Racial poisoning hits BN, leaving Chinese parties drained and Umno vulnerable

1957 saw the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC) and Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA) work together to achieve the country’s independence. Together, the three parties formed a coalition that collectively represented the welfare of all three of the majority races. It was our first act of unity, and it gave us our independence.

Fast-forward 54 years to present day, and we see the now larger coalition unravelling at the seams, with Chinese-based components MCA, SUPP and Gerakan at the zones of greatest pressure, and many say past the point of return.

It takes both hands to clap, and in any polygamous relationship all parties have to bear the blame whenever there is divorce albeit in differing degrees. In the case of the BN coalition, the party most faulted is UMNO. Although, it always held the leadeship position due to the Malay electorate being the largest at some 60 per cent, UMNO became overly greedy through the years. Not that its partners were blameless, but UMNO was the aggressor, willing even to cannibalise the BN to feed its own ambitions and goals.

Leave, not join BN
A telltale sign of distress within the coalition came in the form of a rare outburst from SUPP president George Chan. Shedding a harsh light on the state of equality across the parties within BN, he recently advised the opposition’s Democratic Action Party (DAP) not to join the coalition and openly admitted that it gives no priority to its Chinese-majority members.

There have been speculations, and even calls for SUPP, MCA and Gerakan to team up and leave the coalition. The three parties have performed poorly in recent elections, with SUPP losing most of its contested seats in April’s Sarawak state elections, Gerakan losing control of Penang for the first time since 1969 and MCA retaining only 15 parliamentary seats, less than half of what they had before.

With the opposition coalition gaining popularity, the three BN Chinese-majority parties are increasingly being accused of not serving and representing the welfare of the Chinese community within the government. The recent years have seen the media, bloggers and even Facebook groups call for the parties to leave BN, if only to reinstate their credibility as the Chinese representatives. They came close, but not quite close enough.

A SUPP leader told Malaysia Chronicle earlier this month that the three parties had late last year discussed plans to leave BN but had not the will to carry through.

This has left many disgruntled and disappointed in their representatives. Now, with the people’s spirits still high from the adrenaline rush that was Bersih 2.0, Chan’s public outburst of discontent at BN and the General Elections coming up, change seems to be the mantra for all and the views are growing by the day that the only way the three parties can stave off extinction was to turn independent.

Colour-blind and policy-centred
Whether BN or more to the point, UMNO, admits it or not, ties between the race-based parties are now under such strain that the very coalition that gave us our independence is struggling to hold onto power.

However, whether or not the Chinese majority parties leave the BN, join the opposition, or form their own group, it would do little or nothing to appease the undercurrent of racial discord in the country. Racial politics may have had its place half a century ago, but times now have changed.

As has been said time and time again, Malaysia needs to steer herself towards a political system that is colour-blind and policy-centered. Leaving coalitions and forming parties while only looking out for those whose skin colour resembles ours will only deepen the cracks between races and incite more fear and resentment based on the brownness or yellowness of our skin.

If SUPP, MCA and Gerakan walk out today, sure, most of the Chinese will cheer, and the rest of UMNO will be left reeling and scrambling to pick up the pieces.

However, it would be naïve to not expect some serious backlash and repercussions as consequences. Not only will UMNO clamp down on this “walk-out” with lightning speed; it will perhaps go so far as to suspend or seize MCA-owned national newspapers The Star, Sin Chew Jit Poh and Nanyang Siang Pau or even to unleash its proverbial tyrannical power that is the ISA unto the party leaders for alleged anarchy of some sort, but the parties’ action may also create even larger rifts between the people.

From the bottom-up, it is highly unlikely that many non-Chinese would be supportive of a Chinese-stronghold political group. But it won't really matter for the SUPP, MCA and Gerakan because if they remained in the BN, they would lose even more. There is also the option of working with the Malay parties in the Pakatan Rakyat. As for UMNO, with 23.7% of the population being Chinese, it will be almost impossible to assume power when only looking after the welfare of its own ethnicity.

Ideals
As such, what we need today is a party or a coalition that first and foremost represents not the race of its members but our ideals as Malaysian citizens. With that right step in mind, we can then work on the not any less important factor of transparency within the administration.

Many of us are now second and third generation Malaysians since our independence and have lived on Malaysia’s soil our whole lives. It is time now that we define ourselves, our party ideals and who owns the land not by how long our ancestors have been here, because, really if we did, it would be the aboriginals and indigenous people who should be in power, but by how we as today’s generation of Malaysians want to shape our country and future.

We are a young country, and we are a young people; only 5% of the population is over 65 years old. So, some may say we aren’t ready for secular politics; some may caution that as a people we are unprepared; we are too young. But what relevance does youth have? If anything, as children we pay little attention to skin colour on the playground. Most only grow more racially aware as we get older. It is the old; the archaic policies championed by previous generations that are crippling this young country. We are young, and therefore we are open to the new. Why do we allow ourselves to be governed by the fear of leaving behind the old? There can be no denying that the step towards secular politics needs to be taken.

No one should have more right over a piece of land just because their grandfather set foot on it first; this game of “finders’ keepers” needs to end, or has it not dragged on for too long now?

- Malaysia Chronicle

BN partners should never fear ‘big brother’ Umno

OPINION In a recent interview with Malaysiakini, suspended Deputy MCA president Dr Chua Soi Lek brought up an interesting point – how he will handle Umno if he were the leader of the MCA.

“There is more than one way to skin a cat. Similarly, there is more than one way for MCA to deal with Umno”, Chua said philosophically.

According to him, MCA president Ong Tee Keat prefers a more confrontational approach when dealing with Umno, the ‘big brother’ of Barisan Nasional.

Chua stressed his emphasis was towards garnering support for BN because that is the common platform which MCA candidates stand on during elections.

For the coalition to thrive, MCA must then forge strong ties within the BN coalition, including Umno, said Chua.

By now, most of us know what is going on in the MCA.

Sex scandal difficult to erase
The ‘Triple 10’ (10am on the 10th day of the 10th month) extraordinary general meeting will be a ‘winner takes all’ battle for either Ong or Chua. Both had declared that it would be the end of their political career should they not survive the vote.

It has been speculated that Chua is unhappy at being sidelined by the party while Ong must have felt it improper to put up a person tainted by immoral behaviour for public office.
Indeed, Chua’s ‘porn star’ tag is something that is unlikely to go away, ever.

People still remember DP Vijandran’s sex videos even when the incident happened some 20 years ago. And Malaysians will not forget Bill Clinton’s indiscretion with Monica Lewinsky even though that has nothing to do with us. But Chua did better than Clinton. He was brave enough to own up immediately while Clinton lied through his teeth until he was cornered.

But what Chua brought up - the way to handle Umno - is a subject worth a further look at.
Looking at the current crop of presidents of BN component parties, I can safely conclude that MIC supremo Samy Vellu and MCA president Ong Tee Keat would be able to stand as tall as and be at par with Najib Abdul Razak, the prime minister and Umno president. I’m afraid I cannot say that of Gerakan’s Dr Koh Tsu Koon though. (Pity Dr Lim Keng Yaik is no longer at Gerakan's helm. I doubt anyone in Umno had dared to bully Keng Yaik in the past.)

Why? Samy was already a senior Cabinet member when Najib was just a ‘baby minister’. Say what you like about Samy. He has the guts to stand up to Umno, ‘big brother’ or not! Najib would have a lot of quiet respect for the veteran MIC president too.

Ong Tee Keat’s no-nonsense approach is one that would stand out in his dealings with other BN partners, Umno included.

Chua is probably right. There are many ways to build a relationship with Umno leaders. How he is different from Ong here is that the MCA president is considered a very tough nut to crack and is unlikely to budge once he has made up his mind on something.

It is perhaps true what Chua said about him being gung-ho in his language with Umno leaders. Then, it could also be true that Ong knows too well how Umno will treat him if he is seen as a weak, vulnerable personality. So he has to be tough and act tough, even with ‘big brother’ Umno.

When MCA was bullied
Let me relate two incidents which reached my ears over how Umno had treated its Number Two partner, the MCA in years gone by. They could be true or unreal but I have no reason to think that they were made-up stories.

Many years ago, I was quite friendly with a deputy Umno minister. The good man had since passed on.

He was a confidante of then Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad. And we all know how revered (and feared) Mahathir was when he was in office.

In one of our night caps in his house many years ago, my friend talked about how MCA could easily be bullied by Umno.

“Whenever we wanted to call up MCA leaders, they would come crawling to us at any time,” he had sniggered, as if to indicate how subservient the MCA leaders were. Well, we know who the

MCA president was at that time.
Then recently, I heard this story about the Team A-Team B tussle in the MCA in the early 2000’s.

Towards reaching a resolution in 2003, Dr Mahathir called Dr Ling Liong Sik and Lim Ah Lek into his office.

With the two men in front of him, Mahathir just pointed at them and asked that both of them stepped down as MCA president and deputy president. The story went that Ling and Lim just nodded.

Then Mahathir asked whom they wanted as their replacements. Ling said “Ong Ka Ting” and Lim mentioned “Chan Kong Choy”.

So Ka Ting and Kong Choy as the new president and deputy president it will be.

Next, Mahathir called Ka Ting and Kong Choy to his office. Pointing at Ong, he said “you will be the new MCA president”. At Chan, he ordered, “you will be the new deputy president”.

When this was related to me, I was not totally surprised. This was how powerful Mahathir and Umno were. They could easily made mincemeat of MCA.

It might not have happened exactly the way it was related, but I believe it was along similar fashion.

Feel safer with Ong's approach
But to be fair to Mahathir, he was probably fed-up of the long-running tussle in the MCA then and had wanted to close the chapter quickly.

Umno had changed its leadership since then. So have many of the BN component parties. I suppose different leaders have their own ways of doing things. But I have to say, “just don’t bully your smaller ‘siblings’".

Leaders of the smaller BN component parties, including those from Sabah and Sarawak, should just respect but never fear Umno or their leaders. Umno will not dare act as the ‘big brother’ if they know that others are not easily cowed by them.

And honestly, between Ong Tee Keat and Chua Soi Lek, I think I will feel safer with Ong’s no-nonsense approach with Umno if I were a MCA member.

But then I’m not. So if there are MCA leaders or members who choose to remain subservient to Umno, I say ‘good luck’ to them. Perhaps I should add ‘good riddance’ too!






(This article was first published in The Borneo Post and is reproduced here with permission. The writer has reworked some paragraphs as updates. -Paul Sir)

Call me GOD

It never creases to amaze me how politicians in this country can get away with anything. Not only do they contradict themselves on a daily basis, their hypocrisy is mind-boogling.

Take for instance the word “democracy”. All politicians I know swears that they are for democracy and some even say they will defend it with their blood. Unfortunately in Malaysia, democracy does not mean “democracy” as most people think. In Malaysia, democracy means hypocrisy and double or even triple-talk.

The best example of this “democracy” at work is party elections. Every time there is a party election, the leader will say this is democracy at “work”.

Before you can even blink, they will also say the “party” has “decided” that “no contest for the top posts” is the best way for party elections. So definition number one: democracy means no elections for top posts.

Then, when a challenger emerges, its back to democracy at “work”. This means the leader will use all sorts of presidential power to ensure that there is no such thing as a fair fight. If the challenger has more than an even chance to win, then the challenger is immediately packed off to the disciplinary committee for one or more of the following. All based on recent cases — take your pick:
1) “destroying the credibility of XXX’s elections”
2) “tarnishing the party’s image”
3) “money politics”
4) “sabotaging the party during the elections”

It is as if going after the top job is a regarded as a capital sin nowadays. It is as if one can only lawan towkay if one is willing to be kicked out of a party. There does not appear to be any other way.

Malaysians politicians have a mentality that it’s a winner-take-all situation. The moment you lose, you are out, forever.

The good news of course is that since the public is so forgiving and have a short memory, you can move to another party without much difficulty. This appears to be the most popular route for MCA leaders.

Lim Chong Eu was the president of MCA before he jumped and became the leader of Gerakan. Lim Kheng Yaik, then a young turk who was planning to challenge the old guard in MCA, was kicked out of MCA but he end up as leader of Gerakan and one of the longest serving member of the cabinet. Tengku Razaleigh who lost narrowly to Mahathir in the 1987 Umno polls, left the party and established Parti Semangat 46. In the Democratic Action Party (DAP), the people behind the KOKS, Knock-out Kit Siang or Knock-out Karpal Singh, have all left the party. One of the most prominent members of KOKS, Wee Choo Keong, is now a MP for PKR. The irony of course is that when Wee was forced out DAP he actually established a new party, Malaysian Democratic Party (MDP). MDP obviously was not selling so PKR.

Over in Sarawak, Leo Moggie and Daniel Tajang who challenged James Wong for Sarawak National Party (SNAP) ended up forming a new party, Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak (PBDS). Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) and Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party (SPDP) were all created by challengers to the existing leader.

I agree that this sort of thing happens all over the world but in Asia and Malaysia its so vicious that one could almost say that our level of political development is still stuck in the Stone Age. A modern political party must embrace differences in opinion but in Malaysia political leaders regard themselves as God. A God must not be challenged and all those who challenge God must be struck down by lighting and banish forever. This may explain why people will do anything to be God and once they become God, only the real God can remove them.

One way out of this mess is to impose term limit. I cannot think of another way to limit the damage done by these little Gods on the Malaysian political system. The good news is that the younger generation no longer tolerates these Malaysian Gods and their nonsense. Hence I am willing to bet that the recent actions against Chua (MCA) and Subra (MIC) will ultimately lead to unhappy endings for the incumbent presidents of MCA and MIC. Malaysian Gods are not as powerful as before!




James Chin is a Malaysian academic. The views expressed here are his own and do not reflect the views of institutions he is associated with.

Malaysia's Port Storm - The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission dances gingerly around a huge scandal

Malaysia's Anti-Corruption Commission has been tireless in the pursuit of wrongdoers, particularly those from the opposition Pakatan Rakyat coalition that controls Selangor, Malaysia's richest state. But somehow – perhaps just an oversight – the MACC has been dawdling for five years on a case that appears to be one of the biggest scandals ever to hit a country that has generated some spectacular ones.

That is the RM7.45 billion (US$2.12 billion) cost to turn Port Klang, the seaport 70 km. west of the capital of Kuala Lumpur, into a national transshipment hub to rival the Jebel Ali Free Zone in Dubai. Its directors say it is likely to default on billions of ringgit in loans, with the possibility, according to an auditor's report, that accumulated interest could drive the cost to a whopping RM12.45 billion.

Conceived in 1999, the Port Klang Free Zone was yet another massive development scheme put forward by former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad although he had left office before the real carnival began. The project appears to have ignited a virtual feeding frenzy for politicians from the Barisan Nasional, or ruling national coalition.

The port development was awarded as a turnkey project without competitive bid to well-connected political cronies of the United Malays National Organisation and the Malaysian Chinese Association, the two biggest components of the Barisan Nasional. Project outlays, originally projected at RM1.95 billion, ballooned to RM3.52 billion, with interest accounting for another RM3.9 billion by 2012. The parties to the contract have fallen on each other, describing illicit payments and filing lawsuits. The squabble appears set to wreck what is left of the MCA, already in disastrous shape after the electoral drubbing it took in March 2008 elections.

The case stands in vivid contrast to the MACC's zeal in prosecuting opposition politicians from the Selangor state government. As many as six or seven have had their office records dealing with constituency expenditures taken away for investigation. The most publicized of those was State Executive Councilor Ean Yong Hian Wah, whose aide, Teoh Beng Kock, died on July 16, either by suicide or other means, after undergoing a marathon questioning session in the MACC offices over RM2,400 worth of flags the lawmaker handed out to his constituents during a Merdeka (Freedom) Day celebration.

An anonymous letter written on MACC stationery was released to the press last week, accusing Hishamuddin Hashim, an MACC deputy director for Selangor state, of conspiring with Mohammad Khir Toyo, a leading United Malays National Organization politician and former chief minister in Selangor state, to start corruption probes into opposition politicians. Khir Toyo has denied the charge. Opposition Democratic Action Party officials have been accused of fabricating the letter. Its origin is currently under investigation by police.

Certainly, there appears to be plenty about the Port Klang development for the MACC to investigate. The project is mired in controversy and name-calling, with Tiong King Sing, the head of Kuala Dimensi Sdn Bhd, the company given the turnkey contract to build the massive facility, saying he had paid RM10 million in three installments to Ong Tee Keat, the head of the MCA, "for activities related to the MCA. Tiong is a leader of the Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party and head of the influential Backbenchers Club in the Dewan Dakyat, or parliament. Ong, also the transport minister, is offering to sue Tiong for his assertion that he had channeled money to Ong. Other MCA stalwarts are seeking to oust Ong from his leadership position, further fracturing the party.

Kuala Dimensi in turn is wholly owned by Wijaya Baru Sdn Bhd, which is the main contractor to Kuala Dimensi. Wijaya Baru is controlled by Wijaya Baru Holdings Sdn. Bhd. Azim Mohd Zabidi, the former UMNO treasurer, is chairman of Wijaya Baru Global Bhd. Chor Chee Heung, former deputy was former deputy home minister under Mahathir, who was home minister and fiance minister at the time. Chor was the Wijaya Baru Global non-executive deputy chairman from April 2004 till July 2007.

"This Port Klang FreeTrade zone is a colossal mess, with billions upon billions gone missing. It was earmarked for the MCA and the Chinese community," said a lawyer with links to the United Malays National Organization. "Many MCA/Chinese contractors benefitted from the deal. It has been an issue for the last six years, but only now has it become explosive."

Opposition member Ronnie Liu, a DAP official, lodged a police report with the MACC on the scandal as early as 2004. The DAP has lodged a series of other reports in the intervening years, said a spokesman for the Pakatan Rakyat, the opposition coalition headed by Anwar Ibrahim. None of the requests, the spokesman said, elicited any response from the authorities. Recently Ahmad Said Hamdan, the chief commissioner for MACC, declined to answer questions in a parliamentary accounts selective committee hearing into the Port Klang scandal, saying the case is still under investigation.

The story was broken wide open, however, with the recent publication of a 51-page confidential report into the port's finances by the international accounting firm PriceWaterhouseCoopers. The report, dated Feb. 3, was "not intended for general circulation or publication. It must not be reproduced, republished, copied, distributed, excerpted, disclosed, quoted, alluded or referred to, whether in whole or in part, to any other party in any way without prior written consent of PricewaterhouseCoopers Advisory Services Sdn Bhd (PwCAS)." However, selected parts were indeed excerpted, disclosed, quoted, alluded or referred to by the opposition, and since been given wide distribution.

Among other things, according to the report, which was obtained by Asia Sentinel, "…significant project costs, weak governance and weak project management have severely undermined the viability of the project. It is imperative that (the Port Klang authority) take immediate actions to restructure the (ministry of finance) soft loan of RM4.632 billion to avoid a potential default in 2012. The Government of Malaysia would need to make a concerted effort to turn the Port Klang Free Zone into a viable venture."

The report names a veritable rogue's gallery of MCA and other officials involved in the development of the project including two former transport ministers, Ling Liong Sik, the former MCA head, and Chan Kong Choy; three former Port Authority chairmen, the former UMNO treasurer Azim Mohd Zabidi, the first woman general manager of the authority, O.C.Phang and the project executor, Tiong King Sing.In addition to awarding the contract to Kuala Dimensi without competitive bid, the land purchase was never vetted by the Malaysian cabinet, although it cost RM1.088 billion against a market value of the land of only RM442 million. Kuala Dimensi "may have overcharged PKA for interest by between RM51 million and RM309 million in connection with the purchase of the land," the report said.

According to another report, The 1,000 acres for the port were purchased by the government from Kuala Dimensi at RM 25 per square foot, or RM 1.8 billion inclusive of interest, giving Kuala Dimensi a capital gain of RM 993 million because it in turn had purchased the land from the Pulau Lumut Development Cooperative for only RM 95 million -- RM 3 per square foot. An UMNO assemblyman, Abdul Rahman Palil, was both the Pulau Lumut Development Co-operative chairman and a port director in 2002 when the land for the free zone was sold to the port authority. The then-transport minister rejected an assertion by the Malaysian Attorney General that the land could be acquired for "public purpose" under the Land Acquisition Act at RM 10 per square foot.

As a result, the report said, interest on a soft loan from the Ministry of Finance "will increase the project outlay from RM4.947 billion to RM7.453 billion. Unless the MOF soft loan is restructured, total outlay for the project will increase to RM12.453 billion.

And, five years into the project, it remains only 14 percent occupied and "revenue generated is inadequate to cover its operating expenses." The zone is expected to be in cash deficit from 2012.

The MACC said recently that it had formed a 30- member panel to investigate further.




Asia Sentinel.com