Malaysia's brain drain appears to be picking up speed. According to a recent parliamentary report, 140,000 left the country, probably for good, in 2007. Between March 2008 and August 2009, that figure more than doubled to 305,000 as talented people pulled up stakes, apparently disillusioned by rising crime, a tainted judiciary, human rights abuses, an outmoded education system and other concerns.
The general assumption is that Chinese and Indians form the majority of those abandoning the country of their birth because ethnic Malays consider them pendatang – aliens in a Malay land, regardless of how long they have been in the country. However, increasing numbers of Malays have already emigrated as well, or are seriously thinking it, dismayed by corrupt practices as well as the rigid confines of Islam and the rise of fundamentalism embodied in the revelation on Wednesday by Home Minister Hishammuddin Tun Hussein that three women had been caned in Kajang Prison in Selangor on Feb. 9 for having had illicit sex under shariah law.
In 2000, according to figures compiled in 2007, 40 percent of Malaysian emigrants headed for Singapore – at the same time Singaporeans are headed somewhere else. By one estimate, (Singaporeans Seek Asylum Elsewhere, Asia Sentinel, Jan. 7) the number who put the Lion City behind them is as high as 15 percent of annual births. In 2006, the Transport Minister, Raymond Lim, expressed concern that 53 percent of Singaporean teens would consider emigration. One website survey put Singapore's average outflow at 26.11 migrants per 1,000 citizens, the second highest in the world - next only to East Timor (51.07).
Of the other émigrés, 30 percent go to OECD countries (Australia, New Zealand, the United States, Canada and Britain) 20 percent to Asian countries (Brunei, Philippines, Indonesia) and the rest of the world (10 percent). Malaysian Employers Federation executive director, Shamsuddin Bardan, said in an interview that 785,000 Malaysians are working overseas. Unofficially, the figure is well over 1 million.
Nor are people all that is leaving. Asia Sentinel reported on Jan.11 (Malaysia's Disastrous Capital Flight) that there has been an exodus of money from Malaysia on a scale which surpasses that which occurred during the Asian crisis. The decline is also reflected in a sudden decline in base money supply – even while, thanks to Bank Negara, broader M2 has continued to grow modestly.
A major problem is the flight of graduates. As early as 2004, former Premier Abdullah Ahmad Badawi was becoming concerned, pointing out that as many as many as 30,000 thought to be working in foreign countries, many of whom had held scholarships in top universities from the Malaysian government but chose to stay overseas at the end of their studies. Former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad demanded that other countries pay Malaysia for having seduced them to stay, " since, by right, the graduates' training and knowledge should be called intellectual property."
The typical reasons are well-documented: improved employment and business prospects, higher salaries, better working environments, greater chances of promotion and a relatively superior quality of life.
Three Malay women put a personal face on statistics in conversation with Asia Sentinel, sharing their decisions to emigrate. Two are graduates of overseas universities, the third is from a local school. Their decisions to leave were made, they say, after a lot of soul searching. But for these women, money and economic incentives were not the end-all. Their names have been changed to protect them.
Anita claims to have left because of her sexuality. She graduated from a university in the United Kingdom but continued with a post-graduate degree course. At the end of her studies, she worked in a multinational corporation in London and is now a department head. She was recently married, in a civil ceremony, in the UK. A Malay, Anita is naturally Muslim. Her partner is another woman, Nadia, an Iraqi Jew. They met as undergraduates.
For a decade, the two made the annual pilgrimage to Malaysia to visit Anita's ageing parents, Anita says. When in Kuala Lumpur, they are regular patrons of lesbian joints in Bangsar. After the Malaysian National Fatwa Council issued an edict banning lesbianism in 2008, Anita travelled alone. Nadia dislikes the risk of being 'caught,' The clues to their sexuality are their short cropped hair, Doc Marten shoes, preponderance of masculine clothes and, on closer inspection, their identical wedding rings with each other's names inscribed. Anita is in self-imposed exile because her partner will not be allowed to reside in Malaysia.
Although male homosexuality is illegal in Malaysia and sodomy incurs a punishment of 20 years jail, Malaysia's civil code does not ban lesbianism. Malaysian men are just so big-headed that they cannot imagine any woman not wanting to sleep with a man.
"It is unacceptable to see women who love the male lifestyle including dressing in the clothes men wear," said Abdul Shukor Husin, the Fatwa Council chairman. Harussani Idris Zakaria, the mufti of Perak, says that the council's ruling was not legally binding as it had not been passed into law. He wants tomboys to be banned because their actions are immoral. "It doesn't matter if it's a law or not," he says,
In 2000, Malaysia had around 80,000 official expatriates. By 2008, this figure had shrunk to 38,000 as the collapsing global economy cut into trade and thus trade and Malaysian exports. When Bibi worked in an electronics factory in north Perak, little did she foresee marrying her expatriate quality control engineer. After his conversion to Islam and their subsequent marriage, he attempted unsuccessfully to gain permanent residence. He claims to have spent a small fortune on lawyers, on 'proof' and photographs for the application process, and several trips to the immigration offices to be 'verified'. He claims that one low ranking government official even offered him a birth certificate for RM60,000, as a pre-cursor to a 'red' identity card, which would help facilitate the PR status.
When Bibi's husband's work permit expired, he attempted to form a trading company. He travelled to the border every few months to renew his immigration-social visit pass, while he explored this avenue. He was ineligible for a sole proprietorship and although he could form a limited company with 51 percent bumiputra ownership, he found that for one reason or another, it was not viable. Local partners wanted maximum profits for little or no work. A Caucasian, he was seen as a cash cow, he says.
In addition, the Perak town they lived in was very provincial. Had he lived in Kuala Lumpur or Penang, he could be anonymous, like the expatriates married to Malay women in these cities. As an expat convert in his local town, the Malays expected him to uphold Malay values and scrutinized his every move, right down to his religious obligations. He was disillusioned with living in a goldfish bowl and both he and Bibi left for Europe.
According to one local daily, the number of Malaysian researchers, scientists and engineers working overseas exceeds 20,000 with 40 percent of them in the United States and 10 percent in Australia. When Ida graduated from Australia with a chemical engineering degree, she worked in a chemical plant in Selangor. Her friendship with a chemist blossomed into love, with talk of marriage. There was one problem - Anthony was a Catholic. He dutifully presented himself at the mosque for agama lessons in preparation for his conversion. The imam never appeared for their pre-arranged appointments. Frustrated with being let down repeatedly, he stopped going. His lucky break came when he was offered a job in a neighboring country. Ida joined him. She was free from parental and family pressures, he from the religious zealots. They married. He retained his faith, she remained a Muslim. They started a family and have since emigrated to New Zealand. Recently, she embraced Catholicism.
Malaysian emigration has critical policy implications. There are questions over what will happen when overseas students receive employment offers in the country where they are studying, when skilled people leave Malaysia, when pensioners retire abroad (the silver economy) and the nation registers an increase in unskilled foreign workers but a decrease in skilled expatriates.
The challenge for policymakers is to harness the economic and political potential of this largely ignored diaspora. There is no point pretending Malaysia does not have a serious problem. The incentives to reverse the brain drain and attract those who are abroad must be reviewed, as they are currently ineffective. For many like Anita, Bibi and Ida, it is not just politics and racial discrimination but also religious and social pressures that drive them away.
By Mariam Mokhtar
Asia Sentinel.com
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Friday, February 19, 2010
Malaysians are Stupid
For 53 solid years, we have successfully managed to septumize the races. For 53 good years, we changed-our-mode enough times, so that the rakyat stayed confused and dumb enough NOT to challenge us. We have ensured that the peasants stayed poor and stupid enough so that they did not know of any alternatives, and were fighting hard just to feed themselves just to survive. The “clang” of your mental Ball-and-Chains delight us with orgasmic thrill.
We habitually showcase over TV all the poor Orang Aslis to reassert that “malays” are poor, even though they are NOT “malay”. Then we dump them back into deep Jungle and tell them to wait “Insyallah” for another 53 years maybe for us to provide them with electricity. They believe us. We also made it illegal for anyone to talk to them, to guarantee that they remain that way; so that we can showcase them on TV again, the next time we need to show poor people.
We successfully told the rakyat that PAS is an Extremist Party. And you silly serfs believed us. You are so dumb. You are also dumb enough to believe that your “gods” are powerful enough to defeat us. Trust me. Your “gods” are useless. They are useless against our Ketuanan. You can scream. You can shout. You can even Parade the streets. Yet, Ketuanan UMNO wins everytime. Why? Because you won't lift a finger against us. You peasants sit trembling in an operculum instead, dribbling in your pitiful, dank, rickety cribs, while we, the Ketuanans, live in opulent, opportunistic grandeur. Fed by your tax dollars and your Oil Money. Terima Kasih.
We have ensured that we have enough “ball-lickers” amongst you. Your exigency at this juncture has left you bemused. But it is a mere trinket of unequivocal enthuse for the opulent “us”. We defile your adytum, demolish them with fire and brimstone. Yet, you delusional mongrels call it “Fate and Destiny”. How wonderful. “Sit, beg, paw and roll-over....” is all you know to do. And you do it well. Here, have a biscuit. We have ensured that we remain “The Hand that Feeds”. Do you dare bite us?
“Give to Caesar....”, your good books tell you. We have read them well. We know how to manupilate your simple minds. Hence, you readily bequeath your gold, silver and your young nubile virgin daughters to our eminent entablatures. We are at liberty to rape, plunder, sodomize and C4 anyone, at will. Yet, you roll out the Red Carpets for us each and every time.
We burn a few more churches; toss a few more boar-heads, and you scamper away, like frightened cockroaches. Your spirits have been quashed. You are domiciled. We have proudly toilet-trained you. We indiscriminately defecate on you; yet, you vehemently thank us. You have become the perfect slaves. A herd of unquestioning imbeciles. Those disenchanted saurians have either been circumscribed while other sagacious savages have embarked on their magniloquent exodus.
The only thorn in our side is the deviant RPK. We loathe him! He has balls of steel. He takes not our money. He dares to expose truth! He dares to expose our diabolical misdeeds! He is a traitor! And now we cannot find him, despite our best efforts. People acknowledge him to be the Deus-ex-Machina. We tremble at his popularity. He will be our undoing. That simply cannot happen.
The rakyat cannot be educated at all costs! Despite already laying out the Fibre Optic cables for 4Mbps. We are stalling! Our Ketuanan Multimedia-Snail-Corridor is only 2Mbps. It is humiliating that Singapore already has 500Mbps. Even their handphones are capable of 100Mbps!!!
The less “smart” the peasants are, the better. Best of all, you don't even know that you are deteriorated squabs. The less you know, the better. We have crippled your ability to speak to foreigners. We happily built vernacular schools specifically for that purpose. We simply cannot lord over those with brains.
And don't you dare tell anyone about this .... Our Ketuanan depends on Stupid Malaysians.
By John Doe
We habitually showcase over TV all the poor Orang Aslis to reassert that “malays” are poor, even though they are NOT “malay”. Then we dump them back into deep Jungle and tell them to wait “Insyallah” for another 53 years maybe for us to provide them with electricity. They believe us. We also made it illegal for anyone to talk to them, to guarantee that they remain that way; so that we can showcase them on TV again, the next time we need to show poor people.
We successfully told the rakyat that PAS is an Extremist Party. And you silly serfs believed us. You are so dumb. You are also dumb enough to believe that your “gods” are powerful enough to defeat us. Trust me. Your “gods” are useless. They are useless against our Ketuanan. You can scream. You can shout. You can even Parade the streets. Yet, Ketuanan UMNO wins everytime. Why? Because you won't lift a finger against us. You peasants sit trembling in an operculum instead, dribbling in your pitiful, dank, rickety cribs, while we, the Ketuanans, live in opulent, opportunistic grandeur. Fed by your tax dollars and your Oil Money. Terima Kasih.
We have ensured that we have enough “ball-lickers” amongst you. Your exigency at this juncture has left you bemused. But it is a mere trinket of unequivocal enthuse for the opulent “us”. We defile your adytum, demolish them with fire and brimstone. Yet, you delusional mongrels call it “Fate and Destiny”. How wonderful. “Sit, beg, paw and roll-over....” is all you know to do. And you do it well. Here, have a biscuit. We have ensured that we remain “The Hand that Feeds”. Do you dare bite us?
“Give to Caesar....”, your good books tell you. We have read them well. We know how to manupilate your simple minds. Hence, you readily bequeath your gold, silver and your young nubile virgin daughters to our eminent entablatures. We are at liberty to rape, plunder, sodomize and C4 anyone, at will. Yet, you roll out the Red Carpets for us each and every time.
We burn a few more churches; toss a few more boar-heads, and you scamper away, like frightened cockroaches. Your spirits have been quashed. You are domiciled. We have proudly toilet-trained you. We indiscriminately defecate on you; yet, you vehemently thank us. You have become the perfect slaves. A herd of unquestioning imbeciles. Those disenchanted saurians have either been circumscribed while other sagacious savages have embarked on their magniloquent exodus.
The only thorn in our side is the deviant RPK. We loathe him! He has balls of steel. He takes not our money. He dares to expose truth! He dares to expose our diabolical misdeeds! He is a traitor! And now we cannot find him, despite our best efforts. People acknowledge him to be the Deus-ex-Machina. We tremble at his popularity. He will be our undoing. That simply cannot happen.
The rakyat cannot be educated at all costs! Despite already laying out the Fibre Optic cables for 4Mbps. We are stalling! Our Ketuanan Multimedia-Snail-Corridor is only 2Mbps. It is humiliating that Singapore already has 500Mbps. Even their handphones are capable of 100Mbps!!!
The less “smart” the peasants are, the better. Best of all, you don't even know that you are deteriorated squabs. The less you know, the better. We have crippled your ability to speak to foreigners. We happily built vernacular schools specifically for that purpose. We simply cannot lord over those with brains.
And don't you dare tell anyone about this .... Our Ketuanan depends on Stupid Malaysians.
By John Doe
Sunday, January 10, 2010
What's next after church attacks in Malaysia?
He could lose votes in the states of Sabah and Sarawak which have larger Christian populations. Sarawak has 31 MPs and Sabah 25, home to just two opposition MPs. The government has 137 seats in a 222-member parliament.
Malaysian Muslims rallied on Friday to protest against Christians using the word "Allah" for God after a spate of attacks on churches which threatened to stoke racial and religious tensions.
Following are some questions and answers on what lies ahead in this majority Muslim Southeast Asian country of 28 million.
IS THERE A RISK OF ETHNIC CLASHES?
The risk is small but analysts do not discount tensions coming to a boil between the majority Malays who are Muslim and ethnic Chinese and Indian minorities who practice a range of faiths such as Christianity, Buddhism and Hinduism.
It mostly depends on whether Prime Minister Najib Razak's government comes down hard on the arsonists who attacked the churches. Usually at any sign of trouble the government uses the Internal Security Act that allows detention without trial.
The government says the attacks have been carried out by disaffected or criminal youths and that they are not coordinated.
What may hold back ethnic clashes is the memory of the bloody 1969 riots that divided the country.
Protests on Friday at mosques against the non-Muslim use of the word Allah have been peaceful although the language on banners and speeches suggests growing anger.
ARE RELIGIOUS TENSIONS IN MALAYSIA AN INVESTMENT RISK?
After the arson attempts against the churches, possibly. Religious disputes are a risk mostly in their potential to increase ethnic tensions, making it important for investors to see how the government handles the issue.
Investors have been avoiding Malaysia due to the lacklustre government of Najib's predecessor and Najib is working hard to implement economic reforms to win back investment.
Malaysia was one of the worst-performing stock markets in Asia in 2009, ranked fourth from the bottom. Malaysia's benchmark share index rose 45 percent in 2009.
During a meeting with investors in New York last year, Najib was asked about the government's stand over the caning sentence meted out to a Muslim woman for drinking beer under rarely-enforced Islamic criminal laws.
An escalation of religious tensions in Malaysia could weaken Najib's ability to push through economic reforms.
WHAT COULD HAVE SPARKED THE PROTESTS, CHURCH ATTACKS?
The issue stems from a Malaysian Catholic newspaper's successful legal bid last week to overturn a government ban against the paper's use of the word "Allah" to describe the Christian God in its Malay language edition.
Their argument is that use of the word Allah has been common among non-English speaking Malaysian Christians in the Borneo island states of Sabah and Sarawak for decades.
The government since has obtained a stay of execution on the judgment this week amid growing Malay-Muslim anger. The case is also before the Appeal's court and the verdict there can still be challenged at the Federal Court, Malaysia's top court.
It is illegal for non-Muslims to proselytise to Muslims but freedom of worship for the mainly Buddhist, Christian and Hindu religious minorities, who make up 40 percent of the country's population, is guaranteed under the constitution.
WHAT IS THE GOVERNMENT'S STANCE?
The coalition, which ruled Malaysia for 52 years, suffered its worst-ever setbacks in national and state elections in 2008 after being abandoned by non-Malays in part due to unease over an increasing Islamisation.
Religious tensions will jeopardise Prime Minister Najib Razak's ability to win back ethnic Chinese and Indian voters in the next general election, which must be held by 2013. The opposition and some political commentators say that Najib failed to show leadership on the church issue.
He could lose votes in the states of Sabah and Sarawak which have larger Christian populations. Sarawak has 31 MPs and Sabah 25, home to just two opposition MPs. The government has 137 seats in a 222-member parliament.
AND THE OPPOSITION?
The three-party opposition People's Alliance led by former Deputy Premier Anwar Ibrahim is regarded as having played the religious row much more skilfully than the government.
While stressing its Muslim credentials, the Pan Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS) has appealed for tolerance as has Anwar. PAS has also managed to keep its Islamic credentials intact.
Malaysian Muslims rallied on Friday to protest against Christians using the word "Allah" for God after a spate of attacks on churches which threatened to stoke racial and religious tensions.
Following are some questions and answers on what lies ahead in this majority Muslim Southeast Asian country of 28 million.
IS THERE A RISK OF ETHNIC CLASHES?
The risk is small but analysts do not discount tensions coming to a boil between the majority Malays who are Muslim and ethnic Chinese and Indian minorities who practice a range of faiths such as Christianity, Buddhism and Hinduism.
It mostly depends on whether Prime Minister Najib Razak's government comes down hard on the arsonists who attacked the churches. Usually at any sign of trouble the government uses the Internal Security Act that allows detention without trial.
The government says the attacks have been carried out by disaffected or criminal youths and that they are not coordinated.
What may hold back ethnic clashes is the memory of the bloody 1969 riots that divided the country.
Protests on Friday at mosques against the non-Muslim use of the word Allah have been peaceful although the language on banners and speeches suggests growing anger.
ARE RELIGIOUS TENSIONS IN MALAYSIA AN INVESTMENT RISK?
After the arson attempts against the churches, possibly. Religious disputes are a risk mostly in their potential to increase ethnic tensions, making it important for investors to see how the government handles the issue.
Investors have been avoiding Malaysia due to the lacklustre government of Najib's predecessor and Najib is working hard to implement economic reforms to win back investment.
Malaysia was one of the worst-performing stock markets in Asia in 2009, ranked fourth from the bottom. Malaysia's benchmark share index rose 45 percent in 2009.
During a meeting with investors in New York last year, Najib was asked about the government's stand over the caning sentence meted out to a Muslim woman for drinking beer under rarely-enforced Islamic criminal laws.
An escalation of religious tensions in Malaysia could weaken Najib's ability to push through economic reforms.
WHAT COULD HAVE SPARKED THE PROTESTS, CHURCH ATTACKS?
The issue stems from a Malaysian Catholic newspaper's successful legal bid last week to overturn a government ban against the paper's use of the word "Allah" to describe the Christian God in its Malay language edition.
Their argument is that use of the word Allah has been common among non-English speaking Malaysian Christians in the Borneo island states of Sabah and Sarawak for decades.
The government since has obtained a stay of execution on the judgment this week amid growing Malay-Muslim anger. The case is also before the Appeal's court and the verdict there can still be challenged at the Federal Court, Malaysia's top court.
It is illegal for non-Muslims to proselytise to Muslims but freedom of worship for the mainly Buddhist, Christian and Hindu religious minorities, who make up 40 percent of the country's population, is guaranteed under the constitution.
WHAT IS THE GOVERNMENT'S STANCE?
The coalition, which ruled Malaysia for 52 years, suffered its worst-ever setbacks in national and state elections in 2008 after being abandoned by non-Malays in part due to unease over an increasing Islamisation.
Religious tensions will jeopardise Prime Minister Najib Razak's ability to win back ethnic Chinese and Indian voters in the next general election, which must be held by 2013. The opposition and some political commentators say that Najib failed to show leadership on the church issue.
He could lose votes in the states of Sabah and Sarawak which have larger Christian populations. Sarawak has 31 MPs and Sabah 25, home to just two opposition MPs. The government has 137 seats in a 222-member parliament.
AND THE OPPOSITION?
The three-party opposition People's Alliance led by former Deputy Premier Anwar Ibrahim is regarded as having played the religious row much more skilfully than the government.
While stressing its Muslim credentials, the Pan Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS) has appealed for tolerance as has Anwar. PAS has also managed to keep its Islamic credentials intact.
By Niluksi Koswanage, Reuters
(Reporting by Razak Ahmad, Niluksi Koswanage and Soo Ai Peng; Editing by David Chance and Sugita Katyal)
Kelantan 1977 revisited: to understand Selangor 2010
ABIM, TERAS, PERKASA, PPIM, PKPIM, PEWARIS, KIMMA, PEKIDA, etc. What do all these NGOs, associations and movements have in common?
Well, they all serve the Umno agenda under the guise of ‘protecting’ Islam.To understand Umno's agenda you have to take a walk down memory lane, all the way back to Kelantan in 1977.
In 1977, Umno wanted to bring down the PAS state government of Kelantan. So Hussein Ahmad ‘imported’ some gangsters from across the border town of Golok, Thailand, and paid them to burn Chinese shops, houses and cars.(Hussein Ahmad used to be a rice smuggler in Rantau Panjang before he became a Cabinet Minister so he had good links with the Thai underworld in Golok).
Kota Bharu was in utter chaos so the federal government had ‘no choice’ but to declare an emergency in Kelantan and suspend the Kelantan State Assembly for a few months. Then, fresh state elections were held in March 1978 (only for the State Assembly and not for the Parliament seats) ahead of the 1978 General Election.
Invariably, Umno swept Kelantan and PAS was kicked out where it remained in the opposition until Umno split into two (Umno Baru and Semangat 46), which enabled PAS, in ‘joint venture’ with Semangat 46, to take back the state in the 1990 General Election.Read: Kelantan Emergency of December 1977 (http://www.malaysianbar.org.my/echoes_of_the_past/kelantan_emergency_of_december_1977.html)
Remember Malaysia Today wrote some months ago that Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak plans to take back Selangor around January 2010? Pakatan Rakyat of course denied that this would happen. Maybe they thought Najib was going to pull off another Perak exercise by buying over some Pakatan Rakyat State Assemblypersons.Of course, in Perak this was possible because of the narrow three-seat majority that Pakatan Rakyat had whereas Pakatan Rakyat has a much larger majority in Selangor.
So it is not that easy.But there is more than one way to skin a feline and who better than Najib when it comes to skinning pussies? In fact, he can even make the fairer sex and their immigration records disappear if he wants to.
That is how good he is with pussies.And another way of skinning felines of any kind is to do a repeat of Kelantan 1977. Trigger another chaos in the state, declare an emergency, suspend the State Assembly, and a few months later call for new state elections with maybe an ‘Operasi Lalang 2’ thrown in for good measure.
Notice that the church burnings and car smashing are only in Selangor and Kuala Lumpur? Kelantan and Terengganu have a Muslim population of more than 97%. And there are churches in these predominantly Muslim states as well. Why are there no problems there?
In fact, other than Selangor and Kuala Lumpur, there are no problems in any other parts of Malaysia.Simple, really -- the target is Selangor, the jewel in Pakatan Rakyat's crown. Najib wants back Selangor and he wants it back this month.
So Umno has to do a Kelantan December 1977’ revisited to get back Selangor in January 2010. And that is why Umno paid its goons to burn churches just in Selangor and Kuala Lumpur but not in any other area in Malaysia.
Yes, I know, they are now going to make another police report against me for this article. But with about 15 or 20 police reports made against me over the last year alone, does one more make any difference?Now let’s all sing the song ‘Get me to the church on time’! (See video on Youtube here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ScSd03OjVx4)
Malay rights group Perkasa has lodged a police report against Malaysiakini over a comment posted by a reader in the online news daily.The report, which was made by Perkasa secretary-general Syed Hassan Syed Ali late yesterday, said that the comment could offend the sensitivities of the Muslim community.
The National Union of Malaysian Muslim Students (PKPIM) lodged a police report against Herald for its usage of 'Allah' in its Catholic publication.The report was lodged at the Dang Wangi police station today at 3.30 pm following a protest at the Kampung Baru Mosque earlier today.
Abu Qasim Nurazmi, the deputy president of PKPIM accompanied by Muhamad Raimi Abdul Rahim, the secretary-general of ABIM filed the report.They alleged that The Herald is using 'Allah' in their publication with malicious intent and that their action is mala fide."We urge the police to conduct a through investigation on the motive of The Herald for insisting on using 'Allah' in their publication," said Abu Qasim said.
In the police report, the Muslim group said The Herald should respect Article 11 (4) of Federal Constitution and not try to confuse the Muslim community.Article 11 (4) states that State law and in respect of the Federal Territories of Kuala Lumpur and Labuan, federal law may control or restrict the propagation of any religious doctrine or belief among persons professing the religion of Islam.
According to Muhamad Raimi, state Islamic departments in 10 states have issued a fatwa against propagation of other religions to Muslims."Thus, we feel that The Herald is disregarding the provisions of the Federal Constitution and disrespecting Islam, creating disharmony among Malaysians," he said. Abu Qasim agreed and felt it could lead to further chaos in the country if The Herald does not respect that Islam is the official religion in the country.
Earlier, cries of 'Allahu Akbar!' and 'Takbir' were heard moments after Friday prayers concluded in the Kampung Baru mosque.About 50 people gathered within the compounds to protest against the usage of the word 'Allah' by non-Muslims.Calling it a "Youth Awareness Campaign", the group proceeded with their speeches despite calls to "go home" by other Muslims who were leaving the mosque."
The churches have already been blown up, and now you want to 'blow up' here as well? Just go home!" said one man. However, the group's leaders were quick to add that they condemned the incidents of arson on the three churches.
'Accept the fact, Islam is the official religion'
Representing 38 NGOs including Abim, PPKIM and Sahabat Insan dan Iman, the group presented a declaration titled: "Declaration for Harmony between Religions".
It said all must "understand and respect sensitivities of Muslims, and accept that Islam is the official religion of Malaysia and that the constitution was written based on this fact."It also said society must "realise that the consitution has placed Islam in a special place and this has been agreed upon by those of different religions and races in Malaysia.
"Thus, the NGOs called for "a halt on all claims on matters pertaining to Islam that disrupts and hurt the feelings of Muslims, and undermines national safety".They also said matters like the 'Allah' issue must be "handled out of court".
However, Muhammad Raimi said they supported the Home Ministry's decision to appeal the lift of the ban on the usage of the word 'Allah' by the The Herald.He stressed that they respected the court's decision, but are gathering to show their dissatisfaction regarding the issue.
'Don't test our patience'"We want to send a message that this is a sensitive issue. Leave 'Allah' for the Muslims," he said, matching banners which read: "The word 'Allah' is only for us".Others who spoke included Zaim Shaari from Ikatan Muslimin Malaysia who said: "We don't want our land to be colonised."
"There is a limit to our patience; don't challenge us or try to incite our anger. We do not want to invite altercations. If we can respect other religions then why can't they respect us and not try to mix everything in one bag?" he asked.PKPIM president Muhammad Faisal Abdul Aziz called on all Muslims leaders in the country to produce a joint statement "to defend the word 'Allah'".
"This is not a political issue, so I urge the leaders to overcome the political divide and to unite in the name of 'Allah'," he said.Despite what the group claimed that the use of 'Allah' by non-Muslims offends all Muslims, members of the faith appear divided on the matter.
Groups like the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) supported the lifting of the ban.
Muhammad Raimi said: "Perhaps they have this view because they are a minority (in North America). They are entitled to their own views but we don't agree with them."
by Malaysiakini
Well, they all serve the Umno agenda under the guise of ‘protecting’ Islam.To understand Umno's agenda you have to take a walk down memory lane, all the way back to Kelantan in 1977.
In 1977, Umno wanted to bring down the PAS state government of Kelantan. So Hussein Ahmad ‘imported’ some gangsters from across the border town of Golok, Thailand, and paid them to burn Chinese shops, houses and cars.(Hussein Ahmad used to be a rice smuggler in Rantau Panjang before he became a Cabinet Minister so he had good links with the Thai underworld in Golok).
Kota Bharu was in utter chaos so the federal government had ‘no choice’ but to declare an emergency in Kelantan and suspend the Kelantan State Assembly for a few months. Then, fresh state elections were held in March 1978 (only for the State Assembly and not for the Parliament seats) ahead of the 1978 General Election.
Invariably, Umno swept Kelantan and PAS was kicked out where it remained in the opposition until Umno split into two (Umno Baru and Semangat 46), which enabled PAS, in ‘joint venture’ with Semangat 46, to take back the state in the 1990 General Election.Read: Kelantan Emergency of December 1977 (http://www.malaysianbar.org.my/echoes_of_the_past/kelantan_emergency_of_december_1977.html)
Remember Malaysia Today wrote some months ago that Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak plans to take back Selangor around January 2010? Pakatan Rakyat of course denied that this would happen. Maybe they thought Najib was going to pull off another Perak exercise by buying over some Pakatan Rakyat State Assemblypersons.Of course, in Perak this was possible because of the narrow three-seat majority that Pakatan Rakyat had whereas Pakatan Rakyat has a much larger majority in Selangor.
So it is not that easy.But there is more than one way to skin a feline and who better than Najib when it comes to skinning pussies? In fact, he can even make the fairer sex and their immigration records disappear if he wants to.
That is how good he is with pussies.And another way of skinning felines of any kind is to do a repeat of Kelantan 1977. Trigger another chaos in the state, declare an emergency, suspend the State Assembly, and a few months later call for new state elections with maybe an ‘Operasi Lalang 2’ thrown in for good measure.
Notice that the church burnings and car smashing are only in Selangor and Kuala Lumpur? Kelantan and Terengganu have a Muslim population of more than 97%. And there are churches in these predominantly Muslim states as well. Why are there no problems there?
In fact, other than Selangor and Kuala Lumpur, there are no problems in any other parts of Malaysia.Simple, really -- the target is Selangor, the jewel in Pakatan Rakyat's crown. Najib wants back Selangor and he wants it back this month.
So Umno has to do a Kelantan December 1977’ revisited to get back Selangor in January 2010. And that is why Umno paid its goons to burn churches just in Selangor and Kuala Lumpur but not in any other area in Malaysia.
Yes, I know, they are now going to make another police report against me for this article. But with about 15 or 20 police reports made against me over the last year alone, does one more make any difference?Now let’s all sing the song ‘Get me to the church on time’! (See video on Youtube here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ScSd03OjVx4)
Malay rights group Perkasa has lodged a police report against Malaysiakini over a comment posted by a reader in the online news daily.The report, which was made by Perkasa secretary-general Syed Hassan Syed Ali late yesterday, said that the comment could offend the sensitivities of the Muslim community.
The National Union of Malaysian Muslim Students (PKPIM) lodged a police report against Herald for its usage of 'Allah' in its Catholic publication.The report was lodged at the Dang Wangi police station today at 3.30 pm following a protest at the Kampung Baru Mosque earlier today.
Abu Qasim Nurazmi, the deputy president of PKPIM accompanied by Muhamad Raimi Abdul Rahim, the secretary-general of ABIM filed the report.They alleged that The Herald is using 'Allah' in their publication with malicious intent and that their action is mala fide."We urge the police to conduct a through investigation on the motive of The Herald for insisting on using 'Allah' in their publication," said Abu Qasim said.
In the police report, the Muslim group said The Herald should respect Article 11 (4) of Federal Constitution and not try to confuse the Muslim community.Article 11 (4) states that State law and in respect of the Federal Territories of Kuala Lumpur and Labuan, federal law may control or restrict the propagation of any religious doctrine or belief among persons professing the religion of Islam.
According to Muhamad Raimi, state Islamic departments in 10 states have issued a fatwa against propagation of other religions to Muslims."Thus, we feel that The Herald is disregarding the provisions of the Federal Constitution and disrespecting Islam, creating disharmony among Malaysians," he said. Abu Qasim agreed and felt it could lead to further chaos in the country if The Herald does not respect that Islam is the official religion in the country.
Earlier, cries of 'Allahu Akbar!' and 'Takbir' were heard moments after Friday prayers concluded in the Kampung Baru mosque.About 50 people gathered within the compounds to protest against the usage of the word 'Allah' by non-Muslims.Calling it a "Youth Awareness Campaign", the group proceeded with their speeches despite calls to "go home" by other Muslims who were leaving the mosque."
The churches have already been blown up, and now you want to 'blow up' here as well? Just go home!" said one man. However, the group's leaders were quick to add that they condemned the incidents of arson on the three churches.
'Accept the fact, Islam is the official religion'
Representing 38 NGOs including Abim, PPKIM and Sahabat Insan dan Iman, the group presented a declaration titled: "Declaration for Harmony between Religions".
It said all must "understand and respect sensitivities of Muslims, and accept that Islam is the official religion of Malaysia and that the constitution was written based on this fact."It also said society must "realise that the consitution has placed Islam in a special place and this has been agreed upon by those of different religions and races in Malaysia.
"Thus, the NGOs called for "a halt on all claims on matters pertaining to Islam that disrupts and hurt the feelings of Muslims, and undermines national safety".They also said matters like the 'Allah' issue must be "handled out of court".
However, Muhammad Raimi said they supported the Home Ministry's decision to appeal the lift of the ban on the usage of the word 'Allah' by the The Herald.He stressed that they respected the court's decision, but are gathering to show their dissatisfaction regarding the issue.
'Don't test our patience'"We want to send a message that this is a sensitive issue. Leave 'Allah' for the Muslims," he said, matching banners which read: "The word 'Allah' is only for us".Others who spoke included Zaim Shaari from Ikatan Muslimin Malaysia who said: "We don't want our land to be colonised."
"There is a limit to our patience; don't challenge us or try to incite our anger. We do not want to invite altercations. If we can respect other religions then why can't they respect us and not try to mix everything in one bag?" he asked.PKPIM president Muhammad Faisal Abdul Aziz called on all Muslims leaders in the country to produce a joint statement "to defend the word 'Allah'".
"This is not a political issue, so I urge the leaders to overcome the political divide and to unite in the name of 'Allah'," he said.Despite what the group claimed that the use of 'Allah' by non-Muslims offends all Muslims, members of the faith appear divided on the matter.
Groups like the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) supported the lifting of the ban.
Muhammad Raimi said: "Perhaps they have this view because they are a minority (in North America). They are entitled to their own views but we don't agree with them."
by Malaysiakini
Thursday, December 24, 2009
I AM BACK.........
I fight a battle every day
Against discouragement and fear;
Some foe stands always in my way,
The path ahead is never clear!
I must forever be on guard
Against the doubts that skulk along;
I get ahead by fighting hard,
But fighting keeps my spirit strong.
I hear the croakings of Despair,
The dark predictions of the weak;
I find myself pursued by Care,
No matter what the end I seek;
My victories are small and few,
It matters not how hard I strive;
Each day the fight begins anew,
But fighting keeps my hopes alive.
My dreams are spoiled by circumstance,
My plans are wrecked by Fate or Luck;
Some hour, perhaps, will bring my chance,
But that great hour has never struck;
My progress has been slow and hard,
I've had to climb and crawl and swim,
Fighting for every stubborn yard,
But I have kept in fighting trim.
I have to fight my doubts away,
And be on guard against my fears;
The feeble croaking of Dismay
Has been familiar through the years;
My dearest plans keep going wrong,
Events combine to thwart my will,
But fighting keeps my spirit strong,
And I am back for more.........!
Against discouragement and fear;
Some foe stands always in my way,
The path ahead is never clear!
I must forever be on guard
Against the doubts that skulk along;
I get ahead by fighting hard,
But fighting keeps my spirit strong.
I hear the croakings of Despair,
The dark predictions of the weak;
I find myself pursued by Care,
No matter what the end I seek;
My victories are small and few,
It matters not how hard I strive;
Each day the fight begins anew,
But fighting keeps my hopes alive.
My dreams are spoiled by circumstance,
My plans are wrecked by Fate or Luck;
Some hour, perhaps, will bring my chance,
But that great hour has never struck;
My progress has been slow and hard,
I've had to climb and crawl and swim,
Fighting for every stubborn yard,
But I have kept in fighting trim.
I have to fight my doubts away,
And be on guard against my fears;
The feeble croaking of Dismay
Has been familiar through the years;
My dearest plans keep going wrong,
Events combine to thwart my will,
But fighting keeps my spirit strong,
And I am back for more.........!
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Malaysia's Crucial By-Election Test
Malaysia's fundamentalist opposition Parti Islam se-Malaysia appears increasingly likely to win the country's next by-election in the first poll that might actually start to realign power, despairing United Malays National Organisation insiders say.
"UMNO may lose the seat and start the demise of the party," said a disillusioned party stalwart, although other observers point out that the ruling national coalition has a built-in edge from military and police voters.
The seat came open in the state of Negeri Sembilan with the sudden death of UMNO state lawmaker Azman Mohd Noor from blood poisoning in early September. Although it is a seat in a relatively obscure state legislature, if PAS takes it in the Oct. 11 by-election in what had been an UMNO stronghold, observers in Kuala Lumpur say, it will be a convincing demonstration that the fundamentalist Islamic party is breaking out of its rural stronghold on the eastern side of the country and that its power is growing.
UMNO is banking on the hope that of the 14,000 voters in the constituency, 5,700 are absentee postal voters, most of them soldiers and policemen, whose vote usually goes to the Barisan Nasional. The district is about 60 mi. south of the Kuala Lumpur conurbation.
The election comes at a time when Malaysia is suffering from a variety of economic, ethnic, religious and cultural strains that are being exacerbated by political maneuvering between the opposition Pakatan Rakyat coalition and the ruling Barisan Nasional. Annual gross domestic product fell a stunning 6.2 percent in the first quarter of 2009 as the world financial crisis disrupted Malaysia's export-oriented economy. GDP continued to fall by 3.9 percent in the second quarter, killing job growth despite a massive fiscal stimulus package and accommodative fiscal policy from Bank Negara, the country's central bank.
"They say it's turning around, but a lot of people are losing their jobs, this (Eid Ul Fitri, the end of the fasting month) people are not spending, many companies are opting for early retirement for their workers," said a Kuala Lumpur-based lawyer. "Hopefully (the fiscal package) does kick in soon, but I doubt it on the ground. It is going to hurt."
As part of that fiscal stimulus, development spending is expected to hit RM55 billion (US$15.8 billion) for all of 2009 and rise to RM58 billion for 2010. However, construction spending is a double-edged sword. Malaysia's construction companies are closely aligned to UMNO and increasingly jaded voters are concerned that the spoils will go to fat-cat cronies of the politicians.
Given these problems, PAS has emerged as a political powerhouse in urban areas as ethnic Malays have turned away from the scandal-ridden UMNO, attracted by PAS's stated clean-government aims despite its strict fundamentalist policies. The party has been feeling its oats around Kuala Lumpur, seeking to ban beer sales in Malay areas and, most recently, pushing authorities to seeking to force the sexy rock superstar Beyonce Knowles into modifying her often provocative dress in advance of an Oct. 25 concert. Beyonce cancelled a show in Malaysia two years ago because of the country's dress code.
Malaysia has been raising the hackles of human rights defenders, particularly with the scheduled whipping of part-time model Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno which was ordered by a Kuantan religious court for the offense of drinking beer. Kartika is now awaiting the lash. The same shariah judge more recently also ordered an Indonesian male to be caned for the same offence.
At the same time, however, it's unsure just how much the fundamentalism carries over into the general population. The newspapers have continued to carry stories of late-night revels by urban Malay youth during the Ramadan fasting month, with as many as 200 young people drinking and dancing on tables in sexually revealing clothing at one event, although one observer says that by and large the country's Malay young are largely conservative. He also expects them to vote in great numbers in upcoming elections, with as many as 1 million youthful new voters registered.
These strains are playing themselves out in Negeri Sembilan. In seven of the eight by-elections since the 2008 general election, the party that previously held the seat reclaimed it. However, in Negeri Sembilan UMNO appears likely to shoot itself in the foot by nominating Mohd Isa Abdul Samad, a party division head, to take on the PAS candidate, who has yet to be named. Isa was suspended for three years from UMNO for vote-buying. Former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, who has taken to almost daily attacks on UMNO,criticized the decision to nominate Isa, calling attention to the recent loss of a Penang seat because the national coalition candidate had been disbarred. UMNO, Mahathir said, has "not learned from earlier blistering mistakes."
The 14,000-voter district is more than 20 percent ethnic Indian. It will be a test for Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak to see if he has had any success in wooing Malaysia's Indians, who make up about 8 percent of the total population, back to the fold. They have been furious over Muslim protests that forced cancellation of the relocation of the 150-year-old Sri Mahamariamman Temple to a site more convenient to them after housing estates had overtaken the onetime rubber plantation in which it had been situated. The obstreperous Muslim protesters paraded a severed cow's head – an insult to Hindus, who venerate cattle -- to the local town hall and dumped it in the protest.
Indians are also turned off by the politics of the Malaysian Indian Congress, the third leg of the Barisan Nasional. The party's leader, S. Samy Vellu, is regarded as out of touch with his constituency and, with the rest of the party leadership, mired in corruption. Najib has endorsed the creation of a new party, Parti Makkal Sakti, and offered to attend the party's Oct. 10 launch -- the day before the by-election -- as guest of honor. The party is an offshoot of the Hindu Rights Action Force, or Hindraf, whose leaders were jailed last year under the Internal Security Act after anti-government rallies that turned violent. Najib has also attended ceremonies in the magnificent Batu Cave just north of Kuala Lumpur which houses a Hindu temple.
The overtures to the new party appear to be part of an desperate attempt on the part of UMNO to search out new component ethnic parties to prop up the flailing Barisan Nasional, the national coalition that has ruled Malaysia since its inception. The collapse of the MIC was accompanied by the collapse of the once-powerful Malaysian Chinese Association as well, as well as smaller parties like the mostly Chinese Gerakan and the PPP
In particular, the MCA finds itself in the middle of what one observer described to Asia Sentinel as "a circus." Its leaders are beset with one of the biggest scandals in the country's scandal-scarred history, with cost overruns for the Port Klang infrastructure project zooming out of sight. The port development was awarded as a turnkey project without competitive bid to well-connected political cronies of both UMNO and the MCA. 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, with Chua Soi Lek and Ong Tee Keat battling each other for the leadership although both have been tainted by allegations of corruption. That means the Chinese are largely fleeing the Barisan for other parties.
The question is whether the Pakatan Rakyat coalition headed by Anwar Ibrahim is going to reap the whirlwind. PAS has come to dominate the political discourse in a way unthought of prior to the opposition coalition's founding. Besides PAS, the coalition includes the Chinese chauvinist Democratic Action Party as well as Anwar's own Parti Keadilan Rakyat, made up mostly of young urban Malays. Given the ethnic and religious strains, keeping the cialition together has been a demanding job.
"The Chinese thought that if they split the Malays they could win and dominate. But in my estimation, they will be faced with a weak UMNO, an increasingly strong PAS, and a weak Keadilan," a source said. "The Chinese will vote DAP, meaning it will be a 100 percent Malay government with the Chinese on the outside, given the decimation of the MIC and the MCA."
Asia Sentinel.com
"UMNO may lose the seat and start the demise of the party," said a disillusioned party stalwart, although other observers point out that the ruling national coalition has a built-in edge from military and police voters.
The seat came open in the state of Negeri Sembilan with the sudden death of UMNO state lawmaker Azman Mohd Noor from blood poisoning in early September. Although it is a seat in a relatively obscure state legislature, if PAS takes it in the Oct. 11 by-election in what had been an UMNO stronghold, observers in Kuala Lumpur say, it will be a convincing demonstration that the fundamentalist Islamic party is breaking out of its rural stronghold on the eastern side of the country and that its power is growing.
UMNO is banking on the hope that of the 14,000 voters in the constituency, 5,700 are absentee postal voters, most of them soldiers and policemen, whose vote usually goes to the Barisan Nasional. The district is about 60 mi. south of the Kuala Lumpur conurbation.
The election comes at a time when Malaysia is suffering from a variety of economic, ethnic, religious and cultural strains that are being exacerbated by political maneuvering between the opposition Pakatan Rakyat coalition and the ruling Barisan Nasional. Annual gross domestic product fell a stunning 6.2 percent in the first quarter of 2009 as the world financial crisis disrupted Malaysia's export-oriented economy. GDP continued to fall by 3.9 percent in the second quarter, killing job growth despite a massive fiscal stimulus package and accommodative fiscal policy from Bank Negara, the country's central bank.
"They say it's turning around, but a lot of people are losing their jobs, this (Eid Ul Fitri, the end of the fasting month) people are not spending, many companies are opting for early retirement for their workers," said a Kuala Lumpur-based lawyer. "Hopefully (the fiscal package) does kick in soon, but I doubt it on the ground. It is going to hurt."
As part of that fiscal stimulus, development spending is expected to hit RM55 billion (US$15.8 billion) for all of 2009 and rise to RM58 billion for 2010. However, construction spending is a double-edged sword. Malaysia's construction companies are closely aligned to UMNO and increasingly jaded voters are concerned that the spoils will go to fat-cat cronies of the politicians.
Given these problems, PAS has emerged as a political powerhouse in urban areas as ethnic Malays have turned away from the scandal-ridden UMNO, attracted by PAS's stated clean-government aims despite its strict fundamentalist policies. The party has been feeling its oats around Kuala Lumpur, seeking to ban beer sales in Malay areas and, most recently, pushing authorities to seeking to force the sexy rock superstar Beyonce Knowles into modifying her often provocative dress in advance of an Oct. 25 concert. Beyonce cancelled a show in Malaysia two years ago because of the country's dress code.
Malaysia has been raising the hackles of human rights defenders, particularly with the scheduled whipping of part-time model Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno which was ordered by a Kuantan religious court for the offense of drinking beer. Kartika is now awaiting the lash. The same shariah judge more recently also ordered an Indonesian male to be caned for the same offence.
At the same time, however, it's unsure just how much the fundamentalism carries over into the general population. The newspapers have continued to carry stories of late-night revels by urban Malay youth during the Ramadan fasting month, with as many as 200 young people drinking and dancing on tables in sexually revealing clothing at one event, although one observer says that by and large the country's Malay young are largely conservative. He also expects them to vote in great numbers in upcoming elections, with as many as 1 million youthful new voters registered.
These strains are playing themselves out in Negeri Sembilan. In seven of the eight by-elections since the 2008 general election, the party that previously held the seat reclaimed it. However, in Negeri Sembilan UMNO appears likely to shoot itself in the foot by nominating Mohd Isa Abdul Samad, a party division head, to take on the PAS candidate, who has yet to be named. Isa was suspended for three years from UMNO for vote-buying. Former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, who has taken to almost daily attacks on UMNO,criticized the decision to nominate Isa, calling attention to the recent loss of a Penang seat because the national coalition candidate had been disbarred. UMNO, Mahathir said, has "not learned from earlier blistering mistakes."
The 14,000-voter district is more than 20 percent ethnic Indian. It will be a test for Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak to see if he has had any success in wooing Malaysia's Indians, who make up about 8 percent of the total population, back to the fold. They have been furious over Muslim protests that forced cancellation of the relocation of the 150-year-old Sri Mahamariamman Temple to a site more convenient to them after housing estates had overtaken the onetime rubber plantation in which it had been situated. The obstreperous Muslim protesters paraded a severed cow's head – an insult to Hindus, who venerate cattle -- to the local town hall and dumped it in the protest.
Indians are also turned off by the politics of the Malaysian Indian Congress, the third leg of the Barisan Nasional. The party's leader, S. Samy Vellu, is regarded as out of touch with his constituency and, with the rest of the party leadership, mired in corruption. Najib has endorsed the creation of a new party, Parti Makkal Sakti, and offered to attend the party's Oct. 10 launch -- the day before the by-election -- as guest of honor. The party is an offshoot of the Hindu Rights Action Force, or Hindraf, whose leaders were jailed last year under the Internal Security Act after anti-government rallies that turned violent. Najib has also attended ceremonies in the magnificent Batu Cave just north of Kuala Lumpur which houses a Hindu temple.
The overtures to the new party appear to be part of an desperate attempt on the part of UMNO to search out new component ethnic parties to prop up the flailing Barisan Nasional, the national coalition that has ruled Malaysia since its inception. The collapse of the MIC was accompanied by the collapse of the once-powerful Malaysian Chinese Association as well, as well as smaller parties like the mostly Chinese Gerakan and the PPP
In particular, the MCA finds itself in the middle of what one observer described to Asia Sentinel as "a circus." Its leaders are beset with one of the biggest scandals in the country's scandal-scarred history, with cost overruns for the Port Klang infrastructure project zooming out of sight. The port development was awarded as a turnkey project without competitive bid to well-connected political cronies of both UMNO and the MCA. 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, with Chua Soi Lek and Ong Tee Keat battling each other for the leadership although both have been tainted by allegations of corruption. That means the Chinese are largely fleeing the Barisan for other parties.
The question is whether the Pakatan Rakyat coalition headed by Anwar Ibrahim is going to reap the whirlwind. PAS has come to dominate the political discourse in a way unthought of prior to the opposition coalition's founding. Besides PAS, the coalition includes the Chinese chauvinist Democratic Action Party as well as Anwar's own Parti Keadilan Rakyat, made up mostly of young urban Malays. Given the ethnic and religious strains, keeping the cialition together has been a demanding job.
"The Chinese thought that if they split the Malays they could win and dominate. But in my estimation, they will be faced with a weak UMNO, an increasingly strong PAS, and a weak Keadilan," a source said. "The Chinese will vote DAP, meaning it will be a 100 percent Malay government with the Chinese on the outside, given the decimation of the MIC and the MCA."
Asia Sentinel.com
Friday, September 25, 2009
Najib finds new Indian allies, bypasses the MIC
The invitation card is glossy, in gold colour and of superior quality, in keeping with the VIP who is guest of honour at the Oct 10 launch of the new kid on the block — the Parti Makkal Sakti Malaysia.
The VIP will be Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, who appears to be signalling that he is not going to solely depend on Barisan Nasional (BN) stalwart parties like the MIC and MCA to reach out to the non-Malay communities.
He will launch the new Indian-based party formed by former leaders of Hindraf at the Malaysia Agro Exposition Park in Serdang next month in a strategy which bears similarities to his father Tun Razak Hussein's move in the 1970s to welcome more political parties into the establishment fold.
For this reason, it is significant that Najib is launching the party which received recognition from the Registrar of Societies in a “matter of weeks” on May 11.
His presence indicates that in the changed political landscape after March 8, 2008 which saw BN allies like the MIC, MCA, Gerakan and PPP fall like tenpins, Umno is finding and creating new allies.
Leaders of the new party have already pledged to campaign for BN in the upcoming Bagan Pinang by-election.
With MIC's and even the PPP's failure to reform and reinvent under Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu and Datuk M. Kayveas, Umno may well be searching for new partners. The Makkal Sakti party could well play such a role.
A lot is riding on the party formed by former Hindraf national co-coordinator R.S. Thanenthiran, 47, who is president.
The party has yet to make an impact but Thanenthiran said it has been working quietly to recruit over 50,000 members, getting the divisions established and setting up best practices.
“We made an impact at Kampung Buah Pala trying to save it from demolition. The Indian community knows about it,” he said.
He says Najib’s presence is an honour but claims that the party is independent and only wishes to serve the people.
“The Prime Minister is launching our party and we are honoured but it does not mean we have lost our independence,” Thanenthiran told The Malaysian Insider.
“We are working together with him as partners… we walk together for the benefit of the Indian community,” he said.
“It is true the BN did not do much for us in the past 52 years but the Pakatan Rakyat has done even less for us in the past two years,” he said.
“BN under Datuk Seri (Najib) is beginning to do for the Indians in major areas and we welcome it. We want to work with him to get a fair share of the nation's resources,” he said, giving reasons why Najib was invited to launch the party and open the annual general meeting.
“We invited Selangor Chief Minister (Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim) to open a culture night the same day but he declined,” Thanenthiran. “We tried… you can’t blame us.”
Najib’s decision to launch the Makkal Sakti party is a milestone in Indian politics in Malaysia.
It not only suggests the increasing irrelevance of the MIC, but also sidelines the many Indian-based NGOs that claim to be offshoots of the Hindraf movement, including the yet-to-be registered Human Rights Party headed by lawyer and Hindraf founder P. Uthayakumar.
Having the ear of the Prime Minister is a major boon for the Makkal Sakti Party which has asked Najib to act on three main areas of concern for the Indians.
These are turning all 543 Tamil schools into fully-aided schools, 10 per cent Indian recruitment in the civil service and at all levels and socio-economic help to uplift the Indian urban poor.
Thanenthiran said Najib told them to give him two years to act on these issues. “You all watch what I do,” Najib told them, according to Thanenthiran.
The MIC for them is already irrelevant.
“We won’t be here if the MIC had delivered,” said A. Waythamoorthy, the former Perak Hindraf co-ordinator who is deputy president.
“If they had delivered there would not have been a Makkal Sakti movement in the first place, no 2008 tsunami and we won’t form a new party,” he said.
The party would also actively campaign for the Barisan Nasional in the Oct 11 Bagan Pinang by-election because leaders feel it is a BN-ruled state and another PR or independent win would not make any difference for the Indians.
“In Bagan Pinang we want to show we can bring Indian voters for the Barisan… it is an acid test for us,” Thanenthiran said.
Malaysian Insider
The VIP will be Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, who appears to be signalling that he is not going to solely depend on Barisan Nasional (BN) stalwart parties like the MIC and MCA to reach out to the non-Malay communities.
He will launch the new Indian-based party formed by former leaders of Hindraf at the Malaysia Agro Exposition Park in Serdang next month in a strategy which bears similarities to his father Tun Razak Hussein's move in the 1970s to welcome more political parties into the establishment fold.
For this reason, it is significant that Najib is launching the party which received recognition from the Registrar of Societies in a “matter of weeks” on May 11.
His presence indicates that in the changed political landscape after March 8, 2008 which saw BN allies like the MIC, MCA, Gerakan and PPP fall like tenpins, Umno is finding and creating new allies.
Leaders of the new party have already pledged to campaign for BN in the upcoming Bagan Pinang by-election.
With MIC's and even the PPP's failure to reform and reinvent under Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu and Datuk M. Kayveas, Umno may well be searching for new partners. The Makkal Sakti party could well play such a role.
A lot is riding on the party formed by former Hindraf national co-coordinator R.S. Thanenthiran, 47, who is president.
The party has yet to make an impact but Thanenthiran said it has been working quietly to recruit over 50,000 members, getting the divisions established and setting up best practices.
“We made an impact at Kampung Buah Pala trying to save it from demolition. The Indian community knows about it,” he said.
He says Najib’s presence is an honour but claims that the party is independent and only wishes to serve the people.
“The Prime Minister is launching our party and we are honoured but it does not mean we have lost our independence,” Thanenthiran told The Malaysian Insider.
“We are working together with him as partners… we walk together for the benefit of the Indian community,” he said.
“It is true the BN did not do much for us in the past 52 years but the Pakatan Rakyat has done even less for us in the past two years,” he said.
“BN under Datuk Seri (Najib) is beginning to do for the Indians in major areas and we welcome it. We want to work with him to get a fair share of the nation's resources,” he said, giving reasons why Najib was invited to launch the party and open the annual general meeting.
“We invited Selangor Chief Minister (Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim) to open a culture night the same day but he declined,” Thanenthiran. “We tried… you can’t blame us.”
Najib’s decision to launch the Makkal Sakti party is a milestone in Indian politics in Malaysia.
It not only suggests the increasing irrelevance of the MIC, but also sidelines the many Indian-based NGOs that claim to be offshoots of the Hindraf movement, including the yet-to-be registered Human Rights Party headed by lawyer and Hindraf founder P. Uthayakumar.
Having the ear of the Prime Minister is a major boon for the Makkal Sakti Party which has asked Najib to act on three main areas of concern for the Indians.
These are turning all 543 Tamil schools into fully-aided schools, 10 per cent Indian recruitment in the civil service and at all levels and socio-economic help to uplift the Indian urban poor.
Thanenthiran said Najib told them to give him two years to act on these issues. “You all watch what I do,” Najib told them, according to Thanenthiran.
The MIC for them is already irrelevant.
“We won’t be here if the MIC had delivered,” said A. Waythamoorthy, the former Perak Hindraf co-ordinator who is deputy president.
“If they had delivered there would not have been a Makkal Sakti movement in the first place, no 2008 tsunami and we won’t form a new party,” he said.
The party would also actively campaign for the Barisan Nasional in the Oct 11 Bagan Pinang by-election because leaders feel it is a BN-ruled state and another PR or independent win would not make any difference for the Indians.
“In Bagan Pinang we want to show we can bring Indian voters for the Barisan… it is an acid test for us,” Thanenthiran said.
Malaysian Insider
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