a Japanese colony.  Japan annexed the country and did all it could to annihilate the Korean culture and identity by absorbing or more correctly, subjugating the Koreans.  The teaching of Korean language for example, was prohibited and Koreans were forced to adopt Japanese names.  The Korean economy was entirely controlled by the Japanese.  Had it not been for Japan’s defeat in World War II, the Koreans would more probably be by now a lost minority ethnic entity in a greater Japan.

             The Japanese defeat gave the Koreans their independence.  Unfortunately the nation was immediately trapped in the emerging Cold War, with the Americans and the Allies on one hand, and the Chinese and Russians on the other.  The Korean War was settled with the present boundary between North and South arbitrarily set along the 38th parallel.

             The Korean War and its aftermath took hundreds of thousands of lives and brought untold misery to millions more, borne primarily by the Koreans themselves.

             Right from the start South Korea was at a distinct disadvantage compared to North Korea.  Most of the industries were in the north, including vital chemical plants to produce fertilizer.  Even electricity came from the hydroelectric generators in the north.  The railroad in the south too was dependent on coal imported from the north.  To compound the challenges, most of the industries had been owned and operated by the Japanese.  And with their exodus following World War II, these factories were essentially abandoned.

             At the same time South Korea was inundated with refugees from the north and the emigration of Koreans from Japan.  Between 1945 and ’46 its population swelled by a whopping 21 percent!

             Korea, or at least that part south of the 38th parallel, “elected” Syngman Rhee as its first president in 1948.  This Princeton-educated man proved that one can get an Ivy League education and yet remain very much provincial, absorbing none of the refined aspects of American culture.  He turned out to be a run-of-the-mill dictator, ostensibly cloaked in the niceties of democracy.  Rhee epitomized many Third World leaders, past and present.  They may have graduated from top Western universities, but apart from the parchment papers they collected they have learned nothing about what makes the West great.  They must have not ventured much beyond the lecture halls and libraries of those august institutions during their student days.  They were content being academic “muggers.”

             Rhee did learn something about America:  how to play on her vulnerabilities and obsessions with its own version of freedom and democracy.  He milked America to the maximum such that for most of his tenure, the main if not the only contributor to Korea’s budget was American foreign aid.  And the main source of income for Koreans was the spending money of the well-paid American GIs and foreign aid workers stationed in Korea.

             Rhee’s corruption and manipulation of the Korean constitution and institutions continued while his nation was spiraling down the abyss.  The ending was predictable.  In the end he was forced into exile to a comfortable life in Hawaii in 1960, leaving his country in a total mess.

             The military, the only disciplined organization left, staged a coup led by General Park Chung Hee in 1961.  Park treated the country as a strict sergeant major would an ill-disciplined bunch of peasant youths.  He was banking that after such a rigorous training, the youngsters would be so pleased with their new spit and polished look that they would forget the ordeal they went through and be forever grateful to the drill officer.  Park was fully aware that he did not have political legitimacy but was counting that with economic success he would win the hearts of his people.  Reaching the heart via the stomach, a time-proven strategy!

             Park’s first five-year economic plan emphasized industrialization, especially for exports, with heavy state involvement and direction.  Despite the well-known natural antipathy the Koreans had for the Japanese, Park, having spent his youth in Japan, did not hesitate in learning from his former colonial master.  His strategy was not only to emulate the Japanese but also to better them.  Industrial workers were cowered and strikes banned, with the single-minded purpose of beating the Japanese at the industrialization game.  Exports were encouraged through various subsidies, tax incentives, preferential access to capital, and generous depletion allowances.  Savings were similarly encouraged.

             The Koreans were indeed diligent students, copying the Japanese in every way, including producing their own version of the Japanese keirutsu (conglomerates) – the chaebol.

             Park was a tough taskmaster but he certainly had vision.  He excoriated his people for their poverty and primitive ways and exhorted them to change their ways so that they would be resilient so as not be colonized again.  To Park, Korean farmers were a lazy bunch, given to drinking and gambling.  (Park’s remarks reminded me of Mahathir’s frequent outbursts on the indolent ways of Malays.)  Using nationalistic appeals together with bold economic planning, Park embarked South Korea on an ambitious path of economic development.  He built the spanking new Seoul-Pusan expressway not only because it was a much needed infrastructure but also to showcase Korean engineering talent and construction capabilities.  He also encouraged and supported South Korean construction companies to secure lucrative contracts abroad, especially in the Middle East.

             In contrast to earlier industrialization policies based on import substitution, Park strived for exports.  He set and repeatedly raised his targets, all along exhorting his people.  He made a giant leap forward with his ambitious Heavy and Chemical Industries (HCI) Plan, again geared primarily for exports.

             Nor did Park neglect the countryside.  In 1971 he launched a massive rural development scheme, Saemaul Udong (New Village Movement), aimed at improving living standards and income for the villagers.  Park also had a more noble but nebulous goal of promoting “spiritual enlightenment.”  His rural development plan began in a highly dramatic and very physical way.  He ordered the traditional thatched roof of farmers’ dwellings be replaced with modern corrugated metals, and later, concrete tiles.  Between 1972-79, nearly two and a half million rural homes sported this new roof.  Never mind that these modern materials provided no insulation against the bitter winter cold or searing summer heat.  They looked modern compared to the thatched roofs, and that was what Park was trying to achieve.  Additionally he ordered village streets and housing facades be straightened.  He wanted no untidiness and messiness. Park’s style was more into military barracks:  cheap, clean, purposeful, and spartan.  He brought a very visible physical change to the countryside.

             Rural development did not end with the cosmetic improvement of farmers’ homes.  Park brought in electricity, massively subsidized, so peasants could install radios and televisions that would bring them into contact with the modern world.  Roads, bridges, and irrigation channels were built, all to modernize the countryside.  And with that physical transformation, he hoped to bring about comparable social and pyschological changes in his people.

             Like everything else associated with the military mindset, in the end these rural development programs degenerated into means of social control of the population – Park’s “spiritual enlightenment.”

 Next:  The Asian Miracle – South Korea (Cont’d)

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 15 July 2010, 10:33 am and is filed under
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