Najib adopting extraordinary construction methods – building his 1Malaysia house with roof first then pillars without floor as NEM Part 2 has been deferred further from 10th Malaysia Plan to third quarter of the year

(Updated)

1.      Ballooning budget deficit – Parliament has been presented with  two sets of supplementary estimates, the second supplementary estimates for 2009 totalling RM11.36 billion (i.e. RM8.98 billion for Operating and RM2.39 billion for Development), after the earlier first RM10 billion supplementary estimates and the first supplementary estimates for 2010 totalling RM12 billion for both operating and development.

We are debating the second supplementary estimates for 2009 Budget which will be followed by the debate on the first supplementary estimates fo 2010 Budget.

These two sets of supplementary estimates before the current meeting of Parliament are most surprising, as the country was told by the Prime Minister cum Finance Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak when presenting the 2010 budget on 23rd October 2009 that the fiscal budget of the Federal Government had reached a peak at 7.4% of GDP in 2009, and that the fiscal budget is expected to decline to 5.6% of GDP in 2010.

With these two sets of supplementary estimates, Malaysia’s budgeting has again gone awry with the budget deficit in 2009 shooting to as high as 7.9 per cent of GDP in 2009 and over 7% in 2010.

A full explanation for this fiscal indiscipline and even irresponsibility should be given, as this is proof of imprudent control of public expenditure amidst inefficient  utilization of the nation’s financial resources.

For instance, RM32 million is allocated in the  2009 Development Supplementary Estimates for the purchases of aircrafts for the police, which apart from allowing the Inspector-General of Police and top police officers to work in style makes no contribution whatsoever in the campaign to fight crime to make the country safe to work and play by Malaysians, tourist and investors.

The RM34 million would be better spent in purchasing say some 68,000 bicycles or 6,800 Honda cubs for all the police stations in the country to increase police visibility with frequent police beats, which is the best and most effective way to combat combat crime to keep the people in the streets, public places and private homes free from crime and the fear of crime!

2.      The greatest tragedy of the country’s development history is the marginalization of rural and urban groups denied equal treatment as full-fledged Malaysian citizens – not only in Sabah and Sarawak but also in Peninsular Malaysia.  One such group are the people in Pekan Kaki Bukit and Pekan Sayor Kaki Bukit which I visited over the weekend, to hear their tale of marginalization where the close to 1,000 people in the two areas have been living in their homes, some for three and even four generations for some 70 – 80 years without land titles.  The the MP for Padang Besar, Datuk Seri Azmi Khalid  is the Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee and former Minister is four-term MP for the area since 1995. How could he allow such gross injustice totally against the spirit of 1Malaysia to continue unchecked for the 15 years he was the MP for the area?

3.      Now we are told that all this will be addressed in the New Economic Model unveiled by the Prime Minister on 30th March to enable Malaysia to escape the middle-income trap for the past decade and transform Malaysia into a high-income advanced nation with inclusiveness and sustainability.

When Datuk Seri Najib Razak became Prime Minister last April, he announced that the government would introduce a new economic model for the country to ensure that Malaysia makes a quantum leap to escape the middle-income trap to become a high-income country through greater emphasis on innovation, creativity and competitiveness.

In May last year, the Second Finance Minister, Datuk Seri Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah said the new economic model would be announced in the second half of the year.

Time is clearly of the critical essence to launch a new economic model as Husni subsequently admitted in a very frank speech in December that the country had lost a decade in economic stagnation.

In actual fact, the World Bank had recommended that Malaysia adopt a new economic model three years ago, stressing that industrial countries are already aiming for economic model 3.0, and with competition at economic model 1.0 intensifying, striving to achieve economic model 2.0 is not an option for Malaysia but a necessity.

The government has to explain why the World Bank’s advice that Malaysia migrate to a new economic model 2.0 was ignored for three years, losing more precious time for Malaysia to catch up in the international competitiveness race when the country had become a straggler as compared to other countries.

But there is more flip-flops and procrastination. The New Economic Model was not fully released on March 30, only Part I with Part 2 promised when the Tenth Malaysia Plan is presented in Parliament and launched in June this year.

Najib has described his 1Malaysia concept has the roof of the Malaysia he is building, the Government Transformation Programme and the NEM as the two pillars, while the Tenth Malaysia Plan the floor, the basis where all Malaysians will move forward.

But there has been further delays and procrastination as the short-lived promise of the publication of Part II of the NEM has now been further deferred from June to the quarter of the year, according to the National Economic Advisory Council Chairman Tan Sri Amirsham A. Aziz.

So when Parliament meets in June to approve the Tenth Malaysia Plan, the floor of the 1Malaysia house will not be ready – which undoubtedly is going to create problems apart from the extraordinary construction method Najib has adopted like building castles in the air – the roof first, then the pillars and without the floor!

Actually there is nothing much new in  the NEM which is 10 years too late. This is because many of the things proposed in the NEM had actually been proposed at various times in the past decade.

Former Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, for instance, in his speech to the Harvard Club in May 2005 said that Malaysia must rid of three addictions if it is to be a developed nation, namely cheap foreign labour, subsidies and rent-seeking.

But nothing has been done to resolve these “addictions” apart from making diagnosis of the ills of the Malaysian economy.  In fact, we have many rent-seekers among Barisan Nasional MPs in this House!

In 2002, when launching the Knowledge-Based  Economy Master plan also described as Strategic Initiative One of the 21st Century, the then Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Dr. Mahathir wrote in the foreword:

“Recognising the critical need for knowledge as input, Malaysia has embarked on the transformation from an input-driven growth strategy that had served her well in the past to one that is increasingly driven by knowledge in order to achieve sustainable high growth and development, The intention to migrate from a production based economy to a knowledge-based economy and the development of a Master Plan to chart the strategic direction towards the knowledge-based economy were first announced in Budget 2000. Prior to this, the Government has, however, adopted several initiatives aimed at developing Malaysia into a knowledge-based economy. Of significance was the establishment of the Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) in 1996, providing world-class facilities to foster the development of high technology and innovations for both domestic and foreign companies and the implementation of several flagship applications, including the multi-purpose card, smart schools, telehealth, E-government and technopreneur development as well as the provision of tax incentives to promote an information technology-savvy society.

“The Knowledge-based Economy Master Plan marks yet another key initiative of the Government to further accelerate the development of the nation into a knowledge-based economy as well as in achieving the objectives of Vision 2020. The Master Plan provides a strategic framework outlining the changes to the fundamentals of the economy. It articulates a vision and mission besides prescribing seven critical areas with a total of 136 recommendations that need to be addressed in moving forward to the knowledge-based economy. It is noted that several recommendations of the Master Plan have already and continue to be addressed and implemented by the Government.”

Let us look at some of the 136 recommendations in seven critical areas made by the Knowledge-based Economy Master Plan to move Malaysia forward to an knowledged-based economy before 2010, viz:

Put in place, by 2005, the e-education enabling environment for the entire education system;

Prepare by 2002, all universities for professional assessment and rating;

Step up measures to recruit those with Ph.D. qualifications into universities and set a target that by 2010 all academicians in all public universities will have a Ph.D qualification.

Develop Malaysia as a centre of excellence in education and training.

Grant automatic work permits and right of abode to top-level foreign talents.

Grant right of abode to Asian/world class talents in all creative fields.

Develop management of human resources based on competency.

Attract some of the best brains into the public sector.

Improve English language capabilities.

Enhance access: Wire and electrify every nook and corner of Malaysia.

Enhance access: Provide PC and Internet access to all schools.

The Knowledge-Based Economy Master Plan a decade ago was a total failure and that is why the NEM today has  to recycle many of the proposals made then.

In the past decade, with many reports and plans, Malaysia is not short of analysis and solutions to the ills of the Malaysian economy, but what is lacking is the political will to walk the talk and to implement them.

As a result, Malaysia is faced with a full-blown national-building and economic crisis after a lost decade of economic stagnation.

How serious is this crisis.  Lets us refer to the New Economic Model (Ch. 2, p. 41) for a description of this Malaysian crisis:

Economic stagnation – “What little life remains in Malaysia investment (since 1997) has come from state direction rather than private strength; in the decade after 1997, private investment as a fraction of GDP declined to less than one third of its pre-1997 peak.

Structural weaknesses in Malaysia’s path of economic development – depleting resources; difficulty in doing businesses; sluggish bureaucracy no longer fit for purpose in a fast-moving world;

A disastrous exodus of human capital has flowed from the perception that in Malaysia’s labour markets, rewards have historically not been commensurate with skills, achievements and merits. Perhaps half a million talented Malaysians now live and work outside the country – 50% of them educated up to tertiary level, all embodying valuable skills no longer available to contribute to economic development in the country. Since 2000, the number of expatriates working in Malaysia has declined 9% a year.

Malaysia has reached a defining moment in its development path. It risks beings left behind or worse still, suffering a reversal in living standards unless it implements far-reaching and comprehensive reforms. Economic policies to date are no longer keeping Malaysia competitive enough, regionally and globally, to generate sufficient growth.

The NEAC ended Chapter 2 will the warning “We must act now before our position deteriorates any further” and devotes the final chapter, Ch. 7 on “The time for change is now – Malaysia deserves no less”.

But there is a total absence of urgency on the government’s part, which explains why the NEM report is not even presented in the House (we have only the Executive Summary) when there should be a full-debate,

This represent one of the three factors which NEAC has warned could cause the failure of NEM.

To quote the NEM (p. 110):

“Three factors may explain such failures. The first is insufficient buy-in by stakeholders affected by the required reform measures because they were not engaged at the policy formation stage.”

When there is no effort to “buy-in” the support of Parliament, by tabling the NEM and having a special debate on it, how could anyone expect that NEM would get larger national or civil society support.

(to be contd)

[
Speech (Part 1) by DAP Parliamentary Leader and MP for Ipoh Timor Lim Kit Siang on the 2009 Supplementary Estimates in Dewan Rakyat on Tuesday April 6, 2010
]

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 6 April 2010, 1:29 pm and is filed under
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APCO row brings House down

Parliament had 2b adjourned abruptly bcos of breakdown of proceedings from BN attempt 2misuse majority 2refer PAS MP 2clmtt of privileges

04/07/2010 05:31 PM

All bcos Mahfuz said UMNO APCO, APCO UMNO I warned that if BN is allwd 2abuse its majority chaos will b order of day in Msian Parl

04/07/2010 05:35 PM

Parliamentary proceedings jammed 4over an hr bcos of unprecedented n improper abuse of BN majority. Standing Orders thrown into garbage bin

04/07/2010 05:46 PM

Unending arguments going on between PR MPs n chair since resumption with deputy speaker wan junaidi losing control of dewan proceedings

04/07/2010 05:53 PM

BN MPs yelling n banging table from their seats I urged Parliament shd drawback from precipice n not 2plunge Parliament into abyss of chaos

04/07/2010 05:59 PM

Wan Junaidi adjourned meeting abruptly instead of 730 pm losing control of proceeding – 1st time in Malaysian history

04/07/2010 06:16 PM

2resolve 2hr parliamentary impasse n return 2sanity suggested recognise confusion over original motion w no one referred 2ctt of privileges

04/07/2010 06:30 PM

My proposal not accepted w MPs both sides yelling at each other session had 2b adjourned more than an hour earlier Will sanity prevail ytmr?

04/07/2010 06:34 PM

Lesson shameful episode 2day standing orders cannot b grossly abused by any govt majority or MPs will lose all respect of SO n even chair

04/07/2010 06:38 PM

Umno MPkualakrau did @AnwarIbrahim n PR great service His improper motion 2refer Mahfuz made “Umno Apco; Apco Umno” household term

04/07/2010 06:51 PM

@anwaribrahim PR shd send bouquet 2mpkualakrau whose contribution agnst Umno re Apco is priceless Is he a closet supporter of anwar or PR?

04/07/2010 06:58 PM

——–

APCO row brings House down

By
Asrul Hadi Abdullah Sani
 | The Malaysian Insider

KUALA LUMPUR, April 7 — Parliament was forced to temporarily adjourn proceedings this evening when Pakatan Rakyat (PR) lawmakers began chanting “Umno APCO”, after the Speaker disciplined one of their colleagues for linking a bill being debated to the public relations firm.

Pokok Sena MP Mahfuz Omar (picture), who is from PAS, had attempted to rile up Barisan Nasional (BN) MPs during bloc voting for the Supplementary Supply Bill, by starting the “Umno APCO” chant.

“For loyalty of King and country, we must reject the Bill by APCO. APCO! APCO! APCO!” Mahfuz said.

His PR colleagues then followed suit with chants of “Umno APCO.”

APCO Worldwide, the public relations consultancy engaged by the Najib administration, has been the target of attacks on the government by the opposition who claimed that the company had also advised the Israeli government.

Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has been referred to the Parliamentary Rights and Privileges Committee and faces suspension for bringing up the allegation that APCO had Israeli links.

Earlier today, DAP’s Karpal Singh was also ejected from Parliament in a separate row over APCO.

Anwar will now be joined by Mahfuz who will also be referred to the same panel for possible disciplinary action.

Amid the racket of noise created by opposition MPs the vote on the Bill was completed.

But after the counting was over, Umno’s Kuala Krau MP Datuk Ismail Said stood up and interjected.

“Pokok Sena has wrongly accused Umno of being APCO. I want Pokok Sena to retract his statement based on standing order 36 (12),” he said.

Teluk Intan MP M. Manogaran and Shah Alam MP Khalid Samad also took jabs at Umno during the commotion.

“The winner is APCO,” said Manogaran.

“Who is this APCO representative?” Khalid added referring to Ismail.

Ismail stressed that action must be taken against Mahfuz.

“Pokok Sena has repeatedly said that Umno is APCO. There is bad intention in his accusation and he has misled Parliament,” he said.

Deputy Speaker Datuk Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar agreed to Ismail’s motion and called for voice voting.

When the motion was overwhelmingly approved by the majority BN MPs, PR lawmakers stood up and continued their tirade against the deputy Speaker.

“Umno is using APCO so what is the problem?” DAP’s Serdang MP Teo Nie Ching said.

Dr Wan Junaidi explained that Mahfuz was referred to the Rights and Privileges Committee under Standing Order 26 (1) (P) which allows a motion against any member to be tabled immediately without prior notice as it refers to the rights and privileges of the House.

Khalid shot back and pointed out that Ismail had used a different standing order previously.

Dr Wan Junaidi replied that Ismail had used the wrong standing order and the standing order was adjusted.

PR lawmakers then reacted angrily to the reason given and said that the Speaker did not have the right to do so.

“APCO is not something bad. Umno paid RM28 million to APCO. APCO is not a bad word, what is there to be ashamed of? They are proud because they are APCO. They pay! They pay!” Khalid interrupted.

“We cannot behave in a civilised manner. If he is not wrong then the special committee will not punish him. I believe the chairman of the committee will have the common understanding that we can accept,” Wan Junaidi replied.

However, PR MPs still refused to listen to Wan Junaidi and he was forced to adjourn proceedings for 15 minutes.

When proceedings resumed, PR MPs continued to argue with the deputy Speaker.

“If you are not satisfied then you can leave. I cannot control your childish attitudes,” said Dr. Wan Junaidi.

The Deputy Speaker’s comment enraged PR lawmakers further.

Dr Wan Junaidi replied that he would not change his position but asked PR MPs to submit a motion on Standing Order 43.

The standing order allows any members to approve a private motion to dispute the Speaker’s rulings.

After 45 minutes of heated debate, Wan Junaidi decided to adjourn the proceeding until tomorrow because he felt the opposition MPs were trying to ridicule him.

Wan Junaidi told reporters later that he was forced to adjourn proceedings.

“That is the Parliament’s decision. I don’t have the authority to reverse what the house has already agreed (on Mahfuz being referred to the

Parliamentary Rights and Privileges Committee). When the members become unruly and we cannot control it then Parliament is already paralysed. So

I had no choice because it will continue to be like that. So the best course of action is adjourning the house,” he said.

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 7 April 2010, 7:12 pm and is filed under
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Does Najib Really Care for the Country?

by
Kee Thuan Chye

Just the other day, I was engaged in a debate with a couple of friends about whether Najib Razak cares for the country.

They were insistent that he doesn’t. They reasoned that he was interested only in preserving his selfish interests. That included making as much as he could from his position as Prime Minister.

I rejoined by saying that surely, no one would want to take on the stresses of being the leader of a country merely for the sake of self-aggrandisement and material gain. He must also want to do something for the country, like taking it to greatness as he perceives it. Even if we don’t agree with his vision, the fact that he has one indicates some kind of caring. I said I found it hard to believe that any leader who had some decency in him would just reap whatever he wanted from the country and be content to let it go to ruin.

In Najib’s case specifically, I said he must have some primordial connection to this land he was born in, some love for tanah tumpah darahnya. He must subscribe to the notion of this being tanah Melayu, the land of his forefathers and his people, the only such land in the world. What’s more, he has pedigree. He is the son of a former prime minister. Would any son of a country’s former leader want to do worse than his father and be compared unfavourably?

Would he not instead be concerned about his future legacy as prime minister, how he will be judged in history? If he didn’t care and thereby allowed the country to go to the dogs, he would be spat upon by future generations of Malaysians. It would take an unfeeling and ego-less person not to worry about this. I don’t know if Dr Mahathir Mohamad feels anything about the possibility of his being reviled in the future historiography that will be written on his tenure as prime minister of Malaysia, but if I were him, I would be very concerned – even though it’s a bit late to undo what has been done.

Najib has a living example to learn from. He is already seeing the tremendous wave of Malaysian anger and resentment at Mahathir’s past doings, a wave that is swelling bigger by the day. Would Najib want to experience the same?

Judging by the policies he’s been unveiling since a year ago when he took office, one can see that Najib is making attempts to bring reform. Of course, he is doing it mainly for his own survival and that of his party, Umno, but somewhere in there, isn’t there an element of personal caring for the well-being of his country? Isn’t there a whit of sincerity in it? Isn’t there even a little bit of decency in the man?

I would like to think so. I would like to think that his New Economic Model, despite its flaws and lack of an action plan (that may be available only in June), is sincerely geared towards saving our economy and giving every Malaysian a real stake in this country. I would like to think that his Government Transformation Programme, despite its unlikely unattainability – at least not within a short time – given the huge and unwieldy areas it covers, will change mindsets and bring about greater efficiency in the provision of public services.

I would also like to believe that he is sincerely committed to his mission of bringing about 1Malaysia, but I find myself being increasingly sceptical of it because it remains a slogan without substance. In the context of 1Malaysia, Al-Jazeera recently asked him whether he considered himself a Malay first and a Malaysian second, like his deputy, Muhyiddin Yassin, did a couple of days before. Najib replied, “Technically, if we talk about the Constitution, I am a Malay but I am comfortable being a Malay in a Malaysian society.” This is waffling. Why bring up the Constitution’s definition of a Malay? That was not part of the question. Why say “Malay in a Malaysian society” as if to draw attention to a distinction between the two? Most important, why did he not come right out and say that he considered himself a Malaysian first and a Malay second?

As far as I’m concerned, Najib gave himself away. I’m now convinced that he’s not truly committed to 1Malaysia. Which brings me back to what my friends said in our debate about him. They, too, don’t buy his 1Malaysia slogan. But more than that, they were adamant that he doesn’t care for the country because he showed disrespect for the rule of law over the Perak issue.

“How can you care for your country when you don’t care for the rule of law and the country’s institutions?” they said. “How can you rob the people of the choice they made as to whom they wanted for their state government?”

Inevitably, my friends proceeded to talk about the ensuing court battle between the aggrieved party and the newly installed government over who should legitimately govern Perak and gave me a further earful about how the process exposed further erosion of the country’s institutions.

They talked about the manipulation of institutions that included not only the judiciary but also the mass media and the MACC, that seems to be gunning for after almost every Opposition leader. They talked about the corruption that continues to prevail and the lack of will to eradicate it. Those who are hauled up are merely the anchovies, not the sharks. They even talked about the Altantuya case and questioned if justice was being truly served. Why had the two police personnel sentenced to be hanged for the murder said nothing about who gave them the orders to kill the Mongolian woman? Why hadn’t their motive for the murder – if they had any, to begin with – been established in court?

And so it went. By the time they were done, I began to question myself all over again: Does Najib really care for his country, our country? I’m not so sure any more. I suppose you could pursue your selfish interests and still care for the country, but if at the same time you defile the country’s institutions, that’s a serious breach. That’s like not caring for something sacred.

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 7 April 2010, 9:23 am and is filed under
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Five issues for Najib to prove he is serious about “inclusive growth” to Sabahans

Finally, I want to end with a special reference to Sabah as ordinary Sabahans feel that they had been marginalised and left out of the national development and progress for since the formation of Malaysia some five decades ago.

If the Prime Minister is serious and sincere about inclusive growth, the Federal government should make Sabahans feel a full and equal part of 1Malaysia,and I recommend five priority areas for its immediate attention and action:

Satisfactory resolution to the long-standing problem of illegal immigrants in Sabah, causing the Sabah population to multiply from some 400,000 during the formation of Malaysia in 1963 to over three million today. During his visit to Sabah last September, the Prime Minister had promised resolution of the illegal immigrant problem and this seems to have been completely forgotten.

Eradication of poverty in Sabah. Barisan Nasional had promised to eradicate poverty in 2000 but it is now 2010 and Sabah has the highest poverty rate in the country.

Massive development of basic infrastructure in Sabah to provide roads, piped water, electricity and broadband to Sabahans.

Raising the 5% oil royalty payment to Sabah government to 20%.

Re-opening of the inquiry into the “66” air-crash  in Kota Kinabalu on June 6, 1976 which killed Sabah Chief Minister Tun Fuad Stephens and State Ministers, Datuk Salleh Sulong, Datuk Peter Mojuntin and Chong Thien Vun to address the many questions and doubts of Sabahans about the true cause of the Double Six tragedy 34 years ago.

[
Speech (3) of DAP Parliamentary Leader and MP for Ipoh Timor Lim Kit Siang in Parliament on the 2009 Supplementary Estimates on Tuesday, 6th April 2010
]

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 7 April 2010, 9:44 am and is filed under
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In sympathy with Matthias Chang

By
Martin Jalleh

(
Martin Jalleh (MJ) responds to a letter purportedly written by Matthias Chang (MC) before he chose to go to jail after being charged for contempt of court by the Kuala Lumpur High Court.
)

MC: Message from Matthias Chang. To My Dearest Friends and Colleagues

MJ:
 Dear Matthias, I was shocked that you have been charged for contempt of court. You must in synergy with your former boss who was most contemptuous of the courts!

MC: I have fought against injustice throughout my life and as a practising lawyer

MJ:
 Perhaps it would be more accurate to say throughout your pre-political-secretary life? The rest of your life you have been faithfully fighting for your former Master, Mahathir.

MC: …upholding justice when there are abuses by the judiciary

MJ:
 Alas, these abuses began when your former boss sacked the judiciary in 1988 and it has never recovered since then.

MC: and the state machinery calls for sacrifices

MJ:
 You mean, when Dr M made the judiciary part of the State and it began sacrificing justice at the altar of political expediency?

MC: and I have never shirked from that call to duty.

MJ:
 Indeed you were the epitome and great exemplar of subservience, an errand boy whom the Master would one day turn into a public figure extraordinaire!

MC: On Thursday, I became a victim of injustice inflicted by an errant Judge in the High Court of Malaya.

MJ:
 You were warned of the growing existence of “errant” and “corrupt” judges but you insisted there was “no proof”. Anyone who linked the rot in the judiciary to your Master, was challenged to an open debate. I guess there is no need of  such duels anymore.

MC: In this case, I was the litigant, the plaintiff suing the defendant…(letter continues)

MC: Most of you are aware of my opposition to the previous regime headed by the 5th Prime Minister. (Letter continues.)

MJ:
 Pak Lah opened the floodgates to further and new revelations by Salleh Abbas, Param Cumarasamy, Ian Chin, Syed Ahmad Idid, Jayanti Naidu (the former secretary of Lingam) that drowned whatever remained of Dr M’s integrity and credibility when it came to the judiciary.

When Anwar released the V.K. Lingam video clip, you called him a “convicted criminal” whose “lies and allegations must be exposed”. Ironically, the Royal Commission of Inquiry “exposed” the authenticity of the tape and that tampering (fixing) in the appointment of judges did take place. It recommended that an appropriate course of action be taken against six individuals, Dr M being one of them! Your former boss was left licking his wounds! Fortunately, you being his personal boot licker was always there for him.

MC: I counter-claimed against that crony likewise for defamation against me and exposed his corruption in conjunction with the son-in-law of the then Prime Minister, Abdullah Badawi. My defence against the RM 50 million claim was justification, the crony was corrupt to the rotten core. The case has been in limbo ever since.

MJ:
 Many cases and even police reports against BN leaders (especially during Dr M’s reign) were in limbo. Lame and laughable excuses were given. What a legacy your former Master left behind!

MC: Therefore, this case that came up for hearing is not as simple as it looks.

MJ:
 Many cases like the sacking of Salleh Abbas and two other judges and the jailing of Anwar Ibrahim were not as simple as they looked, though you trivialised them and mocked those who suffered from the injustice.

MC: There were forces ready to pounce and humiliate me at every turn.

MJ:
 Just like how Dr M used the judiciary, to harass and humiliate Anwar in the sodomy-turned-corruption and sodomy (I) cases? His legacy continues on in the latest sodomy case or circus.

MC: From the word go, my three Counsels were treated without due respect. My Counsel was denied the right to make an Opening Statement, a right which every litigant has.

MJ:
 At least you got your case heard. Some cases have been thrown out on the slightest and tenuous technicalities. Further, never go to court insisting on your rights. What you need is a “right” judge.

MC: I was called to testify immediately…(letter continues) the judge pounced on me and declared everyone before her court will be treated equally and I had no need to declare my past and or the need to “impress” her. She further said that “so what if I was previously the political secretary to the Prime Minister and a senior lawyer of over 30 years experience.”

MJ:
 Since Dr M “took over” the judiciary, good reputation amongst judges has become almost extinct, so much so it is something the judges no longer look for in witnesses! As for respect and recognition that comes with years of service and experience, even in the judiciary the more senior and experienced judges are shunned, shoved and shelved. Only judges who are ready to bow, bend and do the bidding at the Master’s behest will be bountifully rewarded.

MC: My Counsel objected and told her that…(letter continues)

MC: The Judge resumed the hearing in Open Court, whereupon I addressed the Court and said: “(letter continues)….In my over 30 years of practice, no judge has ever abused me and or was rude to me. I intend to make a complaint to the Chief Justice and would now take leave and retire.”

MJ:
 Don’t waste your time with the CJ, Matthias. He has been as silent as the grave even after the respected retired Justice NH Chan found certain judges in the appellate courts  to be a “bunch of idiots”!

MC: (Letter continues)

MC: The Judge incited by that lawyer (for the defendant), directed the police officer in attendance to arrest me and place me in custody in the Lock-up at the basement of the Court Complex. The professionalism of the police officer was such that he did not handcuff me, but merely invited me to follow him…(letter continues)

MJ:
 Luckily they kept you at the basement and not on some top floor! Luckily you had such a professional officer and not the nation’s top cop who beat up Anwar to near death, and whose severe injuries were dismissed by a less-than-a-human-being as being “self-inflicted”.

MC: Point to note: in accordance with Malaysian law, I had not committed any crime at that stage to warrant any arrest, more so one instigated by a lawyer…

MJ:
 “Malaysian law”? What’s that? This country only knows of Umno’s law and rule by law or the PM’s laws and his orders!

MC: (Letter continues) I immediately called my friend and fellow colleague, Mr. Zainur Zakaria…

MJ:
 Zainur would understand. He was found guilty of the contempt of court by the late Augustine Paul (AP) in a case related to the corruption trial of Anwar. The Federal Court described AP as one who “was behaving as though he was acting as counsel for the two prosecutors in the motion” and “should have been the last person to deal with the contempt issue”.

MJ:
 In fact your former boss echoed the above, when he came to your defense in his blog: “One of the principles in law which is believed to ensure that justice is done is that disputes must be settled by a third party. No one (except Dr M?) should be the prosecutor, the judge and the executioner.”

MJ:
 Dr M ventured further: “In several recent cases an accused person has demanded that the judge recuse himself for being biased. Indeed we hear of an accused person demanding that the  prosecutors be changed because of allegedly being bias. And in fact the persons concerned, who were only doing the work they had officially been tasked with, were not allowed to carry out their usual work.”

If Dr M was referring to Anwar in the latest sodomy case, he got his facts wrong.  The prosecutors were allowed to continue their “usual work” of ensuring that there would be penetrating evidence that Anwar goes to jail, and the judge refused to recuse himself from the judicial circus!

MC: (Letter continues)

MC: THIS SUMS UP WHAT HAS TRANSPIRED. The judicial system is rotten

MJ:
 You mean to say it took you so long to make such a conclusion!

MC: …but I had in the past tried to reform by working within the system

MJ:
 You can’t undo what your former Master did to the judiciary! Anwar and Zaid Ibrahim tried and failed! Strange we can’t recall any significant attempts of judicial reform on your part.

MC: and held back my open criticisms.

MJ:
 It appears you are suffering from the same self-inflicted selective amnesia of your former Master.

MC: I never expected to be a victim of the system.

MJ:
 The “system” which you worked for? Alas, our injustice can boomerang on us one day!

If this can happen to me, what more the poor and or unrepresented litigant.

MJ:
 You do not have to worry about them. They are quite familiar with the “system”.  You only have to make sure you do not futher contribute to the system!

MC: It seems that there have been many cases of abuse by this Judge but the Chief Justice did not take any action.

MJ:
 Pity though that the judge cannot defend herself. But I must say that she is a rather brave judge to take you on and send you to jail! Perhaps you have finally met your match!

MC: MY FAMILY IS 100% BEHIND ME ON THIS MATTER.

MJ:
 Thank God for your family support, for many feel you deserve to be in the pit which your former Master had dug a long time ago, with your faithful assistance of course. Foreign support for you has also increased though some Malaysians feel foreigners should not interfere with a local issue! Sounds familiar?

MC: (Letter continues)

MC: The public would be confused and may even think that I was indeed wrong in opposing the abuse. They may also be cowed in the future in any opposition to similar abuse.

MJ:
 The public has got used to fighting against a rotten judiciary for so long. We are in fact very concerned about you who have been very confused and cowed!

MC: I am therefore preparing myself to go to jail and hopefully, my incarceration would arouse the conscience of the people to stand up and fight against an injustice. An action that has been DELAYED FOR TOO LONG.

MJ:
 We do not need such “arousal” Matthias. The fight for a free and fearless judiciary began the day after your former boss sacked the judiciary and sullied its reputation irreparably. Further, your incarceration and fast would definitely not be able to exorcise the judiciary of the “devil incarnate” (a name given by former judge Ian Chin to Dr M) whose harm and havoc still haunts the judiciary!

MJ:
 There are also those who feel that your fast is just a farce to make you famous. Not to worry, there were those who said the same of the jailed Anwar when he sought treatment for his neck and back problems. Surely you were not one amongst them?

MC: I appeal to all of you for your understanding and support and I seek your assistance that my plight be given the widest publicity as possible.

MJ:
 You can be assured of the support of many Malaysians who have always  taken a stand and spoken out for justice. The only way the reputation of the judiciary can be restored and the rot got rid of, is to rally the nation towards a radical change – a change in government! I appeal to you for your understanding and support towards such a goal!

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 7 April 2010, 9:30 am and is filed under
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Lowest Chinese and Indian representation in the civil service in the 53-year history of Malaysia – 5.8% Chinese and 4% Indians as at end of 2009

The other two factors which can cause the failure of NEM as identified by the NEAC are:

Reform programmes have often met with strong resistance from powerful and vested interests, which subsequently forced their derailment; (Perkasa the extremist right-wing racist organization is one such “vested interests”) and

The implementing authorities failed to stay the course, either due to a lack of political will or inherently administrative weaknesses.

Although NEM proposes a “big push” in policy actions and initiatives to kick-start the transformation process, what ‘big results” have been achieved in the 1Malaysia concept in the past one year?

How can the public have confidence in the Economic Transformation Programme (ETP) when there is no seriousness or commitment by Barisan Nasional leaders in the 1Malaysia Government Transformation Programme (GTP), as demonstrated by the Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin who had declared himself “Malay first and Malaysian second”?

It is sad and tragic that despite my challenge, not only  Umno Ministers ran for cover, Ministers from MCA, Gerakan, MIC and other BN component parties also dare not declare that they are Malaysians first and their race whether Malay, Chinese, Indian, Kadazan or Iban second in keeping with the 1Malaysia concept.

I am not asking anyone to do what I dare not do, as I had declared in Parliament that I am Malaysian first and Chinese second.

I am also not asking anyone to forget or be ashamed of his or her ethnic identity. I am Malaysian first and Chinese second and I am also proud of my Chinese ethnicity.

However, something is very wrong when Umno and Barisan Nasional MPs are not prepared to come forward to declare that they are Malaysians first and their race second.

The episode in Parliament last Thursday where the Minister responsible for 1Malaysia GTP Roadmap, Senator Tan Sri Koh Tsu Koon dared not respond to my challenge to declare that he is Malaysian first and second was most disgraceful for two reasons: firstly, Tsu Koon would have no hesitation previously in declaring that he is Malaysian first and Chinese second and secondly, Tsu Koon dared not declare that he is Malaysian first and Chinese second solely because he was afraid of stepping on the toes of UMNO leaders!

The NEM has admitted that the failure to restore public confidence in the independence and professionalism of national institutions is a major cause in the erosion of our international competitiveness.

For instance, although lip-service is given to a 1Malaysia Government, the latest answer from the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz to my question on the latest ethnic composition of the civil service show that we continue to go backwards instead of forwards  in 1Malaysia nation-building.

As of 31st December 2009, the racial breakdown of the Malaysian civil service comprising 1,247,894 employees are:

Malays

78.2%

Other Bumiputras

7.7%

Chinese

5.8%

Indian

4.0%

Others

4.2%

This the worst multi-racial composition of the government service, with the lowest Chinese and Indian representation in the public service  in Malaysian history of 53 years.

This is clearly seen from the three sets of  comparative figures of the racial breakdown of the civil service in the past four decades:

Malay

Chinese

Indian

Others

 Before NEP 1971

60.80%

20.2%

17.40%

1.6%

 June 2005

77.04%

9.37%

5.12%

8.47%

 Dec. 2009

78.2%

5.8%

4.0%

4.2%

It is clear that the Government is setting the worst example of a 1Malaysia Government.

One major upshot of the lack of confidence in government policies is the exodus of human capital, where the country is losing the skilled talent needed to drive future growth.

Since the March 2008 general election, 400,000 best and brightest Malaysians have emigrated overseas, comprising not just Malaysian Chinese and Indians, but more and more Malays.

I do not see any effort by the government in the past year since Najib became  Prime Minister aimed at ending  the exodus of Malaysian talents abroad.

The Deputy Prime Minister cum Education Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said in Paris yesterday that the government through the Public Services Department (PSD) will offer 1,500 scholarships to top Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) students under the overseas undergraduate scholarship programme.

This is a far cry from the 2,100 scholarships for students to study abroad last year.

Several years ago, I had already proposed that the Government give the top 200 SPM students full scholarships to appreciate and retain talents in Malaysia.

I am disappointed that the government has awarded only 30 national scholarships for top SPM students last year when the government should have no problems in awarding the top 200 or even top 500 SPM students full scholarships awards  – as all it needs to do to find the money by just cracking down on corruption or leakages in government procurements and tenders.

The press has reported the case of the top SPM student in Penang, Bukit Mertajam girl Edwina  Tang from Convent Light Street, Penang who scored 13A+ but who was not selected for the 30 national scholarships.

This is most unfair and I call on the Cabinet to reconsider and to increase national scholarships for top SPM students to at least 500 receipients.

Restoration of public confidence in the key institutions in the country has made little progress in the past year.

If there is going to be meaningful restoration in the confidence of the judiciary, then the country cannot have a well-known Umno lawyer as the Chief Justice. The first step, therefore, on the road to national and international confidence in the judiciary must start with a new Chief Justice.

Public confidence in the police remains at an all-time low. One of the benefits promised to the people in 2020 outlined by  the New Economic Model is to enable Malaysians to live, work and play in safe locations without the fear of crime.

This is outrageous as the core function of any government is to ensure that its people can live, work and play in safe and secure environment, not haunted by rampant crime and the fear of crime.

Three decades ago, Malaysians can go about free from crime and the fear of crime was an unheard-of concept. It is an indication of the failure and even breakdown of the Barisan Nasional government to deliver its its most fundamental duties to society that today, Malaysians suffer from the double curse of high crime index and the fear of crime.

Corruption is another major factor of public confidence as well as determining international competitiveness. Hardly any progress had been achieved in the battle against corruption in the past year of Najib premiership.

1Malaysia GTP Roadmap demarcates three areas most prone to corruption and should be the of focus of the anti-corruption activities of the  Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, viz:

Regulatory and enforcement agencies;

Government procurements;

Grand Corruption (Political corruption).

What has the MACC to show in the campaign against “grand corruption” in the past year? How many top political leaders had been arrested and charged in court for corruption?

Why have no top political leaders been arrested and charged for corruption in the RM12.5 billion Port Klang Free Zone scandal, as no one believes that a few officials and functionaries could be wholly responsible for the scandal without “green light” from their political superiors.

The second Finance Minister, Husni had stated publicly that Malaysia could have lost RM28 billion from “leakages” in government procurements and contracts.

The Prime Minister had himself admitted that only RM2 billion remained in the hands of bumiputeras out of the RM54 billion shares allotted to bumiputeras since the NEP.

Easily some RM50 billion would have been lost to the national treasury from the issue of APs for vehicles since the eighties.

How is the NEM to ensure that these  NEP abuses of power and corruption would not recur under the NEM?

In his biography of the fourth Prime Minister, “Malaysian Maverick: Mahathir Mohamad in Turbulent Times”, Barry Wain openly alleged that at least RM100 billion were wasted or burned in the 22 years of the Mahathir premiership.

Why was there no Royal Commission of Inquiry into such a serious allegation and why is the Home Ministry still withholding the release of the book to the bookshops?

Let me stress that Najib must be Prime Minister of all races and regions in the country.

The NEM made specific mention of focussing on Penang to establish it as “leader on sustainability and liveability”, proposing as “measures for action” (i) improve security for both the living and business environment; (ii) enhance the Georgetown conurbation; and (iii) redevelop the waterfront and ensure seamlessness like Hong Kong-Kowloon. There is also the proposal to “adopt a city strategy to reinvent Penang as a leader for sustainability”.

In his speech on March 20 unveiling the NEM, Najib mentioned the Klang Valley and Johore Bahru but omitted reference Penang. This is like cutting one’s nose to spite one’s face and should not be the conduct of a Prime Minister for all Malaysians.

[
Speech (2) of DAP Parliamentary Leader and MP for Ipoh Timor Lim Kit Siang in Parliament on the 2009 Supplementary Estimates on Tuesday, 6th April 2010
]

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 7 April 2010, 9:41 am and is filed under
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1MALAYSIA: Najib’s Camelot?

By
Tunku Abdul Aziz

If, by 1Malaysia, the Prime Minister is merely invoking the undoubted virtue of, and the equally vital necessity for all of us to strive to live in peace and harmony, then I believe he is more than a half a century wide of the mark. Living peacefully together, cheek by jowl is something we are rather good at, and frankly we do not politicians, particularly those from race-based parties to tutor us on this.

In the interest of self-preservation, we have been doing just that finding accommodation with our racially and culturally assorted neighbours.. And, so, it is not entirely surprising that the same Malaysians that Prime Minister Najib is so desperately anxious to unite should feel a little peeved, and confused especially when rumour has it that enormous sums of public money – dare I venture to mention slush funds, have been expended to mount a campaign that has all the appearance of a damp squid, with apologies to all the squids of this world.

Malaysians are fed up with being continually bombarded and harangued by Najib on his slogan the significance of which he is not sure about. To the millions of us preoccupied with making ends meet on a daily basis in Najib’s economic haven, 1Malaysia cannot be disguised as anything but what it is; a hellishly wasteful and hollow symbol by any reckoning. And, that is putting it as charitably as I can.

His latest attempt at giving substance to a brain dead concept was on Al Jazeera a few days ago. No rumpled suit for him, but the discomfiture was writ large all over his face when he failed to make sense of what he meant by 1Malaysia. His convoluted response was downright shifty Najib knew that his savoir-faire had just, when he needed it most, deserted him, leaving him looking like a very dishonest second hand car salesman.

He was mercifully let off the hook when the comely interviewer suddenly and gratuitously changed tack, describing him as hailing from “a political aristocracy.” He lapped it all up, and there was imperceptibly a trace of ill-disguised suppression of delight at the reference to his elitist pedigree. Najib, I am pleased to say is human after all, and is not averse like all of us to a little flattery.

Even an accomplished aristocrat-turned politician like Najib, on occasion, is not above being a trifle economical with the truth. A truthful and honest politician is a contradiction in terms. That said, he is not, in my book, a practised compulsive liar, and I put this down, in part, to good breeding. His one single act of Machiavellianism in the Perak affair has blotted his copy book, marked him out as an immoral, nasty piece of work. It will be a badge of infamy that will now be part of his excess baggage to lug around..

When Najib became prime minister a year ago, I said in a column I wrote then that I would impose on myself a year’s moratorium before commenting on his performance, in place of the time-honoured 100 days so beloved of political commentators. It would be churlish to deny him, on balance, his pass mark. He is known for his grand standing, the broad brush big picture artist, or perhaps more appropriate, the ultimate grand illusionist. Not for him the despairingly soul-destroying realities that dog this country in social, political and economic terms, such as the debilitating impact of the ever widening circle of grinding poverty among our rural and urban communities alike, particularly in Sabah and Sarawak. While it is not really fair to blame Najib for the ills of the world, he must address the issue of poverty holistically and comprehensively now, including confronting corruption in the executive mansions and suites in Kuching and Kota Kinabalu. Many of the problems associated with the plight of our fellow citizens in The Land of the Hornbills and The Land Below the Wind have been brought about without exception by a succession of callous and unbelievably corrupt chief ministers who have been robbing their people blind, in broad daylight.

Let us see whether Najib the Prime Minister has the stomach for a grand putsch against the architects of Grand Corruption who have raped and impoverished this potentially rich competitive nation. Najib must naturally lead by example, not always easy, in this and as in other matters of critical importance to the future of his 1Malaysia, already in danger of joining the ranks of the mythical Camelot.

I am not opposed to the idea of 1Malaysia simply to be bloody minded, but it has to be a Malaysia that is fit for all Malaysians. We cannot expect people to swallow some vague promise of a bright future for all while in the same breath he declares that the NEP will forever remain a sacred cow. How on earth can he hope to reconcile special treatment for the Bumiputeras for eternity and equal opportunity for all Malaysians? I do not expect UMNO to see any contradiction in this formula for a happy country. I think the NEP as cobbled together after the 1968 race riots was a brilliant attempt to redress the economic wrongs of the past. Unfortunately, the overarching objective of alleviating poverty across the board irrespective of race was deliberately ignored in order to make way for the corrupt and the greedy to gorge themselves off the same grubby trough. Therein lies the critical challenge for Najib.

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 8 April 2010, 5:00 am and is filed under
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1st class – Independent MPs; 2nd class – BN MPs

by
Asrul Hadi Abdullah Sani
 | The Malaysian Insider

KUALA LUMPUR, April 8 — Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz said the prime minister’s decision to bring two independent lawmakers to the US was because “the Barisan Nasional (BN) wants to maintain its majority in Parliament.”

Bayan Baru MP Datuk Seri Zahrain Hashim and Kulim-Bandar Baharu MP Zulkifli Noordin — both former PKR lawmakers — will be part of the Malaysia-United States Caucus to be launched by the prime minister next Wednesday

“It is like this because the Opposition is practising bloc voting so we must make sure that BN at every moment… must have more lawmakers than them.

“Because of that, I have made the decision not to send BN Members of Parliament to follow the prime minister. We have decided that during a Parliamentary sitting, we won’t allow any BN Members of Parliament to leave the country,” he told reporters in Parliament today.

DAP Parliamentary leader Lim Kit Siang earlier ridiculed the segmented Malaysia-United States Caucus because it did not have any representative from the Opposition which accounts for more than a third of the House.

Lim also mocked BN lawmakers, calling them second-class MPs because only independent MPs were chosen for the trip.

Nazri had a different explanation for the exclusion of Pakatan Rakyat (PR) MPs.

“At the same time, I did not send Opposition lawmakers who are not independent because I do not want to be accused of trying to decrease their numbers. Because of that I didn’t send lawmakers from BN or Opposition. I sent independents because they do not vote for BN or Opposition. It would not be a problem if I sent 10 independents.”

Nazri said that it was the government’s policy not to allow Cabinet members to travel overseas when there is a Parliamentary sitting.

“There is no grumbling about the decision. BN MPs have accepted that when there is a Parliament sitting that ministers and the Cabinet are not allowed to leave the country. That is why only Rais is following the PM.

“This is Kit Siang’s fault because every time there is a vote, they want bloc voting.”

Najib’s move to only allow two independent MPs in the caucus is seen as a precautionary measure after his debut Budget 2010 was nearly scuttled by the Pakatan Rakyat last year as it barely got through by a 66-63 vote margin at the third reading in the Dewan Rakyat.

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 8 April 2010, 4:02 pm and is filed under
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Meeting of Sabahans in Klang Valley postponed from April 18 to May 16 KL/Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall because of Hulu Selangor by-election

Two weeks ago on March 25, 2010 I had announced a meeting of Sabahans in the Klang Valley at the Petaling Jaya Civics Centre on April 18, but this has now been postponed to Sunday May 16 at 2 pm at the KL/Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall because of the Hulu Selangor by-election, whose nomination is April 17 and polling April 25.

The idea of a meeting of Sabahans in Klang Valley is the result of my two recent visits to the Sabah interior together with DAP MPs Hiew King Cheu (Kota Kinabalu), Teo Nie Ching (Serdang), Lim Lip Eng (Segambut) and Jimmy Wong, DAP Sabah state Assemblymen for Sri Tanjong, including Kota Belud, Tuaran, Keningau, Tambunan, Sepanggar, Donggongon and Kampong Inobong in Penampang for first-hand information about the neglect of socio-economic rights and development as well as the frustrations of the people of Sabah.

Wherever we went, we encountered concerns about the plight of Sabahans stranded in the Klang Valley, particularly following media reports early this year of homeless Sabahans who had to scavenge for food from garbage bins outside restaurants in the Klang Valley.

Sabahans back home were shocked that Sabah youths, who had gone to the national capital to seek greener pastures, were roaming the streets and relying on food served by NGOs and on leftovers in dustbins for an additional meal.

The meeting of Sabahans in the Klang Valley on May 16 will not only discuss this issue but also the whole spectrum of frustrations of Sabahans.

The New Economic Model with the main goal of transforming Malaysia into a high-income advanced nation with inclusiveness and sustainability aims to achieve a per capita GNP of US$17,700 (RM57,348) by 2020.

However, under the Sabah Development Economic Corridor Blueprint 2008-2025, the projected GDP per capita for Sabah in 2020 is only RM11,571 – which is more than five times less than the targeted per capita GNP for Malaysia under the NEM.

Coming on top of the scandal of the degradation and deterioration of Sabah from the richest state to the poorest state in the past five decades, it is most shocking and even outrageous that there is a five-fold difference in the targetted per capita income of Sabahans as compared to Malaysias in ten years’ time in 2020.

This issue undoubtedly will be top on the agenda of the meeting of Sabahans in the Klang Valley in Kuala Lumpur on May 16.

During the debate on the 2009 Supplementary Estimates in Parliament on Monday, I had urged the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak to address five “present and urgent issues” to give meaning to the slogans of 1Malaysia and “inclusive growth” and end the marginalization of ordinary Sabahans who had been left out of national development and progress since the formation of Malaysia some five decades ago.

These five priority issues are:

Satisfactory resolution to the long-standing problem of illegal immigrants in Sabah, causing the Sabah population to multiply from some 400,000 during the formation of Malaysia in 1963 to over three million today. During his visit to Sabah last September, the Prime Minister had promised resolution of the illegal immigrant problem and this seems to have been completely forgotten.

Eradication of poverty in Sabah. Barisan Nasional had promised to eradicate poverty in 2000 but it is now 2010 and Sabah has the highest poverty rate in the country.

Massive development of basic infrastructure in Sabah to provide roads, piped water, electricity and broadband to Sabahans.

Raising the 5% oil royalty payment to Sabah government to 20%.

Re-opening of the inquiry into the “66” air-crash in Kota Kinabalu on June 6, 1976 which killed Sabah Chief Minister Tun Fuad Stephens and State Ministers, Datuk Salleh Sulong, Datuk Peter Mojuntin and Chong Thien Vun to address the many questions and doubts of Sabahans about the true cause of the Double Six tragedy 34 years ago.

These issues will also be on the agenda of the meeting of Sabahans in the Klang Valley in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday, May 16, which is convened by DAP MP for Kota Kinabalu, Hiew King Cheu, assisted and co-ordinated by DAP MPs Teo Nie Ching (Serdang) and Lim Lip Eng (Segambut). Contacts and enquiries can also be made through the following:

03-79578022 /
[email protected]
;

088-254987 /
[email protected]

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 8 April 2010, 1:26 pm and is filed under
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Scholarships for top scorers

By
Dr.Chris Anthony

Stretching to help fairly all who deserve

The government’s decision to spend RM1.24bil to award scholarships to 1,500 top SPM students may be laudable but spending such a hefty sum on a relatively small number of students to undertake their first degree programmes abroad is unwise. High performers must be rewarded appropriately but the money spent must be prudent to benefit as many as possible.

Why can’t our top scorers be sent to do their pre-university courses and basic degrees in local institutions? By sending the best to local universities, which cost much less, not only more students can be sponsored but at the same time also help improve the standards in our own local universities which is on the decline in recent years. How can we elevate our universities to the status of world renowned institutions like Oxford, Cambridge, Harvard and many others, when we keep sending our best overseas? This would only boost the foreign universities at the expense of our own.

It must be borne in mind that high achieving students make up far less than 10% of students. The vast majority are average performers who should also be catered for adequately. There are also many who do badly or even fail their examinations and it is equally important to cater for the special needs of these category of students as well. Spending all we have on a few top students and neglecting the vast majority who obtain mediocre results will be detrimental to the nation. It will be this majority who are considered mediocre who will be form the bulk of the workforce in the future.

Selection of students for scholarships causes a lot of uproar every year. I admit there is no one ideal system that would satisfy all but whatever method is chosen must ensure that genuinely deserving students are not deprived of the opportunity to pursue their tertiary education. In this regards the selection process must be more transparent and open.

According to Deputy Prime Minister and Education MinisterTan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin the students for scholarships are selected under the excellent academic achievement category will be assessed according to academic performance (85%), co-curricular activities (10%) and Public Services Department interview (5%).This clearly indicates the over-emphasis on academic excellence over all others. Unfortunately important factors like financial affordability, extra-curricular excellence and the all important aptitude seem to carry little weight. Not all top scorers have the aptitude and not all with aptitude will be top scorers either.

Academic performance is of course a very important factor in selecting student for scholarship but it would be unfair to base the assessment on just a single public examination. It would be a better if it is based on continuous assessment throughout the year by the respective teachers who would know the students best.

In the past tremendous emphasis used to be placed on testimonials from teachers with regards to character, attitude, aptitude, behavior and academic performance of students. Students with excellent testimonials are given greater priority for scholarships and other awards. Students then strive very hard to excel in all areas, not just academic, so as to get a good testimonial on leaving school, knowing very well that only academic excellence with good testimonials from their teachers will take them far in their career and lives.

Unfortunately today testimonials are rarely sought as they have very limited value particularly for top scorers. All that matters is a string of A’s and nothing else. Students spend so much time and money to obtain those A’s often at the expense of all other equally useful activities that are essential to make one all rounder, being well equipped to handle the many problems they may encounter with maturity and wisdom.

It would a great injustice if a student from a humble background but with the right aptitude but with only above average results denied financial assistance thereby forcing him to abandon his career that he is passionate about. It would not only a setback for the individual but also a great disservice to the nation.

It is time for the government to seriously consider a fairer and more comprehensive method of awarding scholarships to our deserving students. These awards should be granted to all who are eligible based on overall merit without discrimination whatsoever in keeping with 1Malaysia policy. Unless we give every deserving Malaysian child the opportunity to pursue his ambitions and ideals, our nation will not be able to move forward in this highly competitive global world.

As responsible citizens the people too should dotheir part to ensure that as many Malaysians as possible will benefit from government aid to further their studies. With limited resources and a large number of deserving students, it would only be fair for those who can afford to be considerate to make way for the less fortunate who are genuinely in need of financial assistance without which they will have to forgo their dreams of a tertiary education for good.

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 8 April 2010, 8:47 am and is filed under
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Hanoi ASEAN Summit should take a strong stand to demand free, fair and inclusive elections in Myanmar allowing participation by Aung San Suu Kyi or ASEAN should withhold recognition of legitimacy for election result

The 16th ASEAN Summit currently being held in Hanoi should take a strong stand to demand free, fair and inclusive elections in Myanmar allowing participation by Burmese democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi or ASEAN should withhold recognition of  legitimacy for the Myanmese election result.

Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said in Hanoi yesterday that all countries, including Malaysia, must play their part for the concept of ASEAN community to become a reality.

He said ASEAN must take the multilateral resolutions agreed at the regional stage seriously if the grouping is to realize the ASEAN community by 2005.

Najib and all ASEAN leaders must be mindful that the ASEAN community is based on three pillars, economic, political and socio-cultural, in particular the human rights commitments made by all the ASEAN governments in the  ASEAN Charter “to strengthen democracy, enhance good governance and the rule of law, and to promote and protect human rights and fundamental freedoms” (Section 7).

Unfortunately, on the biggest issue confronting ASEAN legitimacy today, the holding of free, fair and inclusive elections in Myanmar, Najib and other ASEAN leaders have been singularly silent at the Hanoi ASEAN Summit.

This is an issue the ASEAN leaders cannot avoid at the Hanoi ASEAN Summit without the regional organization and all the ASEAN leaders being subject to national, regional and international criticisms for being wishy-washy and insincere about their human rights  commitments in the ASEAN Charter.

The ASEAN Summit has been presented with a petition by more than 100 ASEAN legislators calling on ASEAN leaders to sanction Myanmar if it failed to hold free and fair elections.

The petition reads:

On 8 March 2010, the military government of Myanmar published new laws governing the electoral process for the nation’s general elections planned for later this year. Numerous provisions in the laws guarantee that the elections will not be open and inclusive of Myanmar’s diverse population, notably excluding participation of Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, and Myanmar’s leading pro-democracy icon, Aung San Suu Kyi and other political prisoners who form a substantial share of the leadership of non-military-aligned movements and political parties.

With the promulgation of these apparent biased laws, clearly aimed at preventing opposition parties and candidates from contesting the elections, the regime has forfeited its best opportunity to show willingness to engage in an inclusive process of national reconciliation and the establishment of a lawful and democratic government for the Union of Myanmar. In light of this fact, ASEAN and individual governments of its member States must undertake resolute actions to convey to Myanmar’s military dictators that its disregard for principles of democratic governance and human rights is unacceptable and no longer tolerable by its regional neighbours.

Because of the exclusionary provisions of the election laws and the fundamental flaws in the country’s Constitution, enacted in 2008, under which the elections will be held, the results of the elections cannot be acknowledged or accepted by ASEAN, both morally and politically.

Furthermore, the elections are evidently designed to do nothing more than firmly entrench the military’s role in the future governance of Myanmar. The elections will in no way facilitate the formation of a representative, democratic government. If Myanmar insists on conducting the elections without reviewing and revising the 2008 Constitution and the election laws, it leaves ASEAN with no choice but to reject the results of the planned elections.

As Myanmar has thus far ignored ASEAN’s calls to reform and has not been positively influenced by the policy of ‘constructive engagement,’ a new and more decisive course of action must be undertaken. ASEAN should immediately enact strict and targeted economic sanctions against Myanmar’s military government.

Despite large budget surpluses generated from regional trade, the regime has done nothing to improve the welfare of its citizens. The living standards of average citizens have fallen desperately low while members of the military regime and their associates have grown increasingly wealthy off profits from the exploitation of Myanmar’s vast natural resources. Targeted sanctions would effectively cut the economic lifeline of these corrupt leaders and compel them to begin genuine dialogue and reforms.

Furthermore, Myanmar has categorically failed to uphold its responsibilities and adhere to the principles enshrined in the ASEAN Charter. It should, therefore, be immediately suspended from the grouping and its permanent expulsion earnestly considered.

Simultaneously, ASEAN should support, if not propose, to the United Nations Security Council that an arms embargo and most importantly a Commission of Inquiry on crimes against humanity be brought on Myanmar, as recommended by the UN Special Rapportuer on Human Rights, Tomas Ojae Quintana.

Immediate, substantial and effective action must be taken as all forms of constructive engagement with Myanmar’s military regime have undoubtedly failed.

Although a date has not been for the elections by the Myanmar military junta, it is believed that it will be held on Oct. 10, considered an auspicious date by the Burmese generals.

Najib and the other ASEAN governments must stand up and send an unmistakable message to the Myanmar military junta at the Hanoi ASEAN Summit that free, fair and inclusive elections allowing the participation of Aung San Suu Kyi  in Myanmar is a litmust test of its qualification as a continued member of ASEAN in the light of the ASEAN Charter and its human rights commitments.

                This entry was posted on Friday, 9 April 2010, 12:09 pm and is filed under
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I was angry, real angry in Parliament (video)

I was angry, real angry when I spoke in Parliament during the 2009 Supplementary budget committee stage debate of the Prime Minister’s Department yesterday morning at the “blind and brute” Barisan Nasional simple majority in rejecting my motion on Wednesday (April 7, 2010) to refer the BN MP for Pasir Salak, Datuk Tajuddin Abdul Rahman to the Committee of Privileges over his lies and baseless allegation that “pemimpin Pulau Pinang” frequently visited Singapore and Hong Kong to “sell national secrets” and that I was former political officer to Lee Kuan Yew as well as over the mindless passage of a motion by the UMNO MP for Kuala Krau Datuk Ismail Said to refer the PAS MP for Pokok Sena Datuk Mahfuz Omar to the Committee of Privileges over the “Umno Apco, Apco Umno” chant – resulting in Parliamentary proceedings going out of control which had to be adjourned more than an hour earlier as scheduled.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

                This entry was posted on Friday, 9 April 2010, 10:13 am and is filed under
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Make Any Sense to You ?

Letter

by ehy

Does this make sense 2 u?

Rakyat make more sense than Leader,  so what is the Leader doing at his job ?

What do I get for paying toll everyday?

Now I have to pay an extra RM50 for each credit card. For what?

Extra GST (goods and services tax).

Again, how does that benefit me?

Look at the long list:

I have to pay for security guards because the police are hopeless.

I have to install filters because the water supply is dirty.

I have to watch satellite tv because the government broadcasts crap.

Many kids have to go for tuition or to private schools because the government schools are bad.

We have to pay IPPs (independent power providers) because the government cannot provide consistent electricity.

We have to pay Indah Water to clean up the sewers.

We have to pay tax on foreign cars because Mahathir wants to keep his dying Proton – his own car company alive.

Most have to drive because the government cannot provide good public transport.

We have to pay to sustain the government’s affirmative action policies.

We have to pay for private health care because the public hospitals are crowded .

We have to pay govt control newspaper to read crabs.

All in all, we have to pay a PREMIUM to stay in this country!

1Malaysia Boleh!!!

                This entry was posted on Friday, 9 April 2010, 6:17 pm and is filed under
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Malaysia in the Era of Globalization #9

By
M. Bakri Musa

Chapter 2:  Why Some Societies Progress, Others Regress

Culture and Geography: An Experiment of Nature

In Guns, Germs, and Steel Diamond describes an experiment of nature to illustrate the influence of geography on culture. The vast expanse of the Pacific Ocean contains myriads of islands that are populated by Polynesians. They all have a common ancestry and in the millennium surrounding the birth of Christ their descendents independently colonized and inhabited the various islands. These range from large land masses (New Zealand, Hawaii) to tiny atolls; their geology ranges from volcanic soil to limestone outcroppings; and their climate from lush tropical (Guam) to subtropical (Hawaii) and temperate (New Zealand and Chatham Islands). As these islands were separated by vast expanse of ocean, there were minimal subsequent interactions between the various settlers. They were thus left to chart their own future, conditioned by their unique physical environments. The original Polynesians shared the same culture, language, biology, and state of technological development. They were all familiar with domesticated plants and animals; indeed they brought these species along with them as they settled the various islands.

A branch of the Polynesians, the Maoris, settled in New Zealand. The northern island was warm and suitable for the traditional Polynesian agricultural practices. They settled quite easily and their population grew with the abundant food supply. With the rapid growth, they developed pockets of high-density settlements and organized social and political entities along the pattern described by Ibn Khaldun. The fertile soil enabled them to produce surplus food and thus freed part of the population from farming to engage in other specialized activities like soldiering and craftsmen. Their social structure too, advanced rapidly. But with their clusters of dense population, conflicts inevitably developed, resulting in frequent skirmishes and wars. Thus the Maoris were toughened by the frequent and deadly encounters and competition with their neighbors.

Five hundred miles to the east on tiny Chatham Islands, another branch of Polynesians, the Moriori, took a different path. Like their Maori cousins, the Moriori were also farmers, but the climate of their new abode did not permit them to practice their traditional skills. Their tropical crops would not grow, unlike in New Zealand. They thus reverted to being hunter-gatherers, depending on the ocean’s bounty and the island’s birds and animals for sustenance. They did not have surplus food and the population did not grow rapidly. Indeed they were aware of their precarious position and took steps to reduce their number by castrating their male infants. Unlike the Maoris, the Morioris did not have the chance to specialize into warriors, farmers, and chieftains. Being isolated and in dire straits, they learned to get along with each other, renouncing armed conflicts as means of resolving issues. They had no warriors or established social structures. Out of necessity in their harsh environment, they sensibly accepted the futility of armed conflicts.

In 1835 the worlds of the Moriori and Maori collided, with devastating consequences to the former. Two shiploads of armed Maoris discovered the Chatham Islands, and with their superior weapons and warrior skills, easily subjugated the peaceful Morioris. The Maoris were ferocious invaders, slaughtering the non-violent Morioris with no difficulty or mercy. This brutal outcome of an asymmetrical encounter of two different subcultures was predictable.

The Maoris and Marioris may have all descended from the same stock, yet after only a few centuries separated from each other and conditioned by their new unique physical environments, their societies became radically different.

I can cite many more examples of such asymmetric encounters between different cultures that resulted in equally devastating consequences. Geography, not biology, sealed the fate of the Marioris.

Malaysia too has seen its share of asymmetric cultural clashes. When the British started their rubber plantations, they needed abundant cheap labor. Native Malays were not eager to undertake such backbreaking work for what was essentially “peanut” pay. They could live quite comfortably off the land. But that peanut pay was more than attractive to the millions starving in China and India, and they readily came. Coming from a land where starvation and exploitative warlords were common, they readily fall into a culture of elbowing themselves to the dinner table. They had to scramble, or starve. In contrast, the Malays who were blessed by fertile land and bountiful seas saw little need for such aggressiveness and blatant greediness. There was always plenty to share, enough for those who were late or could not come to the table. There was no need to fight over food. It is not difficult to predict the subsequent cultural clashes between natives and immigrants.

From his observations on the Maoris and Marioris, Diamond went on to paint a grand picture of the early development of human civilization. He posits that the first civilizations occurred in Eurasia rather than the Americas because of the physical geography of the continents. The original hunter/gatherer on Eurasia successfully domesticated some wild animals and plants, and gradually assumed a sedentary existence.

As this proved so much more efficient, or at least more convenient, it soon spread to other hunter/gatherer groups. With each successive spread, the group improved on the discoveries of earlier groups. With time the entire continent became inhabited by farmers rather than hunter/gatherers. Because of the physical geography of Eurasia, with its horizontal (east-west) axis of mountains and rivers, the domesticated plants and animals readily adapted to the new areas because of their same latitude and climate.

In contrast, on the American and African continents the mountains and rivers are along a north-south axis. Even if one of the ancient groups successfully domesticated some wild animals and discovered edible plants, such an idea would not spread widely as the climate varied greatly along the natural path of people. Plants that would grow at the southern end of the Nile could not be cultivated further north. Thus there was little chance for amplification and subsequent enhancement of any agricultural innovation.

Geography influences climate, and climate in turn affects human behavior. The seasons of temperate zones regulate human activities. You sow in the spring and reap in the fall; in winter you, like the earth, remain dormant. Further, with the inevitable coming of winter and the consequent shortage of food, one has to prepare during the bountiful summer months to stock supplies. Hence the concept of planning is introduced into the culture. Failure to do so would be disastrous both for the individuals as well as the group. The cold dark nights, being non conducive to procreative activities, are more suitable for intellectual pursuits and other cerebral activities.

The monotonous climate of the tropics, with one day more or less like any other day and with no distinct season, there is no sense of urgency or need for planning. If it rains today, wait for a few hours and it will shine again and you can then go out and fish. Such procrastinations breed the manana (do tomorrow) syndrome. Before you know it, a decade has gone by.

The effect of climate on me was certainly impressive. I remember my high school days in Malaysia and how difficult it was to study and concentrate, especially in the heat of the day. Even with repeated attempts at washing my face, I still could not keep cool. When I arrived in Canada, my first impression was how easy and effortless it was to study. It was so cool and refreshing all the time, even in midday. It was, in the words of my late father, as if the whole country was air-conditioned!

I was so impressed with this personal effect on me that I wrote to the Malaysian minister of education at the time suggesting that he build a residential school or a university at Cameron Highlands. The cool climate there would be highly conducive to academic pursuits. Being also typically Malaysian, I did not expect a response, and I was not disappointed!

Singapore’s senior minister Lee Kuan Yew observed that air-conditioning was one of the greatest modern inventions, as it allows those in the tropics to be as productive mentally as those in the temperate zones. Seeing how well that small island republic has done, he may be on to something profound!

Next:
The Economics of Geography

                This entry was posted on Friday, 9 April 2010, 5:00 am and is filed under
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Najib’s launching of Malaysia-United States (Congressional) Caucus on April 14 should be deferred until there is full Malaysian parliamentary representation including PR MPs

The  launching of the Malaysia-United States (Congressional) Caucus by the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak on April 14 should be deferred until there is full Malaysian parliamentary representation including from Pakatan Rakyat Members of Parliament.

The Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Nazri Aziz was insulting the intelligence of Parliament and the country when he gave a nonsense justification yesterday for the Prime Minister’s decision to bring two independent Members of Parliament to the  United States for the launch of the Malaysia-United States (Congressional) Caucus in his forthcoming trip to Washing to meet US President Obama.

As I said in Parliament yesterday, I congratulated the two “independent” MPs, Datuk Seri Zahrain Hashim (Bayan Baru) and Zulkifli Noordin (Kulim-Bandar Baharu).

There is no need for any “sour grapes” for their selection from Pakatan Rakyat MPs, as it is the Barisan Nasional MPs who should feel angry and aggrieved – as “independent” MPs are being treated as first-class MPs while BN MPs downgraded to second-class status by the Najib leadership.

The attempt by Nazri to “justify the unjustifiable” and “defend the indefensible” can only provoke disbelief and dismay at the intellectual depths of Malaysia’s Cabinet Ministers.

Nazri said the two independent MPs were included in the delegation to the United States next week to ensure that neither the Barisan Nasional nor the Opposition would be affected if bloc division vote was called for any arising matter.

Nazri cannot be so lacking in the basic 3Rs with regard to arithmetic as not able to realize that if Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Rakyat send equal number of MPs for the launching of the Malaysia-US (Congressional) Caucus, the balance for bloc division voting in Parliament by the two sides of the House would have been maintained.

What is the more important question is how could the Prime Minister lend his name and office to the launching of a purported Malaysia-US (Congressional) Caucus which is not fully representative of the Malaysian Parliament but is at best a Barisan Nasional-US (Congressional) Caucus?

It is not only the good name and prestige of the Malaysian Parliament, but also that of the Prime Minister and the country which would be dragged through the mud.

Is the Prime Minister going to be confronted with questions by the international media (or even worse, by Democratic or Republican Senators or Representatives) in his next visit to the United States why he fail to comport himself as Prime Minister for all Malaysians, races, regions and MPs, as in inaugurating a Malaysia-US (Congresional) Caucus when it is nothing but a BN-US (Congressional) Caucus?

When the name of Parliament is used internationally, it must be at the behest of all MPs, embracing both BN and PR, and not by any one political party or Minister.

Although I have great political differences with Najib, I do not want to see the Malaysian Prime Minister made a laughing stock when he goes overseas – all because of misguided notions that BN MPs can pass off internationally as representing all Malaysian MPs from all political parties.

The postponement of the launching of the Malaysia-US (Congressional) Caucus to a date when PR MPs could be represented would save Najib from international embarrassment of not walking the talk of his multi-million ringgit propaganda blitz of 1Malaysia.

It will also not trivialize the launch of the Malaysia-US (Congressional) Caucus which had lain dormant for ten years.

                This entry was posted on Friday, 9 April 2010, 1:35 pm and is filed under
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Najib should conduct an inquiry as to why his Department has five Ministers and five Deputy Ministers  yet nobody in Parliament to answer issues about Sabah development neglect?

The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, should conduct an inquiry as to why the Prime Minister’s Department has five Ministers and five Deputy Ministers yet nobody in Parliament to answer issues about Sabah development neglect?

This has happened twice in the past week.

Yesterday, during the 2009 Supplementary Estimates debate in the committee stage on the Prime Minister’s Department, which asked for a RM10 million allocation for the Sabah Development Economic Corridor, I had asked whether this was part of the RM1 billion special allocation for infrastructure development of Sabah which was announced by the then Prime Minister, Tun Abdullah when he visited Sabah in May 2008.

If yes, why the RM1 billion special allocation for development was not fully spent by 2008 if not by 2009, asking for full particulars on the breakdown of this RM1 billion special allocation for Sabah.

I also raised the target of projected GDP per capita for Sabah in 2020 under the Sabah Development Economic Corridor Blueprint 2008-2025, which is RM11,571 –more than five times less than the projected target of per capita GNP  of US$17,700 (RM57,348) for Malaysia for 2020 – highlighting the continued scandal of the degradation and deterioration of Sabah from the richest state to the poorest state in Malaysia in five decades.

But there was no answer from any Minister or Deputy Minister during the winding-up of the debate yesterday, as if Sabah simply does not exist in the eyes of the Prime Minister’s Department.

This was also the case last Thursday, when in the government winding-up in the debate on the Royal Address, no Minister or Deputy Minister replied to my earlier speech on the  five “present and urgent issues” which must be prioritized by the Najib administration to end the marginalization of ordinary Sabahans who had been left out of national development and progress since the formation of Malaysia some five decades ago.

The five priority issues I listed were:

Satisfactory resolution to the long-standing problem of illegal immigrants in Sabah, causing the Sabah population to multiply from some 400,000 during the formation of Malaysia in 1963 to over three million today. During his visit to Sabah last September, the Prime Minister had promised resolution of the illegal immigrant problem and this seems to have been completely forgotten.

Eradication of poverty in Sabah. Barisan Nasional had promised to eradicate poverty in 2000 but it is now 2010 and Sabah has the highest poverty rate in the country.

Massive development of basic infrastructure in Sabah to provide roads, piped water, electricity and broadband to Sabahans.

Raising the 5% oil royalty payment to Sabah government to 20%.

Re-opening of the  inquiry into  the “66” air-crash  in Kota Kinabalu on  June 6, 1976 which killed  Sabah Chief Minister Tun Fuad Stephens and State Ministers, Datuk Salleh Sulong, Datuk Peter Mojuntin and Chong Thien Vun to address the many questions and doubts of Sabahans about the true cause of the Double Six tragedy 34 years ago.

This is most disgraceful. There seems to be relapse in the government’s priority focus for Sabah and Sarawak after after the March 8 political tsunami when it dawned on Putrajaya that without the support of  Sabah and Sarawak MPs, Abdullah then and Najib today would be Parliamentary Opposition Leader rather than Prime Minister.

There were then frequent visits to Sabah and Sarawak by the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister with all sorts of promises because the two states were the “fixed deposit” states for Barisan Nasional and UMNO.

Has Sabah fallen off the radar of top priority of Najib that no Minister or Deputy Prime Minsiter deem it important or necessary enough to reply to queries and concerns in Parliament about Sabah development backwardness and neglect?

May be Najib should sack the Minister and Deputy Minister who had been designated to be responsible for Sabah development in the Prime Minister’s Office and replace them with others who are really care about Sabah and who are  more serious and committed to the  cause for uplifting the plight of Sabahans.

                This entry was posted on Friday, 9 April 2010, 4:20 pm and is filed under
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Call for RCI  to conduct full inquiry on whether Israeli agents had infiltrated Bukit Aman

DAP calls for  the establishment of a Royal Commission of Inquiry comprising respected, eminent and independent-minded Malaysians to conduct a full inquiry on whether Israeli agents had infiltrated Bukit Aman.

It is downright ridiculous and an international joke to have four agencies probing into the same matter, as announced by the Home Minister, Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein yesterday, namely the police, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, the National Security Council and a parliamentary select committee.

I just could not believe that Hishammuddin could make such an outrageous announcement, totally lacking in seriousness about a very important national security problem.

In the first place, who would believe that the police would be able to independently and professionally investigate into this matter, when there appears to be a tradition of lack of police independence and professionalism on sensitive issues involving the highest reaches of police and the government.

A good case in point was the 1998 “black-eyes” attack on Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim by the then Inspector-General of Police in the very inner sanctum of Bukit Aman, just some fortnight after losing his high positions as Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister.

The top police leadership even got the then Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Dr. Mahathir Mohamad to declare publicly that Anwar’s “black eyes” could be self-inflicted, when Anwar was nearly beaten to death by the then Inspector-General in Bukit Aman!

Finally, only an independent Royal Commission Inquiry could delve out the truth about Anwar’s “black-eyes” assault.

Similarly, there is just no public confidence that the police would conduct and report on a no-holds-barred investigation into whether Israeli agents had infiltrated Bukit Aman – and the same applies to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Agency,  whose public stocks have fallen even lower than ever plumbed by its predecessor, the Anti-Corruption Agency and so long as the Teoh Beng Hock mysterious death remain unresolved, MACC would never regain public confidence.

As for the National Security Council probe, who will conduct it? Again, the police and Home Ministry officials?  What a farce.

What is this parliamentary select committee mentioned by Hishammuddin which would conduct the fourth probe?

Would he agree and support the establishment of a Special Parliamentary Select with the specific term of reference to investigate whether there had been Israeli agent infiltration of Bukit Aman, headed by a Pakatan Rakyat Member of Parliament, with the Police and Government opening all documentation for the probe without resort to Official Secrets Act on grounds of national security?

Would Hishammuddin agree to have me or the PAS President, Datuk Seri Hadi Awang (as Parliamentary Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim is an interested party, so to say) to head such a Parliamentary Select Committee?

I do not know whether the Cabinet has given its approval for the four simultaneous and parallel investigations by four agencies into one same issue – infiltration of Israeli agents into Bukit Aman – and if so, then it must stand as the most cock-eyed Cabinet decision in 53 years of the nation’s history.

Why are there more and more ridiculous and outrageous happenings under the Najib premiership, which had never happened or would have been completely unthinkable under the five previous Prime Ministers, like the Prime Minister launching a Barisan Nasional-United States (Congressional) Caucus in Washington next Thursday in the company of  two so-called independent Members of Parliament?

I will propose in Parliament next week the establishment of a Royal Commission of Inquiry into Israeli agent infiltration of Bukit Aman in place of four simultenous and parallel investigations by four different agencies, with the composition of the Royal Commission of Inquiry the result of consultation with the Pakatan Rakyat parliamentary leaderswhip.

I hope that all the Barisan Nasional Ministers and MPs will give it support to this proposal in Parliament next week.

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 10 April 2010, 4:16 pm and is filed under
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