Malaysia poised for pivotal polls

By Simon Roughneen

Asia Times

21st December 2012

Ahead of what reform campaigners believe will be Malaysia’s “dirtiest ever elections”, the long-ruling United Malays National Organization (UMNO) has engineered something of a clean-up. In recent months, it has reformed some old and oft-derided laws, such as allowing indefinite detention without trial and forcing local newspapers to apply each year for a publication permit, a stipulation that encouraged self-censorship.

UMNO and its allies have governed Malaysia consecutively since achieving independence from colonial rule, a longevity not usually associated with electoral democracies. UMNO and its Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition survived the last election in 2008, though it ceded its two-thirds parliamentary majority for the first time and lost five out of 13 federal states to the opposition, a coalition of three parties led by controversial former UMNO firebrand Anwar Ibrahim that includes the Islamic party PAS and the Chinese-dominated Democratic Action Party (DAP).

While some in the Malaysian opposition and rights groups have criticized the recent reforms as piecemeal electioneering for next year’s vote, there are indications that the government has made some real positive changes, particularly regarding the overhaul of certain emergency laws and repealing the old Internal Security Act, a law which has in the past been used against the government’s political opponents.

Noting some improvements, Amanda Whiting, a law academic at University of Melbourne who carries out research on the Malaysian legal system, told Asia Times Online that “there now cannot be lengthy detention without trial, there must be a criminal court process, not extrajudicial detention.”

It remains to be seen whether the “two steps forward, one step back” reforms will be enough to help UMNO and its fellow members in the BN (or National Front) coalition to retain power over the Pakatan Rakyat (or People’s Justice) opposition coalition, said James Chin, a political scientist at Monash University’s Malaysia campus. He views the reforms as an appeal by Prime Minister Najib Razak to voters to stick with the devil they know.

“Najib is trying to say, ‘you can have an UMNO that is trying to reform, or you can opt for uncertainty with Anwar and PAS’,” Chin told Asia Times Online.

Many of Malaysia’s main political parties held internal conferences in late November and early December, with the election foremost on members’ minds. UMNO delegates rehashed old themes about continuity while accusing the Anwar-led coalition of being foreign-funded stooges with an anti-Malay, anti-Islam agenda.

These were viewed in some quarters as diversionary tactics. Najib and UMNO have come under fire of late with renewed allegations centering around a possible cover-up of the murder of a Mongolian model living in Malaysia in 2006 who associated with government officials, which in turn has been linked to a kickback scandal involving the government’s purchase of French submarines.

At times, the fear-mongering took unwittingly comic turns. Ibrahim Ali, president of Perkasa, a Malay supremacist organization with links to UMNO, suggested that Malays are economically disadvantaged against non-Malays due to Islamic law and therefore the government’s long-standing effective subsidization of the Malay population at the expense of other ethnic groups should continue.

“Gambling, liquor, entertainment outlets… how could Malays afford, be able to compete?” Ibrahim asked, citing businesses prohibited by sharia law.

But it is not just pro-government parties that talk up the need for sharia-based laws. Religion and “race” (the term used in Malaysia when discussing the country’s three main ethnic groups – Malay, Chinese and Indian) are potentially divisive electoral issues. PAS, for instance, has openly discussed the implementation of hudud, or Islamic criminal justice, should the opposition coalition of which it is part win the election.

Such plans are said to alarm the allied DAP and more broadly Chinese-Malay voters. The Malaysian Chinese Association, BN’s in-house Chinese party, has told voters that a vote for the DAP is effectively a vote for more Islamic law in Malaysia. Ethnic Chinese represent around 25% of Malaysia’s population.

Ooi Kee Beng, a Malaysian academic based at Singapore’s Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, says that “bread and butter issues”, not race and religion, are likely to be foremost in voters’ minds on election day.

Here the BN incumbents might fare well, with domestic spending on infrastructure projects, such as a new metro/rail system in Kuala Lumpur, helping to buoy economic growth to around 5%. Populist measures, most recently included in the September budget, have played well in rural areas, where two-thirds of the parliamentary seats will be decided.

Malaysia’s low-inflation, trade-oriented economy has also fared comparatively well amid the slowdown in major export markets such as Japan, the United States and Europe, and a more recent fall-off in exports to China. The country remains an attractive place to do business, according to the World Bank’s “Doing Business” report, which recently placed Malaysia 12th in its global rankings, ahead of economies like Sweden (13th), Taiwan (16th), Germany (20th) and Japan (24th).

While the UMNO-led government has some prestigious backing for its economic policies, a more sobering analysis was delivered this month, with global graft watchdog Transparency International rating Malaysia as the world’s most corrupt place to do business, based on a survey of 3,000 executives worldwide. Half of those questioned in Malaysia reckoned they lost a contract over the past year due to someone else paying a bribe.

Some reform campaigners believe that such under-the-table activities could undermine the upcoming election. Ambiga Sreenavasan’s Bersih group has twice led tens of thousands of Malaysians to rally for electoral reforms, protests that culminated in mass arrests and the use of teargas against demonstrators across the usually placid center of Kuala Lumpur.

Sreenavasan said on December 17 that shortcomings such as errors on electoral rolls had been ignored by the government ahead of the upcoming elections – a potential point of contention should UMNO and BN sweep to victory. “The 13th general elections will be one of the dirtiest elections ever seen and we should not anticipate any change in the near future,” she said at a press conference in Kuala Lumpur.

The elections now look set for April 2013 after speculation throughout late 2011 and 2012 that Najib would call a snap vote to capitalize on any feel-good factor after the series of political reforms and populist handouts failed.

“Ultimately UMNO is a giant patronage machine,” said academic Chin. “The budget and the previous handouts [such as one-time wage supplements for civil servants and those defined as ‘poor’] is just UMNO using government largesse to win voters.”

Nonetheless, the rise of a viable and effective opposition has spurred the UMNO-led government into reform, even if it does not yet mean a historic change of government is likely at the upcoming polls. “Whatever happens in the election, Malaysia has gained greatly from the rise of [Pakatan Rakyat],” said Ooi Kee Beng.

                This entry was posted on Friday, 21 December 2012, 6:38 am and is filed under
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Malaysia’s Education Disaster: The power to change the system is in our hands

by Koon Yew Yin

As election day comes closer, we will be asked for reasons as to why we should want to change the Barisan Nasional Government (BN). When the question is put to me, I tell people that there is no need to enumerate three, four or five reasons. One reason alone is sufficient for Malaysians to elect a new government.

The reason is that the BN has ruined our educational system and put us back at least one generation in our educational standards and standing.

When the country became independent in 1957 our educational system was acknowledged to be amongst the best in the region. Today, after the introduction of NEP policies in education, we are scraping the bottom of the barrel in our standards of educational achievement at all levels.

BN’s Record

Whether it is in primary, secondary or tertiary education, the rot is clear.  Half literate primary school products that cannot write or speak properly in either English or Bahasa and drop out early; secondary students with abysmal standards in Mathematics, Science and other core subjects; tertiary students who are provided with university degrees but in fact are unemployable except in the civil service.

This is the disastrous outcome of BN rule.  This is the result of the politicization of the educational system and UMNO’s cynical use of it as a political and racial football.

Whether it is with regard to mission schools or vernacular or SRJK schools; teaching of science and mathematics; teaching of English; appointment of administrators and heads of schools; the curriculum; examinations; vocational education; funding and allocations – UMNO has inserted its racial and political agenda to debase and corrupt the system.

If readers think that I am over critical of the BN, let me provide two pieces of evidence on the disaster in our education.

The first is from the Government itself.  According to the national education blueprint (Preliminary report, Malaysia Education Blueprint 2013-2025, pp, E4-E5)

•	Malaysia was ranked in the bottom third of 74 participating countries of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2009+.

•	60% of the 15-year-old Malaysian students who participated in PISA failed to meet the minimum proficiency level in Mathematics, while 44% and 43% did not meet the minimum proficiency levels in Reading and Science respectively

•	A comparison of scores shows that 15-year-olds in Singapore, South Korea, Hong Kong, and Shanghai are performing as though they have had three or more years of schooling than 15-year-olds in Malaysia

•	Low achievement standards in TIMSS  (Maths and Science): far behind first tier; now comparable to countries such as Indonesia

•	By 2007 (last published cycle) 18% and 20% of our students failed to meet the minimum proficiency standards in Maths and Science.

The conclusion of the Blueprint is shocking.  Not only are the gaps between Malaysia and other countries in our region growing, international assessments also revealed that Malaysian student performance is declining in absolute terms.

This damning conclusion – that we are going backwards in our education standards and achievement – shows that the problem is not a new one.  It is a long standing crisis which the BN has successfully concealed from Malaysians thanks to media manipulation and its diversionary focus on language and Chinese school issues.

But it is no longer easy to fool Malaysians thanks to the internet media and the availability of international assessment results.

Hence the latest educational scandal in which the Ministry of Education is accused of lowering the maths and science standards for the PMR and SPM examinations to artificially increase the pass rate does not shock me in the least.

Such efforts have been taking place for the past thirty years, especially in the public universities.  How else then to account for the hundreds of thousands of graduates who are unemployable?

My Personal Experience

The second piece of evidence is one derived from personal experience. For several years now, I have been providing scholarships to poor young Malaysians so that they will be able to go to the university to improve their life and career opportunities. Below are examples of letters I have received from two applicants requesting for financial assistance (details of my scholarship program are available from http://english.cpiasia.net/).

What is important to note is that although these are written by pre-university students, the level of English language competency attained is lower than that of a primary student during my time.

Sadly, they are not isolated cases – in fact they are typical of students who have been through our educational system and whose decline in standards has been due to BN rule.

Letter 1:

Mr.Koon,

I am ____________,I already take my SPM result~I’m interest on account Can you sponsor me about the study fees at Utar?

BM:B

BI:B+

PM:A-

SJ:A-

MM:A+

MT:A+

BIO:B

CHE:B

PHY:B

BC:B

This are my SPM result.

Letter 2:.

Mrs.Koon, i am October Intake UTAR new degree student , my name is ______ from kampar, i am facing financial problem after i successful register Utar degree course, now i am stay at Kampar and open school already. As i know UTAR can let student to borrow PTPTN loan to complete Degree. But after i successful register Degree course, UTAR stuff just tell me UTAR are not offer student to apply PTPTN loan on this semester, and i need to pay course fee and register fee first.

Sure i come from poor family, my family income below RM 1600 per month. My family never and not able to pay my fee around RM4000 at my first semester, i need to pay the bill before 23 october, if not i forced to leaving school, i am very anxious now!

Before I am getting news from Mr.__________, may be i can getting financial aid from Mrs.Koon, so the purpose i send the gmail to Mrs.Koon is i requesting for financial aid to start and continue my degree course program in UTAR, i really want to start my study life and dream at UTAR.

Reminder to all when at the Election Booth

In conclusion, private education has become a very profitable business as parents scramble to remedy the damage in the public system and use up their precious savings or mortgage their houses to enable their kids to get a decent education.

For this reason too private universities and colleges are springing up like mushrooms. All of them are lowering entry requirements to capture more students. As a result, students like the two above were accepted to study in UTAR.

Many people have the wrong impression that MCA’s UTAR is a charitable organisation set up to help the Chinese. In fact if you examine MCA’s annual report, you will see that UTAR is one of the best profit-making ventures for MCA.

Remember, the power to change the rotting education system is in your hands when you go to vote.   This message is especially directed at all parents and students – Malays, Chinese, Indians and other Malaysians – who have suffered as a result of BN incompetence and bad governance.

                This entry was posted on Friday, 21 December 2012, 7:47 am and is filed under
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Najib’s proposal to source English teachers from India is “crossing of the Rubicon” marking the failure of the Malaysian education system to reverse declining standards and to prepare the new generation of Malaysians for the challenges of the 21st century

The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s proposal in New Delhi yesterday to source English teachers for Malaysian schools from India in a bid to help alleviate the shortage of teachers in English and to improve proficiency of the language in Malaysia marks the crossing of the Rubicon for the Malaysian national education system  – as  it is a sad admission of the failure of the Malaysian education system over the decades to arrest and reverse declining educational standards and to prepare the new Malaysian generation for the challenges of the 21st century.

In the recent past, Malaysia had been sourcing English-language teachers from the United Kingdom and the United States, ignoring the rich reservoir of available local talents to teach the English language. Now the Prime Minister is proposing to source them from India. Will Malaysia next source English teachers from the African continent?

This is undeniably a  grievous psychological blow to the nation which had rightly prided itself as a country with high international standards and attainments in English language when it achieved Merdeka in 1957, and should now be sending Malaysians as English-language teachers all over the world, including India, as one of our precious international assets.

Instead, Malaysia has degenerated to become an importing nation for English-language  teachers from foreign countries. What a national shame!

The deplorable state of affairs with regard to the proficiency of the English language  in Malaysia after half a century of nationhood is exemplified by the shocking admission by a top  Education Ministry official  recently that two-thirds of the 70,000 English language teachers in the country failed to reach a proficient English level while a test carried out by the Education Ministry based on the comparison of the students’ results in SPM English and Cambridge 1119 Standards showed that two in three students failed to meet the basics in English proficiency.

Why has the Malaysian national education system degenerated to such a pass – where two-thirds of 70,000 English language teachers not proficient in English have produced a generation of students two-thirds of whom are not proficient in English?

One reason for this malady of the Malaysian education system is because the country has a series of Education Ministers who regard their portfolios as  stepping-stones to higher political office – even the Prime Ministership – and not really interested in their responsibility to establish an educational system for an innovative, creative, competitive and prosperous Malaysia for the future.

This was illustrated by the poor Malaysian results in the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Survey (TIMSS) 2011 announced   on Dec 11, with total  indifference by the  Education Minister Tan Sri  Muhyiddin Yassin, who has refused to say a single word despite the importance of the results in a subject which comes directly under his responsibility.

This is further proof why the time has come for a change of Federal Government in Putrajaya in the 13GE as the Umno/BN Government after 55 years have  become too rotten and out of tune with the national needs and challenges of the 21st century.

                This entry was posted on Friday, 21 December 2012, 8:06 pm and is filed under
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Senator DAP buat laporan polis terhadap Muhyiddin, portal berita

Jamilah Kamarudin | December 20, 2012

Free Malaysia Today

Ariffin membuat laporan tersebut di Balai Polis Tun H S Lee di Jalan Stadium dekat sini tengahari tadi.

PETALING JAYA: Naib Pengerusi DAP, Senator Dr Ariffin SM Omar hari ini membuat laporan polis terhadap Timbalan Perdana Menteri Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin dan laman portal, Antarapos kerana menuduhnya mengamalkan perkauman sempit.

Ariffin yang ditemani peguam iaitu ahli parlimen Segambut Lim Lip Eng membuat laporan tersebut di Balai Polis Tun H S Lee di Jalan Stadium dekat sini tengahari tadi.

Laporannya terhadap Muhyiddin itu berdasarkan petikan berita “Kenyataan Ariffin Melayu Punca Rasuah Diselar” pada 18 Disember lalu apabila menyifatkan ia sebagai satu perbuatan bodoh dan sangat tidak bertanggungjawab.

Respon itu dibuat Muhyiddin selepas Antarapos dalam laporannya 15 Disember lalu memetik Ariffin sebagai berkata rasuah boleh dibanteras dengan lebih berkesan jika perkhidmatan awam dan polis tidak dimonopoli oleh kaum Melayu sahaja.

Beliau ditemuramah portal itu selepas menyampaikan ucapan usul Kongres Kebangsaan DAP Ke-16 di Pulau Pinang minggu lalu.

“Ini merupakan fitnah semata-mata kerana saya tidak pernah menyatakan bahawa punca rasuah dalam perkhidmatan awam adalah kerana monopoli orang Melayu.

“Dalam wawancara bersama wartawan Antarapos saya telah mengatakan bahawa negara kita akan lebih aman dan stabil dengan adanya perkhidmatan awam yang terdiri daripada berbilang kaum, saya juga telah menambah bahawa ini membolehkan pencegahan rasuah.

“Justeru adalah jelas bahawa kenyataan saya telah diputar belit dan digunakan Timbalan Perdana Menteri untuk menuduh saya melakukan

 perbuatan bodoh dan sangat tidak bertanggungjawab, ini jelas mencemarkan reputasi saya dan lebih teruk lagi mengaitkan saya kepada

 kenyataan hasutan dan berunsur perkauman,” katanya dalam laporan polis.

Sehubungan itu beliau mahu polis mengambil tindakan susulan kerana percaya dirinya difitnah melalui laporan media tersebut yang antara lainnya merupakan satu kesalahan dibawah Seksyen 409 Kanun Keseksaan, dan Seksyen 211 Akta Komunikasi dan Multimedia 1998.

Beliau ketika ditemui pemberita berkata pihaknya masih lagi membuat pertimbangan sama ada untuk membawa kes ini ke mahkamah bagi menuntut ganti rugi.

                This entry was posted on Friday, 21 December 2012, 6:28 am and is filed under
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Month-long jail sentence on “Occupy Dataran” student Umar Mohd Azmi  outrageous and devastating reminder before 13GE that even under Najib as PM, the criminal justice system still sucks

The month-long jail sentence together with the maximum fine of RM1,000 on “Occupy Dataran” student Umar Mohd Azmi has become a national and international cause celebre because it is utterly outrageous as well as a devastating reminder just before the 13th  General Elections that despite all the sloganeering about government,  economic, educational, social and political transformation programmes, the criminal justice system in Malaysia  still sucks even under the four-year premiership of Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

I am now in Sydney  or I would have visited the protest camp set up by student activists outside the Kajang prison to demonstrate my support, sympathy and solidarity with Umar at the gross injustice of the harsh sentence imposed on him for obstructing a public official from performing his duty.

Why was Umar imposed the  harsh penalty of a maximum fine of RM1,000  together with a one-month jail sentence, when the maximum sentence for an offence under Section 186 of the Penal Code for obstructing any public servant in the discharge of his public functions was a maximum jail sentence of three months or with maximum fine of RM1,000 or both?

One powerful reason why there must be change of Federal government in Putrajaya in the forthcoming 13th general elections is that the country is teeming with cases where the criminal justice really sucks like the case of Umar.

The protest camp set up by student activists outside Kajang Prison over Umar’s one-month jail sentence after being meted with the maximum fine of RM1,000 reminds me of the protest action against the 18-month  jailing of Penang Chief Minister and DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng in August 1998 when he defended  the dignity and honour of an under-aged Malay girl, resulting in his disqualification as Member of Parliament and  being barred from standing for elective office five years after release from Kajang Prison.

In protest, DAP leaders, supporters and sympathisers staged an 18-day Free Guan Eng Marathon Fast in September 1998 as an expression of the nation-wide dismay, shock, grief and outrage at the great injustice where a conscientious, diligent and courageous MP could be jailed for 18 months for defending the honour, human rights and women’s rights of an underaged girl who was herself detained at one time when seeking justice.

At the time, the 18-day Free Guan Eng Marathon Fast received the support, sympathy and solidarity of justice-loving Malaysians, including Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and Datuk Seri Dr. Wan Azizah Wan Ismail.

The stark failure  whether under Najib or his predecessor Tun  Abdullah to reform, let alone transform, the criminal justice system after the ravages to the justice system caused by the 22-year Mahathir premiership, has been vividly highlighted by the Umar case, when compared to the many unresolved mega-scandals of injustices in the country, whether it be the murder of the Mongolian Altantuya Shaariibuu, the murder of Teoh Beng Hock at MACC premises or the  host of mysterious deaths and killings while under official custody, like V. Kugan.

I support the protest camp outside Kajang Prison set up by student activists and it should be visited by all justice-loving Malaysians like during   the 18-day Free Guan Eng Marathon Fast 14 years ago in Kajang – and there is a strong case that the protest camp should last as long as Umar is unjustly jailed in Kajang Prison.

Artikel ini juga boleh didapati dalam Bahasa Malaysia di:
https://blog.limkitsiang.com/2012/12/28/hukuman-penjara-satu-bulan-terhadap-mahasiswa-yang-menyertai-occupy-dataran-umar-mohd-azmi-merupakan-satu-peringatan-dasyat-dan-memeranjatkan-sebelum-pru13-bahawa-walaupun-di-bawah-n/

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 22 December 2012, 3:32 pm and is filed under
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Malaysian Carpet Dealer Names a New Figure in Scandal

by John Berthelsen

Asia Sentinel

21 December 2012

Deepak Jaikishan names well connected lawyer in murder cover-up

Perhaps the most crucial – and quoted – document seeking to tie Najib Tun Razak, the current prime minister of Malaysia, to a murdered Mongolian beauty named Altantuya Shaariibuu was a sworn declaration filed on July 1, 2008 by a Kuala Lumpur-based private detective named Perumal Balasubramaniam.

That document, which detailed allegations of an affair between Najib, the then-defense minister and the 28-year-old woman, lasted just three days before it was dramatically reversed. Police allegedly picked up Balasubramaniam and took him to a Kuala Lumpur police station where he was told his family was in serious danger if he didn’t reverse his statement.

The private detective was then taken to a room at the Hilton Hotel in the middle of Kuala Lumpur, where accordingly, on July 4, he signed a new six-page sworn statement in which he said, among other things, that “I wish to retract the entire contents of my Statutory Declaration dated 1July 2008. I was compelled to affirm the said Statutory Declaration dated 1July 2008 under duress.”

Balasubramaniam now says he didn’t write that statement. He never saw it, he said, until it was presented to him in the Hilton.

Four and a half years later, the name of the person who wrote the reversal is believed to be that of Cecil Abraham, a senior partner with the law firm of Zul Rafique & Partners of Kuala Lumpur, one of the country’s most prominent law firms and one that is a major beneficiary of government-related legal business. It is also a firm with considerable experience in defamation cases.

Abraham’s name surfaced last week with another explosive revelation by Kuala Lumpur-based businessman Deepak Jaikishan, who told the Parti Islam se-Malaysia party newspaper Harakah that the attorney had written the document along with his son, and that the son had brought it to Balasubramaniam and the people who were holding him at the Hilton. According to Balasubramiam’s lawyer, Americk Sidhu, Deepak was present in the hotel room when his brother, Dinesh, brought the declaration for Bala to sign. Bala wasn’t allowed access to his own lawyer.

Since late November, Deepak has met with a string of opposition and independent websites to give progressively more damaging details about Najib’s involvement in suppressing Balasbramaniam’s original declaration, bringing Najib’s wife Rosmah Mansor and his brother into the matter. With naming Abraham as the man who wrote the reversal of the declaration, he now takes it further into the United Malays National Organization power structure.

Abraham is both a datuk and a tan sri, honorific titles conferred on politically or socially prominent individuals by Malaysia’s sultan. As an indication of his influence, no opposition publication was willing to print his name for days, including Harakah, only referring to him in various ways as an important figure. Abraham is considered one of the quietly most politically powerful figures in the country, a friend of the top members of UMNO including Hishamuddin Hussein, the Home Affairs minister, as well as Najib. He sits on a wide range of boards and committees including one that determines which cases are refused or initiated by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Committee.

If indeed Abraham did write Bala’s repudiation document, the besieged private detective never saw him – or the document – until it was given to him to sign. However, the Commissioner for Oaths who visited Bala in the room in which he was being held in at the Hilton to attest that it was his signature on the document was Zainal Abidin Muryat, a commissioner of oaths from Abraham’s law firm, Zul Rafique & Partners.

“Let me make it very clear that my client does not know the identity of the lawyer(s) who drafted this 2nd statutory declaration,” said Americk Sidhu. “He had not instructed any lawyer to do so. This is because the contents of his first statutory declaration were true to the best of his knowledge and belief. Therefore there was never any necessity to alter the contents of his first one. However, Bala was forced to sign a second one because of a threat to the safety of his wife and children.”

After Balasubramaniam fled for Chennai, reportedly accompanied by his family a promise from Nazim Razak, the prime minister’s brother, of RM5 million to keep his mouth shut, he held multiple press conferences to say he had been intimidated into reversing himself, and called repeatedly for an investigation of his charges by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).

Abraham also sits on the Operation Review Panel of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, which had the responsibility to examine Balasubramaniam’s charges. The MACC has repeatedly turned him down. An MACC spokesman denied that Abraham had any say in declining an investigation.

Particularly since Deepak Jaikishan start issuing his spectacular charges in late November, the question of Balasubramaniam’s first statutory declaration has assumed increasing relevance to the case. Altantuya was murdered on Oct. 19, 2006 by two of Najib’s bodyguards. One of Najib’s best friends, Abdul Razak Baginda, was initially charged with the crime. He had been Altantuya’s lover, but jilted her.

In his first declaration, Bala said that he had been hired to keep Altantuya away from Razak Baginda. In conversations with the former highly-placed think tank analyst, Abdul Razak Baginda as Altantuya continued to harass him, Razak Baginda told him that:

“1) He had been introduced to Aminah {eds: his nickname for Altantuya} by Najib Razak at a diamond exhibition in Singapore.

“2) Najib Razak informed Abdul Razak Baginda that he had a sexual relationship with Aminah and that she was susceptible to anal intercourse.

“3) Najib Razak wanted Abdul Razak Baginda to look after Aminah as he did not want her to harass him since he was now the deputy prime minister.

“4) Najib Razak, Abdul Razak Baginda and Aminah had all been together at a dinner in Paris.

“5) Aminah wanted money from him as she felt she was entitled to a US$500,000 commission on a submarine deal she assisted with in Paris.”

That submarine deal has since blown up into one of the longest-running scandals in recent Malaysian history, involving allegations that the French armaments giant DCN and its subsidiaries had paid €114 million in bribes that was channeled through a firm wholly owned by Razak Baginda to the United Malays National Organization with the full knowledge of then prime minister Mahathir Mohamad an French Minister Alain Juppe, and that it was facilitated by Najib Tun Razak when he was defence minister.

That case is currently under investigation in Paris by authorities on allegations the “commission” paid to Razak Baginda’s company was a violation of the OECD statute on bribery, which France signed onto in 2002.

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 23 December 2012, 5:43 am and is filed under
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Empowered citizenry means ‘The End of Days for Umno’

 – Sakmongkol AK47

The Malaysian Insider

Dec 22, 2012

DEC 22 – I have to repeat some of the issues and themes that I have done in the past. Most Malays are at the stage where issues such as corruption, abuse of power, the rottenness of the system that UMNO upholds feature less in importance than the overriding issue – will Malays be all right?

They know the government is bad, deceiving, incompetent, and dishonest – but rationalize it anyway by saying, if others take over, they will do the same. No, it will never be the same, because last time UMNO did all the evils when people are less empowered. Any government straying from the straight path now will be neutralized by an empowered citizenry. That is why UMNO is finding it hard to earn legitimacy at the moment.

So, it does what rogues do – take refuge behind xenophobic and prejudiced worldviews. Suddenly, once again, everything seems to be measured in terms of them doing something to us. Chinese taking over the government from us Malays; Chinese dominating the economy and marginalizing us which is in fact the order of things since UMNO ruled this country. Non-Malays taking over this country and establishing a new national religion replacing Islam; non-Malays especially Chinese taking over and kicking out our Malay rulers.

Even the educated ones fall prey to the xenophobic fears created by a parasitic band of people, bent on staying in power at all costs. Why? Because if they lose, it will the end of days for them – life as they know it – a life founded on corruption, deception and leeching on the majority, will end.

Of course the issues that affect all of us are also important, but to Malays right now, nothing is more important than worrying about their survival and of things dear to them such as race, religion, rulers (occupying a very distant third).

It is a sign of acute mental bondage and subservience of the spirit, if after 55 years of independence; Malays are frightened into believing that their very life depends on UMNO. This kind of xenophobic view allows smooth operators like Reezal Merican (himself of dubious Malay lineage) to claim, God has chosen UMNO to protect Malays.

Can God ever condone the deceit, corruption, the pillage and plunder of the nation’s wealth and incompetence? It’s the same xenophobia that allowed, years earlier, a Malay leader of similar stock as Reezal Merican and an UMNO president to blasphemously state that if God has nor revealed Islam through Muhammad, God would have done it anyway through someone else.

Today, Malay Muslim scholars are tripping over each other to study the thoughts of Mao Tse Mahathir. Could it be, that someone else alluded by Mahathir is UMNO, because it was with this kind of pomposity , the same Reezal Merican was able to say, UMNO has received wahyu from God.

The survival of the Malays has got nothing to do with UMNO. If it does, then Malays in Selangor, in Kelantan, in Penang and in Kedah would no longer exist because in those states UMNO is the opposition party.

Not that these are not important issues, but the basic fear of the Malays must be excised permanently. By the overriding issue being all right I mean will their interests – couched in terms of religion, race and country remain protected? These are the things most dear to the Malays – educated or less so.

So I must continue to write about this issue to allay the fears of the Malays. For 55 years they have been frightened into believing that without UMNO, their lives mean nothing. Educated Malays must play a role ridding such irrational thinking from the minds of the majority Malays.

In a modern democracy, citizens get protection from the rule of law and from legal rights. For instance, the position and whatever benefits meant for Malays are protected by the Agong as provided for by the constitution. The Agong does not cease to exist, if UMNO is not the government. The incoming government still has to uphold the constitution and by extension, the provisions therein.

The laws of the land are the means by which society protect itself. Everyone can be safe and secure, not only Malays with a good government upholding democracy and the rule of law. UMNO is not the protector. The rights of Malays and of all citizens are independent of UMNO which is just a fading political party. – sakmongkol.blogspot.com

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 23 December 2012, 6:47 am and is filed under
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Graft-check for BN candidates

 — Jaleel Hameed

The Malaysian Insider

Dec 21, 2012

DEC 21 — It must be the end of the world, dear sirs, if the Barisan Nasional (BN) chairman is saying that all coalition candidates for the general election must clear a corruption check.

Datuk Seri Najib Razak said today this vetting and clearing must be done by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).

Excuse me for laughing, sir, but are you cracking a joke? No? You are serious about the MACC?

This agency, where witnesses or perhaps suspects, leap to their death mysteriously?

This agency, which told its Hong Kong counterpart that there is nothing suspicious about millions being sent to Umno’s Sabah chapter?

This agency, which is more interested in clearing its panel members of complicity rather than investigate where a sworn statement from a private investigator repudiating his earlier statutory declaration could mean something’s amiss?

Sir, you want the MACC to do this job? Does it even have any credibility left after three years of twiddling thumbs and fishing for small fry rather than big fishes?

When I read this morning that Datuk Johan Jaafar had proposed this idea, sir, I was wondering what confidence and optimism have possessed this veteran journalist and MACC panel member. Maybe it’s all those years of writing pro-BN material in Utusan Malaysia.

First of all, will the MACC and BN make public their asset declaration to ensure the voting public know these BN candidates are “clean”.

The graft trial of Dr Khir Toyo is a good point, sir. He was made Selangor mentri besar because he was young and “clean”, sir.

The Disneyland trips and Balinese-style residence are proof that a “clean” candidate can turn corrupt, sir.

I hope you’re not pulling our leg, sir. I want to believe that BN has changed and its candidates are “clean”. The MACC’s record is spotty at best for this but I guess they are the best that you have.

All the best in your endeavour, sir. Right now, a clean candidate from BN is as believable as the Mayan “end of the world” prediction.

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 23 December 2012, 6:54 am and is filed under
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It ain’t over till the FLOM sings

Mariam Mokhtar

Malaysiakini

Dec 17, 2012

If wife of former Philippine president Ferdinand Marcos, Imelda Marcos is famous for her shoes, then Rosmah Mansor, the spouse of Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak is noted for her bags and rings. But fashion accessories are not her only forte, unlike most Malaysians, she can set aside subpoenas and has the time, money and inclination to write a book.

One moment, both Najib and Rosmah are riding high on the wave of public opinion and their belief that “we can do no wrong”. Next moment, they are at rock bottom and having to fend off accusations; hence the book. Did she publish details of her life and her rise to prominence, out of conceit or an act of desperation?

Surely the book is not the best medium to “explain” herself, if it is true that Malaysians only read two-and-a-half pages a year.

If Rosmah wants to clear her name, why has she not gone on television and done a Princess Diana type confession complete with black eyeliner and coy looks? After all, the government media and printed newspapers are all within her reach.

If the New York Times could have a US$5 million centre-fold spread of her a few years ago, then she should use the local papers to promote herself. RTM will free-up several slots and would not dare decline her request.

‘Overpriced biography’

If Rosmah’s biography is priced at RM150, the likelihood is that the book will not be widely distributed throughout the country.  Many Malaysians balk at paying RM20 for a book and one costing RM5 might induce the cash-strapped Malaysian to pry open their wallets.

Sometimes, it is difficult to give away free books to tight Malaysians. On the other hand, try to entice the average Malaysian with the latest mobile, and he will be happy to fork-out a few hundred ringgit. Electronic must-have accessories, yes; Books, no!

Who is Rosmah’s target market? Most of the country’s rural people and many of the urbanites could not afford the book. Which part of the community is she trying to convince? Is it Umno people? Is this her way of gauging their loyalty?

So, the overpriced biography is another method to inflate Rosmah’s ego and is definitely another coffee table book which will adorn the homes of the rich, Umno cronies; especially those who pretend they are cultured and love to read by having a Louis Farouk showcase of books in their homes.

Or, is the book just another distraction to divert our attention away from the country’s problems?

Few housewives can claim to have the support of former prime ministers or have access to people in ministerial posts. Not wanting to be excluded from the publicity glare of the pre-launch was Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who agreed that Rosmah’s biography would address the wild “accusations” made against her. Maybe he should write a book to explain his crimes.

Rosmah’s “publishing adviser” is Ahmad Maslan, the deputy minister in the Prime Minister’s Department. Just like Mahathir, his remarks were pregnant with praise for her, inviting us to view the photographs and reassuring us that the book will “honestly answer issues, allegations and paint a true picture” of Rosmah.

What prompted ‘confessions’?

If Rosmah is bothered about these allegations, why use a book? She had the chance to appear in court, when she was subpoenaed to appear at Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim’s trial, but refused to attend. What did she want to hide then, that she is desperate to tell us now?

NONEThe past two months has seen a number of people from various backgrounds making confessions. We have heard Deepak Jaikishin(right), the carpet trader make damning accusations about Najib, Rosmah and Najib’s brother.

We have also been privy to some disturbing comments by former inspector-general of police Musa Hassan about the Attorney-General Abdul Ghani Patail, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission and the Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein.

The timing is revealing and suspicious. What has happened behind the scenes to make these men anxious to relate their stories now? It cannot be just the 13th general election (GE13) and the likelihood of Umno losing.

There is something that has prompted them to act now, which brings us to the next observation.

If Deepak had not been tricked out of his land and money, would he have kept mum? His motives for spilling the beans are not exactly honorable. He was tricked so he wants retribution.

If his claims are true, he knew he was doing something illegal, but he continued to play along with Rosmah and Najib. He is an accessory after the fact and has perverted the course of justice.

Deepak was greedy, just as the prime-movers in the Scorpene and Altantuya Shaariibuu case were motivated by money. Altantuya and Deepak were double-crossed and decided to expose the villains.

Altantuya was murdered to prevent her from making her exposé. Eventually, her body was found and two men were convicted of her murder, but the trial was a farce that smacked of cover-up and collusion.

If Altantuya had been paid her petty commission of USD$500,000, she might not have been murdered and the Scorpene scandal might have stayed submerged.

Altantuya was removed but Deepak’s public exposé has probably guaranteed his survival.

Closure for Altantuya’s father

Last year, Najib, Rosmah and Musa Hassan managed to set aside subpoenas to appear at Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim’s trial. Normal people cannot do that. Today, Musa has gone public with revelations of interference in the police force, and both Rosmah and Deepak want to give their version of events in their respective books.

What was Rosmah afraid of when she was subpoenaed last year? And why does she want to write a book, now?  Was she afraid of being cross examined by Anwar’s lawyers? Or was she fearful that the Malaysian judiciary is tainted?

If she feels that the judiciary is not trustworthy, then her husband, as prime minister, should resolve this problem.

Despite the serious allegations which were made public by both Musa and Deepak, there is not a squeak from Umno ministers, apart from the usual cursory denials. Are they shocked by Umno’s depravity? Or are they contemplating whether to come clean too?

The AG’s chambers is also silent. In light of Deepak’s revelations, shouldn’t Altantuya’s murderers be retried? Shouldn’t the police question Deepak?

It is the least we can do for Setev Shaariibuu, Altantuya’s father. He deserves some sort of closure.

MARIAM MOKHTAR is a non-conformist traditionalist from Perak, a bucket chemist and an armchair eco-warrior. In ‘real-speak’, this translates into that she comes from Ipoh, values change but respects culture, is a petroleum chemist and also an environmental pollution-control scientist.

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 23 December 2012, 6:07 am and is filed under
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MACC panel no power to review probes, claims Mat Zain

The Malaysian Insider

Dec 22, 2012

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 22 — Retired senior policeman Datuk Mat Zain Ibrahim questioned today a Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) panel chief’s recent explanation to close the file on P. Balasubramaniam’s controversial sworn statement over the 2006 murder of Mongolian Altantuya Shaariibuu.

The former KL Criminal Investigation Department chief said Tan Sri Hadenan Abdul Jalil and the Operations Review Panel (PPO) the latter chairs have no power to review MACC’s prosecution cases, based on the MACC Advisory Board’s previous response to him in a separate case.

“PPO has no power to review a case decision,” the ex-police veteran said today in an open letter to Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Ismail Omar, urging the latter to act on the ongoing storm over Balasubramaniam’s (picture) two conflicting statutory declarations (SDs) that has implicated several top-ranking government officials and politicians.

Mat Zain was responding to Hadenan’s explanation two days ago stating that prominent lawyer Tan Sri Cecil Abraham — who also sits on the PPO — was not part of the graftbuster review team that had closed the file on the former private eye’s controversial second sworn statement over the 2006 murder.

Hadenan said the case, which was linked to that of carpet merchant Deepak Jaikishan, had been presented at a PPO pre-meeting on November 8.

“Tan Sri Hadenan’s statement should be questioned,” Mat Zain said.

He demanded Hadenan clarify the grounds for the PPO’s authority to review the MACC’s and the DPP’s decision relating to Balasubramaniam’s second SD as had received a very different response previously when he appealed to the MACC’s Advisory Board (LPPR) three years ago to review the graftbuster’s decision on a police report dated July 1, 2008 lodged by Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim accusing Attorney-General Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail, then-IGP Tan Sri Musa Hassan, a medical doctor and Mat Zain himself of fabricating evidence in the infamous “black-eye” incident.

He said his appeal letter had been copied to every member on the LPPR, including Hadenan, and that he had received a reply from the LPPR secretariat on July 23, 2009 that was signed by the board chairman, Tun Abdul Hamid Mohamad, a former Chief Justice.

“For your information Y Bhg Dato’, LPPR’s power as provided under section 13 of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Act (MACC) (Act 694) DOES NOT include reviewing any decision that has been made by the MACC and the public prosecutor in a case,” Abdul Hamid had written to Mat Zain in a letter dated July 23, 2009.

Mat Zain said he was perplexed because LPPR stated it had no authority to review decisions by MACC and the public prosecutor in that letter, but still had three indepth meetings to discuss his appeal, as it had listed in the same letter, on April 20, June 15 and June 25 of 2009.

“It is not wrong for me to conclude that such an answer was given to ‘cover up’ the crime by Gani Patail and Musa Hassan to prevent them from being punished by the law,” he said today.

“So who is speaking the truth in this matter? Tun Abdul Hamid or Tan Sri Hadenen?” Mat Zain asked.

He described Hadenan’s statement on Abraham as little more than a “whitewashing exercise” as the PPO’s discussions have no effect on the MACC’s and DPP’s decision regarding the Balasubramaniam SD case.

The former policeman called for a probe into the PPO’s past reviews following Hadenan’s recent remarks.

He suggested the PPO’s review of the A-G’s decision on the judicial bribery allegations raised against senior lawyer Datuk V.K. Lingam and the MAS financial scandal involving tycoon Tan Sri Tajudin Ramli to kickstart investigations.

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 23 December 2012, 6:41 am and is filed under
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Tweets from Sydney on Lim Keng Yaik’s passing

Ex-Gerakan chief Keng Yaik dies (Mkini) http://goo.gl/pq8bo

Shocked @ Lim Keng Yaik’s passing.”Foolish doc” is no fool. Rare in Barisan Nasional  who dares sometimes  to protest against UMNO hegemony. Deepest condolences to family.

Last meeting @ Tropicana Club. LKY always exasperated by Tsu Koon’s “political correctness” to toe UMNO line, even UMNO subordinates in Penang.

LKY’s passing great loss to country – he would be voice of sanity/patriotism that UMNO/BN should respect people’s verdict if Pakatan Rakyat  elected  to Putrajaya in 13GE

LKY shared confidences in our adversarial political paths. He detests hypocrisy whether Gerakan UMNO or BN. Voice of MCA/BN reform (failed). RIP

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 23 December 2012, 5:20 am and is filed under
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Tunku Aziz’s misplaced anger with the DAP

– Fikry Osman

The Malaysian Insider

Dec 23, 2012

DEC 23 ― There was a time when Tunku Abdul Aziz Ibrahim was at the forefront of righting the wrongs of Malaysia, seeking for a well-governed and transparent nation.

To further his cause, he joined the DAP in 2008. But he left earlier this year and has since been a thorn to the party.

One must ask why this volte-face? Especially with Tunku Aziz’s latest attack that DAP members were barred from accepting state awards from Malay rulers.

Why is the once-respected man now dancing to Umno’s tune and its barrage of attacks against the DAP? Why is he angry with the DAP?

DAP chief Karpal Singh has rejected Tunku Aziz’s allegations by saying the DAP’s policy has been consistent in rejecting state honours except for those issued for bravery.

He said DAP members may accept awards after they have retired from active politics, citing as examples the late Chian Heng Kai, a former Bukit Mertajam MP; former Batu Lanchang assemblyman the late Tan Loo Jit; and former Berapit state lawmaker Wong Hang Yoke who were conferred state honours carrying the title “Datuk”.

What is Tunku Aziz trying to do, by making his former party look bad among the Malays? Did he expect an easy ride in politics but unable to do so, switch sides and behave like sour grapes?

After all, according to The Malaysian Insider, Tunku Aziz is a prominent corporate figure and activist who helped found the Malaysian chapter of global graft watchdog, Transparency International.

So why all this acrimony and the need to make DAP look bad among the Malays? Does he think he has influence among the Malays and can use it to benefit Umno.

I hope not. We Malays must see Tunku Aziz for what he is. A bitter man who couldn’t take criticisms and is now biting his old party back with venom and vitriol. And willing to do it for anyone else opposed to the DAP.

He was an icon but as we know now, has clay feet.

                This entry was posted on Monday, 24 December 2012, 1:57 pm and is filed under
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Who needs Santa when we have Najib?

Mariam Mokhtar

Malaysiakini

Dec 24, 2012

Who needs Father Christmas when we have Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak?

The world has Father Christmas. In western folklore, he is the legendary figure who brings presents to the homes of good children on the night of Christmas eve. He is usually portrayed as a chubby, joyful, white-bearded man who wears black boots and a red suit trimmed with white fur. Santa lives in the North Pole with Mama Claus, and is assisted by his magical elves and flying reindeer.

In Malaysia, Najib has assumed the role of Santa, with his various handouts. Najib does not have Santa’s long white beard nor rosy cheeks, but many women claim to be envious of his luscious red lips.

Both the Malaysian Santa and his Mama Claus live in a sprawling mansion called Seri Perdana, with an air-conditioning system which would make Santa jealous. To put things into perspective, the official residence of the British PM, No 10 Downing Street, is a garden shed in comparison.

Seri Perdana has deep pile carpets, kitsch Louis Farouk gilded antique reproduction furniture and the walls are adorned with several life-size portraits of both Santa Najib and the Malaysian Mama Claus. A psychiatrist would find these portraits interesting material for a thesis on narcissism.

Santa Najib has his own elves; they are small in stature and small-minded, so that many people have dubbed them, ‘Little Napoleons’.

Instead of eight flying reindeer, Santa Najib flits around the world in government jets and high powered cars. When on Malaysian soil, other motorists are forced off the roads by outriders.

Britain’s monarch travels around in an English car, with one outrider. Sometimes, her consort, Prince Philip drives around in his own black London cab. One would have thought that Santa Najib would be proud to be driven in a Proton, the national car of Malaysia. Why does he use an imported car?

Santa delivers toys and sweets to the well-behaved children of the world, whilst naughty ones receive coal. English children leave mince pies for Santa. In Malaysia, things are different; whole families have to leave their souls for Santa Najib. He also delivers money and contracts to his cronies.

Instead of distributing presents from a big bag on Santa Najib’s sleigh, Mama Claus buys bags and rings.

As it is an election year, Santa Najib cannot be too picky. He cannot pretend to help only the Muslims. He must pretend to help everyone. Santa Najib cries “Ho, Ho, Ho… You help me, I help you.”

In days of old, the people who gave Malaysian leaders the most headaches would simply disappear and be swallowed up by the Internal Security Act (ISA); but in these days of activism and political awareness, Santa Najib has to be careful. His major headache is the Malays. They must be persuaded to vote Umno, to maintain his party’s strangle-hold on power.

Have the ultra-conservatives been gagged?

Surprisingly, in the run-up to Christmas this year, we have not heard of complaints about carols being banned from shopping malls, carolling being forbidden outside homes or of crucifixes being torn off walls in preparation for a visit by a senior Umno politician. Have the ultra-conservative Muslims and Malays been gagged?

The run-up to most festivals is stressful. Housewives suffer from the normal stresses of buying food and worry if there will be sufficient stocks. They are aware that some unscrupulous retailers will hoard food items to cause panic buying, so they can sell at a premium.

Fortunately, none of the usual Christmas foods have been banned. Do bans affect only Muslim festivals? You may remember that the Department of Islamic Development Malaysia (Jakim) took Golden Churn butter off the shelves because they were deemed haram. There were allegations of pig DNA being found in the popular brand of butter, used by many Malays and cakeshops to make kek lapis for Hari Raya.

Most people said that they had never heard of pigs being milked for butter.  The cynics said that the herds of genetically modified dairy pigs must be top secret; no films of these herds have ever been released.

The most important celebration in the Christian calendar is Easter. If GE13 is held before Easter and Santa Najib wins, he will probably ban hot cross buns, to appease the ultra-conservative Muslims.

Last week, Santa Najib played to the Indian community by saying that Indian teachers would be allowed into Malaysia to teach English. Few have fallen for this election gimmick.

Surely, the most cynical ploy by Santa Najib is the lifting of travel restrictions on travel to Israel for Christians.

The oft-asked question is why now? Why do it with GE13 approaching?

Jerusalem is a holy city for Christians, Jews and Muslims. Are Malaysian Muslims still banned from travel to Israel?

If Santa Najib was sincere, he could lift the ban on the use of the word Allah by Malaysian Christians. He could also lift the ban on Malay Bibles. What about censuring extremist Muslim and Malay groups and individuals, for their fiery propaganda against Christians?

Many people, including Muslims, go abroad to admire the fine architecture of churches and abbeys, or wonder at the simplicity of old chapels. Why do modern Malaysian churches have to look like a shoplot or a factory unit?  How about lifting the restrictions on the building of churches in Malaysia?

The only good thing about Santa Najib’s Christmas cheer is that the Malaysians who make their way to Jerusalem would at least feel at home with the ‘1Israel’ slogan.

‘1Israel’ is so similar to Santa Najib’s ‘1Malaysia’, you’d think the Israelis and Najib were in league.

Happy Christmas to Everyone!

                This entry was posted on Monday, 24 December 2012, 9:30 pm and is filed under
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We don’t need Santa Claus

— Christopher Kannan

The Malaysian Insider

Dec 25, 2012

DEC 25 — The prime minister has not forgotten the Christians, and that is why we can now travel to Jerusalem.

Should I be grateful?

I tell you what. I would be really grateful if my leader shuts up Perkasa, Utusan and Umno types who bash Christians all year round.

I am still upset that the PM has not clobbered Ibrahim Ali or his ilk. The only consolation is some two-bit politician saying we all have to be tolerant and respect the majority of people. It makes us feel like children of a lesser god, and sometimes, being told we are “pendatang”, “kafir” and whatever that might not pass as an outright insult.

And then once a year, the PM comes around like Santa Claus and says that he has not forgotten Christians!

I do think the country will be better served if leaders protect minorities 24/7 365 days a year, not just on Christmas Day.

While some of us may want to travel to Jerusalem, I, for one, would settle for a neighbourhood church and an end to scaremongering about Christians in Utusan Malaysia.

No one can take away my rights or feel as charitable and jolly as Santa Claus to give me a present because I’ve been nice and not naughty.

Mr Prime Minister, you can be prime minister for all if you do it every moment you hold that office and if you protect everyone’s rights and shut up hate and racist speak.

Come election day, I’ll be your Santa and see if I give you my vote for being nice all year round instead of just on Christmas Day.

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 25 December 2012, 8:35 pm and is filed under
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BN confident of wresting 20 Opposition seats

The Malaysian Insider

Dec 24, 2012

MALACCA, Dec 24 – Barisan Nasional (BN) is capable of wresting back 20 opposition-held seats to help secure two-thirds majority in the coming 13th general election, says Umno information chief Datuk Ahmad Maslan.

He is confident that BN can retain the 140 parliamentary seats it won and capture five of 23 seats held by PAS, five of 29 held by DAP and 10 of the 31 Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) seats.

He said the confidence was based on various factors including the problems faced by the opposition in several seats that it had won.

“It’s logical because, for example, seven of the PKR seats are already problematic for the opposition as six as the incumbents left the party to become independents while it lost the Hulu Selangor seat.”

He said this after attending the opening of a professionalism-enhancing retreat of the Information Welfare and Recreation Club by Melaka Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Ali Rustam, here, today.

Ahmad, who is also Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, said the leadership of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak was also an important factor in ensuring victory for BN.

“The people have benefited from the various incentives and privileges introduced by the prime minister such as the Bantuan Rakyat 1Malaysia (BR1M) and 1Malaysia Book Voucher, as well as the transformation programmes.”

Besides that, he said, the winnable candidates to be fielded by BN would also contribute to the ruling coalition recapturing some of the opposition-held seats.

However, Ahmad reminded that victory could be achieved if BN members did not resort to “cah keting” or sabotage against the party or the chosen candidates. – Bernama

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 26 December 2012, 3:41 am and is filed under
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A leader leads by action, not words

– Jacob Sinnathamby

The Malaysian Insider

Dec 26, 2012

DEC 26 – It is really interesting how our last two prime ministers – Abdullah Badawi and Najib Razak – have felt the need to talk about themselves as leaders of all Malaysians.

The truly great and effective leaders of countries and businesses never need stand on the roof top and tell people what they are. It is plain for people to see. In short, their track record and actions speak volumes about them, their character and their decency.

Abdullah loved to talk about being a leader of all Malaysians, but we all know now that it was just spin for political expediency.

He hoodwinked many of us into thinking that he actually cared for non-malays and malays equally.

Now, we know that it was just a charade to get Malaysians to believe that he was different from Mahathir Mohamad and give him a huge mandate in 2004.

With the mandate in the bag, Abdullah reverted to type and became Umno’s servant, not the servant of Malaysians.

From sending personalised greetings to Christians, he seemed scared stiff to protect the interests of non-Malays/non-Muslims, most noticeably by doing squat over the conversion issue and by treating Hindraf as terrorists.

Now, we have to hear how Najib is also the Prime Minister of all Malaysians.

I am all for Malaysian PM’s looking after the interests of everyone, but here’s the rub: that is the minimum job description of anyone who wants to be PM.

It is like a father proclaiming that he is the father of his whole brood. Surely, that, too, is the minimum requirement of a parent’s job.

Like a Malaysian Insider reader pointed out, actions always are better than words.

Till today, the Utusan Malaysia, Umno politicians and Perkasa have not been held accountable by the country’s leadership by the demonisation of Christians here.

It is akin to a father claiming that he is the protector of all his children and then do nothing when all and sundry beat them up.

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 27 December 2012, 4:46 am and is filed under
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Bishop demurs over PM’s Christmas Day remarks

Terence Netto

Malaysiakini

Dec 26, 2012

Catholic Bishop Dr Paul Tan Chee Ing described Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak’s remarks at a hi-tea hosted by the Christian Federation of Malaysia (CFM) yesterday as “pious platitudes we are used to hearing on these occasions”.

Speaking to Malaysiakini after reading reports on web news portals on Najib’s remarks at the CFM function which the prelate did not attend, bishop Tan said:

“I don’t want to sound churlish, particularly in this Christmas season of goodwill, but if you shake down the PM’s rhetoric, what have you left – syrupy sentiment and clichés that have little or no connection with realities on the ground.”

In remarks made at the Christmas Day hi-tea attended by the PM and his wife Rosmah Mansor, Najib assured the Christian community that they have not been marginalised.

“I don’t want to be prime minister for only a particular section of the community,” asserted Najib. “I’m prime minister for all Malaysians, and I’ve said that repeatedly.”

Bishop Tan said that no one with experience of how prime ministers have run the Malaysian nation would think to remark that there could be an ethnocentric and exclusivist dimension to the PM’s role.

“It’s odd that Najib has seen fit to remark that he has to be PM of all of our diverse nation and not just one or another part of it,” commented the head of the Catholic Church of the Melaka-Johor diocese whose two-year tenure as president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei ends on Dec 31.

“That he has to say a thing like that shows how far his office has tended to depart from a broad-gauged conception of its responsibilities that now there is the suspicion that it is enthralled to exclusivist notions of its actual import,” commented the Jesuit-trained prelate.

“If he had a broad view of his office, how come when Christians were accused over the last two years of not just being ‘pendatang’ but sinister fifth-columnists, there was not a word from official quarters to stem that patently false accusation which was aimed at creating suspicion and hatred for Christians on the part of the Muslim majority of this country?” queried the bishop.

Promises not kept

The prelate said that as a founding member of the Malaysian Consultative Congress of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism – founded in 1984 – and as one-time leader of the CFM, he had met, in MCCBCHST and CFM’s roles, three Malaysian prime ministers (Dr Mahathir Mohamad, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and Najib Razak) and “all three had not kept the promises they made at the dialogues we have had with them.”

“All three were benign and reassuring in personal interaction with MCCBCHST and CFM councils but were something else when faced with testing circumstances involving religious matters as and when issues fizzled in the public arena,” recalled the bishop.

“So it’s deja vu as far as I’m concerned with respect to the latest assurance from the present prime minister.”

The bishop said Christians have grown leery of periodic assurances from the government that their contributions to education, welfare and heath care were not forgotten when the realities on the ground suggest that “their role must be muted or diminished for reason that others should not feel inferior by comparison.”

“For the good of our society, this is not a predicament that Christians can abide anymore for reason that their light cannot be hidden under a bushel and their truth frees and holds no one in bondage,” said the bishop.

“I feel this determination will register soon on our polity to the benefit of those political leaders who elect to tack with it in a creative manner and to the disadvantage of those who mean to tackle it in a merely politically expedient and vote-catching way.”

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 27 December 2012, 4:37 am and is filed under
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Are Chinese the real masters of Malaysia?

Is Dr Mahathir Senile?

By Koon Yew Yin

I was reminded of the witticism on politicians that “we hang the petty thieves but elect the great ones to office” when I read Dr. Mahathir’s claim in his blog that the Chinese (and Indians) are the real masters of the country.  Specifically he wrote that “Because they (the Malays) are willing to share their country with other races, the race from the older civilisation of more than 4,000 years and who are more successful, as such today whatever they have now is also being taken away from them”.

As election day approaches, this line of argument is being rehashed. We can expect more of this race baiting by Dr. Mahathir and his kind in UMNO and PEMUDA when they are addressing Malay voters.  Of course, this rehashing will take on new permutations such as “the PKR and PAS are selling out the rights of the Malays” or “the DAP is really the dayang master pulling the strings of the Pakatan coalition”.

What is important to do is not to get angry or remain silent but to refute it with facts, figures and arguments.

Malays are masters of everything important

For Mahathir to accuse the Chinese of being the real masters of the country is really the height of political idiocy.  If we want to go by racial perception, it would appear to everyone that Malays dominate in every sphere of life in the country.

They form the majority in parliament, judiciary, army and police, the MACC and all other important political bodies. In the socio-economic and educational sphere, they control all the major banks except for Public Bank; the GLCs; Petronas; public universities; civil service; etc.

Any Chinese or orang putih wanting to do business has to kowtow to the Malays for licences and permits. Moreover, Malay businesses control some of the monopoly businesses such as water, electricity, toll roads, etc. where it is so easy for them to make more profits by just increasing the price abetted by a Malay-oriented civil service.

Even the richest and most powerful Chinese and Indians such as Robert Kuok, Ananda Krishna, Tony Fernandez, Vincent Tan and others are completely at the mercy of the Malays if they want to do business in Malaysia.

Who are the real masters?

But let’s not go by simplistic perception. The indisputable fact is that the real masters of the country are the UMNO-led Barisan Nasional which has ruled Malays and Malaysia for over 55 years. During that period, Dr. Mahathir as Prime Minister was the undisputed numero uno or number one man.  He changed the country’s constitution and laws; sent his political opponents into prison or oblivion; singlehandedly undermined the judiciary; and put the clock and our time back to ensure that we would all wake up an hour earlier. He even took on the most sacrosanct of Malay institutions – the Sultanate – by reducing the authority of Malay rulers.

Dr. Mahathir’s Legacy of Financial Wastefulness

Dr. Mahathir also controlled and manipulated the country’s purse strings. His financial leadership of the country have left an indelible black mark on the country’s economic and financial fortunes.  First, he made the key decisions on economic white elephants and scandals such as Proton, Bakun Dam, Putrajaya, and Perjawa.  The last resulted in a loss of MR2.6 billion. Mahathir himself has admitted publicly in 2002 in a dialogue with Malaysians in London that the loss could have been as much as RM10 billion due to possible misappropriation of funds.

The mother of all financial scandals took place during Dr. Mahathir’s time.  This was the forex losses incurred by Bank Negara’s speculative currency trading which cost us over RM 50 billion ringgit.

The second outcome was the plague of privatization he inflicted on the country.  A devoted fan of Mrs. Thatcher, Dr. Mahathir pursued privatization of telecommunications, utilities, airlines and other public sectors and services with a vengeance.  But he lacked The British premier’s caution and acumen and closed both eyes to the leakages and abuses that accompanied the privatization programme.

Dr. Mahathir can be considered to be the god father of the class of capitalist cronies which has cornered much of the country’s wealth and who together with UMNO/Barisan are the undisputed masters of the wealth of Malaysia. These big time tycoons comprise of many Chinese but they are a multiracial cast and include an increasing number of Malay businessmen.

Please look into the mirror yourself

Today, Dr. Mahathir blames the Chinese for working hard and enjoying the fruits of their labour. He is envious of the Chinese middle and upper classes living in high end housing estates and owning the lion’s share of urban property.  He himself lives in a gated community and is reputed to own numerous properties but he laments for the many Malays living in squatter houses.

But who has been responsible for this situation?

Dr. Mahathir needs to look at himself in the mirror.  He has squandered thousands of billions of our petro dollars in his projects of superficial grandeur and his love of cronies, many of whom he has helped with expensive bailouts.  He could have solved the plight of hundreds of thousands of squatters by using treasury funds on them instead of his pet projects.

If he had invested the money wisely in skill acquisition for the young Malays and in public housing and urban infrastructure for all Malaysians, especially needy and deserving Malays, the racial economic divide will surely not be so conspicuous.

Leave while the going is good

Dr Mahathir still does not want to go away from the centre stage.  He wants to remain in it because he knows that the BN has to maintain power if he is not to be made answerable for the racial, political and economic mess that he was responsible for and left behind as his main legacy.  The extent of his desperation can be seen in his speeches aimed at shoring up Malay support by claiming that the Chinese are the real masters of Malaysia.

But as the Malaysian saying goes, his talk has no walk!

                This entry was posted on Friday, 28 December 2012, 10:26 am and is filed under
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Don’t bribe us with our money! Malaysians are not that stupid

By
P Ramakrishnan
 | Aliran executive committee member

28 December 2012

aliran.com

The Prime Minister seems to be playing Santa Claus. He is very generously dishing out goodies from seemingly bottomless coffers, convinced that Malaysians are a greedy, unthinking lot who can be bought easily.

Little does he realise that the Malaysians of today are a very perceptive and discerning lot who can see through his election ploy.

They know that the money that is being doled out does not come from Barisan Nasional coffers. If that was the case, then Malaysians can be grateful to the BN. But when he uses the people’s money to bribe them and expects them to be grateful to the BN, it is insulting their intelligence.

The new-found concern and compassion for Malaysians is very telling. It is nothing but a bait to fish for votes that will keep the BN in power. Malaysians will not fall for this ruse.

Housing has been a great problem for Penangites for the last thirty over years. The soaring prices have put houses beyond the reach of average Penangites. Thousands of Penangites have moved to the mainland to buy houses. An equal number of Penangites have bought houses in Kulim and Sungai Petani simply because they could not afford houses on the island.

The narrow streets and poor public transport had created horrendous congestion and pollution for Penangites, making their lives a nightmare. But this problem did not suddenly confront Penangites with the change in government on 8 March 2008. It has always been there.

Hardly anything substantive has been done by the BN to redress these problems. This neglect continued despite Penang producing a Prime Minister in the past. Penang has been marginalised for many decades. That is a fact.

The housing problem confronting Penangites has been there all along. Najib should have known this. He was the Deputy Prime Minister for more than five years after which he became Prime Minister, a position he has been holding for more than three years. In other words, he was in the forefront of the nation’s leadership for almost nine years.

How has he been blind to this grave situation all this while? He must have known this; yet he did nothing to alleviate the misery of the poor in Penang. He did nothing to solve this problem even when he became the Finance Minister.

It is not a question of finance for not building the much-needed houses in Penang. The BN seems to be never short of cash! It only means that the BN did not care for Penang in spite of the continued support that the BN received from Penang every time there was an election. We were just taken for granted!

During his visit to Penang on 8 December 2012, Najib said that “the opposition had failed to deliver on promises of affordable housing made when campaigning during the last election”. He further alleged, “They had promised that they would resolve the housing issue within two weeks of coming to power”.

I don’t seem to remember such a promise being made. If it was true that the opposition promised to solve the housing issue within two weeks of coming to power, then they must be stupid. Can houses be built that fast? The opposition has been in power for more than four years. With limited resources and burdened with carried forward debts, can this be solved within this period?

Let’s take a look at Najib’s promise. He promised to build 20,000 houses for Penang. He stated that under the 1Malaysia People’s Housing Scheme, “the first PRIMA project will involve some 2,000 units in Kampung Kastam, Bukit Glugor”. The ground-breaking for the project is expected to be next year and the project is slated for completion 36 months later.

In other words, with all the resources and expertise at hand, it would take the federal government three years just to build 2,000 houses. Yet he expects the opposition to build houses in “two weeks”!

What kind of houses is the BN going to build? According to him, “if the current unit costs RM500,000, we will sell it around RM300,000 only”. In would mean a 40 per cent discount. But the RM200,000 discount has to be absorbed by the government. It would cost RM400,000,000. For the 20,000 units promised, the government will have to fork out four billion ringgit!

What would be the monthly instalment for these houses? Who can afford to pay such instalments?

Now, even if the houses are to be bought at RM300,000, who will be buying these houses? Can the homeless poor and the low-income earners afford to buy these houses? Where is the BN’s concern for the poor? All their talk about caring for the poor and taking care of their welfare is now exposed as empty talk. There is no housing solution for the poor!

Why is the BN unable to start building immediately? According to him, federal-owned land and that belonging to agencies like the Penang Regional Development Authority, JKP Sdn Bhd and Syarikat Perumahan Nasional Bhd are available for this project. This land has been available for many years; so why was no attempt made previously to build houses to ease the housing problem. Why wait until next year?

This is where the BN comes across as hypocritical. He is making a conditional promise expecting support to be returned to power in order to build the houses. He is coercing Penangites to vote for BN. He did not say that these houses would be built irrespective of the outcome of the election results. He did not say that the BN will build these houses even if it lost the elections.

Will Najib dare to declare that he will build the promised houses even if Penangites voted for the opposition?

Prove your sincerity by making such a declaration. Malaysians are not that stupid. They will not be bribed with their own money!

                This entry was posted on Friday, 28 December 2012, 10:32 am and is filed under
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Hukuman penjara satu bulan terhadap mahasiswa yang menyertai “Occupy Dataran” Umar Mohd Azmi merupakan satu peringatan dasyat dan memeranjatkan sebelum PRU13 bahawa walaupun di bawah Najib sebagai PM, sistem keadilan jenayah masih teruk

Hukuman penjara satu bulan berserta dengan denda maksimum RM1,000 terhadap mahasiswa yang menyertai “Occupy Dataran” Umar Mohd Azmi telah menjadi peristiwa menggemparkan negara juga antarabangsa kerana benar-benar merupakan satu peringatan dasyat dan memeranjatkan sebelum Pilihan Raya Umum ke-13 bahawa meskipun terdapat laungan slogan tentang program transformasi kerajaan, ekonomi, pendidikan, sosial dan politik, sistem keadilan jenayah di Malaysia masih teruk di bawah empat tahun pemerintahan Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

Jika tidak kerana saya sekarang berada di Sydney sudah tentu saya akan melawat khemah protes yang didirikan aktivis mahasiswa di luar penjara Kajang untuk menzahirkan sokongan , simpati dan solidariti saya bersama Umar terhadap ketidakadilan hukuman berat yang dikenakan keatasnya kerana menghalang pegawai awam melaksanakan tugas.

Mengapa Umar dikenakan hukuman yang berat dengan denda maksimum RM1,000 berserta satu bulan penjara, sekiranya hukuman maksimum untuk kesalahan di bawah Seksyen 186 Kanun Keseksaan kerana menghalang kakitangan awam menjalankan tugas mereka adalah maksimum tiga bulan penjara atau denda maksimum RM1,000 atau kedua-duanya sekali?

Salah satu sebab kukuh mengapa perlunya pertukaran kerajaan Persekutuan di Putrajaya dalam pilihan raya umum ke-13 yang bakal menjelang adalah negara dipenuhi dengan kes-kes yang mana keadilan jenayah benar-benar teruk seperti kes Umar.

Khemah protes yang didirikan oleh aktivis mahasiswa di luar Penjara Kajang bagi membantah hukuman penjara satu bulan selepas dikenakan denda maksimum RM1,000 mengingatkan saya kepada tindakan protes terhadap hukuman penjara 18 bulan Ketua Menteri Pulau Pinang dan Setiausaha Agung DAP Lim Guan Eng pada Ogos 1998 sewaktu beliau mempertahankan maruah seorang gadis Melayu bawah umur, mengakibatkan terbatalnya kelayakkan beliau sebagai Ahli Parlimen dan dihalang daripada bertanding selama lima tahun selepas dibebaskan dari Penjara Kajang.

Sebagai protes, pemimpin DAP, penyokong dan mereka yang bersimpati mengadakan Mogok Lapar 18 Hari Bebas Guan Eng pada September 1998 sebagai menzahirkan kekecewaan, rasa terkejut, sedih dan marah seluruh negara terhadap ketidakadilan apabila  seorang Ahli Parlimen yang jujur, tekun dan berani boleh dipenjarakan untuk 18 bulan kerana mempertahankan maruah, hak asasi manusia dan hak asasi wanita seorang gadis bawah umur yang ditahan kerana menuntut keadilan.

Pada ketika itu, Mogok Lapar 18 Hari Bebas Guan Eng mendapat sokongan, simpati dan solidariti rakyat Malaysia yang cintakan keadilan, termasuklah Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim dan Datuk Seri Dr. Wan Azizah Wan Ismail.

Kegagalan yang nyata sama ada di bawah Najib atau Tun Abdullah untuk melakukan reformasi, apatah lagi transformasi, ke atas sistem keadilan jenayah selepas kebinasaan sistem kehakiman hasil tangan 22 tahun pemerintahan Mahathir, telah ditonjolkan di dalam kes Umar, apabila dibandingkan dengan banyaknya kes yang tidak selesai melibatkan skandal-skandal besar memperlihatkan ketidakadilan di dalam negara, sama ada pembunuhan warga Mongolia Altantuya Shaariibuu, pembunuhan Teoh Beng Hock di premis SPRM atau kematian misteri dan pembunuhan ketika di dalam tahanan seperti V. Kugan.

Saya menyokong khemah protes di luar Penjara Kajang yang didirikan oleh aktivis mahasiswa dan sepatutnya dilawat oleh semua rakyat Malaysia yang cintakan keadilan seperti ketika Mogok Lapar 18 Hari Bebas Guan Eng 14 tahun lalu di Kajang – dan terdapat kes yang kuat untuk khemah protes itu berterusan selagi mana Umar masih dipenjarakan dengan tidak adil di dalam Penjara Kajang.

This article is also available in English at:
https://blog.limkitsiang.com/2012/12/22/month-long-jail-sentence-on-occupy-dataran-student-umar-mohd-azmi-outrageous-and-devastating-reminder-before-13ge-that-even-under-najib-as-pm-the-criminal-justice-system-still-suck/

                This entry was posted on Friday, 28 December 2012, 11:55 am and is filed under
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‘Allah’ a journey, not controversy

By
Azly Rahman

Malaysiakini | Dec 28, 2012

Only in Malaysia is the world perhaps witnessing a raging debate on who has the patent to the word ‘Allah’; simply translated as ‘the/that god.’ It seems to be a seasonal debate to get the political parties to wrestle over the linguistic or semiotic of the word; one that connotes and denotes ‘the Force of Divinity’ that Man has attempted to understand, revere, love, and fear yet can never comprehend.

This is simply because we are in a matrix of truth and representation, and in a prison-house of language unable to see what the Ultimate Reality looks like.

What’s in a name? Maybe nothing. Maybe everything. And even more so this Shakespearean “a rose is a rose” type of problematique seems relevant in a world of political manipulations such as in Malaysia when race and religion are the twin determinants of political evolution.

The debate on the origin of the word ‘Allah’ is obviously interesting as a topic of dissertation or as an inquiry theme in fields such as bio-semantics, bio-semiotics, linguistic philosophy, philology, or the study of the transcultural flow of language as yours truly embarked upon on the origin of the words ‘Cyberjaya’ and ‘Putrajaya’ in a dissertation submitted to Columbia University, a few years back.

To ascertain the origin of the word ‘Allah’ might also yield those studying it to also explore the origin of the concept of ‘god’, ‘religion’, ‘scriptures’, and even the notion of soteriology in the study of religion; a human enterprise that began with the agriculture society and what the sociologist Karl Wittfogel would term as the ‘hydraulic societies’.

The attempt to name ‘god’ and to call it by ‘special nouns’ have been a human cognitive exercise since Man has been trying to figure our what causes his crop to do well or to be damaged or destroyed, the night to go dark and the sun to illuminate, or the fate of his or her clan as the tribe moves from one planting area to another after slashing and burning crops.

The search for ‘god’, perhaps noted as early as the discovery of cave paintings in Southern France moving on to the conceptualisation of the Divine and Ultimate Reality, to the birth of Zorastrianism, to Judaism, to Christianity, and to Islam (in the Fertile Crescent) and in the non-monotheistic conception of it in cultural philosophies such as Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, and Sikhism (in the Indus valley).

These are ways that Man has tried to name the un-namable, explain the unexplainable, and conceive the unconceivable.

I am not sure if there have been controversies or people killing each other over who has the right to the name of this or that god. The Romans and the Greeks have gods in common playing different roles, but I have not come across crisis and conflict in such naming of gods in these two civilisations.

No need for controversy

At this point in human evolution, in this age of reconciliation of the post-Mayan calendar, Malaysians (especially Christians and Muslims) need to be less childish in the fight over patenting and branding ‘god’. It is a name conceived differently anyway, as different as how each soul conceives the Divine.

Whether one calls god Allah, The Lord, Brahma-Shiva-Vishnu, Bhagwan, Waheguru, Yahweh, or Hashem or not call it anything at all but refer to it in mere silence and reverie, the ultimate aim is to ‘connect’, and hence the Latin term ‘religio’ which loosely means ‘to connect’. Herein lies the limits of language insofar as the naming of ‘god’ is concerned.

There is no reason to be locked into controversy but all the reason should be to engage in exploring human creativity in trying to understand Absolute or Ultimate Reality.

Because we are social beings plunged into a world of materialism and our existence always in dialectical opposition with world of Appearance and Reality, if we take the Platonic Theory of Forms as a framework of analysis, and because we are always engaging in a world of realism first and foremost, our focus needs to be on how to live a life examined as societies of human beings always empathic to the lives of others less fortunate and to dwell on similarities rather than differences.

We ought to focus on making sure fellow men and women are accorded the basics of life – food, shelter, clothing – and how these will contribute to the cultivation of dignity, rights, and responsibility.

In Malaysia, this means people of all religious faith ensuring that caste and class in society is gradually, but surely abolished and that the rich will not become richer by any means manipulative and necessary.

A wide-awake society that includes the ideological warring factions called the Muslims and Christians fighting over the word ‘Allah’ ought to be aware of what will continue to divide and conquer them, so that their praxis or the act of translating theory/perspective to practice for the common good is not clouded or even debilitated.

It would be necessary to allow any religion to use the word ‘Allah’ I would venture to say, if the word means everything good and brings them to do ultimate good. Muslims and Christians alike may perhaps need to do a philological and linguistic-genealogical research of the word ‘Allah’ or even the history of the word ‘god’ itself in order to be more enlightened of the issues and attendant claims or ownership.

Surprised they may be in discovering that we were once inhabitants of the Tower of Babel trying to figure out what word to use to name the nameless, and what shape to create to represent the Formless.

Until we Muslims and Christians come to this dialogical crossroad, the road to political manipulation in Malaysia is always paved with linguistic distortion in service of crypto-crony-capitalistic intentions!

DR AZLY RAHMAN, who was born in Singapore and grew up in Johor Baru, holds a Columbia University (New York) doctorate in International Education Development and Master’s degrees in the fields of Education, International Affairs, Peace Studies and Communication. He has taught more than 40 courses in six different departments and has written more than 300 analyses on Malaysia. His teaching experience spans Malaysia and the United States, over a wide range of subjects from elementary to graduate education. He currently resides in the United States.

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 29 December 2012, 7:07 pm and is filed under
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Foreign interference in Malaysian politics?

 — Clive Kessler

The Malaysian Insider

Dec 30, 2012

DEC 30 — The New Straits Times (Sunday December 30) contains a long analysis and commentary entitled “Dubious Backers of Regime Change”.

Its author, Nile Bowie, warns of the menace of foreign interference and covert involvement and influence in Malaysian politics.

As well he might.

This lengthy article, now recycled in the BN government’s leading newspaper here, made its first appearance in RT.

RT? What is that?

RT, in its own self-description, is “the first Russian 24/7 English-language news channel which brings the Russian view on global news.”

RT, on its own say-so, “delivers latest news and current events from around the world including special reports, entertainment news and exclusive video.”

You would think that somebody in a position of editorial responsibility might have mentioned those originating auspices when proffering that item to the readers of the NST.

One would have thought so.

But perhaps Utusan’s now “celebrated” notions of journalistic and editorial ethics have now become the national “default mode” and have accordingly spread to the NST.

Foreign influence and interference?

Of all sorts, it would seem.

Some more bruited and officially trumpeted than others.

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 30 December 2012, 8:25 pm and is filed under
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Let 2013 end the national deformations and usher in an era of genuine national transformation by electing a new Pakatan Rakyat Malaysian government for the first time in 55 years

For nearly four years, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak had been promising one transformation programme after another – government, economic, political, educational, social, etc all under an overarching slogan of 1Malaysia under one agency or another.

All these pronouncements and initiatives have achieved is to earn the nation the epithet of “The Acronym Nation” while national deformations in all aspects of national life have proceeded unchecked.

Najib’s four-year premiership will be remembered by Malaysians as an administration of plunging global indices, and this unpleasant fact has been underlined by three international reports in the last month of this year, viz:

Corruption
– In the four-year Najib premiership, Malaysia’s Transparency International (TI) Corruption Perception Index (CPI) rankings sunk to the lowest depths in 18 years – No. 56 in 2009 and 2010, No. 60 in 2011 and No. 54 in 2012  as compared to the worst ranking of No. 23 under Mahathir and No. 47 under Abdullah  – suggesting that corruption under the present Prime Minister is even worse than under all the previous Prime Ministers, Tunku Abdul Rahman, Tun Razak, Tun Hussein, Tun Mahathir and Tun Abdullah.

No. 1 in per capita capital flight
: Latest Global Finance Integrity report showed that on a per capita basis, Malaysia with a population of 28 million, is No. 1 in the world on illicit money outflow – whether in terms of black money siphoned out of the country for 2010, which is RM196.8 billion, or for the past decade (2000-2010), which is a whopping RM871 billion or equivalent to  over RM31,000  for each of the country’s 28 million population.

Double-whammy of decline in maths and science standards by Malaysian students when compared with foreign countries well as with past batches
 – In TIMSS 2011 for eighth-grade students, Malaysia is ranked No. 26 with a score of 440 out of 1,000 for mathematics and even lower for science at No. 32 with a score of 426, both below the international average. They are also the worst scores for Malaysia in the four TIMSS 1999-2011, i.e. in maths dropping by 79 points from 519 in 1999 to 440 in 2011; in science, dropping by 66 points from 492 in 1999 to 426 points in 2011.

These are not signs of national transformation but national deformations.

Let 2013 end the national deformations and usher in an era of genuine national transformation for Malaysians by electing a new Pakatan Rakyat Malaysian government for the first time in 55 years.

Happy New Year 2013 to all Malaysians.

(2013 New Year Message in Kuala Lumpur on Monday, 31st December 2012)

                This entry was posted on Monday, 31 December 2012, 5:07 pm and is filed under
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Let the 100-day countdown to the 13GE start today

With the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak continuing to make  himself a national and international spectacle for nearly two years playing the role of Hamlet agonising on “To Be or Not To Be” on dissolving Parliament to seek a mandate of his own and end his role as longest unelected Prime Minister in Malaysia, the phrase “100 days to the 13GE” has become the constant refrain of Malaysians in the last month of 2012.

Let the 100-day countdown to the 13GE start officially today, the first day of 2013, and let all Malaysians take part in the daily countdown to the 13GE because of the historic significance and possibilities of this event.

Even if Najib does not hold general elections by April 20 – the 100th day from today – Parliament will be automatically dissolved on 27th April 2013 as the Federal Constitution provides that unless earlier dissolved, Parliament will stand dissolved five years from the date of its first meeting after a general election, i.e. 28th April 2008.

I do not believe that Najib would want to out-Hamlet Hamlet  and be so indecisive as to allow Parliament to stand automatically dissolved on 27th April 2013 for the 13th General Elections to be held.

In his New Year message, Najib called on Malaysians to give his ruling Barisan Nasional government a clear mandate as he promises to build the country to the best of his ability.

In his four years as Prime Minister, Najib has demonstrated that he is not master of his own fate and destiny, which is why his plethora of “transformation” programmes have been observed more by their breach than fulfilment – including his signature policy of 1Malaysia which to date has not received endorsement either by the Najib  Cabinet or the UMNO and Barisan Nasional Supreme Councils.

Let the 100-day countdown to the 13GE start today – and let there be a   clear mandate for Pakatan Rakyat to replace UMNO/BN coalition in Putrajaya  to build an united,  democratic, just, progressive and prosperous nation

MCA President Datuk Seri Dr. Chua Soi Lek said at the New Year countdown in Johor Bartu that he would step down as MCA President and join DAP should the DAP win big in Johore and produce a Chinese Mentri Besar.

This is the dishonest politics of lies and falsehoods that Malaysia does not need in the 21st century  and I will be the first to object to Chua Soi Lek joining the DAP.

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https://blog.limkitsiang.com/2013/01/07/mulakan-kiraan-100-hari-ke-pru13-hari-ini-dan-pastikan-mandat-yang-jelas-untuk-pakatan-rakyat-menggantikan-perikatan-umnobn-di-putrajaya-untuk-membina-negara-yang-bersatu-demokratik-adil/

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