A paradigm shift in Malaysian politics?

Dennis Ignatius

Malaysiakini

15th Sept 2015

COMMENT
 In response to the massive Bersih 4 rally last month, Umno – let’s stop pretending that it is not behind it – is planning a counter-demonstration of its own tomorrow, Sept 16, which is Malaysia Day.

Many people have expressed concern that the so-called “red shirt” demonstration might provoke racial violence, especially given the incendiary remarks of some of its leaders, the inflammatory posters that have appeared across town and the provocative choice of venue (in the heart of what’s left of Kuala Lumpur’s Chinatown).

Understandably, there have been calls to ban the red shirt rally.

While the red shirts have, of course, the same rights as Bersih supporters to demonstrate, they do not have licence to threaten others. They can rally to support a morally bankrupt regime if they want, but they are not free to launch a campaign of racial intimidation.

Oddly, while the federal territories minister and the police are insisting that the red shirt will not be permitted to assemble as planned, the prime minister, the deputy prime minister (who is also home minister), and the Umno Youth chief all endorsed the Sept 16 demonstration. No surprise, therefore, that the police have now relented.

A turning point?

However, the whole disgraceful red shirt affair has highlighted another far more encouraging dynamic that might well mark a significant turning point in Malaysia’s evolution as a nation state.

I am referring, of course, to the chorus of criticism against the red shirt coming especially from within the Malay community.

In just the last few days, many Malay/Muslim-led civil society groups have spoken out forcefully and decisively against the red shirts, disassociating themselves from their racist agenda and challenging the assertion that the red shirts speak for all Malays.

A coalition of 20 NGOs including ProRakyat, Otai Reformasi 1998, National Interlok Action Team (Niat) and Jingga13 have petitioned His Majesty the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to intervene to stop the Sept 16 rally.

ProRakyat’s president Khairul Anuar Othman, has even vowed that should the rally take place, his members will turn out in force to protect their fellow citizens of ethnic Chinese descent from red shirt intimidation.

Another group of prominent Malay NGO’s, including G25, have issued a statement denouncing the red shirt rally.

Referring to red shirt propaganda about redeeming Malay honour, G25 pointedly remarked that honour and dignity are not redeemed by blaming others but by upholding the principles of truth and justice, holding accountable those who have been entrusted to govern, remaining true to the moral teachings of Islam and exposing the hypocrisy of those who use religion to cling to power.

Influential opinion-makers like Marina Mahathir, former minister Zaid Ibrahim (photo), Saifuddin Abdullah, Prof Mohamad Tajuddin Rasdi and banker Nazir Razak (the prime minister’s brother) have also weighed in against the red shirts.

Nazir declared that he won’t be wearing red on 1Sept 16; instead he will be celebrating the racial, religious and cultural diversity that defines Malaysia.

Former Umno leaders like Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Rafidah Aziz have panned the Sept 16 rally as well.

Rafidah, to her credit, went further, positing the view – radical by Malaysian standards – that we should all identify ourselves as Malaysian first rather than by our individual ethnicity. She went on to deliver a passionate plea for an end to the Malay first mentality, a stinging rebuke to the leaders of her own party who have thrived by exploiting racial issues.

Even the royals have stepped in, with one ruler reiterating that there is no room for racism in his state.

The Penang mufti, meanwhile, has reiterated that bigotry and fanaticism towards a particular ethnic group has no place in Islam.

Clearly, such unprecedented and unambiguous rejection of the politics of division sends a strong signal to Umno that it can no longer avoid its responsibility for good and clean government by hiding behind race and religion.

A crude attempt to divert attention

All the red shirts have done, therefore, is reinforce the image of Umno as nothing but a morally bankrupt and racist party with no greater purpose than to stay in power at all costs. It has no principle, no virtue, no noble cause. Its leaders may talk about championing Malay interests or defending Islam, but it’s all a sham and they know it.

After all, what is the Sept 16 rally all about? What do the red shirts stand for?

Are they fighting for justice? Are they taking a stand against corruption? Are they pressing for fiscal accountability? Are they demanding good governance? Are they calling for respect for our constitution and for the democratic rights of all Malaysians? Are they pleading for national unity and tolerance?

From what we know, the answer to all of the above is a resounding no. The rally is simply a crude attempt to divert attention from a beleaguered and unpopular leader by stoking racial and religious tension.

Umno is mired in the mother of all scandals and it blames the Chinese. Umno has lost the respect of the overwhelming majority of Malaysians and it blames the DAP. Umno has brought disgrace to the nation and it blames the Jews and Christians.

Red is now the colour of a morally bankrupt regime, of shame, racism, intolerance and all that is wrong with Malaysia, and right-thinking Malaysians, irrespective of their ethnicity, want nothing to do with it.

A more hopeful political paradigm

Hopefully, the clear rejection of racial and religious politics presages a shift to a new political paradigm, where political parties are judged solely by their performance rather than by racial or religious considerations.

In many ways, this shift to a new values-based political system is already well under way.

Just look at the ongoing metamorphosis in the Islamic-oriented PAS, which has now belatedly come out against the red shirts as well. PAS leader Hadi Awang’s ill-advised drive to force hudud upon the nation not only splintered his party but triggered an outcry that galvanised moderate Muslims like G25 into action.

The PAS breakaway faction, Parti Amanah Negara, is currently redefining itself in terms of a broader national agenda that speaks to all Malaysians, irrespective of race or religion.

Consider as well the evolution of parties like the DAP and PKR, which are already far more inclusive, far more multiracial than BN. Emerging political leaders like Nurul Izzah Anwar, Zaril Khir Johari (photo) and Hannah Yeoh appeal to a wider cross-section of Malaysians than most race-based BN politicians.

With a political platform espousing good governance, fiscal responsibility, racial and religious tolerance and democratic reform, they are rapidly earning the trust and support of Malaysians, irrespective of their race or religion.

Clearly, something unique and exciting is taking place in Malaysia. After years of institutionalised racism centred on the BN formula, racial and religious politics are being upended. Racism and intolerance, in whatever form, might at last be losing the aura of respectability and acceptability that was given it. We are not there yet but there’s light at the end of the tunnel.

That would be something worth celebrating this Malaysia Day.

DENNIS IGNATIUS was a career foreign service officer who served in London, Beijing, Washington, Santiago, Buenos Aires and Ottawa. He retired in 2008 as high commissioner to Canada.

Read more: https://www.malaysiakini.com/news/312337#ixzz3lnP2Xucx

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 15 September 2015, 8:56 pm and is filed under
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‘Amanah’ mendukung gagasan politik Islam

A Shukur Harun

The Malaysian Insider

15 September 2015

Pelancaran rasmi parti politik baharu bernuansa Islam – Parti Amanah Negara atau singkatnya Amanah – esok, 16 September, mempunyai makna penting dan tersendiri bukan saja dalam sejarah politik tanah air, tetapi juga apa yang dinamakan politik Islam.

Parti Amanah ini sedang dalam proses untuk didaftarkan.

Selepas menekuni dari dekat kemunculan parti baharu ini, saya menyimpulkan beberapa hal.

Pertama, walaupun ia tidak mendakwa sebagai Harakatul Islam atau gerakan Islam, tetapi misi dan visi parti baharu ini menampilkan sebuah cita-cita besar untuk menjadi bukan saja sebagai parti Islam yang inklusif, tetapi juga sebagai sebuah pertubuhan Islam moden yang memenuhi citarasa masyarakat majmuk negara ini.

Kedua, jika wawasan Amanah ini berhasil, maka ia akan mengukir sejarah umah, sekurang-kurangnya di rantau ini,  ia akan menjadi parti politik Islam dan dakwah yang merentasi bukan saja batas kaum dan agama tetapi juga batas geografi.

Ketiga, parti baharu ini hadir di tengah-tengah kegawatan bukan saja krisis ekonomi dan politik serta tajamnya perkauman yang semuanya meranapkan kemanusiaan dan harga diri.

Lebih malang pabila pemimpin politik negara dan mereka yang mendukung mereka kehilangan integriti dan rasa malu.

Keempat, semua ini menjadi cabaran yang sangat besar kepada parti Amanah untuk menyelesaikan masalah ini bukan secara bersendirian tetapi bersama gabungan baharu pembangkang – DAP dan PKR. Dengan gabungan baharu ini kiranya masalah negara ini akan dapat diselesaikan, walaupun secara bertahap.

Kerana itu, menjadi harapan pelbagai pihak yang mendukung cita-cita besar ini supaya Amanah dan gabungannya benar-benar menjadi alternatif kepada parti yang memerintah sekarang ini.

Kelahiran Parti Amanah di tengah membaranya suasana di dunia Islam dengan sebuah fenomena kebejatan akibat ideologi takfiriyah atau gerakan Takfiri. Manusia kaget dan tersentap dengan kekejaman yang tidak ada tolok bandingnya dengan kemunculan “Islamic State in Iraq and Syria’ (Isis) atau “Islamic State of Iraq and Levant” (Isil). Rentetan genesis atau susur-galur pembentukannya tidak perlu disebut di sini.

Fenomena ini pernah disebut oleh Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad dan Dr Mujahid Yusuf Rawa, tokoh pemikir dan kepimpinan Amanah ini dalam beberapa wacana sebelum ini.

Peristiwa kekejaman yang berlaku di Iraq, Syria dan Lubnan, menurut keduanya, adalah akibat bencana tragis terburuk fahaman takfiri atau takfiriyah. Tegasnya, gejala takfiriyah ini sangat mudah menghukum individu lain yang tidak sehaluan dengan mereka sebagai kafir dan munafik, di mana kesan buruknya pada akhirnya membawa kepada pertumpahan darah. Inilah yang perlu dielakkan.

Menurut 2 tokoh pemikir ini, fenomena mengkafirkan sesama Islam serta mengeluarkan fatwa tanpa menurut panduan sehingga menghalalkan perbuatan membunuh dan memerangi orang Islam yang lain adalah satu bencana besar membawa masyarakat kita menanggung kesangsaraan hidup yang amat pahit.

Memang sangat sedih apabila semua jenayah tersebut dilakukan kononnya di atas nama agama Islam dan syariatnya, sementara hakikatnya, Islam bersifat tasaamuh atau toleransi. Paling jelek, operasi keganasan pula dilaksanakan diiringi laungan “La-ilaha ilallah” dan suara takbir “Allahu al-akbar” dengan alasan tindakan itu sebagai menunaikan kewajipan berjihad dan mati syahid di jalan Allah.

Jelaslah gerakan takfiri ini, menyebabkan pentihgnya kemunculan sebuah parti politik sederhana dan terbuka, tetapi tidak berkompromi dengan asas-asas Islam. Inilah, antara lain, yang menyebabkan kehadiran Amanah.

Amanah ini komited untuk meneruskan legasi perjuangan politik Islam yang ditampilkan oleh Almarhum Tuan Guru Yusuf Rawa, Almarhum Ustaz Fadhil Noor dan Tuan Guru Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat dalam menerokai ruang politik Islam yang “Amanah, Progresif dan Peduli”.

Saya kira pembudayaan politik baharu Amanah ini akan terus berpaksi kepada politik yang berteraskan prinsip, ilmu pengetahuan dan akhlak.

Ia juga bersedia mewujudkan budaya mampu mengurus perbezaan dalam perlaksanaan prinsip hak bersuara dan tuntutan kesaksamaan seperti dianjurkan oleh Islam dan syariatnya bagi melahirkan sebuah masyarakat dan negara madani.

Saya yakin, Amanah juga sangat peduli akan perlunya membangunkan pemikiran umat, khususnya generasi penerus di kalangan golongan muda supaya memiliki ilmu yang mantap, akhlak serta moral yang utuh-kukuh dan daya-saing serta kreativiti yang tinggi.

Menerusi Gerakan Harapan Baru, yang menganjurkan Nadwah Ulama lilL Nahdah Al-Jadidah atau NUNJI’15, sebagai isyarat jelas komitmen para asatizah dan golongan ilmuan Islam yang bersama Amanah untuk benar-benar mengangkat agenda Islam supaya berperanan secara releven dan berkesan.

Kesyumulan Islam ini menuntut aspek perlaksanaan Islam dengan mengambil kira perundangan negara, kerangka sistem politik tempatan dan suasan politik antrabangsa.

Kerana itu, perlunya melahirkan fiqh siyasah yang pada prinsipnya adalah untuk mencapai maksud Islam sebagai rahmat seluruh alam. Inilah tugas berat yang sedang menanti untuk dilaksanakan oleh Amanah.

Sementara itu sambutan terhadap parti baharu ini sangat luar biasa. Ia datang daripada pelbagai pihak. Sebahagiannya dari parti lama mereka, di samping daripada masyarakat madani, golongan muda dan terpelajar serta para veteran yang berfikiran progresif.

Beberapa orang kenalan saya terdiri daripada bukan Islam bertanyakan kepada saya mengenai parti baharu ini dan mereka mengalu-ngalukannya sambil berharap Amanah akan mendukung konsep keterbukaan dan tanpa perkauman. Mereka kebanyakannya tahu para tokoh pemimpin Amanah ini dan yakin kepimpiunan mereka akan mengamalkan sikap keterbukaan dan toleransi.

Kesimpulan daripadasemuanya ini menunjukan  masyarakat sangat memerlukan perubahan. Maka mereka melihat dengan penuh yakin, parti baharu ini akan memenuhi cita-cita untuk membina sebuah masyarakat Malaysia yang adil, tanpa perkauman dan sejahtera.

Di sinilah, saya kira Amanah akan berdiri gagah dan mampu untuk melaksanakan cita-citanya. – 15 September, 2015.

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 15 September 2015, 6:11 pm and is filed under
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Call for  true national government with a strong technocratic background to address current economic crisis

Yesterday, the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak announced the reactivation of  ValueCap with a fund size of RM20 billion, which will be used to invest in selected stocks on Bursa Malaysia.

An injection of RM 20 billion may prop up the market briefly. The Chinese tried this approach with limited success.

Malaysia  may find that this is a futile step that will prop up prices of GLCs and UMNO linked companies briefly. However, these steps will not result in lifting the GDP growth rate, enhancing investment, creating jobs, propping up employment or checking inflation.

It is a palliative step with no likely impact on the economic prospects or correcting the economic fundamentals.

Indeed, there may be a backlash effect – artificially propped-up share prices may induce share investors, both local and foreign, to cash in and take the proceeds out of the country, thus adding to the capital flight that is being experienced.

All it does is the Government increasing its stake in companies that it largely already owns

There are other repercussions that appear to be largely ignored.

The RM 20 billion that is to be injected will have to be found from the already stretched Budget which has a deficit.

The deficit will increase; it will have to be funded by increased borrowing; this in turn will lead to the self-imposed debt ceiling of about 55% being breached.

The markets will obviously react negatively to such a development and the rating agencies will downgrade Government debt. The immediate impact will be for interest on Government loans to rise.  That will change the fundamentals and worsen matters for the economy.

In brief the steps taken represent ill-conceived panic measures. These desperate actions have ignored the long term harm to the economy and have failed to take account of the side effects.

Najib has few options that are open.

The down-turn in the economy and the rise in prices is largely attributable to global trends e.g. fall in commodity prices, a strong US dollar and  the China slow-down.

There is little he can do to counter these developments. The pump priming option does not exist as the debt-ridden economy precludes financing the priming.

These negative external factors have been compounded by domestic events and policy failures. Several factors stand out: the 1MDB scandal, the RM2.6 billion “donation” in Najib’s personal accounts, weak governance, the unwillingness/inability to address the debt issue, focus on feel good actions which do not result in course correction, etc.

Najib has turned his back on much needed reforms as he has pandered to vested interests who have strengthened their hold on him in return for support.

What is clearly needed are drastic measures.

These would include a transparent resolution of the 1MDB issue, the RM2.6 billion “donation” scandal and a restoration of credibility.

It is also important that austerity measures are taken together with some tightening of borrowings by the public sector. Further important measures would need to result in disinvestment (sell-off Government stakes in GLCs) and deregulation.

Some of these measures are likely to be attacked by vested interests and Najib in his weakened state cannot take them on. However it will ultimately be needed.

It must be noted that a continued avoidance of unpopular measures could lead to a deepened crisis and the Government may be forced into accepting externally-forced measures e.g. an IMF program ala the Greek situation. A heavy price for the country.

It would also appear that the present weak Government will need to be strengthened if it is to embark on a program to restore economic stability.

A true national government with a strong technocratic background and a clearly defined reform agenda may be the only recourse if the necessary unpopular measures are to be taken.

Malaysia is  heading for a deeper crisis as Najib holds on irrespective of the costs to the economy.

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 15 September 2015, 11:25 am and is filed under
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Call on all Malaysians to make a personal reaffirmation  on Malaysia Day 2015 that they are not just Malays, Chinese, Indians, Kadazans, Ibans or Orang Asli but most important of all, they are Malaysians!

Malaysia Day 2015 Message by DAP Parliamentary Leader and MP for Gelang Patah Lim Kit Siang in Kuala Lumpur on 15th September 2015:

Nobody would have expected that Malaysia Day 2015 would turn out to be the most critical Malaysia Day in the nation’s history, with Malaysia at the crossroads – whether for Sabahans, Sarawakians or Malayans.

In recent years, there is growing alienation and disaffection among the people in Sabah and Sarawak causing even calls for secession from Malaysia to be raised because of over half-a-century of neglect and underdevelopment of Sabah and Sarawak.

But is there full and unreserved support for the idea, concept and vision of Malaysia by the people in Peninsular Malaysia?

May be not, from the insistence of those who want to hold a “Kebangkitan Maruah Melayu” rally in Kuala Lumpur on Sept. 16, although this highly-charged and provocative racist rally threatens not only racial peace and social harmony of the country, but  undermines the very idea,  integrity  and vision of a Malaysian nation.

But the organisers of  the Red Shirts Sept. 16 “Kebangkitan Maruah Melayu” are the modern-day hijackers, which is why the  former Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad was spot-on when he rubbished the notion that the red shirts rallying tomorrow are defending the Malays or that Bersih 4 was racist.

Mahathir said:

“Bersih 4 was not racist, all races were there.

“They (red shirts) want Bersih to be racist so they can defend the Malays.

“(But) They are not defending the Malays. There is no need (for the rally).”

But to mobilise Malays from all over the country to the Red Shirts Sept. 16 rally, the  UMNO Kota Baru division chief who was former political secretary to the Prime Minister presided over the burning of  Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng and my effigies, even setting up an altar complete with joss sticks and fruit offerings, inciting Malays with racist and provocative sentiments.

Mahathir is right when he said that the organisers of Kebangkitan Maruah Melayu rally in KL tomorrow are not defending the Malays, and I want to state very clearly  that in my nearly 50 years in politics, I had never fought for Chinese, but for Malaysians embracing all Malays, Chinese, Indians, Kadazans, Ibans and Orang Asli whose home is Malaysia and no other country.

I would be the first to defend the right of the organisers of the Red Shirts rally to assemble peacefully as this is a fundamental human right which should be enjoyed by all Malaysians, like the organisers and participants of the Bersih 4 overnight rally.

But there can be no right for anyone to hold multi-racial and multi-religious Malaysia to ransom by organising a rally which from the start of its public announcement was designed to create racial distrust  and animosity and to incite racial hatred, tension and conflict, as is the case with the Red Shirt Sept. 16 rally.

Former Cabinet Minister Tan Sri Rafidah Aziz lamented  yesterday that two days before the nation celebrates the 52nd Malaysia Day, there were more issues dividing the people than promoting unity. This is also the lament of all patriotic and peace-loving Malaysians.

Rafidah wondered where was the “Sehati Sejiwa” spirit as narrow and parochial interests continued to inflict pain and exasperation on the majority.

She asked: “What really are our common goals as the people of a nation? To what and where does our loyalty lie?”

I agree with Rafidah that it is clear  that loyalty should be towards the nation and  what Malaysia and its people stood for, and not towards any  race, religion or individual.

I have had great political differences with Mahathir and Rafidah in the past, but on the big issues of right and wrong for the sake of the country, all Malaysians regardless of race, religion, region, gender, age, politics or the past, must be prepared to stand on a common platform to save Malaysia from petty, narrow, parochial and selfish interests.

The 52nd Malaysia Day tomorrow will serve as a mirror to show up who are the Malaysian patriots, knaves and traitors; which Federal or state leaders are more Malaysian than others.

There is no better way to  mark the 52nd Malaysia Day tomorrow than for Malaysians throughout the country, whether in Sabah, Sarawak or Malaya to make a personal reaffirmation  that they are not just Malays, Chinese, Indians, Kadazans, Ibans or Orang Asli but most important of all, they are Malaysians!

It is not necessary to shout out this  reaffirmation of our Malaysian “heart and soul”, as all that suffice is for every Malaysian tomorrow to make this reaffirmation as a Malaysian even in the quiet and solitude of their home or workplace, for from this reaffirmation a powerful force will arise that will save Malaysia from division, disunity and disaffection.

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 15 September 2015, 3:36 pm and is filed under
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Death knell for Barisan Nasional?

Is the Barisan Nasional Supreme Council last night the death knell for Barisan Nasional?

After the Barisan Nasional Supreme Council meeting, the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak announced that Barisan Nasional component parties have “agreed to disagree” on the September 16 Red-Shirts “Kebangkitan Maruah Melayu”  rally in Kuala Lumpur  after Umno’s BN partners voiced their objection to it at the meeting.

He said: “There are many who have voiced their concern over the rally, and as BN chairman I respect their opinions.

“The component parties had voiced out many opinions and we had decided to agree to disagree on it.”

Najib cannot be more wrong. As BN Chairman, he should not just respect the opinions of the leaders of the other political parties in Barisan Nasional, he must  comply with their  views unless there is a consensus decision by all the BN coalition parties supporting a Red-Shirts “Kebangkitan Maruah Melayu” rally in KL tomorrow.

What has happened to the much-vaunted consensus principle of Barisan Nasional which had been hailed as the key to BN’s success?

Has the BN consensus principle been abandoned and replaced by what UMNO wants and decides, where in the 13-party coalition, the views and stands of the other parties do not matter when they clash with the views and stand of UMNO?

But has UMNO Supreme Council taken a stand to unofficially support the Red Shirts “Kebangkitan Maruah Melayu” rally in KL tomorrow, confirming suspicions that it was UMNO who was the mastermind of the Red Shirts rally from the very start?

The Barisan Nasional is a coalition of 13 political parties, four from Sabah,  four from Sarawak and five from Peninsular Malaya.

The eight political parties from Sabah and Sarawak could not have possibly agreed to the holding of the racially-charged Red Shirt “Kebangkitan Maruah Melayu” rally in Kuala Lumpur on Sept. 16, especially as it is  a complete antithesis to the very  idea, concept and vision of Malaysia Day.

Leaders of Sarawak and Sabah component parties of Barisan Nasional have called for  the cancellation of the racially-charged and anti-Malaysia  Red Shirts Sept. 16 rally in Kuala Lumpur, and the ignoring of their calls is a sign of their irrelevance and impotence in the Barisan Nasional coalition, except to provide the numbers to allow Najib to become the sixth Prime Minister of Malaysia.

If there is a vote in the BN Supreme Council whether the Red Shirt “Kebangkitan Maruah Melayu”, with its most provocative pre-public campaign image of “racial bloodbath”, should be allowed to be held in KL tomorrow to threaten not only racial peace and social harmony of the country, but to undermine the very idea and concept of a Malaysian nation, the vote would be a resounding 12-1 if UMNO had insisted on  supporting the Red Shirts rally.

Why should UMNO’s one vote prevail over the 12 votes of the other BN component parties if Barisan Nasional is a coalition of equals and not 12 political parties serving one master political party, UMNO?

Is Barisan Nasional just UMNO hegemony personified where the views and stands of the  leaders of other 12 Barisan Nasional simply do not matter – and is this the reason  why we see the MCA President recently  trying to pacify an ordinary UMNO Supreme Council member who had warned “MCA and Gerakan not to take Najib’s kindness for granted”?

Unless and until the Barisan Nasional Supreme Council is reconvened to adopt a consensus resolution supporting the holding of the Red Shirts Sept. 16 rally in Kuala Lumpur, Najib should demonstrate the leadership expected of him to disallow the racially-charged and anti-Malaysia Red-Shirts “Kebangkitan Maruah Melayu” rally as it threatens racial peace and social harmony as well as being antiithesis to the idea and concept of a Malaysia Day.

Did any leader from the other 12 parties in Barisan Nasional asked at the BN Supreme Council meeting last night why Datuk Seri Zahid Hamidi had been guilty of double standards and failed to act as an independent, impartial and professional Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister in banning the innocuous yellow Bersih 4 T-shirt calling for good governance and clean, free and fair elections while allowing  the racist and most provocative red T-shirt on “Kebangkitan Maruah Melayu” to be sold and distributed?

The four BN parties in  Sabah, Sarawak and Peninsula Malaysia respectively should ponder long and hard as to what is the use of having a Barisan Nasional coalition if the views of the other 12 parties do not matter, and their only role, as in Tennyson’s poem, the Charge of the Light Brigade, put it beautifully – “Theirs not to make reply. Theirs not to reason why, Theirs but to do and die”!

Can any leader from the 12 non-UMNO BN parties reply?

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 15 September 2015, 8:45 am and is filed under
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Malaysia Acts to Save its Markets from Crisis

By John Berthelsen

Asia Sentinel

September 14, 2015

Najib says this should do It

Rising economic and political problems could render Najib’s moves ineffective

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak’s announcement that a revived government equity investment firm intends to pour RM20 billion (US$4.6 billion) into shoring up the country’s stock market may face serious headwinds in a flagging economy.

“Malaysia’s market is much thinner than China’s so RM20 billion could make quite a bit of difference. On a fundamental basis the ringgit is grossly oversold and probably Malaysian equities are too,” said a Hong Kong-based financial analyst who covers Malaysia. “The problem is that fundamentals fly out of the window when there is growing concern about the probity of the political elite and the direction of policy. Malaysia has to resolve the 1MDB debacle before the market and the currency can stabilize and recover. That was supposed to happen in January and we are still waiting, which reflects entirely the poor economic and political management of the country.”

So far in 2015, on somewhat better fundamentals, vast reserves and a stable currency, the Chinese have poured US$236 billion into attempting to shore up the country’s stock markets and US$440 billion – US$90 billion in August alone—to defend its currency.  Whenever the money spigot turns off, China’s markets go back into free fall. It depends on how precarious Malaysia really is.

Najib also announced that the manufacturing sector would be exempted from import duties until the economy recovers, but did not specify which specific sectors would be affected. Bursa Malaysia, the benchmark stock market, reacted by closing up 2.2 percent although it fell back after hitting a peak of 1645, to 1639 at the close.

Malaysia’s problem is a structural one as commodity prices for the country’s exports – crude oil, liquefied natural gas and palm oil – have fallen sharply as the global commodities cycle has turned and the economy of the world’s biggest export customer, China, has started to flag. Consumer confidence, damaged by the implementation earlier this year of a 6 percent goods and services tax whose introduction critics say was botched, has fallen sharply as well.

The ringgit has fallen by more than 25 percent to RM4.31 to US$1, the lowest rate in 17 years despite attempts by Bank Negara to prop up the currency, spending at least US$50 billion of its international reserves to buy back the currency. It was the rapid decline of the ringgit that forced the creation of an economic task force to try to figure out how to restore confidence in the marker.

“The ringgit’s decline is not expected to have an adverse impact on government debt as 97 percent of the debt is denominated in ringgit and mostly funded by domestic sources,” Najib told a press conference. As he did in August, he repeated that there are no plans to introduce capital controls to stop the ringgit’s slide. However, the descending currency has  driven up the cost of exports dramatically, adding to the already steep cost of living rise.

Najib is also faced with falling confidence in the economy because of the year-long political crisis over 1Malaysia Development Bhd, the state-backed development fund which is mired in US$11 billion of debt, a large portion of it apparently unfunded. The markets have also been rattled by allegations that Najib received an unexplained RM2.6 billion (US$602.4 million at current exchange rates) in his personal bank account from mysterious overseas sources. Capital outflows accelerated in July on Najib’s apparent inability to answer where the funds had come from, or what they were used for.

Investors have pulled at least US$3.3 billion out of the Malaysian stock market in 2015. Foreign direct investment, which had started to pick up during Najib’s reign as prime minister, has plunged. In August, according to International Trade and Industry Minister Mustapa Mohamad, FDI was down by 41.8 percent in the first half of the year although some of that was because of a higher base effect from the first half of 2014.

The vehicle for investment in the market is Value Cap, a defunct equity fund put in place in 2002 by former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad that almost immediately came under fire on allegations it was created to prop up flailing government-linked companies, which the government denied. The fund was conceived as a Malaysian version of Hong Kong’s Tracker Fund, a powerful device to support the market – although the Hong Kong fund amounted to US$30 billion, more than six times as much as the current Malaysian one. The state holding company Khazanah, the pension trust fund KWAP and the government fund management arm, Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB) were tapped to prop up the fund. It is difficult to see how far its recapitalization with US$4.6 billion will take it, since the total market capitalization of Bursa Malaysia is more than  RM2 trillion.

Although Najib described Value Cap’s operations as “effective as it managed to stabilize the stock market,” it ran into serious problems in making payments on its bonds, and in any case Bursa Malaysia, like the rest of the global markets, was caught on a rising wave of optimism. In 2003 and 2004, Value Cap did generate strong returns, of 27.7 percent and 17.7 percent respectively, doing better than the Kuala Lumpur Composite Index, which gained 22.8 percent and 14.2 percent respectively during both years.

However, Value Cap was hardly a paragon of clarity during the period when it was operating. In 2011, the company was attacked in parliament by the opposition because of its refusal to answer questions about having to extend the maturity date of its US$2.7 billion in bonds. A query by Asia Sentinel at the time was met with a response by then company secretary Husna Hafiza Mohamad that “We have strict instructions against disclosing pertinent information of the company. We would not hesitate to take any legal action against you … for any misrepresentations made.”

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 15 September 2015, 5:54 am and is filed under
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Saya Melayu tapi saya tolak perhimpunan baju merah

 — Mohd Fitri Asmuni

The Malay Mail Online

September 15, 2015

SEPT 15 — Perhimpunan “Baju Merah” tinggal 2 hari saja lagi untuk diadakan. Tarikh yang ditetapkan untuk Perhimpunan tersebut adalah pada 16 September 2015 iaitu tarikh yang sama dengan sambutan “Hari Malaysia”.

Pada tahun 2010, kerajaan telah mengisytiharkan 16 September setiap tahun sebagai cuti umum bagi seluruh rakyat Malaysia.

Pengisytiharan 16 September sebagai cuti umum pada setiap tahun adalah satu initiatif kerajaan bagi memperingati pembentukan negara Malaysia pada 16 September 1963 yang menggabungkan Tanah Melayu, Sabah, Sarawak dan Singapura bagi membentuk sebuah persekutuan yang dinamakan Malaysia.

Pembentukan Malaysia sebagai sebuah negara Persekutuan telah digagaskan oleh Tunku Abdul Rahman dalam satu ucapan beliau di Persidangan Persatuan Wartawan Luar Negeri Asia Tenggara yang diadakan di Hotel Adelphi, Singapura pada 27 Mei 1961, bertujuan bagi mewujudkan satu bentuk kerjasama politik dan ekonomi diantara Persekutuan Tanah Melayu, Singapura, Sabah, Sarawak dan Brunei. Kerjasama ini juga dibentuk bagi menyekat pengaruh komunis yang semakin ketara yang boleh menggugat kestabilan politik serantau.

Setelah melalui proses rundingan yang panjang bermula sejak tahun 1961, Malaysia akhirnya ditubuhkan secara rasmi pada 16 September 1963. Pada hari yang penuh bersejarah tersebut, teks pemasyhuran penubuhan Malaysia telah dibacakan oleh Tunku Abdul Rahman di hadapan lebih kurang 30,000 rakyat Malaysia yang berkumpul di Stadium Merdeka.

Diantara teks tersebut yang menarik untuk dikongsi di sini adalah:
“…………… Maka dengan nama Allah Yang Maha Murah lagi Maha Mengasihani, saya Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra ibni Almarhum Sultan Abdul Hamid Halim Shah, Perdana Menteri Malaysia dengan persetujuan dan perkenan ke bawah Duli Yang Maha Mulia Seri Paduka Baginda Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Yang Terutama Yang di-Pertuan Negeri Singapura, Yang Terutama Yang di-Pertua Negara Sabah dan Yang Terutama Gabenor Negeri Sarawak dengan ini mengistihar dan memasyhurkan bagi pihak umat Malaysia bahawa mulai daripada 16 September 1963 bersamaan dengan 28 Rabiul Akhir 1383 Hijrah, Malaysia yang mengandungi Negeri Pahang, Negeri Terengganu, Negeri Kedah, Negeri Johor, Negeri Sembilan, Negeri Kelantan, Negeri Selangor, Negeri Perak, Negeri Perlis, Negeri Pualu Pinang, Negeri Melaka, Negeri Singapura, Negeri Sabah dan Negeri Sarawak dengan izin dan kehendak Allah Rabbul–Alamin akan kekal menjadi sebuah negara demokrasi yang merdeka lagi berdaulat serta berasaskan kebebasan dan keadilan dan sentiasa mempertahankan serta memelihara keamanan dan kemesraan umatnya dan mengekalkan keamanan di antara segala bangsa di dunia ini.”

Berdasarkan kepada teks pemasyhuran yang dibacakan oleh Tunku Abdul Rahman itu, jelas bahawa hasrat penubuhan Malaysia ini adalah bagi menjadikan Malaysia sebuah negara demokrasi yang merdeka lagi berdaulat serta berasaskan kepada kebebasan dan keadilan serta bagi mempertahankan dan memelihara keamanan dan kemesraan rakyatnya yang berbilang bangsa dan agama.

Tetapi malangnya, Hari Malaysia yang sepatutnya diraikan dengan penuh keharmonian, keamanan dan kepelbagaian bakal dicemari dengan perhimpunan perkauman yang dinamakan “Perhimpunan Baju Merah”. Perhimpunan tersebut pasti akan menjejaskan matlamat asal sambutan Hari Malaysia yang bertujuan untuk memupuk nilai keharmonian, perpaduan dan keamanan di kalangan rakyat Malaysia yang berbilang kaum.

Perhimpunan Baju Merah ini juga diadakan sebagai satu tindak balas terhadap perhimpunan BERSIH 4.0 yang diadakan baru-baru ini di Dataran Merdeka, Kuala Lumpur.

Kalau dilihat kepada asas penubuhan BERSIH, ia tidak lain melainkan menuntut kepada pihak kerajaan yang dipimpin oleh UMNO/BN agar satu transformasi di dalam sistem pentadbiran negara dilakukan antaranya desakan agar mewujudkan sebuah kerajaan yang telus, pilihanraya yang bebas dan adil, hak untuk berdemonstrasi dan mengukuhkan sistem demokrasi berparlimen.

Kebiasaannya di negara-negara Barat, rakyat turun berhimpun di jalan raya bagi menunjukkan bantahan mereka terhadap beberapa tindakan dan polisi kerajaan yang dianggap menindas, tidak adil dan membebankan rakyat. Tetapi Perhimpunan Baju Merah ini bukanlah perhimpunan rakyat terhadap kerajaan, tetapi perhimpunan Melayu terhadap BERSIH. Ini pelik !

Bagi saya, apa yang dituntut oleh BERSIH semuanya baik dan bagus untuk diambil perhatian oleh pihak kerajaan. Ia mesej universal yang dituntut oleh semua rakyat Malaysia yang mahukan sebuah negara yang telus, adil dan bersih. Jadi, saya tidak faham apakah sebenarnya tindak balas yang mahu ditonjolkan oleh perhimpunan Baju Merah terhadap BERSIH. Adakah bermakna penganjur Perhimpunan Baju Merah tidak bersetuju dengan semua tuntutan BERSIH tersebut terhadap pihak kerajaan? Tidak jelas.

Kalaulah Perhimpunan Baju Merah ini bermotifkan protes terhadap bangsa Cina yang telah mendominasi perhimpunan BERSIH 4.0, itu bukan lesen untuk bangsa Melayu mengadakan Perhimpunan Baju Merah pula.

Bagi saya itu merupakan satu kejahilan dalam menonjolkan kekuatan Melayu.

Sesuatu bangsa itu harus bangkit dengan ilmu dan perpaduan. Tetapi Melayu hari ini telah dibangsatkan dengan kebodohan yang dibangsatkan oleh UMNO. Orang Melayu telah lama dibangsatkan tetapi disebabkan oleh kebodohan yang ditanam oleh UMNO, orang Melayu tidak tahu bahawa mereka sedang dan asyik dibangsatkan.

Kalau benarlah Melayu yang menyokong Perhimpunan Baju Merah itu ingin menonjolkan kekuatan Melayu, maka mereka sepatutnya menyertai perhimpunan BERSIH 4.0 yang lalu dan nyatakan hasrat mereka secara bersama bahawa kita mahukan sebuah kerajaan yang bersih, adil dan telus kerana kemunduran Melayu di Malaysia bukanlah disebabkan oleh bangsa Cina, tetapi disebabkan oleh UMNO yang gagal menjaga orang Melayu.

Saya mengkritik bukan bererti saya menafikan hak dan kebebasan mereka untuk berhimpun. Tetapi sebagai rakyat Malaysia yang prihatin, kita bertanggungjawab di atas kebebasan yang diberikan tersebut untuk memastikan perhimpunan yang dianjurkan itu berjalan secara aman dan ia tidak disalahgunakan di tempat yang salah.

Buat para penganjur Perhimpunan Baju Merah, hak anda untuk berhimpun secara aman tidaklah salah, tetapi motif dan tujuan anda berhimpun itulah yang salah. Perhimpunan yang akan anda adakan pada 16 September ini jelas bertentangan dengan matlamat dan objektif penubuhan Malaysia yang mahu menjadikan negara ini sebuah negara demokrasi yang menghormati hak-hak bangsa, agama dan budaya rakyat Malaysia yang pelbagai.

Maaf, walaupun saya Melayu, tetapi saya menolak Perhimpunan Baju Merah anda. Ia PERKAUMAN !!

#HarapanBaru

Mohd Fitri Asmuni,

Timbalan Ketua Pemuda

Parti Amanah Negara Negeri Perak

–

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 15 September 2015, 6:29 pm and is filed under
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Thoughts on National Day

 – Koon Yew Yin

The Malaysian Insider

14 September 2015

As we Malaysians celebrate our National Day on September 16, 2015, there is much we can be thankful for.

Sure, there is also much to be gloomy about. But let me as a senior citizen Malaysian try to put it into some perspective for the younger generation.

Firstly, we have endured as an independent nation for more than five decades.

At the time of Merdeka in 1957, there were many pessimists who felt that we could not progress without the British; and that the country would break apart quite quickly.

In fact, I remember those days very well as I was just starting on my own career journey as a young engineer.

Some of my colleagues were British professionals working for the colonial government.

Many doubted for example that our economy could survive without the Brits to guide it.

Thus when these officials were given the option of taking their pension in either ringgit or in British pounds, they almost unanimously decided to opt for the latter such was their lack of confidence in our currency.

At that time the ringgit was trading at about RM7.60 to £1. Since then even though our currency has had its ups and downs, the ringgit has not lost value against the British pound.

I am sure all the British ex-colonial civil servants must be kicking themselves for giving up so easily on Malaya.

Not only did our ringgit do well but we built a robust and diversified economy.

That strong and diversified economy was a result almost entirely of private enterprise. Government had nothing to do with it except be the pay masters.

I need to emphasise this as the government has made repeated attempts at trying to replace private sector growth with state led growth.

In the process, the government has ended up sabotaging economic growth and killing the private sector geese which have laid the golden eggs for the nation.

And similar attempts are taking place now with GLCs pushing to take over a larger chunk of Chinese owned businesses.

I am proud to be among the early pioneers in our private sector construction industry which made a major contribution to our economic growth.

Besides drainage and irrigation (the Muda Irrigation scheme was one of my early projects) the companies that I started such as Mudajaya, Gamuda and IJM – helped to build highways and housing estates.

These companies became giants in the building and construction sector.

All this was done in cost effective and at the same time durable ways. To give an example, a house built by my partners and I in the 60s and 70s would cost RM10 to RM100,000.

All of them are still around and have increased in value 20 fold. This brought affordable housing within reach to all the middle class and even lower class.

Imagine how quickly a graduate at that time could get his own house since he was earning RM600 monthly. Compare that with the situation today and you can understand why so many want to go back to the good old days.

We have been lucky too as we had what can be considered not one lottery win but one which has continued for over 30 years.

By this I mean our enormous oil and gas revenues. Unfortunately much of these revenues have been wasted on massive projects of dubious value such as the national car and national carrier as well as leaked out to cronies, rentiers, con-sultants and other parasitic members of the elite.

By right we should be a First World country by now but no thanks to the corruption and wastage especially having to do with the New Economic Policy, we have remained a part of the Third World.

Although the government has mismanaged the country’s resources and funds, the sheer size of private sector contribution and oil contribution to government revenues has enabled Malaysians to enjoy some benefits.

We also need to acknowledge that the government has done some things well. Take for example our medical system which is something we take for granted but which is quite cheap, affordable, accessible and a model for many developing countries.

There are positives and negatives from being a Malaysian. But the positives far outweigh the negatives in my opinion.

This is why I have advised Malaysians to stay back in the country and fight for a better Malaysia.

The older generations have already laid the basis for a good country. Now the younger generation must take up the fight.

And this fight begins with defending the multiracial and multicultural composition that makes us so unique in the world.

This is why all of us must celebrate September 16 – our national day – in the appropriate manner by closing ranks and rejoicing in the journey we have taken as a multi-racial nation.

We must expect that there will be a small minority of fellow Malaysians consumed by racial envy, jealousy and greed whose sense of the good old days goes back to the days of the Malacca sultanate before it was conquered by the Portuguese.

Well, those days are over and will never come back.

I and other Malaysians are happy that that some of the former Umno leaders such as Tan Sri Rafidah Aziz are finally speaking up and reminding the Malay community that this is no longer “Tanah Melayu” but “Tanah Malaysia”.

There are no longer pendatang of a lesser political or social status but Malaysians with equal rights.

Groups with extremist messages such as Pesaka and the ‘red shirt’ gang may want to make political capital out of rallying for Malay dignity and “maruah” but in fact they are being seen by most Malaysians as nothing but opportunistic agitators seeking to confuse the Malay community and working to destroy the future of all Malaysians, especially of the Malay youth. – September 14, 2015.

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 15 September 2015, 6:31 am and is filed under
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Is there a conspiracy involving the Prime Minister, Cabinet Ministers, Attorney-General and Inspector-General of Police pretending not to understand the real nature of national and international concerns about the Altantuya Shaariibuu murder case?

The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak has accused Al Jazeera’s 101 East current affairs programme “Murder in Malaysia” on the 2006 murder of Mongolian Altantuya Shaariibuu as part of an international conspiracy to topple him.

The Attorney General Tan Sri Mohamned Apandi Ali yesterday issued a statement declaring that Najib was never implicated during the course of the trial over Altantunya’s murder.

He said the murder trial was comprehensive with all relevant witnesses being called to testify.

He said: “Every piece of evidence and testimonies of witnesses were subjected subsequently to intense curial scrutiny by both the Court of Appeal and the Federal Court.”

The Inspector-General of Police, Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar meanwhile is on a war-path, vowing to investigate the Al Jazeera journalist Mary Ann Jolley under Section 505 (b) of the Penal Code related to “statements with the intent to cause, or is likely to cause, fear or alarm to the public” as well as  her informants, although Khalid did not explain how the police is  going to investigate the Australian-based journalist as she had been deported from Malaysia  in June while carrying out investigations on her programme.

The newly-appointed Communications and Multimedia Minister, Datuk Salleh Said Keruak  blogged that Najib does not have to prove his innocence in Altantuya’s murder case as it is up to  the courts to prove him guilty, pointing out that the courts had even exonerated Najib’s associate Abdul Razak Baginda regarding the murder!

With such a “friend and fervent supporter” like Salleh, Najib does not need enemies.

Salleh’s response to the call by former Prime Minister, Tun Mahathir that Najib should clear his name in the Altantuya murder case is unbelievably obtuse.

Salleh was even so naïve as to ask what other way is Mahathir suggesting that Najib clear his name, questioning “Is there another method other than through the courts?”

Salleh really over-reached himself  when he pressed on and asked whether Mahathir was saying that the Malaysian courts cannot be trusted.

I cannot answer for Mahathir but the response from the majority of Malaysians is that they have no trust in the courts when dealing with high-profile political cases of this nature!

Instead of  making mysterious accusations of an international conspiracy to topple Najib, Malaysians want to know whether the Prime Minister, his Ministers, the Attorney-General and the Inspector-General are involved in a conspiracy pretending not to understand the real nature of national and international concerns about the Altantuya Shaariibuu murder case?

The question everyone is asking, whether nationally or internationally is:  What was the motive for Altantunya’s murder and whether and if so who was the mastermind of her gruesome killing, as both the convicted murderers, ex-police commandos Azilah Hadri and Sirul Azhar Umar, had never known Altantunya before the murder.

Al Jazeera  has stated that it stands by the work of its journalist Mary Ann Jolley in her 30-minute documentary, with the network’s spokesperson from its Doha headquarters denying any ulterior agenda apart from a “detailed and thorough report into a murder mystery that continues to have many unanswered questions”, as well as reporting  “new developments” relating to Sirul currently in detention in Sydney, Australia.

With the Al Jazeera programme, re-opening many questions which have been on the minds of Malaysians in the past several years, the Prime Minister, the Cabinet, the Attorney-General and the Inspector-General of Police must re-open investigations to find answers to the unanswered questions, or even to have a Royal Commission of Inquiry to allow for convicted murderers Sirul and  Azila to testify and to resolve the mystery of Altantuya’s murder.

If as claimed by the Attorney-General, Najib is never implicated in Altantunya’s murder, why is the Prime Minister and   the authorities so unwilling to re-open investigations into the motive of Altantuya’s murder which is the only solution and exorcism available to liberate Najib from continuing to be haunted and hounded by the ghost of the Altantuya murder case?

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 16 September 2015, 8:03 am and is filed under
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Sabah and Sarawak should appoint State Ministers of Education not only in anticipation of grant of education autonomy to the states by Putrajaya, but to discuss with Federal Government and stakeholders on the definition and scope of state autonomy on education

In keeping with his promise to empower both Sabah and Sarawak, the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak yesterday unveiled a slew of measures to benefit both states.

He said 90% of teaching posts in both states will be filled by Sabahans and Sarawakians within three years.

With this, the number of Sarawakian teachers will be increased from 32,168 now to 38,082 in the state, with a similar increase in Sabah.

Najib said approval for tenders involving federal projects would be done at the state level by a committee comprising the state secretary and other civil servants.

A joint committee of federal and Sabah/Sarawak officers will be set up to evaluate the administrative aspects of the empowerment exercise so that it would be carried out in an orderly manner.

It is however totally unsatisfactory in the decentralisation of powers and functions from Putrajaya to Sabah and Sarawak is solely in the administrative and not in ay substantive sense.

For instance, the grant of autonomy in education from Putrajaya to Sabah and Sarawak cannot solely be  in terms of increasing the number of teaching posts in the two states to be filled by Sabahans and Sarawakians respectively, but also in the functions, powers and the jurisdiction  of the two states in the area of education.

The Sabah and Sarawak state governments should appoint State Ministers of Education not only in anticipation of grant of education autonomy to the states by Putrajaya, but to lead discussion  with the  Federal Government and relevant state  stakeholders on the definition and scope of state autonomy on education.

The areas of responsibility by the Sabah and Sarawak Governments with the grant of education autonomy to the two states should include the following:

1. Raising the standard of educational attainments of primary and secondary school students in Sabah and Sarawak, comparable to their peers not only with other states in  Malaysia but also internationally, whether in global educational assessments  like  TIMSS (Trends in Maths and Science Survey) or PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment).

2. Improving the quality of education in both primary and secondary schools so as to reduce the need for students to be so  dependent on private tuition, which has become a major financial burden of parents of school-going age.

3. Development of mother-tongue literacy and education, including Kadazan and Iban languages.

4. Institutionalisation of annual government grants and financial support to all primary schools so that this is not dependent on political or individual whims and fancies.

5. Adequate provision of higher education opportunities for local students in the two states. At present, Sarawak has three reputable private higher education institutions, namely  private universities of Curtin, Swinburne and UCSI but there is not a single one  in Sabah.

[Media Conference Statement (2) in Kota Kinabalu on Thursday, 17th September 2015 at 4 pm]

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 17 September 2015, 5:38 pm and is filed under
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So, what was the ‘red shirt’ rally really all about

BY SHERIDAN MAHAVERA

The Malaysian Insider

17 September 2015

Despite the belligerent rhetoric, yesterday’s “red shirt” rally in Kuala Lumpur was more about supporting embattled Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak rather than protecting Umno, much less about defending the rights and dignity of Malays.

A few things which happened prior to the rally indicated this. The night before the rally, Umno’s deputy president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin urged Malays not to attend the rally.

At the same time influential Umno strongman Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamed disparaged it. A report by The Malaysian Insider also quoted several Umno grassroots leaders who said they were against it.

Both Muhyiddin and Dr Mahathir are Umno leaders who have clashed with Najib and are figureheads for party members disenchanted with the Umno president.

Equally important is a Merdeka Center survey on Tuesday which showed that only 24% of Malays interviewed said that they supported the rally.

In comparison, 53% said they were against it, an indication that the majority in the community do not think that their jobs, families and futures are being threatened by “other races”.

But what is clear from the gathering, said Ibrahim Suffian (pic right), director of the Merdeka Center, is that there is still a small hardcore group of Umno supporters who may totally believe the racist brinkmanship.

The paradox of losing power

Despite the stated intention to protect Malay dignity, not one speaker, except Malay right-wing group chief Datuk Ibrahim Ali, detailed how the community was being disenfranchised.

Neither did any speaker bring up the allegations of graft and financial mismanagement against troubled state investor 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) or the RM2.6 billion deposited in Najib’s personal accounts.

Ibrahim only touched on Malay reserve land that has shrunk in the last 50 years.

He, however, did not mention that the power to de-gazette Malay reserve land belonged to the state governments and that for the past 51 years, Umno has ruled all of them except Kelantan.

Political scientist Prof Shaharuddin Badaruddin said this illustrated the whole paradox of the rally.

Shaharuddin of Universiti Selangor said Umno members are rallying to protect Malays at a time when all the country’s institutions are controlled by Malays and Umno is the party with the most seats in Parliament.

“So where is the threat of Malays losing dignity or power? After 58 years of independence, do we still have to have rallies like this?” he said.

Which begs the question – was the rally about Umno members coming out to support the party?

For the Umno members who did show up, this was the real fear, said Ibrahim.

“The rally and rhetoric speak to a larger narrative where Umno is confronted with uncertain political prospects, due to a moribund economy, a sullen electorate burdened by the GST (goods and services tax) and an unpopular leader.”

Former Umno deputy minister Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah does not think that it was about saving Umno and points to the absence of top Umno leaders at the rally.

The highest ranking member was supreme council member Tan Sri Annuar Musa. Compare this with Bersih 4, which was attended by top leaders from PKR, DAP and Amanah.

“It’s not really about supporting the party but about backing some people,” said the former Temerloh MP.

Defending the indefensible

Saifuddin said the clearest sign of what the rally was about was how it wanted to counter Bersih 4’s rally two weeks ago.

“Bersih 4 had five main objectives. It also included the goal of asking the prime minister to resign.”

Bersih 4 participants called on Najib to resign over allegations that he received RM2.6 billion in donations.

Saifuddin doubts that the red shirts were opposed to any of the five objectives, which include fair elections and a clean government. The most likely target was the call for Najib to resign.

“If Bersih 4 had wanted to topple the government, there would have been more people at the rally.

“But I think the Malays understand that even if you change the prime minister, the government will still be Umno and Barisan Nasional.”

And this is where the racist rhetoric comes in, said Saifuddin.

“You can’t really rally for something or someone that is indefensible and expect people to show up. So you use the race card and play with emotions”.

The second most popular battle cry at the rally behind “Malays must rise up” was “defend the elected government”. But no one responded when politicians who spoke at the rally said “Hidup Umno”.

On the way to the rally, this writer bumped into a Malay friend who was on her way to a shopping complex. What she said encapsulated how urban Malays, at least, were responding to the red shirts.

Out of all the Malays she knew, only one was going to Padang Merbok.

And what about all her other Malay friends, what did they think?

“My other Malay friends went to Bersih 4,” she said. – September 17, 2015.

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 17 September 2015, 6:46 pm and is filed under
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Three lessons in  a national soul-searching as to what has gone wrong with over five decades of nation-building that there was a Red Shirts Malay Rally replete with racial slurs and provocations on Malaysia Day itself and with government approval

Malaysians must conduct a national soul-searching as to what has gone wrong with over five decades of nation-building that  there was a Red Shirts Malay rally  replete with racial slurs and provocations on Malaysia Day itself and with government approval.

Police estimated that some 35,000 Malays from all over the country converged in Kuala Lumpur  – a few not knowing why they were being brought to the Federal capital –  to uphold Malay dignity on the ground allegedly that Malay rights were under threat.

UMNO veteran and stalwart, Gua Musang MP Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah rightly said today that he did not know where the perceived threats to Malays were coming from.

He said: “You have got the government that is headed by a Malay, state governments headed by Malays with the exception of one in Penang. The civil service is mostly made up of Malays.

“The army are mostly Malays and we also have Malay rulers. I don’t know where the threats are coming from.”

Even the fourth and longest-serving Prime Minister of Malaysia, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad said  that he was clueless about the objectives of the Red Shirts Malay rally, although it was meant to be a counter-demonstration against the allegedly Chinese-dominated and DAP-masterminded (completely untrue and baseless allegations) Bersih 4 overnight rally on August 29 and 30.

Mahathir had yesterday rubbished the allegation that Bersih 4 rally was racist, when he said:

“Bersih 4 was not racist, all races were there. They (red shirts) want Bersih to be racist so they can defend the Malays.

“(But) they are not defending the Malays. There is no need (for the Red Shirts rally).”

Mahathir has struck the nail on the head.

It is clear that one primary objective of  the Red Shirts Malay rally in Kuala Lumpur today is to provoke and launch  a vicious cycle of racial  animosity, distrust and hatred in the country which would provide the raison d’etre for the “unseen hands” who had organised the Red Shirts Malay rally to continue their agenda of mischief.

Malaysians of all races should not fall into the trap of the “unseen hands” who organised the Red Shirts Malay Rally on Malaysia Day today, and although there are racial slurs, insults and provocations, based on lies and falsehoods, in today’s rally, they should not react or respond in any racial fashion but from a Malaysian national perspective to treat the Red Shirts Malay Rally as proof that Malaysia, despite over five decades of nation-building, is stricken with a serious sickness which must be recognised,  addressed and healed.

The spokesperson for the Group of Eminent Malays (G25) and former diplomat Noor Farida Ariffin rightly warned at a forum that Malaysia could become a failed state if politicians do not stop the unhealthy practice of threatening other or inciting racial polarisation.

She said that there must be mutual tolerance with one another in order for the country to remain prosperous and warned that it was the politicians who were destroying the country.

Even the former Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Idris Jala said  in the same forum that there was no racial polarisation when he worked in Shell, but he noticed that Peninsular Malaysia is much more polarised than in Sarawak.

As patriots, let us respond to the racially-charged and provocative Red Shirts Malay Rally  as Malaysians, and not as Malays, Chinese, Indians, Kadazans or Ibans.

I believe the majority of right-thinking Malays, like Tun Mahathir, Tengku Razaleigh and Tan Sri Rafidah Aziz,  are also horrified  not only as Malays but also as Malaysians by the holding of a Red Shirts Malay rally in Kuala Lumpur on Malaysia Day.

The  Malaysian Chinese, who are the target of baseless slurs, insults and provocations in the Red Shirts Malay Rally in Kuala Lumpur, should also respond not only as Chinese but as Malaysians – as the primary question is not why tens of thousands of Malays in various parts of the country could be bused to KL for a rally purportedly to protect Malay dignity and rights, but what has gone wrong with over half a century of nation-building that such reckless and irresponsible race-baiting could still be used with some effect when those who pose the greatest threats to the dignity and rights of ordinary Malays are the UMNO-putras themselves.

This is why there is a need for Malaysians, regardless of race, to conduct a  national soul-searching as to what has gone wrong with over five decades of nation-building that a Red Shirts Malay rally  replete with racial slurs and provocations  could be held, and  on Malaysia Day itself, and with government approval.

But the future for Malaysia is not all bleak, black and dark.

While there was a sea of red in Kuala Lumpur, there was a sea of orange in Shah Alam this morning at the launching of Parti Amanah Negara where thousands  of Muslims from all over the country congregated to celebrate the birth of an open-minded, progressive, inclusive and caring Islamist political party – showing the way for a common future for all Malaysians, regardless of race, religion, region, age or gender.

It may be a blessing in disguise that the Red Shirts Malay rally is held on Malaysia Day today, for it hightlights the gravity of the  failure of Malaysian nation-building and the urgent need to inculcate in all Malaysians, sehati sejiwa, with the commitment that they are not just Malays, Chinese, Indians, Kadazans, Ibans or Orang Asli but most important of all, they  are Malaysians!

There are at three lessons we must draw from the blemish of a Red Shirts Malay rally on Malaysia Day today:

Firstly, the need to end race-based political parties, a concept which UMNO founder Onn Jaffar had advocated 64 years ago in 1951 when he suggested that UMNO openn its doors to non-Malays and change its name from United Malays National Organisation to United Malayans National Organisation.  All the presently race-based parties, whether UMNO, MCA or MIC should be required to open their doors to all Malaysians in a major stride forward in Malaysian nation-building.

Secondly, the need to inculcate in all Malaysians the concept  that although we remain and are  proud of being respectively Malays, Chinese, Indians, Kadazans, Ibans or Orang Aslis, we are above all Malaysians.  If such a message had been successfully inculcated, there would not have been a Red Shirts Malay rally in Kuala Lumpur today, and the Bersih 4 rally, participated by Malaysians regardless of race, religion, region, age, gender or politics would be  the model of all public assemblies  – no racial slurs, insults or provocations; no worry about racial clashes or conflicts, as all had come together with a common national objective transcending race, to demand  as in the case of Bersih 4, good governance and free, fair elections.

If there are political leaders, whether in UMNO, MCA, MIC, whether in government or opposition, who are not prepared to accept such a Malaysian message transcending race, then we must go over the heads of the political leaderships concerned to reach their  ordinary membership who are more rational and Malaysian-minded than their leaders.

Thirdly, the need for a national movement to raise the constitutional literacy  of  Malaysians so that all  Malaysian regardless of race understand  the fundamental features and provisions of the Malaysian constitution as well as their constitutional rights and limitations.

If we can learn these three lessons from the Red Shirts Malay rally in Kuala Lumpur today, then all is not in vain and  there is more than light at the end of the tunnel for Malaysia!

(Speech  at the Sandakan DAP  Dinner to celebrate 52nd Malaysia Day in Sandakan on Wedneday 16th September 2015 at 10 pm)

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 17 September 2015, 8:14 am and is filed under
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A rally in Malaysia today ramped up racial tensions and rhetoric

Steve Mollman

Quartz

September 16, 2015

To an outside visitor, Malaysia’s underlying racial tensions might not be readily apparent. But a pro-government rally today (Sept. 16) in Kuala Lumpur brought them to light. The red-shirted demonstrators were for the most part young Malay men, many bused in from rural provinces with help from the United Malays National Organization (UMNO), the nation’s dominant political party.

Ethnic Malays are the majority in the country, but ethnic Chinese make up about a quarter of the population and, overall, have more economic power. UMNO has controlled Malaysia for nearly 60 years, and it has reserved economic and other advantages for Muslim Malays, saying they’re needed to prevent dominance by the ethnic Chinese and Indian minorities.

Today’s rally was in fact a counter-rally. It was a show of force in response to the Bersih rallies held on Aug. 29-30. “Bersih” is the Malay word for clean, and the yellow-shirted protestors were calling for clean elections, clean government, the right to dissent, a strengthened parliament, and the rescue of Malaysia’s faltering economy. They were especially incensed over accusations that prime minister Najib Razak pocketed nearly $700 million from a government investment fund.

The government, then, had reasons to paint the Bersih rallies—held around Malaysia and in cities across the globe—as being driven by the ethnic Chinese. In truth, many ethnic Malays also attended the Bersih rallies, as did Indians and other minorities.

By contrast, the demonstrators at today’s “Malay Dignity Gathering” were almost entirely Malay, as the name would suggest. The pro-Malay sentiments—and anti-Chinese ones—were clear. One group gathered near the national mosque and carried placards reading: “Don’t challenge Malay Rights” and “Rise Malays Rise.” Another sign read: “Damn the racist DAP,” referring to the predominantly Chinese opposition Democratic Action Party.

On Sunday night (Sept. 13), a group of red-shirted Malays burned effigies of prominent ethnic Chinese politicians in yellow Bersih shirts, while performing religious chants. The event took place in Kota Bharu, the capital of the deeply conservative northern state of Kelantan.

In response, the Malaysian Chinese Association issued a statement condemning the act and drawing comparisons to the racist organization the Ku Klux Klan in the US:

    Effigy burning amidst racial and religious chants at night bears a striking similarity to the culture of the Ku Klux Klan in the American south where they set wooden crosses ablaze after dark. Such actions reek of intimidation detrimental against public peace and security.

While no major violence broke out at today’s rally, there was plenty of chest-thumping. The Straits Times quoted one participant, a retired army officer, who hinted that violence was an option. “I am here today for Malay dignity, for the nation and the country,” said Haji Nasir Rasyid. “If Bersih can show off, we can also show off. If Bersih tries to be funny, we can do even more as I am ex-army.”

The official organizer of today’s rally was the National Federation of Silat Associations, a martial arts group. Silat is a form of martial arts indigenous to Southeast Asia, including the Malaysia and Indonesia, in which knives are sometimes incorporated. Some of today’s demonstrators wielded knives.

The “red shirts” seemed primed to intimidate, even before the Bersih rally. One group conducted an Aug. 25 counter-rally practice session that involved beating each other with sticks, even as the participants professed non-violent intentions.

The tensest moment today occurred at barricades police had set up to protect parts of Chinatown. Protestors demanded to be let in, and the police used water cannons to try to disperse them. Even after the rally officially ended, the demonstrators still lingered in the area in hopes of breaking through, before eventually dissipating.

Many Chinese-owned shops, fearing the worst, had closed for the day.

                This entry was posted on Friday, 18 September 2015, 5:50 am and is filed under
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Malaysia Fund 1MDB’s Missing Money Problem Grows

By BRADLEY HOPE And  TOM WRIGHT

The Wall Street Journal

Sept. 17, 2015

Questions around a troubled Malaysian state investment fund and missing money in the Middle East have widened to include as much as $1 billion more.

The Wall Street Journal reported last week that officials in Abu Dhabi were trying to understand why a $1.4 billion transfer that the fund, 1Malaysia Development Bhd., said it made to a counterparty in the Middle Eastern emirate wasn’t received. Now, those officials are questioning a further $993 million that 1MDB reported it paid to the Abu Dhabi fund, the International Petroleum Investment Co., but which also appears to be largely missing, people familiar with the matter said.

Officials from 1MDB and IPIC didn’t respond to requests for comment.

The questions deepen the mystery around 1MDB, which was set up by Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak in 2009 to invest in Malaysia’s economy. The fund is now struggling to repay more than $11 billion in debt and is at the center of a corruption scandal that is destabilizing Mr. Najib’s government.

Earlier this year, a Malaysian government investigation found almost $700 million entered the prime minister’s private accounts through entities linked to 1MDB ahead of a close election in 2013. The source of the money is unclear, and the government investigation hasn’t detailed what happened to the funds that went into Mr. Najib’s personal accounts. Malaysia’s anticorruption body in August said the funds were a donation from the Middle East. The donor wasn’t specified.

Attempts to reach Mr. Najib weren’t successful. He has denied any wrongdoing or taking money for personal gain.

The link to the Abu Dhabi fund came in 2012, when it agreed to guarantee $3.5 billion in bonds issued by 1MDB to fund the purchase of some power plants. In return, IPIC was given options to buy a stake in those power assets. But last year, both sides agreed to end that deal with 1MDB agreeing to buy back the options for an undisclosed price.

1MDB said it made a transfer of nearly $1 billion to an IPIC subsidiary in November as partial payment for the options, according to copy of a draft report by Malaysia’s auditor general that was reviewed by The Wall Street Journal.

Neither the financial records of IPIC, nor its wholly-owned subsidiary Aabar Investments PJSC, for 2014 mention of the receipt of the money. They say only in a footnote that as of the end of 2014, 1MDB owed IPIC $481.3 million in outstanding payments for the options. No substantial amount of money was received by IPIC, the people familiar with the matter said. It isn’t clear how IPIC arrived at the $481.3 million figure and how it relates to the nearly $1 billion transfer 1MDB says it made to IPIC.

The missing $1 billion is the second payment that 1MDB reported it made and IPIC said it didn’t receive. Financial statements from 1MDB and a report by the Malaysian auditor general, which is one of a number agencies investigating 1MDB, show that the fund made a separate payment of $1.4 billion to IPIC. That payment was described as collateral for the loan guarantees that Abu Dhabi provided on the bonds issued by 1MDB. Last week, the Journal reported that payment also was missing and that Abu Dhabi officials were looking into it, according to people familiar with the matter.

The 1MDB fund said last week that it stood by its audited financial accounts and that its auditor, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Ltd., had made “specific and detailed” inquiries into the collateral transfer before signing off on the accounts. Deloitte declined to comment.

On Aug. 14, the Swiss attorney general’s office opened criminal proceedings against two unidentified executives of 1MDB and against what it called persons unknown for suspected corruption and money laundering. It also has frozen tens of millions of dollars in Swiss bank accounts. Swiss authorities on Tuesday said Malaysia has agreed to allow its prosecutors to question witnesses.

Authorities in Singapore also have frozen accounts linked to 1MDB and are continuing to probe the fund. The Malaysian fund said it was ready to assist any investigations subject to advice from the appropriate Malaysian authorities.

                This entry was posted on Friday, 18 September 2015, 5:04 pm and is filed under
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Najib cannot remain silent or passive when Al Jazeera stands by its “Murder in Malaysia” documentary and Jolley calls for new probe by Malaysian police into fresh evidence in Altantuya murder case

The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, cannot remain silent or passive when Al Jazeera stands by its “Murder in Malaysia” documentary and Al Jazeera reporter, Australian-based Mary Ann Jolley calls for new probe by Malaysian police into fresh evidence into the horrific  Altantuya Shaariibuu murder case.

A day after Al Jazeera Doha headquarters spokesperson said that the network stood by its   101 East current affairs programme “Murder in Malaysia” and denied any ulterior agenda apart from a “detailed and thorough report into a murder mystery that continues to have many unanswered questions” as well as reporting “new developments” relating to condemned convict  Sirul Azhar Umar currently held in immigration detention centre in Sydney, Jolley has urged Malaysian police to investigate fresh evidence that she had uncovered and  reported in the Altantuya Shaariibuu murder case amid a probe against her.

Jolley pointed out  in a Malay Mail Online email interview  that the text messages sent by former police commando Sirul  – who was convicted together with Azila, another ex-police commando of killing the young Mongolian woman – to a man named Abdul Salam Ahmad on January 17 this year, in which he had asked for millions of dollars to “remain in Australia and not bring down the PM”, was not hearsay.

The first-hand account of a conversation between Sirul and his relative, in which Sirul alleged that Altantuya’s ex-lover Razak Baginda had shot her, was not hearsay either.

In these circumstances, how can Najib be silent or passive to the Al Jazeera offer of co-operation with any Malaysian police investigation that would look into the fresh evidence that came to light when filming “Murder in Malaysia” documentary?

In this connection, the earlier  statement by the newly-appointed Attorney-General Tan Sri Mohamed Apandi Ali that the Prime Minister was never implicated during the course of the trial over the murder of Altantuya Shaariibuu, and that the murder trial was comprehensive with all relevant witnesses being called to testify, is  not worth very much as a statement of exoneration for Najib to rely upon.

This is because even a layman without any legal training could retort that a person not implicated in a murder trial does not 100% preclude him from any involvement in the murder.

Nobody is suggesting that Najib is in any way involved in the Altantuya murder case but the crucial  question is whether there had been a thorough police investigation into the Altantuya murder, and not just whether there had been a murder trial!

Furthermore, if there had been a thorough police investigation into the Altantuya murder case, why is it that there is such a gaping hole with regard to the motive for the Mongolian’s murder, as both Sirul and Azila, both convicted for her murder, had never known or met her before the heinous deed – raising the question as to why they would want to murder her unless there was a mastermind who would have the motive!

In this connection, can Apandi explain why there had been no appeal by the prosecution against the acquittal of Razak Baginda for abetting murder of Altantuya by the Shah Alam High Court in 2008?

Najib should act consistently with one who did not know or had ever met Altantuya and wanted to establish his total innocence in view of the swirling rumours inside and outside the country linking him in some manner to the murder, i.e. by ordering a full-scale investigation as  establishing a Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Altantuya’s murder to remove beyond a shadow of doubt that he was in any manner or at any time  involved, however remotely, in Altantunya’s murder.

Is Najib prepared to respond positively to the Al Jazeera documentary and Jolley’s call for new investigation into the fresh evidence she had uncovered?

[Speech  (3) at the launching of the DAP “cerita-cerita kedai kopi” series at Donggongons, Sabah on Thursday, 17th Sept 2015 at 9 pm]

                This entry was posted on Friday, 18 September 2015, 4:49 pm and is filed under
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Rafidah Aziz should head the National Goodwill Committee to restore racial peace and social harmony  as well as Malaysia’s international image as a model of multi-racial nation and safe haven for foreign investors damaged by Red Shirts Malay rally on Sept. 16

Malaysians, regardless of race, religion, region, gender, age or even politics, must hold their  heads in shame as the  country acquires a new infamy in the international society.

As if we have  not enough of shame and scandals which had seriously hurt the pride of Malaysians  overseas, like the MH370 disappearance, the MH17 disaster, continued unsolved mystery of the motive for the murder of Mongolian Altantuya Shaariibuu and the blowing up of her body with military C4 explosives,  the RM50 billion 1MDB scandal, the RM2.6 billion “donation” scandal in Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s personal banking accounts, Malaysia in the past 24 hours have acquired a new international infamy, a country of “anti-Chinese” demonstrations.

As a Malaysian, I feel very ashamed to read just now the Malaysiakini report
“Overseas, red shirts rally seen as ‘anti-Chinese demo’”
, as follows:

“Several overseas Chinese-language media including Taiwan’s Apple Daily, China Times, Hong Kong’s Oriental Daily, Yahoo Hong Kong, ifeng.com, and China’s Sohu.com, today reported the red shirts rally as ‘anti-Chinese demonstrations’.

“‘Anti-Chinese demonstrations burst again in Malaysia. More than 30,000 ethnic Malays go on streets to back Prime Minister Najib (Abdul Razak), who is now caught in a financial scandal, alleging the Chinese are aiming to topple the government.

“‘Many protesters attempted to break into Kuala Lumpur’s Chinatown, but were dispersed by the police’s water cannons,’Apple Daily reported.

“‘Many government officials and the ruling party’s leaders also joined the rally.

“‘Protesters called upon Malays to be united, and condemned ethnic Chinese party leaders who had initiated a large anti-Najib rally last month, which (the protesters claimed) was aimed at abolishing the special rights of Malays,’ the newspaper added.

“China Times reported that ethnic tension has a long history in Malaysia, as anti-Chinese riots had taken place in 1964 and 1969, with the 1964 riots leading to Singapore leaving Malaysia for independence.

“Yahoo Hong Kong quoted from AFP, reporting a 23-year-old protester saying: ‘The Malay lifestyle is being threatened now. We want to support Najib, a Malay, to warn the Chinese.’

“The news portal added this protester was brought from rural areas by Umno to join the rally.”

Malaysians and the world are reminded of the anti-Chinese riots in Indonesia in 1998 which led eventually to the fall of President Suharto and his government in Indonesia.

Is Malaysia heading in that direction of inter-racial strife, unrest and political turmoil?

Definitely not, or there would not have been a peaceful gathering of Malaysians, in hundreds of thousands, many times the size of the  Red Shirts Sept. 16 Malay rally, just a fortnight ago, where Malaysians came together as one people, sehati sejiwa,  regardless of race, religion, region, gender, age or politics, with a singleness of purpose and the  common objective to demand for good governance and clean, free and fair elections.

The Bersih 4 overnight rally in Kuala Lumpur, Kuching and Kota Kinabalu represents the future and salvation of Malaysia where Malaysians transcend race, religion, region, gender age or even politics for a common national objective – a united, self-confident, harmonious, democratic, just, progressive and prosperous Malaysian nation to be a model for the rest of the world.

The Red Shirts Sept. 16 Malay Rally represents the past  of race politics which could only end up with Malaysia as a failed state and a basket-case in international society.

A struggle for the soul and future of Malaysia is taking place.

Are Malaysians prepared to stand up for the future or will they harken to the calls of the discredited politics of race of the past?

The international image of anti-Chinese demonstrations in Malaysia is untrue and incorrect, as there is no Malay-Chinese conflict or confrontation, but a battle between the politics of the nation for the future versus the politics of race of the past.

Those who want to defend the politics of race of the past want to create the false image that Malaysia is being convulsed by a racial confrontation and conflict between the Malays and the Chinese so as to preserve the past pattern of politicking – and to destroy the politics of the nation  of the future from surfacing and replacing the politics of race of the past.

Malays and Islam are not under threat in Malaysia, but desperate  and bankrupt politicians want to prevent the new politics of the nation from being born by continuing to frame the politics of Malaysia in 2015 in the mould of the politics of race of the past, which patriotic and progressive Malaysians regardless of race, religion or region want to put behind us.

This is why I particularly welcome the statement by former Prime Minister Tun Abdullah  who has joined past UMNO veterans like Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah and Tan Sri Rafidah Aziz in declaring that the Bersih 4 rally of August 29 and 30 was not a challenge to Malay political power and that Malays are not under threat.

Let us heed the advice of political veterans like Rafidah Aziz, who was Minister for International Trade and Industry for more than two decades, who  urged the UMNO/BN government  to stop the perpetuation of narrow-minded politics that prioritise one race over others, as it is  jeopardising the country’s progress towards Vision 2020 and development as a whole.

Expressing relief that the Red Shirts Malay rally of Sept. 16 ended with little incident, barring the fire of water cannons in Petaling Street, Rafidah called on the government and all  groups to get on with the programme to make Malaysia a success.

She stressed the utmost importance of the government not to “play politics” with “national unity” and to govern only for the sake of the people and the country.

Malaysians must be brave and realistic to acknowledge that the Sept. 16 Red Shirts Malay Rally marked the plunge of  Malaysian race relations to the lowest point in the past 46 years since the May 13 riots of 1969, and that it  had given  Malaysia the worst possible international image as if Malaysia has taken over Indonesia as a country with “anti-Chinese demonstrations”.

Malaysian leaders, regardless of race, religion, region or politics must come together in a patriotic  endeavour  to heal the wounds to racial harmony and social peace and repair our international image as a model of a successful multi-racial nation which is a safe and steady haven for foreign investment caused by the Red Shirt Malay rally of Sept. 16.

For this reason, a National Goodwill Committee  like the one formed after the May 13, 1969 riots to restore racial harmony and social peace in the country and our international image must be the top priority, and there is no more qualified candidate for the post of Chairman of the National Goodwill Committee to chart the country out of the present treacherous waters than Rafidah Aziz.

I would urge the Prime Minister and the Cabinet Ministers in their meeting next Wednesday to set up such a National Goodwill Committee with Rafidah Aziz as the Chairman, involving the participation of all patriotic Malaysians regardless of race, religion, region or politics,  to take the nation back from the brink of the precipice which was the direction  the Red Shirt Malay Rally of Sept. 16 wanted the nation to  be heading.

(Speech by at the launching of the DAP “cerita-cerita kedai kopi” series at Donggongon, Sabah on Thursday, 17th Sept 2015 at 9 pm)

                This entry was posted on Friday, 18 September 2015, 8:20 am and is filed under
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Reflections on and from Bersih 4

– Katrina Jorene Maliamauv

The Malaysian Insider

18 September 2015

I wrote these thoughts down immediately after Bersih 4, but I’ve decided to only share them days down the line, once the news-cycle presumably moves on to something else, once the frenzy of pictures and status updates capturing the warmth, excitement, hope and enthusiasm fade away.

As powerful and moving as it is when hundreds of thousands of people come together in an act of protest, it is necessary always for us to remember that for protest to be transformative, it cannot exist as a singular event.

It is also critical for us to remember that acts of change cannot merely be external; we are part of the force for change, in ways that are vital beyond our feet marching in unison, our voices raising together in rally cries, our bodies on the street in acts of overnight resistance.

There is a quieter, less visible, more reflective (and creative) side of protest that we must talk about: the connecting of dots, and the utilising of our collective imagination (anger! sadness! frustration! hope!) for creation.

Connecting of dots: It is the piecing together of history (the official, the lived, the not-talked about, the experienced), a weaving of narratives, an exploration of unanswered questions, an outcome of constant vigilance and continuous interrogation of ourselves/each other/the systems that will help us understand how we got to this point that we’re in.

Creation: It is the permission we give ourselves to imagine what the values we stand for (justice! dignity! human rights! muhibbah! peace! radical love! respect!) will look like in practice.

It is the persistent and relentless imagination to create that world, and to live that creation in the everyday choices of our lives even as we work towards building that greater world.

Protest is as much action as it is reflection. Thinking about some of the conversations around Bersih 4, and the experiences (my own/others) over the years, here are some reflections and questions I hope we can reflect on individually, points we can challenge each other with as we fortify our resistance and expand our vision of the world we want:

1. In response to the cries of “where are the Malays?” after the first day of the rally, Hafidz Baharom (August 30, 2015) asks, “Were there no Malays, or did you fail to notice?”

He urges us to “look all around us”, at the people working in the train stations/restaurants/café/hotels/road stalls that protesters used/visited, the majority of whom are ethnic Malays, most likely unable to take the day off to join a protest because that would mean a loss in wages they cannot afford.

His call to us is a stark reminder of the millions we render invisible to ourselves every day, the millions we file away as that lump of statistics, “the poor”. Do we fail to notice them? Why? When we say one of our demands is to “save the Malaysian economy”, as Hafidz asks, who are we saving the economy for? How will the vision for a more just economy include the people we fail to see?

By the way, why don’t we ask “where are the ethnic Indians, the Orang Asli, the gender diverse, the elderly, people who are differently abled?” Sure, people from all those communities were present too, but proportional to our population? Or are we so used to not-seeing them either?

2. “I’m not Malay, Chinese or Indian – I’m Malaysian”: while I can appreciate the sentiment, I’d ask us to reflect on what that really means, what we’re truly saying. Do we need to abandon our differences before we can see our commonalities?

We are not all the same – our histories, heritage, lived experiences in relation to the State, in relation to economic policies, in relation to each other are often very different. Turning a critical eye away from race often leads us down that terrible path of indirect racism. How do we think about race while weaving the thread of unity? Where is the space to manoeuvre through our complexities – when we say we are “one”, what is that “one” composed of?

3. For many, Bersih 4 was the first time they stepped forward to protest. I think that’s truly wonderful, and I don’t want to diminish the value and force of that. I do want us to ask ourselves and each other, what held us back before?

What were we willing to put up with; what did we allow ourselves to endure; what did we not see, notice, pay attention to, realise? What more do we need to learn how to see, to listen to, to learn in the years that we missed with our absence or inaction?

4. How will we build our resilience towards inaction? How can we foster perseverance?

5. What are we going to do differently this time? Beyond this moment of rallying in the street, beyond the tweet, beyond the filing of albums in glorious yellow – what are we going to do differently in our every day to live that vision?

6. What world do we want created? How will we work towards creating that world? With whom will we co-create? Who does this vision include? Will it just be people who look like us, who live in our communities, who speak like us?

Or is our vision inclusive of people in economic states so different from ours; people who are ethnically/religiously different; people we cannot understand or imagine because they are too far from us (we keep ourselves far from them) – how will we include those we do not see, do not hear, do not understand in the world we’re creating?

7. How do we expand our capacity to imagine inclusivity? What does being inclusive look like in our relationships, in the work we do, in spaces of interaction, in policy documents, in leadership we choose and display? How do we ensure we do not replicate divisiveness?

8. How do we hold on to that spirit of muhibbah, of respect for each other and the environment? How do we replicate the little joys so celebrated during Bersih (giving way so people can pray, making sure rubbish is collected, celebrating each other’s art, being courteous and helpful) – how can we make that manifest in our daily lives? Where are we failing to do so? And why?

9. Are we prepared to confront in uncomfortable and painful ways our complicity in creating and enabling the ‘monster’ that lives today? It is well and good to target Datuk Seri Najib Razak, a necessary immediate focal point. But what about the monsters of racism, classism, patriarchy, prejudice, economic violence, displacement and gender discrimination that we feed with our hand, that we let loose when we turn our eyes away?

10. And finally (for now): Are we preparing ourselves for a journey that is long, and difficult? How will we take care of each other as we do this difficult work? How do we stay vigilant, remain critical and conscious without burning out from exhaustion?

How will we celebrate this journey of resistance and creation? And will we give ourselves permission to discover new ways to connect with one another, to grow, to love, to dream, to inspire, and to be changed in unexpected and transformative ways? – September 18, 2015.

                This entry was posted on Friday, 18 September 2015, 6:59 pm and is filed under
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