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Who is “evil”? Selangor water protesters teargassed

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Selangor water protesters tear-gassed

The Malaysian Insider

UPDATED @ 05:17:44 PM

05-12-2010

By Boo Su-Lyn

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 5 — Riot police fired tear gas and used water cannons on at least 1,000 protesters near the KL Railway Station as they marched to the Istana Negara today to rally against a potential bailout of Selangor water utility companies.

Hundreds of protestors sought refuge at the Railway Station to avoid the police action after they started their march from the National Mosque.

Riot police later turned the water cannons on those who had gone back to the National Mosque despite organisers announcing an end to the rally shortly before 3pm.

The rally ended about 4pm when Pakatan Rakyat leaders appealed to the crowd at the National Mosque to disperse under the watch of phalanxes of fully-armed riot police.

Kuala Lumpur deputy police chief Senior Asst Commissioner Datuk Amar Singh promises to release those detained earlier to ensure a swift dispersal. It is understood that nearly 50 have been detained with

most of them held at the Police Field Force facility in Cheras.

“It is our guarantee that they will all be freed. So please disperse yourself.” he told the crowd.

Several policemen had earlier charged at more than 1,000 protesters, some of whom ran to seek sanctuary at the mosque. The crowd has so far remained at the vicinity of the National Mosque after failing to break through police barricades, water cannons and teargas.

The action at the National Mosque began after police had allowed a group of protesters through to deliver a memorandum the Yang di-Pertuan Agong seeking support for Selangor’s takeover of the

state’s water industry.

According to witnesses, police used tear gas and water cannons on the crowd after allowing Selangor Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim and several state exco members to proceed to the Istana Negara.

“The MB and excos are inside the Istana gates. Submitting the memorandum. Or attempting to,” tweeted Khalid’s aide Tricia Yeoh.

In a statement issued this evening, the Selangor Mentri Besar’s office said Khalid handed the memorandum containing 250,000 signatures to Istana Negara public relations officer Khairi Abdul Rahman at 2.15pm.

The five-point memorandum asked among others that water rights to be handed back to the state.

Meanwhile, Kota Damansara assemblyman Dr Nasir Hashim was escorted by the police to Selangor’s water rally at the National Mosque, shortly after being detained earlier at the KL Sentral transport hub.

Apart from the Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) chairman, two other PSM members who had been detained  — Shah Alam councillor A. Sivarajan and party secretary-general S. Arulchelvam — were also escorted to the National Mosque, said Subang MP R. Sivarasa’s personal assistant, Peter Chong.

“The three were officially released and sent in a police car to the National Mosque,” Chong told The Malaysian Insider today.

The three had been held in the morning at the KL Sentral on their way to the Selangor water protest that began this morning at the National Mosque.

Witnesses said the trio were later re-arrested for being in the vicinity of the Istana Negara but police have yet to confirm.

The crowd later dispersed from the National Mosque after PAS central committee member and Kuala Selangor MP Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad pleaded with them.

“We guarantee that the last person standing will be freed. So we ask everyone to disperse,” he told the protesters, most of whom were clad in red.

More than 40 people at the rally were detained, said Chong.

“About 40 plus people were arrested. They are being taken to the Cheras police station,” Chong told The Malaysian Insider.

“Dr Nasir, Sivarajan, and Arulchelvam were rearrested, but they were just released again,” he added.

Earlier at the National Mosque at about 1.30 pm, Khalid called on the Sultan to support the Selangor government’s efforts to control the state’s water industry by upholding the Water Services Industry Act

2006.

“We humbly request the Tuanku to uphold the spirit and aim of the Water Services Industry Act 2006, which is to restructure the water services industry into one that is holistic and managed by the Selangor state government. We call upon Tuanku to remind the federal government of this,” he said in a speech at the National Mosque.

The Selangor mentri besar further accused Putrajaya of practising cronyism by backing the water concessionaires.

“It is the perception of the people that the federal government sides with the private sector, in this case a particular company, which is equivalent to cronyism,” said Khalid.

“The rakyat has to now pay high water rates and Malaysian taxpayers are forced to undertake the risk of Syabas’s business. We call upon the Tuanku to remind the federal government of their promise to end

cronyism,” he said.

Dr Dzulkefly told reporters later at the National Mosque that he would inform Parliament about the “excessive” police force used against the protestors, some of whom were women and children.

“It is excessive use of force,” said Dr Dzulkefly.

“It is unfortunate that the police used unwarranted force. We’ll raise this in Parliament,” he added.

Khalid’s administration is fighting for the rights over the water industry and promised to provide the first 20 cubic metres water for free and maintain 12 per cent increase in water tariff, compared to Syabas’ plans of a 25 per cent increase in 2012 and a 20 per cent increase in 2015.

Sources told The Malaysian Insider recently that Selangor water bondholders will urge Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak to intervene directly in the state’s water restructuring deadlock in an effort to safeguard their bonds from being further downgraded.

The Malaysian Insider understands that major bondholders — including CIMB Principal Asset Management, Hong Leong Investment Bank and Great Eastern Life — have drafted a joint letter to Najib asking the federal government to bail out Syabas with a soft loan worth some RM1 billion.

In the letter, the bondholders contend that further downgrades of debt ratings will put capital markets at risk and will seriously impede the government’s effort to promote its Capital Markets Masterplan.

Putrajaya bailed out Syabas once already last year when it gave a RM320.8 million soft loan to parent company Puncak Niaga Holdings Bhd (PNHB) in December to help settle its debts to water treatment

concessionaires.

Selangor’s water players — Syabas, Puncak Niaga Sdn Bhd (PNSB), Syarikat Pengeluaran Air Sungai Selangor Sdn Bhd (Splash) and Konsortium ABASS — are at risk of debt payment default as water bonds

approach their maturity dates.

The debt service problem started when Syabas was barred from implementing a 37 per cent tariff hike agreed upon in January 2009, after the Selangor government claimed the sole water distributor had

not done enough to reduce leakages which cost the state millions.

This in turn led to payment problems between Syabas and water treatment concessionaires PNSB, Splash and Konsortium ABASS, who supply it with treated water.

Selangor water concessionaires are also already in technical default owing to the shortfall of money in the reserve account.

The Malaysian Insider understands that the reserve account, meant to hold at least six months’ worth of bond repayment money, is currently short by some RM50 million.

This shortfall may double in six months if the current water consolidation impasse remains unresolved.

The technical default triggered a downgrade of the debt issuances by Malaysian Rating Corp Bhd (MARC) and RAM Ratings Services Bhd on September 8, who warned of further multiple-notch downgrades in this quarter.

An industry source told The Malaysian Insider that bondholders suffered RM457 million in mark-to-market losses following the downgrade.

A statement by MARC at the time urged the federal and state governments to urgently interfere in the water industry’s restructuring negotiations to prevent a free fall of ratings in following months.

Najib kicks off BN campaign, calls Pakatan ‘evil’

The Malaysian Insider

UPDATED @ 02:43:38 PM 05-12-2010

By
Clara Chooi

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 5 — Datuk Seri Najib Razak appeared to kick off Barisan Nasional’s (BN) next election campaign today by delivering his hardest-hitting punches yet on his Pakatan Rakyat (PR) foes by calling them “anti-national” and “evil”, intensifying speculation that snap polls are around the corner.

While blaring the call to arms to Barisan Nasional (BN) component parties, the ruling coalition chairman thundered in a lengthy speech steeped in sarcasm that the opposition were merely “traders of dreams” while the ruling coalition were “merchants of realities”.

“Be wary all, beware all, they are very dangerous. They are willing to sell just about anything, including discrediting Malaysia’s name abroad.

“I would like to explain here that they are anti-national. We must fight them to the end and make sure that this country will not be destroyed by their evil activities,” he said in his opening speech at the BN convention in Wisma MCA here this morning.

For a good 20 minutes, the premier fired stinging attacks against the opposition pact, particularly against PKR, fully capitalising on the party’s fractious polls that were just concluded last month.

Dr Wan Azizah was mocked by Najib for calling Anwar  “God-sent”.He also claimed that the party was attempting to imitate Umno, charging that this proved that they recognised the honesty of the ruling party’s struggles.

“We understand that perhaps they are following the saying in English that ‘imitation is the best form of flattery’,” he added.

The BN convention, themed “1 People, 1 Nation, 1 Vision”, the first for the ruling coalition since it suffered its worst-ever electoral defeat in Election 2008, runs from 9am to 5pm today and will feature debates on a variety of topics from 10 party component leaders.

Najib claimed that PKR’s integrity and credibility was doubted by its own members, pointing out that this was reflected in how members had rampaged to show their dissatisfaction and disappointment, rebelled, and caused commotions like throwing chairs during the party polls. He added that disgruntled members had even brought their complaints to court.

This was why, said Najib, it would be “strange” and “miraculous” if the results of the party’s direct elections had brought any “drastic changes” to the party, other than to pollute the people’s beliefs in the process.

“Additionally, as we know and as reported in the papers, many of their top party leaders themselves have abandoned PKR including their former deputy president, vice-president, secretary-general, youth chief, deputy youth chief, information chief, state chairman, division chairman, including from the Permatang Pauh division, former deputy chief minister, five assemblymen and five MPs,” he said.

He added with a smile that PKR should be more aptly described as “Parti Keluar Ramai-Ramai” (mass defection party) instead of Parti Keadilan Rakyat (People’s Justice Party).

Najib also took a direct swipe at PKR president Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail for describing her husband, the party’s de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, as “God-sent” and questioned the Muslim leader on which “hadith” had she based her declaration on.

“In recent days, PKR is looking too desperate in attempting to plead for the people’s sympathy to a point that its own president claimed that the de facto leader is ‘God-sent’.

“Oh yes, we understand the loyalty and awe felt by a wife towards her husband, oh, the ‘ke… he… ba… tan’ (greatness) of her husband,” he said, dragging out the word “greatness” with a smile and inviting thunderous applause from his audience in Dewan San Choon here.

“Is this some kind of new teaching or, more accurately, is this some kind of deviant teaching? Enough of these twisted dramas. I hope the people will not be so easily swayed with this nonsense.

“It is important to remember that it is not the people’s duty to bear the burdens of its leaders but vice-versa and that is the stark difference between BN and PR,” he said.

Najib also claimed that the opposition pact was not adequately represented by all racial communities in Malaysia but was dominated by one or two races.

Party members in the other minority races, he added, were merely “tokens” or for “cosmetic” purposes.

“More accurately, they are a pact of two families, with the third one merely a follower,” he said, describing the pact as one formed by parties sleeping on the same bed but sharing different dreams.

In yet another attack against PKR, Najib slammed the multi-racial party for accusing Umno of nepotism when the leaders in its top ranks comprised of the father, mother and daughter.

He was referring to how Anwar was PKR de facto leader; his wife Dr Wan Azizah, the party’s president; and daughter Nurul Izzah, the newly-elected vice-president.

“It is hilarious when they are brave enough to accuse us of practising nepotism. I would like to ask here, who are the real [practitioners] of nepotism? In the words of legal maxim — justice must not only be done, it must be seen to be done. Moreover, it must not only be proper, it must also be seen to be proper,” he said.

The other PR parties of DAP and PAS also did not escape Najib’s lengthy tirade this morning and the premier poked fun at the former party for being a “two-dynasty hegemony”.

DAP’s Kit Siang and Guan Eng  was described as a “dynasty” by Najib.“It is a party ‘Anak Beranak Sdn Bhd’. With a two-dynasty hegemony, one powerful family and another without power but actually, all are merely ceremonial.

“Because in this party’s system, the secretary-general is more powerful than the chairman,” he said.

Najib’s invectives were aimed at the powerful father-and-son teams of DAP advisor Lim Kit Siang, his son secretary-general Lim Guan Eng, and DAP chairman Karpal Singh and his son, MP Gobind Singh.

Additionally, Najib pointed to the lack of non-Chinese representation in DAP despite the party’s continued claims of being multiracial.

“With that reasoning, they should uphold what they so sanctimoniously preach to others with righteous indignation,” he said.

As for PAS, Najib accused the Islamist party of failing its own ideologies by working closely with “big liars, forgers of documents and traitors to the country” in the other PR member parties.

“The aspiration to be a political leader is not unusual but the people should be wary of the consequences of such a struggle. The people must understand that these opposition parties are dishonest, are opportunists and full of hypocrisy.

“We know that they desperately want to take office in Putrajaya, they want to live in Seri Perdana (the prime minister’s official residence) and because of that, they are willing to do anything to grab power, and from time to time, will act barbaric and greedy. Malaysia and the world know about the September 16 incident that eventually turned into the greatest lie in the country’s political history,” he said.

Najib also cautioned BN parties against allowing certain parties to destroy what the government had so carefully built over the years, for the purpose of satisfying their personal greed and lust for power.

“For that reason, no matter what happens, we must defend Putrajaya, not because of our egos or narrow self-interests, but for the good of Malaysians on a whole,” he said.

The BN convention, themed “1 People, 1 Nation, 1 Vision”, the first for the ruling coalition since it suffered its worst-ever electoral defeat in Elections 2008, goes on from 9am to 5pm today and will feature debates on a variety of topics from party component leaders.

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 5 December 2010, 7:35 pm and is filed under
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Hishammuddin’s reply to me on Mat Zain’s allegation on fabrication of evidence on Anwar Ibrahim “black-eye” case

Penjelasan dan Jawapan secara bertulis oleh Menteri Dalam Negeri kepada soalan-soalan yang tidak sempat dijawab semasa sesi penggulungan perbahasan bajet 2011:

PERKARA YANG DIBANGKITKAN OLEH
Y.B. TUAN LIM KIT SIANG
:

Merujuk kepada surat terbuka bekas pegawai polis kanan, bekas Ketua CID Kuala Lumpur, Dato’ Mat Zain Ismail yang bertarikh 8 Oktober 2010 yang merupakan bukti kuat bahawa sistem keadilan negara kita terus merosot setelah pembentangan laporan Suruhanjaya Polis Diraja Dzaidin.

Meminta supaya mengkaji semula siasatan kes atas bukti-bukti palsu yang dikemukakan terhadap Dato’ Seri Anwar dalam kes serangan mata lebamnya dalam tahun 1998 demi melindungi kredibiliti kebebasan dan imej PDRM yang telah terjejas serius sejak 2006. Mat Zain telah membuat dakwaan yang serius bahawa bekas Ketua Polls Negara, Tan Sri Musa Hassan dan Peguam Negara, Tan Sri Ghani Patail telah mencipta bukti yang palsu dalam serangan mata lebam Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim dan mestilah bertanggungjawab terhadap sistem keadilan jenayah yang kucar-kacir ini.

Menyeru supaya Yang Berhormat Menteri Dalam Negeri memberikan satu penjelasan yang menyeluruh dan memuaskan mengenai perkara ini di Parlimen.

JAWAPAN DAN PENJELASAN OLEH KDN

Untuk makluman Yang Berhormat, pihak PDRM telah membuat semakan ke atas penyiasatan yang melibatkan Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim dalam kes serangan mata lebamnya pada tahun 1998. Tiada apa-apa keterangan yang boleh menunjukkan berlakunya keterangan palsu dalam penyiasatan tersebut. Pendakwaan yang dibuat ke atas Tan Sri Rahim Noor kerana mendatangkan kecederaan ke atas Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim berdasarkan kepada bukti-bukti yang ditemui dalam penyiasatan kes tersebut. Tan Sri Rahim Noor telah didakwa di Mahkamah di bawah Seksyen 323 Kanun Keseksaan dan beliau telah mengaku salah di atas pertuduhan tersebut.

Mahkamah telah menjatuhkan hukuman 2 bulan penjara dan denda RM2,000.00 ke atas Tan Sri Rahim Noor di atas pengakuan bersalah beliau terhadap pertuduhan tersebut. Hukuman penjara tersebut telah selesai dijalankan dan kemudian beliau telah dibebaskan. PDRM berpandangan bahawa pertuduhan yang telah di buat ke atas Tan Sri Rahim Noor tersebut adalah selaras dengan keterangan yang dikumpulkan oleh pihak polis.

Justeru, ingin saya nyatakan bahawa tidak berlaku apa-apa kucar-kacir di dalam sistem keadilan jenayah di negara ini ekoran daripada kejadian tersebut sebagaimana dakwaan Yang Berhormat. Prinsip pengasingan kuasa (separation of power) memperuntukkan polis yang ditugaskan untuk menjalankan tugas siasatan jenayah manakala Jabatan Peguam Negara adalah bertanggungjawab menjalankan pendakwaan jenayah sebagaimana Perkara 145(3) Perlembagaan Persekutuan dan Mahkamah pula berfungsi sebagi tempat untuk mendengar dan membicarakan kes adalah masih utuh.

Oleh kerana itu, ketiga-tiga badan ini masih memainkan peranan yang ditetapkan agar tidak ada campur tangan dalam perkara-perkara yang melibatkan sistem keadilan jenayah di negara ini.

Untuk makluman Yang Berhormat juga, setakat ini tidak ada sebarang laporan polis yang telah dibuat ke atas surat terbuka bekas Ketua Siasatan Jenayah Kuala Lumpur seperti yang telah tersebar di dalam internet sebelum ini. Selain itu, kandungan surat tersebut juga tiada mempunyai sebarang unsur hasutan, fitnah, ugutan jenayah mahupun lucah bagi membolehkan PDRM untuk menjalankan siasatan.

                This entry was posted on Monday, 6 December 2010, 3:20 pm and is filed under
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Ketuanan Melayu: A risky experiment

Mariam Mokhtar
 | Dec 6, 10

Malaysiakini

I was born Malay and was hardly conscious of my race, either at school or at home. Race hardly cropped up in conversation except when we had form-filling to do – like applying for an identity card. Religion was something sacred and the only time we’d be aware of our racial and religious differences was deciding what to wear for a wedding or whose open house to visit, during the various festivities.

Thus, the recent clamour for “ketuanan Melayu” is destructive and damaging – not just for Malaysia but more so for the Malays, the very people that the “ketuanan Melayu” concept is supposed to protect. It is wrong because “ketuanan Melayu” is a dangerous experiment in social engineering.

Our neighbours were both Chinese and Indian. As children, we studied and played with each other, even hitched lifts to school when necessary, whilst the adults shared garden produce, swopped certain special dishes for the various ‘open houses’ and practiced their own version of ‘neighbourhood watch’.

Today, the Wongs are living out their twilight years away from their children, who have now settled overseas. Their children were willing to pay for them to live in a gated community, but they refused. In gated communities, they said, people hardly know one another and lives are conducted behind high walls and electric fences. The Wongs are unwilling to trade their relative freedom for living in secure isolation.

Mrs Pillai is now a widow, living on her own. Both her son and daughter have emigrated and she is loathe to leave Malaysia. She tells me, her children saw no opportunities in Malaysia. Her daughter is particularly bitter at having to leave her mother and especially angry that she was denied a place at a local college, and denied help by a local political organisation who refused to recommend her for a study loan.

Several thousand non-Malays have left, but many Malays have also gone. Families are torn apart or wrecked by a false belief in so-called superiority. Our country has not benefited from the wasted talent.

Where’s the sense of equality and justice?

When will Malays understand that the call for “ketuanan Melayu” creates antagonism at best, and violence at worst? There is open hatred toward non-Malays. The Malays have become arrogant; and non-Malays have been forced to be compliant. But for how long? Perhaps, it is the Malay who has more need of change. Where is their sense of equality and justice?

If “ketuanan Melayu” is supposed to benefit the Malays, why are the majority of Malays poor? If politicians had genuinely wanted to help Malays, the majority of Malays would now be wealthy, after 53 years of Umno rule. But this is not the case. The majority of Malays are poor.

Former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad warned that the Malays will “lose their power” if Pakatan Rakyat were to come to power. He labeled Pakatan leaders as a bunch of self-serving and racist politicians.

What “power” is he referring to? Is he referring to Umno’s potential loss? Will the loss mean no more abuse of power and enrichment of family, friends and cronies? Is he lamenting the lack of control over the media, police, judiciary and the parliamentary rights and privileges committee? Did he also mean the inability to detain those who dare speak out against injustices?

Malay extremists claim that Pakatan’s alternative call for “ketuanan rakyat” goes against the Malay rulers. However, no one objected when Mahathir clipped the wings of the royals.

Mahathir and Najib Abdul Razak have sought to suggest that Umno/BN is a caring party, but despite 1Malaysia, Malaysians probably feel less united today.

Perhaps, the Malay extremist politicians promoting “ketuanan Melayu” can rightly be called “Children of Mahathir”.

Why will the extremists not deal with the social ills that beset the Malay youth – drug abuse, abandoned babies, under-achievement, and Mat Rempit? They have been fed propaganda and expect instant rewards but soon become disillusioned. They then fall further into the trap that ‘non-Malays are robbing them of their rights’. Is it any wonder they are bitter and have little aspiration?

The same group of extremists expects other faiths to respect Islam – but they fail to reciprocate this. It is alleged that in some mosques, the sermons preach unbridled hatred.

Many loopholes and obstacles

Last Saturday, a 14-year-old girl and a 23-year-old teacher were married at a mosque in Kuala Lumpur, after a religious syariah court approved the union. The teenager said, “It has been hard trying to juggle two rôles – as a student and a wife – but I am taking it in my stride.”

Can no one else see that this is wrong? How does the state protect children from paedophilia? Has the child’s health and maturity been considered? What about her mental and maternal health, when she undergoes repeated childbearing at a young age? What about her education?

Muslim men can remarry easily. So who will support her should her marriage fail? Or if her husband leaves her for a younger woman or fails to support her when he remarries? Our syariah law and welfare system has many loopholes and obstacles. Some women claim it works against them.

Look at how Malay men perceive of their women. Despite equality in Islam, women are given short shrift. Nurul Izzah Anwar’s request for a debate with Ibrahim Ali was rejected. He called her ‘small fry’ and told her to contact the head of Wiranita, the Perkasa women’s organisation, instead. This demeaning attitude towards women is replicated in many Malay households.

When will the champions of “ketuanan Melayu” talk about success, progress, innovation, creativity, harmony, sharing and excellence instead of alluding to the “only my rights matter” mentality?

We Malays must face up to our insecurities so we can live at peace with ourselves. The non-Malay is a convenient scapegoat for our failures. We need to admit we have problems and face up to them.

Our religious leaders must make a clear stand against polygamy, paedophilia, child-snatching and intolerance of other faiths. Our Malay leaders must learn to respect other non-Malay Malaysians and treat them as equals. Only then do we have the right to ask others to respect us. We must stop the hypocrisy and madness that is called “ketuanan Melayu”.

MARIAM MOKHTAR is a non-conformist traditionalist from Perak, a bucket chemist and an armchair eco-warrior. In ‘real-speak’, this translates into that she comes from Ipoh, values change but respects culture, is a petroleum chemist and also an environmental pollution-control scientist.

                This entry was posted on Monday, 6 December 2010, 4:24 pm and is filed under
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Najib has degraded political discourse with his vicious attacks on Pakatan Rakyat as “anti-national”, “evil”, “despicable”, “very dangerous”, etc which can only boomerang on him and BN leaders

The Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has degraded political discourse with his vicious attacks on Pakatan Rakyat as “anti-national”, “evil”, “despicable”, “very dangerous”  etc which can only boomerang on him and Barisan Nasional leaders.

In fact, in his speech to the Barisan Nasional convention yesterday, Najib was guilty of three of the four “political diseases” he had warned would crush the Barisan Nasional, viz delusion, amnesia and arrogance.

Najib was guilty of delusion when he spoke of Barisan Nasional’s “manifest destiny” to “bring this great nation, Malaysia, to its fullest potential” when Malaysia had been losing out to one country after another in economic development and progress in the past five decades, with an unchecked brain drain and domestic capital outflow to the extent that the country was warned recently by a Cabinet Minister that the country was heading towards bankruptcy in 2019.

Najib was guilty of amnesia when he so easily forgot the reasons why Barisan Nasional suffered its worst electoral defeat in the 2008 general elections, losing five state governments and parliamentary two-thirds majority.

Najib was guilty of arrogance when he presented the next general elections battle as one between “good vs evil”, “loyalty vs treachery” and  “patriotism vs anti-national’, as if corruption, rent-seeking, abuses of power and human right violations are the by-words for good, loyalty and patriotism while commitment to uphold and restore constitutional and political integrity, justice, rule of law and human rights represent evil, treachery and being “anti-national”.

As Prime Minister and leader for all Malaysians if his 1Malaysia concept is to be taken seriously, Najib should be mindful of Dr. Samuel Johnson’s dictum “Patriotism is the last refuge of scoundrels” and should not set the bad example of doubting the sincerity, bona fide or worse the patriotism of political adversaries.

If Najib is serious  in his charges that Pakatan Rakyat leaders are “anti-national”, “evil”, “despicable”, “very dangerous”, and a string of other epithets, is he prepared to agree to a whole series of live television debates between BN and PR leaders on who is really “anti-national”, “evil”, “despicable”, “very dangerous” – whether Barisan Nasional or Pakatan Rakyat?

                This entry was posted on Monday, 6 December 2010, 12:53 pm and is filed under
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A better place for their children, not Malaysia

By
 Melissa Chi

The Malaysian Insider

December 07, 2010

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 7 — First-class education system, a corruption-free government, zero tolerance on racism and the basic skill to communicate properly are all on one Malaysian’s mind when he chooses to work in Australia.

Anthony Leong, 30, an application support programmer, said he is considering giving up his Malaysian citizenship and live in Australia permanently, for the sake of his future family.

He said he had become frustrated at the corrupted system, the quality of local university graduates and the red tape he had to go through to apply for welfare support for his 70-year-old disabled aunt, among other things.

He is now a permanent resident in Australia, working for the Queensland Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation, and is considering applying to be an Australian citizen once he has convinced his father and sister to move with him.

Low purchasing power, racism, political instability, low income, race-based policies, crime rates and non-dual citizenship laws are seen as some of the reasons that have kept a lot of Malaysian talents anywhere but here, 300,000 annually to be exact.

Another Malaysian who had also chosen to be Down Under felt unappreciated in Malaysia.

“I am a Malaysian who loves my country but I do not feel loved. Why then should I stay?” Wesley Wong, 25, a software developer in Australia, told The Malaysian Insider.

His deep sense of frustration was echoed by many who are working abroad.

“The country should learn that all Malaysians love their country. Any Malaysian who does not feel appreciated in their own country will definitely find elsewhere to go because they realise that their future is bleak,” he said in an e-mail interview.

Leigh Howard, South Asia director for Talent2 International Limited, told The Malaysian Insider that approximately 300,000 Malaysians leave the country for better education, work and business prospects, quoting figures released by the government.

“That would compare with a figure of 80,000 for a country such as Australia which has a similar size population and workforce,” he said.

He added that Malaysia is lacking talents in the services sector, technology, banking, as well as in oil and gas.

Brian Fernandez, 40, a headhunter for senior and middle management positions for the last decade at Talent Search International, said those talents are lost to Singapore, all over Europe and the Middle East.

“Setting up Talent Corp is a nice blah blah but it’s not real,” he said, dismissing the initiative launched yesterday.

The prime minister announced at its launch yesterday that foreigners and Malaysians living abroad can soon apply for a new resident pass that will allow them to live and work in Malaysia for up to 10 years at a time.

Although he had earlier said that Talent Corporation, which was established under the Prime Minister’s Department, will spearhead initiatives to attract the estimated 700,000 skilled Malaysians currently working abroad, the prime minister did not mention the ambitious figure at the launch.

Instead, Najib announced a new policy to retain and attract talent to Malaysia.

He said the resident pass will be made available to highly-skilled expatriates seeking to continue working and living in Malaysia as well as Malaysians residing overseas.

Unlike an employment pass, he said the resident pass has the advantage of not being tied to an employer and it can be issued for a longer period.

Najib, also the finance minister, said the pass will also be available to those originally from Malaysia as well as their offspring who no longer hold Malaysian citizenship.

Following the announcements, however, he did not specify how the new body will reach out to those “highly-skilled talents”.

Fernandez was sceptical about how the new initiative will pan out, even before the launch yesterday.

“Malaysia is very good with plans, but when it comes to execution, it’s a different story,” he said.

The Malaysian Insider had reported that Singapore had trumped Malaysia in the brain gain stakes, according to a recent Gallup poll which saw the island-state beat some 150 countries to come out as the most favoured destination in the world for educated migrants.

Fernandez cited his family as “a classic case” as one of his sisters is working for the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland and another in Singapore.

Fernandez, who has a university degree and a small child, had also left for Singapore in his late 30s, said that he was “one of thousands who had left Malaysia in the last two years.”

He said Malaysia had lost a lot of talents in technology because the skill is very transferable and that “Singapore is a good example of a vacuum cleaner, sucking talents out of Malaysia.”

He added that Malaysians in the banking and financial industry, especially accountants, are being offered better salaries and benefits abroad, whom he said, usually stay on in the country and do not return.

Fernandez used the biotech industry in Malaysia as an example of the many sectors which need to improve, to gain talents.

“Singapore went through that as well. They had a 10-year plan, bought global talents from the UK, the US, there were a lot of PhD students. They grew the talent pool and now they have more than 1,000 PhD holders,” he said.

He credited the government for its efforts and said that at least Malaysia is headed in the right direction as he noticed that talents are being paid better in recent years and that senior management salaries had gone up in government agencies as well as government-linked companies.

SOLUTIONS FOR THE PHENOMENON

Howard said that even though there is an incentive package for repatriating Malaysians which includes tax exemption for importing a car and leeway for their children to enter international schools, “however more could be done.”

Under the Human Resources Ministry’s “Return of Experts Programme”, an approved returnee is entitled to bring back two cars tax-free, as well as the applicant’s accumulated income, also tax-free.

However, this is hardly an incentive as in Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries which do not have approved permits (AP) or prohibitive taxes on imported cars.

Howard said the solution to this brain drain phenomenon is twofold.

“In a broader sense, the same types of economic and social conditions which attract quality immigration will assist with repatriation, (for example) there needs to be material improvements in education, career and working life.

“At the same time, there are some very specific initiatives that would target and attract Malaysians to return home. All of them involve a considerably more detailed and proactive approach,” he said.

He suggested the government follow the footsteps of large multinational companies in the private sector that invest heavily in their employee value proposition (EVP) and review specifically at this target group.

He also said the level of outreach needs to be highly proactive as policies and standard incentive programmes can only go so far.

“(The government) needs to adopt a less passive and highly rigorous approach to identification, communication, and interaction with this pool of people. It’s not impossible to map out and identify Malaysians living overseas, it just involves work. Following up from this, the type of engagement programme needs to be sophisticated enough to have a long-term impact on repatriation numbers. Whether it’s accelerated resettlement, incentive programmes or fundamental changes to the Malaysian economy … will also play a role,” he said.

“It may not come as a surprise that the private sector is already undertaking its own efforts to identify and repatriate Malaysians into mission critical roles within their organisations,” he said.

Fernandez said some of the ways to stop Malaysian talents from leaving are to have better physical security, better policing and opportunities, adding that “it’s not always about the money”.

“A trickle will be a flood. If there are opportunities, people will come back,” he said optimistically.

Currently, he said there is a net outflow rather than inflow of talents and warned that it will get worse next year.

However, Fernandez said that losing Malaysians might not be the end of the prime minister’s vision for the country to be a high-income and a developed nation by 2020.

“If we are losing Malaysians and can’t get them back, then hire foreigners. It’s not easy for a foreigner to get work permit here and that’s a mistake. It should be more difficult for unskilled workers,” he said.

In the National Economic Advisory Council (NEAC) report on the New Economic Model (NEM), it says that the numbers of expatriates have fallen from nearly 90,000 in 2000 to nearly half of that by 2008.

The net result is a “shortage of dynamic talent to push Malaysia into higher added value activities”.

“We are competing globally, so we need to look globally. It’s not a zero-sum game, it is not that if you bring in a foreigner, it’s at the expense of a local,” he said, adding that bringing in international talents can spur more job opportunities.

MALAYSIA IS NOT ALONE

Howard was quick to add that Malaysia is not alone in the brain drain phenomenon, and that every country experiences immigration and emigration flows, which constantly affects the calibre of the workforce.

“What you need to do is examine is the brain exchange, (for example) that you ensure the skills entering the country are at least the same or ideally superior than those exiting. Malaysia’s challenge is that our emigrants are more skilled than our immigrants (and our general population),” he said.

Howard stressed that the government should improve on the selection, settlement and integration of skilled immigrants to help boost the quality of the workforce in Malaysia. He said that not only do skilled immigrants provide a higher calibre workforce through their own efforts, but they also indirectly improve the skills and knowledge of those around them.

The report by the NEAC on the NEM laments that “we are not developing talent and what we do have are leaving”.

The report says that currently, some 350,000 Malaysians are working abroad, with over half of them having tertiary education.

This leaves more than 80 per cent of the workforce with SPM-level qualification, and their wages are being continually suppressed by the vast availability of foreign workers and other barriers like subsidies and price controls.

According to the World Bank, Malaysians residing overseas numbered only 9,576 in 1960 while the world’s total registered migration was 382,912 per nation. By 2005, the world’s registered migration increased to an average of 919,302 per nation, an increase of 2.4 times. However, Malaysia’s emigration numbers rose to 1,489,168, an almost 100-fold increase over the 45-year period.

Many first world countries have schemes to attract talents from all over the world. The closest example is Singapore, which has employer-sponsored (Scheme 1) working visas, which are issued within three working days on receipt of application. And under its Scheme 4, top-notch professionals are “purposely” sought from all over the world and attracted to reside in Singapore.

Jonathan Monteiro, 28, a headhunter, described this phenomenon as a chicken or egg situation, where because of the lack of talents in Malaysia in certain industries, investors hesitate to invest, hence the limited pool of Malaysian talents will opt to leave the country for better opportunities, mostly to where the said companies invested in.

Monteiro said most Malaysians are tempted to work abroad because salaries offered are more attractive.

For example, he said, certain jobs in Qatar pay Malaysians about 85 per cent more than what they do here. Monteiro said he is considering moving to Qatar next year to be in the human resources industry.

“When you come back, you’ll definitely need to take a salary cut,” he said, adding that no one he knows was working in a company in Malaysia that could match their salaries abroad.

He said, however, that some of them will eventually return to Malaysia, “simply because it is home.”

RETAIN AND RECRUIT TALENTS

Lyvian Loh, 27, a market analyst in the US, said among other things, health insurance is very affordable, there is freedom of speech and it has a less stressful lifestyle.

She said there is also “lesser expectations of entertaining your superiors to get a better positions or to get promoted”, the pay is relevant to your degree or ability, and that the purchasing power is higher there than in Malaysia.

“It is definitely a problem for the country but is a benefit for the particular individual. If a country doesn’t appreciate the talents and qualifications in their own country, the individual may as well go to a better place where people appreciate them while giving them a better life,” she said of the brain drain phenomenon.

Jesse Lee, 30, a senior accountant in the US, said following completion of her degree at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Indiana, she had only wanted to stay on for a few years to learn the culture and the working lifestyle there, but had since changed her mind.

“Gradually, I fell in love with the people, environment and the surroundings here. Not only there’s the higher salary, you get the freedom you don’t have back home. You know, here’s just like what Alicia Keys described in her song — if you can make it here, you can make it everywhere, concrete jungle is where the dreams are made of, there’s nothing you can’t do.

“It gives you hope. You know as long as you work hard, you will achieve what you dreamed of. But there’s a huge trade off for working abroad. You don’t get to see your families and friends often,” she said.

Asked what the solutions might be, she said the government should “walk the talk.”

“1 Malaysia isn’t just a slogan. The government should really put in effort to unite the people and create a ‘home’ for us. Fix the corruption and reduce crimes,” she said.

Wong had similar initial plans as Lee and had also changed his course.

“I had wanted to return to Malaysia to help my family business when I was studying for my bachelor’s but some time in 2007/2008 but I changed my mind and decided to stay in Australia. This was because I saw no future in Malaysia with the current system in place. My parents had advised me to stay in Australia as well,” he said.

Wong called for open tenders for projects, lower crime rates and that the government should do away with race-based policies and emphasise on meritocracy instead.

“The brain drain phenomenon has been a problem since many years ago. Many Malaysians have realised that you will never get anywhere if you don’t pull the right strings. This has spurred many Malaysians to leave the country in search of greener pastures where they can be appreciated.

Malaysia has been stuck in the middle-income trap for many years and will still be for many years to come because the level of education there is appalling.

“Malaysia can’t continue on with its manufacturing sectors because many other countries can do the same thing for a cheaper price but yet Malaysia continues to churn out many sub-par graduates with poor language skills. As it goes, Malaysia won’t move on to the next stage after manufacturing, which is to start designing and inventing products because of the lack of talent in the country,” he said.

Among other things that Malaysians working abroad complain about are the rampant racism which they felt is more tolerated in Malaysia compared to where they are, having to choose only one citizenship and oppressive laws such as the Internal Security Act.

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 7 December 2010, 10:19 am and is filed under
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DAP wants clarification on Anwar’s ‘black-eye’ probe

By
Clara Chooi

The Malaysian Insider

December 07, 2010

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 7 — The DAP has demanded a clarification from the Najib administration on its commitment to reopen the infamous Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim “black-eye” incident, accusing Cabinet ministers of making contradictory statements.

Party adviser Lim Kit Siang questioned today if Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein had usurped the responsibility given to his Cabinet colleague Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Aziz to handle the matter by declaring last week that the case was closed.

“Did he just make irrelevant Nazri Aziz’s assurance to Parliament that the Cabinet wants to investigate the new allegations made on the case by speaking with those implicated, including the Attorney-General himself and the former Inspector-General of Police (IGP)?” Lim told The Malaysian Insider today.

The veteran politician was referring to a letter he had received from Hishammuddin on December 2 where the minister denied any discrepancy in the 1998 “black-eye” case involving Anwar and declared that there was no need to reopen investigations despite fresh allegations of evidence fabrication made by a former investigating officer.

Hishammuddin, writing in response to Lim’s questions on the matter during the debate in Parliament on the ministry’s 2011 budget earlier, also told the Ipoh Timor MP that the police had completed their checks on the old investigation and had found no reason to suggest that false evidence had been given.

Lim had raised in Parliament the issue of former KL CID chief Datuk Mat Zain Ibrahim, the investigating officer in Anwar’s assault case, who had revealed in an open letter to the new IGP Tan Sri Ismail Omar on October 8 that he had new information on the “black-eye incident” which implicated A-G Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail and former IGP Tan Sri Musa Hassan.

Following Mat Zain’s revelations, the Najib administration had instructed two Cabinet ministers — Nazri and Datuk Seri Utama Dr Rais Yatim — to question Abdul Gani on the matter.

Nazri, a minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, told The Malaysian Insider two weeks ago that the Cabinet wanted to hear an explanation from the country’s top lawyer before taking any action on the matter.

But Hishammuddin’s intervention on the issue has now cast doubt on the government’s stand on the matter, raising questions on whether the administration had already brushed it aside.

In his letter to Lim, the minister had insisted that that despite Mat Zain’s allegations, the former police officer’s open letter had not contained any elements of incitement, defamation, criminal intimidation and was not vulgar to trigger any police investigation.

Lim piled pressure on the government however today and urged Nazri to respond quickly on the matter.

“If he (Nazri) had indeed been instructed to enquire into the matter by meeting with the A-G and the former IGP, then why was there such a reply from the home minister?

“There is a need for a clarification from Nazri as to whether these Cabinet ministers know what they are talking about,” he said.

Lim added that Hishammuddin’s nonchalance on the issue showed the minister’s disinterest and his intention to brush the case aside.

“He has avoided the serious allegations made that there was a fabrication of evidence.

“In his letter to me, he did not refer to the course of the proceedings and he only spoke about the conviction of (former IGP Tan Sri) Rahim Noor. What about the intervening course of events?

“Hishammuddin had averted them,” he said.

In his letter, Hishammuddin had pointed out to Lim that Rahim’s persecution in the case had been just and based on proof uncovered during the investigation.

“He was charged in court under section 323 of the Penal Code and he had pleaded guilty to the charge,” he wrote.

Lim flayed the minister for clearly avoiding the actual issue at hand and urged the government to show its commitment to settling the issue once and for all.

“Will they reopen investigations? It will have a great bearing on public confidence.

“It is not just about professionalism, it is about showing your commitment to the criminal justice system,” he said.

Lim added that irregardless of whether Mat Zain’s revelations were true, the government had to take action.

“An independent commission has to be set up to get to the bottom of the allegations.

“If it is a case of Mat Zain committing perjury, then action still has to be taken. But if his allegations are true, then, similarly, action must be taken against those implicated,” he said.

In his letter to Lim, Hishammuddin had also claimed that the country’s criminal justice system had not gone “topsy-turvy” as a result of the “black-eye incident” as claimed by the veteran politician.

“The principle of separation of powers allows the police to carry out their duty to investigate crime while the A-G’s Chambers is responsible to persecute criminals and the court’s function is to provide a space to hear and discuss these trials,” he said.

Hishammuddin claimed that all three arms of the government played their respective roles to ensure there were no disruptions in the country’s criminal justice system.

The Sembrong MP also pointed out to Lim that to date, no police reports had been lodged on Mat Zain’s open letter, which has been spread across the Internet.

In his open letter on October 8, Mat Zain had claimed that an independent panel that cleared Abdul Gani and Musa of fabricating evidence in the incident was unconstitutional and accused the country’s top lawyer of deceiving the Cabinet over the independent panel.

He said there was no need for any royal commission of inquiry on the matter as the police were capable of resolving the case themselves.

Mat Zain also revealed that there had been an agreement between Rahim, former Deputy IGP Tan Sri Norian Mai as well as Mat Zain on October 8, 1998 at 2.30pm that there would be “complete closure” to the black-eye case.

“It is important that I note that Rahim Noor was ready to take full responsibility in the black-eye incident, and his decision was made of his own accord,” said Mat Zain.

“The closure of the case had been agreed to be done professionally, above board.”

Mat Zain said that Rahim was prepared to step down after the closure of the black-eye incident.

“But I found out that about 5pm to 5.30pm on the same day, Allahyarham (the late) Tan Sri Mohtar Abdullah, along with the then-Datuk Abdul Gani Patail (now Tan Sri), had met with Rahim Noor at his office. At 6pm, I was then told by Tan Sri Norian to ‘continue investigations like normal’.

“I then understood that the agreement that we had reached mere hours ago had been cancelled. I was shocked and upset, but who was I to say anything at the time,” said Mat Zain.

The former policeman also accused Abdul Gani of falsifying testimonies relating to the black-eye incident.

He said the longer the case remained unresolved, the longer innocent officers would be accused of being involved in a cover-up of the case.

In July 2008, Anwar filed a police report accusing Abdul Gani, Mat Zain, Musa (then a senior investigation officer in 1998) and Dr Abdul Rahman Yusof of falsifying a medical report on his black-eye case.

Rahim, the IGP in 1998, had admitted he assaulted Anwar following a royal commission of inquiry probe in 1999.

He has since been convicted of the crime and sentenced to two months’ jail and a fine of RM2,000. Rahim has completed his sentence.

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 7 December 2010, 3:32 pm and is filed under
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FDI at risk with vague NEM 2, says Ramon Navaratnam

By
Yow Hong Chieh

The Malaysian Insider

December 06, 2010

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 6 — The Najib administration will face continued investor scepticism until it is more explicit on how to make Malaysia a high-income nation, warned one of those who drafted the New Economic Policy (NEP).

Tan Sri Dr Ramon Navaratnam, who had helped Tun Abdul Razak draft the NEP following the deadly 1969 race riots, said the recently unveiled second New Economic Model (NEM) report was filled with good intentions but “very short” on specific measures.

“And therein lies the problem… Investors, after waiting so long, find they’re back almost to square one in terms of the specifics and policy proposals they can act on,” Navaratnam (picture) told The Malaysian Insider.

“I had expected much more from part two. To that extent, I am disappointed,” the former senior civil servant said about the NEM 2 unveiled last Friday.

The Asian Strategy and Leadership Institute (Asli) Centre for Public Policy Studies chairman stressed that more concrete proposals were needed to reassure domestic and foreign investors alike so they would not take their money elsewhere.

Private sector confidence is critical to the success of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s ambitious NEM as the government expects the private sector to fund 92 per cent of the US$444 billion (RM1.37 trillion) needed to sustain the Economic Transformation Plan (ETP) over its 10-year period.

“How can FDI (foreign direct investment) feel comfortable when there are a lot of motherhood statements but no specific proposals that can affect policy?” Navaratnam asked.

The former Finance Ministry deputy secretary-general pointed out that investors had already been made “uncomfortable” be delays to the second half of the NEM, as that suggested Najib’s administration had “misgivings” about some of the reforms proposed by the National Economic Advisory Council (NEAC).

“For example, what is the position of Bumiputera equity? Is it on or off? And for how long more?” he asked.

Navaratnam said the government — which rejected an Asli report stating that the 30 per cent Bumiputera equity target had already been achieved and even surpassed — had yet to commission an independent study as recommended by the think-tank.

“This 30 per cent issue, there is doubt as to whether or not it has not been achieved,” he said.

“The Bumiputera share has well exceeded 30 per cent and it’s no longer an issue, unless they’re now bringing about a change in policy and wanting more than 30 per cent.”

The outflow of domestic and foreign investment and capital will continue until the government can convince investors there was enough political certainty in Malaysia, the former Transparency International Malaysia president added.

He stressed that time was critical for investors, who were more than willing to go to Indonesia, China, India, or anywhere else in the world where there was a greater level of certainty.

“My hope and prayer is that, having made the mistake of not coming out with specifics, that these specifics be spelt out as soon as possible in a comprehensive manner and not in dribs and drabs,” he said.

Navaratnam urged Putrajaya to act quickly in this respect, even as the ongoing movement of capital and talent away from Malaysia “erodes” the prospect of Najib’s ambitious transformation plan.

“The sooner the matter is settled, the better for the economy and the prospects for take-off rather than a dive-down,” he said.

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 7 December 2010, 12:18 am and is filed under
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Malaysia: Assets and Liabilities (Malaysia in the Era of Globalization #43)

Malaysia in the Era of Globalization #43

by
Bakri Musa

Part II: Transforming Malaysia

The instinct to censor is a powerful one. It is also an acknowledgment of the unpredictable power of words. Goenawan Mohamad, Indonesian editor and journalist.

Chapter Six: Malaysia: Assets and Liabilities

To prepare for globalization Malaysia must first take stock of herself. She must assess her positive as well as negative attributes; and enhance her assets and lessen her liabilities. She must also be mindful that with ingenuity, liabilities can be turned into assets while assets not improved upon or left to deteriorate can become liabilities.

     Malaysia is vulnerable on a number of fronts, with many simmering problems yet to be addressed or even acknowledged. Malaysian leaders must critically reexamine their policies and revisit their assumptions. They must not hesitate to jettison ineffective policies, modify inadequate ones, and expand on effective strategies.

In this chapter I will review some of Malaysia’s attributes, both positive and negative.

The Colonial Legacy

The conventional wisdom is that colonialism is a negative experience for the colonized. For Malaysia, I would argue the opposite. The British left behind a politically neutral and professional civil service and military, together with an independent judiciary. Malaysia also inherited from the British a system of parliamentary democracy, a very precious heritage.

     Those who belittle these legacies would do well to look at neighboring Thailand. It has never been colonized and its civil institutions are not well developed. Until very recently, its military had been involved in one coup after another, and its judiciary is not worthy of emulation. The Indonesians were colonized too, but they were too busy fighting against instead of learning from the Dutch. Had the Indonesians learned a thing or two about business from that great mercantile nation, Indonesia would not be in such an economic mess today.

     For the wider Malay world, colonialism was both a unifier and divider. Imperialism permanently divided what was once a natural Malay entity comprising the entire Southeast Asian archipelago. The Spanish claimed the Philippines; the Dutch, Indonesia; and the British, Malaysia. With the departure of the colonialists these divisions continued and indeed deepened, with each country pursuing its own separate path. Despite attempts at regional cooperation (ASEAN being the latest), these three countries have drifted apart instead of coming closer.

     The converse, that is, the unifying influence of colonial rule on Malays cannot be underestimated. Prior to British rule, the Malay peninsular was nothing more than a series of tiny little fiefdoms, each with its own little sultan and system of nobility similar to that of medieval Europe. There was little sense of nationhood or feeling of kinship among Malays. Kelantan Malays treated their kinsmen in Johore as foreigners.

     The British, by bringing together these tiny Malay states into one political entity, forced Malays to think as a nation. The major impetus for Malay unity came shortly after World War II, with the British overweening attempt to make Malaysia into a permanent dominion.

     Malays rightly sensed this grave threat to their collective political survival; this forced them to unite to meet a common adversary: the British. That one development precipitated a sea change in the culture of Malays. Up until then Malays were perceived as being politically docile, uninterested in the affairs of state, and content to be under British “protection.” Inspired by and through the hard work of a visionary nationalist, Datuk Onn, the various Malay organizations were united under one banner, UMNO, with the sole purpose of taking on (politically) the British.

     It was a tall order but through Onn’s brilliant strategic leadership, Malays were successful in derailing the British plan. UMNO went on, under different leadership, to champion the cause for independence.

It is a worthy contrast that Malaysians learned and benefited so much more from the British than the Indonesians ever did from the Dutch. One possible reason is that Malaysia gained her independence a decade later after Indonesia, and thus benefited from this longer tutelage. For another, Malaysia’s early leaders had spent some time in Britain during their youth and had seen or sampled the finer aspects of British life. Datuk Onn, for example, had attended a school in England and distinguished himself in the colonial civil service. He may have been anti-British politically, but culturally he was an unabashed anglophile; likewise his successor Tunku Abdul Rahman who graduated from Cambridge. Having been associated with the intellectual and social elite of Britain, these leaders were not so disparaging of the colonials and their values.

     I digress here to illustrate another point. Many contemporary Malaysian leaders are viscerally against globalization. This attitude is bred because few of them have personally been immersed in or benefited from globalization. Mahathir and most of his ministers have never spent much time abroad to study or work. Nor have they run corporations or businesses that have substantial international connections or cliental. Their insular backgrounds shape their attitudes. Similarly, early Indonesian leaders like Sukarno had a jaundiced view of colonialism because they were exposed only to the brutality of Dutch rule and never to the finer achievements of Dutch society. He had never spent time in Holland.

     In contrast to Malaysia, Mexico, another Third World country, welcomes globalization because its new president, Vicente Fox, was formerly the CEO of Coco Cola Mexico. He knows first hand of the importance and value of free trade and open markets. His experience with that American multinational company and American businessmen exposed him to another aspect of America specifically and globalization generally, one rarely seen or experienced by the “Go Home Gringo!” crowd in Mexico City.

     Chile is also embracing globalization because many of its ministers and economic advisors have been trained at the finest American universities and worked with leading multinational corporations. They have experienced personally the tangible benefits of globalization and thus are not easily swayed by emotions. Had Mahathir been a consultant at an American hospital prior to becoming leader or had as advisors individuals like Megat Zaharuddin, the former CEO of Shell Malaysia, Mahathir would have a different take on globalization.

     Going back to UMNO, had it been led in the beginning not by Datuk Onn or Tunku but by some rabble-rouser Malays who had never left their kampongs a la Perkasa’s Ibrahim Ali, Malaysia’s fate today would be no different from Indonesia. The Sanskrit word kupamanduka (frog in a well) describes well this insularity, so is the Malay equivalent, katak di bawah tempurong (frog underneath a coconut shell). Their world is very limited, hence their ready certitude.

     Thus the greatest cultural transformation of Malays was started not by a committee, a commission of wise men, or UMNO Supreme Council, but by the seminal contribution of individuals like Datuk Onn and Tunku. It illustrates my point in the last part of Chapter 2 on the primacy of individuals in initiating significant changes in society. Qualitatively UMNO’s formation was equivalent to Japan’s Meiji Restoration, a positive cultural response to an external threat.

     For those who belittle Datuk Onn’s significant contributions, let me suggest a different scenario that would have been devastating for Malays and Malaysia. Imagine had the British flattered Datuk Onn by offering him the grand title of Earl of Malaysia, and with it a seat in the House of Lords. They did that earlier to the Malay sultans, offering them private audiences at Buckingham Palace and exalted knighthoods. That strategy worked, just as it did with the Indian Maharajas. The Malay sultans were ready to sign the historic Malayan Union agreement to make the country a permanent British dominion. Fortunately Datuk Onn, his anglophile leanings notwithstanding, did not fall for the trap. But not for lack of trying on the part of the British! He was after all Sir Onn!

Next: Another Colonial Legacy: The Professional Military

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 7 December 2010, 1:57 am and is filed under
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‘Anti-national’: Right word, wrong coalition

By
Kee Thuan Chye

What Prime Minister Najib Razak said at the opening of the BN convention last Sunday reflects a mind of the lowest common denominator. It is not the kind of mind one expects of a prime minister.

He stooped really low in taking swipes at the two-family dominance of the DAP (Lim Kit Siang’s and Karpal Singh’s) and “nepotism” in PKR, forgetting that he too is the son of a former prime minister, and that Dr Mahathir Mohamad also has a son who is a deputy minister with ambitions of becoming bigger.

Instead of taking on the opposition on ideological grounds and maintaining prime ministerial decorum and dignity, he resorted to name-calling. He called Pakatan Rakyat “anti-national” and “very dangerous”. He said their activities were “despicable”. Some media organisations reported it as “evil”.

These are cheap words that anyone can utter. If by “anti-national” and “despicable”, he means that Pakatan has been “bad-mouthing” Malaysia abroad, as he says it has, it would not have been about the country but the government, which deserves to be bad-mouthed anyway. And the government deserves that for all the ills it has committed over the last three or four decades, and for leading Malaysia to the economic, social and moral morass it is in today.

Let us get one thing clear – the country and the government are separate entities. Governments come and go, the country is eternal (unless it is destroyed or fragmented). We owe our allegiance to the country, not to the government. Therefore, saying bad things about a bad government is not being anti-national.

Most important of all, voting against a bad government is not being anti-national. A bad government does not deserve loyalty. Disloyalty to the government is not disloyalty to the country; in fact, voting out a bad government is being loyal to the country.

Anti-national activities

Ironically, Najib’s description of Pakatan sounded as if he was talking about BN.

After all, what could be more “dangerous” and “anti-national” than corruption, of which BN has been deep into, reportedly making billions from negotiated contracts and cronyism?

And who are the anti-nationals if not those who seek to divide the people with periodic declarations that are racist, or that question the integrity of certain races or their patriotism?

If evidence is required, here is a list of only a few BN people (there are no doubt countless more) who have been guilty of expressing such anti-national sentiments and even got away with it – Ahmad Ismail, Noh Omar, Nasir Safar, Hishammuddin Hussein, Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.

If you want more, attend an Umno general assembly and you won’t be disappointed.

What could be more “dangerous” and “anti-national” than messing with the minds of the young from the moment they enter primary school, indoctrinating them with racially and religiously divisive messages, and reinforcing this by subjecting some of them to Biro Tatanegara (BTN) courses before they go overseas for further education?

What about doing the same with the civil servants?

What about suppressing the mass media, and using it to spin the news in BN’s favour? And using it to disseminate racial hatred and to propagate racial supremacy?

What about taking our education system to the pits, lowering the standards by lowering the passing mark, not only at SPM but in universities? Ask any university lecturer if the marks are not tampered with and they’ll have plenty of stories to tell you.

What about making use of the police and other law enforcement agencies to make life hard for the opposition? Or instituting judicial persecution when it suits the government’s purpose?

A dream merchant

When Najib said at the convention, “BN is a responsible coalition… The people can trust us to do not only what is right but what is in their best interests”, he must have been either speaking tongue-in-cheek or spinning through his teeth.

That’s what Najib is good at, really. He is at best a dream merchant. If he weren’t prime minister, he might have been a salesman.

He has been trying to sell us 1Malaysia, the Government Transformation Programme (GTP) and the Economic Transformation Programme (ETP) without providing us a tangible product. At least for now, they are merely dreams. And for all that he promises, they might not be fulfilled.

Now he’s talking about the Political Transformation Programme (PTP) pula. And by that, he means the “historic changes” BN has recently made by creating four different types of membership. Puhlease! Who cares about that? It only serves BN’s interest, not the rakyat’s. Call that political transformation?

Political transformation should, among other things, involve having a large percentage of the Malaysian population choose the country’s prime minister rather than 146,500 Umno delegates. Najib himself is PM not even because of this relatively small number of people. He was simply handed the position by his predecessor.

As for BN undergoing political transformation itself, the best way to make it do so is to vote it out of government so that it will know what it’s like to be in the opposition – deprived of corruption opportunities, deprived of power, deprived of the temptation to be arrogant.

With the PTP, Najib is just trying to fool us again. If he wants to talk about political transformation, he should repeal the ISA, the PPPA, the OSA, the UUCA, and restore the independence of the judiciary. And that’s just for starters.

Without institutional reform, the government cannot regain credibility. In fact, the government has lost so much credibility that even charging Dr Mohd Khir Toyo with fraud – apparently timed to occur right after the BN convention – is seen by the public as an election ploy. This was the same public reaction when Dr Ling Liong Sik was charged a few months before.

Khir Toyo had been in the news for a long time over his multi-million-ringgit home, the MACC had been urged again and again to investigate him, but it is only now that the moment has become opportune to haul in the man that the people love to hate. Yet even so, the people are not convinced.

After what they’ve seen of other somewhat similar cases, how could they not be cynical about it? Let’s see if the verdict will come before the next general election. Even if the maximum Khir Toyo can get is two years’ jail and a fine.

Never-ending price hikes

But election ploy aside, the fact that a prominent Umno man is being charged with corruption speaks ill for the party, especially in these times when the cost of living is rising as prices of essential goods go up and up.

Last month, there was an increase in the price of petrol which Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said would probably be the last for the year. But only a few days ago, it was raised again. And the story was buried on page 16 of The Star with, to add insult to injury, a positive heading!

The people should feel incensed that they are paying more for their daily needs while there are politicians in the ruling coalition, including one who was once a menteri besar, alleged to be corrupt.

Not to mention the money spent on wasteful projects and on making the government look good, like the RM36 million spent on McKinsey & Co. And the hiring of the undeserving S Samy Vellu as an envoy with ministerial status.

It doesn’t add up. Why are we paying to upkeep BN’s image and line the pockets of its leaders? Are they the nationalists who uphold the people’s interests?

So, the next time Najib wants to use a word like “anti-national”, he might want to be sure he knows its true meaning and apply it to the right people. Otherwise, he might appear like a two-bit spinmeister. And that’s not becoming for a prime minister – especially one who’s not been duly elected.

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 8 December 2010, 4:11 pm and is filed under
Kee Thuan Chye
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Najib Razak
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Malaysia lost a patriot with death of Fan Yew Teng in Bangkok yesterday

All who know Sdr. Fan Yew Teng grieve at his passing in Bangkok yesterday, losing his personal battle to cancer.

 As I alluded this morning when Parliament observed one-minute’s silence as respect  to Fan and condolence to the bereaved family, his wife Dr. Noeleen Heyzer and his twin daughters,  Malaysia has lost a patriot as Fan had fought many important battles for justice, freedom, democracy, human rights and good governance for  the country and people in his life.

Fan was Acting DAP Secretary-General for a year from October 1969 when I was detained for the first time under the Internal Security Act at the Muar Detention Centre, and had held various important positions in the party, including National Organising Secretary and Editor of the party organ, the Rocket.

In 1969, Fan  was elected MP for Kampar and under the cloud of a prolonged sedition trial, he was elected MP for  Menglembu in Perak and Selangor State Assemblyman for Petaling Jaya in 1974.

Even before his full political involvement and at an extremely young age, Fan already made a name for himself as trade union leader, especially as editor of the organ of National Union of Teachers (NUT).

Fan’s parliamentary life was cut short when he became the first victim of the repressive sedition laws in the country for publishing as editor of Rocket a speech by the then Penang DAP chairman Dr. Ooi Kee Saik at a dinner to welcome my release from ISA.

Fan left DAP over party differences before the 1978 general elections but two decades later, he returned to the DAP fold in 1998 and was in the forefront in the party’s battle for justice, freedom, democracy, human rights and good governance.

Fan contested in the 1999 general elections in the Perak State Assembly seat for Tebing Tinggi but was not successful.

I will attend Fan’s funeral service in Bangkok with other party leaders which is scheduled for next Wednesday.

Fan will be remembered  not only as a patriot, but a humanist and a fine human being.

(Note: Fan’s family has set up an email account for those who wish to send their condolences:
[email protected]
 )

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 8 December 2010, 5:02 pm and is filed under
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NEM 2 a big disappointment to the people

By
Dr Chen Man Hin, DAP life adviser

NEM 2 unlikely to attract investors to help create a high income economy for Malaysia

When NEM 1 was presented to the people, it showed promise, and there was hope that this time, there is a chance to have an high economy that is dynamic and booming. The report talked about liberalisation of the economy and that it would be inclusive, meaning that NEM would cater to the interest of all the the people whether Malays, Chinese, Indians and the natives of Sarawak and Sabah. So people waited expectantly for announcement of NEM 2.

Unfortunately, there were rumblings of dissatisfaction from a group of extremists – Perkasa. They vehemently opposed the proposal to dump the NEP (New Economic Policy) with its bumi equity quota. PM Najib attended a meeting with Perkasa, and because of their objections, Najib agreed to rescind the proposal to drop NEP.

Against this background, analysts and economists waited for the announcement of NEM 2, hoping for the best but fearing for the worst.

NEM 2 was bad news. Chapter 8 indicated that it accepted the 10th Malaysia Plan proposal to retain the 30% bumiputera corporate equity ownership as a target. This was very depressing and it was reflected by the mood of the people, when PM Najib presented NEM 2 on the 3rd December. There was no joy and no celebration. It is back to square one. No hope for high income economy. We are going to stay poor. Were some of the comments from the people.

As for analysts, noted economist Mr Navaratnam was disappointed with NEM 2, and feared that foreign investors would stay away.

MARKET DISTORTIONS. Other analysts indicate that the economy was beset by various market distortions like the NEP, corruption, corrupt judiciary, APs, subsidies and preferences.

FATAL ERROR. PM Najib decision to give in to Perkasa’s demand to continue the bumi 30% equity quota was a big mistake – a very costly mistake. It is not going to help Malaysia to join the competitive high economy club like Singapore or Taiwan or S Korea, but more likely join banana republics like or Zimbabwe or Timor Leste. He has forgotten the 40 years of NEP which retarded the economy of Malaysia and cause its per capita income to be a lowly US$8,000 compared to Singapore US$34,000, Hong Kong $32,000 or S Korea $20,000.

It took malaysia several decades to earn a US$8,000 per capita. Hampered with the NEP in tow, the chances of reaching high income economy of US$16,000 by year 2020 is quite slim.

In NEW 2 Chapter 6, there is this narrowing disparities policy. This is the way out for Najib. There is this alternative to NEP to include bumiputras into the mainstream of a high economy era. It proposes a market friendly affirmative action to transform the bumiputra community. The key is liberalisation which will improve the educational and competitive instincts to be independent and earn high position in society or the businss world.

The 21st century is the Asian century. China and India are the locomotive engines to get Asia moving. PM Najib must take steps to ensure that Malaysia has a just place in a rising Asia. PM Najib can be another Deng Xiao Peng. Just as Chairman Deng took the liberalisation trail to wealth and prosperity for China, so must Najib take the liberalisation road to wealth and riches for Malaysia.

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 8 December 2010, 4:08 pm and is filed under
Dr. Chen Man Hin
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Economics
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Najib Razak
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The Illegitimate Use Of Violence

By
Zairil Khir Johari

In Weberian philosophy, a nation-state is defined by, inter alia, its monopoly on the legitimate use of violence. This is to say that the state retains all rights to the use of force through its legitimised instruments, i.e. the police and military. At the same time, the state, especially a democratic one, is also entrusted to to exercise this right in a manner that upholds the spirit of justice and human liberty.

However, because philosophy has no place in our national education, and perhaps because any Malay translation of Max Weber’s writings would probably have been acquired from Google Translate (as was the case with the translation of Teoh Beng Hock’s ‘suicide note’), it is understandable that those running our country today would fail to understand the intended implications of his seminal thesis.

As comprehensive as the online translator may be, the term ‘legitimate’ has appeared to have escaped the notice of the authorities, resulting in a situation in which state-sponsored violence is meted out in arbitrary fashion, with no regard whatsoever to the principles of justice.

Nowhere is this more evident than in the actions of the Royal Malaysian Police, a law enforcement agency empowered by the state to use force in the preservation of peace and public order.

Yet if we were to take last weekend’s water rally as an example, we have the complete opposite occurring:

 Riot police fired tear gas and used water cannons on at least 1,000 protesters near the KL Railway Station as they marched to the Istana Negara today to rally against a potential bailout of Selangor water utility companies. Hundreds of protestors sought refuge at the Railway Station to avoid the police action after they started their march from the National Mosque.

    Riot police later turned the water cannons on those who had gone back to the National Mosque despite organisers announcing an end to the rally shortly before 3pm.

    …

    According to witnesses, police used tear gas and water cannons on the crowd after allowing Selangor Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim and several state exco members to proceed to the Istana Negara.

In other words, the protest had been incident-free until the police started harassing the people. This is likely to be construed as ironic to every rational being in the free world, but in Malaysia it is the country’s very own police force that was responsible for the injudicious use of violence to disrupt a hitherto peaceful and orderly rally that had been organised to voice the legitimate concerns of the people!

Perhaps the Inspector-General of Police should rely less on Google Translate and instead attempt to reeducate himself and the rest of his officers on the basic principles of justice, human rights and the rule of law that are supposed to be upheld and defended (and not violated and ignored) by the police.

The record of abuse and indiscriminate violence by the police in this country is abhorrent to say the least, and it is only getting worse as instances of extra-judicial fatalities are on the incline:

As of last year, there have been 1,535 recorded deaths in custody.

The number of fatal shootings by the police has increased 17-fold from 5 in 2001 to 88 in 2009!

The above trend is not circumstantial. In 2000 there were 9 fatal shootings, and in 2008 there were 82. Evidence points to an unequivocal rise in police shootings.

In recent times, we have seen the death in custody case of S Kugan, the mowing down of 15-year-old Aminul Rasyid, the gangland-style execution of three youths suspected of robbery, and many more. In most of these cases, the police escape by pleading self-defence, notwithstanding the fact that many of those shot were neither armed nor in a position to attack. Yet in 1Malaysia, reason and logic are not prerequisites for a judicial decision, especially when the state stands in defence.

In the case of Teoh Beng Hock, the young political aide who ‘fell to his death’ while being held for interrogation by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), we are told that it could have been suicide, and that perhaps he strangled himself prior to leaping. (I re-iterate: 1Malaysian justice requires neither reason nor logic.)

To make matters worse, the arbitrary application of (in)justice is not merely confined to the police force, but in fact also appears to be abetted by other institutions of state, such as the office of the Attorney-General, the judiciary and the MACC.

When all is said and done, these problems are in actuality symptoms of a superiority complex that has rooted itself deep into the psyche of the Malaysian government. The fact is that until and unless a total reform of perspective occurs, in which those in power come to the conscientious realisation that democratic governance requires conformity to the principles of law, justice and human rights, we will never be rid this nightmare.

Change must, and will occur. If those in power refuse it, it will be served unto them.

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 8 December 2010, 11:07 am and is filed under
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“Can a Chinese become Deputy Prime Minister?” – shows up MCA true colours when MCA leaders could ask such a question!

“Can a Chinese become Deputy Prime Minister?”

Although this question was posed by the MCA Youth leader and Deputy Education Minister Datuk Wee Ka Siong as a challenge to me, it shows up MCA true colours when MCA leaders could ask such a question.

Are top MCA leaders, including Ministers and Deputy Ministers, ignorant of the Malaysian Constitution?

Is there any provision in the Constitution which bars a Chinese or Malaysian of any race or religion from being Deputy Prime Minister? Or for that matter even as Prime Minister?

No wonder MCA Ministers and Deputy Ministers maintain monumental silence when MCA Cabinet posts have suffered one degradation after another, from Finance Minister  and Minister for Industry and Commerce in Merdeka days to Deputy Finance Minister and  Deputy Minister for International Trade and Industry.

Nobody would be surprised at such questions from  MCA cybertroopers but when top MCA leaders also join in the chorus, it really exposes their true colours.

No wonder MCA, together with other BN component parties suffered such decisive and humiliating repudiation in the 2008 general elections.

Clearly, the top MCA leaders have not learnt anything from the 308 political tsunami.

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 9 December 2010, 4:10 pm and is filed under
1Malaysia
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Constitution
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MCA
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nation building
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Putrajaya to decide on Anwar’s ‘black-eye’ probe on Monday

By
Clara Chooi

The Malaysian Insider

December 09, 2010

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 9 — Putrajaya will declare its final decision on Monday whether to reopen Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s infamous 1998 “black-eye incident” amid allegations of evidence fabrication or close the files on the 12-year-old case for good.

De facto law minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Aziz told The Malaysian Insider yesterday that he was scheduled to take on the opposition in Parliament next week on the issue, saying that the decision would be “final” and binding.

He explained that an explanation was sought last week from Attorney-General Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail on recent allegations that he had falsified testimonies in the incident and he was now finalising the details on the issue.

“We will deliver our ministerial stand on it on Monday and that will be the final decision on the matter,” he said, declining to disclose further details.

The minister in the Prime Minister’s Department added that the recent statement made by Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein to DAP adviser Lim Kit Siang that the “black-eye” case had been closed was “accurate”.

“Hishammuddin was not wrong in saying that it was closed. The case has been closed for a long time. What happened recently was on the new information that came up. We will answer that next week, just wait and see,” Nazri said.

The minister, along with his fellow Cabinet colleague Datuk Seri Utama Rais Yatim, had been directed by the Cabinet several weeks back to question the A-G on the issue after a former investigating officer revealed fresh information implicating Abdul Gani and former Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan in the case.

Despite this, Hishammuddin’s declaration last week that the case had been closed had cast doubt on the government’s stand on the matter, raising questions on whether the administration had already decided to brush the issue aside.

The Home Ministry had written a letter to Lim on December 2, denying that there had been any discrepancy in the “black-eye case” involving the fiery opposition leader and declaring that there was no need to reopen investigations despite fresh allegations of evidence fabrication made by the former investigating officer.

Hishammuddin, writing in response to Lim’s questions on the matter during the debate on the ministry’s 2011 budget earlier, also told the Ipoh Timor MP that the police had completed their checks on the old investigation and had found no reason to suggest that false evidence had been given.

Lim had raised in Parliament the issue of former KL CID chief Datuk Mat Zain Ibrahim, the investigating officer in Anwar’s assault case, who had revealed in an open letter to the new IGP Tan Sri Ismail Omar on October 8 that he had new information on the “black-eye incident” which implicated Abdul Gani and Musa.

In his response to Hishammuddin’s statement, Lim had yesterday called on the government to clarify its stand and show its commitment on the matter.

The DAP leader had also said that Hishammuddin’s nonchalance on the issue showed the minister’s disinterest and his intention to brush the case aside.

Lim added that regardless of whether Mat Zain’s revelations were true, the government had to take action.

“An independent commission has to be set up to get to the bottom of the allegations.

“If it is a case of Mat Zain committing perjury, then action still has to be taken. But if his allegations were true, then similarly action must be taken against those implicated,” he said.

In his open letter on October 8, Mat Zain had claimed that an independent panel that cleared Abdul Gani and Musa of fabricating evidence in the incident was unconstitutional and accused the country’s top lawyer of deceiving the Cabinet over the independent panel.

He said there was no need for any royal commission of inquiry on the matter as the police were capable of resolving the case themselves.

Mat Zain also revealed that there had been an agreement between former IGP Tan Sri Rahim Noor, former Deputy IGP Tan Sri Norian Mai as well as Mat Zain on October 8, 1998 at 2.30pm that there would be “complete closure” to the black-eye case.

“It is important that I note that Rahim Noor was ready to take full responsibility in the black-eye incident, and his decision was made of his own accord,” said Mat Zain.

“The closure of the case had been agreed to be done professionally, above board.”

Mat Zain said Rahim was prepared to step down after the closure of the black-eye incident.

“But I found out that about 5pm to 5.30pm on the same day, Allahyarham (the late) Tan Sri Mohtar Abdullah, along with the then Datuk Abdul Gani Patail (now Tan Sri), had met with Rahim Noor at his office. At 6pm, I was then told by Tan Sri Norian to ‘continue investigations like normal’.

“I then understood that the agreement that we had reached mere hours ago had been cancelled. I was shocked and upset, but who was I to say anything at the time,” said Mat Zain.

The former policeman also accused Abdul Gani of falsifying testimonies relating to the black-eye incident.

He said the longer the case remained unresolved, the longer innocent officers would be accused of being involved in a cover-up of the case.

In July 2008, Anwar filed a police report accusing Abdul Gani, Mat Zain, Musa (then a senior investigation officer in 1998) and Dr Abdul Rahman Yusof of falsifying a medical report on his black-eye case.

Rahim, the IGP in 1998, had admitted he assaulted Anwar following a royal commission of inquiry probe in 1999.

He has since been convicted of the crime and sentenced to two months’ imprisonment with a fine of RM2,000. Rahim has completed his sentence.

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 9 December 2010, 12:13 pm and is filed under
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Racial breakdown for police/immigration services

Soalan:

Tuan Lim Kit Siang [Ipoh Timur] minta MENTERI DALAM NEGERI menyatakan butir-butir mengikut kaum pegawai polis dan imigresen berikan angka-angka tersebut mengikut gred masing-masing.

Jawapan:

Untuk makluman AhIi Yang Berhormat, sehingga 31 Julal 2010 jumlah anggota polis di seluruh negara ialah 106,530 orang. Jumlah anggota polis ini melibatkan pelbagai gred jawatan dan peringkat Anggota Polis Pangkat Rendah dan Sokongan hingga Ketua Polis Negara (KPN). Daripada jumlah tersebut, sejumlah 84,523 orang atau 79.34% adalah terdiri daripada kaum Melayu, 2,210 orang atau 2.07% kaum Cina, 3,624 orang atau 3.4% kaum India dan 15,886 orang atau 14.91% lain-lain kaum.

Sehingga 31 Ogos 2010 jumlah anggota Jabatan lmigresen ialah 11,017 orang di mana sejumlah 9,598 atau 87.12% anggota terdiri daripada kalangan kaum Melayu, 322 atau 2.92% kaum India, 208 atau 1.87% kaum Cina, 813 atau 7.38% kaum Bumiputra dan 76 orang atau 0.69% kaum-kaum lain.

Maklumat terperinci berkaitan gred jawatan berdasarkan kaum adalah seperti di Lampiran A dan B.

Lampiran A

Maklumat perjawatan anggota Polis Diraja Malaysia (PDRM) berdasarkan gred jawatan dan kaum sehingga 31 Julai 2010

Pangkat

Kekuatan

Melayu

Cina

India

Punjabi

Lain-lain Bangsa

JUMLAH

UNIFORM

IGP

1

1

DIG

1

1

CP

6

1

1

8

DCP

19

2

21

SAC

83

11

2

1

97

ACP

168

30

7

1

1

207

SUPT

340

57

22

6

24

449

DSP

584

154

47

9

37

831

ASP

1,784

351

195

22

218

2,570

CI/INSP

4,748

240

309

24

780

6,101

JUM. PEGAWAI KANAN

7,734

846

582

63

1,061

10,286

SI

681

39

27

5

77

829

SM

1,945

72

137

12

190

2,356

SJN

9,316

320

545

57

955

11,193

KPL

15,620

245

647

63

2,157

18,732

L/KPL/KONS

42,511

577

1,406

80

10,023

54,597

JUM.PRP & KONS

70,073

1,253

2,762

217

13,402

87,707

SM/S

1

1

SJN/S

38

1

3

7

49

KPL/S

190

13

20

70

293

L/KPL/S/KONS/S

6,488

97

257

7

1,345

8,194

JUM.APR / SOKONGAN

6,716

111

280

7

1,423

8,537

JUMLAH BESAR UNIFORM

84,523

2,210

3,624

15,886

106,530

PEGAWAI AWAM

11,898

221

219

9

1,507

13,854

JUMLAH PEGAWAI AWAM

11,898

221

219

9

1,507

13,854

JUMLAH BESAR

96,421

2,431

3,843

296

17,393

120,384

Lampiran B

Maklumat perjawatan Jabatan Imigresen Malaysia (JIM) berdasarkan gred jawatan dan kaum.

Ringkasan Perjawatan Mengikut Jantina Dan Kaum

Jabatan Imigresen Malaysia sehingga 31 Ogos 2010

BIL

Skim Perkhidmatan

Gred

Melayu

India

Cina

Bumiputera

Lain-lain

TADBIR DAN DIPLOMATIK

1

Pegawai Tadbir & Diplomatik

Utama B

1

0

0

0

0

2

Pegawai Tadbir & Diplomatik

Utama C

2

0

0

0

0

3

Pegawai Tadbir & Diplomatik

M54

8

0

0

1

0

4

Pegawai Tadbir & Diplomatik

M52

7

1

0

0

0

5

Pegawai Tadbir & Diplomatik

M48

31

2

0

1

0

6

Pegawai Tadbir & Diplomatik

M44

19

1

1

3

0

7

Pegawai Tadbir & Diplomatik

M41

41

1

2

1

0

JUMLAH

109

5

3

6

0

JAWATAN TERBUKA

1

Terbuka

T48

2

0

0

0

0

JUMLAH

2

0

0

0

0

KEJURUTERAAN

1

Penolong Jurutera

J36

0

0

0

0

0

2

Penolong Jurutera

J29/J36

0

0

0

0

0

3

Juruteknik

J22

1

0

0

0

0

4

Juruteknik (Elektrik)

J17/J22

1

0

0

0

0

5

Juruteknik

J17/J22

2

0

0

0

0

JUMLAH

4

0

0

0

0

SISTEM MAKLUMAT

1

Pegawai Teknologi Maklumat

F54

1

0

0

0

0

2

Pegawai Teknologi Maklumat

F52

1

0

0

0

0

3

Pegawai Teknologi Maklumat

F48

4

0

0

0

0

4

Pegawai Sistem Maklumat

F44

6

0

0

0

0

5

Pegawai Sistem Maklumat

F41

19

0

0

0

0

6

Penolong Pegawai Teknologi Maklumat

F38

5

0

0

0

0

7

Penolong Pegawai Teknologi Maklumat

F32

15

0

0

0

0

8

Penolong Pegawai Teknologi Maklumat

F29/F32

30

0

1

5

0

9

Juruteknik Komputer

FT17/FT22

58

0

1

4

0

JUMLAH

139

0

2

9

0

PERUNDANGAN DAN KEHAKIMAN

1

Pegawai Udang-Undang

L48

2

0

0

0

0

2

Pegawai Udang-Undang

L41/L44

2

0

0

1

0

JUMLAH

4

0

0

1

0

PERUBATAN DAN KESIHATAN

1

Penolong Pegawai Perubatan

U29/U32

0

0

0

0

0

JUMLAH

0

0

0

0

0

KEWANGAN

1

Akauntan

W48

1

0

0

0

0

2

Akauntan

W41

1

0

0

0

0

3

Penolong Akauntan

W32

4

0

0

0

0

4

Penolong Akauntan

W27/W32

1

0

0

0

0

5

Pembantu Akauntan

W26

1

0

0

0

0

6

Pembantu Akauntan

W22

2

0

0

0

0

7

Pembantu Tadbir (Kew)

W26

4

0

0

1

0

8

Pembantu Tadbir (Kew)

W22

12

0

0

0

0

9

Pembantu Tadbir (Kew)

W17/W22

194

8

6

6

0

10

Pembantu Akauntan

W17/W22

25

1

1

0

0

JUMLAH

245

9

7

7

0

SOSIAL

1

Pegawai Penerangan

S41

1

0

0

0

0

2

Pen. Pegawai Penerangan

S27/S32

1

0

0

0

0

3

Pen. Peg. Belia & Sukan

S27/S32

1

0

0

0

0

4

Pen. Peg. Hal Ehwal Islam

S27/S32

1

0

0

0

0

5

Pembantu Perpustakaan

S22

1

0

0

0

0

6

Peg. Hal Ehwal Agama Islam

S17/S22

1

0

0

0

0

7

Pen. Peg. Belia & Sukan

S17/S22

1

0

0

0

0

JUMLAH

8

0

0

0

0

PENTADBIRAN DAN SOKONGAN

1

Penolong Pegawai Tadbir

N36

0

0

0

0

0

2

Penolong Pegawai Tadbir

N32

7

0

0

2

0

3

Penolong Pegawai Tadbir

N27/N32

16

0

0

2

0

4

Pembantu Tadbir (P/O)

N26

6

0

0

0

0

5

Pembantu Tadbir (P/O)

N22

28

0

0

2

0

6

Pembantu Tadbir (S/U)

N22/N26

3

0

0

0

0

7

Pembantu Tadbir (P/O)

N17/N22

265

2

3

21

0

8

Pembantu Tadbir (P/S)

N17/N22

0

0

0

1

0

9

Pembantu Khas /PT (S/U)

N17/N22

27

0

0

1

0

10

Pegawai Khidmat Pelanggan

N22

1

0

0

0

0

11

Pegawai Khidmat Pelanggan

N17/N22

16

0

0

1

0

12

Pembantu Tadbir (P/O) KAT

N17

0

0

0

0

73

13

Pembantu Am Pejabat

N4

9

0

0

0

0

14

Pembantu Am Pejabat

N1/N4

94

0

0

3

0

JUMLAH

472

2

3

33

73

KESELAMATAN DAN PERTAHANAN AWAM

1

Penguasa Imigresen

KP44

0

0

0

0

0

2

Penguasa Imigresen

KP41/42

33

2

1

2

0

3

Penolong Penguasa Imigresen

KP38

46

0

2

8

0

4

Penolong Penguasa Imigresen

KP32

155

1

1

10

0

5

Penolong Penguasa Imigresen(ATASE)

KP32/KP38

7

0

0

0

0

6

Penolong Penguasa Imigresen

KP27/KP32

452

17

10

35

0

7

Penolong Penguasa Imigresen (ATASE)

KP27/KP32

13

1

0

2

0

8

Pegawai Imigresen

KP26

217

1

1

16

0

9

Pegawai Imigresen

KP22

1,265

29

17

92

0

10

Pegawai Imigresen

KP17/KP22

6,106

253

157

577

0

11

Pegawal Keselamatan

KP14

0

0

0

0

0

12

Pegawal Keselamatane

KP11/KP14

4

0

0

0

0

JUMLAH

8,298

304

189

742

0

BAKAT DAN SENI

1

Ahli Fotografi

B17/18/B21/22

1

0

0

0

0

2

Ahli Fotografi

B11/B17/18

1

0

0

0

0

JUMLAH

2

0

0

0

0

MAHIR, SEPARUH MAHIR DAN TIDAK MAHIR

1

Pemandu Kenderaan

R3/R6

106

2

0

7

0

2

Pekerja Awam

R1/R4

51

0

0

4

0

3

Pekerja Awam (SEMENTARA)

R1/R4

2

0

0

0

0

4

Penjalan Jentera Elektrik

R16

0

0

0

0

0

5

Pemandu Kenderaan Bermotor (KAT)

R3

0

0

0

0

0

JUMLAH

159

2

0

11

3

JUMUD

1

Operator Komputer

F17/F22

2

0

0

1

0

2

Pembantu Tadbir Rendah (J/T)

N11/N14

62

0

4

3

0

3

PRHEI

S11/14

0

0

0

0

0

4

Serang

A17/A22

0

0

0

0

0

5

Kelasi

A1/A3/4

0

0

0

0

0

6

Pencari Fail

N1

1

0

0

0

0

7

Penyelenggara Stor Rendah

N11/N14

4

0

0

0

0

8

Juruinjin Laut

A11/12

2

0

0

0

0

9

Jaga

R1/R4

10

0

0

0

0

10

OMPD

F14

6

0

0

0

0

11

OMPD

F11/F14

69

0

0

0

0

JUMLAH

156

0

4

4

0

JUMLAH BESAR

9,598

322

208

813

76

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 9 December 2010, 4:51 pm and is filed under
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