Detention Without Trial in Malaysia: the ISA and other oppressive emergency laws
Dato' Zaid Ibrahim
Apr 4, 2011
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This speech was delivered at Amnesty International, London, in conjuction with the 50th anniversary of Malaysia's Internal Security Act - organized by The Solicitors International Human Rights Group and the Abolish ISA Movement UK - on April 2nd 2011.
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The Internal Security Act, the ISA, is a source of constant consternation for Malaysian society. It is a piece of legislation that has succeeded in instilling fear into the hearts of every one of our citizens. So much so that parents no longer use the threat of the boogeyman to get their children to behave but rather the home minister and the ISA enforcer that will come and get them in the middle of the night.
When he took over as Prime Minister in 2009, Dato’ Seri Najib Tun Razak delivered a speech that was full of hope and of inspiration to many Malaysians. He promised to reach out to all parts of Malaysia; to all of those in our national discourse. He assured us that in pursuing our national agenda no one will be left behind. He also gave his solemn pledge that the Government will conduct a comprehensive review of the Internal Security Act and that the Home Ministry will announce the details shortly.
It is has been 30 months since and we are yet to see any progress of the promised review. I call on the PM to keep his word and to review the ISA and other oppresive “detention without trial laws” found in Malaysia. The Prime Minister will not compromise the security of the country by doing so; and no right thinking Malaysian would want our security to be compromised. On the contrary, the repeal and review of such laws will make our law enforcement more effective; as the Police will no longer able to detain first and decide later what to do with the individual detained. They will become more vigilant and more professional in the exercise of their work. At the same time it will lend credence to the pledge given by the PM to make Malaysia a developed economy and country. There is no developed nation in the world that has preventive detention laws as wide and as oppressive as those in Malaysia.
Preventive detention is detention without trial. The individual is punished without the benefit of an open trial before a court of law. Not only does it violates every known human rights principle, including the very basis of the legal system, that one is presumed to be innocent until proven guilty, itis also just plain cruel and unjust to do this to another human being. In Malaysia, it is more pernicious because the courts have been excluded since 1988 from exercising judicial review of the detention and the reasons given by the detaining authority.
We have enough laws to deal with subversives and those threatening public order under the Penal Code. If we have to incorporate new anti-terrorism laws to deal with terrorists, by all means do so. But he must be prepared to seriously repeal the archaic provisions we now have that allows for detention without trial; and no recourse to the courts.
Malaysia is in what appears to be a permanent state of emergency. We are still living under four emergency proclamations:
- the 1964 proclamation as a result of the confrontation with Indonesia,
- the 1966 Sarawak proclamation following a constitutional standoff,\
- the 1969 May 13 proclamation, and
- the 1977 Kelantan proclamation following a political crisis.
These four legislations in the country allow for detention without trial. The detention is usually for 60 days and the Home Minister can extend the detention for another 2 years. This 2 year extension can go on indefinitely. And no court of law can review the order of detention. Even though there is an Advisory panel that reviews the detention from time to time, this panel is far from independent and part of the Prime Minister’s office so the opinion of the Police and Home Minister will hold sway. The independence of the advisory Panel as envisaged under the Constitution was nullified by administrative orders and political expediency.
Let us look at these laws briefly. The Restricted Residence Act of 1933 was used by the colonial administrators to deal with gang fights and underworld activities at a time when Malaya was without an adequate police force. This was so the Police could detain such gangsters in a certain area where they can be monitored and their activities curbed. Today, the Government takes pride in having a Police Force second to none; so why do they need to use this legislation? A thorough investigation and successful prosecution will be a better option. There have been many serious allegations against the Police for involving themselves in gaming and other unlawful lucrative activities; and that corruption and abuse of power by police personnel are rampant. Who can forget, in 2008, when a Deputy Minister in the PM’s department accused the Inspector General of Police of being connected with underworld warlords. There was no response at all from the Police. A repeal of such instrument of abuse like the Restricted Residence Act will be a positive development for the Police force.
Another law that allows for detention without trial is the Dangerous Drugs (Special Preventive Measures) Act 1985. Yes, drugs kill and everything must be done to curb this menace. But why detention without trial? If it is for the purpose of facilitating investigation; then why do we need long indefinite periods of detention? And why must the court be excluded from knowing the basis of detention that we need to exclude judicial review? This legislation can also be abused in many ways. Drugs is big business. So illegal big business will tempt those corrupt elements in the Police force with incentives in exchange for prosecution. If a nominal detention is the way out for these criminals then they will have no qualms in bribing the police.
Another legislation that allows for detention is The Emergency (Public Order and Prevention of Crime Ordinance) 1969. Because Malaysia is still under Emergency Rule, laws meant to deal with racial riots of 1969 are still being used against ordinary Malaysians who are only protesting about a book or the price of food stuff. The PM must look ahead and learn to trust the people of Malaysia. He must revoke the Four Proclamations of Emergency that still subsist today. The people are with you to see the country going forward. They may have different views. They may even be misguided in some ways. But they are not trouble makers; probably wanting to express themselves in ways common to others in many parts of the world. The world is changing and there is no comfort to say that our country is different. The people want just laws; and they will reward the PM with real support where he can govern with consent of the people rather than by fear.
Finally, the detention laws that most people know of is the ISA. This outrageous charge not only violates a person’s right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty but permits incarceration upon the flimsiest accusation of someone just planning to commit a crime.
The ISA should be abolished outright as amendments have already been made to it on 18 separate occasions, and each time increasing its severity, for example extending the period of detention from 28 days to 60 days. Section 73, which previously required a detainee to be produced before a magistrate within 24 hours has been amended to now to provide the police with extensive powers of arrest without warrant.
According to the International Bar Association, the most draconian of the ISA amendments was the addition of Sections 8B and 8C in 1989, which expressly ousted the power of the court to review the decision of the Home Minister for ordering a detention up to two years and renewable repeatedly for an indefinite length of time. As provided in the foregoing amendments, even the right of habeas corpus has been specifically excluded from review.
The ISA is not necessary anymore. There is no insurrection or guerilla war in the country, and there is no uprising of any kind.
The ISA must be repealed.
But that does not mean we do not require protective laws. Unfortunately, the world we live in demands certain safeguards. The government should introduce a proper anti-terrorism act in its place. It should be fair and lawful. For the point of such laws are to protect the public without sacrificing our humanity.
The PM is a knowledgeable person and well read. He must know what ISA was meant to do and the country no longer needs such laws. Those Ministers in the Cabinet would have advised the PM differently perhaps. They have made sweeping statements alluding to the likes of America, UK and even Australia as countries which have detention laws. What they omit to mention are three simple facts. The detention is applicable only against suspected terrorists; they are for a limited period of up to 28 days on some countries and a lot less in Canada and Australia and that the Courts are available to challenge such detention. Malaysia, which has no history of terrorist attacks; should be following the practices of these countries.
Ladies and gentlemen. Lasting political transformation requires us to take a giant step away from the past. We need to evolve. Laws like the ISA, while possibly reflecting the best wisdom of the times, have no place in a modern and civilized society. Our Prime Minister has a tremendous opportunity. To start on a clean slate. To abandon those fears of the past and set the foundations for a new Malaysia. Because we do not need these draconian laws to govern our state. Because oppressing our people will only serve to erode our democracy.
Dato’ Zaid Ibrahim
Monday, 16 May 2011
Al-Fatihah: Aminul Rasyid Amzah (Justice Delayed is Justice Denied)
Al-Fatihah: Aminul Rasyid Amzah
16 May, 2011By Khairul Idzwan
Loyar Burok
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It has been a year since Aminul Rasyid Amzah was killed by the police. Until today, there is no official apology from the police and the case is still in court, where the accused has been called to enter his defence, as a prima facie case has been established against him. But still, justice delayed is justice denied.
************************************************************************************
I was not at the scene of the incident, so I can not tell the truth behind the incident. However, I would like to give my personal opinion on the manner in which the police did the shooting.
This is not the first time the police shot suspects to death, as suspects who are under a remand order can also died in lock-ups. Remember Kugan Ananthan and Gunasegaran Rajasundram? Or should I remind you with two deaths at the premise of the police’s "brother", the MACC? Teoh Beng Hock and Ahmad Sarbani? To make things straight, I have nothing against the police or the authorities. I know they have a huge responsibility to ensure that Malaysians live peacefully. But not everything can be settled through shooting or killing, especially when the shooting causes the death of suspects.
In this particular incident, the reason for the police shooting is questionable. I don’t think the police needed to fire multiple shots in the first place. The boy was wrong for driving without a valid licence and snuck out from his house in the middle of the night without his parents’ permission. But can that be a justification for the shooting? Moreover, if I were in his shoes, maybe I would do the same. Just imagine, being chased by several people in motorcycles and accidentally knocking a car. Then, suddenly being chased by police patrol cars. Any "Ali, Ah Chong and Muthu" aged 15 would probably panic in such a situation.
The police had reasonable suspicion to arrest him. Section 24 of the Police Act provides that "if any police officer has reasonable grounds to suspect that a vehicle is being used in the commission of any offence, he may stop and detain the person" [Section 24(1)(b)]. Section 24(3) of the same Act further adds that "if the person fails to obey any reasonable signal of the police officer to stop the vehicle, the person is guilty of an offence and can be arrested without a warrant."
So, in my opinion, when the car had stopped, the police should have first told the boy to surrender. In some newspapers, they reported that the police shot the boy when he tried to run over the police while reversing the car. My personal opinion is that the statement is quite absurd. Based on several photos I have found in blogs, it is impossible for the car to go forward. So, logically, the police will go to the side of the car and not to the back of the car if they wanted to check the condition of the boy.
And some newspapers reported that the police found a long parang in the car. Is it just a cover up to justify the shooting? Nobody will ever know.
Nevertheless, the mother revealed another fact to reporters. The boy had already died before the car went over the side of the road and hit a house. This means that while asking the car to stop, the police had already shot the boy to death. I think this is intolerable. The police should not start firing at the car if they know that, by shooting it, they may cause death to the persons inside the car.
According to the United Nations Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials, intentional lethal use of firearms may only be made when strictly unavoidable in order to protect life [Article 9]. Article 10 further adds that the officials must identify themselves as such and give a clear warning on their intent to use firearms, with sufficient time for the warning to be observed unless by doing so, it will unduly place the law enforcement officials at risk, or would create a risk of death or serious harm to other persons.
The point here is, the use of firearms can only be justified if it is strictly unavoidable.
Even in criminal law, the defence of self-defence can only be invoked if he is in imminent danger, with no other means to save himself from that danger. In an English case, Rashford (2005) All ER 192, the question in that case was whether the defendant feared that he was in immediate danger from which he had no other means of escape; if the violence he used was no more than appeared necessary to preserve his own life or protect himself from serious injury, he would be entitled to rely on self-defence. The keyword here, besides imminent danger, is the proportionality of the attack.
Thus, did the police fire a warning shot before firing at the boy’s car, and subsequently at the boy? Next, did the boy fire back or use other means to attack the police and put the police in imminent danger?
The police have many powers in order to prevent crimes, but that does not includes shooting a suspect to death. According to Article 11 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, everyone charged with a penal offence has the right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law in a public trial at which he has had all the guarantees necessary for his defence. This means that a person should be considered innocent until it can be proven that he is guilty. If a person is accused of a crime, he should always have the right to defend himself. Nobody has the right to condemn him and punish him for something he has not done.
So, is there any proof to show that the boy is guilty? Even under Article 11 of the UDHR, he is innocent until he is proven guilty. The police must also remember that a suspect is not necessarily guilty. The word suspect itself shows that the suspect is not yet guilty but that it is just suspected that he may have committed a crime.
A fatal shot will cause death to the suspect. If the suspect is dead, how can the police tender evidence to show that he is guilty? How can the investigation continue when the suspect himself is dead?
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Khairul Idzwan read law in UiTM and is now chambering. He misses his law school days. He blogs at http://kairulizwan.wordpress.com.
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16 May, 2011By Khairul Idzwan
Loyar Burok
***********************************************************************************
It has been a year since Aminul Rasyid Amzah was killed by the police. Until today, there is no official apology from the police and the case is still in court, where the accused has been called to enter his defence, as a prima facie case has been established against him. But still, justice delayed is justice denied.
************************************************************************************
I was not at the scene of the incident, so I can not tell the truth behind the incident. However, I would like to give my personal opinion on the manner in which the police did the shooting.
This is not the first time the police shot suspects to death, as suspects who are under a remand order can also died in lock-ups. Remember Kugan Ananthan and Gunasegaran Rajasundram? Or should I remind you with two deaths at the premise of the police’s "brother", the MACC? Teoh Beng Hock and Ahmad Sarbani? To make things straight, I have nothing against the police or the authorities. I know they have a huge responsibility to ensure that Malaysians live peacefully. But not everything can be settled through shooting or killing, especially when the shooting causes the death of suspects.
In this particular incident, the reason for the police shooting is questionable. I don’t think the police needed to fire multiple shots in the first place. The boy was wrong for driving without a valid licence and snuck out from his house in the middle of the night without his parents’ permission. But can that be a justification for the shooting? Moreover, if I were in his shoes, maybe I would do the same. Just imagine, being chased by several people in motorcycles and accidentally knocking a car. Then, suddenly being chased by police patrol cars. Any "Ali, Ah Chong and Muthu" aged 15 would probably panic in such a situation.
The police had reasonable suspicion to arrest him. Section 24 of the Police Act provides that "if any police officer has reasonable grounds to suspect that a vehicle is being used in the commission of any offence, he may stop and detain the person" [Section 24(1)(b)]. Section 24(3) of the same Act further adds that "if the person fails to obey any reasonable signal of the police officer to stop the vehicle, the person is guilty of an offence and can be arrested without a warrant."
So, in my opinion, when the car had stopped, the police should have first told the boy to surrender. In some newspapers, they reported that the police shot the boy when he tried to run over the police while reversing the car. My personal opinion is that the statement is quite absurd. Based on several photos I have found in blogs, it is impossible for the car to go forward. So, logically, the police will go to the side of the car and not to the back of the car if they wanted to check the condition of the boy.
And some newspapers reported that the police found a long parang in the car. Is it just a cover up to justify the shooting? Nobody will ever know.
Nevertheless, the mother revealed another fact to reporters. The boy had already died before the car went over the side of the road and hit a house. This means that while asking the car to stop, the police had already shot the boy to death. I think this is intolerable. The police should not start firing at the car if they know that, by shooting it, they may cause death to the persons inside the car.
According to the United Nations Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials, intentional lethal use of firearms may only be made when strictly unavoidable in order to protect life [Article 9]. Article 10 further adds that the officials must identify themselves as such and give a clear warning on their intent to use firearms, with sufficient time for the warning to be observed unless by doing so, it will unduly place the law enforcement officials at risk, or would create a risk of death or serious harm to other persons.
The point here is, the use of firearms can only be justified if it is strictly unavoidable.
Even in criminal law, the defence of self-defence can only be invoked if he is in imminent danger, with no other means to save himself from that danger. In an English case, Rashford (2005) All ER 192, the question in that case was whether the defendant feared that he was in immediate danger from which he had no other means of escape; if the violence he used was no more than appeared necessary to preserve his own life or protect himself from serious injury, he would be entitled to rely on self-defence. The keyword here, besides imminent danger, is the proportionality of the attack.
Thus, did the police fire a warning shot before firing at the boy’s car, and subsequently at the boy? Next, did the boy fire back or use other means to attack the police and put the police in imminent danger?
The police have many powers in order to prevent crimes, but that does not includes shooting a suspect to death. According to Article 11 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, everyone charged with a penal offence has the right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law in a public trial at which he has had all the guarantees necessary for his defence. This means that a person should be considered innocent until it can be proven that he is guilty. If a person is accused of a crime, he should always have the right to defend himself. Nobody has the right to condemn him and punish him for something he has not done.
So, is there any proof to show that the boy is guilty? Even under Article 11 of the UDHR, he is innocent until he is proven guilty. The police must also remember that a suspect is not necessarily guilty. The word suspect itself shows that the suspect is not yet guilty but that it is just suspected that he may have committed a crime.
A fatal shot will cause death to the suspect. If the suspect is dead, how can the police tender evidence to show that he is guilty? How can the investigation continue when the suspect himself is dead?
================================================================
Khairul Idzwan read law in UiTM and is now chambering. He misses his law school days. He blogs at http://kairulizwan.wordpress.com.
================================================================
Saturday, 14 May 2011
Newly Renovated with RM52.7 mil Puduraya Bus Terminal Leaking
Newly Renovated with RM 52.7 facelift Puduraya Bus Terminal Leaking
The 36-year-old Puduraya Bus Terminal was opened on 16 April 2011 after undergoing massive renovations costing RM52.7mil.
The opening was delayed several times due to additional work on the base of the building.
On Monday 9 April 2011, water was found to leaking from the roof of the newly renovated Puduraya Bus Terminal, however The Star newpaper reported on May 12, 2011 that "Puduraya is not leaking"
Refer the link to The Star news reporting on May 12, 2011
http://thestar.com.my/metro/story.asp?file=/2011/5/12/central/8662574&sec=central
The 33-second footage recorded by a passenger on Monday evening was posted on Facebook.
It showed two sprinkler system with water gushing out.
Two garbage bins were used to contain the water.
The footage posted in the social networking site Facebook and Twitter sparked a myriad of reactions ranging from amusement to anger and sarcasm.
The footage of the video posted in the Facebook is posted for the reader to view and decide for themself whether there is a water leakage or not.
Thursday, 12 May 2011
Why no action against irresponsible reporting?
Why no action against irresponsible reporting?
May 12, 2011-->May 12, 2011
FMT LETTER
Wong Chee Fui
Utusan Malaysia’s report of a presumed plot of Christianity usurping the place of Islam in the constitution has stirred volatile and ugly emotions. The report that appeared on its front page on May 7 is provocative and is likely to spark racial tensions.
As a mainstream national paper, it is highly irresponsible for Utusan to publish the article without fact-checking the source of the news.
The article does not offer any evidence of facts except for references to postings by bloggers, which does not appear to have been independently verified.
Quoting from a blog is a dangerous, if permitted, any rumour can be posted in any blog by anyone and subsequently used as a reference source for publication in mainstream media.
The fact that Utusan published an unverified article has been is ignored by the auhorities despite numerous police reports against it.
Instead of questioning Utusan over the article, the immediate response from the home minister was to order investigation.
The police were quick to launch an investigation based on a newspaper report without first investigating the authenticity of the report.
They seem to favour the irresponsible party whose unverified report have caused fear and instigated hatred.
The government hasn’t moved to take action against the paper, even when it has repeatedly published articles in the past that can destabilise the racial harmony in this country.
Utusan continues to act with impurity and enjoy a status that is perceived to be above the law. The government must swiftly reign in the paper.
May 12, 2011-->May 12, 2011
FMT LETTER
Wong Chee Fui
Utusan Malaysia’s report of a presumed plot of Christianity usurping the place of Islam in the constitution has stirred volatile and ugly emotions. The report that appeared on its front page on May 7 is provocative and is likely to spark racial tensions.
As a mainstream national paper, it is highly irresponsible for Utusan to publish the article without fact-checking the source of the news.
The article does not offer any evidence of facts except for references to postings by bloggers, which does not appear to have been independently verified.
Quoting from a blog is a dangerous, if permitted, any rumour can be posted in any blog by anyone and subsequently used as a reference source for publication in mainstream media.
The fact that Utusan published an unverified article has been is ignored by the auhorities despite numerous police reports against it.
Instead of questioning Utusan over the article, the immediate response from the home minister was to order investigation.
The police were quick to launch an investigation based on a newspaper report without first investigating the authenticity of the report.
They seem to favour the irresponsible party whose unverified report have caused fear and instigated hatred.
The government hasn’t moved to take action against the paper, even when it has repeatedly published articles in the past that can destabilise the racial harmony in this country.
Utusan continues to act with impurity and enjoy a status that is perceived to be above the law. The government must swiftly reign in the paper.
Wednesday, 11 May 2011
Hata (Ex-Jounalist) : Utusan Malaysia Behind the print (Why it will never be investigated)
Utusan Malaysia: Behind the print
Free Malaysia Today
Stephanie Sta Maria
May 11, 2011-->May 11, 2011
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Utusan Malaysia's former senior journalist explains why the paper will never be investigated and why Malaysians should take it seriously.
*********************************************************************************
KUALA LUMPUR: Many uncomplimentary descriptions have been accorded to Utusan Malaysia. The more common of those include “irresponsible”, “mischievous ” and “dangerous”. Of that trio, Utusan Malaysia’s former senior journalist, Hata Wahari, says that the third is dead-on.
The mainstream media, for as long as they pander to the government, enjoy immunity from public prosecution. But Utusan Malaysia has earned a special place within this untouchable clique simply by the virtue of being owned by Umno.
This privilege has spawned relentless attacks on the opposition and increasingly frequent inflammatory reports on race and religion. But while most urbanites can see right through
Utusan Malaysia’s thinly-veiled propaganda, its rural readership remains staunch believers. For this reason alone, Hata warned that giving Utusan Malaysia the brush-off would be a very bad idea.
“People should worry about the slander it publishes because it is taking root in the rural areas,” he told FMT. “KL and Selangor are multi-cultural and able to discuss Utusan’s reports among themselves to seek clarification.”
“But the rural community is predominantly Malay-Muslim. Who are they going to cross-check their facts with? Neither is there another Malay-language paper to counter Utusan’s reports. The only media they are exposed to is government-owned media.”
“The racial flames are being stoked there and one day it will explode. I’m very afraid of that. If anything were to happen, it will begin in the rural areas. I have said before that another May 13 is likely if Utusan is allowed to continue playing up rubbish issues.”
Hata, who is the president of the National Union of Journalists, was given the boot from Utusan Malaysia on April 21 for allegedly tarnishing the paper’s image with such statements. But the termination came as a relief as he could no longer stomach the editorial content that almost flaunted the paper’s role as an Umno tool. Yet he said it wasn’t always this way.
“When I joined in 1995, Utusan was a paper that focused on Malay grassroots issues more than political ones,” he recalled. “The then editor-in-chief, Khalid Mohammad, had more control over the editorial content and the then prime minister, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, was more open to editorial-related discussions.”
“The Awang Selamat column was used to put forth suggestions on how Umno could address the issues affecting the Malay community. It wasn’t meant to attack people or parties. And even then the column was pulled after two months because of poor response.”
Awang Selamat has since been resurrected and according to Hata, the current column for Mingguan Malaysia is written by the editor-in-chief while the senior editors take turns penning the column in Utusan Malaysia.
Editorial agenda set by Umno
The swing in Utusan Malaysia’s stance came shortly after the 2008 election when Khalid was replaced by Aziz Ishak. According to Hata, the latter does not question the editorial directives set by the Umno political bureau which reportedly sits every Monday night to discuss the paper’s agenda for the week.
Those present are the president Najib Tun Razak, deputy president Muhyiddin Yassin, the three vice-presidents – Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, Hishamuddin Hussein and Safie Apdal – secretary-general Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor and information chief Ahmad Maslan.
The agenda is then communicated to Utusan Malaysia’s editor-in-chief via the prime minister’s office. The paper will run an issue for three days before dropping it completely unless it receives strong public support from top BN ministers.
It’s a clever strategy because by the third day the other media would have snapped it up to continue milking it, which would leave Utusan Malaysia free to start the ball rolling on another issue.
But this strategy has come at a price. Utusan Malaysia’s circulation figures are steadily declining and the paper has reportedly been suffering losses of up to RM20 million since 2009. Figures from the Audit Bureau of Circulation showed that paper’s daily sales have shrank 20% between June 2006 and June 2010.
“Some 50% of Utusan’s sales are government-sponsored,” Hata said. “Thirty-six government ministries subscribe to Utusan and the government spends up to RM50 million annually on advertisements. These are Utusan’s only profits because most organisations are reluctant to advertise.”
As of June 2010, Utusan Malaysia recorded an average sale of 170,558 copies, according to the Audit Bureau of Circulation. Of the number, between 70,000 and 80,000 copies are distributed to newspaper vendors daily, but Hata claimed that nearly half of these are returned at the end of the day.
The highest number of unsold copies are in Kuala Lumpur.
Hata said that many vendors are also uncomfortable with Utusan Malaysia’s front page stories and either conceal the paper behind other publications or hide it under their tables.
“I live in Puchong and of the 15 newspapers vendors, only one carries Utusan,” Hata said. “Most non-Muslim vendors are more comfortable displaying Berita Harian which carries Utusan’s main story on later pages and on a smaller scale.”
“Even some Umno division leaders have admitted their discomfort with Utusan’s extremist stand because they have to answer to their multi-racial constituents. But the political bureau is unconcerned. All it wants is for Utusan to retain the support of the rural Malay loyalists which it is doing very well.”
Free Malaysia Today
Stephanie Sta Maria
May 11, 2011-->May 11, 2011
*********************************************************************************
Utusan Malaysia's former senior journalist explains why the paper will never be investigated and why Malaysians should take it seriously.
*********************************************************************************
KUALA LUMPUR: Many uncomplimentary descriptions have been accorded to Utusan Malaysia. The more common of those include “irresponsible”, “mischievous ” and “dangerous”. Of that trio, Utusan Malaysia’s former senior journalist, Hata Wahari, says that the third is dead-on.
The mainstream media, for as long as they pander to the government, enjoy immunity from public prosecution. But Utusan Malaysia has earned a special place within this untouchable clique simply by the virtue of being owned by Umno.
This privilege has spawned relentless attacks on the opposition and increasingly frequent inflammatory reports on race and religion. But while most urbanites can see right through
Utusan Malaysia’s thinly-veiled propaganda, its rural readership remains staunch believers. For this reason alone, Hata warned that giving Utusan Malaysia the brush-off would be a very bad idea.
“People should worry about the slander it publishes because it is taking root in the rural areas,” he told FMT. “KL and Selangor are multi-cultural and able to discuss Utusan’s reports among themselves to seek clarification.”
“But the rural community is predominantly Malay-Muslim. Who are they going to cross-check their facts with? Neither is there another Malay-language paper to counter Utusan’s reports. The only media they are exposed to is government-owned media.”
“The racial flames are being stoked there and one day it will explode. I’m very afraid of that. If anything were to happen, it will begin in the rural areas. I have said before that another May 13 is likely if Utusan is allowed to continue playing up rubbish issues.”
Hata, who is the president of the National Union of Journalists, was given the boot from Utusan Malaysia on April 21 for allegedly tarnishing the paper’s image with such statements. But the termination came as a relief as he could no longer stomach the editorial content that almost flaunted the paper’s role as an Umno tool. Yet he said it wasn’t always this way.
“When I joined in 1995, Utusan was a paper that focused on Malay grassroots issues more than political ones,” he recalled. “The then editor-in-chief, Khalid Mohammad, had more control over the editorial content and the then prime minister, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, was more open to editorial-related discussions.”
“The Awang Selamat column was used to put forth suggestions on how Umno could address the issues affecting the Malay community. It wasn’t meant to attack people or parties. And even then the column was pulled after two months because of poor response.”
Awang Selamat has since been resurrected and according to Hata, the current column for Mingguan Malaysia is written by the editor-in-chief while the senior editors take turns penning the column in Utusan Malaysia.
Editorial agenda set by Umno
The swing in Utusan Malaysia’s stance came shortly after the 2008 election when Khalid was replaced by Aziz Ishak. According to Hata, the latter does not question the editorial directives set by the Umno political bureau which reportedly sits every Monday night to discuss the paper’s agenda for the week.
Those present are the president Najib Tun Razak, deputy president Muhyiddin Yassin, the three vice-presidents – Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, Hishamuddin Hussein and Safie Apdal – secretary-general Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor and information chief Ahmad Maslan.
The agenda is then communicated to Utusan Malaysia’s editor-in-chief via the prime minister’s office. The paper will run an issue for three days before dropping it completely unless it receives strong public support from top BN ministers.
It’s a clever strategy because by the third day the other media would have snapped it up to continue milking it, which would leave Utusan Malaysia free to start the ball rolling on another issue.
But this strategy has come at a price. Utusan Malaysia’s circulation figures are steadily declining and the paper has reportedly been suffering losses of up to RM20 million since 2009. Figures from the Audit Bureau of Circulation showed that paper’s daily sales have shrank 20% between June 2006 and June 2010.
“Some 50% of Utusan’s sales are government-sponsored,” Hata said. “Thirty-six government ministries subscribe to Utusan and the government spends up to RM50 million annually on advertisements. These are Utusan’s only profits because most organisations are reluctant to advertise.”
As of June 2010, Utusan Malaysia recorded an average sale of 170,558 copies, according to the Audit Bureau of Circulation. Of the number, between 70,000 and 80,000 copies are distributed to newspaper vendors daily, but Hata claimed that nearly half of these are returned at the end of the day.
The highest number of unsold copies are in Kuala Lumpur.
Hata said that many vendors are also uncomfortable with Utusan Malaysia’s front page stories and either conceal the paper behind other publications or hide it under their tables.
“I live in Puchong and of the 15 newspapers vendors, only one carries Utusan,” Hata said. “Most non-Muslim vendors are more comfortable displaying Berita Harian which carries Utusan’s main story on later pages and on a smaller scale.”
“Even some Umno division leaders have admitted their discomfort with Utusan’s extremist stand because they have to answer to their multi-racial constituents. But the political bureau is unconcerned. All it wants is for Utusan to retain the support of the rural Malay loyalists which it is doing very well.”
Launch of ‘Justice for Lim Lian Geok’ Campaign
Launch of ‘Justice for Lim Lian Geok’ Campaign
http://www.llgcultural.com/eng/
Friday, 06 May 2011 09:01 Sui Thye
In conjunction with the 50th anniversary of the revocation of the citizenship of Mr. Lim Lian Geok, a ‘Justice for Lim Lian Geok’ campaign will be launched this coming Sunday the 8th of May, 2011 at 11.00am at the Kuala Lumpur and Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall (KLSCAH).
Mr. Lim Lian Geok (1901-1985) was the most revered Chinese educationist in Malaysian history. A pioneer of the civil society movement, he was the President of the United Chinese Schools Teachers’ Association (UCSTAM), often more popularly known by its acronym, Jiao Zong, since 1953. Throughout the greater part of his life, Mr. Lim dedicated himself towards fighting for the cause of social justice and equality, as manifested in his constant calls to the then Federal Government for fair and equal treatment of all language streams within the country’s system of education. It was in line with this principled position of his that he strongly and consistently opposed the Federal Government’s move to forcibly switch the medium of instruction of Chinese secondary schools from Chinese to English. This courageous and principled position of Mr. Lim led to his citizenship and teaching permit being unjustly revoked in 1961.When he finally passed away in 1985, the Chinese community bestowed upon him the singular and rare honour of ‘The Soul of Malaysian Chinese’
The stripping of Mr. Lim’s citizenship is undoubtedly one of the biggest injustices ever committed in the post-independence era. It has left a deep wound in the psyche of those who believe in a multi-lingual and multi-cultural Malaysian society.Today 50 years on, we have decided to launch a campaign to right this historical wrong and to restore justice to a grave injustice. More specifically, this campaign has two main objectives:
(1) to urge the Federal Government to restore Mr. Lim Lian Geok’s citizenship that was in the first instance unjustly revoked, and
(2) to promulgate an Education Equality Act with a view towards ensuring equal and fair treatment to all schools that use different media of instruction.. Under this proposed Act, vernacular schools are to be treated equally along with national schools and that all forms of discriminatory practices against vernacular schools should be stopped.
The distinction between fully-aided and partially-aided schools, which forms the basis of such discrimination, must also be abolished.
The ‘Justice for LLG’ campaign will be jointly organized by 13 civil society organizations. They are Jiao Zong (UCSTAM), the KL & Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall, the Negeri Sembilan Chinese Assembly Hall, Persekutuan Persatuan-Persatuan Alumni Sekolah-Sekolah China Malaysia, the Federation of Alumni Association of Taiwan Universities Malaysia, the Federation of Hokkien Associations of Malaysia, the Federation of Eng Choon Associations of Malaysia, Nanyang University Alumni Association of Malaysia, Centre for Malaysian Chinese Studies, the Association of Graduates from Universities and Colleges of China Malaysia, the Federation of Lim Associations in Malaysia, Eng Choon Mei Shan Lim Association of Malaysia and LLG Cultural Development Centre.
As part of the campaign, we will be organizing a postcard signature campaign, public forum , exhibitions, movie screening and a theatrical performance, all of which are aimed at raising the awareness of the public as to the injustice done to a fine patriot and nationalist in Mr. Lim Lian Geok.
All members of the public are cordially invited to attend the campaign launch scheduled for this coming Sunday. Civil society groups that wish to participate in the ‘Justice for Lim Lian Geok’ campaign are also welcome. Already, as many as close to 260 organizations have either openly or through the adoption of resolutions called on the government to restore justice to the late Mr. Lim Lian Geok.
For more clarifications and information, please contact the joint secretariat at 03-26971971/2 or fax 03-26971970 or visit our blog at http://justiceforllg.wordpress.com.
Dato Dr. Toh Kin Woon
ChairmanCommittee of Justice for Lim Lian Geok Campaign
* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication. The Malaysian Alternative Voices does not endorse the view and/or event unless specified.
http://www.llgcultural.com/eng/
Friday, 06 May 2011 09:01 Sui Thye
In conjunction with the 50th anniversary of the revocation of the citizenship of Mr. Lim Lian Geok, a ‘Justice for Lim Lian Geok’ campaign will be launched this coming Sunday the 8th of May, 2011 at 11.00am at the Kuala Lumpur and Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall (KLSCAH).
Mr. Lim Lian Geok (1901-1985) was the most revered Chinese educationist in Malaysian history. A pioneer of the civil society movement, he was the President of the United Chinese Schools Teachers’ Association (UCSTAM), often more popularly known by its acronym, Jiao Zong, since 1953. Throughout the greater part of his life, Mr. Lim dedicated himself towards fighting for the cause of social justice and equality, as manifested in his constant calls to the then Federal Government for fair and equal treatment of all language streams within the country’s system of education. It was in line with this principled position of his that he strongly and consistently opposed the Federal Government’s move to forcibly switch the medium of instruction of Chinese secondary schools from Chinese to English. This courageous and principled position of Mr. Lim led to his citizenship and teaching permit being unjustly revoked in 1961.When he finally passed away in 1985, the Chinese community bestowed upon him the singular and rare honour of ‘The Soul of Malaysian Chinese’
The stripping of Mr. Lim’s citizenship is undoubtedly one of the biggest injustices ever committed in the post-independence era. It has left a deep wound in the psyche of those who believe in a multi-lingual and multi-cultural Malaysian society.Today 50 years on, we have decided to launch a campaign to right this historical wrong and to restore justice to a grave injustice. More specifically, this campaign has two main objectives:
(1) to urge the Federal Government to restore Mr. Lim Lian Geok’s citizenship that was in the first instance unjustly revoked, and
(2) to promulgate an Education Equality Act with a view towards ensuring equal and fair treatment to all schools that use different media of instruction.. Under this proposed Act, vernacular schools are to be treated equally along with national schools and that all forms of discriminatory practices against vernacular schools should be stopped.
The distinction between fully-aided and partially-aided schools, which forms the basis of such discrimination, must also be abolished.
The ‘Justice for LLG’ campaign will be jointly organized by 13 civil society organizations. They are Jiao Zong (UCSTAM), the KL & Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall, the Negeri Sembilan Chinese Assembly Hall, Persekutuan Persatuan-Persatuan Alumni Sekolah-Sekolah China Malaysia, the Federation of Alumni Association of Taiwan Universities Malaysia, the Federation of Hokkien Associations of Malaysia, the Federation of Eng Choon Associations of Malaysia, Nanyang University Alumni Association of Malaysia, Centre for Malaysian Chinese Studies, the Association of Graduates from Universities and Colleges of China Malaysia, the Federation of Lim Associations in Malaysia, Eng Choon Mei Shan Lim Association of Malaysia and LLG Cultural Development Centre.
As part of the campaign, we will be organizing a postcard signature campaign, public forum , exhibitions, movie screening and a theatrical performance, all of which are aimed at raising the awareness of the public as to the injustice done to a fine patriot and nationalist in Mr. Lim Lian Geok.
All members of the public are cordially invited to attend the campaign launch scheduled for this coming Sunday. Civil society groups that wish to participate in the ‘Justice for Lim Lian Geok’ campaign are also welcome. Already, as many as close to 260 organizations have either openly or through the adoption of resolutions called on the government to restore justice to the late Mr. Lim Lian Geok.
For more clarifications and information, please contact the joint secretariat at 03-26971971/2 or fax 03-26971970 or visit our blog at http://justiceforllg.wordpress.com.
Dato Dr. Toh Kin Woon
ChairmanCommittee of Justice for Lim Lian Geok Campaign
* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication. The Malaysian Alternative Voices does not endorse the view and/or event unless specified.
Media groups - Utusan’s unsubstantiated report irresponsible
Utusan’s unsubstantiated report irresponsible — Media groups
Published in The Malaysia Insider
May 11, 2011
MAY 11 — We, the undersigned civil society organisations, condemn the irresponsible Utusan Malaysia reporting over an alleged call from Christian pastors to change Malaysia’s “official religion” to Christianity.
On May 7, 2011, Utusan Malaysia published a front-page story “Kristian Agama Rasmi?” that relied on ‘information’ provided by the blogs, Bigdog and Marahku, without verifying it, nor identifying their authors.
The blogs themselves did not state how the “information” was obtained — i.e. whether directly heard at the meeting where Penang politician Jeff Ooi was present or from secondary sources who were there.
Utusan Malaysia also did not offer an explanation for not naming these sources. The use of anonymous sources — usually, in consideration of the sources’ safety — must be publicly justified.
Notwithstanding this, Utusan Malaysia chose to run this as a front-page report, no less, and in so doing, gave the unverified story the credibility it did not deserve.
Further, the front-page story only quoted Ooi denying the allegation that he had sponsored the meeting. The subjects of the allegation itself — the pastors who allegedly made this call — were not interviewed.
The Christian meeting’s organisers, which included the National Evangelical Christian Fellowship (NECF), had already denied the allegations of such a call being made in a statement published in the online media. Utusan Malaysia did not refer to this statement at all, nor was there any indication that any attempts were made to seek clarification from the pastors, NECF or any other Christian organisations.
The denial was only reported on May 9, and even then, Utusan Malaysia continued to seek responses to the issue, from the prime minister, defence minister and home minister. Najib Razak called for “calm”, Zahid Hamidi called for political parties not to politicise religious issue, Hishammuddin Hussein said if the allegations are true, this is very “serious”, and Selangor PAS Youth said if the allegations were true, people should remember Islam’s status in the Federal Constitution as the religion of the federation. These comments give further undue gravitas to the “discourse” arising from what was a non-issue to begin with.
The fact that Utusan Malaysia is continuing to spin more stories from a completely unverified report implies mischief on their part, since there is a danger of various communities reacting further and inflaming an essentially emotive issue. Already, there are at least seven police reports lodged in response to what was mere rumour.
Accuracy and verification are an integral part of journalism. Sources must be named as a measure of accountability on the part of both sources and journalists and to allow readers to judge for themselves whether the information provided is true.
In passing off unverified information as fact and failing to quote the pastors against whom accusations were being made, Utusan Malaysia has failed these basic principles of journalism. Not reporting NECF’s side of the story was not only unethical and irresponsible but also deliberately misleading.
We call on journalists and civil society to speak up and reject unethical practices which cast journalism in a bad light and bring further erosion of public trust of the mainstream media. We must hold Utusan Malaysia accountable for these flagrant violations of media ethics. — aliran.com
* This letter was jointly-signed by the Centre for Independent Journalism; Charter2000-Aliran; 1 Muted Malaysia; and Writers’ Alliance for Media Independence.
* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication. The Malaysian Alternative Voices does not endorse the view unless specified.
Published in The Malaysia Insider
May 11, 2011
MAY 11 — We, the undersigned civil society organisations, condemn the irresponsible Utusan Malaysia reporting over an alleged call from Christian pastors to change Malaysia’s “official religion” to Christianity.
On May 7, 2011, Utusan Malaysia published a front-page story “Kristian Agama Rasmi?” that relied on ‘information’ provided by the blogs, Bigdog and Marahku, without verifying it, nor identifying their authors.
The blogs themselves did not state how the “information” was obtained — i.e. whether directly heard at the meeting where Penang politician Jeff Ooi was present or from secondary sources who were there.
Utusan Malaysia also did not offer an explanation for not naming these sources. The use of anonymous sources — usually, in consideration of the sources’ safety — must be publicly justified.
Notwithstanding this, Utusan Malaysia chose to run this as a front-page report, no less, and in so doing, gave the unverified story the credibility it did not deserve.
Further, the front-page story only quoted Ooi denying the allegation that he had sponsored the meeting. The subjects of the allegation itself — the pastors who allegedly made this call — were not interviewed.
The Christian meeting’s organisers, which included the National Evangelical Christian Fellowship (NECF), had already denied the allegations of such a call being made in a statement published in the online media. Utusan Malaysia did not refer to this statement at all, nor was there any indication that any attempts were made to seek clarification from the pastors, NECF or any other Christian organisations.
The denial was only reported on May 9, and even then, Utusan Malaysia continued to seek responses to the issue, from the prime minister, defence minister and home minister. Najib Razak called for “calm”, Zahid Hamidi called for political parties not to politicise religious issue, Hishammuddin Hussein said if the allegations are true, this is very “serious”, and Selangor PAS Youth said if the allegations were true, people should remember Islam’s status in the Federal Constitution as the religion of the federation. These comments give further undue gravitas to the “discourse” arising from what was a non-issue to begin with.
The fact that Utusan Malaysia is continuing to spin more stories from a completely unverified report implies mischief on their part, since there is a danger of various communities reacting further and inflaming an essentially emotive issue. Already, there are at least seven police reports lodged in response to what was mere rumour.
Accuracy and verification are an integral part of journalism. Sources must be named as a measure of accountability on the part of both sources and journalists and to allow readers to judge for themselves whether the information provided is true.
In passing off unverified information as fact and failing to quote the pastors against whom accusations were being made, Utusan Malaysia has failed these basic principles of journalism. Not reporting NECF’s side of the story was not only unethical and irresponsible but also deliberately misleading.
We call on journalists and civil society to speak up and reject unethical practices which cast journalism in a bad light and bring further erosion of public trust of the mainstream media. We must hold Utusan Malaysia accountable for these flagrant violations of media ethics. — aliran.com
* This letter was jointly-signed by the Centre for Independent Journalism; Charter2000-Aliran; 1 Muted Malaysia; and Writers’ Alliance for Media Independence.
* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication. The Malaysian Alternative Voices does not endorse the view unless specified.
Tuesday, 10 May 2011
Malaysia Bar : Reject attempts by Utusan Malaysia to instil fear and spread falsehood
Press Release: Reject attempts by Utusan Malaysia to instil fear and spread falsehood
The Malaysia Bar
Lim Chee Wee
The Malaysian Bar is deeply concerned about the report that appeared on the front page of Utusan Malaysia on Saturday, 7 May 2011, entitled “Malaysia negara Kristian?”
Without offering any evidence save references to postings by bloggers, which do not appear to have been separately and independently verified, Utusan Malaysia saw fit to publish this story. Given the highly controversial nature of the alleged story, it is incumbent on any self-respecting newspaper to ensure that its reporting is fact-checked. To have printed such a story without checking with the subjects of the alleged incidents is highly irresponsible on the part of Utusan Malaysia, and is nothing short of gutter journalism.
What concerns the Malaysian Bar further is the fact that Utusan Malaysia appears to be able to offer such so-called journalism in a climate of impunity. Instead of questioning Utusan Malaysia’s journalistic conduct and ethics, the immediate responses from the Ministers in charge of home affairs and communications were to order investigations into the alleged incidents themselves.
It appears that it is enough for the police to launch an investigation once a report has been made, without first investigating the veracity of such reports themselves. The whole process of making police reports has thus been turned into an avenue to invade the privacy of dinner parties and closed-door meetings, without first asking whether the maker of such reports has ulterior motives. People are then being made to respond to police investigations launched on the flimsiest of reasons and to defend their freedom of assembly and speech. This is a mockery of the principle of justice that someone who is accused of wrongdoing is innocent until proven guilty. This is clearly a dangerous erosion of the fundamental liberties enshrined in our Federal Constitution, and must be stopped.
By immediately investigating the alleged incidents rather than those who made the reports, the authorities have shown favoured irresponsible parties how they can wantonly instil fear and religious disharmony in the country. All they have to do now is to make unproven and unsubstantiated allegations in any compliant national newspaper and the law enforcement authorities will do the rest. In this way, the authorities are gullibly assisting those who seek to play up lies and falsehoods in order to artificially create religious conflict.
In creating and/or highlighting this “non-news” item, these irresponsible parties seek to manoeuvre and manipulate current events so as to give the impression that certain elements within a particular community are working to cause disunity and perpetrate treasonous activities.
This dastardly deed by such reckless parties must be seen for what it is – a naked and blatant act of deliberate provocation. The aim appears to be to cause fear through the creation of false news. The lodging of police reports throughout the country seeks to invite the police to investigate a particular community, thus heightening emotions. This then conveniently provides the authorities with a false justification to tighten control of blogs and other forms of electronic media, thereby muzzling free speech, open dialogue and informed discussions.
Any independent observer of the mass media would reach the conclusion that Utusan Malaysia is beyond the reach of the law. Although the Malaysian Bar opposes the use of oppressive laws, including the Sedition Act 1948 and the Printing Press and Publications Act 1984, the Government threatens to wield such laws against those who voice dissent, hence acting in what is perceived as an arbitrary, or even biased, manner.
The Malaysian Bar is concerned that no action has been taken against Utusan Malaysia although it has persistently published intemperate and wild accusations, written in inflammatory language, which threaten Malaysia’s social fabric. Utusan Malaysia continues to act with impunity, and thus appears to enjoy a status that is above the law.
We call on the authorities to instead investigate the Utusan Malaysia journalists and editors responsible for perpetrating such repeated attempts to instil fear and spread falsehood.
Lim Chee Wee
President Malaysian Bar
9 May 2011
The Malaysia Bar
Lim Chee Wee
The Malaysian Bar is deeply concerned about the report that appeared on the front page of Utusan Malaysia on Saturday, 7 May 2011, entitled “Malaysia negara Kristian?”
Without offering any evidence save references to postings by bloggers, which do not appear to have been separately and independently verified, Utusan Malaysia saw fit to publish this story. Given the highly controversial nature of the alleged story, it is incumbent on any self-respecting newspaper to ensure that its reporting is fact-checked. To have printed such a story without checking with the subjects of the alleged incidents is highly irresponsible on the part of Utusan Malaysia, and is nothing short of gutter journalism.
What concerns the Malaysian Bar further is the fact that Utusan Malaysia appears to be able to offer such so-called journalism in a climate of impunity. Instead of questioning Utusan Malaysia’s journalistic conduct and ethics, the immediate responses from the Ministers in charge of home affairs and communications were to order investigations into the alleged incidents themselves.
It appears that it is enough for the police to launch an investigation once a report has been made, without first investigating the veracity of such reports themselves. The whole process of making police reports has thus been turned into an avenue to invade the privacy of dinner parties and closed-door meetings, without first asking whether the maker of such reports has ulterior motives. People are then being made to respond to police investigations launched on the flimsiest of reasons and to defend their freedom of assembly and speech. This is a mockery of the principle of justice that someone who is accused of wrongdoing is innocent until proven guilty. This is clearly a dangerous erosion of the fundamental liberties enshrined in our Federal Constitution, and must be stopped.
By immediately investigating the alleged incidents rather than those who made the reports, the authorities have shown favoured irresponsible parties how they can wantonly instil fear and religious disharmony in the country. All they have to do now is to make unproven and unsubstantiated allegations in any compliant national newspaper and the law enforcement authorities will do the rest. In this way, the authorities are gullibly assisting those who seek to play up lies and falsehoods in order to artificially create religious conflict.
In creating and/or highlighting this “non-news” item, these irresponsible parties seek to manoeuvre and manipulate current events so as to give the impression that certain elements within a particular community are working to cause disunity and perpetrate treasonous activities.
This dastardly deed by such reckless parties must be seen for what it is – a naked and blatant act of deliberate provocation. The aim appears to be to cause fear through the creation of false news. The lodging of police reports throughout the country seeks to invite the police to investigate a particular community, thus heightening emotions. This then conveniently provides the authorities with a false justification to tighten control of blogs and other forms of electronic media, thereby muzzling free speech, open dialogue and informed discussions.
Any independent observer of the mass media would reach the conclusion that Utusan Malaysia is beyond the reach of the law. Although the Malaysian Bar opposes the use of oppressive laws, including the Sedition Act 1948 and the Printing Press and Publications Act 1984, the Government threatens to wield such laws against those who voice dissent, hence acting in what is perceived as an arbitrary, or even biased, manner.
The Malaysian Bar is concerned that no action has been taken against Utusan Malaysia although it has persistently published intemperate and wild accusations, written in inflammatory language, which threaten Malaysia’s social fabric. Utusan Malaysia continues to act with impunity, and thus appears to enjoy a status that is above the law.
We call on the authorities to instead investigate the Utusan Malaysia journalists and editors responsible for perpetrating such repeated attempts to instil fear and spread falsehood.
Lim Chee Wee
President Malaysian Bar
9 May 2011
MCA Youth lodged Police Report - wants Utusan , blogger investigated
MCA Youth wants Utusan, bloggers investigated
Malaysia Insider
By Melissa Chi
May 09, 2011
KUALA LUMPUR, May 9 — MCA Youth demand police investigate Utusan Malaysia’s Christian Malaysia reports, as well as two blog posts cited by the newspaper.
The youth wing of the Barisan Nasional (BN) party lodged a police report today asking for the Umno-owned newspaper and the blog posts to be investigated under the Sedition Act.
Dr Kow Cheong Wei, MCA Youth publicity chief, told reporters that the police should conduct a
thorough probe because race and religion had been abused.
“We do not want and will not allow any party to use these issues, whether Islam or Christianity or any religion to be a propaganda tool in this country.
“We objected to the Islamic state by PAS and now we will not allow any party that brings out any issues regarding religion. We were advised, according to today’s papers, by Datuk Seri Najib that everyone must be calm and I think we as the youth, we do not want to raise whatever words or any additional statements,” he said, adding that he expects the police to act on the matter immediately.
Kevin Koo, an MCA Youth central committee member, also a lawyer, had lodged the police report today on behalf of the Federal Territory and Selangor MCA Youth at the Dang Wangi Police Headquarters to investigate an article published by Utusan Malaysia on May 17 with the headline “Malaysia, a Christian country?” as well as the cited articles published in two different blogs.
Utusan carried the front-page article on Saturday claiming that the DAP was conspiring with Christian leaders to take over Putrajaya and abolish Islam as the country’s official religion.
The report, based on blog postings by several pro-Umno bloggers, had charged the DAP with sedition for allegedly trying to change the country’s laws to allow a Christian prime minister, pointing to a grainy photograph showing what they described as a secret pact between the opposition party and pastors at a hotel in Penang last Wednesday.
The National Evangelical Christian Fellowship (NECF), together with partners Global Day of Prayer, Marketplace Penang and Penang Pastors Fellowship, said the claims against their community were lies, and has refuted the bloggers’ allegations.
Similarly, DAP leaders have denied the report and have accused Utusan of lying and have lodged police reports over the matter.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak had called for calm yesterday and to allow the matter to be investigated first before making conclusions.
Chiew Lian Keng, Federal Territory MCA Youth Chief, said if such articles continued to be published, Malaysians will end up in a climate of fear.
“We urge MCMC (Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission) and the police to investigate this case as soon as possible. According to Utusan, two bloggers had spread the statement so we want the MCMC to investigate the dissemination of the statement.
“We don’t want to see any racial and religious problems in Malaysia to continue. Our country is peaceful but if this continues, the public will be living in fear,” he said.
Malaysia Insider
By Melissa Chi
May 09, 2011
KUALA LUMPUR, May 9 — MCA Youth demand police investigate Utusan Malaysia’s Christian Malaysia reports, as well as two blog posts cited by the newspaper.
The youth wing of the Barisan Nasional (BN) party lodged a police report today asking for the Umno-owned newspaper and the blog posts to be investigated under the Sedition Act.
Dr Kow Cheong Wei, MCA Youth publicity chief, told reporters that the police should conduct a
thorough probe because race and religion had been abused.
“We do not want and will not allow any party to use these issues, whether Islam or Christianity or any religion to be a propaganda tool in this country.
“We objected to the Islamic state by PAS and now we will not allow any party that brings out any issues regarding religion. We were advised, according to today’s papers, by Datuk Seri Najib that everyone must be calm and I think we as the youth, we do not want to raise whatever words or any additional statements,” he said, adding that he expects the police to act on the matter immediately.
Kevin Koo, an MCA Youth central committee member, also a lawyer, had lodged the police report today on behalf of the Federal Territory and Selangor MCA Youth at the Dang Wangi Police Headquarters to investigate an article published by Utusan Malaysia on May 17 with the headline “Malaysia, a Christian country?” as well as the cited articles published in two different blogs.
Utusan carried the front-page article on Saturday claiming that the DAP was conspiring with Christian leaders to take over Putrajaya and abolish Islam as the country’s official religion.
The report, based on blog postings by several pro-Umno bloggers, had charged the DAP with sedition for allegedly trying to change the country’s laws to allow a Christian prime minister, pointing to a grainy photograph showing what they described as a secret pact between the opposition party and pastors at a hotel in Penang last Wednesday.
The National Evangelical Christian Fellowship (NECF), together with partners Global Day of Prayer, Marketplace Penang and Penang Pastors Fellowship, said the claims against their community were lies, and has refuted the bloggers’ allegations.
Similarly, DAP leaders have denied the report and have accused Utusan of lying and have lodged police reports over the matter.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak had called for calm yesterday and to allow the matter to be investigated first before making conclusions.
Chiew Lian Keng, Federal Territory MCA Youth Chief, said if such articles continued to be published, Malaysians will end up in a climate of fear.
“We urge MCMC (Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission) and the police to investigate this case as soon as possible. According to Utusan, two bloggers had spread the statement so we want the MCMC to investigate the dissemination of the statement.
“We don’t want to see any racial and religious problems in Malaysia to continue. Our country is peaceful but if this continues, the public will be living in fear,” he said.
Monday, 9 May 2011
Zaid Ibrahim - "1Melayu 1Bumi: What’s Wrong With It?"
1Melayu 1Bumi: What’s Wrong With It?
Zaid Ibrahim
Apr 29, 2011
Apr 29, 2011
When Khir Toyo gave his undivided support for the 1 Melayu 1 Bumi idea, he asked what was wrong with it. Many things are wrong with it. Firstly, if the idea is that we need a movement to “unify” all Malays and Bumiputera under one political party (which is UMNO, presumably) it will not happen; not now, not ever. Malays are not sheep that will follow the likes of Ibrahim Ali and Khir Toyo without thinking.
There have been Malay leaders in UMNO who have tried since Merdeka to get this kind of narrow racial unity going, but to no avail. Indeed, they came up with their idea of “unity” not because they genuinely cared about the welfare of the Malays; but to sustain their race-based party which is the only political model they know. They are not prepared to change. They are not prepared to meet the changing world with honest courage. They are not brave enough to admit that their model of “unity” does not work. So, when the Malays support or join other parties, these politicians will cry wolf and create fear with race and religion. In the words of Khir Toyo:
“For the Malay people themselves, the voting pattern of the Chinese and the policy of the DAP, which seems to be anti-everything that involves the interests of the Bumiputera and the religion of Islam, are clear indicators that there already is a wave that wants to empower the Chinese race in politics after they have taken control of the economy.”
What control? What power?
What leaders like Khir Toyo and Ibrahim Ali fail to understand is that political power is not everything. Even without this recent “unity call”, the Malays are already in complete political control. More than two-thirds of the Cabinet is Malay. Even the Barisan Nasional is just a coalition in name, and the way the Government does things shows that UMNO is not “first amongst equals” but, simply, “first”. And this happens not just in the Federal Government: more than two-thirds of Parliamentarians are Malay or Bumiputera. The Sultans are Malay. All except one of the Menteri Besar and Chief Ministers are Malay-Bumiputera. Eighty-five percent of the Civil Service are Malay, including the diplomatic corps and the educational and judicial services. The Armed Forces and Police are composed primarily of Malays. Rela members are mostly Malay.
And what about the claim that the Chinese are in sole control of the economy? Have Khir Toyo and Ibrahim Ali forgotten about Government-Linked Companies (GLCs) such as Maybank, PETRONAS, Telekom Malaysia, TNB, Khazanah Nasional, PNB, Media Prima, Felda, Sime Darby, and many others, the vast majority of which are owned by the Government and managed by Malay-Bumiputera? The G-20 group of largest listed GLCs alone possess RM353 billion (around half) of the market capitalisation of the entire Bursa Malaysia.
Are we to believe that, despite all this, the Malays and Bumiputera are still not in power? What more control do people like Khir Toyo want?
We Malays do not need to control more than what we already have. Instead, we need to have a competitive spirit coupled with the right work attitudes and values. Individuals, not corporations, need more capital and know-how. We need to harness our entrepreneurial spirit.
We need to have the right educational options so that we understand the history of our nation properly—so we understand the meaning of democracy, rights and freedom. Then, and only then, will we learn to be at peace with others in the country and face the changes taking place around us.
None of these things requires us to have more control over anything other than our own abilities. In fact, the kind of “control” that Khir Toyo wants is partly the cause of the dependency syndrome amongst the Malays, which encourages us to feel that we are entitled to special treatment all the time.
To look at it from the another perspective: if people like Khir Toyo and Ibrahim Ali were right, and control is indeed central to the advancement of the Malays, then surely the Malays would have grown very advanced in education technology and finance after all these years of control.
So, if Malays remain poor and uncompetitive today—if we still lack capital and business opportunities—then it is the duty of responsible political leaders to identify the real root causes of these deficiencies.
Can Khir Toyo and others like him explain to the Malays what can be achieved in this regard if, say, PAS joined UMNO? What benefits will Malay political unity bring to the education system?
What reforms will it bring for a better administration of the country? Will there be less corruption if there is more Malay control than there already is?
No, because the lack of Malay unity and political control is not the root cause of these problems.
It is not even remotely related to these problems at all. In fact, if there were more of the control that Khir Toyo and his kind want, there will be more of the dependency syndrome, more insecurity, more feelings of entitlement without having to strive for anything through education and honest work.
These so-called “leaders” must stop crying wolf and start looking at ways to help improve what is clearly a terrible situation. They must help the Malays and Bumiputera identify opportunities and make best use of them according to their abilities, and if these abilities are not enough, then these leaders must help improve them. They must help students get a better education and skills through better teachers and lecturers.
It is straightforward, but it requires hard work and not empty rhetoric. The call for “control” and “unity” does nothing except sweep the need for real work under the carpet.
The real enemies of the Malays are ignorance and lack of knowledge. Those leaders who demand “unity” and “control” should look in the mirror and ask: “Is this really the best I can do for my people?”
*** This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication. The Malaysian Alternative Voices does not endorse the view unless specified.
Koon Yew Yin -"Malaysia’s Brain Drain: Government in Perpetual Denial"
Written by Koon Yew Yin
Monday, 09 May 2011 14:07
Introduction by CPI (Centre for Policy Initiatives)
********************************************************************************
Dr. Mahathir has derided the World Bank brain drain report as “useless and politically motivated”. The country should ignore his criticism as the ranting of a seriously flawed leader whose shelf life has expired and who has long lost his credibility to comment sensibly on any public policy subject. Prime Minister Najib Razak’s response has been equally disappointing. He must surely know – as any sane and reasonable person would – that the emigration of Malaysia’s highly educated and skilled has been disastrous and is an exodus the country can ill afford.
*********************************************************************************
Malaysia’s Brain Drain: Government in Perpetual Denial
For some years now, various analysts have written about the brain drain from Malaysia arising from the country’s racist policies. Now the World Bank has finally come out with a definitive report detailing that the number of skilled Malaysians living abroad has tripled in the last two decades with two out of every 10 Malaysians with tertiary education opting to leave for either OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development) countries or Singapore.
The report also studied the factors that would entice Malaysian currently staying overseas to return. The top picks were a change in the country’s race-based policies and fundamental reforms in the public sector with “Paradigm shift away from race-based towards needs-based affirmative action” and “Evidence of fundamental and positive change in the government/public sector” receiving 87 and 82 per cent positive responses respectively.
The brain drain report mainly focused on the human capital outflow of migrants with tertiary level qualifications. If it had taken into account the out-migration of those with upper secondary and other desirable vocational and other skills, the human capital haemorrhage from the country arising from the New Economic Policy and other racially skewed policies would be far worse than the report’s findings show.
The Past and Present Prime Minister’s Responses
What has been the response to the report? Not surprisingly, the chief critic has been Dr. Mahathir who has derided the report as useless and politically motivated. As Dr. Mahathir has been the main architect of the socio-economic policies that have been responsible for the brain drain, his reaction is predictable. The country’s leadership and citizenry should ignore his criticism as the ranting of a seriously flawed leader whose shelf life has expired and who has long lost his credibility to comment sensibly on any public policy subject – whether this relates to the New Economic Model or human capital development - and especially if it concerns governance issues of which the former Prime Minister has been fundamentally compromised and incorrigibly irresponsible.
The present Prime Minister’s response has been guarded but no less disappointing. Dato Seri Najib Razak, whilst acknowledging that the brain drain is “one of the problems that must be resolved”, has pointed to the recent pickup in foreign direct investment to argue that the Bank report was not “quite correct”. The Prime Minister is grasping at straws to deny the undeniable. He must surely know – as any sane and reasonable person in the country would – that the emigration of Malaysian talents has been disastrous to the economy and is an exodus the country can ill afford.
He must also be aware that the outflow of another generation of young Malaysians (this time, including many Malays) is presently taking place and will continue unabated so long as racial (and religious) discrimination, and the self enrichment and political bankruptcy of the UMNO elite and its cronies, remain unchecked.
Incentives such as lowered income tax and other material or monetary sweeteners promised by the Talent Corporation are not the solution. They do not address the sense of not belonging, social injustice and lack of belief in the country’s future that are at the heart of why Malaysians have chosen to abandon the country of their birth, and to seek what - for most migrants - are less materially privileged but more psychologically fulfilling alien lands, despite being cut off from families and friends.
The Reverse Brain Gain
There is a key related topic which the World Bank report failed to deal with – the lower quality human capital inflow that has replaced the outflow of highly educated, skilled and talented Malaysians. During the past 30 odd years, there has been a massive officially sanctioned influx of migrants, especially from Indonesia and the Southern Philippines aimed at ensuring ethnic and religious dominance of the Malays. Millions of poor, uneducated, unskilled or semi skilled migrants have been permitted – rather, encouraged – to work and stay in Malaysia, thus offsetting the skilled brain drain with a cheap labour influx. According to the 2000 Census, 1.3 million or about 5.9 percent of Malaysia’s population of 21.9 million was comprised of foreigners. This estimate does not include other categories of non-citizens, such as permanent residents, spouses on a social visit pass, and stateless persons born in Malaysia. The latter number, of which there are no officially available figures, could bring the total number of non-citizens living in the country to close to 4 million or more.
Should the higher figure be used as the basis of calculation of the foreign component of the population, and even if the high birth rate of the Malay population were taken into account, it would imply that up to 25 per cent or one quarter of the country’s present total population are unskilled or semi-skilled migrants who have settled in Malaysia recently, especially since 1970. The influx of over 4 million lower quality human capital at the same time that over one million highly skilled Malaysians have left the country is probably unprecedented in the history of global migration flows (for a profile of the countries where Malaysians have moved to, see table below reproduced from Lee Wei Lian,“A Snapshot of Malaysia Talent Outflow”.)
I have no doubt that many recent migrants to Malaysia are hard working and good people, and deserve to have their rights protected. However, they would never have been allowed into the country or given easy access to citizenship in the normal circumstances of any other country in the world. What has made the difference has been a racially obsessed regime with a political agenda to artificially bolster the Bumiputra component of the population, and to provide that component with citizenship and voting rights aimed at ensuring Malay dominance of the government and country.
The pro-Nusantara cheap labour, easy assimilation (if the migrant is a Muslim or has no objections to “conversion”) policy of the last 30 years and its socio-economic costs and benefit needs to be studied by the World Bank team as a logical complement to the brain drain one. I have no doubt that should this lower level “brain gain” study be conducted, its findings will more fully explain the economic decline that the country has experienced. It will also expose fully the crude demographic numbers game that UMNO under Dr. Mahathir and his civil service underlings have engaged in to ensure continued Malay hegemony.
Ketuanan Melayu forever – the Perkasa slogan - is not a new one. It has been the bedrock of UMNO’s ideology since Dr. Mahathir came to power and will continue to be that way until the Malay population comes to its senses and realizes that the non-Malay communities are not their enemy – it is Malay political leaders that have failed them and are now looking for non-Malay scapegoats to explain why poor Malays have been left behind in the country’s socio-economic development.
*** This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication. The Malaysian Alternative Voices does not endorse the view unless specified.
Monday, 09 May 2011 14:07
Introduction by CPI (Centre for Policy Initiatives)
********************************************************************************
Dr. Mahathir has derided the World Bank brain drain report as “useless and politically motivated”. The country should ignore his criticism as the ranting of a seriously flawed leader whose shelf life has expired and who has long lost his credibility to comment sensibly on any public policy subject. Prime Minister Najib Razak’s response has been equally disappointing. He must surely know – as any sane and reasonable person would – that the emigration of Malaysia’s highly educated and skilled has been disastrous and is an exodus the country can ill afford.
*********************************************************************************
Malaysia’s Brain Drain: Government in Perpetual Denial
For some years now, various analysts have written about the brain drain from Malaysia arising from the country’s racist policies. Now the World Bank has finally come out with a definitive report detailing that the number of skilled Malaysians living abroad has tripled in the last two decades with two out of every 10 Malaysians with tertiary education opting to leave for either OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development) countries or Singapore.
The report also studied the factors that would entice Malaysian currently staying overseas to return. The top picks were a change in the country’s race-based policies and fundamental reforms in the public sector with “Paradigm shift away from race-based towards needs-based affirmative action” and “Evidence of fundamental and positive change in the government/public sector” receiving 87 and 82 per cent positive responses respectively.
The brain drain report mainly focused on the human capital outflow of migrants with tertiary level qualifications. If it had taken into account the out-migration of those with upper secondary and other desirable vocational and other skills, the human capital haemorrhage from the country arising from the New Economic Policy and other racially skewed policies would be far worse than the report’s findings show.
The Past and Present Prime Minister’s Responses
What has been the response to the report? Not surprisingly, the chief critic has been Dr. Mahathir who has derided the report as useless and politically motivated. As Dr. Mahathir has been the main architect of the socio-economic policies that have been responsible for the brain drain, his reaction is predictable. The country’s leadership and citizenry should ignore his criticism as the ranting of a seriously flawed leader whose shelf life has expired and who has long lost his credibility to comment sensibly on any public policy subject – whether this relates to the New Economic Model or human capital development - and especially if it concerns governance issues of which the former Prime Minister has been fundamentally compromised and incorrigibly irresponsible.
The present Prime Minister’s response has been guarded but no less disappointing. Dato Seri Najib Razak, whilst acknowledging that the brain drain is “one of the problems that must be resolved”, has pointed to the recent pickup in foreign direct investment to argue that the Bank report was not “quite correct”. The Prime Minister is grasping at straws to deny the undeniable. He must surely know – as any sane and reasonable person in the country would – that the emigration of Malaysian talents has been disastrous to the economy and is an exodus the country can ill afford.
He must also be aware that the outflow of another generation of young Malaysians (this time, including many Malays) is presently taking place and will continue unabated so long as racial (and religious) discrimination, and the self enrichment and political bankruptcy of the UMNO elite and its cronies, remain unchecked.
Incentives such as lowered income tax and other material or monetary sweeteners promised by the Talent Corporation are not the solution. They do not address the sense of not belonging, social injustice and lack of belief in the country’s future that are at the heart of why Malaysians have chosen to abandon the country of their birth, and to seek what - for most migrants - are less materially privileged but more psychologically fulfilling alien lands, despite being cut off from families and friends.
The Reverse Brain Gain
There is a key related topic which the World Bank report failed to deal with – the lower quality human capital inflow that has replaced the outflow of highly educated, skilled and talented Malaysians. During the past 30 odd years, there has been a massive officially sanctioned influx of migrants, especially from Indonesia and the Southern Philippines aimed at ensuring ethnic and religious dominance of the Malays. Millions of poor, uneducated, unskilled or semi skilled migrants have been permitted – rather, encouraged – to work and stay in Malaysia, thus offsetting the skilled brain drain with a cheap labour influx. According to the 2000 Census, 1.3 million or about 5.9 percent of Malaysia’s population of 21.9 million was comprised of foreigners. This estimate does not include other categories of non-citizens, such as permanent residents, spouses on a social visit pass, and stateless persons born in Malaysia. The latter number, of which there are no officially available figures, could bring the total number of non-citizens living in the country to close to 4 million or more.
Should the higher figure be used as the basis of calculation of the foreign component of the population, and even if the high birth rate of the Malay population were taken into account, it would imply that up to 25 per cent or one quarter of the country’s present total population are unskilled or semi-skilled migrants who have settled in Malaysia recently, especially since 1970. The influx of over 4 million lower quality human capital at the same time that over one million highly skilled Malaysians have left the country is probably unprecedented in the history of global migration flows (for a profile of the countries where Malaysians have moved to, see table below reproduced from Lee Wei Lian,“A Snapshot of Malaysia Talent Outflow”.)
I have no doubt that many recent migrants to Malaysia are hard working and good people, and deserve to have their rights protected. However, they would never have been allowed into the country or given easy access to citizenship in the normal circumstances of any other country in the world. What has made the difference has been a racially obsessed regime with a political agenda to artificially bolster the Bumiputra component of the population, and to provide that component with citizenship and voting rights aimed at ensuring Malay dominance of the government and country.
The pro-Nusantara cheap labour, easy assimilation (if the migrant is a Muslim or has no objections to “conversion”) policy of the last 30 years and its socio-economic costs and benefit needs to be studied by the World Bank team as a logical complement to the brain drain one. I have no doubt that should this lower level “brain gain” study be conducted, its findings will more fully explain the economic decline that the country has experienced. It will also expose fully the crude demographic numbers game that UMNO under Dr. Mahathir and his civil service underlings have engaged in to ensure continued Malay hegemony.
Ketuanan Melayu forever – the Perkasa slogan - is not a new one. It has been the bedrock of UMNO’s ideology since Dr. Mahathir came to power and will continue to be that way until the Malay population comes to its senses and realizes that the non-Malay communities are not their enemy – it is Malay political leaders that have failed them and are now looking for non-Malay scapegoats to explain why poor Malays have been left behind in the country’s socio-economic development.
*** This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication. The Malaysian Alternative Voices does not endorse the view unless specified.
We, The Betrayed Generation
We, The Betrayed Generation
Loyar Burok
27 April, 2011
By Tan Shang Neng
MY NAME IS TAN SHANG NENG, I AM 23 YEARS OLD. I hail from Klang, Selangor. And I am from the ‘betrayed generation’.
My elders have often used my name, together with my peers of my generation (what may well be the youth today), to justify a lot of their actions. They say they are doing this for the betterment of our future, they are doing that to ensure that the youth will have something worthwhile to inherit.
They say that they have the youth’s, and the youth’s children-to-be’s, best interest at heart.
And that is when they degrade our education system, making a foolery out of it.
That is when they conduct government awards of businesses behind closed doors.
That is when Chief Ministers become billionaires.
That is when they destroy our rainforests.
That is when they agree to allow Lynas to open a rare earth processing plant.
That is when they close both eyes when there are still thousands homeless; people go hungry every night, even in the heart of KL.
That is when they rig our elections.
That is when they insult each other, degrade the women, kill the men.
That is when all they teach us do to, is to hate one another. To identify with the colour of our skin first, and being Malaysian second.
They did and still do all those in the name of the betterment of the youth.
Recently, they have promised us change. March 8 tsunami. RPK. Anwar. KJ. 1Malaysia. Birth of alternative media. Sure-fire two-party system.
We bought into all that, all of us youths. We were hopeful dreamers swept up by the promise of a new world order, or at least a new Malaysian order. One based on merits. One built again from the blood and sweat of those who promised to keep our futures secured, to return us to the path of guaranteed glory.
Years on, we are nowhere nearer to finding that path.
We are the betrayed generation.Our trust has been betrayed.BN, PR. Look at them.Mainstream media, alternative media. Look at them.MCA, DAP. Look at them.
They are out there for number one: themselves.
We are the betrayed generation. We are taught to be subservient. To kowtow. To have blind
faith.That is flying in the face of what we have been promised.
The truth of the matter is, Najib, Anwar, KJ, Karpal, LKS. They are old fools, their minds blurred to our needs. They see what they want to see and hear what they want to hear. And we, the betrayed generation, are far from their plans. Their world is one of pure politics, expedient survival being the key. They are politicians.
We are at a time when politicians are what we need least. We need statesmen. We need real heroes. It is time for another revolution, but we need a beacon to come together. We will not find this beacon from the delusional oldies. Their version of politics is a very different one to what we aspire to one day have. They are the lost generation, by their own doing.
Are you going to be my beacon? Or are you going to run away, be lost like them all? I need a point, a focus, a flag I can identify with. To lead me on. We, the youth - the future - need this.
We need a leader from amongst ourselves. Young, hopeful, daring to dream.
I look to my Malaysian peers who have had the opportunity to go abroad. The UK, US, Australia, India, Indonesia, Russia. We have had the benefit of the impetus from abroad, we have seen the world from without the tempurung that is Malaysia.
Will one of you be my beacon? Or will you, like our forefathers, allow the generations-to-come to continue being the betrayed generations, finally one lost to the winds.
My name is Tan Shang Neng. I am 23 years old.
I hail from Klang, Selangor. I am Malaysian, and I am still hopeful.
****************
1) The phrase "…kill the men…" has been used for poetic purposes. To date, no person has been literally killed, not to the best of my knowledge anyway.
2) Terms such as "old fools" and "delusional oldies" have been used for emotive invocation purposes. In hindsight, it is extremely disrespectful to have grouped some names above in these categories, for this was neglecting the fight that some of these honourable names had taken on. For this reason, I do apologise.
3) This article was initially meant as a rant on Facebook for personal friends. It is non-partisan, and more of an emotive summation than any attempt to espouse political ideologies. I believe in a two party system, and for transparency and education to pave the way. But I personally want to start with hope.
Shang Neng is an optimistic humanist. He often finds no better comic/humour than the front pages of mainstream newspapers quoting our dear YBs. Often ranting about the shortcomings of his country, deep down he knows no other home like Malaysia, and is a true-blue budak Klang."
Believes in a Malaysian revolution brought on by the youth.
* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication. The Malaysian Alternative Voices does not endorse the view unless specified.
Loyar Burok
27 April, 2011
By Tan Shang Neng
MY NAME IS TAN SHANG NENG, I AM 23 YEARS OLD. I hail from Klang, Selangor. And I am from the ‘betrayed generation’.
My elders have often used my name, together with my peers of my generation (what may well be the youth today), to justify a lot of their actions. They say they are doing this for the betterment of our future, they are doing that to ensure that the youth will have something worthwhile to inherit.
They say that they have the youth’s, and the youth’s children-to-be’s, best interest at heart.
And that is when they degrade our education system, making a foolery out of it.
That is when they conduct government awards of businesses behind closed doors.
That is when Chief Ministers become billionaires.
That is when they destroy our rainforests.
That is when they agree to allow Lynas to open a rare earth processing plant.
That is when they close both eyes when there are still thousands homeless; people go hungry every night, even in the heart of KL.
That is when they rig our elections.
That is when they insult each other, degrade the women, kill the men.
That is when all they teach us do to, is to hate one another. To identify with the colour of our skin first, and being Malaysian second.
They did and still do all those in the name of the betterment of the youth.
Recently, they have promised us change. March 8 tsunami. RPK. Anwar. KJ. 1Malaysia. Birth of alternative media. Sure-fire two-party system.
We bought into all that, all of us youths. We were hopeful dreamers swept up by the promise of a new world order, or at least a new Malaysian order. One based on merits. One built again from the blood and sweat of those who promised to keep our futures secured, to return us to the path of guaranteed glory.
Years on, we are nowhere nearer to finding that path.
We are the betrayed generation.Our trust has been betrayed.BN, PR. Look at them.Mainstream media, alternative media. Look at them.MCA, DAP. Look at them.
They are out there for number one: themselves.
We are the betrayed generation. We are taught to be subservient. To kowtow. To have blind
faith.That is flying in the face of what we have been promised.
The truth of the matter is, Najib, Anwar, KJ, Karpal, LKS. They are old fools, their minds blurred to our needs. They see what they want to see and hear what they want to hear. And we, the betrayed generation, are far from their plans. Their world is one of pure politics, expedient survival being the key. They are politicians.
We are at a time when politicians are what we need least. We need statesmen. We need real heroes. It is time for another revolution, but we need a beacon to come together. We will not find this beacon from the delusional oldies. Their version of politics is a very different one to what we aspire to one day have. They are the lost generation, by their own doing.
Are you going to be my beacon? Or are you going to run away, be lost like them all? I need a point, a focus, a flag I can identify with. To lead me on. We, the youth - the future - need this.
We need a leader from amongst ourselves. Young, hopeful, daring to dream.
I look to my Malaysian peers who have had the opportunity to go abroad. The UK, US, Australia, India, Indonesia, Russia. We have had the benefit of the impetus from abroad, we have seen the world from without the tempurung that is Malaysia.
Will one of you be my beacon? Or will you, like our forefathers, allow the generations-to-come to continue being the betrayed generations, finally one lost to the winds.
My name is Tan Shang Neng. I am 23 years old.
I hail from Klang, Selangor. I am Malaysian, and I am still hopeful.
****************
1) The phrase "…kill the men…" has been used for poetic purposes. To date, no person has been literally killed, not to the best of my knowledge anyway.
2) Terms such as "old fools" and "delusional oldies" have been used for emotive invocation purposes. In hindsight, it is extremely disrespectful to have grouped some names above in these categories, for this was neglecting the fight that some of these honourable names had taken on. For this reason, I do apologise.
3) This article was initially meant as a rant on Facebook for personal friends. It is non-partisan, and more of an emotive summation than any attempt to espouse political ideologies. I believe in a two party system, and for transparency and education to pave the way. But I personally want to start with hope.
Shang Neng is an optimistic humanist. He often finds no better comic/humour than the front pages of mainstream newspapers quoting our dear YBs. Often ranting about the shortcomings of his country, deep down he knows no other home like Malaysia, and is a true-blue budak Klang."
Believes in a Malaysian revolution brought on by the youth.
* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication. The Malaysian Alternative Voices does not endorse the view unless specified.
Young Generation becoming Homeless Genereation
‘My generation is becoming the homeless generation’
By Lee Wei Lian
Malaysia Insider
May 09, 2011
KUALA LUMPUR, May 9 — Twenty-something media consultant Angela Ooi has all the right boxes ticked when it comes to the type of resident a world-class aspiring city like KL would like to attract.
She’s a university graduate and worked in respectable media company before striking out to start her own successful small business.
Yet, she finds herself unable to afford a reasonably liveable home that doesn’t require either taking out a back-breaking bank loan or moving out to a distant and bland housing estate that involves mind-numbing daily commutes.
“My generation is slowly becoming the homeless generation or the urban sprawl generation,” said Ooi, who has had to resort to renting and feeling very sore about the supply of reasonably priced but decent housing stock.
Her concerns are shared by many young adults who are the future economic drivers of the city.
Tuition business entrepreneur Amin, 29, said property prices are now “very expensive.”
“I am looking to buy but property prices are now beyond reach,” he said.
While some developers suggested that young adults move away from the city where property is more affordable, Amin said the resulting lengthy commutes would be a waste of time and impact productivity.
“Living far away is really inefficient,” he said. “Our public transport is not the best and you’ll have to deal with disruptions such as bad weather or the bus breaking down.”
Another accountant, Patrick, who has several years of working experience with multinationals recently bought a new 600-plus sq ft one-bedroom condominium in Kota Damansara, which is located about 15km from the city centre, for approximately RM350,000 or about RM550 per sq ft (psf).
As a local however, he said the risk of buying for him is reduced as he currently saves money by staying at home with his parents, adding that if things don’t work out with the condominium, he can still fall back on his parents while other young adults may not be so lucky.
And even though he has been able to buy a condo, Patrick still feels property has become overpriced.
“Salaries have not gone up much and cannot play catch up with property prices,” he said, noting that he’ll have to commit a significant chunk of his monthly income to servicing the housing loan.
Another twenty-something accountant with a multinational, who wanted to be known only as Rais, grew up in the expensive Damansara Heights neighbourhood but even then has balked at house prices.
“Either I buy a studio apartment which is now also not cheap and is like living out of a hotel room or spend my young adult life in a car driving long commutes,” he said. “That’s not the lifestyle I want.”
Rais said he and his friends are now taking a wait-and-see attitude towards buying a home due to the “ridiculous prices.”
At a recent Real Estate Developers Association (Rehda) media briefing, some developers suggested that young adults look beyond new houses to the secondary market of older homes which they can then fix up.
Ooi pointed out however that older homes in mature neighbourhoods are still costly before even adding on the cost of renovation.
“So, even if I manage to put a 10 per cent downpayment on a RM700,000 place, which is RM70,000, how about money for replacing old pipes and wiring and furniture?”
Ooi suggested that to help overcome the problem, the government could emulate some local governments in the US which offer financial incentives such as grants to those who move into older, dilapidated areas of the city as it will help with area gentrification.
“It’ll be nice if you live upstairs in a nice cleaned-up space just above a café, that serves good coffee and kaya toast, and down the street there’s a mom and pop grocery store, that conforms to cleanliness laws, so they don’t leave rotting veges in the street that will attract rats, and maybe set up a walking neighbourhood which is viable for outdoor activities on the street,” she said.
Rehda president Datuk Michael Yam said however that gentrification in Malaysia could be more efficiently done by developers.
National House Buyers Association secretary-general Chang Kim Loong said recently that the rapid inflation of assets has put house ownership beyond the reach of young adults.
Yam told The Malaysian Insider however that property prices were a complex issue and were now largely driven by escalating land costs and rising material costs on top of the social obligations that developers have to carry out, which are then built into the prices.
He also noted that some Western countries overcome affordability issues by reserving certain housing units for essential service providers such as nurses and firefighters.
For Ooi however, all she wants is a place in the city to call home, a dream currently now frustrated
By Lee Wei Lian
Malaysia Insider
May 09, 2011
KUALA LUMPUR, May 9 — Twenty-something media consultant Angela Ooi has all the right boxes ticked when it comes to the type of resident a world-class aspiring city like KL would like to attract.
She’s a university graduate and worked in respectable media company before striking out to start her own successful small business.
Yet, she finds herself unable to afford a reasonably liveable home that doesn’t require either taking out a back-breaking bank loan or moving out to a distant and bland housing estate that involves mind-numbing daily commutes.
“My generation is slowly becoming the homeless generation or the urban sprawl generation,” said Ooi, who has had to resort to renting and feeling very sore about the supply of reasonably priced but decent housing stock.
Her concerns are shared by many young adults who are the future economic drivers of the city.
Tuition business entrepreneur Amin, 29, said property prices are now “very expensive.”
“I am looking to buy but property prices are now beyond reach,” he said.
While some developers suggested that young adults move away from the city where property is more affordable, Amin said the resulting lengthy commutes would be a waste of time and impact productivity.
“Living far away is really inefficient,” he said. “Our public transport is not the best and you’ll have to deal with disruptions such as bad weather or the bus breaking down.”
Another accountant, Patrick, who has several years of working experience with multinationals recently bought a new 600-plus sq ft one-bedroom condominium in Kota Damansara, which is located about 15km from the city centre, for approximately RM350,000 or about RM550 per sq ft (psf).
As a local however, he said the risk of buying for him is reduced as he currently saves money by staying at home with his parents, adding that if things don’t work out with the condominium, he can still fall back on his parents while other young adults may not be so lucky.
And even though he has been able to buy a condo, Patrick still feels property has become overpriced.
“Salaries have not gone up much and cannot play catch up with property prices,” he said, noting that he’ll have to commit a significant chunk of his monthly income to servicing the housing loan.
Another twenty-something accountant with a multinational, who wanted to be known only as Rais, grew up in the expensive Damansara Heights neighbourhood but even then has balked at house prices.
“Either I buy a studio apartment which is now also not cheap and is like living out of a hotel room or spend my young adult life in a car driving long commutes,” he said. “That’s not the lifestyle I want.”
Rais said he and his friends are now taking a wait-and-see attitude towards buying a home due to the “ridiculous prices.”
At a recent Real Estate Developers Association (Rehda) media briefing, some developers suggested that young adults look beyond new houses to the secondary market of older homes which they can then fix up.
Ooi pointed out however that older homes in mature neighbourhoods are still costly before even adding on the cost of renovation.
“So, even if I manage to put a 10 per cent downpayment on a RM700,000 place, which is RM70,000, how about money for replacing old pipes and wiring and furniture?”
Ooi suggested that to help overcome the problem, the government could emulate some local governments in the US which offer financial incentives such as grants to those who move into older, dilapidated areas of the city as it will help with area gentrification.
“It’ll be nice if you live upstairs in a nice cleaned-up space just above a café, that serves good coffee and kaya toast, and down the street there’s a mom and pop grocery store, that conforms to cleanliness laws, so they don’t leave rotting veges in the street that will attract rats, and maybe set up a walking neighbourhood which is viable for outdoor activities on the street,” she said.
Rehda president Datuk Michael Yam said however that gentrification in Malaysia could be more efficiently done by developers.
National House Buyers Association secretary-general Chang Kim Loong said recently that the rapid inflation of assets has put house ownership beyond the reach of young adults.
Yam told The Malaysian Insider however that property prices were a complex issue and were now largely driven by escalating land costs and rising material costs on top of the social obligations that developers have to carry out, which are then built into the prices.
He also noted that some Western countries overcome affordability issues by reserving certain housing units for essential service providers such as nurses and firefighters.
For Ooi however, all she wants is a place in the city to call home, a dream currently now frustrated
Friday, 6 May 2011
Political Reform Memorandum - TI-Malaysia
TI-Malaysia submits memo to PM on reforms in political financing
Written by Joseph Chin of theedgemalaysia.com
Thursday, 05 May 2011 17:35
KUALA LUMPUR: Transparency International Malaysia (TI-M) has submitted its 22-point memorandum on reforms of political financing in Malaysia to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.
TI-M proposed 22 reforms to improve transparency, integrity and accountability in political financing and they focused on three key areas: Institutional reforms, Legislative reforms and Media reforms.
It said the memorandum was submitted on Thursday, May 5, based on its research on the state of political financing in Malaysia from 2009 to 2010.
The research included interviews with past and present politicians including such Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, surveys with the Election Commission (EC), Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), politicians, academicians, political analysts, companies, civil society, journalists and the general public.
TI-M said conferences, workshops and state level consultations on reforms in political financing in Malaysia were held.
Below is the list of recommendations made by TI-M which it hoped would be implemented before the 13th General Election:
a) State Funding
State funding is crucial for improving transparency, accountability and fairness in political financing, and to ensure that political parties and candidates have sufficient resources to run viable campaigns. It is recommended that the Federal Government provide funding for Parliamentary elections and the State governments for state level elections. A formula could be worked out based on the following factors –urban, rural and number of voters.
b) Regulation of Reporting of Political Financing
(i) The Election Offences Act 1954 should be amended to require party election expenses to be independently audited by certified auditors before submission to the EC.
(ii) The Elections Act 1958 should be amended to empower the EC to carry out investigations and verify financial reports of candidates.
c) Full disclosure of Political Party and Candidate Financing
Political parties should be required by law to make full public disclosure of the amounts and sources of their financing and expenditure. There must be public disclosure and access to political party accounts
d) Regulating Political Donations
(i) There must be limits on contributions by Malaysian individuals and organisations or companies to political parties. Ideally, companies should be prohibited from making political donations. This is the best means to curb the capacity of those with private agenda to influence election outcomes.
(ii) A list of non-permitted donors should be prepared. These should include government-linked corporations, non-citizens and foreign organisations.
(e) Equal and Fair Coverage by and Access to Public Media
Provide fair and equal coverage for all campaigning political parties during election campaign periods. Political parties and candidates should have access to all public (taxpayer supported) media, including TV, radio, national news agency and websites
Written by Joseph Chin of theedgemalaysia.com
Thursday, 05 May 2011 17:35
KUALA LUMPUR: Transparency International Malaysia (TI-M) has submitted its 22-point memorandum on reforms of political financing in Malaysia to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.
TI-M proposed 22 reforms to improve transparency, integrity and accountability in political financing and they focused on three key areas: Institutional reforms, Legislative reforms and Media reforms.
It said the memorandum was submitted on Thursday, May 5, based on its research on the state of political financing in Malaysia from 2009 to 2010.
The research included interviews with past and present politicians including such Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, surveys with the Election Commission (EC), Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), politicians, academicians, political analysts, companies, civil society, journalists and the general public.
TI-M said conferences, workshops and state level consultations on reforms in political financing in Malaysia were held.
Below is the list of recommendations made by TI-M which it hoped would be implemented before the 13th General Election:
a) State Funding
State funding is crucial for improving transparency, accountability and fairness in political financing, and to ensure that political parties and candidates have sufficient resources to run viable campaigns. It is recommended that the Federal Government provide funding for Parliamentary elections and the State governments for state level elections. A formula could be worked out based on the following factors –urban, rural and number of voters.
b) Regulation of Reporting of Political Financing
(i) The Election Offences Act 1954 should be amended to require party election expenses to be independently audited by certified auditors before submission to the EC.
(ii) The Elections Act 1958 should be amended to empower the EC to carry out investigations and verify financial reports of candidates.
c) Full disclosure of Political Party and Candidate Financing
Political parties should be required by law to make full public disclosure of the amounts and sources of their financing and expenditure. There must be public disclosure and access to political party accounts
d) Regulating Political Donations
(i) There must be limits on contributions by Malaysian individuals and organisations or companies to political parties. Ideally, companies should be prohibited from making political donations. This is the best means to curb the capacity of those with private agenda to influence election outcomes.
(ii) A list of non-permitted donors should be prepared. These should include government-linked corporations, non-citizens and foreign organisations.
(e) Equal and Fair Coverage by and Access to Public Media
Provide fair and equal coverage for all campaigning political parties during election campaign periods. Political parties and candidates should have access to all public (taxpayer supported) media, including TV, radio, national news agency and websites
Equal Opportunity Commission to Reverse Brain Drain?
Tony Pua
Friday, May 06, 2011
Equal Opportunity Commission to Reverse Brain Drain?
The Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak has set the lofty goal of becoming a high-income nation earning US$15,000 per capita which all Malaysians must support.
However, the recent World Bank Malaysia Economic Monitor Report on “Brain Drain” serves up a stark reminder to Najib that such goals will be nothing but pipe dreams if critical reforms are not instituted. The Report said that “Malaysia seems stuck in a middle-income trap, the predicament that prevents middle-income countries from fulfilling the next step in their development path towards high income.”
It added that our “growing inability to remain competitive as a high-volume, low-cost producer coupled with the difficulty to break into fast-growing markets for knowledge- and innovation-based products and services.”
As a result, we are failing to achieve our income potential and it cited the damning but instructive example of South Korea where “four decades ago South Korea was markedly poorer than Malaysia, South Korea’s per capita income is now three times higher than Malaysia’s.”
To break out of the middle-income trap and to fulfil our growth and income potentials, the World Bank report had confirmed what many had already knew, that Malaysia must stem and reverse the acute brain drain faced by this country, where 2 out of every 10 tertiary educated leaves.
In fact, the World Bank survey has found that an overwhelming 87% of respondents suggested that a "paradigm shift away from race-based towards needs-based affirmative action" may entice a migrant to return to Malaysia. What’s more, the survey had indicated that 60% of respondents cited "social injustice" as a key reason for their leaving the country.
Hence as an immediate measure to demonstrate Najib’s commitment towards achieving a high-income nation status, he must reinstate the “Equal Opportunity Commission” (EOC) which was proposed in the New Economic Model (NEM) Part 1, but was subsequently inconspicuously dropped due to strong protests from within UMNO and from right-wing Malay rights groups such as Perkasa.
The EOC was proposed in the original NEM to “cover discriminatory and unfair practices” in both the public and private sectors, not only to promote “economic efficiency through competition”, but more critically, to ensure “inclusive growth”.
The late Datuk Zainal Aznam, who was the Deputy Director at Institute of Strategic and International Studies (ISIS) and Malaysian Institute for Economic Research (MIER), who had spent 20 years with the Economic Planning Unit (EPU), was a key member of the National Economic Action Council (NEAC) who delivered the NEM.
Datuk Zainal Aznam was highly critical of the Government’s decision to drop the proposed EOC where he said “after more than 50 years of independent growth, we are no closer to being racially blind… Current and future conflicts in Malaysia will be fuelled more by an outraged sense of inequality and unfairness in economic opportunities…”
At a forum organised by think-tank Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (IDEAS) in February this year, Datuk Zainal Aznam had revealed that reforms such as the EOC were “lambasted and strangled by right wing groups led by Perkasa. They wanted to burn part one (of the NEM)”
He lamented that “there is political will, but it is insufficient, like (what happened with) the Equal Opportunities Commission,” and added that he had “serious doubts (about) how far the BN government is willing to go.”
As a tribute most befitting to Datuk Zainal Aznam who had passed away on last week, Najib should immediately announce the reinstatement of the proposed EOC, and introduce the necessary legislations in the coming parliamentary sitting commencing on 13th June. The measure will contribute positively towards helping Najib’s Talent Corporation succeed in convincing migrants to return, and curb the excessive drain on the country’s talent, so critical in achieving Malaysian’s high income nation target.
Friday, May 06, 2011
Equal Opportunity Commission to Reverse Brain Drain?
The Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak has set the lofty goal of becoming a high-income nation earning US$15,000 per capita which all Malaysians must support.
However, the recent World Bank Malaysia Economic Monitor Report on “Brain Drain” serves up a stark reminder to Najib that such goals will be nothing but pipe dreams if critical reforms are not instituted. The Report said that “Malaysia seems stuck in a middle-income trap, the predicament that prevents middle-income countries from fulfilling the next step in their development path towards high income.”
It added that our “growing inability to remain competitive as a high-volume, low-cost producer coupled with the difficulty to break into fast-growing markets for knowledge- and innovation-based products and services.”
As a result, we are failing to achieve our income potential and it cited the damning but instructive example of South Korea where “four decades ago South Korea was markedly poorer than Malaysia, South Korea’s per capita income is now three times higher than Malaysia’s.”
To break out of the middle-income trap and to fulfil our growth and income potentials, the World Bank report had confirmed what many had already knew, that Malaysia must stem and reverse the acute brain drain faced by this country, where 2 out of every 10 tertiary educated leaves.
In fact, the World Bank survey has found that an overwhelming 87% of respondents suggested that a "paradigm shift away from race-based towards needs-based affirmative action" may entice a migrant to return to Malaysia. What’s more, the survey had indicated that 60% of respondents cited "social injustice" as a key reason for their leaving the country.
Hence as an immediate measure to demonstrate Najib’s commitment towards achieving a high-income nation status, he must reinstate the “Equal Opportunity Commission” (EOC) which was proposed in the New Economic Model (NEM) Part 1, but was subsequently inconspicuously dropped due to strong protests from within UMNO and from right-wing Malay rights groups such as Perkasa.
The EOC was proposed in the original NEM to “cover discriminatory and unfair practices” in both the public and private sectors, not only to promote “economic efficiency through competition”, but more critically, to ensure “inclusive growth”.
The late Datuk Zainal Aznam, who was the Deputy Director at Institute of Strategic and International Studies (ISIS) and Malaysian Institute for Economic Research (MIER), who had spent 20 years with the Economic Planning Unit (EPU), was a key member of the National Economic Action Council (NEAC) who delivered the NEM.
Datuk Zainal Aznam was highly critical of the Government’s decision to drop the proposed EOC where he said “after more than 50 years of independent growth, we are no closer to being racially blind… Current and future conflicts in Malaysia will be fuelled more by an outraged sense of inequality and unfairness in economic opportunities…”
At a forum organised by think-tank Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (IDEAS) in February this year, Datuk Zainal Aznam had revealed that reforms such as the EOC were “lambasted and strangled by right wing groups led by Perkasa. They wanted to burn part one (of the NEM)”
He lamented that “there is political will, but it is insufficient, like (what happened with) the Equal Opportunities Commission,” and added that he had “serious doubts (about) how far the BN government is willing to go.”
As a tribute most befitting to Datuk Zainal Aznam who had passed away on last week, Najib should immediately announce the reinstatement of the proposed EOC, and introduce the necessary legislations in the coming parliamentary sitting commencing on 13th June. The measure will contribute positively towards helping Najib’s Talent Corporation succeed in convincing migrants to return, and curb the excessive drain on the country’s talent, so critical in achieving Malaysian’s high income nation target.
(Lacking in) FREEDOM OF THE PRESS (143/196)
Freedom of the press
Opinion
Opinion
2011-05-05 15:08
By LIM SUE GOAN
By LIM SUE GOAN
Translated by Soong Phui Jee
Sin Chew Daily
Malaysia has dropped from 141 to 143 out of 196 countries surveyed worldwide in the Freedom of the Press Index released by US-based Freedom House. It is categorised as "not free".
It shows that despite the efforts of several decades, Malaysia has not much improved in terms of press freedom.
It shows that despite the efforts of several decades, Malaysia has not much improved in terms of press freedom.
After the national independence, freedom of the press has never been included in the government's plan of improvement due to political, racial and religious sensitivities. If there is a ranking for different fields, politics would top the list, followed by economy while freedom of the press would be ranked the bottom.
During the administration of Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, the press lacked freedom and not much improvement had been made in Tun Abdullah Badawi's era. We thought that policies would be relaxed after the 2008 general election but freedom of the press has not been included in the Key Performance Index (KPI), National Key Results Areas (NKRA), Government Transformation Plan (GTP) and Economic Transformation Programme (ETP).
Our ranking is inconsistent with the status of a middle-income country. It is indeed shameful that Malaysia has been ranked below East Timor (77), the Philippines (93), Indonesia (108) and Cambodia (141) with relatively weaker economies.
There are three criteria to assess a country's freedom of the press:
Law and control: if there are many laws to control and restrain the media, the space of coverage will shrink. Media practitioners will naturally self-filter as they are fear of breaking the laws.
The government plans to amend the Printing Press and Publication Act but no action has yet been taken. However, the revised publications guidelines might control various information circulating on the Internet. If the law is tightened instead of relaxed, our ranking is likely to drop further next year.
The government plans to amend the Printing Press and Publication Act but no action has yet been taken. However, the revised publications guidelines might control various information circulating on the Internet. If the law is tightened instead of relaxed, our ranking is likely to drop further next year.
If the Home and Information Communication and Culture Ministries plan to establish a national media advisory council so that the government is empowered to lead and restrain the media, the outlook for press freedom will be more gloomy.
The status of the media: in a country with a high degree of press freedom, the constitution, courts and government will protect the media and therefore, the media enjoy a high status. For example, President Richard Nixon was prompted to resign during the 1972 Watergate scandal.
In Malaysia, the mainstream media are controversial. They might be accused of being intervened by politics or becoming a racial camp, and lose their credibility and status.
In Malaysia, the mainstream media are controversial. They might be accused of being intervened by politics or becoming a racial camp, and lose their credibility and status.
It is a tragedy on the Press Freedom Day when National Union of Journalists (NUJ) President Hata Wahari was dismissed by the Utusan Melayu.
The quality of news: if the media become a day-book reporting only what people have said, it will be empty in terms of value.
The Los Angeles Times won the Pulitzer Prize gold medal for public service this year for revealing official corruption in Bell. In Malaysia, instead of corruption revealing reports, award winning reports are general news. Who is responsible for such a situation?
If Malaysia wishes to become an advanced high-income country in 2020, freedom of the press is absolutely essential. Without freedom of the press, we will never be categorised as a developed country and social justice will drift further and further away.
MySinchew 2011.05.05
Monday, 2 May 2011
Meritocracy to stop Brain Drain
More meritocracy needed to stop brain drain, say economists
By Yow Hong Chieh
Malaysia Insider
Monday, 02 May 2011
KUALA LUMPUR, May 2 — The Najib administration needs to ensure a greater degree of meritocracy in education and employment to tackle the fundamental causes of Malaysia’s brain drain problem, economists have said.
A World Bank report published last week warned that the ongoing exodus of professional Malaysians was likely to intensify in coming years and further erode the country’s already narrow skills base.
CIMB Investment Bank chief economist Lee Heng Guie said Talent Corp, set up by the government earlier this year to lure and retain skilled workers, should conduct a thorough study to determine the best way to stem the outflow before serving up incentives.
While expressing confidence that the government was serious about tackling the problem, he said the incentives on offer so far were “short term” and not comprehensive enough to address the Malaysian diaspora’s concerns about lack of meritocracy in education and employment.
Talent Corp announced on April 12 that Malaysian professionals working abroad who returned to Malaysia would only have to pay a 15 per cent flat income tax for five years under the Returning Experts Programme (REP).
“They really have to do a study on why Malaysians are going out and how to attract them back,” Lee told The Malaysian Insider.
“It’s better than ad hoc dishing out incentives hoping people will come.”
But he cautioned that it was still too early to tell how Malaysians targeted by Talent Corp would respond to the flat tax incentive.
“It will be interesting to see how many Malaysians actually come back to take advantage of this,” he said.
Jupiter Securities research head Pong Teng Siew said the lack of meritocracy in tertiary education remained one of the most glaring obstacles to retaining and nurturing local talent.
He said “broader objectives” set by the government has distorted educational opportunities for the best and brightest and chased away talented Malaysians to foreign shores, from which they were unlikely to return.
“As long as the emphasis remains on other objectives than academic excellence, then the brain drain will continue,” he said.
Pong warned that the brain drain meant Malaysia would face an “uphill climb” to attain high-income nation status as there were now fewer skilled individuals to lead the “technological advancement” of the nation.
He also pointed out that it was difficult for “even the best countries” to compete internationally even without the barriers and inefficiencies prevalent in Malaysia.
“Singapore was desperate enough to get ahead with casinos. This tells you how difficult it is to keep ahead,” he said.
According to the World Bank’s “Malaysia Economic Monitor: Brain Drain” report released yesterday, some one million Malaysians live and work abroad, mostly in Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries and Singapore.
The report shows that 54 per cent of the Malaysian diaspora resided in Singapore while 15 per cent went to Australia, 10 per cent to the US and 5 per cent to the UK.
Malaysians abroad have cited social injustice in Malaysia as well as better career prospects and higher wages overseas as the main reasons for leaving.
By Yow Hong Chieh
Malaysia Insider
Monday, 02 May 2011
KUALA LUMPUR, May 2 — The Najib administration needs to ensure a greater degree of meritocracy in education and employment to tackle the fundamental causes of Malaysia’s brain drain problem, economists have said.
A World Bank report published last week warned that the ongoing exodus of professional Malaysians was likely to intensify in coming years and further erode the country’s already narrow skills base.
CIMB Investment Bank chief economist Lee Heng Guie said Talent Corp, set up by the government earlier this year to lure and retain skilled workers, should conduct a thorough study to determine the best way to stem the outflow before serving up incentives.
While expressing confidence that the government was serious about tackling the problem, he said the incentives on offer so far were “short term” and not comprehensive enough to address the Malaysian diaspora’s concerns about lack of meritocracy in education and employment.
Talent Corp announced on April 12 that Malaysian professionals working abroad who returned to Malaysia would only have to pay a 15 per cent flat income tax for five years under the Returning Experts Programme (REP).
“They really have to do a study on why Malaysians are going out and how to attract them back,” Lee told The Malaysian Insider.
“It’s better than ad hoc dishing out incentives hoping people will come.”
But he cautioned that it was still too early to tell how Malaysians targeted by Talent Corp would respond to the flat tax incentive.
“It will be interesting to see how many Malaysians actually come back to take advantage of this,” he said.
Jupiter Securities research head Pong Teng Siew said the lack of meritocracy in tertiary education remained one of the most glaring obstacles to retaining and nurturing local talent.
He said “broader objectives” set by the government has distorted educational opportunities for the best and brightest and chased away talented Malaysians to foreign shores, from which they were unlikely to return.
“As long as the emphasis remains on other objectives than academic excellence, then the brain drain will continue,” he said.
Pong warned that the brain drain meant Malaysia would face an “uphill climb” to attain high-income nation status as there were now fewer skilled individuals to lead the “technological advancement” of the nation.
He also pointed out that it was difficult for “even the best countries” to compete internationally even without the barriers and inefficiencies prevalent in Malaysia.
“Singapore was desperate enough to get ahead with casinos. This tells you how difficult it is to keep ahead,” he said.
According to the World Bank’s “Malaysia Economic Monitor: Brain Drain” report released yesterday, some one million Malaysians live and work abroad, mostly in Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries and Singapore.
The report shows that 54 per cent of the Malaysian diaspora resided in Singapore while 15 per cent went to Australia, 10 per cent to the US and 5 per cent to the UK.
Malaysians abroad have cited social injustice in Malaysia as well as better career prospects and higher wages overseas as the main reasons for leaving.