Previously, many of us, even amongst the opposition politicians, were feeling very pessimistic and passive about what was happening to Malaysia at that time. We thought that the political scenario could not be changed and those who were unhappy would just have to leave the country if they could afford it.

But that is no longer the situation now. We can see that there is greater hope and that the future is in our hands. That is why we now see ever-growing numbers of organisations such as youth and religious bodies taking the initiative to get involved in efforts such as voter registration exercises. This is a trend we have never seen before. It is wonderful to see groups like E.P.I.C (a youth voter registration group) taking the initiative to exercise their rights as citizens and get other involved in the country’s democracy. These are encouraging signs because people are now concerned enough to register and then get others to register as well. They realise now that the future is in their hands, which is empowering for Malaysians.

Has Malaysia achieved the best it can, in terms of quality of life, standard of living and prosperity?
Of course, we have seen changes over the decades which have transformed the country’s economic status. It has improved tremendously from say, the seventies when I was a child, up to today. There are big changes in terms of infrastructure and income but there are also many issues that have not been addressed rationally.

The saddest thing is that after half a century of independence, we are still talking about race. We are still debating on whether the New Economic Policy (NEP) should be abolished. There are still those who are afraid of doing away with these crutches. As long as certain political parties and mainstream media continue to harp on racial lines, you will never achieve a nation that has genuine unity among all races.

But is the public aware of how race affects the country’s economic developments?
Many of the Bumiputras have been conditioned from a young age to think in terms of “us versus them” and it is also an undeniable reality that many of them in rural areas are indeed living in poverty. This is particularly true in Sabah and Sarawak who are often the “forgotten” Bumiputras.

So as non-Bumiputras, if we do not help the East Malaysians and poor Malays to come out of poverty, the issue of race will always be maintained. This is where leaders of all races have a role to play, not just within their own communities, but in combating all levels of poverty. Unless that happens, national unity will be impossible.

What can or should be done to create racial unity in light of the PM’s 1Malaysia?
I think it is simple. The race-based parties are the cause of racial disharmony and are a great hindrance to national unity. Unless we do away with parties who assert a racist agenda and their respective media outlets, unity cannot be achieved.

One cannot help but wonder what BN means by 1Malaysia because while on one hand they talk about it so much, when they are in the rural areas, they speak on racial lines once again. Moreover, when questioned over whether he is a Malaysian or Malay first and foremost, it seemed very natural for our Deputy Prime Minister to say he is a Malay first. But it is funny that they should make such statements when the 1Malaysia vision clearly states that we should consider ourselves Malaysians first. It appears they are not genuine about applying the 1Malaysia concept.

In light of our current state of affairs, what should be done to improve our society?
With our foreign direct investments (FDI) dropping by 81 percent, it is time for us to work harder on addressing the state of our economy. There are many reasons why FDI is not coming into Malaysia, among which is that our policies do not make us as appealing to foreign investors in comparison to other Asian countries because we lack competitiveness against Indonesia, Thailand and even Vietnam.

A lot of investors are also put off by our lack of aggressiveness in pursuing FDI. So I think we should put aside any racial sentiments and focus on the country’s economic growth. Whether Malay, Chinese, Indian, Iban, Kadazan, we should focus on ensuring that the wealth is not just confined to one group and is instead enjoyed by all. Otherwise, these issues can easily mislead people into following a racial agenda.

That is why DAP has been going to East Malaysia to speak to Sabahans and Sarawakians for many decades now, even without having elected representatives there. We have been championing their struggles in Parliament; as a KL MP I regularly speak up on problems faced by indigenous East Malaysians. This should be the spirit adopted by all political parties; otherwise we will never have real peace among all the different people of Malaysia.

SELANGOR

Two and a half years on, how has Pakatan Rakyat turned the administration of the state towards the betterment of the people?
When we came to power, we created the concept, “Merakyatkan Ekonomi Selangor”. Under MES, there are many social welfare programs to help those in poverty. We also work on restructuring the Government-Linked Corporations (GLCs) by auditing and performing restructuring exercises on all of them. This included restructuring the Chief Executive Officer’s (CEO) salary structure pay rates.

The salary disparity between each company under the state government’s stable was very high. For example, Kumpulan Darul Ehsan Berhad (KDEB) CEO’s salary structure was much higher than the Selangor State Investment Center (SSIC) CEO’ salary. We have now standardised these salary scales so if you are top-level employee in these companies, the pay scale would be about the same across the board.

We are also working hard to resolve various ‘thorny’ issues. One example is the Bukit Botak case, where upon discussions with the locals, we decided to build semi detached houses and sell to the residents there at subsidised rates to solve their long standing land issues due to abandoned housing projects. Then there was the Talam Corporation debt of over RM2.9 billion, we managed to recover via asset reacquisition, contributing to the state coffers in the process. We came up with a plan to redevelop those assets. This is a great result for the state government, for Talam and for the people.

We have been working hard to resolve other outstanding issues but we are not getting cooperation from the federal government. For instance, the SYABAS restructuring and takeover exercise. Our effort to acquire the water company at a reasonable amount is for the people’s sake. We don’t think it is right for anyone to profit at the people’s expense for a basic necessity such as water. If we don’t take over SYABAS, the people would have to suffer a 37% rate hike in water prices, which would have come into effect from January 2009. As a result of our efforts to acquire it, the rate hike has been put aside. If we don’t take over, every three years the people would have a hike in their water bills. So we want to takeover SYABAS to protect the people. Unfortunately we are not getting help from the federal government.

In addition we are also providing financial assistance to religious, Tamil, Chinese and independent Chinese schools. All these were never done under the previous state government.

We try to reach an amicable solution in every difficult case we encounter by soliciting the peoples’ views. Take for example, the building of the Carrefour hypermarket in Kota Damansara. The project was proceeding until the people protested. We halted the project for more than half a year to listen to the people’s grouses. In the end, we decided to let the project proceed but we did hear out the public.

Another example is the Rawang high tension cable relocation over which the residents’ protested. We took into account their viewpoints and delayed TNB’s attempt to forcefully install the high tension cable. Unfortunately, TNB managed to win the court case in the Federal Court and the right to install the cables where they want. However, we have continued to negotiate with TNB for a more amicable solution by providing a different route for the cables. These examples show that we are more pro-people compared with the previous BN state government.

What are the new initiatives for the public  that the Selangor government has embarked on this year?
We have set up Kumpulan Semesta Sdn Bhd (KSSB) to regulate all sand mining activities in the state. With KSSB, we have also standardised all mining contractors’ payment. The additional financial resources obtained from the mining resources are used to fund pro-people schemes such as Skim Mesra Usia Emas.
We are trying to correct the wrong doings and practices left over from the previous state government and restore accountability to the system. However we are encountering difficulties in controlling all sand mining operations in Selangor as there are still sand mining thefts going on. We are not getting full cooperation from the police as they say it is not their problem to apprehend the sand mining thieves in the state.

The difficulty here is because under the National Land Code, the District Land Office is responsible for monitoring sand mining activities in their districts. However, we just saw a case in Penang in July where the state police have apprehended a sand mining thief and charged him in court. Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim has called upon the Selangor state police to emulate their Penang counterparts in stricter sand mining crime enforcement in Selangor

What are some of the biggest challenges and obstacles for Pakatan in running Selangor?
Most people are confused and unaware of the jurisdiction and power of the federal and state governments. In Malaysia, the system of governance is highly centralised, with the federal government running most of the administrative affairs of the country, while the state governments are mainly responsible for land related matters. This has led many to have unrealistic expectations of what we are authorised to do.

We have had many complaints regarding increasing crime rates which the people blame us for being unable to solve. In a dialogue with Kinrara residents, they asked me why can’t Pakatan takeover the KL Shah Alam Expressway (KESAS) so that they don’t have to suffer any more toll hikes. Even the issue of lack of Chinese schools in Selangor was blamed on us.

Federal officers placed in the Selangor are often caught in a bind between serving the people and the BN federal government. They are constantly coerced to toe the federal government’s line. The District Officers and mayors are also supposed to abide by the state government’s directives as well. It leaves them in a predicament.

Another problem we face is with the hiring of civil servants. Hiring of graduates by the state government is on a contractual basis and all new graduate recruits for state civil service have to go through the Jabatan Perkhidmatan Awam (JPA) before being made available for hiring by the state. We are not allowed to choose who we want for the state government. We also have to abide by the JPA’s salary scale which is lower than the market rate.

To confront the problems of little ‘Napoleons’, we have begun to rotate the engineering and planning department heads of the local councils. However in doing so, those transferred have to learn the new local council’s projects and development makeup from scratch. This has caused the mayors and Datuk Bandar to be reluctant to release their experienced staffs for the rotation exercise.

Where do you think PR can improve on in Selangor governance?
The most crucial area for us now is the information dissemination of what the Selangor state government is doing. It is the weakest part of Selangor PR government. We are very concerned with the Malay community, who forms 53% of the state’s population. Most of the Malays especially in the rural areas are not exposed to alternative media news, hence they are in the dark on what the state government is doing.

To address this we are coming out with a new plan for Selangorkini and we will allocate RM 15 million in 2011 to address this information dissemination issue.

How would you assess of Pakatan’s ability to govern at the federal level should it win power at the next elections?
I don’t think it will be difficult for PR to govern the federal government. As DAP was an opposition party since its inception, it has led many to question our ability to govern. In the past two and half years, we have proven that we can govern Penang and Selangor well.

We have corrected many wrong doings of the previous state administrations and introduced transparent governance, such as implementing open tender procurement in Penang and Selangor.

We have also stepped up efforts to curb corruption. For example, we have introduced the Integrity Pact in all local councils. Soon, contractors dealing with local councils will have to sign an agreement to indicate that they will not be involved in giving bribes to the local council staffs. Selangor will be the first state in Malaysia to introduce it.

This year, we will have hearings on the Freedom of Information Bill to study, improvise and implement it in Selangor. The public can now access to certain information and documents that was previously classified as ‘Secret’ or ‘Confidential’. We are moving towards reintroducing integrity and transparency in the government and righting past wrongs. The people can expect the same when we takeover Putrajaya.

We will be more attentive to the people’s views and the rakyat’s social welfare. Compare us with those currently in the ministerial positions, are they as qualified to lead the country? Similarly, who else is more qualified to lead Selangor than Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim? We see Datuk Noh Omar and Datuk Seri Mohd Khir Toyo fighting each other endlessly to lead Selangor UMNO. Are any of them qualified to lead Selangor?

Look at the quality of members of Parliament in Pakatan. I would say that we are as or more qualified to run the federal government compare to BN.

WOMEN

After March 2008, have Malaysian women been given a stronger voice in the governance of our country? What more needs to be done?
Women are definitely being given more room in governance under Pakatan. There are more women MPs in Pakatan now and in Selangor, there are four women in the state government. It is also the first time in Malaysian history that the deputy Speaker (in Selangor) is a woman (PKR’s Taman Medan assemblyman Haniza Talha).

Even in the Hulu Selangor by-election, PKR’s campaign director was Fuziah Salleh (Kuantan MP) so the emergence of female leadership is clear. I think the general elections created this interest among women; even during morning exercise sessions at the park, women are now discussing politics.You see this happening at the beauty salons and coffee shops, too. Women are now commenting on various issues such as the Elizabeth Wong photo scandal, the collapse of the Perak government and so on. So the awareness of female voters has been helped

tremendously by the surge of March 2008.

Furthermore, I would say one of the silliest things BN did was putting me under ISA detention. It really made women, in particular, talk about the ISA and become more aware of such draconian laws in our country. That is why the recent nationwide vigils for the 50th year of ISA were so well-attended, despite the public knowing that the police would be there to stop them. Yet there were many new young faces at the vigils, from various backgrounds, all gathered for a common cause.

So I think it is clear that after March 2008, there are more opportunities for the country to be transformed into a better place, and with that comes greater hope for the future.

How do we carry forward the positive impact of having more women in political administration to enhance the status of women in our society?
The policies of the three Pakatan parties are very much catered towards caring for areas such as single mothers who are dealing with poverty as well as the various women’s organisation initiatives. However, we cannot just focus on handing out money all the time; we also have to think about ways to empower them in the long run.

But with the state budget being so limited, it becomes tricky to establish the kind of programs that we need. Our budget is about RM1.4 billion annually. However, the federal government budget is RM191.5 billion. When we talk about the financial ability of a state as compared to the federal government, people need to be aware of the actual figures involved. There are certain things we simply cannot afford to do without greater financial aid from the federal level.

Moreover, in terms of uplifting the status of women, many of the changes that are needed do not fall under our legislation. For example, the Social Welfare Department is not under the state. So they have their own programs and we can only make suggestions. But we have created our own social welfare programs such as Skim Usia Emas, Tawas and others which are all paid for by sand mining profits.

Another effort to help the struggling groups in Selangor is the microcredit lending program which will aid small businesses with their start-up capital for hawker stalls and such. Even though the amounts required may be small, RM5000 or RM10000 can make a huge difference in giving the people business opportunities.

How do you see yourself performing in a high profile administrative role in a PR state? What are the challenges faced by women leaders?
Sometimes I do feel that even though I am a senior Exco member, it is sad that in Malaysia the race-based agenda implemented by the federal government is so strong. I’m a non-Muslim, a non-Malay and also a woman. These three obstacles are hard to overcome and perhaps I am not being recognised for these reasons.

But although I may not receive due recognition for my roles, the portfolios that I hold for the state are key divisions. So what matters is whether you take the responsibility seriously and show initiative to get the job done well. You can still bring about positive change in the administration of the government regardless of what your position is.

I have tried my best to be a good link between the people and the relevant departments of the state government so that grouses can be communicated efficiently. This includes the concerns of business people who are an integral part of Selangor’s prosperity. I still think the state government has plenty of room for improvement and things that need to be worked on. But I hope that people see that we are trying our best to set a good example of how a government should be despite the obstacles placed by BN and its media.

Do women need to push themselves harder to achieve the 30% women participation in politics target as envisioned by Pakatan?

We do need more women to come forward and offer their skills and services so that the larger community, including the government, sees that they can contribute in key ways. Sometimes if we stress too much on the percentage, we may end up with poor quality of human resources for important positions.

So at this early stage of our governance, we want to ensure we have the best people for the job. Women who are capable are and will continue to be given opportunities to perform in high positions. But sometimes I do wonder how many women are willing to step up and sacrifice their time for leadership roles? This is an important question to address.

If we push for a 30 percent quota, no one will really object to that figure, but it still remains whether we can fill those seats with quality women. Of course we should promote this but we ultimately need more women to volunteer their skills and time.

Is there a plateau for women involved in politics and leadership in this country?
I don’t think there is such a problem in DAP, but I cannot speak for the other parties. But certainly in our party, I find that even among the male members, many are also supportive and open to women’s participation. In fact, before the last general elections, they were actively looking for female candidates.

Hopefully the political tsunami of 2008 will be a stimulus for more women to enter politics and hold positions of power. However, I would like to caution women from expecting special treatment of any kind when entering politics. You must work hard to convince people of your suitability for leadership positions by being a good example.

Please visit www.selangorkini.com and www.tvselangor.com for the latest news and videos of state activities. Also check out the state government’s site, www.selangor.gov.my where you can read statements from Pakatan elected representatives and also sign up for the state’s newsletter.

What are your thoughts on the ISA, which has now been in place for five decades?
It is definitely a very draconian legislation. When you look at it theoretically, you don’t get the real gist of it until it actually happens. When one considers the oppression, suppression and repression which the ISA and other related laws encourage, it simply goes against basic human rights and human decency. If you look at the extent of the law itself, it becomes real when it happens to an actual person.
Firstly, you are denied your basic human rights, your dignity and humanity; love doesn’t exist in there. You are denied the basic love of your family, compassion and you become just a digit, no longer a person with a name and identity. In short, you are denied freedom.
We are all creatures created by God meant to roam around freely. We are born free and should die free. When laws impose limitations on our freedom and choices, life becomes unnatural. Even if one were simply locked up in his bedroom without newspapers or some connection to the outside world, it is already stressful. Just imagine a detention cell where they don’t allow you to know the time of day as the lights are kept on 24/7 and the only human contact is your IO (investigating officer). It gets to the point where although it is perverse and you may have hated him in the beginning, you do look forward to seeing him because at least it breaks the monotony of the days.
By allowing one person absolute power to decide another human being’s future, I think we are going against nature. As they say, power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. So this is where torture and abuse, whether mental or physical, happens. They will stop at nothing just to break you down so that you will toe the line. Again, this is unnatural because you are forcing somebody against their will.
Even though the physical imprisonment of ISA may not happen to all Malaysians, but we are all still victims because of the fear it creates. The greatest freedom is perhaps freedom from fear because otherwise, you are unable to fulfill your true potential.
This law encourages people to lie and punishes people who speak the truth. It also impedes the administration of real justice and democracy. As long as the ISA exists, opposition to injustice as dictated by all religions will not prevail. Look around the world at all developed countries; they are democracies because that is the way to success. The ISA is a stumbling block towards Malaysia’s progress.

Please tell us about the process of your arrest and detention.
I had just been elected as a Member of Parliament for about ten months (after the 1986 general election) when the police summoned me to Jalan Bandar station in Kuala Lumpur. Upon recording the affidavit, I lodged a police report, criticising the government’s actions. After that, the officer asked me to sit and wait for another official. I waited but it took some time for him to come over. I had to rush back to Parliament as it was in session. So I said it was all right, and requested that the official call me again later. But the police refused to let me go. I began to wonder if something had gone wrong.
He told me to sit down and then showed me a document, saying, “You are thus informed you are now under the ISA detention order.” I could not believe it.
I asked him if there was any mistake. As a 26-year old, was I posing a threat to national security? But we knew there was certainly a hidden political agenda as there was a fierce political ruckus raging in UMNO. With all the internal fighting raging in their party, the leaders needed a scapegoat. I became the first detainee and the last ever to be released.

What were the conditions like in there?
During interrogations, it was a case of them refusing to believe my answers while I refused to cooperate with him. It was ridiculous because they even asked, “What is your name?” I replied that if they didn’t know who I was, they may have got the wrong person and should release me immediately.
They were failing miserably in their efforts to grill me and got fed up, hence they retaliated by putting me into a blue cell, a completely blue room. There was only a ventilator as the fan did not work. But it was a big fan with large blades, and in the middle of the fan was a hook. I asked them what the hook was for and they told me it was for hanging up those who were uncooperative. Thankfully I never found out if that was actually true! But they kept trying to intimidate me.
They stopped me from sleeping. I was seated on a wooden chair and light was casting on my face, just like in a movie. I still didn’t answer any of their questions. Instead I confronted them. I was young then, and hot-headed. I told them that whatever I said would not be correctly recorded anyway, so they might as well write down whatever they wanted.
The officer was getting so upset that I defied his orders, and he then refused to let me sleep for 48 hours. After being interrogated for 48 hours, I was completely exhausted. I tried to sleep but they were yelling at me. Afterwards I fell sick with a high fever. They were scared and sent me to the cell. So I stayed there for three days. They called a doctor to examine me and I was given some medicine.
When they questioned me again later, they were not so strict anymore, urging me to provide them with some information, saying it was their duty. Their attitude did become milder and it was good to be treated a bit gently. We knew the law, so they dared not do silly things. I refused to answer and stated “unwilling to answer” on their charge sheet. After it was finished, the report was sent to the Home Affairs Ministry.
There were five charges against me, including defending the rights of a primary Chinese School and criticising the inept teachers being sent to the school as well as censuring the MCA Cooperative  Society’s syndicate, which was a big issue at that time. Due to the shenanigans going on in the cooperative, many people lost their hard-earned savings amounting to RM 1.4 billion. The fifth charge was because I had voiced my concerns about those living in poverty and held a demonstration. But these charges were clearly political witch-hunting because the police had not arrested or questioned us at the time of the incidents.

After 60 days in prison alone, you were sent to the Kamunting detention centre. What happened then?
I was detained, and my father rushed to the police station to see me, but they arrested him too. In short, they had lured him over, and it was a big blow to him. They hoped he would give up and surrender.
But then, after seeing this stubborn guy who was not giving up, they tried to upset him, asking me to appear on TV and write a confession letter to admit my “mistake” so I told him, “If I were an actor, I would have already had a career on TV. But I’m no Chow Yuen Fatt, so do not invite me on TV.” They wanted me to write a letter of confession, admit my mistake, and support Mahathir. I said to him, no need for me to support Mahathir, as he had so many supporters. Therefore, we were accused of being too contentious and sent to Kamunting.

Was life at the Kamunting centre more bearable?
Up to that point in my life, I had never experienced anything as trying as my imprisonment. I was struggling to endure the detention. You can experiment for yourself – lock yourself in a room, all day long with no escape. No newspaper, without your handset, leaving your phone outside. You have food and a place to sleep but…
You may not be able to bear it even for half a day. Imagine if you were in detention camp, not for half a day, or one whole day but days and weeks and months. In the beginning, we weren’t even given a mattress; we just slept on the cold cement floor. It affected my back after a while.
Once, I awoke in the middle of the night to find ants using my stomach as a bridge to carry a dead cockroach. But due to my back problems, it took me a while to be able to move, by which time the ants had already crossed over with their catch.
The food, of course, was terrible. The rice had small stones in it and the vegetables had sand. The meat given would be a small piece of fish or chicken and often it was just salted fish. Since my release, I avoid salted fish.
The cell itself was a small room with a toilet outside. It’s difficult without a built-in toilet, as you have to ask the police to open the door for you. You need to shout, and wait patiently for them. Sometimes they wouldn’t show up.
As for a bed, it is basically the concrete that you lay on. There was barely anything there, no newspaper or any information from outside. You’d dream about it. You read news from the old newspapers they used to wrap up your meals in. Initially we did that but they found us out soon enough.
So then we prayed hard that the newspapers would be a Chinese, English or Malay daily. But if there was a Tamil or a Jawi script paper, we couldn’t understand it and could only look at the pictures.
Discovering a Chinese, English or Malay daily was exciting and we would keep these papers. I read them over a hundred times, the same papers, I would read from left to right, upside down, reading it over and over, and would flip through again when I was bored.
When they found this out, they stopped wrapping the food in old papers, using plastic instead. Then life was boring as usual. In these times, we had to stare at the wall and watch mosquitoes or ants walking around.

Did you think about your date of release?
You might think of it initially, but you forget it as time passes. Thinking of it is like torturing yourself because there is no time limitation for the ISA. The detention order could be for 16 months or for 18 years. One person was in detention for over 18 years.
By reading books about Nelson Mandela detained for 26 years, you’d be so grateful! Console yourself that he was jailed for 26 years. By comparison, two years is minor!
My father and I were the last detainees freed. There were only two of us left inside that section. That site could house 600 prisoners, but there was only the two of us there, such a waste of public funds. We were both released last, on 19 April 1989. We were the first to be detained, and the last to be released. No doubt, this had to do with Mahathir’s personal feelings.
If you’re locked up, it’s not as difficult as your son being jailed, too. That must have been really torturous. So I salute my father for enduring this l. I knew very well that should I be released one day, I’d be even more motivated to fight as they had blatantly defied the law. They were casually violating laws, and I had to prove them wrong.
I was sure to come back, and struggle harder to fight them.

What was it like for your family to endure your detention period?
For a person, it depends on the strength of your convictions and commitments to the cause that led to your imprisonment.  Are you really committed to the cause that led to the loss of your liberty? This is really tested at these moments. Either you emerge stronger or you come out broken, and it is, of course, hardest on the family.
Children, in particular, will not understand the situation so it is very difficult for them. But it can also help to strengthen family bonds after you endure such a traumatising experience. Of course, there are also families which end up breaking apart due to the detention so there are two sides to the coin.
It is hard for families to ever really share the experiences of what the detained person is going through. But if you have commitment and abiding faith that is unshaken, then you will emerge stronger than before and more determined to change the structures. It may seem like an impossible task but Malaysians should persevere in demanding the repeal of such laws.

In light of the 50th anniversary of the Act, what should and can Malaysians do about this law?
They should continue to oppose it and demand for its unconditional repeal through campaigns showing that this law is a stain on our common Malaysian identity. Whether we take an active approach such as becoming involved in politics or an inactive one such as being aware and voting, every Malaysian must stand up and be counted. We must oppose not just the ISA, but OSA (Official Secrets Act), the PPPA (Printing Presses and Publications Act) and the Sedition Act.

Growing up in the newly post-Merdeka Malaysia, what were your friendships like?
I lived in a middle-class neighbourhood in Bangsar with many Malay neighbours. Many of the residents were employed at the nearby TNB and all of our parents worked very hard. I attended La Salle school in Brickfields and my schoolmates were from various cultures and creeds so we had an interesting mix.
Our teachers were also wonderful. I still remember Encik Abdul Malik who taught me Malay. Those were interesting moments in Malaysia’s history. Tengku Razaleigh recently spoke about how ‘we were once Malaysians’. I guess I experienced a bit of that. But when I speak to older people who have now retired from government service, they tell me about their many cross-cultural friendships and it was a very normal thing for them to mix freely before. In fact, they are still pals today.
But if you compare them with today’s generation, it is miles apart. Today it is very hard to find an Indian who has a Malay friend or a Chinese who has an Indian friend and so on. We have become less Malaysian compared to previous years. This has much to do with our school system and the way we are divided by race and now, increasingly by religion too.

When did you begin to notice a change in the way Malaysians related to each other?
I think it’s fair to say that the post-Razak days were the beginning of the decline when we became less Malaysian. It had a lot to do with the way the New Economic Policy (NEP) was implemented; not the policy itself, but its execution which has a lot to do with the mess we are now caught in. Dr. Mahathir, of course, is also to be thanked for this situation.
It all happened gradually, with the school system showing us that regardless of who got the better grades, it was the Malay students who would be sent overseas for further studies while the others would have to compete for limited local spots. My nephew is one such example. He now works in Singapore and I remember conversations we had when he was still in school. He asked, “What’s going on here? I get better grades than the rest, so why are they discriminating against me?”
When this happens, your patriotism lessens as you begin to see that there is less for you in this country and that you will continue to be marginalised here. So the inclination to leave and work elsewhere increases rapidly. However, many who have left do want to return home especially to raise their children but they say the government has to change first.

What are some ways for people to return to “the good old days” of mixing freely?
In some ways, we cannot truly return to the way things were. The world economy has changed, our cultural practices have changed; a lot about us has changed. It is a very different world from the one we used to live in. But there are still values around which we can unite. Our cultural, religious and universal values can unite us, such as through interfaith dialogues.
Last year, we had an interfaith dialogue on the concept of fasting during the Ramadan month. I invited leaders from various groups such as Buddhists, Sikhs, Christians, Taoists, Muslims and Hindus. Each of them shared their perspectives and we realised that we actually have so much in common.
So in some sense, we need to return to the basic value systems that we were once known for. We also need to improvise and look for new ideas and ways of thinking because we seem to have stopped thinking. We are also thinking along old models which are dangerous because we are stuck in the past.
Thus, we need new models which belong to everybody and these must be based on shared aspirations and values brokered by all levels of society.

Could this shared set of values come in the form of the 1Malaysia concept?
The opposite of shared values would be tipping points or fault lines. These tipping points can occur over a temple, a mosque, the use of the word “Allah”, the entry quotas for tertiary students, scholarships and so on. Tipping points can go either way and unfortunately for us, these have always led towards greater division.
After 53 years of independence, we should be bold enough to admit that the issue is no longer race; it is now about class. Moreover, issues of class don’t just affect the Chinese, Indians, Kadazans and Bidayuhs, but also the Malays, who are the largest middle class group. So they will be the biggest beneficiaries of any government policy but the current system only benefits the rich who have vested interests. That’s the logic behind the entire NEP, to consolidate the existing bourgeoisie. We need to reject this in favour of a robust community that can compete in the global marketplace.
But at the same time, we need a caring government for vulnerable groups such as single mothers. They are badly in need of help as are labourers and the indigenous people. So we need to move away from race and look at class instead. Even a needs-based system isn’t enough; we need a rights-based system because a need is subjective while rights are not such as the right to water and education.

MALAYSIA

In conjunction with Merdeka and Malaysia Day, what does it mean to be a citizen as we celebrate 47 years as a nation? Have we achieved nationhood?
Nationhood is a concept that can be discussed at length without a sound conclusion because just to define a nation is complex. Some would say we have two nations in Malaysia, others may say we have sixteen nations!
But I think it’s safe to say at one point in time we had a country with an independent judiciary and a system that could adequately respond to issues of poverty. We had a government that placed people at the heart of development; Tunku (Abdul Rahman) and Tun Razak were certainly such leaders.
Now we have gone the way of free markets which does not benefit the poor. Some argue that it increases efficiency but the truth is that the market is controlled by big corporations and governments. If you look at the economic crises in the world today, it stems from the aggressively liberalised markets.
Our International Trade and Development Mustapa Mohamed minister says we need to liberalise so that more foreign direct investments (FDI) come in. They did this 18 months ago when Najib first took over. But did we see a rush in FDI then? No, so why would it happen now?

Touching on our FDI, we are the only country in the region this year to register a negative FDI (RM6.66 billion). So how did that happen and how do we revamp our economic growth?
There are many reasons for our drop, one of course, is that the general figures for FDI have dropped globally and the available money is going to countries like China and India which are non-liberalised but offer cheap labour and also tremendous potential for future technological growth. So in a few years when these two nations no longer offer cheap labour, people will still want to invest there because of growth potential.
The reality is that investors don’t feel confident of growth in Malaysia, chiefly because of our policy uncertainties. Often we are not even certain of what our policies will look like in two days time. One moment we support 30 percent Malay participation, in the next we say we want to open up the market. Greater honesty is needed to gain the trust of investors. Even if we want to keep these policies, we must state it clearly and stick to it so that there is stability, which is key for FDI.
Secondly, the quality of our workforce is low, with 75 percent of them below the SPM-level (as quoted by the New Economic Model report). The reason for the rapid growth of nations like South Korea, Japan and Taiwan is due to their educated working class. But we mostly have production workers who can only manage to push out goods and services, which is what we were once famous for. But now investors might as well go to cheaper countries such as Vietnam and Cambodia because we lack a pull factor here.
Our universities are also failing to produce adequate innovations and research. I used to lecture and I can tell you that most of my students used to just memorise the information. Our school system does not create a thinking person who utilises critical problem solving skills.
To revamp our growth, the Tenth Malaysia Plan (10MP) says we need six percent annual growth to become an advanced nation by 2020. But this is a joke because in the last 12 years, the engine of growth was not FDI, rather it was from the government’s pump priming of money from petroleum, oil palm and other sectors. It had very little to do with the private sector; in fact, throughout the Ninth Malaysia Plan, FDI was only two percent.
So we cannot expect money to flow in overnight; what are we offering? That is why our net outflow last year was about RM8 billion while the inflow was RM4 billion. Thus, the challenge is to prevent the money from leaving our country and not to focus on FDI which has never been Malaysia’s basis for growth.
My proposal is to open up new industries in line with a green, low-carbon economy. Malaysia houses the largest producer of solar panels in the world in Kulim. The government should give people incentives to stimulate a green economy which would create domestic-led growth. This would reduce our dependency on FDI and create a more diversified economy which keeps our money within the country.
Basic elements such as improving our public transportation, encouraging rainwater harvesting and recycling are small steps for the government but they run into billions of ringgit each year. So there is much that we can do but because of lack of support from various interest groups, this just does not happen and we remain stuck in the old model. So the only way to change things is now in the 13th general elections.

In light of the PM’s 1Malaysia, do we genuinely see ourselves as Malaysian first and by our ethnic groups second?
In today’s world we are global citizens but we’re global citizens as part of Malaysia. The leaders must recognise that our sense of nationalism is breaking down; in fact, one of the reasons for groups like Perkasa is not so much that it’s anti-Chinese or whatever, but it’s also against globalisation.
When a community feels it is under attack or is afraid to be independent, it becomes vulnerable in a changing world. That is when it finds an enemy from within instead of outside because of a lack of far-sightedness.
As for whether we should be Malaysians first and foremost, it depends on how we perceive the concept. 700,000 citizens have left the country in the last nine years and they had certainly lived as Malaysians while they were here. But today they are working for different countries and when asked why, their answers are always that other countries provide better prospects for their future.
But if you are a poorer Malaysian, you have no choice but to look at this as your country because you cannot afford to leave. So in light of changing global structures which lead to greater economic opportunities, the barriers to income mobility will break down rapidly. So as more Malaysians reach the middle income level, working abroad becomes more plausible for them.
Former United States Secretary of Labor Robert Reich said in his book Work of Nations that although we educate our children, they may not work in our countries, but for a multinational corporation elsewhere. This underscores the endless options available to the middle class today, whereas the poor face the exact opposite reality. Thus, the middle class always aspires for more and more.
Technology only serves to widen this gap and the working class is stuck. In Malaysia, this is worsened by our racial divide. But we are moving towards the day when even the Malay youths say they are done with this country and want to leave; this speaks volumes. They are transcending the old model which Malays were previously caught in.
Going back to the issue of nationhood, a lot of the economic decisions we make today are no longer based on the country, but are instead regionally determined. So then what is the use of a state? Global decisions are not being made in your country.

Merdeka Centre recently found that 43% of Malaysians feel we are more divided than ever. Can we heal this rift or is unity a pipe dream?
I think a united Malaysia is possible but we need to redefine the goals of the country. It cannot be exclusively written by UMNO because I think the majority of Malaysians disagree with that. We need a model that encompasses the interests of all the communities, especially the vulnerable ones. Any system in a developed country must protect the most vulnerable, not the least vulnerable. That’s the hallmark of a nation but today we are protecting the rich over the poor.
A simple example is the slash of subsidies. In 2009, big companies enjoyed subsidies of RM18 billion while direct subsidies for the poor were RM1.2 billion. We have to consider our priorities here but that kind of thinking seems to be lacking. So we keep subsidising the rich and not the poor; a kind of socialism for the rich and free market for the poor.
The numbers are staggering: the NEM says 40 percent of Malaysians earn less than RM1,500 and 34 percent of our workforce earns less than the poverty rate. These are Malaysians of all races, so where is the 1Malaysia spirit then? This is why our focus must move away from race towards the issue of class as 1Malaysia is clearly promoting the interests of the bourgeoisie over the working class.

The unfair staff promotion system in the civil service was one of the reasons that eventually led me to leave and then enter politics to fight for equal rights for everyone. The discrimination and malpractices I saw in the civil service affected me deeply. It was one of the turning points in my life. Many of my colleagues were very puzzled on why I joined politics and the opposition parties in particular.I was in the police force for a decade, having joined in 1975. Prior to that, I was a temporary teacher in a government school. I was also a member of the Askar Wataniah, the reserve army unit. Of course, I could not enter politics at that time. However, against the wishes of the government, I voted for the opposition while working in the civil service. This was one of the reasons why I was never called for interview for job promotion. I was well aware of the consequences of voting for the opposition.

Why did you choose to join the Opposition? In particular, why DAP?
I was looking for a party that was able to meet my aspirations and DAP comes closest to my principles. I was also considering Gerakan but I realised that they were trying to oppose the system from within, while I believe that you can only do it effectively from outside the system.
I think DAP has many good leaders such as Lim Kit Siang, Karpal Singh and the late P. Patto; they all have strong principles. They are people whom I looked up to and are my mentors as well. These are people with leadership qualities. Anthony Loke has also been a good mentor of mine, despite being a much younger person.
People often ask if I have ever regretted joining the opposition and DAP in particular, but I sincerely have no regrets on either count. It is true that I have burnt all my bridges to enter politics, but sometimes you need to stand up for what you believe in. What matters to me is that here with DAP, I am representing the right causes.

You are also a father of three, a husband and lecturer in a local university. How do you juggle all these roles while being an elected representative?
I am also a grandfather! (laughs) But I believe that God gave us the same amount of time. It is the method of utilising the time available to us that makes the difference in our lives. As a lecturer, I am always advising my students not to waste time in the cafeteria. As I see it, time management is the key.
One of the things I emphasise is punctuality, together with honesty and justice. I don’t compromise on punctuality, even with my family and friends. As I was a commander in the police force before, many people look to me for guidance and leadership. Punctuality is strongly emphasised in the police force. It is the essence of my life.

With so many hats to juggle, what is a typical day for you like?
I schedule my activities and time tightly. Every day for me starts at six in the morning. It has been a routine for me since I was six years old. As my name is Arumugam which also means “six” in Tamil, you can see the “six” connection now. (laughs)
As I lecture in a college, my classes begin at 8am and end at 12pm or 1pm. After lunch, I am at my service centre at 2pm, meeting with my assistant Mr. Teoh and settling matters related to my constituency. I attend to government related work and appointments and have to complete all this by 5pm. After 6pm I go to visit my constituents and attend to their complaints. This can sometimes go on into the wee hours of the morning. For example, if there was a flood situation, the day wouldn’t end for me until two or three in the morning.
If we keep to our schedule, we will be able to settle all our responsibilities. To paraphrase Shakespeare, ‘All the world’s a stage, we are just merely players waiting to exit it’, so we have to act effectively for the public while we are here.
I am also blessed with a supportive family who understands my schedules and that my work will take up most of my time. By now, my family doesn’t miss me (laughs). As I have often been away, whether it was for my studies in the UK or during an overseas work stint, they are used to me being away from home.

How can we make DAP more appealing to all Malaysians? How do we show the public that DAP is genuinely multiracial?
We must change the image of the party. We were seen as a Chinese-dominated and chauvinist party and were disparaged crudely. I think our image has improved in the sight of the public when Karpal Singh became the party’s national chairman and many Indians also hold high positions in the party hierarchy.
We need to put more effort into attracting Malays to become DAP members. We have a few high profile Malay members, but I think we need to reach down actively to the grassroots Malay areas to attract more members.
For example, in an area of my constituency called Kg Pondok which is a predominantly Malay area, I have initiated buka puasa events organised by a Malay in a Malay home. It is a simple effort and we can already see results in terms of closer ties being forged.
There were a few predominantly Malay areas in my constituency, namely Bukit Chedang, Kg Mansor and Kg Abok which was previously impenetrable for us. But now the residents there have openly approached and asked us for assistance with their problems.
As I am also an ex-policemen and civil servant in a Malay-dominated workforce, I mingled frequently with Malay colleagues. This has helped in my communication with Malay voters. My civil service background also helps me to relate more easily with the government department officers.
This is demonstrated by the friendly relationship I have with the Malay elected representatives. In our recent state assembly seating, it was announced that I had graduated from my studies in criminal justice, and all the assemblymen from both BN and Pakatan Rakyat came forward to congratulate me.
Another area that DAP can improve on is to increase its appeal amongst the young people. This is helped with the presence of many young, energetic and highly qualified dynamic personalities such as Anthony, Tony Pua, Jenice Lee and Hannah Yeoh in the party.

Malaysia is celebrating its 47th birthday this year and 53rd year of independence. Are we all Malaysians now?
I was born before Merdeka and through the years, I find that there is more integration of the races. For instance, in the past mixed marriage was a taboo, now it is quite common. Our children are beginning to look more and more mixed, which means we’re less likely to differentiate a child as Malay, Chinese or Indian just by his or her appearance. So I think we are moving in the right direction.
Nowadays we see that many of the political parties especially in Pakatan Rakyat are harping less on racial issues. Sadly, the same cannot be said of UMNO, MCA and MIC. But all in all, I think the country is moving away from racial polarisation and towards racial unity.

As an elected representative serving far away from Putrajaya and the Prime Minister, what do you make of the 1Malaysia slogan and its ability to unite our citizens?
The 1Malaysia slogan is just rhetoric. The people have been practicing racial integration and harmony long before it was conceived. It was merely reshaped from what is practiced everyday.
On the superficial level, the concept seems to be working. However when we look deeper into its religious, economic and political aspects, we see glaring discrepancy in its practice. Special preferences for certain people continue to be upheld. Politically, BN continues to divide the people by saying Malays must be championed by UMNO, Chinese by MCA and Indians by MIC.

How can we begin to identify as one people? Can the racial segregation of the last few decades be overcome?
To do so we must be bold in changing the policies that discriminate amongst groups of Malaysians. For example, Petaling Jaya Utara MP Tony Pua recently suggested that we should remove the seven percent discounts for purchase of houses valued at more than RM500,000 for the Bumiputeras as this will only benefit the affluent Malays and not the average Malay wage earner. Why should other buyers be discriminated on such a basis? Likewise, the student selection basis for government scholarships should also be opened for public scrutiny.

How is Pakatan Rakyat fairing in Negeri Sembilan now? How do the people assess Pakatan’s performance since March 2008?
The people are beginning to accept our multi-racial appeal. This is certainly unlike the previous leadership under BN which has Malays under the UMNO, Chinese under MCA or Indians under MIC. I concur with Karpal Singh who said in a recent interview that this is the first time in his experience that the Opposition has been so multi-racial.
Today’s younger voters are no longer easily influenced by mainstream media as they are also internet-savvy. They are able to discern for themselves what PR has done and achieved.
We are now seen as a collective unit. Even BN members have addressed us as Pakatan Rakyat instead of identifying us individually as PAS, PKR or DAP. In a recent state assembly session, as one of DAP assemblymen raised an issue, the Menteri Besar unconsciously rebutted us as PR naysayers, not DAP per se.

To further this collectiveness, the state DAP has begun to organise many functions and activities that also involves the other Pakatan parties. Often, we include them as organising committee members as well and this fosters closer ties amongst us. Many of the PAS and PKR leaders regularly attend our events. I would say that our friendship is deepening.

What are the issues or challenges facing Pakatan in the state currently?
The racial barriers remain daunting. In addition, we need to raise leaders who are qualified, educated and with the heart to serve the people. Another area I would highlight is the importance of educating the public as well as PR party members of our stance and positions on issues.
We must also be genuine and sincere in our interactions and cooperation with other PR party members. For example, previously there was some mistrust of PAS and its stance on the Islamic state. As a result of the March 2008 election results, we have had more interaction with PAS and this has helped to remove misconceptions of each others’ stance.
Our genuine cooperation with PAS has changed many Malays perception towards DAP. For example, many imams in my constituency openly embrace and support me.

What are the chances of Pakatan taking over the Negeri Sembilan state government in the next election?
PR dominated the urban seats in the last general elections. This shows that the urban dwellers generally support the message of change. They are well aware of the issues and it is easier to reach out to them.
However, the rural areas are still BN’s strongholds. They won most of the rural areas because the people there are generally not as receptive towards the change message. An example is the voting results in the 2009 Bagan Pinang by-election (a rural seat ultimately won by UMNO’s Tan Sri Mohd Isa Samad).
If we can overcome the rural voters apprehension of us, the chances of Pakatan forming the state government in Negeri Sembilan is bright. However, the rural people’s information gap and mindset remains a big obstacle as they have been influenced first by the Alliance and now by BN for more than 50 years. For example, in the recent Hulu Selangor by election, many of the rural people actually thought the current Menteri Besar was still Khir Toyo and not Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim!
Pakatan Rakyat in Negeri Sembilan must reach out to the rural people through newsletters, messages and frequent house visits. The rural areas are difficult areas to reach, and Negeri Sembilan is basically a rural-dominated state. Herein lies the key for us.
With the presence of PKR and PAS, our task of bridging the racial divide has been easier. PAS is able to reach the rural Malay voters while PKR can concentrate on attracting the urban Malays. Our close relation with them and formulating a coherent strategy will be the key to win the state in the next elections.

In a three-page exclusive interview with Sinchew Daily in September, DAP Parliamentary Leader Lim Kit Siang was put in the hot seat and questioned on a wide variety of issues such as the relationship between Pakatan Rakyat (PR) partners, PAS’ Islamic State agenda, the Malaysian economy, the suitability of Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim as the Prime Minister and the possibility of Pakatan Rakyat winning the next General Election.

The DAP stalwart made his concerns clear in the interview, stressing how the Opposition coalition needs to “mature” quickly to have any real chance at taking federal power. Lim also received was criticised by some quarters for his view that the Selangor Pakatan Rakyat government was taking the unrelenting attacks from Barisan Nasional too lightly.

The following are translated and condensed excerpts from the original interview in Sinchew Daily.

* The segments below are just two of eight segments featured in the print version of The Rocket (Issue 10). To buy a copy of the newspaper, please contact rocket@dapmalaysia.org or call 03-77260452.

Honeymoon’s over…

PR was formed after the general election and has been in existence for a year and a half. Can you comment on the working relationship among the coalition partners?

PR was formed as a result of the collective will of the rakyat. The coalition was only established after the election to facilitate the formation of several state governments. The past 17 months has been very challenging indeed for PR.

In the first 12 months, the rakyat had high hopes in PR but it is obvious that after a series of incidents over the past five months both within and without the coalition, many are starting to wonder whether they can rely on PR to deliver the reformasi agenda.

Internally, there is continuous bickering, while externally, BN has launched a series of attacks against PR, particularly after Perak. BN has now shifted its focus to Selangor and mobilized the entire government machinery to declare war on PR.

Were there any big problems among PR partners during the first 12 months?

It is inevitable that three parties with different policies, different methods of looking at and solving problems, will have differences. What matters is how we handle those problems.

But we must put priority on our common objectives, which is to mobilize political reform in this country, provide a new hope for democracy, and replace the existing political hegemony with a two-party system. We need to push for democratization, so that this country will become more transparent, free and fair.

Differences among coalition partners have started to make the rakyat wonder whether supporting PR was the right move. Is this proof that your internal conflicts have overshadowed your common objective?

We are still facing grave challenges that are testing our ability to overcome our differences without losing focus. That’s why we recently convened a joint leadership meeting to reinforce our objectives and restore the rakyat’s confidence in PR.

Do you think that PR can restore the rakyat’s confidence before the next general election?

If we can reflect on the problems and come to our senses that something must be done, I believe we can have a breakthrough.

Are you confident about solving PR’s internal crises?

I believe we all have the same aspirations, but party members must be disciplined and stay focused.

Do you have confidence in your partners in PR? Are the other parties sincere in its agenda?

We all sincerely want to see a new political scenario, and more needs to be done to complete the tsunami effect.

The Islamic State Issue

PAS has always advocated for the establishment of an Islamic state, while DAP will never agree to that. How are you going to persuade the rakyat to continue supporting PR?

This is what I meant by a common objective. We have different ideologies, an Islamic state is not acceptable to DAP. Our position has always been very clear: Malaysia is a secular state.

Our common objectives revolve around freedom, fairness, democracy, national unity, and how to bring development and prosperity to Malaysia. Therefore in the consensus meeting, we agreed to not allow these differences to prevent us from achieving our common objectives.

But the differences exist, how will PR solve them? If PR takes over federal power, you will still face the same problem…

The important thing is whether the rakyat have confidence in us, and believe that we will be steadfast in our position. In PR, we will not implement policies which are not favoured and agreed to by all partners. Without the consent of all parties, we shall not impose our policies on others.

If PR becomes the federal government, how will you ensure that Malaysia will not become an Islamic state? Would you amend the Constitution?

We are formed by three political parties. As long as one party does not consent, we will not amend the Constitution. I believe no party will get absolute majority to amend the Constitution on its own.

Further, a constitutional amendment requires a two-thirds majority vote in Parliament, making it impossible for a single party to push through any amendment.

Thirdly, our stand has always been very clear. Our position has been constantly distorted by the Malay press which constantly accuses us as being anti-Islam. We are not anti-Islam; our position is that it is not a good idea to establish an Islamic state in a multi-racial and multi-religious country like Malaysia. This is just inappropriate.
What we need is a more liberal form of Islam. We hope that the Muslim community in Malaysia can accept a more liberal Islamic mindset.

Will PAS become more extremist or more “Islamic” in order to get more Malay support?

Some people are of the opinion that one way to gain support is to behave like “heroes” among his community, however, I don’t see that as a wise move. In PR, if the Malay leaders behave like Malay heroes, and Chinese leaders behave like Chinese leaders, this is a lose-lose scenario. We must ensure that PR continues to get its support from all races.

This will be an important indicator of our problem-solving abilities. In dealing with a problem, will we choose to offend one community in order to serve another community?

It is a challenge for PR to make sure that we will deal with all issues by taking care of the interests of the rakyat and the country as a whole.

Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak’s “performance now” government is fast becoming a farce, as yet another special task force has been set up to “investigate” the RM12.5 billion Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) super-scandal.

Previously, Port Klang Authority (PKA) had set up a Committee of Corporate Governance led by Datuk Paul Low Seng Kuan (president of Transparency International Malaysia) and Encik Nik Mohd. Hasyudeen Yusoff (president of the Malaysian Institute of Accountants). In addition to that, an Executive Committee was formed to plan and monitor the business development of the trade zone.

The PKA task force and committees were set up in response to the Pricewaterhouse Coopers (PwC) task force report which had revealed some discrepancies, conflict of interest, abuse of power, the absence of governance as well as major incompetence in the management of the PKFZ project.

Millions have already been spent by the Ministry of Transport to hire the best in the industry to come up with the various detailed reports including Mr. Vinayak Pradhan from Skrine & Co., a former Commissioner with the United Nations (UN) Compensation Commission and member of the Permanent Court of Arbitration. Are the reports by Skrine & Co. and PwC so incomplete and inconclusive that the government needs another task force to investigate further?

One would have imagined that a new super task force could only do the PKFZ issue justice if it was made up of a team of completely independent outsiders with integrity and good standing.

Mohd Sidek right person for the job?

Unfortunately, the new task force will comprise the Chief Secretary of Government, the Treasury Secretary-General, the Attorney-General and officials from the Transport and Finance Ministries and are to look into: (i) misappropriation, abuse of power and illegal acts; (ii) good governance; and (iii) the financial feasibility of the PKFZ project respectively.

All the abovementioned were directly or indirectly involved with the various decisions made with regard to the RM12.5bil PKFZ project, so how then can we expect this new “high-powered” super task force to act impartially and professionally when they themselves have vested interests?

DAP Parliamentary Leader Lim Kit Siang could not contain his disdain in his statement on 15 September, in which he questioned the proposed appointment of Tan Sri Mohd Sidek Hassan. Saying that the top official had failed to carry out an inquiry into how the four Letters of Support could have been issued unlawfully and take the necessary disciplinary actions against the culprit.

“Can Mohd Sidek succeed where he had failed in the past two years?” he asked.

Super task force to “nullify” previous investigative reports?

No one really knows if the other task forces and the two committees set up by the Ministry of Transport (MOT) in June 2009 has been disbanded with immediate effect, commented MP for Petaling Jaya Utara, Tony Pua.

“The question is, did the Prime Minister set up the new super task force to prevent the Ministry of Transport task force from commencing legal suits against Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing, Kuala Dimensi Sdn Bhd and other relevant parties?”

In fact, based on the reports prepared by the task force led Mr. Vinayak from Skrine & Co., Datuk Lee Hwa Beng, on behalf of the PKA board of directors, had said that “the PKA legal team has been asked to commence legal action against KDSB and relevant parties” and to “use every legal means possible to challenge the disputed claims amounting to about RM1.4 billion” in his press statements in August.

In a not-so-subtle move, Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat made the “face-saving” statement that he considers the new task force as “the last lap in what has been a tedious and complicated marathon race”. This could only mean one thing: the previous “lap” by the MOT “special” task force has been stopped in its tracks.

AG should prosecute Ministers

The DAP also took to task the Attorney-General, Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail, for not prosecuting two former Ministers in the PKFZ super scandal. The revelation was made public after a leaked Cabinet paper inferring that the government knew of the cost overruns and did nothing about it first appeared in blogger Raja Petra Kamarudin’s Malaysia-Today website.

At the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) hearing in August, Gani had made it clear that the four Letters of Support issued by previous Transport Ministers Tun Dr. Ling Liong Sik and Tan Sri Chan Kong Choy from 2003 to 2006 for the RM4 billion bonds issue by KDSB were in fact Letters of Guarantee and had been unlawfully issued.

“Why didn’t Attorney-General prosecute previous Transport Ministers Ling Liong Sik and Chan Kong Choy for unlawfully issuing four Letters of Support, landing the taxpayers with the RM12.5 billion PKFZ scandal?” asked Lim Kit Siang, DAP Parliamentary Leader.

Instead of going after all those who were embroiled in the issue at one point or another – namely three Prime Ministers, three Finance Ministers and four PKA chairpersons – who have burdened Malaysian taxpayers with the mother of all scandals, the Attorney-General and government leaders publicly denounced the leakage of the 18-page document and called for action to be taken against Raja Petra under the Official Secrets Act (OSA).

“The question Najib has failed to answer is why the Cabinet papers on the RM12.5 billion PKFZ scandal should continue to be kept as secret documents instead of being declassified, unless the Barisan Nasional has skeletons in the cupboard which must be kept hidden from public knowledge and scrutiny,” Lim said.

Where is MACC?

A number of reports of financial impropriety has been lodged with the then Anti-Corruption Agency (with the first report lodged in December 2004) and more recently with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC). If the Najib administration is serious about wanting to uphold integrity and good governance, why has the MACC not sped up investigations into the super scandal?

The establishment of this new taskforce reeks of a major cover-up. Not only that, the committee will take another six months to come up with its own report into the scandal.

It’s time to stop the nonsense.

RCI needed now!

Cabinet should establish a Royal Commission of Inquiry to conduct a no-holds-barred investigation into the mother of all scandals to unearth all the abuses of power and criminal breach of trust that took place at the Ministerial and Cabinet levels, right from the very start of this sorry saga a decade ago when the PKFZ was first mooted.

The amendment has substituted a new condition for “by-election” within Part II Article 23 Clause (5) of the constitution. The latest provision stipulated that “a casual vacancy shall be filled within 60 days from the date on which it is established by the Election Commission (EC) that is a vacancy”.

In other words, the EC, and not the Speaker of the House, will determine the date of the vacancy and call for by-election within 60 days from a date set by the agency.

According to the previous clause, it is the legislative assembly which decides if there is any vacancy and when it is should be filled; normally, within 60 days for a by-election. The assembly’s Speaker, therefore, is the one to hold and execute such powers without interferences from any agencies, including the federal ones. It is the EC, a federal institution, to receive the former’s order and not vice versa.

What are the consequences?

The consequences are many. The EC, a body appointed by the federal government, has become more powerful than the legislative body and the Speaker, which are directly elected by the rakyat. Clearly, this is an infringement against the democratic process in the state.

For example, let’s assume that Pakatan Rakyat has formed a simple majority government in Johor with just two seats more than the Barisan Nasional (BN). If two state assemblymen were to resign, then the EC will decide on whether there should be a by-election or not. Should the commission opt not to hold a by-election, then both tPR and BN will possess equal number of seats in the state legislative assembly, resulting in a deadlock. This will be grounds for a state election.
Take another scenario. If two PR assemblymen hop over to BN, we will see a change in state government as in the Perak case. What the amendment in the Johor constitution does is that it gives EC the power to make a ruling which will invariably benefit the federal government, such as declaring that no by-election will be held for the seats. This subsequently encourages party-hopping in the state, which again, to the people, is a betrayal of their sacred votes.

Comparison to the Federal Constitution

State assemblyman for Skudai, Dr. Boo Cheng Hau, said that the amendment in the Johor Constitution was fundamentally different from what happens at the federal Constitution level.

“In Parliament, any vacancy in the Dewan Negara is resolved by the president of the upper house while in the Dewan Rakyat, it is the EC. Although the freedom of the lower house will be compromised, the end result is still the formation of the federal government facilitated by the federal agency, EC. After that, it functions under the newly formed federal administration, and there is not much friction between the two,” said the DAP Johor chairman.

The state’s Opposition Leader also revealed that to date, Sarawak was the only state to have amended this particular clause in its constitution, back in 1988.

BN prepaing for next election?

In response to the bill being passed without room for discussion, Dr. Boo complained, “I was frustrated that my debate speech on the bill (on 8 September) was halted half way for the reason that I did not protest on its first reading. But Standing Orders clearly state that the first reading could not be debated or interrupted. Any debate can only be proposed at the second reading.”

It is obvious to all that this detrimental move is a reaction to the results of the March 2008 general election. BN is looking at the possibility of defeat in the coming general election and should they lose power by a simple majority, they will have the upper hand to mobilize the EC, a federal agency, to legitimize a power grab — as demonstrated in the Perak ‘model’ and the current ongoing attacks on the Selangor government.

The partnership between BN federal and state governments which involves using the EC as a political tool to topple PR-led state governments, is unethical and immoral conspiracy to hold on to power against the will and desire of Malaysians.

This amendment to the Johor constitution is likely to up a Pandora’s Box of unrestrained money politics in the state as well as in the whole country. It is possible that more democratically-elected PR state governments held will fall as a result of crossovers by state assemblyperson who are either ‘bought’ or ‘blackmailed’ into hopping over to BN.

Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said he was prepared to have a nationally televised debate with Gerakan president Tan Sri Dr. Koh Tsu Koon anytime, anyplace, anywhere – without any ‘buts’ – even at the Gerakan headquarters.

Lim said he was very disappointed that Koh wanted to set pre-conditions before such as televised debate can take place.

On 30 August, Koh had said that Gerakan leaders were willing to debate with Lim on the Kampung Buah Pala issue. In an immediate response, Lim said that he would accept Koh’s challenge, but only if Koh himself debated with Lim. Instead, Koh sent Gerakan Youth leaders as his proxies.

“The pre-conditions Koh placed for the debate gives the impression that Koh has no sincerity at all to debate me. All this clearly shows that Koh’s indecisiveness and evasiveness has not changed at all, even after the 308 political tsunami,” remarked Lim.

Chiding Koh for his indecisive nature which resulted in the latter losing more than 10,000 votes during the 2008 General Election, Lim wondered how Koh tolerated UMNO’s corruption and political dominance for so long.

“Koh should explain his double standards and inconsistency in fighting corruption when he can support BN leaders who are associated with corruption,” said Lim, in an obvious reference to the BN candidate for Bagan Pinang, Isa Samad, who was suspended for money politics in UMNO and described as ‘unsuitable’ by former Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad.

Only Federal Government has say on heritage sites

Lim also hit out at Gerakan Youth’s boorish comments blaming the state government for refusing to designate Kampung Buah Pala as a heritage area.

In his statement on 24 September, the MP for Bagan clarified that only the federal government has the right to designate any site as a heritage site as provided for under the National Heritage Act 2005.

“By this, it means that the Heritage Commissioner under the Minister of Information, Communications, and Culture Minister, Datuk Seri Rais Yatim, can declare any site a heritage site under Section 24,” said Lim.
Previously, the State Legal Advisor, Datuk Faiza binti Zulkifli and the Penang Town and Country Planning Department had revealed that unlike other states (such as Malacca) in Malaysia, Penang possesses no heritage laws. Therefore, the state has to refer to the National Heritage Act, which is a federal law.

This means that the federal government, not the Penang state establishment, is the sole legal entity empowered to operate under such an act. By pointing to the DAP for its “inability” to designate the village as a heritage site, Gerakan was, in fact, trying to shift the blame toward the state government for its own misdeeds during its rule.

It should also be noted that the state government has no power whatsoever over the police, which is directly under the federal government. Throughout the issue, any police actions against the villagers are not within the jurisdiction of the state authorities.

“BN, Gerakan or its allies conveniently close their eyes to the fact that the police have lodged reports against and investigated my political secretary and state assemblyman for Komtar, YB Ng Wei Aik, for protecting the rights of the Kampung Buah Pala residents to demonstrate against my government and defying police orders on 30 June 2009 in Komtar,” added the DAP secretary-general.

Deprived of any power to alter the process through lawful means, the state government was incapable of halting the transfer of the land, which was approved by the then BN administration.

In 2004, State Assemblyman for Kampung Tunku, Lau Weng San did something that most people would not even dare contemplate – he gave up a well-paying job as a process engineer in an oil and gas engineering consultancy firm to work full-time for the Democratic Action Party. We caught up with the 31-year-old to find out what makes him tick.

When did you join the DAP and was there any particular reason or incident that encouraged you to join the party?

I joined DAP in 2004 and worked at the DAP national headquarters for about three years. In that time too, I was political secretary to DAP Secretary-General Lim Guan Eng for some time. When I was at University of Malaya, I was a student leader and was active in student activities as those were the days of the Reformasi era and I was determined to add my voice to the demands for justice and democracy in the country.

You have been a state representative now for 17 months. Has it gotten any easier?

Actually, unlike some of the other elected representatives, I am considered to be more “experienced” as I have been working for almost 10 years as a activist, starting with my student activism days at university and then having worked at the party headquarters.

My answer is yes and no. Yes, in the sense that I have less public complaints to deal with now, compared to the beginning of my term. I am indebted to the two councillors in my area, the MP for Petaling Jaya Utara (Tony Pua), my two staff members and a number of volunteers who work tirelessly to assist me in carrying out my responsibilities as an elected representative.

No, in the sense that BN and UMNO have been mounting pressure on the state government in their desperate bid to recapture Selangor and this poses a great challenge not only to the state Exco members and senior leadership of Pakatan Rakyat but also to other non-Exco elected representatives as we have to be strong and committed in order to keep away from monetary temptations.

Apart from that, there are other forms of intimidation, such as the charge against me for being at an “illegal gathering” in November last year. The case is still pending. Meanwhile, there are also two parties who have issued legal notices to me based on some statements I made. One of them is the infamous Khir Toyo and the other is a developer in my area.

What do you like best about your job? What keeps you going?

Being able to assist the poor and the less privileged satisfies me. In Kampung Tunku, a lot of people have the misconception that my constituents are rich and have above-average incomes, and they are usually quite surprised when I produce a long list of names of constituents who need help.

In your opinion, how has Selangor fared in the last 17 months? Tell us about the impact that the Pakatan Rakyat government has had on the state.

Nobody can deny that we have made good progress, even if it is bit by bit. In terms of policies, we have a broad-based policy called “Merakyatkan Ekonomi Selangor” (MES). The flagship programme under this policy is “Mesra Usia Emas”. This is a programme targetting senior citizens in Selangor. It is just one of the many programmes we have.

For example, last year the state government initiated the free 20 cubic meter water policy. Many people chided us when we launched that scheme but when we asked these same people what the BN state government for the people with regard to water supplies, they were speechless and could not give any examples.

There are other beneficial policies and more will be launched, and if BN does not disturb us and recognise us as a legitimate government with people’s mandate, we will be doing better.

Do you think the benefits have been felt by the people of Selangor?

You should tag along with us when we do our rounds. Action speaks louder than words!

In light of the BN attack on the Selangor Pakatan Rakyat government, what do you think should be done to brace yourselves against this onslaught?

The state government will be very straightforward and open in our counter-attack. Their attack on us are based on extreme religious and racial sentiments. In fact, some of their own policies are very racist by nature. I am constantly surprised by their stupidity and lack of accountability. They often forget what they have done in the past.

Do you think former Menteri Besar Khir Toyo is the man behind the onslaught against the Selangor state government? You have spoken up in the past, even before you became a rep, against former Menteri Besar Khir Toyo. Do you think you will be targeted by him at some point?

I think he cannot deny that, even if he isn’t leading UMNO Selangor. Right now, Najib is leading UMNO Selangor. This is very bad for the people of Selangor as we will have two notorious figures launching attacks on the state government.

I don’t know whether I will be targeted or not as this is only my first term and I’m one of the youngest elected representatives in the party. If Khir Toyo wants to target me, I will deal with it. Right now, I am more interested in strategies to “crush” UMNO Selangor!

The result of the Permatang Pasir by-election showed that UMNO-Barisan Nasional is at its wits’ end. The party is plagued with internal power struggles at the grassroots level with local warlords vying for what is left of their traditional power base in Permatang Pauh.

This is one factor that may have resulted in protest votes against the party by its own member. One thing that appalled both voters and observers alike was UMNO fielding a candidate with a record of financial misconduct and had been disbarred by the Bar Council. On top of that, Rohaizat Othman was said to be not so popular with many local UMNO members. Insiders indicated that the local UMNO members would have preferred Zaidi Mohd Said, the Permatang Pauh UMNO Youth chief.

Yet, Rohaizat, despite his many professional and personal flaws as well as objections from the grassroots, managed to be selected as UMNO’s Permatang Pasir candidate – clear evidence of the existence of powerful warlords who can push their own agendas and influence the highest echelon of the party when necessary.

The use of race and religion in their campaign also showed UMNO’s desperation to win votes. On the one hand, in Malay-majority areas, UMNO campaigners accused PAS for being a traitor to Islam and subservient to secularist DAP, while labelling Anwar Ibrahim as a traitor to the Malay race. On the other hand, in non-Malay majority areas, UMNO through its partners in the Barisan Nasional coalition, MCA and Gerakan, used scare tactics to instill fear in the people by portraying PAS as an Islamic fundamentalist party who will infringe on the rights of non-Muslims by banning banning the sale and consumption of alcohol and pork should they win.

While the spirit of Merdeka still permeates the air through the presence of flags on buildings and vehicles, and the concept of “1Malaysia” being broadcasted all over the place, UMNO and Barisan Nasional still see it fit to pit one race against another and to portray themselves as heroes of a particular race instead of all Malaysians. What was unfortunate was, UMNO’s coalition partners played along despite a very clear message from the Rakyat that we have rejected communal-based politics.

UMNO-BN agenda becoming irrelevant

UMNO had purportedly spent millions of ringgit in Permatang Pasir, handing out cash and goodies to locals, employing the Manek Urai strategy of promising “Anak Emas” development and employing government machinery for their campaign purposes. The result? A small improvement of 1% compared to 2008!

There was no doubt that the UMNO-owned media would gleefully report that the PAS majority had declined and UMNO has achieved better results this time. Yet, if reality does not set in after seven consecutive defeats out of eight by-elections in the past year, UMNO will remain irrelevant until the grand showdown that is the 13th General Election.

It is ironic that after spending millions of ringgit and employing all sorts of unethical tactics, UMNO could only manage to return such a minute improvement in Permatang Pasir.

Lessons for UMNO-BN are also lessons for PAS-Pakatan Rakyat

The results of the Permatang Pasir by-election should be taken by the Pakatan Rakyat as a humbling victory. Even though PAS won comfortable margins of above 40% in non-Malay majority areas such as Samagagah, Kg. Cross Street 2 and Permatang Pauh against a backdrop of issues highlighting PAS conservatism particularly in Kedah and Selangor, non-Malays especially the Chinese voters reiterated their support for Pakatan Rakyat.

This, however, should not be translated as a vote of approval for PAS’ policies of religious conservatism. In fact, the low turnout in the highest non-Malay majority area (82%) and Pakatan Rakyat stronghold, Kg. Cross Street 2 may be a sign that many chose not to vote as a sign of protest against PAS.

Winning the hearts and minds of the minority

Malaysia is still experiencing the ripple effect of the 308 political tsunami where vote swing towards Pakatan Rakyat were mainly protest votes against UMNO-BN. Future voting patterns will be unlike anything we know once the equilibrium set in — neither Pakatan Rakyat nor UMNO-BN will win huge majorities. When that happens, both parties will realise that every vote counts. Before that happens, both parties should begin to act as if every vote counts. Manek Urai was a good lesson in this direction. The non-Malays there held about 100 votes, or 1% of the voter population. PAS won by a mere 65 votes, imagine if UMNO had put more effort into wooing the 100 non-Malays in Manek Urai. It is one of those odd paradoxes in democracy where the minority are the ones who decide the winner.

The only way forward for PAS and Pakatan Rakyat is to forge ahead but together as a team. Now that the by-election is over, Pakatan Rakyat should get down to formalizing the coalition, a move which should include a coherent ideology of struggle.

With many hot issues lined up and threatening to blow up at any time, Pakatan Rakyat leaders have no choice but to force a compromise to form a stronger coalition, unless they wish to return to the old ways of UMNO-BN’s political hegemony.

It must also be noted finally that the real test will come when and if Kota Siputeh in Kedah is declared to be vacant by the disqualification of the UMNO state assemblyman who did not attend two State Assembly sittings in a row. This is an UMNO seat but it was won with a low majority – only about 3% in 2008.

This is where PAS and Pakatan Rakyat will be tested, especially in the area of winning the hearts and minds of the minority, because they may be the ones playing the kingmaker.

The writer was formerly Special Assistant to Penang State Exco for Youth and Sports Ong Kok Fooi, and is currently taking time off to pursue his post-graduate degree.