Public spat between Karpal and Ramasamy resolved – DAP leadership to move forward as one united team to face the challenges of 13GE

(Joint Media Statement by DAP Secretary-General Lim Guan Eng, DAP Life Advisor Dr. Chen Man Hin and DAP Parliamentary Leader, Lim Kit Siang in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday, 15th December 2011)

On Tuesday, 13th December 2011,  the DAP Central Executive Committee entrusted a three-man committee to resolve the differences between the DAP National Chairman Karpal Singh and DAP Penang Deputy Chairman and Penang Deputy Chief Minister, Dr. P. Ramasamy.

On Wednesday, 14th December 2011, Makkal Oosai Chief Editor M. Rajan issued a correction on its 28th Nov. 2011 news report, admitting its mistake and making clear that its 28th November 2011 report about DAP candidatures for the next general elections had not originated from Ramasamy and expressing sadness that its news report had been the cause of the public controversy between Karpal and Ramasamy.

Hoping that the differences could be resolved as soon as possible, the Makkal Oosai chief editor paid tribute to the leadership qualities of Karpal and Ramasamy and wrote:

“Untuk kita, Karpal Singh dan Professor Ramasamy adalah pemimpin yang terpenting. Karpal Singh adalah pejuang dalam barisan pembangkang yang amat disanjungi di negara kita. Beliau telah melalui banyak penderitaan dan dugaan. Beliau berpegang teguh kepada prinsip parti dan berjuang sehingga masuk ke penjara.

“Seperti itu juga, pemberian jawatan Timbalan Ketua Menteri Pulau Pinang kepada seorang India adalah sejarah dalam politik negara kita. Pada pilihanraya lepas, Professor Ramasamy telah memenangi DUN dan Parlimen di Penang dan menjadi Timbalan Ketua Menteri. Beliau juga memberikan khidmat yang baik kepada masyarakat India Pulau Pinang dengan jawatan sebagai Timbalan Ketua Menteri tersebut.”

DAP leaders, including Karpal and Ramasamy, are conscious of the high expectations and great trust of the people in the DAP leadership to create a new political landscape in the imminent 13th general elections, particularly in bringing about a genuine two-coalition system in national politics by effecting a change of federal power in Putrajaya for the first time in 54 years of independent nationhood.

Taking into account  the Tamil Oosai clarification and mindful  of the great concerns of the people over the unity, cohesion and solidarity of the DAP leadership, Karpal, Ramasamy and the DAP  Central Executive Committee have decided to move forward as one solid and committed political team to complete the final preparations for the challenges of the 13th GE expected in the next few months.

We will address and resolve internal differences  using party channels to strengthen party unity, solidarity and cohesion so that we can single-mindedly ensure that DAP and Pakatan Rakyat can take on and defeat UMNO and Barisan Nasional in the 13th general elections.

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 15 December 2011, 9:52 am and is filed under
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BN-controlled media have degenerated further to become “blackout papers”

For the past three days consecutively, the Barisan Nasiona-controlled media have degenerated further to  become “blackout papers”, over three episodes, viz:

Firstly, over the call on Tuesday by 17 international and national environmental groups and activists, including Greenpeace and Swiss-based Bruno Manser Fund, addressed to the Attorney-General, Malaysian Anti-Corruption Agency Chief Commissioner and the Inspector-General of Police for the arrest and criminal prosecution of Sarawak Chief Minister, Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud and his 13 family members for massive graft and plundering of Sarawak’s rich natural resources;

Secondly, the Penang High Court judgment on Wednesday against Utusan Malaysia for defamation against Penang Chief Minister and DAP Secretary-General Lim Guan Eng for its article “Kebiadaban Lim Guan Eng” of 20th December 2010, and the High Court award of RM200,000 for general and aggravated damages and RM25,000 for costs against Utusan; and

Thirdly, the release yesterday of the latest report by Washington-based financial watchdog Global Financial Integrity (GFI) that Malaysia has maintained its position as one of the top five countries in the world suffering the highest illicit capital outflow in the past decade, 2000-2009, involving over  RM1 trillion (US$338 billion or RM1,077 billion) as a result of corruption and misgovernance!

Apart from one small inconsequential paragraph about the Utusan judgment, there have been total blackout of these three developments in the Barisan-controlled “mainstream media”.

Recently, coinciding with the UMNO General Assembly, Malaysia suffered its worst international report card for anti-corruption when the Transparency International (TI) Corruption Perception Index (CPI) 2011 gave the country its worst ranking in 17 years as well as the lowest-ever CPI score –  placed No. 60 when Malaysia was ranked No. 23 in 1995 with a score of 4.3 when Malaysia scored 5.32 in 1996.

With the egregious “blackout” of unfavourable news by Barisan Nasional mainstream media as happened blatantly in the past three days, Malaysia’s press freedom index is set to  nosedive further in future – as if Malaysia’s press freedom index is not bad enough.

In conjunction with the World Press Freedom Day in May this year, Malaysia was ranked  143 out of 196 countries in terms of press freedom, categorised as “not free”,  in the Freedom of the Press Survey 2011 by US-based Freedom House.

After the “black eyes” by Transparency International and Financial Global Integrity, and the     bulldozing of the undemocratic and repressive Peaceful Assembly Bill in Parliament, Malaysians must be prepared to suffer more “black eyes” by other international watchdogs  for freedom, integrity and good governance in the coming year.

                This entry was posted on Friday, 16 December 2011, 5:27 pm and is filed under
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Dissatisfied with TM UniFi High-Speed Broadband Service

Letter by James Ooi

I am a TM UniFi High-Speed Broadband VIP5 package subscriber since March 2011. As I am staying at a high-rise building, the TM UniFi service is provisioned to my premise using VDSL (copper) instead of using fiber optics. Ever since one month after I started using TM UniFi, I have been facing two major issues with the service of which one has been completely resolved while another has been happening up till this very day I am writing this letter!

Between April and July 2011, I had been experiencing disconnection where the DSL indicator on the VDSL modem blinked and reconnected itself. This happened randomly a few times a day. After numerous technician visits where they replaced my VDSL modem and changed the port, the problem was finally resolved in July 2011.

However, since May 2011, I have been experiencing what I call the “Upload Speed Syndrome” randomly where my upload speed drops till near zero. This happens randomly almost on a daily basis and at certain times, it happens at about the same time daily! At other times, the problem resolved by itself only to recur after a few days to a couple of weeks! Whenever this problem occurs, my upload speed drops till near zero where a speed test performed would either results in an “Upload Test Error” message or an extremely slow speed of 0.01Mbps! Performing a ping to a locally-hosted web server will even exhibit random packet losses! However, there is nothing wrong with the download speed as in most cases, my download speed is at least 90% of the advertised bandwidth.

For this problem, I have actually lost count how many reports I have lodged to TM UniFi Center! Each time a report is lodged, a technician is sent over where they did all they can such as replacing my modem as well as changed the port and slot card. However, none of these resolved my problem. It has to be noted that my problem does not occur 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, but occurs randomly. As a result, each time the technician came, there was no problem and therefore the technician could not detect at all the cause! If none of what the technician did could resolve my problem, there is definitely some other possible issues causing the problem I am facing, for example, user bandwidth management configuration or networking switching issues! It is very likely this is a network switching issue as I have discovered neighbors who also faced the same problem as myself, but none of them wants to take the trouble of lodging a report to TM UniFi Center.

Initially, TM UniFi Center would make a call to me to verify if the problem is resolved before closing my report. After a few problem-free days, the report would be closed, only to recur later on! However, recently, TM UniFi Center would NOT even call to verify, and they proceed to close my report without verifying that my problem is resolved!

One TM UniFi customer support personnel even insisted that it is only the download speed that is important and NOT the upload speed! How wrong could she be? It looks like many of the TM UniFi customer support personnel are not well-equipped with basic networking knowledge and little did she know that she was speaking to a person like me who has background in networking! In simple language, even for a simple usage of accessing a website, the web browser needs to send a request to the web server via the Up-Link. The web server will then respond to the request by sending the requested file whereby the web browser receives the file via the Down-Link. The near zero upload speed affects the Up-Link, which made it nearly impossible for the web browser to send a request to the web server, thereby causing the Internet service unusable despite having a good download speed (Down-Link)!

The customer support personnel should also know that in many Internet applications today, both the download and upload speeds are extremely important. Today, not only most casual Internet users are just consumer of data, but also producer. With social networking applications such as Facebook, users need good upload speeds to upload photos and video. However, with near zero upload speed, the uploading of photos and video will just not work at all as it will time-out and the uploading fails! Even to attach a file to an email will fail due to this problem! What’s the use of advertising the UniFi service of having symmetrical download and upload speeds if they cannot even ensure even at best effort, customers should get at least 80% of the advertised bandwidth?

Ever since I faced this problem, I have to resort to use an alternative mobile broadband service from YTL at a cost! However, I have been paying my TM UniFi bills in full promptly all this while. Yet, there is no compensation in the form of a rebate for the never-ending problems I am facing! Will the personnel at TM UniFi please take note of this issue and resolve it once and for all, and consider providing me with rebate on my bills? I have been even thinking of considering subscribing to other high-speed broadband providers when the service is available, but I am currently tied up with a 24-month contract with TM UniFi! I would believe the problem I am facing is a result of TM’s monopoly of the high-speed broadband business!

                This entry was posted on Friday, 16 December 2011, 10:52 am and is filed under
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Najib’s split personality

Mariam Mokhtar

Free Malaysia Today

December 16, 2011

Najib plays different tunes for political purposes but in the process, it is causing a rift in Umno.

COMMENT

At the Selangor Taoist solidarity dinner on Wednesday night, Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak recalled Tunku Abdul Rahman’s long-term vision and praised him for being “far-sighted in administering a complex nation such as Malaysia”. His remarks were at odds with the opening speech at the 62nd Umno general assembly, a fortnight ago.

The solidarity dinner saw Najib urging Malaysians to emphasise the similarities in their respective religions, for a stronger and more united Malaysia. He espoused universal qualities like courtesy, filial piety, trustworthiness and diligence as shared values.

“If we can emphasise on the common values, then we will have similarities between us. We can develop good citizens regardless whether they are Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, Christians, Taoists… what is important is being good citizens who love the nation, are loyal to the country, respect the law and other religions.”

At the Umno party conference, Najib was playing a different tune. He told delegates that if Umno were to lose power, the Malays and their religion would be threatened.

Using the favoured “3R” strategy of race, religion and royalty to win over the dwindling Malay support, he warned: “Who will preserve the sanctity of Islam? Who will protect the Malays and its agenda and who will protect the rulers?”

Najib may have adopted a nationalist leaning at the Umno conference, but he played to the crowd at the Taoist solidarity dinner and related his version of events which prompted the downfall of the Malacca empire 500 years ago.

“It fell not because Malacca lacked warriors or due to poverty, it was overthrown because there was no unity and there were traitors.”

He praised his “1Malaysia” concept of inclusive policies which sought to eradicate poverty regardless of race.

“When the government extended the RM100 (school assistance), every student irrespective of whether he or she is from sekolah kebangsaan, or Chinese, Tamil or religious schools got it, and soon we will give the RM500 assistance to households earning below RM3,000 (per month)”.

Ultra-Malay

Political observers slammed him and said that Najib’s administration was politicising government aid. In mid-November, PKR Ampang MP Zuraida Kamaruddin claimed that students from a primary school in Ampang had to collect their RM100 aid from the Umno division head, at the Umno building.

Investigations by an online newspaper revealed that a directive had been issued by the secretary- general of the Education Ministry Rosli Mohamed, dated Nov 11, which stated that “elected representatives, including members of parliaments, state assemblypersons or leaders from the federal government” were to be present during the disbursement of the aid. Rosli claimed that the decision had come from a Cabinet meeting on Oct 28.

Pressure has been exerted on Najib to recapture the Malay vote for Umno in the 13th general election (13th GE). Last week, in Shah Alam, Najib openly endorsed the Malaysian Missionary and Welfare Association (Pekida) in exchange for their votes, in scenes reminiscent of his infamous “You help me, I help you” plea in the Sibu by-election.

Around 12,000 Pekida members gave Najib their pledge of allegiance after he had promised to help them build a college in Malacca. Earlier, Pekida’s deputy president had openly solicited for funds, to help alleviate its burden and to assist its ayahandas (godfathers) and adik-beradik (lieutenants).

Najib said he was touched by their gesture and urged Pekida’s members to help him secure victory in the 13th GE by warning them of what lay in store, if Umno were to lose.

“Pekida must be ready to defend our administration. We cannot allow the Malays diinjak-injakkan (to be stepped upon) on our own land.” He might have added, “By anyone but Umno.”

Selangor PAS condemned Najib for his ultra-Malay stance and said that he had “forsaken his own wasathiyah (principle of moderation) and “1Malaysia” rhetoric. Selangor PAS deputy commissioner Khalid Samad described Pekida as a “dodgy” organisation which Umno once avoided having official links with.

Khalid said, “His (Najib’s) presence at a Pekida function has shown his ‘hardline’ side, akin to an ‘ultra-Malay’. It is a departure from the wasathiyah or moderation that he once espoused.”

Extremist rhetoric

Najib is not averse to extremist rhetoric to stoke nationalist feelings, when he deems it politically expedient.

Besides the pressure from Umno infighting, Najib is trying to curry favour with Umno chief supremo, whom younger Umno delegates affectionately term “the don” – Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

Najib seems oblivious that Umno has ceased to be a party which fights for Malay issues. Both Najib and Umno refused to acknowledge that the younger generation and changing times, mean that Malays have begun to embrace the 21st century.

Nowadays, Umno is characterised by a party with several factions, all vying for power and glory – Najib’s lot, Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin’s bully boys or the militias who still swear allegiance to Mahathir.

They wish to carve up the billions of ringgits in contracts, land grabs and monies siphoned from public institutions, for themselves. They are not concerned about the well-being of the rakyat, nor the interests of the Malays. The party is supposed to uphold the interests of the Malays.

The Malays are only mentioned in passing and come in useful when the leaders need to further their needs. The non-Malays make useful scapegoats to rouse sentiment in the Malays.

Najib’s inability to deal with his split personality may well hasten the split in Umno, and lead to its demise.

Mariam Mokhtar is a FMT columnist.

                This entry was posted on Friday, 16 December 2011, 3:04 pm and is filed under
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No country safe from euro crisis, says IMF

The Malaysian Insider/Reuters

Dec 16, 2011

WASHINGTON, Dec 16 — No country is immune from an “escalating” euro zone crisis and each one must act to head off the risk of a global depression, the head of the International Monetary Fund said yesterday.

IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde, speaking at the U.S. State Department, said the outlook for the world economy is “quite gloomy” and warned that failure to act collectively could lead to protectionism and isolation reminiscent of the 1930s depression.

“There is no economy in the world, whether low-income countries, emerging markets, middle-income countries or super-advanced economies that will be immune to the crisis that we see not only unfolding but escalating,” Lagarde cautioned.

“It is not a crisis that will be resolved by one group of countries taking action. It is going to be hopefully resolved by all countries, all regions, all categories of countries actually taking action.”

The IMF has warned that it is likely to cut its 2012 growth projections, with the economy struggling with a worsening two-year euro zone debt crisis and sluggish US growth. There are also signs from falling Chinese factory output that manufacturers are struggling with waning global demand and tighter credit conditions.

European leaders last week agreed to lend up to €200 billion (RM840 billion) to the IMF to help struggling euro zone states and are hoping non-European countries will also step in with loans provided through the global lender to help.

The IMF is currently in talks with member countries on providing additional resources to the Fund.

Lagarde said global economic leaders now needed to take a holistic approach toward addressing systemic weaknesses, such as those underscored by the current euro zone debt crisis.

“It is going to require efforts, it is going to require adjustment, and clearly it is going to have to start from the core of the crisis at the moment, which is obviously the European countries and in particular the countries of the euro zone,” Lagarde said.

She cautioned, however, that democratic government processes often made quick fixes difficult, saying the collision of market expectations with political reality must be resolved.

“It is really that Gordian Knot that needs to be cracked, that needs to be addressed as collectively as possible, starting with those at the center but with the support of the international community probably channelled through the IMF,” she said.

Lagarde noted some relative bright spots in the economies of Asia and Latin America, which she said had taken steps, with IMF help, during crises in the 1980s and 1990s to address weaknesses in their banking systems and financial regulatory frameworks.

“All those challenges that they faced in the days of the Asian crisis, of the Latin American crisis have now served them well,” Lagarde said. — Reuters

                This entry was posted on Friday, 16 December 2011, 10:02 am and is filed under
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Putrajaya having a cow, but Shahrizat saved?

— Gomen Man

The Malaysian Insider

Dec 16, 2011

DEC 16 — Umno has decided to save Shahrizat Jalil and paint her husband as the main actor behind the scandal of the year, the National Feedlot Corporation aka the government’s transformation programme (cows to condo).

Leading her defence is the man who helmed the Agriculture Ministry when the NFC project was promoted, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, best known as a defendant in the Stamford Hills controversy (please Google and read up). His main argument is that why single out the minister when she had no role to play in the NFC.

I suppose that sounds fair except that we still don’t why Muhyiddin and his ministry officials approved this project to greenhorns. If the opposition does some digging, it will realise that as early as two years ago government officials felt that NFC was doomed.

Also, as the disclosures by the opposition show, Shahrizat’s expenses were paid by funds from NFC and that her husband and children were paid silly money every month. They also set up some restaurants and the beef from the NFC made its way there.

Muhyiddin and friends would like us to believe that Shahrizat was completely in the dark about the financial benefits which accrued to her family after their involvement in the NFC.

I am told that there are vouchers which would make quite a few politicians blush. Maybe this is why Umno is worried about leaving Shahrizat out to hang.

Already, you have Cheras Umno leader Syed Ali Habshee clarifying his comments and saying that he did not single out Shahrizat but her husband.

It is clear that the government will appoint some auditors to do some study on the NFC, buy some time and then lump all the blame on everyone, except the minister.

All’s well that ends well. Only one small problem, more than RM90 million will be lost for forever.

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 17 December 2011, 9:32 am and is filed under
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Umno’s missed opportunity

Awang Abdillah | December 17, 2011

Free Malaysia Today

Issues of national concern were not discussed at the recent Umno general assembly. Delegates also failed to call on Najib to step down for Umno to rise again.

COMMENT

Frankly, the recent Umno general assembly was the best venue and probably the last chance for Umno leaders to show their sincerity in addressing party and national concerns.

Instead of adopting the Mahathir doctrine or rather its despotic policy, Umno president and Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak should have discussed with the party leaders on how best to tackle the party and national problems.

Disgruntled members should have urged Najib to step down as one of the solutions for Umno to rise again. Personal leadership, party strength and national issues and problems are all inter-related.

Glaringly missing at the Umno general assembly were discussions on issues of national concerns.

Allow me to list it all out here.

(1) The national debt

The most prominent of the major national issues is the growing national debt which now stands at RM437 billion, dwarfing the expected revenue of RM186.9 billion for 2012.

A massive national debt is one of the main factors that can destabilise the economy of the country.

Such a gigantic problem can be seen from afar by financial institutions and fund managers, the Employees Provident Fund board, foreign investors, dealers and speculators in the Malaysian foreign exchange market, investors in Bursa Malaysia, trading partners and our neighbouring countries.

If this problem remains unsolved, a number of fallouts are expected: banks will hold on to credit outflow leading to higher lending rates; flight of capital out of Malaysia; panic selling of the ringgit leading to a free-fall of the currency; panic selling of stocks in Bursa Malaysia; foreign direct investment will be neglible; unemployment will rise; delays in public funding of development projects, and so on.

There is no reason for a country like Malaysia – blessed with natural resources, high exports of primary commodities and other goods valued at RM639.4 billion for 2010 – to become a net borrower for development funds.

We believe as much as 30 to 40 percent of the development allocations in the yearly national budget goes indirectly to Umno politicians and Pesaka Bumiputra Bersatu (PBB), too, and its companies.

For 2012 , a sum of RM51.2 billion is allocated for development. As much as 30 to 40 percent of the amount may be siphoned away through marked-up prices of government contracts, maintenance of public projects and supplies to government ministries, departments and agencies.

Some of such practices are partly revealed by the Auditor-General Report 2010. Unfortunately, the Auditor-General made false reports on the Sarawak government’s public accounts for the last nine years, for reasons best known to him.

If Umno cares about the welfare of the rakyat, then Najib and his top party leaders should discuss ways during the party general assembly to reduce this serious national problem instead of pushing it aside.

For any country, if its national debt keeps on growing, it would mean that government development funds in the past years have not been properly utilised for productive economic projects, which can give good returns to the government. Instead, a big portion of it goes to the personal accounts of Umno politicians.

(2) Weed out corruption among the Umno and BN leaders

Under an undemocratic-despotic government where gross abuse of power is the hallmark of the regime, it is of no surprise then that no concerted efforts have been made by the government to tackle such malpractices let alone remove corrupt federal ministers, chief ministers and menteris besar.

Thus, we see these ministers and heads of state governments plundering and looting the wealth of their respective ministries and states without fear of being caught.

After all, they share the loot together. Our stepbrother, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), has been trained to be obedient to his master but ready to pounce on and attack those who are perceived to be his master’s “attackers”.

(3) Umno should rebuild good qualities of leadership

Right now, the leaders and delegates are shifting blame on the opposition, especially PKR and DAP, for Umno’s ill-fortune and the state of affairs of the country.

In fact, the Umno and national problems are the work of the Mahathir undemocratic-dictatorial government and the Najib undemocratic-despotic rule. Since 1981, Umno has wielded so much political power that it has become the de facto federal government.

In such circumstances, how can the opposition be the root cause of Umno’s woes? Umno leaders should instead rebuild the party through the good value system and abandon the Mahathir or Najib political doctrine. Umno is a failed party that cannot anymore protect the Malay interests, let alone the national interests.

The party should be rejected outright and the rakyat should look to Pakatan Rakyat, with other minority parties from the Barisan Nasional (BN) or the opposition, as the future federal government.

Awang Abdillah is a political analyst, writer and FMT columnist.

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 17 December 2011, 9:41 am and is filed under
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Unease grows over Muslim head for top convent school

By Debra Chong

The Malaysian Insider

Dec 17, 2011

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 17 — For Catholic Malaysians, Putrajaya’s latest pick of a Malay-Muslim principal to head the prestigious SMK Convent Bukit Nanas (CBN) underscores a worrying trend to disregard the Church’s contribution and rights in the country.

Archbishop of Kuala Lumpur Tan Sri Murphy Pakiam waded this week into a growing row between the 112-year-old school’s Catholic owners and the Ministry of Education (MOE) after its new principal Datin Seri Zavirah Mohd Shaari’s surprise arrival at its doorstep.

“The appointment of the principal of CBN is not only contrary to the government policy of maximum consultation but has given the impression that it is the government’s strategy to take over the mission schools in total disregard for the status, ethos and special character of mission schools, especially CBN,” Pakiam said in a statement published earlier this week in Catholic paper The Herald.

He was appealing to Education director-general Datuk Seri Abdul Ghafar Mahmud to reconsider the ministry’s decision and pick a suitably qualified person nominated by the school owners under the Infant Jesus (IJ) Sisters order. The school is considered among the top convent schools in the country.

The case comes on the heels of a recent drama over the police’s extra conditions for carolling permits on two South Klang churches less than two weeks ago.

Earlier this year, right-wing Malay-Muslim groups triggered a national uproar over persistent rumours that churches are on a campaign to convert their own and pushing unfounded allegations of a secret political plot to install a Christian prime minister in the next general election.

Christians say such issues are an attempt to erode their religious rights in Muslim-majority Malaysia.

CBN, which has produced notable personalities such as Bersih 2.0 chief Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan and former International Trade Minister Tan Sri Rafidah Aziz, is one of 60 convent schools in Malaysia, Sister Rosalind Tan told The Malaysian Insider.

Tan is the mother provincial of the IJ Sisters and the person in charge of the order’s administration in the country.

She related that the school’s board of governors were taken aback when Zavirah reported for duty last week.

The previous head, Ann Khoo, retired last month because there was no prior notice from the Education Ministry.

Tan said this was not the first time the ministry had acted without consultation, saying the issue had been going on for decades.

She said the order, as the school’s rightful owners, had a responsibility to ensure the school head abided by its founding ethos even though the operations were now managed by the federal government.

“We have no qualms about race or religion of the principal posted to our mission schools,” she said in an interview this week.

She said that Zavirah was not school’s first lay principal, or the order’s first non-Christian school head; but expressed disappointment that its nominees had been sidelined by the ministry.

“What we want are principals who know what the mission school is and stands for,” she stressed.

In his statement, Pakiam highlighted that Zavirah had not been on a list submitted by the mission school authority.

He said the decision breached a previous government policy in the 1970s for “maximum consultation” with Christian mission schools nationwide in a revised report by the Royal Commission on the Teaching Services, West Malaysia.

The metropolitan archbishop added that former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who was the education minister in 1976, had repeated and affirmed the pledge in 1998 in a trip to Kota Kinabalu, to consult mission school authorities over the choice of school heads and teachers.

The Malaysian Insider understands there are over 400 Christian mission schools nationwide.

Catholics, who make up nearly one million of the country’s 28 million total population, have founded more than 250 such schools, including Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s alma mater, St John’s Institution, which neighbours CBN.

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 17 December 2011, 9:24 am and is filed under
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Feeding on people’s fear

Mohd Ariff Sabri Aziz | December 18, 2011

Free Malaysia Today

The recent Umno general assembly proved one fact, which is that the party survives ‘by fabricating lies and manufacturing stories’.

COMMENT

Let me ask you this question. How does Umno sustain itself? You get the answer if you analyzed what just went on in the recent Umno general assembly.

Umno gets on by making Malays believe that they are being besieged, attacked, assaulted and victimized. That’s how Umno can survive. How does it do that?

By fabricating lies and manufacturing stories. The Chinese are going to eat you up. The Chinese are going to Christianize you. They are going to wipe out the sultans, ban use of Bahasa Malaysia, and abolish Jawi and so forth.

You feed on people’s irrational fear. You want to maintain stupid and mute people.

Can you sustain whole people like that – turning people into xenophobes? I say this is a recipe for destroying Malays, not cultivating them to become self-confident people.

What kind of political party and government by extension, that keeps its people on a leash and drumming into them a debilitating dependent mindset?

I say this is a party not interested in cultivating people. Let me ask you why the real big issues were not and never discussed?

That’s because Umno fears for its future.

As far as the Malay agenda is concerned, the 62nd Umno meeting was a non-event.

It was not about Malay agenda. It wasn’t a congregation of minds meeting to discuss how the real Malay agenda of uplifting them, their economics, and their future.

It was a congregation fearful of Umno’s future. It was speaking about the Umno agenda.

For those reasons alone we must deny these so called Malay leaders a chance to concentrate power.

If given such power, they shall apply it to the misfortune of the majority of Malays and to the misfortune of this country.

Give us power bellowed, (Umno president) Najib Tun Razak. Why? Because we want to continue with the agenda?

Why wasn’t the agenda, whatever it is, debated in that assembly?

‘Love fest and blood fest’

Give us power, intoned KJ (Khairy Jamaluddin), so that the ‘nikmat’ or tidings we enjoy with having power is kept.

But ‘nikmat’ to do what? To pillage and plunder?

The Umno GA 2011 was an ‘love fest and blood fest’.

This delegate loves Najib. That delegate said more about how Najib is the savior and all that.

The agenda of the meeting was actually to whip delegates into frenzy about how to defend Umno and defend the life as the leaders and Umno warlords have always known.

It’s the life of the leeching aristocrats feeding off the fears and hopes of the silent Malay majority.

It’s a life of living a lie pretending to fight for the interests of the majority and the interests of the nation.

The writer is a former Umno state assemblyman and a FMT columnist

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 18 December 2011, 2:05 pm and is filed under
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Open letter to Education Minister over CBN

—
Dr W. Vinita Perera

The Malaysian Insider

Dec 18, 2011

DEC 18 — I wish to bring to your attention the deep concern being conveyed, regarding the approach taken in the recent appointment of the new principal at SM Convent Bukit Nanas, Kuala Lumpur. Before this is turned into yet another debacle of ethnicity and creed by any quarter, I look forward to your timely and wise intervention to resolve the matter objectively.

The points of contestation are as follows:

The FT Education Department is in gross breach of the terms stated in the revised Royal Commission on Teaching Services Report which reads: “The assignment and deployment of teachers for these schools, especially the head teacher, should be done only after consultation between the personnel management authority and the boards of these schools”.

Former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad reaffirmed and pledged that the government would honour this, to consult mission school authorities over the choice of school heads and teachers, at a meeting with the Heads of Churches in Kota Kinabalu in 1998.

In this case — all parties involved — The Board of Governors, Parents Teachers Association and the Old Girls Association were all in the dark about this appointment. The recommendation submitted was completely disregarded.

I am sure you are aware SM Convent Bukit Nanas is a mission school. The mission schools in Malaysia are owned by the mission authorities but operations are now managed entirely by the federal government. This, however, does not preclude a break in the terms of the pre-agreed contract and it is not merely unlawful, but extremely insensitive, offensive and disrespectful to all parties involved that the appointment was made at the autocratic discretion of the FT Education Department, with no consultation of the members in this decision-making process.

This move is perceived as a threat and a means of undermining the community which promulgate the ethos of excellence in education behind these schools.

There is no contestation regarding the academic qualifications and experience of the nominee in question whatsoever, and I am sure many of us symphatise with the nominee for being caught in the crossfire.

Having Puan Sharifah Bt. Ibrahim as one of my beloved principals during my time in Convent Bukit Nanas, I can attest that there is no ethnic or creed motivation behind this uproar. There is only the outcry of disbelief at the less than adequate handling, short-sightedness and inefficiency of the FT Education Department in seeking the input of key stakeholders, symptomatic of cutting corners.

This lack of foresight has the ability to incite racial-religious tension and burgeon into something much bigger. The person involved should be held absolutely accountable and taken to task.

I look forward to your objective intervention toward a diplomatic recourse. A healthy dose of accountability by the FT Education Department with a formal apology, should reinstate our confidence in your ministry.

Simple in Virtue, Steadfast in Duty,

Dr. W. Vinita Perera DVM, MRCVS,

An old girl Convent Bukit Nanas,

Colorado, USA

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 18 December 2011, 11:42 am and is filed under
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Politicians demand Putrajaya explain RM9b nod for six patrol ships

By
Debra Chong

The Malaysian Insider

Dec 18, 2011

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 18 – Datuk Seri Najib Razak must justify his government’s purchase of six patrol ships for a whopping RM9 billion, an increase of RM3 billion from the original RM6 billion approved earlier this year, DAP’s Lim Kit Siang demanded.

The opposition politician rang the alarm after a local shipbuilder said it won a RM9 billion “letter of award” from the Defence Ministry late last Friday.

Lim said the PM had promised full transparency in government procurement projects and must now take responsibility and explain the price hike. — file pic“Boustead Naval Shipyard Sdn Bhd had received the Letter of Award dated 16 December 2011 from the Ministry of Defence Malaysia for the Contract to design, construct, equip, install, commission, integrate, test and trials, and deliver six units of ‘Second Generation Patrol Vessels Littoral Combat Ships (Frigate Class)’.

“The Contract carries a ceiling of RM9.0 billion, to be implemented over three Malaysia Plans, 10, 11 and 12. The delivery of the First of Class ship is estimated in 2017 with follow on ships every six months thereafter,” Boustead Heavy Industries Corporation Bhd (BHIC) said in a filing to Bursa Malaysia.

Lim said the prime minister had promised full transparency in government procurement projects and must now take responsibility and explain the price hike.

“Justify the increase. Was the contract open to tender? The basic rules of integrity and accountability should be followed,” the Ipoh Timur MP told The Malaysian Insider when contacted.

Former Umno minister, Datuk Zaid Ibrahim, echoed Lim but directed his questions to Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, the Minister of Defence.

He said it was very unusual for a contract to be couched in terms such as “a ceiling of RM9 billion”.

“How can you have a contract of up to RM9 billion? What happens if they exceed that amount?” he said to The Malaysian Insider over the phone last night.

“That’s not a contract in law. At most, that’s a letter of intent. In a contract, you must spell out the specs. But here, it seems the equipment has not been evaluated … the whole system is not finalised. That means they are not sure what it is they are buying,” he said, with a little laugh.

Zaid said Boustead’s statement was “very misleading”, adding that the deal was an attempt to “bulldoze through a contract … that would strengthen the commission for DCNS, the French company”.

The naval defence company hit headlines worldwide for its Scorpene submarine deal with Putrajaya, which was also linked to the murder of a Mongolian model, Altantuya Shaariibuu. It was recently investigated by French authorities.

“It’s a fait accompli [French for an accomplished fact],” the one-time de facto law minister said.

The government had approved RM6 billion for the navy to spend on the six ships, DAP national publicity chief, Tony Pua said, in a reminder of Ahmad Zahid’s announcement to Parliament on February 5.

The Petaling Jaya Utara MP said the defence minister had claimed the six patrol ships were “littoral combatant ships (LCS)”, which Pua said meant advanced warships, noting that only the United States owned two such vessels in the world.

He said the minister also claimed the ships were bigger, faster and equipped with “three-dimensional warfare equipment like cannons, missiles and torpedoes” and sophisticated sonar detection systems that would help the navy protect Malaysia’s maritime areas.

“The minister must explain why has the price for each ship increased by RM500 million or RM3 billion in total for the six ships suddenly, well above the original approved budget.

“For example, has the specification for the ships been ‘improved’ further since Datuk Seri Zahid’s reply in Parliament?” he asked, in a media statement today.

Pua said that Boustead, previously known as PSC Naval Dockyards, had in the past delivered six naval patrol vessels at RM6.75 billion or 26.2 per cent above the original contract price of RM5.35 billion.

He added that the shipbuilder was two years late in delivering the ships, which he said had “hundreds of defects”.

Pua highlighted that the Auditor-General had given the Defence Ministry a poor report in 2006 when it was helmed by Najib, saying the ministry had awarded deals to dubious contractors and had overpaid contracts but had no paperwork to show for it.

“Such a track record does not give Malaysians any amount of confidence that history will not repeat itself,” he said and questioned if Ahmad Zahid could assure the public there would be no repeat of such incidents.

He said: “These leakages must be plugged to ensure that the country doesn’t become bankrupt by 2019 as speculated by Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Idris Jala”.

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 18 December 2011, 2:53 pm and is filed under
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The Democratic Institution in Malaysia

—
Victor

The Malaysian Insider

Dec 17, 2011

DEC 17 — Democracy should be a symbiotic relationship between the rule of law, general socio-economic well being of the ruled and the political ruling class.

Perhaps in Malaysia this symbiotic relationship is accentuated by the political realities which manifest themselves in rather unsavoury light. That may be the reason why socio-economic well being is not felt by the general populace and the rule of law is not exercised by appointees with a sense of justice and equity. The necessary independence and objectivity is not present within the components of the various arms of government, I think.

The political class preponderates over the trilogy of democratic institutions which warp the whole of Malaysian societal structures resulting in complete social disequilibrium. If only some of the Malaysian diasporas will return to infuse some fresh blood into the anaemic blood streams which affect every sphere of Malaysian society we may yet have a good future. I have always been proud of the many talents in Malaysia but unfortunately most stay abroad because of the language issue.

I am not a talent in the true sense of the word but I stayed out of Malaysia because my Malay competence falls far below the level which will enable me to function reasonably well in my particular professional area of expertise. So I stayed on in Singapore as the only language which I am most comfortable with English is the professional tool used in Singapore.

I think there are many like me around the four corners of the globe trying to make their living in the most pragmatic manner. What if all of us are back in Malaysia? Would our concerted presence make a difference? I doubt.

The politics of dissension and ethnic differentiation and unfair bias coupled with preferred religious imbalance completely distort social mobility of Malaysian society resulting in brain drain to the detriment of Malaysia within the community of nations.

Sad but true and I am still hoping some semblance of fairness and justice will be maintained long enough for my retirement to a Malaysia which I still love.

* Victor is a Malaysian at heart and reads The Malaysian Insider

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 18 December 2011, 11:36 am and is filed under
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Encouraging Entrepreneurialism

by
Bakri Musa

Chapter 11: Embracing Free Enterprise

The catalyst that drives, or more accurately the spark that ignites, capitalism is the entrepreneur. She is the individual who sees the opportunity to sell an item or service at a price higher than the cost of making or obtaining it. She sees the need or demand, and then goes about to meeting that need, and in the process makes a profit for herself. Entrepreneurs are, in the words of the MIT economist Lester Thurow, “…the change agents of capitalism.”

            It is at this point that the religious types sense an argument against capitalism. Their argument is simply this: capitalism feeds on the individual’s motivation to make a profit, to get rich. My rebuttal is equally simple. The entrepreneur provides a much-needed service or product where none exists before. If that product or service is not needed, then his enterprise will fold soon enough. As for the personal greed motive, it is worthwhile to note that every successful entrepreneur ignites a chain of events that brings benefit to countless others. Ray Kroc who founded McDonalds restaurants with the simple premise that consumers need a reliable place to get consistently tasty and affordable meals, started a chain of process that helps ranchers and butchers (source of meat), potato growers (the chips), and countless youngsters with their first job. This is separate from the great services it provides consumers.

            As for the personal greed argument, it is well to remember McDonalds create more Black millionaires in America than the all the professional sports leagues combined. Similarly when Bill Gates created that software operating system, he also provided opportunities for thousands of other software engineers to write applications for his Windows program. Of course Ray Kroc and Bill Gates became fabulously rich, but they were not alone; they brought along countless others. Equally important and bears repeating, they provided much-needed services, products, and most importantly, jobs. The value of the benefits to society they created with their services and inventions far outweigh the wealth and rewards that they get. That is the beauty and genius of free enterprise.

            While the religious types may emphasize the material gains accrued on the individual businessman and trader, I emphasize the goods, services, and jobs she provides to the community.

            In feudal societies one’s fate depends exclusively on birth and heritage. From there flows wealth and honor. Providential gifts may at times add new players to the scene. In the movie Giant, the scruffy character played by James Dean catapulted himself into the establishment when he found oil (black gold) on his parched desert property. But those were the days. Today, to use that overworked modern cliché, there is a paradigm shift.

            “The old foundations of success are gone,” observes Lester Thurow. “For all of human history,” he writes, “the source of success has been controlling natural resources – land, gold, oil. Suddenly the answer is ‘knowledge.’” It is not that the usual rules have changed in the “New” economy, rather that the traditional ingredients for growth – land, resources, and labor (the factors of production, in economists’ lingo) – are being superseded by knowledge.

            The old economic axiom – that real wealth results when more is produced with less, that is through increases in productivity – still holds. Consider a padi farmer. By working an eight-hour day he produces a ton of rice. In an effort to increase his harvest, he works an additional four hours per day and produces an additional half-ton of rice. Even though he may bring home more rice, his real wealth has not increased. The reason is that the additional yield was at the expense of his time away from his other activities, such as his bonding with his young family or even at the expense of his health. These too carry their costs. What he would have earned more from the extra rice production, he would have to pay his doctor’s bills for his backache! Besides, there is a physical limit to how many more hours in a day he can work. If he persists with this technique of wealth enhancement to the extreme, he may end up with losing both his family and his health, and the end result would be a big negative.

            If he would change his technique however, from simply putting in more hours to making those hours more productive and efficient, then he would be creating more wealth. For example, he could use high yielding seeds. Then the difference between the increased yield minus the added cost of the more expensive seeds would be the newly created wealth. Or he could rent a tractor and cultivate three times the area to yield three times more rice for the same output of time and effort. And after subtracting for the added costs of the tractor rentals, he would still come out ahead. That is real wealth creation, that is, output in excess of the efforts expended. We should not just work hard in the same manner, rather work hard to find ways to work smarter and be more productive.

            It is the individual entrepreneur who brings about change and creates wealth, not governments or institutions. Thus we must ensure an environment where entrepreneurs can thrive, where their activities are rewarded and valued so as not only to encourage them but also more importantly, others to be like them. Entrepreneurs are not born; they can be trained and nurtured.

            In the West, entrepreneurs like Ted Turner (the man who founded the all-news network, CNN) and Bill Gates have acquired mythic proportions with their massive corporations and fabulous wealth. This larger-than-life image both helps and hinders other would-be entrepreneurs. The hindrance comes when budding and unsure entrepreneurs believe that such enterprising skills are inherent and cannot be taught. But it is well to remember that for every Ted Turner there are thousands of other successful entrepreneurs who may not have the same wealth and fame but nonetheless are providing valuable services to the community and giving employment to their fellow citizens and at the same time making a living for themselves. Each of them, big and small is a contributor to the economy. Every one who starts his own business is an entrepreneur. The youngsters who hawk T-shirts at tourist stops are entrepreneurs in their own right. So too are the sate (Malaysian shish kebab) sellers and wayside fried banana hawkers. In our preoccupation with the major figures, we underestimate and even denigrate these small players. We forget that those big names were once small operators. McDonald’s Ray Kroc started with only one hamburger stand in Southern California.

            Economists, unable to understand or more correctly unwilling to study these small time businessmen, dismiss them collectively as the “informal sector” of the economy, not worthy of their fancy econometric models. But worldwide they provide substantial employment especially to those with minimal skills. As we have seen by the successes of the micro credit lending programs of the Grameen Bank, even illiterate Bangladesh women can trained to become successful entrepreneurs in their own right.

                This entry was posted on Monday, 19 December 2011, 3:34 pm and is filed under
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Will 1Malaysia TV be the solution or the cause of the “information vacuum” plaguing government credibility?

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak made a very interesting observation when launching 1Malaysia TV yesterday, the existence of an “information vacuum” in Malaysia in the information age with youths turning to alternative online site for news.

But is 1Malaysia TV the solution or it will part of the cause of the “information vacuum” plaguing the government’s credibility?

1Malaysia TV as Internet television is offering inter alia RTM1, RTM2 and  TV3, the official channels which evoke intense distrust and low credibility of their information.

Without any change of policy to allow RTM1, RTM 2 and TV3 to be independent, non-partisan and  professional tv stations, the primary cause of the “information vacuum”  and also  why not only youths but Malaysians as a whole are turning to alternative online sites for news and information would not be addressed.

Najib said information on alternative online sites as “sometimes fabricated or untrue”, but these criticisms are equally valid about the official media and now 1Malaysia TV –  which is going to repackage the official media on Internet!

Although Najib said that it was essential to provide information to the rakyat rather than to black it out, “as it would only prompt them to seek it from alternative sources”, his administration had been guilty of the “black out” mindset and  strategy when confronted with adverse or troublesome developments.

Najib’s own silence in December, which resound through the land,  on the following five issues highlight this “black out” mentality and strategy, viz:

•	The Cabinet position of Minister for Welfare, Family and Community Development, Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil in the face of the RM300 million National Feedlot Corporation (NFC) Cattle-Gate/Cow Condominium scandal;

•	Malaysia’s worst Transparency International (TI) Corruption Perception Index (CPI) 2011 ranking and score – 60th place as compared to No. 23 in 1995 and lowest-ever score of 4.3 when Malaysia scored 5.32 in 1996, which means that Malaysia under Najib is perceived internationally as more corrupt than under two previous Prime Ministers, Tun Mahathir and Tun Abdullah.

•	Call by 17 international and national environmental groups and activists including Greenpeace, Manser Bruno Fund and Fern, for the arrest and criminal prosecution of Sarawak Chief Minister, Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud and his 13 family members for massive graft and plundering of Sarawak’s rich natural resources;

•	Penang High Court judgment against Utusan Malaysia, UMNO official newspaper, for mischievous defamation against Penang Chief Minister and Secretary-General Lim Guan Eng trying to depict Guan Eng as anti-Malay and anti-Islam, with award of RM200,000 for general and aggravated damages and RM25,000 for costs against Utusan; and

•	The 2009 report of Washington-based financial watchdog Global Financial Integrity (GFI) that Malaysia continues to be  one of the top five countries in the world suffering from the highest illicit capital outflow, registering a loss of over RM1 trillion (US$338 billion or RM1,077 billion) in past decade, 2000-2009, as a result of corrupt and misgovernance.

Will Najib demonstrate a change of this information “blackout” mindset and strategy and use 1Malaysia TV to break his silence and speak up to give an accounting and perspective as the nation’s Prime Minister  on these five issues?

                This entry was posted on Monday, 19 December 2011, 3:41 pm and is filed under
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Election Commission gets rid of candidate objection period – a pre-emptive move to save PM Najib?

by Mat Zain bin Ibrahim

20 December 2011.

I refer to a report by
Themalaysianinsider yesterday (19.12.2011)
 quoting YBhg Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof, the EC Chairman, to have said, that there will be no more objection period for candidates in the next GE. The onus to check if a candidate is qualified, is now on the EC. Political parties that object to candidates they deem unqualified to contest which the EC has approved, must take the matter to court now,and not on the very morning of nomination day.

At a glance, the new ruling appears to be a sincere and generous handout from the EC in conjunction with the coming Christmas and New Year celebrations and for free, without the parties concerned having to ask or take to the streets to demand for it.

However at closer scrutiny, I am of the opinion that this is a preemptive move by the EC to thwart any objections against PM Najib’s nomination. For if there were, the Returning Officer (RO) concerned, based on the existing rules and procedures during objection period, would have no choice, but to reject PM Najib’s nomination form and disqualify him from contesting in this coming GE.

Firstly, the rakyat should be made aware that our PM has got himself embroiled in misquoting his own name either when affirming his affidavits on 21st and 23rd Sept 2011 or during the swearing-in ceremony as PM before YDP Agong on 3rd April 2009. Both have serious and far reaching legal implications, in as far as his full name is concerned.This includes but not limited to when he files his nomination papers to contest in the coming GE.

Upon discovery of this ‘embroilment’, I sent a written information to the IGP and extended a copy to the Minister of Home Affairs on 8.11.2011.A couple of case laws were cited to support my arguments.

Again on 8.12.2011, I penned an article specially focused on this matter and again sent copies to the IGP and the Minister.The full text of this article was published by Malaysiakini on 10.12.2011 and few other blogs.This article can still be found in Malaysiakini entitled: “Najib’s name game may cost him GE nomination” dated Dec 10,2011.

For the benefit of some, who may not have the chance to sight the full article, I reproduce few paragraphs, which I consider to be most relevant for a better understanding of the issue in question,as the following:

Malaysiakini, Dec 10,2011.

“Najib’s name game may cost him GE nomination”

by Mat Zain Ibrahim.

“What are the Rakyat’s options then? My view is still, taking to the streets at this juncture is not the option. Some people may get hurt and many would be arrested. You cannot fight fire with fire. What the rakyat can do in the meantime, are to be composed and wait for the nomination day which is just around the corner, amongst them…

“When PM Najib files his nomination papers, most likely in Pekan, he is expected to state his name as Mohd Najib bin Tun Abdul Razak as in previous elections. If he does that this time, then he faces the risks of being disqualified for filing his nomination form,  using a name which is not his name. For all intents and purposes, he has formally denounced the name Muhammad as his name, by way of two affidavits.The Returning Officer(RO) shall take the affidavits as evidence to that effect.

“Say this time around PM Najib states his name as Najib bin Tun Abdul Razak, to neutralise the setbacks of the affidavits, still he can be disqualified for not using his full name in the nomination form.

“The recordings of the oath taking ceremony of 3rd April 09 where PM affirmed in the name of Allah before YDP Agong that his full name is MOHD NAJIB can be produced to the RO as evidence.

“So whichever name he chooses, whether Najib or Mohd Najib, it is still contentious, and the RO can disqualify him from contesting, although everybody knows, is unlikely to happen. But God works in mysterious ways they say. It has happened many years before, in one little State up north, where the future MB was disqualified on nomination day and an unknown took the seat uncontested.

“What I am trying to highlight here is that the issue of PM’s name, is not just a minor problem that can be easily  fixed. At least one ordinary citizen, a woman, have gone to jail for this. We cannot take this matter lightly, just because this time around the person involved is the Prime Minister. No one is above the law, we are all equals before the law, which our PM is very fond of saying.

“Had he gotten confused with some technical or medical terms or legal jargons, the rakyat can understand. But for a Prime Minister to be confused or forgets his own name, something must be very wrong somewhere and the rakyat ought to be concerned. For that matter, it is incumbent upon the Cabinet members to view this matter with utmost urgency.”

Now, based on the above scenario, if any other person, other than PM Najib, is caught in exactly the same situation, will the RO accept his nomination form or reject it? The other points to consider would be, whether the RO has the powers to reject affidavits which had been tendered, considered and accepted by a High Court and whether the RO has the power to declare a swearing-in ceremony before YDP Agong, as null and void?

If the RO says that he has none of the above powers, then it is mandatory upon him to reject the nomination form and disqualify the candidate from contesting. That would be the most honourable decision.

With regard to this “objection period” , I think this was never an issue before. In fact it has been accepted  as part of an election tradition. Some even take it as part of a carnival. Not that we are taking an election process for granted or for fun, but that is normally the most awaited period during nomination day.That’s when voters from the constituency assess the candidates contesting by checking themselves how the aspirants filled the simple nomination form.

They say, if a thing is not broken, why fix it? Unless the EC have some very good excuse but cannot tell. Otherwise they should not deprive the voters of their rights to assess the contestants before making their choice.

Coming back to PM Najib’s position. I am of the opinion that the PM still faces the risks of being disqualified from contesting unless he make amends or corrections to his name. It’s not easy I know, like I wrote in my article, but the PM has no choice.

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 20 December 2011, 10:57 am and is filed under
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So, this is Malay leadership

By
Farah Fahmy
 | December 20, 2011

The Malaysian Insider

DEC 20 — If our politicians are to be believed, the Malays are under threat these days. Our religion, culture and power are steadily under attack from all and sundry. Everyone has it in for us, from Christians to the Chinese. We are even warned about a so-called “Malaysian Spring” being orchestrated by “anasir-anasir Barat” (and quite possibly, the Jews, who of course, have always had it in for us).

“We won’t surrender an inch,” said the Melayu champion-in-chief (who also finds the time to be our prime minister) during a speech to Pekida recently. Malays, we were told, will never be oppressed in our own land so long as Umno is in power.

Well, glory be. I’m sure there are many others who can sleep more soundly at night knowing that there are so many out there making sure we Malays are not stripped of our position and power in our land.

But … hang on a minute.

The last time I checked we Malays, along with the other Bumiputeras, make up about 60-odd per cent of our country’s population. Islam is not just our country’s official religion, it is also the religion professed by about 60 per cent of our people. Not only are we and our religion in the majority, but let’s see, we Malays also make up most of, oh, the civil service, police, army, ruling class and politicians.

Of course, you can say that there are plenty of Malays who still need help. This, I don’t dispute. I’ve seen rural poverty in our country, where people still live without basic amenities like constant water supply and proper toilets. I’ve also seen urban poverty, with families living in small, low-cost flats in the outskirts of KL making do with the little that they earn.

Yet poor Malays aren’t the only ones who need help. There are also plenty of poor people, non-Malays, who deserve help. My brother was once approached by a young Indian man late one evening. He had just arrived from Kulai and asked my brother for help; my brother pointed him in the direction of the nearest kedai mamak.

I’ve said this before, and I’ll say it again: not all Malays deserve to get the help that the NEP brings. I would hazard a guess that most Malays who live in exclusive neighbourhoods in KL do not need the Bumiputera housing discount, or government scholarships for their offspring.

Are we really throwing away our “power” and “position” if we amended the NEP so that it excluded rich Malays and was open to all of our country’s poor, regardless of their race? Yes, Datuk Najib, we’ve “willingly shared power with the non-Malays” since Merdeka, but why keep harping on the past? Why not share with us your vision for the future?

I should have expected it, but I’m disappointed all the same. Is this what Malay leadership is about? Is there such a dearth of good Malay leaders in Umno that only scare tactics will do? Where is the vision about what the Malays can achieve? Why is no one inspiring us to be better? Why, in fact, is there no Malay leader out there who has the guts to say enough is enough, we Malays will never reach our full potential if we keep harping on about the help that we need? Why is no one honest enough to say that not all Malays are equal, and the haves should no longer receive a handout?

Instead of leaders who inspire us and show us how it is possible for all of us — Malay or otherwise — to have a stake in this country, we have leaders like Datuk Shahrizat Jalil. The pity of it all is that I felt that Shahrizat had not done a bad job as the minister for Women, Family and Community Development. Yet the NFC controversy has made her position untenable and shown the ugly face of Umno and our government.

Why are our ministers allowed to run family businesses that are subsidised by the government? Even if ministers are not actively involved in running such businesses, how is it that businesses run by members of a minister’s family can qualify for government assistance? Why are the people who govern our country in our name not required to declare their interests in such companies, and the assets they hold?

There is also a failure of leadership over the whole NFC debacle. Najib should have taken decisive action when it first erupted, and demanded Shahrizat’s resignation. Not doing so would mean that he condoned what she did, no?

This was our PM’s chance to show that he meant business; that even the slightest whiff of misconduct would not be tolerated, be it at ministerial level or otherwise. Well, he’s flunked the test. What this shows us is that our PM and Umno as a whole are prepared to turn a blind eye to such things. Why? I don’t know. Is it because she’s “one of us”? Or perhaps because she’s a Malay?

Is this what Najib means when he tells us to choose wisely in the next general election? Is this what Umno means when it claims to be the only political party that can safeguard Malay interests? For shame, Umno. Out of all its members, only two leaders have called on Shahrizat to do the right thing, and recognised the damage the whole affair is doing to the party.

Let me remind you what Najib said at Pekida: Umno would not allow the Malays to be oppressed in their own land. Well, the vast amounts of money that have been reportedly spent buying expensive properties and cars could have been spent improving the lives of poorer Malays, so who’s oppressing who now?

________

Farah Fahmy is based in London, and has written for the media. She is intrigued by trans- and international relations between Malaysia (ns) and the Rest of the World.

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 21 December 2011, 12:30 pm and is filed under
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In about face, MACC now says probing NFC

By Shazwan Mustafa Kamal

The Malaysian Insider

Dec 22, 2011

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 22 — The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) announced today it is investigating allegations surrounding the National Feedlot Corporation (NFC), despite previously saying it would not probe the matter.

The MACC earlier referred the case to the police, who are now conducting an investigation into possible criminal breach of trust.

But in a statement today, the commission revealed that a special team headed by MACC investigations director Datuk Haji Mustafar Ali has been formed to investigate claims of misappropriation of NFC funds.

“The commission would like to stress that the collection of evidence and testimony has begun since the issue was reported in the Auditor-General’s 2010 report and appropriate action has already been taken on issues raised (in the report),” it said, without detailing the commission’s actions so far.

The statement confirmed the receipt of the latest report concerning the NFC, but said the commission could not divulge any details of the on-going investigation.

Following a series of exposés on the scandal-hit NFC project, PKR yesterday renewed demands for the country’s graft busters to investigate the government-funded scheme for abuse.

The party’s representatives had lodged another report at the MACC office in Shah Alam, and submitted details of what they claim to be evidence of wrongdoing.

PKR first latched onto the issue after the RM250 million federally-funded cattle project made it into the pages of the Auditor-General’s report for 2010, which described the NFC as “a mess”.

Since then, the party has made several revelations related to the scandal, including the NFC’s purchase of twin multi-million luxury condominium units in Bangsar, the alleged use of project funds to finance Datuk Seri Shahrizat Jalil and her family’s personal expenses and trips abroad, the transfer of resources to unrelated companies in Singapore, as well as the purchase a Mercedes-Benz CLS350 for RM534,622 and two plots of land in Putrajaya’s Precinct 10 for RM3,363,507.

The latest disclosure by PKR, made on Tuesday, alleged that some RM10 million was diverted towards the purchase of luxury condominium unit in Singapore for Shahrizat’s family.

Shahrizat has sought to deflect away attention by stating she “is only the wife” of the national cattle farming project’s chairman.

The women, family and community development minister said “legally and professionally, I am not involved in the NFC.”

The Wanita Umno chief has faced growing calls to quit as minister from within Umno, including from influential former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, after repeated attacks from the opposition over the project awarded to her husband and three children, who are directors in the NFC.

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 22 December 2011, 12:52 pm and is filed under
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MACC should interrogate Shahrizat about the corruption scandals affecting all UMNO leaders

The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) turnabout, announcing that it is investigating allegations surrounding the National Feedlot Corporation (NFC) despite previously saying it would not probe the matter, signifies two things:

•	The political heat of the RM300 million cattlegate/cow-condo scandal, involving the Wanita Umno leader and Minister for Women, Family and Community Development, Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil is becoming unbearable for the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak; that her days are numbered and it will be a surprise if she could politically survive into the new year although it is only nine days away;

•	A big “black eye” to end the third year of operation of the MACC, plunging public confidence in the independence, integrity and professionalism of the MACC to an unplumbed low, after the earlier series of “black eyes” like the MACC deaths of Teoh Beng Hock and Ahmad Sarbaini Mohamed; MACC used as political pawns to persecute Pakatan Rakyat leaders/activists like Teoh Beng Hock, Selangor Mentri Besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim and former Perak Pakatan Rakyat Speaker V Sivakumar; abysmal failure to check “grand corruption” highlighted by Malaysia’s worst Transparency International (TI) Corruption Perception Index 2011 ranking of No. 60 and score of 4.3 in the past 17 years.

The MACC Chief Commissioner Datuk Seri Abu Kassim Mohamed should resign for the disgraceful cop-out of MACC of no investigation into the RM300 million cattlegate/cow-condo scandal, and the about-face six weeks later, ostensibly after getting the “green light” from the political masters who found the escalating “heat” from the scandal increasingly unbearable and intolerable, especially with the coming general elections around the corner.

The Malaysian public have no confidence that the MACC, with its history and record, would get to the bottom of the RM300 million cattlegate/cow-condo scandal.

The MACC said in a statement today that a special team headed by MACC investigations director Datuk Haji Mustafar Ali has been formed to investigate claims of misappropriation of NFC funds.

It claimed that the commission had been collecting evidence and testimony since the issue was reported in the Auditor-General’s 2010 report and “appropriate action has already been taken on issues raised”.

When was this MACC special team formed? When did the MACC start collecting evidence and testimony on the NFC scandal and what were the “appropriate action…already taken on the issues raised”?

Nobody expects the MACC to be able to answer these three simple questions, when it had been so clue-less about the NFC scandal so far because of lack of professionalism and  political will rather than the lack of investigative expertise.

Yesterday, the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak continued to keep mum on the cattlegate/cow-condo scandal, saying that he will comment further on the matter “in due course”.

Najib will  now use the MACC investigations to justify his continued silence – although behind-the-scene Shahrizat will face mounting pressure to stop being a political liability for UMNO and Barisan Nasional.

Najib has a responsibility however to  respond to the lack of public confidence in the independence, integrity and professionalism of the MACC to conduct full untrammelled investigations to get to the bottom of the RM300 million cattlegate/cow-condo scandal and whether he would support the establishment of an independent high-level public inquiry instead.

What the MACC should do is to interrogate Shahrizat about the corruption scandals affecting all UMNO leaders in view of her statement “Which UMNO leader does not have problem” in retort to the RM300 million cattlegate/cow-condo  scandal.

This has been reported in Sin Chew (18th December 2011) when she attended a function in Ampang last Wednesday relating to activating the  Barisan Nasional Wanita general election machinery.

Sin Chew reported that in retort to calls from inside the party for her to resign, she said that every UMNO leader has got problems and she only chose not to create problems for the party.

Sin Chew quoted Shahrizat as asking: “Tell me, which UMNO leader does not have problem?”

MACC should explain why their officers have not interrogated Shahrizat about the corruption scandals affecting all UMNO leaders in view of her statement “Which UMNO leader does not have problem” in retort to the RM300 million cattlegate/cow-condo  scandal last Wednesday?

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 22 December 2011, 3:35 pm and is filed under
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A year-end look at Malaysia from afar

— Farish Noor

The Malaysian Insider

Dec 22, 2011

DEC 22 — I began my academic career more than a decade ago — and I can wryly state, with a smirk on my face, that my career began in the previous century.

From the outset the subjects that I have taught have been in keeping with my own academic interests as a student years ago: Philosophy, political theory, literature, history and Area Studies, of which the study of Malaysian society, politics and history has always been an ongoing concern of mine. For a decade now I have been offering and teaching a handful of courses, one of them being the history of the society and politics of Malaysia, and this is a course that I have taught in Germany, France and now here in Singapore where I am presently based, at least for the next couple of years or so.

Of all the subjects I have taught, none has had as much attraction – or been the cause of so much anxiety and concern — as the subject of Malaysian politics and history. And perhaps none of the courses that I have taught have cost me so much, emotionally and psychologically.

This is simply because the prevailing norm of academic research and teaching is one that lays emphasis on reason, balance and objective distance from the subject at hand. But when the subject at hand happens to be the country of one’s birth, and to which one presumably has some emotional attachment to, then maintaining that sense of objective, critical, balanced distance becomes difficult even at the best of times.

What compounds matters for me is that my focus on Malaysian society, politics and history is shaped by my other related concerns about the linkages between politics and economics, power and violence, race and religion, and the instrumentalisation of all the previously-mentioned for the sake of power and the use of it by political elites the world over. Parallel to my focus on Malaysia has been my other research interests in radical and potentially violent ethno-nationalist politics, as well as religious politics, communitarian politics and religious violence. Put all of these ingredients into a crammed head like mine and the result is a catalogue of neuroses and anxiety that leads to depression and suicidal inclinations even on the sunniest of days.

As this year comes to an end, and as the first half of the trimester on Malaysian History, Society and Politics closes, I can only reflect on the significant developments in Malaysia that have caught my attention as an academic viewer/commentator.

The prognosis can hardly be described as a positive one, but what adds salt to the wound is the fact that much of what has come to pass was already anticipated by yours truly a decade ago. At this point I am not suggesting that I possess any extraordinary powers of prediction, for if that were the case I would have quit the life of an academic in the 1990s (last century) and opted for a career as a professional gambler instead.

No the predictability of Malaysia’s politics — despite its seeming complex and multifarious facade – lies in the fact that the underlying structures, both party-political and institutional – have remained constant for more than half a century. Occasionally in the course of my lectures I feel the need to strip away the external particularities of the Malaysian model in order to render its underlying skeletal structure bare, and I do this only to ensure that our approach to the question/testcase at hand remains an objective one. Take ‘Malaysia’ out of the equation and bracket out its identity altogether. What we have is a country whose complexity is skin-deep (literally) by virtue of the communitarian (and thus potentially divisive) nature of its communitarian politics, here predicated on ethno-racial differences. Any society that is thus ordered will necessarily slip into the morass of sectarian representative politics where the political arena is taken as a competing ground for short-termist communitarian interests. Any society ordered thus can only give birth to a political culture that neglects the long term national interest for the sake of immediate communitarian gains – and those communitarian demands and gains can be couched in the language of race, as it can in the language of religion, etc.

A decade ago I remarked at one of those urban middle-class polite gatherings in the genteel quarters of KL/Klang valley that unless and until Malaysians transcend the logic of narrow ethnic/racial compartmentalisation we will never reach the level of a national politics predicated on the universal category of citizenship, which ought – in my opinion – be the basis of active participation in the political domain by anyone and everyone. Ten years ago I stated that should these trends remain unchecked, they will merely continue to fester and replicate themselves, viral-like, until we witness the rise of more and more ethnic and religious based movements, that will turn to the democratic process in order to advance agendas and demands that are sectarian and particular; and which in the long run entails the use and abuse of democracy for the sake of ends that are not only not democratic, but quite possible even anti-democratic. A decade ago I called for us to defend the norms of democracy from being abused and hijacked by those who will play the democratic game, but only to end the game in the long run.

My warnings then were not only unheeded, but deemed impolite, alarmist, outrageous and exaggerated. Someone told me in my face: “I hate listening to your talks because you just make me feel depressed.”

A decade later I feel neither vindication nor elation at the thought that so much of what I feared would happen has come to pass, and has moved from the register of the virtual to the real. We now have a civil society domain populated by anti-democratic forces that don the garb on NGOs and civil society movements, though despite that their means and ends are anything but democratic and civil. The only solace I find in this cloudy climate is the thought that an even greater calamity awaits all of us in Asia in the coming decade, as a new Great Game of international proportions and permanent consequences is about to be enacted at our very doorstep. with the drums of war beating from Washington to Beijing. Malaysia, a small yet complex country despite its diminutive stature, will be drawn into this maelstrom as its people bicker about who can wear what colour, who can say which word, who can read which book, and so on and so forth, down the spiraling path of micro-inanities.

And as this happens, I can only continue in my task as teacher and historian, chronicler of mistakes, errors and opportunities lost, and continue with my work of documenting Malaysia’s history at a time when its people – half a century after independence, remain clueless as to who and what they are, and remain as distant as ever from that once cherished ideal of a Malaysian nation for all Malaysians, based on the simplest notion of all: that all citizens are equal in the eyes of God, the state, and history.

A happy new year to all, though the wish I express is not without a heavy dose of regret and loss as well.

* The writer is a senior fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore

                This entry was posted on Friday, 23 December 2011, 2:37 am and is filed under
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FGV: Looking out for settlers’ interests

— Sakmongkol AK47

The Malaysian Insider

Dec 22, 2011

DEC 22 — I am more interested in establishing credibility in a proposition, idea or plan. Accordingly I am not fixated over an idea nor feel xenophobic on having to change my position if necessary, in the interest of achieving credibility.

For example, while I am not immediately taken in by the idea of listing Felda Global Ventures, the rational economist in me accepts that it makes good business and economic sense to restructure Felda’s business to unlock value.

I think, even while some of us differ in our views, this principle of restructuring, reorganizing, changing in order to arrive at better value, is acceptable. Also I am not averse to having experts run and operate the business.

For example, KPF is the investment entity in Felda Holdings. The members of KPF get dividends, handouts, charity, assistance, etc. They are able to enjoy because the commercial entity, Felda Global Ventures Sdn Bhd does the business for them.

KPF’s and the interests of others — public spirited individuals, minders (paid or unpaid) — are to ensure the managers of the business do their work efficiently and create shareholder value. Except that I will always be circumspect about the term “unlocking value”.

Translate that into action and practice, what does the term mean? This term “unlocking value” has taken different meanings in the context of business in Malaysia. It can mean anything. In the sad case of MAS, for example, unlocking value has meant the sale of assets and the management of its balance sheet and bypassing managing the operations of the business.

The truth is, a business depends more on managing its operations. My understanding of unlocking value is, however, somewhat more basic: It means you produce more per acre if you are in the business of planting something, you get better price, you produce better quality, produce new products, become more productive, keep costs down.

It’s a brick-and-mortar view of how an economic enterprise operates. You operate the real economy. Goods and services. It’s the business operations. As an analyst or investor I will look at these variables and parameters.

At the same time, I have this cynical bias. No business unit can sustain profit on paper shuffling and share manipulations without the support of the business fundamentals. I am always suspicious at the managing balance sheet approach.

If you want to arrive at a clean balance sheet, you manage the assets and liabilities. You are fixated at the all-consuming idea of having more value at assets over liabilities. In Felda’s case, to me that means making sure plantations produce more and high quality yields, marketing, managing more efficiently and so forth.

Creating prosperity through share manipulations, IPO and the stuff are initial spurts. What comes later, working on the fundamentals is what sustains long term benefits.

A close friend sent me a text message. He says he doesn’t understand why I oppose the Felda Global Ventures (FGV) listing. Don’t I empathise with Felda settlers? The indirect owners of the 880,000 hectares of palm oil trees are going to enjoy a windfall and you are objecting?

Settlers are passive investors through their co-operative. The business and commercial aspects of the business has always been handled by Felda Global Ventures SB. That is the organization that operates and manages the business.

Doesn’t it make good business and economic sense to restructure the business into a single entity and create upstream and downstream business entities? The most important element of this business in my mind is the land area. Now, these 880,000 hectares comprise of what? The land already owned by settlers or land not already owned by settlers or both?

Since 1990, Felda has stopped enrolling settlers anymore. Land not already owned by settlers or were not given out were all placed under Felda Plantations. These are not operated by settlers. They are run directly by Felda through their plantation business units.

Now, that itself was a contentious position. Land was set aside by the various states to be given to settlers. Felda serves as the authority in selecting settlers in order to give individuals land to cultivate. That was the original intention of Tun Razak when he established Felda in 1956.

Of course we are not going to be sticky about his original intention. He is dead anyway and his idea is opened to improvements and even revision. The infallibility and absolute completeness and un-changeability of an idea do not appeal to me, and I believe that should apply to others too.

There must be reasons for not giving out land to would be settlers. I don’t think not doing so, renders the whole idea of Felda into total disrepute. But it will be prudent to keep a look out where we can go wrong.

A less than spirited board representation for example can put a damper on good business operations. Look at what happened to Sime Darby for example. Clearly on an overall basis, the board hasn’t played a good oversight and supervisory role. T

he business operations must be run by quality managers and staff. The organization needs to be nimble in spirit. Maybe the idea of concentration of authority and power needs to be relooked. Power and resources need to be dispersed in order to unlock value.

My other worry is this. After the IPO, FGV becomes a behemoth. It will be bigger than Sime Darby, I think. Where lies the danger? The danger lies in it becoming a large bureaucratic held-back business organization. It becomes a government unto itself. That may turn FGV into an unwieldy centrally planned business. This possibility is fraught with dangers.

Central planning is not good for business. Concentration of power, monopoly and similar ideas are antagonistic to free enterprise, competition, acquisitive tendencies and this idea of limited interference.

The age of big government, or government knows best, must be given its real meaning in practice. If FGV is to succeed, ideas supportive of power dispersion, free enterprise, competition will have to be enhanced not curtailed. We don’t need a commissar mentality to run FGV. We will talk about this at other times. — sakmongkol.blogspot.com

* Sakmongkol AK47 is the nom de plume of Datuk Mohd Ariff Sabri Abdul Aziz. He was Pulau Manis assemblyman (2004-2008).

                This entry was posted on Friday, 23 December 2011, 3:18 am and is filed under
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Perlis Mufti slams NRD for annulling daughter’s citizenship

By Yow Hong Chieh

The Malaysian Insider

Dec 23, 2011

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 23 — Perlis Mufti Dr Juanda Jaya today lashed out at the civil service and Putrajaya after the National Registration Department (NRD) told him his daughter was not a Malaysian citizen.

The incident occurred earlier today when Juanda, who is Melanau, tried to renew his 12-year-old daughter’s identity card at the NRD office in Kuching.

“My child is stateless! What kind of system is this? Are we in Africa or chaotic Zimbabwe?” he said in a statement.

“At a time when many foreigners are said to have been given citizenship, my daughter who is a Melanau, a Sarawak Bumiputera whose right to citizenship is clearly preserved in the Constitution, is suddenly said not to be a Malaysian national.”

Juanda said that while his wife was an Indonesian citizen, there was no reason his young daughter should be victimised for this, especially since the NRD’s own records identified the child as a Melanau.

He pointed out his daughter had visited relatives in Jakarta earlier this month on her Malaysian passport, and questioned how she could possibly be tagged in the NRD system as a non-citizen in light of this.

“How would you feel if, as a Bumiputera whose people are clearly mentioned in the Constitution as being indigenous… to this country and whose constitutional rights are guaranteed, you are suddenly denied these rights by your beloved country’s system?

“The minimum right is for citizenship. Not the right to get a logging licence or windfall projects. And yet that right is denied by the existing system,” he said.

Juanda, who studied at the prestigious Al-Azhar University in Cairo, also likened his interaction with NRD Kuching to his dealings with Egyptian officials under Hosni Mubarak during his yearly visa applications then, and questioned the government’s claim that the civil service was now more efficient.

He said he was told by an NRD officer there to present a marriage certificate, despite the fact no such requirement was stated on any notice board there, nor was he asked for one when he had applied for his daughter’s identity card previously.

“Why is this? The home minister can grant citizenship to foreign nationals but the child of a Malaysian man is denied her citizenship?

“What has happened to our country’s system? Who will help my daughter get her citizenship?” he said.

                This entry was posted on Friday, 23 December 2011, 11:40 am and is filed under
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Religious tension mars merriment for Christians

Julia Yeow

Malaysiakini

Dec 21, 2011

In every mall and along every main street in Malaysia’s capital, elaborate decorations and loud, blaring carols bring about festive reminders of the season to be jolly.

But beneath the blinking lights and merry making, many Christians will be celebrating Christmas with an undeniable sense of unease due to rising tensions with Muslim authorities.

Malaysia is a secular state as defined in its constitution, but Islam is the official religion and is embraced by 60 percent of the population. Minority Christians make up about 10 percent, followed by Buddhists, Hindus and people of other faiths.

Religious violence is rare in the multicultural society, but minority religious groups have complained that their right to practice freely is increasingly threatened by a Muslim-dominated government.

Christians have always had to be “cautious” in dealing with the government, said Sam Ang, secretary-general of the National Evangelical Christian Fellowship, the country’s largest evangelical group.

“I think there is definitely a sense of Christians feeling threatened much more now, although not so much physically.”

He said authorities often misinterpret the law according to their own convenience.

“There is always a risk. That is why churches would be wise to always exercise caution,” he said.

But one major church apparently threw caution to the winds on Aug 3 when it allowed an organisation with Muslim members to use its premises for a celebration.

Islamic religious officers raided the church during the dinner, and later claimed efforts were being made to convert the Muslims who were present.

The Damansara Utama Methodist Church denied the allegations and called the raid illegal. It said accusations of conversion attempts were false and malicious.

Christian leaders condemned the raid, saying the authorities showed no proof or warrant to enter the church premises.

The incident also sparked outrage among Muslim groups that demonstrated against what they claimed were aggressive conversion efforts by Christians. They called on Muslims to “take all necessary actions” to protect the sanctity of Islam.

In response, the Christian community was placed on alert for fears of a repeat of violent attacks on at least eight churches last year, including one that was gutted by a firebomb.

“Religion is such an emotional thing, that I find it hard to be at ease during this season,” said Vivienne Pal, a 33-year-old Christian.

“I’m constantly aware that things can get out of hand in a blink of an eye.”

Fear of drawing ‘unwanted attention’

Following the August incident, many major churches around the central state of Selangor and Kuala Lumpur re-evaluated their activities, for fear of drawing “unwanted attention”.

“We’ve had to be very careful about whom we help, and how we go about doing it because authorities are paying more attention to church activities,” said a pastor who requested anonymity due to his work among the poor and homeless of Kuala Lumpur.

“It’s sad because we don’t care about a person’s race or religion when we offer help, but now we need to be wise and cautious, so that our work doesn’t bring about unwanted attention and negative repercussions to the entire church,” he said.

“Our situation in Malaysia is not new, and Christians have been facing this although over the past three years, it’s become worse,” evangelical leader Ang said.

In spite of the increasing tension between the church and state, there are many who believe the maturity of believers from both religions will be able to mend the rift.

Mazran Nordin, an ethnic Malay Muslim, said he often visited churches in Europe and had no problem attending weddings in churches.

“I think a lot of it has to do with the maturity of a Muslim believer. If you are confident in your beliefs, why would you be afraid of being converted?” Mazran said.

“Everywhere you go, you can see normal Malaysians of all religions celebrating Christmas together,” said Thomas Philips, president of Malaysia’s Council of Churches.

“I don’t believe there is a distrust, and a feeling of any one religion being threatened. Those are just games the politicians and media play.

“From what we have seen, there is still much hope for people of all religions to live peacefully here,” he said.

– dpa

                This entry was posted on Friday, 23 December 2011, 2:45 am and is filed under
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