An Open Letter to all DAP Leaders and Members

By

Mr. Loi Bih Siang Benjamin

Political Scientist

The majority of the Malays support UMNO; and UMNO has plundered and mis-managed the wealth of this country with impunity. Therefore, to change the fate of our nation is to  change the mentality of the Malays. This is the ONLY solution!

Without doubt, DAP has struggled and fought fearlessly and tirelessly over the past 4 decades aspiring to build a democratic and progressive Malaysia regardless of race and religion. However, I can only conclude that over the past 4 decades, DAP has completely failed to fight against the UMNO hegemony in the country.

DAP had never prepared itself to be the alternative of BN until 08 March 2008. And we have to acknowledge that DAP had been dragged and manipulated by UMNO to become or at least seen to become a Chinese-Chauvinist political party. The fact is that without PAS or Anwar Ibrahim, DAP will NEVER be able to engage the Malay electorate. The leadership of DAP has long been luxuriating in being recognized as the ‘Chinese Hero’ or ‘Non-Muslims’Rights Defender’.

Since DAP’s inception in 1966, the Party has failed to recognize the basic and simple fact that it is the Malays who decide the sort of leaders they want and they have voted UMNO in for 12 consecutive General Elections.

UMNO had always been perceived as the sole defender of Malay supremacy with their special rights and privileges, even if it is at the expense of other ethnic groups. It doesn’t require complex political analysis to understand that the MAJORITY of Malays had always been staunch supporters of UMNO.

If they refuse to change their voting preference, the status quo is going to remain. The more we challenge it, the stronger UMNO will be. Thus, for DAP to directly clash with UMNO will further enhance its image as a Chinese-based party and provide UMNO with an opportunity to have more Malay sympathizers.

An example is, if they increase the number of scholarships for non-bumis, UMNO can easily tell the Kampong Malays that they have succumbed to the pressure of MCA, Gerakan and MIC. The Malays will immediately give their strong endorsement to UMNO to defend their rights. DAP, as one of the strongest opposition parties in Malaysia, is still failing to comprehend the racial game played by UMNO.

Instead of directly engaging the Malay electorate, DAP chooses to play the ZERO SUM GAME with MCA and Gerakan. These 3 Chinese-based political parties lack the basic political wisdom to survive independently in our multi-racial country where Malays/Muslims are the majority. At least we know UMNO can easily survive by means of communalism and form the government with smaller political parties.

No matter how hard DAP argues or debates with MCA or Gerakan, it won’t change the fixed mindset or mentality of the Malay electorate. Neither will MCA or Gerakan be forced to change the mindset of the Malays by DAP!

Remember the iron fact that the majority of the Malays support UMNO; and UMNO has plundered and mismanaged the wealth of this country with impunity. Therefore, to change the fate of our nation is to change the mentality of the Malays. This is the ONLY solution!

As our most respected Regent of Perak, Dr. Nazrin Shah put it, ‘The Malay mindset is a crucial factor in our nation’s stability’. Dr. Nazrin further elaborated that, ‘racial prejudice can be erased if the Malay mindset is stable and comfortable towards forging harmony. It is a pre-condition to our nation’s stability’.

May I ask Lim Kit Siang, Lim Guan Eng, Karpal Singh, or even the writer Liew Chin Tong, how much has DAP done over the past 40 years to change the mindset of the Malays? How much has DAP done to win the trust of the Malays? How many times has DAP challenged UMNO in open debate on the academic performance of Malay students?

Instead of getting closer and winning the hearts and trust of the Malay electorate, DAP has chosen to fight with MCA and Gerakan to play the role of Chinese Hero.

Worse still, after struggling for more than 40 years in Malaysia’s political history, DAP still doesn’t have the slightest inkling of what ‘political courtship’ is all about. Even the MOST STUPID salesman knows how to be courteous to customers and win their trust.

DAP chooses to shun Malay electorate and frighten them by:

a) Refusing to wear songkok,

b) Raising the issue of Social Contract,

c) Immediate abolition of positive discrimination policies

It’s made me wonder whether DAP is paid by UMNO to strengthen their grass root supporters! If I were a DAP leader, I would ostentatiously wear the Songkok to pro-actively court and seek Malay support for DAP. I would put aside the issue of the Social Contract and would clearly and carefully pinpoint the weaknesses of the NEP to the Malay masses before revising it.

If the Umnoputras liken the fate of the Malays in Penang to the Malays in Singapore, how is YAB Mr. Lim Guan Eng going to answer this question or ‘accusation’? What YAB Mr. Lim Guan Eng will do is to imitate his predecessor Dr. Koh by keeping his mouth shut and be speechless. Silence means consent!

DAP should pro-actively and sincerely urge the Malay masses to look beyond the tiny island of Singapore and focus on the plight of Malays in Batam, Bintang, Karimun and even the slum areas in Jakarta. Ask them to compare whether Singapore Malays are better off or Batam Malays are better off.

I can help organize special tours for all the Malays/bumiputras in Malaysia to visit all the Indonesian islands surrounding Singapore to see for themselves how the Malays there are living in abject poverty and sordid conditions. Many young girls in Batam, Bintang and Karimun have to prostitute themselves to feed their family. They are also deprived of the opportunity to receive basic education and training. And we know many of them have to leave their families to become maids in Singapore and Malaysia..

We should challenge UMNO – NOT to protect the Malays in Singapore, but the Malays in Batam, Bintang and Karimun! We are not defending Singapore, but we have to speak the truth to the Malay masses. Enlighten them and so they won’t be blinded and misguided by UMNO. Shame on our Education Minister who expressed the need to travel to the UK to save ‘our’ so-called  prodigy Sufiah. He should go to Batam Island to join the UN’s efforts to curb child prostitution!

For DAP’s information, Singapore Malays have progressed very well. Over the last 15 years, they have improved significantly in their academic performance. Singapore Malays have the highest percentage of home ownership as compared to the Malays in Malaysia and Indonesia! DAP does not have to defend PAP, but I would encourage YAB Mr. Lim to invite Dr. Mahathir for a telecast debate on the plight of Malays in Singapore.

Dr. Mahathir always reminds the Malays in our country to look at the Malays in Singapore, how ‘miserable’ they are without firm control in politics. For Mahathir’s information, the Singapore Parliament Speaker is a Malay and the Finance Minister an Indian Muslim like Mahathir. And so far, I have not heard of Singapore Malays being maids in Malaysia or Indonesia, and neither have I heard of a large number of young Malay girls in Singapore prostituting themselves to feed their family.

As Islam is the official religion of Malaysia, DAP leaders should openly and publicly support the teachings of the Quran in our country. I voted for PAS on 8th March to close down casinos, horse-racing, 4D and TOTO. Non-Muslims have long been paying a second tax to the UMNO government by ‘gambling-off’ their whole family savings and children’s education to win the trust and respect of Malays and Muslims.

DAP should advocate the closure of casinos, 4D, TOTO, and horse-racing as all these vice activities operators are UMNO agents. They take gambling money from non-Muslims and pay it to their UMNO Master. To cut off this source of revenue for UMNO, DAP should explain to the non-Muslim community how this gambling system works in Malaysia – and teach UMNO a lesson as we must expose UMNO’s hypocrisy!

Unfortunately, DAP leaders don’t appear to have the intelligence, wit, courage and political will to have the paradigm shift and think out of the box politically. As mentioned earlier, DAP is just a political party helplessly manipulated by UMNO. By just simply advocating the banning of gambling, DAP could win the respect and trust of Malays and Muslims plus save many non-Muslims from bankruptcy and family problems. But most importantly, it cuts off a large chunk of revenue from UMNO. ONE stone killing 3 birds.

Instead of shouting and arguing with ridiculous Umnoputras in Parliament, I urge DAP to instruct each of their members to befriend at least 10 Malays to explain to them the challenge of this ever-changing globalized economy and how we have to work together regardless of race and religion for a better Malaysia. When the Malay mindsets change, Malaysia will change; and vice-versa.

DAP, hear me and hear me well. You may be sincere, but you are sincerely wrong in Malaysian politics. Go and study what made UMNO strong. Do your political analysis. Also, DAP, you must remember that PAS is your true friend, even though they talked with UMNO. They are righteous and godly people that won’t succumb to the temptation of money. That is not the case with Keadilan. Except Anwar and a few top leaders, many Keadilan people are still carrying the UMNO-DNA, as we have witnessed with the running dog Ezam and Nalla betraying the party.

DAP, you should acknowledge the fact that the special rights and position of Malays/bumiputras are enshrined in our constitution.. You have to respect it. You must have a complete and comprehensive Malay agenda to compete with UMNO. For example, the Penang state government can provide free but compulsory tuition for Penang Malay students at schools. DAP must cultivate and nurture the Malays in Penang to excel in academics and be able to compete on equal footing with others. Penang Malays must be the locomotive change of mindset to the rest of the Malays in our country.  If DAP fails to change the Malay mindset in Penang, DAP will never be qualified to be addressed as a ‘National’ party.

Lastly, DAP, you still have a long way to go and you really have to learn again who’s given UMNO power. Go to their power base, seize their power and cut off their power supply! For a progressive and better Malaysia, wearing the songkok is a trivial matter.

If necessary, let Anwar’s new cabinet be full of capable Malays like Dr. Syed Husin Ali, Dr. Azly Rahman, Dr. Bakri Musa, Tuanku Abdul Aziz, etc. to prove to the Malay masses that we, Chinese, are not power hungry; we don’t choose to ‘pegang’ so as to destroy their livelihood as UMNO has claimed. We can prove to them that even though there is only 1 Chinese Minister in the Cabinet, it is still okay to us if the highly capable and honest Malay leaders can lead our country to greater heights and serve the rakyat wholeheartedly regardless of race, language and religion!

Please learn, understand and even master the UMNO’s Art of War in Politics.

‘Know your enemies and know yourself, hundred battles hundred victories’ – ‘Sun Tzu’s Art of War’.

FOR A BETTER MALAYSIA

Hidup Malaysia…

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 25 November 2008, 5:17 pm and is filed under
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Irene’s triumph after 13-year ordeal – two measures to give full meaning

Irene Fernandez has finally triumphed and been vindicated after a 13-year ordeal with the Sword of Damocles of a disenfranchising prison sentence hanging over her head for doing her duty to uphold truth and justice  – the publication of the memorandum “Abuse, Torture and Dehumanised Conditions of Migrant Workers in Detention Centres” in 1995.

I had highlighted Irene’s expose of the torture, ill-treatment and deaths in the immigrant detention centres.

Instead of thanking her for revealing the truth of the shocking conditions in the detention centres, Irene was arrested and prosecuted under Section 8A (1) of the Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984 for publishing “false news”.

Irene’s acquittal is not the result of any change of heart or reformist impulse in the system of justice, whether involving the Attorney-General’s Chambers or the judiciary, but because of sheer incompetence and ineptitude in the system of justice after a grave miscarriage of justice in the charging of Irene 13 years ago.

At least two things must be accomplished to give full meaning to Irene’s final triumph for her fortitude and sacrifice after a 13-year ordeal, viz:

•	Repeal “false news” offence of the Printing Presses and Publications Act, which had been used to persecute and victimise advocates of justice, freedom and human rights – Penang Chief Minister and DAP Secretary-General Lim Guan Eng was one such victim; and

•	Humane treatment to migrant workers.

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 25 November 2008, 8:54 am and is filed under
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A reply to Benjamin (2)

BY
R

While I agree with Benjamin in general, I have some points to add:

Quote from Benjamin:

“Therefore, to change the fate of our nation is to change the mentality of the Malays. This is the ONLY solution!”

I think this is off course, because out there, there would be Malays (like an independant MP and some Bukit Bendera UMNO members) who would talk about resolving the problem by changing the mentality of the Chinese and Indians. Some of these articles talk about assimilation, for example.

This problem could only be resolved by dissolving ethno-centrism and moving towards a true “Malaysian Malaysia”, not a “Malay, Chinese and Indian Malaysia”. The change has to be in the mindsets of every Malaysian, regardless of race or religion.

For e.g. every Malaysian of any background should care about the condition of every other Malaysian who is poor and in true need of help, in order to compete in a level playing ground. This way, those who are disadvantaged, will not try to isolate themselves into a group that is fighting for their own rights, and caring for no one else, or worse, pretending to care for others in front of the camera. This doesn’t just apply to races, but also any disadvantaged group e.g. the disabled, single parents etc.

Dr. Mahathir said on his blog, chedet.com, that:

“Truly Malaysian politics have not been decoupled from racial sentiments and loyalties. And it is going to remain so for as long as the different races prefer to be separated and divided, prefer to strongly uphold their languages, cultures and their historical origins and links. All that is said about reforms and liberalism is mere lip service.”

While we may have faults to find with Dr. M throughout the years, but he does have a valid point in the quote above.

In my personal opinion, while the special privileges are protected, Islam’s position as the official religion is respected, and the rights of the different communities to freely practise their languages, cultures and religions are upheld, we should seriously consider moving the mindsets of all Malaysians towards considering ourselves Malaysians first, then our racial, religious, geographical, or professional identities next, within the national context, just as the case with Obama and the Americans.

And I think the main way to achieve this is if young children of different backgrounds could grow up together, attending the same schools, while the education system continues to provide for children learning their own mother tongues, in addition to Malay and English. Singapore is already a shining example of this education policy. I come to this conclusion because children spend most of their growing-up time in school and it is also their primary source of socializing with other children. If children grow up together, knowing and understanding each other, this would lead to adults who have more in common and are then able to empathize with each other as fellow Malaysians.

Zaid Ibrahim and RPK have agreed to throw out race-based economic crutches. But when are vernacular educationists going to agree to throw out a race-based education system? This is what I mean when I say that every Malaysian should change their mindset, instead of pointing fingers at another’s mindset. The solution of Malaysian Malaysia needs to be from inside-out, not just superficial.

Going back to our main topic, I feel DAP’s current call for “Malaysian Malaysia” may leave Malays feeling threatened that they need to give up their rights or face the risk of being economically sidelined, in order to create a common society, as Benjamin has pointed out. Instead, I feel DAP’s strategy of “Malaysian Malaysia” should focus on giving absolutely no room to any Malaysian to consider resorting to isolating themselves into self-centered groups, because they think no one else cares about their needs and rights, so they should go all out for it. As long as every isolated group continues to fight for themselves, we will forever continue to fight with each other politically.

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 26 November 2008, 9:45 am and is filed under
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When can we say the same to tourists in Malaysia?

What struck me most in my first night of visit to Xiamen, Fujian is the confident assurance given by the local guide that visitors can go about the town at night as it is very safe from crime.

When can we say the same to tourists in Malaysia?

Dare we tell the same thing to visitors in Kuala Lumpur, Johor Baru, Penang or even in the main towns in the country?

Unfortunately, there is no sense of shame or failure whether among the Home Minister, the Deputy Minister or the Inspector-General of Police at the galloping crime index in the country in the past five years of Abdullah premiership that it is even being criticised by former Prime Minister, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad when Abdullah had started his administration trying to demonstrate the big difference with his predecessor by establishing a Royal Police Commission to create an efficient, incorruptible, professional and world-class police service to keep crime low.

Now, all these Abdullah promises have turned to ashes – and the greatest indictment of the failure of the Abdullah premiership in meaningful police reforms is his lack of political will and courage to set up the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC) as a sole legacy of reform for his ill-fated sixth premiership.l

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 27 November 2008, 2:24 pm and is filed under
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A Fatwa Against Yoga? And How Would This Reflect on Muslims?

By
Farish A. Noor

Since I became an activist at the age of nineteen, I have spent more than two decades of my life defending Muslims and the image of Islam. During my twenty-two years of living in Europe, I must have attended hundreds of conferences, seminars, public debates and lectures where I tried my best to dissuade people from the negative image of Islam that is so prevalent in the international media of late.

But there were moments when it seemed as if this was an uphill struggle where every battle won was soon followed by a string of defeats, thanks to the actions of Muslims who took it upon themselves to ‘defend Islam’ on their own parochial and short-sighted terms; and whose actions and words did untold damage to the image of Muslims. I recall one particularly bitter episode when I was asked to speak about the universalism of Islam – that took place just when the Taliban were occupied with the task of blowing up the Buddha statues of Bamiyan in Afghanistan. It seemed pointless to continue then, and despair has been my lot for the past few years.

Now I find myself again in such a situation, after it was announced that the Fatwa Council of Malaysia has just issued a fatwa declaring that the practice of Yoga is haram and thus forbidden to Muslims. Overnight I was bombarded by emails and sms-es from my Islamist friends in Indonesia where I teach at two Islamic universities, who asked: “What is wrong with you Malaysian Muslims, and haven’t you got anything better to do?” How do I reply to such a question when I am forced to ask it myself?

That the Malaysian Fatwa Council could even contemplate issuing a fatwa on Yoga of all things beggars belief. It leaves many Muslims and non-Muslims alike stunned and speechless for it would suggest that the state of normative religiosity in Malaysia has sunk to such a shallow and superficial level that only the most mundane issues are deemed worthy enough to gain the attention of the country’s ‘defenders of the faith’.

There are three issues that I would like to raise at this point, and they are the following:

Firstly it should be noted that for millions of people around the world who may be Hindus or non-Hindus, Yoga is seen primarily as a form of exercise and little else. In Europe where Yoga has been popular since the 1960s, millions of Europeans have been practicing Yoga in their spare time as a hobby or part of their health regimes, with scant attention to its religious and spiritual connotations. If it were indeed the case that Yoga forms an intrinsic part of Hindu belief and that it can be used as a means to convert non-Hindus to Hinduism, then there ought to be millions of Hindus all over Western Europe by today! So where on earth are these closet European Hindus then? Has anyone considered this commonsensical point with any degree of reflection or honesty? If Yoga is seen as merely a regime of exercise, then how on earth does sitting cross-legged miraculously transform me into a Hindu? It would be akin to suggesting that continual consumption of curry would eventually make me an Indian; and I hope we can all see how patently ridiculous that is.

Secondly, let us be clear about what thing: Yoga practices have been part of Southeast Asian culture for more than four thousand years and they are as much a part of Asian society as many of the other cultural legacies left by the period of ancient Indianisation. Another practice that has become normalised and localised over the past four millennia is the practice of massage, which is hugely popular in predominantly-Muslim Malaysia and Indonesia as it is in Thailand, Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. Look at the relief carvings on the temples of Prambanan and Borobudur and it will be seen that massage was prevalent during the Hindu-Buddhist period and the detailed carvings show that what Malay-Muslims call ‘urut’ or ‘picit’ (pressure-point massage) was practiced as far back as the Sanjaya and Sailendra dynasties. Today picit and urut are still popular among Malaysian and Indonesian Muslims, and is practiced by Muslims. Has this ancient form of therapy transformed us into Hindus too? Certainly not, so why the fuss over Yoga?

Thirdly, the declaration that Yoga is haram has robbed Malaysia and Malaysians of yet another neutral civic space where Malaysians of all walks of life can meet and interact as Malaysians and friends. As someone who has been practicing Yoga since the age of nineteen, I can say for certain that many of the Yoga classes I have attended were plural, cosmopolitan gatherings where Malaysians of all ethnic and cultural backgrounds can meet and form lasting friendships and acquaintances. To declare this practice haram for Muslims effectively robs us of another space where we can meet other people, constraining our personal freedoms and limiting the choices in our lives.

Muslims in Malaysia are more closely guarded and policed than ever before, with more and more laws, rules and restrictions on how we dress, eat, speak, interact and even marry and form relationships with. After this fatwa on Yoga, what will be next? A fatwa on karate, kung-fu, pilates, Qi Jong?

At the root of the matter is the fact that the Malaysian Fatwa Council has acted unilaterally once again and unilaterally issued a blanket prohibition in the name of Islam and all Muslims. Well, I did not vote or elect any of the members of this council; and neither did any other Muslims in the country. Here lies the real problematic of power behind such appointed bodies that have been given so much power and authority over our lives. Lest it be forgotten, the only body that is allowed to legislate on our behalf as Malaysian citizens is the Parliament, that was elected by the citizenry themselves. Yet over the past three decades of an Islamisation process that has gone out of control, more and more non-elected and non-democratic bodies have been created that wield enormous power over the lives of Malaysians, particularly Muslims.

What has aroused the angry reaction of Malaysian Muslims in the case of this fatwa is the fact that it was issued unilaterally without any consultation with society. And this reflects the extent to which the Fatwa council is in fact a body that is not answerable to the Malaysian public. More so than a question of theology or theocratic details and fine-print, the workings of the Fatwa Council in Malaysia has demonstrated the workings of a state that has abdicated its responsibility to lead the way towards a modern, progressive Islam that is relevant to the plural and multicultural world we live in today. Yet ironically all this is happening under the watch of Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi, who made it his project to promote an ‘Islam Hadari’ that is modern and tolerant. How, pray tell, can there be a tolerant, moderate and modern Islam when books are banned on a monthly basis and Muslims are not even allowed to exercise and meditate in peace?  And once again, it is the image of Islam that has suffered the most.

                This entry was posted on Friday, 28 November 2008, 12:51 am and is filed under
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Tajudin’s gutter, racist and sexist language in Parliament

Pakatan Rakyat MPs will have to decide whether to collectively move a motion of censure against the Chair if Opposition MPs are  constantly subject to trigger-happy  suspensions from the House while recalcitrant and renegade Barisan Nasional (BN) MPs are allowed with impunity to disgrace Parliament with  gutter, racist and  sexist language, again and again, with ever-increasing offence.

The kid-glove treatment of the obstreperous and obnoxious BN MP for Pasir Salak, Datuk Tajudin Rahman on Wednesday, when he scored a disgraceful and dishonourable hatrick of hurling the racist remark of “keling” against DAP MP for Ipoh Barat, M. Kulasegaran, the gutter language of “boil” (dumb) against PKR MP for Gombak, Azmin Ali and the revolting  sexist innuendo (see video above) during the debate on DAP Serdang MP Teo Nie Ching’s motion to cut the Education Minister’s salary by RM10 for failing to meet his promises on Chinese and Tamil primary  schools, qualifies as the “black mark” of all “black marks” of Parliament.

Tajudin’s disgraceful “hatrick” is all the more outrageous and unforgivable  after his November 5 “blot” in using the completely unacceptable and unparliamentary language of “bastard” and “bloody bastard” which he got away with utter impunity – not having to tender any apology or suffer any penalty.

No one MP has brought more shame and disgrace to Parliament than Tajudin in the past 51 years and yet he enjoys total immunity and impunity for his most crude, uncouth and savage attacks on parliamentary decencies and niceties – which the Chair had  totally failed to curb and control.

It is not conducive to the promotion of a first-world Parliament if Opposition MPs could be suspended over the slightest infractions while grave and heinous parliamentary offences like those routinely  committed by Tajudin are allowed to get away with total impunity – as illustrated by what happened in Parliament on Tuesday resulting in the suspension of DAP MP for Puchong, Gobind Singh Deo (see video below).

The question all Malaysians are asking is whether the Chair in Parliament is going to discipline Tajudin or whether there is going to continue to be the Nelson’s eye for the BN for Pasir Salak to bring Parliamentary dignity and honour to even lower public odium,  contempt and disrepute.

                This entry was posted on Friday, 28 November 2008, 4:33 pm and is filed under
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Mat Sabu’s return to Parliament – DAP to give full support

The news of the sudden death of Deputy Education Minister
Datuk Razali Ismail
 just now is most shocking and I would like to convey to his family my deepest condolences for the loss of  a sober-minded  and even-handed Malaysian.

Razali had  always impressed me with his rationality as he is a rare Umno  MP who is  not only  well-read and very passionate about education and life-long learning but would  have no truck with ultra sentiments and unparliamentary antics and outbursts.

There is going to be a major by-election with the vacancy arising from the death of Razali.

DAP will go all out to work for Mat Sabu’s return to Parliament, as the PAS National Vice President lost narrowly to Razali in the 2008 general election in the Kuala Terengganu parliamentary constituency by a razor-edge 628 votes.

Razali secured 32,562 votes, Sabu 31,934 votes while independent candidate Maimun Yusuf polled 685 votes.

(Speech2 at the DAP Penang 13,000-People Victory Dinner at Han Chiang School on Friday, 28th November 2008)

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 29 November 2008, 7:59 pm and is filed under
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RM 10-salary cut motion against  IGP Musa Hassan

I find the complacent attitude of the Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan in his speech in Penang yesterday claiming that “Malaysia is still a safe place”, coming on the heels of the recent remark by the Deputy Home Minister Datuk Chor Chee Heung that the worsening crime in the country was a “misperception” of the people, most irresponsible, deplorable and unacceptable.

It makes a mockery of the Police Royal Commission set up five years ago by the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to create an efficient, incorruptible, professional world-class police service to keep crime low.

I have just returned from Xiamen where “a safe city” was one of its best-selling assets.  During my first night in Xiamen, I was struck by the confident assurance given by the local guide that visitors can go about the town at night as it is very safe from crime.

This selling point was again highlighted in my short visit to Gulang Islet, the scenic and alluring tourist isle with a small population of over 10,000 people but  which attracts more than four million tourists a year.  Visitors were assured that crime against tourists was virtually unheard-of on the island!

My disgust at the IGP’s complacent and irresponsible attitude about galloping crime in the country is all the more pronounced after my visit to Xiamen and Gulangyi.

I will move a RM10 salary cut motion against the Inspector-General of Police, Tan Sri Musa Hassan to censure his failure to  curb and control the endemic crime situation in Malaysia in Parliament in the current 2009 Budget debate under the Home Ministry next week.

(Speech at the DAP Penang 13,000-People  Victory Dinner at Han Chiang School on Friday, 28th November 2008)

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 29 November 2008, 6:58 am and is filed under
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RMK9 – Does It Benefit The Orang Asli?

This is my exchange in Parliament with  the Minister for Rural and Regional Development, Tan Sri Muhamad Muhamad Taib on the plight of the Orang Asli in Malaysia 51 years after Merdeka during the 2009 Budget debate in early November.

The only way to end the decades-long neglect of the Orang Asli community in Malaysia is to mainstream the problems of Orang Asli and the following letter is a welcome beginning for such a mainstreaming process.

By
 A.A.

On 28.04.2006 the Permanent Mission of Malaysia to The United Nations for the candidature of Malaysia to the Human Rights Council, made voluntary pledges and commitments which among others :-

Under item 14.6 of the Voluntary Pledge Malaysia is to
   “actively support international action to advance the rights of vulnerable groups which at the date of the pledge included women children and disabled.”

However it conveniently omitted the indigenous people of this country.

See the policy statement of the Bar Council issued by Ambiga Sreenevasan (now Dato’) dated 27.04.2007:

“The Bar Council further call upon the government to take a holistic approach to all Orang Asli land rights and move in the direction of designating inhabited Orang Asli land as reserved land. It is time we fully recognize that the Orang Asli are a vulnerable but invaluable community whose livelihood, land and culture are deserving of our protection.”

As a member of United Nations Human Rights Council, Malaysia on 29.06.2006 by resolution 1/2 adopted the Declaration on The Rights Of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). This was subsequently adopted by the UN General Assembly by resolution 61/295 on 13.09.2007.

Having adopted UNDRIP and having given its pledge,  is Malaysia truly doing what it needs to do for the protection and preservation of this minority group?

The National policy maker must re-look at their proposed policy structure intended for implementation to really conceptualize whether these policies are intended for the empowerment and for the uplifting of the social status of  the Orang Asli.

Let us look at the RMK 9 (Rancangan Malaysia Ke-Sembilan).

Are the Orang Asli getting their just share of the apportionment of the national wealth distribution?

A total of RM 377 Million is to be spent,  the distribution of these funds is mainly for the purpose of:-

1. RPS (Rancangan Penempatan Semula /Tersusun) which often involves forced settlement of the Orang Asli without free prior and informed consent.

2. Economic Development (that often takes them away from their hunting and foraging grounds)

3. Social Development ( there can be no meaningful social development without a proper appreciation of cultural development that supports their tradition and preserves their heritage.

These three areas of perceived development clearly sways from the categories and criteria of protection adopted under the UNDRIP.

RPS goes against  Article 10 UNDRIP that favour an international appreciation that Orang Asli should not be forcibly removed from their lands and that any  relocation shall not take place without  the free prior and informed consent of the Orang Asli.

When it becomes apparent that RPS itself may be fundamentally flawed, it can be safely said that the national policy of Economic Development implemented in favour of the Orang Asli would result in much of their foraging and hunting ground as well as their dependence on forest produce would be largely interfered with thus leaving them with no real means of sustenance.

With the current economic turmoil and global palm oil slum, disaster awaits much of the Orang Asli reserve that had been converted to TSK (Tanaman Semula Komersial ) often without proper consultation with the Orang Asli communities of that place.

It is now apparent that many Orang Asli communities are questioning the low return from this JHEOA adventure. Some even say that they were better off with their  traditional life style of foraging in the forest.

RPS, compounded by the failure of Economic Development (emanating   from the boardroom of JHEOA) fails to enhance Social Development of the Orang Asli, such social development cannot be said to be achieved if the introduction RPS uproots the Orang Asli from their traditional and ancestral land that had for generation  created a symbiotic and synergistic atmosphere  in the preservation of their heritage and culture.

It is most disappointing that statements from the authorities do not offer any reasoned and detailed explanation has to how these authorities intend to overcome the  problem of Orang Asli communities in the future.

The recent announcement by the minister of Rural Development in Kampung Sungai Teras in lower Perak during his recent visit is a clear example where the minister was reported to have said about the “giving” of land for the Orang Asli. What Orang Asli need now is the just recognition of their ancestral and customary land and not “giving” them land. Compare the statement of the minister with the correct approach taken by the Perak State Government which has said that it is  implementing a process for a proper land recognition of the Orang Asli.

The implementation of RMK 9 must be clearly defined by the government and sufficient time and space be given to the Orang Asli communities to have a transparent consultation process leading to a free prior and informed consent.

Is the government ready for a transparent consultation process with the Orang Asli, statutory bodies and NGO’s  that really assist and support the Orang Asli?

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 29 November 2008, 10:48 pm and is filed under
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Natives Land Grabbed Systematically By Land Pirates Of Sarawak

Letters

By
Pribumi Sarawak

YB Lim Kit Siang,

In Sarawak NCR lands are ignored and not respected, in the name of politics of development, which will make the rich  richer and the poor natives poorer. The big developments are owned by shareholders who are already rich and  Taib Mahmud’s cronies with  the revenues / profits are shared among these few shareholders.

Their politics of development is to enrich themselves, self interest and great greed. Now they have deforested the Rajang forests – no more timber to harvest, so they go for native lands whether Temuda, Pemakai menoa, Pulau etc, they simply don’t care.

Taib is nearing his term now and in process to create a dynasty in Sarawak. His son will take over PBB, become chairman & thereafter CM of Sarawak. For the transition period, he may place his YB brother to take over. The manipulations, self-interest & greed will continue. The village people in Sarawak, most of them having no formal education will still vote for Taib coz support from rural areas with cash in election time will be on-going. Taib is great manipulator & having vast cronies here.

They have felled all the timber in Sarawak. Now they go for natives land. For land, they make use of Sarawak Land & Survey Department (SLSD) to get land as they wish. They just walk in SLSD office and choose which land area they want. Form a company for the purpose. Then the company will apply for land. The application will be processed/approved. They will comply with all procedures kononnya, ill-intention all things have been pre-arranged & prefixed.

Then SLSD will survey the land area, give notice through newspaper with description of land the village people will certainly not recognise or aware of. The procedure is legalized & provisional land title is issued by SLSD to the company. They legalised the taking of natives land which is outright robbery. They are robbers & pirates!!

They won’t inform the affected villagers for they don’t want them to know. Unlike the good intention of getting peoples land for genuine purpose of building bridges, roads, infrastructures etc, the villagers were informed and notices sent to kampungs & long houses for them to stake claims, but for purpose of land acquisition for companies things were done in secrecy. It was the other way round.

They confuse people by saying govt never grab peoples land. True but only those genuine purposes for public amenities but not for purpose of land to be given to their companies. That’s the difference here. They confuse the people here with this saying by YB Awang Tengah that govt never take peoples land!!. What a liar. The villagers will never be informed of their evil intention and the company will be sending bulldozers & tractors to the newly acquired land. When they see buldozers, tractors etc only then the natives will know.

Villages will lodge complaints to SLDS, District Office, Police, YBs – the answer is the land acquisition is already legal, nothing much can be done!!! The advice given was “you all (villagers) need to negotiate with the company, minta kasihan mereka!!!! Imagine your own property – your land grabbed by the eagles then minta kasihan. What right do they have?.

That’s the damned reply. That’s Taib’s administration here. He has hijacked the government institution. Since no one to turn to, so natives will try to stop the bulldozing of their rubber gardens, farms, empty land which is their “temuda” & “pemakai menoa” themselves. They have no money to fight this legally. Even then they can hardly win coz here all land belongs to state government.

The onus of proof is on the natives. In actual fact it should be those people who is taking natives land to prove the land is indeed not NCR. Our ancestors all have died, their has been no documentation in 1900s just NCR status accord by the land code.

Here natives are not allowed to survey their NCR land but the government can. Even if natives want to survey their NCR land first they need to prove land is planted 90%+ with crops, ok fair enough , then provided the area is not marked for development. Even then SLSD will not give land title to natives.

You know the SLSD, state gov has been hijacked by the pirates, Taib is the one-eyed pirate leader here. He is worst than the Somalia pirates.The rich and influential shareholders will have a very big piece of land for 60 years or more…which is not theirs in the first place.The few rich shareholders will have millions in revenues/profits.

So YB, this is happening everywhere in Sarawak now, natives are being evicted from their land now. Let me give you  one of the real scenarios  going on now at Serian under Muara Tuang DUN constituency (Taib’s brother) which is under Kota Samarahan Parliament constituency (Taib’s son). They plundered natives land there now under their proxies.

One of the NCR areas given to Usaha Jasamaju Sendirian Berhad,  company number 660630-K. locality of land: between batang samarahan and Ensengei road, Serian. Area:354.00000 Ha, more or less convert to Mixed Zone land from 6/12/2006-5/12/2066. Lot number 00890, map sheet number: N5-13-1(5.1) TRN: 08-LCPLS-016-000-00890, Prov. Lease of state land – C. Remarks: Alienation of Land vide L.&S.80 No.69/2006, Svy. Job No.125/2006, DLS’s approval ref: 15/HQ/AL?103/2005(8D) dated 19.10.2006 & SLS’s ref: 15/SD.Doss.NO.AL/34/2006 issued at request of Ting Tiu Gung.

The village people who have been staying there since generations even before the Sarawak Government existed were never informed nor consulted – what more to be invited to have some shares and together participate develop the land there.

When the SLSD survey the areas for 1 month more or less, it was done in total secrecy. When village people ask them, no one would talk or answer. If there is answer they would lie to them. Now they are bulldozing peoples’ land, rubber trees with no regard to natives rights who actually own the land. They bersikap kurang ajar!!

Please YB, help address the issues of land belonging to natives in Sarawak urgently, a lot of lands now being plundered and taken from them right under their noses for Taib’s richness, cronies’ self-gains, greed at the expense of natives. This is only one case, there are many more. More tears of natives befell the land now.

The state government institution has been totally hijacked by Taib & his cronies here. He totally make use of this opportunity. The good example is the land  described above. Now they are bulldozing the land, rubber trees, temuda, pemakai menoa, pulau without regard to peoples feelings as fellow human beings – the villagers are helpless now.

Bring this native land issue up to the attention of the whole country – so that the nation knows what Taib is doing here!!! he has hijacked the State Government for greed.

Do something now YB. Don’t be too busy with Semenanjung politics only.

Thank you, YB. God bless you.

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 30 November 2008, 6:44 pm and is filed under
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The biggest obstacle to Malay progress…

Letters

by
Allan C

I am a Chinese Malaysian male with diverse groups of friends – Tamils, Malayalees, Sikhs, Jaffna Tamils, whites, Eurasians, and Babas and Nyonyas.

The problem is I have very few Malay friends.

Umno tells them I am a threat to them..

Umno tells them I am undeserving of equal rights.

They might even believe it, and since I don’t want to think any less of them, I prefer to keep my own counsel.

Generally I don’t talk much about anything important with Malays, and certainly not about politics.

I think meaningful friendships between Malays and non-Malays are becoming rare in Malaysian society.

There is not enough dialogue between Malays and non-Malays at the ground level. Umno speaks from both sides of its mouth – telling the Malays the non-Malays are a threat to them, and then turning round to tell the non-Malays that their rights will be protected.

At other times it may say the reverse, the key denominator being what it needs to say to win votes at the time, and the ethnic composition of the audience. After 51 years of Umno’s divide and rule, it is no wonder that race relations are a joke.

With Biro Tata Negara, Khir Toyo and Ahmad Ismail to lead the way, only a fool will think Umno wants good race relations. Umno leaders wants good race relations only when it will keep them in power. Power and money are the real motivations for Umno’s political leaders.

After the twisted judicial treatments and twisted sentences meted out to the likes of Lim Guan Eng, Anwar Ibrahim, Teresa Kok and Raja Petra Kamaruddin, I think we can safely rule out any semblance of a sense of right and wrong and common decency as a meaningful guide to Umno’s decisions.

There are a number of things I want to put across to my imaginary Malay audience in cyberspace – you – particularly if you believe every racist, inflammatory, bigoted, and demonised stereotype, opinion piece and fabricated news that Ahmad Ismail, Khir toyo, Utusan Melayu, and Biro Tata Negara tells you about me.

If I were a Malay leader, this is what I would say. The Malays totally dominate the aristocracy, cabinet, parliament, judiciary, police, military, and huge government bureaucracy. The Malays have the highest birth rates.

You have benefitted from the racial quotas in education, commerce, licenses, contracts, jobs and promotions – funded by non-Malays. Therefore if you are feeling aggrieved, if you are feeling angry, and if you are feeling insecure, you need to ask yourself why…

If Umno tells you that your culture, language, race and religion is threatened by non-Malays and non-Muslims, i would suggest you think critically before you act. Umno has destroyed any hope of English literacy amongst the Malay masses.

Without English literacy the professions are out of the question for you. High-paying jobs will be hard to find. You will be handicapped in your career and business. Umno tells you that the non- Malays have advanced economically at your expense.

Umno loves to say that the non Malays have used unfair means to advance by cheating you.

The truth is Umno leadership has advanced economically and socially at your expense by destroying your competitiveness but to cap it all, they have succeeded in making you blame the non-Malays for their mistakes.

Umno makes you think that the way for you to reach global competitiveness would be to oppress and hamstring the non-Malays with steep racial quotas for jobs, licenses, and university places.

The truth is that it is the competitiveness and grit of successful Malays and non-Malays who compete in the open market in open competition that acts to provide every Malaysian – you and I – with the best goods at the cheapest prices.

You could buy a good quality, long lasting, reliable Japanese car in any other country for what you pay for a crappy Proton in Malaysia . Meanwhile, the AP scam that gives select Malays a license to smuggle in thousands of cars without paying duty will never be awarded to anyone other than the most overly privileged, wealthy and connected Umno elite insider – and definitely not to you if you are an ordinary decent Malay.

With Umno’s wholesale corruption, and racist propaganda that scapegoats and demonises the non-Malays to play on your fears and anxieties, our beloved country will come to resemble the uneducated, unproductive, expensive, impoverished countries like Burma , Indonesia , Philippines and Zimbabwe .

Umno leaders will do anything to stay in power and wealth, and that includes to divide and rule with lies, judicial abuse, and more. In the beginning the NEP picked the low-hanging fruit so there was an easy prosperity for everyone but now the signs of terminal decay are everywhere.

Economic and political reality has come back to roost, and if you are still poor, you need to ask why filthy rich Umno leaders are telling you that the non-Malays continue to cheat you of your rights and prosperity. The truth is that the success of any Malaysian in the open market that is subject to open competition will benefit all Malaysians.

Businesses, academics and professionals who have succeeded because of their competitiveness, innovation, hard work and determination bring prosperity to all Malaysians. Non-Malays and Malays who compete in the open market, if they succeed, it is because they offer everyone – you and I – a better product at a lower price.

Businesses and businesspersons who have succeeded because of a government-sanctioned cartel or monopoly that denies others the chance to compete will make all Malaysians poorer – that is, except the lucky filthy rich Umno-BN leaders who gave themselves or family or cronies the cartel or monopoly – APs, Proton, UEM, Renong, Bank Bumi – in the first place.

If you are reading this letter, I can presume that just like me, you did not get the exclusive contract, license, cartel or monopoly either. The truth is you and I and everyone else have been made poorer by the system that Umno has created.

If the economy is heading for a downturn, and if the financial crisis affected your business, and you are wondering why people in other countries don’t work as hard as you, and still earn much more money, then you will begin to understand that they live in a superior system.

Their leaders do not rob and abuse their citizens as much as in Malaysia . If you drive a Proton and they drive a Japanese car for the same price, then you are never going to be as well off as them.

Advanced progressive modern countries have achievement- based values, equal rights, open competition, meritocracy, and legislate against racism.

Such countries will have wealthier and healthier citizens who are not any smarter than you, and who will not be working harder than you, but they will be better informed than you, their kids will receive a better education than yours, and they will be earning lots more money than either you or me.

Umno will tell you that advanced countries like Singapore have prospered at your expense. The truth is that Umno will never give you a superior system. It cannot reform because it has an addiction problem. Umno leaders are addicted to huge amounts of easy money – your money!

Umno will tell you that their addiction to your money is in your best interests. Umno will say they only take money from non-Malays. Umno will say it is your fault if you are addicted to Umno’s Ketuanan Melayu policies and bumiputera privileges..

The truth is that Umno is addicted to your tax money, and Umno will try to weaken your will to succeed on your own by getting you mentally addicted to their falsehoods. Unless Umno can make you feel addicted to your privileges, and make you feel unable to compete, and frightens you with the non-Malay bogeyman (or bogeywoman like Teresa Kok), and that he or she is a threat to your safety, finances, future, race, language, culture and religion, then Umno knows it will lose your vote in open competition to PKR and PAS.

The biggest obstacles to Malay progress are low standards and low expectations.

Umno tells you that you cannot compete with the non-Malays. Yet there are so many parameters to what is better or not that it is impossible to measure them all. It is illogical to think that someone else is better than you.

To believe that you cannot compete is a very low expectation that guarantees very low standards, and it is the last thing you would ever want to leave to your children. The solution requires guts and faith – in you. You must insist on open competition, meritocracy, equal rights, and an end to all forms of racism.

You are not inferior, you can compete, and you control your own destiny.

If you allow Umno to brainwash you, and your children, then low standards and low expectations become a self-fulfilling prophecy.

The NEP has inevitably deteriorated to become a scam whereby Umnoputras will get all the benefits and be laughing all the way to the bank and everyone else gets poorer funding their excesses – mansions, wives, fat bank accounts, licenses, contracts, monopolies, APs. You get nothing, and I get even less than nothing – blamed for being the pendatang.

PAS and PKR want to change the NEP so that it will help the poor of all races but since the Malays form the bulk of the poor, then the Malays will automatically benefit exceedingly, and no one will feel left out or despised.

We must create a superior system of government that will be efficient, productive, progressive, competitive, and meritocractic – one that can hope to outperform Singapore – if we are to hold our heads up high, in open competition, and without prejudice.

The Malays will still totally dominate the aristocracy, cabinet, parliament, police, judiciary, military and government but in a country that is progressive, meritocractic, educated, progressive, prosperous and respects equal rights, human rights and freedoms.

This would be real legacy worth leaving to your children.

Choose wisely . . . . .

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 30 November 2008, 12:13 pm and is filed under
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Muhyiddin’s ultimatum to Zaid – rise of exclusive, intolerant and petty-mindedness in Umno leadership

I am surprised by the outburst of the Umno vice president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin in Kota Kinabalu yesterday, excoriating former Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Zaid Ibrahim, for attending an opposition function, accusing Zaid of “disloyalty  to Umno” and demanding an explanation from Zaid or to face disciplinary reprisals!

I am very disappointed because Muhyiddin is the Minister for International Trade and Industry as well as the favourite in the contest for Umno Deputy President and therefore Deputy Prime Minister-designate next March – and should be an example of inclusive thinking and greater openness and tolerance instead of being very exclusive, intolerant  and petty-minded in a country we want to market to the world as Instant Asia!

It is a major setback for the Bangsa Malaysia concept as it illustrates the sad fact that exclusive, intolerant  and petty-mindedness have  displaced inclusive thinking and greater openness and tolerance in the mind-set of Umno leaders 51 years after Merdeka!

Is “loyalty to Umno” so brittle and fragile that it must be invoked against any Umno member for  attending an opposition function?

I attended the official opening of the new Umno Building at Putra World Trade Centre, Kuala Lumpur in the eighties.  Was my  “loyalty to DAP” ever in doubt for attending an Umno function?

Why so childish, petty and narrow-minded when Malaysian leaders should set an example to the people and the world of our open-mindedness and tolerance of diverse views coming from a nation where pluralism and diversity are  our most outstanding characteristic  and greatest national asset?

Fortunately, this question of “loyalty to Umno” was not raised when the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz accepted my invitation to a DAP seminar on “Agenda for First-World Parliament” just before the opening of the 11th Parliament in May 2004.

Why didn’t “loyalty to Umno” become an issue when Nazri attended the  DAP function in 2004 but it has become a big issue four years later over Zaid’s attending an Opposition function?

Is this a reflection on Zaid, Muhyiddin or UMNO?  Is this an indication that Umno has lost the confidence to rule as compared to  four years ago and  that a besieged mentality has taken possession of many Umno leaders?

If Muhyiddin is so swift in issuing an ultimatum to  Zaid to  question his “loyalty to Umno” for attending an opposition function, will he be equally swift in demanding action to be taken against Umno Seberang Jaya Assemblyman in Penang, Datuk Arif Shah Omar Shah, who was the Barisan Nasional  standard-bearer in the Permatang Pauh by-eleciton, for his statement in the New Sunday Times yesterday that he was “now at a crossroads between staying in Umno or joining the Pakatan Rakyat state government” because of “blatant power abuses” by Umno Permatang Pauh division leadership?

I was struck by a statement by Umno Youth Leader and Education Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein when castigating MCA deputy president Datuk Seri Chua Soi Lek and MCA Wanita chief Datin Paduka Chew Mei Fun for saying that the concept of “ketuanan Melayu” or Malay supremacy was no longer relevant. (New Sunday Times 30.11.08)

Apart from accusing Chua and Chew for trying to be “heroes” in “jostling to position themselves politically”, and saying that “the people are tired of the religious, racial and political issues”  after going through “the toughest general election eight months ago”, Hishammuddin warned that  leaders “still unaware of the changes they have to make and to look at things in a new context … will be left behind when BN transforms itself in March”!

What is this “BN transformation in March” that the new MCA top national leadership  and the other BN component parties are completely ignorant about?

Is it going to be a “BN transformation in March” that is to be solely and exclusively orchestrated by Umno, with the  leaders of the other BN component parties with the  prerogative only to raise their hands to express compliance?

(Media Conference Statement 2 in Parliament)

                This entry was posted on Monday, 1 December 2008, 12:10 pm and is filed under
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Still no PAC report on Eurocopter inquiry – will Azmi emulate Indian Home Minister and resign?

On November 11, Public Accounts Committee (PAC) Chairman Datuk Seri Azmi Khalid had promised that the PAC report on its inquiry into the RM1.6 billion Eurocopter deal would be tabled in Parliament “in two or three days”.

How can Azmi’s interpretation of “two or three days” be so elastic as to stretch to three weeks, and there are still no signs of the PAC report on its inquiry into the Eurocopter deal although it is now close to 50 days since Azmi first made the public announcement that the PAC would investigate into three scandals which had shook Parliament and the country – the Eurocopter helicopter, Bank International Indonesia (BII) and the high speed broadband (HSBB) deals?

I had intended to table a motion to debate the PAC report on its inquiry into the Eurocopter deal with Parliament having to make the final decision whether to accept or reject the PAC report and recommendations, but this PAC report must be tabled in Parliament latest by Wednesday, 3rd December 2008 so that I could give the necessary 14-day notice required for a motion to be debated on the last parliamentary sitting of the current  budget meeting on December 18.

It is useless for Azmi to table the PAC report on the Eurocopter inquiry after December 3 because it would not  be possible for MPs to give the requisite notice to  debate it as a specific motion.

Can Azmi table the PAC report on the Eurocopter inquiry latest by Wednesday on Dec. 3?  What has happened to Azmi’s announcement that PAC would be investigating into the other two scandals – the BII and HSBB scandals?

What about the new scandals that have surfaced in the past weeks like the RM50 million financial scandals of Tourism Ministry’s Pempena Group of Companies?

It would appear that Parliament would have to launch an inquiry into the manner the PAC is inquiring or not inquiring  into the various government financial scandals and Azmi’s leadership or absence of leadership as PAC Chairman.

Is Azmi prepared to emulate the example and culture  of responsibility as illustrated by the Indian Home Minister, Shivraj Patil who resigned over the three-day terrorist rampage in Mumbai that killed around 180 people, including a Malaysian, for his dismal failure as PAC Chairman?

(Media Conference Statement in Parliament)

                This entry was posted on Monday, 1 December 2008, 12:06 pm and is filed under
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Fight crime not fight perception

Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak was being most frivolous and irresponsible when he adopted lock, stock and barrel the line that the biggest police challenge is not to fight crime but the
perception
 that crime is serious in Malaysia!

He trotted out the argument that statistics indicate that crime rate in Malaysia  is lower than Japan and Hong Kong,  with the logical conclusion that that it is safer in Malaysia than in Japan and Hong Kong.

When Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi became Prime Minister five years ago, the crime situation was so bad that one of his top priorities was to establish a Royal Police Commission to create an efficient and professional world-class police service to keep crime low.

The Royal Police Commission said in its report in 2005 that the crime index of 156,455 cases of crime for 2004 “seriously dented Malaysia’s reputation as a safe country” and recommended an immediate reduction of the crime index by 20 per cent in the next 12 months.

What has happened in the past four years?  For two consecutive years, the crime index  had reached endemic proportions, crashing  through the 200,000 barrier in 2007 and 2008 – and yet we have a Prime Minister-designate publicly repudiating the Prime Minister’s previous stance by claiming that the problem is not crime but public perception on crime when  Malaysians feel even more unsafe from crime with every passing  year.

Even the
Selangor Sultan
is very concerned about the crime situation in Selangor and the country.

This is what the Sultan of Selangor said in an interview with Star on crime:

I continue to receive complaints from the rakyat on the ground situation. I read about crime in the newspapers and even at dinner conversations. People talk about it. It’s not just a Selangor problem but a national problem. In Selangor, we have the highest crime rate because the population is now the biggest in Malaysia. This is also a place which attracts outsiders and foreigners because of job opportunities. Social problems such as crime comes naturally unfortunately. It is expected.

I have been told that crime prevention has improved. The Selangor police are saying that this is their most successful period in the last 10 years with the state index showing a marginal increase. Gombak, Ampang, Shah Alam, Kuala Langat, Hulu Selangor and Sepang districts show decreases overall.

I am sure the police are trying their best but perceptions are important. If the public do not feel safe on the street or even at home, no amount of assurances would be good enough. Even the homes of police officers are burgled. That is bad. There should be more policemen on the streets. People feel safe when they see policemen on patrol. Traffic cops alone are not good enough.

Najib’s claim that Malaysia is safer than Japan and Hong Kong based on crime statistics is highly suspect as the basis and  definition for the crime indices in the two countries vary greatly.

DAP National Publicity Secretary Tony Pua has a more detailed statement on the fallacies of Najib’s comparative data.

But what cries out for answer  is why Najib should sell the irresponsible line that Malaysia is comparatively safe, safer than Japan and Hong Kong?

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 2 December 2008, 2:47 pm and is filed under
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ISA release of Hindraf 5 – test whether Najib will be PM for all Malaysians

I was interviewed by Australian Broadcasting Corporation this morning on the recent
BBC intervie
w of Deputy Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak who said that he will do more to address the grievances of minority groups when he becomes Prime Minister in March.

Najib acknowledged that Malaysian voters would want to see changes when he took office and that he needed to regain the trust of non-Malays in particular.

He  promised “further measures to tackle the problems of the ethnic Indian minority” but  “warned that the Hindu activist network, Hindraf, which has organised large public protests, has complicated attempts to tackle the problems of ethnic Indians”.

Najib said:

“I would like to separate the genuine concerns and the concerns exploited by Hindraf, because some of their demands are totally unrealistic.

“We cannot pander to those kind of demands, but if they are legitimate grievances we will take steps to address them.”

If Najib wants to be a Prime Minister for all Malaysians, regardless of race, religion or region, he must admit that while the Hindraf allegations of “ethnic cleansing” or genocide are  excessive, irresponsible  and unfounded – and I had made this stand openly in Parliament – the 30,000 Malaysian Indians from all over the country  who rallied peacefully to the Hindraf demonstration in Kuala Lumpur on Nov. 25  last year were  making a valid, justified and legitimate “cry of desperation” for an end to the long-standing  marginalization of the Malaysian Indians into a new underclass in the country.

Regrettably, the Barisan Nasional government refused to heed  the  “cry of desperation” of the Malaysian Indian community.

Instead of thanking Hindraf for the “wake-up” call to  the Barisan Nasional leadership to stop its marginalisation of the Malaysian Indians, the five Hindraf leaders, P. Uthayakumar,  now DAP Selangor State Assemblyman for Kota Alam Shah M. Manoharan, V. Ganabatirau, R. Kenghadharan and T. Vasantha Kumar were detained without trial under the infamous Internal Security Act (ISA) – egged on by MIC President Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu and the MIC leadership!

If Najib is now prepared to concede the legitimacy of the grievances of the Malaysian Indians at their  political, economic, educational and social marginalisation in Malaysia, then the first thing that must be done is the immediate and unconditional ISA releas of the Hindraf 5 from the Kamunting Detention Centre and the immediate abandonment of the mindset regarding the 30,000 people who supported the Hindraf demonstration on November 25, 2007  as trouble-makers or even terrorists.

The Hindraf 5 would be reaching  the full year of ISA detention on December 13.

There is no reason why the Hindraf 5 should mark their full year of ISA detention in Kamunting and cannot be released before it.

Is Najib prepared to secure the release of the Hindraf 5 before December 13 or is all his talk in the BBC interview just sweet but empty words and he is not prepared to “walk the talk” of  taking the first step to reach out to the  marginalized Malaysian Indians followed by a comprehensive programme to re-integrate them into the mainstream of national development?

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 2 December 2008, 8:57 am and is filed under
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Ketuanan Melayu – concept used by UMNO leaders to enslave all Malaysians

The 2009 Budget debate on the Ministry of Unity, Culture, Arts and Heritage last night opened up with the most unprecedented and ferocious attack by the UMNO MP for Sri Gading Datuk Mohamad Aziz on the MCA for being “biadap” and  “kurang ajar”, telling PPP to “get out” of Barisan Nasional and even proposing a political alliance of  the Malay leaders in Umno, Pas and Parti Keadilan Rakyat.

When I spoke (see video), there was a deliberate attempt by former Cabinet Minister and UMNO MP for Rompin, Dr. Jamaludin Jarjis and Mohamad Aziz to sabotage my speech when I touched on the “ketuanan Melayu” controversy, demanding that I withdraw my non-ex isting  statement that Malays are “tuan” and the Chinese are the “hamba” – with the matter left to be verified with Hansard (verbatim parliamentary report) the next  morning, which proved that Jamaludin  had mischievously misled the House with the false allegation.

My question why 51 years after Merdeka, the Umno leaders are not prepared to accept the concept of “ketuanan rakyat Malaysia” was evaded completely.

As I remarked this morning, when pointing out that the Hansard proved that Jamaludin had told a lie yesterday,  “ketuanan Melayu” is in fact a concept used by the UMNO leaders to enslave all Malaysians – ordinary Malays, Chinese, Indians, Kadazans and Ibans.

For context, video clip of Mohamad Aziz’s speech is available here.

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 2 December 2008, 7:18 pm and is filed under
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Mukhriz has committed the offence of sedition in proposing closure of Chinese/Tamil primary schools

UMNO MP for Jerlun and candidate for Umno Youth chief, Mukhriz Mahathir has committed the offence of sedition in questioning one of the four “sensitive” issues entrenched in the Constitution which has no parliamentary immunity and on conviction, he can be stripped of his parliamentary membership, disqualified from taking part in parliamentary and state assembly elections as well as barred from holding office in any society for five years.

However Mukhriz twist and turn, there can be no doubt that in his press conference at the Parliament lobby yesterday which he repeated in his speech in  the House last night, he was in fact calling for the closure of Chinese and Tamil primary schools, hence the following headlines:

•	“Sekolah satu sistem – cadangan ke arah menggantikan pendidikan berbeza aliran” – Utusan Malaysia

•	“Mukhriz: Scrap vernacular schools, one system for all” (Star online).

•	“”Abolish dual system” (Star in print).

•	“Mukhriz: Close down vernacular schools” (Malaysiakini English)

•	“Mukhriz saran tutup sekolah vernacular” (Malaysiakini Bahasa Malaysia)

•	“Mukhriz says  vernacular schools should be abolished” (Malaysianinside)

•	“Change all school medium to Bahasa Malaysia” – Nanyang

•	“Abolish Chinese and Tamil primary schools to check polarisation – Mukhriz” – (China Press)

•	“Standardise all primary schools with  Bahasa Malaysia as medium of instruction” – (Oriental Daily)

My purpose now is not to discuss the merit or demerit of Mukhriz proposal for a single education system, the validity of his contention blaming the vernacular school system for the polarised society which allegedly caused the poor understanding of the “ketuanan Melayu” or Malay supremacy concept among the non-Malays and his view that the disunity in Malaysia arose from the different education system.

The Constitution Amendment 1971 entrenching four sensitive issues and imposing an absolute prohibition from any questioning, even removing the parliamentary immunity in parliamentary debates, by classifying them as sedition offences under Section 3(f) of the Sedition Act, does not allow anyone to propose the closure of Chinese and Tamil primary schools so long as Article 10(4) on the entrenchment of the sensitive issues is not repealed.

If Mukhriz wants to be able to publicly pursue his proposal of a single education system resulting in the closure of Chinese and Tamil primary schools, he must get the Constitutional provision on the four entrenched sensitive issues amended and repealed.

Similarly, no one can question the special provision for Malays and natives in Sabah and Sarawak in Article 153 such as asking for its repeal on the ground that the Reid Commission had originally proposed a 15-year sunset clause unless the 1971 entrenched sensitive provision in the Constitution is amended or repealed.

The same applies to the other sensitive issues – the sovereignty of Malay Rulers and citizenship rights of non-Malay Malaysians.

The law is very clear as there had been decided cases – Melan Abdullah v Public Prosecutor (1971) where Utusan Malaysia was found guilty of the sedition offence for its editorial subheading, “Hapuskan Sekolah Beraliran Tamil atau China di-Negeri ini”  and Mark Koding v. Public Prosecutor where the Sabah Member of Parliament was found guilty of sedition when he spoke in Parliament in October 1978  calling for the closure of Chinese and Tamil primary schools.

As it is, anybody can lodge a police report against Mukhriz, and if there is a rule of law with independent and impartial administration of justice, Mukhriz would be charged and found guilty of sedition, stripped of his parliamentary membership as well as disqualified from taking part in parliamentary elections or holding office in any ociety for five years if fined RM2,000 or jailed for a year.

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 2 December 2008, 11:00 am and is filed under
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5-minute debate for RM13 billion Defence Ministry budget 2009

I was stunned when I stood up late last night to debate the 2009 Budgetary estimates for the Defence Ministry to be told by the Deputy Speaker Ronald Kiandee, that MPs are limited to five minutes each!

The Defence Ministry has a budget of RM13 billion for next year and is one of the six big-spending Ministries marred by mega scandals of multi-billion ringgit defence procurements.

Speaking in protest under the five-minute limit, I touched on two issues.

One is  on the RM1.6 billion Eurocopter helicopter scandal – expressing concern that unless the Public Accounts Committee report on its inquiry into the Eurocopter deal is tabled in Parliament by today, Parliament would be denied of an opportunity to have a debate in the current meeting on the PAC findings and recommendations, making the PAC report quite academic and even useless.

I stressed that the PAC report should be made public in advance of any parliamentary debate so that aviation experts and even aircraft manufacturers could review the evaluation process followed in the Eurocopter deal as so far no independent experts apart from  the RMAF/Mindef had been invited to provide expert opinion on the various aspects of the decision-making process.

In view of the shortness of time, I asked for an official Mindef response to the views and issues raised by an aviation consultant and helicopter expert on the Eurocopter deal, viz:

“The ‘new’ Eurocopter Cougar helicopters selected by the Government to replace the RMAF Nuri helicopters are a design which first flew in 1965 and began operational service in 1968.

“The EC725 Cougar is not a wholly new helicopter but a derivative of a design which first flew as the SA330 Puma manufactured by the then Sud Aviation which subsequently became Aerospatiale and later Eurocopter. The first prototype SA 330 flew in April 1965 and although the EC725 Cougar is the latest in a long line of subsequent upgrades, the design is still that of an old helicopter” said the expert.

“I am surprised that the RMAF considered spending so much money (RM1.6 billion) on an old design when other contenders offered to the RMAF were newer designs and fully, not partially certified to the latest safety requirements. The EC725 basic design will be 85+ years old by the time the aircraft are retired and one has to question why the RMAF is to get helicopters which are not even a generation removed from the S61A Nuris they are going to replace.

“Unless the RMAF is going to have new helicopters which are really a new design and a real generational leap, a far more cost effective method would be to upgrade the current Nuri helicopters with new blades, avionics and engines which would bring them into the same era as the EC725 for probably one quarter of the cost.

“I believe the manufacturer of the existing S61A Nuri helicopters, US based Sikorsky Aircraft, had  offered a comprehensive OEM backed upgrade program for S61 helicopters which the Government and the RMAF should explore before buying Eurocopter helicopters of a similar design vintage.

The procurement of the Eurocopter Cougar helicopters is currently on hold due to financial constraints imposed by the global credit crisis.

“Since the procurement is on hold anyway, it would be a sensible decision to completely re visit the whole requirement and process. It maybe that the RMAF can achieve just as much capability for a much smaller price.”

The other issue which I touched on is for necessary changes whether in the national service legislation or regulations to exempt cases like Jane Lim for the three-month national service stint, as she and her  Malacca family are traumatised by the death of her brother, Ricky Lim, 20, nine days after completing his three-month national service at Lagenda Gunong Ledang Asahan Camp.

The Lim parents have refused to allow Jane to attend the national service training and wanted her to be exempted.

Although the National Service Chairman Dr. Tiki Lafe (MP for Mas Gading) has commendably deferred Jane’s national service call-up, this is not good enough, and the necessary legislation and regulations should be amended if necessary to allow for exemption in such cases to demonstrate that the national service administration is not cruel, heartless and insensitive in these circumstances.

Furthermore, there should be a total revamp of the national service programme to end the high rate of fatalities as well as the sub-standard national service camps and training provided.

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 3 December 2008, 8:17 am and is filed under
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IGP’s statistical sleight-of-hand to explain away worsening crime index

Malaysians are shocked that the Inspector-General of Police, Tan Sri Musa Hassan is deadly serious with his ridiculous ploy to explain away the worsening crime index with a statistical sleight-of-hand by claiming that it is purely a problem of misperception by Malaysians, tourists and investors.

What is outrageous is that the Cabinet and the National Economic Council could be browbeaten so easily by the IGP on Tuesday  to accept such a ridiculous ploy, to the extent that this has been adopted as the official policy position as to be publicly enunciated by the Deputy Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak two days ago.

Musa has claimed that figures show that Malaysia is a relatively safe country with 772 crimes for every 100,000 residents in the country. This ratio compares favourably with Hong Kong where there are 1,166 cases for every 100,000 residents; Japan 1,569 cases and Australia 4,470 cases.

Taken as a whole, the statistics showed that only Singapore with 704 cases per 100,000 residents had a safer environment.

It is a reflection of the intellectual inadequacy  and poverty of the Cabinet Ministers and National Economic Council members that they could be so easily bamboozled by the IGP with suspect statistics and data.

The statistics given by the IGP to show that Malaysia is safer than Japan and Hong Kong are most  misleading and unacceptable, as different definitions are used as to render a proper comparison quite useless.

What is needed is a proper comparison of the crime statistics for the three countries.

For instance, homicide  per 100,000 population is 1.09 cases in Japan, 0.26 cases in Hong Kong but 2.12 in Malaysia; while rape per 100,000 population is 1.62 in Japan, 1.54 in Hong Kong while in Malaysia it is 11.47. For robbery per 100,000 population, it is 4.78 for Japan, 17.56 for Hong Kong while 90.49 for Malaysia.

With these shocking statistics about violent crimes for the three countries, how could the IGP be so irresponsible as to mislead the Cabinet and the National Economic Council to believe that Malaysia is safer than Japan and Hong Kong?

If the Cabinet Ministers and National Economic Council members can so easily buy the bluff of the IGP, I challenge them to walk the streets of Johore Bahru and Kuala Lumpur for a day without protection – when they would have no qualms about safety in walking the streets of Tokyo and Hong Kong without protection for a day!

I call on all BN and PR MPs to take a common stand in Parliament tomorrow to reject Musa Hassan’s ridiculous ploy to explain away the worsening crime index with a statistical sleight-of-hand by claiming that it is purely a problem of misperception and to demand full police accountability, responsibility and transparency  for the galloping crime situation in the country where Malaysians, tourists and investors have lost their fundamental right to be free from crime and the fear of crime.

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 3 December 2008, 11:35 am and is filed under
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No to “ketuanan rakyat Malaysia” – BN abandoning Bangsa Malaysia?

I will move a motion under Standing Order 43 to challenge and review the ruling of Deputy Speaker Datuk Ronald Kiandee condoning the gross breach of parliamentary privilege by former Minister and Barisan Nasional MP for Rompin Datuk Jamaluddin Jarjis in trying to sabotage my speech during the 2009 Budget debate on the Ministry of Unity, Culture, Arts and Heritage on Monday in misleading the House by falsely claiming that I had said “the Malays treated the Chinese like slaves” when referring to “ketuanan Melayu”.

Jamaluddin was being most mischievous, irresponsible and racist when he deliberately repeated at least ten times in various variation of the false accusation that I had said the Malays regard the Chinese as slaves to try to paint me as racist and anti-Malay – when he was the one who was demonstrating his worst communal colours.

He even challenged me to apologise and withdraw the allegation when this is verified in a check with the Hansard the next day.

A check with the Hansard has proven that Jamaluddin was telling a big lie, which he compounded by repeating it ten times in the House on Monday, and it is now clearly confirmed that I had never said that the Malays treated the Chinese as slaves.

This is a gross breach of parliamentary privilege, compounded by his deliberate repetition of the lie ten times, hoping to turn a lie into a truth by sheer repetition!

If a Pakatan Rakyat MP had done to a Barisan Nasional Minister what Jamaluddin did to me in Parliament on Monday, the Pakatan Rakyat MP would have been stopped within seconds and suspended from the House, let alone being allowed to repeat the lie ten times, or referred to the Committee of Privileges for more serious disciplinary action to be meted out to him.

Why should there be one rule for Pakatan Rakyat MPs and another rule for Barisan Nasional MPs in the Malaysian Parliament?

I call on all right-thinking and justice-loving MPs, regardless of party whether from Pakatan Rakyat or Barisan Nasional, to take a common stand to censure Jamaluddin for his gross breach of parliamentary privilege in Parliament on Monday.

It is most pertinent that when I repeatedly asked in the House on Monday whether UMNO MPs would support the concept of “ketuanan rakyat Malaysia”, there was total silence and strenuous evasion with Jamaluddin trying to distract the issue by lying that I had accused the Malays of treating the Chinese as slaves in “ketuanan Melayu” concept.

In actual fact, it is the Umno leaders and Umno-putras who have enslaved all Malaysians – ordinary Malays, Chinese, Indians, Kadazans and Ibans – by trotting out the “ketuanan Melayu” concept, which has nothing to do with the position of Malay Rulers and is not to be found in the Merdeka Constitution.

Last year, the government spent RM100 million to celebrate 50th Merdeka anniversary of the nation. Why are the UMNO and Barisan Nasional leaders not prepared to come forward to state clearly and unequivocally that they are in full support of  “ketuanan rakyat Malaysia”?

In refusing to fully endorse the concept of “ketuanan rakyat Malaysian”, aren’t the Barisan Nasional government abandoning the Bangsa Malaysia concept of Vision 2020?

It is sad that Umno leaders are not prepared to endorse the concept of “ketuanan rakyat Malaysia” -, which show that they are not yet prepared to become fully Malaysian leaders. They should give serious thought to the very eloquent and heart-wrenching speech by the DAP MP for Batu Gajah, Fong Po Kuan, in the debate on Monday who asked on behalf of all Malaysians why they are not regarded as full Malaysians when their sole loyalty is to this country and no other!

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 3 December 2008, 10:53 am and is filed under
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End the NEP in the universities as the first step to restore a world-class university system

Malaysia is losing out in the unrelenting battle for international competitiveness among nations,  with Malaysian universities even losing out to Southeast Asian universities in Thailand, Indonesia and Philippines and to universities in Africa and South America – something completely unthinkable in the first three decades of our nationhood.

For the second consecutive year, Malaysia had  fallen completely out of the list of the world’s Top 200 Universities this year in the 2008 Times Higher Education Supplement (THES) – Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings.

The national shame of Malaysia falling completely out of the list of the world’s Top 200 Universities this year in the 2008 Times Higher Education Supplement (THES) – Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings is being compounded  by the ignominy of Malaysian universities losing out not only to top universities in Singapore, China, Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan and  South Korea but also to other South East Asian nations like Thailand, Indonesia and Philippines, as well to those in Africa and South America – like the University of Cape Town (No. 179 in 2008 THES-QS ranking), the University of Sao Paulo (Brazil No. 196) ) and the University of Buenos Aires (Argentina No. 197).

For the second consecutive year, there is not only not a single university in the 2008 THES-QS  Top 200 Universities list, there is also not a single university in the separate ranking of Top 100 Universities for five subject areas – Natural Sciences, Social Sciences, Arts and Humanities; Life Sciences and Biomedicine; and Technology.

Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) and Universiti Malaya (UM) were in the 2006 Ranking, placed No. 185 and 192 respectively.  UKM plunged to 309 last year and improved to 250 this year while UM fell to 246 last year improving slightly to 230 this year – but both remain outside the Top 200 Universities ranking.

The government named Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) as the Apex University but it has a dismal international rankings after being  included once in the Top 200 Universities list – No. 111 in 2004, No. 326 in 2005, 277 in 2006, No. 307 in 2007 and No. 313 in 2008.

It is both sad and pathetic that our Apex University, the USM, at  No. 313 ranking, is not only  left far behind in South East Asia by  Singapore (National University of Singapore No. 30 and Nanyang Technological University  No. 77) but also by Thailand (Chulalongkorn University No. 166), Indonesia (University of Indonesia No. 287) and the Philippines (Ateneo de Manila University No. 254 and University of the Philippines No. 276).

Until last year, Malaysian universities were all ranked well ahead of the Indonesian universities, but in the 2008 THES-QS World Top Universities ranking, Indonesian universities are catching up with Malaysian universities in leaps and bounds.

The performance of Malaysian universities in the 2008 THES-QS Top 100 lists for the five subject areas are even more dismal, with not a single university making into the five lists   for two years consecutively although Malaysia secured four of these 500 prestigious slots in 2006  – University of Malaya was ranked 49 in Social Sciences and 95 in Natural Sciences, UKM was placed No. 62 in Natural Sciences, and University Sains Malaysia placed No. 96 for Life Sciences and Biomedicine.

After being placed in four of the 500 slots in the five Top 100 Universities for the five subjects in 2006, Malaysian universities has been conspicuously missing from  all the five listings of Top 100 Universities for the five categories for the past two years.

There are over 30 “elite of elite” universities, which are not only ranked in the Top 200 Universities list, but also ranked in every one of the five Top 100 subject list.

Universities in the Asia-Pacific region which are in this exclusive  “elite of elites” list include six in Australia, two in China, one each in Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore and South Korea.  Why is Malaysia not in this “elite of elites” listing and when will Malaysia have a university which will have all-round excellence as to be included in this list?

Malaysians have not been told the real and true reasons for the shocking performance of Malaysian universities in the THES-QS Top 200 Universities ranking. Malaysian universities have been consistent in increasingly deplorable results in world rankings, whether the THES-QS, Shanghai Jiao Tong University World’s Best 500 Universities or the Newsweek’s Top 100 Global Universities.

If the government is serious in wanting to create a world-class university system,  it must end the New Economic Policy (NEP) in the universities and fully restore the policy of meritocracy and academic excellence coupled with social need to provide university education opportunities to economically-backward Malaysians regardless of race.

It is the NEP policy and mentality which caused University of Malaya to fall 200 rankings behind University of Singapore in less than four decades as both universities had started on the same footing some 50 years ago. University of Malaya is ranked No. 230 as compared to the 30th ranking for National University of Singapore.

If Malaysia is to get back to the trail of world-class academic excellence, all universities should be allowed to enroll the most qualified students, employ the most competent professors and researchers with competitive remunerations and restore a culture of academic excellence and freedom.

For a start, the Higher Education Minister must ask the Cabinet to end the present fraudulent meritocracy using both STPM and matriculation by having a common university entrance examination.

This is the recommendation of the World Bank study on “Malaysia and the Knowledge Economy: Building a World-Class Higher Education System” submitted to the government in March last  year.

Let the Higher Education Minister, Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin tell Parliament and the nation what action his ministry has taken on the recommendations of the World Bank study  to bring about the institutional changes without which there is no way for Malaysian universities to return to world-class university status.

(Speech in Parliament on the Ministry of Higher Education in the 2009 Budget debate on  Wednesday, 3rd December 2008)

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 4 December 2008, 6:56 am and is filed under
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