‘Tamil school problem still being ignored’

By
Humayun Kabir
 | May 18, 2011

Free Malaysia Today

IPOH: Tamil schools that were closed because of poor enrolment are not being substituted with new ones in semi-rural and urban areas to cater to the Indian community, the DAP claimed.

Party national vice-chief M Kulasegaran said that nearly 60% of Indian parents preferred to send their children to Tamil schools rather than national schools.

He also said that in Perak, there are over 17,000 pupils studying in Tamil schools – 9,000 in national schools and over 1,500 in Chinese schools.

“Over 70% of the 134 Tamil schools in the state are located in former estates and about 80 of them have an enrolment of fewer than 100 pupils,” said Kulasegaran, who is also Ipoh Barat MP.

“When the estates were fragmented or sold off , the Indians migrated to urban areas and there weren’t enough Tamil schools to cater for their children’s education.

“Clearly there is an anomaly. We urge the authorities to have a new mindset on the Tamil school problem and address them in a holistic manner,” added Kulasegaran.

He accused the MIC of not doing nothing for the past 54 years to address the declining number of Tamil schools, which has now reduced to 523 and is decreasing even further.

DAP is willing to put its political differences with MIC aside to work on a blueprint to ensure the status quo of Tamil schools in the country is maintained.

“We’re willing to have a candid talk with MIC to ensure a win-win situation for our community,” said Kulasegaran.

“Tamil schools with fewer than 100 pupils that have been closed must be replaced with new ones in urban areas.”

The DAP is concerned that without such a blueprint, the Barisan Nasional (BN) government may systematically closed these schools.

Election gimmick

ulasegaran said that the vernacular system may suffer a slow death as more estates are fragmented resulting in the closure of Tamil schools.

His concern is that when schools with poor enrolment are closed, the government will not replace them with new ones in urban areas with an Indian population .

He said that the federal and state governments were implementing policies on an ad hoc basis.

“For example, Perak MIC chairman S Veerasingam has announced that Tamil schools (with low enrolment) will be relocated to four areas in Jelapang in Ipoh, Langkap near Teluk Intan, Taman Kaya in Taiping and Tun Sambanthan in Sungai Siput ,” Kulasegaran said.

“However, our investigation revealed that the areas are not feasible as they do not meet the education ministry’s guidelines for building new schools, which require at least five acres of land.

“We are concerned that this announcement could just be an election gimmick and for mere publicity to hoodwink the Indian community,” Kulasegaran said.

He alleged that on several occasions, MIC leaders had made empty promises of building new schools to replace the ones in the rural areas, which were shut down.

He claimed that the MIC had taken voters for a ride and had failed to safeguard the interests of Tamil schools in the country. He gave several instances:

for the past 20 years, at every election, the MIC pledged to relocate the Tamil school in Merlimau, Malacca;

there are Tamil schools that have been squatting in shophouses at Lukut since 2003 and nothing had been done to relocate them;

one Tamil school is located in a cinema in Ladang Brausnton, Jeram, Kuala Selangor; and

in Kajang there is only one Tamil school with about 1,800 pupils on a half-acre plot of land, whereas in Bandar Mahkota, Cheras, there are three parcels of vacant land measuring about five acres belonging to the education ministry.

“ Why can’t this vacant land be allocated for the construction of a Tamil school?” Kulasegaran asked.

“Though the nation has achieved independence for so many decades, many Tamil schools still don’t have electricity and water supply,” he said.

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 19 May 2011, 10:09 am and is filed under
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10 days in May (17)

Tweets
@limkitsiang
:-

Cabinet silence on Utusan “Christian Msia” bogey/Hisham condonation – thot of “Silence of the Lambs” not Hannibal horror film but metaphor

Cabinet let Najib down- exposes Global Movement of Moderates call empty rhetoric. Have BN Ministers read Nades’ article? http://ow.ly/4XSyI

Nades asked:”If PM advocate moderation tolerance acceptance Y voices extremism overpowered threatened what done achieved over past 50yrs?”

“Every rt-thinking Msian embrace PM’s wisdom prophetic words on moderation tolerance acceptance” except BN Cabinet – dare not launch MMoM

R there no moderates in Umno MCA Gkan/BN 2support MMoM 2condemn Utusan “Christian Msian” bogey n give local content 2Najib’s global call?

“real divide not .. even btwn Muslims/non-Muslims. It is btwn moderates/ extremists of all religions.” Y BN Cab silent on Utusan extremism?

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 19 May 2011, 11:25 am and is filed under
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10 days in May (18)

Tweets
@limkitsiang
:-

TBH RCI- Y ShafeeAbdullah as counsel did not advise MACC 2admit responsibility 4TeohBengHock’s death as TBH was under MACC custody premises?

Then MACC shld fully co-operated w RCI 2establish actual circumstances of TBH death. No. MACC denied 2very end – with lies cover-ups.

What Shafie meant when said focus TBH’s death x on MACC blunders n referred 2OJ Simpson murder case? MACC want Shafie 2do a Simpson in RCI?

MACC wanted more – not only secure acquittal(S 4murder xwife Nicole in most publicized Am’can criminal trial)but incriminate DAP 4TBH murder

RCI shld re-open public hearing 2give MACC chief opp explain Y it acted so irresponsibility @TBH inquest/RCI.Also apologise 4Sarbani’s death

Originally, RCI 2inquire in2 MACC’s investigation methods cos numerous serious allegations of MACC torture n physical violence. Y no more?

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 19 May 2011, 5:46 pm and is filed under
Teoh Beng Hock
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Murder most foul: The truth still eludes us

Comments posted by Malaysiakini subscribers

‘For the two who were convicted of the crime – who has seen their faces? Are they in prison or are they relaxing outside their beach homes?’

Wikileaks releases cables on Najib and Altantuya

Ferdtan:
 There is nothing new in the Wikileaks cables that we do not know about – but it is nice to get it from an unbiased third party, US embassy’s political section chief Mark D Clark.

It gives credence to ‘gossip’ – and, it seems that these allegations must have some truth. Obviously the US embassy, being professional, must have done some basic investigations into the authencity of some of the allegations against PM Najib Razak before despatching their report to its head office in Washington DC.

No responsible officer, least of all an American diplomat, would want to send reports to their bosses in Washington without verifying their veracity up a certain extent. The Altantuya Shaariibuu murder is not going away, and it will keep on haunting the real perpetrators until justice is done.

Cannon:
 The curse of Altantuya’s murder hangs over the Najib administration and over the heads of all Malaysians. Najib is being held ransom by the hardliners in Umno and there isn’t a thing he can do to stop the troublemakers from threatening our peace and racial harmony.

Umno’s depraved ways are shoved up our face as a ‘norm’ to live with. The law is what these vile Umno gangsters say it is. The floodgates are open for mayhem and there is hell to pay. And Najib plays on with his harp.

Singa Pura Pura:
 “Altantuya was murdered in October 2006 by two of Najib’s bodyguards, chief inspector Azilah Hadri, 30 and corporal Sirul Azhar Umar, 35, who stood trial and were pronounced guilty in April 2009.”

Still an unanswered question: Why did Najib’s bodyguards murder Altantuya?

Anonymous_418f:
 Why did they kill her? No motive… Why, why, why? She is a sister, a friend, a mother and a human being – how could anyone ‘C4e’ her? She was not a terrorist.

Paul Warren: And as for the two convicted of the crime, who hasseen their faces? Who knows exactly where they are now. Are they in prison? Are they relaxing outside their beach homes? Are they walking the streets of Kuala Lumpur? Or are they permanently installed in Bali maybe? Who knows?

SusahKes:
 If I was attached to the US embassy, I wouldn’t worry. I mean, Najib has sworn in a mosque that he never met Altantuya. On top of that, Raja Petra Kamarudin’s ‘interview’ with TV3 had “exonerated” him; at least, that’s what Najib says.

So these cables are not going to make Najib lose sleep. If anything, we have President Barack Obama having tea in the White House with the ‘moderate’ Islamic leader. For all intents and purposes, the weight of evidence that exists should have compelled the authorities to place Najib in the docks to face a public enquiry.

Instead, we have them running around demonising the opposition leader on sodomy charges – what a joke.

Black Mamba:
 This is a murder that will not go away until Altantuya’s soul rests in peace.

1Malaysian:
 And for all of the reasons stated here, the current administration under Najib will fight ‘to their last drop of blood’ to ensure they retain control of Malaysia and all of the instruments of power.

The truth must never come out. No one has more to lose than them. No one will fight as hard. And the killers of Altantuya will be victorious because Malaysians forget easily. And because the killers are willing to sacrifice all of Malaysia to hang onto their power.

Anonymous_5fb:
 Bertaubatlah sebelum terlambat bagi sesiapa yang terlibat, secara langsung atau tidak langsung. Sampai bila kamu semua insaf akan dosa-dosa kamu? Kalau sampai masa jumpa Allah baru nak pohon ampun pun sudah terlambat. Gunakanlah hati dan akal yang dikurniakan Allah dengan bijaksana.

Malaysiawatch4.blogspot:
 I agree the truth will not be uncovered unless the BN regime is voted out at the next GE. This murder shows the extent to which the powerful can manipulate the system as they control all the government agencies and are prepared to use them to cover grave misdeeds. A murder most foul.

Chipmunk:
 It looks like Najib will also be ending his career as the PM. DSAI (Anwar Ibrahim), please go for ‘kill or nothing’ (a normal American statement for ‘do or die’). Wikileaks got to release more cables to implicate the criminals.

AnakBangsaMalaysia:
 It is good to see that as much as the Umno-BN regime has tried to cover up and suppress the murder of Altantuya Shariibuu, someone, somewhere knows the truth and that the entire government machinery – Immigration, the police, the Attorney-General’s office and the judiciary – deliberately manipulated the case to divert attention and quash all connections to Najib Razak.

No prosecution has ever been so deliberately incompetent: Key witnesses were deliberately excluded, the prosecution deliberately bungled its case and hastily railroaded the murder case to a scripted outcome designed to (temporarily) scapegoat Najib’s police bodyguards (who had no motive whatsoever to murder Altantuya) and Abdul Razak Baginda, who was not only Najib’s friend and confidante but also the beneficiary of a ‘commission’ of RM500 million for the procurement of the Scorpene submarines through his fly-by-night shell company Perimekar.

Today, no one knows what has become of Sirul and Azilah, while Razak Baginda is enjoying himself the UK.

Anonymous_5fb:
 “I am like a scapegoat that has to be sacrificed by them, those who are not in this court, to face the consequences of their actions and plan,” Sirul confessed.

Multi Racial:
 Convicting the two bodyguards does not close the episode. This is because in every murder, there has to be a motive. What is the motive for the two bodyguards, who didn’t even know Altantuya, to murder her. So they were instructed. But then, by who?

The duo have said they were directed by their superior but both the prosecution and defence did not call this person to testify in court. Why? This person would eventually be able to link the murder to the mastermind.

Another area to investigate is the immigration records of Altantuya, which were deleted. This is unusual as these records cannot be erased unless someone powerful intervened. It should not be difficult as the source has to be the director-general of immigration and he should be able to tell us who had directed him.

This is not sometime complicated and as such the police would know what to do, but why did they not do anything about it?

Jiminy Qrikert:
 The DNA of Umno is murder, lies, corruption, stealing from the rakyat to bail out companies from going under, cheating Malays by feeding them crumbs while cronies become billionaires and worst of all, creating racial tension and a state of siege so that the rakyat are divided by race and religion.

With such DNA, Umno will never change in 100 years. If Umno does not change, BN will not change. And with Najib helming Umno, Malaysia is doomed to be ‘C4ed’ to oblivion.

M’sia1st:
 Very honestly, for God sake, this case should be re-opened. In both theory and practice, logic and reason, there was absolutely no reason whatsoever for Najib’s bodyguards, Azilah and Sirul, to kill poor Altantuya, except with strict order or instruction to do so from their master, whoever he/she is.

The world, especially her Mongolian family and friends, is still waiting for justice to prevail. Whoever is behind this murder must and shall get his due, either in this world or the next, or both.

Abasir:
 If anyone has been wondering why Najib desperately wants to stop Anwar and Pakatan Rakyat from assuming power and revealing the truth, this is the reason. It is not ‘win the election at all costs’; it is ‘stop the truth from coming out at all costs’.

Malaysian 1st:
 De facto law minister Mohd Nazri Abdul Aziz, can this murder be norm as well?

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 19 May 2011, 10:15 am and is filed under
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1Malaysia: ‘Good slogan, poor product’

By
Stephanie Sta Maria
  | May 19, 2011

Free Malaysia Today

PETALING JAYA: The endorsement of unity as the golden key to nation-building is an age-old practice that has not always produced the envisioned borderless society.

In the 1960s the military leaders of Burma promoted “Burmese nationalism”, but this ideal disintegrated when the ethnic Burmese majority sidelined the identities and interests of the other communities.

Thailand, too, fumbled with the unity baton as its political parties jostled for ownership of the unity concept while igoniring the plight of minority communities.

And then there’s Malaysia whose trumpeting for unity came a year after Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak took office in 2008. From the moment of its inception, the 1Malaysia concept has struggled with various distractions that have challenged both its validity and authenticity.

First came the accusation that 1Malaysia is based on the 1Israel concept to which the government and its public relations company, Apco, fiercely denied.

The denial has found support in Professor Emeritus Khoo Kay Kim who rubbished the allegation and pointed out that “unity in diversity” was a concept first touted by former prime minster, Tunku Abdul Rahman, and MCA founder, Tan Cheng Lock.

“Even the British had set up a Communities Liaison Committee in 1949 to unite the people, but fac

ed resistance because people couldn’t differentiate between ethnicity and nationality,” he said.

This inability to differentiate between the two became 1Malaysia’s next stumbling block when Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin announced that he was first Malay and only second, Malaysian. The proclamation sparked public mockery of 1Malaysia that only grew as more members of Najib’s Cabinet performed similar blunders.

Perennial dispute

“The real question is how many people feel like Malaysians first,” said Farish Noor, a political scientist with Nanyang Technological University in Singapore.

“Nation-building must be internalised and this can only happen when citizens think and behave like Malaysians. So then the next question is, how do you deal with pluralism?”

Khoo viewed the issue in a simpler light. If it is your ethnicity you want to emphasise, he said, then call yourself a Hokkein or a Tamil instead of a Chinese

or an Indian. To him the mix-up is a result of an “unenlightening education system”.

“If history is clearly explained all these issues can be resolved,” he declared. “But our government says that history isn’t as important as science. So then bring your science to solve this issue!”

Yet neither history nor science will be able to settle the perennial dispute of whether 1Malaysia champions equal rights for all or continues perserving the Malays’ special position. And the government’s benevolence towards Malay right-wing groups like Perkasa has only added to the furore.

Just two months ago Najib admitted that his brainchild may need further clarification in light of its varied interpretations. His acknowledgement contrasted with a survey conducted by the Information Ministry last July that reported an 84.4% rise in public understanding of 1Malaysia.

The ministry claimed the figure had surpassed its key performance index of 71.9% and labelled 1Malaysia as the “most saleable and spreadable national principle”. A branding expert, however, disagreed.

Poor product

The expert, who requested anonymity, was blunt in his assessment of 1Malaysia as a good slogan attached to a poor product, namely the government.

“A strong brand needs a strong product,” he explained. “A badly designed and manufactured product will never have a good brand. And this product has many fundamental problems, mainly its constant policy flip-flops. If this was a company all its investors would ditch it.”

“1Malaysia has succeeded as a slogan in that everyone knows it but whether they buy it is a different matter. Slogans don’t really mean very much. It’s just marketing hype.”

Meanwhile, Parti Socialis Malaysia (PSM) president, Dr Nasir Hashim, called 1Malaysia a “pro-management political system that needs overhauling”.

“If the system is pro-management, then it cannot be pro-people,” he said. “So the government should stop saying that 1Malaysia is pro-people just because it sounds good. All this sloganeering means that something is up Najib’s sleeve. If unity truly existed, we wouldn’t need a slogan.”

Going purely by these observations it would be easy to deduce that 1Malaysia has not quite met its objective. But Farish is restrained in his judgment. According to him, it is difficult to qualify or quantify the success or failure of 1Malaysia from an academic standpoint alone.

“You have to look at the general behaviour of the Malaysian public,” he said. “Look at the state of the Malaysian society and in the newspaper headlines. That will tell you all you need to know.”

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 19 May 2011, 1:08 pm and is filed under
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A desire for better quality of life

Setec

The Malaysian Insider

May 18, 2011

MAY 18 — My primary reasons are different from that of most migrants from Malaysia:

1) English as the first language — I believe English is the language for all; I do not believe in multi-lingualism, e.g. learning Chinese, Tamil, etc.

I think this idea is not anti-nationalistic. For example, English is the first language in non Caucasian-majority countries like Singapore, Zimbabwe, etc.

2) One schooling system — a good majority of people in Malaysia are racists by supporting vernacular and religious schools. Chinese go to Chinese schools, Indians attend Tamil schools, Malays get education at religious schools, and the rest end up in government national schools.

I’m a product of government national schools; however, I’d only support government national schools if all lessons are in English (pre 1971).

3) Conservatism (cultures and Islamic) — the majority of people (and the government) are religious/conservative which inhibit freedom of expression and thus suppress a culture of openness/innovation.

4) Social injustices — a needs-based system is the way to go. The government must end racial quotas and policies once and for all.

5) Higher wages.

6) Better quality of life.

* We asked readers who have migrated to tell us in their own words why they left. This is one of the stories.

* Setec is a reader of The Malaysian Insider and lives in Adelaide, Australia now.

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 19 May 2011, 7:45 am and is filed under
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Don’t give up on Malaysia

June Rubis

The Malaysian Insider

May 19, 2011

MAY 19 — Discovering the fresh corpse of an orangutan was probably the last straw. It had been shot several times and left to die on a riverbank. We discovered the corpse while paddling up a river in Batang Ai National Park.

Killing an orangutan, a totally protected animal, in Sarawak is an offence that could lead to two years’ imprisonment or a fine of RM30,000. Very few have been prosecuted for wildlife crimes in Sarawak, and the lack of prosecution or arrests does not necessarily mean that no crimes have been committed.

Stumbling upon a fresh kill of a wildlife species that I had dedicated my young life to help protect and conserve, hurt a lot. The fact that the orangutan was shot and killed in a national park in Sarawak, just a few kilometres from the ranger station, was horrifying. What else could be going on undetected in the vast areas of our protected national parks and wildlife sanctuaries?

My team of field assistants and I immediately turned back to report our find to the authorities. My field surveys had to be postponed for another day.

Devastated, I returned to Kuching to have a heart-to-heart talk with my boss. I had been working in the conservation field for about four years, and was tired of having my reports of hunting in totally protected areas in the state either ignored or questioned for their veracity.

Now having the ultimate evidence, an actual corpse that no one could deny the existence of, did not give me the comfort that perhaps this time around, there would be stern action taken against the perpetrators.

Sarawak has the best state laws for the protection of wildlife in the country, yet implementation remains an issue.

I asked my boss, whom I greatly respect, what is the point of continuing in this line of work when it feels like we’re trying to stop a flood while armed with leaky buckets.

He looked straight into my eyes, and explained, “June, conservation work is not a sprint, it’s a life-long marathon. Do not give up just yet. Sometimes we cannot see the impact of our work until much later.”

This advice has remained with me to this day, many years later.

While my work scope may have changed from wildlife research to working on human-related issues (yet still related to conservation), I haven’t given up on NGO work. About five years since the orangutan killing, I still believe that the work I do for my country is a life-long marathon.

Lately, there’s been a lot of frustration with our political leaders, on how our country is run, and how some individuals seem to have a free rein to spout racial and religious hatred.

I believe in the goodness and moderation of the average Malaysian, and I am sure, just like me, most of us are confused at times about where this country seems to be heading. And it hurts. It feels like we are trying to stem a flood of bigotry and enmity with a few buckets of reasoning and good sense.

We struggle to have our voices heard but will the political leaders of the day listen and react appropriately to our grievances? And sometimes, some of us consider leaving the country, the inevitable brain-drain dilemma. Sometimes, some of us just want to give up, and stop caring.

I say to you: Don’t.

Maybe it is hard to see it now, but when I look back just a mere few years, not many of us even dared voice out how we felt. Now there are many good voices, proudly Malaysian, and daring to put our names to our opinions.

A year ago, I didn’t think I would be writing what I’ve written for this column and LoyarBurok.com. A year ago, I didn’t have the nerve to do so and I only gathered the courage after being inspired by brave individuals standing up and fighting for what they believe in.

I don’t know what the impact of my writing would be and whether it would resonate with others who would feel braver as a result, and so stand up on their own. I don’t know yet the repercussions of my writing and how it would affect my own work.

I do know to write as my conscience dictates, and hope that in doing so, my little contribution would help lead to a more open society, particularly for my own beloved state of Sarawak.

If we stay strong to our beliefs and passions, no matter what they are, the journey will certainly be a life-long marathon. We may not know the impact of our work just yet but have faith that it will get better.

So strap up your boots, and prepare for your personal odyssey.

And don’t give up on Malaysia just yet.

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 19 May 2011, 9:08 am and is filed under
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Finding the nation’s voice

Christopher Chong

The Malaysian Insider

May 19, 2011

MAY 19 — Everyone knows that a democracy is a political system where periodical elections take place. But democracy is much more than just elections. It involves the existence of a space which allows for people to freely debate on public issues and government policies as well as presenting alternative ideas without the fear of repercussion. Indeed, the health of a democratic society is dependent on the existence of such a space.

This space — which could take various forms, i.e. physical, print, broadcast or virtual — also known as the public sphere enables people to freely gather to discuss and identify societal or political problems so that such discussions will lead to political action for the good of society.

Tahrir Square in Eygpt is a good example of how the public sphere was utilised by ordinary Egyptians who want to see political and social changes in their society. Through the mass protests throughout the country where Tahrir Square served as a focal point for hundreds of thousands of people gathered together to demand a change of the government, which had overstayed its welcome. Their efforts were crowned with the government bowing to the wishes of the people.

The deformed Malaysian public sphere

Although Malaysia has all the trappings of a democratic society, i.e. periodical elections, alas it is one of form without spirit. This is because the Malaysian public sphere is moribund because of the various laws that cordoned off this sphere from the public.

For example, the media plays a vital role in the public sphere by bringing to attention the various issues that affect society. So important is this institution to the democratic scheme of things that its freedom is guaranteed by the state.

The Printing Presses and Publications Act (PPPA) 1984, however, seriously curtails media freedom in this country. The PPPA, which covers all forms of printed media whether foreign or local, gives the Ministry of Home Affairs the discretion to grant or revoke the publishing licences of local newspapers.

This act makes it compulsory for newspapers to have an annual publishing permit, which is granted by the minister, whose decision cannot be challenged in court. The permit can be revoked if the home minister deems a publication contains anything that is “prejudicial to public order or national security”. The problem here is that what constitutes “prejudicial” is unclear.

The same rule also applies to foreign papers and journals. These foreign publications must pay a large deposit that would be forfeited if the publisher does not appear in court to face charges of publishing materials deemed to be “prejudicial to national interests”. The Ministry of Home Affairs has the authority to censor or ban foreign publications that contain what it considers as “prejudicial” materials.

The PPPA, in short, was designed to curtail the media’s obligation of reporting issues that are of interest to the Malaysian public in order for a public discussion to take place. More tragically, the PPPA has brought about a culture of self-censorship among the newspapers themselves in order to pre-empt actions from the Ministry of Home Affairs. The Communications and Multimedia Act serves the same function as the PPPA in the area of broadcast.

If the PPPA curtails media freedom, then the Sedition Act curtails what can be said in the public sphere. The act, which was introduced during British rule, makes it unlawful for “any act, speech, words, publications or any other thing” that has any of the following “seditious” tendencies:

• to bring hatred or contempt or to excite disaffection against any ruler or against any government; or against the administration of justice; or against the Yang di-Pertuan Agong or ruler of any state;

• to excite revolt by unlawful means;

• to promote feelings of ill-will and hostility between races or classes of the population;

• to question provisions in the Federal Constitution with regards to the national language, citizenship and special position of the Bumiputera.

In short, this act deemed that anything you say that offends anyone can land you in trouble with the law. And because public debates have the tendency to become heated (particularly on controversial issues), we are told to keep silent for fear of transgressing the act. Is it therefore surprising that the quality of discussions (let us not talk of debate) in the public sphere tends towards the mediocre and trivial?

What is more tragic is the level of public discussions and debate in our parliament is no better than what we have outside its august hall. The Constitution (Amendment) Act 1971 makes it unlawful for even an MP (whom we voted precisely for this purpose) to debate on issues concerning citizenship, national language, etc. One wonders what exactly MPs discuss if they cannot raise any issues that have a bearing to the well-being of the nation.

OSA chokes public discussion

Adding to this plethora of laws that restricts the public’s participation in this sphere is the Official Secrets Act (OSA) 1972. This Act makes it an offence to publish without any authorisation any information in the hands of the government that is classified as “top secret”, “secret”, “confidential”, or restricted by its officers.

According to section 2 of the act, the term “official” is interpreted as “relating to public service” while “official secret” is defined as “ [A]ny documents specified in the Schedule and material relating thereto and includes any other official document, information and material as may be classified as ‘Top Secret’, ‘Secret’, ‘Confidential’, or ‘Restricted’, as the case may be, by a minister, the mentri besar or chief minister of a state or such public officer …”

In other words, the broad interpretation of this act ensures that any material classified as “Top Secret” will be off limit to the public (even if access to such information carries no potential threat to national security). And in so doing, the act chokes off public discussion.

So, in theory, the government can classify something as trivial as how many toilets there are in the prime minister’s residence if it deems such information a state secret. Is it therefore surprising that all agreements between the government and private firms on matters such as toll concessions and water supply fall under this act?

Not only do the laws affecting the nation’s public sphere restrict discussion and debate, they also restrict people from physically gathering in public spaces to learn and discuss issues affecting them (and let us not forget, to peacefully protest).

The Police Act 1967 requires a licence to be obtained from the police for any public assemblies, meetings and processions. The police can refuse to grant a licence when applied and, if the licence is granted, they can impose certain conditions or revoke it at any time. Without a licence (or when the conditions attached are breached), the police can stop the public gathering and order its dispersal.

One can go on talking about other laws such as the Internal Security Act, but the point of all these laws is to mute voices of dissent and alternative ideas in the name of national interest and public peace.

Signs of hope?

Although the nation’s public sphere has been moribund for decades, there are hopeful signs that a revival in this sphere is under way due to advancements in information and communication technologies.

Of these technologies, the internet must surely rank as the most important in giving ordinary Malaysians access to a virtual space, which enables them to propagate alternative ideas and dissent, as opposed to the traditional public sphere such as print and broadcast media, which are heavily regulated.

The emergence of blogs, social networks and alternative news portals on the internet has given people tools to circumvent those laws designed to mute the public sphere. For example, in the case of news, Malaysians have traditionally a restricted diet of “approved” newspapers to choose from to find out what is happening to the nation. Given the culture of self-censorship and restricted laws on what can be reported, one can hardly find any compelling reason to subscribe to mainstream newspapers.

In the past few years, however, the Malaysian public now have a choice of news portals such as Malaysiakini, Free Malaysia Today and The Malaysian Insider to choose from. More importantly, these portals carry news that is seldom reported in the mainstream newspapers. Is it any wonder then that the circulation of mainstream newspapers is dropping?

Perhaps, the most exciting development that is connecting people back to the public sphere is the emergence of social networking sites on the internet such as Facebook (and Twitter. Social networking sites such as these offer not only outlets for politicians on both sides of the aisle to communicate with people but also opportunities for people to connect with other people in discussing and debating public issues and policies and a space to float alternative ideas… something that was unthinkable only a decade back.

A good example of the potential influence of social networking sites is the 1M Malaysians Reject 100-storey Mega Tower Facebook page which has to date drawn in close to 300,000 fans. Although this page was initially created to protest against the 100-storey tower project in the heart of Kuala Lumpur, its content has moved away from just protesting about this project to include other issues that affect the Malaysian public. Through Facebook, individuals can promote their causes to a large pool of like-minded people, who could bring about collective action in the long run.

Recently, I observed a group of Malaysians from the peninsula who used Facebook to connect to other social groups in order to highlight the plight of native Sarawakians who are fighting to preserve their native land rights. Remarkably, the most active member of this group was a home-maker!

Although the internet has made a positive contribution to the revival of the nation’s public sphere, it cannot be denied that the political atmosphere since the last general election has also encouraged the opening up of this space.

With the state governments of Penang and Selangor under the control of the opposition alliance (Pakatan Rakyat), we have witnessed encouraging signs of the state governments in both states seeking to nurture a more vibrant public sphere.

In the case of the Selangor state government, it tabled a Freedom of Information Bill in July 2010 in the state legislature to make more state information accessible to the people. This is a move in the right direction in contrast to the traditional position taken by the federal government as well as the previous state government, which keep such information locked away — like hoarders who cannot part with what they have amassed even if it is useless.

The state government of Penang, on the other hand, has taken the initiative to create a space for freedom of speech. Emulating the famous Hyde Park Speakers’ Corner, the Penang Speakers’ Square located at Padang Kota Lama, Georgetown, is intended as a space for people to hold gatherings, peaceful demonstrations and various artistic forms of expression.

Ours, not the government’s, responsibility to keep the public sphere vibrant

The laws affecting the public sphere are still in place; nonetheless, more Malaysians are taking to the public sphere as evidenced by the peaceful gatherings in the past couple of years on various issues and the vibrant virtual public sphere, where ordinary Malaysians are flocking to voice out their concerns and opinions. All these hopeful signs point to the revival of a democratic culture that is necessary for a healthy democracy.

More importantly, we need to remember that it is us, ordinary Malaysians, who are responsible for the well-being of democracy in our country. Among the many ways in which we can contribute to the vitality of democracy here is by actively participating in the nation’s public sphere and by demanding that the government repeal those laws that hinder this space from functioning as it should.

It is time for all of us to reclaim the public square as a forum for responsible and civil discussions on the social and political malaise that we are facing rather than allowing it to be deformed and impair the health of our democracy.
— aliran.com

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 19 May 2011, 8:18 am and is filed under
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Guan Eng: Act against JPA ‘Little Napoleans’

By
Susan Loone
 | May 19, 11

Malaysiakini

Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng has condemned the Public Services Department (JPA) for failing to provide scholarships to deserving students, a mistake being continuously repeated.

Lim said the JPA, in disbursing its scholarships recently, ‘cannot get their act together’ as they failed to differentiate between top and second highest scorers.

He added that action must be taken against the “Little Napoleans” responsible for this mess up as these mistakes affected people’s lives.

“Either get new people to do the job, or get in a new DPM (Deputy Prime Minsiter, who is also the Education Minister),” Lim (left) said in Penang during a press conference after attending state agency InvestPenang’s, board meeting.

“What’s going on? It is such a simple matter but these mistakes create a lot of pain, anxiety and anguish for people,” he lamented.

The DAP national secretary-general also questioned the capability of the government to provide a first class civil service when it is prone to committing such mistakes.

For a first class civil service to exist, he added, the government must have in place “a good system, good ethics, especially in disbursing scholarships, and good team spirit”.

However, Lim said it appears as if these three important elements do not currently exist in the country’s administration.

He was quick to add that not all civil servants were problematic, as it was always a few bad apples which spoiled the reputation of others.

Mess driving away the best

“What we have instead is a complete mess, which creates anxiety, tears and drives away top students to other countries,” he said.

“These actions give a bad name to our civil service although not all civil servants are bad or made these mistakes,” he added.

Lim was referring to complaints by several students who were denied JPA awards despite scoring above 8As for their SPM exams.

Chinese language news dailies – Oriental Daily, China Press and Sin Chew Daily – have front-paged the mismatch of JPA scholarships.

Deputy Education Minister Wee Ka Siong complained that the best scholars had been offered only scholarships in local universities.

Meanwhile, Penang may enjoy full employment status due to its RM12.2 billion investment last year, but now faces an uphill task of overcoming a shortage of skilled workers.

The state’s good investmet portfolio is expected to generate 21,000 new jobs but the administration has to deal with various challenges such as human resource and SME (small and medium enterprise) development, said Lim.

In response to these challenges, Lim added, the state has initiated several programmes like the SME Market Advisory, Resource and Training (SMART) Centre and the Career Assistance & Training (CAT) Centre to address the worker shortage problem.

“The state government is also collaborating closely with the Penang Skills Development Corporation to address the skills shortages,” he stressed.

“Penang can lead again by not being a sweatshop but also as the smartshop of the manufacturing industry in Malaysia,” he added.

Economic tapering off forecast

On a related matter, Lim announced the state’s target of RM6.1 billion for investment this year to attract high-value, high-tech investors was 50 percent less than last year’s record of RM12.2 billion.

“The Gartner September 2010 report indicates that worldwide semiconductor revenue growth is expected to decrease from 31.5 percent last year to 4.6 percent this year…this means that the growth rate will taper off,” he said.

“At the same time, there is a need to ‘digest’ (consolidate) the record investments last year so that the workers and skills shortage engendered does not overspill and damage the industry,” he added.

Lim said according to the latest Malaysian Industrial Development Authority report , the first three months of this year saw a total of RM1.8 billion approved from 20 projects for Penang.

He added that Penang accounts for 15 percent of the total investments approved for the country, while the foreign direct investment approved amounted to RM 991 million.

“This constitutes 21 percent of the total FDI approved for Malaysia. Penang is currently placed fourth in Malaysia,” he said.

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 19 May 2011, 6:30 pm and is filed under
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Guan Eng renews call for Utusan censure

By
Debra Chong
 | May 19, 2011

The Malaysian Insider

KUALA LUMPUR, May 19 — Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein must punish Umno’s Utusan Malaysia for stirring racial tensions with its unsubstantiated Christian Malaysia report now that a reliable witness has spoken up, Lim Guan Eng said today.

The DAP secretary-general was referring to Transparency International Malaysia (TI-M) president Datuk Paul Low’s version of events at a closed-door meeting in Penang two weeks ago that sparked the controversy.

Low disclosed yesterday he was had been invited as a speaker for the May 5 dinner meeting with DAP leaders but denied Utusan’s presumed plot had taken place.

On May 7, the Malay daily had front-paged a report headlined “Kristian agama rasmi?” (“Christianity the official religion?”) based entirely on posts by two pro-Umno bloggers, claiming a secret pact to install a Christian as prime minister and oust Islam as the religion of the federation.

“I categorically confirm that no pact or pledge for Christianity as an official religion or for a Christian prime minister was made on the evening of May 5 or at any time during the conference,” Low told reporters yesterday.

“The only pledges or pacts which were presented included the Corporate Integrity pledge promoted by Institute of Integrity Malaysia (IIM), Pemandu and TI-M,” he said, revealing he had also been photographed in a grainy snapshot of the event published in the blogs.

Lim painted Low as “an upstanding man of the community and president of the anti-graft body Transparency International Malaysia, he is as reliable a witness as any”.

He said the TI-M chief’s account confirmed Utusan had breached sedition laws by publishing an “unsubstantiated and malicious lie”.

The Penang chief minister said issuing Utusan a warning letter was not enough as the penalty must befit the offence.

Lim blamed Utusan for causing confusion as well as racial and religious distress among multicultural Malaysians.

“Most notably, it was the catalyst for Ibrahim Ali’s call for a crusade or holy war against Christians. I am sure that anyone would agree the repercussions have been extremely damaging to the fabric of Malaysian society,” he added.

Perkasa president Datuk Ibrahim Ali waded into the controversy recently where he threatened Christians nationwide with a jihad or holy war should they proceed with their alleged agenda to usurp Islam.

“Therefore, Datuk Seri Hishammuddin has no choice but to initiate stern and severe action on the newspaper, so as to send a clear signal that the BN government upholds their supposedly 1 Malaysian spirit of peace and harmony across all races and religions,” he said.

Previously, Utusan called on its owners Umno to spearhead a “1 Melayu, 1 Bumi” movement involving all Malay parties, claiming that the DAP is intent on toppling the country’s Malay leadership.

Utusan has also told the Barisan Nasional to ignore the Chinese community for not supporting the ruling coalition during last month’s Sarawak state election.

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 19 May 2011, 6:24 pm and is filed under
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Implications of GTP on ETP-2: Government facilitation

By
Dr. Daphne Loke
 | May 18, 2011

The Malaysian Insider

May 18 — This article concerns the numerous private sector projects proposed for development and have been left to languish indefinitely in the hands of government departments at the proposal stage.

I remember applying for an IPTS license many years ago. The department concerned displayed on a notice board the list of applications which could not be processed due to lack of certain documents still pending from the applicant. Each applicant was provided with a complete checklist of documents required and a process flowchart for this activity.

There are pros and cons in this action. The positive side would be to clear the department’s name should it be blamed for delays in approvals. The downside is the unnecessary publicity to the applicant.

How then should the government deal with applications for development projects? Pemandu has done a good job in asking the private sector to inform Pemandu of the “road blocks” that they have encountered. This proactive step   received much admiration. Unfortunately, Pemandu does hold the final authority of approval.

GIVEN THE RUNAROUND FROM ONE DEPARTMENT TO THE NEXT

The Prime Minister has made it clear that the role of the Government is to facilitate private sector development. This has raised the morale of companies looking forward to shortening the process of project approvals, particularly those proposals which require the special opinion of other agencies. These applications used to be passed from one agency to another. On some occasions, the project proposer would be told to get approval from a certain agency first, and then only return to the rest.

The issues I would like to raise here are:

1. Inter-agency respect

Specific reference is made to State approvals. When a federal department, e.g. the environmental department, refuses approval for a project, due consideration must be given as to why the State government endorsed it in the first place. I have personally come across projects which were approved at State level for some 10 years but could not take off due to a lengthy process of romancing Federal departments.

2. Awareness of changes in the globalised economy

Malaysians are rather used to receiving out-of-date statistics. The departments which produce them need to be aware of the changes, major ones in particular, which had transcended those years and had impacted global events.  Even after 9-11, there have been incidents such as civil wars, financial crises, natural disasters, changes in government regimes and not to forget enormous ethical events which have impacted production and trade performance. Those once hard-to-get time series had lost their lustre in forecasting roles. It would be misleading to apply eight-year-old statistics in forecasting economic activity of any kind.

3. Out-dated restrictions

Every year government officers are sent to attend international conferences whether as participants or as speakers. These government efforts of upgrading public employees should produce positive outcomes. The updated techniques and methodologies should be seen to benefit the country. Guidelines and subordinate legislations enacted more than 10 years ago should be reviewed. Great care should be taken when using a set of 30-year-old guidelines as a basis for rejecting a project application. I was once reprimanded for challenging a government agency on factual matters. Here, I wish to reiterate that mere possession of power is no reason to regard its use as proper.

EXTENT OF FACILITATION

Judging from the above, what extent of transformation should we expect of these government facilitators? In trade facilitation, the government is expected to ensure that goods have complied with international standards and followed procedures before they launch on the export route. Yet, there have been occasions when containers of goods were detained in  foreign ports for being short of critical certification. Losses suffered were not just the exporters’. It was the government’s, too.

GOING BEYOND BASIC FACILITATION

Should government facilitation be limited to mere basic matters such as arranging for meetings, setting agendas and leading in meetings? In the example above, it may appear to be degrading to the chief executive of the State should the federal department make a decision to reject the project. The State had expected the federal facilitator to be aware of State plans and strategies, and not to make decisions regardless of them. When met with “road blocks”, both the project proposer and the State had expected the federal facilitator to provide assistance, or at least direction, to overcome those obstacles in order that the project could take-off as soon as possible.

CLUSTER FACILITATION

With SMEs making up 99 per cent of all establishments in the country, the government should seriously look into cluster facilitation. Government departments should be in constant communication with NGOs and expert groups. These groups, too, receive funding from the  government for research and development in their specific fields of activities. It was utterly incomprehensible to read a 20-page report from an expert organisation detailing why a project should be rejected but not a word was uttered as how to overcome the problems highlighted. Such negative attitudes should be transformed such that the expert knowledge they harbour can be channelled to the development needs of the masses.

DEVELOPMENT FACILITATION

Public officers should understand the need for sharing risk. For a RM10 million project, it would be prudent to expect that at least 20per cent of this sum had been spent on research, design modelling, consultancy services and the like, before being submitted for approval. Facilitating agencies come across project studies day-in and day-out. These officers should be trained to spot opportunities where the expertise of multiple organisations can be pooled together for specific development rather than to reject them on basis of individual insufficiencies.

A CHANGE IN MIND SET

The few points highlighted here definitely require more than the two words “working together” to overcome. In a networked world of coalitions and alliances, there is a definite need for a change in mind set among not just the public sector, but some segments of the private sector as well. Last but not least, the most important component in successful facilitation is whether one’s heart is in the job.

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 19 May 2011, 7:45 pm and is filed under
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IPP subsidies under review

By
Lee Wei Lian
 | May 19, 2011

The Malaysian Insider

KUALA LUMPUR, May 19 — The controversial gas subsidies for independent power producers (IPPs) are under review but no decision has been made yet, said Second Finance Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Husni Mohamad Hanadzlah today.

“We have done a discussion and study under the Ministry of Energy, Green Technology and Water, EPU (Economic Planning Unit) and myself,” Husni told reporters at the sidelines of the 15th Malaysia Banking Summit today when asked if the subsidies will be relooked at. “We have to wait for the decision.”

The issue of gas subsidies is also a controversial one as the prime beneficiaries are seen to be the IPPs, many of which are highly profitable and perceived to be controlled by politically-favoured parties.

DAP recently urged the Najib administration to first cut billion-ringgit subsidies for IPPs rather than burden the people with subsidy cuts on essential items

“Remove the big opium of gas subsidies that can save tens of billions of ringgit annually before dealing with the opiate for the masses that only save hundreds of millions of ringgit,” said DAP secretary general Lim Guan Eng in a statement recently.

“Why should the masses and the ordinary 27 million Malaysians be made to bear these price rises when the few big corporate giants in the IPPs do not suffer a single cent in gas subsidies cuts?”

DAP publicity chief Tony Pua added that the government must take action against “fat crony companies” like IPPs if it wished to reduce subsidy burden, as last year’s five-in-one subsidy cut would only save RM750 million while a 20 per cent cut in subsidies to IPPs would save RM3.6 billion.

The Petaling Jaya MP said while there was no doubt that the cost would be passed on to consumers, unfair contracts signed between the government the IPPs meant that electricity tariffs should be at least 26 per cent cheaper based on comparison to international rates

He said that based on Petronas annual reports, gas subsidies granted to IPPs amounted to RM8.1 billion in 2008.

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 19 May 2011, 7:36 pm and is filed under
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Living in my kind of country

By
Kaycee
 | May 19, 2011

The Malaysian Insider

MAY 19 — In 1962 I left for Sydney to further my studies and returned in 1968 where I obtained my first middle management position as night manager of the Hotel Merlin Kuala Lumpur until the political turmoil in 1969 which I witnessed with much sadness.

After the riots, I left for Herefordshire in the UK and attended a hotel catering management course there and returned to a position at the Kartika Plaza Hotel, Jakarta in 1972. Subsequently after my sojourn in Jakarta I returned to Batu Ferringhi, Penang and was a pioneer management staff of the Casuarina Beach Hotel, running its entire food/beverage operations there.

In 1974 I returned to the Merlin Hotel KL to be a senior manager of its food/beverage operations there, heading some almost 300+ staff. However I returned to Penang after being headhunted to join Casuarina in 1976 and then was headhunted again by the Merlin Hotels Corporate Head Office as group operations manager actively participating in the expansion and development of the hotel group in Malaysia and overseas during the early ‘80s.

In 1984 I was appointed general manager of the Merlin Hollywood, Los Angeles till my next appointment as GM of the Grand Continental Hotel KL in 1986 which opened during a depressed tourism climate.

However, the newly-opened Grand Continental KL posted a nett profit in its first year of operation, an achievement which I dearly cherished till my migration to Sydney, Australia in 1988.

As your portal has requested for reasons of my migration, I shall tell you very frankly why… the deplorable state of the country then and NOW, pre-Mahathir and post-Mahathir. Everywhere in the media one sees the country is going to the dogs instead of advancing forward.

Malaysia is and will be a banana republic simply because its administration is corrupted to the core in all areas of public service; law enforcement is corrupt and biased which leads to a politically-motivated judiciary… getting down to the bottom of the barrel the country is going down the gurgler, no use blaming Umno, etc.

The opposition is just as bad and that includes the DAP, PAS, etc. Every day the headlines scream of sex, bastardisation, corruption, poor administration, hopeless law enforcement, etc. The list goes on… there is nothing in the media that says they are doing this for the nation, for the good of all, not just Bumis only.

Religion is also something of a great big joke. So pray tell me why I should NOT migrate to another country that offers me equal opportunity in life, education, career, freedom of worship, hospitalisation, pension for life, top law and judicial system, etc!

* We asked readers who have migrated to tell us in their own words why they left. This is one of the stories.

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 19 May 2011, 6:22 pm and is filed under
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Longing For A Free Mind  (Part 11 of 14)

By
M. Bakri Musa

Q&A:  Change, Corruption, and Talent Recruitment

Q1:      We went through a momentous change, a political tsunami as it were, with the 2008 general elections, yet things have remained unchanged.  What would it take to effect real change in our country?

A1:
      I understand and share your frustration.  What will it take for our country to change for the better?  I am certain that a few weeks ago the average Tunisians felt the same way as you do now; likewise the Egyptians, until just a few days ago.  So do not despair, change will come.  My hope is that when it arrives, we will be spared the fate now endured by the Tunisians and Egyptians.

Until then we must register at every opportunity and in every way our distaste and disapproval of the current state of affairs.  We have representatives from the embassy and the Ministry of Higher Education here.  They will hear what we have to say.

I do not know what the trigger or tipping point will be for Malaysia.  In Tunisia it was a hawker who burned himself, fed up with the highhanded ways of the authorities.  In Malaysia I thought it was Anwar’s black eye; then there was Hindraf’s rally.

Since Anwar’s infamous black eye, we have become inured with police brutality; so I do not think any of their highhanded ways, however vicious, would be the tipping point.  We also have had enough sex scandals in high places, including a case of statutory rape.  So a sex scandal no matter how sordid would not be enough; likewise with corruption with top officials.

Perhaps it would take a combination of all three, salacious sex, senseless violence involving the police, and corruption at the very highest level to trigger a tipping point.  For all I know such a scandal has already occurred.  However, a scandal will not become one until it is exposed.

            It may not even be a scandal but something relatively minor as the graduate who burned himself in Tunisia.  The point is that the tinder is accumulating and the air is dry.  It would not take much to ignite it and then a conflagration would result.  How long will Malays continue to believe the canard fed to us, that all our problems are due to the colonialists, the West, and the pendatangs?  Sooner or later we will discover that we have been led by the same UMNO for over half a century and we have not change.  When that moment of realization arrives, that will be the tipping point.

Q2:      Why is it so difficult to eradicate corruption from our public life?

A2:
      Corruption is evil; I know of no culture that regards it as a virtue.  So when it is rampant, we must consider that society at large views such acts as other than corruption.  As such they become accepted as the norm, or even praiseworthy.

            That is the condition in Malaysia today. Corruption is pervasive horizontally as well as vertically. By horizontal I mean it pervades not just the kerani (petty clerks) in the Customs Department but also the Police, Roads and other departments. By vertical I mean from the lowest kerani to the highest government officials.

            Some will be offended by what I just said.  Consider this.  The King or the sultans do not pay any income tax or any tax for that matter even when they import their private Lomborghinis and thoroughbred horses.  As for Najib, you can form your own judgment.  When junior officers see what these gross lapses of ethical judgment in their superiors, the only conclusion to be drawn is that those conducts are acceptable.

            In America, what is plainly corruption (and the associated influence peddling) is now made legal by labeling it as “lobbying.”  Presumably when everything is done in the open, with official receipts, fancy “consultant” documents, and high priced lobbyists involved, the activity becomes legitimate.  Never mind that the corrupting influence is still there and the corrosion of values continues.

            Malaysians, especially Malays, do not have comparable intellectual sophistry to similarly camouflage acts of corruption.  So we resort to what is familiar and acceptable to if not valued by us.  In visiting the villages, I am stunned that those folks do not consider the gifts of money and sarong pelakat from politicians as corrupt acts or attempts to buy votes.  Rather, those villagers consider them as rezki, bounty from Allah.  Allah has softened the hearts of the donors (aka corrupt politicians) to be generous on me and gave me the cheap sarong.  Alham dulillah! (Praise be to Allah!)

            To purify the “gift” and make it acceptable to Allah, the donor would kindly add, “Here’s a few hundred dollars for the children’s school books and uniforms!”  How sweet!  With such a noble niat (intention), how could it be a corrupt act!

            Once that is accepted it is but a smooth glide to more expensive gifts, like an all-expense paid trip to Mecca.  How could you refuse such a gift, an invitation to Paradise!  From there it is but a short step to luxury condos in Port Dickson, beautiful companies included.

            Another twist would be to utter pseudo-religious incarnations like “Kerana Allah!” (In the name of God!) during the transfer of cash-filled envelopes.  The understanding is that should you fail to deliver your end of the bargain you would face the wrath of Allah.  Such degradation of our great faith!

            It is this religious and cultural “purifications” of acts that otherwise would be viewed as corruption plain and simple that make them particularly difficult to eradicate.  To combat this we need help from our ulamas and religious leaders.  Unfortunately they too have all been co-opted by the state and been similarly infected with this evil virus.  We do have exceptions of course, like the former Mufti of Perlis, Dr. Asri Zainul.

            There is another aspect to corruption, at least the variety plaguing the public sector.  This is more pernicious because it reflects an underlying racist mindset and thus more difficult to eradicate.  Most public officials are Malays.  To them, the victims of corruption are mostly non-Malays, specifically rich Chinese businessmen and women.  Thus they are fair game.  After all they are not exactly humans like us, or if they are, they are not on the same par with us.

            To a senior custom official, his extorting a few thousand ringgit from a Chinese importer for understating the value of an imported machinery means he (the official) is ripping the Chinese entrepreneur.  The Chinaman is rich anyway and thus could spare a few cash for an underpaid civil servant and a member of the Ketuanan Melayu clan to boot.  At least that is the rationalization.

            It does not occur to the official that the victim of his corrupt act is not the businessman but the government, the official’s employer.  The money he pocketed belongs to the government, or more accurately, the rakyat (citizens).  Thus instead of going into his pocket that money could have been more usefully used to buy school books for some poor rural students who may be well be the official’s nieces and nephews once or twice removed.

            What emboldens the public servant to perpetuate his corrupt ways is seeing the same pattern but on a much grander scale perpetrated by his higher ups, including cabinet ministers.  He sees bloated government contracts awarded to cronies and family members of ministers or even sultans on “direct negotiations basis.”  Even if there were to be open tenders, those were meant merely for public displays.

            An example would the current court case involving an abandoned hospital project in Shah Alam where the prime contractor is a company whose principal is the sister of the Sultan of Selangor.  She was brazen enough or too greedy not to be satisfied with her share of the “commission” from her “sub-contractor.”  She demanded further “cut” as work progressed.  All these details would not have surfaced except for the subsequent lawsuits.

            Then there was a minister, a vociferous spokesperson for transparency and efficient governance who awarded “AP permits” to import cars to her close family members, like her son-in-law.  Of course she would claim that it was all based on “merit.”

            With such rampant and glaring examples at the top, we should not be surprised with the pervasiveness of petty corruption.

Q3:      Can you comment on the Talent Corporation tasked with recruiting talented Malaysians now abroad?

A3:
     Earlier you heard Shamsul Qamar’s [a representative from the Ministry of Higher Education on a State Department-sponsored study tour of America] sharing a comment from an Indian official also on the same tour.  Asked why India, a Third World country, is now a global leader in IT he replied, “It is because India does not have a Ministry of IT!”  That was said in jest, nonetheless there is profound truth in that statement.

            If we want to entice talented Malaysians to return home, get rid of the GLC Talent Corporation.  That company is nothing more than a scheme to provide employment opportunities for retired civil servants and for them to go on all-expense paid trip abroad on “recruiting” sprees.

            In one of my books I gave the exercise of cleaning up the public beaches.  If the government were to do give out tenders and pick the most competitive bidder, the winner would be out on the beach the very next day with his own truck to pick the garbage.

            However, if the government were to set up a Department of Beach Cleanliness instead, the first six months would be consumed with endless meetings for budget allocation, status (timescale or super-scale) of its director as well as his parking and housing privileges.  Then there will be tenders for the purchase of trucks and the inevitable interference from local UMNO operatives seeking their cut in the deal.  Perhaps a year and several million ringgit later would the first garbage be picked up!

            The best way to get talented Malaysians to return would first be to stop them from leaving.  Plug the leakage!  Treat those currently at home well.  Take our scientists and medical specialists at our universities.  You could not easily raise their salaries as those History and Malay Studies professors too would demand equal treatment.  To overcome that, keep the salaries the same and instead grant those scientists generous research grants and other privileges like attending scientific meetings abroad.  I would also reward them by appointing them to be directors of the various GLCs.  That would be a neat way to augment their pay.

            Do that and the good news will quickly spread abroad, enticing those currently abroad to consider returning home.  That would be more effective than any sweet sales job by the civil servants of the Talent Corporation.

Next:   Part 12 of 14:  Q& A (Cont’d):  Pakatan, UMNO, and Mahathir

[
Presented at the Fifth Annual Alif Ba Ta Conference at Stevens Institute of Technology, Hoboken, NJ, organized by UMNO Club of New York-New Jersey, January 29, 2011.
]

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 19 May 2011, 10:11 am and is filed under
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Mat Zain says Najib risks losing Muslim support over Datuk T

By
Clara Chooi
 | May 19, 2011

The Malaysian Insider

KUALA LUMPUR, May 19 — A retired senior police cop today warned Datuk Seri Najib Razak of a severe Muslim backlash if he failed to punish the “Datuk T” trio for “ridiculing” Islam when they attended a recent sumpah laknat ceremony in a mosque wearing bulletproof vests.

Former KL CID chief Datuk Mat Zain Ibrahim said Najib could fault no one if he loses the confidence of the country’s Muslims by displaying his willingness to protect his “friends” at the expense of insulting Islam.

“YAB (Yang Amat Berhormat) cannot blame anyone if the Muslims in the country, who are not few in number, have lost their confidence in YAB.

“Moreover, when there is an increase in the number of civil service, army and police retirees, many of whom are Muslims, who are beginning to feel cheated and enslaved and more doubtful of YAB’s direction and ability to lead the government…. this is not a very good development for YAB,” he wrote in his letter to the prime minister today.

Mat Zain said that it would be a clear case of power abuse if Najib (picture) chooses to protect an offender for his misdeeds simply because he considers the latter an ally.

“In Najib should refuse or deliberately find for excuses not to take lawful action against the three, then it will not only be deemed that he has abetted in the crime and conspired with the offenders, but he also appears to be fanning the fires of hatred,” he said.

Najib, he said, would also be allowing himself to be deemed a leader who has betrayed and ridiculed Islam.

“It is even more distressing that YAB has allowed a person, whom his own Cabinet regards as an individual who has not only insulted Islam but also abused power, is corrupt, a cheat and a rapist, to bring pornography and prostitution to the house of God,” he said.

Mat Zain was repeating his accusation last week that “Datuk T” — Datuk Shazryl Eskay Abdullah, Tan Sri Abdul Rahim Thamby Chik and Datuk Shuib Lazim, the trio behind the recent sex video caper — had violated section 295 of the Penal Code when they attended Shazryl’s sumpah laknat ceremony at the Masjid Amru Al-As in Sentul wearing bulletproof vests.

At the time, Shazryl was swearing on the Quran that the man in the 21-minute sex video was Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

Mat Zain complained that their actions had created the perception that the situation in the mosque was unsafe.

Section 295 states that “whoever defiles any place of worship, with the knowledge that any class of persons is likely to consider such defilement as an insult to their religion” will be jailed for up to two years and/or fined.

Mat Zain said that if the trio were to be charged under syariah law or the Penal Code for their actions, the case would not affect police investigation on the video itself.

“The two cases are separate,” he said.

He said that even if the identity of the man featured in the video was to be revealed, it would not free the trio from blame for insulting the mosque and ridiculing Islam.

“These two matters are separate criminal offences.

“Other than that, YAB and the Attorney-General have no power or right, according to any law, to indemnify the trio and free them from any criminal liability,” he said.

Mat Zain also insisted today that Utusan Malaysia’s reported claims of a purported Christian uprising against the Muslims was “artificial” in nature.

He pointed out that it was unprecedented in the country’s history that the Christians, who represent the minority group, had risen to usurp Islam from its position as the religion of the federation.

“In my opinion, only irrational Muslims who fear their own shadows will believe and view seriously this likelihood,” he said.

Mat Zain also reminded Najib of the killing of Othman Talib at Felda Lubok Merbau, Padang Terap, Kedah, in 1985, which he said was the result of an “intense political turmoil” during the Padang Terap election campaign.

He explained that he knew the full details of the incident as he had been installed as the Padang Terap district police chief just three days before it occurred.

“As a Muslim, I was saddened to see a group of Muslims weeping and mourning the death of a fellow Muslim, while at the same time, not far off, there was another group of Muslims who cheered as if celebrating a war victory.

“Even more distressing is that there were other rogues proclaiming themselves as Muslims who took the opportunity to ignite the fires of hostility among those of the same race and religion,” he said.

Mat Zain added that he hoped the event would bring Malaysians to realise that it is not the followers of Hinduism, Buddhism or Christianity who were trying to destroy Muslims but the Muslims themselves.

“We should be ashamed of ourselves and not find a way out by issuing threats and attempting to intimidate those who are innocent,” he said.

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 19 May 2011, 7:24 pm and is filed under
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Native festival lacks spirit

By
Luke Rintod
 | May 18, 2011

Free Malaysia Today

KOTA BELUD: Sabah’s main local native festival, Tadau Kaamatan or Harvest Festival, was a shadow of its old self this year.

Decorated stalls that are normally put up by government agencies and private companies to exhibit and sell products were absent and uncollected garbage from the previous day was strewn around.

The district-level celebration in Kota Belud used to be attended by thousands of locals and tourists, but this year a mere 300 turned out for the drab affair.

If this is any indication, the once renowned festival that is marked for for its jolly drinking sessions, camaraderie and friendly competitions following the padi-harvesting season, is set for the state’s cultural dustbin!

Held last Sunday, the state-organised celebration here was little better than a funeral gathering.

Gone was the merrymaking and festive mood seen each year and the only cheers were reserved for the Kaamatan beauty queen contest.

Many attributed it to the changes taking place in the district including the much-publicised proposed building of a controversial dam that would submerge Tambatuon, one of the oldest and most beautiful kampungs in this rice-bowl district of Sabah.

The cheerless mood in the Kadazandusun areas of the district is all the more surprising given that it used to be celebrated with great vigour like elsewhere in Sabah.

A police officer on duty at the Kaamatan function Sunday, said an estimated 300 people attended the function which was officiated by the Sabah State Assembly Speaker, Salleh Said, who is a local.

Also in attendance was Kadamaian assemblyman who is also an assistant minister, Herbert Timbon Lagadan.

Government messed it up

A community leader, Sahabat Sagindol, who was at the venue, when asked what might be the cause of the poor turn out, said:”People might be fed-up (bosan)… They could not bother to come every year”.

Another community leader, Johny Sulukan, who is also a local leader of Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS), said the district office or its organising committee should have made better preparations for the annual festival.

“It is an important festival for the people, especially the Kadazandusun community, but they messed it up,” he said.

“This year they completely did away with the attractive programmes such as the exhibitions by the various government departments and agencies like the agriculture and livestock.

“The organiser also did not even provide drinking water to the people. The beautiful weather failed to convince people to come out.

“Something needs to be done so that our Kaamatan remains meaningful and continues to be celebrated by the people,” he said.

The district chairman of KDCA or Kadazandusun Cultural Association, James Muyau, admitted the spirit of Kaamatan was low this year which he partly attributed to the lack of showcasing the Kadazandusun culture in the celebration itself.

“In the process our people have become less participative in the celebration,” Muyau said.

A local Dusun, Talib Tubil, agreed that this year’s celebration was not as merry as the last few years and he blames a lack of funds from the government.

He also criticised the authorities for leaving the planning and execution of the district-level celebrations to dispassionate civil servants who have little understanding of the rationale for Kaamatan and its inherent values.

“This morning we heard our district officer in his speech thank Nestle (the beverage company) for providing free drinks, but we didn’t see any Nestle (drinks) around.”

All 27 districts in Sabah have their respective Kaamatan celebrations, and this will culminate in a two-day state-level Kaamatan on May 30 and 31 which are public holidays in Sabah.

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 19 May 2011, 10:17 am and is filed under
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News portal Merdeka Review sends SOS for funds

Malaysiakini
 | May 19, 11

Independent Chinese news portal Merdeka Review is facing closure at the end of this month as their funders, who have hitherto remained anonymous, have suddenly decided to pull out.

In a statement today, the news portal appealed for public donations and investors to meet its RM60,000 monthly expenditure.

“You decide whether we can stay on by donating to us now!” read the urgent statement.

The company said that although advertisement revenue had been rising over the past year, it is still insufficient to sustain the company.

“With the funders’ recent decision, we have no choice but to appeal to our readers and friends who love to see a better Malaysia by donating to Merdeka Review,” said the company.

Victim of highly competitive environment

Merdeka Review is the latest Malaysian online news organisation to become a casualty of an increasingly competitive industry, often offering unfavourable returns.

In July last year, another prominent news portal The Nut Graph had to cease daily operations and turn into a weekly, publishing only on Mondays.

Established in August 2008 by veteran journalist Jacqueline Ann Surin, The Nut Graph exhausted its seed funding in March 2010.

Merdeka Review was founded n August 2005 by former New Era College lecturer Chang Teck Peng. The portal later expanded by featuring a Malay supplement.

Other than donating and investing in the company, Merdeka Review would also like to hear from its readers on whether they support its efforts to stay afloat.

Those who wish to donate to the company can do so at the following bank accounts under the
Merdeka Review Sdn Bhd
 name.

Hong Leong: 04001025891

EON Bank: 0595110002973

Maybank: 514440123099

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 19 May 2011, 7:48 pm and is filed under
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No place in society for those who sow seeds of hatred

By
R. Nadeswaran
 | 18 May 2011

The Sun

THE hallowed corridors of the renowned Sheldonian Theatre at Oxford University have been the scene of the entry of many luminaries whose speeches elucidated its audience.

Monday was no different when Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak delivered his address. The packed hall had students, academicians, diplomats, businessmen both local and Malaysian, and even a disgraced politician.

Najib’s speech on moderation, peppered with quotes from the Quran, the Torah and even the Bible, went on to outline Malaysia’s success as a multi-racial, multi-religious and multi-cultural society.

He said: “In managing our plurality, we have decided on integration as opposed to assimilation. Malaysians accept their diversity. We do not merely tolerate each other but we also embrace and celebrate. By leveraging the robustness and dynamism of our diversity, we have created a foundation for our national resilience.”

Touching on Islam and extremism, he said the solution lies in not for more Muslims to speak up but for the entire world to stand up.

“Just as Muslims need to make their voices heard, so do the Christians, the Jews, the Buddhists, the Hindus and the atheists who are sickened by intolerance, violence and terror and need to make their voices heard. We need to hear the concerted voices from moderates in all countries and from all walks of life. And when we do, the prize of peace is there for all to see.”

This was not the first time Najib had called for the voices of the moderates to drown out those of the extremists. At the United Nations in September last year, he called for a Global Movement of the Moderates that would see government, intellectuals, religious scholars and business leaders across the world take a united stand – a the spirit of moderation or balance.

Malaysians sitting in the audience must have been left wondering as to why their leader’s philosophies and ideals are not enshrined in the minds and hearts of some politicians back home.

If the PM is an advocate of moderation, tolerance and acceptance, why have the voices of extremism overpowered and threatened what we have done and achieved over the past 50 years?

Are certain elements deliberately defying the PM? Are certain individuals in disagreement with the PM by covertly and overtly supporting the voices of extremism? While the PM has the support of the majority, is the PM walking alone in his bid for religious and racial harmony?

From afar and from reading what is happening, there has been unnecessary tension based on hearsay, half-truths and lies. Hatred is being spewed without basis and the minds of Malaysians of races are being clouded by uncalled for claims, allegations and statements.

In the buses plying in certain suburbs of London there are posters stating “Hate Hurts”. It is a constant reminder that hatred based on race, religion, colour, creed or gender is totally unacceptable.

Tolerance

Najib quoted Nelson Mandela, who spent 27 years in a prison in Staten Island. When asked how he got through that period (most of which was in solitary confinement), the anti-apartheid campaigner declared: “I would like to be bitter, but there is no time to be bitter. There is work to be done…”

Every right-thinking Malaysian will embrace the PM’s wisdom and prophetic words on moderation, tolerance and acceptance.

He concluded his speech with these words: “Our choice is clear. Come together in action for a future of justice, freedom, hope, compassion and goodwill for our children or it will be replaced by a future of injustice, tyranny, hopelessness, cruelty and hate.

“Because the real divide is not between East and West or between the developed and developing worlds or even between Muslims and non-Muslims.

“It is between moderates and extremists of all religions. Together, let us embrace moderation as the best course of action and for the best way forward.”

Will all those seeking fame and glory by flaming the fire of hatred in the hope of occupying the seats of power listen to the clarion call for some semblance of temperance?

Can those who in the past had made idiotic, unacceptable and deplorable statements for selfish purposes keep their mouths shut? Will those who were involved in acts aimed at provoking peace-loving Malaysians end their charades?

Everyone wants a harmonious Malaysia. Those who have sowed the seeds of hatred and abhorrence have no place in society, and that in a nutshell was the PM’s message to the world, especially his fellow Malaysians.

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 19 May 2011, 10:22 am and is filed under
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Of online privacy, PR snafus, and self-righteousness

By
Edwin Yapp
 | May 19, 2011

The Malaysian Insider

MAY 19 — All’s fair in love and war, so says the age-old adage. But while this might be true in the old days, all’s not necessarily fair at all especially in the cyber age world.

Late last week, news broke that Facebook has owned up to hiring a public relations consultancy to expose supposed flaws in Google’s privacy practices. According to the Economist, numerous reports appeared stating that Burson-Marsteller, a public-relations company working for the social networking giant, has been urging bloggers and journalists to write scathing pieces about Google’s Social Circle.

Social Circle enables users to view information publicly available of other users who are connected to their Google Chat and Contacts, and includes data such as Facebook accounts, Twitter feeds and personal Web sites.

These revelations of the exploitation of privacy issues, however, aren’t new. After all both companies haven’t exactly been beacons of privacy practices in the past few years.

In recent years, Google has been caught in some high profile privacy faux pas. For instance, Google was caught accidentally picking up unprotected Wi-Fi signals when it was trying to set up its Street View mapping service. And don’t forget the time when Google launched Buzz but did so without asking for permission to use its Gmail users’ contacts.

On the flip side, Facebook got a bad rep with its Beacon service, which shared people’s activities on the web with their contacts. And it came under fire from privacy advocates when its privacy control settings, which allowed the sharing of data over the web automatically, were set as a default option instead of an opt-in one.

But perhaps the most startling thing about this whole debacle was not that users’ information was manipulated without their knowledge but the fact that Facebook tried to use its influence — and a very profound one I might add — to try and get journalists to write about arguably its most significant competitor via a renowned PR agency.

According to Reuters, privacy and security analyst Christopher Soghoian was contacted on May 3 by Burson asking if he was interested in writing an opinion column on privacy issues related to Google Social Circles.

“What struck me as odd was that this email wasn’t pitching for a company but against it,” Soghoian was quoted as saying. “They said if I don’t have time they can write the column for me and get it into places like Huffington Post and The Hill.”

Burson initially admitted to the part it played in the smear campaign but did not exactly reveal who it was acting on behalf of. In a reply to tech portal CNET, Burson’s spokesman said that it “had undertaken the assignment for an unnamed client,” which was later revealed to be Facebook.

“The client requested that its name be withheld on the grounds that it was merely asking to bring publicly available information to light and such information could then be independently and easily replicated by any media.”

But after The Daily Beast’s Dan Lyons reported that Facebook was actually behind the campaign, Burson went further in its own clarification saying, “Whatever the rationale, this was not at all standard operating procedure and is against our policies, and the assignment on those terms should have been declined,” Burson’s statement to CNET.

“When talking to the media, we need to adhere to strict standards of transparency about clients, and this incident underscores the absolute importance of that principle.”

In today’s fast-paced Internet world where there’s a mad rush to profit from the vast potential revenue that comes from owning consumers’ databases and the intelligence of their respective online habits, this revelation has demonstrated that there is no time to be fair in cyber age.

Now it’s no secret that Facebook and Google aren’t the best of pals and have taken their bitter rivalry to a higher plane in recent years.

But this recent fiasco certainly was the icing on the cake.

According to the New York Times (NYT), companies in Silicon Valley and elsewhere routinely approach reporters and analysts with stories about the so-called misdeeds of their competitors. However, what makes this whole episode stink is the fact that Facebook tried to do so anonymously, insisting that Burson not reveal its identity.

And although Facebook kind of offered a mea culpa on the matter saying that it never intended or authorised a smear campaign against Google, the damage has already been done because what Facebook did reeks of pure hypocrisy.

Fact is, Google’s Social Circle might have had its fair share of privacy concerns but this does not mean that Facebook had the right to try and accentuate privacy concerns by trying to influence the media to highlight it in a backhanded way.

Fact is, both are companies have been inappropriate as far as privacy issues are concerned, and need to provide more honest answers to these issues going forward.

As for Burson, what in the world was it thinking of when it participated in this PR muddle? What would drive such a company to indulge in such a campaign in the first place?

Perhaps it was a huge payday from Facebook? Or merely pressure from having to keep the prestige of having Facebook as a client?

We can’t tell exactly. But what was ominous was the fact that in spite of its clarification on the matter, Burson did not admit to being wrong, at least from an ethical standpoint, but instead treaded on thin ice in starting what I believe to be a campaign to shield itself from further PR flak and rescue itself from sinking further over this matter.

NYT quoted Burson’s spokesperson as saying, “The mistake clearly was not being transparent about the client,” Paul Cordasco told NYT, adding that employees would receive additional training to make them “fully aware of our code of responsibility that emphasises full transparency.”

Is he saying that there were some in Burson who weren’t aware of common sense ethical practices? Or would you believe him in saying that top level officials in Burson had no tacit knowledge of what was about to happen?

Fat chance.

Perhaps it can be argued that it had merely carried out its clients’ wishes in this matter but in doing so, I believe that Burson’s involvement is already a tacit admission that it had set out to perpetrate Facebook’s “pot calling the kettle black” campaign, and is itself guilty of conspiracy against Google.

An irony indeed for one of the biggest PR firms in the world.

And what of us?

In a cyber world, we as users have to realise that our information can potentially be exploited either unknowingly or knowingly by these giant tech firms. Fact is, the more we use their products, the more we expose ourselves online, and the more exposure we risk.

We have to realise that there’s nothing really sacred anymore in an online realm and we have to be so ever guarded over what kinds of features we want to use and the kind of privacy settings we have in our hands to control these features.

So do be aware of this the next time you use a Google, Facebook or any other social and/or web-based software and their features. Find the balance between what is useful and what is private before you participate in it.

Because your privacy is as much in your hands as it is in these tech giants’ hands.

——–

*
Edwin Yapp
 – An engineer by training, Edwin has since turned his back on the engineering world in favour of words in the literary world. A freelance journalist & an editorial consultant writing on his own terms now, Edwin hopes his observations will stir up deeper discussions and debates within Malaysia. You can find Edwin occasionally at twitter.com/yedwin01.

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 19 May 2011, 10:20 am and is filed under
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PKR faces de-registration threat

By
Shannon Teoh
 | May 19, 2011

The Malaysian Insider

PETALING JAYA, May 19 — PKR is facing de-registration after receiving a show-cause letter from the Registrar of Societies (RoS) alleging the party had violated its constitution.

The RoS said in its letter that PKR had sacked a member without the matter being heard by the party’s disciplinary board.

But the party said today that the clause in question did not exist in its constitution, and accused the RoS of acting in bad faith ahead of a general election that PKR said could be called as early as July.

The letter sent by Registrar Datuk Abdul Rahman Othman on May 9 said that PKR had “wilfully violated Clause 32.2.1 of the party constitution by sacking Rajagopal A/L Andaikkalam on 01/04/2009 and 27/04/2009 without first being investigated and heard by the disciplinary board”.

Abdul Rahman, citing Section 13 (2) of the Societies Act, said the RoS would deregister the party after June 9 unless it was given satisfactory reasons otherwise.

PKR secretary-general Saifuddin Nasution told a press conference today that Clause 32 had no subsections, and did not pertain to disciplinary procedures.

“All it says is that if there is any dispute in the interpretation of the constitution or matters relating to the national congress, the supreme council’s interpretation will be taken as final,” Saifuddin, who is Machang MP, said.

“The RoS had to approve our constitution, so they have a copy of it, but now they cite a clause that does not even exist,” he said.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak is widely expected to call elections within the year. His Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition will be holding a dry run after Umno’s party polls in July.

But some people have speculated that the election will be held then.

Saifuddin today said that the RoS had also made several mistakes in the letter, as the member the party had sacked was named A. Jayagopal, and he was sacked on April 26, 2009.

He said Jayagopal was sacked for contesting in the Bukit Selambau by-election as an independent against PKR candidate S. Manikumar, who won the seat in voting on April 7, 2009.

“We had released a memo on March 11 that year that any member contesting against a candidate endorsed by the party would be sacked,” he said.

Political bureau member R. Sivarasa said the registrar had acted in bad faith as Section 13 of the Societies Act said “if the Registrar is satisfied”.

“The letter says we wilfully broke the rules by sacking a person (who) does not exist on a date where no such thing happened,” Subang MP Sivarasa, a lawyer, said. “How can the RoS say it is satisfied to use its power?”

Sivarasa said the act was “stupid and frivolous but with serious implications ahead of the general elections”, and the party saw “the fingerprints and signature of Barisan Nasional” behind the move.

He said there was no need to bring Jayagopal before the disciplinary board as “he was contesting against the party in a by-election. It is a public and undeniable fact.

“No party in the world will allow such a thing.”

Saifuddin today sent a reply to the RoS, as secretary-general of the party.

“We have no choice but to conclude that your action is politically motivated, in bad faith and aimed to stop PKR from taking part in the coming general election,” he wrote in the letter.

PKR vice-president Chua Tian Chang told reporters that this was the latest in a spate of recent attacks against the party, referring to sex video allegations against de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, and text messages threatening to kidnap his granddaughter.

“These are not isolated,” Chua said. “This is not just a mistake by an officer. These plans come from the very top, and the home minister and prime minister must answer if there is a plot to marginalise opposition parties.”

The Malaysian Insider understands that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak is likely to delay snap polls until the end of this year or early 2012 as his party hunts for funds to finance a campaign to court Bumiputera and Indian voters and secure a two-thirds parliamentary majority.

It is believed Umno’s coffers were depleted after BN spent some RM500 million for the April 16 Sarawak election.

Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, however, told The Malaysian  Insider that he believed Umno’s increasingly ultra-Malay stance as well as the emergence of a sex video aimed at discrediting PR’s image were definite signs that general elections would be called by August.

But BN insiders say Najib is cautious about calling elections so soon as he wants to regain the coalition’s two-thirds parliamentary majority, which now appears  impossible with the Chinese snub continuing in the Sarawak election.

Chinese-based MCA took a battering in the historic 2008 general election — which also robbed BN of its customary two-thirds majority — when the party won only 15 out of 40 parliamentary seats it contested.

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 19 May 2011, 2:16 pm and is filed under
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