Anwar Ibrahim is the cause celebre in the court of world opinion

By
Dr Chen Man Hin

Ever since Sodomy 2 trial began, the name of Anwar Ibrahim has rocketed in the major newspapers spanning the globe from east to west and north to south.

In Jakarta, Bangkok, Hong Kkong, Taiwan, Tokyo, Sydney, Washington, New York, London, Paris, Rome, Cairo, New Delhi, there was universal protest that Anwar should be tried once again on trumped up charges of sodomy.

The editorials in Bangkok Post, New York Times, Washington Post, Asian Wall Street Journal were replete with derision, mockery and scorn that a prominent opposition leader could be arraigned before the court on trumped up sodomy for a second time.

In 1998, Anwar was tried and jailed for six years on trumped up charges of sodomy. He was later exonerated from the false charges. The international community is therefore shocked with disbelief that the Malaysian Government  is trying the same trick again.

They are aware that Anwar is a very strong contender to be Prime Minister.  He is leader of a strong opposition coalition PAKATAN which won five states in the 2008 general elections.

The international community is also aware that the present Prime Minister Najib Razak is the mastermind of Sodomy 2 trial, with the intention of putting Awar in prison for twenty years to eliminate him as a challenger to be prime minister.

In a globalised world, democracy, justice and fair play are the rules that nations are expected to follow. any foul play or trickery is condemned. Trumped up sodomy charges against Anwar are not tolerated.

Hence Anwar has become the cause celebre of the world, and all peace loving countries will be campaigning actively to see that the trumped up charge of sodomy against Anwar iras withdrawn as soon as possible.

These strong sentiments of the international community is reflected by the protest of fifty Australian Members of Parliament to the Malaysian High Commissioner to Australia recently.

Senator John Kerry, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee has voiced dissatisfaction with the action of the Malaysian Government in  pressing trumped up charges of sodomy against Anwar.

DAP’s Lim Kit Siang , senior member of parliament has called for Parliament to debate on the false charges against Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim.  Unfortunately, Prime Minister Najib has dismissed lhis call, saying that ‘the problem is just a matter between two individuals’.

If this is the attitude of the Prime Minister, then it is proper for DAP to warn the Prime Minister he is putting the country in grave danger of being subject to world sanctions.

SANCTIONS

Learn from the example of Myanmar which is sufferring from sanctions imposed by UN causing great pain to Myanmar’s economy and bringing poverty and unemployment for the people.

The military junta in Myanmar in 1990 arrested and jailed Aung San Suu Kyi, opposition leader who led her party to victory in the general elections. She was put under house arrest for 14 years, and was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1991.

Anwar could be another Aung San Suu Kyi. Anwar poses a threat to Najib to be the next Prime Minister. With the sodomy 2 trial, a conviction will remove him as a threat. If this happens expect the world to impose economic sanctions.

This would be disastrous for the country. Already, capital outflows have increased 50% over last year. FDIs have fallen badly to levels much below Indonesia and Vietnam. Last year over 300,000 talented Malaysians emigrated to greener pastures.

It would be impossible to imagine the disastrous effect on the economy if Anwar were to be convicted and world sanctions are imposed.

The prime ministers vision of 1 Malaysia will be the first casualty.

THE DAP CALLS ON NAJIB TO WITHDRAW THE TRUMPED UP CHARGES OF SODOMY AGAINST ANWAR IMMEDIATELY.

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 21 February 2010, 11:24 am and is filed under
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Najib should ask Umno media like Utusan Malaysia, Berita Harian and government tv and radio channels to give him a chance to prove that he is Prime Minister for all Malaysians

The Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak asked the Chinese community in Malaysia to give the Barisan Nasional government a chance to prove itself when he went to the national Chinese New Year celebrations in Pandamaran New Village in Klang yesterday (
Malaysian Insider
).

Najib should ask Umno media like Utusan Malaysia, Berita Harian and government television and radio channels to give him a chance to prove that he is Prime Minister for all Malaysians by stop playing the race and religion cards like their current campaign against Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng.

Is Najib unaware that not only the Chinese in Penang and Malaysia, but all other Malaysians whether Malays, Indians, Kadazans or Ibans in the country are following with disgust the irresponsible politics of race and religion being daily perpetrated by Umno-controlled media against the Pakatan Rakyat Penang State government and Penang Chief Minister?

Everyone can only reach one conclusion, that Najib is not serious and fully committed to the 1Malaysia slogan and concept or he would not have allowed the Umno media to continue on such a rampage in exploiting the race and religious cards in Penang!

It is no exaggeration to say that the biggest enemies of Najib’s 1Malaysia concept come from within Umno and Barisan Nasional and not without.

The enemies are firstly from Umno as illustrated by the  divisive and destructive politics of race and religion now perpetrated by Umno media against the Penang Chief Minister.

Secondly, the enemies of 1Malaysia are from  the other component  parties in Barisan Nasional, whether MCA, Gerakan, MIC or the Sabah and Sarawak BN parties, for the total lack of political convictions and courage of their leaders to tell Najib to stop the irresponsible politics of race and religion presently perpetrated by Umno media against the Penang Chief Minister.

If Najib cannot even ask the Umno media like the Utusan Malaysia, Berita Harian and the government television and radio channels to give him a chance to prove that he is Prime Minister for all Malaysians by stop playing their race and religious cards like their current campaign against Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng, what positive answer can Najib get from his request at the national Chinese New Year celebrations in Pandamaran yesterday asking the Chinese community to give his government a chance to prove itself?

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 21 February 2010, 1:13 pm and is filed under
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Time for a Malay Counter-Movement?

By
Suflan Shamsuddin
 | The Malaysian Insider

FEB 21 – With the ever-increasing profile of racially divisive rhetoric spun to purportedly protect the interest of Malays, shouldn’t the alternative point of view be made equally forcefully, by way of an effective and organised Malay counter-movement?

Although right-wing Malay NGOs would like you to believe that Malays are united behind the notion of Ketuanan Melayu, there are actually a very large number of us who view this ideology as being immoral and unIslamic, and therefore unacceptable.

We also believe that it actually serves to weaken our community because it prevents many from developing a sense of personal accountability, it impedes the development of the capacity for critical and informed analysis, and it promotes short cuts and patronage.

In addition, this approach discourages playing by the book, it prevents an understanding of the value of diversity and inclusiveness, and it creates an excuse to avoid becoming competitive and achievement orientated.

Today many Malays share a concern with other Malaysians that even though time-limited means tested affirmative action programmes have value, perpetual handouts and special privileges are like drugs.

This is because it creates an addiction to receiving from the “hand that feeds”, that which poisons them and affects the growth and well-being of the beneficiaries. With this comes elitism and cronyism, encouraged and supported by those who need, or offer, such protection and patronage.

With resources quickly drying up, there is a real fear of a rude and potentially violent awakening when this habit can no longer be maintained.

So, the idea for this Malay counter-movement has begun to germinate. If this movement were to materialise, it would look to advance a Malay culture and mindset, which rejects Ketuanan Melayu, and that is instead built on Islamic and universally held values, virtues and ideals, which include integrity, self-motivation, self-determination, a quest for knowledge, a desire for self-improvement, tolerance and respect.

It would operate on an independent and non-partisan basis so that it can stay true to a morally robust set of principles by which to pursue the cause of improving the welfare and condition of the Malays.

It would study and promote an understanding of the concerns that could impede the progress of the Malays. It would also seek to inform policy through consultation with all stakeholders such as the Government, political parties, and civil society.

It would look to help develop new ideas to address the concerns relating to why the Malays, in general, have not been as successful and self-actualised as they ought to have been, given the opportunities they have been afforded over the last fifty years.

Finally, it would look to make and market a convincing case to the Malays, as to what is it for them to gain, in life and in the hereafter, were they to lead their life by the values and principles espoused.

For this movement to be impactful, it must be structured as being wholly Malay, and its membership must be fairly representative of the community whether by reference to gender, age or background. This is because its ultimate aim is to win the hearts and minds of the Malays themselves.

This, of course, might hinder the participation of those who do not feel it right to associate themselves with a wholly Malay-only movement, although there will be some who will see its value in countering the rhetoric of the hardliners in right-wing Malay organisations.

Nevertheless, it might appeal to others who feel it crucial, and might want to help, to work together to promote meaningful change in their own community as an end in itself, and as a means to a better Malaysia.

Ideally, “towering” non-partisan Malays who are universally respected by all Malaysians should play an active role in the movement. These individuals would have achieved success in their own fields without the ill effects of Ketuanan Melayu, and should ensure that the movement has credibility, maintains its independence and moral compass, and remains unsoiled by the vested interests of any individual or political party.

Even though non-partisan, the movement should also attract members of all Malay-centric political parties who share the same ideals for their community. They might wish to support this movement because they all share a desire to get rid of an antiquated and bankrupt Malay political paradigm built on religious and racial intolerance, patronage and insecurity.

They would be united in wanting to replace it with one that builds the confidence and capacity of the Malays to compete and contribute fairly and successfully.

However, in order to maintain the credibility and independence of the movement, leaders and active members of such political parties should accept the need to confine their participation to a supporting role, and not expect to lead or influence its decision-making.

It should follow that Malay leaders of all parties who desire a united and workable Malaysia ought to fully support the creation of this movement, since the greater is the movement’s support from the Malay community, the less will they need to pander to the sentiments of extremists and racists inside and outside of their party.

Finally, such a movement should not be seen as serving to perpetuate an “us versus them” mentality, separating Malays from non-Malays. It must not become in anyway a threat to an inclusive Malaysia.

Instead it should be seen as doing the exact converse, i.e. helping to prepare the Malays to take the first and important steps to embrace the creation of the illusive Bangsa Malaysia, over the longer term.

Today, this movement is nothing but an idea. If you are interested in its development, please sign up as a member of the Facebook group
Tabung Idea Mengukuhkan Martabat Melayu
, which I have only just set up, to log ideas and comments about this proposal.

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 21 February 2010, 11:10 am and is filed under
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Anwar, Allah and the caning of women

By
Jema Khan
 | The Malaysian Insider

FEB 18 — I have been a loyal member of Umno since they came to Sabah in the early nineties. I have served in the Umno Youth exco, as Umno Youth chief of Sabah, as Umno Youth chief of Tuaran and even as a branch leader in my division.

I retired fully from politics in 2000 to focus on my business with a sense of satisfaction in having done some good both in Sabah and in Malaysia.  That was good enough for me and I felt I had done my duty and could now concentrate on my business, family and myself.

In the passing of time since, I have seen many a friend being elevated to the highest level of Government. That pleased me in that at least I knew the main players in Government personally. From time to time, I would give my views to them on this issue or that when the opportunity arose. I would not be writing this if there was a more discreet way to repair the serious damage done to my country.

I consider myself a liberal Malay and have always acted as such even when I served Umno a decade ago. Although I would toe the party line eventually in most issues, I espoused my liberal views often to my compatriots and they listened though not necessarily agreeing. Nevertheless, we all remained firm friends. Today they seem unable to tackle issues which I consider basic and yet having serious repercussions.

The most serious issues today are Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s sodomy trial, the use of the “A” word for non-Muslims and the caning of women under Syariah law. These issues are all fundamental to all of us as they can dilute our rights as individuals in a civilised nation. A decade ago, all these rights remained intact for all of us.

In Anwar’s case a decade ago, he was found guilty for abuse of power only: the sodomy conviction being overturned on appeal eventually. No matter how one feels about it, justice eventually prevailed on appeal as there was reasonable doubt to cause his sodomy conviction to be considered “unsafe”.

Here we are again, putting the nation through another trauma all over again; surely we all know the burden of proof lies with the prosecution and it has to prove its case “beyond a reasonable doubt”. From the press reports, I would say that there are serious elements of doubt. I fear for all of us if we were the ones to be prosecuted in a criminal case and guilt was determined other than by the test of “beyond reasonable doubt”. That can be the first dilution of our rights.

The “A” word to be used by non-Muslims had never been an issue before. especially where I come from, which is Sabah. We have all lived in peace respecting each other’s rights, why change now? Strike two for the dilution of our individual rights.

The issue that breaks the camel’s back for me was the caning of women under Syariah law. It is ignoble, unjust and an affront to my dignity as a man. Caning of women is not even allowed under our penal code and we never did it before, why start now? Strike three.

If the US has a “three strikes and you are out” law, I wonder what it means to us in Malaysia? Is it that our individual rights are no more sacrosanct? Shall we just give up and let the powers that be or want to be, continue to trample all over us? Shall we just cry for our nation as the title suggests? Or shall we strike back?

I propose that we set up a liberal Malay party and call it “Parti Liberal Melayu” and allow all likeminded constitutional Malays and Bumiputeras to join. Although I am very much for “1 Malaysia”, my previous experience has shown me that politics in Malaysia was still along racial lines.

In any event, what I really want to prove is that there are still many liberal Malays who often are hiding somewhere inside themselves. Come out of the closet and join a former “Umno Putra” and show the world that “liberal” and “Malay” are not an antithesis. Any takers?

*
Datuk Jema Khan is the former Sabah Umno Youth chief. The original title of this piece is “Cry baby cry”.

                This entry was posted on Monday, 22 February 2010, 5:00 am and is filed under
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Five myopic judges in Federal Court

By
NH Chan

On Feb 9, the five-member Federal Court panel handed down a unanimous decision on Nizar Jamaluddin versus Zambry Abd Kadir. The judgment of the court was read by Chief Judge of Malaya Arifin Zakaria.

The judgment is 40-pages long and if you have the stamina to persevere to the end of the judgment you would have realised that these judges of the highest court in the land have, under the pretext of interpretation, decided that the Perak sultan has the power to dismiss the incumbent Menteri Besar Nizar when the Laws of the Constitution of Perak does not confer any executive power on the sultan for so doing.

If the sultan has no power to dismiss Nizar then, we should ask, how could the Federal Court commit such a devastating error to their reputation as judges of the highest court in the land?

That is why the ability to pick out the one real point that matters is so important. That is why young advocates learnt how to spot it very early in their career if they are not to bore the judge, whom they are addressing, to tears.

This is what Sir Patrick Hastings – he was one of the great advocates of his day before and after World War II – had to say about the ability to seize upon the one vital point that is to be found in any case; see his book Cases in Court, p 333:

“The ability to pick out the one real point of a case is not by itself enough; it is the courage required to seize upon that point to the exclusion of all others that is of real importance.”

In the case of Nizar vs Zambry, the only point that matters in the appeal is whether the Perak sultan has any executive power to remove a menteri besar who had been appointed by him under Article 16(2)(a).

Yet these five myopic Federal Court judges were unable to see that this is the only point that matters in the appeal when every budding young lawyer knows about it instinctively.

Lost in a quagmire

These five myopic judges were lost in a quagmire of confused thinking caused by their own incompetence. They found themselves deep in the forest unable to see the wood for the trees. Does this mean that we have a bunch of incompetent judges who sit in the highest court in the land?

Article IV of ‘The Laws of The Constitution of Perak’ says, “the Menteri Besar” means the officer appointed by virtue of Article XII. Article XII says:

(1) His Royal Highness shall appoint by instrument under his sign manual and State Seal, a Menteri Besar pursuant to paragraph (a) of Clause (2) of Article XVI.

And paragraph (a) of Clause (2) of Article XVI says:

(1) His Royal Highness shall appoint an Executive Council.

(2) The Executive Council shall be appointed as follows, that is to say –

(a) His Royal Highness shall first appoint as Menteri Besar to preside over the Executive Council a member of the Legislative Assembly who in his judgment is likely to command the confidence of the majority of the members of the Assembly; and

(b) He shall on the advice of the Menteri Besar appoint not more than 10 nor less than four other members from among the members of the Legislative Assembly;

That was how Nizar came to be appointed the menteri besar. He was appointed by the Perak sultan to be the MB by the application of the provision of Article 16(2)(a) of the Perak constitution shortly after the 2008 general election.

The provision of Article 16(2)(a) gives the Perak sultan the executive power to appoint a menteri besar “who in his judgment is likely to command the confidence of the majority of the members of the Assembly”.

Article XVIII (2) is the only other provision in the state constitution where the sultan “may act in his discretion in the performance of the” functions stated in Clause 2 of Article 18. Paragraphs (a) and (b) of Clause 2 read:

(2) His Royal Highness may act in his discretion in the performance of the following functions (in addition to those in the performance of which he may act in his discretion under the Federal Constitution) that is to say –

(a) the appointment of a Menteri Besar,

(b) the withholding of consent to a request for the dissolution of the Legislative Assembly.

Sultan has no power to sack MB

After the sultan has appointed a menteri besar under Article 16(2)(a), then, has he the executive power to remove him?

The answer is definitely no, because the only executive power left for the sultan in which he “may act in his discretion” – after a menteri besar has been appointed under Article 16(2)(a) – in respect of the menteri besar can only be found in Article 18(2) (a) and (b).

Apart from Article 18(2)(a) and (b) there is no other executive power bestowed on the sultan concerning the position and status of the menteri besar. The sultan, therefore, has no executive power under the Perak constitution to remove a menteri besar.

Nor has he any power under Article 16(6) and (7) to dismiss or remove him.

Article XVI (6) and (7) say:

(6) If the Menteri Besar ceases to command the confidence of the majority of the members of the Legislative Assembly, … he shall tender the resignation of the Executive Council.

(7) Subject to Clause (6) a member of the Executive Council other than the Menteri Besar shall hold office at His Royal Highness’ pleasure, but any member of the Council may at any time resign his office.

By Clause (6) a menteri besar who ceases to command the confidence of the majority of the Legislative Assembly “shall tender the resignation of the Executive Council”. But what if any member of the executive council or all of them including the menteri besar – for the menteri besar is also a member of the council – were to refuse to resign?

Clause (7) provides the answer to this question. It says, “Subject to Clause (6) a member of the Executive Council other than the Menteri Besar shall hold office at His Royal Highness’ pleasure, but any member of the Council may at any time resign his office.”

Clause (7) clearly says that members of the executive council hold office at the pleasure of the sultan. The sultan can remove them from the office of executive councillors if they refuse to resign.

Hold office at the ruler’s pleasure

But the menteri besar, once appointed by the sultan, does not hold office at the ruler’s pleasure. Therefore, Nizar, once he had been appointed the menteri besar by the application of paragraph (a) of Clause (2) of Article 16, cannot thereafter be removed from office by the sultan. This is because Clause (7) says the menteri besar does not hold office at the pleasure of the ruler.

Therefore, even if the menteri besar ceases to command the confidence of the majority of the members of the Legislative Assembly, the sultan has not the executive power to remove him as menteri besar.

That being the case, the only way to remove a menteri besar is to obtain a vote from the Legislative Assembly to remove him. Alternatively, the sultan may dissolve the Legislative Assembly if requested by the appointed menteri besar – who is Nizar as he cannot be removed by the sultan – to do so under Article 16(6).

Therefore, the legitimate Perak MB is still Nizar, and not Zambry. Then, how could the Federal Court give such a perverse decision in favour of the usurper Zambry when the Perak constitution does not confer any executive power on the sultan for him to do so? This is especially so when Nizar is still in office as the MB – a position he still holds in accordance with the law.

                This entry was posted on Monday, 22 February 2010, 8:52 am and is filed under
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Is Muhyiddin the right-hand man of Najib or Mahathir in the Najib premiership?

Tun Abdullah tried to distance himself and tinker with the Mahathir legacy, without really daring to dismantle it when he was Prime Minister – but that was enough to ensure a swift and ignominious dismantling and end to Abdullah’s hapless premiership.

One great difference between the Najib and Abdullah premierships up to now is over their stance on the Mahathir legacy – in the Abdullah premiership, the Cabinet Ministers stand mute on the subject but in the Najib administration, the Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin has emerged as the custodian of the Mahathir legacy with a powerful following!

This is why Muhyiddin’s utterances and actions are not only important for one who is only half-a-heartbeat away from the premiership but as a surrogate of the Mahathir legacy – undoubtedly of the most powerful former Malaysian Prime Minister in the nation’s history.

Just look at some the media headlines on Muhyiddin in the past few months:

“Syariah caning is mild, says Muhyiddin” (Feb. 19); );

“Kit Siang doesn’t understand separation of powers, says DPM” (Feb. 19);

“Muhyiddin claims Penang not backing Muslim aims” (Feb. 12);

“Muhyddin says PERC report is nonsense” (Feb. 11);

“Muhyiddin wants Pakatan to drop conditions for co-operation in Perak” (Feb. 11);

“No need for interfaith commission, says DPM” (Jan 30);

“Muhyiddin refutes Human Rights Watch report” (Jan 22);

“Muhyiddin: ‘Allah’ issue not political” (Jan. 16);

“Muhyiddin: No more ‘Allah’ contention in the future” (Jan. 14);

“Muhyiddin says ‘extreme’ to call Dr M racist, maintains BTN good” (Dec. 8);

“DPM defends BTN courses against racist brainwashing charges” (Nov. 26);

“Muhyiddin warns of traitors to the Malay race” (Aug 10); and

“Muhyiddin – Chinese ungrateful to BN” (April 13).

But what are Muhyiddin’s true credentials on Najib’s 1Malaysia concept when the Deputy Prime Minister could attempt to mitigate the Nasir Safar outrage claming that it could have been “a slip of the tongue” when Najib’s senior political aide labelled Indians and Chinese in Malaysia as “pendatang”, alleging that the Chinese came as beggars and the Chinese women as “prostitutes”; or was conspicuously silent when the racialist rantings of Umno executive secretary Datuk Abdul Rauf Yusoh at an Umno club function in London earlier this month was exposed.

Signals were flashed when Muhyiddin was suddenly coy in declining to comment as to whether groups like Perkasa would be among NGOs to be admitted into the Barisan Nasional as part of the ruling coalition’s expansion plan to incorporate admission of NGOs and BN-friendly groups.

Perkasa, which stands for the very negation of Najib’s 1Malaysia and the former Prime Minister’s “Bangsa Malaysia” concept under Vision 2020, has nonetheless received the patronage of Mahathir. The former Prime Minister has given his stamp of approval to Perkasa, saying that it is increasingly popular within the Malay community because Umno is being seen as incapable of protecting their rights.

When Barisan Nasional component parties like MCA, Gerakan, MIC and parties from Sabah and Sarawak could agree in principle to the expansion of the coalition to include NGOs like Perkasa, it is understandable that statements of despair  are being made their veteran leaders or “elders” like the recent one by former Gerakan President Tun Dr. Lim Keng Yaik that “Gerakan has lost Penang for good” as they only reflect the terminal marginalization and irrelevance of these Barisan Nasional component parties in the face of Umno’s unrepentant political hegemony in the coalition.

The time has come for Muhyiddin to declare whether he is the right-hand of Najib or Mahathir in the present administration.

When it comes to the crunch in any fundamental difference between Najib and Mahathir, where would the loyalty of Muhyiddin, as the custodian and surrogate of the Mahathir legacy in the Najib premiership, lie?

For instance, Mahathir has publicly declared that he does not know what Najib’s 1Malaysia is about. Mahathir withholds support for Najib’s 1Malaysia but has no hesitation in giving his blessings to Perkasa.

Is Muhyiddin with Najib’s 1Malaysia or Mahathir’s withholding of support or blessing for the 1Malaysia concept?

May be one good test of Muhyiddin’s true stand on Najib’s 1Malaysia slogan and concept is whether the Deputy Prime Minister is prepared to support the proposal for the establishment of an Opposition-headed Parliamentary Select Committee on 1Malaysia Government Transformation Programme (GTP) Roadmap.

                This entry was posted on Monday, 22 February 2010, 8:58 am and is filed under
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Muhyiddin Yassin
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Towards A Developed Malaysia – Part 3

By
M. Bakri Musa

[Presented at the Third Annual Alif Ba Ta Forum, “1Malaysia Towards Vision 2020,” Rochester Institute of Technology, NY, December 5, 2009, organized by Kelab UMNO NY-NJ.  The presentation can be viewed at www.youtube.com (search under “Bakri Musa RIT”) or through
this link
]

Encouraging Malays Entrepreneurs and Scientists

The Malaysia of today under the leadership of Tun Razak’s son is a very different country.  With the overall elevation in the level of the education, the needs and aspirations of the citizens have also changed; the curve has shifted to the right.  We have to respond to this new reality of higher needs and much greater aspirations.

Today our major dilemma is the lack of Malays in science and technology, as well as in business.  Actually these are old dilemmas but because they have been incompetently handled, they are again resurfacing, over fifty years after independence.

I was young during Tun Razak’s time.  Yes, the lack of Malays in science then was palpable, with fewer than a dozen Malay science graduates.  The prevailing wisdom – and not just among non-Malays – was that we Malays did not have what it would take to handle science and mathematics.

Let me review how our leaders handled the issue then.  In my Form Five science class in Kuala Pilah in 1960, there were 22 Malays out of 35, a good reflection of the community.  However, because of the severe limited slots in Form Six, only four of us managed to get in, of whom two were Malays.  All four went on to university.

Six of my Malay classmates who did not get into Sixth Form eventually also managed to get their degrees though various circuitous routes.  On received a graduate degree from Cornell, another, an Australian PhD.  Additionally, if I were to compare my other Malay classmates in Kuala Pilah to my fellow undergraduates in Canada, at least another half a dozen could have easily handled university work.

Thus had there been enough Sixth Form slots then, we could have increased the number of potential Malay science undergraduates from 2 to 14, a seven-fold increase.  Transformational if not miraculous!

Instead, what happened was this.  The government responded to the community’s anguish by establishing a royal commission headed by the then new Minister of Education.  After months of hearings, the Rahman Talib Report blamed the poor performance of Malays in science to our culture, and our students being infested with worms!

At another level, the response was equally unenlightened.  Feeling that the then University of Malaya was insensitive to the needs of Malays, we agitated for a new “national” university, one that would presumably appreciate our aspirations.

Thus the Universiti Kebangsaan was born, at a cost of hundreds of millions of ringgit, real money then.  At its first graduation ceremony in 1973, there were only a few Malay science graduates.

A Sixth Form at Kuala Pilah a decade earlier would have cost a tiny fraction and would have produced more potential Malay science undergraduates.  It would be 14 years after I left in 1960 before my old school had its Sixth Form.  The building of a university catered to the top percentile, while having more Sixth Form slots would have met the needs of considerably more students (a shift towards the center of the curve).

Consider the other pressing issue:  the lack of Malays in business.  We have obviously not learned anything here too, for we still approach the problem in the same ineffective manner.  We poured hundreds of billions into government-linked companies in an effort to jumpstart Malay participation in the private sector.  The results only embarrass us; most GLCs are perennial money losers.

Meanwhile stroll down any street and you would be hard pressed to see signs like “Tahir Tailoring,” “Salmah Saloon,” or “Mahmud Mechanic.”  If the pipes in your home were to burst or if you were in need of an electrician, chances are the repairman who showed up would be non-Malay.  This is the sorry state today despite the government, controlled by Malays, pouring billions of ringgit to help Malays enter the private sector.

This dismal failure is predictable based on my fish story analogy.  The government focused on the top percentile instead of the huge middle.  Those huge sums of money were expended not on small and medium enterprises, or to equip Malays with skills needed in the marketplace, rather on creating mega billion-dollar corporations like Pernas, Petronas and other ‘Nases.  Earlier you heard Ambassador Jarjis’s struggles to borrow RM50K to start his engineering consultancy business.  This was at the time when the likes of Tajuddin Ramli and Halim Saad were given mega loans to acquire our GLCs without even having to sign any loan papers!

All we have to show for the billions spent on those GLCs are the many ersatz entrepreneurs and crony capitalists who survive only through repeated bailouts.  We were and still are repeating Nehru’s mistakes.  At least Nehru’s IIT’s graduates thrive elsewhere and the Indians get to share in the reflected glory of their achievements.  Our crony capitalists sans bailout are back in the kampong with nothing to show for all the billions expended on them.

Yet those precious billions lost were not the most expensive part of the failure.  There are other more damaging and long-lasting consequences.  For one, it reinforces the negative stereotype that Malays cannot handle businesses more complicated than the roadside kedai kopi (coffee stall).  Conveniently forgotten is that the failures of these GLCs do not reflect the failure of Malays rather of those who depend on their political connections for their success and not their entrepreneurial skills.  Similar pseudo entrepreneurs, whether in China or India, suffer the same fate.

The most destructive damage they wreck upon our community can best be illustrated by my resorting to a kampong metaphor.  The constant scourge facing kampong farmers is that their fields would be inundated by the tenacious weed lallang.  They suck out the nutrients from the soil, leaving it barren for generations.  Once a field is inundated with lallang, that land is gone; no other useful crop could be grown again.

Our strategy with these expensive money-loosing GLCs is akin to what my late father used to say,
membajakan
 (fertilizing)
lallang
.  These
lallang
 would be destructive without our help; when we nurture them by adding fertilizer we would ironically be hastening the death of the land and its useful plants.  The pernicious influence of the likes of the Tajuddin Ramlis and Halim Saads is analogous to
membajakan lallang
.  It sets back the cause of genuine Malay entrepreneurs for generations.

There are many other ready examples of such flawed strategies.  The government through Petronas pays extravagantly to attract foreign musicians for the KL Philharmonic Orchestra.  Again, we are focusing on the top percentile.  Had that money been spent on music education in our schools, it would not be long before we would have our own Itzhak Perlman or Sergio Ozawa.  It may be slower but a more sure, genuine and enduring strategy.

A Strategy for Developing Malay Scientists and Entrepreneurs

If I were to allocate our scant resources towards developing Malay scientists and entrepreneurs, this is what I would do.  I would allocate 10 percent towards the low end of the population, 20 percent to the top decile, with the bulk (the remaining 70 percent) spent on the large middle group.

Is this fair?  Fairness, like beauty, is in the eyes of the beholder.  In per capita terms, the bottom decile gets the fairest deal; ten percent of the resources spent on about ten percent of the population.  The middle would get less than its fair share (70 percent spent on 80 percent of the people), but then they get the biggest chunk.

The super achievers would get the most favorable treatment on a per capita basis, getting twice as much (20 percent of resources spent on 10 percent of the population), but not the bulk of the allocation.  That is the way it should be.  They are our best, our talent seeds; when they excel they bring glory to the group and inspire others.  They will set the trend and establish the standards for our society.

Let me apply these considerations to our old twin dilemmas:  the lack of Malay scientists and entrepreneurs.

To encourage Malays to pursue science, I would spend the bulk (70 percent) of the funds on science teachers and laboratories, especially in rural areas.  I would even air-condition the labs so students would linger after class.  I would have them perform their own experiments and not be satisfied with merely watching the demonstrations.  Science is like sex, the fun part is in doing it yourself, not in having it demonstrated!

Today, many of the experiments that used to be done by the students during my days are now merely demonstrated because “we cannot afford those students breaking the test tubes!”

In the universities I would ensure that the science-related faculties would get the biggest allocations and their professors the best paid.  Similarly, the students would get the most generous scholarships and other support.

I would support the top decile differently.  Any Malay student (undergraduate or graduate) who gets admitted to any of the top-ranked universities would automatically get a scholarship.  I would go further and grant them the freedom to pursue their own path.  I would not demand of them to serve in any particular government entity or even to return home.  If we provide them with fulfilling opportunities at home, they will return, with little need for onerous contractual obligations.

To reward those science professors and other scientists, I would appoint them to the boards of the GLCs.  That would be the best way to supplement their income.  The companies too would benefit from their technical knowledge and generally higher intelligence.  A scientist would contribute more as a director for Petronas than a retired civil servant or worse, a discredited politician.

Imagine the impact!  Every Malay student would work very hard to secure admission to top universities and a chance to go abroad without the fear of being indentured to the government.  Malay scientists would now have a great incentive to remain productive so they could be appointed to the boards of our GLCs.

Likewise in developing Malay entrepreneurs; I would spend the bulk of the funds training Malays to be chefs, carpenters, electricians, and skilled tradesmen.  When they have acquired those skills, I would grant them credit facilities to start their own businesses.  Then I would make sure that school canteen contracts be awarded to these chefs, and Petronas grants its gas station franchises only to these certified mechanics and not to incompetent UMNO chiefs.

I would demand of our GLCs to groom their suppliers and subcontractors from among these Malays.  These GLCs could emulate Fed Ex, for example, in having its drivers own the trucks and then contract to the company for delivery and transport.  That made those drivers not employees but self-employed businessmen and women.  Many of them would later venture out on their own, starting their own trucking companies.  How many employees of our GLCs have ventured out on their own?  Then just to remind these GLCs of their mission, they would be banned from competing against Malay entrepreneurs.

We have failed in developing Malay scientists and entrepreneurs because we subscribe to Nehru’s strategy instead of our own Tunku’s.

Next:   Part Four of Six:  A Bigger Fish Story

                This entry was posted on Monday, 22 February 2010, 8:47 am and is filed under
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Why Australian MPs protested the Anwar trial

By
Michael Danby
 | The Malaysian Insider

FEB 21 — Last week saw an unusual event in Australian politics: backbench members of Parliament from both sides took a foreign affairs initiative, independent of their party leaderships.

Sixty Members and Senators — Labor, Liberal, Green and independent — signed a letter which was presented to the Malaysian High Commissioner protesting against the current trial of Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim on charges of “sodomy.”

The letter was signed by, among others, Laurie Ferguson, Malcolm Turnbull, Greg Hunt, Bob Brown, Nick Xenophon, Duncan Kerr, Deputy Speaker Anna Burke, Jennie George, Gary Gray and Mark Dreyfus QC.

It followed a speech which I gave in the House of Representatives on Feb 3, in which I drew the House’s attention to the 2nd Sodomy trial in Kuala Lumpur of Anwar Ibrahim.

I’m very grateful to all the Members and Senators who signed the letter. I can’t recall another backbench initiative like this in recent times.

Why should Australian Members of Parliament stick their noses into the affairs of a country like Malaysia, which is a friend and neighbour?

I would say it is precisely because Malaysia is a friend and neighbour that we care what happens there. No-one is surprised at show trials and political persecution in North Korea or Burma. When it happens in a country which is one of our region’s relative success stories, we are shocked and dismayed.

Many Australian’s have spoken for Aung San Suu Kyi, Burma’s democratically elected leader under house arrest by an authoritarian regime. In some sense these legal torments of Anwar are more egregious as they are happening in a developing democracy that says organs of the state such as the courts or police should not be used to persecute a democratic political opponent.

People-to-people contact between Australians and Malaysians has become very close in recent years, through students studying in Australia, steadily growing tourism in both directions and growing business ties.

The persecution of Anwar Ibrahim, however, does not put Malaysia in a good light.

The repeated attempts by Malaysia’s ruling party to drive Anwar out of politics by framing him up on obviously false charges is a disgraceful story which has now been running for more than ten years. Anwar was Deputy Prime Minister in 1998 when he fell out with the then Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad — no friend of Australia.

He was arrested, beaten up, tried on faked evidence and coerced testimony, then jailed for four years, before his conviction was finally overturned in 2004. Now the same charges have been laid again.

Recently the Wall Street Journal published a first-hand account of how the Malaysian Special Branch police fabricated the charges that led to Anwar’s first trial.
Munawar Anees recalled
 how he had been starved and beaten into signing a false confession which implicated Anwar. The same things are happening again now.

It would be intolerable in any democratic country for an accuser to front at the home of the Prime Minister before he then went to the impartial Malaysian police. This is what happened to Anwar Ibrahim when has accuser was succoured by Rosmah Razak, the Prime Ministers wife, before he went to charge Anwar at the Police station.

These are the tactics which Anwar’s enemies are willing to resort to, in order to eliminate the threat he poses to those currently in power.

The reason the ruling party UMNO fears Anwar is simply that he is the first Malay politician to challenge successfully its monopoly of the Malay vote, which is the basis of its long-standing hold on power.

At the 2008 elections Anwar’s People’s Justice Party and its allies won 60 seats away from UMNO and its allies, creating a viable two-party system for the first time. UMNO fears that he will win the next election unless he is stopped, and it seems that at least some elements of UMNO and their allies in the police are willing to resort to any means to stop him.

Their nightmare scenario is for the urban, educated Malays together with Indian and Chinese minorities together with deputies from the rebellious Sabah and Sarawak provinces, uniting to form a parliamentary majority.

Malaysia , however is not like North Korea, sealed off from world opinion. The Malaysian people and the Malaysian government care about their reputation in the region and the world.

There have been demonstrations by UMNO ‘youth’ outside the Australian High Commission in Kuala Lumpur. A leading supporter of the Malaysian Prime Minister sought to deflect Malaysian opinion by responding that ‘Michael Danby, who organized the petition is a homosexual’.

Sad and pathetic though such a reaction is, the response on many blogs and new sites, by ordinary Malaysians who are outraged at the trial, repudiate such prejudice and show hope for a civic discourse as Malaysia’s democratic ethos develops.

The Malaysian media reports what is said about Malaysia in other countries. That’s why an intervention such as our bipartisan letter to the High Commissioner, politely but clearly setting out our strong protest against persecution of Anwar Ibrahim, can be effective, and why it is such an important initiative. Hopefully when Anwar is free of these torments the best answer to those who would like to keep Malaysia a one party state, will be the peaceful transition to power al la Japan, Taiwan and Korea of an Opposition Government.

When that happens, Australia’s politicians will have done more to cement genuine friendship with Malaysia than oodles of “diplomacy.” — www.thepunch.com.au

*
Michael Danby is the Member for Melbourne Ports and Chair of the Parliamentary Sub-committee for Foreign Affairs.

————————————————————

Letter to the High Commissioner for Malaysia

by Members of the Australian Parliament

Thursday February 11, 2010

His Excellency Salman Bin L Ahmad

High Commissioner for Malaysia

Malaysian High Commission

7 Perth Ave

Yarralumla ACT 2600

11/02/2010

Dear High Commissioner

We write to you with regards to the trial of Anwar Ibrahim which is currently taking place in Kuala Lumpur.

We members of the Australian parliament believe Malaysia is an important country, an emerging power in our region, and a friend of Australia. However the trial of Anwar Ibrahim raises serious concerns for us.

While Australia and many other countries no longer have laws against sodomy we respect the right of Malaysia to determine what should be its laws relating to personal morality.

Of more serious concern however is the fact that this trial is taking place at all, particularly given the testimony of Munawar A. Anees in the Wall Street Journal (see attached). We understand that the US State Department has urged Malaysian authorities to resolve this matter in a manner that builds confidence in the impartial rule of law in Malaysia, and we agree with this sentiment. Many friendly observers of Malaysia find it difficult to believe that a leading opposition voice could be charged with sodomy a second time, and so soon after his party made major gains in national elections. It should be made known to the Malaysian Government, that in our opinion, global esteem for Malaysia will be affected by these charges against Mr Anwar.  We hope that Malaysia’s authorities will not pursue these charges.

Signed

Members of the Australian Parliament

                This entry was posted on Monday, 22 February 2010, 10:28 am and is filed under
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Cockcroach and Blood Stained Blankets in Hospital

Letter by Ganesh

My wife recently delivered our baby in Pantai Hospital Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur. Being a premium hospital situated ideally to cater to the Damansara Heights and Bangsar affluent residents, one would expect minimum standards of service and hygiene to be practiced.

I was appalled to find that the hospital had blood stained blankets and was infested with cockroaches.

Our nightmare began on the first day we checked in at about 1 pm. That evening, the hospital forgot to serve the tea time snack and also the dinner meal. When asked why, they could not give a proper explanation and had just said, “
sudah lupa
”.

My room was a brand new room that was just set up for a new patient. Initially, there were no blankets. My wife who was admitted, was freezing in the room for several hours. I had to ask several times for blankets to be given. However, when the blankets did come, the blankets were heavily stained with dried blood and urine. Refer to the enclosed picture. The staff nurse confirmed it was dried blood. I was shocked beyond believe. I immediately asked the nurses for an explanation but they were unable to give me a reasonable explanation. I demanded for the blankets to be changed.

Whilst waiting for the blankets to be changed, which was taking over an hour, my wife and I  were freezing in the cold again. I was was worried of the cold, as only a few hours later my wife would have to go for her caesarian operation. I went out to the nurses counter only to find that the nurses were going through countless of blankets, individually, only to find, all of them stained also. I was even more shocked that they could not find a clean blanket. Mind you, the room was a Deluxe Single costing RM388 and one would expect some sort of quality of service and hygiene standards practised.

The next day, after my wife’s caesarian operation, with her wound still raw and painful, she had another shocking experience. She saw a cockroach walking on her maternity pads kept in the ensuite bathroom. Maternity pads are sanitary pads for women who have just delivered. Refer to the picture taken. She called for me and I killed it and flushed it down the toilet.

Several hours later, with her wound still raw and bleeding, she nearly fell down as another cockroach was running about on the bathroom ground and she was trying to avoid it. In our stay in the room for 3 days, we encountered not just one or two, but countless of cockroaches, some were even walking on the toiletries like toothbrush and comb.

Waking around the corridors of the maternity ward, I spotted several cockroaches outside the nursery. On one occasion, I informed the staff nurse, she just stepped on the cockroach and killed it, as if it was normal practice. God only knows, how many cockroaches had crawled into the nursery where my newborn baby was kept. This traumatised me.

3 years ago, my wife was admitted to the same hospital for a caesarian surgery. It was then infested with cockroaches too, to the extent that even one day, when her hot meal was served with a
tudung
, when she opened the cover (
tudung
), a big cockroach ran out of the  the food. I did complain 3 years ago but they told me that the hospital was infested with cockroaches because of the renovation/construction being done to an old wing. Though this was no excuse as a hospital has to be extremely hygienic, I accepted their explanation and apology then, hoping that they would have got their act together after 3 years.

After our experience, my wife and I thought it would be best to get discharge earlier than normal. For the 3 days I stayed with a normal caesarian delivery, I was charged nearly RM11,000. With such a hefty fee, one would expect some levels of hygiene and service rendered. What is the Malaysian Medical Association and Ministry of Health doing? They seem to be overly concerned with policies governing doctors. They should come out with policies protecting the consumer patient. In this case, cockroaches can actually pass infection and be very detrimental to a patient.

If such a situation had existed overseas, the hospital would be shut down immediately. We are definitely a third would country for tolerating such intolerable hygiene standards in what are supposed to be premium hospitals.

Am I to pay a premium for blood and urine stained blankets and cockroaches?

Kind Regards

Ganesh

Blood Stained Blankets

Cockroach in toilet floor

Cockroach on toilet wall

Cockroach outside Nursery

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 23 February 2010, 6:34 pm and is filed under
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Oil royalty – Najib is Razak’s son or Mahathir’s heir?

I agree with veteran Umno leader Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah that the federal government’s full-page advertisements in Malay weeklies on the oil royalty controversy is an insult to the intelligence of all Malaysians.

The full-page advertisements contain an important omission – the reply 35 years ago in Parliament by the then Prime Minister, Tun Razak to my question whether all states in Peninsular Malaysia, Sarawak and Sabah had signed agreements with Petronas for oil exploration along the coastline and what were the joint profits for the state.

As recorded in the Parliament Hansard of November 12, 1975, this was Tun Razak’s reply: “All states in Malaysia, except Sabah and Sarawak, have signed the agreement with Petronas under the Petroleum Development Act 1974. I have been informed that Selangor had agreed to sign the agreement.

“Under the agreement, each state will receive 5 per cent of the value of petroleum found and extracted from each of the states, whether onshore or offshore, that is sold by Petronas or agencies or contractors.”

Since I resurrected in Parliament in November last year Tun Razak’s categorical undertaking in Parliament  35  years ago on the five per cent oil royalty rights of the states, Cabinet Ministers had conspicuously avoided the subject – just like the full-page federal government advertisement explanations on Sunday.

Is Datuk Seri Najib Razak, the sixth Prime Minister, the son of Razak the second Prime Minister or the heir of Tun Mahathir, the fourth Prime Minister on the oil royalty controversy?

If Tun Razak is alive today, would he have agreed to the gross violation of the states’ oil royalty rights in blatant breach of the Petroleum Development Act 1974 as initiated by Mahathir in 2000 to politicize the issue and deny the PAS government of Terengganu its rights to the state oil royalties? Or would he have honoured the agreements he assigned Tengku Razaleigh to sign with all the state governments when he was Prime Minister?

There can be no question that on this issue, Tengku Razaleigh is more to be trusted than Mahathir.

Najib should demonstrate that he is Razak’s son or not Mahathir’s heir on this issue to restore justice to the states, whose fundamental state rights have suffered insidious erosion in the past few decades.

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 23 February 2010, 4:08 pm and is filed under
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Recent caning of three Muslim women latest in series under Najib’s premiership flooding Malaysia in adverse worldwide spotlight inimical to our international image and competitiveness

The recent caning of three Muslim women for allegedly participating in illicit sex is the latest in a series of events flooding Malaysia in adverse worldwide spotlight inimical to our international image and competitiveness in the ten months Datuk Seri Najib Razak has taken over as Prime Minister of Malaysia.

Before I came, I googled the two words “malaysia caning” and there were 257,000 search results. I next added another word to google the three words “malaysia muslim caning” and the finds multiplied by 30 times to return 6.45 million results.

Malaysia cannot continue to be in adverse international spotlight if we are to restore our international competitiveness by regaining national and international confidence in good governance; the rule of law; a democratic, progressive and model multi-racial, multi-cultural and multi-religious modern nation to be ideal destination for FDIs, haven for tourists and hub for international students.

There had been a series of adverse publicity for Malaysia world-wide since Najib became Prime Minister negating all his efforts to project a new slogan, 1Malaysia – such as the divisive “Allah” controversy, the sacrilegious burning of churches and attacks on mosques and other places of worship; the 5-0 Federal Court judgment seeking to legalise the undemocratic and unconstitutional ouster of Datuk Seri Nizar Jamaluddin in the Umno power grab in Perak; the mysterious death of DAP aide Teoh Beng Hock at Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission headquarters last July,
the recrudescence of dangerous politics of race and religion, like the irresponsible campaign to  falsely and viciously paint the Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng and Penang Pakatan Rakyat state government as anti-Malay and anti-Islam etc.

We are thankful that this morning in Batu Pahat, the baby of Teoh Beng Hock has been born and both the mother and baby boy are safe.  Malaysians of goodwill and good heart, regardless of race or religion, not only wish both of them well but want those responsible for Teoh Beng Hock’s death to be brought to justice without any delay.

But the question that must be uppermost in the minds of thinking Malaysians is why the new Prime Minister seems to be so helpless that he is not only incapable of checking these adverse developments for Malaysia, he could not even get Umno and Barisan Nasional solidly behind him to give unequivocal support to his 1Malaysia campaign.

The vicious campaign to falsely paint the Penang Chief Minister and Penang Pakatan Rakyat state government as anti-Malay and anti-Islam is indeed a great test for Guan Eng and the PR Penang State Government.

But what is little realized is that it is an even greater test for Najib and the Barisan Nasional – Umno, MCA, Gerakan, MIC and the Sabah and Sarawak component parties – whether they are serious about the 1Malaysia slogan and concept.

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 23 February 2010, 10:29 am and is filed under
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Twitter conversation – LKS and Kuli

limkitsiang
: Oil royalty – Najib is Razak’s son or Mahathir’s heir? http://bit.ly/93SgAj

04:12 PM

razaleigh
: My fellow dinosaur w/ a memory of a better day RT @limkitsiang: Najib: Razak’s son or Mahathir’s heir? http://bit.ly/93SgAj

04:22 PM

limkitsiang
: @razaleigh shld not have 2depend solely on memory Shld have documents somewhere Petronas etc though mayb OSA Must wait 4regime change 1st?

04:30 PM

razaleigh
: Why don’t I put the PDA up on my blog, YB RT @limkitsiang: @razaleigh shld not have 2depend solely on memory

04:34 PM

limkitsiang
: @razaleigh good idea but PDA makes no mention of “offshore”. Aren’t there some documents/records somewhere referring to it?

04:42 PM

limkitsiang
: @razaleigh Stand corrected. No ref of “offshore” 4states in PDA. Good idea if Petronas founder sets up site 4all relevant documents on issue

04:51 PM

razaleigh
: @limkitsiang inclusion of offshore is implicit in PDA. Otherwise we cdnt hv solved d issue of S’wak oil w/ Rahman Ya’akub.

04:56 PM

razaleigh
: @limkitsiang if offshore not incl, insane 4 d states 2 hv signed deeds w/ me vesting all their petroleum w/ Petronas forever

05:00 PM

razaleigh
: @limkitsiang w/o PDA oil onshore & in state waters belongs 100% 2 state. They signd dat away in exch4 5% of oil found ANYwhere

05:04 PM

limkitsiang
: @razaleigh This is why fed.govt tries to decouple Sarawak/Sabah from peninsular n why such efforts shld be debunked.

05:06 PM

limkitsiang
: @razaleigh Cogent powerful arguments Lets turn royal debate Parliament March into major debate on oil royalty opened by Petronas founder

05:11 PM

razaleigh
: @limkitsiang Yes as in kalimah Allah issue. We worked hard to form d Federation & keep it intact

05:17 PM

limkitsiang
: @razaleigh kalimah Allah controversy would not have arisen if Tunku Abdul Rahman’s Inter-Religious Organisation not scrapped by Mahathir

05:22 PM

razaleigh
: The questn is unavoidable RT @limkitsiang: @razaleigh Lets turn royal debate Parl March into major debate on oil royalty

05:24 PM

razaleigh
: YB, what a long memory. u must be older than me RT @limkitsiang: @razaleigh Tunku Abdul Rahman’s Inter-Religious Organisation

05:29 PM

limkitsiang
: RT @razaleigh: YB, what a long memory. u must be older than me RT @limkitsiang: @razaleigh Tunku Abdul Rahman’s Inter-Religious Organisation

05:31 PM

razaleigh
: @limkitsiang as I have said Tunku’s legacy & memory have been systematically erased. Time to revive it.

05:33 PM

razaleigh
: RT @limkitsiang: @razaleigh kalimah Allah controv wd not have arisen if Tunku’s Inter-Religious Organisation not scrapped by…

05:35 PM

limkitsiang
: @razaleigh older in political age but u r still the elder YBM

05:35 PM

limkitsiang
: @razaleigh All Malaysians of goodwill support  genuine efforts 2revive Tunku’s legacy and memory which must not smack of tokenism

05:46 PM

razaleigh
: YES RT @limkitsiang: @razaleigh All Malaysians of goodwill support genuine efforts 2revive Tunku’s legacy and memory..no tokenism

05:51 PM

razaleigh
: @limkitsiang wd u say key elements r constitutionalism, federalism, pluralism, fairness n integrity

06:00 PM

limkitsiang
: @razaleigh country must return 2basics of Merdeka Constitution with good governance Annul Emergency Proclamations Abolish draconianh laws

06:07 PM

razaleigh
: @bongkersz perhaps u wd like to lead a campaign for 10%? :) I have long called for the % to be raised

06:17 PM

razaleigh
: @limkitsiang Agreed. This is beyond politics. We need a movement to save this country.

06:19 PM

limkitsiang
: @razaleigh Yes all patriots in the country and worldwide Malaysian Diaspora  must come together to save Malaysia

06:31 PM

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 23 February 2010, 6:48 pm and is filed under
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Can Muhyiddin pass three simple tests as to whether he is sincerely and seriously committed to Najib ‘s 1Malaysia concept?

Deputy Prime Minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin is only half right when said that my head is “filled with problems” but half wrong when he alleged that these problems are about Pakatan Rakyat.

My head is indeed filled with problems but they are not about the Pakatan Rakyat but are compounded by the life-and-death struggle of Umno and the other Barisan Nasional component parties including MCA, Gerakan and MIC after the political tsunami of the 12th general election in 2008 and the pathetic 10-month history of Najib’s “1Malaysia” slogan and concept which may meet the fate of being the first slogan of a Prime Minister with the shortest useful life-span.

Muhyiddin’s suggestion that that I am bankrupt of ideas and his allegation that I had run out of issues to use against the government are “old hats” and “no great shakes”, as they had been thrown at me by Umno, MCA and Gerakan leaders for over four decades but to no great avail, or Umno and the Barisan Nasional would not be fighting for their political life after the March 8 “political tsunami” while the stocks of DAP and Pakatan Rakyat, whatever our problems, are on the ascendance.

Instead of making personal attacks and baseless accusations that I was laying a “trap” to “cause friction between him and Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak”, Muhyiddin should have responded to my call to him to declare whether he is the
right-hand man of Najib or former Prime Minister Tun Mahathir
 in the Najib premiership.

It is most significant that Muhyiddin did not even attempt to deny that he is the custodian and surrogate of the Mahathir legacy in the Najib administration.

Muhyiddin also cleverly avoided the questions I had posed about his commitment to Najib’s 1Malaysia slogan and concept by claiming that he had the same stand as Najib on 1Malaysia.

This is serious. Is Muhyiddin claiming that he had Najib’s endorsement and approval for all his utterances and actions which are inimical to the realization of the 1Malaysia slogan and concept, including:

His defense of the racist “brain washing” and indoctrination on “ketuanan Melayu” by Biro Tata Negara despite criticisms and expose of its racist, divisive and seditious content for the past two decades;

His attempt to mitigate the Nasir Safar outrage claiming that it could have been “a slip of the tongue” when Najib’s senior political aide labelled Indians and Chinese in Malaysia as “pendatang”, alleging that the Chinese came as beggars and the Chinese women as “prostitutes”;

His conspicuous silence when the racialist rantings of Umno executive secretary Datuk Abdul Rauf Yusoh at an Umno club function in London earlier this month was exposed; and

His hamfisted attempt to aid and abet the inflammatory and incendiary campaign by Umno-controlled media like Utusan Malaysia, Berita Harian, government television and radio stations, playing the race and religious cards to viciously and falsely paint Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng and Pakatan  Rakyat Penang State Government as “anti-Malay” and “anti-Islam”.

Let me ask Muhyiddin one question point-blank: Is he aware that the Najib administration’s sincerity and seriousness about 1Malaysia is under great test in Penang – why the 1Malaysia concept is being undermined and compromised in the vicious and sustained exploitation of the race and religious card by Umno media and agents in the conspiracy to defame the Penang Chief Minister and Pakatan Rakyat Penang State Government as anti-Malay and anti-Islam?

If the people of Penang regard the 1Malaysia concept as fake and hypocritical, how can he expect the people of Sabah and Sarawak and the rest of Malaysians to have much confidence in the slogan?

As Deputy Prime Minister, Muhyiddin should be in the forefront to secure the co-operation of all  MPs and political parties outside the Barisan Nasional fold to make a success of the 1Malaysia campaign, on the ground that it is a national issue and not a party agenda.

Unless the 1Malaysia concept is merely an Umno and Barisan Nasional political gimmick, Muhyiddin should have taken the initiative to approach MPs and political parties outside the Barisan Nasional to put aside all partisan differences to foster the national development of the 1Malaysia concept.

He should be meeting with Opposition MPs in Parliament to forge an all-party platform to ensure the achievement of the 1Malaysia concept at all levels of national life.

But Muhyiddin has done none of this in the past ten months that he was Deputy Prime Minister.

It is the DAP which has proposed the establishment of an Opposition-headed Parliamentary Select Committee on 1Malaysia which has been met with indifference and disinterest from Muhyiddin and the overwhelming majority of Barisan Nasional Ministers.

This is really quite ridiculous as Muhyiddin and the Najib Cabinet should be persuading the Pakatan Rakyat MPs to agree to the establishment of a Parliamentary Select Committee on 1Malaysia and not the other way round!

Why is this so? Is this because the Najib Cabinet is full of Ministers who are quite skeptical about the 1Malaysia concept treating it as nothing more than political theatre not to be taken seriously?

Who are the Ministers in the Najib Cabinet who have the 1Malaysia DNA? I do not see anyone. No wonder neither Muhyiddin nor the other Cabinet Ministers comport themselves with any conviction that they are the standard-bearers of the 1Malaysia slogan and concept.

There are three simple tests as to whether Muhyiddin is sincerely and seriously committed to Najib’s 1Malaysia, viz:

Whether as DPM he would agree to the establishment of an Opposition-headed Parliamentary Select Committee on 1Malaysia;

Is he prepared to declare that the basis of 1Malaysia is “ketuanan rakyat Malaysia” and not “ketuanan Melayu”; and

Is he prepared to endorse the objective of 1Malaysia as defined by the 1Malaysia Government Transformation Programme (GTP) Roadmap to create a nation where every Malaysian perceives himself or herself as Malaysian first, and by race, religion or region second – by setting the lead to be the first Umno national leader to declare that he is Malaysian first and Malay second?

If Muhyiddin cannot pass three simple 1Malaysia tests, then he should stop pretending that he is on the same wavelength with Najib on the 1Malaysia concept.

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 24 February 2010, 9:42 am and is filed under
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Malaysian Circus goes to Washington

by
Martin Jalleh

For a little more than a month in 2010 Umno has gone full steam with its scare tactics, saber-rattling tricks, silly threats and sinister theatrics. Now it is all set to take the Malaysian (political) circus to the US and to show Uncle Sam a far “superior” sample of democracy and governance.

The trip is by courtesy of Apco Worldwide, a global PR firm, employed by the government to resuscitate, redeem, and re-engineer the PM’s flagging image at about RM20 million. The firm has allegedly offered similar services to dictators and corrupt leaders worldwide. They must feel very at home here in dealing with the “most corrupt institution in the country”.

But why is Umno off to the US with its best circus clowns to impress the US when they just told those lowdown politicians in Down Under that to Umno it is a no-no to interfere in the affairs of Bolehland? Why waste the people’s money and be bothered about what the US thinks of us? Alas, the answer to such a mystery belongs only to those who can go the lowest.

The circus will be hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies. The man behind it is (Ernie) Bower in partnership with a (Karen) Brooks. Both have boasted about their close bond with ASEAN leaders. However they insist they are not beholden to Southeast Asian governments nor would they act as a lobby group or agents for them in Washington.

Surely Bower and Brooks can come up with better bull than this. Why would they want to bargain their reputation away by sharing the stage with political buffoons and bozos sent to an image-boosting circus? But the circus must go on. Apco must make the Najib administration look appetizing enough for the whole audience to want to swallow up what they throw at them!

The event will be held on 24th Feb. 2010 and it will be at K Street in Washington DC. This is where the big lobbying firms have their headquarters and is sometimes referred to as the “fourth branch of government”. But of course what is important to Umno is the fact that K Street is also called “The Road to Riches”. Now you get the drift?

The three top officials to speak at the seminar entitled “Governance and Rule of Law in Malaysia and Malaysian Legislative Initiatives” i.e., how the circus is run in Bolehland, are Minister in the PM’s Department Nazri Abdul Aziz, former chief justice Abdul Hamid Mohamad and Attorney-General Abdul Gani Patail — a powerful and perfect NAG (Nazri, Abdul Hamid & Gani) team!

They will of course have the privilege and honour of being accompanied and introduced by special envoy, senior diplomat, seasoned politician and Malaysia’s ambassador to the United States, Jamaludin Jarjis, a man who has soared to such high office as a result of his wide reputation of being very adept at grappling, gropping and getting to the bottom of things.

Nazri’s Nonsense

Nazri, the Minister in the PM’s Department, overseer of parliamentary affairs and de facto Law Minister will surely serve up a sterling performance. He has successfully and quite singlehandedly reduced Parliament, the country’s supreme law-making institution, to an annual circus, a rubber stamp and a stage for the spineless, silly, sexist and not-so-stable.

Nazri should tell the Americans how free he is to go berserk when his brains short-circuit in parliament, like when he: shouted “racist/bloody racist” at MP Kula Segaran 41 times in a space of five to 10 minutes; snapped at a wheelchair-bound Karpal Singh: “You are just jealous because I am standing!”; and screamed at Lim Kit Siang “Stupid, stupid, stupid…!” until the press gave up counting.

Perhaps Nazri could use the above as veritable examples of how supposedly vibrant and vigorous parliamentary democracy is in Bolehland. He could of course throw in the example of a wheelchair-bound Karpal Singh being surrounded by a hostile group of Umno Youth thugs (as the police and security personnel stood idly by) at the Parliament lobby!

The US has much to learn from a loudmouth and loose cannon like Nazri. He has taken Bolehland to greater heights in hype, hypocrisy, half-truths, hysterics and histrionics in Parliament in spite of the declaration of the current Speaker that “Parliament is no longer like a first-world Parliament anymore”.

Good boy, Gani

As Attorney General (AG) Gani Patail will have to paint a glossy picture of how Bolehland is guided and governed by the rule of law though almost everyone knows that it is the AG who is guided by those who rule, to decide how, when, what and which part of the law is upheld! Gani will be too shy to say, it is actually “Rule by law” and at times its more of the mob which rules!

Gani is a product of “good governance”. He has been a good boy of those who govern. They take good care of him in spite of allegations against him such as “blackmailing and extortion of the highest culpability” in Sodomy I, interference of justice in not prosecuting then Minister for International Trade and Industry Rafidah Aziz for corruption, and tampering with evidence and interfering with the investigations on the savage assault on Anwar Ibrahim.

If and when the audience grills Gani on Sodomy II will he give them a go-around? Or will he parrot the government’s pathetic reply to the international community that sodomy is an offence here? It is very offensive indeed to people’s intelligence when you speak of sodomy (under the penal code) without any penile penetration(verified by doctors)!  Will Gani be providing a more penetrating view there?

Surely K Street would love to see the kangaroo courts which have become an increasingly special feature of the Malaysian judicial circus. Nazri and Gani should show how the judiciary, the very portal of justice, continues to be reduced to a convenient playground for the ruling elite to legitimize their power grab, persecute their opponents and promote their political agenda, through the perversion of the rule of law by certain court jesters.

Nazri and Gani should speak proudly on the cattle-trading culture (politically brokered judicial appointments) in the judiciary which still lingers on after both of them decided to treat the findings of the Royal Commission on the V.K. Lingam video clip case very lightly. Nazri made a laughing stock of himself as he lectured Parliament on “What may be morally wrong could be legally or politically ‘correct, correct, correct’”.

The Americans must know that ‘good governance’ reigns in our good country. A good number of politicians especially the Umnoputras have made good money in good time in doing what is “good for the people”. In their good fortune they built for themselves palatial mansions, own a fleet of posh cars and huge properties abroad, and take their families on pleasure and all-paid-for holidays and place their children in premier schools overseas.

Abdul Hamid’s Acrobatics

Poor Abdul Hamid, who was well-respected though he was an accidental Chief Justice, may have to do a few head-stands and somersaults to convince the audience that the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) which he chairs is doing a good job of curbing corruption and playing a crucial role in good governance. Since its formation, corruption worsened drastically!

Only two per cent of the respondents in a Star online live chat rated the MACC’s performance in fighting corruption as “good”. The rest frowned upon the MACC as a “monumental failure” and a farce in its task of tackling corruption. It has become a favourite tool of the Umno government to repress the opposition and its fatal flaw is that it is not politically neutral.

Since its much hyped up launch on 1 Jan. 2009 the then MACC’s chief commissioner (CC), Ahmad Said Hamdan, “has managed to put his mouth into overdrive while shifting his brains into reverse” (Tunku Aziz). He chose to retire early and will remain haunted by how he had handled the “small case” of the death of Teoh Beng Hock. As for the new CC of the MACC? Well, the public prefers to wait and see.

The Malaysian Circus in K street must of course end with a few key words on how the PM’s slogan of 1Malaysia is a resounding success, for never before has the Government, Parliament, Judiciary and institutions like the Police, Election Commission, and civil service been made to “bond” and “blend” together as One in order to bury the Opposition for good! How’s that for good governance!

Surely Nazri will proudly tell the Americans that he was right on when he declared a few years ago: “…the concept of separation of powers between the legislative, judiciary and executive is ‘too idealistic’ to be implemented in the country.’’

The nagging question still remains as to why should the NAG team waste the taxpayers money and go all the way to put up a circus when the Americans (who created Avatar, remember?) can easily make out the difference between image, illusion and reality?

Further their audience would have probably read the report by Hong Kong-based Political and Economic Risk Consultancy (PERC) which warned that Malaysia was “veering towards instability”. Then there are also the annual human rights reports on Third World countries by US-based NGOs and the US Government itself!

Alas, the threesome should have stayed back, saved the rakyat’s money and do something more fruitful or even spiritual, like join in the Prophet Muhammad’s Birthday procession organized  by the Penang State Government?

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 24 February 2010, 9:35 am and is filed under
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Poor, unworkable attempt to discredit Penang

Letter by
Lilian

I refer to the letter Penang must arrest this alarming decline. As a citizen journalist and a Penangite who loves my island, I wish to point out some of the things that the writer mentioned in his letter. Being a citizen journalist, it is my habit to observe and report on things on the ground.

Firstly, I found that the same writer has written the same letter to The Star and The Sun in January. Obviously, he is still sore from the ‘supposed nightmares’ he encountered in Penang after two months. A blogger had posted these two letters on his blog and claimed it as a blatant attempt to discredit the Penang government by BN/Umno.

I shall not dwell into the political side of things. But I can provide my own observations:

Penang has improved tremendously in terms of cleanliness. The writer said he found Penang to have deteriorated so much that it made him to swear not to visit the ‘Pearl of the Orient’ ever again. But as a Penangite, I can see the state has improved a lot in terms of cleanliness in recent months.

In fact, the former council president had ‘gone to the ground’ to meet us citizen journalists when we pointed out a pile of rubbish outside Captain Francis Light’s grave. He then ordered a garbage disposal truck to clear the debris left by irresponsible people and asked his men to ensure cleanliness.

‘Overwhelming’ posters of Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng – The writer implied Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng had an overwhelming presence like North Korean dictator Kim Il Sung and Tamil Nadu politicians through his billboards and banners. I agree that there were some tourism billboards with Lim’s face on them. However, when I mentioned this over my Facebook status a while back, I was told that these will be taken down. Now, they are no longer there so I guess our grouses have been heard and heeded.

However, it is common in Pakatan Rakyat states such as Kedah and Penang (the only two states I have observed) to place at strategic locations the Hari Raya, Christmas, Chinese New Year and Deepavali greetings from state leaders and elected reps. I have asked a few state assembly persons why the need the spend money on such posters and was told that many people in their constituencies do not recognise their representatives.

Therefore, I can only say that we shall have to endure these smiling faces grinning at us until our fellow Penangites are sure who are their state reps.

Bad traffic jams due to the Grand Prix – The Petronas Cub Prix held on Dec 20, 2009 was an event covered by citizen journalists and we can attest that the event received tremendous response. Only a certain stretch of road along the Esplanade was closed for a short time. Therefore, it is ridiculous for the writer to expect a jam-free Penang waiting for him during Christmas, New Year and the school holiday seasons.

Horeover, there are very few hotels in that area. The bigger hotels like E&O and City Bayview would have probably warned their guests in advance.

Midnight parking – The state did not ‘quietly’ extended parking fees to midnight as claimed by the writer. It was mentioned in the papers and Penangites knew about this. The reason given for the extended parking fee collection was to deter the ‘jaga kereta’ menace. Some of them used to haunt the Esplanade areas and there were several drug addicts high on drugs who create a huge spectacle if you dis not give them some money.

I have seen this with my own eyes and certainly welcomed the move to feed the machine 30 sen every half and hour. It is legitimate money earned by the municipal council instead of encouraging drug abusers to demand money and terrorise tourists.

‘Ugly structures’ at Batu Feringghi – It is very easy to give a general picture of ‘ugly structures’. If the writer wishes to be more specific, please write to the municipal council and lodge a formal complaint. As far as I know, there have not been any ‘cleaners’ at Penang’s beaches.

We are not like the Thais where each stall, pub and hotel owner works hard to keep the beaches clean. I have personally heard the new municipal council president telling her directors and staff to ensure beach and toilet cleanliness.

‘Frenzied’ construction in town – As far as I know, some of the works are part of heritage restoration. Georgetown is part of a Unesco World Heritage Site.

Illegal hawkers and parking – I am sure CM Lim will be very pleased to get the writer’s specific complaints on which illegal structures he is referring to because the state has come under a lot of flak over the demolition of illegal structures. I bet the writer’s grouses will help CM Lim tremendously in proving the importance of maintaining orderliness.

As for parking, the Pulau Tikus area is a clamping zone and no one dares to do double parking there. Otherwise, we Penangites are pretty patient folks and we live with the bit of chaos which is what makes us unique. Charm amidst the chaos.

Tamil road signs – Since I don’t read Tamil, I cannot go into this. But rest assured, if I ever get a chance, I will go to Little India and ask the Indians there if the signs are translated properly. So which road names were wrongly translated?

Not familiar with the state politics? The writer started out as a very displeased tourist. However, it puzzles me why he would want to mention that he is not familiar with the state’s politics? As a Penangite, I don’t see any politics in these issues as they are all administrative matters. Since Pakatan Rakyat took over, the state has improved by leaps and bounds.

We are now people-centric. So regular folks like me get a voice. If something displeases me, I get to lodge a complaint with the right authority. The state departments like the council and Land Office etc all have their own websites. We can write to the directors and get our views heard by the right department. Our state reps are easily accessible to us. So as far as we are concerned, it is not about politics unless one wants to dabble in it.

As I had mentioned in my opening paragraph, I take pride in being a Penangite. Letters like the writer’s which give sweeping statements do not augur well for the attractions of this beautiful island I am living in. He has sent letter after letter to the media with the same complaints.

If he is so deeply unhappy, please forward all your complaints to the right department instead of painting Penang as such an ugly picture. Otherwise, our wide network of citizen journalists around Malaysia can help the writer make a video with specific details. I personally give the writer my assurance that I will ensure that all the relevant departments including the CM’s office are informed about his grouses but only if they are supported by facts, receipts (of parking ticket) and photos.

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 24 February 2010, 8:11 pm and is filed under
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Right-thinking Malaysians gravely concerned at the rise of intolerance and bigotry under Najib’s 1Malaysia

According to Malaysiakini, four police reports were lodged in Sentul, Kuala Lumpur yesterday over an article last Friday entitled “Persuasion, not compulsion” by the Star managing editor P. Gunasegaram for allegedly containing seditious material which insulted the Malays and Islam.

The police reports state that Gunasegaram’s commentary on the recent syariah whipping sentence meted against three women was an insult to Muslims and contended that Gunasegaram has no right to comment about Islamic jurisprudence because he is not a Muslim.

There were calls for Gunasegaram to be sacked as Star managing editor and for boycott of Star unless there is an apology.

I have not read the Star article before the police reports. The Star has no love for me and I have no love for Star. However, as a matter of principle, I read Gunasegaram’s article and I find it quite rational and sensible, there was no intention to insult or scandalise Islam and it should be the last object for criminalisation and the subject of police reports.

The whipping of women under syariah criminal offences legislation has created controversy for a variety of reasons, including for contradicting civil law where women are not punishable by caning under Section 289 of Criminal Procedure Code.

Gunasegaram made the valid point about indications that Malays, especially women, are migrating and leaving their homeland, not because they don’t have opportunities here but because as Muslims, their personal freedom is restricted – and there is danger that it will be curtailed even more.

Right-thinking Malaysians are gravely concerned at the rise of intolerance and bigotry under Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s 1Malaysia and Najib must give this disturbing trend his personal attention if Malaysia is not to be the frequent focus of adverse international attention and be a loser in the international competition for talents.

Is Malaysia’s plural society under Najib’s 1Malaysia moving towards greater openness, tolerance and liberalism or retreating into the shell of greater intolerance, bigotry and extremism?

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 24 February 2010, 4:05 pm and is filed under
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The Malaysia Divide

An institutional overhaul is long overdue in Kuala Lumpur.

By ALICE LLOYD GEORGE

Kuala Lumpur | The Wall Street Journal

“The Leopard,” Giuseppe di Lampedusa’s celebrated novel about the crumbling feudal order in 19th century Sicily, made famous the line, “If we want things to stay as they are, things will have to change.” That pretty much sums up the predicament of Malaysia’s ruling elite today.

The sodomy trial of Anwar Ibrahim drags on in Kuala Lumpur, with the opposition leader’s freedom and political career hanging in the balance. But the true significance of this anachronistic case does not depend on the outcome in the courtroom. The political assassination of Mr. Anwar aside, Malaysia is witnessing the death throes of a political machine that has run the country for over five decades. Mr. Anwar is a skilled politician who holds together an unlikely alliance of opposition parties—his conviction would certainly be a blow for the prospect of real political pluralism in Malaysia. But he also serves as a vessel for wider social forces and a disenchantment with the country’s leadership. Another figure would surely take his place at the head of the reform movement.

The ruling coalition was founded on the principle that the three main races—Malays, Chinese and Indians—participate in politics through their own parties. Coupled with an elaborate system of affirmative action, this has allowed the United Malays National Organization to maintain a lock on power by protecting Malays from the winds of competition. After the opposition made unprecedented gains in the March 2008 elections, desperate tactics were called for, hence a rather tired repeat of the homosexuality charge first brought against Mr. Anwar a decade ago, now dubbed “Sodomy II” by a skeptical public. The government has denied that the trial is politically motivated.

That the political system and patronage network are under increasing stress is clear, but the prognosis is not yet apparent to all. Some in UMNO, like Prime Minister Najib Razak, think they can maintain the old system by merely tinkering around the edges. Mr. Najib has gestured toward loosening long-standing affirmative-action policies, but any good intentions are obstructed by entrenched interests in UMNO’s conservative wing—to date the repeals have been cosmetic at best. Others are coming to a different realization—Malaysian society has matured and even Malays now recognize that outdated and discriminatory policies must give way to a more transparent and accountable system.

One such leader is Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, a former finance minister of royal blood. Mr. Razaleigh has re-emerged as an outspoken critic of the government in recent weeks, though he strongly denies any intention of switching to the opposition. The 73-year-old party veteran has a history of challenging the leadership; in 1988 he left UMNO and formed a rival Malay party before returning to the fold in 1996.

Sitting in his Kuala Lumpur home—a remarkably exact replica of the White House’s Oval Office—Mr. Razaleigh argues that UMNO politicians have not been responsive to calls for reform. “The young want to see a really multiracial organization, fighting on egalitarian issues, without having to fall back on race,” he explains. “Unless the party system and the political system are reformed exhaustively, I think we are going to be pulled back into the same boat we have been in for the last 50 years.”

Mr. Razaleigh believes that Malaysians want to move beyond identity politics, but UMNO is unable to break away from its Malay nationalist roots. Most recently, the government appealed a court ruling that allowed the use of the word “Allah” by non-Muslims. Though UMNO called for calm, the prime minister’s statement that he couldn’t stop protestors from expressing their opinions only served to fan the flames. The ruling was followed by a spate of desecration and arson attacks on churches and mosques. Mr. Najib further undermined the government’s response to the crisis when he flew across the world for a 10-day tour of Saudi Arabia, the UAE and India, taking key cabinet ministers and senior officials with him.

By contrast, in a milestone decision, the opposition Islamic party PAS—which only 10 years ago campaigned to create a theocratic state with Sharia law—took a more moderate stance, urging Malaysians to respect the court ruling. The irony is that while UMNO continues to play race politics to out-Islam its opponents, PAS is appealing to a more progressive voter base.

Part of the reason for the electorate’s change of heart is the realization that Malaysia risks being left behind economically if it doesn’t climb out of its middle-income trap and eliminate the inefficiencies inherent in racial policies. These policies were formulated in the 1970s, when Malaysia was a tiger economy. Now its growth lags behind Southeast Asian neighbors like Indonesia—the new “i” in BRIC—and China and India increasingly pose competitive challenges.

The country has suffered from an acute brain drain over the last decade, as individuals seek education and employment in countries where talent is better rewarded. Now it faces capital flight, too, with foreign direct investment dropping to $2.7 billion in 2009 from $8.1 billion the previous year, according to United Nations Conference on Trade and Development estimates. One reason is the fear that UMNO will continue to play the race card and stir up tensions to keep itself in power. Another is the government’s failure to undertake much-needed institutional reforms and address issues such as corruption, civil liberties and judicial independence. Malaysia’s risk index, as calculated by Hong Kong-based Political and Economic Risk Consultancy, rose to 5.4 in January from 5.24 in December on a 10-point scale.

If there is a silver lining here, it is that even as UMNO has stoked tensions, by and large Malaysians have refused to be provoked—a stark contrast to the May 13 Incident in 1969, when rumors of ethnic slights quickly snowballed into massive riots and emergency rule. And that is one more indication that leaders like Mr. Anwar and Mr. Razaleigh are right that Malaysian society is ripe for change. If the current UMNO elite is to stand any chance of remaining in power, it needs to focus on remedying the very real challenges on its doorstep, rather than felling the opposition. Societal reform based on equality of opportunity is a change that is long overdue.

Ms. Lloyd George is a Princeton in Asia fellow at The Wall Street Journal Asia.

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 24 February 2010, 2:05 pm and is filed under
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