Every day for past 10 years, more than 3 persons missing who cannot be located or 40% of missing persons reported to police since 2000 as compared to statistics of over 99% of missing persons located by Australian Police

The answer to the issue posed in the topic in tonight’s forum is quite a foregone conclusion.

Two questions answered in Parliament this week are most pertinent in throwing light on public perceptions and confidence in the police system in the country.

On the first day of Parliament on Monday on Oct. 11, in reply to my question, the Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein defended the police force against criticisms of inaction in the murder case of cosmetics millionaire Datuk Sosilawati Lawiya  and three others, denying that past reports lodged on the main suspects in the murder were neglected.

Hishammuddin said six police reports had been lodged against the two lawyer-brother suspects between 2005 and 2010 – five involved fraud and one involved a missing person report.  Investigation into three of the six cases have been wrapped up while one of the cases is undergoing trial.

Accusing me of being “selective” in picking out certain cases only, Hishammuddin claimed that statistics showed that the police had done a great job as between 2000 to 2010, the police have solved 21,344 out of 35,473 missing persons cases.

I have checked the Internet and I have here a report about missing person statistics for Australia.  Over 30,000 people are reported missing in Australia each year and its statistics show that less than one per cent of missing persons in Australia are not located while over 99 per cent of missing persons are located with –

86% being located within one week;

7% being located between 8 and 31 days;

6% being located after one month.

What is the position in Malaysia?

Hishammuddin seemed to be very proud in Parliament on Monday with statistics that showed that only 60% of reported missing persons had been solved in the past 10 years, i.e. 21,344 out of 35,473 missing persons cases, completely oblivious to the 40% unresolved missing persons cases amounting to 14,129 cases.

This works out to more than three persons missing a day who cannot be located happening every day for the past 10 years – which is a clearly a most serious and even scandalous situation reflecting poorly on the law-and-order system in the country, but which have not even twitched the conscience of the Home Minister!

Where have 14,129 people, or more than three persons a day, disappeared to in the past 10 years? Why have the police failed to sound the alarm about the gravity of this problem?

This is a crying shame and the Home Minister should make a ministerial statement in Parliament on what the police and the government proposes to do to deal with this scandalous state of affairs.

When in my supplementary question I expressed dissatisfaction with his answer, saying public confidence in the police force and its professionalism as well as Malaysia’s image and international competitiveness had been adversely affected and that if all missing person reports had been taken seriously and resolved sooner, the mass murders of Sosilawati and three others could have been avoided, Hishammuddin warned against “sensationalizing” matters.

But Hishammuddin conspicuously ignored the fact that it was the new Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Ismail Omar himself who had publicly admitted that the Sosilawati mass murders cases could have been prevented if fast action, including proper investigation, had been conducted over earlier reports of missing persons – although I specifically pointed out this fact to Hishammuddin in my supplementary question.

The second question was Hishammuddin’s reply to Penang Chief Minister and DAP MP for Bagan, Lim Guan Eng that the Home Ministry will not investigate allegations by the former Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan that that there is “third-party interference” in police work.

Answering Guan Eng who had asked for the results of the inquiry into the former IGP’s allegations and what actions would be taken against Musa in the event his claims were proven to be false, Hishammuddin replied without giving any reasons that the Home Ministry “does not intend to take action on the claims”.

Just before retiring as IGP, Musa hit out at “excessive interference from third parties” against the police force, zeroing in particular on the Home Ministry, with the specific advice to police officers and personnel not to be “yes men” or the entire force would “rot and collapse”.

This was a very serious allegation and Musa had clearly failed in his duties as IGP when he did not lodge official reports to initiate investigations to halt such “excessive interference” with the police.

In fact, I had at the time proposed that it was not too late for Musa to be suspended as IGP (as his term of IGP had a few more days to run) with his honourable discharge subject to full investigations into his dereliction of duties as IGP as well as serious allegations of corruption and abuses of power which have  been made against him – but Hishammuddin did nothing.

Musa was of course the last person to protest against “excessive interference” with the police when he was foremost in blocking the implementation of the key recommendation of the Dzaiddin Police Royal Commission of Inquiry for the establishment of an Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC) – at one stage even threatening police revolt against the elected government of the day.

On another occasion, Musa threatened to call police off the streets and not to enforce the law in retaliation against the firestorm of public outrage at the trigger-happy police killing of 14-year-old Form III student Aminulrasyid Hamzah some 100 metres from his Shah Alam house in April this year.

This is gross insubordination on Musa’s part against the Malaysian people who should be the true “bosses” of the police force.

In actual fact, when Musa was IGP, the police force witnessed a further deterioration of the police “rot and collapse”.

Having a new IGP will not bring about any meaningful changes in the police system to restore national and international confidence unless there is a  transformation and break from the colonial past mentality which regarded the paramount duty of police as that of protector of the powers-that-be to embrace democratic policing to protect the people and not the regime in power.

The Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI) 2005 report on “
Police Accountability: Too Important to Neglect, Too Urgent to Delay
” has rightly stressed:

“Democratic nations need democratic policing. Democratic policing is based on the idea the police are protectors of the rights of citizens and the rule of law, while ensuring the safety and security of all equally. It rejects any resemblance to the regime policing of colonial times. Colonial style policing was based on the idea of police as protectors of a government foreign to the people.”

As the report said, “Increasingly, the fundamental of policing is seen as being the protection and vindication of the human rights of all.”

For the Malaysian police, which has seen a collapse of public confidence in its institutional independence, professionalism and integrity as confirmed by the 2005 Dzaiddin Police Royal Commission of Inquiry, the first step to police institutional transformation must be its adoption of a new police ethos, vision  and mission by embracing democratic policing as one of its transformational challenges.

A police committed to democratic policing will not blindly act as the instruments of the regime in power to harass and oppress the Opposition and legitimate dissent in the country, and Malaysia would be would have been spared police abuses of power represented by the arrest of cartoonist Zunar, police questioning of PKR MP for Lembah Pantai Nurrul Izzah for sedition, DAP MP for  Serdang Teoh Nie Ching for her surau visit and the chair of tonight’s forum Latheefa Koya.

The Police should not apply double standards – harassing leaders of the opposition and dissent whenever police reports are lodged, while ignoring police reports lodged against the powers-that-be.

I have asked a question in the current meeting of Parliament on the number of police reports which have been lodged against Utusan Malaysia since April 2009 and the results of police action or inaction. Let us wait for the answer.

[Speech (Pt 1) at the Suaram forum “
IGP Bertukar: Institusi Polis Berubah?
” held at KL/Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall on Thursday, 14th October 2010 at 8 pm]

                This entry was posted on Friday, 15 October 2010, 12:32 pm and is filed under
Police
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


Ex-top cop Mat Zain’s Open Letter is testimony that criminal justice system had further deteriorated after 2005 Dzaiddin Police Royal Commission report

When the Dzaiddin Royal Police Commission submitted its final report in May 2005, it said that Malaysia’s reputation as a safe country was “seriously dented” by the “dramatic increase” in the incidence of crime in the past few years and that “Malaysians in general, the business sector and foreign investors grew increasingly concerned with the situation”.

The Royal Commission warned that “if the trend continues, there would be major social and economic consequences for Malaysia”.

The Royal Police Commission was referring to the “dramatic increase” in the crime index from 121,176 cases in 1997 to 156,455 cases in 2004, which registered an increase of 29 per cent in eight years.

As a result, the Royal Police Commission proposed a sustained nation-wide drive against crime “until crime levels have reached a point considered no longer alarming”, with an immediate target of “a minimum 20 per cent decrease in crimes” in all categories of crime within the first 12 months after the Report.

Instead of achieving the Police Royal Commission’s target of reducing the intolerably high incidence of crime of 156,455 cases in 2004 by 20 per cent in 12 months (i.e. 125,164 cases), the reverse took place.

In the seven years from 1997 to 2004, crime index increased by 29%, but in the four years from 2004 to 2008 crime index increased by 35.5% – breaking the 200,000 mark since 2007.

Recently, both the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak and Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein had made great play about the successful NKRA on crime reduction, claiming that there have been a drastic drop in the crime rate particularly in street crime with improvement of the crime index since January this year.

However, up and down the country, ordinary Malaysians do not feel this dividend of fall of crime index in their daily lives as they do not feel comparatively safer in the streets, public places or privacy of their homes as compared to previous years.

In fact, the continued mushrooming of gated and guarded communities in the country is most eloquent proof of the failure of the police force in the country to discharge its most basic duty, to ensure that Malaysians, visitors, tourists and investors enjoy the two fundamental rights to be free from crime and the fear of crime.

In its 2005 Report, the Dzaiddin Royal Police Commission made 125 recommendations to create an efficient, incorruptible, professional world-class police service focused on three core functions – to keep crime low, to eradicate corruption and to uphold human rights.

Five years have passed. Have we progressed or regressed in the overall objective of the Dzaiddin Royal Police Commission Report to create an efficient, incorruptible, professional world-class police service capable of performing the three core functions to keep crime low, eradicate corruption and uphold human rights?

In my view, the police report card based on the Dzaiddin Royal Police Commission Report is in red ink as there is regression instead of progress in all the three police core functions to keep crime low, eradicate corruption and uphold human rights.

But this is not only the view of Malaysians outside the police force but also  that of independent, dispassionate and objective former officers of the police force.

In this regard, I refer to the Open Letter by a former top cop, former Kuala Lumpur CID chief Mat Zain Ismail, published at Raja Petra Kamaruddin’s portal, Malaysia-Today, two days ago on 12th October 2010 which is powerful testimony that the criminal justice system had worsened after the 2005 Dzaiddin Police Royal Commission Report.

Mat Zain was the police officer who headed the initial  investigation into the 1998  case of Anwar Ibrahim’s “black eye” assault  while in police custody in Bukit Aman and recommended that the then Inspector-General of Police, Tan Sri Rahim Noor be prosecuted for criminal assault against Anwar, but his recommendation was ignored until a Royal Commission of Inquiry was subsequently set up resulting Rahim being found guilty and sentenced to two months’ jail.

Mat Zain recounted in his Open Letter when referring to the investigation into Anwar “black-eye” assault case in 1998, that  he had to decide at the time whether to salvage the honour of PDRM or that of Rahim Noor and he decided with sadness to propose that Rahim Noor, whom he had the highest respect as a leader, a colleague and family friend, be prosecuted under Section 323 of the Penal  Code.

Mat Zain wrote the  Open Letter to Datin Kalsom Taib, wife and biographer of Datuk Shafee Yahaya, former head of the Anti-Corruption Agency, in response to questions asked in her book about police investigations into allegations against former Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad for abuse of power  in June 1998 in ordering a halt to corruption investigations against Ali Abul Hassan Sulaiman, head of Economic Planning Unit.  Mat Zain was the officer in charge of investigations into  the allegations.

Mat Zain was also the officer responsible for the investigations into the four police reports lodged by Anwar from 9th July 1999 to 20th August 1999 when in Sungai Buloh prison on abuses of power and obstruction of the process of justice directed against Mahathir, the then Attorney-General the late Tan Sri Mohtar Abdullah, current Attorney-General Tan Sri Gani Patail as well as reports of corruption and abuses of power against Tun Daim Zainuddin, Tan Sri  Rafidah Aziz, Tan Sri Abdul Rahim Thamby Cik and the late Tan Sri Eric Chia.

Mat Zain revealed in his Open Letter that he had written in May this year to Tan Sri Ismail Omar, then Deputy IGP and to the Home Minister, Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein, for a review of the investigations into the false evidence produced against Anwar in the “black eye” assault case of 1998 “to protect the credibility, impartiality and image of the of PDRM which had been seriously affected since 2006”.

Mat Zain made the very serious allegation that former IGP Musa Hassan and Attorney-General Gani Patail had allowed fabricated evidence in the Anwar Ibrahim “black eye” assault case and must be held responsible for the current mess of the criminal justice system.

Mat Zain asked in the Open Letter:

“Apa sudah jadi dengan Sistem Keadilan Jenayah kita?….Siapa yang sepatutnya dipersalahkan? Siapa yang menyebabkan Sistem Keadilan Jenayah kita menjadi kucar kacir sehinggakan sesiapa juga boleh mempermain-mainkannya tanpa takut kepada sebarang tindakan dan hukuman undang-undang? Saya tidak teragak-agak untuk menyatakan bahawa keadaan ini berpunca daripada ‘precedent’ yang dibuat oleh Tan Sri Gani Patail dan Tan Sri Musa Hassan sendiri.”

Can Gani Patail, Musa Hassan or even the Home Minister Hishammuddin and IGP Ismail keep mum on this most incriminating and devastating Open Letter by a former top cop?

[Speech (Pt 2) at the Suaram forum “
IGP Bertukar: Institusi Polis Berubah?
” held at KL/Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall on Thursday, 14th October 2010 at 8 pm]

                This entry was posted on Friday, 15 October 2010, 4:02 pm and is filed under
Police
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


What’s Worse Than Corruption?

By
Zairil Khir Johari

Stealing money from the poor. Seriously.

I have refrained from making direct comments about the mindless cacophony UMNO has been trumpeting about the alleged use of gambling-derived income for state-sponsored aid programmes for senior citizens and the poor in Penang.

In my previous post, I made a passing observation on the issue, which I felt at the time was merely the latest in a long line of ‘baseless allegations of the week’, and that the matter would soon meet its natural demise. In any case, how many times can you tell the same lie and hope to get away with it?

Quite a few times, as it turns out. One, two, three sessions have so far been organized to steal money from the poor.

It all started two weeks ago when UMNO Youth Information Chief Reezal Merican, lately devoid of publicity, mooted the idea that the  Penghargaan Warga Emas and Rakan Anti-Miskin programmes could have been funded by a sizable donation from the Penang Turf Club.

Of course, if we lived in a world of facts, where logic trumped lunacy, then the suggestion would have failed to ignite, due to any number of the following reasons:

Failure 1: The donation, as the state government has already clarified, has yet to be touched.

Failure 2: Moreover, the money has been allocated to non-Muslim poverty cases. (Already, on its own initiative, a clear delineation.)

Failure 3: Not a single sen will be/has been used for the warga emas programme.

Failure 4: Notwithstanding the above, even if the money were to be used, as Dr Asri states, it wouldn’t even be haram. If it were, then our federal government’s consolidated fund [a collection of, amongst other things, sin taxes from alcohol, cigarettes and gaming revenue], which funds the government’s salaries, development, etc would also fall into this category.

As we are all too painfully aware, however, we do NOT live in such a world, and thus we have to put up with unnecessary instances of gross stupidity.

The first two sessions, which saw a total of 100 senior citizens return their ‘ill-gotten gains’, were organized over a weekend by (no prizes for guessing) Penang Opposition Leader Azhar Ibrahim. This was followed by a demonstration by a group of ‘conscientious youths’ upon the return of the Chief Minister from overseas.

At this point, I thought the issue, which had absolutely no gas of truth to begin with, would begin to dissipate. But this is what you get for wishful thinking: a third ‘return the money’ session was organized last week, this time graced by Dr Hilmy Yahya, a former Deputy Chief Minister of Penang.

Prior to this, I’ve heard very fair comments about Dr Hilmy. He is said to be a good worker, intelligent, and happy to do his bit for the people. In short, I thought he had some semblance of credibility. Not any more.

It is really shameful and disappointing to see these purported ‘leaders’ perpetuate and encourage blatant lies, and all without a hint of guilt or irony! And the most frustrating part of it all, at least for me, is that I know for a fact that every one I have named in this article knows better. Sigh.

As the veritable Malay poet, Hishamuddin Rais, puts it [excerpt edited]:

Melayu kena tipu gerombolan…

Kesian mak cik dan pak cik miskin…

Sudah laaa miskin… Melayu pulak…

Sudah lah Melayu… kena tipu pulakkkkk…

Stealing from the poor. Seriously??

                This entry was posted on Friday, 15 October 2010, 8:10 pm and is filed under
UMNO
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


Budget 2011: A budget for the big boys and civil servants

By
Dr Lim Teck Ghee

There are several ways to analyze the budget. One is to take at face value what the Prime Minister has written in his blog just before his budget speech where he promised that it is “a budget by the rakyat”. By it, he explained that he had read through the more than 1,000 comments and suggestions from his readers and forwarded them to the Ministry of Finance to incorporate.

According to the PM, there were three key issues raised – employment, taxes and subsidies, and education.

In his words, “employment was the most frequently discussed with some of you calling for the implementation of a minimum wage policy”. Also, he noted that “comments from the youth requested for increased tax rebates for young families or ways to provide financial assistance in managing the rising cost of living”. As for education, the feedback on his blog related to concerns with education quality and the rising cost of education.

Now that the budget has been unveiled, it is clear that the civil servants preparing the budget have completely ignored the Prime Minister. Firstly, the implementation of the minimum wage policy has been further deferred for the umpteenth time. The only beneficiaries of wage reform appear to be security guards who deservedly see their minimum wages raised and female civil servants who will now have longer maternity leave.

As for education, whilst there is a substantial allocation to cater for recurring operational expenditure and some new infrastructural spending, there is nothing new in the budget that can allay the number one concern of middle-class Malaysians. Especially disappointing is the failure to grant relief for private higher education costs which are rising steeply.

Given the trend, it looks like higher education will soon be affordable only to those that can get into the public universities or those who have wealthy parents – and also perhaps those that can draw on financing from family members and Ah Longs.

Affordable housing has been very much in the news even if there have been few letters to the Prime Minister on the topic. It is now beyond the reach of many in the younger age group living in the larger towns and especially in the Klang Valley. There is no evidence in the budget of any official concern to tackle the problem.

There are also no measures aimed at curbing the rising cost of living. Why is there a lack of attention to addressing the rising costs of housing, transport and health as well as food? Part of the reason is the government’s Alice in Wonderland estimate of inflation – it has projected a figure of 2-3 per cent for the year. Further, according to the government’s estimate, Malaysians will be quite a bit wealthier in 2011 compared with 2010. Per capita income is expected to go up by 6.1 per cent to RM28,000, and income in terms of purchasing power parity will hit US$16,000.

This is of course data which does not reflect real life – just a hypothetical average. The majority of Malaysians will, in fact, not only feel but will indeed be poorer rather than richer in 2011 given the relentless rise in cost of living that is not reflected in the inflation data.

One group though that will not be poorer will be the big guns benefiting from the slew of mega projects contained in the budget. They include the planned erection of a RM5 billion tower. This is a potential monstrosity which will serve little purpose except bring to a standstill traffic in that congested part of the city. It is obscene that this is being done in the name of honouring the country’s heritage.

Hopefully citizen groups, residents in the area and heritage organisations can organise and bring pressure to bear on the government to stop this project before it gets off the ground.

As evidence of how poorly conceived the budget planning process has been, it should be noted that the budgeted amount for the year for all the corridor projects – which is supposed to help decentralise development and increase rural incomes and well-being in the other parts of the country – is only one-third of that allocated for this massive planned erection.

Other big ticket items such as the MRT may be economically more justifiable but they have to be closely monitored for the way in which project design, contractors and partners are selected. Already, there is talk of pre-determined winners even before the process of proper technical studies, evaluation and selection has commenced.

It is disappointing that the budget does not deal at all with the procurement issue which has resulted in wastage, inefficiency and higher costs to the average Malaysian in the last 30 years. Presumably we are going to see business as usual in the tenders for Private-Public Partnership projects and the continuation of “privatized gain and socialized losses”.

Another concern is that much of the budget continues to go into operating a bloated civil service. As much as three quarters of the national budget is spent on paying salaries and other benefits to over 1.3 million civil servants.

This means that of every dollar spent in the budget, 75 sen goes towards manning the civil service, leaving little left to carry out development work that can benefit the country’s population. There is clearly something fundamentally wrong in the way the country’s budget is being spent when so much of the allocation goes to paying for a sector that is generally regarded as unproductive and standing in the way of efficiency.

Finally, this is a budget that is touted as being friendly to business. The question is not only which and what businesses will benefit but also whether the projects undertaken will benefit the country.

From the listed projects, it appears that we are returning to the era of mega high-status, expensive projects which will provide little value-added to the Malaysian economy. Projects such as the proposed RM5 billion tower should be scrapped, and the resources spent instead on the expansion of public housing, transport, health and other badly needed amenities and services that can truly benefit the ordinary people.

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 16 October 2010, 10:06 pm and is filed under
Economics
,
Najib Razak
,
public service
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


Budget 2011 – Unable to stimulate necessary growth to meet high-income nation objective

By
Tony Pua

Budget 2010: Government failed to keep a lid on sky-rocketing operating expenditure

The Prime Minister in his speech announced that the Government will be on track to meet the projected budget deficit of 5.6% for the fiscal year 2010 giving the appearance that the Government was able to meet its financial commitment and targets.  However, the meeting of the deficit target masks the fact that the Government had in fact substantially overspent its allocated budgets, and was “saved” only by a higher than expected collection of tax revenues.

Last year when the budget for 2010 was announced, the Government promised a commitment to trim operating expenditure to reduce wastage and to generate greater value for money returns with the tax-payers’ money.

We had in fact applauded the Government’s decision to reduce operating expenditure by a significant 13.7% from RM160.2 billion in 2009 to a budgeted RM138.3 billion.  The government’s operating expenditure includes salaries and pensions for the civil service, purchase of government assets,  supplies and services, rentals, various subsidies, debt repayments, toll compensations and “other” expenditures.  A government’s “operating expenditure” is not expected to generate high economic multiplier effects, as opposed to “development expenditure”.

However, in the Budget announcement today, it has been announced that the Government’s operating expenditure is expected to hit RM152.2 billion, or a massive RM13.9 billion (10.1%) over budget.

This clearly demonstrates the government’s inability to impose financial discipline on its expenditure to ensure that the country’s financial objectives are met.  It is also not the first year the Government has overspent its budget.  In fact, the Government has consistently overspent its budget by at least 5% as far back as 2000, with the worst year being in 2008 when the budget was exceeded by 17.2%.  This is shown in the table below.

Table 1: Government Operating Expenditure – Budget v Actual (RM billions)

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

Budgeted

52.4

60.7

65.3

71.7

80.0

89.1

101.2

117.0

128.8

154.2

138.3

Actual

56.5

63.8

68.7

75.2

91.3

97.7

107.8

123.1

151.0

160.2

152.2

Overspend

4.2

3.0

3.4

3.5

11.3

8.6

6.5

6.1

22.2

6.0

13.9

Overspend %

8.0%

5.0%

5.1%

4.9%

14.1%

9.7%

6.4%

5.2%

17.2%

3.9%

10.1%

Comparatively, the Government’s development expenditure only exceeded it’s budget RM51.2 billion by RM2.9 billion, which is acceptable on the basis that the economy had required additional stimulus spending.

Therefore, Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak, who is both the Finance and Prime Minister must explain the cause of the continuing and possibly worsening financial indiscipline. The increasingly endemic financial ill-discipline in government departments must be halted to ensure that every cent of the rakyat’s money is properly expended in accordance to approved and budgeted limits.

Otherwise, the complete lack of regard to the annual approved budget in parliament over the past 10 years have rendered the budget debate nearly meaningless as whatever allocations approved by the Parliament gets completely ignored, and the actual expenditures are significantly different from the one approved.  Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak must also at the same time announce specific steps to be taken which will rein in the reckless disregard by the Government departments to ensure that the targets and objectives of the Budget are met, instead of just relying on the age-old rhetoric like “unlocking the real value of government assets” and ““value for money” in its spending without any follow up concrete actions.

Hence, we are fortunate that in 2010, our actual revenues to be collected, RM162.1 billion is significantly higher than the expected RM148.4 billion, or our deficit would have worsened substantially than the projected 5.6%.

Budget 2011: Disproportionate increase in operating expenditure and a reduction in development expenditure fails to give confidence that Budget 2011 will be able to stimulate the necessary growth to meet our high-income nation objective.

Prior to the announcement of the Budget 2011, the Prime Minister has announced a whole series of measures and projects under the Government (GTP) and Economic Transformation Programmes (ETP) which are designed to take Malaysia to meet our high-income nation objectives by 2020.

It is hence a surprise that in the Budget 2011, the Government has once again fallen back to the same budget formula employed by the former premier Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi which had resulted in a budget crisis in 2009/2010 where the deficit hit a high of 7.4% which had required the Government to impose a series of belt-tightening measures to reduce expenditure.

Instead of increasing the allocation for “development expenditure” to invest in the various critical projects under the National Key Result Areas (NKRA), GTP and ETP, it has been reduced by approximately RM4 billion (xxxx) from RM54.0 billion in 2010 to RM51.2 billion for 2011.

On the other hand, the “operating expenditure” of the Government is budgeted to increase by a massive RM10.6 billion or 7% from RM152.2 billion in 2010 to RM162.8 billion.  This has yet to take into account the fact that the original operating expenditure for 2010 was only RM138.3 billion.  If this original budget figure is used as the benchmark, the 2011 budget for operating expenditure will increase by massive 17.7% or RM24.5 billion.

The question arises as to why does the Government need to increase its operating expenditure by such a large amount when just not too long ago in 2004, the Government’s operating budget was only RM80 billion or less than half the budgeted amount for 2011?

When the expenditure for operating expenditure is analysed further, the category of expenditure which is budgeted to increase the most is for “supplies and services”.  This will increase from the budgeted RM20.8 billion for 2010 to RM28.2 billion for 2011 or a 35.6%.  This “supplies and services” expenditure is also the 2nd largest category at 17.3% of the total operating expenditure.

At the same time, the budget for emoluments remain the largest component of operating expenditure at 28.0% or RM45.6 billion.  This figure is also a RM3.4 billion increase from RM42.2 billion budgeted for 2010.

More worryingly, the ratio of operating expenditure to development has continued to increase despite the fact that the budget for 2011 is our highest ever at RM214 billion which signals the fact that we are not allocating our resources to the most productive use.  Instead of declining, the proportion of budget used for operating expenditure has increased from a low of 68.5% in 2003 to a record high of 76.8% budget for next year, despite a total increase in total expenditure from RM104.7 billion to RM214 billion.  This is shown in the table below:

Table 2: Government Operating v Development Expenditure (RM billions)

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

Operating Expenditure

71.7

80.0

89.1

101.2

113.0

128.8

157.1

152.2

162.8

68.5%

73.4%

76.4%

75.6%

72.9%

76.7%

75.3%

73.8%

76.0%

Development Expenditure

33.0

29.0

27.6

32.8

42.0

39.2

49.5

54.0

51.1

31.5%

26.6%

23.6%

24.4%

27.1%

23.3%

24.7%

26.2%

23.9%

Total Expenditure

104.7

109.0

116.7

134.0

155.0

168.0

204.7

206.2

213.9

Hence, we call upon the Prime Minister to explain why these worrying trends have not been addressed in the upcoming budget debate.

In order to ensure that Government expenditure is effectively utilised and is best able to generate the high economic multiplier impact for the country, the Government must ensure that its operating expenditure is restrained while the focus must be on development expenditure on projects which will bring high economic benefit for Malaysians throughout the country.

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 16 October 2010, 2:15 pm and is filed under
Economics
,
Najib Razak
,
Parliament
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


Carnage on our roads

By
Tunku Abdul Aziz

The Malaysian Insider

16th October 2010

[Tunku Aziz, one of the prime movers in setting up Transparency International Malaysia, in happier times was regarded by Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi as “one man (who) was able to harness his personal passion and deep commitment to the values of ethics and integrity, give it a larger purpose and meaning, and turn it into a force to transform society for the better.” Why then was he left out of the MACC Advisory Group? He is regarded as being too outspoken for comfort and, therefore, difficult to handle.]

Much of Malaysian television news time is taken up by ghastly scenes of unspeakable carnage on our state of the art highways. We have the highest number of fatalities of any country in the world based on car ownership per capita.

The road transport department, long known for providing a haven for some of the most corrupt civil servants in the country, must accept full responsibility for the abysmal driving standards and the shocking road manners that contribute to an unwholesome and dangerous experience for law abiding motorists whose only wish is to be left alone to complete their journey in one piece.

The “flying licences” scam in Perak as exposed by Datuk Abu Kassim Mohamed, then Director of the ACA Perak, now MACC’s Chief Commissioner, confirmed the extent of corruption plaguing the road transport department for as long as anyone cared to remember.

A study done by the government of Malaya two years or thereabouts before Merdeka pointed to a similar state of affairs in the RTD. It is, therefore, an old hand at the old game of corruption which has over time unleashed onto an unsuspecting nation tens of thousands potential road killers who have acquired their licenses through bribery and corruption.

The consequences of what can only be described as a betrayal of public trust are to be seen on roads all over the nation in the form of twisted metal encasing mangled bodies of innocent victims of widespread corruption.

Many who are on our roads should not have been allowed near a car in the first place, let alone drive it. Yes, they are licensed to maim and kill, but not to drive with care and consideration. They are a menace not only to themselves but worse still, to other road users.

They develop their own traffic rules as they go along, and as they regard the indicators on the steering column, for example, as optional equipment, you have to learn to be a mind reader to avoid being hit by these ultimate killer-lunatics.

Many of them graduate to bigger things, such as heavy trailer or container lorries and buses in which they develop their bullying tactics into a fine art, overtaking on the left, cutting in without warning, hogging the fast lane, overtaking motor cars which are already travelling close to the legal speed limit and, often, in a display of sheer lunatic streak, force a Kancil off the road.

What a difference when you compare the attitude of those driving buses and heavy lorries in Europe and Australia. They are careful about the safety of the passengers in their care, and the smaller vehicles sharing the road with them.

It begs the question how lorries and buses seem to get away quite literally with murder, which is what they are rather good at. They rule as kings of the highways of Malaysia, among the best in the world.

The laws of the country have never meant much to them. Now perched high up in their cabins above the Peroduas and the Protons of this world, these laws mean nothing at all to them.

As good Malaysians, they believe laws are made to be broken because they are familiar with a well-known local remedy that goes by the name of, “Nak Selesai-kah?” It is a failsafe solution. They also know from experience that the chances of being stopped by an honest enforcement officer are as good as striking a lottery.

Travelling up and down the country, I have rarely seen lorries and buses being stopped by enforcement officers although any one can tell that these lorries are grossly overweight. What is the secret of their immunity, I often wonder?

Successive ministers of transport, without exception, have failed to address the root causes of the unacceptable levels of fatalities on our roads. They have failed to get to the bottom of the problem, although it is clear as crystal to all of us who read and watch the gory details of tragic accidents that could arguably be avoided by better enforcement of existing traffic laws and regulations.

Malaysia is replete with laws; you name them and we have them, and yet why is it that we seem so helpless in creating order out of chaos in our society as a whole? Malaysia, as a country, runs the risk of being over-regulated and under-enforced, with predictable results.

To me it is corruption that is the real killer. The drivers who kill are merely its agents. This problem is so serious that it deserves the attention of a Royal Commission. It should be established immediately to undertake a study and make recommendations for ensuring the efficient management and operations of the Road Transport Department as part of the government’s enhanced delivery system that is the prime minister’s number one priority.

It is, sadly, a matter of life and death.

*
This piece first appeared in the New Sunday Times on June 10, 2007 as part of a longer article. It is reissued by the author for publication in The Malaysian Insider as a reminder of the debilitating effects of corruption on society.

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 16 October 2010, 12:20 pm and is filed under
Tunku Abdul Aziz
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


A Participant’s Perspective Of Kursus Kenegaraan (BTN)

Letter

By
A Disappointed Civil Servant

It amuses me to note the rapacious back and forth regarding the Kursus Kenegaraan organised by the Biro Tatanegara. However, i notice that remarks defending the program have so far been based on perspectives of certain Government officials, who may or may not have been subjected to the charms of the program. As a serving Government professional of non-Bumiputera descent, I feel it is pertinent that I share my experience of this program, so that some objectivity may be achieved in understanding the isssue at hand.

It is compulsory for all Govt. servants to attend this course once during service. I attended the program in 2006, in a group of 80-odd Malays and 9 non-Malays. We were a mix of doctors, dentists, pharmacists and teachers. On the first day, we had to listen to a series of 4 lectures, all delivered by lecturers from the local MARA University campus. I vividly remember the 1st lecture on Kerakyatan, for it was delivered with such fervour by an obviously inspired lecturer. At times he seemed to go off his script and made several references to ‘other’ races being ‘pendatangs’ and forgetting their ‘place’ in society, and not being grateful for the citizenship ‘awarded’ to them, and other remarks of a similar vein.

However what shocked me was when this lecturer, in a frenzied fit of rage, asked the audience whether they knew that ALL Indians who migrated here were from the PARIAH caste, and similarly all Chinese who came here were also from the lower classes in their country of origin. I was livid with rage that this supposed university lecturer had the unabashed temerity to tar all Indians and Chinese with the same brush, and make such an unsubstantiated sweeping statement that may have been lapped up by the ill-informed as the gospel truth. From that moment I was mentally tuned off from listening to further garbage being spewed by this obvious racist. After ranting and raving for a good forty minutes more, he mercifully concluded and invited questions from the floor.

I immediately got up and proceeded to enquire on what basis the lecturer made his sweeping statements, and if he was aware that aside from indentured labourers, the British had brought educated Indians and Ceylonese Tamils to serve in the civil service in pre-independence Malaya. I then informed him that I was a 3rd generation civil servant, and the last time I checked, I wasn’t a PARIAH. By this time the lecturer was squirming in discomfort, especially as the crowd assembled there started to cheer me on. I sternly told the lecturer to check his facts before he confuses others with blatant untruths.

The Chinese dentist that stood up after me was in no conciliatory mood however. She blasted the lecturer outright by saying ‘Saya berasa amat tersinggung dengan apa yang dikatakan oleh penceramah tadi (I am offended by the remarks made by the lecturer); ianya sangat tidak adil dan amat mengelirukan para hadirin di sini (it is an unfair statement and can confuse the others assembled here).’ Probably stung by the truth of those comments, the lecturer tried to weasel out of the messy situation by defending his statement which was made in a particular context. But none of us were fooled, and we realised that this course was an attempt to stereotype and racially profile the citizenry for the benefit of a certain group to assert its ‘ketuanan’ on others.

Suffice to say, i was least interested in the ensuing activities, especially the drill parade where we were forced to pray with arms outstretched to maintain ‘conformity’, despite my usual method being the traditional hands clasped in supplication.

Ultimately, the course made me despise the way the non-bumis were treated, and served to reinforce the belief shared by many that it is a brainwashing and indoctrination exercise to target the ill-informed and the gullible. I am sure my Malay friends would (mostly) have cringed in shame at the way their fellow citizens were humiliated and made a mockery of.

Bottom line is, stay away from this course. It does no good and can serve to divide the population.

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 17 October 2010, 7:18 pm and is filed under
Letters
,
nation building
,
public service
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


Najib’s 2011 Budget is not  a child of New Economic Model but bears all the marks of old discredited policies

Despite all its bombast and pyrotechnics, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s 2011 budget is not a child of the New Economic Model but bears all the marks of old discredited policies which have landed Malaysia in the middle-income trap for more than a decade, setting the country towards  a failed and bankrupt nation come 2019.

Former Prime Minister Tun Mahathir’s obsession with mega projects like the proposed RM5 billion 100-storey Warisan Merdeka tower is back with a vengeance.

If Najib is seriously committed to a New Economic Model, based on economic, social and government transformation,  wouldn’t it be more appropriate for Malaysia to achieve targets as being ranked among the first twenty if not first ten of the least corrupt nations in the annual  Transparency International Corruption Perception Index or having at least 10 universities which are ranked among the Top 100 Universities in the world?

In fact, it must be asked  whether Najib is  secretly trying to  out-Mahathir Mahathir not only to build a tower higher than Mahathir’s Petronas Twin Towers, but  which could be acclaimed as the tallest in the world – however brief the claim?

The 88-storey  452-metre RM2billion Petronas Twin Towers was acclaimed as the tallest building in the world when it was completed in 1998 (squeaking past the Chicago Sears Towers by 33 feet because of spires atop the Petronas Towers although the highest occupied floor in the Sears Towers was actually 200 feet higher than the top floor of Petronas Towers) but it was overtaken by Taipei 101 Tower (101 storeys, 509 metres) in 2004 and Shanghai World Financial Centre (101 storeys, 492 metres) in 2008.

The world’s tallest building is Dubai Tower (Burj Khalifa) – 828 metres with 152 storeys – completed this year.

Or is Najib harbouring the ambition to just  build the tallest building in Asia. He will have to take into account South Korea’s Lotte World II, which is 501.5 metres tall with 110 storeys, expected to be completed in 2013.

Najib’s 2011 Budget is not convincing that it represents the first budget of a New Economic Model to transform Malaysia from a middle income country to an inclusive and sustainable  high-income developed country by 2020, emphasising high-skilled human capital, efficient public services, a reinvigorated private sector and equal opportunity for all Malaysians.

The Talents Corporation that is to be set up early next year is to formulate a National Talent Blueprint and develop an expert workforce database as well as to collaborate closely with talent networks globally, but what surety is that the National Talent Blueprint is  not condemned to failure like previous “Brain Gain” programmes for the simple reason that there is no political leadership and will in the Najib administration to achieve the vision spelt out by the New Economic Model, viz: “Malaysia must be seen by its people and by others as a land of equal opportunity to earn a good living and provide a secure, happy life for each individual and the family”.

Any doubts about the lack of political will and leadership of the Najib administration to spearhead political, economic, social and government transformation which must be the pillars for Malaysia’s economic and national salvation are banished by Najib’s shocking attempt to compromise the civil service and government pensioners to enlist them to be Umno supporters.

When launching the Umno Club for retired government servants in his official residence at Seri Perdana last night, Najib said he is baffled that  there are civil servants and government pensioners who support the opposition.

He said: “Civil servants should know better that it is only Umno that can ensure our survival.”

He asked: “I want to ask who were the ones who questioned Article 153 in the Constitution? Malay privileges; who questioned them?

“Who caused the incident of not offering prayers for the well-being of the king? Who wanted Universiti Teknologi Mara to be opened to the non-Malays. Not Umno, but the other side.”

In one fell swoop, Najib has demonstrated that his 1Malaysia policy and all the talk about economic, social and government transformation to underpin a quantum leap for the nation to escape the middle-income trap and achieve an inclusive, sustainable high-income developed nation in 2020 are all just bunkum.

What is worse, his utter contempt for MCA, Gerakan, MIC, SUPP, PBS and other Barisan Nasional component parties in his 1Malaysia scheme of things – as they are all irrelevant and immaterial to UMNO, making a complete mockery of his 1Malaysia policy.

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 17 October 2010, 12:25 pm and is filed under
1Malaysia
,
Budget Debate
,
Mahathir
,
Najib Razak
,
public service
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


PM confounded by pro-opposition civil servants

Malaysiakini

Oct 16, 10 11:41pm

Prime Minister Najib Razak is baffled that there are civil servants and government pensioners who preferred to support the opposition.

“We have to look into this … this is not right. Maybe because they were angry with a few, they decided to ditch the whole ship,” he said when launching an Umno Club for retired senior government officers at his official residence, Seri Perdana, today.

“Civil servants should know better that it is only Umno that can ensure our survival.”

He then launched a broadside against the opposition PKR.

“Look at what is happening at a party on the other side now. Chairs flying, members suffering broken arms, sprained limbs. And all because someone wants to occupy the prime minister’s residence in Putrajaya,” he said.

“I want to ask who were the ones who questioned Article 153 in the Constitution? Malay privileges; who questioned them?

“Who caused the incident of not offering prayers for the well-being of the king? Who wanted Universiti Teknologi Mara to be opened to the non-Malays. Not Umno, but the other side,” he said.

At the same time, he said Umno must continue to be seen as a party that was principled and had consideration for others.

“We must be fair… fair to the Malays as well as the non-Malays in the country. Only then we can have a nation that is united, strong and successful,” he said.

“There cannot be a situation where the majority group owns the least wealth. That is not a good recipe for long term stability.”

A New Political Model

According to Najib, the good track record of a ruling party can no longer guarantee that it would continue to remain in power.

He said a new political model might have to be introduced to ensure Umno continued to lead the nation.

“We not only need a New Economic Model, we might also need a New Political Model,” Najib, who is also Umno president, said the strategy of politics of development was no longer effective now.

“The reason why people are rejecting political parties that have contributed a lot over the years is because of parties that did not change. They are seen as rigid and not dynamic.”

Nevertheless, he said a new political model would not change the objectives of Umno’s struggle but instead in the methods employed to sustain its cause in the context of changes taking place all around.

“People are saying the environment has changed but the old methodology is still being used when it should be new environment, new methodology. Only then Umno will be seen as a party that is dynamic.”

– Bernama

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 17 October 2010, 10:10 am and is filed under
Najib Razak
,
public service
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


2011 Budget – Eulogy for NEM and relaunch of Mahathir economic model (Part 3 of 4)

The Pivotal Role of the Private Sector

Much was made in the ETP presentation about reinvigorating private investment, with 92% of the total projected investment of US$444 being investment by the private sector. These expressions are repeated in the Budget Speech. However no details have been provided as to how this target is to be achieved.

The speech tantalizingly offers the suggestion that the Government will intensify the Public-Private Partnership to “… enhance private sector involvement in economic activities”  To this end the Government proposes to invest RM 1 billion from the Facilitation Fund in support of several infrastructure projects.

On the one hand the formulation is built upon the notion that the private sector will be unleashed; and yet the ETP is in reality a top down creation. PEMANDU is seemingly picking “winners” and it would imply that Malaysia is about to embark upon a new form of central planning to get to highly untenable targets.

The approach contradicts the very notion that the private sector will be freed to make investment decisions without interference from the Government. A grave omission in the ETP is the singular lack of an articulation of changes in the policy regime to arrest corruption, increase competitiveness and transparency in procurements, introduce meaningful safety net programs, rationalize labor market policies including the adoption of a minimum wage policy and the abolition of anti-competitive measures e.g. APs.

The PPP modality appears to be a thinly-disguised mechanism to overcome certain obstacles. The mechanism will enable GLCs and crony corporations to gain approval of mega projects. These entities will then receive government guarantees (as in the case of the PKFZ project) to borrow from the government controlled commercial banks and other financial institutions such as the EPF and Khazanah Nasional . It is patently clear that even the largest private sector firms are not in a position to go ahead with the projected mega projects on their own.

The private sector investment program has been woefully inadequate. Private investment grew only 2 per cent on average between 2006 and 2010 but is projected to be 10.8 per cent of GDP this year and 11.3 per cent of GDP next year The so-called private sector driven investment remains a mirage; it is the GLCs and crony corporations that will be the main players acting on behalf of the Government. This is akin to a ponzi scheme and the end result will be the Government assuming large off budget contingent liabilities. These hidden liabilities will permit the Government to claim that the budget deficit is under control.

It is becoming increasingly apparent that there is no intent to adopt a true New Economic Model. The path being taken, to put it simply, is one that represents a return to the era of mega infrastructure and “feel good” projects undertaken by the Government in an indirect manner via GLCs and crony corporations.

Much has been made of several mega projects. The MRT project, projected to cost RM 40 billion, will if the past is any guide, cost considerably more with massive cost overruns. This will indeed be the case in respect of all of the other construction and infrastructure projects.

Again based on history, the operators of the system will receive firm government guarantees or be subsidized from public funds. Much the same can be said about the Hi-Speed Rail link to Singapore. It is highly questionable that there is an established economic viability for the project. The Sungei Buloh project represents yet another construction project that will utilize public funds and contribute to further congestion in the Klang Valley.

The Warisan Merdeka development scheme has been much derided by the public. It represents a gross misuse of much needed capital. This together with other commercial development of real estate in the Klang Valley will inevitably create a huge glut in real estate space. Asset bubbles of these kinds inevitably lead to crisises.

Revitalization of the financial sector will demand more than what the Prime Minister outlined. It is time for privatization of banks. The sector is dominated by government owned banks thus permitting directed lending to GLCs and friends of the BN. Small and medium sized enterprises are disadvantaged. If the private sector is to prosper, finance for these SMEs is critical and yet the Budget makes little or no provision.

True divesting by GLCs is unlikely as the existing GLC holdings are shuffled around. A case in point is the deal associated with PLUS wherein EPF and Khazanah acquire the former.

The Prime Minister’s announcement that GLICs will increase investment in overseas markets is at odds with national objectives. The intent to increase the EPF’s overseas investments from 7% to 20% is a strong endorsement and official support for capital flight. It is illogical to send capital abroad at a time when resources are needed to upgrade the capacity of the domestic economy and improve its competitiveness.

The intent to enhance and upgrade the Electronics industry is laudable and long overdue. However, the approach taken is merely throwing money at the activity. This approach is unlikely to yield the desired outcome. What the industry needs is a strong injection of skilled workers.

As the domestic educational system is incapable of churning out a sufficient number of workers, and Malaysians acquiring such skills overseas are unwilling to return, the only option is to liberalize the hiring of high skilled foreign workers at internationally competitive wage rates.

It is time we emulate and learn from the practice of Silicon Valley firms who attracted skilled professionals from East and South Asia. It does appear that the Government has an overall and integrated policy. The much hyped Cyberjaya project continues to languish after more than a decade in part because of shortages of skills.

The Prime Minister announced a slew of tax concessions and incentives to advance the adoption of Green Technology. The practice of including tax and other incentives in the Budget has become an annual ritual.

If the past is any guide, there is hardly any assurance that investors are attracted into investing on the basis of such inducements. The overall investment climate, government policies, the creation of a competitive environment free of corruption constitute important factors that enter into investment decisions.

The failure to act upon these aspects is a negative factor that plays a major role in investment decisions. Furthermore, the fiscal cost of these incentives and tax breaks weighs heavily on fiscal stability. It is time that the Government reviews the entire strategy of giving generous incentives which do not have the requisite outcomes.

For invigorating the agricultural sector, vast sums are to be allocated. Here again, it is pertinent to ask why the public sector needs to intervene. This is inconsistent with the notion of letting the private sector taking a lead.

The multiplicity of expenditure proposals announced by the Prime Minister in sector after sector is indicative of the overwhelming role Government proposes to play. For instance the proposal to construct hotels and resorts in remote areas is clearly something the Government does not need to undertake. Such projects are best left to the private sector. An approach that leads to government interventions of this kind will stifle private sector initiatives and lead to the creation of a command economy overseen and managed by bureaucrats. These actions are clearly in contradiction to the highly trumpeted goals encompassed by the NEM that envisage the private sector leading the growth effort.

The intent to provide funding for replanting oil palm plantations and to support oleo derivatives is a highly questionable use of public financial resources. These allocations are tantamount to the provision of subsidies to producers or the granting of corporate welfare payments. By acting in this manner, the Government is placing Malaysia in danger of attracting WTO sanctions.

Among the other proposals that the Prime Minister unveiled, mention must be made of the intent to amend the Bankruptcy Act of 1967 by introducing “
 … provision relating to relief mechanism for companies and individuals with financial problems.
”  This would appear to be an opening of the door for future bail outs for cronies of the BN.

Among the few tax measures announced in the Budget was the raising of the service tax from 5% to 6% and its application to television broadcasts. This sly tax effort is nothing but a meek effort to introduce the much debated GST by stealth. The Government appears to want its cake and eating it at the same time.

The announcement that toll charges on the PLUS operated highways shall be frozen appears generous to consumers on the face of it. In reality PLUS will continue to be compensated by the Government at the tax payers’ expense. The appropriate step that the Government needs to take is to renegotiate all existing toll concession agreements with the respective operators.

Next :
Part 4 – Human Capital Issues

                This entry was posted on Monday, 18 October 2010, 4:34 pm and is filed under
Economics
,
Mahathir
,
Najib Razak
,
NEM
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


2011 Budget – Eulogy for NEM and relaunch of Mahathir economic model (Part 4 of 4)

Human Capital Issues

The allocations announced in the Budget for human capital development are indeed impressive. However, the question arises if the nation will get value for its money.  There can be no denial of the fact that the Malaysian educational system is in disarray.

Standards have fallen dramatically. Our universities turn out graduates who lack rudimentary skills demanded by employers thus contributing to low productivity and loss of competitiveness. Our secondary school system is in disastrous shape.

Those who are charged with educating the next generation of Malaysians to be responsible citizens are more interested in promoting race hate as recent episodes of misbehavior by teachers highlight.

The lack of an adequate reaction from the top echelons of the Government has sent a strong signal to others in the educational system to project the message of hate that BTN promotes with impunity. These despicable acts and patterns of behavior give credence to the notion that the 1Malaysia slogan is nothing more than a catchy slogan devoid of meaning or sincerity.

Creating a skilled, innovative and knowledgeable work force demands a major revamping of the existing system. The Prime Minister gave no indication that a rethinking is contemplated.

The fact that the country is entrapped in the middle income trap can in large measure be attributed to the fact that the current educational system and labor market policies have been inappropriate. It is clear that without a fundamental change in these areas the country faces the prospect of remaining a middle income country.

The Prime Minister made much of the fact that efforts are being made to attract Malaysians working abroad to return to the land of their birth. The establishment of a Talent Corporation has been announced with great fanfare. It is far from clear how and what it will do.

There is hardly any recognition of the fact that Malaysians migrate partly in search of a better quality of life and higher incomes. What is becoming increasingly evident is that race polarization and increasing intolerance are emerging as negative factors that encourage migration and discourage a return to Malaysia. It is most sobering to note that the Government has yet to acknowledge the need for addressing the root causes.

The Prime Minister made reference to the fact that 375 native English speaking teachers will be hired to enhance the teaching of English. This proposal is somewhat laughable as the number involved is minute in relation to the demand.

If the Prime Minister and his Deputy, the Minister for Education are sincere and acknowledge the role English plays in commerce and industry and the modernization process, there is a need to mount a crash program.

The Government should promptly hire  1000 lecturers to train existing secondary school teachers in the teaching of English as a second language. Other steps worthy of consideration would be to making a pass in English in the MCE a requirement; all undergraduates be required to pass a course in English.

Again large allocations have been made for programs for Intensifying Training and Skills. A new program (1Malaysia Training Program) has been added. There is no indication that these multiplicities of programs have had a favorable impact. There is a clear need to review and evaluate these programs and to ensure that they are effective in meeting new goals and objectives of national policies.

The proposed establishment of a National Wage Consultation Council as the main platform for wage determination represents a modest and belated attempt to bring greater equity in the determination of wages.

For far too long the Government has indulged in policies that favor employers. Its labor market policies favoring the inflow of low wage migrant labor have contributed to a suppression of wage levels and pushing many working Malaysians to below poverty income levels. These distortions have become serious and require rectification. Time will tell if the new Council will contribute to correcting these anomalies.

The ad hoc setting of wage levels for different occupations such as security guards, postmen etc that the Prime Minister cited raise an issue of equity. It is hard to rationalize why there should be different minima for different occupations and these minima are either close to or even below the poverty line. In setting a minimum wage, it is imperative that wage levels be not near or below the poverty line.

Budget expenditures

The Budget for the year ahead calls for an expenditure of RM 212 billion and is 2.8 percent higher than in 2010. There is however little doubt that the final outturn will exceed by a sizable margin the budgeted amount when customary Supplementary Allocations are taken into account. The projected reduction in the deficit to 5.4% from 5.6% is not likely to be met. It is also important to note that expenditure increases of the order of 2.8% are unrealistic when account is taken of likely inflation in the range of 2 to 2.5%. That expenditure in real terms will increase by only 1% stretches credibility to the limit.

It is to be noted that the expenditure proposals generously allocate funds to Federal Government controlled projects. The Prime Minister’s speech was eloquently silent on the amounts that are to be transferred to the various State Administrations. Federal revenue sharing in the face of major structural changes appears to be wholly ignored.

The revenue projections call for an increase of 2.3% in current price terms. Several comments are in order. Firstly, it is most odd that revenue growth will be slower than GDP growth. GDP at current prices is likely to be of the order of 7 to 8 percent.  It implies that tax revenues will not keep pace and point to large leakages in tax collections. That expenditure growth will outpace revenue growth is most telling. It signifies that prudent budgeting principles are being set aside in the interests of short term expediency. The much touted goal of bringing the deficit under control is thus unlikely to be achieved.  The Mahathir model of large deficits continues to drive economic policy.

The fiscal picture presented in the Prime Minister’s speech is far from transparent. No indication is given of the large hidden off budget transactions. Nor is there even a hint of the increase in contingent liabilities that the Government will assume via the granting of loan guarantees. The lessons from the PKFZ fiasco have yet to be learnt.

What the Prime Minister failed to disclose in his speech was that net domestic borrowings by the federal government would rise to RM51.1 billion in 2011, from RM36.5 billion in the current year. A 40% jump in net borrowing and the lack of disclosure of this fact in the Budget Speech is not an oversight or non-disclosure of a fact of insignificance. The concealment is a clear example of lack of transparency and accountability. The nation is being misled and lulled into a false sense of wellbeing.

Conclusion

What is becoming clear is that the Government is embarked upon a dangerous path of massive borrowing and spending. The spending is directed and channeled towards projects and activities that will not contribute to either enhancing the productive or the competitive capacity of the economy. The key beneficiaries are likely to be a small coterie with links to the Barisan.

Short term political objectives are being placed ahead of the long term needs of the nation.  A weak and divided Government is being driven to adopt failed and disastrous policies of the past. Reforms are being obstructed by vested interests whose narrow agenda is without vision. The nation’s path to the future and its destiny cannot and must not be set by yesterday’s men. If this path is pursued, Malaysia tragically is headed towards the same situation as faced by Greece in its recent economic crisis. A crisis of that nature will result in deep austerity, a falling of living standards and the destruction of wealth.

Malaysia must move away from that path to the precipice and must instead embrace reforms that will lead the country to a higher plane.

                This entry was posted on Monday, 18 October 2010, 4:38 pm and is filed under
Economics
,
Mahathir
,
Najib Razak
,
NEM
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


2011 Budget – Eulogy for NEM and relaunch of Mahathir economic model (Part 1 of 4)

The Budget presented by the Prime Minister was a eulogy for the death of the New Economic Model. It provides a clear confirmation that this Government is incapable of living up to the rhetoric of reform that it had vigorously promoted over the past year.

The slogans and feel good speeches crafted by highly paid spin doctors have not been translated into clear action programs. The divided and weak BN Government remains mired and has now demonstrated its inability to deliver upon its promises of change.

The Budget marks the return to failed economic policies of the past. The Mahathir Economic Model built around mega projects, crony capitalists as key players, bailouts and handouts is once again alive and returns to haunt the nation.

The Budget yet again demonstrates that this administration is incorrigibly incapable of drawing lessons from the past and persists with policies that have entrapped Malaysia in the middle income trap.

The Budget for 2011 has all of the attributes of a blunt tool for distributing public funds to UMNOputras, BN cronies, and vested groups that constitute the vote bank of the Barisan.

The distribution of public resources is to be achieved by way of granting mega projects to UMNOputras and cronies, new and additional perks to the 1.2 million public servants and party hacks that feed at the public trough.

The timing is indeed not a coincidence as it is ahead of the impending General Election. In brief, the Budget is more than just a throwback to the discredited Mahathir era of mega projects, bailouts, piratization of public assets and rampant corruption.

The Budget will not only return the nation to that tragic era of bad governance but put it on a path to economic disaster in the medium term.

Underlying Budget Strategy

The Budget provides in rather stark terms confirmation of the fact that the Prime Minister is indeed consistent.

After having used the technique of dishing out grants and “projects” in recent by-elections in a desperate attempt to win, he is now resorting to the use of the same methods to win the GE 13.

The only difference is that what was practiced at a “retail” level is now being translated into a “wholesale” activity to blatantly buy the next election.

The announcement of multiple mega projects with little economic rationale, and the handing out of perks to particular constituencies and interest groups is nothing but a magnified and enlarged game plan to win the next election at all costs. Party interest is placed ahead of the national interest.

The Prime Minister stated in his speech that the “era of Government knows best is over” and referred to the so-called consultations in the formulation of the Budget. These consultations were nothing but process-driven and largely concentrated on the identification and confirmation of projects of benefit to UMNOputras and BN cronies.

No consultations were held with the State Governments. Neither the BN nor the Pakatan state governments were engaged in a dialogue, giving a lie to the statement that the Federal Government no longer takes the position that it knows best.

The much promoted NEAC analysis and recommended policy reforms under the rubric of the New Economic Model have been totally ignored in the formulation of the budget for 2011. Indeed, the only reference to the NEM is in this preamble to the speech.

The Budget presented on Oct 15th is singularly silent on the issue of key reforms needed to restore competitiveness, provide the basis for the private sector to assume the lead role in spearheading economic growth and transformation, and place Malaysia on a path that would permit it to escape the middle income trap by the end of the next decade.

Next :
Part 2 – Recent Economic Performance & Prospects

                This entry was posted on Monday, 18 October 2010, 4:23 pm and is filed under
Economics
,
Mahathir
,
Najib Razak
,
NEM
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


2011 Budget – Eulogy for NEM and relaunch of Mahathir economic model (Part 2 of 4)

Recent Economic Performance & Prospects

In the formulation of the Budget for 2011, the Prime Minister made the claim that the Malaysian economy had recovered from the global economic recession.

In an act of self congratulation, he attributed this to the proactive measures taken by the Government through the RM 67 billion stimulus package. He however failed to acknowledge that other countries in the region had performed equally well or even exceeded Malaysian performance.

The statistics he cited refer to the short term and are soothing. However, he made no mention of the challenging issues that will determine the medium term performance of the nation’s economy.

He appears to be suffering from a bout of amnesia about the need to address the issue of subsidies and to achieve fiscal balance.

He appears to have chosen to sweep under the carpet the entire issue of needed fiscal and structural reforms which were highlighted by the International Monetary Fund during the 2010 annual Article IV consultations.

The consultations had stressed the need to take steps to support the recovery and the priorities for structural reforms over the medium term. On the issue of Fiscal Policy, the Fund argued that “budgetary gains would prove transitory, however, if the broader agenda of fiscal reforms remains unfinished.”

The IMF report touched on the various steps announced by the Government – the 1Malaysia program, the Government Transformation Program, the Economic Transformation Program built on the New Economic Model, (NEM) and the Tenth Malaysia Plan, (10MP).

It is most significant that the IMF was blunt in stating its assessment. It stated: “
Development policies have been dressed in rhetoric before but the sense of urgency seems higher now than in the past.
” This is a rather remarkable and blunt statement and points to a question about the credibility of the Government.

The Prime Minister projected optimism about growth prospects in the year ahead based on the recovery in the global economy coupled with private investment and consumption expanding by 10.2% and 6.3% respectively.

These assumptions are highly speculative when account is taken of the continuing fears about a double-dip in the global economy.

The Prime Minister has chosen to ignore the IMF’s assessments. The Fund in its report is pessimistic about a pronounced recovery in the year ahead in private investment, given still unused capacity.  The Fund had noted that capital expenditure of public enterprises is expected to pick up.

Thus, the prognosis is for government induced investment rather than the private sector providing the impetus for growth. These trends are indicative of the fact that public investment is likely to be the dominant factor as in the past.

It is significant that the Prime Minister did not deal with the issue of declining FDI flows and how he proposes to reverse these trends.

Looking ahead, the IMF report mades the following comment: “
The outlook for the medium term depends on the scope and speed of the government’s own economic transformation program
”.

Further comments in the report suggest that the Fund does not have much confidence in full and speedy implementation of reform measures. This interpretation is supported by the fact that the Fund sees the external imbalance reflecting impediments to investment and high precautionary savings, which current policies address only partially.

The ostrich-like approach adopted by the Government in reacting to these issues in the formulation of the Budget for 2011 is further magnified by the fact that no attempt has been made to acknowledge the critical issues the economy faces, inter alia : continued weaknesses in FDI flows, significant capital flight, loss of human capital and policy paralysis brought about by the demands of reactionary vested interest groups opposed to reforms.

In his speech, the Prime Minister stated: “
To attain developed nation status, we cannot remain complacent. We must change our mindset. Business is not as usual. Success demands drastic changes, not incremental. It requires a quantum leap. The choice before us is clear. Change is not an option but an imperative. We must change or risk being left behind.
”

These are fine words. There can be no disagreement with this statement. However, the speech offers no evidence of this rhetoric being transformed (to use a rather fashionable term that has entered the Government’s lexicon) into actionable programs.

The Prime Minister, for instance, has gone totally silent on the issue of subsidies and the broadening of the tax base and gaining control over unsustainable budget deficits.

Indeed, new subsidies and numerous handouts have been incorporated into the Budget. The Government has yet again ignored the opportunity to seriously address the need for measures that would result in economies that would result from improved procurement as well as cuts in discretionary spending and transfers.

In a speech of 34 pages there is not a single reference to these issues. It is appropriate to ask: Why this deafening silence? How is this consistent with the Prime Minister’s rhetoric about not being caught in the business-as-usual syndrome?

The report made the following pointed criticisms of Government fiscal policies:

“
Fiscal risks in Malaysia have grown over the years
. Policy has been pro-cyclical in good times, setting the stage for unprecedented deficits when budget support was necessary during the crisis. Increased dependence on oil revenue further undermines the public finances.”

“
Consolidation is needed to reconstitute room for maneuver and forestall market concerns
”.

“
Budgetary gains will prove transitory, however, if the broader agenda of fiscal reforms remains unfinished
.”

“
Savings can be achieved by rationalizing subsidies and tax structures
. Political realities suggest that subsidy reform needs to be gradual but sustained. The sooner it starts the better. The broad approach under consideration—centered on periodic reductions of key subsidies with compensatory cash transfers to the most vulnerable groups—seems broadly appropriate, provided that reform fatigue does not set in.”

It is legitimate to ask the Prime Minister how and when he proposes to deal with these issues.

Next :
Part 3 – The Pivotal Role of the Private Sector

                This entry was posted on Monday, 18 October 2010, 4:27 pm and is filed under
Economics
,
Mahathir
,
Najib Razak
,
NEM
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


Neo-Maya, Neo-Malaya

By
Azly Rahman

\Verily… the evolution of modern man can be characterized by his worship of the monolith and in building tall structures so that not only he may reach the heavens and touch the gods, but become avatars and demi-gods and enslave fellow men — as those who owns those towers of powers and monoliths of machiavellianism owns the means of writing the script for evolution — ar

And thus sprach Zarathustra,

                   prophet of long ago who spoke of good and evil

of this world as battleground

of the sacred and the profane

of the triumph of Man

of the triumph of Superman

Ahh, what worth is there

     in believing in religion, in philosophy, in the arts

                                      when these are silenced by the State

                      unto which the necessary evil reigns

when the mantra of civilization and progress hath made Man insane

Bring down the walls

      tear down the bricks,

      one by one, and all

Peace be unto the nation

                that builds towers that touch the sky

Unto which Man shall return

               as he hath plundered by the billions

Peace be to the new Temple of the Mayas

of this country now called neo-Malaya

     of towers of power built upon the glory

             of people’ blood, sweat, tears, and fear

Glory Glory Hallelujah …

Amin amin Ya Rabbil Alam ‘in

InsyaAllah things will be fine,

   as they say

              Many prayed while the tyrants wine and dine

Build towers as tall as power allows them to be

So that the leaders can spit on the rakyat

                                     from up in heaven yonder

And the rakyat may happily see that as blessings

And ask for more — in a world wherein modernity means assisted dying

In politics and business lie the evidence

                  of the glorification of the beastiality of Man

                  couched in language of arrogant knowledge

                  that philosophy and poetics cannot triumph,

 in a world of historical complexity

wherein beasts, plunderers, and hell-raisers triumph

over philosopher-rulers and prophets of hope and deliverance.

Towers of power Man so desires

To enlarge the Inner Rings of Fire

         and burn the soul entire

Whilst this too shall pass

As fast as capitalism’s speed in forming caste and class

Whilst this too shall pass — hell-raisers and bloodsuckers

       will feast in merriment –

       till the state coffers run dry leaving the nation aghast

Ah…  progress .. progress .. progress  we must as our leaders say

Progress we say as we steal from the poor

                  and keep true patriots at bay

Let us tell the people we are one nation under god

One Malaysia indivisible and all

As we plunder — before the general election smash us

                                      Crooks and cronies and all

                                              worse than the broken pieces of Humpty Dumpty’s fall

O’ people down below

Excuse us while we kiss the clouds

            and embrace the limitless sky in our three-piece suits

            and our split-tongued sermons

Excuse me if I have to spit down below from the towers of power

                  and ignore your sorrows

for you are poor because you are lazy

we are wealthy because we are the chosen ones

                   our children born with silver spoons guaranteed

O’ chosen ones — manage this land of plenty

And in God we trust

For all is but a grand design foretold

In this land that grooms dynasties living in lust

                 graced with thrones of gold

Amen. Amen, May God save this nation.

                This entry was posted on Monday, 18 October 2010, 4:12 pm and is filed under
Azly Rahman
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


Tan Zhong Shan – top law student at Cambridge University is Malaysian and latest example of our costly brain-drain

Congratulations to Ipoh-born 23-year-old Tan Zhong Shan who has emerged as the top student in his final-year law examinations at Cambridge University.

In a report headlined “Malaysian is top law student at Cambridge University”, the Star today reported that Tan obtained a first-class honours in the Bachelor of Arts (Law) in June this year at Queens’ College, which is part of the university, one of England’s oldest and most prestigious.

The report said:

“He even scored the ‘Slaughter and May’ prize given by the university’s Law Faculty – an award given to those who achieve the best overall performance in the final-year law examinations.

“Other coveted prizes he bagged include The Norton Rose Prize for Commercial Law, the Clifford Chance Prize for European Union Law and the Herbert Smith Prize for Conflict of Laws.

“Queens’ College dean Dr Martin Dixon said Tan definitely stood out among the students there.

“ ‘He is probably the best Malaysian student I have seen in the last 10 years,’ said Dr Dixon, who taught Tan on Land and Equity for two years.

“’He is the most able, dedicated and one of the most likeable students I have taught in more than 20 years at Cambridge.’”

However, Tan is the latest example of the failed Barisan Nasional policies resulting in the costly brain-drain in the past four decades which Prime Minister-cum-Finance Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s 2011 Budget has done nothing to resolve for the country to become high-achieving and internationally competitive.

This is because Tan is one of Malaysia’s “best and brightest” sons and daughters we have been losing to other countries in tens of thousands every year  because of unfair Barisan Nasional education and nation-building policies – whether by directly driving them abroad to pursue secondary, pre-university and university education or pushing their parents to join the migration wave in earlier decades.

This is obvious from the report citing Tan as an ASEAN scholar awarded by the Singapore Ministry of Education after completing his A-levels at the Temasek Junior College in Singapore.

In the 2011 Budget, Najib announced “Intensifying Human Capital Development” as one of the four budget strategies, disclosing that the Government will establish a Talent Corporation in early 2001 “to attract, motivate and retain talent human capital from within the country and abroad”.

Although this is also the emphasis of the New Economic Model to “save” the country from the decades-long middle-income trap  and from becoming a bankrupt nation in 2019 and instead to transform Malaysia into a high-income developed nation in 2020, there is nothing in Najib’s 2011 Budget to demonstrate that the government is at last  serious and has the political will to address and end this  grave problem of brain drain.

What is there in the 2011 Budget to convince Malaysians that the budding Tan Zhong Shans in the schools in Malaysia, who can become top students in the world’s top universities, will not be driven from Malaysian schools and universities to foreign ones by unfair BN policies only to benefit other countries eventually?

The Najibonomics of the  2011 Budget is just a throwback to the old Mahathironomics of mega-projects like the proposal to build a 100-storey RM5 billion Najib Tower rather than to create a new architecture of Malaysian talents fully able to retain and utilize  the contributions of the  best and brightest of Malaysians – who can compare and compete with their peers in other parts of the world.

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 19 October 2010, 12:50 pm and is filed under
Economics
,
Education
,
Najib Razak
,
NEM
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


Ipoh born, Cambridge educated, Malaysia’s loss, Singapore’s gain

By
Mariam Mokhtar

He did his parents proud, his teachers are equally elated, his birthplace is euphoric to claim he is one of them, and his country would have been ecstatic.

His name is Tan Zhongshan and he was born in Ipoh. He chose to read law at university because he said, “Being in the legal line gives you a chance to make changes that have a far-reaching effect.”

In June, Tan received a first–class honours in Bachelor of Arts (Law) at Queen’s College, Cambridge, one of the world’s topmost universities. Cambridge, England’s second oldest university, usually contends with Oxford for first place in the UK university league tables.

Tan excelled as the top student in his final-year law examinations, but he also won the “Slaughter and May” prize, awarded by the Law Faculty for the student with the best overall performance.

In addition, he managed to bag the Norton Rose Prize for Commercial Law, the Clifford Chance Prize for European Union Law and the Herbert Smith Prize for Conflict of Laws.

Tan distinguished himself and was a source of help to his fellow students, according to his tutor and the dean of Queen’s college, Dr. Martin Dixon.

Dr. Dixon said, ““He is probably the best Malaysian student I have seen in the last 10 years. He is the most able, dedicated and one of the most likeable students I have taught in more than 20 years at Cambridge. He works really hard, has great insight and intuition. He is a problem-solver, listens well and learns.”

However, the 23-year-old Tan shrugged off his accomplishments which he said was due to “consistent work and a detailed understanding of the subjects.”

Tan, who plays classical guitar, was modest about his success, “It was a pleasant surprise as it is hard to predict the end results.”

Sadly, this brilliant, young Malaysian will not be working in Malaysia.

Tan, who has been in Singapore since August, expects to complete his Bar examinations by the end of 2011 and said, “I will also join the Singapore Legal Service in January”.

After completing his A-levels at the Temasek Junior College, the Singapore Ministry of Education awarded him an Asean scholarship.

Tan will not be the first nor last Malaysian who we let slip through our fingers.

It makes many ordinary Malaysians quietly fill with rage that the policies of our government reward the mediocre or the ‘can-do’ types and ignore the best and the brightest. When will this madness end?

Our judiciary was one of the best in the region, but today, it is not fit for purpose.

Sadly, we have clowns and fools to dictate how our courts are run. The best comedy act was played out recently in the Teoh Beng Hock trial when Thai pathologist Pornthip Rojanasunand was cross-examined by presumably the best of the attorney general’s bunch of merry-men.

If that is how Malaysian lawmakers prefer to project their image to the world, then they really need their heads examined.

We are haemorrhaging our best talent to countries that receive them with open arms. Record numbers of Malaysians are leaving – doctors, surgeons, nurses, lawyers, accountants, lecturers, engineers, quantity surveyors. We are experiencing the biggest exodus in our 53-year history.

It is estimated that there are over 1 million Malaysians living and working abroad, many of whom are highly qualified personnel.

If the government thinks that it is only the non-Malays who are leaving then they are wrong. If Malays are also leaving in large numbers then it should be obvious (which it is presumably to the ordinary man in the street but not to our government) that preferential treatment for Malays is not a major pull nor conducive to the normal thinking person.

What other countries do is to offer Malaysians opportunities – something which is not available, to the majority of Malaysians, of whichever racial origin. Our government fails to realise that people need to feel appreciated and thrive in conditions which stimulate personal development.

Government interference in the things that affect the personal lives of its citizens is what has kept many overseas Malaysians away. At the end of the day, most people value the things that have to do with their quality of life (not just for themselves but especially for their families), the laws, bureaucracy and tax.

Apart from having the best brains, those who left are probably the more assertive ones, the highly ambitious people who would have made good mentors, able and strong leaders. Their absence from our system only weakens us, as a nation.

Will these people return if the ISA is around? No. These people would probably find living in Malaysia under such conditions, like treading on eggshells.

How about corruption, nepotism, cronyism, lack of transparency, limited civil service and educational opportunities, questionable performance-based promotion, lack of freedom of worship, expression and speech, unfair preferential housing, fear for their personal safety and lack of open tenders for government contracts?

These are some of the things that are due for immediate review, but only if Najib is serious about reversing the brain-drain and only if he wants to improve Malaysia’s economy and reputation.

At a time when the country needs to tighten its belt and take effective measures to build a quality nation based on its human capital, Najib seems to build pointless monuments in mega-projects. Why not channel the funds and invest in its best resource – its people?

Malaysia is now paying the price for its crippling policies which our government feels unable, incapable or fearful of changing.

Najib recently warned us about the dangers of not embracing change. He is right. And we are all for it.

Forget about directing Talent Corporation to search for these ‘overseas’ Malaysians. If Najib refuses to make the all-important changes in the country, they will not be swayed.

So when will he legislate for change?

And one last thing: We congratulate Ipoh-born Tan Zhongshan on his outstanding achievements and wish him a bright future.

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 20 October 2010, 12:11 pm and is filed under
Education
,
Najib Razak
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


Malaysia’s press freedom index on free fall

Malaysiakini

Malaysia has plunged 10 notches to 141 in the
2010 World Press Freedom Index
 – the lowest in nine years – putting it firmly in the bottom quarter of 178 countries.

The country failed to capitalise on last year’s improvement where it move up one notch from 132 to 131.

Interestingly, Singapore (136) outranked Malaysia for the first time since Paris-based press watchdog group Reporters Without Borders (RSF) began releasing its ranking in 2002.

Among the 10 Asean countries, Malaysia is ranked higher than two countries which deemed to have freer press – Thailand (153) and Philippines (156).

RSF has attributed this to political violence.

“Thailand – where two journalists were killed and some 15 wounded while covering the army crackdown on the ‘red shirts’ movement in Bangkok – lost 23 places,” said RSF, which issued its ninth annual index today.

“The Philippines lost 34 places following the massacre of over 30 reporters by partisans of one of Mindanao island’s governors.”

Repression not diminishing

Meanwhile, Finland, Iceland, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland share the No 1 spot. United States remains at No 20.

Sitting at the bottom end of the ranking are North Korea (177) and Eritrea (178).

Apart from North Korea, Asia’s three communist regimes – China (171), Vietnam (165) Laos (168) – are among the 15 lowest-ranked countries.

“Also in Southeast Asia, Indonesia (117) cannot seem to pass under the symbolic bar separating the top 100 countries from the rest, despite remarkable media growth. Two journalists were killed there and several others received death threats, mainly for their reports on the environment,” said RSF.

“In short, repression has not diminished in Asean countries, despite the recent adoption of a human rights charter.”

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 20 October 2010, 5:37 pm and is filed under
Media
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.