PR mesti ingat: ‘The darkest part of the night is just before dawn’

— Aspan Alias

The Malaysian Insider

Dec 06, 2011

6 DIS — Perhimpunan Agong Umno yang baru selesai ini menampakkan kepada kita segala niat dan matlamat Umno serta pimpinannya yang sebenar. Bermula dari ucapan Timbalan Presidenya semasa perhimpunan 3 sayap parti pada selasa lepas membawa kepada ucapan dasar presiden dalam Perhimpunan Agong Umno sehinggalah kepada ucapan penangguhan persidangan pada sabtu yang lepas semuanya penampilan parti yang “desperate dan panicky”.

Seperti biasa agenda Melayu menjadi isu yang terbesar seperti perhimpunan-perhimpunan sejak Umno mula berkecai selama lebih dua dekad yang lalu. Isu agenda Melayu ini pada saya hanyalah merupakan umpan yang ampuh untuk memerangkap orang Melayu untuk dipergunakan bagi pemimpin-pemimpin parti yang sentiasa lapar kepada kuasa tetapi tidak bertanggungjawab kepada rakyat yang memberi mandat itu.

Isu agenda Melayu ini memang isu yang tidak pernah tertinggal dalam Perhimpunan Agong Umno atau dalam mana-mana convention parti dan selalunya pemimpin terutamanya Najib akan mengeluarkan dari mulutnya segala istilah-istilah serta acronym acronym yang hebat-hebat tanpa memahami apa yang beliau katakan. Program Transformasi Ekonomi (PTE) merupakan sebutan seperti menyebut nama cucu oleh seorang atuk, tetapi semua orang tahu dan merasakan yang setakat ini tidak ada satu pun lagi PTE yang sedang berjaya dilaksanakan.

Orang Melayu masih lagi terkial-kial dalam bidang ekonomi dan orang Melayu hanya dilekakan dengan wang bantuan sekolah sebanyak RM100 bagi setiap murid sekolah. Pegawai kerajaan hanya mendapat bonus RM500 dan jumlah increment yang di naikkan dalam angka yang tidak berapa ringgit sahaja. Jumlah ini dibayar untuk mendapat undi dan kuasa yang pasti akan di salah gunakan akhirnya.

Perwakilan yang datang dari seluruh negara di hiburkan hanya dengan lawak jenaka pengerusi tetap dan tepukan gemuruh perwakilan untuk menghiburkan pemimpin besar mereka. Pemimpin besar pun rasa terhibur dan terus mengumumkan yang Umno sudah pulih kerana perwakilan berjaya menghiburkan pimpinan di atas pentas perdana dalam PWTC.

Isu lembu pun terus senyap sedangkan ia merupakan isu yang membuktikan bagaimana keluarga seorang pemimpin dan ahli jemaah menteri menggunakan pengaruhnya untuk kerajaan memberikan pinjaman mudah beratus juta ringgit untuk di selewengkan dan bukannya untuk membina bidang pertanian untuk kebaikkan negara. Isu lembu ini telah selesai dengan Shahrizat menyinsing lengan sahaja. Shahrizat tidak payah menyinsing kain, cukup dengan menyinsing lengan… semuanya jadi beres. Percayalah Shahrizat akan tetap turun sebagai “winnable candidate” dalam pilihanraya yang akan datang.

Yang anehnya pemimpin yang begitu berpelajaran pun terpengaruh dengan budaya yang menlengkelkan ini. Kita tengok sahajalah KJ (Khairy Jamaludin) beriya-iya benar untuk berdebat dengan semua pihak bagi mempertahankan salah laku Shahrizat ini. Itulah sebabnya saya selalu menyatakan yang Umno bukannya bekerja kuat untuk mencari dan menaikkan kecerdasan pemimpin malah pemimpin yang cerdas pun sudah terbukti tidak berdaya untuk berfikir apabila bergiat aktif dalam Umno.

Saya mempunyai sedikit “soft spot” terhadap KJ ini kerana saya mempunyai sedikit harapan terhadap pemimpin muda ini. Tetapi dengan kenyataan-kenyataan beliau akhir-akhir ini KJ juga sudah terperangkap dengan budaya buruk yang ada di dalam parti yang semakin hari semakin lumpuh ini. Kalau begitulah pendirian KJ maka beliau tidak lebih dan tidak kurang adalah setaraf dengan kemampuan berfikir seperti pemimpin-pemimpin yang bernama Noh Omar, Shahrizat dan ramai yang lain di kalangan menteri-menteri kabinet.

Harapan ramai untuk KJ membawa sedikit kelainan kepada parti Umno ini merupakan harapan yang kosong, ibarat bermimpi di siang hari sahaja. Siapa pun; Khairy dan siapa sahaja dalam pimpinan Umno itu sama sahaja. Khairy jelas sudah lemas dengan “culture” Umno yang membebankan negara itu.

Di dalam Umno pemikiran yang tajam pun akan menjadi tumpul. Itulah keadaan sebenarnya yang ada di dalam parti tajaan Dr Mahathir ini. Sebenarnya parti ini hanyalah satu parti sebagai jambatan untuk Dr Mahathir menyeberang sungai besar yang berombak suatu ketika dahulu.

Dalam perhimpunan itu fokus hanyalah terhadap selaran yang bukan-bukan terhadap seteru mereka. Bermacam-macam fitnah di hamburkan oleh pemimpin besar terutamanya Muhyiddin Yassin yang menuduh sebuah parti yang halal berjuang untuk menggugurkan kedaulatan Raja Melayu dan menubuhkan sebuah negara republik. Tuduhan yang di lakukan oleh Muhyiddin ini sesungguhnya ke anak-anakan. Muhyiddin hilang punca dan berkelakuan tidak semacam pemimpin. Cakap gah tentang agenda Melayu tidak pun dibincangkan dalam perhimpunan itu.

Ada pemimpin mencadangkan supaya semua wakil rakyat menanda tangani surat “aku-janji” untuk mempastikan mereka tidak mensabotaj parti. Apa semuanya ini. Apa ada pada janji bagi BN khusunya Umno. Perjanjian yang begitu jitu dan kuat pun Umno tidak mahu menghormatinya apa sangatlah dengan perjanjian politik seperti anjuran Mukhriz itu.

Perjanjian “vestine deeds” di antara Petronas dan rakyat Kelantan pada bulan Mei 1975 dahulu pun tidak dihormati, bagaimana ahli-ahli Umno hendak menghormati “aku-janji” itu. Yang jelas cadangan-cadangan seperti ini timbul kerana rasa kurang keyakinan terhadap ahli parti sendiri. Jika pimpinan Umno mempunyai masalah dengan kejujuran ahli-ahli parti sendiri kenapa sibuk-sibuk sangat untuk mengambil tahu parti orang lain? Sepatutnya perhimpunan agong itu memberikan fokus untuk memperbaiki parti sendiri, bukan untuk membidas parti lain dengan fitnah yang hina.

Saya mendapat reaksi orang ramai dan kebanyakkannya merupakan reaksi negatif terhadap Perhimpunan Agong Umno. Kepada parti-parti pembangkang saya hanya mempunyai pandangan yang rengkas. Jangan tunjukkan reaksi yang kuat terhadap apa yang berlaku di dalam perhimpunan agong Umno itu. Semua yang berlaku dalam Umno itu semuanya adalah “self defeating” bagi parti itu. Jika pembangkang mahu dan serius untuk menjadi alternatif kepada Umno dan BN kejayaan sudah menghampiri PR.

Apa yang PR perlu lakukan ialah menunjukkan sikap kepimpinan yang tinggi dan berada dalam sepenuh kesabaran. Jawablah tuduhan BN itu dengan kata-kata yang baik sejajar dengan kehendak pihak yang akan mengambil alih kerajaan. PR mesti jauhi dari meniru gelojoh BN dengan berkata tanpa menggunakan fikiran yang stabil. Tohmahan Utusan serta media letronik perdana jangan di risaukan kerana rakyat tahu membezakan pihak yang mana satu yang memfitnah dan difitnah.

Harus kita ingat mana-mana pihak yang merasakan akan kehilangan kuasa akan bertindak seperti apa yang dilakukan oleh Umno dalam perhimpunan agong mereka itu. Itu fenomena biasa bagi parti-parti yang sudah hampir cukup usianya.

Anggaplah semuanya ini sebagai cabaran yang perlu dilalui oleh pihak yang sedang hampir dengan mandat rakyat itu. Walaupun PR menghadapi segala ancaman yang kuat dari pihak yang berkuasa PR mesti bersabar. PR akan menghadapi rintangan yang lebih getir selepas ini.

Ingat kepada kata-kata perbilangan, “The darkest part of the night is just before dawn”. Ingat perbilangan itu dan bersabar. Jangan bertindak tanpa berfikir. Jayakan usaha membetulkan negara ini dengan semangat demokrasi yang tulin.

Jika BN bertindak kasar dan celupar, biarkan, kerana itu memang budaya mereka. Kita mesti faham, apa lagi yang mereka nak katakan dalam keadaan sekarang selain dari melakukan “slander” terhadap pihak lawan.

Maki hamun mereka itu tidak akan mencederakan sesiapa. Ia akan hanya mencederakan mereka sendiri. Angaplah mereka itu sebagai pihak yang sudah hilang punca kerana orang yang hilang punca selalunya akan bercakap tidak tentu hala. Jika pihak Umno memaki keterlaluan saya cadangkan untuk beristighfar banyak-banyak dan serahkan kepada yang esa segala-galanya. Percayalah, rakyat sedang memerhatikan kita semua. DAN ramai telah pun membuat keputusan kepada siapa mandat yang mereka hendak berikan.

Ingatlah, sesiapa yang angkuh dengan kuasa pinjaman, kuasa itu akan hilang dari mereka. Itu kenyataan yang hakiki. — aspanaliasnet.blogspot.com

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 6 December 2011, 12:44 pm and is filed under
Najib Razak
,
UMNO
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


UMNO General Assembly: Beating the drums for another May 13

Dr. Lim Teck Ghee

CPI

6th Dec 2011

Commentary

The UMNO General Assembly has come and gone.  Most political observers had expected it to be the usual rah-rah event aimed at rallying UMNO members ahead of the coming elections and in support of the leadership of Najib Razak, the party president. They were right.  The public were subject to yet another spectacle of sound and fury on how important the party is to the future of Malays, albeit with the occasional reminder of how indispensable the party is to the well being of all the citizens of the country.

Optimistic observers who had hoped that the party would live up to its rhetoric of being a  mature and transformed party of moderation – at least for the duration of this publicly viewed occasion – were disappointed. The collective breast beating led by the party president and deputy president – on the greatness and goodness of the party compared with the weaknesses and evilness of the opposition – was quite unprecedented in the history of the party’s general assemblies.

The attacks against PAS, PKR and especially the DAP during the meeting have only just begun. Can we expect it to continue with greater viciousness and spitefulness as UMNO leaders fan out into the grassroots to campaign in the next few months leading to the elections? What should be of concern is not just the running down and bad mouthing of the opposition.  This has been the norm in past assemblies, especially those leading up to the elections. What is new and unexpected is the vitriol and venom directed openly and without inhibition at opposition parties and their leaders.

In many speeches made at the assembly, there appears a concerted attempt at inciting racial and religious emotions and issues and exploiting Malay insecurities with imagined and wildly exaggerated threats of the looming new dawn of non-Malay and Christian dominance for Malaysia should the party fail to win the coming elections.   The many socio-economic and political challenges facing the community and nation – many arising from bad governance, abuse of power, and corrupt practices practiced or condoned by the party and its coalition partners during the decades of Barisan rule – received little mention or attention.

UMNO’s Ultimate Game Changer

The question which arises now is whether the party is laying the ground work – deliberately or inadvertently – for the game-changing political development sought after by hard line UMNO leaders in case the coming election results do not go UMNO’s way.  This game changer is a repetition of the 1969 May 13 racial riots.

In his opening address to the assembly, it is notable that amongst the developments listed by the Prime Minister, Najib Razak as influencing the party he referred to the 1969 racial riots as one of the party’s eleven game changers in its past and current history.  What is regrettable is the way in which he appears to condone the racial violence that resulted in authoritarian rule and the suspension of Parliament, and pins the blame for this darkest event in our history squarely on the opposition.

“Let us never be negligent because there are some among the opposition leaders who are stoking flames and slogans to belittle the Malays so that there will be a 13th May”.

The PM as the responsible leader of our nation must clarify this statement and allay the anxieties and fears of our citizenry and voters on the possible recurrence of racial violence.  He and his Deputy President must never give the impression to Malaysians and to UMNO supporters especially that they are seeking to fan or are condoning extremist sentiments in any way whatsoever.

The oblique warning by the prime minister that there is a possibility of another recurrence of racial violence may not have been apparent to political analysts, drowned by the assembly proceedings and verbiage. However, that this potential game changing option is being contemplated in high circles is beyond doubt.

May 13 was sparked off as a result of election results in which the opposition parties denied the UMNO-led Alliance their customary two-thirds majority in Parliament.  Should the coming election fail to deliver the expected victory for UMNO, are we to expect hard-line UMNO leaders to resist the handing over of power peacefully and to agitate for power by other means?

Ominously, the scapegoat for any new outbreak of racial and religious violence has already been identified – not UMNO extremists but those on the other side of the political fence.

Besides being alerted to UMNO’s and the BN’s efforts to cling to power through well honed electoral manipulation (especially through massive gerrymandering and mal-apportionment in constituency electoral numbers) and using a combination of divide and rule racial and religious strategies as well as the buying up and harassment of the political opposition, it is important that the public – Malays and non-Malays – pay attention to – but are not intimidated by or co-opted into any attempted deployment of this ultimate game changing solution to the loss of political power. Neither should the public be confused or taken in by the spinning on who are the patriots and who are disloyal to the country.

Fascistic elements in UMNO (as well as various support elite groups in key institutions) will push the line that the best way to deal with the political challenges confronting the party and failure to win the coming elections is to declare emergency rule and to suspend the democratic process. A return to authoritarian rule a-la the period immediately after the May 13 racial unrest can then be justified in terms of preserving national unity, security and harmony and the thwarting of the enemies of the Malays and Islam.   In reality, it will amount to an UMNO led coup and a major setback in the country’s evolution to a normal democratic system.

It is hoped that wise and responsible leadership will prevail in the campaigning during the coming elections.  All of us will be losers if the irrational logic and ferocity of the UMNO meeting is unleashed on the country in the next few months.

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 6 December 2011, 11:55 am and is filed under
DAP
,
Lim Teck Ghee
,
Najib Razak
,
PAS
,
PKR
,
UMNO
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


A letter to the PM

—
Jacob Sinnathamby

The Malaysian Insider

Dec 07, 2011

DEC 7 — We tell our children that more important than whether they win at football or netball is how they play the game. They must play it with sportsmanship, empathy and fairness.

Our parents used to implore us to study and excel at examinations, but also to do it the correct way; not by cheating but by hard work.

All the major religions tell us to stay on the right path always; to do the right thing, not to take short cuts, not to justify the ends by the means.

I raise all these points because as Prime Minister Najib Razak embarks on the final stretch of his first election as the PM, I cannot shake off the feeling that every method — kosher or not — is being used to achieve victory. It greatly troubled me that he spoke the fighting language of a Malay chauvinist at the Pekida gathering a couple of days ago.

Telling Pekida — a group well-known in police circles for strong arm tactics and for breaking up PAS ceramahs — that no inch will be yielded is as good as giving them the green light to do everything and anything to ensure that Umno wins.

The PM’s mere attendance at the Pekida function will be viewed by law enforcement agencies as an endorsement of the group and will surely deter the cops from acting against them.

This zero-sum mentality in winning the elections has thrown up questionable tactics like blaming Christians and Chinese, and stuffing the electoral rolls with names like Balai Polis Kerinchi.

I get the whole story: You have to win the elections because you have wanted this job for a very long time. But really are you willing to win at any cost?

Malaysia is crying out for statesmen, not political animals. I believe that people justify their actions by saying that after they have achieved their “goal”, they will turn over a new leaf.

I do it all the time too. Oh, I will focus on God and the afterlife after I have built up on worldly treasures. Or that I will watch my diet and weight and spend more time with the family after retirement and building up a big bank balance.

Governing politicians justify their racist chants and sneak tactics by saying that, once the “goal” of power has been achieved, they will have the mandate to rule the country well.

How can they, after a lifetime of compromising on principles and turning one race against another? If our children are taught to cheat at home, in school, on the playfield and in the exam hall and to live without God, can we expect them to wake up one day and become stellar citizens?

It simply cannot be done. So, Mr PM, the ends can never justify the means, especially when governing a country.

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 7 December 2011, 2:54 pm and is filed under
Elections
,
Najib Razak
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


From present TI CPI trend, China will overtake Malaysia as less corrupt country in 4 years’ time by 2015

In 2004, former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi announced with great fanfare the  National Integrity Plan with the five-year target to improve Malaysia’s Transparency International (TI) Corruption Perception Index (CPI) from 37th place in 2003 to at least 30th position in 2008 and the 5.2 CPI score for Malaysia in 2003 to at least 6.5 by 2008.

In 2008, Malaysia deteriorated in both TI ranking and score as compared to 2004, placed in the lowest-ever ranking of No. 47 out of 180 countries with a CPI score of 5.1.

When Datuk Seri Najib Razak became Prime Minister in April 2009, he abandoned the National Integrity Plan and announced instead  a series of national transformation plans, beginning with the Government Transformation Plan (GTP) with “Fighting Corruption” as one of the six key NKRAs (National Key Result Areas).

The 1Malaysia GTP Roadmap released in January 2010 admitted that the perception of corrupt practices in Malaysia had risen in recent years, estimated that the “significant” cost to the nation of corruption was as much as RM10 billion a year or 1-2% of GDP and announced the target to increase by 2010 “our CPI score from 4.5 to 4.9”.

In the event, the anti-corruption NKRA target was another colossal failure as it  was completely wide off the mark, as Malaysia’s CPI score for three years from 2009 to 2011 was 4.5, 4.4 and 4.3,  all three the lowest scores ever registered by Malaysia. There had only been two previous years since 1995 when TI CPI started its annual ranking when Malaysia’s score fell below 5, viz 4.8 in 2000 and 4.9 in 2002.

In the first TI CPI in 1995, Malaysia was ranked No. 23 out of 41 countries or the 6th highest-ranked nation in the Asia-Pacific after New Zealand -1, Singapore – 3, Australia – 7, Hong Kong – 17 and Japan – 20, with a CPI score of 5.28.

Seventeen years later, after numerous anti-corruption campaigns, two major anti-corruption legislation,  the “elevation” of the former Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) into Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), the National Integrity Plan, the 1Malaysia Government Transformation Programme  with massive infusion of public funds and increase of staffing, Malaysia has now  fallen to the lowest TI CPI ranking in 17 years, viz: No. 60  with the lowest CPI score of 4.3.

Malaysia has also fallen to No. 11 for country placing in the Asia-Pacific. The top TI CPI 2011 Asia-Pacific ranking are:

1.	New Zealand (1) 9.5

2.	Singapore (5) 9.2

3.	Australia (8) 8.8

4.	Hong Kong (12) 8.4

5.	Japan (14) 7.8

6.	Taiwan (32) 6.1

7.	Bhutan (38) 5.7

8.	South Korea (42) 5.4

9.	Brunei (44) 5.2

10.	Macau (46) 5.1

11.	Malaysia (60) 4.3

Even more serious, other countries which had been down on the list of the TI CPI ranking are fast catching up while Malaysia is fast falling down!

China, Thailand, India  and Indonesia are such  examples in Asia.

China was ranked No. 40 with a CPI score of 2.16 in 1995. In 2011, China is ranked No. 75 with a CPI score of 3.6.

At the annual average rate of China’s improvement and Malaysia’s regression of their CPI score in the last 17 years, China will not only catch up but will leave Malaysia behind in the TI CPI, both in ranking and in score in a matter of  four years – come 2015!

So far, no one in government, whether the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin or even the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission has shown any concern as based on  the  TI CPI trend, China will overtake Malaysia as less corrupt country in four years’ time by 2015, leaving Malaysia around the 80th ranking with a score below 4.

Other Asian countries like Thailand, Indonesia and India are making  major strides in the battle against corruption. Thailand, which was ranked No. 34 with CPI score of 2.79 in 1995 (out of 43 countries) Is now ranked No. 80 (out of 183 countries) with an improved score of  3.4. India was ranked No. 35 with CPI score of 2.78 in 1995 is now ranked No. 95 with score of 3.1.

Even Indonesia is making significant strides in the anti-corruption front. Ranked at the very bottom of No. 41 in 1995, with CPI score of 1.94, Indonesia is now ranked No. 100 with a CPI score of 3.0 in 2011.

Malaysia is one of the few exceptions in the TI CPI since 1995 which have been going backwards while most countries in the world are making progress in the battle against corruption.

This is most deplorable and is one powerful reason why there must be change of federal  government in the next general elections, as only a Pakatan Rakyat government in Putrajaya will have the political will to carry out a serious, committed and uncompromising anti-corruption programme to reverse Malaysia’s worsening TI CPI ranking and score in the past 17 years under three Prime Ministers.

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 7 December 2011, 8:49 am and is filed under
Corruption
,
Najib Razak
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


Malaysia among most vulnerable to euro crisis, says Nomura

By
Lee Wei Lian

The Malaysian Insider

Dec 07, 2011

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 7 — Malaysia will be hit harder than its Asian peers by the economic crisis in Europe due to its relatively weak public finances and dependence on commodities, said Nomura International today.

Its chief economist for Asia ex-Japan, Robert Subbaraman, said that unlike most countries in Asia, Malaysia will be negatively affected by an expected drop off in commodity prices while the government will also find it difficult to keep up stimulus policies.

“Malaysia is one of the economies that will weaken the most; it is in the weaker group of economies,” said Subbaraman at a media briefing here today.

Nomura economist for Southeast Asia Euben Paracuelles said Malaysia’s growth in the first three quarters of this year was largely led by government spending, but as public finances were relatively weak, he doubted that it would be sustainable.

Subbaraman also noted that Malaysia ranked third in Asia ex-Japan in terms of exposure to European bank claims, after Hong Kong and Singapore, which could mean a drying up of liquidity should European banks start to cut their exposure to the region.

Figures provided showed that European bank exposure to Malaysia amounted to US$50 billion (RM155 billion), or about 19 per cent of GDP, double that of the Asia ex-Japan average of nine per cent.

Commodities would dip by 15 per cent if a slowdown hits, says Paracuelles.Only the financial centres of Hong Kong and Singapore had higher exposures, at 77 and 55 per cent of GDP respectively.

“As European banks pull back exposure, it will show up as net capital outflow and availability of funding will start to dry up,” said Subbaraman.

He noted, however, that Malaysia still has a large current account surplus at 13 per cent of GDP, which should help support the ringgit against hefty depreciation against the US dollar, due to its trade performance.

Paracuelles said that if a global downturn happens, there would be a 15 per cent decline in commodity prices.

Malaysian government economists earlier said their economic projections were bolstered by expected continued high rubber and palm oil prices, which would help boost rural area spending.

Petronas said in a briefing last week that it expects oil prices to decline to US$85-87 per barrel next year, from US$110 currently.

In its November Asia Economic Monthly report, Nomura noted that Malaysia faces the prospect of unsustainable fiscal support.

“Given the public debt to GDP ratio of 55 per cent, the second highest in Asia, scope to continue with a very expansionary fiscal policy next year could prove to be limited,” said the report.

The report forecast a growth of 3.6 per cent for the first quarter of next year but rising to 7.3 per cent by the fourth quarter to give a full year growth of 5.1 per cent.

Subbaraman also said the risk of a hard landing in China is “not trivial” although the threat is greater after 2013-2014, following the handover of power to the next generation of leaders.

Nomura expects growth in Asia to drop to 6.6 per cent next year, from 7.5 per cent this year, and revised its 2012 global growth forecast from 3.8 per cent to 3.2 per cent.

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 7 December 2011, 2:47 pm and is filed under
Economics
,
Finance
,
international economic crisis
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


Political Islam poised to dominate the new world bequeathed by Arab spring

The Muslim Brotherhood’s success in the first round of Egypt’s elections has added to western fears of an Islamist future for the Middle East. But this does not necessarily mean that democracy and liberal policies face extinction

by
Peter Beaumont

foreign affairs editor

guardian.co.uk

3 December 2011

Among the potent symbols of the Arab spring is one that has been less photographed and remarked on than the vast gatherings in Tahrir Square. It has been the relocation of the offices of the Muslim Brotherhood, the once banned party, now set to take the largest share of seats in Egypt’s new parliament.

Before May this year they were to be found in shabby rooms in an unremarkable apartment block on Cairo’s Gezira Island, situated behind an unmarked door. These days the Brotherhood is to be found in gleaming new accommodation in the Muqatam neighbourhood, in a dedicated building prominently bearing the movement’s logo in Arabic and English.

Welcome to the age of “political Islam”, which may prove to be one of the most lasting legacies of the Arab spring. It is not only in Egypt that an unprecedented Islamist political moment is playing out. In the recent Tunisian elections the moderate Islamist Ennahda party was the biggest winner, while Morocco has elected its first Islamist prime minister, Abdelilah Benkirane.

In Yemen and Libya, too, it seems likely that political Islam will define the shape of the new landscape.

None of which should be at all surprising. Indeed, if elections in Egypt and Tunisia had been held at any other time in the past two decades, the same result would almost certainly have ensued, reflecting both the levels of organisation of Ennahda and the Brotherhood and the countries’ cultural, economic and social dynamics.

“It was a change that was supposed to happen a long time ago,” says Omar Ashour, who lectures on the subject of political Islam at Exeter University and is currently in Cairo.

So what, precisely, does the rise of electoral Islamist politics mean for the Middle East and North Africa?

“Islamism is a term that has been used to describe two very different trends,” wrote Maha Azzam, an associate fellow at Chatham House, in a recent paper on the implications of the Arab spring for British foreign policy earlier this year.

“First, [it describes] the non-violent quest for an Islamic-friendly society based on the ‘principles of Islam’, which can involve a more liberal application of Islamic teachings and tradition or a more strict interpretation. Second, Islamism is also associated with violent extremism, most notably that of al-Qaida in the promotion of terrorism.”

Azzam, like a number of experts, is firm in the belief that, if the Arab spring has demonstrated anything about Islamism today, it is how those cleaving to the second, violent definition have become ever more marginalised in the Arab world.

Speaking to the Observer last week, Azzam said that, while it was “too early to say” how the policies of the Islamist parties thrown to the forefront of the Arab spring would play out in the region’s present transformation, Islamist parties, for now at least, were looking to the centre.

“In Tunisia, Ennahda was always more open-minded and with a more liberal attitude towards secular politics. Now we have the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt leaning more towards the centre.”

In Tunisia there has been a firm disavowal by the founder of Ennahda, Rachid Ghanouchi, of the Iranian theocratic model in favour of the Turkish one – represented by the moderate Islamist AKP of President Abdullah Gül and the prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

While it has its critics, that Turkish Islamist model has seen an essentially pragmatic approach to the country’s largely secular institutions that has sought to avoid conflict with the military while attempting to raise both living standards and the economy.

If the example of Turkey is seen as a way forward, the case of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt vividly illustrates the huge challenges facing the newly resurgent Islamist parties as they attempt to govern. “It has learned from what happened in Algeria and also in Gaza with Hamas’s conflict with the west,” said Ashour.

Despite that, he believes that the Brotherhood will have to negotiate a difficult period of democratic transition in which the generals cling on to “power but not legitimacy” and its political arm, the Freedom and Justice party, dominates the new parliament with a “popular mandate but little power”.

Shadi Hamid, of the Brookings Doha Centre, has suggested strongly that the Brotherhood will concentrate on economic and social policies, rather than religious and cultural rhetoric.

The Freedom and Justice party, which includes a minority of Christian Copts, has gone out of its way to say it seeks a constitution that respects Muslims and non-Muslims, will not impose Islamic law and is committed to a pluralistic and democratic Egypt.

In the midst of this challenge, and with Egypt’s economy on the floor, the Brotherhood will operate in an entirely new political landscape, where a strong showing in the polls by the more fundamentalist Salafist al-Nour party exerts a gravitational pull on one side, while liberal secularists and Egypt’s middle classes and business community push for their own agenda.

It is this, perhaps, that explains the somewhat contradictory pick-and-mix affair that is the Freedom and Justice party’s “manifesto” as revealed in statements and releases – designed to appeal to as wide an audience as possible.

It insists it has no objection to women and Christians standing for any government position except the presidency.

Economically, the party appears to be attempting to steer a middle course. It supports free markets and private ownership, while insisting that the state needs to provide protection for underprivileged groups and asking trade unions to desist from action that might damage the country’s fragile economy.

In the most controversial areas of sharia law and women’s rights, the Brotherhood has insisted that women should participate in politics, while the state should be a “civil one”, led neither by the military nor clerics, but informed by the “makased” – the underlying objectives of sharia.

Maha Azzam also believes they will face “external pressures” that will affect how their policies and identity develop. “If there was an attack on Iran, for instance, we might see a more radical voice. The same goes if the Muslim Brotherhood feels as though it is being ostracised by the west. And at home they have huge problems ahead as well. The economy is a huge problem.” Despite all this, Azzam believes, the Brotherhood has recognised the need to make incremental progress.

“They want a civilian society and they don’t want Scaf [the military junta], but they are saying: ‘One step at a time’. They are playing it extremely well, which is in keeping with their approach and strategy. It is what allowed them to survive for so long. It is not just that they are adaptive, they have a goal in mind.”

All of which, as journalist Issandr El Amrani wrote in the wake of the election results in Egypt on his Arabist blog, “has profoundly depressed most educated, middle-class Cairenes … who had hoped that the overthrow of Hosni Mubarak would be followed by a relatively liberal democracy that would be inclusive of moderate Islamists.

“Among my Egyptian friends (most decidedly on the liberal side) there is now tremendous worry about a future in which politics is ruled on the one hand by identitarian Islamist politics and on the other by a populist, hyper-nationalistic army. I don’t think it has to be so, and we could very well see a transition to a democratic (but not liberal) system which allows for rotation of power.

“Personally,” Amrani concludes, “I think that there can be a positive outcome here: if the Muslim Brothers are serious about consolidating electoral democracy and work hard on addressing that issue, there will be other elections for those that disagree with their conservative views (or foreign policy, or economic liberalism) to make their case.”

THE ISLAMIST WAVE

EGYPT
The Muslim Brotherhood is in line to win 40% of votes. It is religiously conservative, but rejects violence while insisting on the need for a transition to civilian rule. It hopes to form a unity government with more liberal parties.

MOROCCO
 The Justice and Development party elected last month models itself on Turkey’s moderate Islamist government, describing its politics as a “progressive approach to Islam” focusing on social justice and economic issues.

TUNISIA
 The Ennahda party says its model is Turkey’s AKP, which was itself influenced by the writings in exile of Ennahda founder Rachid Ghanouchi. Won 40% of seats in recent elections. Opposed to sharia law and rejects comparisons with Saudi Arabia and Iran or with the Taliban.

TURKEY
 Turkey’s AKP, or Justice and Development party, led by prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan (right), is a model for Islamist movements. It has overseen an economic resurgence. It insists it is non-confessional and democratic, but critics say it harbours an Islamist agenda.

YEMEN
 Al-Islah, the main Islamist opposition party, has been locked in conflict with forces loyal to President Ali Abdullah Saleh. It makes up 40% of the Joint Meeting party, a coalition of opposition groups. Critics fear it would herald a fundamentalist Yemen.

LIBYA
 The new National Gathering for Freedom, Justice and Development – named with a nod towards Turkey’s Justice and Development party – was formed in November. Likely to garner broad support.

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 7 December 2011, 1:35 pm and is filed under
Islam
,
Middle East/Africa
,
Political Islam
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


The oxymoronic world of Umno’s politics

by
Edwin Yapp

The Malaysian Insider

Dec 07, 2011

DEC 7 — Oxymoron.

That’s the word that has been on my mind of late. Why? Because that’s exactly what we, Joe Public, are being fed on a daily basis.

Etymologically speaking, the word is derived from the fifth century Latin “oxymoron”, which in itself is derived from the ancient Greek to mean “sharp, dull,” according to Wikipedia. The noun describes “a figure of speech in which apparently contradictory terms appear in conjunction.”

And therein lies the connection — such is the frequency of contradictory ideas and terms used in today’s local political sphere that it’s almost as if our government has nothing else to worry about.

Case in point: The highly controversial Peaceful Assembly Bill passed last week in Parliament, and our Prime Minister’s declaration that the Bill is “revolutionary,” and that the amendments follow international norms. That’s oxymoronic.

Also, the war cries of one Umno leader last week that labelled those who support opposition parties as “bangsat” (bastards) and that a vote for DAP is a vote for the destruction of Islam. Hmm… that’s another one.

And finally the PM’s quote in his closing speech, “When I started 1 Malaysia, I did not say — let’s neglect the Malay agenda.”

I can go on, but I’m sure you get my drift.

Granted. One might argue that some of these oxymoronic statements are part and parcel of the ongoing political rhetoric and that they might have been uttered recently in the context of a recently concluded party convention.

But rhetoric or not, still, it all seems contradictory, doesn’t it?

What isn’t the diff?

Umno’s strategy, for one. Come election time, Umno’s war cries invariably include all the usual suspects — elements that touch on the two “Rs” in this country’s political landscape: race and religion.

After all, doesn’t anyone remember what happened a few years ago when certain Umno leaders waved the keris at its general assembly, thumping their chest and shouting about “Ketuanan Melayu?” (Malay supremacy).

Given the proclivity of the dominant party ruling the current government to do such things, I’m not at all surprised that their fairly predictable playbook, has gone something like this:

The non-Malay opposition is the tyranny and enemy of Islam and the Malay opposition doesn’t practise true Islam. The non-Malay opposition doesn’t care for Malays and is undermining the religion, the Malay way of life, and the national language, Bahasa Melayu. Therefore, a vote for the opposition is a vote against the Malay race, culture and Islam. Umno is the only protector of Malay rights. QED.

After 54 years of independence, is this the best the “big brother” in the ruling coalition can think of? Scare tactics and the endless vilification of the opposition, in hopes that the electorate will be taken in by all these claims?

As Dr Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin, the former mufti of Perlis noted in a news report last week, a nervous Umno has failed to bring new ideas to voters ahead of the expected general election. “Umno is talking among themselves. I see Umno is now anxious and has no idea what will happen in the coming elections.”

What other strategy isn’t different? The doling out of cash and incentives, that’s what. Right now, it’s still early days as campaigning for the ruling coalition has yet to start. Come that day, expect more “incentives” in the form of cash or kind to be given out.

But is this what the rakyat (people) want?

Perhaps it’s poignant to note what Asri had to say, “The current generation is different from those in the past. They will not be attracted by just cash and handouts.”

And what’s the diff?

The most obvious one is the fact that this is the first election after the one where Barisan Nasional got hammered and lost its two-thirds majority in Parliament, which has prompted the deputy prime minister to say that GE13 is the “mother of all elections.”

This sets the tone for GE13, and already, Umno leaders acknowledge that the opposition could be a formidable opponent this time around. But shouldn’t that be what an election is all about? The Constitutionally guaranteed right for the people to choose one party over another, and their choice of their representative to form a government? It should be, since the last I checked, we are still a democracy, of sorts, I think.

Secondly, the world has changed, and so have the people that occupy it. In the last 18 months alone, we’ve seen how other countries have demanded change in their own nations, holding their respective governments accountable for their actions, or the lack thereof, in what is today known as the Arab Spring.

Gone are the days where repressive regimes rule over the people as if they were puppets as citizens begin to decry and dismantle the tyranny of democracy.

Thirdly, the social landscape and global connectivity have changed. In the days before Twitter, Facebook and many other social media channels, repressive regimes could control the flow of information and limit the damage any opposition can mount. Today, that is no longer true (http://www.zdnetasia.com/blogs/tech-powers-change-in-malaysias-political-scene-62301208.htm) . Thankfully, we have alternative sources of media to which we can turn to judge for ourselves who is telling the truth.

Interestingly, before 2008, I asked opposition politicians (http://www.zdnetasia.com/popular-malaysian-blogger-turns-politician-62030111.htm)  if they thought new media would play a part in the GE12. They responded saying that it can play a part but conceded back then that it had its limitations.

But in 2012, these limitations are fewer and further in between. More people will read news updates via alternative channels; smartphones, tablets and laptops will be the preferred choice to access these updates; higher broadband penetration will ensure that news will be delivered faster and more visually impactful via videos.

And for those who aren’t connected, there is the spectre of the influence that urban folks will hopefully bring back to their respective senior communities, convincing them that the current ruling coalition isn’t up to the mark anymore.

So what could be the diff?

Of course, all this does not necessarily mean that the opposition will take Putrajaya in GE13. But perhaps what is important is that the rakyat is at the cusp of experiencing a new level of participation in their right to choose the government by the people, for the people.

This is especially true for the thousands of first-time voters who hopefully will flood the voting stations on polling day and choose wisely. Whatever the outcome, Malaysians, in my humble opinion, have awakened to a new level of political sensitivity, thanks to the aforementioned changes in the socio-political-economic landscape.

I, for one, look forward to change, where hopefully the rakyat will choose a better class of representatives that will govern the country equitably, justly and according to the rule of law — regardless of race, creed, gender or religion.

That these representatives will deal with bread and butter issues of economic reform, reduction in corruption, stemming the brain drain and to instil excellence and meritocracy and everything they do thereby ensuring that the future of all Malaysians will be protected, instead of wading in rhetorical, race- and hate-based politics.

That, I hope, would not turn out to be an oxymoronic wish.

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 7 December 2011, 7:43 pm and is filed under
Elections
,
Najib Razak
,
UMNO
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


Zaid is spot-on – UMNO GA speeches portend dangerous trends in the nation’s politics as they make nonsense of Najib’s 1Malaysia, NEM and proposal for a “Global Movement of Moderates”

Datuk Zaid Ibrahim is right and spot-on. Recent statements from UMNO leaders about the Opposition parties at the UMNO General Assembly are both regrettable and worrying.

They portend dangerous  trends in the nation’s politics as they make nonsense of the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s 1Malaysia call, New Economic Model and his proposal for a “Global Movement of Moderates”.

Has Najib decided to cancel his initiative to  launch  “the Global Movement of the Moderates” in Kuala Lumpur with an  inaugural International Conference of the Global Movement of Moderates from Jan 17 to 19 as his speeches and those of UMNO leaders at the UMNO General Assembly are completely antithetical to any acceptable definition or concept of “moderates” or “moderation”.

I challenge Najib to conduct a public opinion poll whether he is perceived by Malaysians as speaking for 1Malaysia and for all Malaysians, as well as whether he is speaking as a “moderate”,  in his UMNO Presidential Address, or just for UMNO and in particular UMNOputras?

Or have an opinion poll whether Deputy Prime Minister and Deputy UMNO President, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yasin had not come across as an out-and-out extremist and racist in his speech to the joint general assemblies of UMNO Wanita, Pemuda and Putri – not only to Chinese, Indians, Kadazans and Ibrans or but also to thinking and enlightened Malays.

If the race-baiting and incitement of religious hatred and tensions by UMNO leaders and delegates at the UMNO General Assembly had taken place at Opposition conferences, the police and special branch would have already hauled up Opposition leaders and delegates for committing crimes of sedition and other offences. Why the immunity and impunity for UMNO leaders and delegates?

UMNO leaders, especially Najib and Muhyiddin, are guilty of the height of irresponsibility when they led other UMNO leaders in playing the 3R cards of race, religion and Malay rulers, for instance, falsely accusing the DAP of being anti-Malay, anti-Islam and anti-Malay rulers.

Thinking and patriotic Malaysians, whether Malays, Chinese, Indians, Kadazans or Ibans are concerned when UMNO leaders upped the ante after the UMNO General Assembly in escalating the exploitation of the 3R cards – as illustrated by Najib’s speech  at the Perkida general assembly on Monday.

Are there no UMNO national leaders who are prepared to put nation before party and self and dare to step forward to draw the line to declare like Zaid Ibrahim that there should be an end to the irresponsible politics of playing the 3R cards of race, religion and Malay Rulers, especially when based on lies and falsehoods?

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 7 December 2011, 4:00 pm and is filed under
1Malaysia
,
Muhyiddin Yassin
,
Najib Razak
,
UMNO
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


A conversation at the hospital

By
Zairil Khir Johari
 | 7 December, 2011

The Rocket

The most noticeable difference in experience between a private and a public hospital is the fact that in the former, the waiting room is air-conditioned. Other than that, the unavailability of parking lots, infinitesimal queue numbers and staff members adept at ignoring your eye contact are all characteristic of Malaysian hospitals, no matter how much you pay.

“Sometimes I wonder why we pay more for such service?”

I turned towards the source of the unsolicited comment. He was middle-aged, middle-class and probably undergoing a mid-life crisis judging from the way his hair was carefully combed to cover a bald patch. I smiled.

“My wife is here for a check-up,” he said, glancing in the direction of a neatly-dressed lady with an exasperated expression that said there he goes again.

I nodded politely. “Apa khabar, Auntie?”

“Baik, Alhamdulillah,” came her polite response.

“We’ve been coming to this hospital for thirty years. Our three children were all born here,” continued the man as if he was never interrupted.

“That’s a really long time,” I remarked. “Are you originally from KL?”

“No, no. I’m from a small kampong in Perak.”

“Ah, is that so? Your English is very fluent for someone from a small kampong.”

“Well, of course! I went to Anderson. At the very least, our teachers made sure that we could speak well.” Somehow the mention of schools got him a little excited. “My parents were poor, but I was lucky enough to get a scholarship to continue my secondary education at Anderson in Ipoh.”

Now that his interest had been piqued, I decided to press on. “Do you think that it made a difference, the fact that you went to an English school?”

He looked at me like I was from another planet. “Of course, young man. We are shaped by our education. Some of my best friends until today are from my schooling days. We had friends from all races then. It was never an issue like it is today.”

“But is it because of the language, or just the current education system?”

He shrugged. “I guess it’s both. Schools today are worlds apart from what they used to be. For a kampong boy like me, to be able to advance my studies in America, that was really something. And that would not have been possible if my education did not prepare me for it.”

“Which part of the States were you at?”

“California. San Francisco. Beautiful place. I even had an American girlfriend for a while.” He chuckled, throwing a quick glance at his wife. “But it really opened my eyes. You know when I first went there, hardly anyone knew where Malaysia was. I was a novelty, and people there were really impressed that I could speak English so well. It was very easy for me to fit in.”

“So mastering English definitely made a difference?”

“Completely. It’s a shame how it is today though. My batch was the last to undergo the English stream. This was in the seventies. The politicians then decided to abolish English schools. You-know-who had of course just taken over the ministry of education.”

I nodded. “The grand old man himself.”

“And then today he regrets that Malaysians are unable to keep up with the rest of the world. The fact is, we have lost at least two generations of Malaysians. And it’s not just about English. Everything went downhill from then on.

To give you an example, my eldest daughter, who recently graduated from UiTM, recently got herself a job with a starting pay of RM2,000. Believe it or not, that was about how much my starting pay was 30 years ago after I came back from the States!”

I shook my head. “That’s what I call income stagnation.”

“Opportunity for them is now very limited, and the education system is not preparing them for the real world. Sometimes I really worry for my kids. They all went to national schools, and I can tell you schools today are not even half the standards they were during my day. As I said, it’s not just the level of English that is declining, but the overall quality of education. Have you looked at the history syllabus today? At least you can’t say they’re not good at writing fiction.”

I nodded in agreement. Even in the last decade, the content of our history textbooks have evolved so much that I would probably think I was reading the history of a different country. “So what’s your take on the whole PPSMI issue?”

“Teaching of mathematics and science in English? I think PPSMI is symptomatic of a larger problem. The fact that it was even introduced in the first place is proof that something is already terribly wrong. But to me, it’s too little too late. As I said, we have lost two generations because of unnecessary politicking.

The whole world has not only caught up, but is leaving us behind. Even in China, English has become mandatory in primary schools. This was a comparative advantage that we had a long time ago. And what did we do? We allowed politicians to experiment with our future. The PPSMI flip-flop is the best example of arbitrary political decision-making.”

I threw a glance at the number on display and looked at the ticket I had in my hand. Like the Malaysian education system, I still had a long way to go. I returned my attention to the conversation.

“And so you feel that there is too much political interference in our education system? Is that the main problem?”

“Look, let’s put it this way. Becoming education minister automatically gives you control over millions of Malaysians, both teachers and students. This kind of power is double-edged, and if used irresponsibly, can result in disaster.

Unfortunately, most people in those shoes would immediately utilise it to advance their own political agenda. That’s why ever since the seventies, education ministers always assume the mantle of nationalist champions, at the expense of our kids.”

“So perhaps a solution is to reduce the power of politicians in education policymaking? What about separating the education department from the ministry, or at the very least disengaging the examinations board, the inspectors board and the syllabus regime from the purview of the minister?”

He shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know, it’s not my job to come up with answers. But I think that it would be a step in the right direction. Although if I were education minister, I think my priority would be to bring back English schools.”

I weighed that for a moment. “Do you really think that would solve anything?”

“You can’t solve everything, but as far as improving English and increasing the attractiveness of national schools is concerned, then bringing back the English stream would be able to address both.

Think about it. It’s not a coincidence that all the great Malaysian schools were English schools, and that all the great Malay leaders were products of those schools. MCKK, STAR, Sultan Abdul Hamid College, Victoria Institution, English College Johor Bahru and so on.”

As he finished his sentence, his wife began gesturing impatiently. “Ah, our number’s up. Finally. Anyway, it was nice talking to you.”

“Likewise.” I shook his hand. “Take care.”

“You too, and think seriously about it. Bring back the English stream. After all, it’s what your father would do.”

I froze, totally caught by surprise.

He grinned as he got up. “Old people like me read The Malaysian Insider too, you know.” –The Rocket

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 8 December 2011, 4:33 pm and is filed under
Education
,
English
,
nation building
,
Zairil Khir Johari
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


Demonising the opposition

Jeswan Kaur | December 8, 2011

Free Malaysia Today

Instead of using the opposition as its punching bag, Umno has to wisen up and engage in some soul-searching, that too if there is any of it left.

COMMENT

The recently concluded Umno general assembly had the trappings of all things fake, from the speech and rhetorics of its president-cum-prime minister Najib Tun Razak to the personal hidden agendas of the delegates.

For Najib and the rest, the 62nd annual general assembly was nothing more than a misused platform to do the despicable – condemn and ridicule their adversaries, i.e. the opposition led by dethroned former deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim.

Such immature acts of trying to so very hard to make an impression among the people that Umno has everyone’s interest at heart is pure gibberish. The truth is that Najib in all his desperation is playing to the gallery for the sake of his political survival.

Using the Umno general assembly to announce that the 13th general election is just round the corner is not going to win Najib and Barisan Nasional the rakyat’s votes, going by the track record of the premier, Umno and BN.

To childish attack on the opposition for one reason or another merely reflects Umno’s desperation and BN’s anxiety at the fate that awaits them at the coming national polls.

Still, Najib refuses to learn. He decided to mock DAP saying it knew all of Anwar’s secrets, only to end up earning DAP national chairman Karpal Singh’s wrath.

Karpal took Najib to task for the latter’s sardonic statement which the veteran lawyer said was unbecoming of a prime minister. Karpal also lambasted Najib for criticising Anwar’s decision to give an unsworn statement from the dock in the on-going sodomy II trial.

To the fearless Karpal, the statement by Najib which mocked a lawyer-client relationship created an impression that DAP was holding Anwar to political ransom.

Is “Anwar Ibrahim” the only ammunition Najib has in trying to win the people’s trust? Whatever happened to the recently-exposed controversy involving Women, Family and Community Development Minister Shahrizat Abdul Jalil who is embroiled in a multi-million ringgit scandal?

Umno has hidden agendas

There is no denying that Umno is all about hidden agendas. From the division head to the member of Parliament, everyone has only one goal in mind, which is to stay in power for as long possible. Does the rakyat’s welfare cross their minds? Hardly.

Had the people’s well-being mattered to Umno, Shahrizat who is also Wanita Umno chief would not have been spared the rod; instead she received support from Umno deputy president Muhyiddin Yassin who is also deputy PM.

In his policy speech at the general assembly, Najib announced that only “winnable candidates” would be chosen to help in his ambitious move to turn Umno around. However, should he decide to retain politicians like Shahrizat who faces accusations of misusing the taxpayers’ money, what would that say of Najib’s promise to the rakyat, of putting the people first?

Najib had declined comments on whether Shahrizat would be dropped as a candidate in the coming general election. All he could say was: “We know how to handle it”.

Should the rakyat then take it to mean that Najib and Umno have only one objective, to continue to hold the reigns of Putrajaya, that too at the people’s expense?

Don’t fool the rakyat

At the Umno assembly too, the Umno Youth went on to say that it would not support candidates with blemished records i.e. tainted by money politics or those who used under-hand tactics to be nominated.

“We will support any winnable candidate but we hope they are not cable (connected) candidates, sympathy candidates, extorting candidates, or even golden handshake candidates,” so said Umno Youth assistant secretary Megat Firdaus Megat Junid.

He also suggested Umno leaders who become saboteurs to be severely punished. Did Megat Firdaus in any way allude to Shahrizat? Perhaps not, if one is to recall the little show of support for Shahrizat displayed by Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin.

Instead of using the opposition as its punching bag, Umno has to wisen up and engage in some soul-searching, that too if there is any of it left, to determine why it is no longer a party befitting of the rakyat’s trust and respect.

Meanwhile, castigating the opposition and its leaders is not going to help improve Umno’s standing in the eyes of Malaysians.

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 8 December 2011, 10:08 am and is filed under
Najib Razak
,
UMNO
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


TI CPI – Not just lose out to China  in 4 years’ time, but also  left behind by more OIC and African countries in future

The shocking results of Transparency International’s (TI) Corruption Perception Index (CPI) 2011 with Malaysia plunging to the worst ranking in 17 years from No. 23 in 1995 to No. 60 in 2011 as well as the worst score of 4.3 has raised many questions about the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s transformation programme and the Corruption NKRA (National Key Result Areas).

I warned yesterday that based on TI CPI trend in the past 17 years, Malaysia risks being overtaken by China as a less corrupt country in four years’ time by 2015, leaving Malaysia around the 80th ranking with a score below 4.

But Malaysia also face other risks as in forfeiting our position as the leading OIC country in development, rule of law, accountability and transparency.

Malaysia is not only backsliding in anti-corruption efforts when compared to other countries in the Asia-Pacific, we are also been overtaken by countries in other parts of the world including the OIC countries.

A decade ago, Malaysian leaders pride themselves as leading the most technologically advanced and most industrially  developed country in the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC), towering head and shoulders over other countries in the OIC on the rule of law, accountability, transparency and integrity.

This leading position of Malaysia was acknowledged in the early annual TI CPIs.

In the 1996 TI CPI, where Malaysia was ranked No. 26 out of 54 countries with a score of 5.32, Malaysia was ahead the other three OIC countries cited, viz Jordan (No. 30 with score 4.89), Turkey (No.33 with score 3.54) and Egypt (No. 41 with score 2.84).

However, 16 years later, Malaysia is ranked behind six OIC countries in the TI CPI 2011, even behind Jordan and just one step ahead of Turkey, viz:

Countries

TI CPI

ranking

score

Qatar

22

7.2

UAE

28

6.8

Bahrain

46

5.1

Oman

50

4.8

Kuwait

54

4.6

Jordan

56

4.5

Arabia

57

4.4

Malaysia

60

4.3

Turkey

61

4.2

OIC countries breathing down the neck of Malaysia to overtake us in future TI CPI include Turkey and Tunisia (73 with score 3.8).

It is pertinent to note the TI CPI of the Arab Spring countries, viz: Tunisia (73 score 3.8), Morocco (80 score 3.4), Egypt (112 score 2.9), Yemen(164 score 2.1) and Libya (168 2.0).

Malaysia is behind six countries in Africa – Botswana (32 score 6.1) Cape Verde (41 score 5.5) Mauritius (46 score 5.1) Rwanda (48 score 5.0) Seychelles (50 score 4.8) and Namibia (57 score 4.4).

Has the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak the political will to stop the rot of corruption in Malaysia, reverse Malaysia’s slide down the lowest-ever CPI ranking and score or is Malaysia destined to fall further down the slippery slope to the bottom, losing out to even more Asian, OIC and African countries on the TI CPI in the years to come?

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 8 December 2011, 3:15 pm and is filed under
Corruption
,
Najib Razak
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


Umno in the fierce light of day

—
Rama Ramanathan

The Malaysian Insider

Dec 08, 2011

DEC 8 — I am restless. I slipped into this condition when I started observing the Umno general assembly last week.

The word which best describes the theme, tone and thrust of the assembly is racism (of the Malay superiority variety).

I shudder when I think of Umno leaders: Prime Minister Najib, Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin, Home Minister Hishammuddin, de facto Law Minister Nazri. They spew racism. They speak as if Malay means Umno. They methodically attack other Malay parties, PKR and PAS, saying the latter will sell their racial privileges. Meritocracy. Many years ago I believed fear of meritocracy was the primary engine of Umno’s racism.

In “The Malay Dilemma”, probably the most racist book I’ve read, our former Prime Minister Dr Mahathir even suggested Malays are dim due to inbreeding! Mahathir, of course, has been proved wrong. Malays now dominate the civil service, the judiciary, the armed forces and the majority of large Malaysian public companies. You don’t dominate by being dim. You dominate by using power and threats.

Egotism. Prior to the Umno assembly, I thought the primary engine of Umno’s racism was egotism, i.e. a grand sense of self-importance, with boastfulness. What did they boast about? They boasted about remaining entrenched, sustaining the “special position” of the Malays, maintaining “national security” and retaining Islam as the official religion (as if it was ever under threat); boasts which are more implied than spelt out. The venue, dress, food, cars, etc helped reinforce the wealth of Umno leaders.

They mainly demeaned “the opposition” — many of whom were elected by citizens despite the whole machinery of the state being directed against them: the media is flooded with stories of phantom voters and the trading of citizenships for votes. They ignored the good news from Selangor and Penang: freedom of information Acts, transparency in awarding contracts and few prosecutions for corruption despite the outpouring of police investigation resources against small-time “crimes”.

Unlike Mahathir, I have never believed Malays are dumb and lazy. Whenever I encounter anti-Malay rhetoric, I recite the names of the best people I have worked with: many of them are Malays. Some Malays have reformed long-broken institutions: some government departments now provide great service.

I also point to the leaders of Umno: just look at their success. Look at their cars, clothes, jewellery, mansions, weddings, etc. Umno can boast of enriching many! What is the primary engine of Umno’s racism? Is it fear of meritocracy? Is it egotism? Or is it something else? Terror. I think it’s terror. Terror of being found out.

Consider this: in Perak and Selangor, when BN lost the majority, they destroyed evidence before departing: files went missing. Soon after “the opposition” took office, many misdeeds became public. Umno even protects those who put their hands in the kitties of charities. Do you remember the misappropriation allegations against the Umno -BN wives who were the charity organisation Balkis? Do you wonder why Khir Toyo remains free to stir up distress? It’s because many more Khirs will be flushed out if the ship sinks!

I think the root of my restlessness is this knowledge: desperados will do desperate things. They’ve created restrictions on the Freedom of Assembly Bill. They are taking oaths in the name of Allah. They are terrified; therefore things will get worse before they get better. I am restless. Some say it’s because I’m not sufficiently kind-hearted; I’m too focused on the wrongs; I should think more about the good Umno has done, the stability we have.

I disagree with them because I am driven by another engine. The black South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu described the white English parish priest Trevor Huddleston as the greatest influence in his life. Huddleston wrote of why he refused to see good in the bad, and why he opposed every race-based thing: “It is always possible, I suppose, even in the most vicious enactments of the most vicious governments to see elements of potential good. But Wilberforce would never have succeeded in abolishing slavery if he had listened to the arguments of kind-hearted but wrong-headed slave owners. No advance can be made against prejudice and fear unless these things are seen as irrational and brought out into the fierce light of day. There is no room for compromise or fence-sitting over a question such as racial ideology when it so dominates the thought of a whole country.” [Trevor Huddleston, “Naught for Your Comfort” (Glasgow: Collins, 1956), 17.]

I too will oppose everything that is race-based. I will name and shame all racists. I am not free of anxiety, impatience and restlessness. But I am confident I am on the winning side. It’s just a question of endurance. (Incidentally, I do not believe Umno has a monopoly on racism.)

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 8 December 2011, 9:23 am and is filed under
UMNO
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


“Big results” delivered by anti-corruption NKRA in past 32 months are all negative

Today is International Anti-Corruption Day – a day designated by the United Nations General Assembly on 31st October 2003 when it adopted the United Nations Convention Against Corruption.

When Datuk Seri Najib Razak became Prime Minister in April 2009 and  announced the first of his 1Malaysia Transformation Plans – the Government Transformation Programme (GTP) – top priority was given to the war against corruption, which was listed as one of the seven NKRAs (National Key Result Areas).

What has Malaysia got to show on the anti-corruption front on the 8th International Anti-Corruption Day, bearing in mind Najib’s assurance that GTP is aimed at delivering big results fast in the public service that were most important to the people.

What are the “big results” on the anti-corruption NKRA that  had been delivered in the past 32 months of the Najib administration?

“Big results” have indeed been delivered by the anti-corruption NKRA in the past 32 months but they are all negative, viz:

•	The worst Transparency International (TI) Corruption Perception Index (CPI) ranking and score for Malaysia in 17 years, placed No 60 out of 183 countries with a score of 4.3 out of 10.

•	Utter failure of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), which replaced the former Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) in 2009, and purported to be modelled to be another Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) of Hong Kong – despite being given huge annual budgets of over RM200 million;

•	Related to two deaths at MACC premises – Teoh Beng Hock in July 2009 and Ahmad Sarbaini Mohamed on April 6, 2011.

•	The grand total of four politicians arrested for corruption in 2010 as compared to 23 in 2009.

On the occasion of the International Anti-Corruption Day, Malaysians are entitled to ask whether MACC which took over from ACA in 2009 is an utter  waste of public funds.

What has happened to the five-year National Integrity Plan launched in 2004 targetting Malaysia to be ranked at least No. 30th in TI CPI with a score of 6.5 by the year 2008?

Parliament approved a RM202.2 million budget for MACC for 2011 and all it has to show is the country’s lowest CPI ranking of No. 60 and lowest-ever score of 4.3.

In 1996, Parliament approved a budget of RM29.4 million for the Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) and that was the year when Malaysia was ranked No. 26 and achieved the highest CPI score of 5.32 in the past 17 years.

Malaysians are entitled to compare the budgets given to ACA in 1996 and to MACC in 2011, and the TI CPI of Malaysia in these two years, and to ask why MACC which has been given a budget almost seven times given to ACA in 1996 and with greatly increased staff and resources, had brought Malaysia’s TI CPI in 2011 to the lowest ranking of 60 and score  of 4.3 when in 1996 we could be ranked No. 26 with a score of 5.32?

It would appear that the bigger the budget and more staffing and resources given to MACC, the more corrupt Malaysia has become.  Where have the increased RM172.8 million in the anti-corruption budgets between 1996 and 2011 gone to?

The annual  budgets allocated to  ACA till 2008 and MACC from 2009 (below) are not puny sums but they have not achieved their objective of fighting corruption in Malaysia, giving proper cause for a full and special audit by the Auditor-General to find the reasons why:

Year Annual Budget (RM)

1994  28.6 million

1995  29.9 million

1996  29.5 million

1997  32.4 million

1998  32.2 million

1999  38.2 million

2000  41.8 million

2002  63.8 million

2003  67.7 million

2004  70.4 million

2005  76.4 million

2006  99.1 million

2007 148.1 million

2008 146.7 million

2009 162.1 million

2010 156.8 million

2011 202.2 million

2012 211.2 million

Can Najib explain this strange phenomenon, resulting in his administration perceived as the most corrupt, whether in CPI ranking or score, as compared to the five-year premiership of Tun Abdullah or 22-year premiership of Tun Mahathir?

Can the Prime Minister continue to be silent on Malaysia’s lowest-ever CPI ranking and score? If Malaysia’s 2011 CPI had achieved an incremental increase say of 4.6, Najib would not be so mum but would be the first to crow and claim credit with full fanfare on television, radio and the printed media.

All the more why Malaysians want the Prime Minister, the Cabinet and the MACC to explain why despite given record budgets  approved for MACC (RM211.2 million for 2002), there is not only so little to show in anti-corruption but the country had gone backwards and overtaken by other countries not only in the Asia-Pacific but by other OIC and African countries.

                This entry was posted on Friday, 9 December 2011, 12:53 pm and is filed under
Corruption
,
Najib Razak
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


Russians fight Twitter and Facebook battles over Putin election

Miriam Elder in Moscow

guardian.co.uk

Friday 9 December 2011

Protests against president’s party escalate across social media with flood of automated counterattacks and alleged hacking

Protest against Vladimir Putin United party over elections have escalated across social media, including Twitter and Facebook, with a flood of automated counterattacks.

Russians have flooded Facebook and Twitter as they organise unprecedented protests against Vladimir Putin’s United Russia party. But they are not alone. Thousands of Twitter accounts appear to have been created with the sole purpose of drowning out opposition voices by flooding the service’s hashtag search function.

The automated attacks have dumped a blizzard of meaningless tweets with hashtags such as #Navalny, on which tweets about Alexei Navalny are collated, making it impossible to follow the flow of news about the arrested opposition leader. Many of the so-called “Twitter bots” have now been shut down.

The flood of fake tweets came after liberal websites, including the LiveJournal blogging platform, the website for radio station Ekho Moskvy and weekly journal Bolshoi Gorod , were shut down by distributed denial of service attacks on Sunday, the day of Russia’s disputed parliamentary vote.

The website for Golos, an independent election monitor, was also shut down. Golos employees complained this week that their email had been hacked and inaccessible for several days. On Friday, tabloid Life News published employees’ private emails, detailing correspondence with the US development agency – presented as “proof” that the group was acting on foreign orders to disrupt the Russian election.

The most interesting hack attack, however, came via a more antiquated instrument – the telephone. On Thursday, the liberal Yabloko party and newspaper Novaya Gazeta said their telephone lines had been paralysed by endless calls featuring a recorded female voice: “Putin is very good. Putin loves you. Putin makes your life happy. Love Putin and your life will fill with meaning. Putin does everything for you. Remember, Putin does everything just for you. Putin is life. Putin is light. Without Putin, life has no meaning. Putin is your protector. Putin is your saviour.” Over and over again.

                This entry was posted on Friday, 9 December 2011, 10:38 pm and is filed under
Facebook
,
IT
,
Twitter
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


Civil service as Umno’s fixed deposit or game buster

—
Dr. Lim Teck Ghee

CPI

9th December 2011

Commentary

The new civil service remuneration scheme recently announced by the government provides civil servants pay rises of between seven and 13 per cent. Coming just before the elections expected soon, it is clearly intended to influence the outcome of the elections. Umno leaders see members of the civil service not only as their fixed deposit but also as the key game changer in the elections.

Will the generous pay rise make a difference in voting patterns of civil servants in the country?  At first glance, it appears a politically astute move given the disproportionate weight of civil servants in the voting population and the high voting rate that has been associated with this segment of voters.

If we add up the 1.2 million civil servants and family members and assume that there is an average of three to four voters per civil servant household, this provides a total of between four to five million voters out of the 12 million registered voters. The fact that over 80 per cent of civil servants are Malays means that whichever party can win over the Malay civil service vote will take over the reins of political power in the country.

Will this group of voters fall for what appears to be an extra large carrot being dangled in front of them?  Already the mainstream papers are carrying the mandatory follow up reports of how appreciative the teachers, police and other government staff are with this government recognition of their contribution to the country’s development and progress through the new salary scheme. This, together with the earlier sustained bashing of DAP Tony Pua’s suggestion that the number of civil servants be reduced, appears to have given a decisive edge in the battle for civil service votes to Umno and Barisan Nasional (BN).

Will pay increase move backfire on Umno?

But is it a certainty that the civil service vote will continue to be in the pockets of the present government? Evidence is conflicting. The present generation of civil servants — Malays and non-Malays — is a great deal more discerning and demanding of their elected leaders and the policies needed. They, as with other voters in the country, are aware of how the government is courting their vote and will go to the voting booths fully concerned of the government’s and opposition party’s record on the issues that matter most to them — whether it is on ensuring a rise in their standard of living, or fighting corruption or abuse of power. In fact, the timing of the salary increase — so close to the elections — could very well backfire on the government as it can be seen as a blatant attempt by Barisan to bribe their way into power, with civil servants as their tool.

What could also prove to be problematic for the government are the finer details of the new remuneration system and pay increase, and how it affects each civil service voter. Precise details of the pay increase and how it will apply to each grade are not available yet.  According to the Public Services Department Director General, the increases will be based on four principles: hierarchy; talent and experience; position and subject matter; and performance.

Likely outcome of pay increase

In the past it was the principle of hierarchy which appears to have been the most important criterion as pay increases benefitted the higher grades most with the lower grades receiving much less. In particular, the lowest-scale group received meagre increases in absolute terms, relegating many of these civil service households into the ranks of the relative and hardcore poor

Not surprisingly under the BN government, with each successive civil service pay reform, the salary differential within the Malaysian civil service has developed to be amongst the more inequitable in the world compared with civil services in other countries when in fact it should be a great deal more equitable, given the paper commitment to the equity principles of the New Economic Policy.

The yawning inequality in civil service pay is likely to become even worse in this new pay revision. If that happens, it will further increase the income inequality in Malaysia, which is already among the worst in the Asian region, as well as internally amongst the Malays, which is the worst amongst the major communities.

The quantum of increase for the higher salaried groups needs to be stringently scrutinised on the basis of national affordability and socio-economic justice.  There is a considerable difference between a 10 per cent increase in the RM1,000 salary of a lower grade civil servant and a similar percentage increase for a higher grade earning RM8,000. A progressive salary increase with the lower scales receiving higher percentages and the higher scales, in particular, superscales, receiving considerably less is necessary to ensure fairness and equity.

Members of the public may not be aware that the higher scale civil servants are also the recipients of substantial bonuses, allowances and numerous non-cash perks and lucrative privileges — all of which are not reflected in the monthly salary and accentuate the different treatment accorded to the different grades of the civil service work force.

A holistic review of the civil service — not piecemeal pay increases — is clearly urgently required. At the same time, Cuepacs and other stakeholders should press for a comprehensive review of urgent reform issues that have been ignored by the government during the past several decades.

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 10 December 2011, 10:16 am and is filed under
General
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


Friends

by Allan C.F. Goh

Friends, I am glad to have found you,

Who have added much to life’s hue.

Our friendship remains in my core;

It’s getting richer, more and more.

The sun may rise and set each day,

Friendships never set nor delay.

You are there with extended hand,

When I am down in troubled land.

When life is covered with darkness,

You light up my life with brightness.

The rainbow would shed its colour,

Too, life without friends, its ardour.

The world will be a poorer place,

A place where no happiness grace.

Friends can laugh and cry together,

Wherever we choose to gather.

We argue till blue in the face,

Yet, true friendship we still embrace.

We respect our odd difference,

And accept it with deference.

You don’t need to always call me;

We are part of shared resume.

That is the measure of friendship,

The base of our relationship.

Friendship is a book of concern;

Constantly filled in with discern.

The joys that joined us so gladly,

And sorrows we shared so sadly,

Are a part of our unity,

That will last through eternity.

I am honoured most sincerely,

To call you friends so honestly.

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 10 December 2011, 9:57 pm and is filed under
Poem
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


Human Rights Day 2011

Message from Aliran

The Malaysian Insider

Dec 10, 2011

DEC 10 — This year has been a memorable year for Malaysians in our struggle for democracy and recognition of human rights in our country.

The July 9 rally for clean, free and fair elections was an event all generations of Malaysians will cherish in history. It was the day ordinary Malaysians showed courage and grit in opposing violence and repression by sections of riot police armed with tear-gas and water cannon.

Besides the brave leaders of the Bersih 2.0 movement led by former Bar Council president Ambiga Sreenevasan and leaders of Pakatan Rakyat and civil society groups who came out in support of the movement, ordinary Malaysians including elderly, disabled persons and youth braved tear gas and water cannon to demand that elections be clean, free and fair.

The run-up to the July 9 rally was equally dramatic and tortuous with the unjustified arrests of Parti Sosialis Malaysia activists. The PSM 30 were initially accused of waging war against the King for no apparent reason. Six of them, all key members including Sungai Siput MP Dr Jeyakumar Devaraj, were later detained under the Emergency Ordinance. It was perhaps too much for reasonable and fair-minded members of the public to swallow. Thankfully, the EO 6 are now free and all charges have been dropped against the PSM 30.

We have seen many undeserved and unjustified restrictions on our right to freedom of speech under Article 10 of the Federal Constitution and Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. There has also been an increased encroachment on our right to assemble under the same provision of the Federal Constitution and Article 20 UDHR.

Since the beginning of this year such attacks on these basic human rights have been accumulating. Apart from this, the federal government has launched attacks on workers, migrant workers, human rights defenders, asylum seekers and refugees, aided by other parties i.e. rich multinational corporations and foreign governments.

Towards the end of the year the LGBTiQ, came under fire for organising the “Seksualiti Merdeka” celebrations, which previously had been an annual event since 2008. The LGBTiQ team had not had any trouble nor had they caused any trouble to anyone. But they were faulted this year by the police and the government — merely because Ambiga had been invited to officiate at the celebrations this year. That was what it looked like. And indeed, that must be the only reason for the authorities to behave in such an insane way.

The victimisation of the LGBTiQ minority is an explicit statement that the government refuses to respect human rights and thinks nothing of violations committed against innocent and vulnerable people in the name of so-called peace and security.

The most recent attack the government has launched on the people is via the “Peaceful Assembly Bill 2011”, which was obviously devised to discourage and disallow peaceful assembly by violating our constitutional right to assemble peacefully under Article 10 of the Federal Constitution. Under this added draconian law, the police are given wide powers to block and stop any peaceful assembly of people for any ambiguous or unjustified reason. As far as many Malaysians are aware, the only armed persons present at numerous past peaceful gatherings have been the FRU and nobody else.

Laws in the past have often been selectively enforced to favour gatherings by members of the ruling party. It often seems to be the case that spontaneous gatherings by this particular group and their affiliates like Perkasa do not require official police permits.

In the face of all these moves by the powers-that-be, the fact that the rakyat still persists undeterred in their stance against corruption and human rights violation is completely admirable and praiseworthy.

Let us celebrate!

However, we have gained some ground with the prime minister’s promise to abolish some of the existing draconian legislations like the Internal Security Act, the Emergency laws, and the Printing Presses and Publications Act. We will not forget these promises and would demand the same of any other administration coming into government. Yet, we remain wary that all these grand pledges will remain as pledges not acted on or merely replaced or added to by more draconian legislation. Malaysia has to rehabilitate its current reputation in the international community as an undemocratic, human rights abusive country.

Still, we, the rakyat, have something to celebrate. Let us celebrate the fact that we are maturing in our political attitudes and are clearer about what we want of any government that wins the mandate to govern us. We demand honesty, transparency, accountability and good governance, respect and protection of human rights and human dignity.

If we hold fast to this goal, Malaysia can and will become a united, humane and truly caring nation regardless of race, gender, religion, economic status, skin colour, nationality, sexual orientation or political ideology.

We, the citizens of this country, are the only hope for the future of democracy and the upholding of human rights and respect for human dignity in this homeland. We must not let down the next generation of Malaysians by our own inaction. They must inherit a more democratic, humane, tolerant and compassionate Malaysia through the efforts and struggles of all caring Malaysians.

Aliran wishes all people a “Happy International Human Rights Day.” — aliran.com

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 10 December 2011, 7:10 pm and is filed under
Bersih
,
Human Rights
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


Nationwide protests under way in Russia

Aljazeera

10 December 2011

Moscow rally against “poll fraud” by ruling party attracts tens of thousands, with protests in many other cities.
Last Modified: 10

Protests in Russia are taking place against Vladimir Putin’s 12-year rule amid signs of swelling anger over a poll won by his ruling United Russia party with the alleged help of widescale fraud.

More than 20,000 people have already gathered on a square across the river from the Kremlin on Saturday, after receiving permission from the Kremlin for the event.

Authorities had detained about 1,600 activists over the past few days who had joined unsanctioned rallies against the December 4 vote.

The opposition is also organising rallies in at least 14 other major cities in a rare outpouring of mistrust in a system put in place by Putin when he first became president in 2000.

Protests have already begun elsewhere, with several hundred marching in Vladivostok, seven timezones to the east of Moscow.

A 30,000-strong demonstration would be the largest to hit the Russian capital in 20 years, in what some see as the first warning bell for the former foreign agent and his secretive inner circle of security chiefs.

Al Jazeera’s Neave Barker, reporting from Moscow, said:  “Troops from the interior ministry and water cannons are also on standby in Moscow.

“I do think, that if the protestors try and widen the rally, then there could well be a clampdown.”

The authorities’ decision to permit Saturday’s rallies to go ahead nationwide is a first for the Putin era and suggests the Kremlin would prefer to avoid street battles between protesters and the riot police.

Speaking to Al Jazeera, Ivan Safranchuk, a Russian political analyst, said: “People will be allowed to protest, but direct political change won’t happen.”

Allegations

Putin’s United Russia has been bruised by allegations of corruption, after opposition parties and international observers said the vote was marred by vote-rigging, including alleged ballot-box stuffing and false voter rolls.

Russians preparing for Saturday’s protests in Moscow

The official results of the elections to Russia’s Duma showed that the ruling party United Russia lost 77 of its 315 seats, just retaining a small majority.

Barker said there is a widespread view, fuelled by mobile phone videos and accounts on internet social networking sites, that there was wholesale election fraud, and that Putin’s party cheated its way to victory.

Putin accepted the vote’s outcome but stayed silent about the protests for three days before accusing US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton of inciting  the unrest by questioning the polls.

He said Clinton’s criticism “had set the tone for some people inside the country and given a signal”.

US State Department spokesman Mark Toner retorted that “nothing could be further from the truth”.

Putin has remained Russia’s most popular and powerful politician as both president until 2008 and prime minister today – an image he has cultivated with tough talking against foreign powers and warm words for the Soviet past.

Source: Al Jazeera and agencies

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 10 December 2011, 10:11 pm and is filed under
Elections
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


Not too late for Najib to heed  opposition to Peaceful Assembly Bill, withhold it from Senate and set up instead a PSC to conduct full consultation on Bill

After the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s boast and claim during Malaysia Day celebrations this year to make Malaysia “the best democracy in the world”, Malaysia should stand tall today to celebrate the International Human Rights Day.

But this is not the case.

Just like yesterday’s International Anti-Corruption Day, the Malaysian Government is quite  sheepish and quite guilty-conscious about the event.

Result: no word or message by Najib whether on International Anti-Corruption Day or International Human Rights Day!

On yesterday’s International Anti-Corruption Day, there was nothing the crow about as it was about a week ago that Malaysia suffered the nation’s worst international  report card on  its anti-corruption front, when Malaysia suffered the worst Transparency International (TI) Corruption Perception Index (CPI) for the year 2011 – ranked No. 60 with score of 4.3 when Malaysia was ranked No. 23 in 1995 and scored 5.32 in 1996.

For today’s International Human Rights Day, Malaysia has also nothing to crow about despite the Prime Minister’s promise in September on Malaysia Day to usher in a whole series of democratization and “political transformation” like repeal of the draconian Internal Security Act and review of the undemocratic Section 27 of the Police Act “taking into consideration Article 10 of the Federal Constitution regarding freedom of assembly and so as to be in line with international norms of the same matter”.

This is because all the hoopla and euphoria of a Najib “democratic spring” had been nullified by the indecent haste with which the Peaceful Assembly Bill had been drafted and rushed through the Dewan Rakyat, without giving all stakeholders, whether political parties, MPs, human rights groups, NGOs and the civil society adequate time to be consulted to ensure that we have a legislation which genuinely  facilitate the expression of the fundamental right of freedom of assembly by Malaysians instead of an even more restrictive and repressive law hampering the freedom of assembly by the citizenry.

As has been cynically pointed out, Rudolf the red-nosed Reindeer and Christmas caroling may be required under the Peaceful Assembly Bill to get police permits before making their annual rounds to spread Christmas cheer!

For the first time in the nation’s history, a whole phalanx of United Nations human rights rapporteurs have ganged up to denounce the Peaceful Assembly Bill as a grave threat to human rights.

UN Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association Maina Kiai voiced “deep regret” that the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) or civil society was not meaningfully consulted in the drafting of the Bill.

He  said the Bill contains a vague definition of assembly and also places broad restrictions and conditions on gatherings, giving “excessive authority” and power to law enforcement officials and the home minister.

“Many of these restrictions are not justifiable under international law. It also gives discretion to the police to make any form of recording of assemblies,” he said.

Another Special Rapporteur, Margaret Sekaggya said she is alarmed by the provision prohibiting citizens below 21 years of age to assemble.

“Political and social participation through peaceful protests are not only an educational experience for children, youth and students but also an investment for society as a whole,” she said.

Frank La Rue, another Special Rapporteur on the right to freedom of expression, has urged the Malaysian government to seriously reconsider the adoption of the Bill.

“The ability of all individuals to express themselves freely, including in the form of peaceful assemblies, is a litmus test for the level of democracy in any country.”

Fracois Crepeau, a Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants, called for an urgent review of the Bill.

“Everyone has the right to freedom of assembly and association, without distinction of any kind, including nationality,” said Crepeau.

The Prime Minister must be mindful that Malaysia is a member of the UN Human Rights Council until 2013 and we should be setting an international example of compliance, respect and promotion of the universally-recognised human rights in international covenants.

It is not too late for Najib to heed the opposition of Malaysians and UN human rights experts to the Peaceful Assembly Bill, withhold it from Senate and set up instead a Parliamentary Select Committee to conduct full and nation-wide consultation on the  Bill.

This will really make International Human Rights Day 2011 meaningful and memorable.

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 10 December 2011, 4:09 pm and is filed under
Corruption
,
Najib Razak
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.