Abdullah buying time with 2010 quit plans

From the
Economist Intelligence Unit

JULY 26 – Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s July 10 announcement that he plans to step down by mid-2010 seems an attempt by the prime minister to buy time – both for his own (probably doomed) leadership and for his party, Umno.

By sacrificing the second half of his current five-year term, the prime minister may hope not only to save the first half, and thus to stay in the leadership for two more years, but also to reduce internal feuding that is undermining the government’s stability.

Abdullah’s move comes as pressure continues to mount on him to step down to take responsibility for the political crisis as well as for rising inflation. This pressure is coming both from within the highly factional Umno – where some elements regard Abdullah as an increasing liability to the party or see his problems as an opportunity to make their own power bids – and from the parliamentary opposition, which has been emboldened by its gains in the March 2008 general election.

Although the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition, of which Umno is the dominant member, comfortably won the election, the loss of its two-thirds majority for the first time in nearly 40 years was a humiliating setback.

Sensing Abdullah’s weakness, the opposition Pakatan Rakyat (PR) alliance has intensified its efforts to bring down the government, a goal it hopes to achieve by September. At the same time, recriminations within Umno have accentuated divisions within the party, increasing the chances of an internal move to oust Abdullah and, in the process, making the political crisis more acute.

Abdullah’s promise to step down by mid-2010, making way for his deputy, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, is above all an attempt to gain political breathing room. By addressing, if only in part, demands that he take responsibility for the election debacle and for the country’s economic problems, he will hope to reduce the immediate pressure on him to resign.

It is almost certainly too late for him to do more than this, but he has little other option. Unless he can introduce a measure of calm into an ever more frenzied and sensationalised political scene, he risks being forced from office much sooner than 2010. In this context, it appears that the recent talk of Abdullah being provided with the means to make a graceful exit has come true.

Abdullah’s move has a better chance of subduing at least the worst of the harmful intrigue within Umno than it does of stopping the opposition in its tracks. Promising a managed transfer of power within Umno is wholly in line with party tradition, although the hope within Umno will be that Abdullah proves temperamentally more suited than his predecessor, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, to effecting a smooth transition.

History does not invite optimism on this front: Abdullah himself was groomed for the prime minister’s job by Dr Mahathir, but the outspoken former prime minister has clashed repeatedly with Abdullah since the latter took office in 2003 and Dr Mahathir’s constant sniping has been a key factor in the political crisis.

Dr Mahathir also, notably, fell out with a previous deputy whom he had anointed as successor, though Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim did not even make it to prime minister before being ousted on now-notorious corruption and sodomy charges. Anwar has returned to the fray after the expiry of his ban from politics (on the grounds of his corruption conviction), and is heading the opposition’s bid to form a government. His return to politics, on its own, would have raised the political temperature substantially in Malaysia, but the emergence of a new sodomy allegation – from a 23-year-old aide – has created mayhem.

Anwar claims that the new allegation is a conspiracy to discredit him or remove him from the political scene, as he also claimed at the time of his sodomy conviction in 2000. Anwar’s supporters, and many Western observers, believed that that conviction had been trumped up, a theory supported by the fact that it was overturned in 2004.

Although Abdullah’s proposed transfer of power may disappoint Umno factions that might wish him to step down immediately, the reality is that the plan actually suits even his rivals quite well. Ditching Abdullah now would plunge the party into even greater crisis, increasing the risk of the government collapsing.

At the same time, there is no one in the party who is obviously in a position to replace him at the moment. Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, a former finance minister and a former adversary of Dr Mahathir, is the only openly declared challenger for the party leadership. But memories of Tengku Razaleigh’s divisive 1987 wrangles with Dr Mahathir may limit the breadth of his appeal within Umno.

Meanwhile, Najib, Abdullah’s nominee, is fighting off controversy over his alleged links to a murder that has become the subject of a lurid trial. Although he has denied involvement, Najib cannot realistically take over as prime minister until the dust from this scandal has cleared.

Abdullah’s move will not dull the intensity of the opposition’s campaign to unseat him, however. The PR will continue to apply constant pressure on the government. Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Ismail, the parliamentary opposition leader, recently filed a no-confidence motion against the prime minister and his Cabinet.

Meanwhile her husband, none other than Anwar, continues to try to woo defectors from the BN to the opposition. The opposition needs at least 30 BN lawmakers to cross over in order to form a government.

If this were to happen, then all bets on Abdullah’s future – and indeed on Umno’s – would be off. If not, Abdullah is likely to contest, and win, the Umno leadership election at the party’s annual congress in December. Assuming that he survives as prime minister until mid-2010, the main question over the rest of his term will be what he can achieve in policy terms.

There has been some suggestion that the announcement of his departure plan will turn him into a lame duck. However, his efforts to defuse the immediate political crisis could invigorate the remainder of his term. He will have nothing to lose, and having salvaged enough short-term support from within Umno to head off immediate challenges for the leadership, the question of his personal political future will not hang over every policy issue.

In this scenario, Abdullah could be expected to try to pursue economic reforms more energetically in an effort to establish his legacy. This would be no bad thing. If a grudgingly united Umno could turn its energy away from internal politicking and towards improving the lives of its constituents, it might find a silver lining in its present crisis – and at last begin to address the deficiencies that have led to the calls for Abdullah’s departure.

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 27 July 2008, 3:01 pm and is filed under
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Proton/Mercedes fiasco – Big Ears’ Dilemma with  Terengganu’s “one ear in, one ear out” defiance

“Defiant act – Exco men use Merc despite Cabinet order”
 – this is the screaming front-page headline in today’s
Sunday Star
 on the latest twist  in the Proton Perdana/Mercedes Kompressor fiasco, viz:

JOHOR BARU: At least four of Terengganu’s eight state executive council members are using newly purchased Mercedes-Benz E200 Kompressor cars despite a Cabinet directive against doing so.

Several of them were seen travelling in the cars to official functions and meetings.

Those who were seen taking rides in the car said they were waiting for Terengganu Mentri Besar Datuk Ahmad Said to make an announcement at Wednesday’s state executive council meeting on when to give up the cars.

Terengganu Tourism, Culture, Arts and Heritage Committee chairman Datuk Za’abar Mohd Adib attended the Malaysian Flora Fest here yesterday in his gleaming new black Mercedes-Benz.

What is the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, who prides in having “Big Ears”, going to do in the face of the “One ear in, one ear out” defiance of the Terengganu State Government?

Is he going to crack the whip to impose discipline or is he going to close his eyes and ears and pretend such defiance does not exist?

The Prime Minister’s
short statement
on the Proton-Mercedes fiasco  on Friday has raised many questions.

This was what Abdullah had said:

“I wish to state here that this is an important decision by the cabinet, that the state government must not use the cars for its state executive councillors or any officers entitled to use official cars. This is what we have decided upon,” he said.

“Since the cars have been bought and to sell them would only result in a loss, all of them must be used for state guests or dignitaries.

“This is the decision, nothing more, nothing less.”

Questions:

1.	Why  must the Cabinet meet to decide on a very simple and straightforward matter involving breach of the federal directive that the Proton Perdana is the official car for state executive councillors and ex-officio members? Hasn’t the Cabinet got more important things to do?

2.	Why must the Cabinet meet over a RM3.43 million impropriety by the Terengganu state exco when the Cabinet had been blind and deaf to mega-scandals, whether the RM4.6 billion Port Klang Free Zone bailout scandal or the RM500 million Monsoon Cup scandal or the RM250 million Islamic Civilisation Park scandal?

3.	“Since the cars have been bought and to sell them would only result in a loss…”

As several commentators had pointed out in the
thread
 on this item yesterday, there is a simple solution to this fiasco.   Since the market price of the Mercedes E-200 Kompressors  is RM350,000 while the State government bought them for RM245,000 without the various taxes, selling them to the public could even bring a tidy profit to the State Government of RM70,000 to RM100,000 each.   Why didn’t the Abdullah Cabinet think of this?

However, the biggest question remains what Big Ears is going to do with the Terengganu “One ear in, one ear out” defiance!

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 27 July 2008, 5:07 pm and is filed under
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Declare Anwar innocent of sodomy allegations and drop all charges

by
Dr. Chen Man Hin

Three international political and  economic giants have called on the Malaysian government to drop sodomy charges against opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim on thursday 24th july.

They are Paul Martin former Canadian Prime Miniser, James Wolfenson former World Bank chief and Michael C amdesus former head of International Monetary Fund

A day earlier, US secretary of state  Condolezza Rice strongly voiced her disfavour that Anwar was being singled our for sodomy charges  again similar to the charges in 1998 ten years ago. Anwar was imprisoned for six years but the Federal Court absolved Anwar of sodomy  charges in 2004.

In replly to foreign minister Rais Yatim’s objections on USA interventon in internal affairs, Rice maintained she would continue to raise Anwar’s issue in the interests of human rights and justice. She too implied   the charges were fabricated and the sodomy charge should be removed.

Brad Adams, Asia directorThe world guardian of human rigts,  HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH  on July 21 said “the Malaysian government’s record provides little basis to believe this is anything other than  partisan political attack on Anwar. In the light of past FALSE ALLEGATIONS AND HIS UNFAIR TRIAL, Anwar has good reason to worry that his rights wont’t be respected”.

He continued: “Malysian government allegations that opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim forcibly sodomised a male aide lack credibitily.

“Amwar’s arrest was a poitically  motivated  attempt to derail the opposition Alliance Pakatan Rakyat’s campaign to form  a new government by September 16, 2008”

Alarmed at the unfriendly reaction from the world, a hurried meeting with all foreign envoys was called three days ago. Sources revealed that the sentiments of the envoys reflected the views of Condoleeza Rice, the canadian prime minister and the two former chiefs of World Bank and IMF

CALL ON ABDULLAH TO DECLARE ANWAR INNOCENT AND TO DROP THE SODOMY CHARGE.

1. International opinion and outrage at the ongoing second repetition of a sodomy charge,demands a rethink by PM abdullah by declaring Anwar innocent and free from all allegations of sodomy.

If Abdullah and his cabinet remain defiant and stubborn, the adverse feedback from foreign countries would be reflected in tensions with friendly countries and a drop in investor sentiments for Malaysia.

I do not advise   PM Abdullah should stoke up unfriendly sentiments with USA, which is the biggest trading partner of Malaysia.

2. PM Abdullah should be aware of public opinion within the country.

A straw poll of public opinion on the sodomy allegations against Anwar has shown that nine out of ten respondents, feel that Anwar is being victimised,  in the same manner of 1998, when he was found gulity of trumped-up charges of sodomy

Secondly, they feel that the whole affair is nothing more than a conspiracy to remove Anwar from politics, as he is a serious threat to the survival of UMNO

Thirdly, that the people have lost confidence in the instituions of the country, as these insitutions like the cabinet, the legislature, the judiciary,the courts and the police as these have been corrupted  by the greed for power and retention of power —    whatever the cost.

PM ABDULLAH SHOULD PAUSE HERE,  RETHINK AND REVAMP HIS POLICIES TO RETURN TO SANITY AND GOOD GOVERNANCE.

                This entry was posted on Monday, 28 July 2008, 9:07 am and is filed under
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Dr. Chen Man Hin
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Police cannot be silent a single second – latest shocking revelation on 2nd Anwar sodomy charge

The Police cannot keep silent a single second on the latest shocking revelation in the second Anwar Ibrahim sodomy charge – that the first medical report on Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan found no evidence of sodomy four hours before he lodged the police report of sodomy against Anwar on  June 28.

The revelation, which first appeared in Raja Petra Kamaruddin’s Malaysia Today news portal, and is reported in Malaysiakini, is based on a two-page medical report by Dr. Mohamed Osman Abdul Hamid, the medical officer in Hospital Pusrawi (Pusat Rawatan Islam) in Jalan Tun Razak, Kuala Lumpur after examining Saiful at about 2 p.m on June  28 – some four hours before Saiful lodged the police report against Anwar.

This is the account in
Malaysiakini
:

According to a copy of the two-page medical report obtained by malaysiakini yesterday, Saiful went to the hospital complaining of ‘tenesmus’ – a medical term for difficulty and pain in passing motion.

He was examined by Dr Mohamed Osman Abdul Hamid, the medical officer on duty.

The doctor said that the patient had alleged he was assaulted by the intrusion of a piece of “plastic” in the anus.

Mohamed Osman, according to his medical report which was recorded at 2.14pm, found “zero active bleeding”, “zero ulcer or pus”, “zero tear and scar” in Saiful’s anus.

He also stated that Saiful appeared “alert”, “comfortable”, “not pale” and did not show any fever symptoms.

Raja Petra in his
blog
 alleged that Dr. Mohamed Osman, a Burmese Muslim, who has 20 years of experience as a doctor who had previously worked in government hospitals before joining Pusrawi about a year ago, was detained by the police for three days but refused to “doctor” his report to  “implicate Anwar”.

Raja Petra further alleged that Dr. Mohamed Osman “has now taken his entire family and has gone into hiding because the police are looking for him and want him to change his medical report”.

These are  very disturbing turn of developments in the latest sodomy allegation against Anwar and police investigations, and will subject Malaysia to a new and  most adverse spate of international bashing unless police can come forward without a single second  of delay to categorically throw light on the first medical report on Saiful and the whereabouts of Dr. Mohamad Osman – especially in the light of the outrage and scandal of the disappearance of  private investigator Bala Subramaniam in two conflicting  Statutory Declaration (SDs) within 24 hours, shaking national and international confidence in institutional integrity to their  very  roots.

Or is the Home Minister, Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar contemplating orchestrating a second briefing for foreign diplomats in Malaysia on the medical report and disappearance of Dr. Mohamed Osman –  where Hamid can be assured of getting an even better turn-out by hitting over a century of diplomats?

                This entry was posted on Monday, 28 July 2008, 4:23 pm and is filed under
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The Courage To Be Different

by
 M. Bakri Musa

The Sultan of Trengganu’s decision not to bestow royal honors on the occasion of his birthday is worthy of praise.  I also applaud his celebrating it in a low-key manner.  With the nation facing trying economic times, this message of prudence needs to be conveyed from the highest levels of our leadership.  Further, the Sultan’s gesture while seemingly symbolic portends far more significant changes.

            I am surprised that this is not more recognized and lauded by our intellectuals and pundits.  Perhaps they too are eagerly waiting for their own little title and accompanying tinplate.

            The Sultan in his capacity as King is also imparting his important message to the Prime Minister.  Abdullah, his humble beginnings in the village and his very public displays of piety notwithstanding, has shown a detestable fondness for things luxurious since becoming Prime Minister.  Witness his RM 250 million corporate jet!  Prudent spending is not his strength.

            For a culture that does not normally recognize birthdays, Malaysians have taken up this Western cultural artifact with gusto.  This is especially so with the royalty.  The investiture ceremonies associated with such birthdays would stretch for days, with the Prime Minister and other top officials having to be in attendance at all times, thus distracting them from their regular work.  Not that they are any good or effective when they are in their offices!

            Apart from the King, Malaysia has nine sultans as well as four sultan wannabes in the person of state governors.  With 14 head-of-state birthdays to celebrate and heaps of honorifics to bestow, there is a glut of these titles.

            It is not so much that I detest these ostentatious celebrations rather that I resent the wasting of precious taxpayers’ money.  I could not care less if those sultans and governors were to throw private parties at their own expense.

Whom We Honor

We can tell much about a culture by whom it honors.  Consider the Presidential Medal of Freedom, America’s highest civilian honor.  Its recent honorees include not only prominent statesmen and distinguished scientists but also such varied talents as the Black neurosurgeon Ben Carson, singer Aretha Franklin, boxer Muhammad Ali, and banker Alan Greenspan.

            For contrast, examine the recipients of Malaysia’s highest royal honor, the “Tun.”  Perusing the list for the past decade or two, all the recipients were either retired civil servants or “has been” politicians.  Some awards seem automatic, as for example, for the sitting Chief Justice.  They all would get one, even those who would later bring disgrace to their office.  I am astounded to discover that there are more than just a few of those renegade characters so honored!

            The message is clear.  To the mindset of our leaders, the only way to serve the nation is through the government, or at least by belonging to the right political party.  Such a myopic view of the world!

            One is readily inspired when reading the citations of those honored with the Medal of Freedom.  Unlike the Medal of Freedom, there is no citation to go with awarding the Tun.  One has to guess their achievements.  “Googling” their names would be an equally fruitless exercise.

            Musa Hitam and Lim Keng Yeik are recent recipients of the Tun.  Yet what are their contributions to the nation?  Yes they were former cabinet ministers, but what exactly did they achieve?  As for former Chief Justice Ahmad Feiruz, another recent honoree, what were his landmark decisions?  The nation should honor their contributions, not their positions.

            I can recollect only a few honorees whose contributions were truly significant and thus deserve honoring.  Our first Chief Justice, Tun Suffian Hashim was one, as well as the first Governor of Bank Negara Tun Ismail Ali.  Both rightly belong in the same league as the late Tun Razak.

            I once suggested to a graduate student looking for a topic for her dissertation to go over the list of our royal honorees to discern the pattern.  Who do we honor as Tan Sri and Datuk?  This would have been a doable project a decade ago.  Alas today, with the avalanche of names, you would need superior computer and statistical skills to do a credible analysis.

            It reflects the degradation of our culture that there is now a widely acknowledged “under the table” price for these titles.  Consequently, today you are as likely to find such honorees on the criminal roster as on the palace invitation list.

Truly Modern Monarch?

Sultan Mirzan may be our youngest King but he has already shown his innovative streak early and quietly.  Soon after his installation he directed that all palace functions must end early so as not to interfere with the following working day.  How sensible!  That royal mandate must have been a severe shock to those ministers and senior civil servants who would find any excuse not to be punctual at their offices.

            During the massive Bersih rally in 2007, the King demonstrated his political subtlety and acumen by being conveniently out of the palace and yet opening its gate to the rally organizers.  That was a direct public slap to Abdullah who had earlier declared “saya pantang di cabar!” (Do not challenge me!)

            On a more substantive level, following the recent March election, Sultan Mirzan as the Sultan of Trengganu taught Prime Minister Abdullah a much needed lesson on the real meaning of royal “advice and consent” on appointing the state’s Chief Minister.  As Abdullah was (still is) a slow learner, Sultan Mirzan had to deliver his message in no uncertain terms.  It took some time and much public humiliation, but Abdullah did finally learn his lesson.

            Sultan Mirzan through his actions and Raja Nazrin with his speeches represent the new generation of royals who are more attuned to the nuances of the delicate checks and balances provided for in our constitution.  Such a function, which has been severely lacking, is necessary for an effective government.  These royals are not at all shy in exercising their long-neglected oversight role.

           The framers of our constitution in their wisdom had provided for, in addition to a bicameral Parliament, another entity, the King and his Council of Rulers, which in effect is the Third House of Parliament.  While it cannot initiate legislations nonetheless it has the power to review laws passed by Parliament.  At least that was the situation until Mahathir amended the constitution.

            Additionally, the consent of this Third Parliament is needed in making senior appointments.  In matters pertaining to Islam, this Council rules supreme.  This fact was brought to the fore during the recent imbroglio over the transfer of senior religious officials in Perak.

            I hope these tentative ventures towards a more activist role for the King and his Council of Rulers would expand, with the King taking his “advice and consent” role more positively a la the United States Senate.  While I do not expect open hearings I do hope the Council would carefully vet in private candidates for senior appointments and not merely rubberstamp the nominees of the Prime Minister.

            This would restrain the current unchecked powers of the executive and correct the current imbalance that has tilted for so long towards it.  At least that is one side benefit albeit unintended to Abdullah’s weak leadership.  It allows the King and his brother rulers to re-exert their constitutional power.  That can only be good for the nation.

            Sultan Mirzan’s cancellation of the royal investiture on the occasion of his birthday should be viewed in this light.  I hope he would venture beyond and usher our Third House of Parliament to its original proper oversight role.  If he were to do that, then he and his fellow sultans would have justified the high cost of maintaining them, quite apart from earning the gratitude of their subjects.  Besides, that is a far more crucial role than passing out fancy sashes and tin plates on their birthdays.

______________________

                This entry was posted on Monday, 28 July 2008, 10:53 am and is filed under
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Malaysia’s educational reform: can the yellow states lead the way?

by
Azly Rahman

[email protected]

http://azlyrahman-illuminations.blogspot.com/

“To evolve into wiser individuals with enquiring minds, we must ask questions and reflect upon the answers suggested to us. If we are afraid to ask questions, our mind and consciousness will be owned and manipulated by those who think they have the right answers, or by those who wants to use force to tell us what the right answers shall be.”

                              – My thoughts on the nature of learning

“I currently firmly believe that education should first be a dialectical and dialogical tool to mediate and resolve the contradictions between Existentialism and Cyberneticism, and of Cultures of Disabilities, …and next be a Deconstructive-Reconstructivist tool and social force to engineer personal and social revolutions and progress towards the realisation of a personal republic of virtue, ethics, multiculturalism, and metaphysics; so that human beings endowed with the Natural Rights to be free may collectively become educated to rise above hegemony, domination, and oppression and in the final analysis, journey towards a Pastoral and Natural self .”

                              – my personal philosophy of teaching

Let’s take a break from thinking about Malaysian politics. Justice will take its natural course, the natural “way”, like how Lao Tzu would philosophize.

Let us talk about the possiblities in education.

I have some ideas on how we can evolve out of this current political quagmire and focus our attention to an ever-pressing national question: how best to educate the children of our nation.

We need to have the states governed by Pakatan Rakyat to experiment with a new paradigm of educational reform. To showcase what “human capital revolution”, “education across the life span” and “education for creative and critical consciousness” means.

Not only to showcase one but to have a continuous improvement plan that uses data-driven and sociologically reflective techniques to engineer, nurture, and sustain such changes until education becomes the only means to educate the child to become a thinking, feeling, and reflecting human being skilled to live in harmony with people of different races and consistently exploring the power to transform the self.

In other words, we need to interrogate our educational practices and see if indeed the one that is engineered by the current regime of Barisan Nasional is effective.

We can embark upon a longitudinal comparative study – which states will progress better with a different set of idea of what education ought to be. The Yellow states of Pakatan Rakyat and the Blue states of Barisan Nasional can each be given five years to showcase improvement. We need to give them only these concepts to work on: “nature of the human beings”, “nature of the human mind”, “nature of learning and teaching”, “nature of change”, “nature of intellectual freedom”, “nurture of human intelligence”, “nurture of multiculturalism”, and “nurture of class consciousness”.

Game on

Let educational philosophers and planners and practitioners form each camp design their long-term strategies and pull together their experts and their resources.

The ultimate goal after five years is to do this: which states will have the least drop-outs, least at-risk youths, least youths incarcerated, most globally-minded, most employable graduates, and more intelligent, more world-wise, and more emphatic leaders in society.

Which states would have the best teachers with the best teaching skills and strategies, most engaged students, most creative classroom, most frequent integration of project-based learning strategies, most innovative assessment strategies, most inquisitive students, happiest learners, most-mentally resilient and gung-ho graduates, and most internationally-recognized awards?

Which states would still have the most unmotivated teachers, most vandalised schools, most neglected students, most number of daily truancy cases, most absent teachers, most stratified schools districts, most wasted class periods, most under-funded schools, most number of tuition classes, most frequent interference of politicians who do not have any business interrupting schools, most mentally lethargic learners, and most unmotivated and unskilled graduates who still need to be coached during job interviews?

That would be a good experiment in human and social transformation.

We need an independent body of researchers to report on the state of educational improvement in these two set of states – the Yellow and the Blue states. The winner of the game will get to take over the entire operation of the Ministry of Education as well as the Ministry of Higher Education.

The winner will get to set up another ministry – The Ministry of Human Intelligence, fashioned after Venezuela’s many years ago, to look into education in the most comprehensive sense of its definition. We need benchmarks of success; those that would reflect national and international standards of excellence, equity, and empathy in education.

These standards need to be met cumulatively and progressively, pegged meaningfully and authentically to SMART national and international standards.

Point-of-no-return

The current state of education in Malaysia, after fifty years of independence, lacks the excellence and the rigour, the political will to recognise equity and equal opportunity, and lack of empathy in looking at the class divisions forming in the process of schooling. It is slow in restructuring society based on the alleviation of poverty regardless of race.

It has failed in its commitment to instill the spirit of Muhibbah; a concept the current government had asked children to sing to in the early 1970s. It is in fact using more sophisticated ways to divide and rule society so that the hegemony of race-based politics will continue to become a status quo.

We are at a critical stage of “point-of-no-return” in education; our conveyor belt of nationalistic-tribalistic education philosophy guised under the name of “educational progress”, is going haywire, sending our batch-processed children off tangent in this Rostowian ideology of educational progress. What a waste of talent and human capital. Instead of turning them into lotuses of learners that bloom, we are making them bricks in the wall.

But first things first, as Steven Covey would say.

Let us first commission a new study of drop-out/keciciran, using good qualitative and quantitative data next and find strategies to deal with it. Our nation is actually in danger of a major human development crisis, compounded by the current oil and food crisis.

The revolution of March 8 needs a new means to sustain a good idea for human development and social change. It has the potential of political, cultural, and educational renewal. We Malaysians must all rise beyond the current pre-September 16 national-political crisis that is imploding and exploding multi-directionally against the backdrop of a world that is perpetually in crisis.

Winning children

But this proposed game of Yellow-Blue educational reform is not about creating and projecting an image alone. It is about our fear for our children’s future. It is about our passion in education and how one can learn from educational practices worldwide.

I believe talents are wasted.

There are solutions that this current regime has not yet discovered. Our goal is to see children of ALL races progress. That’s what any religion and humanistic philosophy teaches. Whatever success one’s own children have achieved, that success formula MUST be applied to the children of others, especially of the poor.

That’s what a good philosophy of education should mean to us. We cannot discriminate any child; at all levels of his/her development. The mind is too precious to be under the control of the ignorant, the arrogant, and the xenophobic.

Perhaps the state of Selangor as the most progressive state can show us the way forward in education; and the fruits of success shared with others. It can even be a hub for top notch and quality education that will link its institutions with top notch programs, institutes, and colleges worldwide.

Perhaps this state can be spearhead the radical reform and see an intellectually sustainable culture emerging.  Perhaps Selangor’s state university UNISEL (Universiti Industri Selangor) can be the impetus for change; spearheading comprehensive reforms at all levels. This will be followed by other state-owned and private universities until we see a parallel paradigm running; each documenting and reporting successes and rooms for improvement based on a “child-centered” curriculum that guarantees success for all.

The Barisan Nasional government has its own idea of what Malaysian education should look like; an idea closely tied to communal/race-based politics and the obsession with mind-control, obedience, and the lessening of critical thinking. It has its own competent Vice Chancellors that are working hard to have their institutions reach world-class status.

But looking at things from a collaborative point of view, perhaps these two ideologies in education (the yellow-blue ideological-dichotomy) can one day be dissolved when the experiment’s over. Ultimately bi-partisan thinking should govern educational change. Ultimately in education, philosophy will triumph over politics.

When must we then embark upon this game of education – the race for excellence, equity, and empathy in education? It must be a game in which every child must come out a winner.

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 29 July 2008, 6:45 am and is filed under
Azly Rahman
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Education
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Pakatan Rakyat
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Missing the point on the Terrenganu Merc purchases

Letters

by
Vijay Kumar Murugavell

Much has been said regarding the purchase of 14 spanking new Mercedes E200’s for the use of Terengganu Exco.

MB Ahmad cited cheaper maintenance, DPM and PM declaring that they themselves use Protons, the press interviewing workshop mechanics, Proton Holdings defending their cars, ACA getting into the picture and many offered punditry and cost comparisons to entertain the rakyat with this dog and pony show.

Almost everyone is missing the point,the PM, ACA, The Terengganu exco and Proton Holdings.

The Treasury has sent out a circular which was blatantly ignored, this is the main issue.

Why are those who ignored this directive not taken to tas ? The policy is clear, so the PM should initiate disciplinary action. The next question would be how can the Treasury who is the one holding the purse strings not check whether policy was being followed.

If a system is open to abuse it should be revamped.

Why is the Treasury silent on this issue ? Makes me wonder what other directives are being ignored draining precious financial resources.

Ahmad Said’s rationale that Mercedes are cheaper to maintain is irrelevant, he had no authority to make that decision. Its akin to running a red light, getting caught then telling the traffic cop: that the reason you did it was because you observed that the road was clear so why waste time following the rule.

Pak Lah’s statement that selling the cars now will incur a loss and they should be used only for shuttling foreign dignitaries is incorrect – for 2 reasons.

Firstly ,how on earth can keeping 14 Mercs for this purpose be justified?

Do we have that many visiting dignitaries coming to Terengganu?

Are we to believe that it is fiscally prudent to maintain 28 cars when half of them need to be maintained but are hardly utilized?

A mistake has been made and instead of rectifying it further nonsensical suggestions to save face are being suggested.

Secondly, The Mercs were purchased free of duties and taxes, if sold at prevailing market prices or even at auction prices , the government stands to profit. I don’t even need to do detailed calculations to know this.

The Prime Minister has missed a golden opportunity to show his decisiveness and wisdom on this issue, involving the Cabinet to discuss it and then coming up with an untenable solution has just cast aspersions on the Prime Minister and the entire cabinet.

This does not augur well in building the confidence of an already cynical rakyat let alone foreign investors.

To restore confidence I suggest the Prime Minister issue a warning to those who flouted Treasury Policy and auction off all 14 Mercs.

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 29 July 2008, 5:10 pm and is filed under
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Public apology to Anwar for fictitious charge of sodomy

by
Dr. Chen Man Hin

A FULL EXPLANATION AND A PUBLIC APOLOGY TO ANWAR IBRAHIM IS DEMANDED BY THE PEOPLE FOR INSITUTING A FICTIOUS CHARGE OF SODOMY AGAINST ANWAR AND FOR CAUSING POLITICAL AND  SOCIAL INSTABILITY  AND INJURING THE REPUTATION OF OUR BELOVED COUNTRY.

The Home Minister appears to be in a hurry to close the Saiful sodomy case now that Dr. Mohd Osman medical report is widely  known. Not so fast Mr Minister. There are many unanswered questions which he must explain to the people.

Gone are his old swagger and arrogant attitude. He is trying to run away fast now that the case has gone against the conspirators.

Do not let him off easy. Demand an explanation and there are lots for him to clarify and explain

Who instigated Saiful to make a police report accusing Anwar of sodomisng him?

Who were behind the conspiracy? Was it the IGP or the Attorney General? Was it the top echelon of Umno leaders who fear that Anwar might the next prime minister?

Why was the whole government machinery used to hound Anwar? A professional and independent approach was totalling lacking. At the earlier stage, the  same two persons whom Anwar alleged were the principal conspirators in the 1998 sodomy case during the premiership of Tun Dr Mahathir, were directing operations.

although dr Mohd Osman’s medical report exonerated Anwar a month ago, why was the report not made public immediately?

After Dr. Mohd Osman had presented the medical report, which absolved Anwar of the sodomy charge,  why did they still insisted on pursuing Anwar to give a blood sample to the extent of uttering threats and  even proposing to amend the law to allow legal force to extract a blood sample.  Anwar stood his ground and refused.

He refused because of the suspicion that a fresh blood sample would be used  to fabricate evidence of sodomy e.g. DNA on underwear, etc.  PM  denied and insisted that a fresh blood sample was necessary, as the old blood samples taken between 1998 and 2004 were ‘old’.

On hindsight the suspicions were proven to be correct. A medical report on Saiful stated there was no tear, no ulcer –  which would indicate there was no penetration of the anus.  The report did not mention about  semen. The conclusion to be drawn was there was no sodomy.

So why the insistence of a fresh blood sample when no sodomy was committed. The answer is obvious  – to fabricate evidence.

There should be a demand  for a full explanation by the Home Minister, and an open apology to Anwar for causing so much pain to him and his family and damaging his good name and reputation.

In the interests of justice and fair play, the conspirators must be exposed and duly punished for causing undue public disquiet and social instability, and for slurring the image of the country and causing doubts in the minds of foreign investors about justice and security of their investments.

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 29 July 2008, 7:53 pm and is filed under
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Top Cabinet agenda tomorrow – end sodomy of Malaysia’s international reputation NOW

The top agenda for the Cabinet tomorrow must be to wrestle with probably the nation’s worst global crisis in its 51-year history and end the sodomy of Malaysia’s international reputation NOW so that we would not be dumped in the dubious company of Zimbabwe, Myanmar and Sudan on the rule of law, transparency  and good governance.

The very fact that the Home Minister, Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar last week had to give a special briefing  on the sodomy investigation against Anwar Ibrahim to 96 foreign diplomats on very short notice is the best proof of the national and international  crisis of credibility faced by the present administration over the Sodomy II allegation against Anwar as well as the handling of other high-profile investigations.

The latest development in the Sodomy II allegation against Anwar –  ten years after his Sodomy I charge which was later overturned by the Federal Court – as well as recent events, such as the disappearance of private investigator Bala Subramaniam after making two conflicting Statutory Declarations within 24 hours with far-reaching implications about the independence and  integrity of the rule of law and system of justice can only heighten and intensify these national and international concerns.

The
police response
 to  Internet revelations of a medical report concerning  the accuser of Anwar’s Sodomy II charge, Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan –  that there was no evidence of sodomy four hours before he lodged the police report of sodomy against Anwar on June 28 – has only confirmed national and international doubts about the  independence, integrity  and professionalism  of the police  handling of the case and strengthened belief in Anwar’s innocence.

In dismissing  the revelation of the medical report as “another attempt to sabotage police investigations” and threatening to go after the whistleblowers, while studiously declining to  comment on the existence and veracity of the Pusrawi Hospital medical report,  Deputy Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Ismail Omar has done a great disservice to police reputation and professionalism – as he had merely added  flame to fan national and international conviction about the  authenticity of the medical  report.

Added the disappearance of the Burmese Muslim doctor who examined Mohd Saiful on June 28 and authored the medical report , Dr. Mohamed Osman Abdul Hamid and his family – in eerily similar and disturbing circumstances reminiscent of the disappearance of private investigator Bala Subramaniam with his family after his two  Statutory Declarations  within 24 hours which totally contradicted each other – Malaysians and the world are left wondering whether Malaysia is going the way of Zimbabwe, Myanmar and Sudan with regard to rhe rule of law, transparency and good governance.

The Cabinet Ministers cannot and must now hide their  heads in the sand like ostriches to pretend these disturbing events do not exist if they are  not to be dismissed, albeit  uncharitably, as nothing but a “Sodomy” Cabinet.

They should also prove former Prime Minister, Tun Dr. Mahathir wrong that they are merely “half-past six” Ministers.

The Cabinet must stop Malaysia’s slide down the slippery slope, and let heads, however high or mightly,  roll if this is the only way to salvage Malaysia’s international image and reputation and return to the company of nations whose rule of law, system of justice and good governance are acknowledged as international exemplars.

Let the Cabinet take the first step to end the nation’s slide down the slippery slope in its meeting tomorrow and move on to put the country back on proper tracks, including “all-systems go” to unite the nation  to face a looming economic crisis with  an ambitious but long-overdue  national reform programme.

If the Cabinet  cannot rise up to the occasion to address the national crisis of confidence which has got very much worse in the past five months since the March 8 “political tsunami”, then it should just resign and go.

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 29 July 2008, 12:25 pm and is filed under
Abdullah Ahmad Badawi
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Hamid, what  are you doing to carry out your basic duty?

Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar – What are you doing to carry out your basic duty as Home Minister to make the public places, streets and homes safe for Malaysians, tourists and investors?

Hamid
 declared yesterday that investigations into Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan’s sodomy allegations against Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim will not be dropped.

Hamid has a lot of time for the sodomy charge against Anwar. But has he got time to restore to Malaysians, tourists and investors their most basic human right to be safe in public places?

Has Hamid read or been informed of the following letter which appeared in today’s Sun and can he declare what he has done about it?  Or has he just got no time for these mundane things as compared to the sodomy allegation against Anwar?

Hamid, waiting for your public response to the following letter in the
Sun
today:

Shaken by experience with gang of youths

ON Saturday (July 19), two of my foreign colleagues (a man and a woman) and I went in to work as there was a project to rush.

After dinner at KLCC, at around 8pm, we walked back to the office at Etiqa Tower, which is opposite the Mandarin Oriental Hotel.

On the way, on the slightly sloping road between the hotel and our office (which has an open air car park adjacent to it), we saw a gang of about 15 youngsters walk towards us from about 50m away.

We felt apprehensive looking at the group – consisting of about 20 or so-year-old male and female youngsters – but still continued on our way to the office. When we got closer to them, we picked up our pace to pass them, but one of them purposely walked into my colleague and then moved away.

We tried to hurry past, but to my horror, I saw another guy walk towards my colleagues from behind holding a metal water pipe and hit my colleague on the arm before walking away. We were in shock and unable to act because there were so many of them.

Then, regardless of how many and how fast the cars on the road, we took the risk and ran across, hoping to get as far away from the group as possible.

Luckily, they walked away in the direction of the hotel. But I saw a Chinese lady become their next victim. They walked close to her and started to disturb her. I saw her scream at them and run away.

Look at what has happened to our society today. There wasn’t a thing we could do about our experience, only feel that it was our bad day. I felt sorry that I was not able to protect my colleagues on what was their first trip to Malaysia.

So I write to warn others walking around Kuala Lumpur to stay alert at all times.

Brad

via email

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 30 July 2008, 5:06 pm and is filed under
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Terengganu Proton/Mercedes imbroglio – public “slap-in-the-face” of Abdullah

I have asked the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to give a cost-benefit report of the directive to use Proton Perdana as the official car for both the national and state governments on the first day of budget meeting of Parliament on August 18.

Abdullah is also asked to detail the problems encountered by all governments, national and state, in complying with the directive  and whether Proton Perdana is a suitable vehicle compared to other makes.

Less than 24 hours after the Prime Minister issued the Cabinet edict last Friday that the Terengganu executive councillors cannot use the Mercedes E200 Kompressors and must use back the Proton Perdana V6 Executives, reserving the new Mercedes to be used only by VVIPs, Abdullah was given a public “slap-in-the-face” by one of the Terengganu Excos who publicly defied the directive in the Prime Minister’s presence.

This was reported by the media, although it was not spelt out so starkly.

This happened at the
Malaysia Floral Fest 2008
opening at Dataran Bandaraya in Johor Baru the very next day, which was attended by the Yang di Pertuan Agong and the Prime Minister.

It was reported that this was the first time that the Malaysian floral fest had an an international flavour with the participation of two foreign teams – the Suzhou Tourism Bureau of China and the Macau Government Tourist Office.

The first float to appear in the parade was from Terengganu, themed “Nature is Terengganu’s Greatest Heritage”, which won the grand Premier Trophy for its marine theme with clown fish, anemones, razor fish and seahorse model.

Representing Terengganu at the floral fest was the state exco for tourism, culture, arts and heritage Datuk Za’abar Mohd Adib, whose gleaming new Mercedes-Benz  TAM 28 stole the show and  was reported in photograph  on the front page of the Sunday Star when it should be in its Kuala Terengganu  garage.

My immediate thought when reading the floral fest report was that there was no need for Terengganu to feature any float to grap the Premier Trophy, as all that was  needed to wow the crowd would be to exhibit the Mercedes E200 Kompressor with its “haram” use.

The Prime Minister could not be unaware that his leadership and authority as Prime Minister was openly challenged at the Malaysia Floral Fest  last Saturday as  his directive that the Terengganu Excos cannot use the new Mercedes was publicly  defied at the Johor Baru capital.

What did he do?

Even now, the directive that the Terengganu Excos cannot use the new Mercedes are observed only in the breach!

Proton Holdings managing director Datuk Syed Zainal Abidin Syed Mohamed Tahir had protested that the Perdana V6 had been maligned, claiming that the nationwide average maintenance cost  of a Perdana V6 was RM2,373 annually compared with RM3,600 for a Mercedes.

Terengganu Mentri Besar  Datuk Ahmad Said had said that  the state spent RM1.071 million since 2004 on the maintenance of its Perdanas.

Zainal Abidin  said Proton’s records showed that Terengganu had been billed only RM78,048.68 by its authorized service centres.  The balance of RM993,620.14 or 93% was spent on 16 Perdana V6 cars serviced by unauthorized centres.

Before this, Ahmad Said had rubbished as “nonsense”  Zainal Abidin’s earlier  claim that  the service cost averaged RM542 for Terengganu’s 35 Proton Perdanas.

The problem of atrociously high maintenance cost of Proton Perdanas is not unique to Terengganu state government but is  of epidemic proportion for all states.

For instance, Zainal Abidin’s  claim that  a Perdana gearbox cost about RM3,000 is contradicted in Selangor, where the Perdana of Selangor State Exco for Local Government, Ronnie Liu was charged RM23,000 to replace the gear box just three weeks ago.

It is reported today that five people, including two workshop managers, have been arrested by the Anti-Corruption Agency in connection with the probe into the high maintenance cost of Proton Perdana V6 Executive cars in Terengganu.

As this is a national problem, is the ACA conducting a nation-wide investigation into the high maintenance costs for all national and state governments?

Let the Prime Minister give a comprehensive report on the Proton Perdana imbroglio in the first day of the budget parliamentary meeting on August 18.

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 30 July 2008, 1:52 pm and is filed under
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Umno-Pas talks – repudiation of transformational message of March 8 “political tsunami”

In the United States,  Senator Barack Obama’s nomination as the Democratic Presidential nominees heralds  a new milestone in American nation-building and race relations  but in Malaysia, the UMNO proposal for Umno-PAS talks marks  a regression in Malaysian nation-building and the Vision 2020 objective of a Bangsa Malaysia.

The latter repudiates  March 8 “political tsunami” where for the first time in half-a-century of nationhood, Malaysians transcended race, religion and political affiliation to vote for change to  give primacy and priority to justice, freedom, solidarity, integrity and progress.

The March 8 “political tsunami” marks a bold and visionary stride forward by Malaysians to rise above their communal selves to reach out to a common national identity.

It is a great tragedy if the transformational message of March 8  to stride forward to a new politics of justice, freedom, solidarity, integrity and progress is nullified by a throwback to the old, narrow and divisive  politics of race,  religion and class.

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 30 July 2008, 4:08 pm and is filed under
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Anwar’s Sodomy II charge – very imminent

What are your impressions when you read the following
AP
report today?

PM rules out emergency rule

Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi today ruled out imposing emergency rule if street protests broke out in the event that opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim was arrested.

“I don’t think we are going down that road; definitely not,” Abdullah told Associated Press in an interview today.

“Why should (protests) get out of hand? That would be very unbecoming of the party that intends to be the government of Malaysia – to take laws into their own hands and demonstrate as they wish.”

There are fears that Anwar could be arrested in the coming days as the police wrapped up their investigation into a former aide’s allegation that he was sodomised by Anwar.

Abdullah said that the 23-year-old ex-aide, Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan, deserved justice as much as any other Malaysian.

“This man pleads for justice,” Abdullah said. “We care about (Anwar) more than we care about this man? That is very odd. He needs justice; that is what he is crying for. We cannot ignore that.”

The conclusions which one can reasonably draw from this
AP
 report include:

1.	That the widespread  speculation of an impending arrest of Anwar Ibrahim on  Sodomy II charge is strongly grounded;

2.	That the Prime Minister has been briefed of police measures in the event of Anwar’s arrest; and

3.	That the Prime  Minister is privy to the decision that will be taken by the Solicitor General on  the police investigation papers on Anwar’s Sodomy II allegation – which the Home Minister, Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar told media today as having been
submitted
 to the Attorney-General’s Chambers.

How does this square with the fundamental constitutional principle that no one,  including the Prime Minister, should be involved in the exercise of the “sole discretionary power” to prosecute or not to prosecute which is vested in the Attorney-General under Article 145 (3) of the Constitution?

Or is this the latest example of the desecration of the doctrine of separation of powers in Malaysia?

My feeling after reading Abdullah’s comments in the
AP
 report is that  Anwar’s arrest to be charged for Sodomy II is most imminent.

This is fortified by the
Bernama
 report on the threat issued by the Deputy Health Minister, Datuk Dr. Abdul Latif Ahmad that Hospital Pusrawi is liable to a fine of up to RM300,000 and its management being jailed  for “negligence” which led to the leakage of information concerning the ‘medical report’ on Mohd Saiful Bukhari who had earlier claimed that he was sodomised by Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

Abdul Latif Ahmad said the penalties were provided for under the Private Healthcare Facilities and Services Act 1998.

Furthermore, disciplinary action could also be taken by the Malaysian Medical Council (MMC) against the doctor involved in the incident because issuing the report to the public went against the professional ethics of a medical practitioner, he said.

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 31 July 2008, 10:39 pm and is filed under
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At 84, the fire still burns!

By
Ahmad Mustapha

Singapore’s Minister Mentor, Lee Kuan Yew, who was Singapore’s founding father, has always been very direct in his comments. This was the man who outsmarted the communists in Singapore (with the innocent help of Malaya then and the willing help of the British) and who later outwitted the British and outpaced Malaysia in all spheres.

Singapore practices corrupt-free meritocracy and Malaysia affirmative action. The former attracted all the best brains and the latter chased out all the brains. The Singapore cabinet consists of dedicated and intelligent technocrats whereas Malaysia has one the most unwieldy cabinets. Not only that, brain wise it was below par not even good for the kampong.

With that kind of composition, one that is very brainy, naturally Singapore , with no natural resources could outstrip Malaysia in every aspect of development. Malaysia, on the other hand, was too much preoccupied with its Malayness and the illusory ‘Ketuanan Melayu’ and was also more interested in useless mega iconic development rather than real social and economic development.

Whenever Kuan Yew utters anything that deemed to be a slight on Malaysia , voices were raised admonishing him. Malaysia would never dare to face reality. That Singapore had shown that it could survive was a slap on those who believed that Singapore would fold up once it left Malaysia . Therefore it was natural that these doomsayers would try to rationalise their utterances to be in their favour to combat on whatever Kuan Yew commented. Its political jealousy.

Singapore achieved its development status without any fanfare. But here in Malaysia , a development that was deceptive was proclaimed as having achieved development status. It was trumpeted as an achievement that befits first world status. This was self delusion. Malaysians are led to believe into a make believe world, a dream world. The leaders who themselves tend to believe in their own fabricated world did not realise the people were not taken in by this kind of illusion.

Lee Kuan Yew believed in calling a spade a spade. I was there in Singapore when the People’s Action Party won the elections in 1959. He was forthright in his briefing to party members as to what was expected of them and what Singapore would face in the future. Ideologically, I did not agree with him. We in the University of Malaya Socialist Club had a different interpretation of socialist reconstruction. But he was a pragmatist and wanted to bring development and welfare to the Singaporeans. Well! He succeeded.

Malaysia was so much embroiled in racial politics and due to the fear of losing political power, all actions taken by the main party in power was never targeted towards bringing wealth to all. Wealth was distributed to the chosen few only. They were the cronies and the backers of the party leadership to perpetuate their own selfish ends.

Seeing the efficiency and the progress achieved by Singapore caused the Malaysian leadership to suffer from an inferiority complex. That Malaysia should suffer from this complex was of its own making.

In a recent interview, Kuan Yew said that Malaysia could have done better if only it treated its minority Chinese and Indian population fairly. Instead they were completely marginalised and many of the best brains left the country in drove. He added that Singapore was a standing indictment to what Malaysia could have done differently. He just hit the nail right there on the head.

Malaysia recently celebrated its 50th year of independence with a bagful of uncertainties. The racial divide has become more acute. The number of Malay graduates unemployed is on the increase. And this aspect can be very explosive. But sad to see that no positive actions have been taken to address these social ills.

Various excuses were given by Malaysian leaders why Singapore had far outstripped Malaysia in all aspects of social and economic advancement. Singapore was small, they rationalised and therefore easy to manage. Singapore was not a state but merely an island.

There was one other aspect that Malaysia practises and that is to politicise all aspects of life. All government organs and machinery were ‘UMNO-ised’. This was to ensure that the party will remain in power. Thus there was this misconception by the instruments of government as to what national interest is and what UMNO vested interest is.

UMNO vested interest only benefited a few and not the whole nation. But due to the UMNO-isation of the various instruments of government, the country under the present administration had equated UMNO vested interest as being that of national interest. Thus development became an avenue of making money and not for the benefit of the people. The fight against corruption took a back seat. Transparency was put on hold. And the instruments of government took it to be of national interest to cater to the vested interest of UMNO. Enforcement of various enactments and laws was selective. Thus a ‘palace’ in Kelang, APs cronies and close-one-eye umno MPs could exist without proper procedure. Corruption infested all govt departments, the worse is the police and lately even in the judiciary.

Singapore did not politicise its instruments of government. If ever policisation took place, it is guided by national interest. To be efficient and to be the best in the region was of paramount importance. Thus all the elements like corruption, lackadaisical attitude towards work and other black elements, which would retard such an aim, were eliminated. Singapore naturally had placed the right priority in it’s pursuit to achieve what is best for its people. This is the major difference between these two independent countries.

Malaysia in its various attempts to cover up its failures embarked on several diversions. It wanted its citizens to be proud that the country had the tallest twin-tower in the world, although the structure was designed and built by foreigners. Its now a white-elephant wasting away. It achieved in sending a man into space at an exorbitant price. What for purpose? These are what the Malays of old would say “menang sorak” (hollow victories).

It should be realised that administering a country can be likened to managing a corporate entity. If the management is efficient and dedicated and know what they are doing, the company will prosper. The reverse will be if the management is poor and bad. The company will go bust.

There are five countries around this region. There is Malaysia , and then Indonesia . To the east there is the Philippines and then there is that small enclave called the Sultanate of Brunei . All these four countries have abundance of natural resources but none can lay claim to have used all these resources to benefit the people. Poverty was rampant and independence had not brought in any significant benefits to the people.

But tiny Singapore without any resources at all managed to bring development to its citizens. It had one of the best public MRT transport systems and airlines in the world and it is a very clean city state. Their universities, health care, ports are among the best in the world.

It is impossible to compare what Singapore has achieved to what all these four countries had so far achieved. It was actually poor management and corruption, and nothing more. Everything is done for the vested interest of the few.

Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines and the Sultanate of Brunei need good management teams. They would not be able to do this on their own steam. I would advise that they call on Kuan Yew to show them what good governance is. Why look East to Japan when it is just next door across the causeway.

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 31 July 2008, 12:43 pm and is filed under
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Battle Royale – Anwar to contest in Permatang Pauh

The battle royale is on.

Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim will contest in Permatang Pauh in a by-election to return to Parliament after a decade’s absence, following the resignation of  Datuk Seri Dr. Wan  Azizah Wan  Ismail as MP for the seat.

This has just been announced by Anwar in a media conference.

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 31 July 2008, 3:21 pm and is filed under
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Why not BN-PR talks rather than Umno-PAS talks?

Who would have thought that the RM100 million spent last year  to celebrate the 50th Merdeka anniversary celebrations proved to be so short-lived and ephemeral, making so little impact on the Malaysian psyche and  nation-building process to unite  all citizens with the common sentiment and vision that they are Malaysians first and Malays, Chinese, Indians, Kadazans, Ibans and Orang Asli second!

This is why one of the fundamental  questions confronting Malaysians today is: –

Why not Barisan Nasional-Pakatan Rakyat talks instead of Umno-Pas talks if the  top national priority is to save Malaysia from being a “failed state” and  establish that  on the eve of the 51st Merdeka anniversary, we are Malaysians first and Malays, Chinese, Indians, Kadazans, Ibans, Orang Asli second and not vice versa?

This is particularly pertinent as the great challenges of Malaysian nation-building today concerning justice, freedom, solidarity, integrity and progress can only be addressed in an effective and meaningful manner through BN-PR talks and not through Umno-Pas talks.

The proposal by the PAS spiritual leader Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat that the implementation of Islamic hudud and qisas laws, among other things, be the basis of Umno-PAS co-operation and even merger, has raised serious concerns.

It is not only against the well-known position of the DAP, running counter to the secular character of the founding national  “social contract” and Merdeka Constitution publicly upheld by the first three Prime Ministers, but also contrary to the fundamental commitment of Pakatan Rakyat to uphold the rights and interests of all Malaysians, regardless of race and religion, as enshrined in the Constitution.

The foremost challenges facing Malaysia today is not one of  race or religion but whether we can harness and mobilize the talents, resources and energies of all Malaysians as one dynamic, vigorous and progressive entity  to stop the nation from becoming a failed state like  Zimbabwe and Myanmar when half a century ago, we were the second most developed nation in Asia after Japan.

[ML has just emailed an
article
 by former Bernama general manager,  Ahmad Mustapha written last year on Lee Kuan Yew’s 84th birthday on September 16, 2007 and   why Malaysia has been left behind by Singapore in the past four decades. If Mustapha’s warnings are not heeded, then there will be no way to check Malaysia’s continued decline down the league of nations. Mustapha’s article should be serious food for thought by all Malaysians.]

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 31 July 2008, 12:43 pm and is filed under
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Anwar’s Sodomy II – has it become Abdullah’s personal crusade?

I am flabbergasted.

The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi seems very determined to provide examples to illustrate the continuing crisis of confidence in his administration.

Yesterday, in an interview with
Associated Press
, Abdullah went public on the Sodomy II allegations against Anwar Ibrahim in a manner which could only mean that he was in the thick of  the decision-making process as to whether Anwar Ibrahim, the Parti Keadilan Rakyat adviser would be hauled to court for a second sodomy charge in a decade, when the Prime Minister has no business to be involved in the exercise of the discretionary power by the Attorney-General on matters of prosecution or otherwise.

How else could one interpret the following remarks by Abdullah yesterday:

“This man pleads for justice.  We care about (Anwar) more than we care about this man? That is very odd. He needs justice; that is what he is crying for. We cannot ignore that.”

I am verily surprised that Abdullah had today repeated this obsession of “justice for Saiful”  when he returned to the same subject today.

As reported by
Bernama
, Abdullah told reporters at his office in Putrajaya:

“The complainant is (Mohd) Saiful (Bukhari Azlan). He wants to seek justice in a court of law. We cannot ignore him (Saiful), as though he is unimportant. Everyone is important. The process of law is important. Everyone has the right to seek justice.”

The Prime Minister had earlier said Anwar  is free to contest in the by-election to be held for the Permatang Pauh parliamentary constituency but, at the same time, the country’s laws pertaining to the sodomy allegation against him will take their course if there is a case.

From  his remarks on Anwar’s Sodomy II allegation yesterday and today, Abdullah is providing ammunition for the belief that it has become his personal crusade to get Anwar indicted for a second sodomy charge.

Why is Abdullah so determined and engrossed  to see Anwar charged in court for Sodomy II when he should be more concerned about the  plummeting public confidence in key institutions  like the police, judiciary and Attorney-General five months after March 8 “political tsunami”?

Abdullah should schedule a special Cabinet session on the latest
opinion poll
by the independent Merdeka Centre for Opinion Research which found:

•	55 percent of 1,030 Malaysians interviewed in Peninsular Malaysia early this month do not believe the sodomy allegations leveled against Anwar.  Only 11 percent believed in the allegations, while 26 percent said they did not know if the claims were true. Eight percent gave no response.

•	two-thirds, or 66 percent, of the respondents believed that the accusations against Anwar Ibrahim were politically motivated.

Even more serious are the findings on on plummeting public confidence on the police, judiciary and the Attorney-General despite the pledge by the Prime Minister after the March 8 “political tsunami” that he had finally heard the voices of the people and that he would move boldly to carry out reforms particularly police and judicial reforms.

Although the survey concerns public confidence towards the judiciary, the Attorney-General’s Chambers and the police as institutions involved in handling the Sodomy II allegation against Anwar, it reflects the generally dismal public confidence in these three institutions.

The survey found not more than 33 percent of all the respondents in the survey expressed confidence or were “somewhat confident” that these institutions would carry out their roles in handling Anwar’s case in a fair and independent manner.

                This entry was posted on Friday, 1 August 2008, 6:27 pm and is filed under
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Pump prices of oil should be reduced to old price now

by
Dr. Chen Man Hin

AS AN OIL PRODUCER, MALAYSIA MUST USE ITS OIL INCOME TO BOOST THE ECONOMY AND RELIEVE THE SUFFERING OF THE PEOPLE.  THE CABINET MUST BRING DOWN PUMP PRICES IMMEDIATELY.

The cabinet should not dither any more on the critical issue of bringing down pump prices. It must NOW act to bring down the price of pump oil immediately.

The economy has slowed down considerably since the price of pump oil was increased by 42% from RM 1.98 to RM2.70 per litre. All sectors of the economy have been affected, The manufacturing industries, transportation, tourism, hotels, restaurants,  shops and even markets have been affected bady because of the high increase of oil by government.

The construction industry is badly hit because of the rapid and huge price increases for steel, concrete and other building materials. Many contractors have surrended back their contracts to govenment and developers.

Housing developers report a drop in sales of 30% to 50%. House buyers are worried that developers may not be able to complete their houses.

Consumers are also suffering because prices of food have gone up.

The general population is being hit by a double whammy of high prices and reduced income, arising from the sudden hike of oil prices. Inflation has shot up to 8%, and this has reduced the purchasing power of a family’s income

The cabinet cannot delay any longer. The price of fuel and pump oil must come down to the former levels, immediately.

If the economy continue to slow with  inflation of 8%, serious damage to the economy will occur and there will be a negative effect on the 9th Malaysia Plan with disastrous long term implications.

The country can afford to reduce pump prices. Malaysia is a net exporter of oil. the income from Petronas should be used to boost the economy and make life easier for the people.

Further more, international oil pundits say that present oil prices are ‘abnormal’ and are anticipating oil price to drop to US$78 per barrel.

The cabinet must act now and act fast.  It has already made a serious mistake by raising pump price by 42% causing severe problems of inflation, slower economy and untold misery for the people.  ACT NOW.

                This entry was posted on Friday, 1 August 2008, 3:42 pm and is filed under
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Drop Anwar’s Sodomy II persecution – 1st step to end Abdullah’s freefall of public confidence in PM

“Abdullah: We do not fear Anwar – ‘Govt won’t stop him from contesting but due process of law cannot be ignored’”
 – this
Star
 headline today is symptomatic of what is wrong with the Abdullah administration, that it is terribly obsessed and mortally worried about the Anwar factor in Malaysian politics.

Otherwise, why should Abdullah be dwelling on the subject of Anwar in the past two consecutive days, as if he has nothing more important to fret about – with the  grave political,  economic and nation-building  crisis faced by 26 million Malaysians as well as  his possible  legacy to go down in history as the worst Prime Minister of  Malaysia despite his glorious electoral mandate in 2004.

Instead of being haunted by the Anwar factor, Abdullah and his Cabinet should focus on the latest opinion poll of the independent
Merdeka Centre
for Opinion Research, conducted between July 4-16  from 1,030 Malaysians, which found among others the following:

1.	For the first time, Abdullah’s popularity has plunged from a record high of 91 per cent in November 2004 to 61 per cent in January 2008 (just before the March 8 general election), down to 53 per cent in April 2008.  With the unchecked free-fall in the past three months, Abdullah’s popularity rating has crashed below 50% in the latest survey to 42%.

2.	The popular  “satisfaction” quotient with the Barisan Nasional federal government  has also fallen below 50%, with 54 per cent either “somewhat dissatisfied” or “very dissatisfied” with the Barisan Nasional government, while 44 per cent said they were either “very satisfied” or “somewhat satisfied”.

3.	Only half of the respondents agree that the leaders in the Barisan Nasional government understand what the ordinary people are going through – with 16% for “strongly agree” and 34 per cent for “somewhat agree” while  47% polled negative (18% for “strongly  disagree” and 29% for “somewhat disagree”); and 3% for “Don’t know”.

4.	Asked on satisfaction with Umno “as a political party in reflecting the aspirations and needs of the people of Malaysia”, there was a resounding “No” from 58% of the respondents (25% “Very dissatisfied” and 33% “Somewhat dissatisfied”), with positive response only from 36% (10% “Very satisfied” and 26% “Somewhat satisfied”).  There was 5% “Don’t know” and 1% “No response”.

5.	On whether Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak would make a good prime minister, there was another resounding “No”,  with 47% negative responses (21% “Strongly disagree” and “26% somewhat disagree”) as against 34% positive response (8% “Strong agree” and 26% “somewhat agree”).  There were 17% responses for “Don’t know” and 2% for “No response.”

6.	In November 2006, 72% expressed satisfaction “with the way thing are going in the country at present”.  This has plunged to 63% in December 2007, 66% just before the March 8 general election, 44% in May and a dismal 28% in July 2008.

7.	In October 2006, 59% viewed the economy favourably. This has plunged to 24% in July 2008.  In Oct. 2006, 49% viewed favourably  the “current economic conditions compared to three years ago”. This has plunged to 19% in July 2008.  In Oct. 2006, 57% favourably “expected the economy to be one year from now”. This has plunged to 20% in July 2008.

8.	55 percent of the respondents  do not believe the sodomy allegations leveled against Anwar. Only 11 percent believed in the allegations, while 26 percent said they did not know if the claims were true. Eight percent gave no response.

9.	Two-thirds, or 66 percent, of the respondents believed that the accusations against Anwar Ibrahim were politically motivated.

10.	The majority of the respondents polled showed that they have no confidence that  the judiciary, the Attorney-General’s Chambers and the police would carry out their roles in handling Anwar’s Sodomy II case in a fair and independent manner –  i.e. 50% against the judiciary, 53% against the Attorney-General and 55% against the Police.

We are celebrating the 51st Merdeka anniversary in less than a month on August 31 with the country facing the worst multiple crisis of confidence in the nation’s history.

I call on Abdullah to take the bold and courageous step to drop Anwar’s Sodomy II persecution as the first step to end  the free-fall in public confidence in him  as Prime Minister and in the ability, vision and leadership of the Barisan Nasional Cabinet and government to tide the country through the current political, economic and nation-building crisis.

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 2 August 2008, 2:01 pm and is filed under
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2 notorious cases challenge Malaysia’s modesty

International Herald Tribune

By
Thomas Fuller

Friday, August 1, 2008

KUALA LUMPUR: Government censors in this majority Muslim nation uphold an ethos of modesty by snipping sex scenes from films and ordering entertainers to avoid outfits that reveal too much on Malaysian stages – bare belly buttons and figure-hugging outfits are off limits.

But these days Malaysians looking to avoid R-rated content might be advised to read past news reports about their own leaders. Top politicians are embroiled in two scandals involving accusations of sodomy and the gruesome murder of a Mongolian mistress.

Reports on the finer points of a rectal examination and revelations about the sexual preferences of the dead mistress make other sex scandals that once shocked people here – such as Monica Lewinsky and her blue dress – seem almost Victorian.

This is not the first time that sex and politics have publicly collided in Malaysia. The trial of Anwar Ibrahim, a former deputy prime minister, for sodomy in the 1990s featured, among other highlights, a blood-stained mattress being hauled into the courtroom.

This time, wider use of the Internet has helped disseminate documents, facts and rumors that would otherwise have been filtered out of mainstream news media tightly controlled by the government.

The two scandals encompass much more than just sex. They are part of a broader clash between two men vying for power: Anwar is facing new allegations of sodomy at a time when he is vowing to unseat the governing party, while the other scandal involves Anwar’s principal political rival, Najib Razak, the deputy prime minister and anointed heir to Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

What is worrying for many Malaysians is that the gloves appear to have come off in the high-stakes fight between Anwar and Najib.

Testimony in the murder trial revealed that immigration records of the Mongolian woman and her friend had been deleted.

Malaysia’s political opposition says the case highlights the impunity of the police and high officials in government as well as a lack of independence in the judiciary. A police officer took the stand and said she was tortured by police investigators – her own colleagues.

Witnesses in both cases have dropped from sight, including a private investigator, Balasubramaniam Perumal, who alleged in a sworn statement issued shortly before disappearing that the dead Mongolian woman was Najib’s mistress.

The statement by Balasubramaniam, which has been widely circulated online, contradicted Najib’s repeated assertions that he never met the Mongolian woman, Altantuya Shaariibuu.

Balasubramaniam spent two months writing and revising a 16-page declaration about the case, based on conversations he had with the murdered woman and Abdul Razak Baginda, an aide to Najib. Balasubramaniam retracted the allegations in a hastily convened press conference and then disappeared.

“It’s obvious what has happened here. You don’t need to be a rocket scientist,” said Americk Sidhu, the private investigator’s lawyer. “Somebody needed him to shut up.”

Balasubramaniam’s wife and three children are also missing. The family’s two Rottweilers were left behind in their cages.

“A lot of very dark things are happening now,” said Raja Petra Kamarudin, one of the most influential and prolific Malaysian bloggers. Raja Petra was formerly a political associate of Anwar’s wife, Azizah Ismail, in her National Justice Party.

Although a number of gruesome facts in the Mongolian case have emerged in court over the past year – Altantuya, for example, was shot and her body obliterated with explosives in the jungle outside Kuala Lumpur – Raja Petra asserts that only a fraction of what happened is being admitted into court.

Citing sources in military intelligence, he issued a sworn declaration in June alleging that Najib’s wife, Rosmah Mansor, was present at Altantuya’s killing. Government prosecutors say Altantuya was killed by two commandos who also served as bodyguards to Malaysia’s top leaders.

“I don’t think Malaysia can afford to have a prime minister who has a huge question mark hanging over his head: Is he, or not, involved in the murder of this girl?” Raja Petra said in an interview.

Najib has called the allegation in the declaration “total lies, fabrication and total garbage” and a “desperate and pathetic attempt to discredit and taint my political image.”

The government charged Raja Petra with criminal libel, a law that lawyers say has not been used in recent memory in Malaysia and which, unlike civil defamation, can carry a two-year prison term. Separately, Raja Petra has been charged with sedition and his house raided several times.

Raja Petra was also responsible for leaking a medical report last week relating to the sodomy case. Anwar’s accuser, Mohamed Saiful Bukhari Azlan, a 23-year-old former campaign volunteer, went to a hospital in Kuala Lumpur hours before lodging a police report charging that Anwar had sodomized him. But the medical report, which also circulated widely on the Internet, says he complained of a piece of plastic being inserted into his anus. The doctor who wrote the report, Mohamed Osman, said he found “no active bleeding, no pus, tear or scar.”

Since then, Osman also has disappeared, although the hospital says he will be back Monday.

Anwar, who on Thursday announced that he would run for Parliament in his quest to unseat the government and become prime minister, said in an interview that he expected to be arrested soon. He has refused to give a DNA sample because he believes it will be used against him. “There’s nothing stopping them from fabricating evidence again,” Anwar said.

Although Malaysians enthusiastically share the latest developments in both cases, some have grown tired of the graphic details.

“A good word is disgust – whether it’s sodomy or blowing up the Mongolian lady,” said the Reverend Wong Kim Kong, executive adviser of the National Evangelical Christian Fellowship, an umbrella organization of protestant churches. A narrow majority of Malaysians are Muslim but the country has sizeable Christian, Hindu, Buddhist and Sikh minorities.

Wong said the constant barrage of allegations made by bloggers, paired with the government’s steady denials, have left Malaysians pining for clarity.

“People just cannot trust the word of any of these people,” Wong said. “They cannot distinguish who is telling the truth.”

The scandals come at a time of great political uncertainty in Malaysia. The governing party of Abdullah and Najib and the ethnic-based system of politics that it represents is in disarray. There is simmering resentment between the majority Malays and the minority Chinese and Indians, and corruption within government is rampant, despite promises by Abdullah to clean up the system.

Anwar has vowed to remake the country’s politics and revoke the authoritarian laws that, among other things, ban students from protesting, keep the media controlled and allow the government to lock up dissidents without trial. But Anwar remains a polarizing figure who is not trusted by many in the elite.

“I think there will at some point be a crisis of legitimacy,” said Ibrahim Suffian, the head of the Merdeka Center, a polling agency. “‘The leaders seem to feel that they can get away with a lot of things so long as the masses are satisfied with the economic opportunities given to them.

“But the economy is so bad that people are losing faith. There is a feeling that maybe it’s time for major changes.”

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 3 August 2008, 7:12 am and is filed under
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Permatang Pauh by-election – turn it into a mini political tsunami

The voters of Permatang Pauh have a historic opportunity to create a mini-political tsunami in the impending by-election  with far-reaching impact to the national political landscape far exceeding the fate of an individual or a constituency.

The stakes involved in the Permatang Pauh by-election is not just about an individual and a constituency but the future of the Malaysian people and nation.

The issue in the Permatang Pauh by-election is not whether Pakatan Rakyat leader and  Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) adviser Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim can win but whether he can achieve a thumping and landslide victory with a majority bigger than the 13,388-vote majority won by PKR President Datuk Seri Dr. Wan Azizah Wan Ismail in the March 8, 2008 general election.

If Anwar can win the Permatang Pauh by-election with an even greater majority won by Azizah five months ago, despite an even more massive onslaught by the whole weight of the Barisan Nasional juggernaut, it would have a special import in shaping the development of the Malaysian political landscape.

If the voters of Permatang Pauh can speak up on behalf of the people of Malaysia to express their disgust  at the worsening political, economic and nation-building crisis in the past five months and   send a clear and unmistakable message to the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi on the continuing loss of national confidence at  his failure to learn the lessons of the March 8 “political tsunami’, then the Permatang Pauh by-election will assume a  far-reaching national importance and not be about an individual or a constituency.

DAP is fully committed to ensure that the Permatang Pauh by-election can create a mini-political tsunami with far-reaching implications  to the healthy democratic development of Malaysia.

I call  on all Malaysian organisations and individuals to unite behind the banner of Pakatan Rakyat to ensure that Anwar not only wins the by-election but with an even greater majority of 13,388 votes won by Azizah on March 8 to make the Permatang Pauh by-election the most historic and important by-election in Malaysian history.

(Speech at the conference of Perak DAP State leaders, MPs, State Excos, State Assembly members and local councillors in Lumut on Sunday, 3rd August 2008 at 9 am)

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 3 August 2008, 5:40 pm and is filed under
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Malicious Mindset and Perverted Priorities

BY:

M. Bakri Musa

The continuing furor over a college dropout’s allegation that he had been sodomized reveals the malicious mindset and perverted priorities of the Abdullah Administration.

It is also a gross perversion of justice.  Those who would have Anwar swear by the Quran and voluntarily donate his DNA to the police, whose reputation is only slightly less soiled than the criminals they apprehend, have it backwards.  It is the norm of the civilized world that one is innocent till found guilty; it is for the state to prove its case beyond any reasonable doubt.

I can excuse law-illiterate Abdullah for not appreciating such nuances, but for his law-trained ministers like Rais Yatim and Syed Hamid not to know that is reprehensible.  They are breaching their profession’s ethics and ideals.

Besides, since when has our Quran been debased to a lie detector?  If only the truth could thus be readily sought, we would not need expensive forensic investigations!  Such naiveté!

What with the economic challenges, endemic corruption, and rampant crime in the country, our leaders’ voyeuristic obsession on this alleged male-on-male khalwat represents gross misuse of scarce state resources, a flagrant perversion of priorities.

Perverted Priorities

In this 21st Century, a charge of sodomy sounds so, well, medieval!  To think that in Malaysia today that ‘crime’ carries a 20-year prison term!  Perhaps some diligent law student could tell us the last time there was a sodomy trial in Malaysia.  I am not counting the 1998 case against Anwar Ibrahim that was subsequently overturned on appeal.

That was nothing more than a crude political maneuver to smear and silence the former Deputy Prime Minister.  The glaringly shoddy forensic investigation and amateurish prosecution did not in the least embarrass the authorities.

Nonetheless, in the process Anwar suffered that infamous black eye, the result of being senselessly beaten while in custody by no less than the Chief of Police.  The country however suffered an even more damaging black eye, figuratively speaking, from that sorry episode.

Many countries have repealed their sodomy laws making it no longer a crime.  Even prudish Singapore reduced the penalty to a maximum of only two years, a far cry from Malaysia’s 20!

Such an enlightened attitude does not mean that society treats lightly or refuses to acknowledge male-on-male sexual assaults.  Many jurisdictions have removed the gender specificity to the crime of rape, meaning it can be perpetrated by man on man.  It would not surprise me that, like everything else, the Malaysian penal code has yet to be updated to recognize this new reality.

Unlike rape, which requires the legal determination of lack of consent, sodomy does not have that statutory burden.  Enough that sperms (or any tissue) other than that of Saiful’s were found in his anus, a fact that could be established through forensic examination.  That overrides the “he says, she says” (or in this case, ‘he’) argument.  The authorities’ long delay following completion of the forensic examination signals something sinister.

In the context of modern criminal law, what the young man is alleging is that he had been raped.  Of course in conservative Muslim Malaysia, a rape charge does not quite have the same devastating political impact as that of sodomy.  Indeed, in UMNO’s upcoming party elections one of the candidates for Vice-President was once accused of raping an underage girl.

This sodomy investigation is less the seeking of justice for a ‘soiled’ pretty boy, as Abdullah would like us to believe, more an orchestrated political exercise in character assassination.  The recent public opinion polls confirm this.

Meanwhile there are two statutory declarations linking Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak and his wife Rosmah to the brutal murder of a Mongolian model, a translator in the scandalous multibillion dollar submarine deal with France.  By whatever measure, the viciousness of the crime or the personalities implicated, these other two allegations are considerably more serious.  You would not know that from the reactions (or lack thereof) of the officials.

This sodomy allegation has been commented upon by ministers, senior officials, and Members of Parliament.  Don’t they have substantive matters to worry about?  Even science-illiterate Abdullah has suddenly become an expert on DNA and its use in forensic investigations!

Now we have evidence that another physician had also examined the young man and found no external indications of bodily injury.  This fact was known to the police but it chose to ignore it, until the report was exposed by Raja Petra in his Malaysia-Today.

Although that first physician’s assessment was not a formal forensic examination, nonetheless its negative clinical findings cannot be dismissed.  Discrepancy between it and the subsequent official forensic examination must be explained.  It throws reasonable doubt to the charge.

The story gets even more bizarre.  The victim had a special “visit” with Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak right after the alleged incident.  Najib apparently took pity to this stranger.  Such paternal concerns!  Even more inexplicable is why Najib or his subordinates would allow access of this nondescript political climber.

Serious Problems Neglected

There is no shortage of critical problems facing the country.  Citizens’ concerns are far from these sexual shenanigans, real or alleged, lurid or otherwise.  They are too busy eking out their daily living.  Our leaders’ preoccupation with these silly things merely confirms our deepest suspicions of incompetence and omission at the highest levels.

We suffer daily through the rot of our institutions, as when we visit the land office to pay our assessments or see the dilapidation and neglect that is our children’s school.  On the roads we are harassed by those menacing Mat Rempits and have to contend with those boys in blue demanding their share of the “road toll.”

Where are our leaders?  Asleep at the wheel, and with Abdullah, literally so!  With the upcoming UMNO elections in December, they are even more distracted.

Tun Mahathir, hitherto a trenchant critic of Abdullah, unhesitatingly supports him in this latest action, declaring that it is unlikely for Abdullah to be stupid enough to repeat his (Mahathir’s) mistake of a decade ago.  Mahathir deludes himself if he believes that Abdullah has now suddenly become smart or has his priorities right.  Mahathir is also mistaken if he thinks that Anwar is as stupid as Abdullah to repeat or be caught with the same mistake.

Contrary to Mahathir’s new-found assessment, Abdullah is as inept and incompetent now as he was before Saiful’s statutory declaration.  Abdullah will remain so until we get rid of him.  Mahathir was wrong on Abdullah before (as he now readily admits); Mahathir is wrong on Abdullah now.

When Mahathir asserted that we must get rid of Abdullah for the good of the party and country, his message resonated with the masses.  In supporting Abdullah’s current foolish action, Mahathir not only risks diluting his central message but also jeopardizes his last chance at remedying his earlier grievous error in anointing Abdullah.

With Abdullah asleep at the wheel, continue to expect the worse.  As for this sodomy charge, look ahead to the mainstream media to be filled with silly utterances of our politicians and pundits, as well as prurient details of this slimy case.  I for one do not look forward to the graphic description of the private anatomy of this pretty boy who started the ball (pardon me, his balls) rolling.

                This entry was posted on Monday, 4 August 2008, 2:21 pm and is filed under
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