Illegitimacy of elections since 1984

by Ravinder Singh

The Malaysian Insider

December 2, 2013

DEC 2 — In his speech at the 26th convocation of Universiti Utara Malaysia His Royal Highness the Yang Di Pertuan Agung expressed his concern about people challenging the laws of the country, including the Federal Constitution. He is reported to have said “The people should always respect and uphold the law.”

In the light of the Agung’s advise, where does the admission or confession of the former Election Commission chief Abdul Rashid Abdul Rahman, that the three redelineation exercises he did were done in such a way to ensure Malays retained political power and that he did so “in a proper way, not illegally”, stand?

I don’t think the Agung means that anyone is above the law or exempted from the law. Abdul Rashid’s claim that he did the redelineation in a proper way is a lie. What he did was illegal as it breached the 13th schedule of the Constitution.

The three delineation exercises were carried out in 1984, 1994 and 2003. As these were carried out in violation of the direction of law as contained in schedule 13 of the Constitution, it follows that all the seven (7) General Elections since 1984, i.e. in 1986, 1990, 1995, 1999, 2004, 2008 and 2013 which were conducted based on the three unconstitutional delineation exercises, are also unlawful and as such void.

In other words, although the BN won all those elections, they were not won with clean hands and the governments were formed unconstitutionally. But do any of those who won by playing foul games, as the referee (the EC) had put obstacles, even great obstacles in the path of the opposing teams, feel shame? The obstacles were the huge disparities in the number of voters in the different constituencies where the value of a vote in an opposition supporting area was reduced to a mere 10 per cent or even less compared to a vote in a BN supporting area. A numbers game according to Abdul Rashid.

Abdul Rashid’s confession has confirmed that the EC’s aggressively defended ‘independence’ was just a facade behind which was a government department answerable to the Prime Minister and charged with the responsibility of ensuring that the incumbent government remained in power election  after election at any cost. To ensure this, the dwindling support had to be shored up with ‘correct’ delineation so that even with fewer votes, the BN would retain its two-thirds majority. This was the ‘vision’, ‘mission’ and duty of the EC.

The art of gerrymandering was fined tuned to achieve this. First, the guiding formula in the Constitution was done away with. The Constitution initially stated that the difference in the number of voters in the various constituencies should not be more than 15 per cent. This was later amended to 50 per cent. After that it was fully blacked out, but what remained, and still remains in the 13th schedule, is the phrase that the number of voters in the different constituencies must be ‘approximately equal’ or in Malay ‘lebih kurang sama banyak’. This was a blank cheque given to the EC. Abdul Rashid and his team were now free to interpret ‘approximately equal’ as they wished, throwing out the dictionary meaning of this phrase. To them, a 9kg fish was approximately equal to a 1kg fish when a kindergarten child can tell you it is not. It was halal as the purpose was to ensure the masters remain in power. Could any Mufti or JAKIM please confirm this to put matters straight?

Not satisfied with this blank cheque, the EC introduced a ‘more efficient’ and faster way of counting votes. All ballot boxes from all the polling stations in a state constituency used to be taken to a central counting station, manned by a different set of election workers. The boxes would be opened, all the ballots mixed and then counted. This way it would not be known how voters in a small localised area had voted, e.g. how a particular kampung or longhouse voted.

This method was not suitable for effective gerrymandering. So the process was changed to counting in each and every stream in every polling station immediately after close of balloting. This way, the EC obtained excellent data on voter sentiments in very small areas as each voting stream caters to between 200 to 800 voters. This method of vote counting is in reality voter-spying. It tells how many per cent of the 200 to 800 voters, living in a small area, had voted. With this information in hand, particular kampungs and housing areas can be put in BN-friendly or BN-unfriendly constituencies. This tilting of the playing field, or shifting of the goal posts, is unconstitutional, which means it is illegal, or haram.

On the heels of Abdul Rashid’s confession about gerrymandering we have the former deputy chief of the EC Wan Ahmad Wan Omar fretting about being at the receiving end of public criticism for 16 years that the EC was not independent in the way it was conducting its affairs.

Abdul Rashid’s confession confirms that the EC was indeed an errand boy of the Prime Minister’s department. Being directly under the control of the Prime Minister, how could the EC be independent if its independence could lead to jeopardising the incumbency of the ruling party? The EC was being true to being “Saya yang menurut perintah”. For public perception, it had to be painted as a very independent body that was fair to both sides! Abdul Rashid’s confession peeled off the flaking paint to reveal what it really was, not that everyone had believed it was an independent body.

A few months ago, Dr Mahathir said some people don’t feel shame like the Japanese do when they do something wrong. This is because their culture requires that those who bring shame upon themselves have to commit hara kiri. Thus they make sure they do things well so as to avoid having to hara kiri themselves. Could Dr Mahathir tell us whether both Abdul Rashid and Wan Ahmad, who do not feel ashamed of violating the 13th schedule of the Constitution, should perform hara kiri themselves?

Thinking about it, the longest serving prime ministership was made possible by both these officers of the EC. So who should do hara kiri?  Someone needs to lead by example.

                This entry was posted on Monday, 2 December 2013, 9:34 am and is filed under
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One ideology, two reactions

Mariam Mokhtar | November 29, 2013

Free Malaysia Today

Malaysians must wonder why Aishah is considered safe but Chin Peng’s ashes are deemed a national threat

COMMENT

Two people with a shared ideology – communism. Both Malaysians, both radicals. Both have spent the past 30 years living outside Malaysia. Both were educated locally, one at the Methodist run Anglo-Chinese School (ACS) in Perak, the other at the Tengku Khursiah College in Negri Sembilan.

One became a leader albeit of a banned organisation and disappeared into the Malayan jungle, whilst the other disappeared into the back-streets of London into oblivion.

The two people are a Chinese man, 88-year-old Chin Peng who died in Bangkok last September and a Malay woman 69-year-old Siti Aishah Abdul Wahab who with her two comrades staged a daring escape from her alleged captors on Oct 25.

Aishah and the other women had been kept as “slaves” in a collective by a couple – an Indian and a Tanzanian for the past 30 years.

Chin Peng rose up the ranks to become the leader of the Malayan Communist Party (MCP) when he was only 23-years-old. Aishah was a very promising, intelligent woman who secured a Commonwealth scholarship to study at the London School of Economics (LSE) when she was 24-years-old.

Two days ago the IGP Khalid Abu Bakar confirmed the identity of the woman who was enslaved. He said that Aishah would not be arrested should she decide to return to Malaysia. He claimed that Aishah had been on the wanted list in the 70s, as she was considered an extremist.

He also confirmed that when she went to London to study, the police had kept her under surveillance. He did not make it clear if, or when, the surveillance stopped. Khalid’s revelation coupled with the information provided by PKR politician Nurul Izzah Anwar that there are 30 Special Branch (SB) officers in London begs the question: “Why did the Malaysian police not inform the family of Siti Aishah at any point in the past 30 years that Aishah was alive and well and had not disappeared without trace from her last known address?”

Was Khalid being economical with the truth or is he deliberately misleading the public to justify the large numbers of SB personnel operating in London? Was Aishah really being watched in London? Did the police and SB lose sight of her soon after she arrived in London? Was she only briefly under their watch?

Did they keep her family in the dark because her return would generate publicity about another Malay communist, which would be difficult to hide? So they thought it would be best if she were to stay away from Malaysia. They were happy to wash their hands of her. Another Malay communist was one red too many.

Khalid claimed that Aishah would not be arrested if she returned as her communist activities were “in the past”. Does the IGP know for sure that she has renounced her communist ideology?

Mental distress

Malaysians must wonder why Aishah is considered safe but Chin Peng’s ashes are deemed a national threat. The authorities feared that a martyr’s shrine for Chin Peng would be built in Sitiawan. Would Aishah not attract an extraordinary amount of publicity whether or not she still believes in her communist ideology? How will she recover from her trauma if she is not left in peace?

One is dead, the other is alive. According to a colleague who visited Chin Peng a few years before he died, the former Communist Party leader was very articulate, spoke fluent English and was a “nice old gentleman”. He did not show any bitterness about being banned from returning to Malaysia, despite the terms of the Peace Treaty.

A few of Aishah’s acquaintances allege that in 1982 when they last had contact with her Aishah was still committed to her ideology. The British press have reported that Aishah is highly traumatised and the police will not allow consular officials or her sister to contact her.

More disturbing reports emerge. The High Commission in London has said that it would extend its full cooperation to reinstate Aishah’s citizenship if she had unknowingly lost her identification papers during her 30-year imprisonment. We are thankful that the global network of the Foreign Ministry is diligent in performing its responsibilities in assisting Malaysians in various parts of the world.

So why can’t the same assistance be made available by the necessary departments in Malaysia to serve the hundreds of thousands of stateless people who were not registered by their poor and uneducated parents? Parents who may be the rural Orang Asli, the interior bound Penan or Indians who live on rubber estates?

On Nov 23, the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry said that it would provide counselling to Aishah. Critics fear that the Women’s Minister is only swapping one ideology with another – communism for Umno-Baruism – and that this would cause Aishah further mental distress.

Wisma Putra, the Women’s Ministry and the IGP are keen to help Aishah. By all means show compassion but make sure that compassion is extended to all Malaysians and not a select few individuals who just happen to be making headlines in the developed world.

If Aishah is promised counselling, the same should be given to the traumatised victims at home; the ostracised Penan women and young girls who were raped by timber workers, the family members of people killed in violent incidents like Batangkali, Memali, Kampung Medan and May 13.

Don’t dance in the limelight just because Aishah’s story is big news in London.

                This entry was posted on Monday, 2 December 2013, 6:17 pm and is filed under
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IGP’s Xmas hit – You better watch out

Mariam Mokhtar

Malaysiakini

Dec 2, 2013

I am on the waiting-list for membership of the exclusive ‘Sedition Club Uniting Malaysians’, (SCUM) which has several distinguished members like Adam Adli, Haris Ibrahim, Tian Chua, Tamrin Ghafar, Safwan Anang and Zunar. I don’t think many people know the criteria which makes one eligible for membership.

Who would have realised that a well-meaning article ‘One Idealogy, Two Reactions’ about the need to be compassionate to Malaysians, regardless of their political leanings or social background, would have upset the inspector-general of police (IGP) Khalid Abu Bakar?

Does Khalid suffer from an inferiority complex or was he under extreme pressure to explain his involvement in the Lahad Datu debacle?

More importantly, he wanted to divert attention from the terrible handling of the Siti Aishah Abdul Wahab story, by the Malaysian government and himself. They probably thought they would capitalise on the story of Aishah’s enslavement.

Initially, the Metropolitan police in England refused to divulge the identity of the Malaysian woman who had been “freed”, but Khalid jumped the gun and blurted out her name before the English police were ready to make this public.

Even before Kamar Mahtum and Hishamuddin Rais arrived in London, the IGP was already boasting about the welcome they would give Aishah on her return, home. Khalid said she would not be arrested as her “crime” was in the past. Meanwhile, the women’s minister talked about providing counselling.

It was like a couple expecting their first child, preparing the nursery to receive the baby, except the ‘baby’ – Aishah – refused to come home.

As information trickled back to KL, the IGP was probably told that Aishah had not deviated from her ideology. She had not been enslaved, as was previously reported. She had no intention of returning to Malaysia. She was not remorseful, nor did she want to resume ties with the land of her birth. Sources also allege that the reunion between Kamar and Aishah was far from cordial.

If Aishah really wanted to flee from her captors, she would have.

Khalid and the government realised, too late, that Aishah had outsmarted them. Aishah did not follow the Umno Baru script.

The IGP and Najib Abdul Razak probably wanted to give Aishah a heroine’s welcome at KLIA. Then, after a six month religious rehabilitation at one of the indoctrination centres, arrange a photo-shoot of Aishah kissing Najib’s hand, renouncing her previous ideology, giving up her Marxist beliefs, and praising Najib’s government as the saviour of her body and soul.

The penny must have dropped as Kamar and Hisham passed through passport control at Heathrow, on Saturday morning to return home. So, Khalid had to divert attention from the government’s terrible handling of the Aishah story. A distraction had to be found. Me! The rest is history.

A means to intimidate the public?

Did Khalid, in a moment of madness, lose his judgment and decide to abuse his position and utilise the publicity machinery of the state, and use me as a means to intimidate the public?

He was foolish to think I would be intimidated. Perhaps, he wanted me to be cowed and cower under the bed, as a certain politician, who was caught in flagrante delicto in Port Dickson, was alleged to have done.

Khalid believes that writers for the alternative media write, merely to get hits. They don’t! One would like to ask the IGP if his men have been given orders to use their weapons, just to score hits, on their victims?

Will Khalid understand that one of the reasons the mainstream media is failing the public is because they are economical with the truth. They manipulate facts and tell lies to incite hatred.

If Khalid were to talk to former Utusan journalists, he would learn many painful truths. Those who joined the exodus, in 2007, have alleged that their wages have not been paid. Another journalist alleges that the paper is losing money, because Umno Baru takes out full page advertisements in Utusan, and then fails to pay the paper.

Utusan loses revenue, and Najib, the president of Umno Baru knows that the party is bankrupt. So, he urges the government-linked companies (GLCs) to place advertisements in Utusan Malaysia.

My calling is to continue informing the public and stimulate them to ask questions of their parliamentarians and people in positions of responsibility, like the IGP. What are Khalid’s good points?  People have lost faith in the police because of leaders like Khalid.

One would have thought that Khalid would have understood the nuances of my article.  Surely, someone could have explained them to him, before he was allowed to shoot his mouth off.

It was Khalid who incorrectly mentioned race as the reason for the different treatments meted out to Chin Peng and Aishah. Perhaps, he would like to tell us why the dead Malaysian terrorists like Dr Azahari Hussein and Noordin Mat Top, the masterminds of the Jakarta and Bali bombings, were allegedly given the VIP treatment? Not many dead Malaysians would be returned to Malaysia at the taxpayer’s expense, in an RMAF transport.

Khalid warned me via a Bernama report that, “She (Mariam Mokhtar) had better watch out…”

Despite his failings, we should praise Khalid for his ‘1Malaysia’ spirit. During his visit to multicultural and predominantly Christian Sabah, he has kicked off the Christmas season with the classic song ‘You’d better watch out’. Most readers may know it by its original title, ‘Santa Claus is coming to town’.

A Malaysian makeover

With apologies to the original songwriters, J Fred Coots and Haven Gillespie, whose song made its debut in 1934, I have given the song a Malaysian makeover, and substituted the words ‘Santa Claus’ with ‘The IGP’.

The older generation may recall Fred Astaire, Dean Martin or Frank Sinatra singing this song. Khalid and younger Malaysians may prefer Miley Cyrus’ catchy rendition on YouTube.

Oh! You better watch out,

You better not cry,

You better not pout,

I’m telling you why:

The IGP  is coming to town!

He’s making a list,

He’s checking it twice,

Gonna find out who’s naughty or nice.

The IGP is coming to town!

He sees you when you’re sleeping,

He knows when you’re awake.

He knows when you’ve been bad or good,

So be good for goodness sake!

So…You better watch out, You better not cry

You better not pout, I’m telling you why.

The IGP is coming to town.

Who knows? The Khalid inspired song, ‘You Better Watch Out’, may prove to be this year’s Christmas hit.

Khalid was wrong to attack and intimidate members of the rakyat. This harassment should be our catalyst for real, meaningful change. It is Khalid and Umno Baru who had better watch out!

MARIAM MOKHTAR is a defender of the truth, the admiral-general of the Green Bean Army and president of the Perak Liberation Organisation (PLO).

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 3 December 2013, 10:57 am and is filed under
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Instead of being in top 30 of TI CPI in 2020, Malaysia faces risk of being overtaken by China and even Indonesia in both TI CPI ranking and score

The Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department and CEO of Performance Management Delivery Unit (Pemandu) Datuk Seri Idris Jala is ecstatic about Malaysia’s rise from 54 to 53 in Transparency International’s (TI) Corruption Perception Index (CPI) this year, declaring that Pemandu is aiming for the country to be in the top 30 by 2020.

Yes, Malaysia’s TI CPI ranking this year has improved by one step, placed 53 out of 177 countries compared to last year’s 54th ranking, while the TI CPI score has improved to 50/100 compared to last year’s 49/100.

However, the ineluctable fact is that for the fifth consecutive year, the Najib premiership (2009-2013) has registered a lower TI CPI ranking than under the two previous Prime Ministers, Tun Mahathir and Tun Abdullah.

This is illustrated by the following chart on TI CPI 1995-2013:

Prime Minister

Best ranking

Best score

Worst ranking

Worst score

Mahathir

23(1995)

5.32/10 (1996)

37 (2003)

4.8/10 (2000)

Abdullah

39(2004)

5.1/10 (2005/7/8)

47 (2008)

5/10 (2004/6)

Najib

53 (2013)

50/100 (2013)

60 (2011)

4.3/10 (2011)

In a sense, the TI CPI 2013 is a vindication of Mahathir’s boast two days ago that corruption is worse now than during his 22 years as Prime Minister (although Abdullah can also make the same boast about his five-year premiership).

However, Mahathir had  blissfully ignored another reality – that it was under his 22-year premiership that Malaysia started the slide and plunge into the morass of corruption, as under the first three Prime Ministers, Tunku Abdul Rahman, Tun Razak and Tun Hussein Onn, corruption was never a major problem and was well under control.

In fact, until the seventies, the biggest scandal in Parliament was the RM65 million Bank Rakyat scandal which I debated in Parliament in 1979.

Since the eighties, corruption and financial scandals increased by leaps and bounds from the RM2.5 billion Bumiputra Malaysia Finance (BMF) scandal, the RM600 million Maminco tin-buying scandal and the RM1.5 billion Co-operatives Finance scandal in the 80s, to the RM30 billion Bank Negara foreign exchange scandal and RM11 billion Perwaja scandal in the 90s, and current multi-billion ringgit Scorpene and defence procurement scandals and the RM12.5 billion Port Klang Free Zone scandal.

The root of corruption – money politics in government parties – instead of being curbed has taken on wings, as it has been estimated by UMNO inner circles that it takes more than RM10 million to win a seat as UMNO Vice President and more than a million ringgit to win as a UMNO supreme council member.

Massive money politics is not also spared in MCA and MIC party elections – till the MCA President accepted it as a fact in MCA party elections when he advised MCA delegates in the forthcoming MCA party elections to emulate the voters in the 13GE by
“Take Money; Don’t give votes”
 (as emblazoned in a Chinese newspaper headline).

Studying the TI CPI 2013 ranking and score for the 177 countries and the 19-year series of TI CPI from 1995-2013, there is no reason or ground for anyone to  believe that the target of Malaysia being ranked in the top 30 of TI CPI in 2020 is a realistic or achievable one.

In fact, come 2020, Malaysia races the risk of being overtaken by China and even Indonesia in both TI CPI ranking and score, when in the first TI CPI in 1995, Malaysia was ranked No. 23 out of 41 countries with a score of 5.28 out of 10, while China and Indonesia were ranked as the last two bottom countries with CPI score of 2.16 and 1.94 out of 10 respectively (i.e. hovering in the lowest 90 percentile of the CPI score).

If Malaysia is to occupy the top 30 percentile of the CPI index in 2020, we must achieve at least the top 35 percentile of the CPI score and not just 50/100, as the scores of the  five countries ranked from 26th to 30th in the TI CPI 2013 index are Austria UAE 69/100, Estonia Qatar 68/100 and Botswana 64/100.

However, in the last 19 years, Malaysia achieved the dubious distinction as one of the countries which had been downgraded both in TI CPI ranking and score, but had lost out to countries which had lower CPI ranking and score in 1995 and is also now at risk of being overtaken by countries including China and Indonesia which had been at the bottom of TI CPI in 1995.

For instance, Malaysia ranked No. 23 with CPI score of 5.28/10 in 1995, was ahead of Taiwan (Rank 25 Score 5.08), Spain (R 26 Sc 4.35), South Korea (R 27 Sc 4.29) Hungary (R 28 Sc 4.12)  and Turkey (R29 Sc 4.10) but in the 2013 TI CPI have lost out to Taiwan (R 36 Sc 61), Spain (R 40 Sc 59), South Korea (R 46 Sc 55), Hungary (R 47 Sc 54) and been caught up by Turkey (R 53 Sc 50).

Unlike Malaysia, which has achieved a lower percentile score in the past 19 years, i.e. 5.28/10 in 1995 to 50/100 in 2013, all other countries in Asia have improved on their percentile score in the past 19 years from 1995 to 2013, eg. Thailand from 2.79/10  to 35/100; India from 2.78/10 to 36/100; Philippines from 2.77/10 to 36/100; Pakistan from 2.25/10 to 28/100; China from 2.16/10 to 40/100 and Indonesia from 1.94/10 to 32/100.

What should concern all Malaysians is that from these trends, Malaysia runs the risk of being overtaken by both Indonesia and China before 2020 in the annual TI CPI both in ranking and score unless Malaysia quickly buck up and show its seriousness on the anti-corruption front.

How are Malaysians going to hold their heads high when the world perceive Malaysia as being even more corrupt than Indonesia and China before the end of the decade?

Is this the fate awaiting Malaysia in the TI CPI ranking and score before 2020?

Artikel ini juga boleh didapati dalam Bahasa Malaysia di:
https://blog.limkitsiang.com/2013/12/09/malaysia-berdepan-kemungkinan-untuk-gagal-mencapai-sasaran-mengisi-tangga-30-teratas-dalam-cpi-ti-pada-tahun-2020-dan-malah-dipintas-oleh-cina-dan-malahan-indonesia-dari-segi-kedudukan-dan-skor-dalam/

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 4 December 2013, 2:52 pm and is filed under
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Property re-valuation – not done for 21 years?

by Joseph Tan

(Letter to DAP MP for Segambut, Lim Lip Eng)

I am one of your constituents in TTDI

I like to bring to your attention some facts to dispute the lies perpetrated by the Minister and Mayor regarding above subject.

The only justification offered by the authorities for this unreasonable increase is that the property values  have not been revised since 21 years ago. Since I have records to cover the past 21 years, I will share the actual history for everyone’s awareness. This will demonstrate with facts, the blatant lies being told.

Here are my records since I moved into my property:-

Year

Valuation

Rate

Tax

% increase in valuation

1990

9000

8%

720

na

1991

15600

6%

936

73

1992

16200

6%

972

4

2009

19800

6%

1188

22

2014pp

48600

??

??

145

The 2014 proposed increase is unreasonable and definitely unacceptable.

If the rate remains at 6%, then the tax would also show a 145% increase!!

You can see from the above table that it was only 4 years ago that the valuation was revised by 22%. So, where did they get this justification that it was 21 years ago!!

I like you to raise this and expose the blatant lies in the pursuit of the objections to City Hall.  Thank you.

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 4 December 2013, 5:59 pm and is filed under
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The “non-fulfillment” of the Malaysian agreement: Who is to blame?

– Arnold Puyok

The Malaysian Insider

December 04, 2013

In 1963, Sabah, Sarawak and Peninsular Malaya formed what is now called Malaysia. But the forming of Malaysia was not without challenges. In terms of population demography, Sabah and Sarawak were more culturally heterogeneous than Peninsular Malaya.

Sabah and Sarawak were also economically under-developed. Due to Sabah and Sarawak’s distinctive characters, they were allowed to make specific demands as part of a deal before their incorporation into Malaysia.

These demands were known as the 20-point memorandum for Sabah and 18-point memorandum for Sarawak. Both memorandums were later used as a guide by the Cobbold Commission to ascertain the views of Sabahans and Sarawakians about Malaysia.

The demands were later discussed in the Inter-Governmental Committee before their incorporation into the Federal Constitution. At the London talks in July 1963, Great Britain, Northern Ireland, the Federation of Malaya, North Borneo (Sabah), Sarawak and Singapore agreed to sign the Malaysia Agreement.

The signing of the agreement was significant because it paved the way for the enactment of the Malaysia Act (Act No. 26 of 1963) which sealed the formation of Malaysia. With the enactment of the Malaysia Act, the Federal Constitution took over from the Malayan Constitution as a new “document of destiny” for Malaysia. The rights and privileges for Sabah and Sarawak are clearly stated in the Federal Constitution (Articles 161, 161A, 161B, 161E).

Apart from becoming a supreme document in the land, the Federal Constitution also reflects the new political reality in Malaysia. It should be stated that Malaysia was formed through the merging of three separately independent entities – Peninsular Malaya, Sabah and Sarawak.

However, some people argue that the federal government does not honour the 20/18-point memorandum. The issue becomes complicated when the legality of the  20/18-point is questioned. For some, raising the 20/18-point is akin to flogging a dead horse because it is already incorporated into the Federal Constitution. For others, the 20/18-point is a legal document and it is the federal government’s duty to fulfill the demands of Sabah and Sarawak before their incorporation into Malaysia. But ironically, the non-fulfillment of the 20-point demands were a work of Sabah own leaders.

In 1973, Sabah Chief Minister Mustapha Harun of Usno (United Sabah National Organisation) amended the State Constitution to make Islam the official religion of Sabah. In the 20-point memorandum, Sabah leaders requested for Islam not to be made official religion because the majority of the population was non-Muslims and many were not inclined towards Islam.

Mustapha continued to amend the State Constitution to make Bahasa Melayu the official language in replace of English. The 20-point stated that English should be the “official language of [Sabah] for all purposes, [s]tate or [f]ederal without limitation of time”. Mustapha’s actions were driven by his beliefs that Sabah could only be developed under one religion (Islam), one language (Bahasa Melayu), and one culture (Malay).

In 1976, the 20-point and Sabah’s autonomy were further eroded by Mustapha’s successor Harris Salleh of Berjaya who surrendered the state’s control over natural resources to the federal government. In 1984, Harris continued with his massive federalisation policies by surrendering Labuan. In 1991, the federal influence in Sabah came to its high point with the establishment of Umno and other Peninsular-based parties in the state. Most of the Usno members left the party and joined Umno.

The rotation system of the chief minister’s post introduced by then Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad to ensure equal representation of the main ethnic groups in Sabah was just a temporary measure to consolidate Umno’s powers in Sabah. Just before the system completed its full cycle, it was abolished by Umno to seal its dominance in Sabah.

Changes in Sabah’s political landscape also affected the relations between one ethnic group with the other. Sabah has never experienced any serious ethnic tension since the formation of Malaysia. But when the Sabah Mufti called for the “Malay-isation” of the Muslim indigenous people, it caused a lot of anxiety – and potentially explosive ethnic fissures – in Sabah. The mufti’s refusal to apologise did not go well with many who continued to force the state Islamic leader to appear before the Native Court.

The mufti’s suggestion came amid the growing number of Malay/Muslim population in Sabah since the era of Mustapha. The non-Muslim people were aware of the fact that Sabah’s population demography had been altered to increase the Malay/Muslim population for political expediency. This is among the factors making the ruling party BN unpopular in the non-Muslim constituencies.

Sabahans have every reason to voice out their unhappiness about the attempt to alter Sabah’s plural identity and autonomy. But they must look introspectively and stop blaming the federal government and “semenanjung” people. The problems that happen in Sabah are mainly caused by Sabah leaders and Sabahans themselves.

Of course, one can say that the federal government has the innumerable powers to exert its influence in Sabah. But it is the duty of Sabah leaders to defend the Federal Constitution which grants Sabah certain rights and autonomy. Sabahans must also be aware that many Sabah leaders are using the 20/18-point issue and the Malaysia Agreement to revive their fading political support. Others use it as a “bargaining chip” to pursue their political ambition.

So, Sabahans should not trust these opportunist politicians too much. They must seek the truth themselves and use their democratic rights to elect leaders who are sincere in fighting for their rights.

The Federal Constitution protects the special privileges for Sabah and Sarawak. Malaysians of all walks of life have the duty to defend the sanctity and sovereignty of the Federal Constitution. Any attempt to erode the constitutional safeguards of Sabah and Sarawak must be stopped.

The formation of Malaysia happened by the sweat and toil of our founding fathers who envisioned a new country that belongs to all Malaysians irrespective of their ethnic identity and religion. Let us all defend what Malaysia was meant to be. – December 4, 2013.

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 4 December 2013, 7:04 pm and is filed under
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Tweets on UMNO General Assembly

Tweets on UMNO General Assembly:

1. Najib to Malays: Where would you be without Umno? – Ram Anand (Mkini)
http://goo.gl/xTrPu4

2. At Umno assembly, calls for ‘1 Melayu’ to replace ‘1 Malaysia’ – by Syed Jaymal Zahiid (MMO)
http://goo.gl/bCeiE2

3. Don’t worry if people call us racists, says Umno youth member – by Muzliza Mustafa (TMI)
http://goo.gl/lJ4rZM

4. ‘No apologies if people say Umno members are wealthy’ – Aidila Razak (Mkini)
http://goo.gl/jbYyjW

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 5 December 2013, 5:14 pm and is filed under
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Malaysia ruling party tightens embrace of Islam to gain support

By S
tuart Grudgings

10:42 p.m. CST, December 5, 2013

Chicago Tribune

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 6 (Reuters) – Malaysia’s ruling party, stung by an election setback in May, is burnishing its Islamic credentials, aiming to gain ground among majority ethnic Malay voters in a move that could heighten concern over growing religious intolerance in the multi-racial Southeast Asian country.

The coalition led by the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) suffered its worst election result, hurt by the desertion of ethnic Chinese voters and many urban dwellers, including Muslim Malays, its traditional bedrock of support.

Ahead of the party’s annual general assembly this week, Prime Minister Najib Razak shored up his support by making concessions to the party’s conservative wing, rolling back his previous liberal social reforms, boosting steps to favour ethnic Malays economically and stressing UMNO’s role as a protector of the Islamic faith.

That has enabled him to push forward with unpopular economic steps to tackle the country’s chronic fiscal deficit, most recently the announcement of a 15 percent rise in electricity tariffs from January.

“UMNO has been upholding Islam over tens of years, setting up Islamic universities and institutions of higher learning and establishing Islamic finance in this country,” Najib told delegates in his keynote opening address on Thursday.

“This is where the greatness of Islam is upheld.”

At the assembly, senior UMNO leaders called on the government to change the country’s constitution to specify Malaysia’s official religion as Sunni Islam, reflecting growing hostility to the spread of the Shia sect of Islam. The party also invited a popular Islamic preacher to join its decision-making Supreme Council, an offer he rejected.

Religious tensions have flared since the election, with Najib’s government voicing support for a court’s ruling that only Muslims can use the word “Allah” to refer to God, despite Malaysian Christians having used the word for centuries.

An UMNO member of parliament last month threw his support behind a long-held plan to introduce Islamic criminal law in Kelantan, a northeastern state governed by the opposition Islamist Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS). Meanwhile, the UMNO-controlled state of Johor bordering Singapore last month changed its official weekend to Friday and Saturday to accommodate Muslims’ day of congregational prayer.

“I think my leaders have completely lost the plot because our strength is as a centrist party, not being a religious or right-wing party,” said Nur Jazlan Mohamed, an UMNO member of parliament in Johor who saw his majority shrink in May.

He said the strategy was misguided because Malays were increasingly moving to urban areas, where they tended to be swayed less by religion and were more focused on governance issues, such as the corruption that has tainted UMNO.

UMNO’s moves come amid speculation it will hold talks with PAS, part of the Pakatan Rakyat opposition alliance led by former finance minister Anwar Ibrahim.

PAS President Abdul Hadi Awang expressed willingness at the party’s recent conference to discuss with UMNO how to implement a more Islam-based administration, sparking talk that a formal alliance between the two could be in the making.

Such a deal would dramatically boost the ruling coalition’s thin parliamentary majority, though analysts see it as unlikely.

“Without Pakatan Rakyat, PAS would be left as just another Malay party on the fringes of UMNO,” said Wan Saiful Wan Jan, head of Malaysia’s Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs. “It would defy all the hopes people have been putting in the party.”

Still, claiming the Islamic “high ground” held by PAS could  help UMNO gather stronger backing from Malays, to make up for the dramatic loss of support from ethnic Chinese, who make up more than a quarter of the population.

UMNO, which has ruled at the head of a multi-ethnic coalition since independence from Britain in 1957, has traditionally been a secular, business-oriented party.

But the rise of PAS since its strong election performance in 1999 has pushed UMNO to become more religious, aggravating ethnic divisions and undermining Malaysia’s international image as a standard-bearer of “moderate” Islam.

(Additional reporting by Siva Sithraputhran; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)

                This entry was posted on Friday, 6 December 2013, 5:43 pm and is filed under
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Power tariff – the last straw that broke the camel’s back?

Liew Chin Tong

Malaysiakini

Dec 6, 2013

MP SPEAKS

The spate of new taxes and price hikes, the latest being the electricity tariff hike, have caused me to doubt whether the government under Najib Abdul Razak has any idea about the macroeconomic risks that Malaysia faces.

Against the backdrop of an uncertain global economy and the likeliness of the quantitative easing tapering, domestic demand is crucial in sustaining the Malaysian economy. Yet the spate of new taxes and price hikes will produce an opposite result: the further decline of domestic demand.

Will the electricity tariff increase become the last straw on the camel’s back that will see the Malaysian economy collapsing due to the confluence of several domestic and global factors?

The electricity tariff will be increased by an average of about 14.89 percent for Peninsular Malaysia, and by about 17 percent for Sabah and Labuan from next year.

The average electricity tariff in Peninsular Malaysia will be up 4.99 sen per kWh or 14.89 percent from the current average rate of 33.54 sen/kWh to 38.53 sen/kWh.

For Sabah and Labuan, the average tariff will be up 5 sen per kWh or 16.9 percent from current average rate of 29.52 sen per kWh to 34.52 sen per kWh.

GST will cause inflation

Currently, Malaysia is already burdened with risks of a potential crisis due to the following factors:

First, the goods and services tax (GST), which will be introduced in April 2015, will eat away disposable income and hence depress domestic demand, as well as cause inflation, at least in the first year.

Second, quantitative easing is likely to end by then. The interest rate is likely to be higher in 2015 and a higher interest rate will depress domestic demand further. As the US dollar appreciates, imports will become more expensive.

On the other hand, exports may not be too good, even with a depreciated ringgit largely because job growth in the US and Europe would still be slow, thus demand of our exported goods would not be high.

In addition, some US manufacturers are moving back to the United States, which means room for Malaysia’s export-led growth is limited.

Third, I am of the view that palm oil price is likely to further soften in 2015, mainly due to oversupply and a potential soya super harvest next year, despite the Haiyan catastrophe causing short-term shortages of coconut oil.

The potential softening of palm oil prices will have major political consequences in Malaysia as small owners in small towns and rural areas depend heavily on commodities.

Will there be a property bubble?

Fourth, will there be a property bubble? What would be the combined effect of electricity tariff hike, GST implementation, higher interest rate (mostly as a result of quantitative easing tapering) and lower commodity prices?

The moment somebody begins to default, there is risk of a meltdown, especially in the context of very high domestic debt-to-GDP ratio.

Beyond that, the rating agencies’ greater scrutiny of Malaysia’s poorly managed public finances will likely result in more expensive borrowing costs to the government, and consequently push up further the interest rate for everyone else.

Fuel prices are never easy to gauge, but the petrol price may fall as the supply of shale gas comes through.

The fall of petrol price will be a double-edged sword. It would mean less subsidy payment, thus helping to reduce the deficit,

However, this also means eroding Petronas’s contribution to the public coffers, thus potentially resulting in widening of deficit, which in turn further erodes the government’s creditworthiness.

The government needs to have the big picture in mind and coordinate its macroeconomic policies to avoid the potential meltdown. Any hard landing is going to harm millions of ordinary families, hence efforts should be made now to prevent such an occurrence.

LIEW CHIN TONG is the MP for Kluang and DAP national political education director.

                This entry was posted on Friday, 6 December 2013, 6:59 pm and is filed under
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Triple woes for Malaysia in the 2012 PISA international student assessment for mathematics, science and reading

If only Malaysia had made slight progress in all the three subjects of mathematics, science and reading in the 2012 PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) as compared to the previous PISA test in 2010, the Deputy Prime Minister and Education Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin would have highlighted the issue in his speech when opening the annual general meetings of  Umno Youth, Wanita and Puteri on Tuesday night (the PISA results were released earlier the same day) as evidence that Malaysia was progressing towards a world-class education system under his leadership.

But the 2012 PISA results were more grounds for despondency rather than celebration, and this is why Muhyiddin was conspicuously silent about the PISA results – unlike his Singapore counterpart, Education Minister Heng Swee Keat who said on the same day the PISA results were released that he was “very happy that Singapore’s 15-year-olds had done “very, very well” in 2012 PISA, as the Singapore students ranked second in mathematics and third in science and reading in the global assessment taken by about 510,000 15-year-old students in 65 countries and regions.

The Thai Education Minister, Chaturon Chaisang was upbeat with the results of the Thai students scoring 441 in reading, 427 in mathematics and 444 in science (beating Malaysia in all three subjects), saying that the Thai ranking demonstrated the country’s potential and could attract investment.

Malaysia has more than enough reasons to rue the 2012 PISA, as the country has proclaimed that it aspired to be in the top third of the countries in the world in terms of performance in international assessments, as measured by outcomes in the PISA or Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) by 2021.

In fact, Muhyiddin had even said before the publication of the Preliminary Report of the Malaysian Education Blueprint 2013-2015 last October that Malaysian youngsters are receiving better education than children in the United States, Britain and Germany.

Muhyiddin’s claim is not only not borne out by the latest TIMSS and PISA reports, but the latest 2012 PISA represents triple woes for Malaysia’s 15-year-olds and our education system, viz:

Malaysia seems to be stuck in the bottom third of the countries surveyed in international assessments, and not making any upward move towards the upper tier of the top third of the countries.

This is illustrated by the worsening of Malaysia’s results in the 2012 PISA as compared to the previous 2010 PISA, viz:

Maths

Science

Reading

2010

2012

2010

2012

2010

2012

Score

404

421

422

420

414

398

Rank

57

52

52

53

55

59

Although at the bottom third of the pile, Malaysia is being overtaken by other countries in the group, like Kazakhstan whose mathematics score have widened from one point difference in Kazakhstan’s favour (2010: Kazakhstan 405; Malaysia 404) to 11 points (2012: Kazakhstan 432; Malaysia 421) and well as turning the table and overtaking Malaysia in science from 400 for Kazakhstan in 2009 PISA as against 422 for Malaysia to 425 for Kazakhstan in 2012 PISA as against 420 for Malaysia.

Another example is Thailand which beats Malaysia, widening the lead in all three subjects:

(2012 PISA)

Maths

Science

Reading

Thailand

427

444

441

Malaysia

421

420

398

But the most disconcerting result from the 2012 PISA is the widening gap between Malaysia and the “top performers”.

The Malaysian Education Blueprint states:

“Over the past two decades, international student assessments, such as the Programme for international Student Assessment (PISA) and the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), have emerged as a means of directly comparing the quality of educational outcomes across different systems. These assess a variety of cognitive skills such as application and reasoning…

“The results from PISA 2009+ (the first time Malaysia participated in this assessment) were also discouraging, with Malaysia ranking in the bottom third of 74 participating countries, below the international and OECD average.

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

“A difference of 38 points on the PISA scale is equivalent to one year of schooling.

“A comparison of scores shows that 15-year-olds in Singapore, South Korea, Hong Kong, and Shanghai are performing as though they have had 3 or more years of schooling than 15-year-olds in Malaysia.”

The disparity in the scores between 15-year-olds in Malaysia and the 15-year-olds in Singapore, South Korea, Hong Kong and Shanghai have widened since the previous PISA.

Based on the difference of 38 points on the PISA scale being equivalent to one year of schooling, the disparity has widened to reach  a stage where the 15-year-old in Shanghai, Singapore and South Korea are performing as though they had four or even five more years of schooling than 15-year-olds in Malaysia.

This is illustrated by the following chart:

2012 PISA score

(bracket : difference in years of schooling)

Reading

Maths

Science

Shanghai

570 (4.5)

613 (5)

580 (4.2)

Singapore

542 (3.8)

573 (4)

551 (3.5)

S. Korea

536 (3.6)

554 (3.5)

538 (3.1)

Hong Kong

545 (3.9)

561 (3.7)

555 (3.6)

Malaysia

398

421

420

As Education Minister, Muhyiddin cannot remain silent but must explain how he proposes to overcome and resolve the triple woes for the Malaysian education as highlighted by the 2013 PISA results.

Artikel ini juga boleh didapati dalam Bahasa Malaysia di:
https://blog.limkitsiang.com/2013/12/09/tiga-keadaan-mendukacitakan-untuk-malaysia-dalam-penilaian-pelajar-antarabangsa-pisa-2012-bagi-subjek-matematik-sains-dan-bacaan/

                This entry was posted on Friday, 6 December 2013, 11:00 am and is filed under
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Berselindung di sebalik isu perkauman

 – Dyana Sofya Mohd Daud

The Malaysian Insider

December 07, 2013

Pada November lalu, bekas Naib Canselor Universiti Malaya, Tan Sri Dr Ghauth Jasmon telah berkata di Persidangan Asia Barat dan Afrika di Kuala Lumpur bahawa isu perkauman digunakan oleh sesetengah ahli politik di Malaysia bagi melindungi kegiatan rasuah yang dilakukan pemimpin terbabit.

Beliau juga berkata isu perkauman dimainkan bagi melindungi salah laku selain mengelak mereka yang terlibat daripada dituduh atas aktiviti tidak bermoral itu.

Saya tertarik dengan kata-kata beliau memandangkan di Malaysia terdapat satu gabungan parti politik yang masih mengamalkan politk perkauman dan gabungan ini berada di posisi di mana rasuah boleh berlaku secara berleluasa.

Apabila seorang cendiakawan memberi komen sedemikian, kita pasti tertanya-tanya apakah yang beliau tahu, dan ingin mengetahui secara lanjut apa yang dimaksudkan oleh Tan Sri Ghauth Jasmon? Sejauh manakah dan apakah contoh-contoh sifat perkauman dan kegiatan rasuah berkait di negara ini.

Tan Sri Ghauth Jasmon juga berkata “Jika negara dipenuhi dengan pemimpin rasuah, mereka akan menggunakan isu perkauman untuk melindungi kesalahan bagi menarik perhatian.Adakah dengan terus mempromosikan sifat perkauman yang semakin menebal, semakin tersoroklah kegiatan rasuah yang berleluasa?

Sekiranya ini benar, apa-apa gabungan politk yang masih berteraskan politk perkauman seharusnya dihentikan dan tidak lagi relevan kerana ia hanya melindungi kepentingan sesetengah pihak yang menggunakannya sebagai topeng untuk melindungi kegiatan rasuah mereka dan bukannya membantu atau memperkasakan sesuatu kaum tersebut seperti yang dikatakan, seterusnya menghancurkan negara tercinta ini.

Kita terpaksa akui bahawa masalah perkauman sememangnya wujud di Malaysia tetapi apa yang menyedihkan adalah, kita masih mempunyai pemimpin-pemimpin yang menyokong isu tersebut dan bukannya membantu menyelesaikannya.

Adakah dengan masih wujudnya sifat perkauman di Malaysia ini yang dipraktikkan oleh sesetengah ahli politik  dan pemimpin negara sendiri telah menyumbang kepada kemerosotan Malaysia di dalam Indeks Persepsi Rasuah 2013 Transparency International yang diterbitkan beberapa hari yang lalu? Indeks ini merupakan satu peringatan kepada kesalahgunaan kuasa, perundingan rahsia dan kegiatan rasuah yang berlaku di seluruh dunia.

Malaysia berada di tangga ke 53 dengan markah 50 dimana markah 100 menunjukkan markah paling bersih dan 0 menunjukkan tahap korupsi yang tertinggi. Singapura berada di tangga ke-5 dengan markah 86, Hong Kong di tangga ke-15 dengan markah 75, Taiwan dan Israel di tangga ke-36 dengan masing-masing markah 61.

Rakyat Malaysia tidak harus lagi tertipu dengan agenda perkauman yang hanya akan membawa kepada kehancuran negara kerana pejuang-pejuang perkauman ini hanya melindungi kepentingan mereka bukannya memperkasakan sesuatu kaum itu sendiri.

Sekiranya perlu lagi contoh sikap perkauman yang ditonjolkan oleh sesetengah pihak di sebuah parti politik, boleh lihat sahaja di mana seorang perwakilan UMNO telah Perwakilan Umno semalam meminta slogan Salam 1Melayu menggantikan slogan salam 1Malaysia kerana kaum lain gagal membantu Umno negerinya.

Wakil Pulau Pinang Datuk Musa Sheikh Fadzir menceritakan pengalaman beliau “ditikam” oleh kaum lain ketika pilihan raya umum lalu dalam perbahasan ucapan dasar presiden, semalam.

 Tan Sri Ghauth Jasmon ada berkata, “Jika negara dipenuhi ahli politik yang rasuah, ia adalah resipi kehancuran.”

Saya juga percaya jika negara berbilang kaum ini dipenuhi ahli politik dan pemimpin yang bersifat perkauman, ia juga satu resipi kehancuran.

Sebagai rakyat Malaysia, kita seharusnya menolak politik perkauman dan perlu sama-sama bersatu membina Impian Malaysia dan bukannya hanya melihat kepada perbezaan warna kulit atau mencari sebab untuk membenci satu sama lain. Malaysia adalah tanah tumpah darah kita semua.

“We are fighting for a society where people will cease thinking in terms of colour.” (March 8, 1993) – The late Nelson Mandela. – 7 Disember, 2013.

* Penulis adalah Setiausaha Politik kepada Ahli Parlimen Gelang Patah, Lim Kit Siang.

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 7 December 2013, 9:09 pm and is filed under
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Muhyiddin cannot continue to be dumbstruck by 2012 PISA results five days ago but must speak up on responses by Education Ministry

The Deputy Prime Minister and Education Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin cannot continue to be dumbstruck by the 2012 PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) results five days ago but must speak up on the responses by the Education Ministry.

Malaysia should at least learn from England which has swung into immediate action, announcing the creation of 30 elite maths centres across the country after the 2012 PISA results which find that UK schoolchildren are up to three years behind their peers in the top-performing countries in Asia.

Under the new UK plan, secondary school teachers will provide expert tuition to primary pupils as part of government reforms designed to address serious failing in maths.

Under the plan, pupils aged under-11 face being set more challenging tasks designed to prepare them for the demands of secondary education as the UK Education Secretary, Michael Gove, said successful Asian nations introduced all students “to more stretching mathematical content at an earlier age than has been the case here”.

More teachers will also be trained as specialists in the subject.

In fact,  UK Education Secretary expressed particular concerns over poor standards of UK students in maths in the House of Commons on Tuesday, the same day the 2012 PISA results were announced.

In contrast, Muhyiddin has still to respond publicly to the 2012 PISA results for Malaysia.

The  2012 PISA figures show that UK schoolchildren are now the equivalent of three years behind pupils in Shanghai, China – the best-performing jurisdiction – and a year behind the best-performing European countries such as Switzerland and the Netherlands.

Under new UK  plan, the Department of Education will designate 30 teaching schools as regional centres to drive up standards in maths.

The Mathematics Education Strategic Hubs – funded with £11m of taxpayers’ money – will be expected to recruit more maths experts into the teaching profession, raise standards of on-the-job training locally and ensure tough teaching materials are introduced into surrounding schools.

In a key move, it is likely to involve top-performing secondary schools working with local primaries to improve teaching in the subject and give children more challenging tasks at the age of 10 and 11.

The hubs in England – formally launched in September 2014 – will be partly designed to ease the transition between primary and secondary education and stop pupil performance dipping in the first years of senior school.

This is United Kingdom’s response the 2012 PISA results –  a “wake-up call” for schools across Britain as UK pupils’ performance in maths, science and reading is lagging far behind those topping the ranking in East Asia, particularly Shanghai, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan and South Korea.

UK’s performance in 2012 PISA  has stagnated at about the same middle-ranking level achieved when the exams were last taken in 2009.

The UK ranked 26th for maths and 23rd for reading, which puts it broadly on a par with the OECD averages and in the same bracket as nations such as the Czech Republic, France and Norway.

In science, the results were slightly better, with youngsters coming 21st, just above the OECD average and similar to results in Australia, Austria, Ireland, New Zealand and the Netherlands. These are similar to the 2009 rankings.

The OECD average for Maths is 494, Reading 496 and Science 501.

UK’s score in the 2012 PISA is 494 for Maths, 499 for Reading and 514 for Science.

Malaysia is well below the OECD average and UK’s performance, as our scores in 2012 PISA are:  421 for Maths, 398 for Reading and 420 for Science.

As a difference of 38 points on the PISA scale is equivalent to one year of schooling, the 2012 PISA would put Malaysia’s 15-year-olds  behind their peers in UK by two to two-and-a-half years in maths, reading and science.

What is shocking is that UK education authorities are regarding 2012 PISA as a “wake-up call” for urgent education reforms in these three key subjects while Malaysia, which is far behind UK and even three to five years behind the top-performing countries like Shanghai, Singapore, Hong Kong and South Korea do not seem to be very concerned about Malaysia being stuck in the bottom one third of the PISA countries.

When will Muhyiddin “wake up” to make a “wake-up call” for Malaysia’s poor educational standards?

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 7 December 2013, 3:21 pm and is filed under
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Plundering in the guise of protecting the Malays

NEWS ANALYSIS BY THE MALAYSIAN INSIDER

December 07, 2013

When Umno started out in 1946, it united many Malay groups and organisations in the pursuit of Merdeka, an independent Malaya which later formed Malaysia with Sabah and Sarawak.

It fought for the race, religion and rulers. And it ruled Malaysia with its allies, MCA and MIC, and later expanded that to Barisan Nasional in the aftermath of the May 1969 race riots.

Its mission never changed and every annual gathering was focused on race and religion. But now, that is being used to profit the few rather than the many.

This year’s assembly is no different, especially at a time of rising costs and shrinking surplus in the country. Malaysians are told to tighten their belts as assessment rates and electricity tariffs go up. Soon, toll rates will be raised while a consumption tax comes into effect in April 2015.

But over at the Putra World Trade Centre where Umno has its annual general assembly, it appears to be more like a gathering of Ali Baba and the 40 thieves as delegate after delegate speak about the economy and the need to reward only those who supported BN and Umno in the 13th General Election.

They are all trying to parcel out and get more for themselves in the name of protecting the Malays! It is still about business opportunities just for Malays and corporate positions just because they are Malays.

There is so little talk about how far behind Malaysian students are lagging in mathematics, science and reading in the PISA rankings this year.

Not one squeak on the ticking time-bomb of household debt and income inequality in the country, except that people should tighten their belts. Even the cash handouts are a miserly amount which some delegates now want to restrict to just their supporters.

Just gimme gimme gimme.

Everything is for them and pity those who stand in their way and question what they are doing.

All the government-linked companies are for their own economic development and not for the rest of the country.

How then can we still have 1Malaysia? Even that might give way to 1Melayu if some delegates have their way.

Let’s just cut the fluff and call the Umno assembly what it is: officially sanctioned plundering of Malaysia.

There can be no other reason to meet, except to find ways to profit for themselves at the expense of their community and country. – December 7, 2013.

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 7 December 2013, 7:24 pm and is filed under
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Pupuk perpaduan sesama Islam

– SM Mohamed Idris

The Malaysian Insider

December 07, 2013

Kami dukacita di atas cadangan oleh Timbalan Presiden Umno Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin yang mahu meminda Perlembagaan Persekutuan untuk menjamin ajaran Ahli Sunnah Wal Jamaah sebagai kepercayaan umat Islam di Malaysia dan merayu supaya mempertimbangkan semula perkara itu kerana ia mempunyai implikasi serius ke atas perpaduan umat Islam dan komitmen antarabangsa Malaysia.

Kami percaya cadangan yang dibuat itu adalah respons kepada kempen anti Syiah pada masa ini yang sedang dijalankan oleh kumpulan tertentu yang dipengaruhi dan disokong oleh ulama Salafi yang bersikap melampau.

Islam itu satu dan tiada Islam Sunni atau Islam Syiah. Terdapat perbezaan mazhab dan orang Islam bebas untuk mengikuti mana-mana mazhab. Sebarang cubaan untuk menafikan hak   sesuatu mazhab  akan hanya membawa kepada perpecahan dan konflik dalam kalangan umat Islam dan melemahkan usaha yang sedang diusahakan untuk menyatupadukan umat Islam bagi menghadapi cabaran dari kuasa hegemoni, diktator dan pemerintah autokratik.

Pada Julai 2005, berdasarkan fatwa yang dikeluarkan oleh 24 ulama paling kanan dalam agama Islam termasuk Ulama Sunni, Sheikh Al Azhar Dr Muhammad Sayyid Tantawi, Sheikh Dr. Yusuf Abdullah Al-Qaradawi, Mufti Pakistan Muhammad Taqi Uthmani dan Ulama Syiah Ayatollah Al-Sayyid Ali Khameni dan Ayatollah Al-Sayyid Ali Al-Sistani, Raja Abdullah II dari Jordan telah menganjurkan satu persidangan Islam antarabangsa yang dihadiri oleh 200 sarjana Islam terkemuka dunia dari 50 negara yang telah menerima fatwa tersebut, iaitu:

• Sesiapa sahaja yang patuh kepada salah satu daripada empat Usuluddin Islam mazhab Sunni (Hanafi, Maliki, Shafei dan Hanbali), dua Usuluddin Islam mazhab Syiah (Ja’fari dan Zaydi), Usuluddin Islam mazhab Ibadi dan Usuluddin Islam mazhab Thahiri adalah seorang Islam. Mengisytiharkan seseorang itu sebagai murtad adalah mustahil dan tidak dibenarkan.

• Terdapat lebih banyak persamaan antara pelbagai mazhab Usuluddin Islam berbanding dengan perbezaan antara mereka. Pengikut lapan mazhab Usuluddin Islam ini bersepakat dalam perkara prinsip asas Islam.

• Semua percayakan Allah (Tuhan), dimuliakan dan ditinggikan, esa dan unik; al-Quran itu suci dan wahyu yang dipelihara dan dilindungi oleh Allah, dimuliakan serta tiada sebarang perubahan dan pindaan; dan Muhammad SAW adalah Rasul dan Nabi untuk semua manusia.

• Semua bersetuju mengenai lima rukun Islam: mengucap dua kalimah syahadah; solat; mengeluarkan zakat; berpuasa di bulan Ramadan dan menunaikan haji ke Mekah. Semua bersepakat mengenai rukun Iman: percaya kepada Allah, Malaikat, Al-Quran, Rasul, Hari Kiamat dan qada dan qadar.

• Ketidaksepakatan antara ulama antara lapan mazhab Usuluddin Islam itu hanya pada cabang agama (furu) dan beberapa asas (usul) [agama Islam]. Ketidaksepakatan tentang cabang agama (furu) adalah satu rahmat. Lama dahulu dikatakan bahawa kepelbagaian pendapat dalam kalangan ulama adalah satu rahmat.

Fatwa itu diterima dengan sebulat suara di sidang kemuncak Pertubuhan Kerjasama Islam di Mekah pada Disember 2005 dengan penyertaan Malaysia. Enam perhimpunan ulama Islam antarabangsa lain juga menerima fatwa itu, kemuncaknya dengan Resolusi 152 daripada Akademi Fekah Islam Antarabangsa yang berpusat di Jeddah pada Julai 2006.

Jumlahnya, lebih 500 ulama Islam terkemuka, cendekiawan dan pemimpin politik dari seluruh dunia  memperakui fatwa itu dan Mesej Amman. Mereka yang mengendors fatwa itu  dari  Malaysia termasuklah bekas Perdana Menteri Dr. Dato’Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Ketua Pembangkang Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim, Prof  Dr. Kamal Hasan dan Ketua Pemuda Umno Khairy Jamaluddin dan Dato Seri Dr. Shahidan Kassim [Kunjungi laman sesawang rasmi Mesej Amman (Amman Message) untuk senarai lengkap mereka yang menerima fatwa itu].

Resolusi 152 Akademi Fekah Islam Antarabangsa, Islam dan Satu Ummah, dan mazhab Usuluddin Islam, menyeru supaya diketepikan ketidaksepakatan antara orang Islam, menghormati antara satu sama lain, menguatkan hubungan persaudaraan dan tidak membenarkan perpecahan dan campurtangan luar. Ia menasihatkan pengajaran fekah berkaitan perpaduan Islam kepada pelajar sekolah menengah dan universiti. Ia menyarankan pihak berkuasa berkaitan di negara Islam mengambil langkah untuk mencegah percetakan, penyebaran dan pengedaran penerbitan yang menambahkan lagi perpecahan ummah.

Resolusi 152 juga menekankan jangan menyalahkan mana-mana lapan mazhab Usuluddin Islam kerana tindakan yang salah daripada pelampau seperti membunuh mereka yang tidak bersalah, menjatuhkan maruah dan merampas harta mereka. Terdapat elemen pelampau dalam kalangan Syiah dan Sunni yang di beberapa negara menggunakan kekerasan, malah kadangkala di dalam masjid sendiri.

Elemen seperti ini perlu didedahkan dan diasingkan kerana ia menyemai perpecahan dalam kalangan umat Islam dan memperburukkan imej Islam. Dialog antara Syiah dan Sunni mestilah digalakkan dan disuburkan, dan sebarang perbincangan mengenai perbezaan mestilah dibincangkan dalam suasana persaudaraan.

Kita perlu menyedari bahawa konflik mazhab sebenarnya dicetuskan oleh kuasa hegemoni yang mahu mengawal sumber di negara Islam. Pecah dan perintah telah menjadi dasar mereka sejak  Perang Dunia Pertama. Sesetengah pemerintah  dan diktaktor Arab yang bersikap kuku besi yang takutkan kebangkitan Islam digunakan sebagai alat untuk memecahkan umat Islam mengikut garis mazhab.

Kami merayu kepada kerajaan supaya melaksanakan Mesej Amman dan cadangan Akademi Fekah Islam Antarabangsa supaya menggalakkan perpaduan di kalangan umat Islam. – 7 Disember, 2013.

* Penulis adalah ko-ordinator, Rangkaian Keadilan Sejagat (UJN).

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 7 December 2013, 11:46 pm and is filed under
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Same old, same old when Umno talks about “ekonomi Melayu”

by Sheridan Mahavera

The Malaysian Insider

December 07, 2013

The preamble to the resolution on economics at this year’s Umno general assembly stated that it would be different from the previous years.

Yet after former second finance minister Datuk Seri Awang Adek Hussein finished his speech, the journalists who’ve covered past assemblies rolled their eyes, as they tried to dig out what was new.

Much of Awang Adek’s seven-point speech was about demands for quotas, loans and openings in the government machinery and government-linked companies (GLCs) for Bumiputeras. That is, Malay entrepreneurs’ demands that are always expressed whenever the Umno grassroots meet to talk about the future of the Malay economy.

The main difference this time was that all of them seized on the new statistic provided by their president – Bumiputeras made up 67% of the population – to press their case for even more aid to reach that ideal target of 30% Bumiputera ownership of wealth in the country.

It’s a familiar ritual: Umno tells the government that more loans need to be given and more contracts are needed to develop Malay small and medium enterprises.

Failure to do so would make the Malays “slaves in their own lands” to “foreign races” which is a code word for non-Bumiputera Chinese (and sometimes Indians).

This time, delegates justified the help for Malays and Bumiputeras on the grounds that they were the ones who handed Umno its 88 seats and returned Barisan Nasional to power.

Yet many of the speakers who debated the economics resolution don’t seem to realise that they are trampling over familiar ground.

More importantly, why despite all that was done by three presidents and prime ministers, starting with Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad to develop Malay entrepreneurs, has Umno still not reached its 30% wealth share target?

The demands this time focused on a familiar target: GLCs that, in the words of several grassroots leaders, were there to help Malays and Bumiputeras.

So there was Awang Adek, Perak delegate Dr Azizah Johor and Federal Territories delegate Affandi Zahari demanding that GLCs have an effective vendor system for Bumiputera SMEs.

Also on the list of demands were easier loans from the Tekun financing scheme and desks at banks to help Malay female entrepreneurs.

Finance Minister II Datuk Seri Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah described the demands on GLCs as the grassroots expressing their desires to see the country’s majority community get a fair share of the economic pie.

“The Bumiputera economic agenda is a national agenda. It is necessary for social stability,” said Ahmad Husni to The Malaysian Insider when commenting on the day’s debates.

He does not view the demands as interfering in their operations as the Government was already parcelling out contracts in mega projects, such as the MRT train system, to Malay contractors.

“What is needed is to coordinate the system of giving out jobs so that it is effective.”

The demands of Malay businessmen may be one thing, but little was debated about the economy as it is experienced by the public.

So as the grassroots made more demands for aid and opportunities from GLCs and government departments, the topic of the vast wastages in government procurement was hardly mentioned.

There was no talk about RM200 screwdrivers, RM 1,000 binoculars and soft loans of RM250 million to companies without the expertise running a massive cattle project.

Except for a brief mention in the Umno Youth assembly on Wednesday, no one talked of the problems highlighted in the auditor general’s report.

No one talked of “ketirisan” a byword popular during assemblies in Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s time as president and prime minister. It referred to leakages either in giving out aid to the wrong people or not getting value for a contract handed out.

Not one delegate talked about stamping out corruption.

Yet according to a poll by the Merdeka Centre in December 2012, 51% of Malaysians put “fighting corruption” as the No. 1 priority of the Government.  The second most important priority was fixing the electoral system at 25%.

The next problems were affordable housing (24%) and inflation (21%). Notably, 59% of the poll’s respondents were Malays.

So as Umno debates the state of the Malay economy it is unclear which percentage of that 67% it claims to represent. The minority that needs more handouts or the majority struggling to make a living while others profit from RM200 screwdriver contracts. – December 7, 2013.

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 7 December 2013, 7:46 pm and is filed under
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Despite Najib’s much vaunted 1Malaysia, Umno debates show otherwise, say analysts

by Eileen Ng

The Malaysian Insider

December 08, 2013

Two facts were established during debate time at the Umno general assembly – Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s much-vaunted transformation programme and his 1Malaysia dream have failed.

His party men clamoured for contracts and projects and continued to see everything through the prism of the Malay race.

From demands for government-linked companies to award public contracts to more Bumiputera firms to the re-examining of the BR1M cash handouts and calls for a 1Melayu slogan, the attitude at the Umno general assembly makes a mockery of the 1Malaysia slogan and talks of national reconciliation.

There was also nothing about inclusiveness in the debates. Nor was there any mention about corruption in the country, wastages, leakages or wrongdoings by those in power – concerns that are shared by other Malaysians.

“The tone of the debates reflected the sentiments of members on the ground and it is a sad situation,” said Institute of Democracy and Economic Affairs (IDEAS) CEO Wan Saiful Wan Jan.

“While the country wants to move towards the direction mooted by Najib (Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak) on 1Malaysia and national unity and reconciliation, it is sad to see the members not following suit.”

He pointed out that in light of Barisan Nasional’s poor performance in the 13th general election, many would have thought that Umno would be concerned about winning back the support of the non-Malays by showing the commitment that they are ready for change.

In the May national polls, the ruling BN pact won 133 of the 222 parliamentary seats, ceding an additional seven seats to the opposition Pakatan Rakyat coalition when compared with the 2008 national polls.

It also lost the popular vote, securing only 47% compared with the opposition’s 51%.

However, Umno won 88 seats, up from the 79 it had secured previously, due to support from rural Malays and Bumiputeras.

It is against this backdrop that Umno is still championing Malay supremacy and the Malay agenda, noted Institute of Southeast Asian Studies visiting fellow Dr James Chin, who was not surprised by the tone of the debates.

“They are angry with the non-Malays for not voting for BN. And because they did slightly better in the general election, they feel more powerful now because they are not beholden to the other component parties.

“They don’t really care that their speeches are putting off other Malaysians because this is not about the general election. It is about the party’s internal politics rather than Malaysians as a whole,” he said.

Respected Merdeka Centre pollster Ibrahim Suffian pointed out that Umno is not acting like a national party and failed to look at the bigger picture that the country is made up of various races.

He also noted that there seemed to be a lack of political will to institute reforms needed to steer the party and country to meet future challenges.

Citing the affirmative action programme as an example, Ibrahim said the socio-economic problem still exists among the Malays after 40 years despite the fact that the economy has grown.

“Umno dynamics had reached a point where leaders need to continually give something back in order to remain on top and hence, a lack of political will to address larger issues to win back support from other races,” he said.

Wan Saiful said Najib needed to take note of the points raised at the assembly and judge whether he had been successful in transforming his own party.

“This is on the heels of Najib’s talk about change, renewal and transformation for the party.

“Ironically, the spirit of 1Malaysia is better represented in the opposition now,” added Wan Saiful. – December 8, 2013.

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 8 December 2013, 11:17 am and is filed under
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Fear of clowns revisited in Umno circus

RK Anand

Malaysiakini

Dec 7, 2013

“I remain just one thing, and one thing only, and that is a clown. It places me on a far higher plane than any politician.” – Charlie Chaplin

COMMENT
 Whenever the Klan holds its annual congregation, it will revive the hitherto dormant coulrophobia in me. And when I confided in a colleague hoping that she will lend a sympathetic ear, she asked, much to my dismay, if it meant that I despised cauliflowers.

The condition has nothing to do with cauliflowers, I retorted. Or any other vegetable for that matter. Coulrophobia refers to the fear of clowns.

And where else can one find an army of clowns assembling under a single roof other than in the Putra World Trade Centre where Umno members from far and wide crawl out of the woodwork for their annual pilgrimage to the capital.

 When this dreaded circus takes place, I cower with trepidation under the blanket and observe from a safe distance the numerous mind-numbing and incendiary antics that unravel.

While any self-respecting racist bigot will be proud of what is served, for the rest of us, it leaves a bitter aftertaste in the mouth.

 Every year, Umno delegates, without fail, will trek the extra mile to drive home the point that Malaysia is still trapped in a Jurassic political era.

 They will paint a bleak picture that if the party is voted out of power, the non-Malays, especially the Chinese, will run circles around the Malays.

 So in order for the continued survival of the Malay race and the preservation of their special rights, they must never, ever, vote for the opposition.

 Never mind the fact that the opposition consists mostly of Malays themselves, for they are after all, marionettes in the hands of the Chinese DAP puppet masters. And the Malays in DAP? Treacherous creatures!

 What is more disturbing is that among the ranks of Umno are numerous bright individuals who have no qualms dimming themselves for the sole purpose of political elevation.

A worthwhile gamble

 Umno annual meets are also a nail-biting experience for the likes of MCA, MIC and Gerakan, whose leaders must later squirm uncomfortably in their seats, scanning each crevice in their brains in vain for a plausible excuse to defend the indefensible.

In the aftermath of such meetings, these leaders will struggle to explain the reasons for their respective parties continued affiliation with Umno.

 Umno leaders and members still appear unable or just refuse to grasp the simple logic behind the overwhelming support for the opposition as witnessed in the two previous general elections.

It is not because of love for the opposition, but rather their loathing for the ruling coalition that motivates non-Malay/Muslims to back Malay/Muslim candidates from the Islamic PAS, and Malay/Muslims to back non-Muslim Chinese and Indian candidates from the secular DAP.

 The opposition simply surfs on the tsunami of discontent.

 On many occasions, such as in the recent astronomical salary hike in Selangor, the opposition has shown that it is not infallible and nor are its leaders heaven-despatched messiahs to liberate Malaysia from the throes of tyranny as portrayed by their demagogues.

 The discerning voter is aware that the opposition coalition is a fragile pact between parties with diametrically opposed ideologies, which are ever suspicious of each other. And giving them the opportunity to rule can have severe repercussions.

 But when confronted with the arrogant and racist outbursts from Umno, that gamble appears to be a risk worth wagering on.

 For example, one veteran Penang delegate, whose physical appearance betrays his Indian roots, suggested that 1Malaysia be changed to 1Melayu because non-Malays did not back Umno.

And instead of reprimanding him over his callous statement, the Kedah menteri besar, who also has Indian roots on the paternal side, defended him.

Jet-setting Rosmah

 Then there was the Kedah delegate, who deserves a lashing from Indiana Jones’ whip, for his warped argument that gazetting the Lembah Bujang historical site will cause Umno to lose votes.

 Concentrate on the majority and not prioritise the minorities, he argued, completely oblivious to the priceless value of such archaeological treasures.

 Not to be outdone, another not-so-bright spark magnanimously remarked that he has forgiven the Chinese for turning their backs on the ruling coalition in the last polls.

Unaware that he resides in a democratic nation, he failed to realise that forgiveness is not required for a citizen who exercises his or her right to choose the party of his or her choice.

 But such unintelligible and belligerent statements are hardly surprising when it comes from Umno, whose president himself suffered from post-election 1Malaysia amnesia, and lashed out at Chinese voters, while his deputy publicly proclaimed that he is Malay first, and Malaysian second.

However, the top prize for absurdity must definitely be awarded to the Federal Territories delegate who defended Rosmah Mansor’s private jet-setting on a heartstrings-tugging romantic note.

He has taken the art of apple-polishing to a record high altitude.

 Having lost the support of the more informed voters, Umno, with unsavoury characters like this in its midst, seems destined to fall down and break its crown, and MCA, MIC and Gerakan will come tumbling after.

 And after reading the words of that great entertainer Charlie Chaplin, perhaps it is an injustice to clowns to put them on the same platform as these politicians. Perhaps it is not coulrophobia that I suffer from but rather politicophobia, or at least the Umno brand of it.

RK ANAND is a member of the Malaysiakini team.

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 8 December 2013, 9:46 am and is filed under
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Muhyiddin should stop “building castles in the air” about Malaysia among the top one-third of TIMSS and PISA systems by 2021 when he seems to be comfortable or resigned to the country being a nation of mediocrity instead of being a nation of excellence

The Deputy Prime Minister and Education Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin will be remembered for what he failed to say instead of what he said in the past week.

On the morning of his joint opening of the annual general meetings of UMNO Youth, Wanita and Puteri on Tuesday night, the 2012 PISA results on the global assessment of 510,000 15-year-old students in 65 countries and regions on the three critical subjects of mathematics, reading and science were released, but he did not have anything to say on it although it fell directly under his portfolio.

Although Muhyiddin as Education Minister would have earlier notice of the 2012 PISA results, he continued to keep dumb on the 2012 PISA results, even omitting reference to it in his winding-up speech at the three-day UMNO General Assembly yesterday.

Elsewhere in the world, the 2012 PISA results have created waves.

They provoked  soul-searching in Western countries – such as former PISA star Finland where performance declined in all three areas, and the United Kingdom with its UK Education Secretary Michael Gove describing the 2012 PISA results as “scandalous” for their education system, as UK schoolchildren are up to three years behind their peers in the top-performing countries in Asia.

Or they elicited satisfaction or delight in some countries because of good results or significant improvements compared to previous assessments like Singapore, Vietnam and even United Arab Emirates (UAE), Kazakhstan and Thailand as the last  trio  outperformed Malaysia in all the three subjects!

But for Malaysia, stuck in the bottom third of the PISA countries assessed, there is only prolonged ominous silence from the very top of the government and education ministry.

When launching the Malaysia Education Blueprint 2013-2025, Muhyiddin announced an “education transformation” over 13 years, with Malaysia’s performance on PISA and TIMMS (Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study) rocketing to the top third of the assessment systems by 2021.

Muhyiddin should stop “building castles in the air” about Malaysia among the top one-third of TIMSS and PISA systems come 2021 when by his silence in the past week on the 2012 PISA, he  seems to be comfortable or resigned to the country being a nation of mediocrity instead of being a nation of excellence.

I am reminded of Muhyiddin’s similar prolonged and ominous silence last December when the poor results of Malaysian students in the TIMSS 2011 were announced.

In my statement
“Quo Vadis Malaysian education system”
 on December 19, 2012, I said:

“Since the world-wide publication of the TIMSS 2011 results on December 11, Muhyiddin had commented on everything under the sun except on TIMSS 2011 results showing unchecked plunge in the standards of mathematics and science for Malaysian students as compared to other countries – powerful testimony that Muhyiddin is neither committed nor interested in his first duty as Education Minister.”

Muhyiddin is repeating the same exercise of going dumb on the 2012 PISA results as he had done with  the TIMSS 2011 results  last December.

In the TIMSS 2011, Malaysia’s scores for both maths and science were below the international average, lagging behind Israel, Hungary, Slovenia, Lithuania, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Armenia, Romania, United Arab Emirates, Turkey and Lebanon in the maths test and trailing behind Slovenia, Israel, Lithuania, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Turkey, Iran, Romania, UAE, Chile, Bahrain, Thailand, Jordan, Tunisia, Armenia and Saudi Arabia in the science study.

In the four TIMSS 1999-2011, Malaysia is the country which suffered the biggest drop in scores among all participating countries for both maths and science: in maths dropping by 79 points from 519 in 1999 to 440 in 2011; in science, dropping by 66 points from 492 in 1999 to 426 points in 2011.

Muhyiddin cannot remain silent for Malaysians are entitled to know why he is unconcerned and indifferent to the TIMSS 2011 and PISA 2012  results for Malaysian students, which is an indictment of the Malaysian national education system as well as the series of UMNO/BN Education Ministers in the past– going back even to the period when the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak was the Education Minister from 1995-2000.

Muhyiddin’s greatest service to education is to stop playing politics with education.

At the close of the Umno General Assembly yesterday, he asked all Umno divisions through the Umno Education Bureau to play a major role in the implementation of the National Education Blueprint.

Is the implementation of the National Education Blueprint 2013-2025 to be the preserve of only the UMNO divisions – or is it to be the role and responsibility of all political parties, NGOs and Malaysians regardless of whether Barisan Nasional or Pakatan Rakyat?

Even more important, are UMNO divisions being mobilised to ensure that the strategic objective of the National Education Blueprint to ensure that Malaysia could achieve the top third of the PISA and TIMSS systems by 2021, especially in the critical subjects of mathematics, reading and science, and if so, why  Muhyiddin failed to give the UMNO delegates an in-depth analysis of the failures of Malaysian students not only to match the top-performing countries like Shanghai, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan and South Korea, or to come up to the OECD and international averages, but also losing out to countries which Malaysians had always thought they are more superior in educational attainments like Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Kazakhstan, Thailand and Chile?

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 8 December 2013, 2:38 pm and is filed under
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Umno’s never-ending theatrics

Jeswan Kaur| December 8, 2013

Free Malaysia Today

Refusing to deal with the truth and reality has left Umno in a vulnerable position.

COMMENT

When it comes to self-aggrandization, no one does it better than the nation’s largest political party, Umno. The party whose reputation precedes it continues to be ‘recycled’ by its leaders under the myth of ‘evolution’.

Umno after it was ‘reinvented’ by former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad is full of vengeance, of hatred towards those who refuse to be cowered in the face of injustices.

Racist, seditious, ethnically intolerant, disrespectful of fundamental rights and selfish – this best defines Umno Baru, the party which continues to be in denial over its marred credibility and warped reason d’etre.

The fact is that Umno has long lost its bearing and left many of its supporters disenchanted. Still, the hands that dictate Umno’s fate continue to be out of sync with the truth, acting instead in their own best interests.

This is perhaps the reason why the 64th edition of the Umno general assembly that kicked off on Dec 5 has turned into a ‘circus’ of sorts, with members trying to outsmart one another by resorting to ‘talking shop’.

While the keris wielding has stopped making its presence felt in the Umno assembly, Malay supremacy and racially-charged speeches continue to be harangued at the party’s gatherings.

Leading the way is Umno president and prime minister Najib Tun Razak who continues to defy logic and brand Umno as lifesaver of the nation.

For one, Najib via Umno is claiming popular victory over its nemesis Pakatan Rakyat in the May 2013 general election. In spite of the truth being otherwise, Najib in true Umno-style decided to spin a yarn, claimed the Barisan Nasional party (BN) won the popular vote in nine states compared to Pakatan Rakyat’s four states.

But the premier was careful he made no mention of that fact BN lost more state seats in the other states.

If the 3.4 million Umno members concede to all that is being said, then there is no saving the party in the long run.

The fact that the nation’s richest state Selangor slipped yet again from the grasp of BN and that opposition DAP has made Penangites happy with its leadership seems too much for Umno’s Najib to accept.

As Umno’s leaders keep playing out their narcissistic tunes, it leaves little for the rakyat but to conclude that the party has long been suffering from an ‘inferiority complex’ syndrome.

Refusing to deal with the truth and reality has left Umno in a vulnerable position. The problem is as long as party leaders keep gloating with the aid of rose- tinted glasses, Umno will continue to struggle with its complexes.

And at the same time Umno Baru continues to be indifferent to the fact that it serves as a bad example to fellow party members comprising the BN coalition.

Umno’s never-ending ‘theatrics’

Come the Umno general assembly, Malaysians get to watch the theatrics of the nation’s top leaders who keep misusing the platform to lie and mislead the rakyat.

Umno president Najib must be in the ‘wilderness’ when he bragged that ‘Umno is the most bravest and popular party’.

Misleading the rakyat about Umno’s ‘work well done’ is not helping. The people know how Umno fared in the 13th general election. Malaysians are unanimous on their understanding of Umno – a party whose racist agenda has left the people, especially the peace-loving ones, disgusted.

Najib’s pro-Malay stand was reiterated at the five-day long Umno general assembly when he said that the economic empowerment of Malays would remain the government’s main agenda if Malaysia was to progress.

“As the majority race, the economic empowerment agenda of the Malays and Bumiputera should be the core national agenda. What is the purpose if our country is advanced but its majority race is sidelined and unprotected?” Najib tried to rationale.

Does the prime minister not know that the fate and progress of a country depends not on just one group of people or race?

By singling out the Malay and Bumiputera agendas, the premier has unwittingly revealed that racism and Umno are inseparable.

Not only that, Najib also reminded the Malays that their rights would not be championed if not for Umno.

“Without Umno where would Malays be?

“Do we want the Malay struggle to be destroyed in this land? Would Malays be willing to be sidelined in their own land?”

Worst came when Najib likened Umno’s struggle to former South African president and freedom fighter Nelson Mandela’s anti-apartheid fight.

Umno not keen on ‘healing’

Past experiences have certainly not taught Umno any lessons. The party’s arrogance is alarming and yet Umno continues to repeat its mistakes, primarily by refusing to show respect to Malaysians of other faiths.

Again at the Umno general assembly, one example of the inbreed racial discord that defines Umno post-1987 was evident when an Umno youth exco member, Fathul Bari, told delegates not to worry if people called Umno racist.

“Don’t worry if others accuse us of being racists because we are only protecting our rights.

“Not only that, we also protect the rights of others.

He then drew a parallel with the DAP, asking what the Chinese-dominated party has contributed to all Malaysians.

“Look at their contribution… more for their own race… so do not blame Umno for empowering our race (Malay). Do not prevent us from defending our race,” he said to loud applause from the delegates.

More seditious remarks were made at the Umno assembly. Penang Umno Bukit Mertajam division chief Musa Sheikh Fadzir wants the Barisan Nasional-led government should replace the ’1Malaysia’ slogan with ’1Melayu’ to teach the non-Malays a ‘lesson’ for ditching BN in the 13th general election.

“We shouldn’t shout ‘1 Malaysia’ anymore; what for? We should now shout ‘1 Melayu’ slogan.

“What’s the use of helping them? We did all these things they stab our backs. All that effort… to hold dinners and such with almost RM30 a head,” he said, referring to the many campaign dinners organised by the ruling Barisan Nasional prior to the May 5 general election.

Umno is not apologetic for arousing racial hatred. Nor does it make any concession for taking the non-Malays for granted. Is this Umno’s modus operandi to safe the nation from racial immolation, by manipulating race and faith issues and denying the rakyat the freedom to enjoy their basic rights in particular the marginalised communities?

Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin was just as culpable when he chose to condemn non-Malay companies for not hiring Malay chief executives.

There we have it – the Umno general assembly continues to give ample evidence of how dangerous and malignant Umno Baru has become, both to itself and to the nation.

It appears that Umno is on a self-destructive mode, refusing to take cognisance of the present day reality, choosing instead to buy into the fallacy that the nation’s destiny lies in its hands.

Jeswan Kaur is a freelance writer and a FMT columnist.

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 8 December 2013, 11:45 am and is filed under
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