Malaysia Push Factors

Malaysian Government Buys High-Priced Sugar

2012-02-07T15:10:00.000-08:00

It's obvious why they bought sugar way above the market price. There is a cut there for those umno crutch holders.

Our government, in its finite wisdom, negotiated a long-term sugar supply deal for a fixed price of US$26 (RM78) instead of its current price on the global market of US$23 per hundred pounds. Please note, this is US$3 above the world current market price.

And the minister’s reasoning for this is that “if the price fluctuates, and it goes up, we will profit.” Well I’m a cynical, pessimistic, IT graduate-cum-writer so I’ll ask this: what if it goes down?

According to a graph which I Googled and then configured myself to show the price fluctuations of sugar in January 2012, the price of sugar on average that month was US$23.59 per hundred pounds. Now, I happen to know that most contracts are done with the price either on that business day, or a monthly high price is selected as the basis.

The high price for January was only US$23.78.

Now perhaps I’m wrong. Perhaps, since this decision was made in January, our brilliant minister took the average sugar price of last year as a basis for his brilliant economic decision. So I’ll check.
For the year 2011, sugar was averaging at most US$23.40.

So just why are we paying an average of US$2.60 to US$2.22 extra per pound of sugar?
I especially loved this quote:

“Two out of the three biggest sugar producers in the world have been affected by floods,” he said, referring to neighbouring Thailand and Australia, and added, “The price of sugar has not dropped. Even if it has, it is negligible.”

By November 2011, this was quoted from Bloomberg:
White, or refined, sugar for December delivery rose 0.2 per cent to $655 a ton by 9.43am on NYSE Liffe in London. Raw sugar for March delivery climbed 0.3 per cent to 25.65 cents a pound on ICE Futures US in New York.

So even with the Thai flood, the Australian cyclone, the price of sugar never went up above US$26. Now perhaps this minister thought he could use another nation’s natural disasters as a scapegoat, but I do hope that in the future he realises that with Rais Yatim’s goal of making Malaysia 50 per cent broadband accessible, bullshit excuses like this will not be tolerated.

Like I said, Najib’s not the only problem. He has ministers who are not making a lick of sense in reasoning why they’re paying more than required for commodities like sugar.

Like I said, Najib isn’t the only problem. But he is, in a large part, responsible for all of it.

He should have banned Perkasa for being a racist NGO a long time ago.

He should have told his minister to gauge the sugar market properly and make ready a good public relations excuse that was Google proof to be proven untrue.

And most of all, he should have made sure that all this faeces did not hit the fan in an election year!

- Hafidz Baharom

UMNO/ BN's Preoccupation with Sex

2011-10-21T01:45:00.000-07:00

By Mariam Mokhtar

Just because you drive a Bentley doesn't mean you’re loaded. You could be the chauffeur, on his way to fetch the towkay ….but your grey uniform gives you away.

The Hermes Birkin that you carry is no proof that you are from high society. The must-have item could be a knock-off….all of RM30, from the stall down the road in Petaling Street.

The pedigree dog which mopes around in its tiny cage under the front porch, doesn’t mean you’re a dog lover. The canine is a subtle showpiece to exhibit your wealth.

And what use is attending St. Hugh’s, if you've failed to use your university knowledge to do good but instead, attack a defenceless schoolboy, who happens to be the son of an opposition leader.

Criticise the father (of the boy) if you must, but show your intellect and base your objections on sound policies and arguments.

Khairy Jamaluddin is an Oxford graduate who may speak better English than the average Malaysian (according to those who have heard him speak). But he hasn’t put his education to good use.

At one time he was touted as an improvement on the uneducated Umno political candidate.

But in the end, Khairy found it easier to drop his standards.

After 54 years of perfecting the art of public manipulation, Umno is adept at making us part with our votes, mostly in exchange for a load of lies. In some cases, they threw in packs of milo anda few kilos of rice, perhaps a saree, an outboard motor or a shopping trip to Medan or Haadyai.

Well this time, Khairy, the much touted ‘Oxford grad’ (as if that meant he could walk on water or had a brain size that was twice the normal person’s) bit off more than he could chew.

The Umno Youth chief used Twitter to spread malicious gossip about the son of Lim Guan Eng, the chief minister of Penang.

The aim? To shame Lim’s family and bring him down.

Using Twitter, Khairy had written, “Mungkin dia roboh Kampung Buah Pala sebab nak ganti dengan Kampung Buah Dada” in response to another tweet by pro-Umno blogger“@PapaGomo”.

When translated: “He possibly destroyed Kampung Buah Pala because he wanted to replace it with Kampung Buah Dada”. (Buah dada is a derogatory term for female breasts).

Lim issued a stern rebuke to pro-Umno blogs and sites, about the “barbaric lies” concerning his son. He named Khairy Jamaluddin and other party leaders like Bukit Gelugor Umno division chairman Dr Novandri Hasan Basr.

Lim said,“My family and I deplore these lies and fabrications against my young son as morally despicable and barbaric. Umno should act against those trying to wreck the life of my young son with cruel and barbaric lies just to finish me off politically.”

The ploy by Khairy, Novandri and other Umno diehards, has backfired. Even the most hardened of politicos are appalled, except the extremists who are without conscience.

What Umno lacks in policies, it makes up for with its unhealthy use of sex as a political weapon. It is desperate and will clutch at straws, even fabricating lies about school children,simply to gain political mileage and deceive the rakyat.

Sex is being used to bring down Anwar Ibrahim the opposition leader, in the protracted sodomy trials and the release of sex videos. Umno sympathisers tried to discredit Mat Sabu with phone-sex allegations.
Why? They are trying to distract the rakyat from the high level electoral fraud, for which the government, the EC, NRD, and PDRM are all implicated.

If anyone thinks Umno/BN are clean, think again.

This is a list of men who are in positions of responsibility: Which uncouth MP committed polygamy? Which ex-minister and current president of another BN component party featured in an oral sex DVD? Which ex-minister and current Malaysian Ambassador was allegedly accused of sexually exploiting women? Which serving cabinet minister is allegedly accused of raping his domestic help? Which senior politician who is currently serving in the cabinet was allegedly caught with his pants down with a pop singer in a Port Dickson hotel and is allegedly implicated in the murder of another model?

The list excludes past ministers, politicians and leaders of media or religious organisations. No conviction seems to stick. So, do they buy their way out of any conviction or just use threats?

We have been inundated with the sexploits of these lotharios and have become immune to the scandals.

After much brainstorming, Umno has decided on a better way to shock: Attack the children of the opposition.

When the sex videos were released into the public domain this year, to discredit the opposition leader, Anwar Ibrahim, it was discovered that the former Chief minister of Malacca, Rahim Tamby Chik was one of the ring leaders.

Two decades ago, Rahim Thamby allegedly raped a minor and was forced to resign. The underage girl’s grandmother sought the help of a DAP MP to bring Rahim Thamby to trial.

Doesn’t this show the level of mistrust Malays have for the elected Umno Malays?

The DAP MP was Lim Guan Eng and he was jailed for his efforts.

None of the other Umno Malays came to the defence of the girl and all were too afraid to support Lim.

Today, Khairy Jamaluddin has joined the ranks of the morons and malfeasants in Umno.

Umno plays dirty because it is desperate. And desperate people like Khairy, will do anything to be included in Najib’s, or perhaps Umno’s, plans for the future.

Even if that means discarding their integrity and intellect.

Guess Who Said That...

2011-10-04T01:45:00.000-07:00

Guess who?

"..........while one man standing in the road is a nuisance, a mere distraction, 10 men standing together are far harder to ignore. And if those 10 become 100, a thousand, a million, a billion even, they become force so big, so strong and so united in their common cause that those who espouse hatred will face a very simple choice. They can join us, or they can remain where they are and be crushed by the force of our collective will."

Who do you think said that? Bet you won't get it right.........

Prime Minister, Najib Razak.

Oxford - 17th May, 2011

Read the full text of his speech HERE. But be prepared with a barf bag. Just in case la...

我哋已经受够！

2011-09-28T22:46:00.000-07:00

The YouTube video below is awesome.

Care to make Malaysia what it can and should be:
http://www.youtube.com/v/9-TuU0uOkgo?version=3

We just need one day to send Umno-BN packing!

2011-07-26T07:25:00.000-07:00

You were born in Malaysia, received a birth certificate as proof and received an identity card at age of 12 and with that you are a citizen of Malaysia, hence you are a Malaysian.

Why is it so hard for the ruling government to accept this simple fact and treat each and every Malaysian with fairness. Why must they keep harping about race and religion. The Constitution of Malaysia , which came into force in 1957, is the supreme law of land.

Is it that difficult to run the country with this guided Constitution? Trying to misinterpret, ignoring or quote the constitution as and when it suites the government in order to hold on to power is a sure disaster.

Each time Malaysia has a new Prime Minister, Malaysians have high hopes that he will take the country to new heights. Each PM came in with a bang, promising the sky and moon with each spewing his own slogan and using the rakyat’s money to promote it aggressively. But alas the euphoria did not last long when the NATO (no action talk only) syndrome sets in.

The 4th PM, Dr Mahathir totally destroyed the solid foundations for a workable system among the various races and religions set by his predecessors. Corruption became part and parcel of his iron-fisted rule.

The 5th PM, Abdullah Badawi, was a new hope that the rakyat were looking up to, to reverse what Tun Mahathir had done to the nation. A Mr Clean and soft-spoken type, he started a series of changes – one that included the fight against corruption. He managed to turn the old ACA into the new MACC but it did not work out well as many saw it as old wine in new bottle. With his predecessor breathing down his neck, he was toppled after only one term as PM.

Everyone is more or less accustomed to the way how these two PMs ran the country, be it corruption or the NATO syndrome.

With the 6th PM, Najib Tun Razak, the rakyat are now getting more worried. He is a totally different creature from his two predecessors. Other than the many baggages that he carried into his premiership, and in his greed for power, he has gone against every principle of his “1Malaysia People First Performance Now” slogan.

His many speeches were truly frightening. His support for Utusan and Perkasa which continues to raise racist and religious issues against the non Muslim reflects his inability to perform his duty as a PM for all Malaysians. His call for “lives and crushed bodies” to defend PutraJaya indicates that he is willing to see Malaysians die in order for him to remain in power.

What is worst is his shameless lectures to the world about Islamic moderation, democracy, corruption and what is good for the world, but back home his actions are a total 180 degree turn.

The way he handled the pre and post Bersih2.0 rally, his visit to the British PM and Queen, his meeting with the Pope and what he said after returning home clearly exposes him as a hypocrite.

He is using his position as PM to fight for his political party Umno and his presidency. He is fighting for survival and could not care a damn about the rakyat.
Najib & Co. must stop being paranoid and cast away all their imaginary enemies from within or without and stop the persecution of the innocent.

Up to this point and having seen the damage with not much hope of any improvement in the near future, I’m sad to say that I have given up on Najib & Co.

Whichever party governs or whoever wants to be PM must know and fully respect understand the Constitution of Malaysia and be guided by it in running this country.
By all means help those in need of help irrespective of colour or creed, and not those who are already rich and well connected, standing on the sidelines doing nothing.

Malaysia belongs to all Malaysians. Islam is the official religion of Malaysia. We respect the King and the Constitution.

We wanted to live in peace and harmony among all the various races/ethnic groups, we respect each other and all religions No one is planning to overthrow a legitimate government or King nor using religion, Jews, communists or foreigners to take over the country.

Malaysians do not need to follow Egypt, Tunisia or Libya to remove their oppressive leaders. We only need one day to topple Umno/BN – on polling day of the 13th General Election.

- Richard Toh

'Bersih' Is Not 'Clean'?

2011-07-23T19:48:00.000-07:00

We have just finished a wonderful holiday in Malaysia. Except for a few things, like the toilets and the drivers, it was great. The people are friendly and helpful. The food is quite exciting and the country is spectacular.

There was one incident, which caused us no concern and no problem, but left us more than a little baffled. We were in the Chow Kit area buying some things to take home when we found some shirts with “BERSIH 2” on them. We asked the man what the word meant and he said “clean”.

So, we bought some. They were good quality and cheap. As we were leaving the stall area we were approached by a man who warned us not to wear the shirts or we would be in trouble with the police. We went back to our hotel thinking that we misheard the man at the stall who sold us the shirts and that bersih must be a very dirty word. So we asked the concierge and he told us it meant “clean”. So we were confused.

At dinner that night, we struck up a conversation with the people at the next table. We raised the matter with them. They told us the shirts represented a call to the people and Government for clean and fair elections. They also told us that people wearing the shirts are being locked up without trial for waging war against the King. They explained that the Government and some people were against free and fair elections.

Fair enough, it is not our country. What we still do not understand is why the King would be against free and fair elections because he is not elected. Our friends warned us that even talking about free and fair elections could land us in goal.

Perhaps the government could put signs at the airport warning travellers that bersih is a dirty word in Malaysia and that the King and Government are against free and fair elections. In this way, no one will make a mistake that could land them in trouble.

Doug and Helen White,
Flinders Park,
South Australia

AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH

2011-07-19T05:52:00.001-07:00

We, the undersigned doctors, wish not to enter into the polemics of the Bersih 2.0 march on 9th July 2011 but would like to clarify the inconvenient truth.

We are outraged at the incidents, and the subsequent responses from the authorities, to the events where tear gas and chemical laced water were shot into the compounds of Tung Shin and Chinese Maternity Hospitals, two adjacent buildings along Jalan Pudu, Kuala Lumpur, with scant regard for the safety of patients, staff and the general public who were at the buildings that afternoon.

Hospitals are considered as safe sanctuaries for all, even during war times, but these consecrated places of refuge and protection were violated by the defence forces that afternoon. Police even entered the buildings in search of some of these peaceful marchers. What was most frightening and witnessed by many was the unprovoked violent assault within the hospital compounds and apprehension of several protesters who had merely run into the hospitals to seek shelter from the tear gas and the water cannons!

It is repulsive that the authorities entrusted with policing the nation and protecting the weak and needy, have shamelessly denied publicly, the occurrence of these incidents IN SPITE of countless photo/video and eye witness accounts of what was evident to all independent observers.

A few of the undersigned were actually visiting or working in the hospitals concerned at the time of the events and will gladly provide sworn affidavits, if required, as to veracity of the incidents

The Malaysian public expect holders of high public office to honour their positions accorded by the citizens, by discharging their duties with moral integrity, dignity and transparency.

Their failure to do so raises the public's doubts in their competence and credibility as much as it demeans those high offices.

Dr Ng Kwee Boon - Consultant Obstetrician & Gynaecologist
Datin Dr Low Paik See - Consultant Paediatrician
Dato’ Dr Musa Mohd Nordin - Consultant Paediatrician & Neonatologist
Dr Mazeni Alwi - Consultant Paediatric Cardiologist
Dr David Quek - Consultant Cardiologist
Dr Sheikh Johari Bux - Consultant Obstetrician & Gynaecologist
Dr Steve Wong - Consultant Plastic Surgeon
Dr Ahmad Farouk Musa - Consultant Cardiothoracic Surgeon
Dr Ng Swee Choon - Consultant Cardiologist

Bersih 2.0

2011-07-08T19:07:00.000-07:00

Below is Bersih 2.0's statement in full:

2pm, July 9, Stadium Merdeka: Malaysia's moment of truth

Malaysians from all walks of life have travelled a very long road to reach this defining point in our nation's history.

With less than 24 hours to our intended peaceful gathering, our resolve to walk the last, most difficult mile as one united people in pursuit of clean and fair elections and a better Malaysia for all is firmer than ever.

Our reason for gathering is pure and simple – to demand the electoral roll be cleaned, that the postal voting system be reformed, that indelible ink be used, a minimum 21 day campaign period be instated, free and fair access to media for all be provided, public institutions be strengthened, and for corruption as well as dirty politics to be stopped.

The authorities have put obstacle after obstacle where they only needed to provide sincere cooperation to win the trust and confidence of the people.

Having faced half hearted offers of stadiums, arrogance regarding meetings as well as denials of permits, arrests, detentions and so much more, we feel that we have done all that is humanly possible to demonstrate sincerity and good faith in dealing with the government – but we have only been met with reversed decisions and stone walls.

There are no walls however, that will arrest the advance of the cause of peace and justice. Come the 9th of July, we will uphold our constitutional right to converge peacefully on Stadium Merdeka in Kuala Lumpur.

No government agency has any right whatsoever to prevent Malaysians from exercising their freedom of movement and access to our capital city. No threat or intimidation can overturn this fundamental truth.

Malaysians have now seen for themselves the degree of paranoia and lack of principled leadership that seems to have gripped the government. It is thus all the more imperative that patriotic Malaysians rise now and take this stand together to save Malaysia from slipping further into this insane darkness.

Since the beginning of Bersih 2.0, we have witnessed nothing but the utmost bravery and commitment to peace and justice demonstrated by ordinary Malaysians from every walk of life.

Inspired by this example, the Bersih 2.0 leadership reiterates our own unyielding commitment to our shared cause, and to being at Stadium Merdeka at 2pm tomorrow. We will meet at the carpark, and trust that the doors will be opened for us.

This is Malaysia's single most important defining moment in recent history, and we are fully confident that the rakyat will heed the call to safeguard the principles Malaysia was founded on and together ensure that we pass down to our children a nation that is just, democratic and united in love for one another.

To My Friends in Malaysia - John Malott

2011-07-01T20:29:00.000-07:00

All Americans are happy this weekend, as we prepare to celebrate the 225th anniversary of our declaration of Independence from the Brits, the same people who colonized you!

(And to my British cousins, I would like to say that we are all so happy that we have been friends and allies these many years!! God Bless You -- and I also think that Kate and Pippi are really smashing !!)

This weekend I am thinking not just about July 4th, but also July 9th.

What do these two days have in common?

They are both about the rights that all people have.

Those rights come from God, not from governments. They do not come from a President or a Prime Minister. And they certainly do not come from whoever the power-inflated, pompous, self-important IGP happens to be this year.

It is not up to a government to tell us what we can think or write.

It is not up to an IGP to tell us whether we can assemble peaceably in common cause.

The American Declaration of Independence, proclaimed on July 4, 1776, 225 years ago, said:

"All experience hath shown that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed.

"But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security.

"Such has been the patient sufferance of these colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former systems of government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute tyranny over these states."

Put into modern English,

"There comes a point when-

"We have had it.

"Maybe we were willing to suffer and be patient -- that is the way most of us are in the face of power -

"But that's it! No more! Enough is enough!

"We have had it with those who act like tyrants.

"We have had it with those people who think we work for them, and think we will do whatever they say --

"Who think we will suffer silently.

"So now we have decided --

"It's time for change.

"We are going to stand up for ourselves

"and for our freedom

''and for our rights.

"which God has given to us."

Happy 4th of July.

And Happy 9th of July to my Malaysian friends.

- John Malott is the former US ambassador to Malaysia and still maintains an avid interest in the region

Governments should be afraid of their people!

2011-06-18T23:46:00.000-07:00

”People should not be afraid of their governments. Governments should be afraid of their people.”

Bersih: Umno on the run, it can no longer curtail the people

Written by Maclean Patrick, Malaysia Chronicle

A seemingly harmless rally, organised by an NGO and not affiliated to any political party is causing UMNO to flip over in a seizure.

The first Bersih rally was organised in 2007, and 50,000 people took to the streets in a march of solidarity to demand free and fair elections. It came months before the 12th General Election that saw the opposition achieve great gains, winning over 5states and denying the BN the key two-thirds majority in parliament.

It was a rude awakening for UMNO and BN.

It’s 2 years on and a new souped-up Bersih 2.0 is now fast approaching. This time, UMNO has thrown a fit of even bigger proportions and the Bersih rally is being used as a convenient scapegoat for anything that has gone wrong in Malaysia.

Those who prostitute their words

The recent Internet attacks by hacker group Anonymous was even linked, many say shamelessly, to the rally by none other than the Information, Communication and Culture minister, Rais Yatim.

It was Rais Yatim who a few days before, challenged the group head-on, seemingly confident of his ministry's ability to fend off any attacks to government websites. The attacks came but the best Rais could do was to turn off government servers at the hardware level.

Group Anonymous did not have to do much, the deed was done when the administrators of the sites opted to turn off their servers - that was the best the Malaysian minister could do.

Perkasa and UMNO Youth are now organizing their own rallies on the same day as Bersih 2.0. Perkasa's main agenda is to go head to head to impede the Bersih rally. UMNO Youth’s rally is to march to maintain the current way of conducting elections.
Bersih wants fair and free elections. If UMNO Youth doesn't agree, then by extension, it must want unfair and non-free elections. Whereas, PERKASA is as usual just being a trouble-maker wanting some airtime.

And not to mention the Deputy Prime Minister’s statement that the Bersih rally is meant to topple the government.

Bersih unifies more than any slogan Najib can dream up

While UMNO propogates “Malay First, Others Second” , the Bersih rally is closer to the ideal of a united Malaysia than any slogan Prime Minister Najib Razak can dream up.

Nothing scares UMNO more than to know that the citizens of Malaysia have the will to determine for themselves a future that does not include UMNO in the picture.
UMNO fears Bersih because it knows, the rally will signal the demise of the BN. UMNO is afraid of a united Malaysia capable of thinking for itself.

UMNO knows, it can no longer curtail the will of the people any more. So UMNO has reduced itself to the politics of fear, threats and provocations.
In desperation, it is not far-fetched that UMNO may turn on its own people just to show its strength. This will be its greatest undoing. It was clear during the previous Bersih rally when water cannons and riot police stepped in to disperse the participants.

Citizens hold the cards, not UMNO-Perkasa

A rally like Bersih, when it can draw in the numbers, sends a message to all Malaysians that authority lies in the hands of the citizens and not in any political party. It is a show of solidarity that cuts across racial and religious and political lines.

This is why UMNO fears it so much. For decades, it has depended on racism and religious bigotry to set the races apart. Finally, when there is a force that gathers the people together again, it has no solutions. It is time the ruling elite in UMNO accept their fate, a fate that has long been coming and well deserved.
A rally like Bersih sets a precedence for all Malaysians to follow - that power and authority rests in the hands of the people.

The writing is on the wall and it reads,”People should not be afraid of their governments. Governments should be afraid of their people.”

An excellent speech by Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah in UK

2011-06-03T00:34:00.000-07:00

Thank you for inviting me to speak with you. I am truly honoured. I have played some small role in the life of this nation, but having been on the wrong side of one or two political fights with the powers that be, I am not as close to the young people of this country as I would hope to be.

History, and the 8 o’clock news, are written by the victors. In recent years the government’s monopoly of the media has been destroyed by the technology revolution.

You could say I was also a member of the UKEC. Well I was, except that belonged to the predecessor of the UKEC by more than fifty years, The Malayan Students Union of the UK and Eire. I led this organisation in 1958/59. I was then a student of Queen’s University at Belfast, in a rather cooler climate than Kota Bharu’s.

Your invitation to participate in the MSLS was prefaced by an essay which calls for an intellectually informed activism. I congratulate you on this. The Youth of today, you note, “will chart the future of Malaysia.” You say you “no longer want to be ignored and leave the future of our Malaysia at the hands of the current generation.” You “want to grab the bull by the horns... and have a say in where we go as a society and as a nation.”I feel the same, actually. A lot of Malaysians feel the same. They are tired of being ignored and talked down to by swaggering mediocrities.

You are right. The present generation in power has let Malaysia down.

But also you cite two things as testimony of the importance of youth and of student activism to this country, the election results of 2008 and “the Prime Minister’s acknowledgement of the role of youth in the development of the country.”

So perhaps you are a little way yet from thinking for yourselves. The first step in “grabbing the bull by the horns” is not to required the endorsement of the Prime Minister, or any Minister, for your activism.

Politicians are not your parents. They are your servants. You don’t need a government slogan coined by a foreign PR agency to wrap your project in. You just go ahead and do it.

When I was a student our newly formed country was already a leader in the postcolonial world. We were sought out as a leader in the Afro-Asian Conference which inaugurated the Non-Aligned Movement and the G-77. The Afro-Asian movement was led by such luminaries as Zhou En-lai, Nehru, Kwame Nkrumah, Soekarno. Malaysians were seen as moderate leaders capable of mediating between these more radical leaders and the West. We were known for our moderation, good sense and reliability.

We were a leader in the Islamic world as ourselves and as we were, without our leaders having to put up false displays of piety. His memory has been scrubbed out quite systematically from our national consciousness, so you might not know this or much else about him, but it was Tengku Abdul Rahman who established our leadership in the Islamic world by coming up with the idea of the OIC and making it happen.

Under his leadership Malaysia led the way in taking up the anti-apartheid cause in the Commonwealth and in the United Nations, resulting in South Africa’s expulsion from these bodies.

Here was a man at ease with himself, made it a policy goal that Malaysia be “a happy country”. He loved sport and encouraged sporting achievement among Malaysians. He was owner of many a fine race horse.

He called a press conference and had a beer with his stewards when his horse won at the Melbourne Cup. He had nothing to hide because his great integrity in service was clear to all. Now we have religious and moral hypocrites who cheat, lie and steal in office but never have a drink, who propagate an ideologically shackled education system for all Malaysians while they send their own kids to elite academies in the West.

Speaking of football. You’re too young to have experienced the Merdeka Cup, which Tunku started. We had a respectable side in the sixties and seventies. Teams from across Asia would come to play in Kuala Lumpur. Teams such as South Korea and Japan, whom we defeated routinely. We were one of the better sides in Asia. We won the Bronze medal at the Asian games in 1974 and qualified for the Moscow Olympics in 1980. Today our FIFA ranking is 157 out of 203 countries. That puts us in the lowest quartile, below Maldives (149), the smallest country in Asia, with just 400,000 people living about 1.5 metres above sea level who have to worry that their country may soon be swallowed up by climate change. Here in ASEAN we are behind Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, whom we used to dominate, and our one spot above basketball-playing Philippines.

The captain of our illustrious 1970’s side was Soh Chin Aun. Arumugam, Isa Bakar, Santokh Singh, James Wong and Mokhtar Dahari were heroes whose names rolled off the tongues of our schoolchildren as they copied them on the school field. It wasn’t about being the best in the world, but about being passionate and united and devoted to the game.

It was the same in Badminton, except at one time we were the best in the world. I remember Wong Peng Soon, the first Asian to win the All-England Championship, and then just dominated it throughout the 1950. Back home every kid who played badminton in every little kampong wanted to call himself Wong Peng Soon. There was no tinge of anybody identifying themselves exclusively as Chinese, Malays, Indian. Peng Soon was a Malaysian hero. Just like each of our football heroes. Now we do not have an iota of that feeling. Where has it all gone?

I don’t think it’s mere nostalgia that that makes us think there was a time when the sun shone more brightly upon Malaysia. I bring up sport because it has been a mirror of our more general performance as nation. When we were at ease with who we were and didn’t need slogans to do our best together, we did well. When race and money entered our game, we declined. The same applies to our political and economic life.

Soon after independence we were already a highly successful developing country. We had begun the infrastructure building and diversification of our economy that would be the foundation for further growth. We carried out an import-substitution programme that stimulated local productive capacity. From there we started an infrastructure buildup which enabled a diversification of the economy leading to rapid industrialisation. We carried out effective programmes to raise rural income and help with landless with programmes such as FELDA. Our achievements in achieving growth with equity were recognised around the world. We were ahead of Our peer group in economic development were South Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan, and we led the pack. I remember we used to send technical consultants to advise the South Koreans.

By the lates nineties, however, we had fallen far behind this group and were competing with Thailand and Indonesia. Today, according to the latest World Investment Report, FDI into Malaysia is at about a twenty year low. We are entering the peer group of Cambodia, Myanmar and the Philippines as an investment destination. Thailand, despite a month long siege of the capital, attracted more FDI than we did last year. Indonesia and Vietnam far outperform us, not as a statistical blip but consistently. Soon we shall have difficulty keeping up with The Philippines. This, I believe, is called relegation. If we take into account FDI outflow, the picture is even more interesting. Last year we received US$1.38 billion (RM4.40 billion) in investments but US$ 8.04 billion flowed out. We are the only country in Southeast Asia which has suffered nett FDI outflow. I am not against outward investment. It can be a good thing for the country. But an imbalance on this scale indicates capital flight, not mere investment overseas.

Without a doubt, Malaysia is slipping. Billions have been looted from this country, and billions more are being siphoned out as our entire political structure crumbles. Yet we are gathered here in comfort, in a country that still seems to ‘work.’ Most of the time. This is due less to good management than to the extraordinary wealth of this country. You were born into a country of immense resources both natural and cultural and social. We have been wearing down this advantage with mismanagement and corruption. With lies, tall tales and theft. We have a political class unwilling or unable to address the central issue of the day because they have grown fat and comfortable with a system built on lies and theft. It is easy to fall into the lull caused by the combination of whatever wealth has not been plundered and removed and political class that lives in a bubble of sycophancy.

I urge you not to fall into that complacency. It is time to wake up. That waking up can begin here, right here, at this conference. Not tomorrow or the day after but today. So let me, as I have the honour of opening this conference, suggest the following:

Overcome the urge to have our hopes for the future endorsed by the Prime Minister. He will have retired, and I’ll be long gone when your future arrives. The shape of your future is being determined now.

Resist the temptation to say “in line with” when we do something. Your projects, believe it or not, don’t have to be in line with any government campaign for them to be meaningful. You don’t need to polish anyone’s apple. Just get on with what you plan to do.

Do not put a lid on certain issues as “sensitive” because someone said they are. Or it is against the Social Contract. Or it is “politicisation”. You don’t need to have your conversation delimited by the hyper-sensitive among us. Sensitivity is often a club people use to hit each other with. Reasoned discussion of contentious issues builds understanding and trust. Test this idea.

It’s not “uber-liberal” to ask for an end to having politics, economic policy, education policy and everything and the kitchen sink determined by race. It’s called growing up. Go look up “liberal” in a dictionary.

Please resist the temptation to say Salam 1 Malaysia, or Salam Vision 2020 or Salam Malaysia Boleh, or anything like that. Not even when you are reading the news. It’s embarrassing. I think it’s OK to say plain old salam the way the Holy Prophet did, wishing peace unto all humanity. You say you want to “promote intellectual discourse.” I take that to mean you want to have reasonable, thought-through and critical discussions, and slogans are the enemy of thought. Banish them.

Don’t let the politicians you have invited here talk down to you. Don’t let them tell you how bright and “exuberant” you are, that you are the future of the nation, etc. If you close your eyes and flow with their flattery you have safely joined the caravan, a caravan taking the nation down a sink hole. If they tell you the future is in your hands kindly request that they hand that future over first. Ask them how come the youngest member of our cabinet is 45 and is full of discredited hacks? Our Merdeka cabinet had an average age below thirty. You’re not the first generation to be bright. Mine wasn’t too stupid. But you could be the first generation of students and young graduates in fifty years to push this nation through a major transformation. And it is a transformation we need desperately.

You will be told that much is expected of you, much has been given to you, and so forth. This is all true. Actually much has also been stolen from you. Over the last twenty five years, much of the immense wealth generated by our productive people and our vast resources has been looted. This was supposed to have been your patrimony. The uncomplicated sense of belonging fully, wholeheartedly, unreservedly, to this country, in all it diversity, that has been taken from you...

Our sense of ourselves as Malaysians, a free and united people, has been replaced by a tale of racial strife and resentment that continues to haunt us. The thing is, this tale is false.

The most precious thing you have been deprived of has been your history. Someone of my generation finds it hard to describe what must seem like a completely different country to you now. Malaysia was not born in strife but in unity. Our independence was achieved through a demonstration of unity by the people in supporting a multiracial government led by Tengku Abdul Rahman. That show of unity, demonstrated first through the municipal elections of 1952 and then through the Alliance’s landslide victory in the elections of 1955, showed that the people of Malaya were united in wanting their freedom.

We surprised the British, who thought we could not do this.

Today we are no longer as united as we were then. We are also less free. I don’t think this is a coincidence. It takes free people to have the psychological strength to overcome the confines of a racialised worldview. It takes free people to overcome those politicians bent on hanging on to power gained by racialising every feature of our life including our football teams.

Hence while you are at this conference, let me argue, that as an absolute minimum, we should call for the repeal of unjust and much abused Acts which are reversals of freedoms that we won at Merdeka.

I ask you in joining me in calling for the repeal of the ISA and the OSA. These draconian laws have been used, more often than not, as political tools rather than instruments of national security. They create a climate of fear. These days there is a trend among right wing nationalist groups to identify the ISA with the defence of Malay rights. This is a self-inflicted insult on Malay rights. As if our Constitutional protections needed draconian laws to enforce them. I wish they were as zealous in defending our right not to be robbed by a corrupt ruling elite. We don’t seem to be applying the law of the land there, let alone the ISA.

I ask you to join me in calling for the repeal of the Printing and Publications Act, and above all, the Universities and Colleges Act. I don’t see how you can pursue your student activism with such freedom and support in the UK and Eire while forgetting that your brethren at home are deprived of their basic rights of association and expression by the UCA. The UCA has done immense harm in dumbing down our universities.

We must have freedom as guaranteed under our Constitution... Freedom to assemble, associate, speak, write, move. This is basic. Even on matters of race and even on religious matters we should be able to speak freely, and we shall educate each other.

It is time to realise the dream of Dato’ Onn and the spirit of the Alliance, of Tunku Abdul Rahman. That dream was one of unity and a single Malaysian people. They went as far as they could with it in their time. Instead of taking on the torch we have reversed course. The next step for us as a country is to move beyond the infancy of race-based parties to a non-racial party system. Our race-based party system is the key political reason why we are a sick country, declining before our own eyes, with money fleeing and people telling their children not to come home after their studies.

So let us try to take 1 Malaysia seriously. Millions have been spent putting up billboards and adding the term to every conceivable thing. We even have cuti-cuti 1 Malaysia. Can’t take a normal holiday anymore.

This is all fine. Now let us see if it means anything. Let us see the Government of the day lead by example. 1 Malaysia is empty because it is propagated by a Government that promotes the racially-based party system that is the chief cause of our inability to grow up in our race relations. Our inability to grow up in our race relations is the chief reason why investors, and we ourselves, no longer have confidence in our economy. The reasons why we are behind Maldives in football, and behind the Philippines in FDI, are linked.

So let us take 1 Malaysia seriously, and convert Barisan Nasional into a party open to all citizens. Let it be a multiracial party open to direct membership. PR will be forced to do the same or be left behind the times. Then we shall have the vehicles for a two party, non-race-based system.

If Umno, MIC or MCA are afraid of losing supporters, let them get their members to join this new multiracial party. PR should do the same. Nobody need feel left out. Umno members can join en masse. The Hainanese Kopitiam Association can join whichever party they want, or both parties en masse if they like. We can maintain our cherished civil associations, however we choose to associate. But we drop all communalism when we compete for the ballot. When our candidates stand for Elections, let them ever after stand only as Malaysians, better or worse.

-- The world is a dangerous place not because of people who do evil, but because of good people who look on and do nothing about it. -- Albert Einstein

Christian Leaders Led to Their Slaughter

2011-05-17T22:38:00.000-07:00

Bishop Paul Tan says he is displeased and disgusted with the outcome of the meeting between PM and Christian leaders over the Utusan row. He calls the entire episode an Umno orchestration.

KUALA LUMPUR: Without mincing his words, a Catholic bishop criticised his fellow Christian leaders for allowing themselves to be used by the government to “please the other side”.

Instead of telling Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak the truth, Bishop Paul Tan of the Malacca-Johor diocese said the Christian leaders had become like “sheep being led to their slaughter.”

Commenting on the news reports on the meeting between Najib and the Christian leaders, led by the Malaysian Christian Federation (MCF) chairman Bishop Ng Moon Hing yesterday, Tan told FMT that he was extremely disappointed with the outcome.
“I was not at the meeting, so I don’t know what transpired and whether the newspapers reported the entire discussion. But if the news reports are true, then I am displeased and disgusted,” he said.

The luncheon meeting was held amid the raging controversy surrounding a Utusan Malaysia report which alleged that a Christian coup was in the making, with Christian leaders and DAP colluding to undermine the position of Islam.

‘Umno agenda to rake in votes’

Tan, 71, pointed out that since Utusan was owned by Umno, the daily would not have published the report without an endorsement from the party led by Najib.

The bishop also claimed that it was part of an Umno agenda to rake in Muslim votes in the coming general election.

“Utusan’s Christian bashing, the big feature on the Pembela demonstration at the Putrajaya mosque about the 10-point plan and now the so-called conspiracy are purely an Umno agenda prior to our general election which is imminent.

“This agenda is to unite the Malays and for Umno to be seen as the bigger and better champion of Islam than PAS whose main claim to fame is that it is an Islamic party,” he said.

“Therefore, the Christian bashing, exaggerations and fiction demonising us are for a purpose: to enhance the siege mentality of the Malays and make them cleave to Umno to ‘protect’ Islam,” he added.

According to Tan, the chronology of events had lent credence to the claim that the entire episode smacked of orchestration for the election.

“Utusan publishes what it does, Pembela and Perkasa lodge police reports premised on fiction, but not one police report from our Christian leaders and so the police investigate the fiction published by Utusan. The police can only investigate based on a police report, not on newspaper cuttings.

“Nothing for a while from the home minister and Najib only asks for calm. Then Najib meets first with Muslims groups to calm them and states that Umno will always defend Islam, the Federal Constitution etc. The media were called and featured the meeting,” he said.

“Surely by then, our Christian leaders would have known that this issue was clearly manipulated and that the media would be present and regardless of what our leaders said (at the meeting), it would end up on the same trajectory: Islam safeguarded and the Christians agree to this.

“Why did the Christian leaders walk into that clear booby trap? Why didn’t they have a clear statement printed out for the press, saying what they wanted the meeting to be and what their own demands were, regardless of Najib’s spin,” he added.

Double standard

Tan, who is also the president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Malaysia, said the government always practised double standard – one set of rules for Malay/Muslims, and another for the rest.

Responding to a question, the hard-hitting Jesuit-trained prelate, who once served in Rome, also dismissed Najib’s 1Malaysia concept as nothing more than deceit.

“All that has happened shows that the 1Malaysia concept is a bluff. We played the usual and now the worse – racial and religious bigotry,” he said.

Asked if he agreed with Utusan only being slapped with a reprimand letter, when other publications in the past, such as the Sarawak Tribune, were dealt a lethal blow, Tan said the Umno paper should not be spared the rod.

“Action should be taken against Utusan and the two ministers who supported it in the same way they suspended in the beginning our Catholic ‘Herald’ just for using the word ‘Allah’ which, in fact, is not the property of Islam.

“I am absolutely surprised that the Christian leaders who were there to see our PM appeared all of a sudden tame and conciliatory and did not demand justice be done, i.e., in the same way, the government dealt with the other non-Malay/Muslim papers. Then again, perhaps, the press did not publish everything (on the meeting),” he added.

Sarawak Tribune was forced to cease operations in 2006, when the government clamped down on the daily for publishing offensive caricatures of Prophet Muhammad.
In a related development, Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said there was “some basis” to the Utusan report.

Speaking to the press, he said this was in view of new evidence provided in a police report lodged in Penang today.

Furthermore, he added, Utusan’s editor-in-chief Aziz Ishak’s explanation to the home ministry was similar to the contents of the police report.

The Price of Malaysia's Racism

2011-03-20T20:49:00.000-07:00

Published on WSJ: Wall Street Journal
By JOHN R.. MALOTT

Malaysia's national tourism agency promotes the country as "a bubbling, bustling melting pot of races and religions where Malays, Indians, Chinese and many other ethnic groups live together in peace and harmony."

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak echoed this view when he announced his government's theme, One Malaysia. "What makes Malaysia unique," Mr. Najib said, "is the diversity of our peoples.. One Malaysia's goal is to preserve and enhance this unity in diversity, which has always been our strength and remains our best hope for the future."

If Mr. Najib is serious about achieving that goal, a long look in the mirror might be in order first. Despite the government's new catchphrase, racial and religious tensions are higher today than when Mr. Najib took office in 2009. Indeed, they are
worse than at any time since 1969, when at least 200 people died in racial clashes between the majority Malay and minority Chinese communities. The recent deterioration is due to the troubling fact that the country's leadership is tolerating, and in some cases provoking, ethnic factionalism through words and actions.

For instance, when the Catholic archbishop of Kuala Lumpur invited the prime minister for a Christmas Day open house last December, Hardev Kaur, an aide to Mr. Najib, said Christian crosses would have to be removed. There could be no carols or prayers, so as not to offend the prime minister, who is Muslim. Ms. Kaur later insisted that she "had made it clear that it was a request and not an instruction," as if any Malaysian could say no to a request from the prime minister's office.

Similar examples of insensitivity abound. In September 2009, Minister of Home Affairs Hishammuddin Onn met with protesters who had carried the decapitated head of a cow, a sacred animal in the Hindu religion, to an Indian temple. Mr. Hishammuddin then held a press conference defending their actions.

Two months later, Defense Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi told Parliament that one reason Malaysia's armed forces are overwhelmingly Malay is that other ethnic groups have a "low spirit of patriotism." Under public pressure, he later apologized.

The leading Malay language newspaper, Utusan Melayu, prints what opposition leader Lim Kit Siang calls a daily staple of falsehoods that stoke racial hatred. Utusan, which is owned by Mr. Najib's political party, has claimed that the opposition would make Malaysia a colony of China and abolish the Malay monarchy.

It regularly attacks Chinese Malaysian politicians, and even suggested that one of them, parliamentarian Teresa Kok, should be killed. This steady erosion of tolerance is more than a political challenge. It's an economic problem as well.

Once one of the developing world's stars, Malaysia's economy has underperformed for the past decade. To meet its much-vaunted goal of becoming a developed nation by 2020, Malaysia needs to grow by 8% per year during this decade. That level of growth will require major private investment from both domestic and foreign sources, upgraded human skills, and significant economic reform. Worsening racial and religious tensions stand in the way.

Almost 500,000 Malaysians left the country between 2007 and 2009, more than doubling the number of Malaysian professionals who live overseas. It appears that most were skilled ethnic Chinese and Indian Malaysians, tired of being treated as second-class citizens in their own country and denied the opportunity to compete on a level playing field, whether in education, business, or government. Many of these emigrants, as well as the many Malaysian students who study overseas and never return (again, most of whom are ethnic Chinese and Indian), have the business, engineering, and scientific skills that Malaysia needs for its future. They also have the cultural and linguistic savvy to enhance Malaysia's economic ties with Asia's two biggest growing markets, China and India.

Of course, one could argue that discrimination isn't new for these Chinese and Indians. Malaysia's affirmative action policies for its Malay majority — which give them preference in everything from stock allocation to housing discounts — have been in place for decades. So what is driving the ethnic minorities away now?

First, these minorities increasingly feel that they have lost a voice in their own government. The Chinese and Indian political parties in the ruling coalition are supposed to protect the interests of their communities, but over the past few years, they have been neutered. They stand largely silent in the face of the growing racial insults hurled by their Malay political partners. Today over 90% of the civil service, police, military, university lecturers, and overseas diplomatic staff are Malay. Even TalentCorp, the government agency created in 2010 that is supposed to encourage overseas Malaysians to return home, is headed by a Malay, with an all-Malay Board of Trustees.

Second, economic reform and adjustments to the government's affirmative action policies are on hold. Although Mr. Najib held out the hope of change a year ago with his New Economic Model, which promised an "inclusive" affirmative action policy that would be, in Mr. Najib's words, "market friendly, merit-based, transparent and needs-based," he has failed to follow through.

This is because of opposition from right-wing militant Malay groups such as Perkasa, which believe that a move towards meritocracy and transparency threatens what they call "Malay rights." But stalling reform will mean a further loss in competitiveness and slower growth. It also means that the cronyism and no-bid contracts that favor the well-connected will continue.

All this sends a discouraging signal to many young Malaysians that no matter how hard they study or work, they will have a hard time getting ahead. Mr. Najib may not actually believe much of the rhetoric emanating from his party and his government's officers, but he tolerates it because he needs to shore up his Malay base. It's politically convenient at a time when his party faces its most serious opposition challenge in recent memory — and especially when the opposition is challenging the government on ethnic policy and its economic consequences.

One young opposition leader, parliamentarian Nurul Izzah Anwar, the daughter of former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim, has proposed a national debate on what she called the alternative visions of Malaysia's future — whether it should be a Malay nation or a Malaysian nation. For that, she earned the wrath of Perkasa; the government suggested her remark was "seditious."

Malaysia's government might find it politically expedient to stir the racial and religious pot, but its opportunism comes with an economic price tag. Its citizens will continue to vote with their feet and take their money and talents with them. And foreign investors, concerned about racial instability and the absence of meaningful economic reform, will continue to look elsewhere to do business.

Mr. Malott was the U.S. Ambassador to Malaysia, 1995-1998.

How the Government Can Be Changed

2011-03-12T06:45:00.001-08:00

Raja Petra at ANU (Australian National University), on how the Government can be changed:

People's Call for Regime Change

2011-03-06T21:36:00.000-08:00

People’s Call for Regime Change – Part 1By NH Chan
17 February, 2011

The uprising in Egypt, the uprising in Tunisia,the uprising in Yemen and even in Jordan there are rumblings in the kingdom. The message is clear. The people do not want their dictators.

And what is the difference between kings, dictators and oligarchs? They are all totalitarian regimes – this means a system of government consisting of only one leader or party and having complete power and control over the people.

But the people do not want that kind of government; they want democracy – this word means a form of government in which the people have a say in who should hold power; they do not want despotism. And this wish of the people could only mean that they want a government of the people, by the people and for the people which is what a true democracy actually is.

In other words, they do not want repressive rule in any shape or form. They want human rights. They do not want draconian and oppressive laws.

In short, they do not want to live under a perennial state of emergency because all emergency laws are only excuses for tyranny. They also want freedom of speech and a free press.

In other words they want a government which is accountable to the people. They want change from authoritarian – this word, which is an adjective, means demanding strict obedience of authority – rule.

And what is the antithesis of totalitarianism? It is democracy, which is what the people really want. In a democracy, the people can choose their own representatives in government. If the people’s choice did not perform up to their expectations they could be replaced by the people.

In a true democracy, there will be no such thing as intervention from an illegitimate source to hijack the people’s choice of representatives in their government.

The foreboding of a dictatorship

What has happened in Egypt and in the Middle East was a people’s call for regime change. The dictators there who have clung to power should have seen the writing on the wall; it was time for them to leave. The people, especially the young people because they are educated and well informed, did not want them. They have overstayed their tenure.

They became corrupted by power; there is a well known adage which says power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Any dictatorship is tyrannical – the word means ‘using power in a cruel and oppressive way’ – as was seen in Egypt under Hosni Mubarak who had clung to power for 30 years. In recent events there, we have seen water cannons and tear gas being used on peaceful protestors by the regime. Mubarak’s Gestapo like police have tortured and killed dissenters: I saw a peaceful protestor exclaim on TV “They have shot me! What am I? The enemy?”

In this country we have been governed by the Barisan Nasional (BN) for some 53 years. This country is supposed to be a democracy. But it is not. Guided democracy is nothing more than an excuse for tyranny. We still have draconian laws. People are still being incarcerated under the ISA which is detention without trial. There is police brutality which seems to be endemic in the force. The people’s fundamental freedoms have been muzzled; they have even used the Sedition Act against the country’s citizens.

Respect cannot be forced. If you are good respect comes naturally. The people do not want their legitimately elected state government to be hijacked by the autocrats. What happened in Perak and in Selangor are the clearest examples of governmental wrongdoings. So that if these autocrats are not careful, the tyrannical happenings in this country could easily turn into a catalyst for change.

But we do not want to follow the trend as played out in the Middle East. It is necessary, therefore, that we earnestly take steps to make the change from the BN regime at the next general elections by replacing it with a democratic one.

We do not want autocrats – the word means ‘rulers or persons with absolute power who expect obedience’ – to tell us with supercilious arrogance what is good for us, for that is another excuse for tyranny.

We want our rulers to be answerable to us, the people. Despots are not needed to run this country because they will always be corrupted by power – that is the reason why the Prime Minister and members of his Cabinet should not be allowed to stay in office for more than two terms. The same should apply to the Menteri Besars and the Excos.

Animal FarmIf you have read Animal Farm -a novel by George Orwell, published in 1945 – you will know what I mean. The book is a satire in fable form. The pigs (whose leader is Napoleon) become corrupted by power and a new tyranny replaces the old. The ultimate slogan runs ‘All animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others‘.

The BN has been with us for 53 years and on each succession of the BN government a new tyranny replaces the old. I say this because nothing has changed since the BN came to power. We have the same repressive laws. But there is now a new tyranny. The new evil is the hijacking of a legitimately elected state government in Perak and this, in my estimation, is the last straw for the people of Perak to tolerate. For the rest of the country, remember this, if it can happen in Perak it could happen again elsewhere in this country.

This was mainly the reason that made me change my mind from being apolitical to decide to vote for the underdogs because what the BN had done to Perak was wickedly unfair and unjustifiable.

After reading the book Perak: A State of Crisis I realized that these people do not even know right from wrong. They even gloat in their wrongdoings. We do not want the oligarchy – this word means a country governed by a small group of people – to be more equal than us.

I don’t have to tell you who they are – even in the BN some ‘animals’ are more equal than others. Look at their opulence.

It is a good thing if every member of the Cabinet and every member of the Exco are investigated as to their financial status and assets before they can assume office. And when they leave office they are to be investigated again. They are to be accountable if they are found to be richer than what they could have earned while in office when they leave.

That is why democracy requires the representatives of the people to be accountable to the people. Look at Mr Lim Kit Siang, he has been in politics for as long as I can remember and his son is currently the Chief Minister of Penang. Another was the late Dr Lim Chong Eu. The Perakians and the Penangites know that they are not rich.
One should be in politics to serve the people, not to get rich.

NH Chan, a much respected former Court of Appeal Judge, is a gavel of justice that has no hesitation in pounding on Federal Court judges with wooden desks for heads. Retired from the Judiciary to become the People's Judge.

'Wrote the explosive “Judging The Judges”, now in its 2nd edition as “How To Judge The Judges”. Once famously hinted at a possible “case match” between lawyer and judge by remarking that “something is rotten in the state of Denmark” (see Ayer Molek Rubber Company Berhad & Ors v Insas Berhad & Anor [1995] 3 CLJ 359).

We need more people like NH Chan. That's why you should buy PASOC and his book

Malaysia & the Club of Doom

2011-03-06T15:06:00.000-08:00

By Syed Akbar Ali

Well Tobruk in Libya fell yesterday. I was listening to Muammar Ghaddafi live on Al Jazeera last nite. He was quite incoherent. When he said ‘haazi bilaadi’ (this is my country), I think he really meant it. Macam bapak dia punya negeri.

I also received a phone call last nite from a friend. He just called to say that those things that I had said in my book about the Islamic countries collapsing is coming true. My second book is called ‘Malaysia And The Club of Doom – The Collapse of the Islamic Countries’. It was published five years ago in 2006. My dear wife says my predictions are more accurate than Nostradamus.

The fact is there is no need for ‘Nostradamus’. Looking at the Islamic countries, speaking to Muslims everyday, looking at their non dependence on logic, looking at their divorce from competition and the free market, looking at their over dependence on the Government giving them jobs and sustaining them, looking at the fanatic grip and influence of their many, many versions of “religion” in their daily lives – I cannot help seeing it as clear as daylight that they are all doomed.These are standard observations in almost all Islamic countries. There is no need to be a Nostradamus. I could just see it coming. Sorry folks. I don’t know how else to say this.

Yes I was very pessimistic about the fate of the Islamic countries in that book. Sad to say I am still very pessimistic about the fate of the Islamic countries. For Malaysia I am very pessimistic about the fate of the Muslims in this country.

My book has sold over 13,000 copies. That is not bad at all for an English language book written by a Malaysian author in a non English speaking country. I don’t want to brag or boast or toot my own horn, but a few people have suggested that my book be made required reading in Universities and colleges in Malaysia. Yes I agree, very strongly. No other Muslim Malaysian author has written a book similar to ‘Malaysia And The Club of Doom – The Collapse of the Islamic Countries’. And now many of the things I have said in the book have come true.Especially the Muslims should read and understand what I said in that book.

There are many, many reasons why the Islamic countries are facing serious problems. The cancer is very, very deep. Yes they can get rid of Hosni Mubarak, they can get rid of Khaddafy, they can change the Government in Bahrain. But this will NOT solve their problems overnite. God knows, these countries may become even more worse.

Here are some facts about Islamic countries. This is about their population explosion problem. Malaysia is NOT excluded:

Population Explosion in the Muslim World
By Nidhal Guessoum, an astrophysicist and Professor of Physics at American University of Sharjah.

. The population of Egypt has increased from 44 million to 84 million people in the past 30 years! According to World Bank statistics, it is expected to reach 130 million in 2050. That is undoubtedly a stunning explosion.

· Algeria’s population increased from 19 to 35 million between 1980 and 2010 and is expected to reach 50 million in 2050;

· Iran’s population increased from 39 to 74 million in the past 30 years and is expected to reach 96 million in 2050;

· Pakistan’s population increased from 83 to 173 million in the past 30 years and is expected to reach 321 million in 2050;

· Even Malaysia (a multi-ethnic, multi-religious, and well-managed country) is seeing the same doubling of population trend: from 14 to 28 million in the past 30 years, reaching 39 million by 2050;

· Saudi Arabia : the figures show even more staggering explosions (from 9 to 26 million in the past 30 years, reaching 42 million in 2050)

May I add that Indonesia has 235 million people in 2010. In 2000 their population was 206 million. At current growth, their population is expected to hit 470 million by 2060.

This is yet another serious problem facing the Islamic countries. Population doubling or tripling in just 30 years. 26 million in Saudi Arabia, 84 million in Egypt, 35 million in Algeria, 74 million in Iran, 173 million in Pakistan and 28 million in Malaysia.

Are there enough jobs, economic opportunities, infrastructure facilities (schools, hospitals, roads, water, electricity) for all these people? In Pakistan some parts of the country get electricity and water on only certain times of the day or some days of the week.

Why do the Islamic countries suffer (yes the word is suffer) such huge population explosions? Well many Muslims do NOT believe in family planning or birth control. The religious scholars are usually against birth control. (I am NOT referring to abortion – I am against abortion too).

The religious scholars have a saying which says ‘memperbanyakkan ummah’ or increasing the population of the ummah. In Biblical language it is the same as saying “go forth and multiply”.

Not surprisingly Old Testament Christians, like the Catholics, still say the same thing. Until today the Catholic Church believes strongly that birth control or family planning is unchristian. And it is a proven fact that Catholic families have larger numbers of children than Protestants. The Vatican has never fully endorsed family planning and birth control.

Why is this so? Because the Bible says so. Here are some references from the Bible. Yes these are from the Old Testament and yes many Christians don’t believe the Old Testament anymore but the Vatican and the Catholic Church may disagree. But I am not here to pass judgement on the Bible or Christians. I am merely pointing out that these beliefs have a precedent in the Bible.

Genesis 1:28 God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground."

Genesis 9:1 Then God blessed Noah and his sons, saying to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth.

Genesis 35:11 And God said to him, "I am God Almighty; be fruitful and increase in number.

My view is these verses can be generally termed the ‘go forth and multiply’ verses of the Bible. It is the equivalent of the ‘memperbanyakkan ummah’ saying. The Bible also tells its followers to increase their number through birth. Make more babies.

Yes you can make babies but who is going to feed them? Clothe them? Educate them? Jobs are already scarce, food prices are going up, the economies in the Islamic countries are less productive. So how are they going to provide a good life for six children or nine children?

The religious people say God will provide for them. This is true. The Quran does say:

[Surah 17:31] You shall not kill your children due to fear of poverty. We provide for them, as well as for you. Killing them is a gross offense.

The Quran never said that it is wrong to have fewer children or to plan your family. God never said that you must have two children, six children, seven children or nine children. The Quran remains silent on the numbers. The Quran says it is evil to kill your children but nowhere does the Quran say that you must “go forth and multiply” at all. The saying “memperbanyakkan ummah” is extra Quranic, it is NOT from the Quran.

Even a religious scholar must understand that the more mouths you have to feed, it means more children will have to make do with less. Imagine satu ekor ikan kembong shared by six people. Ayah makan ekor, ibu makan kepala and the kids can pick at the middle.

What about education? We in Malaysia are lucky because ada duit minyak Petronas. Buku teks percuma, yuran sekolah percuma, university percuma and so on. But even that is coming to an end. With 30 million population, even Petronas oil money will not be enough to ‘bagi percuma’ forever.

Look at Indonesia. They have more oil money than us – but with 235 million population, the Government cannot give them things “percuma”. They cannot afford it. Not enough money to “bagi semua benda free”.What if our oil money runs out? Macam mana kalau minyak pula habis? Macam mana nak dapat buku teks free, yuran free, university free dan sebagainya?

This is another reason why the Islamic countries are doomed. They are facing a tremendous population explosion. Their religious beliefs prevent them from embarking on good family planning. As a result they will have four, five, six or ten kids per family. The children will be fed no doubt, but as I said ‘enam orang share se ekor ikan kembong lah’.

OK lah buku teks dapat free, yuran sekolah free, hospital pun sabsidi. But what about piano lessons for the kids? Computer lessons? Music class? Ballet? Extra sports activities? Books, magazines, computers, lap tops. Taking the kids on holidays overseas? Or going for a domestic holiday? Forget it.. Semua tak boleh.

Travelling opens up our mind. If teenagers travel overseas, they see and learn so much. My two young sons are better people for having seen half a dozen different countries and understanding more about the world at large. But all this costs money. Kalau lah anak enam orang atau lapan orang, how are we going to take eight kids on a foreign holiday?

Then when they grow up, will they be able to compete? Can they get good jobs? Can they set up businesses that can compete without tongkat and sabsidi? Or can they only work for the Government sector? Or will they become low level ‘manpower’ for the Japanese and the American foreign companies?

“Go forth and multiply” (which sounds so similar to 'memperbanyakkan ummah') is another belief that is found in the Bible. There is no such saying in the Quran.

Folks, for the Muslim countries it is not as simple as dumping Hosni Mubarak, throwing out Khaddafy or changing the government. That is important too. That is the first step. But the Muslims have a much longer road ahead. They really have to start thinking now. Using the mind, that is the real frontier the Muslims have to overcome - to think logically and to use intellect, minus "religious" obfuscations.

Petronas Scandals

2011-02-24T02:24:00.000-08:00

Every Malaysian who wants to continue living in Malaysia and not thinking of migrating must read this article and bring about a change of government at the next general election.

Please forward this to your contacts and ask them to do the same. Because this kind of news is banned from the government-controlled mainstream media, the only way Malaysians can get to know how the country has been plundered and raped by the UMNOputras is via the internet.

Look upon the forwarding of such messages as part of national service to your countrymen.

COMMENT: IT IS UNBELIEVABLE THAT PETRONAS IS ACCOUNTABLE ONLY TO THE PM. NOBODY, NOT EVEN THE CABINET, CAN EXAMINE THE TRUE ACCOUNTS OF PETRONAS! UNBELIEVABLE? YOU BETTER BELIEVE IT - THIS IS MALAYSIA BOLEH!

Another blast from Dr. Ronnie Tan Kee Kwong

Dr. Tan Kee Kwong on PETRONAS - PM/UMNO's PRIVATE PIGGY BANK

“Without fear and favour..", this heroic scion of Tan Sri Dr. Tan Chee Khoon... .. an intrepid politician of his father's mettle and character...

From the desk of Dr Tan Kee Kwong 14/8/2010

Dear Najib & your cronies in the BN,

I learnt with alarm that for the past 3 years, Petronas has given to the Federal Government 290 billion i.e. 290,000 JUTA! Wow, what a fantastic sum of money. Please Najib, Pak Lah & Mahathir, tell us the Rakyat how you spent or wasted this huge sum of money.

As I have said before, Petronas as an entity, was & still is quite a well run company. But the past 3 PM’s have ruined it all. By a special Act of Parliament passed in the 70's PDA i.e. Petroleum Development Act, Petronas is accountable to the PM ONLY... In the past we had 2 Oil Ministers who had no say at all. Even under PDA, the Minister of Finance has no say at all. Even the Cabinet cannot examine the true accounts of Petronas. What a shame. This is totally unacceptable. You can rest assured that the incoming Pakatan Rakyat Federal Government will change all that. Those that have plundered the wealth of the nation had better watch out, you will be charged & sent to jail for a very long time!

DIVIDENDS PAID

Under Mahathir, Dividends paid to the Govt was about 2 to 3 billion annually. The so called Mr Clean i.e. Pak Lah forced Petronas to pay 10 billion then 20 billion finally to pay 30 billion. During Mr Clean’s tenure as PM dividends paid was 10x what was paid during Mahathir's time. Where did all this money go? Mainly to finance all the budget deficits during his rule. A lot went to useless Defense spending. Also the nation only got 10 billion worth out of 30 billion!

In the 80's & 90's about 100 billion was spent from Petronas coffers to bail out Bank Bumiputra TWICE. Also during the financial crise of 1997, Petronas was forced to buy MISC to bail out Mahatir's son.

KLCC LAND, ANOTHER BIG TIME SCAM

I remember in the mid 50's my family stayed for 2 years in no 2 Jalan Penang. At that time there was only the Race Course there. As kids we enjoyed plucking the delicious rambutans there. Now it is so different.

At that time the HQ of Petronas was housed in Dayabumi. There was a severe shortage of office space as the Petronas operations expanded very fast.

Initially the plan was to build a new HQ in Jln Tun Razak, opposite the Royal Sgor Golf Club. (site of the present Prince Court Hospital) That plan was aborted as the DCA (Dept of Civil Aviation) objected strongly as it was in the flight path of the Sungai Besi RMAF Air Base. Then Petronas went ahead to buy a piece of land in Jalan Ampang, behind Yow Chuan Plaza for only 30 million.

Suddenly Mahathir intervened & came out with a devious plan to steal the money from Petronas to enrich his special crony etc. First was the outcry in the press on how the Race Course was causing massive traffic jams every week-end. So the Federal Government & DBKL decided that the Race Course must shift to Sungai Besi, its present site. If the land was sold/surrendered from the Turf Club to Petronas direct that will be perfectly OK. BUT the Turf Club was forced to sell its land to a very special Mahathir Crony. Within a matter of a few months the special crony sold the land to Petronas at a huge price of 600 Million! The top brass of Petronas was instructed, CANNOT negotiate the price, just pay. How ridiculous! Who pays 600 million without even a one dollar discount.

Please Mahathir, you were in charge of Petronas then who was the crony/individual involved & who others benefited.

PAK LAH "GAVE" AWAY BLOCK L & BLOCK M, SARAWAK

Another enormous scandal that cost the nation US100 BILLION. Recently Mahathir wrote in his blog site that 3 weeks before Pak Lah stepped down as PM he "gave” the above land to Brunei . Wonder what made him do that, maybe in one of his naps in public he just assigned our rights to Brunei. I am sure it was not for free, many relatives & cronies benefited because this is a business deal, not an NGO doing charity.

In the past Petronas went into joint sharing agreements with Vietnam , Cambodia , Thailand , Indonesia etc. This should have been the case in Block L and Block M.
Sarawakians , please wake up. You stay in one of the poorest states in Malaysia ... Your Ketua Menteri (Pek Moh) is so blatantly corrupt that even his BN brothers in SUPP are complaining. And Pak Lah "gave"your wealth away to Brunei.

IN CONCLUSION

UMNO/BN please come clean on the real affairs of Petronas.
Abolish the present PDA Act. Replace it with a better & more transparent Act that the financial affairs of Petronas. MUST be accountable to the Parliament.

Examine the real cause of the severe drop in FDI. Not only that even the local tycoons have very little faith in this country. Don't you care? Every year at least 400,000 finish their SPM examinations. With this state of affairs what is going to happen to them?

Don't just enrich yourselves, give a little bit back to the Nation!

Sabah’s defeatist mentality the biggest hurdle

2011-02-10T20:25:00.000-08:00

Years of listening to BN's mantra has left Sabahans with a deep-seated fear of looking beyond, says former chief minister Yong Teck Lee

KOTA KINABALU: Sabahans’ defeatist mentality is the single biggest challenge to bringing change in the state.

Former chief minister Yong Teck Lee sees Sabahans facing a bleak future where they will continue to be mistreated under unfair federal policies because of this ingrained “Sabah mentality”.

“Ordinary Sabahans are defeated mentally… they say even if we (SAPP) win, we still cannot govern.

“After 47 years we have been brainwashed to believe that we cannot do it on our own.

“So defeated is the mentality of some that many in Sabah too believe in the BN (Barisan Nasional) leaders’ mantra that Sabah is BN’s perpetual fixed-deposit as far as election is concerned,” said Yong, who is also the president of Sabah Peoples’ Party (SAPP).

In a candid exclusive interview with FMT recently, Yong said the perceived strength of the ruling BN and its alternative, Pakatan Rakyat, has sunk so deep into the minds of the people that they feared looking further and as such, accepted the shabby conditions in the state.

(According to a World Bank Report, Sabah, with its abundant natural oil and gas resource, is the poorest state in Malaysia.)

“Economically speaking, I don’t think ordinary people have money here… it’s the same in the Peninsula. This Chinese New Year, for instance, has been very quiet.

“The dragon dance companies here received less than half their usual bookings… everything is expensive now,” he said.

But can the once strong opposition capitalise on the consumers’ angst against rising prices, corruption and land grabs?

Yong thinks not. He is worried that the opposition will be unable to take advantage of any revolt against the status quo.

“It is important to have a combined (opposition) force here before the election so that we can remove the (BN) fixed-deposit tag here which in turn influences the people in the Peninsula.

“But if the polls is called now, we are definitely not ready” he said.

Two-faced DAP

Another thing that worries Yong, who is known as “taiko” or master, is the clout DAP has over the Chinese voters.

Last year’s Batu Sapi parliamentary by-election was an eye-opener for political pundits when most of the Chinese votes went to PKR candidate Ansari Abdullah, a controversial figure, and not to Yong, as many had expected.

“In Batu Sapi, they proved a point that DAP can move considerable number of Chinese votes,” Yong said.

He added that men like DAP supremo Lim Kit Siang and other DAP Chinese leaders “did a fantastic job of attacking” him instead of BN, two days before the polling.

Yong said that Batu Sapi is now a reference point on how the opposition shot itself in the foot.

“I was up against BN and Pakatan’s combined force,” he said, adding that this was why he eventually finished third behind winner Linda Tsen of the BN and PKR’s Ansari.

Yong said that before the Batu Sapi polls, there was some understanding that SAPP and DAP would “worked together where possible” but things had changed since then.

“All our relationship now is with Pakatan. We are friends, not Pakatan coalition partners.

“As far as we are concerned, all DAP leaders were formerly from other parties including SAPP… like Kota Kinabalu MP Hiew (King Chiew) and Jimmy Wong (Sri Tanjung assemblyman)” he said.

Yong, who himself was once with Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) for many years before forming SAPP, said that the local opposition is formulating an election plan.

“Our plan is being crystallised. By March or April, we will have a plan.

“We are working towards having a one-to-one fight with BN, but I cannot guarantee this 100% because Pakatan has three components (PKR, DAP and PAS).

“Maybe there will be DAP-sponsored candidates against SAPP this time (too).”

New twist in Sabah politics

Yong may be hinting at the possiblity that local opposition parties may band together to form a united front in a new twist to Sabah politics.

Is it coincidental then that another influential Sabah leader, Jeffrey Kitingan, had recently announced that he will be forming a new political party by March?

Jeffrey’s United Borneo Front (UBF), an NGO, has already reached some an understanding with leaders in Sarawak Nasional Party (SNAP). SNAP in turn is aggressively wooing Dayak-majority parties to back Jeffrey’s Borneo Agenda.

In an interview with FMT recently, Jeffrey had hinted that SAPP would be a local partner in UBF’s campaign to collectively wrest 56 seats in Sabah and Sarawak.

Said Yong: “I am quite familiar with Jeffrey’s struggle but am not very clear on his methodology… his political vehicle… we will know soon.

“But what I do know is that no peninsular party will survive in Sabah without the support of a local component.”

Asked what his reading was on the current political climate in Sabah, Yong said the frequent visits by political leaders from the peninsula to Sabah and Sarawak “points to unease at the top”.
“Peninsular leaders used to ignore us, now they are coming here so often.

“There is uneasiness among the BN elite that the Borneo electorate may be seeing a new window of opportunity,” said Yong.

BN crumbling within

Yong said that a seemingly calm Sabah is not good for BN, which is already saddled with internal problems.

BN Sabah comprises PBS, PBRS, Upko, LDP and peninsula-based MCA and Gerakan.

He recalled that in 1985 when he was still with PBS “people looked down on us in PBS but in our three-week campaign we created a change”.

“There are situations here… Upko will not leave BN, but Upko’s grassroots will leave, making it a hollow party.

“The same with PBS. PBRS is gone. MCA (supposedly a Chinese party) relies on Malay votes and mixed areas,” he said.

With Sabah and Sarawak together contributing 56 (including Labuan, 57) of the 222 parliamentary seats in Malaysia, many are convinced that the battle for control of Putrajaya will be fought in the Borneo states.

Most believe that it will be a stalemate in the Peninsula with seats shared equally by BN and Pakatan after the 13th general election.

Yong, meanwhile, who is known for his wily ways, hasn’t missed a trick.

His Batu Sapi adventure can be seen as a “testing of the waters” as he moves towards making SAPP relevant in Sabah. (Luke Rintod)

The Truth of SAS issue revealed

2011-01-25T06:16:00.000-08:00

Tuesday, January 25, 2011
The Truth of SAS issue revealed
Letter to the editor, WikiSabah

An eternal mockery of the anti-corruption move by the Malaysian government

1. This letter is written with a view to disclosing the TRUTH hidden in the disastrous loss of SAS, which has been twice rejected the presentation of TRUTH in White Paper by the overwhelming majority of BN assemblymen at the Sabah State Assembly.

2. At first glance, you would come to the simple (as kindergarten) conclusion that "I am from SAPP" and "I am speaking for Yong Teck Lee". My simple and instant reply is: Bullshit!! Let me tell you this: I've never been a SAPP member and neither am I paid / or instructed to write!

3. As regards the purpose of writing, my answers which are clear, simple and unequivocal are given below:

i) I write for the God / Tuhan I believe.

But, people join politics for the mere purpose of political position and monetary gains and still claim that they believe in God are not only self-deceiving but also insulting God / Tuhan. Such deceitful politicians also include those who claim themselves "clean and honest" but apply every means to cheat the peoples and twist the laws like Tun Mahathir as manifested in his relentless means to topple the PBS government in Sabah, to kick Tun Musa Hitam Datu Sri Anwar and Tun Abdullah Badawi down from their respective high positions, making every attempt to put his son in the top political position in Malaysia.

ii) As a true believer of God/Tuhan, a fortunate, (or unfortunate) insider who happened to have a chance to "know" the TRUTH, I have long suffered insomnia by watching anti hearing the Satanic covering-up and twisting of TRUTH.

4. Those who refuse or decline to tell the Truth can be classified into three categories, namely, (a) they themselves are the extremely few (the true and genuine culprits like Anifah Aman and Datuk Salleh) who took or stole the hundreds of million ringgit from SAS ; (b) those who have no share in the millions of dollars stolen / taken but would benefit abundantly by helping to cover-up (e.g. Dr. Yee Mob Chai); (c) those who were inevitably involved in the scandal like a person fallen into a sewerage tank. (e.g. Datuk Yong Teck Lee).

5. As I do not have a personal agenda for political gains, I would simply present the Truth in a Question and Answer (Q and A) manner as follows:

Q. Who were the real and actual culprits that caused the downfall of SAS?

A. They were Anifah Aman, the beloved brother of Datuk Musa Aman, Chief Minister of Sabah today and Datuk Salleh Said Keruak , former C.M. of Sabah

Q. How did they manage to get the hundreds of million ringgit out from SAS, causing the value of SAS to fall from RM1.00 p. share to below 20 cent p. share over a period of two years?

A. To be brief, it was an "insider trading'". The gigantic amount of cash was "stolen" from SAS via the so-called acquisition of Repco shares. That is, Datuk Salleh who was then Chairman of Saham Amanah Sabah acquired the "tissue-paper" shares (with blown-up price) of Repco manipulated by its Chairman Anifah Aman using the SAS fund.
In consequence of the "insider trading", hundreds of million ringgit were gone from SAS while Repco became a billionaire overnight. To be more specific, Anifah Aman (brother of Datuk Musa Aman) and Datuk Salleh became billionaires overnight.

Q. Was the "insider trading" completed over a few days or a few months / years?

A. In principal, it should be within a few weeks. But, to cover up their sin and crime, they took months or years to complete the acquisition of "cash" and the sharing among themselves, (whom you could never find out because they were all "private deals")
As Datuk Yee M.C said at Dewan lindangar. Negeri, the hundred - million ringgit loss of SAS occurred over a period of two years. That implied the "crime" could have occurred and completed long before or even after Datuk Yong left his C.M post.

Q. What is the significance of time sequence in this matter (SAS)?

A. Let us study the sequence of events as follows:

1) Before Tun Sakaran stepped down from the C.M. post, Saham Amanah Sabah (SAS) was launched in late 1994 by the DPM/ Federal Minister of finance, Datuk Anwar Ibrahim. Datuk Salleh was the State Minister of Finance then.

2) 27/12/1994 - 27/05/1996
Datuk Mohd. Salleh became C.M. Sabah

3) 28/05/1996 - 27/05/ 1998
Datuk Yong Teck Lee was C.M. Sabah

4) 28/05/1998 - 14/0-3/1999
Datuk Bernard Dompok was C.M. Sabah

Datuk Yee has been deliberately confusing and misleading Sabahans with the time sequence of the tragedy.
Q. What was Datuk Salleh's role in this scandal?

A. Whitout his approval as the Chairman of SAS, the transfer would never have been possible.

Q. Did Datuk Yong Teck Lee know and benefit from the Devil's deal as described by Dr. Yee Moh Chai?

A. The answer could be "yes" or "no" depending on the government's willingness to "confirm and certify" the Truth. Neither Datuk Yong nor Dr. Yee can confirm to that effect.

As the Devil's transaction was conducted between SAS and Repco, Datuk Salleh (then Chairman of SAS) and Anifah Aman (Chairman of Repco) did not need the approval of Yong (C.M. until 27 May 1998) to acquire the hundreds-of-million ringgit worth of SAS units (fund) by means of Repco's "tissue paper" shares.
Besides, if Yong had been so smart and so cunning as Yee described, why should he use Repco to accomplish such juicy Devil's deal, knowing too well that Pepco did not belong to him? But, Dr Yee has all the time been smart and cunning enough to avoid mentioning of Repco in the loss of hundreds of million ringgit from SAS as proved in his argument on the issue at the Dewan Undangan Negeri Sabah.
There was indeed a mysterious "restraint" by Dr. Yee in his deliberate and enthusiastic attack on Yong even though he claimed to know the truth about the collapse of SAS. He never mentioned or questioned Repco's role.

Q. How about the Federal I,eaders' role in the SAS scandal?

A. To my logical understanding, they (P.M, D.P.M or Minister of Finance) came to know about the deal almost as soon as Yong knew, it. Legally speaking, all unusual and tremendous deals concerning shares or fund of Public companies must be reported to the Minister of Finance by the Security Commission or the Federation of Investment Managers Malaysia.

The SAS deal was devilish enough for them to report to the Minister of finance. (Subsequently the P.M) because:(i) the tissue-paper shares of Repco were blown up to an impossible margin of prices in order to match and accommodate the acquisition of SAS trust fund;(ii) the total fund (or money) involved was over a few hundred millions: (iii) the fund belonged to the people of Sabah.

But, the Federal leaders did nothing and has remained silent until today, even though the newspapers and Dewan Undangan keep talking about it. We all know that Dr. Yee wanted Datuk Yong to admit the crime and punish himself. It was indeed weird for a professional lawyer like Yee to give judgment in the absence of a qualified Justice, which reminded us of the late Augustine Paul who heard Anwar's case during the upside-down history of Malaysia.

Q. What are the considerations behind the Federal leaders' "protection" for the culprits of SAS financial disaster?

A. I would answer your question by putting another question of similar nature back to you. Why have the Federal leaders never made any clear, solid, legal actions against the culprits involved in the multi-billion ringgit corruption cases (which they called "malpractices" or "mismanagement") of Bakun Hydro-electric Dam? Perwaja Steal project? Port Klang free Zone? And many others.

If you know the answer to these Devil problems, you have also got the answer to the SAS scandal and its tragic losses. 1 need not remind you that Tan Sri Chong Kah Kiat left the State Cabinet not really because of Kudat Ma-Tzu statue but rather, because of the hidden corruption case relating to Pulau Sipadan. Chong was framed to walk into the shadow of a "corrupted practice" committed by Big Boss just as much as Yee M. Chai wanted Yong T. Lee to repeat the same.

However, as Datuk Yee M. Chai said at the Dewan Negeri, "The fact that they're not caught doesn't mean that they're not crooks." Very well said!

Q. What conclusive remarks would you give to summarize the SAS scandal?

A. i) My first and foremost concern is Datuk Joseph P. Kitingan, Huguan Siou of the Kadazans. He is a true believer of God / Tuhan. Telling and getting committed in blatant lies would push him towards Hell. I want to stop it by disclosing the Truth.

ii) Anifah Aman and Datuk Salleh have very obviously caused the tremendous loss and collapse of SAS. But, they have "somehow behaved themselves" by keeping quiet, leaving Yee M. Chai and Herbert Lagadan to play the role of a guilty clown by twisting and covering up Truth which, they claimed to know.

iii) While I give no guarantee that Datuk Yong was not involved in the scandals relating to SAS, I maintain that a full disclosure and open investigation (not P&C) be conducted. Other than that, it is either bullshit or blatant lies. If Dr. Yee does not like the idea of White Paper, he can have the disclosure presented in Yellow Paper or Red Paper.

To my understanding, Bibles are normally printed on white paper.

iv) Despite his persistence lies about SAS scandal (20% Truth plus 80% lies?), Datuk Yee and his associates in politics have made a highly remarkable contribution to Sabahans.

Thanks to Yee's persistent outcries in the press and Dewan Undangan Negeri "like the little clown jumping up and down. making people laugh" (as Datuk Yee himself described) in a deliberate attempt to cover up the crime committed by Datuk Salleh and Anifah Musa, we would not have heard the bitter debate about White Paper. Neither would I have the incentive to write this letter in an attempt to relieve Datuk Huguan Siou (Pairin) from the on-going lies in the light of a true Christian / Catholic.

Finally, I want to add that Datuk Joseph F, Kitingan is a good guy BUT for three reasons he could never be a good Chief Minister.

1st he is a Kadazan leader, not a UMNO leader.
2nd he is vulnerable in character.
3rd if he or Yong has been the mastermind of Repco / SAS scandal, they would have been sentenced to prison by now! Subsequently, Datuk Yee's role as a clown would also have been redundant.

P.S Please Photostat and circulate for the future of Sabah as well as for revelation of Truth.

The end ..

Lessons For The BN to Learn From Tunisia

2011-01-16T20:55:00.000-08:00

On Dec 17 in the North African country of Tunisia, in the small provincial town of Sidi Bouzid, an unemployed 26 year old graduate set fire to himself in frustration after his fruits and vegetables were confiscated by police for trading without a license. His suicide sparked mass unrest and protests which spread from region to region until it reached the capital, Tunis. In less than a month the longstanding President would flee into exile and a government would fall.

The suicide of the young man resonated with the people frustrated at the high unemployment, slack economy, corruption and lack of democratic freedom. His death ignited a shouldering cauldron which had built up under President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali who had reigned for 23 years. His autocratic regime became synonymous with corruption, growing wealth disparity, political repression and tight censorship.

As with all corrupt regimes unchallenged in a one party system, the ruling oligarchy grabbed economic largess for themselves causing the economy to stagnate and decline. Life became harder for ordinary Tunisians faced with rising costs of living amid high unemployment and stagnated incomes. An abusive police force and security apparatus kept the population in line.

There was of course no way that the ruling regime could be removed by free and fair elections, not that there were any. Tunisia has been governed by the same party since independence from France in 1956. The incumbent President, only the second since independence had been re-elected five times with enormous majorities in every election. Political repression kept the opposition small, fragmented and ineffective and tight censorship in the government controlled media and the internet sought to control the flow of information.

At first the government labeled the protestors terrorists, trouble makers and extremists. The police reacted violently by fatally shooting dozens of protestors. When the protests could not be stemmed curfew was imposed and schools and colleges closed. The government promised the creation of 300,000 jobs and ordered down the price of some basic foodstuffs but protests continued unabated.

In a desperate last attempt to placate the populace the President promised a raft of changes including investigating corruption and more democratic freedom. He ordered the police to stop shooting protestors and declared he would not stand for re-election when his term expires in 2014. But it was to no avail. Only the fall of the authoritarian regime could stop the protests and so it did.

A mirror of Tunisia

One important lesson from Tunisia is that in the globalized world governments can no long depend on press censorship to maintain its hold on power. Although news of the protests was blacked out in the tightly controlled press news spread quickly through the cyber world especially via facebook.

What happened in Tunisia is important for us all because it is the culmination of what Malaysia is becoming. Malaysia is almost a mirror image of Tunisia politically, socially and economically, only that the latter has been carried to further extreme. But if the present course of the BN government is not corrected we will reach the Tunisian situation in the near future.

BN or more accurately Umno has governed Malaysia for 53 years and its rule is synonymous with political patronage, an euphemism for corruption. The political patronage is so ingrained that it forms the backbone of Umno’s political structure and has become so endemic that no public project can escape it.

To compound the unsustainable pilfering of public funds, the competitiveness of the economy is degraded by racial policies which introduce economic distortions and cause the flight of productive and skilled human capital upon which any economy heavily depends. The country is unable to transition to a high income economy, least of all by massive infrastructure spending under a grandiose sounding Economic Transformation Program.

The long term effect on the Malaysian economy has been devastating. In the 1970s we were on par with Singapore, South Korea, Hong Kong and Taiwan but these countries have outstripped us now in economic performance, per capital income and currency value despite our considerable advantage of abundant natural resources. We are now content to comparing ourselves with Vietnam, Philippines and Indonesia which are fast catching up.

Our salaries have stagnated for the past 15 years while others have transitioned into high income economies. Rising cost of living against depreciating real income have pushed backs against the wall while our income disparity is the highest in Asia. A population unable to pay real world prices for oil and food staples coupled with a government increasingly unable to maintain subsidies is a cocktail for future social unrest.

The seeds of destruction

Along with economic mismanagement comes political repression as corrupt regimes try to cement their hold on power by ensuring that a democratically competitive environment does not take root. Efforts are made cull dissent by draconian laws, persecution of opposition politicians, deceitful propaganda and tight government control of information. In Malaysia yet another front is opened by playing on racial and religious sentiments to maintain political power at the expense of nation building.

The winds of change blowing after the unexpected results of the 12th general election did not change Umno’s ways in the least but only made them more cunning and more desperate to cling on to power by whatever means necessary even if it means making full use of subservient courts, enticing opposition lawmakers away, inciting racial and religious tension or a charm offensive with a hollow 1Malaysia propaganda.

The only way for the country to change course is the creation of a two party system where competition for electoral votes will put the brakes on corruption and abuse and lead to a more people-centric government. However a two party system will not be created unless BN is defeated at least once.

Elections in Malaysia are never on a level playing field with an Election Commission biased towards the incumbent government and able and willing to assist in tilting the odds with more tricks than Zimbabwe. For Pakatan Rakyat to seize power in the looming 13th general election is an uphill task and some may say a far stretch.

It is not at all certain that a regime resolute on clinging on to power and willing to use whatever unprincipled means can ever be toppled in democratic elections. The result of BN’s unbroken rule will be continuing corruption, persistent economic decline, increasing income disparity and deteriorating economic conditions for the masses.

But all decadent regimes sow the seed of their own destruction. In the end it may not be elections which topple BN from power but pent-up social forces epitomized by the Tunisian revolt and embodied by the illumination words of John F. Kennedy, “Governments which make peaceful change impossible make revolution inevitable.”

by Kenny Gan

The Right to Do Business But Not the Right to Vote

2011-01-12T18:48:00.000-08:00

by P. Ramakrishnan

We have to speak up. We have every reason to be concerned. We wonder where this nation is heading for and what is in store for us.

From the civil servant to the Umno politician, it is the same story: the non-Malays are ‘pendatang‘ and don’t have any citizenship rights. The rights conferred by Aricle 8 of the Federal Constitution are not respected or protected.

When an extreme group like Perkasa questions the citizenship rights of the non-Malays, the national leadership does not take them to task.

When extreme elements in Umno berate and denigrate the non-Malays, the top Umno leadership does not chastise them.

When one Umno delegate at the recently concluded general assembly had the temerity to suggest that the non-Malays be given the right to do business but should be denied the right to vote, nobody pointed out that it was against the constitution and that he should not be talking through his nose!

It is this disturbing silence when atrocious things are said which affect our unity that is worrying. It is this unbecoming conduct that encourages the extreme elements amongst us to be outrageous in their conduct and prompt them to continue with their seditious remarks.

It is this vocal minority that is predominant in our society and influences the trend of policy. Our political leaders dare not condemn them outright.

Utusan Malaysia fans the race baiting and gives the widest publicity without bothering to be responsible or sensible. When the powers-that-be that own and control this press do not force it to fall in line, what do we make of this?

A nation can make or break depending on the unity of its citizens. Today our unity is threatened. And if concerned voices and responsible leaders and caring Malaysians do not rise up and speak up, we will be a fragmented nation. By our silence, we will contribute to the chaos that may ensue.

P Ramakrishnan is president of Aliran

The Success Story of a Country

2011-01-11T21:42:00.000-08:00

US President Obama visited China last week, primarily to find out what exactly & how exactly China is doing things that makes it such a success story, surpassing all the so-called "expert economic planners" of the US & Europe. His team found these 5 basic lessons behind China 's success - it applies equally to our country Malaysia:

LESSON No 1 - BE AMBITIOUS

The Chinese believe in Setting Goals, Making Plans, & Focusing on Moving Ahead - there is always the sense of forward motion.

As an example, a huge 6-lane highway in Shanghai took only 2 years from planning to ready for traffic. In the US, 2 years will only get you the environment and local authority permit if you are lucky - in Malaysia in 2 years, they will still be calculating how to inflate the costs, and to whose crony company to award the project to.

LESSON No 2 - EDUCATIONAL MATTERS

The Chinese are obsessed with ensuring kids get the right education - English, Maths & Science. They made sure that their education system reaches even the most remote of rural areas - today the literacy rate in China is OVER 90%, surpassing even the USA's 86%. According to American Educationists, the Chinese kids are way ahead of the kids in the USA .
Meanwhile in Malaysia, our Moo-Moo politicians are determined to retract our education system into the stone age, such as making History a compulsory subject, and the History text book merely promotes Islam and Syariah law.

LESSON No 3 - LOOK AFTER THE ELDERLY

The Chinese DO NOT send their elderly to nursing care centres - they personally look after & care for their parents. In the US, nursing care of the elderly is now costing each resident USD 85,000 annually, & this is rising. The Chinese also believe that the grandparents at home make the best tutors for their children. It also provides a sense of cultural continuity - this helps bind society.

Here its a growing trend to have children brought up by maids, of the lowest educational & moral quality - so our children (the future leaders) grow up with similar language & outlook capability.

LESSON No 4 - SAVE MORE

In the USA , savings dropped to zero in 2005, and is only now slowly rising to 4%. In China , the savings rate for every household has exceeded 20%. The Chinese believe that fugality & a healthy savings rate are a sure indicator of a country's financial health. High savings lead to increased investments - results in increased productivity, innovation & job growth.

In the West, & aped by our Malaysians, the status symbol is to spend more than you earn, with as many credit cards as possible. In the end, the whole country gets into debt.

LESSON No 5 - LOOK OVER THE HORIZON

In China , everyone is forward looking - never backwards. New graduates make a vow - never ever will their children & grandchildren ever work in the fields again. With this kind of forward mentality, people are always thinking & planning how, not just to succeed, BUT how to be the best in the world in everything they do.

In Malaysia , we are still, after 24 years, trying to get the window switches of the Proton to work properly, and our Religious Fundamentalists want us to adopt medieval syariah laws.

Why did Beng Hock die? Who are his killers?

2011-01-11T16:55:00.000-08:00

by P. Ramakrishnan

January 11, 2011 — We don’t need experts or eminent persons to tell us if Teoh Beng Hock’s human rights have been violated. Ask the common man in the street and he will tell you right away that Beng Hock’s rights have been blatantly and violently abused and violated. This fact is as plain as daylight.

So why do we need a royal commission of inquiry to find out “whether it (MACC) had violated human rights”. Beng Hock’s family is not interested in this. Malaysians don’t want a RCI to waste its time in investigating procedures adopted by the MACC with regard to his death. That’s not the issue, dear Prime Minister.

All that everyone is dying to find out is how did Beng Hock die? Why did he die? Who caused his death?

The inquest has clearly stated that it wasn’t a suicide. How then did he drop from the 14th floor and land on the 5th floor of the MACC building? Who was responsible for this fall from the 14th floor, dear Prime Minister?

The inquest has confirmed that there were pre-fall neck injuries. Who caused these injuries on Beng Hock’s neck? Why were these injuries caused? What damage did these injuries do to Beng Hock? Did he die as a result of these injuries? This is what Beng Hock’s family is demanding to know, dear Prime Minister.

Why are you wasting everybody’s time setting up a RCI to carry out irrelevant investigations that will not throw any light as to how Beng Hock died — and why. This is what the whole country is interested in, dear Prime Minister.

Beng Hock was interrogated for nearly 11 hours from 5pm right up to 3.45am the next day in the most inhuman way. He was deprived of food, denied sleep and rest and subjected to intense questioning. What does that suggest, dear Prime Minister?

Before 5pm on that day —July 15, 2009 — it was a working day for Beng Hock. Assuming that he got up for work at 7am, it would add another 10 hours to his non-stop questioning for nearly 11 hours. That would mean he was on his feet for almost 21 hours. Doesn’t it strike you as an extreme form of torture that he was subjected to in a barbaric manner, dear Prime Minister?

Under the circumstance, do we really need a RCI to tell us that Beng Hock’s human rights were indeed violated? Isn’t it very apparent? Isn’t it rather obvious?

What is not apparent and what is not obvious is: How did Beng Hock die? Who caused his death? Who are his killers? That is all Beng Hock’s family is dying to know in order to bring closure to this human tragedy, dear Prime Minister.

The purpose of the RCI should simply be to establish why and how Beng Hock died. Any other investigation will not do justice to Beng Hock’s family, dear Prime Minister.

* P. Ramakrishnan is president of Aliran.

History Became a Compulsory Subject

2011-01-11T04:18:00.000-08:00

This history textbook seems to seek to influence the young minds of our children who come from various faiths, to follow the prophet of one particular religion. There is a detailed study of the life of the prophet Muhammad (pg 102 – 107). He is repeatedly praised throughout the chapters. Students are then repeatedly exhorted throughout the book, to emulate him as a ROLE MODEL in life (pg 106, 111, 124, 133, 137, 138).

By A Concerned Mother

When one picks up a history book, one would expect to read a fair account of events as they actually happened in the past. Definitely, one would expect the most accurate record possible of history as it unfolded through the decades, written as objectively as possible.

A most reasonable expectation indeed when the book in question is a major textbook prescribed by our Education Ministry for our students nationwide. A book that is instrumental in shaping the young minds of our future generation. The issue takes even greater prominence when the content of that book is going to decide whether our students pass or fail in a major exam on which their future hinges.

Lay hold of the Form 4 history textbook that our children are compelled to digest. Read it for yourself. Take a good hard look while the storm is brewing in the teacup. And it is brewing for good reason. Be shocked at what the syllabus writers have managed to quietly incorporate into our school syllabus just a few years ago, unnoticed by most people, even parents of affected students.

This is no typical history textbook. Simply because the syllabus writers have not confined its content to history. Instead they have extended its boundaries seemingly to push a certain agenda. In the process, our history textbooks seems to have taken on a quest of its own - to win the hearts and minds of our children for that particular agenda. We have to take note that all 4 writers of the textbook comes from only one race and religion, without representation from other faiths and races.

I write as a concerned mother who cares about what my children are being fed in school. I write as a troubled citizen who cares about the younger generation that will one day helm the nation. I write based on my own personal review of the Form
4 history textbook and this review is based on the hard facts of the content of the textbook, without any intention to offend any religion, its prophet or believers. I will leave the review on the accuracy of the history to historians, who are already speaking out on the historical errors and distortions contained.

The first fact to note is the overwhelming proportion of the Form 4 history textbook being devoted to Islamic civilization (100 PAGES) while the other religious civilizations are barely given a passing mention (460 WORDS). Out of 10 chapters, 5 bulky chapters are devoted to Islamic history and civilization, which constitutes at least half a year’s study. This certainly is a disproportionate emphasis on one religion, to the exclusion of all other religious civilizations.

Most of us would not mind our children understanding more about Islamic civilization. But it has to presented fairly accurately within a balanced perspective. Do we want to mislead our children to believe that there is only one important civilization in the entire history of the human race and the rest are insignificant? Are the other major civilizations not worth studying in equal if not greater depth?

Giving our children a correct and broad worldview can only benefit our nation in the context of a globalized world. Otherwise, our nation will be producing people with an extremely narrow worldview and an incomplete and distorted view of world history. That is to our own loss.

Secondly, this history textbook seems to seek to influence the young minds of our children who come from various faiths, to follow the prophet of one particular religion. There is a detailed study of the life of the prophet Muhammad (pg 102 – 107). He is repeatedly praised throughout the chapters. Students are then repeatedly exhorted throughout the book, to emulate him as a ROLE MODEL in life (pg 106, 111, 124, 133, 137, 138).

We respect the Muslim belief in the greatness of their prophet. However, we have to respectfully suggest (with no offence intended whatsoever to the prophet) that teachings that encourage students to follow any prophet would more properly belong to a religious class meant for students who already subscribed to that particular faith. It has no proper place in a major history textbook for students of other faiths. In a plural society like ours, the religious sensitivities of other faiths must surely be respected.

Thirdly, throughout the pages of the textbook, history seems to have been written from a religiously biased viewpoint. Other religions seems to be cast in an unfavourable light. Consider some statements found in the textbook:-

(1) Islam is described as a religion easily acceptable and not confined to any race, nation or geography (pg 185).

(2) Islam can be accepted by many people because of the purity of its teaching (pg 110).

(3) The uniqueness of Islam resulted in many people embracing the religion (pg162, 163, 185).

(4) The conversion of some Arab leaders to Islam in 629 AD is described as “an act done after rational investigation into the truth of Islam” (pg 133).

(5) Islamic social policies are described as so attractive that European Christians converted to Islam during the Byzantize era (pg 163).

(6) Islam requires rational thinking and therefore is accepted by all levels of society. (pg 185).

Sadly, biased religious viewpoints are being unfairly shoved onto our children as established facts within the framework of a narrow religious perspective.

Fourthly, the history textbook itself dwells on the teachings of the religion. Whilst the children have to study Islamic concepts (pg 185), no space is given to a balanced comparison with the teachings of other religions. Our youth are therefore taught the virtues of one religion to the exclusion of others. Why not have a balanced approach and allow our children to learn the basic tenets of all major world religions? Allow them to engage in comparative studies. Will it not be healthier to promote better understanding among the races which has positive effect on nation building?

Fifthly, the textbook also promotes Syariah law as suitable and practical for a multi racial nation. It cites the example of the success of the multi racial community in Madinah governed by the Madinah Charter. The formation of an Islamic government in Madinah is stated to thus prove that Islam can be practised in a wholesome daily living and should be emulated by the Malaysian society. Syariah law is hailed as just, complete and perfect, and can be followed by all communities (pg 128). There is mention of social justice under Islam (pg 128); equal treatment to all people under Islam (pg 110, 128); purity of the struggles of Islam (pg 112); fairness, integrity, consideration and generosity of Islamic economic principles (pg 128).

Perhaps the fifth ground raises the most questions and rings loudest the alarm bells. It makes us wonder why our school history syllabus is written in a way that seems to condition the minds of our youth to accept Syariah laws as the basis of our legal system in the future? Is there a deliberate political and/or religious agenda at play?

Our Education Minister owes us an explanation. We want to know why our school curriculum has been allowed to be written from such a religious slant by a group of writers of only one religious background. We want to know the reason for this sudden but quiet change in the school syllabus a few years ago. We want to know why our children are compelled to disproportionately focus and digest so much on one religion without a balanced perspective of others?

We must demand for an immediate and urgent revamp and re-writing of the entire history curriculum for our schools and universities. There should be a panel of qualified historians from all races and faiths working reviewing the syllabus. Feedback must be obtained from the public. We must insist that politics and religious indoctrination be strictly kept out of our textbooks.

History should be what it is – an objective and accurate record of past events. We must no longer allow our school syllabus to be hijacked for political and religious propoganda. Until then, it is unacceptable to even think that History should be made a compulsory pass subject in SPM.

Ketuanan Melayu: A case for UN Security Council to consider?

2010-12-21T19:54:00.000-08:00

- Joe Fernandez

The name-calling has started again over that neo-Nazi ideology called Ketuanan Melayu (Malay Supremacy). Perkasa, the extreme Malay right-wing movement, is firing on all cylinders against PKR president Wan Azizah Wan Ismail for her take over the weekend on Umno’s “Ketuanan Melayuism”.

Congratulations to her for taking the bull by the horns in recognition of the stark reality that the urban Malays in particular accept that Ketuanan Melayuism is an elaborate cover for the ruling elite to raid the public treasury and the banks at will.

Media pictures of Perkasa leaders – many looking more Indian than Malay – vividly depict the fury on their faces, their eyes flashing as if possessed by demons on the loose.

Patently, it’s a sheer waste of time to engage with Umno poodle Perkasa or like-minded racists on their sick version of Article 153 of the Federal Constitution and the unwritten 1957 social contract, which allowed political dominance for the Malays to compensate for Chinese economic dominance.

The rhetoric, polemics and endless debates on Ketuanan Melayuism will be a dead ender and a contradiction in terms considering the mountains of sanctimonious pontification on the 1Malaysia concept.

The time has come to bring the Ketuanan Melayu issue to the United Nations Security Council. The world body must consider whether Malaysia is following in the footsteps of Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy and the Apartheid regime of South Africa.
Some years ago, the UN put India on notice that it must end the caste system. The Security Council even invoked the spectre of economic sanctions against it after intensive lobbying by social activists.

Ketuanan Melayuism is no different from a caste system in that it benefits a handful of leeches, parasites, bloodsuckers at the expense of the overwhelming majority through institutionalised racism. Furthermore, there are shades of Nazism, Fascism and Apartheid in Ketuanan Melayuism.

An inconvenient truth

The Umno government will not be able to explain at the UN Security Council why it has not abolished Article 153 but has instead even extended it outside its four limited areas, applying it to every aspect of life in Malaysia in a deviant, distorted form. In addition, the second prong of Article 153, which covers the legitimate aspirations of the non-Malay communities, has been ignored by Umno as an inconvenient truth.

To complete the living nightmare, the New Economic Policy (1970-1990) has been applied selectively throughout the country and institutionalised to circumvent its 20-year shelf life. This has seen, among others, the emergence of the Licence Raj, which reserves permits, quotas, concessions, licences and the like for certain people only. In short, it’s a licence for them to print money in perpetuity.
We can see the sickness that is Ketuanan Melayu from any number of angles.
Education is one field that has deeply divided the country and polarised it as never before.

Peninsular Malaysian law graduates from foreign universities are not allowed to practise their profession in the country unless they pass the Certificate in Legal Practice (CLP) examination conducted by the government.

Of the nearly 2,000 law graduates who sit for the examination every year, only 10% get the right to practise. This 10% is subject to a racial quota that remains a state secret. The unfortunate majority have to repeat the CLP, as many as 10 times or more, before they get a chance to make it, if at all. Not all have the patience to run the gauntlet; they give up after two or three attempts, depressed, traumatised and suicidal.

Subjecting a critical discipline like law to a racial quota is the height of idiocy and a refinement of Ketuanan Melayuism to a degree that has no parallel anywhere else in the world.

Medicine, another critical discipline, has likewise been taken over by the Ketuanan Melayuists. A strict racial quota regulates entry into government-owned universities for medicine. Even getting there for a shot at a medical seat is easier said than done since the race-based marking system for government-run public examinations is a closely guarded state secret.

Tip of the iceberg

There’s no escaping the government even if one attempts to get a medical degree at a foreign universities. Many foreign universities with an unusually high number of Malaysian students of Indian-origin vis-à-vis the Malays have had the recognition of their medical degrees withdrawn. This happened to the medical degrees awarded by the Crimea State University in the Ukraine after a visit by the then prime minister, Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

Like the CLP students, medical graduates who return to Malaysia with unrecognised degrees have to run the gauntlet before they can win recognition for their qualifications.

This is just the tip of the iceberg in education.

There is no 1Malaysia in administering pre-university examinations. Malay students take the easier matriculation route to enter universities while their non-Malay counterparts are bogged down by the Sijil Tinggi Persekolahan Malaysia (STPM), which Wikipedia describes as the most difficult pre-university examination in the world. Yet, the matriculation and the STPM are considered as equal in standard.

Not even one of the vice-chancellors of the 20-odd state-owned universities is non-Malay.

It’s the same situation in the civil service, which is 90% dominated by one community, as is the teaching service, the police and armed forces, the judiciary, the governrment-linked companies, and the diplomatic and foreign service, among others.

In keeping with Ketuanan Melayuism, proxies of the ruling elite run Sabah and Sarawak.

In Sabah, in particular, the influx of illegal immigrants continues and they have overtaken the locals in numbers, resulting in the latter’s virtual disenfranchisement. Of the 3.2 million people in Sabah in 2005, 1.7 million were illegal immigrants. About 600,000 of them have acquired MyKads via the backdoor and been placed on the electoral rolls, according to Suhakam annual reports.

The federal civil service in Sabah and Sarawak has not been Borneonised, as pledged in the 1963 Malaysia Agreement. Instead, the Ketuanan Melayuists stepped into the vacuum created by the departing British colonial civil servants and continue to hog almost all posts.

It would be interesting to hear what the UN Security Council has to say about the manner in which Umno has been running the country since 1957. There is even a case to be taken up, as a class action suit, at the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court.