Tweets on Aminulrasyid killing, Subang airport closure and whether a non-Malay can be PM

@limkitsiang

Anger against police over Aminul’s death building up on Facebook
http://bit.ly/b7apG9
 5:09 PM May 3rd

1wk since police killing #Aminulrasyid Najib has spoken Y UmnoYouth @Khairykj MCAYouth still silent though @weekasiongmp support Hanif RCI 5:15 PM May 3rd

Full support 4Sgt Roslan fractured leg rammed by motor-cyclist @roadblock Police shd catch n mete out most severe punishment agnst culprit Have always supported police injured in course of duty But IGP irresponsible w fallacious equation n argument as if condemnation of trigger-happy killing #Aminulrasyid equivalent 2disregard 4legitimate rights of police 2proper welfare n compensation 4injuries or even lives lost suffered by policemen in course of duty RT @syafiqjosen: @limkitsiang I m in support of azamuddin but would appreciate if u would also stand by the police when they are victims.  about 23 hours ago via UberTwitter

Powerless SpecialPanel into#Aminulrasyid’s police killing neither fish nor fowl even w/ TunHanif as member..
http://ow.ly/1GDA1
 about 20 hours ago via HootSuite

Appears 2b d case Off stmts have conspicuously omitted dis pt RT @thamss: @limkitsiang The Brunei oil issue,we signed away our oil field? about 19 hours ago via UberTwitter

I will participate in such walk RT @diandujour: We need 2 have a walk 4 #aminulrasyid Anger against police over Aminul’s death building up.. about 19 hours ago via UberTwitter

Subang airport closed down n all FireFly flights delayed indefinitely During heavy storm lightning struck centre of runway causing big hole about 18 hours ago via UberTwitter

2flights immediately affected by Subang closure Incoming flt from Penang diverted back as it cannot land Other flt is 2Kerteh Aircraft here about 18 hours ago via UberTwitter

Fire-engine seen at runway hole If it cld not b repaired both outgoing Penang n Kerteh flts will have 2b cancelled n passengers stranded about 18 hours ago via UberTwitter

6pm Firefly anncmnt (2nd) All flt delayed bcos Subang closure until further notice Inconveniences caused deeply regretted Was 2fly 530pm about 18 hours ago via UberTwitter

Headed 4Penang Passengers listless n helpless 1said: Let us know if cannot fly we can go back instead of waiting here RT @obie2610: @limkitsiang Hey, are you at the scene? Where were you headed?  about 18 hours ago via UberTwitter

Over 100 pssngrs from 2 flts affected Awaiting anncmnt from Msian Airport Board on whether Subang Airport will b re-opened 4d 2flts 2takeoff about 17 hours ago via UberTwitter

Hurrah! Just got anncmnt both flights boarding passengers about 17 hours ago via UberTwitter

Did I blame anyone? This is cause of nature RT @raymondong_edc: @limkitsiang Sometimes, we cnnt blame de airport authority for this case. about 17 hours ago via UberTwitter

Kerteh Firefly has taken off But Penang-bound passengers have 2wait longer 4earlier diverted plane 2come back from Penang Finally 9pm arr about 17 hours ago via UberTwitter

Apparently quite fast n efficient deserve praise RT @saiwanstar: @limkitsiang hole repaied YB about 17 hours ago via UberTwitter

At least 5 planes (3 from Penang 1 each JB n Spore) ready 2takeoff 2fly 2subang Understand 2 or 3 planes holding in the air preparing 2land about 17 hours ago via UberTwitter

Not organising any walk but will support RT @GobindSinghDeo: @limkitsiang count me in too. Must show solidarity with family of Aminulrasyid about 17 hours ago via UberTwitter

Bcos of delayed landings of some 10 flights Subang airport will see its busiest scene next few hours since its reopening about 17 hours ago via UberTwitter

Tkz 4d tip c u next time in Subang RT @bumilangit: @limkitsiang now clear to take off. Just now had prob with runway. about 17 hours ago via UberTwitter

Got calls from reporters abt info Subang closure told them everything in my tweets Anncmt – Penang flt FY2096 dprting 815pm instead of 530pm about 17 hours ago via UberTwitter

Understand it is delayed 2 1040pm But u better get official info as no guarantee from me RT @IzranSalleh: Is 9pm to spore delayed? Call centre refused to give answer.  about 16 hours ago via UberTwitter

DAP budget 4cybertroopers – zero sen BN spends RM tens even hundreds millions prob public funds Will BN open up? RT @mpkotabelud about 16 hours ago via UberTwitter

Finally Firefly 2Png taking-off All tired waiting want ‘Lightning Hole in Subang Runway’ drama causing airport closure 4over an hour 2end about 15 hours ago via UberTwitter

Tkz How’s d Penang State Assembly? Umno SAs learning 2b opposition? They forget there’s “constructive opposition” RT @jeffreychew: @limkitsiang have a good trip back

05/04/2010 10:55 PM

#Aminulrasyid Karpal visits scene of boy’s shooting
http://bit.ly/a2cTQD

05/04/2010 11:10 PM

#Aminulrasyid On Facebook, boy’s death sparks war of words
http://bit.ly/bnDtye

05/04/2010 11:14 PM

Let’s hear up-n-coming Umno Y leader @mpkotabelud or his boss @khairykj RT @skthew: You must be Malay 2become PM in this country? Anyone?

05/04/2010 11:50 PM

Wait till u r my age n let’s c your condition my friend  RT @syafiqjosen: @limkitsiang uncle u getting old hehehehe. Tired very fast.

05/05/2010 12:08 AM

There u have d answer @skthew @mpkotabelud dare not say it Shame RT @Khairykj No, you don’t have to be a Malay to be PM in Malaysia.

05/05/2010 12:43 AM

Any Malaysian can b PM but political reality is different RT @skthew: @morkymoqq Shabas @khairykj he does not run away like @mpkotabelud

05/05/2010 12:49 AM

Penang CM launches Speakers’ Corner
http://bit.ly/bZosa1

05/05/2010 01:09 AM

Congrats Malaysian Insider w all new tabloid format Innovative Creative Eye-catching design Cos test of pudding is in eating Visit MI now

05/05/2010 01:20 AM

Revamped Malaysian Insider format has a feature absent previously – search function which will undoubtedly be one of its mosst popular innos

05/05/2010 01:29 AM

New Malaysian Insider http://bit.ly/ambhd9 sets benchmark 4Malaysia media like NST n Star as 2what shld approximate an ideal Msian newspaper

05/05/2010 01:42 AM

Panel retraces last steps of #Aminulrasyid’s life http://bit.ly/aAOiMc

05/05/2010 08:05 AM

MCA backs cops in shooting death
http://bit.ly/9bUXR3
 #Aminulrasyid Clearly @weekasiongmp personal support 4Hanif RCI overruled in MCA

05/05/2010 08:13 AM

Wong Ho Leng – Oil sovereignty: Why Sarawak not consulted?
http://bit.ly/aP71yC
 #Sibu #P212

05/05/2010 09:10 AM

Forum ‘Real Deal for Sarawakians’
http://bit.ly/9RwRhd
 Paramount Hotel Sibu 2nite Speakers HoLeng ChiengJen TonyPua NieChing #Sibu #P212

05/05/2010 09:21 AM

MCA has become redundant as it cannot recapture Chinese support
http://bit.ly/ck3a3o
 Najib tells Umno leaders to mix with other races

05/05/2010 09:50 AM

Suhakam denied shooting guidelines (The Nut Graph)
http://bit.ly/b4HG28
 Why so secretive? Make police use of firearms guidelines public NOW!

05/05/2010 10:03 AM

Will answer after @khairykj as @mpkotabelud has opted out RT @skthew: @weween My question is, you must be a Malay to become PM in this country? Yes or No?

05/05/2010 12:31 AM

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 5 May 2010, 12:13 pm and is filed under
MCA
,
Penang
,
Police
,
Transport
,
Twitter
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


DAP fully supports PAS proposal for a suit to be filed against the federal government for ceding away the oil-rich offshore  Blocks L and M in South China Sea

DAP fully supports the PAS proposal for a suit to be filed against the Federal Government for ceding away the oil-rich offshore  Blocks L and M in South China Sea to protect the rights of future generations of Sarawakians, Sabahans and  Malaysians.

Kelantan state councillor Husam Musa yesterday proposed a legal suit against the federal government for ceding away the oil-rich maritime boundary areas to Brunei.

DAP endorses Husam’s demands and calls on the Prime Minister to issue a White Paper pertaining to all the following issues:

•	Reveal to the public all communiques between Putrajaya, Brunei, Sabah, Sarawak and national oil company Petronas pursuant to the ceding of the boundary areas.

•	Report all decisions made by the cabinet about the matter.

•	Convene a royal commission of inquiry to investigate the issue.

I suggest Husam head a Pakatan Rakyat special committee to prepare for such a suit against the Federal Government to obtain a declaration that the ceding of the boundary areas to Brunei is invalid and unconstitutional if Putrajaya refuses to be transparent and accountable for its actions and to furnish answers to the many questions about  Malaysian sovereignty to Limbang as well as to the Blocks L and M.

I will propose the establishment of such a special committee headed by Husam at the next meeting of the Pakatan Rakyat leadership council.

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 6 May 2010, 11:44 am and is filed under
Oil
,
Sabah
,
Sarawak
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


Malaysia in the Era of Globalization #13

By
M. Bakri Musa

Chapter 2:     Why Some Societies Progress, Others Regress

“Progressive” Versus “Static” Cultures

In 1999, Harvard’s Academy for International and Area Studies convened a symposium whose proceedings were published in the book, Culture Matters.  As expected, the contributors are committed believers of the creed that cultural factors shape economic and political development.  The natural corollary would be how can we ameliorate or negate factors in the culture that are obstacles to progress and encourage those that facilitate it.

             Societies can be divided into those that have “progressive culture,” that is, a value system that promotes development within that society, and “static culture,” which of course favors the status quo, and thus lack of progress.

            Time orientation, with the emphasis on the future rather than the present or the past, is one trait of a progressive society.  This future must not be too far ahead as in the hereafter (the preoccupation of medieval Christians and present-day fundamentalist Muslims), rather for the immediate future of the present life.
 With this emphasis on the future comes the attendant attribute of planning for that future.  With the planning comes savings, frugality, and other positive values that are conducive to economic growth.  Societies with static culture have little time orientation, have no concept of the future, and thus see little need for planning.  They also do not value time.  In short, it is the manana culture encapsulated thus:  why do today what can wait till tomorrow.

            Other attributes valued by a progressive society include emphasis on rationality instead of grand symbolism.  Authority in progressive societies resides in institutions and the law, not with individual leaders.  Members of a progressive society view the world with optimism.  They thank God for having been given the opportunity to enjoy in and benefit from His creation.  They consider the world as a place for personal improvement and salvation.  Those of a static society on the other hand, consider the world as a temporary abode, and look upon life pessimistically.  In a progressive society the members believe in their own ability; in static societies they believe their fate is predestined or based on luck.  Education in a progressive society is meant to liberate citizens and to develop their critical thinking; in static societies education is more for indoctrination and to mould citizens into preconceived patterns.

            Apart from these attributes, progress depends less on what a particular nation has, rather on how it uses its resources, including and especially its human resources.  While classical economists write about comparative advantages, today the decisive factor is competitive advantage.  America with its high labor costs can still produce rice far more competitively (that is at a much lower price per unit of output, in this case for example, a pound of rice) than China or Thailand because American farmers are so much more productive.  Consequently American rice is cheaper than that from Thailand.

            The role of culture cannot be simplistically reduced to repeating the clichés on the importance of hard work, frugality, savings, and education.  Chinese farmers are considerably more hardworking than Americans, but Chinese farmers remain poor.  Similarly with education; India has millions of college graduates but they ended up as well-educated petition writers and taxi drivers.  Thus education has limited potential if it does not emphasize critical thinking and language skills, as well as mathematics and the sciences, or if the system denigrates vocational and technical education.  Likewise savings; at one time frugality and the high savings rate helped the Japanese become an economic power but today, those same admirable qualities are choking Japan’s economic recovery by dampening consumer demands.

            According to Harvard’s Michael Porter, it is the subset of economic culture – the beliefs, attitudes, and values that bear on economic activities of individuals, organizations and institutions – that are pertinent.  These may be either productivity enhancing or conversely, productivity eroding.

            David Landes in his book The Wealth and Poverty of Nations suggests that an important invention of Western civilization is the clock.  It enables one to keep a precise measurement of time.  That invention however, is only valued in a time-orientated society.  In a manana culture, it would be a superfluous if not useless invention.

            To ancient Arabs, the gifts of clocks and timepieces were valued for their ornamental values.  The information those machines gave was of little relevance.  When ancient Arabs were told it was 5 PM, their immediate response was, “Is that before or after Asar (late afternoon) prayers?”  Their day revolved around prayer times as determined by the position of the sun, not the face of a watch or clock.  Today’s Arabs however, after long association with the West and the subsequent absorption of “decadent” Western values as the importance of time, would instead ask, “What time is Asar prayers?”  Thus cultural values can and do change!

            I am reminded of an incident in Malaysia when I was waiting for a boat to take me to a village across the river.  Tired of waiting, I enquired of a fellow passenger when the next boat would arrive.  He immediately eyed me suspiciously.  Obviously I was a stranger to ask such a silly question.  What do you mean by what time the next boat will arrive?  It arrives when it arrives!  To those villagers, time is meaningless.  Only tourists slumming about would want to know precisely when the next boat would arrive!

            The attitude towards work is also instructive.  In progressive cultures, work is regarded as a creative activity, treasured, and central to one’s life.  That is, hard work is valued intrinsically.  Work is a form of self-expression, and the culture appropriately rewards productive and creative endeavors.  With static cultures, work is disparaged, regarded as a burden, to be done only by the lowest members of that society.  Status is measured by how far one is detached from labor or work of any kind.  In ancient China, the mark of high status was a pair of clean, callus-free hands with long fingernails.

            A differing cultural view towards work can be illustrated by the joke about the White rancher and the Native American Indian.  The rancher was upbraiding the poor native for not working. “Why should I?” replied the Indian.  “So you could earn and save some money now.  Then when you would have enough money you could retire and not work anymore,” admonished the rancher.  “Well, I am not working now,” came the immediate retort.  True, that native may have reached his nirvana sans working, and sooner than the rancher, but his society would pay the price eventually.  The rancher presented only the instrumental value of hard work, and that did not impress the Indian.  Had the rancher presented work for its intrinsic value, like making the land more beautiful and productive so it could feed society, that might have impressed the Indian.

            Yet another feature of a progressive society is its attitude and receptiveness to new ideas and learning.  There is constant yearning to discover better ways of doing things, a curiosity to discover and to explore the world beyond and within.  Ancient Muslims certainly had these noble attributes.  They avidly learned from the Greeks and Romans.  That was the Golden Age of Islam.  Much of the contemporary success of East Asian societies is due to this devotion to learning.  With the emphasis on learning comes the value of merit.  In contrast, static societies do not value learning; family connections, tribal linkages, and casts determine one’s fate, not merit.

            Ibn Khaldun’s asibayah, or social capital, is another important attribute.  With static communities, trust and identification rarely extend beyond the immediate family and clan; such societies have a very narrow “radius of trust.”  They are prone to nepotism and tribalism, and have little sense of charity and philanthropy beyond blood and clan ties.  In contrast, a progressive culture’s radius of trust extends far beyond kin and kind.

            Religion plays a significant role in static societies.  In Medieval Europe, the church was the central authority.  Today if one were to plot the influence of formal religion against the economic status of a society, there is a definite inverse correlation.  That is, the stronger the formal religious establishment, the poorer the nation.  Islam has Afghanistan and Iran; the Catholics have the whole of Latin America and the Philippines.

            This does not mean that the members of successful societies are less religious; on the contrary they are indeed very religious when measured by such criteria as their generosity and tolerance.  It is very revealing that the two most modern Islamic countries, Malaysia and Turkey, are essentially secular.

            Secular status is not a prerequisite for progress; atheistic communism would disabuse one of such a notion very quickly.  What I am saying is that the heavy emphasis on traditional religion, with its preoccupation with the afterlife, is a drag on progress.  In a later chapter (11) on free enterprise, I will relate how a novel reinterpretation of traditional Christianity by John Calvin and other reformers paved the way for the development of modern capitalism.

            The role of culture may be encapsulated thus:  It helps steer members of that group into becoming either producers or takers, and this in turn will determine whether that society progresses or remains static.

Next:            Culture as Society’s Looking Glass

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 6 May 2010, 10:58 am and is filed under
Bakri Musa
,
globalisation
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


The IGP should resign

By
KJ John
 | Malaysiakini

In Chinese culture, it is said that ‘the fish rots from the head’. Is the 5,000-year-old cultural saying wrong? If not, what is it that makes institutions become corrupt over time?

What has made civilisations themselves corrupt, leading to their extinction, such as that of Babylonia or Egypt? What has made the Christian culture and beliefs of the founding fathers of America become so corrupt that, today, secularism and liberalism drives much of the US agenda?

What will ensure that Malaysia, a nation only 53 years old, does not become corrupt like some noble civilisations of old?

Last week, I reflected on the question of whose authority we live under, on earth? I argued that we need to be accountable to both God and Man; to give each what the other does not deny.

This week, allow me to continue my discourse on all such authority, power, and human corruption. I am sorry but to many people, it would seem like I am giving a sermon. I need to be careful as to what I write, as the Sultan of Selangor has said he does not like the wrong people to “preach” in the state’s mosques and to especially talk about politics.

When OHMSI, the NGO that I run, was launched, we asked the rhetorical question: ‘Was Jesus political?’ Now, as a potential member of the Treasury of Knowledge – a crazy OHMSI idea that I have – Tok Guru (Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat of PAS) has argued that politics is more than partisanship. Corruption and anti-corruption is also anti-partisanship. Therefore, allow me to reflect on whether our police force has become corrupt.

Did the inspector-general of police (IGP) really know what he was saying, when he said “if the people want it”, he could take his men off the streets, because of public anger over the killing of a 14-year old boy? Does the law allow him such freedom in the interpretation and enforcement of the law? Will the home minister allow him such discretion?

As the IGP, he should be well trained in the observance of the principle of rule of law. Doesn’t the police force exist to provide safety and security to all the people, not just lawful drivers or innocent victims of road accidents?

When we read about police officers who kill innocent ones for reasons beyond our comprehension, isn’t it unreasonable of the IGP not to understand the angst of ordinary people? They may fear that it is their turn next to mati katak (to die a pointless death).

For, almost by definition, unless the teenager was armed with a gun and was shooting back, there was no reason whatsoever for any police officer to shoot him in the back of his head. I do not need to watch CSI to know that, when someone is shot in the back of the head, it is when he is fleeing. So, why is there even a need for all this rhetoric about the car being used as an assault weapon?

As a neutral but concerned observer of the behaviour of all ‘idiocracies’ (i.e. bureaucracies which have lost the capacity to reason and answer simple self-knowledge questions to themselves), can I ask a pertinent question? Do they use the power of reason to resolve every issue or concern or do they simply rely on authority and power to resolve their so-called problem?

During the first war on Iraq , the American media machinery created new terminology to describe accidental damage. They called it collateral damage. Is the 14-year-old merely collateral damage to the police force?

Public interest

To me, the more relevant issue is always: what is the truth of the matter? In my language and lexicon of management, the IGP, as leader of the police force, should know much better. Let me argue the case.

The boy was unlawfully driving a car that he had taken without permission. He broke two rules or laws – the parents’ guidelines for appropriate behaviour for borrowing a car which does not belong to him; and the law of the land which says that any driver must be of age and hold a valid driver’s licence.

All this is known and are the facts. The boy has paid with his life for disobeying both laws. There is a very high emotional cost to, and a very expensive lesson for, the parents, siblings, friends and neighbours. Now, what can this developing nation called Malaysia learn from all of this?

No IGP or public servant should speak except always in the public interest. That is what makes him a public servant of the government of Malaysia. He further holds office and the requisite power because of royal sanction and appointment. His is a gazetted appointment that is premised on the agreement of the prime minister, as head of the ruling coalition.

Can the IGP speak without knowledge and the wisdom of his office? Can he speak without favour or fear about the truth of any matter? Does he need to blindly defend wrongdoing in the system, even when he knows his officers were wrong with their behaviour, now made visible to the entire world by the death of the boy? This is now common knowledge to ordinary people of Shah Alam. Do we really need another commission to resolve the issue?

musa hassan police igp forceMr IGP, you are wrong in what you said and were careless in your speech. You should have simply apologised to the parents of the child and promised that truth will be served, even if you have to charge one of your own with second-degree murder.

Your men are not saints; they are ordinary mortals like you and me, and we all lose our cool, sometimes. Let none of us lie! I would go as far as to even say that, if the police officers giving chase were women, this may not have happened. So, let us not be careless with words or feel the need to defend our own.

The people are really upset as to why the police have used the gun on a young person even if he is known to have broken the law. What are the rules of gun use? Are we supposed to shoot on the slightest provocation? Was the situation so much out of control that the driver was on a rampage to kill many innocent others and thus had to be gunned down?

These are the issues that bother ordinary people. So, what would it take for the IGP to understand ordinary parents and friends and the community of victims or simply ordinary citizens who want to live ordinary lives without fear or favour?

I think the IGP must resign now for his careless words. It is unbecoming of a senior government officer who holds office in the name of the Agong to speak as he did.

May God truly begin to bless our nation to rid Malaysia of incompetent and arrogant officials who do not see their ‘stewardship role’ without the abuse of power and force!

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 6 May 2010, 5:00 am and is filed under
Police
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


Will IGP and Selangor CPO apologise for starting the trial by media and  defaming Aminulrasyid and Azamuddin and their families when the two boys were called “criminals”?

The Cabinet yesterday belatedly expressed its distress and condolences to the family of Aminulrasyid Amzah, 14, who was killed by trigger-happy police about 100 metres from his Shah Alam house in the early hours (2 am) of Monday, April 26, 2010 when trying to flee home  driving his sister’s car.

The first question that comes to mind for Malaysians is why the Cabinet did not express its distress and condolences at last Wednesday’s Cabinet meeting, which met more than 48 hours after the fatal shooting and killing of Aminulrasyid.

Is it because the Cabinet had relied on the first public account of the heinous police killing by the Selangor police chief Datuk Khalid Abu Bakar who said Aminulrasyid was  shot dead “while reversing his car in an attempt to run over several policemen”, describing the Form III student as a “criminal”?

In his first statement which appeared in Tuesday’s papers, Khalid said the policemen were on patrol in two cars when they spotted two men behaving suspiciously inside a car.

The police signaled for the driver to pull over for inspection, but the driver sped off, resulting in a police chase.

Khalid said that after beating several red-lights, the patrol cars managed ‘to corner the suspects’ car”.

Khalid said: “A male passenger jumped out and escaped on foot while the driver reversed his car and tried to run over the policemen, forcing them to open fire.”

Khalid said one of the policemen fired four shots at the tyres of the car but one of the bullets is believed to have hit the boy, killing him instantly. He said police found a parang inside the car which is believed to have been used in robberies.

Investigations into Aminulrasyid’s death had not been completed, as the Attorney-General Chambers had returned the police investigation papers last Friday for more investigations to be conducted.

What then is the basis of the Cabinet’s expression of distress and condolences to the bereaved family? Is it because the Cabinet has come to realize that the Selangor police chief’s account was  a false and spurious one?

The Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan also publicly endorsed and joined in Khalid’s trial by media of Aminulrasyid in painting the Form III student as a criminal – with the insinuation that the parang in the car  had been used in robberies!

Musa even compounded the trial by media against Aminulrasyid by publicly postulating that “A speeding vehicle which can be used to plough into policemen is also a dangerous weapon” which could endanger the lives of enforcement officers and other roadusers.

The clear picture emerging in the past ten days is eye-witness account that Aminulrasyid was fleeing for home and had never tried to reverse to ram policemen to justify the firing of over 15 shots, one of which hit him at the back of his head and killed him while at the steering wheel, causing the vehicle to crash into a tree, a retaining wall and into a drain!

With the Cabinet’s expression of distress and condolences to the bereaved family, will the IGP and the Selangor CPO themselves apologise  to Aminulrasyid and his family as well as to Azamuddin and his family  for falsely describing them as “criminals”.

The Selangor CPO and IGP were the first to start  the trial by media defaming Aminulrasyid and Azamuddin Omar and their families saying that the two boys were suspected to be “criminals”? In fact, Azamuddin’s father is a police officer himself.

The IGP and the Selangor CPO, as well as the Home Minister, had promised fair, independent and professional investigations into Aminulrasyid’s killing – which the trio failed to deliver as the police investigations were inadequate and unsatisfactory, which was why the police investigation papers submitted to the Attorney-General’s Chambers  last Friday were remitted back to the police the same evening for further investigations to be conducted.

Aminulrasyid’s killing had been classified under “murder” during police investigations but the IGP is asking for an inquest.  This is most extraordinary for it could only mean that as of now Musa rejects any charge of murder or homicide against the police personnel concerned!

What has shocked and outraged many is that the MCA leadership has decided to officially side with the IGP and the Selangor CPO despite rising anger over the Amirnulrasyid’s shooting death.

The  MCA NGO liaison bureau chief Datuk Ti Lian Ker attacked the press conference by Azamuddin, the sole companion in Aminulrasyid’s car that fateful night, as an “unethical move” and “trial by media”, saying it “may influence public perception and judgment.

The MCA leadership were silent and subservient when the IGP and Selangor CPO conducted a trial by media against Aminulrasyid and Azamuddin immediately after the tragic killing.

No wonder the MCA cannot recapture the support not only of Chinese but also Malays, Indians, Ibans and Kadazans who constitute Najib’s 1Malaysia.

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 6 May 2010, 6:04 am and is filed under
Police
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


Police investigation into Aminulrasyid’s killing most disgraceful and unprofessional in subjecting 15-year-old Azamuddin to three questionings when the student had consistently  stuck to his version as given in his first  police report the very same day

(Speech at the launching of the Rejang Park Operation Centre of the DAP Sibu by-election campaign on Friday, 7th May 2010)

Borneo Post
carries the headline today:
“Drop in crime index for first four months”
. However, it does not give Malaysians any accompanying assurance of greater safety and security whether in the streets, public  places or privacy of their home since the beginning of the year as illustrated by two recent episodes:

•	The charade of the Selangor police chief’s official car being  stolen; and

•	The trigger-happy police shooting and killing of 14-year-old Form III student Aminulrasyid Amzah some 100 metres from his Shah Alam house  12 days ago at 2 am on April 26, 2010 whose only offence is underaged and unlicensed driving to watch the  football match Chelsea vs Stokes  at the neighbourhood mamak stall with his friends.

All Malaysians, regardless of race, religion or region, whether in Sibu, Kuching, Miri, Kota Kinabalu, Sandakan, Tawau or all over Peninsular Malaysia feel outraged by the senseless killing of Aminulrasyid and the ham-fisted handling of the heinous killing by the police and government authorities simply because we are 1Malaysia even before Datuk Seri Najib Razak promoted the idea when he became Prime Minister a year ago.

Two days ago, the Police questioned the key witness in the police shooting of Aminulrasyid, his friend who was eye-witness to the police killing as he was in the car that fateful morning, Azamuddin Omar 15, for the third time.

This is a most disgraceful and unprofessional example of police investigations of the Aminulrasyid shooting death as in all the three police questioning sessions, Azamuddin had consistently stuck to his version of events as given in his police report the very same day of the tragedy.

When DAP Secretary-General and Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng and I visited Aminulrasyid’s bereaved family in their Shah Alam house on Wednesday, 28th April on our return from Sibu, I was given a copy of the police report which Azamuddin had lodged  at the Section 11 Shah Alam Police Station on 26th April 2010.

I still have a copy of the police report with me and I have re-read it, and found that Azamuddin has fully and consistently stuck to the very same version of events he had given to the Police in his first report despite the trauma he went through from seeing his friend killed with a bullet at the back of the head.

Why is it necessary to subject the 15-year-old student to three questionings over the very same version of events if the Police investigators had been responsible, thorough and professional?

Such unprofessional police conduct  on top of a heap of most disgraceful conduct by the Police, especially the Inspector-General of Police and the Selangor Chief Police Officer, and the Ministerial authorities whether the Home Minister, Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein or Deputy Home Minister, Datuk Abu Seman Yusop do not inspire confidence that we have an efficient and professional world-class police force or Home Ministry.

The Prime Minister must realize that the grave crisis of confidence in the police and the government over the police killing of Aminulrasyid is not an inherited problem from previous administrations but solely the responsibility of his administration – and the only satisfactory and accountable solution must be a Royal Commission of Inquiry and not a PR “public circus” like the Abu Seman Special Panel.

                This entry was posted on Friday, 7 May 2010, 6:22 pm and is filed under
1Malaysia
,
Najib Razak
,
Police
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


Tajem’s message to the Ibans

The Broken Shield

SERIAN: An adviser to PKR and former deputy chief minister Datuk Daniel Tajem (pic below)warns the Iban community that they will lose their native customary rights lands if they continue to elect the State Barisan Nasional coalition in the coming State election.

“Many Ibans in other parts of Sarawak have already lost their lands and we will continue to loose our land, if the State Barisan continues to govern Sarawak.

“In Balai Ringin we are about to lose our lands, when four companies linked to Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud have been given provisional lease (PL) to plant oil palm in our lands.

“A total of 741,000 hectares of our NCR lands have been earmarked for this purpose,” he said, adding that the land owners had protested, but to no avail.

In fact, he said, he and the land owners have written to UMNO to intervene and stop the State government from taking away people’s lands.

Tajem said: “Lands are our only assets. And if we lose our lands, we will lose everything. We will become landless people. We do not know where to go except to seek refuge and sleep under a bridge.

“Landless People who sleep under a bridge are a common sight in other countries. And this will happen to us, if we do not change the State government,” he said, when he opened the annual general meeting of PKR Sri Aman division on Saturday, 24 April 2010.

“We do not change Taib Mahmud, but what we must change is the state government. So we must be united and work hard to change the government and only then we can prepare a new programme of development,” he stressed.

Tajem went on to say that Pakatan Rakyat must aim to win at least 36 seats out of 71 in order to take over the administration of the state government.

“Even winning the state government alone is still not good enough; the Pakatan Rakyat must also take over and control the federal government, otherwise the federal government will make life unbearable in Pakatan-controlled states.

“Look how the federal government retook the Perak State government after the Pakatan had won it through the electoral process.

“Similarly what happened to Stephen Kalong Ningkan’s state government in late 1966, when he did not agree for expatriate officers in Sarawak to be replaced with Malayan officers?

“When Ningkan refused to resign, the federal government declared a state of emergency in Sarawak. Then the federal government amended the state constitution in order to give authority to the governor to dismiss Ningkan as chief minister,” said Tajem.

“Thus, it is also very important that the federal government be controlled by Pakatan Rakyat,” he added. – The Broken Shield

Source: http://www.thebrokenshield.blogspot.com/

                This entry was posted on Friday, 7 May 2010, 12:09 pm and is filed under
Sarawak
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


Who are against 1Malaysia concept?

By
The Broken Shield

1Malaysia concept as espoused by Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak should be accepted by all if it is to be implemented. In spirit or sloganeering alone is not enough; it must be implemented in deed and in action.

Under the concept “every race is equal” as Dr. James Masing, PRS president explained over Radio Iban some time ago.

But there are people, government departments, ministries and universities which are working against this concept.

For example, UiTM is one such organisation which does not practise 1Malaysia concept.

Starting 29 April until 7 May, UiTM campuses in the country are recruiting students who achieved only 4 credits to be adopted under “Destini anak Bansa” (literally it means the destiny of our children).

In its campus at Kota Samarahan, 500 students will be recruited for this programme for the various pre-university courses with food and lodging given free especially whose parents are earning RM500 or less per month.

The programme is ranging from six months to one year.

If you look into the programme, it appears that the UiTM staff and lecturers are concentrating only in Malay kampongs such as Tabuan Melayu, Sg. Apong, Kpg. Gita, Kpg. Tupong, Pusa, Bako, Senari, Gobil, Muara Tebas, Demak Laut, Semerah Padi, Buso, Kpg. Gedong, Simunjan, Asajaya, Limbang, Santubong, Mukah, Niah, Bekenu, Sematan, Lundu and Bintulu to name some of the kampongs.

Nothing is mentioned about Dayak Iban longhouses in places like Julau, Pakan, Meluan, Kanowit, Kapit, Selangau, Bukit Begunan and other Dayak Iban areas. Certainly, there are thousands of Dayak Iban students who only obtained 4 credits in last year SPM examination. And I am sure there are hundreds of thousands of Dayak Iban parents who are hardcore poor who also need help.

And at the same time all the teachers/lecturers who conduct the interviews are all Malays. But why are Dayak Iban lecturers not involved?

What the UiTM campus at Kota Samarahan is doing is certainly opening the eyes of Ibans and Iban leaders (if they can really open their eyes due to their eyes covered with greed, financial considerations and fear.)

This is only one organisation that is practising “Ketuanan Melayu”, and there are many departments, ministries and government agencies we know and we do not know that are practising this “Apartheid” policy.

Another case of injustice is the recent exercise in which some 800 students were interviewed for Public Service Commission scholarships to take up medicine, pharmacy, engineering, and etc in overseas universities. In Kuching alone, there were 300 students. In one stream of 185 students, there were only 11 Dayaks – four Ibans, one Orang Ulu and six Bidayuhs.

As far as the Kuching interview was concerned, this is indeed a very poor representation of the Ibans.

But can we blame the authorities for all these inconsistencies, unfairness and injustices? Certainly no! The Iban leaders themselves – the YBs and the Ministers – are to be blamed because they do not stand up and speak up for the Iban community.

Allow me to digress a little bit. I really appreciate what Dayak Bidayuhs like Peter Minos dare to demand (not ask) from the government. When they ask for one deputy minister, the federal government gives them not one, but two including the forthcoming appointment of my friend Richard Riot. The other is James Dawos. They also demand from SUPP that the post of chairman of Padawan Municipal Council be given to a Bidayuh or else SUPP and BN will lose two Bidayuh seats of Bengoh and Opar. They hold the government at ransom.

On top of that the Bidayuh community asked for RM4 million to repair or to renovate the DBNA building, the government not only obliged, but also gave them more than what they asked for.

And as for our Iban leaders, they do not stand up or speak up. Some of our YBs are just like the Iban expression “baka ramaong di rumah raong di tanah” (literally it means they are just like leopards/tigers in the house and toads on land). While at their constituencies or longhouses, they talk big, wanting to be heard by their wives and supporters, but in Parliament or State legislative assembly, they are sleeping. They are only “jagoh kampong” (local champions).

But there are others who are “raong di rumah ramaong di tanah”. While in the house they pretend to be very quiet, because they are scared of their wives, but outside they really enjoy themselves drinking in the company of beautiful women and singers. Some YBs keep not one mistress, but two or three. And I am not jealous when I point out this. Far from it. But what I want to stress here is that being a public figure representing our community, they should speak up and fight for the interest of the people who voted for them. Instead they are doing the apple polishing and womanizing.

No wonder Dayak Ibans do not get any respect from other communities, nor do they get anything from the government given the type of leaders we do have now. – The Broken Shield

Source: www.thebrokenshield.blogspot.com

                This entry was posted on Friday, 7 May 2010, 12:05 pm and is filed under
1Malaysia
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


Why SUPP candidate Lau Hui Yew is like other  Barisan Nasional Ministers and leaders who have no confidence in their own school system by sending their children to international schools or overseas?

[Speech (2) at the launching of the Rejang Park Operation Centre of the DAP Sibu by-election campaign on Friday, 7th May 2010]

Another headline in Borneo Post today is
“Zahid: Vote for Hui Yew to be heard in Dewan Rakyat”
.

My first reaction is one of great skepticism and to ask why the SUPP candidate Robert Lau Hui Yew is like other Barisan Nasional Ministers and leaders who have no confidence in their own school system by sending their children to international schools or overseas.

Will Hui Yew  speak up in Parliament against the national educational system over which he, like other BN Ministers and leaders, have no confidence by not sending their own children to them?

DAP candidate for Sibu by-election Wong Ho Leng has five children, all in the local schools – three in secondary and two in primary.

I have been informed that Robert Lau2 has sent all his three children to  the international school in Kuching.

This is no personal attack on Robert Lau2 and DAP will not indulge in any personal attacks or character assassination in the  Sibu by-election. What we are concerned about are the rights of the people and future generations.

In fact, I do not blame Robert Lau2 for sending all his children to international school as all parents want the best for their children.

However, as he seeks to represent the people of Sibu in Parliament, he owes the people of Sibu an explanation whether he would speak up against the Barisan Nasional’s national education system since he himself has no confidence in them or whether he would  be like other BN leaders who act hypocritically in supporting the national school system for the rakyat but which he himself has no confidence whatsoever.

I am attracted to another frontpage headline in Borneo Post:
“KLT (Kolej Laila Taib) may get uni college status before 2012”
.

My reaction is: Why so late?

Ho Leng had called for a university in Sibu in the Sarawak State Assembly in 1996.

I myself had called for a Christian University in Sibu more than 30 years ago when the DAP was established in the late seventies.

My argument was that Malaysia should take full advantage of our excellent assets and endowments  as a multi-racial, multi-lingual, multi-cultural and multi-religious nation at the confluence of the great civilizations of the world.

We should have in plural Malaysia not only an international Islamic University, but also Christian, Buddhist and Hindu universities. In Japan there is the world-famous Sophia Catholic University.

Unfortunately, my proposal for a Christian University in Sibu in the late seventies did not even  find any support from the SUPP leaders.

Sibu should have a full university by the eighties or nineties. Instead we hear  about an university college status in 2012!

Is this progress or going backwards?

                This entry was posted on Friday, 7 May 2010, 7:12 pm and is filed under
Education
,
Election
,
Sabah
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


Prime Minister Najib given until 11 am tomorrow to set up Hanif Omar RCI into police trigger-happy killing of Aminulrasyhid or I will ask Sibu voters to use by-election to send clear message that they want a IPCMC

Prime Minister Najib given until 11 am tomorrow to set up Hanif Omar RCI into police trigger-happy killing of Aminulrasyhid or I will ask Sibu voters to use by-election to send clear message that they want a IPCMC to create an efficient, independent, incorruptible world-class police service

I congratulate the Selangor Police Chief  Datuk Khalid Abu Bakar for the speed with which his official car stolen two days ago had been found.

This however cannot be attributed to any police efficiency.

This was the result of the bungling of the car thief in stealing of all things the Selangor Police Chief’s official car which will condemn not only the thief but all handlers of stolen goods as targets of concentrated police search, surveillance and fire,  which will make their lives among the most miserable on earth.

No wonder the car thief abandoned Khalid’s jet-black Perdana V6 when he discovered the identity of the car which he had stolen, leaving the vehicle on the side of the road in Prima Damansara with the apologetic note on the dashboard from the car thief: “Sorry PDRM tesilap sapu” (Sorry PDRM: a mistake).

The car was found at  8.45am by police officers who were making their rounds in the area.

The farce of the Selangor CPO’s stolen official car for two days however is at the expense of the Police and the ordinary people – for it is a frightful reminder to Malaysians how unsafe Malaysia has become, whether in terms of their personal safety but also of their property.

Who would expect thieves or robbers to return their ill-gotten gains with an apology attached, unless the victim happened to be the Selangor CPO or Inspector-General of Police?

The farce of the Selangor police chief’s two-day stolen car and the tragedy of the police trigger-happy killing of 14-year-old Form III student Aminulrasyid Amzah some 100 metres from his Shah Alam house on April 26 at 2 am whose only crime was unlicensed underaged driving of his sister’s car to watch a live football with his friends at the neighbourhood mamak stall combine to underline that the country is grappling with a serious crisis of confidence in the Malaysian police – despite the formation of a Police Royal Commission six years ago.

It is precisely because the Barisan Nasional government had failed to take the Police Royal Commission’s recommendations seriously, in particular its key recommendation for the establishment of an Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC) to create an efficient, incorruptible, professional world-class police service with three core functions to keep crime low, wipe out corruption and uphold human rights, that  public confidence in the police today is at an all-time low.

The Deputy Home Minister and Chairman of the Special Panel into Aminulrasyid’s killing, Datuk Abu Seman Yusof said yesterday that there are “some inconsistencies” in the police case on the killing of Aminulrasyid that needs to be resolved as “We do not want the public to raise any issue of a cover-up”.

Abu Seman has made an under-statement as  the ordinary rakyat can see “huge holes” in the police case on Aminulrasyid’s killing – for instance:

why the police classified the case as murder yet the Inspector-General of Police, Tan Sri Musa Hassan calls for an inquest;

why both the Selangor CPO and IGP jumped to the conclusion that Aminulrasyid and his companion and eye-witness of his being shot to death by the police, Azamuddin Omar, 15, were suspected criminals (even claiming that a parang was found in the car) without  any thorough and professional police investigations?

Why the IGP and Police CPO have not apologised for the slur on the reputation on the two boys as well as on their families; and

Why is it necessary to subject Azamuddin to three sessions of police questionings over the very same version of events if the Police investigators had been responsible, thorough and professional as the 15-year old stuck consistently to his first police report on 26th April as to the circumstances leading to the heinous killing of his friend.

 It is not just the police, but Abu Seman himself who must explain the many “inconsistencies” about the Special Panel, viz:

How it started as a powerless body which cannot inquire into Aminulrasyid’s death or make recommendations to the police and transformed into a super-powerful body which seems able to do anything; and

Under what laws the Special Panel derive all these extraordinary powers overnight or is it an illegal and unconstitutional body?

I am giving the Prime Minister Najib until 11 am tomorrow to set up a  Royal Commission of Inquiry headed by former Inspector-General of Police Tun Hanif Omar to investigate into police trigger-happy killing of Aminulrasyhid and all police shooting deaths or I will ask Sibu voters to use the current by-election to send a clear and unmistakable  message that they want two things:

A Royal Commission of Inquiry into Aminulrasyhid’s death and all cases of police shooting deaths since 2005; and

An IPCMC to create an efficient, independent, incorruptible world-class police service.

Why the short notice until 11 am?

Firstly, this notice is not a short one as in this era of instant communications in the age of Internet, Najib would know of what I say in a matter of minutes of issuing the statement.

Secondly,  the heinous crime of  Aminulrasyid’s killing did not happen yesterday but close to two weeks ago and the Prime Minister has all the facts for an instant decision to be taken without needing any further report or briefing from the police.

Will the SUPP Candidate for Sibu, Robert Lau Hui Yew, support the establishment of a RCI into the Aminulrasyid’s death and all police shooting deaths since 2005?

Will he support the establishment of an IPCMC  to create an efficient, incorruptible, professional world-class police service?

Or would he have no views saying that these issues have nothing to do with the Sibu by-election?

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 8 May 2010, 5:13 pm and is filed under
Najib Razak
,
Police
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


Sibu by-election nomination tweets

#Sibu #P212 Nomination then Battle of Century 4Sibu/Swak/Msia begins At stake triple future of Sibu/Swak/Msia Vote 4Sibu/ Swak/Mysia 16 May

Saturday, May 08, 2010 7:58 AM

All PR national/state leaders DAP PKR PAS SNAP arr @ Sibu MP Hall 4nomination Historic show of new Msian political force 4change 4new Msia

Saturday, May 08, 2010 8:39 AM

#Sibu Unprecedented in Swak – all excitement expectation even bn4 9am Nomination illustrating d critical importance of dis byelection #P212

Saturday, May 08, 2010 9:12 AM

1st met SUPP PeterChin TiongThyeKing going over 2BN camp Byelection banter Told Peter 2ask Najib 2come Sibu  daily n bring a lot of ang paus

Saturday, May 08, 2010 9:17 AM

All BN big guns oredi @BN camp Went over w KuiLun TonyPua 2say hello 2DPMM’din CMTaib ShafieApdal GeorgeChan TsuKoon More banter #Sibu #P212

Saturday, May 08, 2010 9:22 AM

#Sibu Seated BN leaders joked “Tarik diri?” My counter “Apa harga” George greeted me took up (cont) http://tl.gd/16o2tm

Saturday, May 08, 2010 9:36 AM

#Sibu All BN leaders cheerful front except CM Taib quite glum. Had known n crossed swords with Taib in Parliament in 70s when Minister #P212

Saturday, May 08, 2010 9:42 AM

#Sibu Journalists complained did not give advance notice as they were all elsewhere Declined suggestion going over 2nd time 4 photo op #P212

Saturday, May 08, 2010 9:45 AM

#Sibu Met BN SGAdnan.Azmin complained no refreshments like previous byelections Why so stingy?”Where r d logs”I asked. Adnan no answer #P212

Saturday, May 08, 2010 9:50 AM

#Sibu Returning Officer announces 3 candidates 4 #P212 byelection DAP/PR, SUPP/BN n independent 1 hour 4 objections

Saturday, May 08, 2010 10:04 AM

Supporters of PR/BN having contest of chants songs n slogans on different sides Nomination centre – difference between paid n unpaid voices

Saturday, May 08, 2010 10:10 AM

Elaborated triple imp of #P212. If DAP wins, dvlpmnt in #Sibu in next 12-18 mths will b unprecedented as Najib wants 2win it back in 13GE

Saturday, May 08, 2010 10:36 AM

#P212 #Sibu Returning Officer announces 3 candidates DAP/PR SUPP/BN Independent Let Battle of Century 4Sibu Sarawak Malaysia begin!

Saturday, May 08, 2010 11:29 AM

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 8 May 2010, 3:33 pm and is filed under
Election
,
Sarawak
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


1 Malaysia: Another morning glory?

By
Tunku Abdul Aziz

An old English friend of mine, the late Humphrey Ball, the Malacca lawyer, once described Malaysia, his adopted country, as a morning glory — a reference to “a climbing plant with flowers shaped like trumpets that open in the morning and close in late afternoon.”

Having lived among us for so long, he was used to putting up with our little foibles, and if he was irritated by them, he kept his feelings very much to himself. Humphrey was the quintessential English gentleman.

We were having breakfast and it was a lovely morning and the city looked splendid. In between another cup of tea and a round of toast and marmalade, he surveyed the Kuala Lumpur skyline from the veranda of the Selangor Club and declared that from his experience, many of the state of the art concrete and stainless steel structures that were jostling for breathing space in the ever expanding concrete jungle of Malaysian towns and cities would go the way of all the other buildings he had seen in this country — in wreck and ruin within a few years.

“You know, Tunku, Malaysia is not unlike the morning glory,” he intoned.

Humphrey was, of course, right. We are good at building with the help of legions of exploited foreign labour. Maintenance is not part of the equation and we see this not only in the state of our buildings but also our suburban roads.

We neglect to repair a small hole as soon as it appears in the road until it becomes big enough to maim or kill a motorcyclist or damage a car. The Government, both Federal and State, is lucky that suing the authorities for negligence has not become a common feature of Malaysian life.

This is because the overwhelming majority of our people are ignorant of their rights. The time is not too far away when, as in the US and other developed countries, the authorities will be held legally accountable for their actions — in this instance, their lack of action.

Humphrey’s morning glory best describes our general attitude and approach to civic or public duty and responsibility. We undertake a government construction project with a lot of trumpeting and enthusiasm, but we seldom ever complete it successfully.

We see hundreds of such monuments to crony capitalism and entrenched, systemic corruption in every state of the nation. This is what happens when governance is driven by political rather than rational considerations. When meritocracy is on the backburner instead of in the driver’s seat, this is to be expected.

Datuk Seri Najib Razak may mean well in what he says about policy reforms, but will he be allowed the freedom to act effectively? Present indications are that he will be allowed to talk about his vision of a united and prosperous Malaysia ad infinitum.

His rival and other powerful political minders know that there is not much harm done to existing policies that benefit the party as long as they control and curtail his actions. He may not know it, but he has already caught the morning glory disease of beginning with a bang and ending with a deafening whimper.

Najib must wish he had not spent so much public money that is needed more urgently elsewhere to launch his 1 Malaysia, which looks destined for an early demise, like the morning glory of Humphrey’s evocative analogy. 1 Malaysia will forever remain a puerile offering of a confused mind that is best forgotten before the nation is subjected to further ridicule.

Please do not get me wrong. I have, all my life, promoted racial unity and integration, the acceptance instead of tolerance of cultural diversity, long before Najib even thought about these unifying elements.

But my version of 1 Malaysia is one that provides equal opportunity for all, based on the principles of justice and fair play.

My 1 Malaysia is a Malaysian Malaysia where all citizens are treated equally and discrimination in any shape or form is outlawed.

My 1 Malaysia is Middle Malaysia where extremism in economic, social, and political terms is totally expunged, and where the notion of racial supremacy is killed as soon as it rears its ugly head.

My 1 Malaysia will be free of the contradictions such as we see in our existing policies that favour a particular section of the Malaysian community to the detriment of sustainable overall development.

For the life of me I cannot see Najib delivering on my order. Can you, my fellow Malaysians?

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 9 May 2010, 9:02 am and is filed under
Tunku Abdul Aziz
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.                You can
leave a response
, or
trackback
 from your own site.


Crime Wave – Hishamuddin blames it on “chattering women”

Hishammuddin rails against police-bashing

By
Shannon Teoh
 | The Malaysian Insider
 May 09, 2010

LONDON, May 9 — Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein last night urged Malaysians to defend and not demonise the police force, now under increasing public pressure to reform after the two recent shootings of teenagers.

The Home Minister also said that instead of constantly attacking the police, the public must support the force as it was one of the institutional pillars that formed the spine of the country.

“I want to assure everybody, that the morale of the police also has to be safeguarded and balanced. Clear demonisation does not help anybody,” Hishammuddin told some 100 students at the Malaysian Students Department here.

“Malaysia is in transition. In times of change, there is always a tendency to demonise these institutions without basis, without study, discussion and understanding,” he said of institutions such as law enforcement and the judiciary.

The recent death of 14-year-old Aminulrasyid Amzah and yesterday’s shooting of 17-year-old Mohd Azizi Aziz at the hands of the police has led to public anger with the police who are already having to deal with negative perception over crime levels, custodial deaths and corruption.

“It was a tragic shooting incident,” Hishammuddin said of Aminulrasyid’s death and insisted that there would be no cover-up and that the panel established to investigate is credible.

He pointed out that policemen who have been shot did not get public sympathy.

“At the same time, the aide-de-camp of the Tengku Mahkota of Kelantan was shot in cold blood in the middle of the road. But he does not get the same treatment from the public who only want to know if it is linked to the current controversy in the Kelantan royal family,” he said, referring to Kelantan palace guard Ramli Mohamad who was shot recently.

“Just because he is a policeman does this mean he does not deserve sympathy? So let’s not get emotional,” said Hishammuddin, who was made home minister in the Najib administration.

Admitting that “the system needs to be sorted out” and that he did not “condone something that works above the law” especially by law enforcers themselves, the minister said that institutions needed to be built and there were no immediate solutions.

“We need people who are given trust to be responsible for it but not be dictated by the politics of the day or the flavour of the month. These institutions are going to be here longer than the politicians,” said Hishammuddin, whose father Tun Hussein Onn was the country’s third prime minister.

He also declared that the police had performed a perfect 10 in areas that “you will never see, you will never hear, you will never know” such as counter-terrorism.

But the Umno vice-president admitted that with regards to street crime, he would only give the police a six.

However, he said that the level of street crimes was exaggerated by the continuous chattering that made it seem worse.

“Most victims are women. What do women do? They go to the hairdressers… they chit-chat and suddenly it is everywhere and cause people to fear,” he joked.

He added that the Attorney-General and Chief Justice would also have to do their part in ensuring that crimes were prosecuted and that court dates were fixed and backlogs cleared.

He told the crowd of mainly students that the Home Ministry had targeted a reduction of street crime by 20 per cent by the end of the year and crime in general by five per cent for the next three consecutive years.

Hishammuddin asked for patience as the last time the police had a full intake was during the time of the May 13, 1969 race riots.

He explained that due to the stability of the country after that, funds were diverted into development and education instead of reinforcing the police which would have led to criticism of creating a police state in times of relative safety.

Therefore, time is needed to create the necessary police presence to address crime levels.

“I tell the police not to get demoralised as the more people attack them, the more allocation we get,” he added.

Hishammuddin also announced that officers working at desk jobs in the headquarters in Bukit Aman would be substituted by civil servants, resulting in 7,000 personnel redeployed on the streets.

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 9 May 2010, 2:40 pm and is filed under
Crime
,
Police
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


Hishammuddin should  apologise for his insult to Malaysian women on Mother’s Day blaming women’s “chattering” for exaggerating the crime problem and demonizing the police

What a shame!  After the farce of the Selangor Chief Police Officer’s stolen official car, which was returned by the thief in panic after two days with an apology note for stealing the wrong car, a Deputy Minister has lost his car.

Will the Deputy Minister get his car back like the Selangor CPO with an “apology note” too left on the dashboard of the car abandoned on the roadside?

Most unlikely.  I understand the Deputy Minister concerned is Senator A. Kohilan Pillai. He is unlikely to be as lucky as the Selangor CPO for the simple reason that he cannot strike fear among the thieves and handlers of stolen goods of “hell to pay” that the Selangor CPO could!

The twin episodes of the different fates of the two stolen cars of the two VIPs would make excellent butt of jokes and would definitely be good for laughs  if not for the serious security crisis in the country which they highlighted.

If it is so easy for the official cars of the  Selangor CPO (though “returned” with apology note in two days) and the Deputy Foreign Minister to be stolen, what is safe in the country?

When did Malaysia become so unsafe – not only to property but also to life  and limb, that Malaysia’s endemic crime is regarded as an unfavourable factor causing decline of Malaysia’s international competitiveness and driving away foreign investments to Malaysia?

This is why I am utterly shocked by the speech of the Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein in London last night urging Malaysians “to defend and not to demonise the police force”.

Hishammuddin, as reported by Malaysian Insider, said that instead of constantly attacking the police, the public must support the force as it was one of the institutional pillars that formed the spine of the country.

Speaking to some 100 students at the Malaysian Students’ Department in London, Hishammuddin said:

“I want to assure everybody, that the morale of the police also has to be safeguarded and balanced. Clear demonisation does not help anybody.

 “Malaysia is in transition. In times of change, there is always a tendency to demonise these institutions without basis, without study, discussion and understanding” referring to institutions such as law enforcement and the judiciary.

This is a completion distortion of the truth as there is no demonization of the police by any quarter.

For instance, my political record of 44 years in Parliament and outside can stand any public scrutiny that I have fully supported the police as an important and indispensable institution of any civilized nation as all Malaysians have the right to demand that any government must deliver on its most fundamental duties – a competent and efficient police force to keep the citizenry, both life, limb and property, safe from harm.

I have always supported and even advocated increase of wages and improvement of working conditions for the country’s policemen, but  I will not tolerate any “black sheep” in the police, for they are the ones who are responsible for bringing the whole police institution into disrepute and the cause of the police crisis of confidence  today.

Hishammuddin is also very sparing with the truth in trying to create the impression that Malaysia is in a transition and more time is needed for the people to see results.

The campaign for police reform did not start when Hishammuddin became Home Minister a year ago.

It went much further back.  At the end of 2003, the then new Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi formed a Police Royal Commission to reform the police because it  was already  suffering from a crisis of confidence.

The Police Royal Commission came out with 125  reform recommendations to create an efficient, incorruptible, professional world-class police service focussed on three core functions – to keep crime low, to eradicate corruption and to uphold human rights.

However, the Barisan Nasional government refused to adopt the most important of these recommendations  for police reform, i.e. the establishment of an Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC).

If an IPCMC had been established as recommended by the Police Royal Commission, 14-year-old Form III student from Shah Alam, Aminulrasyid Amzah would still be alive today and not fall victim to trigger-happy police shooting and killing some 100 metres from his Shah Alam house on April 26 at 2 am, whose only crime was underaged and unlicensed driving of his sister’s car to watch live football at the Shah Alam neighbourhood mamak stall with his friends.

I am also flabbergasted and outraged that Hishammuddin could be so irresponsible as to blame Malaysian women on Mother’s Day for the exaggeration of the endemic crime situation in the country.

Hishammuddin said in London that the level of street crimes in Malaysia  was exaggerated by the “continuous chattering” that made it seem worse.

He said: “Most victims are women. What do women do? They go to the hairdressers… they chit-chat and suddenly it is everywhere and cause people to fear”.

Hishammuddin should  apologise for his insult to Malayhsian women on Mother’s Day blaming women’s “chattering” for exaggerating the crime problem and demonizing the police.

In any event, what is Hishammuddin doing to London, when he should have cancelled his London trip to address the security crisis arising from the heinous police killing of Aminulrasyid?

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 9 May 2010, 3:53 pm and is filed under
Police
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


Ho Leng promises to solve ‘Allah’ row

By
Adib Zalkapli
 | The Malaysian Insider

SIBU, May 9 — DAP candidate Wong Ho Leng today made solving the “Allah” issue as his major campaign message in the Sibu by-election.

“If elected, I will call upon the prime minister and home minister to immediately cease the legal dispute with the Christian churches over these matters to protect the freedom of religion in Malaysia for non-Muslims,” said Wong.

The Sarawak DAP chairman reiterated his party’s stand for Barisan Nasional (BN) candidate Robert Lau to make his stand about the ban on non-Muslims using the word “Allah”.

“Lau cannot take an ambiguous stance on the Allah issue anymore, otherwise the people of Sibu, especially the non-Muslims will not trust Lau to speak up for them in Parliament,” the Bukit Assek assemblyman told a press conference here.

About 53 per cent of the 55,000 voters in the Sibu constituency are Christians.

The Chinese form about 66.6 per cent of the voters, the Christian Ibans 16.3 per cent, and the Malay/Melanau approximately 16.2 per cent.

“I urge Lau to stop running away from key issues which concerns the people of Sibu as well as all Malaysians,” said Wong.

“It is completely ridiculous that Lau blames Pakatan leaders for bringing ‘national issues’ into the by-election. It shows that Lau does not understand at all the role of a member of parliament,” he added.

Lau had said that the “Allah” row should not be brought into the campaign to avoid mixing politics and religion.

“Robert has squirmed from answering a simple question of whether the prohibition of the use of ‘Allah’ is a serious infringement on the rights of the people of Sarawak and Malaysian to the constitutionally guaranteed principle of freedom of religion for non-Muslims,” said Wong.

The issue started in 2007 after the Home Ministry invoked a 1986 Cabinet directive banning non-Muslims from using certain Arabic words when it refused to renew the publication permit of the Catholic tabloid Herald.

The Catholic Church later challenged the government’s decision, and on Dec 31 last year the Kuala Lumpur High Court ruled that Herald has the right to use the word “Allah” for its Malay section.

In January, Minister in the Prime Minister Department Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz assured the Christian community in Sabah and Sarawak that the ban on “Allah” would not affect them.

Christians in West Malaysia also continue to face problems with the distribution of religious materials in the national language.

DAP has mobilised its church-going leaders to convince Sibu Christians to back the party with at least two high profile meetings with the community involving DAP national leaders.

The by-election was called following the death of five-term MP and Deputy Transport Minister Robert Lau Hoi Chew early last month.

Campaigning began yesterday and polling has been set on May 16.

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 9 May 2010, 2:37 pm and is filed under
Election
,
Religion
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


Sibu4Change manifesto

Sibu4Change

Both Sarawak and Malaysia are at the crossroads. We deserve and need better state and federal governments. Sibu has the unique and historic opportunity to set the tone for the future and be the beacon of hope for Sarawak and Malaysia.

Sarawak, with the largest land mass in Malaysia and an abundance of natural resources such as oil and gas, is languishing in the bottom half of all the states in Malaysia when it comes to poverty levels.

In 2009, the total estimated revenue of the state was RM3.726 billion. We have timber, palm oil, gold and many other natural resources.

Yet, more than 70% of longhouses do not have access to electricity and many do not even have treated piped water. Until today, there are no roads to many Sarawak villages. The people of Sarawak are among the poorest in Malaysia because of low pay, poor employment opportunities and a business environment which is monopolized by selected individuals.

The only conclusion is that 47 years of BN’s “politics of development” has been a total failure, not only in economic terms, but more importantly, in political terms. Sarawak is the only state in Malaysia where one family practically has complete power over the state’s entire economic and political activities.

For our children, For Sarawak, For Malaysia

Wouldn’t it be great if our children can remain in Sibu and Sarawak to work, live and play? Today, most of our children have left for greener pastures. Some

return only once every few years. Most have not looked back since in their search for greater opportunities out there.

There are more than 300,000 young Sarawakians working in West Malaysia and Singapore because there are no jobs for them in their homeland. A better government creates opportunities at home and keeps families together.

Sarawakians must protect their constitutional rights to freedom of religion and must halt the slippery slope to religious extremism. The rights of Sarawakians to practise their religion in their language of choice is now challenged by the BN federal government’s ban of the use of term “Allah” in BM language Bibles.

Many Sarawakians have become squatters in our own land. Many landowners in Sarawak are facing severe problems in renewing their land leases as the state government can reject any application without reason. If the state refuses to renew the lease, no compensation will be paid to the landowners. But if the lease is renewed, landowners have to pay a hefty premium.

For the Sarawak bumiputera community, their land defines their identities. Under BN’s “politics of development”, their Native Customary Rights (NCR) land is treated as an economic asset to be sold or leased out to timber and plantation companies and other commercial entities. NCR landowners are not even given employment opportunities in these “development projects” as these companies prefer to use cheap foreign labour.

Good Governance = No More Taib

Chief Minister Pehin Sri Abdul Taib bin Mahmud has been in office for more than 29 years. It’s time that we take the mandate back from them and herald a new era of reform and rejuvenation.

DAP and Pakatan Rakyat stand for good governance. Taib Mahmud’s BN has a track record of bad governance. Taib’s family through Cahaya Mata Sarawak (CMS) controls the most lucrative contracts and businesses, impoverishing the rakyat while making life difficult for small businesses.

Sarawak is a very rich state. By implementing open tender systems for all government procurements and contracts and demanding a higher percentage of royalty fees from Petronas, all Sarawakians will be richer by half, at least.

SIBU’s AGENDA FOR CHANGE

Sibu’s Future

When DAP and Pakatan Rakyat becomes government at the federal and state level, we promise to solve the flood problems in Sibu in two years, as well as invest in human capital and infrastructure to make Sibu the next world centre of shipping industries, marine engineering and tourism.

Senior Citizens’ Bonus

When DAP and Pakatan Rakyat becomes the government of Sarawak, all Sarawakians above 60 years old will receive a minimum of RM100 per annum as a gift for their contribution to the Sarawak economy.

Minimum Wage

When DAP and Pakatan Rakyat becomes government at the federal level, it will set a minimum wage of RM750/month for all workers in Peninsula Malaysia and RM830 for Sarawak.

Education

When DAP and Pakatan Rakyat becomes the government at the federal level, all schools will be given allocations according to needs as practised in Penang, Selangor and Kelantan so that our children can have a bright future.

Oil royalty

When DAP and Pakatan Rakyat becomes government at the federal level, Sarawak will receive 20% in oil royalties from Petronas, instead of the current 5%.

Land reform

When DAP and Pakatan Rakyat becomes government in Sarawak, all NCR land will be surveyed and titled issued while all expiring leases will be unconditionally renewed thereby unleashing the great economic potential of Sarawak.

CAT Governance and Democracy

When DAP and Pakatan Rakyat becomes government at the state and federal levels, we will practise Competency, Accountability and Transparency (CAT),

and implement open tender systems, allow freedom of speech and reinstate local government elections.

Download Manifesto in PDF version
.

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 9 May 2010, 12:54 pm and is filed under
Election
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


Challenge to SUPP Sibu chief Wong Soon Koh to a public debate on Friday night on his allegation that “A vote for Rocket is a vote for Islamic State”

The SUPP leadership has unveiled its “killer weapon” for the Sibu by-election, with the SUPP Sibu chief and Sarawak 2nd Finance Minister Datuk Seri Wong Soon Koh opening the “killer” attack, declaring that a vote for Rocket and DAP/PR candidate Wong Ho Leng is a vote for PAS and an Islamic State.

The SUPP strategists believe that this is a “killer weapon” which  could “finish off” the chances of Ho Leng of  ever winning the Sibu by-election “Battle of the Century”, frightening off the Chinese and non-Muslim voters in Sibu, when Ho Leng is already the underdog in the by-election, starting off with a 40% to 60% against him.

In the past two days, as a result of the intensive campaigning by  the candidate, Ho Leng, and  DAP and Pakatan Rakyat leaders, members and supporters throughout the Sibu  constituency, we are beginning to narrow the odds.

The sentiments in Sibu are clearly  in favour of change because of the triple importance of the Sibu “battle of the century” – for Sibu, Sarawak and Malaysia.

In the past 48 hours, Ho Leng has perceptibly gained ground and I would roughly estimate that odds after two days of campaigning as 44% to 56% still in favour of the BN candidate.

However, this is already causing panic among the SUPP strategists which have unsettled the SUPP by-election  strategy, as could be seen by three examples:

Firstly, hamfisted attempt to hijack the DAP/BN campaign of theme, coming up with billboards all over the Sibu constituency since last evening declaring: “Don’t want Change: Want Reform”.

DAP/PR wants change and reform, for it is not possible to have reform without change.

In saying that SUPP wants to have reform without change, the SUPP leadership is taking the people of Sibu, Sarawak and Malaysians as four-year old children and insulting their intelligence.

It is also an open affront of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s 1Malaysia policy where he declared to all Malaysians that “BN is capable of change”.

Now SUPP leadership claims that SUPP is incapable of change although they want reform – “changeless reform”, which deserves a place in the Guinness Book of Records as it is unheard of anywhere else in the world.

Secondly, SUPP leaders are resorting to lies and falsehoods, again with Wong Soon Koh setting the lead.

For instance, he accused me of making personal attacks on the SUPP candidate Robert Lau Hui Yew,  why a cousin of the late Robert Lau was nominated as if there are no talents in Sibu, and then he launched a personal attack on me as my son Lim Guan Eng is Penang Chief Minister and my daughter-in-law is a State Assemblywoman.

What Wong said is a downright lie, as I had never made any such personal attack on Hui Yew, asking why a cousin of the late Robert Lau had been nominated and asked if Sibu had no talents. I challenge Wong to produce proof that I had made such a personal attack and if he cannot, would he apologise and withdraw his lies?

SUPP leaders have been ranting about not wanting West Malaysian political culture in Sarawak (why then is the Najib and Muhyiddin making frequent visits to Sibu?) and I want to ask the SUPP leadership whether what they are trying to preserve is the  politics and culture of lies and falsehoods as exemplified by Wong’s baseless attacks on me.

The third example is the unveiling of the SUPP “killer weapon”  meant to be released just 48 hrs before polling, but released prematurely to stop the momentum of growing support for the DAP/PR candidate, Wong Ho Leng.

SUPP strategists believe that their most powerful weapon against the DAP candidate in the Sibu by-election is the “killer attack” of “A vote for Rocket is a vote for Islamic State”.

DAP’s stand that Malaysia is a secular nation, with Islam as the national religion but not an Islamic state, is a constant and abiding principle which  we had remained true, constant and consistent in the past 44 years and will be continue to uphold without compromise.

DAP, PKR and PAS have formed the Pakatan Rakyat on a common platform of principles which we have made public build a free, fair, just and prosperous Malaysia based on the fundamental principles declared in the original Merdeka Constitution 1957 and the Cobbold Commission 1963 safeguards which  were the basis for the formation of Malaysia with Sarawak, Sabah and Singapore.

It is true that Islamic State remains the objective of PAS. However, the DAP objective that Malaysia is a secular nation, with Islamic as the official religion but not an Islamic state, also remains unchanged.

This means that Islamic State is not the policy of Pakatan Rakyat so long as DAP remains unswerving in our political principles – which is borne out by the record of dedication and consistency of DAP leaders over the decades.

The lie that “A vote for Rocket is a vote for an Islamic state” had effect in the 1999 general elections but does not have a market in Malaysia today, after the March 8 political tsunami in the 2008 general elections.

This is why in the Bukit Gantang by-election in April 2009, 85% of the Chinese voters in Kuala Sepetang voted for the PAS candidate, Datuk Seri Nizar Jamaluddin for the Chinese voters have seen through the lie of the falsehood “A vote for Rocket is a vote for an Islamic State”.

Similarly, in the recent Hulu Selangor by-election, 82.5% of the Chinese voters in Rasa voted in support of the PR candidate, despite the RM3 million inducement by the Prime Minister for a new Chinese primary school for they do not believe that a vote for PR is a vote for an Islamic State.

SUPP leaders believe that what is no more credible in Peninsular Malaysia is still saleable in Sibu.

I challenge the  SUPP Sibu chief Wong Soon Koh to a public debate on Friday night on his allegation that “A vote for Rocket is a vote for Islamic State”.

This will be an excellent occasion to debunk the SUPP falsehood – but the question is whether Wong Soon Kai would dare to accept the challenge.

                This entry was posted on Monday, 10 May 2010, 2:57 pm and is filed under
Election
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


Quality, Quantity, and Equity in Malaysian Education #1

By
M. Bakri Musa

[First of Three Parts]

Quality Education and Economic Development

In referring to the low quality of our labor pool, the New Economic Model Report cites statistics showing that 80 percent of our workers have only SPM level (11 years) of schooling.  That surprises me, not the figure rather the fact that the SPM is now viewed as inadequate.

            That observation reflects more on the quality of our education system than it does of our workers.  For had our education system maintained its quality, and today’s SPM is of the same caliber as the old Cambridge School Certificate “O” Level, then I would argue that our workers are among the most highly educated.

            Members of the National Economic Action Council (they wrote the NEM Report) are old enough to appreciate that when they obtained their O-level certificate, they were in command of sufficient intellectual and other skills to prepare them well for life.  The same cannot be said of today’s SPM, as the Report clearly implies.

            In suggesting that Malaysian workers should have more years of education, the folks at NEAC are falling into the same trap that had ensnared others, of confusing quantity with quality of education.  For if our education system stinks (it certainly does!), then it does not matter whether our workers have college degrees; they still will not be well prepared for the workplace, as attested by the already thousands of unemployed graduates.

            As declared in the Center for Global Development’s A Millennium Learning Goal:  Measuring Real Progress in Education, we should “focus on the real target of schooling:  adequately equipping the nation’s youth for full participation as adults in economic, political and social roles.”  School completion alone is an inadequate indicator of this.  Likewise, generous funding, low pupil/teacher ratio, and physically grandiose schools and universities do not necessarily reflect quality education.

            Consider years of schooling.  One can readily appreciate that a year at an Indonesian high school is not the same as at a South Korean one.  Even within a country, there are significant variations, as with an inner city school in South Chicago and one in the heart of Silicon Valley, California.  In California, the students are challenged with calculus; in inner city Chicago they struggle with “consumer math.”

            As for pupil/teacher ratio, South Korean classrooms are more crowded than American ones, yet that does not negatively impact the learning of the Korean children.

            Earlier cross-national studies attempting to relate workers’ educational levels with a country’s economic performance used such readily obtainable data as the level of funding, pupil/teacher ratio, and years of schooling.  Even with such crude measurements economists were able to conclude confidently that workers’ educational levels correlate well with a nation’s economic development.

            That however, could be the effect and not the cause.  It could be that when a country is rich, it could afford to spend more on education rather than the investment in education making that country rich.

            Such studies also exposed some glaring anomalies.  Latin American countries have universal education yet their economies have been underperforming.  Egypt and South Korea spend proportionately the same on education, with their young having comparable levels of schooling, yet their economies are a universe apart.  What gives?

            The OECD made a cross-national study of its labor force focusing specifically on cognitive (in particular reading and mathematical) abilities rather than years of schooling.  As can be appreciated, this was a much more formidable undertaking than merely comparing national statistics that may or may not be actually comparable.  The findings of this much more rigorous study are even more impressive, confirming not only the earlier findings but also explaining the anomalies.

            OECD has since refined and expanded its studies to include developing countries.  The resulting Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) survey is sufficiently rigorous to conclude that workers’ cognitive skills are causally (not just statistically) correlated with economic development across a broad spectrum of countries, from developing to developed ones.  Meaning, a country could not develop economically if its workers are cognitively not up to par, regardless of the number of years of formal education.

            The relevant cognitive skills relate to critical thinking, language abilities, mathematical competence, and science literacy.  It should not surprise us that Indonesia, Bolivia and Peru remain economically backward considering that, as per PISA findings, the average reading ability of Indonesian students was equivalent to that of the lowest seven percent of French students; the average mathematics score of Brazilian students was equal to the lowest scoring Danish students; while the average science score of Peruvian students was equal to the lowest five percent of American students, despite the same number of years spent in school.

            Malaysia was not included in the PISA study but it did participate in the Third (1999) International Mathematics and Science Studies (TIMMS – R).  We scored somewhere in the middle, way behind Singapore, South Korea, Japan and Taiwan.  And so is our economy.

            Malaysian leaders and educators do not like to be reminded of this; instead they would prefer us to focus on the fact that we are still ahead of Indonesia, Bolivia and Peru.

            The American performance in TIMMS was not impressive either, and that prompted much soul searching.  By way of contrast, in Malaysia I have not heard of any official pronouncements or seen academic papers on the subject.  The only analyses done on the Malaysian performance on TIMMS were conducted by Malaysian-born American scholars.

            Americans realize that they need a skilled workforce to create innovative products and start new entrepreneurial ventures that would drive economic development.

            The American performance at TIMMS illustrates another apparent anomaly.  While American students lag behind those of Asia and many OECD countries, the American economy outperforms theirs.  At first glance this would negate PISA’s conclusion.

            Two factors explain the apparent American anomaly.  The first relates to the American curriculum and system of teaching.  Since this is more important, let me dispose quickly of the second factor, that is, American industries, often supported by public funds, devote substantial resources to training and continually upgrading their workers’ skills.

            My hospital has a department devoted entirely to the continuing professional education of its nurses, doctors and other personnel.  American editors for example, regularly send their reporters to writing classes and to hear from luminaries in their fields.

            For contrast, query any Malaysian civil servant on when was the last time he attended a course that would contribute to his professional development, and you would draw a blank.  The response would be the same if you were to ask what professional journals he subscribes or reads regularly.

            Returning to the more important first factor, while it is true that American students do not do well in science and mathematics, they shine in the critical and creative thinking department.  Unfortunately these skills are not tested by TIMMS or indeed any pencil-and-paper test.  The American curriculum, both at school and college levels, does not emphasize rote memory and regurgitation at examination time.  Instead the focus is on critical and independent thinking.  Thus American students have “open book” and “take home” examinations, a concept incomprehensible to Malaysians.  American test questions probe your ability to think critically, not regurgitate textbook or lecture contents.

            For those who find an “open book” examination incomprehensible, let me suggest some examples.  If Hikayat Hang Tuah were a text in an American course, a typical examination question would be:

The central injunction of our Quran is to “command good and forbid evil.”  To what extent have the three main characters (Hang Tuah, Hang Jebat, and the Sultan of Melaka) followed this creed?

            For Shahnon Ahmad’s Ranjau Se Panjang Jalan, a suggested question would be:

Describe three major ranjau (obstacles) faced by Lahuma (the central character).  Imagine yourself the assigned caseworker.  How would you guide him to overcome them?

            Come to think of it, this would also be a good intellectual exercise for my readers who have read both great works of Malay literature!

            As can be seen, those questions make you think.  Further, there is no right or wrong answer.  Such exercises in critical and creative thinking are the norm in an American classroom.  It is this that accounts for the continuing innovativeness, remarkable resilience, and entrepreneurial vigor of the American economy.

            Consider this.  The American University in Cairo, which has an American curriculum and teaching style, has an enrolment of about 5,000, less than one percent of the total undergraduates in that country.  Yet at the Egyptian embassy in Washington, DC, a prestigious posting where only the best get chosen, 40 percent of the staff are AUC graduates.  The Egyptian establishment has rendered its judgment as to the quality of that institution, and by implication, the rest of the country’s universities, including its most famous and oldest, Al Azhar.

            Undergraduates at AUC are required to take a course, “The Human Quest:  Exploring the Big Questions,” where they pursue such queries as, “Who am I?” and, “What does it mean to be a human?”

            The Asian ‘tigers,’ their robust economies notwithstanding, appreciate the value and uniqueness of the American system of liberal education; they strive to make their own more ‘American.’

            Singapore consciously does this, but is burdened by the fact that it relies on current personnel (teachers, administrators, and policymakers) and institutions to effect these changes.  Unfortunately they have been brought up under the old rigid system.  I never underestimate the power of inertia, systemic as well as personal.  It is especially difficult for individuals to change as that would mean repudiating the very system that had brought them to where they are today.

            South Korea imports wholesale American schools, complete with the teachers and texts.  As these schools are expensive, only the children of the elite could afford to enroll.  In a way that would be a quick and effective channel of changing the whole system as those students are destined to be influential in their country.

            Japan brings in thousands of young Americans to teach English under the JET program.  Although they are primarily for teaching English, nonetheless their teaching methods and styles would inevitably spill over to the ‘native’ teachers.

            Thailand recognizes the limitations of its current personnel and institutions to effect changes.  Consequently it attacks the problem frontally by opening up the system.  Thus international schools, primarily British and American, are mushrooming there.  As in South Korea, these schools are affordable only to the elite.  However, because of the ensuing competition from the sheer number of new entries, the costs have come down substantially and these schools are now within the reach of the middle class.  Such schools would spawn a new revolution in education in that country.

            These countries realize that they have to go beyond the numbers, as with the number of school years or universities, and focus instead on quality.  These excellent schools are still far from being the norm; those countries still face the major challenge of access, and thus equity.

            How should Malaysia approach the dilemma of quantity versus quality, as well as the issue of equity in her education system?  The rest of this essay is my attempt at answering this.

Next:   The Trinity of Quality, Quantity, and Equity

                This entry was posted on Monday, 10 May 2010, 11:43 am and is filed under
Bakri Musa
,
Education
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.