Five tests whether International Conference on Global Movement of Moderates is meaningful and Najib qualifies to be regarded as the voice of moderates in Malaysia

The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak is to launch and institutionalize “the Global Movement of the Moderates” at the inaugural International Conference on the Global Movement of the Moderates in Kuala Lumpur tomorrow.

In international conferences in the past two years, whether at the United Nations General Assembly or in Europe, Najib had kept to the theme calling on the moderates of the world to unite against extremists.

However, when he returns to Malaysia, he has allowed the forces of extremism, unreason and falsehoods a field day to the extent that Malaysia had never been more polarised on ethnic and religious grounds in the first three years of a Prime Minister than under him in the history of the nation.

Tonight, I want to put forth five tests to determine whether the International Conference on Global Movement of Moderates is meaningful or an exercise in hypocrisy and double-talk and whether Najib qualifies to be regarded as the voice of moderates in Malaysia.

Firstly, Najib must salvage his signature 1Malaysia policy, which he promulgated on becoming the sixth Prime Minister – to create a Malaysia where every Malaysian regards himself or herself as Malaysian first, and his race, religion, geography and socio-economic status second.

In March 2010, in response to my challenge in Parliament, the Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin rubbished Najib’s 1Malaysia policy, declaring that he is Malay first and Malaysian second.

If after two years, Najib is unable to bring his Deputy Prime Minister into line to unequivocally and unconditionally support his signature 1Malaysia policy, it is a terrible reflection of his failure as Prime Minister and as voice of moderation in Malaysia.

Secondly, let him declare at the International Conference on Global Movement of Moderates tomorrow that he will spearhead a national campaign to end gutter politics and the politics of lies, falsehood and incitement which have seen their worst manifestation in 54 years of Malaysian nationhood in the 33 months he became Prime Minister.

DAP for instance is accused by UMNO leaders and apparatus as anti-Malay, anti-Islam and anti-Malay Rulers when these are downright lies and falsehoods.

Is Najib prepared to be the voice of moderates against the forces of extremism to end gutter politics and the politics of lies, falsehoods and incitement in Malaysia?

Third, let Najib declare at the International Conference of Moderates tomorrow that Utusan Malaysia, the official mouthpiece of UMNO, will immediately be transformed into a Voice of Moderation instead of being the strident voice of extremism and lies, undermining Malaysian nation-building in the process.

Fourthly, let Najib announce that he and all UMNO leaders will not use the threat of May 13 in the forthcoming 13th general elections or any future general elections to create fear and distrust among the voters.

Fifthly, let Najib make a public commitment that as a moderate to make Malaysia “the best democracy in the world”, he and all UMNO leaders will fully and peacefully accept the electoral verdict of Malaysians in the 13th general elections, including a change of government in Putrajaya and Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim as the seventh Prime Minister to head a Pakatan Rakyat federal government.

He should retract his “crushed bodies, lives lost” declaration (“walau berkecai tulang dan juga badan, walau bercerai jasad dari nyawa”) to the Umno General Assembly two years ago to defend UMNO in Putrajaya, as a moderate will not conceive of any “crushed bodies, lives lost” in a peaceful democratic general elections where the will and verdict of the electorate is regarded as supreme and sacred.

[
Speech at the Negri Sembilan Pakatan Rakyat Public Ceramah in Gemas to launch the PR Negri Sembilan Manifesto on Sunday, 15th January 2012 at 10 pm
]

                This entry was posted on Monday, 16 January 2012, 11:50 am and is filed under
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“Temporary freeze” of NFC assets meaningless unless the collective monthly salaries of Shahrizat family in NFC also slashed by two-thirds from RM215,000 to some RM71,000

The announcement by the National Feedlot Corporation (NFCorp) executive director Wan Shahinur Izmir Salleh that It’s “business as usual” and NFCorp operations are uninterrupted despite the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s announcement two days ago of the temporary freeze of the National Feedlot Centre assets offends the most elementary sense of right and wrong of decent Malaysians.

It raises the critical question nagging thinking Malaysians whether the “temporary freeze” of NFC assets was nothing but a charade and a conjuror’s sleight-of-hand to  appease an increasingly outraged Malaysian population – including more and more disillusioned Umno and Barisan Nasional members – but with little real meaning for the operations of NFC as appears to have been confirmed by Izmir.

When were  the assets of NFC frozen? Who froze the NFC assets  and who have the authority and what are the circumstances to  unfreeze the NFC assets?

Most important of all, how much of the NFC assets have actually been frozen as Malaysians would not be surprised if NFC has been reduced to an empty shell with the many dubious corporate manipulations and hanky-lanky misusing NFC funds completely unrelated to the original objective to promote a high-impact project to ensure a higher level of beef self-sufficiency as have been publicly exposed in the past three months.

Can Najib specifically answer the many questions about the “temporary freeze” of NFC assets – the who, when, where, how and what assets have been  frozen and what value?

When Izmir announced that it’s “business as usual” despite the “temporary freeze” of NFC assets, what hit Malaysians in the face is the realization that the gross abuse of public funds is continuing without any let-up, as in the extravagance with which the Shahrizat family members are paying themselves in the NFC project.

Shahrizat’s husband Dr. Mohammad Salleh Ismail as NFCorp Chairman draws $100,000 salary monthly, 31-year-old son Izmir draws RM45,000 monthly as executive director, another son Wan Shahinur Izran aged 27 draws RM35,000 a month as CEO while 25 year-old daughter Wan Izzanah Fatimah draws RM35,000 as the other director – a handsome total sum of RM215,000 monthly as salaries for Shahrizat’s husband and three children all to be traced to the largesse from the cabinet in approving and resulting in the RM300.000 “cattle condo” scandal.

Ordinary Malaysians are outraged that after more than six months after the revelations and strictures by the Auditor-general about the NFC “mess”, nothing has been done whether by the cabinet or NFC to put things right. What is worse, there is a complete absence of remorse or admission of grave wrong and injustices in the gross misuse of NFC funds.

What is the meaning and purpose of the “temporary freeze” of NFC assets six months after the Auditor-General 2010 Report had first been submitted to the Cabinet and government when there has been no “hair-cut” on  the Shahrizat family in the NFCorp to curb their extravagant salaries and  lifestyles?

The least Malaysians expect in any meaningful “temporary freeze” of NFC assets would be two-thirds cut in the monthly salaries of  the NFCorp chairman, executive director, CEO and the other director from their total monthly salaries of RM215,000 to some RM71,000!

Will this be discussed in the cabinet tomorrow? Which Minister would dare to broach this subject in Cabinet tomorrow?

                This entry was posted on Monday, 16 January 2012, 11:01 am and is filed under
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National Feedlot Corporation has given two powerful reasons why there should be a RCI into the “cattle condo” scandal focussing on the role and responsibility of Muhyiddin as Agriculture Minister who approved the RM250 million loan project before 308 “political tsunami”

The National Feedlot Corporation (NFC) has today given two powerful reasons why there should be a Royal Commission of Inquiry into the RM300 million “cattle condo” scandal, focussing on the role and responsibility of Deputy Prime Minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin who was the Agriculture Minister who approved the RM250 million loan project before the “308” political tsunami.

The company declared today that its contract for its RM250 million loan from the government was signed in 2007, disputing the Public Accounts Committee’s (PAC) earlier claim that the company had received the sum before the contract was signed.

NFC said the loan agreement between the government represented by the Ministry of Finance and NFC was signed on December 6, 2007, and not in 2010 and that the first drawdown of RM7 million was in January 2008 “in compliance with proper procedure”.

It claimed that beginning this year, NFC “will start serving its loan repayment as stipulated in its loan agreement”.

The NFC statement, confirming that the decisive events of the “cattle condo” scandal, viz, the award of the NFC project on 27th October 2006, the signing of the RM250 million loan agreement with 2% interest on December 6, 2007 and the first drawdown of RM7 million in January 2008 all took place before the March 8 “political tsunami” when the Minister responsible was none other than Muhyiddin.

It provides powerful reason why there should be a Royal Commission of Inquiry into all the “horror stories” of the RM300 million NFC “cattle condo” scandal but also to focus on the role and responsibility of Muhyiddin as the Cabinet Minister who should personally and directly be responsible for the scandal.

Let the RCI answer the question: Who else apart from Muhyiddin should bear the full and final responsibility for the NFC “mess” where the objective of the project on cattle production to boost the nation’s beef self-sufficiency could go so wrong as NFC not only failed to meet this target, the RM250 million 2%-interest soft loan had been diverted not only to buy two luxury condominiums in Bangsar and a luxury condominium in Singapore but also for many other dubious transactions.

The NFC statement today also reminds Malaysians that the Public Accounts Committee has been acting in a most unusual manner, as apart from its initial meeting, it had failed to carry out full investigations into the “cattle condo” scandal to be able to present a report to Parliament when it meets on March 12 – although it is the No.1 scandal of the day!

Malaysians are entitled to know why the PAC is behaving in so tardy a fashion, giving the impression that the PAC is avoiding from coming to grips with the issue. Can PAC submit its report on the NFC scandal to Parliament by March 12?

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 17 January 2012, 3:58 pm and is filed under
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Dengar cerita ‘anjing sukum’

— Aspan Alias

The Malaysian Insider

Jan 17, 2012

17 JAN — Dalam tahun-tahun awalan lapan puluhan ada seorang yang semasa itu merupakan seorang veteran yang duduk bersama kami sebagai AJK Umno Bahagian di tempat saya, bernama Yassin Mahmud. Beliau sudah tiada lagi bersama kita kerana beliau telah pergi menghadap Allah yang Maha Esa. Beliau seorang guru dan beliau juga adalah seorang yang serius tetapi nampak periang sifatnya. Beliau pernah menelah yang Umno akan menjadi apa yang kita lihat pada hari ini, iaitu sebuah parti untuk ‘warlords’ dan beliau selalu membuka cerita Umno ini dengan memberikan anologi yang melucukan terhadap apa yang akan terjadi kepada parti ini.

Beliaulah yang membuka cerita yang bertajuk ‘anjing sukum’ dan cerita ini pernah saya tulis tiga tahun dahulu. Anjing sukum ini pada beliau ialah anjing buruan yang taat kepada bossnya dan akan melakukan apa sahaja untuk menghambat segala binatang buruan bossnya untuk bossnya melapah dan memakan haiwan buruan, lebihan dari yang telah di jual oleh pemburu itu.

Anjing sukum ini dibela oleh pemburu itu guna untuk membantunya menghambat binatang buruan seperti rusa dan apabila rusa itu telah dihambat dan tidak berdaya untuk melarikan diri pemburu itu akan menembaknya. Setelah rusa itu jatuh maka pemburu itu akan menyembelih rusa yang di hambat oleh anjing sukum itu tadi.

Sedang pemburu itu melapah daging-daging rusa tersebut, anjing-anjing sukum ini menyalak-nyalak untuk mendapatkan habuan dan upah menghambat rusa itu tadi. Pemburu pantas memotong tulang-tulang rusa itu dan membalingkan tulang-tulang tersebut kepada tujuh lapan ekor anjing sukum itu. Maka anjing sukum itu pun terus diam sahaja dan berpuas hati dengan upah tulang-tulang yang dilemparkan oleh bossnya itu.

Pemburu itu terus sahaja melapah dan mendapat daging batang pinang dan lain-lain dari rusa tersebut. “Itu sahajalah gunanya kita di bawah ini kepada pemimpin-pemimpin kita.. Mereka nak jadikan kita macam anjing sukum sahaja” kata embong Yassin. Banyak pelajaran yang didapati dari orang-orang lama ini dan mereka tahu semua nilai kemanusiaan pemimpin-pemimpin Umno walaupun semasa itu keadaan tidaklah begitu teruk seperti yang kita hadapi pada hari ini.

Sekarang apa yang diceritakan oleh embong Yassin itu memang benar-benar berlaku. Ramai di antara ahli-ahli Umno nampaknya hanya dijadikan sebagai anjing buruan semata-mata. Kerjanya memburu musuh-musuh mereka dengan menggunakan anjing sukum ini untuk menghambat mereka yang di musuhi oleh boss-boss mereka.

Ada yang berjaya dan ada yang masih tidak mampu diburu. Itu sahajalah cerita pendek saya. Masa dan waktu mencemburui saya dan saya belum ada masa untuk menulis bahan-bahan serius yang lain buat hari ini. — aspanaliasnet.blogspot.com

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 18 January 2012, 10:57 am and is filed under
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Make Gemas the epicentre of a political tsunami

— Sakmongkol AK47

The Malaysian Insider

Jan 16, 2012

JAN 16 — If the crowd at the Rapat Rakyat yesterday night in sleepy Gemas is an indication, Negri Sembilan will fall to the opposition at the next GE. It does not matter whether the elections are held in the next few months or later nearer a full five-year term. It will not make any difference on the outcome of the elections — Barisan Nasional will suffer massive losses and lose its mandate.

Those politically untutored, of course, will chide others who are wishing for an earlier election date. Usually those who are pressing for a quicker date are those from within Umno itself. Especially those who think they will contest as candidates replacing the incumbents.

In Umno, replacing incumbents is not difficult — just mobilise a few dissenting and envious voices to create the necessary “public” opinion. Elevate personal anecdotes and personal sob and frustrated stories and exploit those as generalizations.  Then package all the lies and present it to a nervous and insecure division head. Never mind if he is the DPM then and now PM.

I would estimate the crowd yesterday to be around 10,000 people. The local guy next to me confided in me since staying in Gemas since the late 60s, this is the first time he sees this big a crowd attend a political gathering.

Umno will of course trivialise this observation by saying, the opposition has always attracted large crowds to their rallies. In the end, the BN will win. I hope for their sake, that simplistic response is true. This time I think, the usual knee jerk response is just for self-assurance for the anxieties engulfing the BN camp.

The first three speakers spoke about local politics not about the big issues concerning and relating to Anwar Ibrahim, who was the last speaker. The three who spoke first found unison in the voice from the crowd who were clearly primed up to eject Mat Hassan and his team from Negri.

Gemas is special, or should I say infamous, for two things actually. The NFC cattle farm is located in Gemas. Shahrizat Jalil, whose family members are currently embroiled in the financial scandal surrounding the National Feedlot Cattle project, chose Gemas as the site for the project. Gemas has since gained the moniker of the cattle capital of Malaysia. The NFC is clearly a blatant case of corruption involving many more people within Umno than the figures now under public scrutiny.

Gemas is also the site chosen to be the starting point for the double tracking rail project from Gemas to Johore Baru. That project is shrouded in much controversy too. The original project was given to China Railway Engineering and Construction (CREC) on account of the company being a GLC of the Chinese government and also on account of its specialization in the construction of rail projects.

The Malaysian Cabinet approved it. Curiously later, this decision was rescinded and the project was given to China Harbours. Now it seems, another private Chinese company has been given the project. In between companies, rumours abounded about large amounts of money changing hands.

So Gemas appears to be at the epicentre of financial scandals. It is fitting for Gemas to herald the wave of change that will soon snuff out the life of the corrupt and the mediocre in Negri Sembilan.

But you watch this space. Syed Mokhtar is taking over KTMB. The double tracking project is for use by KTMB. What’s stopping KTMB from telling the government, it can do the Gemas-JB double tracking job? Gamuda made lots of money for the northern portion of the double tracking job so why can’t KTMB under Syed Mokhtar do the same?

To the people of Gemas, Negri Sembilan, my hope is they make Gemas the epicentre for political tsunami in Negeri Sembilan.

Don’t make Gemas the black hole of financial scandals. — sakmongkol.blogspot.com

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 18 January 2012, 11:24 am and is filed under
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NFC RCI should also  inquire into Najib’s role as Chairman of High-Impact Committee which approved project in 2006, why MACC and PAC so tardy in their investigations and unravel other NFC-like scandals littered in government

UMNO insiders are worried that the RM300 million National Feedlot Centre (NFC) “cattle condo” scandal may cost UMNO very dearly, causing it to  lose more than 30 parliamentary seats in the general elections if this scandal is not handled and resolved in a quick and satisfactory manner.

This is why I do not expect the UMNO Wanita Chairman and Minister for Women, Family and Welfare Development, Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil to return to Cabinet at the end of her three-week leave (one week gone with two weeks left) on Feb. 3, 2012.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Datuk Seri Najib Razak has said that he had discussed with Shahrizat her decision to take three-weeks leave from her ministerial duties and that she was willing to be “investigated fully”.

Among the  teeming questions in Malaysian minds about the RM300 million NFC  “cattle condo” scandal is why it had taken Shahrizat six months to go on  ministerial leave to enable full investigations into the NFC scandal to be conducted, as the Auditor-General’s 2010 report which highlighted the NFC “mess” was completed and made available to the Cabinet and all Ministries in early June last year. The Auditor-General’s 2010 Accounts Report was deliberately held back in Parliament until the last week of October.

Similarly, why had the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) failed to leap into action as far back as last June when it first received copies of the Auditor-General’s Report 2010 but had initially taken  the untenable position that the NFC scandal was a police matter and  falls outside its purview – until the public heat on MACC became so unbearable that the anti-corruption commission had to do an about-turn to investigate the scandal.

This is why claims by MACC Chief Commissioner Datuk Seri Abu Kassim Mohamad yesterday that MACC would investigate all NFC allegations “without fear or favour, even if they involve high-profile individuals” lack credibility.

Has the MACC already interrogated not only Shahrizat but also other Cabinet Ministers involved in the decision-making process approving the NFC project, including the Deputy Prime Minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and even the Prime Minister himself?

This is why the demand for a Royal Commission of Inquiry into the NFC “cattle condo” scandal is so insistent and irresistible, for there is just no public confidence that full justice, accountability and transparency could result from the present law enforcement agencies, whether the MACC or police.

Under the circumstances, Shahrizat’s return to Cabinet on Feb. 3 will only reinforce public disillusionment about the independence, integrity and professionalism of the key law enforcement agencies, giving a fatal blow to Najib, UMNO and Barisan Nasional in the forthcoming 13th general elections.

One immediate consequence of such public disillusionment will see UMNO losing even more than the 30  parliamentary seats currently estimated,  as well as making it impossible for UMNO to defend several state governments, especially Negri Sembilan.

Already MCA and Gerakan leaders are openly admitting that UMNO has become  incorrigibly rotten and corrupt, but pleading that there is nothing the other Barisan Nasional component could do to check such UMNO corruption – and such speeches by MCA and Gerakan leaders are beginning to find their way to the Internet.

This is why a Royal Commission of Inquiry into the NFC “cattle condo” scandal cannot be avoided, or it would become a major issue in the forthcoming general elections.

Najib should bow to the inevitable and set up a RCI into the NFC scandal, which should not only inquire into  the role of the Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin as the Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Minister at the relevant time, but also  inquire into Najib’s role as Chairman of High-Impact Committee which approved the project in 2006 as well as why MACC and the Parliamentary Accounts Committee (PAC) have been so tardy and reluctant to launch immediate investigations into the corrupt malpractices involved.

Most important of all, the RCI should probe into the many other similar NFCorp scandals littered all over the government, but presently  “hidden” from public view whether  in the Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Ministry or other Ministries in the name to promoting high-impact projects but ending up in only benefitting a handful of UMNO cronies.

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 18 January 2012, 2:41 pm and is filed under
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Sokongan mengusik jiwa

 — Aspan Alias

The Malaysian Insider

Jan 17, 2012

17 JAN — Kali ini saya hanya menulis “article” yang pendek sahaja. Saya telah mendapat reaksi yang banyak kerana tindakan saya menukar wadah dalam arena politik. Perlu difahami bahawa saya tidak bergiat dalam politik melebihi satu dekad dan saya pada awalnya tidak mahu lagi terlibat dalam hal ini. Saya merasakan banyak yang tidak kena dengan perjalanan dan arah tuju politik Melayu, khususnya Umno, dan mengambil tindakan mendiamkan diri adalah satu tindakan yang “natural” bagi sesiapa yang menghadapi perasaan dan masalah seperti saya ini.

Saya hanya mengambil tahu hal keadaan politik dari rumah sahaja sambil-sambil menengok-nengokkan cucu saya yang kian waktu makin membesar dan bertambah bilangannya itu. Saya mengambil langkah untuk menulis sedikit sebanyak dalam blog kecil saya ini untuk mengasah otak saya supaya tidak menjadi tumpul. Tetapi dalam waktu pencarian ini saya nampak keadaan sudah terlalu menekan untuk saya kembali dan bergiat, setidak-tidaknya untuk memberikan sumbangan sedikit sebanyak kepada pandangan masyarakat yang dahagakan perubahan.

Tindakan saya menyertai DAP ini dilakukan setelah berfikir dengan mendalam dan mencari penyesuaian dan keserasian dengan perjuangan parti ini. Setelah saya menyertainya, saya telah mendapat puluhan atau ratusan sokongan melalui e-mail saya setiap hari, kecuali beberapa orang yang menentang kemasukan saya dalam DAP. Yang lain yang ramai-ramai itu telah memberikan saya galakan dan ramai (Melayu) yang telah menunjukkan sokongan yang begitu kuat terhadap tindakan saya itu.

Saya tidak dapat untuk menjawab satu persatu email yang dihantar kepada saya itu, maka saya menulis melalui blog kecil saya ini untuk mengucapkan berbanyak-banyak terima kasih di atas sokongan moral kepada saya dan kalau boleh doakan saya agar apa yang saya perjuangkan ini akan beroleh kebaikan untuk kita semua dan generasi kita yang akan datang.

Ada juga segelintir yang membidas dan menghina saya dengan isu yang bukan-bukan tetapi saya tidak memberikan respon kepada segelintiran ini kerana di antara saya dengan mereka sebenarnya kita berlainan dalam bahasa politik. Saya juga tidak mengambil hati kerana kita memandang isu-isu itu dari sudut yang berlainan. Penghinaan segelintiran mereka ini tidak meresahkan saya malah saya merasakan yang saya sedang dalam ujian dalam kehidupan saya dan saya akan laluinya dengan tabah dan tenang.

Saya hanya berdoa saya akan terus-menerus bersandar kepada kebenaran dan hanya saya sahaja yang tahu kerana matlamat saya itu saya simpan rapat-rapat di dalam sanubari saya. Jika benar apa dan ada kesungguhan perjuangan saya itu dan diizinkan Tuhan pula baiklah hasilnya dan jika sebaliknya, saya redha untuk menerima apa sahaja halangan dan kepayahan yang bakal saya hadapi. Saya telah bertekad untuk menyebelahi rakyat yang ramai dari bersekutu dengan kumpulan ekskusif yang lalai terhadap orang ramai tadbiran mereka.

Lagi pun menghadapi kepayahan dalam hidup memang mainan saya walaupun saya berada di dalam Umno yang mengaku sebagai parti untuk semua dan segala-galanya adalah Umno. Saya telah menjadi ahli parti ini selama empat dekad lamanya. Saya tidak pernah merungut dan menyesal berada di dalam Umno sebegitu lama. Setidak-tidaknya saya mahir untuk menilai parti itu dalam empat dekad berada bersamanya.

Kepada rakan-rakan serta ratusan email yang datang dari mereka yang saya belum kenali itu, saya mengucapkan berbanyak-banyak terima kasih di atas sokongan saudara semua. Saya tidak dapat mengenali semua. Tetapi jika terjumpa di mana-mana, tegurlah saya kerana saya ingin bersalaman untuk mengucapkan terima kasih sekali lagi.

Tetapi memberikan sokongan kepada saya tidak mendapat apa-apa imbuhan. Saya tidak ada RM500 untuk dibahagi-bahagikan kepada saudara/saudari sekalian. Saya tidak mampu untuk menjanjikan apa-apa keuntungan material. Hanya saya berjanji dengan sedikit kudrat yang berbaki yang ada pada saya untuk membantu perjuangan untuk menyelamatkan harta benda rakyat dari dirompak dan dipergunakan oleh mereka yang memerintah negara kita ini.

Saya akan melakukan sedikit sebanyak yang saya mampu untuk menyumbang kepada usaha mencari penyelesaian terhadap kemelut rasuah dan salahguna kuasa yang terlalu berleluasa kini. Hasil perjuangan ini mungkin tidak dapat dilihat semasa hayat saya ini, tetapi jika impian untuk mendapatkan sebuah negara yang baik pemerintahannya tercapai semasa saya sudah tiada lagi, jika ikhlas hadiahkanlah saya surah Al-Fatihah sekali. Setidak-tidaknya, itu sudah mencukupi bagi saya.

Kepada rakan-rakan sekalian, saya mengucapkan terima kasih dan ayuh kita bersama-sama menuju matlamat yang telah saya nyatakan tadi. Walaupun kita telah dikabulkan banyak doa-doa kita, tetapi hajat untuk mendapat sebuah negara yang dipimpin dengan baik dan jujur belum lagi kesampaian.

Doa kita termakbul tetapi kita sedang menunggu HAJAT yang masih lagi belum kesampaian.

Tetapi kita mesti yakin dengan janji Tuhan, “doa-doa kita tidak semestinya dikabulkan Tuhan semuanya, tetapi HAJAT tetap akan disampaikanNya”. Kita tunggu… berbohong itu adalah sifat mustahil bagi Tuhan semesta alam. Salam. — aspanaliasnet.blogspot.com

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 18 January 2012, 11:14 am and is filed under
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Why did they free Anwar?

— P. Ramakrishnan

The Malaysian Insider

Jan 18, 2012

JAN 18 — Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s acquittal and discharge could not have earned the judiciary any brownie points. Neither did the trial judge, Justice Datuk Zabidin Mohd Diah, come across as someone capable of blazing a new trail in proactive justice.

In fact, the court proceedings only disappointed Malaysians the way the judge denied the defence the many crucial notes they were entitled to, dismissed their right to question the prime minister and his wife by granting their application not to appear as witnesses, and refused to recuse himself as the presiding judge by dismissing Anwar’s application that he was biased in the proceedings.

He even strengthened this belief by concluding at the end of the prosecution case that Saiful was a “truthful and credible witness” without even hearing the defence side of the case. The bias was so blatant and so obvious.

Who can forget the doctor who testified under oath at the trial? He wilfully refused to refer to his notes in a deliberate attempt to deny the defence his notes.

In spite of Karpal Singh coaxing him to refer to the notes while testifying, he stubbornly refused to look at his notes. The question arises, why would he want to deny the defence access to his notes? Was he coached not to refer to his notes? What was in those notes that would have been helpful in Anwar’s defence that they desperately wanted to hide?

Again, the way Anwar’s DNA was obtained was questionable and unethical. In spite of Anwar having assured the police that he would turn up at the police station to give his statement, he was waylaid, arrested and taken to the police station as if he was a common criminal. And they unnecessarily kept him overnight to obtain his DNA surreptitiously. Indeed that was how they obtained his DNA.

Anwar’s objection to the admission of his DNA was initially allowed because it was obtained by trickery. But later the judge allowed the DNA as an exhibit following the prosecution’s appeal.

So when the judge acquitted Anwar at the end of the trial, his decision was a clear contradiction to the way the case had progressed and proceeded. Going strictly by the court proceedings, Anwar should have been convicted. There were no two ways about it. The court decision took everyone by surprise.

The entire proceedings went against Anwar thus allowing an injustice to prevail. It created the unmistakable impression that the court was colluding with the executive to put away Anwar for good.

Widespread anger

So why was Anwar freed?

While the prosecution went all out to obtain a conviction, the powers-that-be could not ignore the sentiment on the ground. There was wide-spread anger and frustration among a wide-ranging spectrum of the population.

I was on my way to keep an appointment at the General Hospital in Penang on January 9, when I was informed of the outcome, moments after the judge had delivered his verdict to acquit and discharge Anwar. I met so many people at the hospital, the majority of whom were Malays and who were total strangers. When I told them that Anwar was freed, all of them without an exception praised God and were openly very happy.

I called my friend in Kuala Lumpur and related my experience with these people. I was told that this euphoria was not confined to Penang only but was felt everywhere in KL and elsewhere in the country.

With this kind of sympathy and support for Anwar, a guilty verdict and a prison sentence would have outraged all these people. The backlash arising out of this injustice would have punished the Barisan Nasional mercilessly in the 13th General Election.

Political motive?

According to many observers, it was a political decision to go after Anwar with this trumped up charge as he was seen as a threat to the BN’s continued domination of Malaysian politics. Now it was also a political decision to free him in order to mollify the public anger against the BN.

But if this was their strategy for the time being, will they allow Anwar the freedom to roam around the country, galvanising the people and spreading the wings of Pakatan all over Malaysia?

It is very likely that they would want to appeal this verdict and knowing the trend of the judiciary — you win round one and lose round two — the appeal would be allowed. In this way they can keep Anwar tied down with the court cases and continue to harass him giving him little rope to campaign effectively.

But this raises a serious issue. Who will decide if the prosecution should appeal? Following the norm, that decision is with the Attorney General, Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail. But would that be fair to Anwar?

In the first sodomy trial, Manjit Singh who was representing Nallakaruppan revealed that Gani Patail had asked Nallakaruppan to incriminate Anwar offering a plea bargain. This incident should disqualify Gani Patail from deciding on the question of appeal. Apparently there would be a case of conflict of interest.

But the best decision is for the executive and the judiciary to accept the decision of the High Court and bring a closure to this unhappy event. There would be no justification for wasting countless hours of the court and unnecessarily incurring huge further costs in pursuing this case.

If the A-G proceeds with the appeal, the inevitable conclusion would be that it is a case of political vendetta against Anwar, plain and simple. It would debunk the claim made by some that the verdict showed the judiciary is independent. It would only establish the fact that nothing has changed in the judiciary. The rot has permeated beyond repair and redemption.

Hope only lies in a change of government for a better Malaysia and a better future for Malaysians. — aliran.com

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 18 January 2012, 3:25 pm and is filed under
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‘Anxieties engulfing BN camp’

Mohd Ariff Sabri Aziz | January 19, 2012

The Malaysian Insider

Gemas, now infamous for the National Feedlot Centre and the double tracking railway project scandals, is poised to be the epicentre of another political tsunami.

COMMENT

Usually those who are pressing for an early election are those from within Umno itself and who think they will contest as candidates replacing the incumbents.

In Umno replacing incumbents is not difficult – just mobilize a few dissenting and envious voices to create the necessary ‘public’ opinion.

Elevate personal anecdotes and personal sob and frustrated stories and exploit those as generalizations.

Then package all the lies and present it to a nervous and insecure Umno division head.

Never mind if he was the Deputy Prime Minister then and now Prime Minister.

I was in Gemas for the Rapat Rakyat programme on Jan 15. Anwar Ibrahim was there.

I would estimate the crowd to have been around 10,000 people. The local guy standing next to me in the crowd confided that he had never seen such a big crowd before attending a political gathering. And he’s been staying in Gemas since the 60s.

Umno will of course trivialize this observation by saying the opposition has always attracted large crowds to their rallies. But in the end, the Barisan Nasional will win.

10,000 crowd to hear Anwar

I hope for their sake, that simplistic response is true.

This time I think, the usual knee jerk response is just for self-assurance over the anxieties engulfing the BN camp.

The first three speakers spoke about local politics not about the big issues concerning and relating to Anwar,  who was the last speaker.

The three who spoke first found unison in the voice from the crowd who were clearly primed up to eject (Menteri Besar) Mohamad Hassan and his team from Negeri Sembilan.

Gemas is special or should I say infamous for two things actually – the National Feedlot Centre and the double tracking rail to Johor.

The NFC cattle farm is located in Gemas. (Federal Minister) Shahrizat Abdul Jalil whose family members are currently embroiled in the RM250 million financial scandal surrounding the NFC  cattle project chose Gemas as the site for the project.

Gemas has since gained the moniker of the cattle capital of Malaysia.

The NFC is clearly a blatant case of corruption involving many more people within Umno than the figures now under public scrutiny.

Watch Gemas

Gemas is also the starting point for the double tracking rail project from Gemas to Johor Baru.

That project is also shrouded in controversy. The original project was given to China Railway Engineering and Construction (CREC) on account of the company being a GLC of the Chinese government and also on account of its specialization in the construction of rail projects.

The Malaysian had cabinet approved it. Curiously later, this decision was rescinded and the project was instead given to China Harbours.

Now it seems, another private Chinese company has been given the project.

In between companies, rumors abounded about large amounts of money changing hands.

So Gemas appears to be at the epicenter of financial scandals.

As such it is fitting for Gemas to herald the wave of change that will soon snuff out the life of the corrupt and the mediocre in Negeri Sembilan.

Here’s more:  Syed Mokhtar Bukhary is taking over Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad (KTMB).

The double tracking project is for use by KTMB. What’s stopping KTMB from telling the government, it can do the Gemas-JB double tracking job?

Gamuda made lots of money for the northern portion of the double tracking job so why can’t KTMB under Syed Mokhtar do the same?

The writer is a former Umno state assemblyman and a FMT columnist. This is an excerpt from his blog sakmongkolak47

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 19 January 2012, 6:34 pm and is filed under
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Early polls better for economy, says MIER

By Yow Hong Chieh

The Malaysian Insider

Jan 19, 2012

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 19 — It would be better for the government to hold the general election as soon as possible since lingering uncertainty over the nation’s political future will hurt the economy, the Malaysian Institute of Economic Research (MIER) said today.

MIER executive director Dr Zakariah Abdul Rashid said private investors were currently holding back investments on concerns that government policies will change should the incumbent Barisan Nasional (BN) fail to hold on to power.

He said private investment was the key component to propping up the economy this year as external demand slows, and urged the government to call for early polls to dispel investors’ wait-and-see attitude.

“If you ask me as an economist, I would rather see the problem solved once and for all. The earlier they settle the political problem, the better, so we can focus on the economy.

“Right now everything is still hanging. People are postponing because of the election so if they settle it once and for all and immediately, it would be better,” he told reporters here after presenting MIER’s economic outlook for 2011 and 2012.

Business sentiment has steadily worsened from the second quarter of last year, according to the MIER’s Business Conditions Index (BCI).

The BCI score fell to 96.6 in the fourth quarter of 2011, the first time it has dipped below the 100 threshold since the fourth quarter of 2010.

Sales, new local and foreign orders as well as capacity utilisation were significantly lower in the fourth quarter of 2011, with companies expected to scale back production over the next three months as inventory builds up.

Consumer sentiment similarly fell to a two-year low of 106.3 on the Consumer Sentiments Index as household incomes lose momentum, and finances and job become a growing concern.

MIER expects GDP growth for the full year of 2011 to clock in at 4.9 per cent and only 3.7 per cent next year, pulled down by the euro zone crisis as well as cooling in China’s economy.

The World Bank warned yesterday that developing economies in Asia-Pacific, including Malaysia, will slow for a second straight year in 2012 as Europe’s debt woes and weaker global trade drag down growth prospects.

The US-based lender said in its Global Economic Prospects 2012 report that the health of Europe’s economy, bogged down by a sovereign debt crisis, represented the “strongest risk” for most of the countries in the region at this time.

It also noted that the economies of Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines slowed sharply to 4.6 per cent in 2011 from 6.9 per cent in 2012, and predicted that growth in these countries would be mixed this year.

However, the World Bank said the expected strengthening in domestic demand in the ASEAN-4 countries would help offset the dampening effects of any decline in global trade.

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 19 January 2012, 11:33 pm and is filed under
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Malaysia 2012 Growth to Miss Official Target, Institute Says

Bloomberg

By Chong Pooi Koon

January 19, 2012

Jan. 19 (Bloomberg) — Malaysia’s growth will probably miss the government’s forecast this year amid the faltering global economy, according to the Malaysian Institute of Economic Research.

Southeast Asia’s third-largest economy will expand 3.7 percent in 2012, the partly-government funded institute said in a statement in Kuala Lumpur today, cutting its earlier estimate of 5 percent gross domestic product expansion. This is below the 5 percent to 6 percent government forecast in its Oct. 7 budget statement.

“Economic growth will likely get bumpier in the months ahead,” the institute said in the report. “Growth in the last quarter of 2011 is expected to be much lower on account of external developments. Latest monthly economic indicators are already suggesting that.”

The World Bank said yesterday developing growth in Asia- Pacific economies will slow for a second straight year on Europe’s debt crisis and weaker global trade. Malaysia likely expanded 4.9 percent in 2011, the institute said, missing the government’s growth forecast of as much as 5.5 percent.

“This year is going to be a bit more difficult than last year, although there are some positive news coming from the U.S.,” Mustapa Mohamed, International Trade and Industry Minister, told reporters in Kuala Lumpur late yesterday. “This year, our priority is to manage this more difficult international environment.”

Consumer prices slowed to a nine-month low of 3 percent in December, giving Malaysia’s central bank scope to leave interest rates unchanged for a fourth meeting this month to support growth as the world economy falters.

“A weaker U.S. recovery, particularly amid the unfolding developments in the long, drawn-out euro zone debt crisis, would more than likely cause more near-term growth pains in Malaysia,” the institute said. “A surge inflation seems unlikely at the moment.”

Nations from Thailand to Indonesia took advantage of easing inflation to lower borrowing costs late last year.

–With assistance from Gan Yen Kuan in Kuala Lumpur. Editors: Barry Porter, Stephanie Phang

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 19 January 2012, 11:21 pm and is filed under
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Najib should heed his own call “to make voice of moderation of louder” by declaring transformation of Utusan Malaysia into the Voice of Moderation

“Najib: Make voice of moderation louder”
 – this is yesterday’s  front-page headline of UMNO-owned New Straits Times reporting on the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak opening speech of the inaugural International Conference on Global Movement of Moderates on Tuesday.

Najib should heed his own call “to make voice of moderation louder” by declaring the transformation of the UMNO-owned Utusan Malaysia into the  Voice of Reason and Moderation,  ceasing henceforth to be the Voice of Enmity, Malice, Unreason and Extremism which had caused the degeneration of  Najib’s 33 months as Prime Minister into  the country’s  most divisive, divided and polarized times both in racial and religious terms as compared to the first 33 months of the country’s first five Prime Ministers – Tunku Abdul Rahman, Tun Razak, Tun Hussein Onn, Tun Mahathir and Tun Abdullah.

If Najib is not prepared to make  his “voice of moderation louder” and make a commitment to transform Utusan Malaysia from being the Voice of Extremism to become the Voice of Moderation, then Malaysians are entitled to ask what is the real purpose of the International Conference on Global Movement of Moderates which would have cost the government a fortune to host.

Najib would be guilty of not complying with his own prescription to the International Conference, i.e. that it is time for the masses to stand up and say to the extremists “with a single breath a firm and resounding no” – reducing the whole conference into an international joke and a farce!

There is another pressing test for Najib on whether the Prime Minister can claim the mantle of a “moderate”  – whether he is prepared to renounce his past as an extremist and all vestiges of such extremism  especially his extremist speech at the 2010 UMNO General Assembly, by retracting his “crushed bodies, lives lost” declaration (“walau berkecai tulang dan juga badan, walau bercerai jasad dari nyawa”) to defend UMNO from losing power in the next general elections.

If he is to qualify as a “Voice of Moderation”, Najib should categorically and  unequivocally make an immediate and public commitment that he, UMNO and the Barisan Nasional will peacefully and with open heart accept the verdict of Malaysians in the 13th General Elections, including a change of government in Putrajaya with

Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim taking over as the seventh Prime Minister of Malaysia!

If Najib is not prepared to make these two declarations – to transform Utusan Malaysia into the “Voice of Moderation” and to peacefully accept the verdict of the forthcoming general elections including the establishment of a Pakatan Rakyat Federal Government, then his claims of “moderation” are completely suspect.

It is more than just coincidence that the International Conference on Global Movement of Moderates took place at the same time as the Suhakam public inquiry into the 709 Bersih 2.0  public gathering last year, with the Bersih 2.0 chair person Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan making the very serious accusation against the Prime Minister of “endorsing” threats and criminal intimidation against her.

She recounted her  “horrifying” experiences when her personal safety was “intimidated by state actors and non-state actors alike”, with Najib lending support to a silat group Pertubuhan Seni Silat Lincah Malaysia which had threatened to take on Bersih 2.0 if its rally was not called off.

Najib had labeled Ambiga as a “threat to Islam” and “enemy of the country”, while she was accused of being supportive of apostates, with calls to strip her of her citizenship and a campaign of demonization against Bersih by state-controlled media.

She said: “I believe all this was condoned by the government”.

Malay-rights group Perkasa had burned pictures of her and widely distributed leaflets stating ‘Awas! Ambiga wanita Hindu yang berbahaya’.

Perkasa called her a traitor and made veiled threat when their chief Ibrahim Ali warned the Chinese against joining the rally, asking them to stay home and “stock up on food”, in reference to the curfew declared during the 1969 racial riots.

The mainstream media blatantly accused Bersih 2.0 of being a front for Christian, Jewish and foreign groups.

Up to now, no action had been taken against these criminal intimidation against Ambiga and Bersih 2.0.

Is Najib prepared to publicly apologise to Ambiga and Bersih 2.0 for these extremist actions to demonstate his seriousness in calling for moderates to unite against all forms of extremism whether in Malaysia or outside?

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 19 January 2012, 5:20 am and is filed under
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Salient points – 1Care

By DrNGSC

The government plans to introduce a new healthcare system called 1-Care. It includes an insurance system to fund for healthcare.

The National Healthcare Financing Authority will be in charge of 1Care – and it is likely to be turned into a GLC.

Based on available information, every household will be made to pay up to 9.4% of gross household income for social health insurance. The payers will be the individual, the employer and the government via taxes, exact proportion still being worked out)

There shall be no choice. Everyone has to pay. There is no opting out. We have to pay upfront. It will no longer be fee-for-service; it is fee-before- service.

There has been no information on exactly how this payment will have to be made or how the government will collect from self-employed people.

The government will be expected to contribute to the insurance premiums of government pensioners, civil servants and five dependants.

But the problem is: 1Care does not cover all your medical expenses. Only for a prescribed basic list of what “you can have” healthcare items. Anything more than basic you will have to pay your own.

Your long-serving independent family doctor will have to join the system or will not be allowed to see you under the 1Care scheme. The robust, cost- effective independent clinics serving the country will be replaced by 1Care clinics.

You cannot pick your own doctor. 1Care will allocate a doctor to you.

If you want to see a doctor of your choice, you’ll need to pay for that from your own pocket. Your allocated doctor will decide when and which specialist you can see if the need arises (a process called gate-keeping).

The NHFA will pay GPs RM60 (present proposal) for each patient as consultation fees. It does not include medicine. Compare this with presently, for cough and cold visit, the GP would charge RM20-RM30 for consultation and medicine. With 1Care: consultation for GP visit is RM60 and this does not include medicine.

You cannot see your doctor as and when you feel the need arises. There will be a rationing system in place as well. There will also be rationing for specialist care with the GP as the gate-keeper. Likewise if you wish to see the specialist of your choice or go to a hospital of your choice, unless referred by your allocated doctor, you will also have to pay out of your pocket.

Even if you only see the doctor once in a year, you will not get a refund from 1Care. Your medical costs are prepaid in advance irrespective of whether you become sick or not.

You are also expected to make an additional co-payment for your visit. This is to discourage you from seeing doctors too often.

You will be prescribed only medicines from a standardised list of not-the- original medicines in keeping with WHO List of essential Medications.. This will save cost for 1Care and maximise profit for the insurance companies. Insurance companies will have major say in the price and the range of this standardise medicine list. It will likely to be the cheapest medicine.

The doctor will only give you injections. You’ll need to get all other medicines from a pharmacist, even if it means hauling three sick children with high fever along a hot, dusty busy street looking for the nearest pharmacy.

If you do not like what is given to you, you can get alternative care by paying out of your own pocket.

The Big Picture

Each year, we all pay a total of RM44.24 billion a year for healthcare – now called National Healthcare Hospitals and clinics ( an integration of public hospitals and clinics, private hospitals and private GPs. which in essence is a privatisation of public and nationalisation of private healthcare facilities)

All this will now go under 1Care.

This means 1Care will get almost RM45 billion a year.

The administrative cost is likely to be 10% or about RM 4.5 billion

The poor

Who will then care for the poor and the marginalised population when the private and public healthcare corporatize and turned into independent commercial entities each competing with the other for business and profits?

Public hospitals and clinics are service-driven will become corporatize/privatise and have to be profit-driven

So who will serve the people in remote places?

Who will serve the very poor people?

Situations

What happens when the government introduces 1Care?

The whole system of independent one-stop GPs will be restructured and converted into 1Care clinics like the UK NHS general practitioner system.

Before:

Ali has always having skin rashes for many years. He has to see his doctor once a month to get treatment. That would mean he will have to see his doctor 12 times a year just for this illness. What if he has other illnesses?

Now:

But now, Ali’s doctor has allocated only a budget equivalent to six visits a year. Regardless of how many time Ali would need for his yearly treatment. What happens then? A rationing system will kick in. If the doctor sees Ali too many time, his “P4P” (Pay for Performance) profile will be poor and he will be paid less.

To start with, Ali will probably cannot just walk in and expect to be treated. He will have to make an appointment. There will be a long waiting list. What if Ali needs to be treated for fever or some painful joints? He will also have to wait for his appointment. If he cannot wait and wants immediate treatment from another doctor he will have to pay on his own. This is what the NHS UK system is offering its patients.

Lim has an appointment to see his doctor over a knee ache. Just before his appointment, he has an ingrown toe nail that has become painful. At the clinic, after his doctor treats him for his knee ache, he asks his doctor if he could look into his ingrown nail. His doctor says “No, the system does not allow me to do that. You must make another appointment. This visit I can only treat and bill for your knee ache. 1Care will accuse me of over-servicing my patients. I have no discretion here, all is by SOPs” This is what the NHS UK system is like today.

Mutu lives in a remote rubber estate. One day he had chest pain and went to the nearby 1Care clinic..He has blood pressure problems since young and has had fits. A hospital assistant saw him. Because of a change of his medications to the cheapest not-the-original medications, his blood pressure went out of control and his seizures returned. He developed a fatal stroke and died This is already what is happening when essential original medications are replaced with the cheapest .The cheapest medications is not necessarily the best for the patient and certainly not the safest.

 Every salary man must get a 5-9% deduction from his salary to fund this scheme. This money is taken and gone for good even if you don’t see a doctor.

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 19 January 2012, 5:36 pm and is filed under
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The last days of Umno are beginning

By Dr Chen Man Hin, DAP life advisor

UMNO shows no signs of genuine reforms despite claims by PM Najib that UMNO is on the reform road as shown by the verdict of freedom for Anwar over the Sodomy 2 conspiracy. If there are no signs of reforms than UMNO will collapse in time, similar to what happened to the Soviet Union which collapsed in 1990.

Like Najib,  Mikail Gorbachev tried to save Russia with his policies of ‘glasnost and perestroika’ but these failed to save Soviet Russia, because he could not introduce democracy and economic restructuring as there was no policies or infrastructure to modernise Russia.

Najib is also claiming that he has great plans to reform the country, ever since he introduced his 1 Malaysia program. However, all he had to deliver are just promises. Nothing concrete he promised to cut down corruption, but every day corruption is the rule in government departments, judiciary and the police. Events have overtaken Najib and there is no way he could reverse the corruption cancer pervading the country.

Anwar’s verdict of freedom in sodomy 2

PM Najib claims that his government supports judiciary independence by not influencing in the verdict of not guilty in Anwar’s sodomy 2 trial. This must be the greatest lie of the century, when it is well known by all the people and international countries that sodomy 2 was a conspiracy hatched by PM Najib, his wife Rosmah and Saiful. This is a fact which is undeniable.

Much as he would like to, Najib could not do otherwise like forcing a verdict that Anwar was guilty of sodomy 2, as the DNA evidence profferred by a well known Australian authority on DNA was irrefutable – there was no evidence of ANWAR’s DNA sperm on any of the Prosecuter’s forensic evidence. To do otherwise would make Najib’s governmemt the laughing stock of the world. He must have been so advised by APCO, an Israel organisation commissioned by Najib to boost his image internationally.

The reforms that Najib must make to reassure the people that his government is impartial, independent, incorrupt and fair to all Malaysians irrespective of race, culture or religion.

Amend the constitution to restore the separation of powers which are inherrent for the judiciary, the legislature and the executive. The restoration of the separation of powers is an urgent imperative. We saw this in the way that the executive could manipulate the judiciary, Parliament and law enforcement agents like the Attorney General and the police.

PM Najib must implement basic fundamentals like equality for all races. In his much publicised 1 Malaysia, He has yet to declare that the people are Malaysians first and foremost, and there should not be any discrimination between malays, chinese, indians, kadazans or dayaks.

We have yet to wait for PM Najib declare that Malaysians should not be divided into bumiputras and non-bumiputras. This division is not in the constitution, and is the work of Umno. Apartheid was practised in South Africa but with Mandela as Prime Minister there is no more apartheid. This is what the people want to hear, since he declared that Umno is on the reform path, no apartheid, no ketuanan melayu.

PM Najib has put all his faith on the ETPS to transform the economy. If he really wants to make Malaysia prosperous and become a high income nation, then he must listen to the advice given by both the World Bank and IMF that the must dismantle the NEP policy. Otherwise, Malaysia will be left behind while other countries like Indonesia, Vietnam and Thailand overtake Malaysia in the coming Asian century.

So PM Najib, we want to see these refroms being implemented. If you do not, it is quite certain that Pakatan Rakyat will take over Putrajaya, ad dramatic changes will be made, courtesy of his nemesis, Anwar Ibrahim.

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 19 January 2012, 11:37 am and is filed under
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A Critique of the ETP (Part 1) – Let’s evaluate PEMANDU on its DEEDS

By
Dr. Ong Kian Ming BSc (LSE), MPhil (Cantab), PhD (Duke)

Teh Chi-Chang, CFA, BSc (Warwick), MBA (Cantab)

Refsa | 19 January 2012

The Economic Transformation Programme is ambitious indeed.
 The ETP promises to double gross national income (GNI) per capita to RM48,000 by 2020 from RM23,700 in 2009. An average 6% per year real income growth over 10 years and 12.8% per year private investment growth over 5 years is required to achieve this. Ultimately, RM1.4 trillion of investments in 131 Entry Point Projects (EPPs) within 12 National Key Economic Areas (NKEAs) will create 3.3 million new jobs.

Predictably, there are critics.
 Any plan as bold as this is bound to attract critics. But the attacks so far have mainly been against specific projects, such as the MRT and 1 Malaysia email; carping about the slick façade and expensive costs at PEMANDU – the Performance Management and Delivery Unit, prime minister’s department – the government agency that created and is now steering the ETP; or questioning the viability of its lofty targets.

We will evaluate PEMANDU on its DEEDS.
 In this series, we shall evaluate PEMANDU and the ETP on its own terms by looking at the goals and plans outlined in the ETP Roadmap document. So, for example, rather than questioning its ambitious targets, we shall analyse how well it is measuring up to those aspirations. Doing so facilitates constructive debate as it uses the same framework which PEMANDU has chosen to work within.

DEEDS
 – Data transparency and integrity; Execution – progress or lack thereof on announced EPPs; Enterprise – the success in stimulating private investment; Distribution – the spread of the 12 NKEAS; and Socio-economic impact – who benefits the most will be our concern. Mark the date – Wed, 25 Jan – when we declare “It does not compute!”

The Roadmap to High-Income Nation Status

The Economic Transformation Programme (ETP) was launched with much fanfare on Sept 21, 2010. 500 experts from the public and private sectors had spent 8 weeks brainstorming to produce this very ambitious roadmap to take Malaysia to high-income nation status by 2020, with a gross national income (GNI) per capita of RM48,000.

The ETP was conceived as a comprehensive programme to lift the country out of the middle-income trap to become a developed, high- income nation. It would be action-oriented, and aims to achieve ‘big and fast results’, a direct contrast to the nicely laid-out but poorly implemented government blueprints in existence.

Real GNI growth must average 6% for the next 10 years and private investment growth 12.8% over the next 5 years in order to achieve its goals, says PEMANDU – the Performance Management and Delivery Unit within the prime minister’s department – the government agency charged with steering the ETP.

Over the next 10 years, the ETP aims to pour RM1.4 trillion worth of investment into the economy to create 3.3 million new jobs:

92% of this investment will come from the private sector (with GLCs investing 32% and the non-GLC private sector investing 60%) and 8% will come from the public sector;

Domestic direct investments will account for 73% of total private investment with the remaining 27% coming from foreign direct investments (FDI). This will require, on average, 60% more private investment than the historical average.

The ETP focuses on 12 National Key Economic Areas (NKEAS) for which it has identified 60 business opportunities and 131 Entry Point Projects (EPPs). They include:

Expanding the production of swiftlet nests and unlocking value from Malaysia’s biodiversity through herbal products under the Agriculture NKEA

Growing aviation maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) services and building globally-competitive outsources under the Business Services NKEA

Scaling up early childcare and education centres and building an Islamic finance and business education discipline cluster under the Education NKEA

Expanding the semiconductor and solar power industries under the Electronics and Electrical NKEA

Becoming the indisputable global hub for Islamic finance under the Financial Services NKEA

Pursuing generic export opportunities and developing a Health Metropolis under the Healthcare NKEA

Attracting 100 of the world’s most dynamic firms within priority sectors to set up shop in Kuala Lumpur/the Klang Valley and revitalising the Klang river under the Greater KL / KV NKEA

Building a regional oil storage and trading hub and attracting MNCs to bring their global oil-field services and equipment operations to Malaysia under the Oil, Gas and Energy NKEA

Developing oleo derivatives and increasing the oil extraction rate under the Palm Oil NKEA

Ensuring broadband for all under the Communication, Content and Infrastructure (CCI) NKEA

Improving rates, mix and quality of hotels under the Tourism NKEA

Modernising small retailers under the Wholesale and Retail NKEA.

Let’s move beyond criticism of PEMANDU

A programme as massive and ambitious as the ETP is bound to have detractors. Critics have focused on 4 main issues:

The enormous budget allocated to PEMANDU and the exorbitant fees running into tens of millions of ringgit paid to consultants:

RM66 million was spent to set up PEMANDU, the bulk of this going to foreign consultants including RM36 million to McKinsey and Co
1
;

RM16 million was paid to seven consulting firms to run the 12 NKEA labs
2
;

The operating cost of the now 60-strong ETP unit is estimated at RM53 million per year in 2011 and 2012. Its eight directors pocket about RM39,000 a month each, while the associate directors each receive an average RM23,300 per month
3
.

Accusations that the ETP lacks substance and is given weight only by the excellent presentation skills of Datuk Seri Idris Jala, the charismatic PEMANDU CEO who has skillfully hyped up the “many EPPs” during each of the eight ETP updates so far
4
;

Carping that many projects were private sector projects that would have proceeded regardless but were shoehorned into the ETP to boost its scale. Some examples include the St. Regis Hotel at KL Sentral, which was already under construction when the ETP was launched
5
, as well as the Educity initiative in the Iskandar Development Region; and

Claiming that the ETP has unrealistic assumptions with regard to expected investments, job creation, incremental GNI and real wage and GNI growth rates.

For example, if the objective of the ETP is to really double our incomes, it would require a per capita real GNI growth of 6.6% per year from 2009 to 2020. This is two times the 3.2% average real per capita GNI growth rate achieved over the ten years ended 2010 – a tall order indeed.

Chart 1: 6.6% per year growth rate needed to double income per capita by 2020 is two times the average 3.2% in the last decade

Sources: Monthly Statistical Bulletin, Bank Negara

Supporters of PEMANDU, in response, may say:

The fees and costs associated with developing and overseeing the ETP should be considered sunk costs and would be paid back many times over if the ETP is indeed successful in significantly increasing economic activity in the country;

Assuming the “hollowness” of the EPPs without going through the due diligence of examining their individual economic potential is unfair;

PEMANDU as coordinator between the private and public sectors clears red tape to help expedite private sector projects. In addition, naming hitherto private sector projects as EPPs focuses the energies and budgetary commitments of the stakeholders – the government, government-linked companies (GLCs) and the private sector – to drive these projects to completion in a timely fashion; and

PEMANDU should be expected to set ambitious targets in terms of real GDP growth, attracting investments, creating jobs, increasing wages and incomes. PEMANDU as an organisation is adding value only if it delivers performance exceeding the ordinary expectations of economic forecasters and analysts. It is unfair to criticise these targets as unrealistic. Rather, PEMANDU should be evaluated annually to see if it meets its targets and justifies the high fees of its directors.

We think these issues can be further debated, but these questions ultimately boil down to PEMANDU’s raison d’être. PEMANDU is already a fait accompli. Debating its existence serves no useful purpose at this point.

Evaluating PEMANDU on its DEEDS

In this series of Focus Papers, we shall evaluate PEMANDU and the ETP on its own terms by looking at the goals and plans outlined in the ETP Roadmap document. Doing so facilitates constructive debate as it uses the same framework which PEMANDU has chosen to work within.

In that vein, and in keeping with the spirit of the alphabet soup of NKEAs, NKRAs, SRIs, EPPs, GNI surrounding the entire GTP
6
, we evaluate PEMANDU and the ETP on its DEEDS:

Data transparency – the ease with which an independent analyst can evaluate the figures relevant to the ETP and its targets;

Execution – the progress, or lack thereof, of announced EPPs (Entry Point Projects);

Enterprise – whether the target of stimulating private investment is being achieved. The ETP aims for a 92:8 split between private and public investments;

Distribution – the distribution of EPPs across the NKEAs (National Key Economic Areas), which shows whether a healthy balance of projects is being maintained; and

Socio-economic impact – an evaluation of the main beneficiaries of the economic activities generated by the EPPs.

PDF version of this Focus Paper available for download

__

1
 McKinsey paid RM36mil to set up PEMANDU. Regina Lee, Malaysiakini, 3 Dec 2010. Retrieved on 26 Dec 2011.

2
 RM16m paid to seven NKEA lab consultants. Malaysiakini, 23 Nov 2010. Retrieved on 26 December 2011.

3
 McKinsey paid RM36 mil to set up PEMANDU. Regina Lee, Malaysiakini, 3 Dec 2010. Retrieved on 26 Dec 2011.

4
 The eight updates took place on: 25 Oct 2010, 30 Nov 2010, 11 Jan 2011, 8 Mar 2011, 19 Apr 2011, 13 June 2011, 8 Sept 2011 and 10 Nov 2011.

5
 Jumpstarting Malaysia’s growth: An interview with Idris Jala. 2 Nov 2011. Available at http://etpblog.pemandu.gov.my/posts/2011/11/02/jump-starting-malaysia%E2%80%99s-growth-an-interview-with-idris-jala/ Retrieved on 26 Dec 2011. Idris Jala argued that PEMANDU was instrumental in clearing away red tape to expedite the St Regis project.

6
 National Key Economic Areas, National Key Result Areas, Strategic Reform Initiatives, Entry Point Projects, Gross National Income and Government Transformation Programme.

Next week – “It Does Not Compute!”

Mark the date: Wednesday, Jan 25!

In Part 2 of this series of Focus Papers, we will evaluate PEMANDU on the first D of DEEDS – Data integrity and transparency.

In the words of a robot that will be familiar to our more mature readers:

It does not compute! –
Lost in Space tv series, 1965-68

                This entry was posted on Friday, 20 January 2012, 3:53 pm and is filed under
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Can Umno Change or Cows Fly?

By
Kee Thuan Chye

UMNO is beyond redemption. At its general assembly in December, the message it sent out was suspicion of others and hatred for them, and a desperate desire to win the next general election.

Its president, Najib Razak, once again proved what many of us have long suspected – that he is a dissembler. He exposed the ultimate lie behind his 1Malaysia slogan by saying things that would divide the races rather than bring them together. He set the trend for delegates at the assembly to harp on the threats to Umno from other races. It was disgraceful coming from the prime minister of the country. It was supremely irresponsible.

Worse, two days after the assembly ended, he appealed to the right-wing NGO Pertubuhan Kebajikan dan Dakwah Islamiah Malaysia (Pekida) for support. This has to be the final nail in the 1Malaysia coffin.

To cap it all, Umno showed its partiality to cronyism by defending Wanita leader Shahrizat Abdul Jalil over the scandal surrounding her family’s business, the National Feedlot Corporation. One or two colleagues called for her to step down, but the overwhelming majority stood by her and castigated the Opposition for exposing the scandal.

This begs the question: Can Umno change? As the major party in the Barisan Nasional (BN) government, can it truly stand up for other races as well, and work for their well-being? Can it stay clear of corrupt practices? Can it stop dishing out favours and projects to party leaders and their cronies? Can it save Malaysia from financial meltdown or will it rather bleed our coffers dry?

The online news website The Malaysian Insider sums it up eloquently: “Umno looks set to win the polls in the next general election but yet looks woefully ill-equipped to lead a multi-racial country. … One expects delegates to articulate a vision to continue its previous success but that did not happen. Instead, delegates harped on age-old themes of having their culture and faith eroded by political foes taking over the country. That they are the only guarantee of faith and culture. What about the economy? What about the reforms? What about Malaysia ? … Everything is centred around Umno. … But they didn’t articulate the vision for continued success. … Instead, everyone is at fault except those in Umno.”

And yet Najib could tell Pekida: “If we miscalculate and choose the wrong side, our country could very much end up like Greece .” Surely, he must mean that the wrong side would be BN. The way it has been going – awarding projects to cronies who have no track record; continuing to allow overpriced purchases by government departments, despite what the Auditor-General uncovers year after year; giving out money like there’s no tomorrow in order to win votes, such as the substantial pay rise for civil servants – BN is more likely to lead us down that way.

The civil service is bloated, with 1.4 million employees, but Najib criticised Pakatan Rakyat (PR) for suggesting it should be trimmed. According to his top public service official, 1.4 million is “the right size”. How this is so puzzles me. Japan has a population of 127 million and its civil servants number just over a million. We have a population of 28 million and our civil service is as large as Japan ’s. It seems to me that trimming down the civil service is more likely to save us from going Greek.

And so I think we should not take any more risks with Umno. Especially now that we have an alternative. PR has shown itself capable of running the four states under it and earned positive ratings from the Auditor-General and a few others. It’s time to see whether they can bring reform to the country.

Najib of course insists that PR will lead us to our doom, but what are his words worth anyhow?

At the Umno general assembly, he presented a grossly untruthful picture of the DAP to strike fear into the hearts of the Malays. He accused the party of being anti-Malay, anti-Islam and anti-royalty.

But after PAS won Terengganu in the 1999 general election, who stopped the state that is 90 per cent populated by Malays from getting its oil royalties and substituted it with the lesser Wang Ehsan? Was it the DAP?

Who created a constitutional crisis in 1983 and curtailed the powers of the Malay royalty? Was it the DAP?

In 2008, who protested against the Terengganu sultan for not accepting Idris Jusoh as the menteri besar, and insulted His Highness with the word “natang” (animal)? Was it the DAP?

Who gave away citizenships overnight to immigrants, legal and illegal, in Sabah to ensure they kept Umno there in power? Was it the DAP?

So where is the truth in Najib’s warning that if BN did not continue to be the government, the Malays would be under threat? Who has proven to be the real threat?

But still, he called on Pekida “to defend the current government” – to guarantee the special position of the Malays, the dignity of Islam, the preservation of the Malay royalty. He thumped his chest and yelled, “We are warriors!” and “We will not surrender even an inch!” He led the crowd in cries of “Hidup Melayu!”

Someone was moved to comment on Facebook, “Listening to what Najib said, it feels like we’re at war.”

A knowing friend warns me: “Do you know what Pekida is about? They are like gangsters. They have secret codes, like particular handshakes or the way they hold their cigarettes. They have 2 million members. These are the people we should worry about.”

Indeed, when the film KL Gangster came out last year [2011], Pekida objected to its portrayal of secret codes and use of words like “abang long” and “ayahanda” that apparently cut too close to reality.

This prompted blogger Ibnu Hasyim to ask, “Apakah benar kononnya filem itu membuka ‘kod rahsia pertubuhan’ Pekida? … Terkejut kita, apakah pertubuhan dakwah itu pun mempunyai ciri-ciri pertubuhan bawah tanah atau gangster? Pekida adalah Gangster Melayu? Perlukah pertubuhan itu disiasat polis? Mana ada dakwah dan kebajikan pakai ‘kod rahsia’ pertubuhan?” (Is it true that the film apparently exposed ‘secret organisational codes’ of Pekida? … We are shocked, does this missionary organisation have the characteristics of an underworld or gangster organisation? Pekida are Malay Gangsters? Should the police investigate this organisation? Why would missionary and welfare organisations use ‘secret codes’?)

Najib’s appeal to Pekida and his words at the Umno assembly spell desperation. That’s clear to see because Umno has no case left to make for its continued rule. News of its corruption is bursting out. Soon after the general assembly ended, the Singapore Straits Times reported that ex-menteri besar Abdul Hamid Pawanteh was involved in the Alstom bribery case. He has, however, denied it.

Earlier, questions had been raised about Defence Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi allegedly flying to Saudi Arabia for his haj in a private jet, and about “ridiculously overpriced” rural development projects in Sabah allegedly linked to senior BN politicians. The worms are crawling out of the can.

Umno cannot defend itself. So it lashes out at enemies. It fabricates untruths about its enemies. Sadly – and sickeningly – Umno resorts to rousing tribal emotions and harping on the issues of race and religion. After 54 years in power, it still plays those explosive cards.

As the blogger Sakmongkol AK47 puts it: “Umno gets on by making Malays believe that they are being besieged, attacked, assaulted and victimised. That’s how Umno can survive. How does it do that? By fabricating lies and manufacturing stories. The Chinese are going to eat you up. The Chinese are going to Christianise you. They are going to wipe out the sultans, ban the use of Bahasa Malaysia , and abolish Jawi and so forth. You feed on people’s irrational fear. You want to maintain stupid and mute people. Can you sustain whole people like that, turning people into xenophobes? I say this is a recipe for destroying Malays, not cultivating them to become self-confident people.”

Umno has been doing that for decades. It has not evolved. So how can it change? How can such a party still be allowed to rule multi-racial, multi-religious, multi-cultural Malaysia ?

If we continue to vote for it at the next general election, what would that make us? Dumb and dumber?

                This entry was posted on Friday, 20 January 2012, 6:13 am and is filed under
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Dalam diam DAP melakukan transformasi

by Amin Iskander

The Malaysian Insider

Jan 20, 2012

20 JAN — Pada ketika Umno masih belum selesai dengan isu Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, memperbesarkan isu pemecatan Datuk Dr Hasan Ali dan memanipulasi isu pengambilan portfolio agama Islam oleh MB Selangor, dalam diam DAP memperkukuhkan partinya.

Hari ini Umno dikejutkan lagi dengan berita penyertaan Hata Wahari, bekas wartawan Utusan Malaysia dan mantan Presiden NUJ kedalam parti tersebut.

Sebelum ini dua orang blogger, Aspan Alias dan Datuk Mohd Arif Sabri — juga veteran Umno —menyertai parti yang digambarkan oleh Utusan Malaysia sebagai “chauvinis Cina”.

Ironinya, Hata Wahari memilih untuk menyertai DAP walaupun majikan lamanya, Utusan Malaysia paling kuat menghentam parti yang menguasai Pulau Pinang itu.

Apakah yang bakal dikatakan oleh lidah pengarang Utusan Malaysia untuk menjawab penyertaan Hata Wahari ke dalam DAP?

Apatah lagi pada ketika Setiausaha Agung DAP, Lim Guan Eng yang baru sahaja memenangi saman fitnah terhadap Utusan Malaysia. Utusan Malaysia di-ibarat “sudahlah jatuh ditimpa tangga pula”.

Dikala ramai yang menyangka Hata Wahari akan menyertai PKR, mantan Presiden NUJ itu mengejutkan ramai pihak. Hata mungkin nampak perubahan besar yang telah berlaku dalam “mindset” DAP.

Pengajaran PRU 12

PRU 12 merupakan pendidikan politik yang terbaik kepada DAP. Pada ketika itu, negeri Perak jatuh dan DAP mempunyai kerusi terbesar berbanding PKR dan PAS.

Akan tetapi, oleh kerana Undang-undang Tubuh Negeri Perak mensyaratkan Menteri Besar perlulah dari kalangan orang Melayu yang beragama Islam, DAP terpaksa akur dan menyerahkan kerusi MB kepada PAS.

Tindakan tersebut dilakukan dengan secara terpaksa oleh kerana DAP sendiri pada ketika itu tidak pernah terfikir bahawa negeri Perak akan tumbang.

Pengalaman mendewasakan manusia. Begitu juga parti politik. Selepas PRU 2008, sedikit demi sedikit orang-orang Melayu dibawa masuk menyertai DAP.

Ini adalah penting untuk menghakis imej “chauvinis Cina” yang dilemparkan terhadap parti tersebut.

Dengan kemasukan tokoh-tokoh seperti Tunku Aziz, Aspan Alias, Arif Sabri dan Hata Wahari, dipercayai lebih ramai orang-orang Melayu akan menyertai DAP selepas ini.

Dari segi sokongan rakyat, DAP kini berada dalam keadaan kuat dengan sokongan tidak berbelah bagi masyarakat Cina terhadap mereka. Jika sokongan orang-orang Melayu dapat dimenangi oleh DAP, parti tersebut akan menjadi semakin kuat berbanding rakan-rakan Pakatan Rakyat seperti PKR dan PAS.

Cabaran terbesar DAP

Di kalangan orang-orang Melayu terutamanya di kawasan pendalaman, DAP masih lagi “momok” yang menakutkan mereka. Tambahan lagi apabila media yang dapat diakses hanyalah Utusan Malaysia dan TV3.

Makin takutlah orang-orang Melayu terhadap DAP. Tokoh-tokoh Melayu yang baru menyertai DAP ini akan diberikan peranan untuk memenangi hati orang-orang Melayu.

Bagaimana untuk melakukan itu? Inilah cabaran terbesar yang akan digalang oleh tokoh-tokoh Melayu ini. Dalam jangkamasa terdekat, mungkin tidak banyak yang boleh dilakukan.

Akan tetapi, jika DAP serius mahu mentransformasikan parti tersebut kepada parti yang benar-benar “Malaysian”, dalam jangkamasa panjang ianya boleh dilakukan.

Kestabilan kerajaan Pulau Pinang dibawah pimpinan Lim Guan Eng seringkali disebut-sebut sebagai negeri terbaik yang diperintah oleh Pakatan Rakyat.

Walaupun diasak secara bertalu-talu oleh “geng mamak” — yang kecewa kerana tidak lagi memonopoli kontrak kerajaan negeri dan media arus perdana, Pulau Pinang tetap “tegak” dibawah Guan Eng.

Dengan nasihat yang diberikan oleh Mohamad Sabu — sahabat baik Ketua Menteri Pulau Pinang semasa dalam tahanan ISA, imej DAP dikalangan orang-orang Melayu di Pulau Pinang semakin positif.

DAP sedar, jika gagal mendapatkan sokongan majoriti orang-orang Melayu, tidak mungkin mereka akan dapat memerintah Malaysia.

Apa yang diperlukan oleh DAP sekarang ialah bukan sahaja kemasukan tokoh-tokoh Melayu kedalam parti tersebut akan tetapi sebuah program politik yang menyakinkan orang-orang Melayu terhadap mereka.

Jika ini dapat diselesaikan, tidak mustahil satu hari nanti perdana menteri Malaysia akan datang dari DAP.

                This entry was posted on Friday, 20 January 2012, 11:37 pm and is filed under
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Happy Chinese New Year! Gong Xi Fa Cai!

                This entry was posted on Friday, 20 January 2012, 7:33 pm and is filed under
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Let Muhyiddin reveal his true colours, whether he is an extremist, a moderate or an extremist camouflaging as a moderate?

By inviting Deputy Prime Minister, Tan Sri Muyhiddin Yassin to officiate the closing ceremony, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has destroyed whatever credibility he might have salvaged by hosting the International Conference on Global Movement of Moderates.

As a result, it is legitimately asked whether the so-called International Conference on Global Movement on Moderates is actually a camouflage by extremists to try to gloss over their “extremism”, whether directly and through aid, abet and condonation of voices of hate, unreason and all forms of extremism, whether ethnic or religious in recent times.

Najib had already raised grave questions about the bona fides in hosting the International Conference on Global Movement on Moderates when he refused to clean his own slate of “extremism” not only of the past, but even those committed in his 33 months as Prime Minister – as in refusing to retract his extremist speech at the 2010 UMNO General Assembly threatening “crushed bodies, lives lost” to defend UMNO from losing power in the 13th General Election or in allowing or condoning Utusan Malaysia, the official newspaper of UMNO, becoming the chief protagonist of the voices of extremism, whether unreason, hate, enmity, lies and incitement causing the worst polarisation of Malaysia in both racial and religious terms in the nation’s history.

I had offered him several opportunities in the past fortnight to establish his credentials as a Voice of Moderation by declaring that he would immediately transform Utusan Malaysia into a Voice of Moderation – and it has not escaped national and international notice that he had avoided all engagement with this issue!

But public cynicism over Najib’s hosting and opening the International Conference on Global Movement of Moderate is simply drowned out by the disbelief and shock at news of Muhyiddin closing the International Conference on Global Movement of Moderates.

A Bernama report of the “Moderates” International Conference proceedings on Tuesday evening reported on the “positive response” of several delegates to Najib’s announcement on the setting up of the Institute of Wasatiyyah (moderate) in his keynote opening address.

One panelist, who said the institute could become a centre for ideas to combat extremism as the concept of moderation should be the basic struggle of political parties and other movements, supported Najib’s view that extremists should be identified and dealt with.

This led me to send out the following tweet on Tuesday night:

Identify top 10 Extremists in Msia! B4 308 political tsunami Hishamuddin Khairy head list. Under PM Najib list headed by UtusanM n Muhyiddin

Imagine the shock of Malaysians who would rank Muhyiddin top of the list of “extremists” in Malaysia during the 33-month premiership of Najib to discover that their candidate of the political leader to top the list of ten extremists in Malaysia could masquerade as a moderate at the International Conference on Global Movement of Moderates!

Had Muhyiddin been unfairly wronged being regarded by substantial majority of Malaysians as a “top extremist” in Malaysia?

If Muhyiddin claims that he has been unfairly wronged in being regarded as most qualified among the top political leaders in the country to top the list of extremists, he has only himself to blame.

Didn’t Muhyiddin declare opposition to Najib’s signature policy of moderation – “1Malaysia” policy – by declaring that he is Malay first and Malaysian second?

Didn’t Muhyiddin make the most extremist, worst and irresponsible speech ever delivered by a Deputy Prime Minister and Deputy UMNO President at the recent UMNO General Assembly, telling dastardly lies and utterly false accusations when playing the 3R cards that DAP is anti-Malay, anti-Islam and anti-Malay Rulers and delivering the “mother of all lies” when he accused the DAP of having an agenda to make Malaysia a republic?

Wasn’t Muhyiddin responsible for the unjustified and extremist reaction to the moderate and reasoned appeal for a fair and even-handed intepretation of Article 153 made by the chairperson of National Evangelical Christian Fellowship (NECF) Reverend Eu Hong Seng at a Christmas hi-tea on Christmas Eve last month, warning against attempts to undermine the country’s unity “which the BN government has painstakingly built”?

Let Muhyiddin reveal his true colours, whether he is an extremist, a moderate or an extremist camouflaging as a moderate?

                This entry was posted on Friday, 20 January 2012, 4:12 pm and is filed under
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A totalitarian/absolutist economy

— Art Harun

The Malaysian Insider

Jan 20, 2012

JAN 20 — The establishment, nourishment, protection and subsequent embellishment by any government of entities (corporate or otherwise) with monopolistic businesses and/or preferential treatment signal the rise of what I would term as totalitarian economy.

A totalitarian economy operates and behaves in manners not unlike a totalitarian or absolutist state. By its very nature, it feeds off compulsion and force, disallows and even destroys competition and gives no option nor choice to the consumers. It is beyond scrutiny as it is not answerable to any entity, let alone the very consumers which it aims to supply.

As a result of the totalitarian and absolutist approach, this economy owes little, if at all, affinity to the concepts of fairness and justness.

It is like a black hole. It swallows everything which is in its way. It then grows bigger. And bigger.

The only difference is that, unlike the real black holes, a totalitarian economy only grows bigger within the confines of the parameters defined by its own creators. Throw this economy into unchartered territory, the real capitalist would just laugh its head off. With a mere snap of the capitalist’s finger, this totalitarian economy would be history.

That is not surprising. As a result of the constant nourishment, protection and forced embellishment of this economics absolutism/totalitarianism, such economy knows not how to compete. Its supernova-like explosive birth and subsequent growth deprives it of the ability to learn and to grow organically. This totally underdeveloped creature — underdeveloped in the sense that it is bereft of the elements which would ensure its vibrancy and survival in unchartered territories — has no defence mechanism nor the ability to adapt to changes within its surrounding, preferring to coil within the comfort of its mother’s lap.

A totalitarian/absolutist state compels its citizenry to submission by usages of physical force. It gives no option. Submit or be subjugated. Or even be incarcerated. And sometimes even killed.

A totalitarian/absolutist economy is not much less forceful or vicious. It gives consumers no choice nor option. You buy our cars. If not you have to pay substantially more for cars which are not ours. You use our supply. At our rates. If not, you would not have any other supply at all. Period.

Like a totalitarian state, totalitarian economy ensures great pains will befall its citizenry for any non-compliance or non-submission.

In this neo-totalitarianism, the consumers have no choice but to submit. If you do not buy our cars, you would be financially incarcerated by the finance companies for the duration of the hire-purchase agreements which you enter into to purchase other cars. You would be subjected to financial tortures inflicted upon yourself in the form of duties and taxes.

A totalitarian/absolutist state would not care a hoot about her people’s welfare. It exists for one purpose, namely, to ensure its own survival and continuity, at any price. It does not care about the price to be paid because, really, the price is not paid by itself but by the people it subjugates.

The same with a totalitarian/absolutist economy. It really does not care about the welfare of the consumers. Thus the power window will break down in two weeks. The service centres should be called torture centres. These so-called “service centres” are an insult to the word “service”. They are manned by inefficient, arrogant, unsmiling and sometimes even rude robots in human skin and hair. Ask them a question, these creatures would frown. Ask another and they would sulk. Ask a third one and they spit in your drinks.

And it will continue to churn out mediocre after mediocre products based on “joint collaborations”. Which is just another way to describe the proverbial (a new-age proverb) “cut-and-paste” job. It cuts out the original maker’s emblem and paste its own emblem, for example.

A totalitarian state is beyond criticism. Because really, it does not care much about what people say about it. It doesn’t care because it controls the machinations of the state. It wields untold powers.

The same goes with a totalitarian economy. Thus a monopoly business can make hundreds of millions of losses and be compensated by its benevolent benefactors. It will then seek to make profits not by ensuring efficiency and addressing weaknesses but by increasing the price of its product, the supply of which it monopolises.

A totalitarian/absolutist economy grows up like a spoilt brat. It gets what it wants. Always. And when it doesn’t, it sulks and throws temper tantrums. The constant nourishment and absolute pampering takes away from it the ability to adapt to changes; to compete on a level playing field and to position itself in a strategic defence line if ever it is attacked by outside forces.

In addition, a totalitarian/absolutist economy is always told by its benefactors that it is the most beautiful; the best and the greatest. It thus grows with this “superiority complex”, believing itself to be among the giants. When exposed to — or even the threat of exposing it to — competition, it wilts like a virgin nymph high on Ecstasy at the feet of a sweet talker.

If and when all the ladders and props are taken away, a totalitarian economy would fall like a house of cards. — art-harun.blogspot.com

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 21 January 2012, 6:15 am and is filed under
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Anwar verdict: What Najib now faces

— Yang Razali Kassim

The Malaysian Insider

Jan 20, 2012

JAN 20 — Last July, Prime Minister Najib Razak and Indonesian Muslim leader Amien Rais had a private meeting in a third country to chat about the case of Anwar Ibrahim. Amien, who is close to Anwar, apparently had expressed brotherly concern to Najib about how the political conflict within the Malay leadership was undermining the credibility of Malaysia as a country the Muslim world looked up to.

Amien intimated whether Najib could withdraw the charge. Najib, predictably, told Amien he could not do as asked as he had no power over the judiciary. Besides, Najib said, the case had nothing to do with him.

Six months later, on January 9, the High Court stunned Malaysians by acquitting and discharging Anwar of the charge of sodomy. The surprise verdict lent support to Najib’s assertion about the independence of the judiciary. Indeed, at face value, the court’s verdict to acquit Anwar is a setback to Najib’s political position.

A free Anwar would certainly be a grave threat to the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition. It had indeed been widely thought a foregone conclusion that Anwar would be found guilty and put away before the coming general election — reflecting the Malaysian public’s generally low confidence in the judiciary.

So what does the verdict mean for Malaysian politics?

Much has been speculated about the timing of the general election, the 13th since independence. Will Anwar’s freedom accelerate or delay Najib’s plans? While it must be called before 2013, there has been talk that Najib was leaning towards a snap poll soon after the Chinese New Year next week.

Significantly, Najib had also told Amien he was unsure how he would fare at the polls, rating his chances as “50/50”. He was either expressing astute humility or being frank. Either way, it meant he was unlikely to call a GE as early as March or by June, as some are expecting.

This was echoed later when he spoke to the Wall Street Journal, saying that “we still have not delivered on our promises” — referring to the various reforms on the administrative, economic and political fronts that he had announced since taking up the premiership.

In other words, Najib is mindful of his reformist credentials. Allowing the judiciary to be independent would be consistent with his promise of reforming Malaysian politics and governance, as demanded by the electorate. To that end, the verdict by the High Court worked to Najib’s favour.

Anwar walking free also means a fresh and important reason for a later GE: Najib can do with more time to fulfil his electoral promises and strengthen Umno and the BN. He needs to stave off a serious challenge from an Anwar-led opposition whose morale has been revitalised by the verdict.

Najib has so far done a good job at positioning himself as a competent leader. Although he has his fair share of criticism, he has a vision for the country and a roadmap to get there. But he faces an uphill political battle. Unlike his predecessors, Najib has to grapple with the psychologically daunting expectations of winning back the BN’s two-thirds majority in Parliament that Abdullah Ahmad Badawi lost in the 2008 elections.

Najib knows that should he fail to do so, the Umno knives will be out and he could face the same fate as Abdullah — forced discreetly to step down by the party hardliners.

He will also be expected to win back Selangor where, as party liaison chairman, he is Umno chief for that state. Wresting back Selangor would be his saving grace should he fail to resecure the two-thirds at the federal level. His sympathisers can argue that at least he has won back the richest state, one of five that fell to the opposition in 2008.

In anticipation of Najib going all out to recapture Selangor, the opposition state appointed Anwar as its economic adviser. The latter’s freedom will make it harder for Najib to achieve his goal, even though Anwar’s opposition ally, the Islamist party PAS, is facing dissension in its ranks in Selangor.

Should Najib come under pressure from Umno hardliners to rein in Anwar, there will be a push for an appeal against the High Court’s acquittal verdict. There are already rumblings. A prosecution appeal will revive the saga and risk public ire. Matters could end with Anwar going back to jail, and/or backfiring on Umno as the Malaysian public feels further alienated by what they see as relentless victimisation of a political adversary.

In the end, Najib will have to make the judgement call, as he told the WSJ. Will he succumb to the hardliners or rise above the fray, be the emergent reformer and shake up the political system and its politics? — Today

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 21 January 2012, 6:22 am and is filed under
Anwar Ibrahim
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