Longing For A Free Mind (Part 13 of 14)

By
M. Bakri Musa

Q&A (Cont’d): Islamic State and Leaders

Q9:      Would you prefer a Muslim leader who is corrupt and incompetent over a non-Muslim who is both honest and competent?

A9:
     One of the speakers commented earlier that this is a difficult question. To me the choice is glaringly clear. Go for competence and honesty.

            Let me go further. I want my leader to share my values and aspirations for my country. If a leader no matter how honest, brilliant and competent were to lead my country towards totalitarianism, I will be the first to express my opposition against her.

            I also believe that there are leaders who do not share my faith but subscribe to my values and aspirations. They may believe in or pray to another God, but that does not make any difference to me. It is after all the same God, isn’t it?

            Your question gives a false choice; it implies that we lack honest and competent Muslim leaders. Yes, looking at the world today one cannot be faulted for drawing such a conclusion. For Malaysia, may I remind you that there was a time when we do not lack for Malay leaders who were both competent and honest!

            The follow up questions should be: Why are Muslim specifically Malay leaders today so corrupt and incompetent? The other, how can we groom future honest leaders who are honest and competent? I hope the panel discussions we had helped answer that.

Q10:    You criticized (former) Minister of Education Hishammuddin for making Malay school children read the entire Koran by end of their primary school. Do you not believe that there is merit in reading the Holy Book and that the exercise itself has educational value?

A10:
    Yes, there is great merit in reciting the Koran. The Koran is a guidebook from Allah to lead us along the Straight Path. When the Koran is recited properly giving due diligence to its exquisite tajweed, it brings tears to listeners. There is innate poetry and music to the verses of the Koran, quite apart from the spiritual values. However, far too often the Koran is recited merely as a ritual, with the overriding objective of getting it over as quickly as possible so food could then be served, or the sermon be over with and we can then leave.

            I fail to see the educational value of having our kids recite the entire Koran in class. I would rather have them be taught a few short verses, especially the early Meccan ones, and to learn from those the beauty of the cadence, imagery and language, among others. Read the various translations of those verses and try to appreciate the differences.

            The messages of the Koran were delivered to Prophet Muhammad at a time when the Arabs were still steeped in the oral tradition; the culture had not yet transited into the written word; thus the style. To read the Koran as you would a book (as Hishammuddin is advocating in our schools) would be as boring and as to hear somebody giving a speech reading from a text. Add a soporific voice and it would beat Ambien hands down in putting you to sleep.

            What I prefer would be to have the Koran taught in the best oral tradition, in the Socratic manner of open discussions and questionings. You are more likely to elucidate the truth of the message than with the current ritualistic and mindless recitations.

            Earlier Dr. Waleed asked you to cite a verse of the Koran that was most meaningful to you and why. An excellent exercise! I was touched by some of the remarks. That simple exercise conveys the richness of the Koran and its messages. It also made you think and communicate your ideas! So why not give our school children similar exercises, like giving their personal examples of what is meant to be gracious and merciful – the Arr Rahman and Arr Rahim of the al Fatihah, the opening and most recited verse.

            Let me share a contrasting experience. I took an upper level year-long (two semesters) course on Shakespeare during my undergraduate days. Despite a full year-long course, we covered only about 15 percent of his works. Out of that we discussed in class only about a third, while the rest in the form of term papers and other out-of-class assignments. Meaning, at best we covered in class only 5 percent of Shakespeare’s corpus.

            However, by studying intensively only that 5 percent we could then on our own pursue the rest at our leisure. I favor that approach to studying the Koran in school.

Q11:    Is Malaysia an Islamic state, and if it is not, should it be one?

A11:
    I have no clue what an Islamic state is. Those who vociferously advocate for one, whether from UMNO or PAS, have yet to clarify what they mean. What do they hold as the model Islamic state, Iran? Pakistan? Saudi Arabia? I shudder to think that we would aspire to be anywhere close to any of those states.

            Tun Mahathir had at various times asserted that Malaysia is already an Islamic state. If that is so, then I would suggest that the further away we are from an Islamic state, the better. I want to be as far away as possible from where corruption is accepted and rampant, and where our basic human rights are being trampled daily as with the ISA and other brute laws. That is where Malaysia is today.

            To Emory University’s Abdullah An Naim, there is no such thing as an Islamic State; there never was. The concept of a state as a political entity is fairly recent. Up till the Middle Ages the world was essentially a collection of fiefdoms and villages headed by the various dukes and other hereditary rulers. So were the Arabs at the time of the Prophet, s.a.w.

            Those advocates of an Islamic state look longingly to the leadership of Prophet Mohammad, s.a.w., who was not only a spiritual but also a political leader. His was a special circumstance, although many Muslim leaders today delude themselves into thinking that they are the modern re-incarnations of the prophet.

            If those currently advocating for an Islamic state, however nebulous that concept may be, would instead focus on achieving the ideals of Islam in the administration of the state, then they would be much further ahead. By that I mean a state and leaders that, among others, respect the sanctity of our basic human rights and value us as individuals beyond our race or ethnicity. If that is what they mean by an Islamic state, then all Muslims would agree and few non-Muslims would disagree.

            Instead what most advocates of an Islamic state are consumed with are such inanities as whether Muslim women should shake hands with men and non-Muslims, and whether the Azzan should be blasted in the early morning hours.

           Get rid of corruption, eradicate poverty, respect your citizens’ rights; those are the true path towards an Islamic state, or a state that cherishes Islamic values.

Q12:    Why are we arguing about an Islamic state or doubt the ability of Islamic laws to carry our country forward? The answers to all our problems are right there in the Koran. Why not look there?

A12:
    As a Muslim, I believe the Koran carries the “message for all mankind, at all times, and until the end of time.” That is a matter of faith for me as for all Muslims. Again, like all Muslims I regard the Holy Book and its message with deep reverence.

            To treat it like a Merck Manual, where you would look up the index and then flip to the appropriate page to seek the remedy for what ails you, would be disrespectful if not downright blasphemous, quite apart from insulting the intelligence of Muslims.

            The late Fazlur Rahman, the distinguished University of Chicago scholar, suggested an enlightened approach to understanding the Koran. The Koran teaches through parables, anecdotes, and concrete examples taken from the ordinary lives of those Arabs during the Prophet’s time. That was the only and effective way to take the message to the people.

           Obviously we Malays are very different from those ancient Bedouins, so too our culture, aspirations and environment. We live in a humid not dry climate, in lush jungles not sparse desert. We use water buffaloes not humped camels.

            Fazlur suggested that we should deduce from the particularities of the Koran its underlying guiding principles. To do so intelligently would require us to understand the totality of the message, and to discern the texts and the contexts, to use the language of social scientists. Once we have established those underlying principles, then we should apply them to the particular problems we face today. Both exercises demand considerable intellectual exertion, not to mention humility.

            Let me illustrate this point. If I were to explain gravity to the simple kampong folks, I would relate to them the apple (I would of course substitute coconut!) falling to the ground, as per Newton’s original observation. Now if I were to take those folks on a Ferris wheel ride with an apple in their hands and then asked them to release it when they are at the top, the apple would fall skywards (assuming that the velocity was sufficiently high so the centrifugal force would exceed the gravitational pull). You all being engineers would readily comprehend what I am saying. To the village folks, however, the coconut falling towards the sky would seem to defy the laws of gravity. Thus we have to explain to them the more general and universal underlying principle to explain the apparent contradiction.

            Now if I were to explain gravity right away as g=md2, where “g” is gravitational force, “m” the mass; and “d” the distance between the two masses, the elegant simplicity of the formula would enthrall only math geeks; those village folks would have their eyes glazed over.

            Likewise in reading the Koran; we should go beyond the literal and simplistic apple falling to the ground and instead try to seek the underlying universal principles. The easiest and intellectually lazy way out would simply be to quote selected passages to support whatever viewpoint you advocate. Yes, the Koran says stoning to death for adultery. However, to have the necessary four eyewitnesses for conviction as specified in the Koran, you would have to be fornicating in the open park, and during broad daylight!

            Far too often in our zeal with our newfound favorite verse to support our conviction, we forget the numerous other messages extolling the greater virtues of mercy and forgiveness.

            I always have difficulty when I hear an Imam or scholar recite the Koran and then confidently if not arrogantly assert, “And it means ….” Imagine! All translations are at best interpretations, yet that does not in any way disabuse these folks of their ingrained certitude. I have made it my practice whenever quoting the Koran to add the proviso, “approximate translation.”

            We carry that same certitude and arrogance in our understanding of hadith and sharia. There is a hadith to the effect that the ummah will be divided into 73 sects, and all but one will be doomed to Hellfire.

            To many Muslims that hadith implies that his or her sect is the only right one, and the others wrong or misled. What is the consequence to that thinking? A messianic urge to “correct” the others; in the process we also become intolerant of their beliefs.

            You are all engineers, comfortable with probabilities and quantitative valuations. If you were being told that you have a 1 in 73 chance (less than one and a half percent) of being right, what do you conclude? If I were to tell my patient that she has only a 1 in 73 chance of surviving an operation, no one except those with a secret death wish would submit to my operation.

            So why not accept the quantitative risk expressed by the Prophet and assume that your sect is one of those 72 that have been misled. After all there is an over 98.5 percent chance of that being so. The immediate effect of such a posture would be that you become humble and tolerant of other sects and possible interpretations of our faith. Because you believe that your interpretation has a high probability of being wrong, you would want to learn about the other sects. You would have the urge or inspiration to learn from others, or at least be inquisitive of their interpretations. You would become more receptive and forgiving of those who disagree with you. And if you are a leader you would not likely condemn or arrest members of the other 72 sects lest you risk arresting those destined for Paradise and thus incur God’s wrath.

            As is evident, your whole attitude and mindset change towards being more healthy and positive. Remember this when someone quote you a Koranic verse or hadith and then confidently assert his translation is the only true one.

            Back to the second part of your question about all the answers being in the Koran, Hamka once said that Allah in his wisdom and generosity had given us two Korans. One he revealed to Prophet Muhammad, s.a.w., which Caliph Othman, r.a., had codified in a written form. That is the Koran familiar to all Muslims.

            The other Koran is the vast universe that Allah had bequeathed upon us. As His vice-regents, we have an obligation to also study this Koran. Just as Allah has provided us with Prophet Muhammad to guide us to the first Koran, He (Allah) too has provided us with the necessary tool to understand this second Koran: He has endowed us with an intellect, a gift unique only to humans. To me, cosmonauts exploring the outer reaches of the universe are studying this second Koran, just as the scientists slicing the genes are studying our inner living universe.

            Likewise on Monday when you go back to the lab to discover the properties of a material or try a new circuitry, you too will be studying this second Koran. Yes the answers are all there in the Koran, the book as well as the universe, but we have to exert intellectually to find the answers. The answer will not come merely by looking at the index and then flipping the pages. Come to think of it, no one has indexed the Koran, and wisely so.

Next:   Q&A (Cont’d) Contemporary Leaders

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

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 2 June 2011, 10:47 am and is filed under
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MCA’s failure in scholarship row may hasten brain drain, says DAP

By
Shazwan Mustafa Kamal
 | June 02, 2011

The Malaysian Insider

KUALA LUMPUR, June 2 — The MCA’s failure to obtain overseas scholarships for 86 SPM top scorers may further hasten the brain drain of young talents, the DAP has charged.

DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng said that the party was “disappointed” with the Cabinet’s decision that the top scorers would only receive scholarships to study in local private colleges and universities despite MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lok’s recent statements that it would push for overseas scholarships to be awarded to these students.

“MCA’s failure to fulfil their own promise that the 86 SPM top scorers be given the same Public Service Department (PSD) overseas scholarships given to other top SPM scorers is not only unjust but may further hasten the brain drain of young talents. Is it fair that 300 top scorers get overseas scholarships but not the 86 who are also top scorers?

“Since Merdeka, more than two million Malaysians have migrated — a sheer loss of human talent which Malaysia can ill-afford… Failure to retain and appreciate our top scorers will only adversely impact and jeopardise efforts to have a per capita GNP of US$15,000 (RM45,000) by 2020,” Lim (picture) said in a statement today.

He also demanded that MCA, Gerakan and Barisan Nasional (BN) ministers explain why they did not dare push for the matter or reveal the full list of those who had obtained overseas scholarships.

“MCA has also failed to find a permanent solution to this annual problem which will recur again next year,” he said.

The 86 SPM top scorers who failed to qualify for this year’s PSD scholarships will be given places in local private colleges and universities, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz announced yesterday.

The move, he said, was to reduce costs. By giving out scholarships for local private colleges and universities the government will only spend RM21.6 million, as opposed to overseas scholarships which will cost RM52.1 million.

Out of the 86 students who appealed, three were Malay Bumiputeras, one Sarawak Bumiputera, 71 Chinese and 11 Indians.

PSD currently offers overseas scholarships to 1,500 students with straight 9A+ and above, 2,500 local grants to those with the minimum achievement of 8A+ and above and 8,000 local scholarships for diploma or matriculation courses to those who failed to qualify for the first two categories and others.

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 2 June 2011, 11:06 am and is filed under
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MCA among the greatest obstacles to realization of 1Malaysia

The headline “
Time to stop thinking along racial lines, says Soi Lek
” in the MCA owned newspaper, the Star, today must have caused a general shaking-of-heads by its  readers, not because of disagreement but at his naivety or downright dishonesty.

There must have been more intensive shaking-of-heads when the MCA President, Datuk Seri Dr. Chua Soi Lek expressed his belief that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s “1 Malaysia concept could be realised by 2020 when affirmative action policies shift towards being merit- and needs-based instead of the current race-centric arrangement”. (The Malaysian Insider)

In actual fact, Malaysians have never been more polarised along racial and religious divisions under Najib’s 1Malaysia concept and MCA is undoubtedly among the greatest obstacles to the realisation of Najib’s 1Malaysia.

Up to now, Najib’s 1Malaysia concept is nothing more than a RM70 million fraud and façade, transformed during by-elections into a “1T-shirt, 1Tupperware, 1Burger, 1Mineral Water Bottle” circus!

Everyday Malaysians are being reminded as to how hollow and meaningless is Najib’s 1Malaysia concept purportedly to unite all Malaysians regardless of race, religion, geography or socio-economic status.

The latest is the annual scandal of the unfair and unjust allocation of PSD scholarships most frustrating to Malaysia’s best and brightest sons and daughters – which is why no one has confidence that Najib’s Talent Corporation will not end up as “Talents Corpse” as there is just no political will to see through a national transformation to create an united, just,  progressive and prosperous Malaysia.

Where were the MCA, Gerakan, Umno and other BN Ministers when I challenged them in Parliament in March last year to declare that they truly support the 1Malaysia concept of being Malaysian first and race second?

Did the MCA leaders dare to protest,  object or dissent when Deputy Prime Minister and Umno Deputy President Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin declared in response that he is Malay first and Malaysian second?

How can Najib be sincere about 1Malaysia yet allow Umno official organ Utusan Malaysia to launch a counter “1Melayu” slogan and campaign?

How can Malaysians have confidence in the 1Malaysia campaign when Utusan Malaysia is allowed immunity and impunity to sabotage it with the most seditious and treasonous “DAP-Christian Malaysia” bogey appearing on its front-page on May 6?

Why is there still no BN government action after almost a full month against Utusan Malaysia for its irresponsible front-page “DAP-Christian Malaysia” bogey which could have caused strife and bloodshed?

Why did the MCA leadership under its President Datuk Seri Chua Soi Lek give their “winks of approval” to the irresponsible Utusan Malaysia to persist with its  “DAP-Christian Malaysia” bogey and incitement?

Have any MCA Minister pursued the issue in the past four Cabinet meetins to demand that the most severe action must be taken against Utusan Malaysia to ensure that there would be no repetition of such irresponsible, seditious and treasonous publications?

Since the last general elections in 2008,  the Umno leadership had been making overtures to PAS to form a “unity government”.

Did MCA leaders object as MCA had been attacking the DAP for co-operating with PAS in Pakatan Rakyat. Did MCA leaders ask for explanation and apology from Umno, telling Umno that MCA would pull out of Barisan Nasional if Umno continues to act in utter disregard of the existence of MCA in BN?

Did Chua tell Najib that the UMNO offer of “unity government” to PAS is also against the Prime Minister’s 1Malaysia concept – and that if there is to be any talk of “unity government, it should be a proposal by Barisan Nasional to Pakatan Rakyat to form a “national unity government”?

Can Chua answer any of these queries – or there can only be more shaking-of-heads by Malaysians at the increasing irrelevance and impotence of MCA in the Malaysian political landscape.

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 2 June 2011, 12:08 pm and is filed under
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Mixed race: Where do we draw the line?

Malaysiakini Your Say
 | Jun 2, 11

‘We have one rule for some people, another rule for others, while Muslims seem to get the best deal as no matter what the situation, they still be bumiputera.’

Students of mixed parentage denied varsity admission

Borneo Son:
 Every deserving Malaysian should be given admission to university and/or scholarship regardless of ethnic/religious background if Malaysia is to become a progressive nation.

As Malaysia is mainly a paternal/patrimonial/patrilineal society, if a child’s father is bumiputera, then the child should be classified a bumiputera without question.

The Sarawak state constitution does not recognise someone of mixed parentage as a bumiputera if the father is non-native. This has been the practice since the days of the Brookes. Mixed marriages, though not unusual, are not that common. It is not an issue if the father is a native because the child will bear an indigenous name.

However, the Sabah state constitution grants native status to children of mixed marriages as long as a parent or grandparent belongs to one of the listed native groups. If this is not the case, the number of bumiputeras in the state would be reduced significantly because there are not many ‘pure’ native Sabahans.

Alsatian:
 Unfortunately for Sarawakians, we always get the short end of the stick. For a Chinese father and native mother, their children are categorised as non-bumiputera.

But take the case of Dr Mahathir Mohamad, the ex-PM: his father is Indian, his mother is Malay, so he is bumiputera. He married a Malay girl, all his children are regarded as bumiputera.

Abdul Taib Mahmud, the Sarawak CM, is another example. He is a Melanau, his wife was Australian-Polish, all his children are bumiputera.

We have one rule for some people, another rule for others, while Muslims seem to get the best deal, as no matter what the mixture, they still become bumiputera. The worst deal is reserved for non-Muslim Sarawakians.

Ben Hor:
 I hate to say this but if the child’s religion is Islam, they will automatically qualified to be ‘bumiputera’ and will have not problems receiving a scholarship. I’ve a friend of mixed parentage (Malay-Chinese), Muslim of course, who claimed himself as a ‘bumiputera’ and had no problems receiving a scholarship.

P Dev Anand Pillai:
 PM Najib Razak’s fake 1Malaysia campaign is nothing but plain rubbish as civil servants do not care two hoots about his directive or the government policy. They craft their own policies with the tacit approval of certain people higher up and ensure that the non-bumiputera and non-Malays are kept at bay at every level.

The Talent Corp and the drive to get back those Malaysians who have excelled in their chosen fields and have left for better lives overseas is going to be a futile task. They may have an affinity with the country but it is only to visit, not to contribute, because no matter what you do, it does not count if one is not a Malay and Muslim.

Faz:
 Sad but it is a reality at present. It is the responsibility of the government to provide places for higher education to all deserving Malaysians who want to pursue further study, regardless. Build more public universities by cutting off allocations to unworthy causes such as PLKN or Permata.

The quota system for university admissions should be done away with and a merit system put in place. Weaker portions of the communities could be helped in other ways in term of placement or finance.

Is it too troublesome or costly to create more public universities in Malaysia? Plug the corruption, sweetheart deals and leakages and we shall have enough funds to build a university in every major town in Malaysia. Then we can talk about Malaysia being a hub for world-class education.

Sarajun Hoda:
 This is double standards. Yesterday at one Jabatan Pendaftaran Negara office, I saw a MyKad certificate for an Indonesian born in Kajang Hospital on Nov 9, 1996, to a permanent resident (not citizen).

The record of the mother has only name, agama Islam and address in Indonesia. No IC or passport number, no date of birth, no age, no address in Malaysia – everything was written as ‘maklumat tidak diperolehi’ (information not obtained).

Another case, I saw one who brought his son to register for a MyKad using an Indonesian passport. I overheard officers asking, ‘Bila tiba Malaysia?’ (When did you arrive in Malaysia). What’s happening?

ONG:
 This bumiputera nonsense is causing many Malaysians to lose their dignity. To my mind, people who claim bumiputera status for the purpose of claiming special rights have no dignity. These people should be fighting for their rights as equal citizens of Malaysia, not to be a special class of citizens.

They should be fighting their rejection by local universities based on their excellent academic results, not because they believe they are bumiputeras. Shame on them, irrespective of whether they are Muslim or non-Muslim bumiputera wannabes.

Fairplayer:
 ONG, we are talking about bumi students who scored excellent results but are deprived of scholarships and denied entry to tertiary institutions by the government classifying them as non-bumi.

We are not talking about demanding bumi rights to scholarships or entry to universities the way Gaps are demanding. But yes, I fully agree that admission to universities should be on merit, and not on ethnicity.

Kgen:
 We should be ashamed of this country for discriminating by race in the provision of education opportunities. We must be the only country in the world with universities and colleges reserved exclusively for one race.

Even matriculation opportunities are offered only to bumi with a token 10 percent for other races. South Africa gave up apartheid 21 years ago. When are we going to dismantle our version of apartheid?

Clearwater:
 This is discrimination biting you back in the ass. Some racial mixes have always been considered more ‘bumiputera’ than others in Malaysia. Just as some bumiputeras are more equal than others.

Forget your classification. Unless you are poor and have no other choice, you should not accept anything that reeks of entitlement. Compete on merit. Hold your head up high. Keep your backbone straight. Don’t accept a crutch.

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 2 June 2011, 11:02 am and is filed under
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NEP or meritocracy?

By
Fazly M. Fauzy
 | June 01, 2011

The Malaysian Insider

JUNE 1 — The New Economic Policy has often been described as biased to Bumiputeras in terms of education and economic rights given to them under the policy. Critics of the NEP believe that it is crippling Malaysia by rewarding those who they feel to be “undeserving” of these rights because it is not based on merit but instead on their preferential status as Bumiputeras.

I would contend, however, that while meritocracy is a noble ideal in that it rewards those who have truly earned their due but at the same time, it also unfairly undermines those who they have deemed unworthy due to their perceived lack of merit.

This hypothesis that I’m presenting is not something that is radical or new but in fact has been discussed quite extensively in many articles, books and journals. My goal here then is to highlight to those who would suggest that we abolish the NEP in favour of a meritocracy; that in a meritocracy only those who are in position to succeed will always win while those unfortunate will always be left behind and this I feel is an injustice.

The NEP which is essentially an affirmative action policy was initiated in 1970 in order to bridge the wealth gap between the then predominantly rural Malay population and the urban Chinese population. The NEP did succeed in uplifting the economic position of the Malays as evident in the increase in the number of registered Malay professionals and the emergence of the Malay middle-class between 1970 and 1990. While the NEP did succeed in alleviating the status of the Malays by reducing poverty and increasing their earning power, the wealth gap amongst the Malays themselves began to widen.

This paradox was raised by A.H. Roslan, an Associate Professor of Economics at the Universiti Utara Malaysia. In his paper, “Income Inequality, Poverty and Development Policy in Malaysia” (http://mimbarselangor.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/Income-Inequality-Poverty-and-Development-Policy.pdf), Roslan mentions that, “the success of the NEP has resulted in the Malays to become no longer economically homogeneous as before.

There has now emerged for example, a Malay urban working class, a Malay middle (professional) class and also a Malay business (capitalist) class.” Roslan further adds that, “the ethnicity-oriented policy in essence becomes incoherent” because, “for the policy to be coherent there must be a coherence of interests among its members. This implies that the Malays must not be deeply divided — be it socially economically or politically.”

So, if the NEP is no longer coherent because the Malays are no longer homogenous economically, does this mean that it is also irrelevant? To answer this question we now need to address this issue of meritocracy.

The definition of meritocracy in the Merriam-Webster dictionary is: “a system in which the talented are chosen and moved ahead on the basis of their achievement.” It is interesting to note, however, that the term meritocracy which was coined by British sociologist, social activist and politician, Michael Young in his 1958 essay, “The Rise of the Meritocracy: 1870-2033: An Essay on Education and Equality” was not meant to have such a positive connotation.

Young’s intention in this satirical commentary that portrayed a 21st century Britain that put extreme emphasis on one’s intelligence as the marker of success, was to warn that a society that aggressively promotes achievement will result social inequity.

In an article published in the Guardian on 29 Jun 2001 entitled, “Down with Meritocracy” (http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2001/jun/29/comment) Young had said that, “It is good sense to appoint individual people to jobs on their merit. It is the opposite when those who are judged to have merit of a particular kind harden into a new social class without room in it for others.”  With this statement in mind we can now explore if Young’s assertions can be applied to Malaysian society.

Even after 40 years since the inception of the NEP economic disparities still exists amongst the Malays, Indians, Chinese and other ethnic minorities. According to the “The Report: Malaysia 2010” by the Oxford Business Group, between 2004 to 2009, the mean monthly gross household income for Bumiputeras increased by 5.6 per cent from RM2711 to RM3624.

For the Chinese the increase was at 2.5 per cent from RM4437 to RM5011 and for the Indians it was 3 per cent from RM3456 to RM3999. It is also stated in the paper, “Ethnic Heterogeneity in the Malaysian Economy: A Special Reference to the Ethnic Group Participation in Financial Planning Activities” published in the Journal of International Social Research. (http://www.sosyalarastirmalar.com/cilt2/sayi8pdf/shafii_norhasni_ahmad.pdf)

In 2005, the Chinese own nearly 70 per cent of the business complex in Malaysia reflecting the Chinese control over the business establishments around the country. This is regardless of the percentage of Chinese population of around 30 per cent, according to the latest statistics on population described earlier in the article.

The trends persist for other types of commercial buildings and premises. The Chinese, on average own 71.9 per cent of commercial buildings and premises. In comparison, only nearly 12 per cent of them owned by the Bumiputeras regardless of about 60 per cent of the population consist of the Bumiputeras.

The same phenomenon can also be observed to the trends of commercial buildings and premises by the Indians. On average, only 1.5 per cent of them are owned by the Indians although the Indians form eight per cent from the total population.

This implies that in terms of capital owned and wages earned the Chinese are still outpacing not just the Malays but also the Indians and other ethnic minorities. This higher comparative wealth also means that the Chinese can afford a better quality of living in terms of education and housing.

We can attribute the economic success of the Chinese to their business acumen and emphasis on education and hard work but at the same time is it okay to dismiss the Malays as lazy and stupid for not being able to compete?

Since we Malaysians are football fanatics let me try to use the EPL as an example to demonstrate that the bottom team’s failure to rise up the ranks is not due to their lack of endeavour but due to the unfavourable odds that have been stacked against them from the beginning.

It’s no secret that the top teams in the EPL are also the wealthiest in the league. Teams like Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester City are able to draw in more revenue because they can collect more ticket sales from their larger capacity stadiums compared to the mid-table and lower rung teams. The popularity of these clubs also means that they can attract much more lucrative sponsorship deals and are able to leverage on their merchandising too.

These teams are then able to reinvest their earnings to buy better quality players, hire the best coaching staff and provide much more sophisticated training facilities to continue cementing their position at the top.

Now what about the teams that season after season continue to languish in the mid-table or are fighting for relegation like Everton, Wolves and Blackpool? Are they where they are in the table because they are not as competitive as the teams at the top?

From watching the games we can honestly say that whether you’re at the bottom or the top, the players are out there playing to win. The difference is the top teams are be able to attract the best players like Rooney, Torres and Tevez because they can meet their wage demands but the Evertons, Wolves and Blackpools of this world can’t afford such luxuries.

What this tells us is that teams like Manchester United are successful not just because they play the best football but also because they have the financial resources to keep them at the top. The inability of the mid-table teams to break into the top tier also cannot be blamed on their lack of trying. They train just as hard and play just as hard but at the end of the day the gulf in quality (that money can buy) will continue to assert the status quo.

This, in a nutshell, is the problem with meritocracy. A meritocracy will inevitably result in social stratification. The “haves” will continue to dominate the “have-nots” and regardless of how much the “have-nots” tries to catch-up the gap will just grow wider and wider. We don’t have to look very far to see consequences of a meritocratic society than our neighbour in the south, Singapore.

Singapore has often prided itself for being a wholly meritocratic state, but at what cost? In the book, “The Spirit Level: Why Greater Equality Makes Societies Stronger”, by Richard Wilkinson and Kate Picket, Singapore, in terms of income gap between the richest 20 per cent and poorest 20 per cent, was ranked first amongst the 23 rich nations surveyed. These rich nations included the US, UK, Australia, Germany and Japan to name a few.

This issue of income inequality was also raised by Kenneth Paul Tan, an Associate Professor at the National University of Singapore. Tan had written a paper in the International Political Science Review entitled, “Meritocracy and Elitism in a Global City: Ideological Shifts in Singapore “ (http://www.slideshare.net/motochan/meritocracy-and-elitism-in-a-global-city-ideological-shifts-in-singapore) and in it alluded to the fact that, “To ordinary Singaporeans, the widening income gap and the conspicuous lifestyles of wealthy and elite Singaporeans as well as the expatriate class of “foreign talent” are making equality of opportunity seem like a naive expectation that can no longer advance beyond mere platitude.”

The inherent problem with meritocracy is that ignores the fact that not everyone is on equal footing. As Tan also mentions in the same paper cited above,

Meritocracy, in trying to “isolate” merit by treating people with fundamentally unequal backgrounds as superficially the same, can be a practice that ignores and even conceals the real advantages and disadvantages that are unevenly distributed to different segments of an inherently unequal society, a practice that in fact perpetuates this fundamental inequality.

In this way, those who are picked by meritocracy as having merit may already have enjoyed unfair advantages from the very beginning, ignored according to the principle of non-discrimination.

This is the point that needs to be remembered by those who would advocate for a meritocratic Malaysia. We can’t ignore the fact that there still exist economic disparities across racial lines and a corrective mechanism is required to reduce this disparity. So to answer my earlier question, is the NEP still relevant despite the fact that the Malays are no longer homogeneous economically? My answer is yes, but with a few qualifications.

To start we need to go back to the original objective of the NEP that is to eradicate poverty amongst all races and remove the identification of race from economic functions. We must remove the association of the NEP with it being a Bumiputera policy. The most crucial part, however, is to ensure that only those who qualify, i.e. those who can’t afford to pay for the education of their children should be able to get scholarships and financial assistance.

With regards to the Bumiputera discount for properties, we can apply an income cap in order to qualify for the discount and open the discount to all Malaysians. The bottom line is we should maintain the NEP but with stricter requirements and enforcement so that those who can afford it shouldn’t benefit from it.

It should also be noted that some concessions have already been made with regards to Bumiputera equity quotas in IPOs.

Whereby a 30 per cent Bumiputera equity stake was required for listing before, today in the event that the 30 per cent allocation is not fully subscribed the company will still be eligible for listing. Also the My First Home scheme that was recently launched is also a step in the right direction to assist first time house-buyers in purchasing a home and this scheme is open to all not just Bumiputeras.

It will take time before we can reach the goals set in the NEP but steps have been taken to diminish the need for affirmative action but until then we must not let this issue divide us.

We need to instil empathy within our multiracial community so that we can help each other to become better rakyat. We should not prey on the weaknesses of others to bring them down but instead help to uplift them.

If the Malays for example lack in business or entrepreneurial skills, why can’t the Chinese businessmen help them to become better?  Why not share with each other so that we can grow together? The same applies to the Malays professionals. Impart the knowledge and experience that you have learnt to train the next generation of Malay professionals.

I would like to conclude with a hadith from “The Book of Muslim Moral and Manners” by Imam Bukhari. The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) had said that: “A believer will not eat his fill while his neighbour is hungry.” This is the message that we need to carry with us. We must be mindful of the predicaments of others around us and not be too engrossed with our own needs.

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 2 June 2011, 5:38 pm and is filed under
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Now, Kit Siang calls MCA biggest block to 1 Malaysia

By
Debra Chong
 | June 02, 2011

The Malaysian Insider

KUALA LUMPUR, June 2 — The DAP’s Lim Kit Siang added today the MCA to a growing list of what he termed the “greatest obstacles” in the way of Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s 1 Malaysia dream as he questioned the Chinese party’s relevance to the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition.

The opposition leader continued to fire shots at its political foe over the controversial award of Public Service Department (PSD) scholarships to deserving students, blaming the MCA for frustrating the aspirations of the nation’s best and brightest and leading to the drop in public confidence in the Najib administration’s national reforms.

Lim said Malaysians are reminded daily how hollow and meaningless Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s unity concept regardless of race, religion, geography or socio-economic status by the lack of action from within the 13-member BN coalition.

“Where were the MCA, Gerakan, Umno and other BN ministers when I challenged them in Parliament in March last year to declare that they truly support the 1 Malaysia concept of being Malaysian first and race second?” the Ipoh Timur MP asked in a statement.

He said there has been silence from the BN partners against Umno’s increasing Malay nationalist rhetoric, recited Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin’s “Malay first, Malaysian second” remark, Utusan Malaysia’s “1 Malay” campaign, and the paper’s presumed DAP-Christian Malaysia plot as examples.

“Can [Datuk Seri Dr] Chua [Soi Lek] answer any of these queries — or there can only be more shaking of heads by Malaysians at the increasing irrelevance and impotence of MCA in the Malaysian political landscape?” Lim said, targeting the MCA president.

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 2 June 2011, 4:23 pm and is filed under
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Our health and lives in exchange for FDIs

Malaysiakini Your Say
 | Jun 2, 11

‘We sometimes marvel at how parents in some Asean countries are willing to sell their daughters into prostitution in return for a few dollars. Now we know.’

Panel: Waste won’t be 100% radiation-free

Swipenter:
 “It is not easy to do a study on the impact of health from a rare earth plant as it requires a large number of samples and a long duration of study to demonstrate statistically significant results.”

The rare plant in Bukit Merah is not proof or good enough to show the negative effects on health on a long-term basis? This panel is just a eyewash – they cannot even name one safe rare earth plant anywhere in the world.

Horror of all horrors, they do not even have a long-term management plan for the disposal/storage of the radioactive waste.

Now we can guess intelligently why the Australians are up in arms over having such a facility built in their own backyard. These Lynas guys and BN politicians are gambling with our children’s future, which our children will pay with their health or lives.

Josephine:
 As a developing country, do we have the right calibre of experts and regulators to ensure Lynas plant is operating safely? It is clear that at this point, Lynas has not yet given a comprehensive plan on how to dispose of the radioactive wastes.

What if Lynas is not able to find a commercially viable way to recycle the wastes? Will Lynas close shop then or will they build more underground storage?

It is laughable that the Malaysian authorities allow this to proceed. We want FDIs (foreign direct investments), yes. It is like someone coming to me with a generous offer to build a toilet in my house for free. But the waste will not be properly disposed just stored underground. After some time, the stench becomes unbearable just like what this Lynas plant is going to become.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is not able to give example of a safe rare earth processing plant, but examples of unsafe rare earth plants are ample, from the now defunct Asian Rare Earth plant in Bukit Merah to those in China.

The Malaysian government, for the inducement of a few FDI dollars, is willing to pawn the future of Malaysians, particularly those in Pahang.

We sometimes marvel at how parents in some Asean countries are willing to sell their daughters into prostitution in return for a few dollars. Now it seems, our ‘People First’ government is no better.

Sathish Ramachandran:
 Why was this study/panel report not ordered before Lynas was allowed to set up here? Shouldn’t the impact assessment from all angles be considered first to determine if we as a nation are endangered before agreeing to allow this into the country?

What kind of irresponsible government do we have running the show? This is certainly not a ‘Rakyat Didahulukan’ government.

Chi Ted Fatt:
 Why doesn’t the Malaysian Medical Association’s (MMA) ask simple questions that everybody can understand? Such as:

1) Is there any possibility that the waste produced by the plant will affect the residents’ health?

2) Would you recommend such a plant in your own country?

3) Would such a plant be approved in your own country?

My Secret:
 Malaysians, you, your children and future generations are being sold by the same people who are supposed to serve and protect you. At the end of the day, guess whose children will benefit from this and will be sitting comfortably in Australia watching the potential catastrophe unfolds in Malaysia?

They might even donate some monies to those affected ‘Kuantan locals’. Our children will pay dearly for this. It’s just a matter of time that such a thing happens if we ever allow this killer plant to start its operations here.

Another lonely and painful death

Anak Pinang:
 The plight of women is not getting better in Malaysia, even with more women in tertiary education. The prevailing thinking, even among some quarters of educated married women, is that they are subservient to their husbands’ position and many defer to male ‘dominance’ in marriage.

S Pakiam’s death from alleged torture and abuse is a tragedy. There are many others out there still finding the courage to walk away. As humans, if we see domestic violence, it is our duty report it even if the police are lackadaisical about enforcing the law.

It’s only through consistent pressure and awareness that we can change the mindset of society and give women (and abused men) the strength to walk away, not only for their happiness but theirs and their children’s lives.

There is no excuse for torturing another vulnerable being. When will society and the enforcement agencies develop a conscience for and courage to respond to this silent crime?

Pemerhati:
 It was horrifying to read that the young lady who died had ‘many wounds on her limbs, cigarette burns on her torso, her head was swollen, some of her teeth were missing and a thumbnail had been torn away.’

What is even more shocking and horrifying is that the police have refused to carry out an investigation of this heinous crime despite having received five reports. The obstructive and uncaring attitude of the Serdang Hospital and the director-general is equally shocking and horrifying.

It is shocking to find that all these police and medical personnel, who are paid by the taxpayers to protect and look after the security and health of the citizens, not only openly display their uncaring and callous behaviour, they also do not do what they are paid to do.

If this B James is being protected by the same people who protected the killers of A Kugan, Teoh Beng Hock and Altantuya Shaariibuu, then there is very little hope that justice would be done as long as BN is in power.

David Dass:
 Wife and child abuse is a serious problem. Our welfare agencies should be vigilant. They should also be more ethnically diverse to ensure better understanding of cultural norms of different communities.

The police should also be more sensitised to the problem. School teachers should also be on the lookout. Too often the police and welfare agencies dismiss reports as domestic problems to be resolved by family members.

There is, of course, the unfortunate correlation between socio-economic circumstances and the incidence of the problem. This would mean that the common causes of domestic discord being shortage of money and pressure of confined spaces cannot be easily resolved.

For Indians, there is also the problem of excessive drinking. Safe houses should be set up in convenient locations. Education too is important.

Anonymous_ABG: It’s really sad to note the standard of the medical profession has gone down the gutter. It appears medical reports could be obtained according to the wishes of interested parties by hiding the truth. The quality of our police force has also gone to the gutters. It is the duty of the police to investigate when a report is lodged without fear or favour.

Tuah PJ:
 This reminds me of an incident where a physically abused woman filed for divorce and the Syariah Court awarded custody of the children to her ex-husband because he was a Malay/Muslim and she was a convert.

When subsequently the award was overturned in her favour, the ex-husband took away and hid the son in his new wife’s mother’s home. When she finally located him, she could not go near her son as the ex-husband became violent.

When she sought assistance from the local police, they refused to assist her and told her that she has to endeavour to take her son on her own and that only if she is beaten up, can she seek assistance from the police.

I think the police will only react after she is beaten to death. Apparently, that is the law; the police can only intervene if there is physical evidence of violence. What a joke our laws are.

Anak Bangsa Malaysia:
 The police have no time to investigate the unimportant death of one unimportant Indian woman… they are too busy with far more important things like camping around ceramah venues waiting to arrest Anwar Ibrahim’s armed and dangerous microphones, providing the ‘only copy’ of the Datuk T fabricated sex video for distribution to the public and abetting PM Najib Razak’s illegal coup d’etat in Perak.

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 2 June 2011, 4:45 pm and is filed under
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Penang retains power over water tariffs

By
 Clara Chooi

The Malaysian Insider

Jun 01, 2011

KUALA LUMPUR, June 1 — Penang will sign a water restructuring deal with Putrajaya tomorrow that will see the state relieved of its financial burden in developing water assets while at the same time, retaining control over water tariffs.

Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng announced the agreement terms in a statement today, adding that the deal demonstrates the Penang Pakatan Rakyat (PR) government’s willingness to foster a mature working relationship with the Barisan Nasional (BN) federal government.

Lim said under the deal, Penang would agree to the migration of its core assets in Perbadanan Bekalan Air Pulau Pinang (PBAPP), in exchange for a complete restructuring exercise of the outstanding federal loans owed by the state.

The terms of the agreement are as follows:

•Penang’s outstanding loan of RM655.24 million to the federal government will be interest-free and further rationalised;

•Penang will be given a grant allocation of RM1.2 billion for the expansion project of Mengkuang Dam;

•The federal government will be fully responsible for the source work of water supply projects;

•The state government will be relieved of the financial burden to develop and upgrade water supply assets;

•PBAPP can focus solely on providing water treatment and distribution services and concentrate on achieving operational efficiencies, good quality water and services;

•PBAPP can work towards full cost recovery and financial independence in the long term;

•Any revision or variation in water tariffs must obtain the approval and consent of the Penang state government.

Lim explained that under Penang’s previous agreement with Putrajaya, the state’s outstanding loan of RM665.24 million was to be charged at a three per cent interest rate.

“At the same time, the loan will be rationalised by alienating state land-related water assets to the Finance Ministry’s Pengurusan Aset Air Berhad (PAAB) for a period 45 years and PAAB will then lease back the water assets to PBAPP for 45 years.

“PBAPP shall pay PAAB a yearly lease rental of RM14.56 million and upon settlement of the lease at the end of 45 years, the state land will automatically revert back to the state,” he explained.

On the project to expand the Mengkuang dam, Lim said the dam’s capacity of 23 million cubic meters would be increased to 78 million cubic meters and will help the state meet its water needs by 2020.

Lim said that with the agreement, the state would be relying heavily on Putrajaya’s pledge that both the state government at PBAPP would not have to depend on funding or loans from financial institutions to develop water assets in the near future.

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 2 June 2011, 8:49 am and is filed under
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Perimekar: Chronicle of a death foretold?

By
Céline Boileau
 | June 1, 2011

Free Malaysia Today

PETALING JAYA: Businessman Lodin Wok Kamaruddin has recently been cited by WikiLeaks as one of Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak’s close friends.

What WikiLeaks didn’t reveal is that Lodin Wok was also one of the directors of Perimekar Sdn Bhd until last year.

Last year too, the company registered huge losses.

Perimekar had acted as the go-between for the procurement of two French-made submarines by the Malaysian Defence Ministry. In the process, the company made RM534.8 million in commission.

A simple line, buried in a mass of documents, is sometimes enough to cause an avalanche of surprises.

The US diplomatic cable from the US embassy in Kuala Lumpur revealed by WikiLeaks on May 19 contains a list of friends of Najib.

One of them is “Lodin Wok Kamaruddin, Chief of the Armed Forces Fund Board”, an institution also known as Lembaga Tabung Angkatan Tentera (LTAT).

Due to the various companies in which Lodin Wok has held positions of responsibility, the businessman may find himself involved in the case of “Scorpene scandal”, currently under probe in France.

Thus, in addition to his position in LTAT, Lodin Wok is deputy chairman of Boustead Holdings Bhd. These two companies hold 20% each of Perimekar shares, through the holding KS Ombak Laut Sdn Bhd. The remaining 60% is held by KS Ombak Laut.

What is less known is that according to Perimekar financial statements, Lodin Wok is one of the five directors of Perimekar, alongside Mazlinda Makhzan, Rozana Abdullah Meili, Abdul Rani Mohd Hussin Abdullah and Mohd Hussin Tamby.

He also sits on the boards of Affin Bank Bhd,one of Perimekar’s bankers.

These string of “coincidences” could place the 61-year-old businessman in an difficult position regarding the submarines deals.

When contacted for comment, Lodin Wok said he had resigned from Perimekar board on July 1, 2010 after the company completed its contract with the government upon the delivery of the two Scorpene submarines. He added that he was a director in the company as a representative of LTAT.

Ups and downs of Perimekar

Besides, it appears that Perimekar has been declining since last year. Suspected of being created for the sole purpose of distributing a RM500 million commission between Malaysian and foreign beneficiaries after the sale of the submarines, the company, registered in 1999, defines its activity as “marketing, maintenance and other activities related to submarines and surface vessels…”.

The financial statements report that Perimekar has a single customer: the Malaysian government.

They also show that the company has a wide range of financial performance from year to year. For example, while the company has reported a net loss of RM8.2 million in 2003, it declared a net profit of RM24.7 million the following year.

In 2008, Perimekar also became a group with two small subsidiaries (Prima Laksana and Gagah Nirwana).

Now, has the golden age of Perimekar gone? Between 2009 and 2010, while the submarines were being delivered, Perimekar’s activity has (almost) tumbled down: the company has seen its net income decrease from a profit of RM19 million to a loss amounting to RM3.3 million.

The turnover has plunged from about RM85 million to RM23 million – an amount still comfortable enough for its shareholders.

They have been granted dividends of RM56.2 million in 2009 (66% of the turnover) and RM18.7 million in 2010 (81% of the turnover).

Between 2003 and 2010, the company received more than RM200 million from its contract with the government.

However, the financial report of 2010 stated: “The company’s project with the governement of Malaysia was completed on Dec 25, 2009, after which a downsizing exercise was done in a fair manner and the company was focusing on prospecting for other viable business opportunities.”

The second company

According to Dr Kua Kia Soong, director of Suaram and author of the book “Questioning arms spending in Malaysia”, the rise and fall of Perimekar sounds like a convenient story to hide from the investigation into the Scorpene deal.

“We would like a Royal Commission of Inquiry to investigate how Perimekar disbursed 114 million euros (RM500 million) for apparently ‘coordination and support services” in those six years,” he said.

“Looking at the financial accounts of the company, Perimekar did not have the means to undertake such a contract,” he added. From 2003 to 2004, the company declared a revenue from 0 to RM67 million.

But Perimekar is not the only Malaysian company being involved in the Scorpene deal.

Boustead DCNS Naval Corp, a 60:40 joint venture between BHIC Defence Technologies and the French-based DCNS, started in 2009, was awarded by the defence minister a RM532 million contract related to the Scorpene submarines.

The company thus undertakes service support of Scorpene submarines from 2010 to 2015. BHIC Defence is owned by BHIC (Boustead Heavy Industries Corporation), whose chairman is Lodin Wok.

Céline Boileau is a freelance writer based in Paris.

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 2 June 2011, 10:55 am and is filed under
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Perlis issues fatwa against 1M’sia structures

By
Norsyafinas Ahmad Sukri
 | Jun 2, 11

Malaysiakini

The ubiquitous structures or monuments in the shape of the Najib Abdul Razak administration’s 1Malaysia logo is haram (forbidden), according to a fatwa (edict) by the Perlis Fatwa Council.

When contacted, Perlis Mufti Dr Juanda Jaya said that the council was of the opinion that such structures may be subject to pemujaan al-Ansab (idolatry).

This was decided during the council’s meeting on April 18 and 19 and it was approved by the Perlis Islamic Council (MAIP). Consent from the Raja of Perlis has also been obtained.

However, the fatwa will not be gazetted and thus serves merely as an advice to Muslims.

According to the fatwa, the advise was made based on Verse 90 of the Surah al-Maidah which details prohibitions on alcohol, gambling and idolatry.

“This must also be seen as a spendthrift act, which is forbidden in Islam,” said Juanda (right).

The fatwa has been publicised through state publications, including MAIP’s organ Irsyad Hukum, he said.

The 1Malaysia campaign is the brainchild of Prime Minister Najib, which calls for national unity and has become the centrepiece of his administration.

Since he took office in April 2009, the 1Malaysia logo has appeared in many if not most government publicity materials and it is also frequently used for commercial reasons.

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 2 June 2011, 4:41 pm and is filed under
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PSD scholarships: What’s Nazri trying to hide?

Malaysiakini Your Say
 | Jun 2, 11

‘In a truly democratic country, a responsible government would publish the list of scholarship holders alongside their results.’

86 top scorers to be placed in local private varsities

Cala:
 I am dumfounded by the Public Service Department and Minister in the PM’s Department Nazri Abdul Aziz’s line of action. They appear to be incapable of doing things right in the first instance. After all, they are the products of the Umno-led BN regime’s mediocrity and recklessness.

In a truly democratic country, a responsible government would have published the list of scholarship holders alongside their results. Obviously, the corrupted regime does not see it fit to do just that.

Can you then blame the people for thinking that something fishy is going on, thus depriving the deserving students of their rightful places? Why is Nazri not addressing the issue?

KSN:
 It is like pouring water on the duck’s back. There is no sincerity and honesty in all the government dealings, especially in this scholarship issue and when one knows that most of the 86 who did not make it are non-Malays. Does 1Malaysia mean anything, or is it just an empty slogan?

Fairness for all:
 Why isn’t the list of the 1,500, who were first given the scholarships, revealed according to race. Is it because most were Malays who did not qualify? The list of 1,500 students should be revealed with their scores to justify their being given scholarships.

20121221Disaster: Justice will never prevail from the Umno government. Nobody can confront Umno, except the rakyat by using their votes. Deputy Education Minister Wee Ka Siong got all the facts to back him, but eventually he was forced to keep silent.

MCA president Chua Soi Lek initially supported Wee. But when confronting the Umno leaders, he had to bow his head all the way down to the floor.

I dare Nazri to do just what Wee had suggested: put up the detailed list of the scholarship allocations, the names, their results, what courses and where, showing all the facts and figures rather than telling some grandmother’s story.

Douglas Tan 25b2:
 The hike in electricity tariffs should be more than enough to cover another 10,000 scholarships, so spending RM50 million on scholarships for our future best and brightest is paltry as compared to the billions they are willing to spend on useless projects which benefit no one but themselves.

Born In Malaysia:
 Nazri, please don’t be petty when comes to the investment in our human resource development. Returns from investment in human resources will be far greater than returns from investment in hard assets.

Sathish Ramachandran: Assuming that these ‘so-called’ second round of scorers were ‘mistakenly’ left out of the first round of awards due to the actions (or inactions) of the little Napoleons in the government in the first place, they are now offered local private university scholarships instead of overseas scholarships (for whatever reasons these may be, such as the government being financially strapped).

Assuming further that these second-round scorers actually scored better than the first round ones, they are now not given the opportunity to take up the overseas scholarships because some little Napoleons within the Public Service Department have bungled up.

And the government dares to say that it “saves them money” by deciding to do this? I dare not imagine the furore of these second rounders who now feel that they, who are more deserving, are now getting the lesser deal.

Vocal Malaysian:
 This is an utter disgrace. PM Najib Razak wants to placate everyone by sending the cream of top students to study in local universities while those who don’t have excellent grades get to go overseas?

Not only that, it is only the elite who get these rare scholarships even when they have no need for it. Look how Najib’s own brother – CIMB CEO Nazir – got a Chevening scholarship to study at Oxford University.

You think he cannot afford the fees? Go to page 124 of the CIMB Annual Report 2010, and check out his 55,000,000 shares.

Yet Najib can’t afford RM55 million to send our best and brightest for their single opportunity of a lifetime?

An Old Malaysian: Most of the government scholarships are given to the offsprings of the rich and powerful. I remember when I was a student in Universiti Malaya in 1972, the daughter of the then PM Hussein Onn, was awarded a scholarship to pursue a medical degree.

Do you think the current Umno ministers will not do the same for their children’s education? Do you think they will use their own money when they can use public money to finance their children’s education?

Pemerhati:
 The present system of awarding scholarships and places in tertiary institutions is racist and should be abandoned if Malaysia is to produce high quality graduates and professionals.

Everyone wants to be seen by a good doctor and be taught by the best teachers. To advance economically we have to produce the best science and engineering graduates to carry out R&D in various fields and work in the fiercely competitive and cutting edge IT and the science and technology-based industries.

Unfortunately the racist mindset of the ruling Umno and its civil servants does not allow it to select the best lecturers and students for the various science and engineering-based university courses. Our universities thus keep producing a large number of low-quality graduates who are only fit to work in the bloated and inefficient civil service.

The best non-bumiputera students are sidelined and leave the country. We can only progress if the government treats all its citizens fairly and equally.

Sarawakian_3ff9:
 Obviously this is a face-saving exercise by Najib. Having said that, I also think this is a good alternative for all the top students to study at home rather than overseas.

This will save billions of ringgits in the long run and keeping the money at home, money that could be disbursed to many others who otherwise would not have a chance of tertiary education.

Also, this keep the talents at home rather than let them be poached by the countries we usually send them to. We all know that many on scholarships absconded after finishing their studies overseas, without paying back a single sen.

Baiyuensheng:
 Let’s give credit to the government where credit is due. At least now the government is responsive to the rakyat’s grievance, regardless of race. From me, two thumbs up for the decision.

Loyal Malaysian:
 I congratulate the top scorers and commend the government for willing to rectify the mistake made by the PSD selection panel.

But does it not indicate there was indeed discrimination and unfair practices in the selection process? Or is it an exercise to show to the rakyat that you need even those wagging dogs to ensure injustices are rectified?

Righteous:
 Everyone came away from this episode with one lingering question – what is in place to assure such thing does not happen again?

Tokenism is just a respite. How will we ever know that such unfair practices will not rear its head after the general election? Do we really have an agreeable formula to overcome such blatant abuses?

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 2 June 2011, 10:58 am and is filed under
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Pua wants Najib to reveal power deals now

By
Debra Chong
 | June 02, 2011

The Malaysian Insider

KUALA LUMPUR, June 2 — Citing legal precedents, DAP lawmaker Tony Pua told the prime minister today to stop dithering and immediately declassify the contentious power purchasing agreements (PPAs) inked with independent power producers (IPPs).

Datuk Seri Najib Razak said on Tuesday the government would look into making public the contracts between national utility company Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) and the IPPs in the face of mounting criticism.

“There’s really nothing left to consider. He should just get the decision approved in the next Cabinet meeting,” Pua (picture) told The Malaysian Insider in response to the PM’s comment.

“Precedents have been set with the highway concession and the PKFZ contracts,” the Petaling Jaya Utara MP said, referring to the 2009 declassification of highway toll concessions and the multi-billion ringgit Port Klang Free Zone scandal which is being tried in the courts now.

The Attorney-General had pledged to open the books on the PKFZ deals following former Transport Minister Tun Dr Ling Liong Sik’s indictment for corruption.

Public anger has swelled against the Najib administration after it announced an average 7.1 per cent jump in electricity tariffs, effective yesterday, which is expected to rev up the price of consumer goods, including food, and increase household spending.

The opposition has repeatedly said the federal gas subsidy granted to IPPs through “lopsided agreements” would hamper Malaysia’s ability to curb rising inflation.

Pua, who is also DAP publicity chief, challenged Najib to live up to his government transformation reform pledges of transparency and accountability over public interest contracts and issues by immediately declassifying the power deals.

“There’s nothing more ‘public interest’ than the PPAs which were signed with the IPPs at this point of time as the government is seeking to increase electricity tariffs without making the IPPs share the burden,” he said.

Pua had sounded the call to declassify the PPAs last month following Putrajaya’s latest move in an ongoing series to snip fuel subsidies set to soar to RM18 billion this year, which Najib has likened to “opium” addiction.

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 2 June 2011, 10:59 am and is filed under
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Rakyat atau Kerajaan yang perlu berjimat?

 –
 Mohd Yusof Hadhari

The Malaysian Insider

Jun 01, 2011

1 JUN — Sekarang kita semua perlu terus sedar bahawa penjimatan kini sudah menjadi wajib. Ia patut menjadi kata kunci kepada semua orang, bukan lagi kepada yang berpendapatan rendah sahaja. Kanapa saya berkata begitu. Harga gula sudah naik, harga minyak sudah berapa kali naik. Untuk harga barang yang lain harap tidak di naikan lagi, sekurang-kurangnya tidak dirasionalisasikan dalam masa terdekat. Harga petrol Ron95, diesel dan gas masih lagi bertahan, entah sampai bila subsidinya dapat diteruskan! Kita tunggu dan lihat.

Dan mulai kemarin (1 Jun), bagi pengguna elektrik antara 301kW dan 1000kW unit, tarifnya sudah dinaikan daripada 0.1 hingga 10 peratus, atau RM0.07 kepada RM30.30. Macam biasa, tenang semua. Harga gas asli di Malaysia masih lagi murah berbanding Negara jiran meskipun dengan kenaikan itu. Menurut kerajaan, sebelum atau selepas kenaikan, setelah dirasionalisasikan, harga di Negara ini masih murah jika di bandingkan dengan Thailand sebanyak RM18.23 setiap juta unit termal British (MMBtu). Indonesia RM21.04, Singapura RM43.32 dan Vietnam RM18.70.

Kerajaan kata kenaikan dalam bekalan gas ke sektor perindustrian adalah wajar, iaitu daripada RM15 setiap MMBtu kepada RM16.07 setiap MMBtu, jika dibandingkan dengan Negara serantau seperti Thailand (RM19.46), Indonesia (RM18.74) dan Singapura (RM113.45). Apa pun, yang jelas pengguna tidak akan selesa dengan sebarang kenaikan.

Apa yang dibimbangkan adalah penyelarasan atau merasionalisasikan tariff elektrik ini akan dijadikan alasan menaikan harga barangan atau perkhidmatan sewenang-wenangnya. Barangkali pengguna boleh rasa sedikit lega dengan jaminan persatuan restoran yang mewakili 2,500 ahli bahawa mereka tidak akan naikkan harga makanan, tetapi adakah kerajaan mahu ringankan bebanan pengusaha restoran dengan pastikan levi pekerja asing ditanggung pekerja itu sendiri.

Baca amaran ini. Harga makanan dijangka meningkat seiring pengumuman kerajaan merasionalisasikan tariff elektrik ini, kata Ketua Ekonomis Ratings Agency Malaysia, Yeah Kim Leng.

Apa yang menjadi kempen kebiasaan di dengar rakyat adalah kita perlu jimat. Rakyat perlu bijak dan lebih baik mengambil tindakan jimatkan perbelanjaan melalui berbagai cara. Kerajaan akan sediakan jadual bagaimana cara-cara penjimatan kepada rakyat. Gunakan seterika seminggu sekali, jangan biarkan pintu peti ais air tidak ditutup rapat dan banyak lagi.

Walaupun 75 peratus isi rumah terlepas daripada kesan langsung kenaikan tarif elektrik, mereka akan menghadapi bebannya apabila pengeluar memindahkan kos lebih tinggi kepada pengguna. Benar jika alasannya pengecualian kenaikan diberi kepada yang mengguna elektrik RM20 ke bawah sebulan, tapi apakah anda dan saya dengan kemudahan dan peralatan yang perlu digunakan dan anggota keluarga yang ramai, kita termasuk dalam golongan itu? Oh ya, hampir terlupa, kerajaan sudah sediakan jadual penjimatan kepada kita semua.

Saya rasa tidak perlu kerajaan tunjukkan cara penjimatan setelah kerajaan naikkannya. Seolah memainkan rakyat, dan saya rasakan rakyat sudah mula celik dan bukan terlalu bodoh. Kata PM kita, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, “rakyat sudah berubah”. Kita sudah lama berjimat cermat kerana harga yang sentiasa dirasionalisasikan sejak sekian lama. Apa yang kita mahukan kerajaan yang perlu belajar berjimat dan pandai menggunakan wang Negara dalam masa yang sama dapat memberikan manfaat kepada rakyat seluruhnya.

* Mohd Yusof Hadhari adalah Ketua Penerangan Gabungan Mahasiswa Islam Se Malaysia (GAMIS).

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 2 June 2011, 8:00 am and is filed under
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Reducing the political cost of liberalisation

By
Hafiz Noor Shams
 | June 02, 2011

The Malaysian Insider

JUNE 2 — A price-control mechanism has its economic cost, on top of that associated with the current subsidy regime in place in Malaysia. There are also some political costs to the control.

In tight times when commodities are becoming dearer, any government that dares to reset retail prices upwards invites public wrath.

There was talk of an early general election, but the rumour machines now suggest that the election will be held only later. The Barisan Nasional-led federal government needs room to manoeuvre before renewing its mandate.

The prime minister is under pressure to seek a mandate of his own. One has to remember that Datuk Seri Najib Razak is running on the 2008 mandate secured by the highly-unpopular Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

Not only that, the prime minister also needs Barisan Nasional to do better than it did in the last general election. He must get the two-thirds majority in Parliament to prove that his government is better than the one led by his predecessor.

That is one of the ways the political cost matters. The political cost can affect cold but rational economic calculations. This is especially relevant for those whose conviction is measured by their appetite for adventure, or lack of adventure rather.

That makes it important to reduce the political cost of liberalisation lest the liberalisation agenda, however dissatisfyingly incomplete it is in its current form, be left high and dry.

The local political cost that exists is unfortunate because global economic reality largely ignores local political reality. In many cases, the increase in retail prices is inevitable amid rising world prices of various commodities.

The factors fuelling the hike are real: growing population, growing affluence and therefore growing demand. That is the current long-term trend. Mere business cycles neither erase nor change long-term trends by much.

There are some institutional issues affecting local retail prices as well. Without hurting the trustworthiness of the government, these problems have to be solved.

Liberalise the market instead of granting monopoly power to specific firms. Make the market open instead of having deals made in the shadows. Stop signing contracts that are grossly lopsided at the expense of public money. All that can lessen the degree of the hikes in the long run.

Yet, local issues just like short-term fluctuations are unlikely to drown out long-term trends. Until new technology, new culture and new alternatives prevail over old ones — or if total world population drops — prices will generally go up to clear the markets.

Because of the dissonance between local political and global economic realities, the political cost should be reduced so that both run parallel to each other. The political cost is a disincentive to good economic policy.

Democracy coupled with entitlement culture is a recipe for irresponsible populism. This is especially true for the fuel subsidy regime where the subsidy fixes the price ceiling and in effect subsidises everything between retail prices and world prices. Under this arrangement, the government risks hypothetically unlimited expenditure. The higher the world prices, the larger the subsidy bill.

So, how does one reduce the political cost?

The government can stop being the fall guy. To do so, the government needs to stop managing prices. Relax the control. Let prices float. Let the market take charge instead. Let those closest to the ground — the actual buyers and sellers — determine the prices.

Using the fuel subsidy as an example, the relaxation can exist together with fixed per unit subsidy regime rather than the current unfixed per unit subsidy.

In this way, the subsidy burden shouldered by the government will remain constant given a consumption level. Any increase or decrease in retail prices will be due to market forces only.

This particular arrangement will reduce the political cost faced by a liberalising government by making the link between prices and primary market participants clearer. Prices will no longer be linked to the government. With the government out of the way, then perhaps the government will receive less flak.

The question of subsidy reduction itself will not even surface because increase in world prices will not increase the subsidy bill given the level of consumption. Indeed, a typical model will suggest that an increase in world prices might actually decrease the total subsidy bill due to decreased consumption.

In the end with less flak, perhaps the liberalisation agenda can go farther down the road without unnecessary undue erosion of political capital.

*
Hafiz Noor Shams sometimes swears a little at maddruid.com

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 2 June 2011, 12:07 pm and is filed under
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Something to ponder before migrating

–
From a doctor who stayed

The Malaysian Insider

Jun 01, 2011

JUNE 1 — It has been illuminating reading the various stories of the people who left and the people who stayed. I personally feel it is the individual’s choice and I agree largely with the opinions of John Rahman. However, I do want to share a couple of angles from a physician’s perspective.

1. To all those who have migrated whose parents are still alive, please make provisions for them if they are left behind. Most people write about the opportunities they need to give to their children but rarely mention what happens to their parents when they migrate.

As a doctor, I see this every day. There are many elderly patients who are admitted to hospital and their children are all living abroad. It is very sad.

One old man when I asked where his children were, told me that he had no more tears left to cry, they had all dried up. This frail man took two buses and a taxi to get to hospital. Sometimes there are siblings who are left behind who take care of their parents and I hope silently that they are getting all the help they need from those who left.

Very often we get requests from a patient’s relative who is only there as next-of-kin “to talk on the phone to the son/daughter who is in the US/UK/Australia”, always said with a hint of what I feel is misplaced pride. Generally doctors do not like giving news over the phone even to someone within the country.

There is much room for misinterpretation and of course the issue of patient confidentiality. I always insist on giving news in person to avoid such things from happening. When such requests are made I cannot help but feel irritated.

They always want to know if they should come back to Malaysia to see their parent. They tell me, “Doctor, it is so far, inconvenient and expensive.” I believe they should be asking themselves that question, not me.

Sometimes they do come back to visit. Sometimes it is very unpleasant as they assume that we are not competent and they say that “medical care in the US/UK/Australia etc is so much better”, statements that I believe do not even merit a response from me. Sometimes when the patient dies, they come back to Malaysia demanding to see the doctor and they blame the medical team for the patient’s death when there is no reason to. Obviously to us, but not to them, this is out of guilt for their not being there.

I do not blame people for migrating. It is an individual choice. But I plead to all who do to please make provisions for your parents. Make sure you send money regularly to your siblings who are left behind to take care of them. Make sure they have enough for food, medications and transportation to the hospital. Please call them often to see how they are. Please don’t forget that your parents are also still your responsibility, not just your children. If you find it is “inconvenient” please change your mindset. This is part and parcel of your decision to migrate. Accept it.

2. The second angle that I want to share is something that maybe people don’t think about when they migrate and I hope they never have to. I once had a request from a patient’s sibling to see me to discuss organ transplantation.

The patient had organ failure which required transplantation but as he/she was not a citizen in the country in which he/she resided, this was not an option there (unless he/she made a very substantial monetary investment in that country to gain citizenship — an option he/she had already explored).

So the only place where he/she could join the transplant list would be in Malaysia. This patient was “too busy” to come home to discuss it as he/she was an “important person.” So he/she sent his/her siblings instead to ask a list of questions which soon became apparent to me was designed to assess our hospital’s “competence” and if we were worthy of him/her.

It was difficult to hide my irritation but I politely explained our hospital’s protocol for listing someone for transplant. It soon became apparent to them that far from the patient assessing us, it is we who will assess the patient whether he/she is worthy of an organ donation from Malaysian people.

I do not know what happened to this patient but honestly, I think he/she should thank his/her lucky stars that we even have a successful transplant programme in our country. So the learning point is that even though medical facilities may be “far superior in the US/UK/Australia”, there are some treatments that will still not be available to you unless you are a citizen of that country.

In conclusion, I would like to ask those who are planning to migrate to please factor in your parents as well and not just your children. If they are in good health now, they will not always be. Please make plans for that bend in the road.

All this obviously does not apply to everyone who migrates. There are many people who do not behave in such ways but what I have written is based on real-life experiences as a physician and I wanted to participate constructively in this discussion.

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 2 June 2011, 7:48 am and is filed under
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Umno has lost Malay middle class, says EIU

By
Shannon Teoh
 | June 02, 2011

The Malaysian Insider

KUALA LUMPUR, June 2 — Despite continued support from rural voters, Umno appears to have been rejected by urban Malays, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).

Its latest country report on Malaysia said that the “decline in support may have intensified” among middle-class Malays due to Internet sites “exposing government corruption and political intrigues of individual members of the ruling administration.”

“Although voters in the rural heartland of Peninsular Malaysia continue to support Umno, there have been suggestions that the party has lost the support of a significant number of educated, liberal middle-class Malays,” the research arm of the London-based Economist weekly said.

But the EIU also warned that “conservative Malays have meanwhile been voicing concerns about the government’s plan to reform policies favouring Bumiputera (ethnic Malays and other indigenous peoples), as they believe that the special rights accorded to them in the constitution may be rescinded.”

Racial and religious tension has escalated of late with right-wing Malays accusing the Chinese community of trying to usurp political power.

A few weeks ago, Umno’s Utusan Malaysia accused church and DAP leaders of plotting to install a Christian prime minister and turning Malaysia into a Christian state.

The Umno-led Barisan Nasional (BN) has also strung together consecutive by-election victories recently in rural and semi-urban constituencies with an increased majority among Malay voters.

But observers say that the April 16 Sarawak election saw an urban-rural divide which resulted in Pakatan Rakyat (PR) parties more than double its tally from seven to 15 seats in the 71-member state assembly.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak is expected to call a general election within the year where BN will expect an improvement on the 2008 result.

He had replaced Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi as Umno president in 2009 after the former prime minister had led BN to its worst-ever election showing, ceding 82 parliamentary seats and five state governments.

Regaining the ruling coalition’s customary two-thirds majority in Parliament appears to be the only guarantee that the Pekan MP will stay in power.

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 2 June 2011, 4:46 pm and is filed under
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Hadi spurns cooperation with Umno-BN

By
Aidila Razak
 | Jun 3, 11

Malaysiakini

PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang today made it clear that any bid to forge cooperation between PAS and Umno in the name of Malay unity is an effort in futility.

 Not mincing his words during his keynote speech at the Muktamar in Gombak, Kuala Lumpur today, Abdul Hadi (right) said that Umno had forsaken the Malays and bumiputera by plundering wealth through dubious means.

“Umno as a Malay-bumiputera majority party was entrusted with leadership (but)… the wealth of the nation has been turned into the private property of leaders, while the rakyat struggle to make ends meet.

“(We teach society that) there is a difference between PAS’ cooperation in Pakatan Rakyat, with cooperation with Umno in BN, which sacrifices Islamic principles,” he told an audience of about 1,000.

Abdul Hadi, who was delivering the speech on behalf of PAS spiritual leader Nik Aziz Nik Mat, said that the claim of “Umno Malays” to seek Malay unity but continue to vote non-Malay BN candidates against PAS.

“Umno has created a flock of Malays and Muslims who are blind and deaf to money politics, with entertainment and media used to turn Malays and Muslims stupid,” he said.

Abdul Hadi’s strongly-worded speech comes on the back of renewed calls by BN that the Islamic party abandon Pakatan Rakyat and join BN in the name of Malay unity.

Abdul Hadi added that PAS has an obligation to clean up politics from “disgusting acts like corruption, money politics, slander, racism, lies and all manner of things which embarrass even our children who are watching us”.

“Politics needs to be cleaned up but this cannot be done by Umno-BN who have sullied it with their own hands,” he said cuttingly, during the hour-long speech.

Lambasting the call for Umno-PAS cooperation as “narrow communalism”, Abdul Hadi said that Islam acknowledges the existence of racially plural societies.

“We need to realise that a plural (majmuk) society is part of Islam’s political message.

“It is compulsory for us to spread the message of no compulsion in religion, and that Islam is fair for all… so (non-Muslims) can see how Islam should be practiced, and Islam’s image which has been tainted by Umno’s antics can be redeemed,” he said.

[
More to follow
]

                This entry was posted on Friday, 3 June 2011, 1:10 pm and is filed under
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I’m no expert in Islam but…

By
 Zan Azlee

June 03, 2011 | The Malaysian Insider

JUNE 3 — Religion seems to be quite a hot topic whenever it is discussed. This is especially so when it comes to Islam. And even more so when it challenges conventional thought.

I’ve learnt this over the course of writing my thoughts and opinions openly and frankly all this while and receiving the opinions and thoughts of the readers as well.

Sometimes the comments that I get are just okay and sometimes, they can be quite passionate. The latter is when I feel obligated to respond.

My column last week received quite a range of comments that I felt warranted a proper response from me this week.

There were many that concurred with my thoughts, but no point responding to them. That would just be preaching to the converted.

What I really want to do is to respond to those who disagreed with me. Everyone is definitely entitled to his or her opinion, but right now I have the pen in hand!

Among them were those who raised the fact that I am not credible enough to comment on Islam since I did not take courses on the Quran and Sunnah at University of Malaya.

Someone even accused me of not attending religious talks at the mosque outside of the regular Friday prayers. This must be someone who goes to the same mosque I do. How else would he know?

Apparently, only those who have the right academic qualifications are allowed to comment on Islam. And me, with my odd combination of accounting and journalism degrees, just am not part of that elite group.

This is what has been holding the Muslim community back. People who think that only an elite few should have the right to discuss the religion.

And I wonder if they are referring to the same elite few who ridiculously declared that yoga and poco-poco dancing are haram and need to be banned!

Correct me if I’m wrong, but that sounds very much like a Christian clergyman to me. And even then, the concept of that clergy died long ago together with the Dark Ages in Europe.

In fact, even the Hindu community, with their strict caste system, have changed for the better. Now, religious leaders do not have to be a Brahmin.

My Indian friend (who suffers terribly from all my Indian jokes!), who happens to be from the Kaunder caste, is a Hindu priest at a temple his grandfather founded in Klang.

It’s true that the Quran states that scholars should be held with high regard. But it never said that only a select few could be scholars. In fact, everyone is encouraged to be one.

I believe that Islam is a very democratic religion and everyone has a say in it. That’s where the concept of consensus came about in the religion.

We the people need to discuss, critique and have dialogue for a better understanding and also for the sake of progression and advancement of Islam.

We the people cannot leave it to the self-proclaimed religious intellectuals to dictate what is to be done, and we to just follow blindly.

With the almost limitless amount of resources we have these days, knowledge can easily be obtained to equip ourselves for discussion and dialogue.

With that being said, we are all human beings and human beings are far from perfect. I am definitely not perfect. And neither are the religious scholars.

Of course, I rightfully admit that I am no religious expert. But I do read, and sometimes, I even think. And the last I checked, I didn’t need to enrol at the International Islamic University or Al-Azhar University to do that.

I believe that everyone, lay people and religious scholars included, should actively participate in discussion, debate and interaction for the betterment of the religion and society.

Although I started last week’s column by expressing doubt at the Malaysian Muslim’s openness to dialogue, I was extremely happy with the comments and opinions that I received due to it.

It proved that although we have differing views, we choose to fight with words and thoughts to prove our points rather than with sticks, stones and guns.

                This entry was posted on Friday, 3 June 2011, 9:11 am and is filed under
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