10 Things To Do If You Want To Be A Better Malaysian

By Thomas Fann

This article is not about Steve Jobs but I would like to start with a quote by him, made in 1994 during a TV interview…

“When you grow up you tend to get told the world is the way it is and your life is just to live your life inside the world. Try not to bash into the walls too much. Try to have a nice family life, have fun, save a little money. That’s a very limited life.

Life can be much broader once you discover one simple fact, and that is – everything around you that you call life, was made up by people that were no smarter than you. And you can change it, you can influence it, you can build your own things that other people can use.

The minute that you understand that you can poke life and actually something will, you know if you push in, something will pop out the other side, that you can change it, you can mold it. That’s maybe the most important thing. It’s to shake off this erroneous notion that life is there and you’re just gonna live in it, versus embrace it, change it, improve it, make your mark upon it.

I think that’s very important and however you learn that, once you learn it, you’ll want to change life and make it better, cause it’s kind of messed up, in a lot of ways. Once you learn that, you’ll never be the same again.”

There you have it, a glimpse into the reason why Steve Jobs is, in my humble opinion, one of the very few people who ever lived who can claim that he has changed the world for the better.

Maybe not many of us will get to change the world the way Steve did, but all of us certainly has the potential to make our nation a better place.  We need to shake off the erroneous notion that our sole duty as a Malaysian is to live a peaceful life, have a nice family, make some money, pay our taxes, and try not to break any law.

We need to believe that “if we push in, something will pop out the other side”, that we can actually make a difference in this nation by becoming a better Malaysian.

I would like to propose the following 10 things to do if we want to be a better Malaysian.

1.  BE A MALAYSIAN FIRST –
 If you are serious about wanting a better future for this nation and making this the best home for all, then start thinking of yourself as a Malaysian and not as a whatever race or the identity of your grandfather’s homeland. All of us are migrants, it just depends on how far you want to roll back history. But due to various circumstances in history, our forefathers’ boats landed on this fair shore and made this their home. By being Malaysian first doesn’t mean we cease to be Malay, Indian, Chinese, Iban, Kadazan, etc., but that our identity is now firmly anchored to our nation.

2.  UPHOLD THE FEDERAL CONSTITUTION
– There are many laws to cover all aspects of life but the Federal Constitution is the big one. Every Malaysian who can read should read it at least once in their lifetime. It doesn’t matter which Tun or Tan Sri or Prof say what, if it doesn’t say it in the FC, it doesn’t count. This document spells out our fundamental rights as a citizen and it is empowering to know it.  Fear comes from ignorance.  Don’t be ignorant and you will fear less. After you read and know what it guarantees, defend it and use it to defend others.  Also, obey all the laws (if it doesn’t contradict the FC), even the minor ones like putting on your seat belts.

3. REMEMBER WHO’S THE BOSS – YOU!
 – That’s right, if you are a citizen, you are the boss in our democracy, which incidentally means “people” (demo) “power” (kratos) from the Greek origin. What about the Prime Minister, I hear you say. Well, the word “minister” is an old English word for servant. So, there you have it, another phrase for Prime Minister is Chief Servant, and all the other ministers are servants. After all, we are the ones paying their salaries. A caveat, if you are one of those Malaysians who treat your servants badly, don’t forget that the PM is also a fellow citizen.

4.  START BUILDING BRIDGES –
 Let’s get out of our own community and start building friendships with other Malaysians of a different race and religion from your own. Invite each other to festivals, anniversaries and birthday celebrations. You may be pleasantly surprised to find out that there is a lot in their culture and traditions that you admire and prejudices you had were unfounded. You would probably find out that underneath all our differences we are just human beings who share common values and aspirations. Start tearing down those false barriers put up by politicians who can only stay in power by dividing us.

5.  BE AN ACTIVE CITIZEN –
 Stop complaining and start doing something. If you are feeling unhappy about the way this country is run and feel that we should be much better off, then get off your b*tt, (or your keyboard) and make a decision now – things are going to change and it is going to start with ME!  Stop looking to the government, present or future, to solve all our problems because it ain’t gonna happen. Believe that you can do your bit to change your corner of the world.  It doesn’t have to be things like taking part in the next big protest but it can be something as simple as reminding your town council to collect the rubbish or cut the grass at the park. And don’t forget to vote.

6.  USE THE NATIONAL LANGUAGE (AND OTHER LANGUAGES) –
 We need to talk to each other. Suspicions and strained relationships creep in when we don’t understand each other. We need to take pride in our National Language, Bahasa Malaysia. If you are not fluent in it, learn it and use it. It doesn’t mean we neglect our mother tongue or English. The way God wired us, we are capable of being fluent in multiple languages and we should go for it. Also, remember that learning doesn’t stop with schooling and it is never too late to learn the National Language, after all, it is one of the easiest languages to learn.

7.  BE WELL-INFORMED –
 In order to assess accurately, think critically and decide correctly, we need to have good and reliable information. Gather information from different sources, cross check them and then act on them. We are in the Information Age after all and information is just a click away. Read both pro-establishment and alternative media; read both local and international news; talk to people who are well-informed and get their perspective. James Madison said, “Knowledge will forever govern ignorance; and a people who mean to be their own governors must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives.”

8.  REJECT CORRUPTION –
 Corruption is the scourge of any society and we must have zero tolerance for it or as the PM said, “…have a natural abhorrence of corruption”.  The guilty is not just the person receiving the bribe or abusing his power but the one who gives or allows someone to abuse his power.  We need to make a commitment to never offer a bride and if we have done it before, admit it to yourself or someone close to you that it is wrong and you won’t be doing it again. Report every corrupt person, from the junior officer to the most senior leader whether you believe action would be taken or not. To give bribe or do nothing to stop it is to be an accomplice to a crime and we are betraying our country.

9.  BE A GIVER AND NOT JUST A TAKER –
 Look for ways to go beyond earning a living for yourself or your family. Start a business, invest in one, have a farm or factory, provide a service, export your products and create jobs. We need to “add to” and not just “take out” of our economy. Whatever we do, consider the social and environmental impact of decisions. Will we give people fair wages and not just minimum wage?  Will our working hours and conditions cause hardship for those working for us? Will what we do pollute the environment? Will it be sustainable? Success is not just about the money but the legacy we leave behind.

10. CARE FOR THOSE LESS FORTUNATE THAN US –
 We are less than nothing as a society if we have not compassion for the less fortunate among us.  If we do not rush to the aid of the weak, sick and dying, not only are we demonstrating our lack of cohesiveness as a society but our lack of a heart and soul.  Being a family means to look after each other through thick and thin.  Get involved with charities and organisation that reach out to the poor and needy. By doing so, you are not only a better Malaysian but also a better human being.

The above are by no means comprehensive but they should be a good guide on our journey to make a mark on our nation, however big or small.  It may be just pure idealism to belief that we can change the world but it is better than just existing.

In closing, another of Steve Jobs’ famous quote – “The ones who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world, are the ones who do.”  Will you join me and be crazy enough to think that we can make Malaysia a better place for our children by becoming a better Malaysian?

Thomas Fann blogs at
www.newmalaysia.org

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 13 October 2012, 1:54 pm and is filed under
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As Najib is an interested party as  UMNO President, he should  establish a RCI into the RM40 million Hong Kong-laundered UMNO funds to clear UMNO/BN and Malaysia’s name

The  Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak has refused to disclose the source of the RM40 million  “political donation” for  UMNO Sabah that was the subject of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) investigation of Sabah Chief Minister, Datuk Musa Aman, giving an unbelievably weak and unacceptable excuse.

Najib said that “All parties have a right to receive political donations” and “As long as it is through the right channels, it is not an offence”.

What Najib had completely ignored is that the RM40 million is not “above-board money” but dirty money, as it is Hong Kong-laundered UMNO funds which the Sabah businessman  Michael Chia had tried to smuggle into the country in his luggage in cash in the form of $S16 million currency but  got arrested at the Hong Kong International Airport on August 14, 2008 for money trafficking and laundering.

This has raised a very pertinent question, whether the MACC and the Attorney-General are empowered to enquire and prosecute the top UMNO leadership (including the UMNO President) whether for corruption or money laundering without getting the green-light from the Prime Minister?

Nobody in Malaysia is under the illusion that  the MACC and Attorney-General have such powers, that is to conduct full investigations into the top UMNO leadership including the UMNO President, involving corruption and money laundering, as the Prime Minister is none other than the UMNO President himself.

In the circumstances, any independent, thorough and professional investigation involving the top UMNO leadership including the UMNO President for corruption or money-laundering cannot be undertaken under the auspices of the MACC or Attorney-General, but must be by a completely separate and independent commission.

As  Najib is an interested party as  UMNO President, he should  establish a Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) into  the RM40 million Hong Kong-laundered UMNO funds and other foreign UMNO/BN  laundered monies to clear UMNO/BN and Malaysia’s name.

This will also demonstrate that Najib  is truly serious about fighting corruption, in particular grand corruption, involving top political and public personalities and that his high-sounding “anti-corruption” speech last week at the opening of the International Association for Anti-Corruption Authorities (IAACA) Conference in Kuala Lumpur last week will not go down in the history of international anti-corruption conferences as the most insincere and hypocritical one.

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 13 October 2012, 5:04 pm and is filed under
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Clear and present danger?

Rom Nain

Malaysiakini

Oct 11, 2012

Many Malaysians surely must be sick to death – I know I am – of the latest ploy by hateful people, many within this regime, to split this country even further, to cultivate distrust at a time when they themselves have lost the trust of the people.

I am talking, of course, of this pathetic ‘strategy’ of churning out one bogeyman after another to frighten Malaysians, especially Muslims, presumably in the forlorn hope that we will all run back into the exploitative arms of this regime and its underlings.

Nasharuddin Mat Isa’s latest diatribe and Utusan Malaysia’s latest sojourn into the realm of lies and fantasy are illustrative of this desperation.

First, Utusan, not for the first time, in its Sunday edition, Mingguan Malaysia, brings up the topic of the Christian community and talks about a couple of Malaysia’s top church leaders apparently criticising Penang Chief Minister, Lim Guan Eng.

The report, titled Jangan heret gereja (Do not drag the Church [into politics]), quotes two top church leaders as apparently reacting negatively to an earlier call by Lim.

Lim’s call, at a dialogue with about 300 church leaders, was for the church to stand up against injustice and to build a better community.

Nothing wrong there, I would think. Indeed, if we were to recall the work of the liberation theologists in Latin America and even in Marcos’s Philippines, these church leaders were certainly right out there fighting injustice. Closer to home, Father Paulino Miranda, parish priest of the only Catholic church in Shah Alam, comes to mind.

Islam, too, is resplendent with tales of leaders and scholars speaking out, even rising up, against injustice and tyranny. Among the more ‘acceptable’ scholars in Malaysia, Perlis mufti Dr Juanda Jaya and USM Islamic scholar Dr Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin, have indeed spoken out against wrongdoing and misrule, Asri famously speaking up for street demonstrators awhile back.

Be that as it may, certainly  in an attempt to make Lim look bad and, perhaps, in an attempt to emphasise to the Christian community – can you imagine anyone from that community reading Utusan? – that they should keep their houses of worship free of politics, the paper paraded this nonsense on their front page last Sunday.

But, of course, the church leaders have now come out openly to say that they had said no such thing, that they were misrepresented and that the report ‘is a complete lie’.

In response, quite predictably if I may say so, Utusan’s reporter comes out, guns blazing, saying that she stands by her story.

It is a mere coincidence, I’m sure, that she should say this a day after the two church leaders reportedly said they would not take legal action against the rag because they had other things to do.

No apology, no retraction

So, it looks as though there will be no apology, no retraction, by the paper since, from past experience, these niceties only happen when such disputes end up in court.

This doesn’t say much, of course, about the integrity of the paper and its reporter. But we must remember that this is the same rag whose deputy chief editor not so long ago declared that the paper is willing to ‘spin the truth’.

Nasharuddin’s recent outburst also concerns the Church and Christians. His is a more toxic,  hate-filled accusation that Sarawak DAP had ‘held prayers seeking the formation of a Christian state during its thanksgiving dinner after the 2011 Sarawak state elections’. For him, ‘this was a strategy being planned by Allah’s enemies’.

His is a nasty presentation that could easily be seen as attempting to drive a wedge between the political parties in Pakatan, especially the DAP and PAS, and also between their members and supporters.

At a wider level, it certainly seems like an pathetic attempt to drive a wedge between Muslims and Christians in Malaysia. It is the latest  in a long line of conspiracy ‘theories’ hatched by irresponsible, certainly divisive, people and parties uncaring about the implications of their outbursts.

Rightly, both Muslim and Christian leaders have come out to speak up against Nasharuddin’s unsubstantiated and, for me, despicable, allegation. However, I believe that the rest of us too need to speak out against these hateful allegations that are manifestly untrue.

Indeed, first, there’s the ongoing rubbish being churned out about the purported rise and ‘threat’ of a really-innocuous and often oppressed LGBT community. Then, next, we’ve been asked to beware  the continuing menace of the Jews.

And, now, as many times before, we are supposed to heed – and halt – the ‘clear and present danger’ of the Malaysian Christian community (all 9.1 percent of the Malaysian population, as compared to the paltry and invariably weak 60.4 percent Muslims that make up the Malaysian population).

As one bogeyman after another, one moral panic after another is unleashed on us all,  there are clearly two ways we could address these preposterous lies.

We could, of course, rubbish them, as one veteran ex-journalist is bravely, and humorously, doing in his blog, uppercaise.

But we should also band together, certainly at the next general elections, based on a common desire to respect each other and to live together peacefully in this place we call our home.

And rid our home of the vermin posing as our leaders when, clearly, they are just venomous creatures looking out for themselves.

ROM NAIN is a media analyst and academic who is weary of incompetent, unethical leaders and their apologists and spin doctors in the media who try to get away with murder while professing to rub shoulders with God’s angels.

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 13 October 2012, 7:35 am and is filed under
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Najib refuses to disclose source of Sabah Umno’s political donation

By Md Izwan

The Malaysian Insider

Oct 13, 2012

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 12 — Datuk Seri Najib Razak refused tonight to disclose the source of a political donation received by Umno Sabah that was the subject of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission’s (MACC) investigation of Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Musa Aman.

“It is a political donation. All parties have a right to receive political donations. As long as it is through the right channels, it is not an offence,” the Umno president (picture) told reporters after chairing a Barisan Nasional (BN) supreme council meeting.

“We are not at liberty to disclose… the opposition also receives donations and they don’t disclose,” he said.

Yesterday, Parliament was told the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) had cleared Musa of graft and money-laundering allegations after finding that the over S$16 million (RM40 million) allegedly channelled to the Sabah chief minister through corrupt means was meant for Sabah Umno’s use.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Aziz said the Attorney-General’s Chambers had shelved the matter after finding no element of corruption in the case, which was first raised by whistleblower site Sarawak Report earlier this year.

In April this year, Sarawak Report had revealed documents allegedly from the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) showing that a Sabah lawyer was holding some US$30 million in a Swiss bank account for Musa.

The report also claimed that a paper trail showed that the millions in euro as well as US, Hong Kong and Singapore dollars had been channelled from several firms managed by Hong Kong-based timber trader Michael Chia to a number of British Virgin Island companies and subsequently to the lawyer’s Swiss account.

Musa has since denied any link with Chia, who was arrested and charged with money laundering after attempting to smuggle S$16 million (RM40 million) back to Malaysia in 2008.

According to media reports, Chia had at the time allegedly told the Hong Kong authorities that the money belonged to Musa.

Musa had previously accused Sarawak Report of defaming him, claiming the graft allegations were likely part of a conspiracy by his detractors who wanted to topple Barisan Nasional (BN) in the east Malaysian state.

He had said he would offer full co-operation to the authorities if he was required to but stressed that in the meantime, his focus was on serving the state instead of “entertaining these frivolous allegations”.

Transparency International Malaysia (TI-M) said today it was appalled with the government’s conclusion that “no element of corruption was proven” in its investigation of Musa.

The anti-graft watchdog urged the authorities today to ensure a full disclosure of the political contribution.

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 13 October 2012, 12:34 am and is filed under
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Only fools or knaves or those who are both could believe the lies about DAP seeking to establish a Christian State in Malaysia

Desperation knows no bounds. This is amply illustrated by UMNO/BN political desperadoes, whether in the political front-line or hiding in the shadows pulling propaganda strings hatching the most far-fetched and outlandish conspiratorial theories in the mainstream or social media to create fear and sow the seeds of hate and conflict to ensure the survival of the sixth Prime Minister and the  ruling coalition in the imminent 13th General Election.

The issue of a Christian Malaysia and the allegation that DAP wants to  repeal Article 3 of the Federal Constitution providing for Islam as the religion of the Malaysian Federation in order to establish a Christian State is one of the most irresponsible and reckless of lies and falsehoods in the current repertoire of the UMNO/BN political desperadoes.

In fact, those who disseminate such lies and falsehoods utterly reckless about its damage to the process of nation-building in multi-racial and multi-religious Malaysia qualify to be condemned as the vilest and most despicable  traitors to the vision of an united and harmonious Malaysian nation!

Only fools or knaves or those who are both could believe the lies that the DAP is seeking to establish a Christian State.

Henceforth, let Malaysians put the   “fools or knaves” test to the political desperadoes who could so recklessly and irresponsibly disseminate such lies and falsehoods – whether they are fools or knaves, or both!

As far as I know (and I am prepared to stand contradicted),  there has never been any call for the establishment of a Christian  State in the country in the 55 years since the attainment of Merdeka in 1957  or in the 49 years since for the formation of Malaysia in 1963.

Is it possible that some five decades after Independence in 1957 and formation of Malaysia in 1963 that there is now a call for the establishment of a Christian state in Malaysia?

First reason why only  fools or knaves or those who are both could believe it.

All throughout the DAP’s 46-year history, the DAP has been constant and consistent in the stand, which is also that  of the first three Prime Ministers, Tunku Abdul Rahman, Tun Razak and Tun Hussein, that Malaysia is a democratic, multi-racial, secular and multi-religious nation with Islam as the official religion but Malaysia is not an Islamic State.

By “secular”, we do not mean anti-religion, anti-God, anti-Islam, anti-Christianity, anti-Buddhism, anti-Hinduism or anti-Sikkhism but a state polity which is  morality-based and pro-Islam, pro-Christianity, pro-Buddhism, pro-Hinduism and pro-Sikkhism in defending and enhancing the multi-religious characteristics and diversity of the Malaysian nation.

Is it possible that 46 years later, DAP is  now seeking to establish a Christian state when no DAP leader or any DAP policy document had ever referred to it?

Second reason why only  fools or knaves or those who are both could believe it.

Christians are the third-largest religious groups in Malaysia viz  Muslim 60.4%, Buddhist 19.2%, Christian 9.1% and Hindu 6.3%, Confucianism, Taoism, other traditional Chinese religions 2.6%.

Third reason why only fools or knaves or those who are both could believe it.

There are at most some 35 Christian MPs in Parliament or about one-sixth of the total Parliamentary strength – a far cry from the two-thirds of 148 MPs out of a total of 222 MPs required to amend the Federal Constitution to establish a Christian state.

Fourth reason why only fools or knaves or those who are both could believe the  lie about a campaign to establish a Christian Malaysia and DAP’s involvement in this campaign.

For the same reasons, mainstream and social media which perpetrated and disseminated these lies and falsehoods are either fools, knaves or both.

Malaysian voters must demonstrate that they are not so easily duped by such lies and falsehoods in the 13th General Election and to be brave and visionary enough to effect the changes in the national political landscape which are necessary to  place the country on a right footing in nation building after five decades of corruption, economic plunder, abuses of power and the divisive politics of race and religion.

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 13 October 2012, 2:05 pm and is filed under
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What Does “Moderate” Mean in Malaysia?

by Azeem Ibrahim

Huffington Post

10/12/2012

There have been a lot of loose definitions of “moderate” Islam in the media recently and in the wake of violent protests throughout the Muslim world, the word is starting to mean simply — non-violent. The deaths in Libya and many other Muslim countries have been a disturbing counterpoint to the hopes aroused by the Arab Spring movement. Peaceful protests have achieved so much more change in the last two years than all the decades of violence in the past, yet extremists still believe they can achieve their agenda by continuing to murder innocent civilians. Violence is their only way of remaining relevant as they have nothing else to offer.

Malaysia is often referred to as a moderate Islamic country, as it is mainly peaceful, prosperous and law-abiding. A predominantly Muslim country with vocal and distinct minority populations of Indian and Chinese origin, peaceful change has taken place over the last twenty years without violent extremism. It may be because the government has kept a tight hold on the country with the emergency law and regulations adopted in 1957 to maintain political order and stability when Malaysia was emerging from the communist insurgency. These laws stayed in place until very recently and have been used to respond to any movement that was considered prejudicial to national security. Today, the question arises of whether such laws provide security or whether they have become a liability. In September, 2011 the increasingly controversial Internal Security Act (ISA) of 1960 was repealed and in November, 2011, the government finally lifted three existing emergency proclamations, rendering void the unpopular Emergency Public Order and Prevention of Crime Ordinance of 1969.

However, civil rights groups are expressing dissatisfaction with the new legislation which replaces the archaic repealed laws; Hasmy Agam, the Chief Commissioner of the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia has spoken out against the new legislation for failing to meet international human rights standards. Many see the proposed Peaceful Assembly Bill as placing further curbs on civil liberties by restricting street demonstrations and the new Security Offences Act is simply “the New ISA.” The much vaunted relaxation of media restrictions is also being criticized as an inadequate half-measure.

Another reform that many see as long overdue is Malaysia’s affirmative action policy, where Malays have been given preference over the decades. Very successful at bringing education and economic opportunity to ethnic Muslim Malaysians, the policy is now being seen as culturally divisive and open to corruption. The present government has rejected calls for reform as the policy has helped maintain their electoral advantage for over twenty years.

Malaysia is ranked in 20th position in the 2012 Global Peace Index issued by the Institute for Economics and Peace. The second highest Muslim nation in the ranking, outdone only by Qatar, Malaysia’s tranquility has been achieved by a stable though autocratic democracy. If Malaysia has indeed truly achieved maturity, the challenge now is to grant more civil rights and freedoms to a diverse population where 40 percent are non-Muslim. Malaysia’s Constitution calls for the rights of all to practice their faith in peace and harmony but, increasingly, today the ideal of religious tolerance is being threatened by what many see as the “Arabization” of Malaysian Islam.

Malaysia has traditionally been pragmatic and even liberal about such issues as apostasy, and viewed Sharia courts as dealing with a narrow range of family matters for Muslims, and not having the power to dictate a citizen’s relationship to the state. But recent surveys of Malay attitudes show that a majority think of themselves as Muslims first and Malaysians second and want the state to become more Islamic.

This, in turn, is threatening the concept of Malaysian nationalism and national unity, which Prime Minister Razak is attempting to achieve through his 1Malaysia concept. It will be just window-dressing if conservative views are protected and racial relations and religious liberties are sabotaged by extremism.

Najib Razak presents himself as a reformer on a mission to modernize Malaysia. But the reality is that Malaysians want more than window dressing as the time gets closer to the next election. With the country going into full campaign mode, the rifts in philosophy are becoming clearer, the dirty tricks dirtier and the opposition party under Anwar Ibrahim’s leadership is becoming more popular.

Malaysia will always be a multi-cultural, multi-religious country and, hopefully, its Muslim population will always practice a moderate and non-violent form of Islam. Increasingly, it looks as if Anwar Ibrahim will be the visionary and principled leader Malaysia needs to safeguard this for the future.

Dr. Azeem Ibrahim is the Executive Chairman of The Scotland Institute and a Fellow and Member of the Board of Directors at the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding.

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 13 October 2012, 10:01 pm and is filed under
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A re-look at the Malaysia Education Blueprint

– Hussaini Abdul Karim

The Malaysian Insider

Oct 13, 2012

OCT 13 – It is only natural for parents to demand the best for their children. More so now that parents of the noughties are generally better informed, more knowledgeable and are more educated when compared to those of the 80’s, 70’s, 60’s or earlier.

Likewise, the government of Malaysia also demands the best from its people, the best of everything.

Therefore, it is only logical if the government provides the best in order for them to get the best. Our country is blessed with abundant natural resources, a stable economy, peace, prosperity and harmony, among others. The better the people (human capital) the better our country will be in terms of progress, economy and development. The provision of quality education and if accompanied by the necessary and complete infrastructure combined with having good teachers and trainers, will ensure us a continuous supply of the right human capital. So, providing quality education should be made a priority in any country to produce the best people. That includes our country Malaysia.

Parents send their children to schools not just because the laws require them to do so and they also do not send their children to schools just for the sake of sending them to schools. I am referring to the larger majority. Most parents, if not all, want their children to get a decent education and to go as high as possible, up to university level for a first degree, if not further.

Prior to the 70’s, we had English national schools and our people’s command of English language is as good as the best in all Commonwealth countries. Many proceeded to do their degrees in the United Kingdom, the US, Australia, Canada and New Zealand either by the government or as private students and they had no problems with language whatsoever.

Now, Malaysian students wishing to study in those countries need to take a language qualification examination before they can be accepted or they need to undergo a special English language programme before they are allowed to proceed with their university studies unless of course if they already have the Cambridge GCE ‘O’ or ‘A’ levels or equivalent.

In spite of that many who returned after completing their studies, except those who had their secondary school education in English, still cannot communicate in the language well. As a result, they fail to secure jobs and remain unemployed and they join the many local graduates who are jobless and some of them for as long as three years.

In a report by Malaysian Insider as shown here: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/young-and-jobless-malaysian-grads-a-rm500m-strain-on-taxpayers/ it is stated that Malaysia’s mushrooming local higher education institutions churned out a total of 184,581 graduates last year according to the latest statistics released by the Higher Education Ministry and out of that, 44,391 graduates or 24 per cent are unemployed and according to the Deputy Human Resource Minister Datuk Maznah Mazlan as at May this year, a total of 76,200 graduates are currently unemployed for various reasons and one of them is their inability to communicate in English.

Since national schools switched from English language to Bahasa Malaysia as the medium of instruction in the 70’s, the use of English dropped drastically and, needless to say, the standard also dropped drastically too.

In his letter, ‘ENGLISH: All to lose by depriving them’ by Hassan Talib of Gombak, Selangor (NST Friday, 12 October 2012) he wrote, among others, “Many employers lament that a large number of foreign graduates has a problem with the English language. They may have good grades, but in the working world, paper qualifications mean nothing if it is not complemented with fluent English communication skill.

The authorities may not realise the volcano and earthquake they are creating among graduates who are weak in English and unable to compete on a level playing field.

English is the way forward in education, business, commerce, international relations, negotiations and literature. The British left us a good English language legacy. Many countries that were not colonised by the British are envious for want of the English language.

We have it, yet we don’t want to use it. Once upon a time, our English proficiency was on a par with any English-speaking Commonwealth country. Today, our students have to sit a special English examination to be admitted to any American or British university.

As Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has mentioned many times, we should not politicise education for the sake of future generations.

Many analysts have also suggested, in echoing what the PM said that Malaysia’s dream of boosting the standard through an ambitious overhaul of the national school system will not happen for as long as politicians continue to be involved in drawing up its policies.

As a testimony of the bad situation it was reported recently that some officers serving with the Foreign Service Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, some based in our embassies or commissions in English speaking countries, whose command of the language are not up to the mark and that has prompted the ministry to conduct special English language classes for their officers.

Yes, English language is still taught in national schools but it’s too little to be effective enough so much so that many students and teachers do not give any care or attention to it at all.

Many people tried to make serious attempts to check the slide and that includes our former Prime Minister, TDM in advocating English language as the language for science and technology, which is also what is accepted universally, who did not want our students to be left behind introduced the PPSMI policy which was implemented in 2003 however, after he resigned in 2003, and Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi took over as the Prime Minister, and after the political tsunami of 2008 which saw the ruling coalition losing many ‘sure’ seats and due to some political differences, decided that PPSMI is not suitable for national schools and thus, many announcements from the Ministry of Education (MoE) were made stating that it would be abolished since then. Finally, the Minister of Education made an announcement on 8 July 2009 that PPSMI will be totally abolished in 2012. That was a very big blow not only for PAGE and parents nationwide who did not have the opportunity to be represented through PAGE, but also the children.

“Outraged as parents may be as that tantamount to regressing the journey of our children’s education, it was a decision that all must live with for the moment,” says PAGE.

Before that, many appeals were made by concerned citizens, including an NGO known as Parent Action Group for Education (PAGE) which has a former management accountant and a Certified Financial Planner turned fulltime housewife, Datin Noor Azimah Rahim, as their president and which was officially set up on 13 September 2008 with their main objective to get PPSMI re-instated in national schools.

Noor Azimah studied in Britain before she returned to start a career in the financial sector including a stint with Bank Negara Malaysia first as an administrative officer, and then as an executive assistant to an adviser in the Governor’s Office, in Bank Negara. PAGE ‘s mission is ‘To provide a platform for parents’ feedback on educational issues and enable its transmission to the Ministry of Education’. Since they were formed, they did everything possible that they could do but unfortunately they still failed to get the government to change their stand. PAGE hasn’t given up with their fight yet.

PAGE holds strongly the notion that children who have potential to excel must NOT in any way be impeded by those who may need a bit more coaching.

A new programme called ‘Memartabatkan Bahasa Malaysia dan Memperkukuhkan Bahasa Inggeris (MBMMBI) has since last year been introduced to replace PPSMI.

The ‘fight’ however, did not stop there and it will go on indefinitely and now the people, including those outside PAGE, are not only fighting for the re-instatement of PPSMI or to introduce PPSMI schools, they are also fighting for the re-introduction of English medium schools or to introduce an integrated national school or retain national schools but get MOE to increase the number of subjects taught in English to enhance the MBMMBI programme. Subjects taught in Bahasa Malaysia and English language must each be given equal content and equal number of hours taught for MBMMBI to become more effective, i.e. 50% for Bahasa Malaysia and subjects taught in Bahasa and 50% for English language and subjects taught in English. They are calling for the Education Blueprint to be revised and to those said demands included.

“Our students are far behind” says the headline of a report in a local mainstream Malay tabloid on 6th October 2012 and, “The ministry plans to place emphasis on three important aspects, thinking skills, IT and communications,” the report continued.

According the Deputy Education Minister Dr Mohd Puad Zarkarshi in the same report, based on the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) report, Malaysia is placed 55 out of 77 countries and we are far behind Singapore, Hong Kong and China and as a consolation, we are still ahead of Indonesia. He looks as if, based on the photo caption that accompanied the report, he is happy about it and happy also that we are still ahead of Indonesia. However, personally, I believe, if we are not careful and changes and/or improvements on our education policies and systems are not forthcoming soon, we will be behind Indonesia. Is that what he is waiting for before something drastic is done? Why Indonesia? Why not use Singapore, Hong Kong and China or Finland, as the benchmark?

Countries compete for the international economic pie and want to be seen that they are not only just stronger economically than their neighbours and rivals; they must also be seen to be stronger and superior in many other aspects. At the least, they must be ahead and more advanced in technology, productivity, stability, among others and the most important factor for a country to remain ahead of their neighbours and rivals, I think, is to have superior human capital. The future standard of our human capital entering the workforce Malaysia, now languishing at the 55th position out of 77th, definitely isn’t!

Looking at the Malaysia Education Blueprint 2013 – 2025 again, and in particular at the list of names of the National Education Panel members and the list of names of the National Review Panel members, both list shown below, which are very impressive indeed, who conducted the National Education Dialogue and tasked to look into improving the National Education Policy, the advisors, both local and international, and when I try to associate the Blueprint with them, this question always lingers on my mind: “Is that the best that they can come out with?”

They are amongst the best brains in the country to review and improve on our education system.

Individually, I believe, each and every one of the respective and highly respected panel members mentioned above can come out with an excellent blueprint that is better than the Malaysia Education Blueprint 2013 – 2025 but together, they should be able to come out with the best, going by international standard even. Therefore, the answer to my question above is, “No!”

I have spoken to some of the key figures from both panels myself, including two of the members of the international review panel, and I am disappointed to know that that their advice is not heeded upon.

The question is, “What happened to all of the more pertinent and important points that they must have raised after debating them but are not in the Malaysia Education Blueprint 2013 2025? Also, what happened to the more important and pertinent proposals submitted by the members of the public at the 16 Townhall sessions of the National Education Dialogue that commenced in April and ended in July?

Dato’ Johan Jaffar’s article in his regular NST Saturday column said, “How, I wonder, can anyone learn a language without understanding its grammar? Yet, according to the Minister of Education, “grammar” as we understand it, has not been taught in school for many years.”

Language learning should begin by making students excited and interested. Language is dynamic. It is alive and kicking. Great stories are told in beautifully crafted words. Wordsmiths are the geniuses of civilisation. They make us love the language. We admire their works for that.

To achieve that, they have to write well. Even if we can’t be like them at least we can use language to communicate effectively or at least write simple sentences to express our thoughts and views. It all begins with grammar.

Read more: Teaching English, and grammar, the old way – Columnist – New Straits Times http://www.nst.com.my/opinion/columnist/teaching-english-and-grammar-the-old-way-1.153132#ixzz28cWIdJZP

Hassan Talib of Gombak, Selangor in his letter, ‘ENGLISH: All to lose by depriving them’ (NST ‘Letters’ Oct 12, 2012) says that, “IT is a pity the authorities concerned refuse to accept the declining standard of English.

They still believe that the issue of English is not a matter of life and death. They think we can still attain educational excellence without English.

Many organisations and individuals have voiced their concern, but it has fallen on deaf ears. The authorities feel what they are doing is for the good of others. Therefore, they introduce so-called pragmatic measures by pouring in millions of ringgit with no concrete results to show.

Students suffer in silence.

The authorities may not realise the volcano and earthquake they are creating among graduates who are weak in English and unable to compete on a level playing field.

English is the way forward in education, business, commerce, international relations, negotiations and literature. The British left us a good English language legacy. Many countries that were not colonised by the British are envious for want of the English language.

We have it, yet we don’t want to use it. Once upon a time, our English proficiency was on a par with any English-speaking Commonwealth country. Today, our students have to sit a special English examination to be admitted to any American or British university.

As Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has mentioned many times, we should not politicise education for the sake of future generations.

Read more: http://www.nst.com.my/mobile/opinion/letters-to-the-editor/english-all-to-lose-by-depriving-them-1.155803

There are many strong and excellent arguments already made during the past many years by education experts (both local and foreign), parents and students, in support of English language and I do not need to mention any of them again here and they are more than enough to convince anyone on the importance of English language.

I know, language nationalists, including among them some very senior university dons, some of our country’s top scholars, some top civil servants and some local, famous literary figures and some people on-the-street, not to mention many politicians from both sides of the divide, will continue to throw cold water on any plans, proposals, suggestions or ideas whenever the subject of English language is mentioned and let me plead with all of them to put aside sentiments or whatever personal agendas they may have and to think more of the country and the young people in national schools and the coming generations of Malaysians who are our future. Being placed 55 out of 77 countries by PISA is a disgrace when we know that we have the potential to be very much better, being placed in the top ten countries even.

Many of those language nationalists I know had their early and higher education in English and some studied for their 1st, 2nd and their doctoral degrees in English at overseas universities and I believe some of their sons and daughters too did and are doing the same thing but for them to go against using English in our national schools is only very peculiar and very selfish of them.

After 40 years of enduring failure (and shame), will the next 40 years, if the same policies, programmes, syllabus and systems still prevail, improve the standard and make us one of the best in the world?

There are no Malaysian public universities in the top 400 of the Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings 2012 – 13 report. How do the people who hold the power and the authority in dictating where our education would lead us to feel about this?

The Ministry of High Education (MOHE) has taken the initiative, as an effort to check the slide in the standard of English among graduates, has come up with an English language programme meant for students entering university known as “English for Employment” to meet the requirements of the working world under a new system which classifies students according to their levels of competency.

The whole programme known as “English for Specific Discipline” will be conducted in three tiers – English for Employment, Intensive English and General English, as formulated by the Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE).

The responsibility to ‘supply’ students who meet with the all the public universities minimum requirements, including meeting the minimum standard for English language set, falls on the shoulders of schools but with the national education policy not putting much emphasis on the subject, they are unable to do so not because they did not want to but because of the constraints placed by the Ministry of Education. Therefore, the MOHE has kindly started the initiative mentioned but this surely cannot go on indefinitely and MOE has to perform their responsibilities without giving any excuses at all anymore.

I have met their Director General Higher Education Department, Professor Datuk Dr Rujhan Mustafa and some members of the Council of Deans (English language) where I suggested some improvements to the programme which I am pleased to state here that they were accepted and will be implemented.

The country changed the national education policy about 40 years ago switching from English to Bahasa Malaysia and we all can see that the results and the implications are not impressive at all. No one can deny that and statistics do not lie. Give another 40 years without making that change, I think, we will be the worst in the world and we will be below Indonesia even knowing that they themselves have embarked on enhancing and increasing the use and the teaching of English in their schools, colleges and universities.

The government has put in place a very deeply thought-out, thoroughly studied and impressive Economic (ETP) and the Government Transformation Plans (GTP) to make our country a fully developed one by 2020, to be a country with 1st World status and to get our people to enjoy a high income. In order to achieve all the ETP and the GTP objectives, our own human capital must be prepared, taught and trained so that they can be fully depended upon to achieve all the objectives. We surely do not want foreigners to be the ones whom we want to depend on to achieve those objectives.

Everyone in the country sees the problem and wants to improve on it, except the government, most unfortunately.

It was reported by Jakarta Post recently that Indonesia will stop teaching English in all public schools from next year but this must not be used as a criteria to support the government’s move in not adding the number of subjects to be taught in English to enhance the MBMMBI policy. Indonesia has more than 240 million people, more than nine times our population, and with that sheer number and size of their country which is very much bigger than ours, they can survive just with Bahasa Indonesia alone but still, can they be a fully developed country and a country with 1st World Status with the majority of their people not knowing any foreign language, in particular English?

(Read here: http://www.economywatch.com/in-the news/indonesian-government-wants-primary- schools-to-stop-teaching-english.12-10.html)

We Malaysia want to be fully a developed country, a country with 1st World and the people to enjoy a high-income economy by 2020 therefore, we must know English language, at least, and it would be better if our people also know some other foreign languages such as Mandarin, Arabic, French, Spanish or German, for example.

At an open dialogue on the Malaysia Education Blueprint 2013-2025 preliminary report at the Kuala Lumpur Urban Transformation Centre, Pudu Sentral here on Saturday 6th October 2012, Education Deputy Director General (Education Policy and Development Sector) Dr Amin Senin said participants were concerned about the quality of teaching method, syllabus and proficiency of English teachers in teaching the language.

“To allay parents and guardians’ fears, the quality of English language teaching should be improved to ensure that students can master the language,” he told reporters after the dialogue.

Amin, who is a panel member, said the input and feedback would be brought to a special committee chaired Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, who is also the Minister of Education, for scrutiny.

“If the proposals and feedback can lead to an improvement in the quality of education, we are willing to incorporate them in the report,” he said.

What the Education Deputy Director General said above has been said many times before and I do not think the minister will change his stand. He also said that another dialogue would be held at the same venue on a date to be announced later following requests from stakeholders for a bigger hall to be provided for the discussion to accommodate more participants.

Similar dialogues will be held at the Johor Education Department, Johor Baharu, the Kelantan Trade Centre, Kota Baharu (both on Oct 13), Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang (later this month), Kuching and Suria Sabah, Jalan Pantai, Kota Kinabalu (both on Oct 20). MOE can organise as many dialogue sessions as they wish but without the will, commitment and stamina of the government and the minister himself to institute the changes, the people who have said so much and who will repeat, if asked to, what they have said, regardless how many times they do it, nothing will change.

I am not suggesting that our national language, Bahasa Malaysia, be relegated second to English language, we can always have policies, plans, programmes and syllabus placing Bahasa Malaysia at the top most, followed by English and vernacular languages and this will make our students bilingual, if not tri-lingual and at least, with their command of both languages, or all three languages, equally good.

Concerned citizens, all stakeholders, including parents, students, teachers, civil servants, professionals and non-professionals, the private sector, people from all walks of life, etc. are all together in this and we hope the government is not out of touch with us and preferring instead to resort to political decisions only.

Our education standard can be better than or at least as good as Singapore, Hong Kong and China or Finland.

Let us, the people, be allowed to contribute more to the country and let us know more than just Bahasa Malaysia well. That’s the only way we can do that. By just being good in one language only our efforts can be too limited and we may not be able to do more which we are capable of if given the opportunity.

With the level of English for the past 20 years in our national schools, public colleges and public universities having dropped to a very low level and the general standard of our education level rated to be amongst the worst in the world, we need to make a drastic change now and like it or not, while we keep using Bahasa Malaysia in schools, mastering English language is the way to get us out of the rut.

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 14 October 2012, 9:45 am and is filed under
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Can MACC recover from the disastrous setback of being exposed as  among the most inept and incompetent anti-corruption agencies  in the world?

There continues to be widespread disbelief and questions galore about the highly-publicized exoneration of Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman of corruption in connection with the seizure of S$16 million (RM40 million) cash and arrest of Sabah businessman Michael Chia at the Hong Kong International Airport on August 14, 2008 for money trafficking and laundering before boarding a flight bound for Kuala Lumpur.

It was earlier reported that Hong Kong’s Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) found that the money was earmarked for Musa and were part of more funds being deposited into a Swiss bank account containing US$30 million allegedly being held in trust for the Sabah Chief Minister by a lawyer.

If what the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz said in his parliamentary reply is true, that investigation papers submitted to the Attorney-General by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) show that the  RM40 million a Sabah businessman was caught with in trying to smuggle into Malaysia from Hong Kong were political contributions to the state Umno and not for Chief Minister Musa Aman and that “no element of corruption was proven”, two immediate questions arise:

1.	Why did the MACC submit investigation papers to the Attorney-General for decision when “no element of corruption was proven”; and

2.	Why has  the MACC taken more than four years to discover that it has no case of corruption against Musa Aman?

Both these questions lead to a third question:

3.	Can MACC recover from the disastrous setback of being exposed as among the most inept and incompetent anti-corruption agencies  in the world – taking more than four years to discover that the  RM40 million smuggled Hong Kong foreign laundered fund was not meant for Musa Aman but for Sabah UMNO?

It is most pathetic that MACC, which had just hosted the 6th International Association of Anti-Corruption Authorities (IAACA) Conference and general meeting has allowed itself to be made an international fool as in other countries, the head of the anti-corruption agency would have resigned in protest at such indignity and public shame.

But these are not the only questions swirling among Malaysians the past three days over the bizarre tale of the foreign laundered money in Singapore currency amounting to RM40 million which had to be smuggled out of Hong Kong into Malaysia, and which Sabah UMNO has claimed ownership to exonerate Musa Aman, especially after the refusal by the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak to reveal the identity of the donor of the RM40 million smuggled laundered foreign funds!

But what needs no question is the fact that the greatest casualty of the caper of the RM40 million smuggled foreign laundered money at the Hong Kong International Airport four years ago is none other than Najib’s Government Transformation Programme to combat corruption and with it, the MACC.

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 14 October 2012, 5:37 pm and is filed under
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Hasan Ali’s umbrage over PAS-DAP ties

— The Malaysian Insider

Oct 14, 2012

OCT 14 — There are many out there who fear the Islamist PAS working together with the secular DAP. To the point that PAS is seen as abandoning its Islamist roots while DAP is accused of either being very Christian or trying to help PAS implement an Islamic state.

That didn’t work in 1999 when both parties worked together in the Barisan Alternatif that floundered over the Islamic state concept. In Election 2008, they agreed not to contest against each other and PKR, and their success led to the formation of the Pakatan Rakyat (PR).

Among those in the happy group then was Datuk Dr Hasan Ali. Well, he isn’t there now after being sacked last January by PAS.

This past week, he has criticised Datuk Nik Aziz Nik Mat, the PAS spiritual leader and Kelantan Mentri Besar, over the latter’s comments about cooperating with DAP. Others who have supported such cooperation include PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang.

But Hasan’s ire was directed at Nik Aziz and other PAS leaders whom he called “parasites”. Yet, at the heart of his umbrage is an underlying racism and chauvinism. And that Muslims and non-Muslims should not cooperate.

It is incredible that such a notion still exists almost 50 years after Malaysia was formed, and 55 years of Merdeka for Malaya. Wasn’t the country’s independence based on cooperation between all races? Wasn’t PR victory in 2008 due to such cooperation too?

Perhaps, Hasan recognises the value of such cooperation and realises that it can knock out his former nemesis, Barisan Nasional (BN). Perhaps he wants BN to take back Selangor and rub PR noses into the ground for rejecting him and his ideas.

Beyond the politics of it, it is just reprehensible that we have Malaysian politicians who believe that Muslims and non-Muslims should not cooperate with each other. Malaysians must not tolerate such ideas and tell off those who believe that this manner of thinking is correct.

Malaysia is a country for all, a country where all Malaysians cooperate no matter what race or religion. People like Hasan need to know this before mouthing off and criticising those who work together despite having different faiths. That is true unity.

Hasan can joust all he wants with his former party colleagues but he shouldn’t do it at the expense of Malaysia and Malaysians. We have come a long way as a nation and as a people who work together and should not be undermined by those who feel people of different faiths should not cooperate.

If anything, Malaysians should show people like Hasan the door if he decides to stand for elections again.

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 14 October 2012, 9:25 pm and is filed under
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Jangan was-was, lakukanlah perubahan

— Aspan Alias

The Malaysian Insider

October 14, 2012

Okt 14 — Rasa tidak terdaya untuk membaca dan mengulas tentang isu-isu yang mengelilingi politik negara. Seperti mana yang saya sebut selalu kebanyakan isu yang ditimbulkan ialah isu rasuah yang besar yang berlaku dalam pentadbiran kerajaan yang dipimpin UMNO kini. Saya tetap akan terus menerus bercakap tentang rasuah ini kerana rasuah adalah kerja yang sangat hina dan ia boleh menjahanamkan sebuah negara. Sebelum ia menjahanamkan negara elok rakyat bertindak dengan kesatuan yang kuat kerana perasuah ini bukan mudah untuk dihapuskan.

Usaha menghapuskan rasuah ini memerlukan kerjasama yang rapat di antara semua pihak dan rakyat keseluruhannya kerana kehancuran terhadap negara itu akan pasti sampai jika rasuah yang keterlaluan ini tidak dibendung. Perjuangan ini merupakan perjuangan yang panjang dan memakan masa yang lama, tetapi langkah permulaan wajar berlaku sekarang kerana jika usaha ini ditangguh-tangguhkan ia akan menjadi barah yang susah untuk dikawal.

Perjuangan melawan rasuah ini memerlukan permuafakatan yang jitu dari rakyat semua kaum dan juga dari parti-parti politik serta setiap individu-individu yang sedar tentang bahayanya rasuah ini dibendung. Maka samada terdaya atau pun tidak, kita harus ke depan dan memerangi rasuah ini habis-habisan melalui cara yang halal dan dibenarkan oleh perundangan negara kita.

Banyak pihak telah membuat teguran dan desakan untuk pimpinan sekarang ini melakukan pembersihan terhadap rasuah ini kerana UMNO merupakan parti yang memimpin negara kita. Namun semua desakan itu tidak pergi ke mana, malahan rasuah berkembang dengan begitu menjolok mata sehinggakan kita semua tidak tahan lagi untuk bersabar.

Rasuah sudah menjadi mainan kepada pimpinan hari ini. Rasuah dilakukan oleh mereka seperti makan sarapan harian. Tidak ada rasa malu dan tidak merasa bersalah terhadap rakyat yang memberikan mereka mandat. Oleh kerana amalan buruk ini sudah berlaku begitu lama ianya sudah bersarang di dalam pentadbiran kerajaan hari ini. Tidak siapa yang mahu melakukan kerja tanpa mendapat habuan secara rasuah.

Itu sebabnya saya dan ramai yang lain mahukan pembenterasan rasuah ini dilakukan secara politik. Kenapa secara politik? Kerana ahli dan parti politik yang diberi mandatlah yang menyebabkan rasuah ini berluas-luasa. Menteri-menteri tidak tahu tugas dan tanggungjawab mereka lagi. Menteri-menteri sepatutnya duduk di pejabat untuk memantau perlakuan pelaksana ia itu penjawat awam yang melaksanakan tanggungjawab mereka. Menteri-menterinya wajar memelihara kebersihan kementerian mereka daripada rasuah. Itu tugas mereka sebenarnya.

Tetapi menteri-menterinya pula yang bersekongkol dengan perasuah malahan menteri-menteri pula yang memberikan perlindungan terhadap penjawat awam di bawah mereka untuk kepentingan bersama yang menjijikkan itu. Apabila menteri-menteri ini bersama-sama ‘mencari makan tambahan’ ini bersekongkol dengan perasuah itu maka menteri-menteri ini tidak lagi dihormati oleh penjawat awam di bawah kementerian masing-masing dan mereka bebas untuk melakukan kerja hina ini terang-terangan.

Kerja-kerja ini sudah berlaku begitu lama sehinggakan ramai di antara penjawat awam yang bersih dari rasuah ini tidak lagi bersama dengan parti yang sedang memerintah. Banyak usaha dilakukan oleh berbagai-bagai pihak untuk membawa kes-kes ini kemuka pengadilan, tetapi ada pula yang mempertahankannya dari jabatan perundangan negara itu sendiri.

“Attorney-General” sendiri mengambil sikap melindungi mereka yang rasuah ini dengan memilih-memilih kes yang melibatkan mereka yang berkuasa. Yang ini dibawa ke depan, dan yang ini NFA (no further action) dan tidak dihadapkan ke mahkamah. Masing-masing yang besar-besar dalam kerajaan bekerjasama untuk melindungi rasuah yang dilakukan oleh pemimpin-pemimpin besar negara.

Rasuah sudah menjadi sebati sehinggakan tidak ada siapa yang boleh mengambil tindakan kepada sesiapa kerana yang patut mengambil tindakan ini juga sedang dipersoalkan kewibawaan mereka. AG Ghani Patail sendiri mempunyai stigma yang buruk. Bagaimana beliau boleh masih kekal dengan jawatan yang penting itu. Pendeknya tidak ada siapa lagi di dalam “regim” hari ini boleh dipercayai untuk menjaga rakyat dan negara ini dengan baik dan sempurna.

Itulah sebabnya ramai rakyat merasakan yang ‘gerombolan’ ini patut dinyahkan dari kuasa. Sebagai rakyat yang mahukan keamanan kita tidak mahu memilih untuk melakukan kekerasan seperti apa yang berlaku di negara-negara arab sekarang ini. Kita sudah ada cara yang sesuai untuk menukar kerajaan tanpa kekerasan.

Kita mengambil pilihanraya sebagai tempat dan premis untuk menukar wajah negara kita di zaman kemajuan ini. Apa yang perlu dilakukan ialah dengan memberikan mandat kepada pihak lain untuk menjaga negara dan rakyat selama lima tahun yang akan datang.

Sekarang ini kita melihat rakyat sudah bangkit dan mahukan perubahan ini dilakukan segera dan PRU13 inilah masanya untuk melakukannya. Jika pakatan baru ini tidak menjalankan tugas seperti yang diharapkan rakyat akan kembali membuat perubahan di masa depan. Di sini kita dapat menekankan yang rakyatlah yang berkuasa dengan sebenarnya, bukannya Najib, Mahathir atau sesiapa.

Tetapi apa yang kita lihat sekarang ini, jika tidak ada apa yang saya selalu sebut sebagai “legal cheating” dilakukan oleh pihak UMNO dan BN pertukaran kerajaan tidak akan dapat dibendung lagi. Itulah sebabnya PM Najib dan seluruh kepimpinan hari ini merasakan bahang perubahan ini. Gerombolan ini sedang berusaha mempertahan kuasa yang ada hari ini dengan menabur fitnah dan selalu mengatakan yang PR tidak akan boleh memimpin dengan ‘baik’ seperti BN.

Saya selalu berkata. “The worst of Pakatan Rakyat is a lot better than the best of BN.” Tidak ada yang terbaik kerana yang terbaik itu bukan sifat manusia. Yang terbaik hanya sifat yang Maha Kuasa dan RasulNya.

Itu sebabnya Tuhan adakan dosa dan pahala kerana manusia diduga dengan kenikmatan dan keburukan. Apabila tubuh kita sudah terbujur roh kita tidak mati. Ia akan menghadap Tuhan semesta alam ini untuk ditimbang semua kerja baik dan buruk semasa hayat kita.

Buat kali ini kita perlu melakukan perubahan itu tanpa was-was.

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 14 October 2012, 10:17 am and is filed under
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AG report: Top marks to Pakatan states

Syed Jaymal Zahiid | October 15, 2012

Free Malaysia Today

The 2011 Auditor-General’s report showed that apart from a few minor glitches, all four states showed good financial standing.

KUALA LUMPUR: The 2011 Auditor-General’s report indicates good fiscal management by all four Pakatan Rakyat-controlled states with revenues improving.

DAP-held Penang led the way in terms of revenue collection, recording a RM192.19 million or 46.8% increase compared with the RM410.70 million made in 2010 while Selangor, Malaysia’s richest state, increased by RM62.50 million or 4% for the same period.

Kedah, on the other hand, saw its surplus drop when it recorded an increase in operating expenditures despite boosting its revenue, but the report noted that the PAS-led state government had more or less maintained a “satisfactory” balance sheet.

But the rice-bowl state, considered as one of the country’s poorest, is still far from achieving its debt target, said the report.

“The state government’s commitment to the remaining public debt now stands at RM2.60 billion compared with RM2.61 billion in 2010; it is still high,” it read, adding that Kedah must do more to improve its revenue collection.

Oil-rich Kelantan, too, was rated satisfactory due to the increase in its consolidated fund by RM86.17 million or 58.1% to RM234.47 million as compared with the RM148.30 million recorded in 2010.

The PAS-conrolled-state also saw investments in 2011 increase by RM95 million from RM16.33 million in 2010 to RM111.33 million in 2011.

The state’s overall financial performance statement, whereby revenue as compared to total management and development expenditures for 2011, recorded an increase from total deficit of RM171.70 million in 2010 to RM141.53 million in 2011.

But the AG report highlighted poor debt management by Kelantan.

“Public debts increased by RM27.85 million from RM1.11 billion in 2010 to RM1.14 billion in 2011. The arrears of debts repayment to the federal government also increased from RM121.57 million in 2010 to RM179.81 million in 2011″.

Meanwhile, the report noted marked improvements in the performance of state agencies with most rated “excellent” compared to 2010, although it recommended Kelantan and Kedah to provide more training for its officers to improve.

Selangor and Penang were praised for their initiatives to bolster their financial management performance.

                This entry was posted on Monday, 15 October 2012, 5:37 pm and is filed under
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Hard To Be Part of the Solution When You Are Part of the Problem

M. Bakri Musa

The Havoc Education Reform Inflicts: Education Blueprint 2013-2025 (Part 5)

[In the first three essays I critiqued the Blueprint’s recommendations:  specifically its failure to recognize the diversity within our school system and thus the need to have targeted programs; the challenge of recruiting quality teachers; and the link between efficiency, efficacy, and quality.  Part Four discussed the report’s deficiencies.  This last essay focuses on the very process of reform, or how to do a better job of it.]

The greatest weakness of this reform effort is its exclusive dependence on in-house or MOE staff, the very personnel responsible for the current rot with our schools.  These individuals have been part of the problem for far too long; they cannot now be expected suddenly and magically to be part of the solution.  That would take an exceptional ability to be flexible, innovative, and have the willingness or at least capacity to learn.  Those are the very traits not valued in or associated with our civil service.

            The Blueprint’s local consultants included Air Asia’s Tony Fernandez, Khazanah’s Azman Mokthar, and Sunway’s Jeffrey Cheah, presumably representing the three major communities.  These individuals are terribly busy.  Unless they took time off from their considerable corporate responsibilities, they could not possibly do justice to this important national assignment.

            The international consultants were equally impressive.  Again here I wonder how much time they actually spent talking to teachers, students and headmasters.  Another significant flaw is this:  With the possible exception of the Canadian, the others are from systems not burdened with the Malaysian dilemma of low educational achievements identifiable with specific ethnic or geographical groups.  In Ontario, Canada, only the Toronto School System which is separate from the provincial has significant experience with the “Malaysian” problem. The Canadian is with the provincial system.

            Many of those impressive consultants were conspicuously absent during the many public sessions leading one to conclude that they were more window dressing.

            As for the public meetings, there were few formal or well thought-out presentations.  Far too often those meetings quickly degenerated into “bitch” sessions, or to put it into local lingo, cakap kosong kopi-o (coffee shop empty talk), with a few vociferous and frustrated individuals hogging the discussions.  Worse, there were no records of those hearings for preview, except for those amateurish low-quality recordings posted on Youtube.  Consequently, opportunities for learning from those sessions were minimal.

            The reform has its own website (myedureview.com) and uses the social media (Facebook and Twitter) extensively.  Those dialogues in cyberspace were no better; the comments were un-moderated and simply the spouting of anger and frustrations.  As for the few serious ones, the panel never engaged their contributors.  The cyber forums, like the public hearings, gave few insights; the signal-to-noise ratio was low.  There was no shortage of passion and strong views, reflecting the angst Malaysians have of their school system.

A Superior Approach

There is a better approach.  To begin with, dispense with the current or past personnel of MOE; they are or have been part of the problem.  Consider that the most consequential reform in medical education, The Flexner Report of 1910 was produced not by a doctor or even an educator but an insurance salesman!  It still is the foundation of modern American medical education. In Malaysia, the Razak Report of 1956 transformed Malaysian education, yet its author was no educator or teacher.

            The only qualification I seek in those undertaking reform would be a respectable education (meaning, they have earned rather than bought their degrees), a proven record of success in any endeavor, and the necessary commitment, especially time, intellect, and energy.  Meaning, these individuals would have to take a sabbatical from their regular duties.  I would have no more than five members, with one designated as leader.

            Then I would give them a generous budget to hire the best independent professional staff, from clerks to answer the phones efficiently to IT personnel to design and maintain an effective website, to scholars, statisticians and data analysts.  The budget should also provide for travel to visit exemplary school systems elsewhere.  I would also have those panelists spend most of their time talking to students, parents and teachers rather than ministry officials.

            The panel should also have sufficient resources to hire consultants from countries with demonstrably superior school systems.  I would choose two in particular – Finland and America.  Both have sufficient experiences in dealing with children of marginalized communities; Finland with its new immigrants, America its minorities.  Yes, American public schools do not enjoy favorable reputation but there are islands of excellence for us to emulate.

            I would avoid consultants from Korea and other East Asian countries for at least two reasons.  One, they are ethnically and culturally homogenous; they have no experience dealing with diverse groups; the Malaysian dilemma is alien to them.  For another, while the Koreans regularly excel in international comparisons, they do not think highly of their own cram-school-plagued system.  Those who can, avoid it.

            I would also look beyond the advanced countries to, for example Mexico for its Progressa Program, and Rwanda with its ambitious and highly successful One-Laptop-Per-Child (OLPC) scheme.  If poor Rwanda could have such an imaginative initiative, Malaysia could do even more.  Rwanda demonstrates that an enlightened government approach could actually bring down prices.  Rwanda’s computers cost under RM500 per unit!  It could do that because the program is under the management of competent and honest foreign experts, not local inertia-laden bureaucrats and corrupt politicians on the take.  Rwandan leaders are self confident and fully aware that they lack local expertise; they are not hesitant in calling in foreigners and do not worry about being “neo-colonized” or whatever.

            Rwanda offers many other useful lessons.  Foremost is that children from even the most physically and socially challenged environments could leapfrog the technological gap.  That is pertinent for our children in Ulu Kelantan and Interior Sarawak.  For another, reform in the classrooms spills into the wider community, spurring further reforms and developments there.  Those Rwandan children dragged along their parents and grandparents into the digital age.  Those elders are now open to the wider world; consequently they demand more of their leaders, like their villages having electricity so they could use their computers longer.  They view those machines as agents of liberation and emancipation; now they can find out the price of the commodities they sell and the goods they buy directly from the market instead of being captive to the middlemen.

            The only time I would call for ministry’s input is to have the staff enumerate the problems and challenges faced under the current system.  This would also show whether they are indeed aware of those problems and whether their assessments match those of parents.

            I would arrange the public participation component differently and also encourage input from all, individuals as well as groups.  The initial submissions however, would have to be in writing.  That would force presenters to think through their ideas.  For groups I would stipulate that their report be accompanied by an attestation that it had been endorsed by their executive committees or general membership.

            All submissions would be in Malay or English, with a translation in the other language.  For those exceeding 300 words there would have to be an accompanying executive summary not more than 200 words, again in both languages.  All these submissions would be posted on the panel’s website, with readers free to post their comments.  Those comments as well as the original submissions would have to be edited (again by the panel’s professional staff) for clarity, brevity and accuracy, as well as to avoid embarrassing grammatical and spelling errors.  That would lend some gravitas to the website as well as provide useful learning opportunities for those who surf it.  The website as well as other media outlets must reflect the professionalism and excellence of the reform effort.

            One does not get this impression now on reading the Blueprint or perusing the reform’s website.

            The panel would then select from those submissions the few that are worthy for further exploration in an open public hearing.  The purpose of those structured open hearings is to give the panel opportunities to elucidate greater details from the submitters, and for them to expand on their ideas.  Those hearings are not meant to hear from new or on-the-spur commentators.  Such a scheme would effectively cut out the grandstanders.  Again, those proceedings, their transcripts as well as the video and audio recordings, would be posted on the website.

            Only after all the public hearings have been completed would the panel gather to write their final recommendations, with freedom for each member to produce his or her own separate or dissenting comment.  That is the only way to be credible.

            The current process produces nothing more than a sanitized press release of MOE, embellished with the imprimaturs of those impressive corporate and international consultants.

Measures of Success

There are only four reliable indicators of success with education reform, and all are readily measured.  The simplest is to stand at the Johor causeway on any school morning and count the number of school children going south.  Trend those numbers.  If five years hence that number were to dwindle, then you know that Malaysian parents have confidence in their schools.  To be really sophisticated you could factor in the birth rates and other variables.  However, those would not add much.

            Similarly, you could take the train on a Sunday afternoon and count the number of youngsters in Johor heading south for the week to stay with extended families or boarding houses in Singapore to attend schools there.

            Those chauvinistically inclined might be tempted to conclude that regardless how good our schools are, those predominantly Chinese students would still go south.  If that is so, then I have two other trends to monitor.  One, visit the top universities abroad and survey the Malaysians there.  How many (or what percentage) come from our national schools?  In the 1980s I could count many; today, hardly any.  That decline correlated with the deterioration of our national schools.

            Another would be to trend the number of Malaysians enrolled in local international schools.  Now that quotas for local enrollment have been lifted, that number would be inversely related to the level of confidence the elite has of our schools.

            These statistics are easily collected and trended; you do not need fancy “labs” for that.  PEMANDU should assign a junior staff member to collect them.

            Reform must be approached thoughtfully, both with the process and the people selected to lead it.  The full consequence of the changes we put today would not be felt till decades or even generations later.  We are only now realizing and paying the price for the follies of the 1970s.

            As a youngster my father would admonish me whenever I did something sloppily.  Not only had I wasted my effort, he reminded me, now somebody else would have to undo what I had done before he could do it the right way.  Triple the work and effort, essentially.

            These reform efforts consume considerable human, financial and other resources.  They distract everyone, from politicians and ministry bureaucrats to parents, teachers, and most of all the students.

            We have to do it right, beginning by having the right people.

The writer is the author of, among others,
 An Education System Worthy of Malaysia
.

                This entry was posted on Monday, 15 October 2012, 8:04 am and is filed under
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Water  Privatisation, Not ’Piratization’: How It Can work

by Koon Yew Yin

The prolonged conflict involving the Selangor state government, the Federal Government and the privatized company, Syabas, over the management and pricing of water resources may give the impression to Malaysians that there is no way in which any privatized concern and commodity can ever work to the advantage of consumers.  This is a wrong impression.

Privatization can work and the screwing up of public interest or ”piratization” can be avoided. Perhaps the most outstanding example of successful privatization in the water sector comes from Penang.  How this best practice in privatization was implemented is important for our public and policy makers to learn from.

Penang’s Privatization Experience

On 1 March 1999, Perbadanan Bekalan Air Pulau Pinang or PBAPP, was incorporated to replace the Penang Water Authority.  As a holistic and integrated water supply operator, PBAPP’s scope of activities covers the extraction of raw water, treatment of raw water, distribution and supply of treated water, and billing for water supply services. An all encompassing scope of responsibility was one of the three key elements for the successful privatisation and public listing of PBAPP.

This sensible approach ensures that the company manages and controls all key activities related to the water supply and not merely selected processes in the water supply chain. The sorry history of what took place in the case of Selangor in which four separate companies were given concessions to treat and distribute water shows that privatisation of specific components in a utility service will invariably lead to misunderstanding and disputes, and massive leakages.

PBAPP’s corporatisation provided a stepping stone towards public listing.  A new company, PBA Holdings Bhd, or PBAHB, was set up on 25 May 2000 to serve as PBAPP’s holding company.  PBAHB was listed on the Main Board of the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange on 18 April 2002, with PBAPP as its 100% owned subsidiary. In the initial public offering, PBAHB had an authorized share capital of 1,000,000,001 ordinary shares of RM0.50 each and one special  share that may be held only by the State Secretary, Penang (SSI).

The “special share” held only by SSI ensures that major decisions affecting the operations of PBAHB, PBAPP and all other subsidiaries remain consistent with state policies and the public interest.

To meet the public spread and the  Penang  State Government ‘s requirement on the share holding structure, PBAHB  offered  51 million shares at the price of RM 1.30 per share to the Malaysian public on 18 April, 2002.  Beneficiaries of the IPO included eligible employees and retirees of the PBA group of companies, thus giving the workers and management a stake.

In 2002, immediately after the IPO, SSI held 55% of the total share holdings for PBAHB and one special share. The PDC held 10% holdings. The remaining 35% were taken up by institutional investors, the Malaysian public and PBAPP’s employees. The PBA Group’s shareholding spread has remained generally constant until now.

We can see that public share holding represents the second key element for successful privatisation as it compels an organisation to be results- driven and performance – oriented. A listed company also provides a platform for public stakeholder accountability. Customer satisfaction becomes a key factor in corporate performance for a company that operates and serves in the public eye.

State government control represents the third crucial element as it safeguards public interest.  Water supply is an essential service and this mechanism ensures that the consuming public and businesses in the state are provided with a continuous good supply of water and reasonable tariffs.

Penang’s Track Record

 In April 2010 the National Geographic magazine published a comparison of domestic water tariffs charged in cities worldwide.  According to the study, Penang’s domestic water tariffs were amongst the lowest in the world. In fact Penang’s domestic tariffs for consumption of the first 40,000 litres of water per month have not been changed since 1993 during a period in which Penang’s GDP increased by more than 600% in the period 1990-2010.

In other Asian cities- Jakarta, Singapore, Manila, Tokyo, Kuala Lumpur, Hong Kong , Beijing, Macau, Seoul, Vientiane and Bangkok – trade consumers pay between RM 1.24 and RM 4.33 for the first 500,000 litres per month.  In Penang, trade consumers paid only RM1.19 in 2010

Finally it is important to note that besides having the most consumer-friendly water tariffs in Malaysia, the tap water quality in Penang complies with the National Water Quality Standards. The states NRW or water loss percentage is also the lowest in Malaysia.  This shows that we can have quality and efficiency in privatization so long as it is implemented rigorously and with the public interest and welfare in mind.

Comparing Penang and Selangor

How and why Selangor state under its former Mentri Besar. Khit Toyo, took a different road from that of Penang is a story that needs to be uncovered.  But the disastrous outcome is clear.

In comparison to the safeguarding of state, consumer and worker interest in Penang, the mismanaged privatization in Selangor has benefitted a smaller group. According to news reports, the CEO of Syabas, Tan Sri Rozali Ismail was paid RM5.1 million a year or RM425,000 a month or RM16,346 a day.  In contrast, the General Manager of PBA is paid a pittance and the Chief Minister of Penang as Chairman of PBA received $8,400 in 2011, according to PBA’s annual report.

Syabas is also alleged to have imported RM 375 million worth of pipes from an Indonesian company owned by Tan Sri Rozali Ismail instead of sourcing locally in June 2005. Incidentally, Tan Sri Rozali was at one time the treasurer of Selangor UMNO. Other reports indicate that more than 72% of contracts, worth RM600 million, was awarded through direct negotiation, not open tender process.  Between 2005 – 2007, RM325 million could not be accounted for between Syabas public accounts and the records of contracts. RM51.2 million, or 120% more than the RM 23.2 million approved by Jabatan Kawalsetia Air Selangor (JKAS), was spent on Syabas office renovation.

The total debt of the companies given long-term concessions as at December 2008 amounted to RM6.4 billion and necessitated a bail out by the Federal Government. This shows the fatal flaw of the Government’s privatisation programme when it is outsourced to politically connected business interests and rentier groups unlike what was implemented in Penang. It has also given privatisation in Malaysia a bad name even though selective privatisation in other countries when carried out judiciously and in complete transparency can yield public gains in efficiency and cost savings.

                This entry was posted on Monday, 15 October 2012, 6:24 pm and is filed under
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IWK in Deep Shit!

By Martin Jalleh

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 16 October 2012, 1:28 pm and is filed under
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Martin Jalleh
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