Revisit  my comments on TIMSS 1999 in 2002

In August 2002, I issued a statement  on the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) 1999  and the points and issues I raised  six years ago are even more relevant today.

This statement  on  TIMSS 1999 on 16th August 2002 is reproduced here:

Musa should present a White Paper in Parliament on the strategy to  be learnt from  TIMSS 1999 for  Malaysian students to rank among the world’s    top five   nations in  mathematics and science

The Education Minister, Tan Sri Musa Mohamad should present a White Paper in Parliament next month on the lessons to be learnt from  the Third International Mathematics and Science Study – Repeat (TIMMS-R) 1999 which Malaysian students participated for the first time, and the strategy for Malaysian students to rank  among the world’s top  five nations  in mathematics and science.

Five Asian countries were the top performers in mathematics and science in TIMSS-R 1999, an eighth grade level test involving 38 countries and 180,000 students.

The five Asian countries, led by Singapore and followed by South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Japan, had the highest average performance in mathematics; while for science the five top scorers were Taiwan, Singapore, Hungary, Japan and South Korea.

Malaysia was placed 16th in mathematics and 22nd place  in science in the scoreboard for 38 countries.

DAP has a vested interest to know the detailed results and analysis of Malaysian student performance in TIMMS 1999, and the pointers as to the future directions the country should pursue to establish Malaysia’s excellence in mathematics and science to become among  the world’s  top five performers in these two subjects, as it was the DAP which was responsible for Malaysia’s participation in TIMSS 1999, making the initial contacts with the organizers of TIMMS in 1996  and persuading the then Education Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak  on the matter.

Musa should list out the lessons the Education Ministry has learnt from TIMMS 1999 to lay a solid  foundation for the  international excellence of Malaysian schools in mathematics and science  by aiming  to  become the world’s top five in mathematics and science,  as  I do not believe that  from the following results and  table of ranking of countries in TIMSS 1999, anyone can conclude that one of the lessons is that mathematics and science should be taught in English in primary schools from Standard One:

Ranking of Countries in TIMSS 1999

(TIMSS scale average  – 500)

Ranking

Maths

Average Score

1		Singapore		604

2		Korea Rep		587

3	Chinese Taipei 	585

4	Hong Kong   		582

5	Japan			579

6	Belgium (Flemish)	558

7	Netherlands		540

8	Slovak Republic	534

9	Hungary		532

10	Canada			531

11	Slovenia		530

12	Russian Federation	526

13	Australia		525

14	Finland		520

15	Czech Republic	520

16	Malaysia		519

17	Bulgaria		511

18	Latvia			505

19	United States		502

20	England		496

Ranking	Science		Average score

1		Chinese Taipei	569

2		Singapore		568

3		Hungary		552

4		Japan			550

5		Korea Rep		549

6		Netherlands		545

7		Australia		540

8	            Czech Republic	539

9		England		538

10		Finland		536

11		Slovak Republic	535

11		Belgium (Flemish)	535

13		Slovenia		533

13		Canada			533

15		Hong Kong		530

16		Russian Federation	529

17		Bulgaria		518

18		United States		515

19		New Zealand		510

20		Latvia			503

21		Italy			492

22		Malaysia		492

The first lesson to be learnt from the results of TIMSS 1999 is that it is not the use of English  to teach mathematics and science in primary schools from Year One which is responsible for top scores in mathematics and science.

In the top 15 countries for mathematics, only Singapore (No. 1)  and Australia  (No. 13) use English to teach mathematics and science, as Canada is bilingual, using both English and French, while all the other 12 countries use their respective mother tongues to teach these two subjects.  Singapore uses the total immersion system of having English as the medium of instruction for schools – which Malaysia is not prepared to emulate.

The same applies to science, as apart from Singapore (No.2), Australia (No. 7), England (No.9) and Canada  (No. 14), all the other 11 countries use their respective mother tongue to teach the subject.

If TIMSS 1999 is not the source of inspiration for  the Education Ministry  to use English to teach mathematics and science in primary schools from Std. One,  where did it get this inspiration?

TIMMS 1999 has been used by the participating countries, except for Malaysia, for a public debate on the implications of its findings, whether there should be changes to or  reforms of  instructional practices and curricular arrangements to ensure higher levels of student achievements and the future directions and policy in the quest for excellence in these two subjects.

The Singapore Education Ministry has made public the  “key findings” relating to Singapore students who participated in TIMSS 1999 immediately after the release of the results in November 2000.  Why is Musa keeping the TIMSS findings for Malaysia under “lock and key” instead of reporting at the first available opportunity to Parliament and the nation?

There were sufficient data in the  TIMSS 1999 findings for Singapore  to analyse the performance of Chinese and Malay students in the island republic.  For mathematics, 96% of the Chinese students are in the international top half while 83% of the Malay students are in the international top half.  For science, 86% of the Chinese students and 61% of the Malay students respectively are in the international top half.

The Malaysian Education Ministry should similarly make public the key findings relating to Malaysian students who participated in TIMMS 1999, particularly an analysis of the performance of the Malay, Chinese, Indian, Iban and Kadazan students in mathematics and science  to identify their weaknesses and the best methods to raise  their academic attainments.

Malaysian students lag behind their Singapore counterparts in all measures adopted by TIMSS 1999 for mathematics and science.

For instance, most Singapore students are in the international top half of TIMSS – 93% and 80% of Singapore students are in the international top half for mathematics and science respectively while only 69% of Malaysian students are in the top half of mathematics.

A high proportion of Singapore students also achieve excellent results – 46% and 32% of students reached the international top 10% in mathematics and science respectively; as compared to only 12% of Malaysian students in the top 10% in mathematics.

I do not have the data for Malaysian students in science in TIMSS, which should be made public in the White Paper on  the TIMSS-Malaysia report  in Parliament next month.

(16/8/2002)

Six years down the road, Malaysia failed to learn anything from TIMSS 1999 as  from Malaysia’s disastrous results in TIMSS 2007 we have  regressed – worse than the two earlier TIMSS (1999 and 2003) we had participated.

Where’s the Cemerlang, Gemilang, Terbilang ( Excellence, Distinction, Glory)?

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 11 January 2009, 5:35 pm and is filed under
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Disastrous TIMSS 2007 results – Hishammuddin’s flippant and irresponsible response

I am not the only one to be astounded by the flippant and  irresponsible
response
 of the Education Minister, Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein to my statement asking him to break his month-long silence and explain Malaysia’s disastrous showing in the 60-nation Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) 2007 for Year-8 secondary  students.

Malaysia’s  TIMSS 2007 performance was most dismal in the three four-yearly TIMSS participated by our students since 1999, with the lowest score for both mathematics and science, with 474 points for mathematics and 471 for science (500 is the TIMSS scale average), when  Malaysia scored mostly above average in the previous TIMSS.

Malaysia’s comparative performance in the 1999, 2003 and 2007 TIMSS are:

Mathematics 1999	2003	2007

Ranking	 16	  10	  20

Score		519    	508	474

Science	1999	2003	2007

Ranking	  22  	  20	  21

Score		492	510	471

Since the international release of the  TIMSS 2007  on December 9, 2008, there had been intense public debate involving the educational authorities, educational NGOs and concerned parents in all the participating countries on the results of TIMSS 2007 and their impact on their respective education policy and in particular how to improve the teaching and learning in mathematics and science for their pupils – except for Malaysia.

If Hishammuddin could announce Malaysia’s TIMSS 2003 performance within 24 hours of the international release of the results in December 2004, why is the reason for Hishammuddin thunderous silence for over a month about the TIMSS 2007 results?

Is this just because Malaysia had plunged from No. 10th placing for maths and 20th placing for science in TIMSS 2003 to 20th placing for maths and 21st placing for science inTIMSS 2007?

There can be no justification for keeping  the Malaysian public in the dark about the findings of Malaysia’s performance in TIMSS 2007 and I had asked Hishammuddin to explain  the reason for this month-long “conspiracy of silence”.

All Hishammuddin could say was his tongue-in-cheek response that I was just creating the issue for the Kuala Terengganu by-election.

This is the height of irresponsibility and arrogance.

Is Hishammuddin delaying a full ministerial accounting for Malaysia’s disastrous showing in the TIMSS 2007 for another three months, expecting a Cabinet reshuffle after the ascension of Datuk Seri Najib Razak as Prime Minister and his moving up the Cabinet ladder – which will leave the responsibility for explaining Malaysia’s dismal results in TIMSS 2007 to the new Education Minister?

This is too transparent a ploy and a most unworthy one!

Hishammuddin should stop evading and avoiding the issue. Stand up like a responsible Education Minister and answer the many questions about Malaysia’s disastrous performance in TIMSS 2007 and the month-long “conspiracy of silence”!

                This entry was posted on Monday, 12 January 2009, 11:52 am and is filed under
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Exposing Our Leaders to Competition

by
M. Bakri Musa

The recent installation of Tunku Muhriz as the 11th Yang Di Pertuan Besar of Negri Sembilan (the equivalent of a sultan in the other states) illustrates one important point.  When the top position is not automatically handed to the putative Number Two and instead you widen your choice, you are more likely to end up with a far superior candidate.

            The consensus among the rakyat as well as the establishment is that Tunku Muhriz is a far superior candidate, and a better person to boot, than the other contenders, the three sons of Tuanku Jaafar.

            It is too late for the three adult sons of Tuanku Jaafar to appreciate and benefit from the wisdom of my observation.  It is hard to learn as an adult the lessons you should have learned as a youngster.

            Tunku Naquiyuddin, Tuanku Jaafar’s oldest son, must have felt the sting the most.  After all, his father had named him Regent, or acting Yam Tuan, during his recent extended overseas tour.  As such Naquiyuddin must have felt that the throne would rightly be his.  He had already begun acting as the Yam Tuan, as he did recently when he called for the restoration of the Sultans’ absolute royal immunity.  At the personal level, he was already behaving only too well as a feudal king.

            As for Tunku Muhriz, he had learned his lesson well, and early, way back in 1967 when the Undangs (Territorial Chiefs) instead bypassed him to pick his father’s half-brother Tuanku Jaafar as the 10th Yam Tuan to succeed Tunku Muhriz’s father.  Sensing that the royal throne would not be his, he wisely prepared himself for life in the real world outside the palace.  By all measures he has done well, having obtained a law degree and acquitting himself credibly in the private sector.

            More importantly, he has also imparted those valuable lessons onto his children.  They too have all done well academically and personally san their royal titles, making their achievements that much more credible and praiseworthy.

The Badawi Disaster

The wisdom of my observation is universal.  Note the disaster when Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi automatically assumed the top slot upon the retirement of Dr. Mahathir.  Had Mahathir been aware of the wisdom of my observation and widened the choice of candidates to succeed him, Malaysia would have been spared the incompetence of Abdullah Badawi.

            This pattern of the number two automatically becoming number one is rampant if not standard practice in the civil service.  Those senior civil servants behave like airplanes stacked at a busy airport, each patiently waiting his turn and not daring to upset the established pattern lest it would threaten his position and prospect.

            I have seen this pattern broken only rarely, as in the early 1960s when Dr. Majid Ismail, then an orthopedic consultant, was tapped to be the Director-General of Health, bypassing many senior bureaucrats.  He upset the entire hierarchy at the Ministry of Health; Majid later proved himself to be one of the most farsighted and enlightened health policymakers.  Today that Ministry remains one of the few that do not hew to the strict “tunggu geleran” (waiting your turn) pattern of the civil service.  It is thus not a surprise that it is one of the more professionally-run ministries.

            Come this March with the current Number Two Najib Razak automatically assuming the Number One position with Abdullah’s leaving office, Malaysia risks repeating the same mistake.  There will be no contest to select the best candidate for the top slot for in its wisdom UMNO has adopted rules and traditions that stymied competition especially for the top post.

            Prior to his elevation to the throne, Tunku Muhriz had the title of Tuanku Besar.  Though its literal translation (“Big King”) is misleading, nonetheless in Negri Sembilan the Raja Besar is equivalent to a Raja Muda, the Crown Prince or heir apparent in other states.  That did not help him when his father Tunku Munawir died in 1967; the four Undangs in their wisdom bypassed Tunku Muhriz.  Nor did that help him with the late Tuanku Jaafar for he named his son Tunku Naquiyuddin instead as Regent.

            The public reason given back in 1967 for bypassing Tunku Muhriz was that he was too young – he was only 18 then – to be the Yang Di Pertuan Besar.  Additionally, the political establishment then led by Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman lobbied the Undangs hard for Tuanku Jaafar, believing that he (and his family) would be sympathetic to UMNO.

            Whatever the reasons, the Undangs’ decision was well received, especially by the villagers.  They wisely noted that Tunku Munawir died at the relatively young age of 47 from what we would term today as “lifestyle diseases.”  They were concerned that the young Tunku Muhriz would follow in his father’s footsteps, in the village tradition of bapak burek, anak rentik (fig:  Like father, like son).

            As it turned out, Tunku Muhriz was anything but like his father, both in personality and accomplishments.  Nevertheless like many, I do not fault the Undangs for their decision back in 1967.  By any objective criterion, it was a wise pick, considering that Tuanku Jaafar was a British-trained diplomat while Tunku Muhriz was barely out of high school then.

            Today’s Undangs are a far different breed from their predecessors of a mere generation ago.  The position of Undang is also hereditary but not in a strict linear fashion, just like that of the Yam Tuan.  The various clan chiefs would gather and pick from among the many entitled to be Undang, just as the Undangs would pick the Yam Tuan from among the many eligible princes.  A primordial form of democracy and representative government, as it were.

            Following my theory, the caliber of Undangs should improve because of the competition among the eligible contenders.  Yet we have the perverse situation today where the present generation of Undangs being even more poorly educated and of lower caliber than their predecessors.  While a generation ago we had a lawyer and a university graduate among the Undangs, today we have a former utility meter reader and a petai seller.

            The erosion in the caliber of today’s Undangs is of course directly related to, like everything else in Malaysia, corruption.  Yet despite that, today’s Undangs were able to collectively come to a wise decision.  The erosion in quality and integrity of individual Undangs notwithstanding, the institution itself was able to deliver a wise decision.  This demonstrates the vital role of institutions.  Imagine how much good these Undangs would do for society if only they were more competent and less corrupt.

            The aberration that is today’s Undangs remains the exception that proves my theory.  Nonetheless what is relevant is that because we have the institution and process in place, the right decision was made, those deficiencies in personnel notwithstanding.

Najib’s Dangerous Mindset

The experience with the Negri Sembilan royal selection process illustrates the wisdom of exposing our leaders to continuous competition, and of having the right institutions and processes in place to ensure that.  That is the best if not only way to hold these leaders accountable.  The biggest mistake would be to make them “President for Life” or heap some such similar honors upon them.  Such excessive accolades are what corrupted otherwise sensible leaders.  Even once wise and patriotic leaders like Sukarno ultimately succumbed to and became a tyrant simply because he was not held accountable or subjected to rigorous checks and balances.

            UMNO once had the fine tradition where its leaders were routinely subjected to regular challenges.  Even such venerable leaders as Bapak Merdeka Tunku Abdul Rahman were not spared.  Today we look askance at such once brave figures as Sulaiman Palestin who would not hesitate to challenge any leader regardless how popular that leader was at the time.  In contrast, today’s UMNO leaders are given a free pass, all in the misguided quest for “party unity.”

            However, only through such constant competitions could we “toughen up” our leaders.  During the recent American Presidential primary season, many members of the Democratic Party were upset that Candidate Hilary Clinton would not give up her race earlier and let the leading candidate Barrack Obama be the nominee sooner.  As it turned out, the long primary was beneficial to Obama as it toughened him up such that he could easily withstand the subsequent onslaughts from his Republican opponent.

            UMNO is making a terrible mistake in letting Najib Razak take over the top slot without subjecting him to a tough campaign.  Such grueling leadership competitions are necessary for “baptizing” a leader.  It would help sharpen his leadership skills as well as let party members and voters preview his abilities.

            Because he was not subjected to any competition, Najib Razak now feels that the country owes him the Prime Minister’s office by virtue of his being the son of the much-revered Tun Razak.  That is a dangerous mindset for anyone, especially a leader, to have.  Ultimately it is the citizens who would bear the burden of such hubris in our leaders.

            The many effusive comments about Tunku Muhriz would not easily go this head.  Having once been bypassed for the top slot, Tunku Muhriz is fully aware that he could only secure his position by doing an excellent job and by diligently attending to his royal duties.  In contrast, Najib Razak has had an easy ride all along; he has yet to learn this important lesson.

                This entry was posted on Monday, 12 January 2009, 9:56 am and is filed under
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Almost daily reminder of deterioration of quality of life in Malaysia  – whether in crime, health or education

There is almost a daily reminder of deterioration of quality of life in Malaysia – with three news items today highlighting  worsening crime, health and education conditions in the country.

The first is the shocking news
“MIC division treasurer killed by intruders”

(the Sun)
, on the latest victim of endemic crime in Malaysia – MIC Ipoh Barat division treasurer N. Sidambaram, 64, who was killed by six parang-wielding intruders in his house on Jalan Wayang in Buntung, Ipoh early yesterday morning.

This comes  on the heel of the attack on the Tawau acting OCPD Supt Ramli Ali Mat who was seriously injured after being stabbed in his house by a group of five men and the  attack on another  policeman, L/Kpl S. Paramasivam, 49, who was beaten up by a group of 10 Mat Rempits using helmets and metal roads while  on anti-crime rounds in Kuala Lumpur  requiring five stitches for his wound in his head, both incidents happening in the first 12 days of the new year.

These crimes provide  vivid illustration of the serious breakdown of law and order in Malaysia with the government unable to deliver its most elementary duty – to ensure the safety of its citizens, visitors and investors!

The second is the report that the dengue toll had climbed relentlessly to
112  dengue deaths
last year – with the Health Minister, Datuk Liow Tiong Lai continuing to show no real ministerial concern or interest to the worst dengue epidemic and mortality figure in the nation’s history!

What has happened to Malaysia’s previous reputation for excellent public health services and standards?

The third  is
Singapore Straits Times
 report
“Singapore’s top student is Malaysian”
– Haw Sue Hern from CHIJ St. Nicholas Girls’ School, Singapore (who is from  Subang Jaya ) who scored 10 A1s making her top O-level performer out of 36,640 students in Singapore.

This highlights the grave and continuing problem of “brain drain”, giving a most adverse reflection on the education system in the country –  especially taken into account the indifferent and irresponsible attitude adopted by the Education Minister, Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein, who is  still to break his month-long silence and explain Malaysia’s disastrous showing in the 60-nation Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) 2007 for Year-8 secondary  students.

Instead of transforming ourselves from a nation with  “First World Infrastructure, Third World Mentality” into a “First World Infrastructure, First World Mentality”, we are heading in the opposite direction towards a nation with deteriorating quality of life for Malaysians.

When we have a Health Minister who is not concerned about the dengue epidemic and the unprecedented dengue toll and cases last year; a Home Minister not concerned about the endemic crime in the country where Malaysians are no more safe whether in the streets, public places or even  in the privacy of their homes; or an Education Minister unconcerned about deteriorating educational standards, the first conditions for reform to ensure all Malaysians to enjoy quality healthcare, education and personal safety are just not present.

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 13 January 2009, 12:58 pm and is filed under
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DAP challenge to  MCA – KT debate on “Who should apologise – MCA or DAP?”

MCA Vice President and Health Minister, Datuk Liow Tiong Lai has said that  the DAP should
apologise
to  the Chinese voters in Kuala Terengganu for misleading them on PAS’ hudud issue.

How has DAP misled the Chinese voters in Kuala Terengganu when DAP had been consistent on the hudud issue?

It is the MCA which should apologise not only to Chinese voters in Kuala Terengganu and the country but to all Malaysian voters for its inconsistency and hypocrisy in saying one thing but doing another  – for instance, in the MCA support for the UMNO declaration started by Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad on Sept. 29, 2001 that “Malaysia is an Islamic State”!

In the past eight years, the MCA leadership has neither retracted its support for the “929 Declaration” that “Malaysia is an Islamic State” nor demanded that the UMNO leadership retract the “929 Declaration”.

As the MCA leadership has raised the issue of “apology”, DAP challenges MCA to a debate in Kuala Terengganu on “
Who should apologise – MCA or DAP?”

Is the MCA President, Datuk Seri Ong Tee Kiat prepared to lead a MCA team to a public debate on this subject in Kuala Terengganu before the by-election on Saturday – whether on Thursday or Friday?

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 13 January 2009, 1:31 pm and is filed under
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Gaza and the Liberal Conscience- The Question of Parity (Part II)

By
Farish A. Noor

As the death toll in Gaza mounts by the hour, there are still faint Liberal voices around us that bemoan the violence and deaths on both sides. We hear and read in the internet again and again about the violence of Hamas and the fact that there have been Israeli casualties in the fighting as well, as if the death of a dozen Israelis can be equated with the deaths of hundreds of Palestinians and the wounding and maiming of thousands. At times such as these, liberals tend to demonstrate an acute lack of understanding of mathematics and seem to have trouble counting…

The most common refrain that we get from the liberals comes in the form of the argument: “Yes, but doesn’t Hamas have weapons too and haven’t the Palestinians killed Israelis?”

Here the moral dilemma of the Liberal stems from a misunderstanding of power-relations and parity. It is based on the idea that killing is wrong (which many would find difficulty in arguing against) and the idea that no attack on civilians is ever justified. Due to the fact that Hamas and other Palestinian groups have attacked Israeli civilian settlements, the conclusion they come to is that all Palestinians are equally guilty.

Let us clear up this confusion by raising a few questions ourselves and pointing to a few facts:

Firstly, let us remember that many of the attacks on Israeli civilian settlements were also focused on illegal settlements that have been universally condemned by the UN and practically every civilised country in the world. It is a foregone conclusion that no country on the planet would welcome the intrusion of any other foreign power, and that any nation that has been deprived of its territory would retaliate. (In fact, not to do so would be unnatural and illogical.) How then can those Israelis who have settled in illegal settlements, built on stolen land, expect to be left in peace? And how can these illegal settlers continue to wonder why they are being attacked? The incredulity of these illegal settlers is astounding, and akin to a situation where a thief wonders why his victim is fighting back…

Secondly, let us look at the question of parity. The fact is that there is NO parity between the trained colonial army of Israel and the irregular forces that have been assembled by the Palestinians. One can be in a genuine moral dilemma if both the Israelis and Palestinians possess the same military might and armed power; and we would be faced by a moral dilemma if – and only if – we see Palestinian jet planes bombing hospitals and schools in Israel; Palestinian tanks attacking Tel Aviv; Palestinian helicopters strafing the suburbs of Israel and Palestinian bulldozers smashing down civilian homes in Israel.

But tell me when did you last see a Palestinian jet fighter plane, attack helicopter, tank or bulldozer? The answer is there simply aren’t any because there is simply no parity between the Israelis and the Palestinians.

The delay with which the Liberal conscience acts is therefore unpardonable under the circumstances, when we are witnessing what can only be described as a totally uneven and unequal contest between an aggressive colonial state and a colonised people fighting back. But for Liberals to assume a neutral stance in the face of a decidedly un-neutral situation beggars belief, and points to the moral hypocrisy of liberals under such circumstances.

Finally there is the question of WHY the Palestinians (Hamas, Hizbullah, Fatah and other civilian groups) have been fighting against this Israeli colonial goliath despite the fact that they have been outgunned time and again. Well, the history of anti-colonial struggles worldwide will show that all nations fighting for freedom have gone up against Empires and Imperial forces infinitely stronger than them. During the Indonesian and Vietnamese wars of Independence, as well as the anti-colonial wars of Africa, local insurgent forces fought with all they had against modern western colonial armies that were better armed.

The record of anti-colonial wars in Asia and Africa shows that it was always the local insurgents who suffered the most. For every Dutch colonial soldier killed by the Indonesian freedom-fighters, hundreds of Indonesians were killed. Yet they fought on relentlessly til they won their independence despite the human costs they were forced to bear. Today the people of Palestine are fighting a war of national liberation against a colonial Zionist state that has the tacit backing of the most powerful hegemon of the planet, the USA. Yet they do so despite the odds because they know that to lay down their arms would be to capitulate to imperialism and colonialism.

So the confused liberal who cannot decide should consider this: Had the freedom fighters of Indonesia, Vietnam, Burma as well as their comrades across Asia and Africa not fought against the odds, would the colonial powers have relented and unilaterally given them their independence? If one is naïve enough to believe that the colonial ambitions of a state like Israel can be appeased by surrendering the struggle, then one deserves to lose one’s country!

End of part II.

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 13 January 2009, 11:11 am and is filed under
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Gaza and the Liberal Conscience- The realities of Colonialism (Part III)

By
Farish A. Noor

Consider the following scenario: A band of thieves break into your home while you are out, and help themselves to your property. When you return you find them comfortably installed in your home and enjoying themselves. Just as you are about to do the logical thing by doing whatever is necessary to kick them out, they say to you: “No, don’t attack us. We want peace. We want peace because we want to watch your DVDs on the DVD player; we want peace because we want to enjoy the food in your kitchen; we want peace because we want to sleep in your bed tonight.” Then as soon as you lose your temper, you are accused of being a terrorist, terrorising their peace!

It may sound ridiculous, but that is precisely the ridiculousness we are hearing from illegal Israeli settlers and Zionist propagandists who are telling the world that Israel wants peace and is the victim of Palestinian terrorism.

The realities of colonialism have been the same throughout history. Every imperial colonising power from the Romans to the Europeans have sought to justify, rationalise and normalise the realities of colonial expansionism by resorting to the discourse of peace. When the Europeans colonised Africa and Asia in between the 17th to 20th centuries, they did so on the grounds of ‘progress’, ‘civilisation’ and even the rule of law. Africa and Asia were to be colonised ostensibly to bring progress to the natives, to expand the scope of free trade, to establish modern governance. Yet colonies are never modern, free, democratic or progressive in the first place: they are little more than the expression of primordial greed, lust for power, hatred of Others, racism, bigotry, sexism and common prejudice.

The pathetic moral dilemma of the wishy-washy liberal is compounded by the invented dilemma of the colonialist who dreams to live in peace while residing on stolen land and stolen property. It is this double-hypocrisy that has to be addressed and exposed once and for all. The liberals among us are ever-so-sensitive to the plaintive emotional appeals of the Israeli settlers who claim that they have been victimised by the Palestinians, but at the same time conveniently fails to recognise the simple fact that no illegal settlement can ever be left in peace.

Once again we can turn to our own colonial history in Asia for pointers:

During the bad old days when the European Imperial powers were installed across Asia and Africa, there were incessant wars and rebellions when the colonised subjects rebelled to gain their freedom. It has to be remembered that the creation of modern post-colonial independent states across Asia and Africa did not come naturally or without pain and struggle. Thousands of Africans and Asians fought and died, thousands were imprisoned, exiled, tortured and made to ‘disappear’ by the colonial powers that refused to vacate their stolen colonies.

Today of course we celebrate these freedom fighters who fought and died as the martyrs and heroes of our respective countries and count them among the founding fathers and mothers who gave birth to our independent states.

Now during our own anti-colonial struggles, did we (or rather our forefathers) bother about the discomfort and fear of the colonialists whom they constantly and relentlessly opposed by all means necessary? Let us recount our own past with honesty. We did not negotiate or dialogue with imperialists: we opposed them, fought them, and when necessary attacked and killed them. Independence was not won in a game of cards or polite conversation. It came through years of guerrilla warfare, ambushes, assassinations, acts of sabotage, strikes and boycotts. That’s how we became free. And wasn’t that how the first Americans gained their independence from the colonial government of Britain too?

Now if that was the case for practically every country that has been colonised in the past, why doesn’t it apply today for the people of Palestine?

Let us not, therefore, be taken in by the glib rhetoric and sweet appeals of the Zionists and their American backers. The modern colonial state of Israel today is a proxy for superpower interests and in its dealings with the Palestinians it has been nothing more than a violent, expansionist, colonial state bent on expanding its colonial possessions and territorial outreach. The modern colonial state of Israel has been at the forefront of working and collaborating with the most reactionary Arab pro-American regimes and helping them retard the development of democracy in their own countries.

The realities of colonialism are that any and every colonial state has been built on force, violence and coercion, and that their continued existence into the future rests on the continued use of such violence and coercion. But like the band of thieves who have stolen into your home and robbed you of your property, they cannot expect to be left in peace and they will never enjoy peace as long as they exist as a colonial power. Israel is no exception to this rule, for this was the lesson learned by every imperial power throughout human history: No colonial state has the right to safety and safe boundaries, as long as those boundaries are drawn on land that has been illegally and forcibly stolen on others. You will never have safe frontiers as long as your frontiers are drawn on the land of another.

End of part III.

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 13 January 2009, 11:37 am and is filed under
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Gaza and the Liberal Conscience: Why We Cannot be Confused by History (Part I)

By
Farish A. Noor

The liberal conscience is a rather peculiar thing. Right now, as Gaza is being bombed to oblivion yet again, liberals the world over are wrestling with their own consciences instead. Faced with the reality of a colonial state that is bent on grabbing more land for itself and which has systematically aided and abetted the creation of illegal settlements all over the occupied territories, liberals are still unsure of what to do, what to say and what stand to take.

We see this happening around us all the time. In cyberspace one encounters the response of the liberals time and again: They say and write things like “Yes, we know that what the Israelis are doing is wrong, but doesn’t Hamas have rockets too?” or “Yes we know that Palestinians have been killed but haven’t Israelis too?” or “Yes, we know that Israel is expanding its territory more and more, but didn’t Israel exist in the past and haven’t the Israelis the right to rebuild their nation?”

Much of this confusion stems from a skewered and manipulated understanding of history and an misunderstanding about what history can and should do for you. So in an attempt to assuage the tender liberal conscience and to show just why these liberals need to take a stand now, let us revisit the history of the region and more importantly understand what the discourse of history is all about.

History is a record of facts and all the discourse of history does and can do is remind us of the paths that we have taken and the actions that have brought us to where we are today. A discourse that is forever recounted after the fact, history does not have the agency to compel, rationalise or justify our actions in the immediate present. I emphasise this for the simple reason that we tend to assume a continuity of historical agency over time and a continuity of responsibilities over time that is simply not there: A German child born today is simply not responsible for the crimes of Hitler and the Nazis of the past, and for no reason can any young German citizen today be held accountable for the past of his/her country; any more than a young Brit is responsible for the British Empire.

Yet Israeli expansionism – which is reality has been nothing more than systematic colonisation – has been justified precisely on the grounds of such historical continuity, as if an Israeli born today is entitled to enjoy the rights and entitlements of Jews who lived thousands of years ago.

Now one does not and cannot deny the historical existence of the historical Jewish kingdom of King Solomon and David. Nor would one want to deny the existence of the kingdom, for that would amount to a denial and erasure of history. But there has to be a clear distinction between the historical kingdom of Solomon and David and the present state of Israel that came into being in 1948. The historical kingdom of Solomon and David existed at a time when the very notion of the nation-state did not even materialise yet; while Israel is a modern nation-state that was created in the wake of World War Two, and which has been seen and cast by many as a result of Europe’s moral debt to the Jews who were annihilated by the Nazis and Fascists in the 1930s and 1940s.

This does not however alter the fact that the creation of Israel occasioned a terrible moral rupture among the Palestinians who were there and the fact that since its creation in 1948 the modern state of Israel has behaved in a manner no different from the colonial states of Europe in relation to its Arab neighbours and the people of Palestine in particular. Israel’s record of colonising the lands of the Palestinians is a modern fact in the here-and-now, and not a historical fact residing in the ancient past. It is a living reality in the present and it has led to the brutal conduct of its troops in their own colonising efforts we see today.

To defend the modern colonising state of Israel on historical grounds would therefore be akin to saying that just because the Roman Empire existed then Italy today has the right to resume her former glory and conquer half of Europe and Africa. It would be like saying that just because the British and French empires existed then Britain and France also possess some historical right to expand their boundaries again.

Yet this fallacy has yet to be debunked for the rot that it really is. Should the extreme right-wing Zionist fundamentalists who currently run the Israeli modern state get their way, then their long term aim would be to re-create in modern times what was an archaic historical kingdom whose borders extend all the way into Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine and Arabia. The Liberal conscience that may have been persuaded by the bogus historical claims of Zionist propagandists and apologists should therefore see this for what it is: nothing more than a longing and justification for Empire and empire-building at its crudest and rawest form.

It is also the duty of the historian to remind all of us that we are not and should not be captives to history and the abuse of the discourse of history. The historical existence of the kingdom of Solomon has never been a matter of contention, for it is not the historical kingdom of Solomon and David that is sending jet fighters to bomb Palestinian schools and hospitals, sending tanks into the occupied territories and sending bulldozers to destroy Palestinian homes. These atrocities are being committed by the government of the modern colonial state of Israel, and it is the modern colonial state of Israel that deserves to be condemned for its colonial ambitions today.

End of part I.

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 13 January 2009, 9:29 am and is filed under
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For starters, 5 reasons why MCA owes apology not only to Chinese voters in KT but to all Malaysians

In rejoinder  to the demand by the MCA Vice President and Health Minister, Datuk Liow Tiong Lai that  the DAP  apologise to  the Chinese voters in Kuala Terengganu for misleading them on the  hudud issue, DAP had
challenged
 MCA to a debate on “Who should apologise – MCA or DAP?” in Kuala Terengganu before the by-election on Saturday.

While DAP awaits the MCA response, let me give advance notice to the MCA leadership that there is a long catalogue of things MCA must apologise not only to the Malaysian Chinese in Kuala Terengganu  but to all Malaysians, and it is most appropriate that this is done in Kuala Terengganu.

The catalogue of MCA failures and misdeeds range from  the dismal  performance of the current MCA leadership, the  pathetic MCA record in Barisan Nasional, the  shameful MCA failure to live up to the ideas and ideals  of the MCA founding fathers like Tun Tan Cheng Lock to its shocking  betrayal of the cardinal nation-building principles for Malaya and later Malaysia as embodied in the Merdeka “social contract” of 1957.

For a start, let me just cite five  reasons why MCA owes not only the Malaysian Chinese but all Malaysians a fulsome apology.

Firstly, the failures of the present batch of MCA leaders in government.

1. RM4.6 billion PKFZ bailout scandal.
The continued cover-up of the RM4.6 billion Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) bail-out scandal by the MCA President and Transport Minister, Datuk Seri Ong Tee Kiat, although Ong had promised when he was appointed Transport Minister 10 months ago that he would “inform the rakyat about the true situation” about the PKFZ scandal.

Up till today, Ong is unable to  answer the
Five Questions
about the RM4.6 billion PKFZ scandal which I had posed to him nine months ago  after his public pledge to “tell all” about PKFZ, particularly about the history of impropriety in land transactions, illegal issue of Letters of Support, Cabinet bailouts and retrospective ratification of illegal decisions by the two previous Transport Ministers, Tun Ling Liong Sik and Datuk Seri Chong Kong Choy although he had all the answers without having to await the outcome of the PricewaterhouseCooper audit report.

Let Ong answer the Five Questions about the RM4.6 billion PKFZ bailout scandal in Kuala Terengganu.

2.  Worst dengue epidemic in Malaysia
. Another MCA Ministerial failure, this time by the MCA Health Minister, Datuk Liow Tiong Lai, who had shown shocking indifference, unconcern and irresponsibility at the worst dengue epidemic in the nation’s history, recording the highest number of dengue cases and dengue deaths with 112 casualties last year.

3. Malaysians are no more safe in their own country.
 MCA boasts as the second most important party in the  Barisan Nasional coalition. It has also a Deputy Home Minister.  MCA must apologise and bear full responsibility for the  serious breakdown of law-and-order in Malaysia, where with soaring crime, no one can feel safe any more in the country whether in the streets, public places or the privacy of their homes, and Malaysian citizens, tourists and investors have lost the two fundamental rights to be free from crime and the fear of crime.

MCA must also come forward to apologise for

(i)	failing to stand up for meaningful police reforms to create an efficient, incorruptible, professional and world-class police service dedicated to the three core functions to keep crime low, eradicate corruption and protect human rights as by implementing the key recommendation of the Royal Police Commission, establishing  the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC); and

(ii)	the abuse of police powers like the recent arbitrary arrests under the Internal Security Act of Sin Chew senior reporter, Tan Hoon Cheng, DAP MP for Seputeh Teresa Kok and blogger Raja Petra Kamaruddin;  the  police harassment of Jerit cyclists demanding national reforms and the arrests of peaceful demonstrators against the massacre of Palestinians in Gaza and Tamils in Sri Lanka.

4. Deteriorating education standards
.  Apart from being part of the Barisan Nasional government, MCA has also a Deputy Education Minister, pinning direct responsibility for the increasing educational woes in the country, with deteriorating educational standards as highlighted by the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) 2007 results (blacked out by the Education Ministry for over a month), continuing “brain drain” of the best and brightest in Malaysia at all levels of education and the continued discrimination against Chinese and Tamil primary schools in terms of fair and equitable  government funding and development for all schools.

MCA owes Malaysian Chinese and all Malaysians an apology for the Barisan Nasional government’s  failure to fully appreciate that a country’s educational system is a key element in establishing competitive advantage in an increasingly global economy – highlighted  by Malaysian universities falling out of the world’s top 200 Universities (Times Higher Education Supplement ranking) and even the world’s best 500 Universities (Shanghai Jiao Tong Univeristy ranking).

5. Corruption
As part of Barisan Nasional, MCA cannot disclaim responsibility for the deplorable state of corruption in Malaysia, with Malaysia’s ranking on Transparency International Corruption Perception Index plunging from No. 23 in 1995 to  No. 37 in 2003  and lower to No. 47 in 2008  – with the  high risk of Malaysia falling below  the 50th ranking in coming years.  Is MCA prepared to apologise to the Chinese voters in Kuala Terengganu and all Malaysians for  such dismal record in accountability, transparency, integrity and good governance after half a century  in power at the national level?

These five  instances are just openers for there  are many more reasons  why MCA owes an  abject apology not only to the Chinese voters in Kuala Terengganu but to all Malaysians for its dismal political record in government  whether for the present or the past – which would be enumerated if MCA dares to accept the DAP challenge  to a public debate in Kuala Terengganu on “Who should apologise – MCA or DAP?”

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 14 January 2009, 12:44 pm and is filed under
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How Malaysia Can Cope With and Overcome the Effects of the Global Economic Crisis

By
Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah

(Luncheon address at ASLI Strategic Outlook Forum January 15, 2009)

RESTORING CONFIDENCE

A problem of confidence

The present financial crisis started in a speculative housing bubble in the US, inflated on greed and irrational confidence. Shady practices went mainstream under the wing of weak financial governance. When the bubble burst, gold-plated names on Wall Street were implicated. A massive loss of confidence in the financial sector has crippled credit flow worldwide. Consumption has contracted as households put off expenditure out of uncertainty. Investment has retreated. There has been a massive loss of confidence.

2.	Expectations are a central factor in macroeconomic booms and busts. If a sharp loss of confidence is an endogenous part of the problem, a restoration of confidence must be the beginning of the solution. However, if we have learned anything at all from the crisis, this cannot be hollow confidence, but confidence based on a clear appreciation of our prospects. The lesson of the global economy is that false confidence based on irrational hope leads to collapse, disillusionment and pessimism.

3.	We need a sound appreciation of our reality before we can dream of changing it.  We need to face harsh truths before we can believe in ourselves and inspire others to believe in us. In coming to that sound appreciation here in Malaysia we have run out of time for politically manipulated messaging and sugar coated evasions.

4.	Let us just begin by acknowledging that we will not be spared the effects of the global economic crisis.

5.	Our leaders only undermine the government’s credibility when they paint an alternative reality for us. I understand we don’t want to frighten markets and voters unnecessarily, but we do not live in an information bubble. Only the most resolutely ignorant can now pretend that all shall be fine while the rest of the world deals with what Jeffrey Sachs has called “a world economy teetering on the brink of unprecedented catastrophe.” Leaders who deny the seriousness of the crisis only raise the suspicion that they have no ideas for coping with it. They undermine the government’s credibility when that very credibility, that confidence, is a key issue.

6.	We are a trading and exporting nation. While we were relatively shielded from the first wave of financial failures there is no escape from the sharp demand slump in the global economy. The Government and Bank Negara maintain that our growth rate this year will be 3.5%. I fear it could be well under that. The latest numbers show a plunge in industrial activity, with manufacturing output in November, down 9.4 percent from a year ago. December may well be worse. Exports are down. There has been a dramatic swing in the balance of payments to a RM31 billion deficit in the third quarter, from a surplus of RM26 billion in the second. Anyone looking at the size of the downturn and at its swiftness can only wonder if we will be sailing through. This crisis really “went global” only in the final quarter of last year, but within that single quarter manufacturing both here and in Singapore contracted by more than 10 percent on the previous year. Policymakers in Singapore appear far more alarmed than our own. After having declared a recession, they found that the effects of the crisis were far worse than they thought. We are just at the beginning, and the bottom is not yet in sight.

7.	Three and a half percent growth, even if we achieve it, will not create enough jobs to employ the large number who enter the workforce each year from our young population. Given our demographic profile and the fact that we are an oil exporter, our baseline do-nothing growth figure is not 0% but closer to 4%.

8.	We do have a problem. Now we need to acknowledge that we are not in good shape to deal with it. After early decades of rapid progress, it looks like that economic growth has flattened, our public delivery system calcified and our economic leadership run out of ideas.

The financial crisis in the context of our developmental path

9.	Malaysia is squeezed between being the low cost manufacturer we once excelled as, and the knowledge-intensive economy we are failing to become. Our years of sustained high growth ended in 1997 with the Asian Economic Crisis. With the subsequent rise of China and India as low cost producers with giant domestic markets, the manufacturing sector which propelled that growth is being hollowed out.

10.	We are in the infamous “middle Income trap”. No longer cheap enough to compete with low cost producers and not advanced enough to compete with more innovative ones, we find ourselves squeezed in between with no economic story. Successful economies, like successful companies, need a compelling story, and we don’t have one. With falling communications and transport costs, the skilled engineers, managers and designers of the rich countries are pairing themselves to the cheaper labour of poor countries to extract productivity and cost benefits. The global integration of labour markets favours both rich and poor countries and stagnates the wages of those in the middle that are neither smarter nor cheaper. That means us. Our working people have suffered stagnant wages and a rising cost of living.

11.	According to the World Bank, Malaysia’s share of GDP contributed by services was 46.2% in 1987. How much did you think it was twenty years later in 2007? 46.4%.

How much do you think the real wages of our workers grew between 1994 and 2007? By 2.6% in the domestic sector and by 2.8% in the export sector.

Unskilled migrant workers, documented and undocumented, make up 30-40% of our workforce. Meanwhile, alone in East Asia, the number of expatriate professionals here has decreased. Alone in East Asia, private sector wage increases follow government sector increases, not the other way around.

Did we have to learn about this from the World Bank? What has the EPU been doing? Has the cabinet pondered these numbers? Have we had a national discussion about what this?

12.	The only long term path to prosperity is increased income through increased productivity. Sustained productivity growth is the engine of China’s unbroken run of high growth. Our failure to increase productivity and working incomes has been masked by an influx of cheap labour. That cheap labour has become another crutch for us.

13.	Low growth

a)	The other thing masking our underperformance over the last decade is the fact that in this time the world economy has experienced its biggest expansion in recorded history. We have averaged 4 to 5 percent growth throughout a historic boom over which world economic growth has averaged 4.5 percent. Meanwhile the two most populous nations in the world have been growing at or near double digit rates, multiplying per capita incomes and lifting hundreds of millions out of poverty in the greatest expansion of human welfare in history. That boom is over and we have missed it.

b)	By analogy, when we view the report cards of our own children, we set our expectations against what they have been given and what they were capable of in the past. Turning to our own country, so richly endowed with natural and cultural resources, a stable society and good institutions, we see a failing report card. Instead of educating our young to be competitive we have turned out large numbers without the skills and attitudes suited for basic work, let alone for the global economy that is not out there somewhere but on our own shores.

Each decade we have discovered new ‘peer-countries’ against whom we might look decent because we have fallen out of the league of the last set of peers. We fail to notice we have been relegated. Remember that in the 60’s we were classified with Taiwan and Korea, in the eighties with Singapore and Hong Kong. Now we are less “relevant” than Vietnam as an investment destination.  I remember receiving delegations from Taiwan and Hong Kong who came to learn from us.

14.	Inequality

We cannot comfort ourselves that we have sacrificed growth for social equity. Despite the strong redistributive measures the government has pursued for decades, our Gini coefficient, the standard measure of inequality, has been ballooning.  In this region only Papua New Guinea is more unequal. We have the most unequal income distribution in Southeast Asia. If there is supposed to be a trade-off between growth and equity, we have not made it. We are failing on both growth and equity.

15.	What does it take to make the leap from middle to high income? The countries that have done it recently, Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore, have one feature in common: they were able to learn from previous crises. Without a buffer of natural resources, each of these economies was more exposed than we were. In relative terms, because they are even more trade oriented than we are, each may be harder hit by this downturn than we are. But we miss the picture if we stand by and comfort ourselves that we are ‘shielded’ because our capital markets have been less open. Our very problem may be that we have been shielding ourselves from learning, which requires systematic change in behaviour or knowledge informed by experience.

16.	The criterion of success for making the developmental leap, the key differentiator between the leaders and the also-rans, is not immunity from economic crises (after all, if you have a Stone Age economy, you are completely immune) but the organizational capability of governments to learn and re-organize around new national economic strategies through these crises. Each major crisis is either an important opportunity to transform the economy or a major setback to our ambitions. The question is whether our policymaking and policy implementing apparatus is set up, motivated and led to learn from this crisis. It is a question of the capability of government and governance.

17.	We must also retrain and re-skill those who lose their jobs because of this crisis. This cannot be done in the present ad hoc manner. It must be a coordinated program,  with courses matched and tracked to learners according to a National Skills Plan which in turns supports a vision for the Economy. Those lost jobs, especially in the manufacturing sector, will not be coming back.  We better have a plan and a vision.

18.	What are the consequences of sailing into an economic storm in our present condition, after a decade of lacklustre performance and with no plan, no vision for sustained high growth? We can look at two scenarios: breakdown or relegation.

a)	Breakdown

As a developmental state, the legitimacy of our government is based on its guarantee of social peace and economic development.

As Professor Clive Kessler has observed: “Social peace in Malaysia depends upon the continuation, and the continuing expectation, of economic growth and prosperity; while economic growth and prosperity depend upon the continuation and assurance of social peace.” This reciprocal relationship between peace and growth makes us prone to a vicious feedback cycle: if either engine were to fail, the other would fail with it, and take us down a spiral of failure with a painful end. Our margin for error is slimmer than we think. Our socio-political setup implies that we don’t have a smooth glide down to complete irrelevance. Like a bicycle or an airplane we need to be running at a certain speed to avoid falling off.

b)	Relegation

On a second scenario we might just coast through the downturn. However we will emerge with an economy that has failed to gear up to the demands of the global economy, fallen yet further behind along our developmental path and locked ourselves tighter into a long term pattern of low growth. Sooner or later will come that painful reckoning described in the first scenario.

19.	We should view the crisis in the context of our history as a young nation. The last time the world faced a contraction of this size Malaysia did not yet exist. The crisis is has broken out at a critical point in the development paths of our economy and our political system. Put these three factors together, and we have a perfect storm: an unprecedented need for leadership at just the moment when our system for selecting and legitimizing political leadership appears to be broken.

Where next

20.	My reading of where we stand may seem harsh, but perhaps the world is harsher. I don’t wish to offend, but I believe we need to grasp the peril of our situation clearly before we know what to do next.

21.	In the medium term we need to make a developmental leap. But a leap is not a straight-line projection of the present. It is not about doing more of what we have done. We are not going to get there putting up more highways, declaring more Growth Corridors or planting more oil palm. The way up is a complex achievement that in turn depends on transformative improvements in governance and a successful reform of our political system.

22.	The world recession is a critical opportunity for us to re-gear and re-tool the Malaysian economy because it is a challenge to take bold, imaginative measures. It lights the fire under our feet to make transformative improvements in governance and politics. It also demands that the government spend boldly on the right things, in the right way, to stimulate demand.

23.	Two criteria for ‘the right things” would be those public investments with the widest multiplier effects, over the short and the longer term. Over the short term, there are often tradeoffs between impact on demand and on improved economic capacity. Over the long term, the two are the same. The “long term multiplier” is nothing less than the improved capacity of the entire system.

24.	So we must think carefully about what we spend the “fiscal stimulus” on. There is no such thing as a free lunch. We will be going into deficit to finance this stimulus, so it can’t be about just spreading money around. So far there has been no impact from the stimulus package announced in November, nor was it clear what the economic thinking was behind that measure.

25.	We don’t need another stimulus “package” of spending here and there. What we need, and what the crisis gives us a chance to implement, is a set of bold projects with an economic story behind them to help Malaysia make the developmental leap we have been missing. We have a once in a lifetime economic challenge. We must meet this challenge with a historic sense of purpose. That means, not with a “stimulus” consisting of ad hoc pork barrel expenditures but a set of public investment projects guided by a vision, designed around a strategy and governed with bullet-proof integrity.

26.	Let me suggest two programmes and an enabling set of reforms.

Oil and Gas Centre

27.	Oil and Gas has served us well, but we have still not tapped our strategic strength in this sector despite our unmatched natural and strategic advantages:

a)	Malaysia is the leading Oil and Gas producer in the region. Our proven reserves have been augmented by major discoveries in recent years.

b)	More than half the world’s annual merchant fleet tonnage passes through the Straits of Malacca, with most of it continuing into the South China Sea. Oil flows through the Straits of Malacca are three times greater than that through the Suez Canal and fifteen times greater than flow through the Panama Canal. We live alongside the most important oil shipping route in the world. Our fifteenth century ancestors may have done more to tap that advantage than we.

c)	We have in Petronas one of the leading oil companies in the world.

d)	We have strong trade links to Middle Eastern oil producers.

28.	We could do much better. Consider that despite having no oil resources, Singapore is among the top three global players in trading, refining and manufacture of oil and gas equipment.

29.	Three years ago, while Malaysia still held the OIC chairmanship,  I proposed a National Strategic Plan with the vision of developing Malaysia into Asia’s Oil and Gas centre, with leading capabilities in refining, shipping, distribution, storage and downstream production.

30.	We should develop offshore storage facilities for other producer nations with high country risk. Oil and gas exploration, extraction and production are increasingly technology driven, high value operations in themselves as oil becomes scarcer. There will be large payoffs for having our own R&D capability in exploration, extraction and production. We should specialize in energy technology, including alternative energy sources for a carbon-constrained future.

31.	We should form partnerships along the value chain. These could include a network of agreements with Gulf producers and with major consumers to improve oil security. We could form G-to-G partnerships in ASEAN, provide tax incentives and craft innovative Production Sharing Contracts,

32.	Here’s the exciting thing. For all these ventures to work we need greatly improved capabilities to finance and trade oil and gas. Given our very special geographic and strategic advantages, we should build the first spot and futures Exchange for Oil and Gas in an OIC nation.

33.	Whatever the government chooses to do, it should understand that for us to get on a higher growth plane we must specialize, and we must have a government capable of providing the direction, drive and executive capability to foster that specialization. Globalisation requires a relentless focus on competitive advantage. We need our own story.

Housing

34.	Let’s start a program to bring home ownership to the whole country. The construction sector creates multiplier effects in more than a hundred other industries. It provides work in everything from insurance to advertising to materials supply. Of all the national projects we could undertake, few could have such a large social as well as an economic multiplier effect.

35.	Housing builds powerful social capital and gives substance to citizenship. A national housing project allows us to design entire communities and townships with their transportation, communications, educational and recreational infrastructure with a strong set of standards and social objectives. It lets us plan the housing stock to cater to the lifecycle of home ownership, with a good mix of options for different localities and life-cycle requirements. It is a way to grow racial harmony, build integrated schools, and help the poor without creating a crutch.

36.	Let’s commit ourselves to having each and every Malaysian family own their own home. This vision is a radical challenge to the nation to do better. It will require extraordinary improvements in our ability to design, construct and finance housing projects. It will require the setting up of a statutory board to oversee housing development, administration and management. As land governed by the State powers, the States will have to implement these projects. This will require, and hopefully force, improved coordination between the Federal and State governments, especially now that we might no longer expect that the same party is in power in both places.

37.	Financing for this investment could come from modifications to EPF, with matched contributions from the government towards the value of the property. Because it comes out of savings, this spending would be non-inflationary. I can think of few better ways to get the economy humming again, give our citizens a focal point of hope and pride, and weave a safety net that also encourages savings and enterprise.

Public sector reform

38.	We cannot wait till the crisis blows over to tackle the public delivery system head on. This is because we will need an upgraded public service just to implement such large public programs successfully.

39.	The need for improved governance is greater, not less, in challenging economic times. When Franklin Delano Roosevelt implemented the New Deal to push America out of the Great Depression, many feared that this would present a huge opportunity for graft. Confounding these expectations, the New Deal programmes were implemented with unprecedented transparency. FDR did this by building oversight into the implementation of his rescue program.

40.	Similarly, the two programmes I have suggested would come to nought if they were derailed by the corrupt practices that have become the norm in this country. Instead of rescuing our economy they would become millstones around our neck. As part of the project management of these programmes we should set up powerful, independent divisions devoted to investigating complaints of fraud.

41.	Today the role of the public sector is a lot more complex than anyone could have imagined even a decade ago. A “public delivery system” that was designed for the challenges of the 1950’s cannot possibly cope with the complex demands of the globalised 21st. The current crisis propagated worldwide in internet time as regulators scrambled to catch up. Government now needs to be smarter, tougher and more responsive than before to engage on equal footing with business. We need leadership to change the operating model of the civil service from last century’s centralized planning approach, driven by budgetary plans, to a model of government as facilitator, aggregator and convener of business. Government that targets economic outcomes rather than accounting quotas.

42.	We need to demand as much talent and organizational ability in our public service as the private sector does of its own people. Today the quality government is a core component of national competitiveness. However there is nothing strange about the expectation that the civil service should be a high performing organization led by an intellectual elite. It is how the Malayan Civil Service used to operate. Many of us remember it.

CONCLUSION

43.	What I have outlined this afternoon are just my suggestions. I am sure there are many other ideas in this distinguished company.

44.	Let me end where I began, with the question of confidence.

45.	We need to restore confidence in our basic institutions, our leadership, the integrity of the Federation, the rule of law and our national Constitution.  This is of a piece with the vital economic confidence needed to unleash credit, investment and consumption, and get everyone working. We need to restore confidence in Malaysia.

46.	Real confidence is hope based on an apprehension of the truth. It is social capital and trust in society and its future. It is inspired by leaders willing to take us through an unflinching evaluation of where we are today to a vision of what we are capable of tomorrow. It means owning our own story and banking on it.

47.	The country can no longer afford a political class out of touch with reality that trades on yesterday’s political insecurities and a government that has forgotten its purpose. We need a renewal of leadership as a first step to restoring true confidence.

48.	The economic statistics are mere indicators of the activities and expectations of the unique national community we are trying to build, so that building an economy and building a nation, providing good governance and being truthful, are not things that can be achieved apart from one another. To reignite our confidence would be to revitalise the project of building Malaysia.

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 15 January 2009, 12:33 pm and is filed under
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KT by-election – will “117” join “308” as historic milestones in the political transformation of Malaysia?

With the Kuala Terengganu by-election  polling booths opening in 20 hours’ time, the question that is uppermost in everyone’s mind is whether the figure “117” will join “308” as historic milestones in the political transformation initiated by the March general election last year.

The Kuala Terengganu by-election started on Nomination Day 10 days ago as a very tight contest between the PAS/Pakatan Rakyat candidate  Mohd Abdul Wahid Endut and the Umno/Barisan Nasional candidate Datuk Wan Ahmad Farid Wah Salleh and is ending as an equally tight race.

At the end of the by-election campaign, the PAS/Pakatan Rakyat candidate has  the edge among the Chinese voters, who comprise 11.4  per cent of the electorate.

The question is whether PAS can hold its ground among the Malay voters as in the last general election in the Kuala Terengganu by-election on January 17, 2009.

If so, then the battle is won and “117” will join “308” in the Malaysian lexicon of political transformation  and it may lead  to the final unveiling of the secret meaning of the most famous political prophecy in the country,  “RAHMAN”, with “N” forecasting not only Najib Razak as the sixth UMNO Prime Minister but also as the last UMNO Prime Minister!

Hudud and Islamic state are important issues, but they are not issues in the by-election.  This is because DAP’s stand on hudud and Islamic state have always been clear, constant and consistent.

The critical issue in the KT by-election is  whether the message of change of the March 8 political tsunami receives the  resounding endorsement of the voters of  Kuala Terengganu, regardless of race, religion or region – injecting greater momentum into the movement for political change and transformation leading all the way to Putrajaya in the next general election, whether held at the end of this year or later.

This is why the KT by-election result tomorrow night is awaited with bated breath by all concerned about the future of Malaysia.

                This entry was posted on Friday, 16 January 2009, 12:42 pm and is filed under
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‘PAS to win by 7,000 majority’

by Ong Kian Ming

Jan 17, 09 8:01am

Malaysiakini

There is this phenomenon in the United States called Monday Morning Quarterback.

It describes a person who says that he or she always knew what the outcome of the Sunday football games was going to be and proceeds to give an explanation for why the game resulted in the eventual result. In other words, this person is passing judgment from a position of hindsight, which is always 20/20.

I could easily play this game in regard to the upcoming Terengganu by-election. It would be far too easy for me to list down, on Sunday, reasons as to why PAS won the by-election and at the same time, to have ready an alternative list of reasons as to why the BN/Umno managed to win the same by-election in case of an upset.

It is however a far harder and much riskier endeavour to predict who is going to win, and by what margin, before the fact.

In a previous analysis piece in Malaysiakini, I predicted that PAS would win by a majority of 3,300 votes based on a breakdown of different turnout and voting components. In the same article, I also reserved the right to update my prediction as and when new information was made available to me.

I came upon new information recently in the form of two Kuala Terengganu surveys conducted by the Merdeka Center, one in December 2007 before the March 2008 general election and another one conducted just last week.

I then used my own methodology to make an educated guess as to what the voting patterns will be today in the KT by-election.

Don’t expect by-election to be a close fight

Let me make it absolutely clear that the surveys done by Merdeka Center do not give conclusive or definitive results as to how the Malay and Chinese voters were/are going to vote.

The reason is because when asked about their voting intentions, about half of the voters did not indicate who they were going to vote for by responding ‘don’t know’ or ‘my vote is secret’.

In addition, there is always the possibility that some respondents will mask their true voting intentions because of the fear that the surveyor may be someone from the Special Branch who is trying to find out if this individual is leaning opposition or BN.

In other words, some voters may say that they are voting for BN to the surveyor but actually have no intention of voting for BN. This makes predicting or forecasting voting trends based on survey results much more of an art than science.

But a political analyst worth his or her salt should be willing to put his or her analytical skills to the test by trying to guess the voting intentions of those who did not indicate their voting preference using a variety of tools and techniques.

For example, one can try to compare the answers of those who have indicated their voting preference either for BN or for the opposition and ascertain if an individual who has not revealed his or her voting preference is more like the typical BN or opposition voter. Or one can try to estimate the changes in the underlying responses of those surveyed over time to guess at whether the voters are leaning more towards BN or the opposition compared to past surveys.

I have used a variety of quantitative and qualitative methods to arrive at the prediction I am about to make.

For the purpose of brevity, I shall not go into the details here. If my predictions are in the ballpark of the eventual result, I may explain it later. If my prediction is way off, it’s back to the drawing board for me.

Regardless, I am making my prediction public so that I can be held accountable for my predictions after the fact. The easier alternative would be to play it safe and to say that the race is too close to call and then try to explain the outcome after the fact – like a good Monday Morning Quarterback.

But my analytical findings tell me that the eventual outcome will NOT be close and I do not think that I would be honest if I told my friends otherwise.

How I calculate the predicted majority

Here then are the details of my prediction and the steps I use to calculate the predicted majority.

In the previous article, I said that I did not have conclusive evidence to show me that the Malay vote was trending either to the opposition or BN. I simply said that split voting that worked in BN’s favour in March 2008 would not occur again in this by-election.

But by comparing the underlying responses of those in the 2007 and 2009 surveys using my own estimating techniques, I found consistent evidence that the Malay vote has swung to PAS since the time when the 2007 survey was taken in December of that year.

My estimates show that the Malay vote will swing to PAS by approximately 4%. Given that my estimate of the Malay support for BN was 47% in 2008, this means that the overall Malay support for the BN will fall to 43% or that PAS will win 57% of the Malay vote (not including postal votes).

With an estimated Malay turnout of 81% (slightly less than 2008) and by excluding spoilt votes and votes for the independent candidate (which I estimate to total approximately 2%), this translates into a majority of 7,720 for PAS among the Malay voters.

Among the non-Malays (mostly Chinese), I estimate that the turnout will decrease by approximately 10% from 65% in 2008 to 55% in 2009, primarily because of the Chinese New Year holidays that will take place the following week.

Among the non-Malays who will turn out, I estimate a BN support level of 45%. This represents a significant 20% swing in the non-Malay vote from 2008. This is consistent with the Merdeka Center survey results as well as the feeling from the ‘ground’ that the Chinese vote has swung against the BN and in favour of the opposition. Because of the relatively lower turnout and small percentage of Chinese voters in this constituency, this works out to a 510 vote margin in favour of PAS.

The Malay and non-Malay majorities calculated above results in an 8,230 majority in favour of PAS. However, there are approximately 1,300 postal votes in this constituency. Assuming that 90% of the postal votes will go to the BN, this means that BN will have a majority of 1,170 votes from postal votes alone.

Subtracting this figure from the 8,230 majority, I arrive at the final prediction of 7,060 votes or approximately 7,000 votes. This represents a 3,700 vote increase from my initial prediction of 3,300 votes for PAS.

PAS to gain 4% swing in Malay votes

The main reason for this is because of my assumption, based on my own analysis of the Merdeka Center survey results from 2007 and 2009, that the Malay vote has swung in favour of PAS by a margin of 4%.

Some may say that for me to predict a swing in the Malay vote to PAS by a margin of 4% is foolhardy and doesn’t make sense given that most people are saying that the Malay vote is split 50/50 or that PAS has only a slight edge.

Again, I could have easily hedged my bets and echoed what everyone else is saying. But my analysis of the underlying responses in both surveys leave me with no other choice but to conclude that the Malay vote will swing in PAS favour.

Of course, the underlying sentiment may have changed among the Malays in the week since the 2009 survey was taken or that the accusations by the opposition of massive vote-buying on the part of the BN will come true or that the final push by the BN to undermine the reputation of PAS among the Malays may have worked to turn the tide in BN’s favour.

I have no way of ascertaining if any of this is true. Neither do the people on the ground. Their guess in regard to the effectiveness of these last-minute strategies is as good as mine. And my instinct tells me that while these sorts of strategies may have worked in the past, they will not work in this KT by-election.

So there you have it, my prediction is that PAS will win by a majority of 7,000 votes. Tonight, I will know if my analytical skills have served me well … or not!

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 17 January 2009, 11:34 am and is filed under
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KT by-election – “308” political tsunami on course and a dire warning  to UMNO and in particular  Najib

The Kuala Terengganu by-election has lived up to its historic significance.

It has delivered two important messages.

Firstly, that the “308” political tsunami of the March general election last year is very much on course, confirming that the paradigm shift in Malaysian politics some ten months ago was no fluke shot but represented deep-seated and wide-ranging political aspirations of Malaysians.

Secondly, a dire warning  to Umno and in particular Datuk Seri Najib Razak who is to be Prime Minister in ten weeks’ time of the far-reaching consequences  if they refuse to heed the people’s call for change.

Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah in his comment on the Kuala Terenggany by-election result has likened UMNO and BN to “a sinking ship” if their leaders remain in denial.

How many UMNO and BN leaders would dare to agree with Razaleigh when he warned:

“Money, machinery and incumbency could not trump the call for change. BN will lose, and will in the end lose everything, until we respond fully and sincerely…

“Actually this was more than a referendum on the leadership. It was a test of the relevance of UMNO in its present form. If UMNO is no longer relevant to the Malays, the BN formula is dead.”

The results of the Kuala Terengganu by-election will have to be studied in detail, in particular the impact of the hudud issue in the by-election.

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 18 January 2009, 11:04 am and is filed under
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Sharp Slap to UMNO’s Leadership

by
M. Bakri Musa

The humiliation suffered by UMNO in the January 17, 2009 by-election in Kuala Trengganu, a seat previously held by one of its Deputy Ministers, is further proof that the party’s thumping in the March 2008 General Elections was the beginning of the end.  Getting rid of its leader Abdullah Badawi will not alter UMNO’s fate; a future with Najib Razak will be no solution either.

            The party is no longer salvageable; UMNO is now beyond redemption.  Its leaders and members are incapable of appreciating and thus adapting to the profound changes now gripping the nation.  As Tengku Razaleigh aptly put it when commenting on the results, “We are in uncharted waters with no one at the wheel.”

            There are of course exceptions to the current lack of talent in UMNO’s leadership, but they are rare.  Zaid Ibrahim had some sensible ideas on reforming the judiciary for example, but look what they did to him!  Tengku Razaleigh’s speech at the recent ASLI economic conference was simply brilliant; he rightly pinpointed the major problems facing our nation and offered sensible strategies to approaching them.  His was an insight and articulation Malaysians should expect of our leaders.  There again however, he was essentially ignored by UMNO’s leadership hierarchy in his recent quest for the top slot.

            In this by-election UMNO resorted to its old corrupt ways that had served it well in the past.  There were the sudden announcements of generous public funds to key constituent groups as well as the usual co-opting of government agencies to do Barisan’s bidding.  If those tricks were not enough, there was the literal stuffing of envelopes with cold cash for voters and reporters.

Judgement on Najib Razak’s Leadership

The victory by PAS candidate Wahid Endut is even more impressive considering that future (come this March) Prime Minister Najib Razak literally made his temporary home in Kuala Trengganu during the entire 11 days of campaigning, returning only briefly to the capital to take part in the Tahlil prayers on the anniversary of his father’s death.

            Those voters viewed the upcoming transfer of power from Abdullah to Najib less a promise of better things and more a threat of the same tired corrupt and corrosive ways of the past.  The political status quo would only further divide instead of bringing us together.  Malaysians were rightly fed up with this.

            Win or lose, this election would not alter the political reality; Barisan would still maintain its majority in Parliament.  In perception however, this loss only reinforces my earlier “beginning of the end” and “beyond redemption” assertions of UMNO.  Undoubtedly these were the reasons that compelled Najib to expend his political capital and risk his reputation by actively campaigning.

            Ignored by voters, Najib tried to rationalize the outcome by dismissing it as a “minor setback” with “no impact on the national political landscape.”  He was reduced to declaring that Barisan was “still relevant.”  Pathetic!

            I would have expected that as Finance Minister, Najib would be busy in Putrajaya dealing with the rapidly evolving global financial crisis now threatening our nation.  Instead there he was in Kuala Trengganu acting like Santa Claus distributing candies to voters.  They gleefully took the gifts, but being adults (and Muslims, at least most of them) they did not believe in Santa Claus, or Najib Razak.

            These past few weeks reflect Najib Razak’s leadership priorities and sensibilities.  Kuala Trengganu voters were rightly not impressed.  Neither am I.

Greasing UMNO’s Slide

Come this March, Najib Razak will be the party’s (and thus country’s) leader.  He will have as his deputy Ali Rustam, Muhyyiddin Yassin, or the Double Muhammad Taib, individuals with tainted pasts and less-than-impressive resumes.  Sobering thought!

            Barring divine or other intervention, this will also be the team that will lead UMNO and Barisan Nasional into the next General Elections scheduled no later than March 2013.  UMNO has its leadership convention every three years; theoretically it could change its leadership before the next general elections.  However, the party has a tradition of “no contest” for its top two positions and a past pattern whereby leaders would conveniently postpone the leadership convention till after the general elections.

            That would be great news for Anwar Ibrahim-led Pakatan Rakyat, further enhancing its chance of assuming power.  This may occur even sooner if Barisan Members of Parliament, sensing the political change, were to abandon their parties.  The shift could also come earlier if, as expected, Sarawak were to call an earlier election.  Then there is the volatile political situation in Sabah.

            The objective of any political party is in assuming power.  Anything less and you will be relegated to the status of a perpetual fringe party.  While that may satisfy the purists in your party, you risk being permanently dismissed by voters.  The country’s political graveyard is littered by the ghosts of many such parties.

            Then there is the crucial difference of being voted into office because of the positive choice of voters rather than their rejecting your opponent.  Anwar Ibrahim and his fellow leaders in Pakatan Rakyat are fully aware of this.  It is not enough for Malaysians to be fed up with Barisan Nasional, we must be sold on the promise and potential of a Pakatan Rakyat administration.

            As leader of the party that is the centre of the political, racial and other spectra of the Pakatan Rakyat coalition, Anwar has adroitly handled the many competing interests within his coalition by focussing on their commonalities and less on their differences.  Differences there are, and they are many and consequential; they could potentially fracture the coalition.  If that were to happen, it would crush the hopes of Malaysians long yearning for a change.

            Besides, there are enough commonalities of purpose among the component parties of PakatanRakyat, from eradicating corruption and strengthening our institutions to reducing poverty and fostering economic development, among others.  Ameliorate them, and you would have the cheers and votes of those currently advocating for an Islamic State, “Malaysia for Malaysians,” or Ketuanan Melayu.

            Tackling each of these problems (and all must be addressed at once) would challenge the ingenuity of even the most enlightened and committed leaders.  There is no need to harp on their differences.  All these could be done without getting entangled with such highly divisive and emotional issues as hudud or special privileges.  Besides, those slogans as “Islamic State,” “Ketuanan Melayu” and “Malaysia for Malaysians” have now become meaningless, having been corrupted to being code words for those with more sinister motives.

            The corruption and incompetence of the Barisan coalition should motivate Pakatan leaders to focus on solving the glaring and pressing problems of our nation.  That would be the sure way to power, quite apart from greasing the downward slide of UMNO and its Barisan Nasional coalition.

                This entry was posted on Monday, 19 January 2009, 11:09 am and is filed under
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Why as a Chinese I will always vote PAS

Letters

by
Jonathan Tan

It has now been 51 years since independence, and although it was predominantly a Malay Archipelago, immigrants who had to work the land during the British colonial era; by default became citizens after Malaya attained independence in 1957.

Much was promised. Equal rights to jobs, educational and business opportunities. But all this came to naught in 1969 when Tunku Abdul Rahman, Malaysia’ founding father, was unceremoniously sent into early retirement and hawks like Razak and Harun took over and used Malay special rights as their vehicle to build a corrupted society that saw the division between the have and have nots widen.

The process took a turn for the worse during the Mahathir era when he hand picked cronies to award contracts and kept privatized entities such as the Governments’ GLC’s in the government’s stables, obviating the very reason to privatize these entities.

Till this day, these organizations show neither discernible accountability nor transparency. The country bleeds like a wounded kancil.

The situation has become even more tenuous with the serious deterioration of educational standards, where instead of English, Malay was used as the medium of instruction in a multiracial ex-British colony of 300 years, further condemning the country’s young to an educational exposure far less then the previous generation had received all in the name of Malay nationalism and supremacy.

UMNO and Mahathir labeled Malaysia even Islamic with non-Malays forced to take Islamic studies at Universities. The 1957 dream was dead. For Malaysians were not equal neither in the eyes of the government nor the law. You can be a Muslim but you can never unMuslim yourself, so body snatching becomes a norm at funerals by overzealous religious authorities.

In 1957, the MIC and MCA were the designated community guardians to ensure minority rights were protected. But they did not only not protect their communities; they joined UMNO in pursuit of wealth many times for their own personal being at the expense of the rights of their communities.

As a Chinese or Indian Malaysian, you are now a second class citizen in this country born 51 years ago, left betrayed, unprotected and to fend for themselves on their own. Muslim Indonesians and Filipinos are made to feel welcome. Many get citizenships ostensibly to increase the Muslim majority.

But our guardians, MCA and MIC, still looked on squeezing it’s minorities virtually to leave this country.  So that promise of 1957 was made to be broken. Or was it sabotaged along the way with the help of the MCA, MIC and later Gerakan.

Governance of the former Federated states had changed hands from our British colonial masters to UMNO. And no one was going to do anything about it.

Enter the Pakatan Rakyat. An inexperienced alternative composite of disparate parties who have significantly changed the political landscape. In the states of Penang, Perak and Selangor, they are beginning to show that even inexperienced administrators, given time may be able to deliver.

PAS on the hand appears fixated on relatively petty matters such as Islamic law when economy, education and health should be right on top of the agenda. But mathematically it is not possible for PAS to ever pass these laws.

Even, if they tried, the reassuring pronouncements of Karpal Singh has brought immense confidence to people like me , that in the event that PAS trys to pull a fast one, the DAP will pull out of the coalition causing the fragmentation and fall of the Federal government if they happen to form one.

This confidence far outstrips the current and ongoing blatant sell out of their communities by the MIC and MCA to UMNO, not that race based politics matter anymore.

Yes as a Chinese, I will vote in PAS anytime, anywhere in this country, because with the Pakatan Rakyat I can rest assured that the law as spelled out in our constitution will reign supreme, and pretenders like PAS will be stopped right in their tracks by the DAP unlike the shenanigans at the MIC and MCA who have now brought minorities to their knees by deceiving them of their rights by colluding with UMNO.

It was the British spy; Harold Philby who once said that “To betray you must first belong.”  By belonging, the MCA, MIC and Gerakan have never hesitated for a minute to make full use of their belonging to betray and condemn their communities to a bleak and uncertain future.

                This entry was posted on Monday, 19 January 2009, 1:04 pm and is filed under
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