Budget 2011 : Hishammuddin should answer to serious allegations in Mat Zain’s open letter

2011 Budget not a child of New Economic Model but bears all the marks of old discredited Mahathirish policies (Part 5 of 5)

Ex-top cop Mat Zain’s Open Letter is testimony that criminal justice system had further deteriorated after 2005 Dzaiddin Police Royal Commission report

Recently, both the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak and Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein had made great play about the successful NKRA on crime reduction, claiming that there have been a drastic drop in the crime rate particularly in street crime with improvement of the crime index since January this year.

However, up and down the country, ordinary Malaysians do not feel this dividend of fall of crime index in their daily lives as they do not feel comparatively safer in the streets, public places or privacy of their homes as compared to previous years.

In fact, the continued mushrooming of gated and guarded communities in the country is most eloquent proof of the failure of the police force in the country to discharge its most basic duty, to ensure that Malaysians, visitors, tourists and investors enjoy the two fundamental rights to be free from crime and the fear of crime.

In its 2005 Report, the Dzaiddin Royal Police Commission made 125 recommendations to create an efficient, incorruptible, professional world-class police service focused on three core functions – to keep crime low, to eradicate corruption and to uphold human rights.

Five years have passed. Have we progressed or regressed in the overall objective of the Dzaiddin Royal Police Commission Report to create an efficient, incorruptible, professional world-class police service capable of performing the three core functions to keep crime low, eradicate corruption and uphold human rights?

In my view, the police report card based on the Dzaiddin Royal Police Commission Report is in red ink as there is regression instead of progress in all the three police core functions to keep crime low, eradicate corruption and uphold human rights.

But this is not only the view of Malaysians outside the police force but also that of independent, dispassionate and objective former officers of the police force.

In this regard, I refer to the Open Letter by a former top cop, former Kuala Lumpur CID chief Mat Zain Ismail, dated 8th October 2010 which is powerful testimony that the criminal justice system had worsened after the 2005 Dzaiddin Police Royal Commission Report.

Mat Zain was the police officer who headed the initial investigation into the 1998 case of Anwar Ibrahim’s “black eye” assault while in police custody in Bukit Aman and recommended that the then Inspector-General of Police, Tan Sri Rahim Noor be prosecuted for criminal assault against Anwar, but his recommendation was ignored until a Royal Commission of Inquiry was subsequently set up resulting Rahim being found guilty and sentenced to two months’ jail.

Mat Zain recounted in his Open Letter when referring to the investigation into Anwar “black-eye” assault case in 1998, that he had to decide at the time whether to salvage the honour of PDRM or that of Rahim Noor and he decided with sadness to propose that Rahim Noor, whom he had the highest respect as a leader, a colleague and family friend, be prosecuted under Section 323 of the Penal Code.

Mat Zain wrote the Open Letter to Datin Kalsom Taib, wife and biographer of Datuk Shafee Yahaya, former head of the Anti-Corruption Agency, in response to questions asked in her book about police investigations into allegations against former Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad for abuse of power in June 1998 in ordering a halt to corruption investigations against Ali Abul Hassan Sulaiman, head of Economic Planning Unit. Mat Zain was the officer in charge of investigations into the allegations.

Mat Zain was also the officer responsible for the investigations into the four police reports lodged by Anwar from 9th July 1999 to 20th August 1999 when in Sungai Buloh prison on abuses of power and obstruction of the process of justice directed against Mahathir, the then Attorney-General the late Tan Sri Mohtar Abdullah, current Attorney-General Tan Sri Gani Patail as well as reports of corruption and abuses of power against Tun Daim Zainuddin, Tan Sri Rafidah Aziz, Tan Sri Abdul Rahim Thamby Cik and the late Tan Sri Eric Chia.

Mat Zain revealed in his Open Letter that he had written in May this year to Tan Sri Ismail Omar, then Deputy IGP and to the Home Minister, Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein, for a review of the investigations into the false evidence produced against Anwar in the “black eye” assault case of 1998 “to protect the credibility, impartiality and image of the of PDRM which had been seriously affected since 2006”.

Mat Zain made the very serious allegation that former IGP Musa Hassan and Attorney-General Gani Patail had allowed fabricated evidence in the Anwar Ibrahim “black eye” assault case and must be held responsible for the current mess of the criminal justice system.

Mat Zain asked in the Open Letter:

“
Apa sudah jadi dengan Sistem Keadilan Jenayah kita?….Siapa yang sepatutnya dipersalahkan? Siapa yang menyebabkan Sistem Keadilan Jenayah kita menjadi kucar kacir sehinggakan sesiapa juga boleh mempermain-mainkannya tanpa takut kepada sebarang tindakan dan hukuman undang-undang? Saya tidak teragak-agak untuk menyatakan bahawa keadaan ini berpunca daripada ‘precedent’ yang dibuat oleh Tan Sri Gani Patail dan Tan Sri Musa Hassan sendiri.
”

Gani Patail, Musa Hassan or the Home Minister Hishammuddin and IGP Ismail cannot keep mum on this most incriminating and devastating Open Letter by a former top cop and I call on the Home Minister to give a full and satisfactory accounting on this matter to Parliament.

[
Speech (part 5) in Parliament on the 2011 Budget on Wednesday, 27th October 2010
]

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 28 October 2010, 4:05 pm and is filed under
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Budget 2011 : Malaysia towards a failed state and bankrupt nation 2019

2011 Budget not a child of New Economic Model but bears all the marks of old discredited Mahathirish policies (Part 1 of 5)

On Monday, the Prime Minister Datuk Seri  Najib Razak launched the Economic Transformation Programme (ETP).

It was also the start of a week which saw the Government Transformation Programme (GTP) suffering a triple blow.

The first blow was Monday’s tabling in Parliament of the 2009 Auditor-General’s Reports which continues to be annual tale of horrors of waste, mismanagement, misuse of public funds and corruption – as highlighted by headlines like:

Federal government debt hits five-year high;

KTMB mired in RM1.45 billion debt;

Only 18.2% of pupils bring free eBooks to school;

Stimulus funds used for chandeliers, home theatre, government audit shows;

PTPTN to face whopping RM46 bil deficit;

PTPTN okayed RM23 mil to students who didn’t apply;

Million-ringgit scanner stuck in KLIA, under-utilisation woes;

‘Sandwich kosong’ for school kids, sardines missing.

The Auditor-General’s Reports, which were completed in June/July this year, were deliberately held back when they should have been tabled on the first day of the budget meeting of Parliament on Oct. 11, clearly to avoid the “annual horror stories” from stealing the thunder from Najib’s 2011 Budget speech on Oct. 15 and his Umno Presidential Address on Oct. 21 – testimony that the Barisan Nasional government is not fully serious and committed to GTP and even Najib’s “People First Performance First” mantra.

The second blow was yesterday when the 2010 Transparency International (TI) Corruption Perception Index (CPI) was released – highlighting the failure of the key National Key Results Area (NKRA) in fighting corruption which targeted  to increase the CPI score from the new low of 4.5 in 2009 to 4.9 by 2010. In actual fact, Malaysia’s CPI score in 2010 sunk  to the lowest in 16 years.

In the nine years from 1995 to 2003, Tun Dr. Mahathir as Prime Minister saw Malaysia’s TI CPI score stuck in the narrow groove between 4.8 in 2000 to 5.32 in 1996 while the CPI ranking fell 14 places from No. 23 in 1995 to No. 37 in 2003.

In the five-year premiership of Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Malaysia’s TI CPI ranking fell 10 places from 37 in 2003 to 47 placing in 2008, while CPI score stuck between 5.0 to 5.1.

In his 18 months as Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak presided over the worst single-year plunge in TI CPI ranking and score, i.e. a nine-placing fall from No. 47 in 2008 to No. 56 in 2009, with the score plunging to the lowest ever of 4.5 last year. For 2010, Malaysia’s ranking is still at the worst spot of No. 56 hile the CPI score fell further to 4.4

Abdullah’s National Integrity Plan, launched in 2004 with the five-year target to improve Malaysia’s TI CPI from 37th place in 2003 to at least 30th position in 2008 and the 5.2 CPI score for Malaysia in 2003 to at least 6.5 by 2008 was an utter failure but Najib’s 18 months have seen both Malaysia’s TI CPI rank and score plumbed to new depths despite all the fanfare and hulaballoo of GTP, NKRAs and national transformation.

The third blow to Najib’s GTP is today’s release of 2010 Legatum Prosperity Index  ranking Malaysia 43rd out of 110 countries, behind Singapore – 17,  Japan – 18, Hong Kong – 20, Taiwan – 22, South Korea – 27 though ahead of Thailand – 52,  China – 58, Vietnam – 61, Philippines – 64  and  Indonesia – 70.

The Legatum Prosperity Index sub-index on “safety and security” ranking Malaysia as No. 52 out of 110  warrants serious attention as it impacts on our international competitiveness as well as another  NKRA on keeping crime low.

Based on this sub-index, the publication
The Diplomat
 recently published a photo essay on “
The Safest Places in the Asia-Pacific
”. The ten safest nations named are firstly Singapore followed by New Zealand, Taiwan, Japan, Australia, Hong Kong, South Korea, Mongolia, Vietnam and  Kazakhstan.

The exclusion of Malaysia from this list is a national shame. What has the Prime Minister and the Home Minister got to say?

Both before and after the 2011 Budget presentation on Oct. 15, there have been more world-wide indices adversely affecting Malaysia’s international competitiveness, for example:

Lowest press freedom index in nine years last week when Malaysia plunged 10 places to 141 in the 2010 World Press Freedom Index – outranked for the first time by Singapore since the Paris-based Reporters Without Borders (RSF) began releasing its ranking in 2002.

World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report 2010-2011 which saw Malaysia falling two places from No. 24 to 26 – despite the warning of the GTP Roadmap in January this year of the nation’s competitiveness “slipping significantly from the top 21 most competitive nations in the world three years ago to our current standing of 24”.

Malaysian universities falling out of the league of World’s Top 200  universities, whether Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2010-11 or the  QS World University Rankings 2010 or Shanghai Jiao Tong University’s 2010 ranking of top 500 universities for the eighth year in a row.

These are not the signs of a country prepared to take a quantum leap to escape the decades-old middle-income trap to achieve inclusive, sustainable high-income developed status in 2020 but those of a country heading towards a failed state or a bankrupt nation in 2019 as warned by Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Idris Jala.

Next :
Would Razaleigh’s warning be heeded

[
Speech (part 1) in Parliament on the 2011 Budget on Wednesday, 27th October 2010
]

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 28 October 2010, 3:37 pm and is filed under
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Budget 2011 : Najib must explain his “crushed bodies, lives lost” “ethnic cleansing” speech in Parliament

2011 Budget not a child of New Economic Model but bears all the marks of old discredited Mahathirish policies (Part 3 of 5)

Any doubts about the lack of political will and leadership of the Najib administration to spearhead political, economic, social and government transformation which must be the pillars for Malaysia’s economic and national salvation are banished by the recent Umno General Assembly and Najib’s Presidential Address and Closing Speech.

What reaction does Najib expect to elicit when  he used the language of “crushed bodies, lives lost” for Umno to defend power at any cost in Putrajaya and even talked about “ethnic cleansing”?

How can the Malaysian Chronicle editor Wong Choon Mei be harassed and victitmised of publishing a  report using these terms, when this was exactly what Najib said, regardless of the English translation issued by Bernama?

This was what Najib said in his Umno Presidential Address last Thursday:

“
Walau berkecai tulang dan juga badan, walau bercerai jasad dari  nyawa. Saudara dan saudari, walau apa pun yang gerjadi, Putrajaya mesti kita pertahankan!
”

Pakatan Rakyat parties of DAP, PKR and PAS are also prepared at any cost to capture power in Putrajaya in the next general election and end the long decades of  BN/Umno misrule and misgovernance, but we are fully committed to achieve this objective by  peaceful and democratic means through the ballot box and we do not talk about “crushed bodies, lost lives” or “ethnic cleansing”.

The Prime Minister must come to Parliament to explain what he really meant when he used these terms as there is more than a threat that he would not accept the electoral verdict of the people for a change of Federal government from BN to Pakatan Rakyat and that he is prepared to abandon the democratic process and subvert the rule of law to perpetuate himself and Umno in power.

The leaders of the Barisan Nasional component parties were asked to give their reactions to Najib’s speech after his Umno presidential address and Malaysians are very disappointed that not a single one of them, whether MCA President, Gerakan President, MIC President or president of the other BN component parties dare to express their disagreement or concern with Najib’s use of the  language of “crushed bodies, lost lives” and “ethnic cleansing”.

Not even now, after more than a week!  Does this imply that they all fully agree with Najib’s implicit threat or  are they so impotent and irrelevant that they dare not speak up what is in the minds of ordinary Malaysians?

There is however another side to the coin of Najib’s “crushed bodies, lives lost” speech – for it reflected a realization that Umno and BN could be voted out of power in Putrajaya in the next general election by the Malaysian electorate.

Next :
Challange UMNO, MCA, MIC, Gerakan Ministers to follow Nazri’s example

[
Speech (part 3) in Parliament on the 2011 Budget on Wednesday, 27th October 2010
]

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 28 October 2010, 3:53 pm and is filed under
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Malaysia in the Era of Globalization #38

By
M. Bakri Musa

Chapter 5: Understanding Globalization (Cont’d)

The Forces Driving Globalization

Much as the Industrial Revolution of the 18th Century was driven by machines, so too is today’s globalization propelled by technology, in particular Information Technology (IT), and knowledge. The Industrial Revolution began with the invention of steam engines that were used primarily to pump water out of mines. Later they were adapted for other uses, from weaving machines to steamships and locomotives.

The mechanized weaving mills revolutionized the textile industry; locomotives and steamships, transportation. Machines could produce goods not only in mass quantities but also of consistent and reliable quality. And those goods could now be transported to vast distant markets, thanks to cheap mechanized transportation modes. The locomotive was also instrumental in opening up the vast American continent and propelling America into a major economic power.

IT is based on the digitization of data. Data, be they voice, graphics (pictures) or text could be reduced to blips of “off” and “on” switches, and then transmitted over cables or satellite at the speed of electricity (light). The entire text of this book could be reduced to billions of such bits and then transferred to a reader at the other end of the globe where he or she could download them on the computer and be able to read my book in exactly the same way as it was originally presented. The whole process would take seconds. To rely on airmail would have taken days if not weeks.

Through the wonders of IT I can listen in real time to a sermon delivered at a Jerusalem mosque and also view the khatib (preacher) as he is delivering it. Sitting in my home I was able to watch on the Internet Mahathir addressing the 2001 UMNO General Assembly. And if someone had a digital video camera, he or she could have recorded the reactions of the crowd and transmit the images worldwide, giving viewers another perspective on the assembly instead of relying solely on the “edited” videotapes that were being broadcasted by the state-controlled television channels. All these are made possible by the digital revolution.

Just like the early steam engines found their way into other activities, so too has IT weaved its way into every facet of modern life. Even the simplest household gadget like a coffee maker has a computer chip embedded in its innards to enable the homemaker to program it to start brewing at a certain time. Through the computer, which is the prime symbol of IT, I can communicate with someone at the end the globe just as easily as if he were in the next office cubicle.

The locomotives and steamships of the Industrial Revolution made mankind conquer the physical obstacles of geography, specifically distance. To 18th Century Britons, faraway Ceylon was not some imaginary island in the tropics but a place where they could order their beloved tea. Geography ceased to be a barrier to trade or travel.

With the IT revolution we have again made a quantum leap in progress with respect to geography. We have effectively or virtually eliminated it. We have now effectively neutralized the “tyranny of geography.” With IT, it matters not where you are, as long as you are connected to the information superhighway, it will take you anywhere on the globe in split seconds. IT makes possible the free flow of data and information across borders.

There are two remarkable aspects to the IT revolution. One is that there is no central authority in charge – no government, UN Agency, or powerful corporation. It is as amorphous as it is ubiquitous. Two, the costs are declining as fast as the technology is improving. Not only are the fixed costs (computers, laying of cables, satellites) decreasing; the marginal costs are declining even faster. Once the cost of launching the communication satellite into orbit is paid, the additional (marginal) cost of adding an extra channel is simply the cost of the technician turning on the switch.

The forces driving globalization are essentially these: technology, specifically in IT; capital (money); and ideas (knowledge). IT makes possible the near instantaneous transfer of funds worldwide. When MAS buys a new 747 jet from Boeing, there is no signed check to be delivered or mailed. Instead the moment escrow is closed, the funds are immediately wired from MAS’s bank in Kuala Lumpur to Boeing’s in Seattle. Likewise, when a reader in Malaysia orders my book from Amazon.com in America, he could use his debit or credit card to transfer money from his bank to Amazon.com’s bank. Whether the transaction is for $50 or $50 million, the same technology is used at the same transaction cost. Money is not the only item that can be transferred via the Internet. More important is the transfer of ideas. Information is now no longer the preserve of those in power but diffusely distributed.

During the Industrial Revolution, with machines doing the work of workers, there was a quantum leap in the productivity in all sectors of the economy. Where previously it would take a farmer a whole week to till his little farm with his ox and primitive plow, a tractor could do it in a matter of hours. In the factory, one worker could look after a dozen weaving machines, each producing yards of cloth per hour, an output that previously would have occupied thousands of workers. In transportation, steamships could reliably deliver goods to distant markets in a much shorter time than would the old schooners.

Each new generation of machines would in turn help produce even more complex and powerful machines. Old engines that were once powered by wood gave rise to newer models that burned coal, and later, natural gas and gasoline. Their designs too changed radically, from the internal combustion engine to diesel-powered ones and later, gas-powered turbine and jet engines. Each new design represented an improvement in efficiency.

Similarly, the present IT revolution means more than just the ease of transferring data. It permeates into every facet of the economy. Earlier I gave the example of the improved productivity in my own medical practice made possible by computers. When I published my first book The Malay Dilemma Revisited in 1999, I did not use a single sheet of paper nor spend a dime on postage stamps. I did the entire writing straight on the computer, edited it directly onscreen, and then e-mailed the entire manuscript to my publisher. When it was ready, it was e-mailed back to me for proof reading, again directly from the screen, and then re e-mailed back to the publisher.

Previously (and also presently with many publishers), the whole process would have consumed many a tree for the papers needed, and hundreds of dollars worth of postage, and countless hours of retyping. But with modern word processing software, corrections and editing involve only a few strokes on the keyboard.

When my book was ready for marketing, my publisher was able to e-mail the announcement to thousands of potential readers worldwide, again without spending a cent on stamps. Additionally the book was made available on major on-line bookstores without it being actually physically present in the bookstore. When a customer orders my book, that order is immediately transmitted electronically to my publisher, from where the book would be immediately printed and shipped out. The entire transaction, whether across town or the globe, could be executed in seconds and at a marginal cost of pennies (marginal in contrast to the fixed cost in the purchase of computers and software).

In another area, using sophisticated software, airlines can now predict with a high degree of certainty how many seats would be sold on any given flight based on past experience. It can then use this information to offer the anticipated unsold seats to last minute discounters (“bucket shops,” to use the language of the trade), thus converting what would have previously been empty non-revenue producing seats into productive ones. Again using computers, the airline could plot the most economical (least fuel consuming) route. Oil companies regularly use sophisticated computers to mine data abstracted from their explorations, thus reducing considerably their chance of a dry hole. The American military uses computers to guide their “smart” weapons to devastating effects, as the Iraqis learned to their sorrow during the Gulf War, and as the Talibans are now experiencing.

It took a while for economists to recognize the tremendous gains in productivity IT makes to the economy. In part this was because those improvements were not readily apparent or measured, unlike the obvious gains of the Industrial Revolution that were readily seen and thus measurable.

The modern technology that accelerates globalization is not limited only to IT. The costs of travel, transportation, and communication have also dropped steeply due to advances in technology. With such gains in productivity, costs are lowered and the savings passed on to consumers. An airline trip is now within reach of the average Malaysian.

During my student days in Canada I hardly made phone calls home; it was just too expensive. Today, Malaysians in America call home almost every weekend! The cheap cost of transportation also made it possible for retailers in America to order their merchandise from faraway places like Indonesia. It makes geography and distance minor cost factors. It is this that fuels international trade, and with it globalization.

In 1938, the ratio of the world’s imports to gross product was about 7 percent; by 1970 it crept up to only 10 percent. By 1996 however, it nearly doubled to over 18 percent. That is to say a greater proportion of the world’s products and services are being traded between nations. The statistic that is more significant is that countries that have a greater ratio of the value of their international trade to their gross product tend to be more prosperous. Stated differently, trading is the way to prosperity for nations; the more we trade the more likely we are to prosper.

Next: The Corollary to Globalization

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 28 October 2010, 12:13 pm and is filed under
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Of megalomaniacs and mega-towers

By
Azly Rahman

Here is an excerpt from the Facebook campaign, now numbering to almost 160,000 members,
rejecting the Menara Warisan proposal
:

“
Rakyat Malaysia mengatakan TAK NAK kepada Menara Warisan 100-tingkat yang memakan kos RM5,000,000,000 yang dicadangkan oleh PM Najib Razak dalam Bajet 2011. …
Malaysians saying no to the RM5-billion 100-storey Mega Tower proposed by PM Najib in the 2011 budget. Malaysia needs better education, better health care, better public transportation, safer neighbourhood, cleaner water, but not taller building. We don’t need another white elephant! …

“Malaysia perlukan pendidikan, perubatan dan pengangkutan awam yang lebih baik, jiran-tetangga yang lebih selamat, air yang lebih bersih, dan bukannya bangunan yang lebih tinggi. … Kita tidak perlukan seekor lagi gajah putih yang membazirkan wang rakyat jelata. … Wahai, saudara-saudari warga Malaysia sekalian, biar kita bersatu tak mengira kaum, agama, budaya, bahasa, pendirian politik, geografi atau kelas. Biar kita bersatu dan membela nasib endiri. Merdeka! Merdeka! Merdeka!
”

I am beginning to sense that the issue will contribute to the downfall of the current regime of Barisan Nasional in the next general election. It is as if the last BN hurrah to showcase megalomania and illusions of grandeur will be a rallying point for the masses/rakyat fatigued by he struggle to survive the daily grind while robber barons rob, dine, and wine.

The issue however is, developmental priority and what lies behind the proposal and what the proposed tower signifies. It is a question of political-economy and semiotics of developmentalism.

Even the name “Warisan” begs the question of authentic history of Malaysia and reminds me of the propaganda song “Warisan” (Anak kecil main api …) used by the indoctrination outfit Biro Tata Negara to create unthinking and unquestioning and mentally-domesticated citizens out of the civil servants especially.

Mega tower and idiotic pride

I wrote this as my Facebook status when I read about the proposal:

Tall towers do not symbolise progress. If the Malaysian government insists on otherwise, stick two toothpicks on top of the Petronas Twin Towers to make the building tallest in Malaysia, taller than the previous twin towers. Malaysia can then be known as the Toothpick Capital of the world – ar

Or – a cheaper path towards grandiose-ness is, as a Facebook friend of mine suggested, is to build two high rise towers on top of Mount Kinabalu.

The ruling regime is suffering from a complex called idiotic pride; trumpeting grandioseness on the outside but trampling democracy inside. I see the image of the oppressors smiling at the camera globally while an army boot is on the head of a screaming citizen on the ground, locally.

This is the image of how the nation is responding to the five-billion ringgit question: The Warisan Tower, proposed as yet another megalomanic project to boost a national ego unprepared for a regime change.

Instead of fixing the education system, attending to abject poverty in East Malaysia, poverty everywhere in general, addressing environmental degradation, improving race relations, fixing the judiciary, battling crime by instilling ethics in law enforcement, giving educational financial aid to deserving Malaysians of ALL races, the focus of the developmental agenda is on more towers, palaces, useless real estate projects, and translating meaningless developmental policies derived from a poorly-understood idea of development.

This goes to the ultra-modernisation of our national defense system itself. We didn’t even need to ‘modernise the armed forces’ – the enemy is inside the country, amongst the corrupt politicians and robber barons, not outside of us amongst the internally-problematic Asean nations themselves.

In the history of human civilisations, the erecting of tall structures has in it the question of the winners and losers in history and of megalomanic rulers.

Glorifying tyrants, sacrificing the masses

From the ancient architectures of symbolic power such as the pyramids of Gizeh, the temples of the Incas and the Mayans, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, the Great Wall of China, the Collosus of Rhodes, and many more – all these are about glorifying tyrants and sacrificing the masses. Millions died unknown in history whilst names such as Ramses, Shah Jehan, Shih Huang-Ti, and Nebuchadnezzar are remembered for their fame or infamy.

In the history of postmodern civilisations, the erecting of the tallest structures has become a race for idiotic pride and madness. The Eiffel Tower, the Empire State building, the Sears Tower, and the Petronas Twin Towers, Xujjahui in China, International Commerce Centre in Hong Kong, Shanghai World Financial Centre, Taipei 101, Burj Khalifa, and the proposed Lotte World II – all these are symbols of idiotic pride of the both the capitalist and socialist worlds.

Down below these towers lie a population characterised by marked disparity between the haves and the have-nots, and of those living in decaying urban slums.

No, we do not need to trumpet our megalomanic tendencies. We need to look at our immediate needs and prioritise as a nation that is losing its sense of direction guided by a regime that is intoxicated with power derived from the orchestration of the archaic strategy of divide and rule using race as a tool.

No, we cannot afford another tower of raw power.

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 28 October 2010, 10:17 am and is filed under
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Budget 2011: Would Razaleigh’s warning be heeded

2011 Budget not a child of New Economic Model but bears all the marks of old discredited Mahathirish policies (Part 2 of 5)

A veteran leader had warned that “It is time to wake up”.

He said: “Without a doubt, Malaysia is slipping. Billions have been looted from this country, and billions more are being siphoned out of the country as our entire political structure crumbles.”

Warning  that corruption is the single biggest threat to the nation, he warned that corruption has become institutionalized in our political system and ruining Malaysia.

Who is this veteran leader? He is the head of the Barisan Nasional by-election in Galas, the MP for Gua Musang Tengku Razaleigh.

Will his views about the crisis of nation-building now be heeded? Of course not – just as it is clear that  the Prime Minister does not have the political will to implement the New Economic Model (NEM) which he launched on March 30 to transform Malaysia into a developed, competitive and high-income economy with inclusivity and sustainability.

Despite all its bombast and pyrotechnics, Naji’s 2011 budget is not a child of the New Economic Model but bears all the marks of old discredited Mahathirish policies which have landed Malaysia in the middle-income trap for more than a decade, setting the country towards a failed and bankrupt nation come 2019.

The symbol of the 2011 Budget and the ETP is the proposed RM5 billion 100-storey Warisan Merdeka tower, is a throwback to the era of Mahathirish obsession with mega projects.

If Najib is seriously committed to a New Economic Model, based on economic, social and government transformation, wouldn’t it be more appropriate for Malaysia to achieve targets as being ranked among the first twenty if not first ten of the least corrupt nations in the annual Transparency International Corruption Perception Index or having at least 10 universities which are ranked among the Top 100 Universities in the world?

In fact, it must be asked whether Najib is secretly trying to out-Mahathir Mahathir not only to build a tower higher than Mahathir’s Petronas Twin Towers, but which could be acclaimed as the tallest in the world – however brief the claim?

The “No Mega Tower” facebook campaign is nearing the 200,000 mark in less than 12 days. The last I checked, it registered 191,000 at 2 pm as compared to 2,170 in support of the Mega Tower facebook campaign.

The Prime Minister has asked the government to give priority to the social media and to respect the views of ordinary Malaysians, especially the young generation of all races.

The majority using the facebook are young Malaysians and the Prime Minister should seriously cancel the 100-storey Warisan Merdeka Tower project as it will not only  end up as a white elephant which will be worst possible symbol for any any national  transformation in the country.

It has been estimated that the 100-storey Warisan Merdeka Tower with 3 million sq ft will add to the glut of office space in Kuala Lumpur which will be equivalent to 7.8 years of office space supply in Kuala Lumpur based on the average annual take up of 1.72 million sq ft in 1985-2009, even without taking into account massive projects announced recently.

In Segamat, its tallest 20-storey building completed in the early 80s have become a Tower for Birds, housing swiflet farms, as only the ground floor is occupied. Lets not end up with the highest swiflet farm in Malaysia and probably in the world!

Najib’s 2011 Budget is not convincing that it represents the first budget of a New Economic Model to transform Malaysia from a middle income country to an inclusive and sustainable high-income developed country by 2020, emphasising high-skilled human capital, efficient public services, a reinvigorated private sector.

The Talents Corporation that is to be set up early next year is to formulate a National Talent Blueprint and develop an expert workforce database as well as to collaborate closely with talent networks globally, but what surety is that the National Talent Blueprint is not condemned to failure like previous “Brain Gain” programmes for the simple reason that there is no political leadership and will in the Najib administration to achieve the vision spelt out by the New Economic Model, viz: “Malaysia must be seen by its people and by others as a land of equal opportunity to earn a good living and provide a secure, happy life for each individual and the family”.

Next :
Najib must explain his “crushed bodies, lives lost” “ethnic cleansing” speech in Parliament

[
Speech (part 2) in Parliament on the 2011 Budget on Wednesday, 27th October 2010
]

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 28 October 2010, 3:48 pm and is filed under
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DAP, PKR dismiss ‘secret’ pact to ensure Chinese rule

By
Shazwan Mustafa Kamal
 | The Malaysian Insider

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 29 — PKR and DAP lawmakers have furiously dismissed the notion of a secret pact between the two allies to ensure Chinese rule should Pakatan Rakyat (PR) capture Putrajaya.

Instead both parties trained their guns on ex-PKR MP Zulkifli Noordin, who made the claim, calling him a liar who was “spinning tall tales” to serve his “political masters” in Barisan Nasional (BN).

The Kulim Bandar-Baharu MP told Parliament yesterday that there was a “secret contract” between PKR and DAP and that even PAS — a PR partner — was unaware of.

“There is no secret pact or deal at all. This is a ridiculous ploy by Zulkifli who only intention is to split up members of Pakatan Rakyat.

“This is the kind of bankrupt politician that is being used by BN to suggest that sort of allegation against us, that we would go behind our own coalition partners… no we are not like BN,” said PKR vice-president Azmin Ali.

Dubbing Zulkifli as a “barking dog” of the ruling coalition, Azmin said that the increasing attacks against the opposition proved that BN was intimidated of the unity between the DAP, PKR and PAS.

“We are in the strongest position right now. We will continue to be strong, united and prove to be a formidable force in next general elections. The strength of Pakatan Rakyat (PR) is always through discussions and coming out with a consensus,” Azmin told The Malaysian Insider.

DAP advisor Lim Kit Siang echoed his PR colleague’s views, and questioned the timing of Zulkifli’s “revelation.”

“There is no such thing, it is not true. Where is he trying to go with this?

“What he is saying is a fairy tale, Parliament should not be a place to spew fairy tales,” Lim told The Malaysian Insider.

But the Ipoh Timur refused to comment further, saying that he did not want to give his former PR colleague “too much importance.”

Another PKR MP, Fuziah Salleh dismissed Zulkifli’s allegations as “normal”, given the circumstances that two by-elections were around the corner.

“This is normal for Zulkifli Noordin, this is a ploy to serve his political masters. Biasalah, this is nearing the by-election, we expect that he would come out with something like this.

In six days time, November 4, the by-elections of Sabah’s Batu Sapi (parliamentary) and Kelantan’s Galas (state assembly) will be held.

“Stop telling tall tales Zul, be accountable for your actions,” Fuziah told The Malaysian Insider.

Like Azmin and Lim, the Kuantan MP took to great pains to explain that PKR would not make a pact solely with DAP and exclude PAS.

“We deny these claims, it is not true. If you look all three PAS, DAP, PKR we are united. Why would we go behind PAS and do something like that? It’s not in the nature of Pakatan politics. He is a liar,” said Fuziah.

In his parlimentary speech yesterday during the debate for Budget 2011, Zulkifli claimed that the “contract” inked between DAP and PKR promised Chinese leaders in DAP would obtain complete autonomy to rule Penang.

The independent MP who was once closely associated with Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim lashed out at DAP, calling it a “chauvinist-infected party” and accused the party of being responsible for the May 13 riots in 1969.

“[Should PR take power] Malay candidates will be put in Negeri Sembilan and Perak. And if they win (in the states), they will pick a mentri besar from DAP to head the states,” he said yesterday.

Zulkifli and other independents in Parliament, who were former PR lawmakers, have denied claims that they are BN supporters, but his speech today echoes the oft used Umno line when attacking PR.

The independent MP, who is a harsh critic of PR, however did not provide any details to his accusations as his speech was abruptly cut short by Deputy Speaker Datuk Wan Junaidi Jaafar.

                This entry was posted on Friday, 29 October 2010, 1:00 pm and is filed under
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ETP without the NEM cannot achieve a high income economy

by
Dr Chen Man Hin
, DAP life adviser

The ETP (Economic Transformation Programme) without the New Economic Model (NEM) cannot achieve a high income economy for the people of Malaysia

Immediately after the UMNO assembly where the delegates unanimously rejected the NEM proposal to liberalise the economy beginning with the removal of the 30% bumiputra equity. There was alarm that this would mean the end of the NEM which was promoted Najib since he became Prime Minister.

To assuage the fears of investors and the economic and business world, PM Najib quickly assembled a coterie of 10 foreign investors before a gathering of a few thousand people, PM Najib presented them as multi-billion investors who are investing in the country. They were the pioneers of the ETP which is expected to harvest some US$444 billion of projects to propel the economy from a middle income to a high economy status by the year 2020.

This translates to bringing in investments averaging 1,300 billion ringgits a year. The government expects 99% of the money to come from the private sector.

The big show on ETP presenting ten tycoons, could only collect US$5 billion. This is a pittance compared to the 1300 billion ringgits per year needed to reach a high economy status. There is a very long long way ahead for the Prime minister.

These days investments are hard to come by. The investment confidence is low. It is well known that FDIs into Malaysia fell 81% to US$1.36 billion for 2009 compared to 2008. Malaysia FDI was lower than the FDIs to Thailand and Indonesia. For the first time FDI to Malaysia was lower than the US$1.95 billion FDI into Philippines.

To reach the targeted figure of US$444 billion by year 2020, which amounts to 1,300 billion ringgits a year is a tremendous task. The RM5 billion promised at the big ETP presentation is a pittance. It will be harder to attract investments with the 30% bumi quota levy on investors both local and foreign.

There are many factors causing Malaysia to be unattractive, some of which are corruption, lack of skilled workers because of migration, crooked judiciary, no rule of law but most all the NEP. The NEP insists that investors, both local and foreign, must surrender 30% of their equity to bumiputras. Investors prefer to invest in a country that has a liberal free market.

The insistence at the UMNO Assembly that the 30% bumiputra equity be retained. They prefer to have the NEP rather than the NEM. This will cause foreign investors to stay away.

LEARN THE LESSON OF THE MAHATHIR ERA

PM Najib has embarked on a policy of huge spending on projects and building monstrous structures to uplift the economy. Mahathir built the twin towers. Now Najib wants to build a 100 storey Merdeka Tower. The economy under Tun Mahathir progressed but at a much slower rate than the four Asian Tigers of Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan and S Korea. The Tun could not accelerate the economy because the economy was dragged down by the NEP, which drove investors away.

Now PM Najib is following the way of Mahathir. Under Tun Mahathir and later Abdullah, the per capita income in 2009 was only about US$8,000, compared with the US$34,000 for a Singaporean, US$32,000 in Hong Kong, US$19,000 in S Korea and US$17,000 in Taiwan, why is Malaysia left so far behind. The reason is a liberal free market economic system in the four tiger economies. Malaysia spent profusely, but it has no free market because of the NEP which caused investors both local and foreign to stay away. Malaysia is not on the radar of investors any more.

The UMNO Assembly has stressed that it wants to keep the 30% bumi equity of the old NEP. They do not want the economic structuring or liberalisation as practised by the Tiger economies. As PM Najib cannot have the NEM but must follow the old NEP, the prospects of transforming a middle income economy to a high income economy are extremely dim.

Should we standby and let the rot continue?

                This entry was posted on Friday, 29 October 2010, 5:32 pm and is filed under
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Oppose Menara Warisan Merdeka: And for that reason, I petitioned…

By
Adrian Ang | www.loyarburok.com

October 29, 2010

OCT 29 — For the past 10 years on Malaysia’s Budget Day, I have been glued to the television. I have listened to every detail of the Budget Speeches and this year was no exception. As the Prime Minister began his speech, I waited with much anticipation. What’s to be in store for the development of our country?

But my heart stopped when the Prime Minister announced the development of Menara Warisan Merdeka, a 100-storey tower which will be built between the Merdeka and Negara stadiums. The 19-acre mega development project is said to include a condominium and shopping mall. I couldn’t believe my ears.

It struck me that a massive construction project will soon descend on the vicinity of my alma mater, Victoria Institution (VI). Besides VI, there are also 3 other schools within the vicinity of the development area, namely, Methodist Boys’ School (MBS), SRJK (C) Jalan Davidson and Confucian Private Secondary School. I was dazed for a moment before questions started filling my mind.

Will the schools be relocated? What will happen to the traffic flow within the area? Will the students’ safety and health be affected? What about the schools’ environment? And do we need another tower in the first place, given that we already have the Petronas Twin Towers?

I could only imagine the massive scale of the mega project and its effect on the 4 premier schools.

The 4 premier schools are some of the oldest schools in Kuala Lumpur (KL) with VI being 117 years old — the oldest school in KL, MBS – 113 years, Confucian – 104 years, and Davidson – 82 years. These 4 premier schools have produced some of the best brains and minds in Malaysia.

I could only imagine that the noise and air pollution, scaffolding and building equipments, overhead cranes, earth movers, heavy-duty lorries and dump trucks etc will pose safety and health hazards to the students. It is most likely that the development will lead to massive traffic flow and congestion problems.

While I am not against progressive development for the country, the cost of sacrificing quality education is just too much to pay.

The RM5 billion development costs could and should be invested into other areas such as improving education and healthcare facilities, reducing poverty levels, and particularly making life easier through better public transportation and greater assistance to the Orang Asli, the disabled and the elderly.

Among others to:

Eradicate poverty and improve the people’s standards of living by providing shelter, electricity, water and other forms of assistance to the hardcore poor.

Improve the infrastructure of schools, and increase access to education by providing free books to schoolchildren in rural areas.

Improve the healthcare system by building daycare and dialysis centres, and upgrading equipment and facilities in hospitals and clinics.

Build the capacity of the disabled by providing training to enable them to enter and succeed in the job market while building infrastructure to enable their mobility.

Provide assistance to the elderly by building old folks homes.

Reduce traffic problems in major towns and cities while making them more livable.

Hence, I appeal to the rakyat of Malaysia to support and oppose the development of the 100-storey tower! I am still proud to be Malaysian without the tower.

*
Adrian is a 4th generation young Malaysian born and bred in Kuala Lumpur. An accounting and finance graduate from London, he has been in the tax profession for the past 10 years. An alumnus of Victoria Institution, he represented Malaysia in the 1996 Australian Marching Band Competition which was awarded a First Class for performance. He is a passionate civil society activist and contributes through various channels. He must stop taking himself too seriously and be a real LoyarBurokker! Follow Adrian on Twitter @AdrianNCF.

                This entry was posted on Friday, 29 October 2010, 5:45 pm and is filed under
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Umno’s ugly side revealed again

By
Jeswan Kaur | Malaysiakini

Oct 27, 10 3:47pm

What has made Umno president Najib Abdul Razak and his band of top officials so insecure as to use the Umno general assembly to harp on Malay rights and privileges?

Last week’s 61st general assembly once again revealed the party’s ugly side as Najib, deputy president Muhyiddin Yassin and vice-presidents Shafie Apdal and Hishammuddin Hussein reminded the ‘other races’ not to question the Malay rights and privileges.

In short, all three told non-Malays to leave the federal constitution alone with regard to Article 153, which assures the special privileges of the Malays and the bumiputera of Sabah and Sarawak.

Why does Najib play with public emotions by raising the issue? How dare he make the irresponsible remark that “the Malays had actually made the biggest sacrifice to achieve independence when they were willing to share the ownership of the Tanah Melayu, … their motherland, with the other races”.

The immaturity of Najib and his ‘three stooges’ has only confirmed their deep-rooted insecurity, as they shamelessly threatened non-Malays not to debate Article 153.

Najib, in spite of his 1Malaysia propaganda, showed his divisiveness when he made it clear that non-Malays must be thankful to the Malays for being allowed to take shelter in this country.

If 1Malaysia is his way to votes, then Najib is in for a rude surprise. He needs the votes of all Malaysians, but statements hitting out at non-Malays will only work in the opposition’s favour.

Umno is no longer a party that can be looked upon with admiration and respect. The party’s obsession with power – and absolute power at that – is terrifying because it is being achieved via the ‘divide and rule’ method.

Umno founder’s vision

Najib must bear in mind that Umno founder Onn Jaafar left the party because he was disgusted with its communal policies, after his suggestion to open membership to non-Malays was met with objection among the Malays.

Onn had the foresight to note the importance of inclusion but his vision was not appreciated by hardcore members. He then quit as Umno president and formed the Independence of Malaya Party whose membership was open to people of all races.

Najib and Muhyiddin should set an example as leaders who are wise enough to note the pulse of the nation.

When Muyhiddin (right) boasted that he is “Malay first”, for example, Najib should have admonished his deputy.

Instead, it was life as usual for both, with no regard shown for the sentiments of non-Malays.

Such remarks do not speak well of Malaysia’s leadership, and leave the people with little faith in the administration.

JESWAN KAUR was a journalist who spent many years writing for the mainstream media before deciding to ‘break free’ and put pen to paper to focus on and fight for issues that are conveniently marginalised by the powers-that-be.

                This entry was posted on Friday, 29 October 2010, 2:54 pm and is filed under
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CORRUPTION: The Pass Mark Eludes Malaysia

by
Tunku Abdul Aziz

Judged internationally, by almost every performance indicator known to man, Malaysia is a duffer, and that is putting it charitably. Our report card is drowning in a sea of red ink. The 2010 Corruption Perceptions Index just released shows Malaysia scoring 4.4 points at number 56 out of 178 countries surveyed. Many have questioned the methodology used and have gone so far as to suggest developing our own index. But let me just say this. Whatever we may think, the Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index enjoys a reputation second to none as the world’s most authoritative index of its kind. A similar sentiment has been expressed about the world’s top universities index. Shoot the bearer of bad news and retreat to hide under our tempurung and croak our lungs out for the entire world to hear about our version of Malaysia’s achievements. We have become a nation of bad losers.

When Datuk Anwar Fazal, Raja Aziz Addruse, Datuk Param Cumaraswamy and other like minded men and women of the highest integrity met in the Royal Commonwealth Society one night many years ago to discuss forming the Malaysian Chapter of Transparency International Malaysia, they had seen enough, and had become greatly concerned at the speed with which corruption in national life had destroyed the moral fabric and consumed the very soul of our people. It was not the easiest of undertakings to operate an anti-corruption non-governmental organisation during Mahathir’s corrupt and repressive regime.

The Registrar of Societies in this case was helpful, and much to our delight, approved our application. TI owes its existence to Tan Sri Hassan Marican, then President of PETRONAS a highly principled servant of this country. He invited me to lunch in my capacity as President of TI and said, not five minutes into the meal, that he would like to support our work, and how much would I need?  I responded by saying I was not interested in a one off grant, but long term support. I asked for very little, not wanting to be greedy. He agreed. I understand the PETRONAS support continues today, with no strings attached.

In the years since the TICPI made its appearance in 1995, two years after Transparency International was founded, Malaysia has very rarely achieved the minimum pass mark of 5 points. We used to be ahead of South Korea regularly, and in Asia were for years only behind Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan and Taiwan. What all this shows is that we have regressed to a point that corruption in our country is no longer just a fact of life, but it has graduated to become a way of life. When we look closely at the countries that are perceived to be among the least corrupt, we find they are invariably well governed and that there is a correlation between good governance and competitiveness. These countries realise only too well that corruption if unchecked will distort and destroy their moral values and value systems and, sooner rather than later, their economies.

The symptoms of moral decay is everywhere in this country. It never ceases to amaze me at the naivety of our government leaders that they think that mere rhetorical expressions of good intentions to fight corruption could camouflage the unbridled systemic subversion of the country’s mechanisms of checks and balances and other institutions of government as part of our constitutional arrangements to protect the rights of our citizens. Mahathir’s had a cynical view of his stewardship, a concept totally alien to him. He set about destroying, like a man possessed, what he saw as constitutional or legal impediments to his personal and political ambitions. His legacy to Malaysia is best described as a lasting and deeply entrenched culture of corruption that this country will be saddled with for all time unless we, the citizens, take matters into our own hands and vote the corrupt government of the day out of office. Do it before it becomes a case of too little, too late.

In the meantime, my advice to Najib is to stop playing the silly games much loved by Abdullah Badawi, the keeper turned poacher. He put up a slew of anti-corruption showpieces such as the National Institute of Integrity, the Royal Commission inquiring into the Royal Malaysia Police, and new anti-corruption laws to support the work of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, all nothing more than a sleight of hand that has fooled no one, with predictable results. Badawi’s exercise was both dishonest and costly, and as the latest TICPI shows, corruption has the last laugh.

In a speech I made in 2001 at the Asian Development Bank-organised conference in Phnom Penh, I reminded my audience that “Even before we contemplate any action against corruption, it is important for us to recognise the special and complex circumstances that give rise to it. Studies show that a common cause of corruption is a lack of strong and unsullied government institutions, such as the judiciary, the legislature, the office of the auditor-general, the police, the office of the attorney general, the media, civil society organisations and the private sector.”

In Malaysia, sadly, Mahathir has succeeded brilliantly in doing his foul deed. None of these important institutions can any longer even justify their existence and they have become part of the problem of corruption. “The main purpose of developing strong institutions is to prevent corruption from occurring in the first place rather than relying on penalties after the event” according to Jeremy Pope in his TI Source Book 2000.

The Executive can change the hitherto negative international perceptions and at the same time exercise greater legitimacy to govern by making it mandatory for all holding elected public office, including the prime minister, to declare their assets and those of their wives and immediate families to an all party parliamentary commission. Other areas of concern relate to issues of integrity of the various key national institutions. Public procurement as practised in our country breeds grand corruption and is one of the reasons why we score badly in overall terms. The Official Secrets Act protects the corrupt and must be replaced with a Freedom of Information Act. It would be extremely important to bring new, intelligent and untainted blood into the MACC which at the moment seems to have run out of steam before the whistle to commence play is blown. It must report to an all party parliamentary commission.

While we want those who commit corruption to be suitable punished, this must be done within the scope of the existing judicial practice. The idea as suggested by TI Malaysia President that for the MACC to operate effectively, it must be given the power to prosecute is dangerous as it shows a lack of understanding of what constitutes justice. What is implied in this preposterous idea is that we abandon all principles of fairness and fair play so that the MACC could trample on our justice system with impunity. Enough is enough.

Early next month I will be speaking in Sydney, Australia at the annual conference of the Australian Corporate Lawyers Association on, no prize for guessing, my favourite subject, Overcoming Corruption: A Regional Challenge. I will have a field day calling a spade a spade. I hope I will not be accused of disloyalty to my country, but if telling the truth is treachery, so be it.

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 30 October 2010, 12:24 pm and is filed under
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Khairy, Pakatan tell Najib not to ignore anti-tower protest

By
Boo Su-Lyn

The Malaysian Insider

October 29, 2010

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 29 — More than 200,000 Malaysians have backed a Facebook protest to stop the proposed construction of the 100-storey Warisan Merdeka tower as Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin joined Pakatan Rakyat (PR) leaders in calling on Datuk Seri Najib Razak not to ignore the protest.

As at 9.15pm tonight, 200,008 out of 8,815,780 Malaysian Facebook users have clicked “Like” on the “1M Malaysians Reject 100-storey Mega Tower” page to signify their opposition to the RM5 billion Permodalan Nasional Berhad (PNB) project.

The page was created anonymously hours after the prime minister announced the proposed new tower during his 2011 Budget speech on October 15.

People have been writing on the Facebook wall almost every minute since and are blaming the Najib administration for promoting grandiose projects, despite the best efforts of the government in denying that any public funds will be used.

“We need a MEGA HELP for the poor not a MEGA TOWER for the rich,” said Facebook user Nizam PerppisLd, illustrating the typical comments which have appeared on the page.

In his 2011 Budget speech, Najib has said that the tower will be the tallest building in Malaysia, surpassing even the Petronas Twin Towers, upon its completion in 2015.

Many of the protestors on Facebook have also voiced their dissatisfaction by using “placards” from the page’s 165-image collection as their profile pictures, featuring messages like “RM5 billion to help stop child abuse”, “RM5 billion. Improve facilities for the disabled”, and “No mega tower! We want world class public transport system!” among others.

In contrast, a pro-Warisan Merdeka page titled “Kami Sokong Menara Warisan” garnered only 2,248 fans – about 1.1 per cent of the anti-Warisan Merdeka page fan population —  at 9.15pm tonight.

The page is also filled with comments by anti-Warisan Merdeka protestors while majority of the page’s posts are made by the page administrator instead of its fans.

To date, Najib’s Facebook page titled “Najib Razak” has about double the number of anti-Warisan Merdeka Facebook fans at 452,874 fans.

DAP advisor Lim Kit Siang said that Najib could not ignore the online campaign as doing so would cost him support among the youth in the next general election.

“I think it’s a phenomenon that Najib cannot disregard,” Lim told The Malaysian Insider today.

“(If he ignores), young people will be very turned off by Najib’s arrogance and indifference to their views. Definitely, there will be a heavy price (to pay) in the next election,” he added.

The Ipoh Timur MP pointed out that the prime minister’s dismissal of the protest would undermine his credibility as he has stressed the importance of reaching out to young Malaysians.

“If he ignores this phenomenal response among ordinary Malaysians…it’s just making a mockery of his statement and undermining his own credibility,” said Lim.

“His premiership will take a major knock among Malaysians, particularly among the young Malaysians who make use of the social media whom he’s trying to reach,” he added.

To date, there are 8,815,780 Facebook users in Malaysia who make up a 33.70 per cent penetration of the country’s population, according to a Facebook statistics website called Facebakers.com.

The 18-24 year age group accounts for 38 per cent and the 25-34 year age group represent 33 per cent, totalling 71 per cent of the Malaysian Facebook population.

Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin echoed Lim’s views and stressed that the Najib administration could not ignore the 200,000 Malaysians protesting against the Warisan Merdeka tower.

“Clearly, it’s something we cannot ignore. Anything that manages to get 200,000 followers in the space of less than two weeks is clearly something quite significant,” said Khairy.

“It’s an indication of how Malaysians, especially young Malaysians, feel. So the government has to take these sentiments seriously,” he added.

The Rembau MP also said that the government and PNB needed to engage the protestors although the project may not be cancelled due to the campaign.

“I’m not saying that this should result in the project being cancelled, but it does acknowledge for the government, for PNB, to engage with some of the arguments that has been made and come up with a strategy that addresses some of the concerns,” he said.

He noted that some of the concerns voiced on the anti-Warisan Merdeka page could be tackled easily.

“Some of the comments are easily addressed, like it’s a waste of government funds. You can explain that it’s not government funds. If you ignore it, you’re not even explaining it,” said Khairy.

A Facebook fan called Shapeek Kakarot posted such concerns on the anti-Warisan Merdeka page.

“Saya anak malaysia..tidak kira kaum amat prihatin dgn nasib wang itu…..jika menara itu di bina menggunakan wang persendirian maka aku tidak kisah..tpi jika ia melibatkan wang rakyat maka aku BANTAH!!!!! (“I am a Malaysian…doesn’t matter about race. I am very concerned about the money….if the tower will be built using private funds, I don’t care…but if it involves public funds, I OBJECT!!!!”)

The BN Youth chief also noted that dismissing the online protest could add to voter discontent although the campaign itself may not necessarily create a big impact in the general election.

“I don’t know if this one issue can have such a big electoral effect. But it can compound things,” said Khairy.

“People will say they ignored us for the 100-storey building, then another issue…another issue. So it’s best to address things,” he added.

Khairy pointed out that the reason for politicians hopping on the social media platform was to engage Malaysians.

“The whole point of us being on social media…is for us to make sure we can engage with people,” he said, citing the prime minister’s large following on Facebook.

Najib and Khairy are also on micro-blogging site Twitter, besides other MCA leaders like president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek, MCA Youth chief Datuk Dr Wee Ka Siong, and deputy president Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai.

PAS vice-president Datuk Mahfuz Omar said that Najib should cancel the RM5 billion PNB skyscraper project as the Facebook campaign clearly indicated the people’s discontent.

“This shows that the people reject this project. Najib must announce the cancellation of this project,” he said.

The Pokok Sena MP added that the anti-Warisan Merdeka Facebook page could reach a million fans in due time and eventually cause BN’s downfall should the Najib administration ignore it.

“If left for a long time, surely we can reach one million. And this one million, where each person has ties to family members, will play a role in shaping the direction of Malaysia and change the government from BN to Pakatan Rakyat,” he said.

“This Facebook page with young people will create a new political wave,” he predicted.

PR leaders have derided the grandiose skyscraper project as wasteful and accused Najib of trying to “out-Mahathir” former premier Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who embarked on a massive development spree after he took power in 1981 by building highways, the Penang Bridge, opening new industrial estates and oversaw the construction of the Petronas Twin Towers, the KL International Airport, the Sepang International Circuit, intra-city train lines, several ports, and the new administrative capital Putrajaya and its neighbouring Cyberjaya, which was central to the Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) project.

The prime minister appeared to distance himself from the controversial tower when he made it known that the project did not originate from him but PNB.

He nevertheless defended it, saying that it would have a “multiplier effect” on the economy and help drive it forward, in addition to providing an attractive commercial centre for Bumiputera and non-Bumiputera businesses alike.

In his 2011 Budget speech, Najib said the rationale for the Warisan Merdeka tower was similar to that of the iconic Petronas Twin Towers, in that it would serve as a symbol of a modern and developed Malaysia.

The 19-acre development area of the mega project — which includes a condominium and a shopping mall — is sited on the car park and land adjacent to Stadium Negara and Stadium Merdeka.

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 30 October 2010, 11:10 am and is filed under
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Umno’s fixation on the 30 percent

by
Kee Thuan Chye

MalaysiaKini

Oct 27, 10 8:08am

COMMENT
Every time an Umno general assembly rolls into town, the mainstream newspapers will be filled to overflowing with coverage of the event. Pages and pages will be devoted to the speeches and debates as well as photographs of the gathering.

But if you were to dig up your old newspapers of at least the past two or three decades to refer to the reports on the Umno general assemblies, you’d find that the basic issues and the exhortations of the party leaders are virtually the same.

At each assembly, the things that are said appear to be variations on the same themes – the Malays need to work harder and improve themselves; they need to be on guard against external threats; their rights will never be taken away from them; Umno will forever protect the Malays; at the same time, the Malays must understand that they live in a multi-racial society so Umno will also see to the interests of the other races…

There is always a heavy emphasis on the issue of race, and of the Malays in relation to the other races in Malaysia. Somehow, even though it is the dominant party in government, Umno can’t seem to get past that and focus instead on national issues that affect the entire population or discuss intelligently the issues of the day from a broader perspective.

Its president would utter some platitude about Umno having to show leadership and be sensitive to the other races, and then stridently champion the Malay Agenda. As the president has also always been the country’s prime minister, you’d have to look at the assembly as theatre, the president as an actor, to suppress any suspicion of schizophrenia.

Imagine this happening in Singapore, with the ruling party there championing Chinese supremacy. Or the ruling party in Australia championing the whites. Not so easy, is it?

The Hokkiens might say of the 2010 Umno General Assembly proceedings that it was all “kong lai, kong khee, kong siang mi knia.” (transliterated: Talk come, talk go, talk same things.) This is something Umno’s permanent chairman, Badruddin Amiruldin, can probably relate to; after all, when he told MCA president Chua Soi Lek, “Please don’t disturb the 30 percent which belongs to the Malays”, he did so in Hokkien.

More than that, his remark aptly summed up the theme and tenor of the assembly – the party’s fixation on the 30 percent. It didn’t matter to all present that Badruddin should instead have said that the 30 percent belongs to the ‘bumiputeras’. The significant difference was significantly overlooked, but hey! when they’re all imbued by the same party spirit, who cares about the details?

Institutionalising cronyism

Going by the quality of this year’s debates and the proposals of some delegates, Umno has not changed a bit. If a party member had been transported from the 1980s into the 2010 assembly, he would have felt quite at home.

Umno vice-president Mohd Shafie Apdal said some sensible things about the need to be inclusive and not be jealous of the success of others. So did Khairy Jamaluddin when he expressed the need to appreciate the feelings of the other races for whom Malaysia is also their home and their country.

“We often hear grouses about the civil service being dominated by Malays,” he said. “Are we to believe that there are only a few non-Malays who are qualified to hold senior civil service positions?”

Many at the assembly, however, took the non-inclusive stance and in so doing provided some entertainment, albeit unwittingly.

Former Sabah chief minister Salleh Said Keruak said there should not be open tenders for government projects. Instead, contracts should be given to Umno leaders’ followers. And this must be ensured by the setting-up of a system. Talk about institutionalising cronyism!

Johor delegate Ayub Jamil wanted affirmative action included in all the Economic Transformation Programme (ETP) initiatives announced by the government. If that were done, how would the private sector be attracted to invest in them? What about foreign investors? Wouldn’t they prefer countries that don’t impose such a condition?

Malacca delegate Hasnor Sidang Hussein actually blamed the non-Malays for the failure of the Malays to achieve the 30 percent – by not providing the Malays help in this regard. But was that ever part of the deal? Since it’s not, why don’t we write a new ‘social contract’ and put that clause in?

Reezal Merican Naina Merican from Penang called for BN component parties to show Umno fairness and justice. Now, that was sumptuous. Fairness and justice from these powerless partners who can’t say anything that Umno doesn’t like without being told to shut up?

How have they been unfair and unjust to Umno? Oh, is it about Chua Soi Lek questioning the 30 percent? It’s always about the 30 percent, isn’t it? That’s not just what the Umno General Assembly revolved around; it seems the whole world does, too. Questioning the 30 percent is unfair and unjust.

Negeri Sembilan representative Jalaluddin Alias blamed Umno’s partners in BN for the coalition’s poor showing in the 2008 general election. To him, Umno was above blame because it managed to win 68 percent of its seats. It was evidently immaterial to him that in 2008, Umno lost 30 of the parliamentary seats it had held before that. Those losses must have been the fault of the component parties as well.

For the next general election, he urged the Umno leadership to take away the seats lost by its coalition partners in 2008 and give them instead to Umno candidates. This, he said, would ensure a BN victory. Hallelujah! Yes, indeed!

Yet even as he showed no quarter for the component parties, he acknowledged that “if MCA doesn’t support us, we cannot win”. So, let’s get this right – take away their seats and still ask for their support? What do you call someone who comes from Klinggong and who exhibits a twisted logic?

Strong graphic language

Numerous other delegates defended the government’s recently announced projects. They seemed to speak through more than one orifice.

Among these was Umno Youth deputy chief Razali Ibrahim who said mega-projects like the proposed 100-storey Warisan Merdeka tower would help Malaysia become a high-income nation because they would attract funding from the private sector and thereby help the government save money, which it could then use to solve the people’s problems.

Brilliant! And would he be the one who will guarantee the participation of the private sector? And also see that the money saved is channelled towards the needy?

Let’s save the best for last. This year, Umno president Najib Razak came out strongly to defend the rights of the Malays. He assured them that their rights were enshrined in the federal constitution, and these could not be easily taken away from them because any amendment to the related article would have to get the consent of the rulers. He said the chapter on the rights issue was now closed and there should be no more questioning of it.

To be sure, there is absolutely no mention of ‘rights’ in the federal constitution. So it was another significant difference that was significantly overlooked, but when the actor is in the mood for a theatre performance, who cares about the details?

All this is really old hat. The surprising element is that what Najib said about defending Malay rights totally contradicts his 1Malaysia concept and the inclusiveness it advocates. But it’s theatre, and he’s performing to a Malay audience. Why not, eh? Why is there a need to be consistent, anyway? Especially when you are the leader of the most powerful party in the country?

And while you’re at it, why not use strong graphic language to rally party members to maintain control of the government after the next general election, no matter what: “Even if our bodies are crushed and our lives lost, brothers and sisters, whatever happens, we must defend Putrajaya.”?

Did somebody say this was a statement advocating violence? Rubbish! In fact, it was so unimportant it was omitted in mainstream media reports. Malaysiakini was, however, not discerning enough and decided to run it, so the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) had to investigate the news website. Probably to find out if Malaysiakini was qualified to make sound editorial judgements.

But the Straits Times of Singapore reported it, too. So how? Now it looks like Najib’s unimportant statement will be read in other countries, too, because the Straits Times is an influential paper. Will potential foreign investors be confused about which the real Najib is – the one who is global-minded and assures them of a level investment field or the one who talks about crushed bodies and lost lives?

What about local investors? Will they now be inspired to strongly support the ETP? Will they be filled with confidence that no matter what, the government will not change, the political situation will be stable, and investments will be safe?

Well, it looks like the 2010 Umno General Assembly has been another reaffirmation of business as usual, and that all’s well with the Umno empire. The racial policies will remain, regardless of the ETP and the New Economic Model (NEM). It’s all back to status quo. And Putrajaya is guaranteed.

No wonder former president Mahathir Mohamad said, “It feels like the Umno of old.” Coming from someone who brought the country to where it is, that’s really ominous.

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 30 October 2010, 11:49 am and is filed under
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A PR win in Batu Sapi will signify national change, Kit Siang says

By
Melissa Chi

The Malaysian Insider

October 31, 2010

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 31 — DAP adviser Lim Kit Siang emphasised today the importance of the Batu Sapi by-elections, claiming that only Pakatan Rakyat (PR) could offer Sabah the dire need of change.

“It will have a large implication… it will be a preview to the federal change of power,” the Ipoh-Timur MP told The Malaysian Insider over the phone.

“What this by-election means, is for the first time the people of Sabah in a by-election will be voting for national change,” the federal lawmaker said, confident that if the opposition coalition wins the Batu Sapi parliamentary seat, chances of winning the next general election will be much higher.

He claimed that it is not possible for a “real change” in Sabah change without a national change in government.

“The significance and implications of this Batu Sapi election, this message can be sent out to the voters. I believe the majority of the voters will see the importance… if Pakatan Rakyat wins, there is a possibility of change.

“If SAPP wins, then it will only be a localised state affair,” the veteran leader said.

Prior to the start of the Batu Sapi campaign, both PKR and SAPP were at loggerheads over who should field a candidate to represent the opposition front and ensure a straight fight with the Barisan Nasional.

Despite talks, SAPP, represented by Datuk Yong Teck Lee who is now a candidate, insisted on fielding one of its own, refusing to give in to PKR’s cajoling. PKR had reportedly even urged SAPP to join the PR pact and pledged to back the party during the campaign, but Yong, a former chief minister in Sabah, refused to back down.

As a result, both parties have fielded candidates — Yong, from SAPP, and Ansari Abdullah of PKR — to fight against BN’s Datin Linda Tsen Thau Lin, who is said to be the favourite in the race.

Both PKR and SAPP will battle it out with BN come polling day this November 4.

The fight has been described as a sink-or-swim contest for SAPP and one that would be a clear indication of what would happen in the 13th general election.

The seat, comprising 25,582 voters, fell vacant following the death of Tsen’s late husband, Datuk Edmund Chong Ket Wah during a biking accident on October 9.

Chong had won the seat with a 3,708-vote majority over independent Chung On Wing in Elections 2008.

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 31 October 2010, 2:41 pm and is filed under
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From Batu Sapi to Putrajaya

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 31 October 2010, 12:16 pm and is filed under
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In Parliament, Putrajaya to name errant officials

By
Shazwan Mustafa Kamal
 November 01, 2010

Malaysian Insider

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 1 — The Najib administration will provide Parliament with a comprehensive list of civil servants who have broken disciplinary regulations and “lack initiative” Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz said today.

The minister in the Prime Minister’s Department said that the government had compiled a list of civil servants who had flouted the Public Officers (Conduct and Discipline) Regulations 1993, and this included those who were behaving like “little napoleons.”

“The government has taken action against all officers who have broken the rules. Bagan (MP Lim Guan Eng) claimed that there were officials behaving like little napoleons. We will take preventive and punitive action if we find that officials to be portraying the actions of little napoleons,” said Nazri during his Budget winding-up speech in Parliament.

The matter was first brought up by DAP advisor and Ipoh Timur MP Lim Kit Siang, who had asked for the government to provide figures for the action taken against “little napoleons” in the civil service.

In response, Nazri said he could only provide details on officials who were either underperforming or broke the rules.

The minister said that he would compile the data first from the Public Services Department (PSD) before presenting it in Parliament.

“‘Little napoleon’ is just a term for officers who make things difficult in the delivery system. But I will be giving a list of officers who have flouted the rules and regulations of the civil service,” said Nazri.

Lim appeared unsatisfied with Nazri’s answer, claiming that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak himself had acknowledged the presence of “little napoleons” within the civil service.

“The PM has said that there exists a problem of little napoleons in the civil service. Can you give a figure the actions taken on the little napoleons?” the DAP advisor asked Nazri.

Lim added the government’s “unresponsiveness” in answering questions properly in Parliament had also contributed to the poor public perception of the country’s civil service.

When the minister refused to address the DAP man’s demands, as well as questions from other Pakatan Rakyat (PR) lawmakers, Lim stormed out of Parliament in a huff.

Minutes after leaving the House, the Ipoh Timur MP posted a message on popular micro-blogging site Twitter saying: “Walked out of Dewan in protest when Nazri ends after two hour answer without answering corruption issues like (the) worst TI (Transparency International) CPI (corruption perception index) or Najib’s Umno speech.”

When met by reporters later, Nazri said that matters which had not been addressed in the initial stages of the parliamentary debate on Budget 2011 could still be brought up at the committee stage.

“I will answer everything,” said Nazri.

PR states such as Penang, which is under the administration of Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng, have claimed in previous months that civil servants were “uncooperative” and did not respect the ruling state government.

In a highly-publicised spat between Lim and Penang State Development Officer (SDO) Nik Ali Mat Yunus then, the chief minister claimed that Nik Ali had been obstinate with regards to an illegal sand excavation investigation.

The accusation then escalated into a verbal war between Nik Ali and Lim, with the federal officer retaliating by calling Lim an “insolent, uncivilised and a coward” during an Umno function.

Other leaders including Kit Siang and Chief Secretary Tan Sri Mohd Sidek Hassan also waded into the fray, turning the spat into a open confrontation between the civil service and DAP.

Sidek also accused Guan Eng of being “excessive” in his remarks and has given his assurance that Nik Ali would not be reprimanded for criticising a chief minister.

                This entry was posted on Monday, 1 November 2010, 10:27 pm and is filed under
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DAP: ‘MACC not doing its job’

By
Patrick Lee

Free Malaysia Today

KUALA LUMPUR: DAP has blasted the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) for its poor show in stamping out corruption.

Commenting on MACC’s investigations into 11 people for ‘owning excessive’ wealth, an irate Lim Kit Siang (Ipoh Timur MP) said: “An independent, efficient and professional anti-corruption agency would be able to investigate hundreds if not thousands of these cases of disproportionate sources of income immediately.

“Many of these people have lifestyles, houses and cars that would not have come from their official incomes.”

Lim was responding to Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Nazri Abdul Aziz statement that 11 people (political and civil servants) were being investigated by the MACC for having excessive assets, and only two ‘accusations’ had been made between 2009 and 2010.

Declining to elaborate on the two, Nazri said charges had been slapped on those involved in high-profile cases, such as the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ).

Defensive Pemandu

Lim also attacked the Performance Management and Delivery Unit (Pemandu) for whitewashing the drop in Corruption Perception Index (CPI) rankings.

Pemandu had described the drop in CPI score from 4.5 to 4.4 as a ‘slight reduction’, adding that Malaysia had improved in three other scores – the IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook, Political and Economic Risk Consultancy (PERC) Asian Intelligence Newsletter, and the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Global Competitiveness Report.

It noted that in comparison to the CPI, these scores had increased to 6.3, 4.6 and 4.6 in 2010 respectively.

Director of Communications of Pemandu’s Government Transformation Programme (GTP), Alexander Iskandar Liew, had further explained that the average of the four scores (including the CPI) had shown that Malaysia had done better in 2010, compared to 2009.

But Lim today rubbished Pemandu’s statement, calling it a ‘whitewashing of the low CPI score.’

Showing a chart drafted by Transparency International, Lim said that the CPI’s score was made out of 13 different indexes.

He said in Malaysia’s case, nine indexes (or reports) are used to calculate its CPI rankings, including the three stated previously.

“Why is there such a selective tabling of reports? Pemandu has no professional integrity in coming up with such a statement. This is a failure of a key NKRA (National Key Result Area) in fighting corruption,” he said.

Adding to Lim’s views, former Transparency International of Malaysia president Ramon Navaratnam said that the CPI was a composite index, and that Pemandu was ‘comparing apples to oranges’.

“Competitiveness doesn’t measure to integrity,” he said in regards to the three scores used by Pemandu.

Navaratnam said that Pemandu was being defensive when confronted with the low CPI score. He advised the government think-tank to recognize international opinion in order to combat corruption.

“We have to take the bull by the horns, and ask what we can do about it (combat corruption),” he said.

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 2 November 2010, 7:37 pm and is filed under
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Galas assault: Heng a liar, says TBH group

By
Wong Teck Chi
 | Nov 2, 10 4:26pm

Malaysiakini

The ‘Malaysians for Beng Hock’ movement released a series of photographs today to prove that one of their members was manhandled by an MCA grassroots leader in Gua Musang, Kelantan, last Saturday.

The movement’s coordinator Ng Yap Hwa said the photographs proved that one of its members, Soh Cher Hai, was in fact violently pushed by an individual who has been identified as the Gua Musang MCA division secretary.

 The movement said the photographs were proof that Deputy Women, Family and Community Development Minister Heng Seai Kie had issued misleading statements on the incident.

Heng had claimed that Soh did not exactly fall onto the ground and that she had ensured Soh’s safety before she left.

Ng said the photographs also depict Heng not only witnessing the incident but leaving the scene and ignoring Soh, who was on the ground just a few feet from her (right).

The group also challenged Heng’s claim that Soh “nearly fell” during melee, that his fall was broken by others surrounding him.

“Our evidence shows that Heng has lied outrageously,” Ng told a press conference at the Kuala Lumpur and Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall in the federal capital today.

He urged MCA to sack the division secretary who had acted violently and to take displinary action against Heng for lying.

Meanwhile, Soh, who was also present at the press conference, said he reserved his right to take legal action against his assailant.

Last Saturday, Soh had attempted to approach Heng after an evening function at Gua Musang, where the deputy minister was campaigning for BN in the Galas by-election.

Heng: I emphatise with Soh

The pushing incident involving Soh has turned into a campaign fiasco for the MCA as Gua Musang’s Chinese community have expressed disdain over the matter.

In an attempt to diffuse the situation, Heng yesterday issued a statement to show tacit support for one of issues of the Malaysians for Beng Hock movement – the formation of a Royal Commission of Inquiry into Teoh Beng Hock’s death.

Heng (left) said: “As regards the Teoh Beng Hock case, the petition for the inception of a royal commission is of grave concern to the public.

“As a deputy minister, I am duty-bound to report the issue to my party president Dr Chua Soi Lek and Kelantan MCA liaison chief Dr Ng Yen Yen to seek the party’s decision and guidance.”

She also claimed that she was willing to accommodate the group’s demand for a meeting in Gua Musang and in Kuala Lumpur, but this was rejected by the group.

“On the said evening, due to my tight schedule (that was) prior arranged, I had to leave the venue prematurely, but I did offer twice to meet Soh and his members the following day at Galas.

“But that was unfortunately rejected by Soh and his group for whatever reasons best known to them,” Heng said, adding that the group did not accept offers to meet at another time.

She said she would contact the inspector-general of police soon to urge the police to expedite investigations into the pushing incident.

“At the same time, I empathise with Soh over the incident. I urge the police to treat the assault report lodged by Soh seriously,” she added.

At the ‘Malaysians for Beng Hock’ group’s press conference, Teoh’s sister Lee Lan shed tears over MCA’s accusation that the group was trying to politicise the death of her brother.

She criticised MCA for failure to help the family to urge the setting up of a royal commission and blaming the family for politicising the issue when they sought the help of other concerned citizens.

“Our family has never rejected the help of MCA and we are still waiting. However, you have kept us waiting and even asked us to wait until the inquest was finished (before the royal commission of inquiry can be set up).

“How you want us to explain the death of a brother? I feel sad and disappointed with the MCA.”

Ng also denied that the accusation that the movement was influenced by political forces and stressed that opposition leaders only came to the police station to show their compassion.

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 2 November 2010, 9:48 pm and is filed under
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Leave activists alone, says DAP

By
Patrick Lee

Free Malaysia Today

KUALA LUMPUR: The DAP has condemned the police and the MCA for not giving social activists leeway in Galas.

Four people from the social activist group Malaysians for Beng Hock, including Teoh Beng Hock’s sister, Teoh Lee Lan, were arrested on Sunday during the Galas by-election campaign.

The group arrived in Galas to seek justice for the death of Teoh, a DAP political aide.

They were picked up for distributing leaflets on custodial deaths and attempting to goad MCA officials into supporting the formation of a Royal Commission of Inquiry into Teoh’s death.

“Why should the four be arrested? They were only making use of the by-election to get public support to get justice for Teoh,” Ipoh Timur MP Lim Kit Siang said at the Parliament lobby today.

“In the past, we’ve had social activists who’ve used by-elections to highlight issues. In Bukit Koman, you’ve had those who campaigned against gold mining. In other by-elections, you’ve had campaigns against the Internal Security Act.”

“It is a police officer who made a report, leading to the arrest of the four. But who instigated the police to make the arrests?” Lim asked, who believed that the MCA was behind it.

“It destroys the credibility of the MCA to prevent the public from legitimately presenting their views,” he said, adding that MCA should issue a public apology on its actions in Gua Musang.

The DAP strongman also asked all police investigations on the four be stopped immediately.

Lim said the four were also required to present themselves at the Gua Musang police station on Nov 15.

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 2 November 2010, 7:39 pm and is filed under
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MACC: All corrupt officials are targeted

By
Shazwan Mustafa Kamal

Malaysian Insider

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 2 — The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has insisted it acts against all corrupt officials, be it “ministers, chief ministers, political leaders or even civil servants.”

At the same time, the anti-graft agency hit out at Pakatan Rakyat (PR) lawmakers for “sensationalising” issues, attacking to gain political mileage.

Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz, the minister in charge of the MACC, revealed that the commission was still investigating 11 individuals under Section 32 of the Corruption Prevention Act 1997/ MACC Act 2009 for offences relating to “owning assets beyond one’s normal income.”

In a written reply to Ipoh Timur MP Lim Kit Siang on October 27, Nazri said that two charges have been made based on that offence from 2009 to September 2010.

“MACC takes action and does not care who the individuals are- they might be “ikan bilis”, “ikan jerung” or even “ikan yu”. Investigations will be done and they will be prosecuted based on evidence and testimonies acquired. YB Ipoh Timur’s claims that the MACC have failed to take action against “big sharks” is incorrect and is merely aimed towards gaining political mileage. Proof of this is that we have prosecuted high-profile individuals before especially in the PKFZ case,” said the written reply.

The reply comes just as Transparency International (TI) released its Corruption Perception Index (CPI) report last Tuesday which showed that Malaysia’s score dipped further this year, from 4.5 to 4.4 out of 10 — with 10 being the least corrupt — after the country experienced its worse ranking ever last year.

The annual TI CPI measures how corrupt a country’s public sector is based on data sourced from 13 different polls and surveys from 10 independent institutions over a period of two years.

The three least corrupt countries in the world were, in order, Denmark, New Zealand and Singapore.

Malaysia’s previous worst scores below 5 were 4.8 in 2000, 4.9 in 2002 and 4.5 last year.

The country’s ranking puts it on par with Namibia and Turkey.

In releasing its report, TI had said the Najib administration still lacked the political will to weed out corruption and stressed that steps must be taken to tackle problems with implementation.

Despite government efforts to fight corruption, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Agency’s (MACC) inability to prosecute “big fish,” lack of progress in the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) fiasco, inaction by the Attorney-General’s Chambers in the “Lingam tapes” case, and contracts without open tender have continued to haunt public perception.

Lim rubbished the reply, arguing that it was “illogical” that the MACC probed only 11 persons for all of 2010, when the country was “mired with reports of corruption.”

“Only 11 investigations done till now? Are you saying that there are no more cases of corruption?  We read reports of high-powered politicians living way beyond their means, with lavish mansions and big cars, but yet no action is taken against them. That is why we are questioning the efforts (by MACC) to tackle corruption,” said Lim today.

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 2 November 2010, 4:51 pm and is filed under
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