the winner is ….. the people of Malaysia

I am no judge, so I won’t say who is the winner in last night’s debate between Anwar and Shabery.

But one thing I am sure. Whoever won and lost, the ultimate winner is the Malaysians.

This is the right way forward for the nation. Government leaders must be ready to face anyone willing to come forward to query and debate government policies. By having this sort of debate, the people of Malaysia get to listen to the other side of the story too… which is great for stimualting the minds. By listening to different views, the minds of leaders on both side of the divide can actually be stimulated and new ideas may come out. The Prime Minister must be commended for letting this sort of debate take place… the country will be more open with this.

The West is what it is today because of the divergence of ideas, and the freedom to express such ideas are guaranteed in most western countries. With divergence of ideas comes coalescence of such ideas into new thinking which has propelled the nations of the west forward, ever since the The Renaissance. 

Our country , if it really aspires to be a first world nation by 2020, must be prepared to be more open and let dissenting views be not only heard, and be heard over the so-called official channels, in the government controlled press as well as radio and TV stations.

I hope this debate will open up a trend for future debates to be held, in normal times as well as during General Elections.

A square peg in a round hole

A commentator from Penang who has voted for Gerakan for the past few elections, romerz, emailed me about an article on Gerakan in Gerakan Youth leader  Lim SI Pin’s blog. I thought it would be good if I  comment in this forum about my views of Gerakan , given that  I have written a few articles on these.

A party’s roots is in its ideology. Gerakan’s ideology is to fight for a fair and equal society where not only every race but every individual regardless of race, sex or creed will have an equal opportunity in  education, employment, socio-economic fields, etc.

It aims to promote an egalitarian society and it is basically a social democratic party.

Under these ideals, the party advocates helping the unfortunate and the poor , not along any racial or religious lines, but rather on social strata and on a ‘needs’ basis.

As correctly pointed in Lim’s blog, Gerakan joined BN mainly to bring Development to the Penang people. In the aftermath of May 13, it also wanted to reduce political friction and promote conciliation among the races. It was in fact one of the founders of BN. It has to be noted that UMNO at that time was a much better respected party than now and money politics, as is  practiced in UMNO nowadays, had not reared itsugly  head yet.

Even then, ideology of Gerakan and most of the BN component parties were very different. Gerakan is a socialist party, whereas the big brothers of BN, namely UMNO,MCA and MIC, are all race based parties; and none are social democrats.

 But it was possible then, in the early seventies and in the aftermath of May 13,  for the people to buy  the reasons that Gerakan could shelf its ideals of a fair and equitable society for a short term, joined BN and  be supportive of the affirmative action based on race, to enable the Malays to catch up in almost all sectors. But this support was not intended to be more than a short term. Tun DR Lim CHong Eu was said not to favour any extension of the NEP beyond its original designated term. (Unfortunately, Tun Lim lost in 1990 election and retired from politics just before the NEP was supposed to come to an end).  In exchange for that shelving of Gerakan’s ideals, Gerakan managed to bring development to Penang and improved the living standard as well as the economy of Penang people.

The leaders then also hoped that by being part of the ruling BN, Gerakan could exert its influence and corrected whatever anomalies from inside.

If Gerakan has a strong voice and is in a position to dictate terms within BN, it could try and change the direction of the whole coalition. Unfortunately, Gerakan is only a small party with not enough clout to really change the direction of this coalition, and in the process, instead of trying to change the other component parties, Gerakan’s ideology was hijacked and the perception was that it has become just another Chinese based party , maybe one with a better conscience than the rest, but nevertheless, one that is impotent to bring about  any significant policy change .

So in reality, Gerakan has become a square peg in a round hole.  How could a square peg function in a  round hole? or put it another way, how can Gerakan exert its ideology within such environment? To continue to hope so, after more than 3 decades inside BN without any success to change BN, is really to lie to one’s own self and conscience. Only when the leaders can break out of this self denial cocoon, can there be objective re-evaluation of the future direction of the party.

Gerakan was truly multiracial in its early days. Alas, it is no longer so. The whole mutliracial and nonracial approach has to be sacrificed under BN’s emphasis of race and the skewed NEP. How to recruit Malay members when the big brother is a Malay based party which views such an act as stepping over its boundary?

As I told one top leader of the party, no matter how good is the reform undertaken by Gerakan, if it still sticks to UMNO, it is signing its own death sentence,  given that UMNO’s present culture will only lead it slowly into  a self destructive mode. In a way, just one racist remark from UMNO will negate all the good works done by Gerakan, no  matter how hard Gerakan tries to reform and change.

By its association with UMNO, Gerakan will go the way UMNO is heading. And To expect UMNo to change when a culture of rot has set in is akin to hope for a habitual gambler to quit gambling.

Pakatan is not so rosy, too. I thought Anwar was an Old wine in a new bottle. But I have to give credit to him for realising many people’s dream of a two-party system, albeit an imperfect one at the moment. But with  many of PAS ’s members still harbouring hopes of an Islamic State, Pakatan can exist only  because of the existence of a common enemy, UMNO. If that common enemy is no more a force to be reckoned with, Pakatan will start to have cracks and fissures sooner or later.

So the best option is still a third force, where it can be free to advance  its ideology. It needs, of course,  to attract people of caliber from all races. It needs to practise what it preaches. A small party in the middle of 2 more or less equally matched coalition fronts, contrary to what many people think, will not split the 2 party system and will be able to exert its influence far greater than its size. By adroitly using its leverage of support, it will actually be able to exert much more influence than if it remains inside either front. And if the party can be managed well as an independent force, it should not be worried about 3 cornered fights come the next round.

(There are many examples of a small third force with great influence… in the West, In UK and Germany).

Investigate with fear or favour

10 years ago, there was the “Black Eye” incident. A Police Chief, whose duty was to  make sure that humanity is protected by the laws of the country, broke the law and almost broke the eyeball as well of a former DPM .. The incident created waves of disbelief and anger. The person who was supposed to protect you suddenly became the person harming your life…No one felt safe anymore, and credibity of the force became low because of the action of One Man, who was later on charged in Court and jailed for a very short duration, about 40 days.

Many in the Force at that time must have seen and heard of this beating. And these are people who know the law, otherwise they cannot enforce the law. Under the law, it is a crime not to report a crime when a person comes to know about the crime. SO there are many who were in the know who did not come forward to report their knowledge.

Casting aside whether one likes the former DPM or not, this beating is very wrong and those who are in the know and did not report are in the wrong , too. If we want to gain back the credibility of our enforcement and judiciary, we need to really push to have anyone fabricating evidence or covering up  to be charged according to the law of the day. Of course, there must be fair investigation, and there must be evidence. The most important thing is to have No Cover Up.

Truth will ultimately prevail. Anything swept under the carpet and covered by the carpet will not vanish but will one day be exposed. This is the law of the nature. What goes round comes around!

The country really needs to purge all the unlawful ways of doing things, benting the law to suit individuals in high positions or with good connection.. If this trend continues, our children and future generations will suffer. The country will degenerate into a society where  the rich and the powerful will always escape from misconduct whereas the poor and the ordinary peple will have no avenue to address their woes against the rich and powerful.

This is a country ruled by Law and not by Man. Everyone should goes back to the basic of ” All are equal under the law”, and Law should be supreme. Look at Hong Kong. No one is above the law, and that is an Asian society too. There must be no compromise when it comes to crime. Only then can be gain back the trust of our own people. 

 

We are NO. 51 in economic freedom 2008

In April last year, I have posted the index for economic freedom 2007 in my blog, tracked by The Wall Street Journal and The Heritage Foundation, Washington’s preeminent think tank. Malaysia was ranked NO. 48 in economic freedom in 2007.

How about this year? For 2008,  we are ranked NO. 51 in economic freedom. In the company of Uganda (No. 52), Costa Rica (No.49). So do not laugh at countries of Africa and Central America. We are already in their company, and if we dont buck up, we may be like the African and Central AMerican countries in no time. NO joking matter!!

The top 8 places are occupied by : Hong Kong (No.1), Singapore, Ireland, Australia, USA, New Zealand, Canada, Chile . (ask yourself why are these countries always ranked top? ).The full list can be viewed here .

The Heritage Foundation, in its FAQ, explained why economic freedom is important: “

“Studies in previous editions of the Index confirm the tangible benefits of living in freer societies. Not only is a higher level of economic freedom clearly associated with a higher level of per capita gross domestic product (GDP), but GDP growth rates also increase as a country’s economic freedom score improves. “   

Suppose you are a foreign investor with billion to invest. What is your priority for investing? You want to earn money, but you want to earn money in an environment that gives you the most freedom with your money. You must be able to have a say in how your company is going to be run, the cost of labour must not be too high, the people in the country of your investment must be efficient and have good productivity so that the best returns can be earned. You want to have a impartial  judiciary to guard your rights..meaning your money. You want to have a clean government so that you do not pay extra under the table, as corruption adds costs and time to doing business.

This index of economic freedom, which measures 10 factors, takes all these into account. For the full report on Malaysia, read here.

Malaysia fails miserably under the category : Investment freedom. We get only 40% mark for this category (40% is Fail in most countries, but according to Malaysian marking system, 40% is considered pass, any wonder why we are low down now?).

This is what the report said about this category:

Investment Freedom - 40%

Rules have been eased, but foreign investors still face such restrictions as limited voting shares, prior approval, and mandatory hiring of ethnic Malays. Investment is banned in the news media, lotteries, or security paper. Foreigners may own 100 percent of certain kinds of new companies, but most existing corporate equity requires that a 30 percent stake be Malay-owned, and foreign ownership is capped in most sectors. Certain kinds of investment are screened, though commercial operations can begin before approval. Residents and non-residents may hold foreign exchange accounts, subject in many cases to government approval. Nearly all capital transactions are prohibited, are subject to restrictions, or require government approval.

If you read the report carefully, it is because of the restriction placed… everything needs government approval, and that means red tapes, and possible avenue for corruption.

We get 50% for corruption. This is what the report said:

Freedom from Corruption - 50%

Corruption is perceived as present. Malaysia ranks 44th out of 163 countries in Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index for 2006. Bribery is a criminal act, but perceptions of widespread corruption and “crony capitalism” persist.

 

Any wonder why the economy is half dead, progressing miserably at 5 % growth , which, if you take into account the actual inflation rate ( maybe as high as 4-5% while the official figure is only 3%), means that the economy is not growing at all.

The report also measures the net inflow of FDI.  Malaysia’s FDI is stated as $996 million whereas, the same report put Singapore net FDI as $14.6 billion. Even Thailand, has $3.4 billion of net FDI. Even Indonesia has 2.2 billion worth of FDI. What happened , MITI?

If we do not buck up fast, we will be overtaken by Thailand, that is for sure. But do not be surprised that African countries may overtake us… Uganda is just one rank below us.

 

PGRM wants ISA review

Taken from Malaysiakini: Gerakan seeks parliament committee on ISA

May 23, 08 3:18pm

Gerakan today urged the government to set up a parliamentary select committee to look into the review of the Internal Security Act, a proposal which was mooted by the government yesterday.Hoping that the ISA review would eventually lead to some significant changes in the colonial-era security law, Gerakan’s acting president Dr Koh Tsu Koon said that the parliamentary committee can play a role in identifying the changes.“This select committee consisting of members of Parliament from both the government and opposition benches can examine in depth various aspects of the Act and achieve some common ground before tabling for open debate in Parliament,” he said in a statement today. He added that the proposed review of ISA should make it to be in compliance with basic principles of human rights. “There should be enough safeguard against various possible and actual infringements on basic human rights. “The review should also provide more specific definitions and listing of offences which relate to genuine threat to national security, including terrorism,” he added. The former Penang chief minister said that with clear criteria and enough safeguards, the ISA “will less likely be subject to abuse and the perception that it has been used for political purposes to silence dissenters”. PM was quite receptive Yesterday the de facto law minister Mohd Zaid Ibrahim told Parliament that the government would review the law which allows for indefinite detention without trial. He said that the review - to be undertaken by a study involving Zaid, Home Minister Syed Hamid Albar and Attorney-General Abdul Gani Patail - will “enhance and update provisions” in it. “However, as a government that is sensitive towards the public’s demand, it is open to enhancing and updating provisions under the ISA as well as other laws,” he told Parliament. “Preventive detention is actually still needed in this country. However, there is the possibility of reviewing the Act in future,” Zaid said, without giving a timeframe of when the review will take place. Responding today, Koh said that Gerakan was one of several parties which have been calling for review or even repeal of the ISA since the 80s. He also revealed that he has been pursuing Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi since April on the need for ISA review. “The prime minister was quite receptive,” he said. Release all ISA detainees Koh also pointed to another parliamentary select committee which was formed in the 80s to look into changes to be made to the Dangerous Drugs Act which also provided preventive detention without trial, just like the ISA. He said that committee, of which he was a member, was able to come up with some specific provisions to provide for safeguard and the bill was passed in Parliament. “That committee which comprised opposition members such as Lee Lam Thye was given a very good insight into the various aspects relating to drug trafficking and preventive detention, including difficulties with respect to evidences and witnesses,” he said. Koh also revealed that in January and February, and again in early April and May this year, he had appealed to Abdullah for the review and release of existing ISA detainees on health, humanitarian and other valid grounds, including the Hindraf 5. Last week, the Federal Court refused to release five ethnic Indian activists - dubbed the Hindraf 5 - who were fighting for their freedom after being detained under the Act. The five, including a newly sworn-in state lawmaker, were detained in December after enraging the government a month earlier by mounting a mass rally alleging discrimination against minority ethnic Indians.

 

Race politics and brain drain

 The most important asset of a country is not its natural resources, but rather human resources. This is especially true in a knowledge based economy, which of course will be the trend in future if not already the trend in most of the western countries.

My daughter, who is in her final year medicine in Auckland, told me that a team of SIngapore recruitment officers have just visited Auckland and talked to the Malaysian students there, offering job and training prospect for the final year students once they graduate. My daughter also told me that over the last few years, quite a lot of her Malaysian seniors, after graduating from medical courses in NZ, have gone to Singapore to work as house-officers and subsequently stayed back in Singapore for their postgraduate training.

Similar teams are sent to Australia and UK for recruiting Malaysians there to work in Singapore.

ABout a year ago, in one of the articles in Reuters, this was reported:

Malaysia is counting on bright, ambitious people like Tan Chye Ling for its future, to lead it away from manufacturing and into the knowledge age.

But the 32-year-old scientist, a post-graduate in molecular biology, is not counting on Malaysia to look after her future.

“I felt very suppressed in Malaysia,” said Tan, who moved to neighbouring Singapore, the region’s pace-setter for biotech investment, after a decade of study and research in Malaysia.

“I have benefited from the better research environment and salary scheme here. Things are much smoother,” she said by phone from the National University of Singapore where she is studying dust mites and allergies.

Tan estimates that 60 percent of the research teams she works with in Singapore are from Malaysia, despite her country’s efforts over several years to develop a biotech industry.

The Malaysian government unveiled plans last March to spend $553.3 million over five years to boost research, attract foreign investment and build new facilities. But its efforts are wasted unless it can retain more talented people like Tan.

“By the time we have the research environment in place, every other country would have taken a slice of the biotech investment pie,” said Iskandar Mizal, head of the state-run Malaysian Biotech Corporation which oversees the government’s strategy.

There is a serious problem facing Malaysia and that is the problem of Brain Drain. Why are Malaysians overseas not coming back to work?

Well, pay may be part of the reasons but is not the main reason. Singapore recruitment team offered Malaysian students there a salary which is a few times they would expect to get in Malaysia….S$40,000 a yr for houseman after tax ( equivalent to RM86000) which is about 5 times the pay of a houseman in Malaysia.

But, as I say, pay is not the main problem. The living expenses Overseas is high. And for a person working overseas, the loneliness and the stress level is also high. So not everyone opts to work overseas because of pay. Many would not mind to work for lesser pay if they can stay near to their loved ones.

Why do people choose to work overseas, away from their loved ones ?

Malaysia has many state-of-the-arts hospitals and research centres, which may even be the envy of many overseas countries. But hardware alone would not attract these experts to come home. In the medical fields, I have so many friends /classmates working overseas, many in world renowned centres. Why do they do that?

Some of my classmates and friends did come back as specialists. After working a few years ( many lasted a few months) , most get disillusioned and went off. There is really not much prospect of career advancement. How many can hope to become a professor, even when they are an acknowledged expert in their field? O the other hands , lesser beings are being promoted to professorship for doing much less.

How many of them can have any say about how things are to be run? How many of them can blend into the local team where the work attitude is vastly different from that overseas? 

There is an unwritten rule that even if the person is very good, the head of the team has to be someone from a certain ethnic group who may not even be half as good as him.

In everyday life, some become disillusioned with the corruption, the red tape and tidak apa attitude of the officialdom. For an overseas doctor applying to work home, the application can take up to 6 months to get approved, whereas, SIngapore sends teams overseas to recruit them on the spot, giving them forms to fill and offering them jobs immediately as long as they pass their final examination. See the difference?

It is the sense of being wanted and being appreciated that make these people stay overseas. Back here, they are often made to feel that they are of a lower class; they do not feel wanted and they do not feel appreciated…. That is the main reason.

For those with children , the education system puts them off. Even school children can feel being discriminated, one glaring example is the 2 systems in PreUniversity education.

All these make them pack their bags and off they go again, leaving behind their parents perhaps, siblings, friends they grew up together, favourite food that is often not available overseas. No one likes to be like this; circumstances and a sense of being recognised for their worth make them go away…It is really sad.

Parents spend huge amount of money educating them, but the ones who benefit are the Singaporeans, the Americans,the  Australian, the British and so on. As long as race politics is not done away with, this problem of brain drain will continue and Malaysia will always lack behind the advanced countries, no matter how many twin towers and Putrajayas we build.

Tuan?

I agree with Dato Ong Tee Kiat that the less we harp on the ketuanan Melayu issue, the better it would be for a united Malaysian nation. The only “Tuans” in the true sense of the word, are the Tuankus, Their Royal Highnesses the Sultans. Their position is enshrined in the Federal Constitution, and accepted by all communities.

Every other citizen is of equal status, regardless of race. Otherwise, it would imply that we have first and second class citizens, or worse, masters and servants. This simply will not do.
In fact, recent remarks by some of the Rulers (e.g. Raja Nazrin, the Sultan of Selang
or, etc.) would indicate that the Royalty are indeed commited to national unity, justice and fairness to all races.

As for the position and rights of the Bumiputras, these are again clearly spelt out in the Constitution, and we are not questioning them.

Let us also not forget the Ibans, Kadazandusuns and other indigenous peoples of Malaysia.

Observer.

Gerakan- The Way Forward

After 2 days sitting in the seminar room and being blasted by the very cold air-cond, I came to the conclusion that Gerakan leaders are seriously, sincerely, ready for change.

Leaders are open to suggestions coming from young people like me and the rest of the group. This is indeed the most forward looking brainstorming session that I have ever attended throughout my years as a Gerakan member.

Among us are the top party leadership, very veteran leaders, enthusiastic young leaders, and normal members. We all came together to spend this weekend together, perhaps with diverse views and opinions at the beginning; but leaving the brainstorming session with hopes and challenges that lies ahead. 

‘Communication’ or ‘communication break down’ appeared to be the most commonly debated issue. Grassroots feel that there is a lack of communication between the top leadership and the members. Then I wonder, is this a convenient way out to explain and justify the ‘problems’ faced by the party to a certain extend when we do not know the answer to the problems? 

Bloggers borne like mushrooms after the 308 election. A Malaysian’s Malaysia agenda appeared to be the main agenda for the brainstorming. We all want to strive for a just and equitable society, for all Malaysians. We will again, pick up the basic ideology that was started by our Gerakan forefathers 40 years ago. I hope that all these are not too late today.

I hope that this brainstorming can be put forth to the whole party structure, and to move the party forward together.

Let’s Work! Let’s Gerak!

Peaceful Assembly

The police are to be commended for allowing the recent workers’ day rally to proceed after some negotiation with the organisers. They were even allowed to march some distance in an orderly manner.

It goes to show that with the agreement of law enforcers on the one hand, and protesters on the other, a peaceful, incident-free demonstration can be a reality.

The co-operation of the police ensures that public order and security are not compromised, and traffic flow, uninterrupted. There is no need for water cannon, tear gas, injury and ensuing ugliness.
Of course, the the picketers themselves must reciprocate to police goodwill with appropriate proper behaviour and conduct.

It could have been achieved during the Bersih and Hindraf demonstrations in the past.
A thriving democracy includes the right to peaceful assembly.

Observer.

One step forward, three steps back !

One would have thought that for a party that has lost 5+1 States and the popular votes in Peninsular Malaysia, there would be much soul searching and perhaps adoption of much needed reform and new strategy to win back the trust of the people.

I was hopeful when the PM announced that judicial reform would be undertaken. I was hopeful when PM announced the formation of an Independent body for fighting corruption, the MCAC, in the mould of the ICAC of Hong Kong. I was hopeful when suddenly  many pro BN politicians started to blog, thinking that  perhaps more freedom of expression would be allowed.

Alas!! My hope was dashed when the Sedition Act was used to charge well known blogger RPK.

Sedition Act is an archaic law  enacted by the British in 1948. The situation then and now is totally different, and this law should have been repealed long ago. It is like using a 1948 car in the formula one race of today, totally out-of -date.  

According to Wikipedia, the act criminalises speech with “seditious tendency”, including that which would “bring into hatred or contempt or to excite disaffection against” the government or engender “feelings of ill-will and hostility between different races” .

Is RPK’s writings seditious? I would not want to go into the debate or the merits of the case as the case is before the court now.

But if anyone feels slighted by RPK’s writing, or for that matter, if anyone feels slighted or defamed by any writings of any blogger, there is such a thing called civil law and civil court. The person feeling slighted or defamed could sue in a civil court for libel and defamation, if necessary for hundreds of thousands, if necessary for millions.

It is just like the ISA, another archaic piece. If you feel someone is undertaking activities that may lead to security of the nation being threatened, by all means charged him in open court. So just like ISA, Sedition ACt is out of date and both should have been repealed long ago.

Lee Kuan Yew sued for libel and won many times agianst those who slighted him in either speeches or writings. I do not remember him using the state machinary to charge someone who has alleged defamed him. He has used ISA for security reasons, but not the Sedition ACt for personal vendetta.

I have a feeling of ‘deja vu’; it is like 2004, when we were promised so many things but none came about after 4 years. Is this a repeat of things? Will we ever see the lights of a Judicial Commission or a MCAC, despite the promise? Will it be like the IPCMC? I hope not.

But what RPK case has shown is that, we are taking one step forward , three steps back.

 

See the logic, Dear Minister ?

I was shocked reading this piece of news in NST this morning

“In a move to stop Malaysian women being duped into carrying drugs for international syndicates, the Foreign Ministry has proposed that all women travelling out of the country alone be required to have a letter from parents or employers. “

Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim said the letter would be a declaration which stated clearly the reason the woman was travelling.

from NST: There are 119 Malaysian women in prisons worldwide for drug offences; the majority are aged between 21 and 27 duped into becoming ‘mules’; and so far this year, 29 have been detained or imprisoned

 

There is another piece of news in the same paper:

Regressive. Unfair. Biased.

These were some of the words used to describe the proposal by the Foreign Ministry that women leaving the country alone be required to have declarations from parents or employers stating the reason for their travels.

Minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim said yesterday he had submitted a proposal to the cabinet.

The proposal drew flak from non-governmental and women’s organisations, with their representatives making clear their outrage.

National Council for Women’s Organisations Malaysia (NCWO) deputy president Faridah Khalid called the proposal “backward and unfair”.

“This is an infringement of our rights,” she said.

 

The first thing that comes to my mind is that this is gross discrimination against women, which forms more than half the population.

It is like amputating the whole leg for a small boil on the tip of the toe. There is no logic.

I don’t like to be rude, but is it not akin to asking the police to castrate all males just because of a few rape cases?

The English will say, never use a sledgehammer to kill a fly.

How many women travelling overseas are involved in vice? Most would be legitimate travellers.

This is how someone who is brought up with a biased view against women would do. And I am supprised that this comes from an experienced Minister.

Socially, this is not acceptable, when the whole world, with the exception of some countries, is now going towards equality of the sexes.

Politically, this is a disaster. He should know that there would be an uproar from women groups.

Why has UMNO people not learned from the lesson of March 8?

Policies should be people orientated and should not be an encumbrance to people. The people are your boss, Dear Minister. Always look from the angle of the people, not from the top of the ivory tower where the view tends to be narrow and clouded by clouds.

If  government ministers keep going like this, sooner or later, there will be so much red tapes, you have to have a police permit to go out after midnight, because the minister in charge will argue that most crime is committed at night.

See the logic, Dear Minister? 

People must come first

From the Star:

Koh: Projects must go on

All Federal Government projects committed before the March 8 elections must be carried out for the benefit of the people of Penang, Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon said.

The former Penang chief minister said this included the Second Bridge and the Monorail projects.

He denied the Federal Government was giving the Pakatan Rakyat Government in Penang a hard time and punishing Penangites for voting in the then Opposition.

“I would be the first to disagree if the intention is to punish Penangites,” he told reporters yesterday after chairing the Gerakan central working committee meeting.

The Gerakan acting president said he had already made his stand as early as in the first week after the general election – that all federal projects in the state should go on.

He stressed that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi had also made this clear. “As far as the Second Bridge is concerned, it’s already committed, and should go ahead.”

However, he pointed out that in big infrastructure projects like the Penang Second Bridge or the Monorail, there were bound to be technical and financial problems, which would result in some delays regardless of whether the state was under the Barisan or Pakatan.

He said delays to the bridge project started even before March 8.

On Saturday, Second Finance Minister Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop said mega projects in the state like the Monorail and the Penang Outer Ring Road might not take off as they had not reached “approval” stage yet.

To this, Dr Koh said, there was some confusion over the Monorail project.

He said before March 8, the state government spent a lot of time discussing and engaging Federal Government departments on the project, and four companies had submitted proposals, each with different alignments.

In Petaling Jaya, Nor Mohamed said the Federal Government was sincere about working with the Pakatan-led Penang government, and had no intention of cancelling projects announced under the 9th Malaysia Plan.

He said the three-hour Penang Federal Action Council meeting which he chaired on Saturday was to call for more cooperation with the state government, accelerate projects and overcome problems such as land acquisition, and to discuss cost controls.

“The Prime Minister has said that he is the Prime Minister for all. It applies to Penangites as well. The election is behind us now,” he said.

“Projects under the 9MP will continue to be implemented subject to details and procedures, including land acquisition. We will cooperate with the state government in the interest of Penangites.”

MCAC - do it fast

The Prime Minister has announced that the ACA will be restructured to become an Independent body for fighting corruption– Malaysian Commission for Anti Corruption (MCAC). This is a significant move for reform, and if really a fully independent commission can be set up, it should be welcome news for Malaysians, even if it has come a bit late — but better late than never.

I have been vocal in asking for an Independent Commission for corrupt Practices. I have forgotten how many articles and letters I have written on this. I will just quote one of the letters published in Malaysiakini on 18 September 2006 below, since the points are still valid, for the readers who have not read it before.

Before quoting the letter, I have these few points to make:

1. The commission has to be truly independent. It is only answerable to a select committee of the PArliament consisting of government and opposition MPs.

2. To be truly independent, no politicians or businessmen, past or present,  should serve in the commission. Its members have to be those of high integrity, consisting of outstanding people from the academia, from the professions, from the civil service or diplomatic service, NGOs. The appointment should be made by the Agung on the recommendation of the Parliamentary committee.

3. It must have separate power of investigations as well as prosecution, without going through the police or AG chambers.

4. The commissioners must have their assets declared yearly in media such as newspapers as well as internet websites.

5. It should have the power to investigate anyone, perhaps with the exception of the Agung as the Head of the country. It should have the power to call anyone including the PM for questioning and investigation.

6. There should be a new class of investigating officers who should be newly recruited and should be sent to Hong Kong for training. No police officers should be seconded from the police force.

I have also proposed a structure of a ICAC in my of my earlier posts. The commissioners will sit on a supervisory committee overseeing the Chief Investigating Officer.

I hope that the formation of this commission as well as the Judicial Commission can be set up as soon as possible, possibly within 100 days. This will show the resolve of the PM to introduce reform.

For those who want to read my letter published in 2006 , Please click on this link.

Dr Koh Tsu koon on an Independent ACA

This is an article posted by Sdr H’ng Khoon Leng in his blog Putih Hitm Kelabu:

An Independent ACA will be more effective

An independent Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) will make it more effective in combating corruption and enhancing integrity in the public service.

“It will be a concrete mechanism in realizing the objectives of the National Integrity Plan or Pelan Integriti Nasional (PIN) launched by the Prime Minister in 2004.

“It will also give greater confidence to the ordinary people when they want to report on corruption cases,” said Gerakan’s Acting President Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon in welcoming the ACA’s proposal to be an independent body.

“This will also show the seriousness of our Barisan Nasional Government in fulfilling a key promise in our Manifestos in both 2004 and 2008 Elections”

Minister in Prime Minister’s Department Dato’ Seri Nazri Aziz revealed yesterday that the ACA had submitted a proposal to the Prime Minister to allow it to operate along similar lines to Hong Kong’s Independent Commission Against Corruption.

Dr Koh said that Gerakan has long called for an independent ACA, especially since a workshop and a series of discussion was held in the late 90’s.

Moreover, Gerakan Founding President the late Prof Dato’ Syed Hussein Alatas was an academic authority on the study of corruption. Therefore Gerakan will continue to pursue and support all measures to combat corruption including strengthening the ACA as an independent body.

Restore confidence in our judiciary

This post is taken from a new blog: Perak Kini, and was written by the chairman of the Legal Bureau of PGRM. Amatterofchoice is glad that last night, the Prime Minsiter has announced the setting up of a Judicial Commission to look into the appointment and promotion of judges.

Party Gerakan urge the government to revamp the system of appointment of judges, as this will certainly restore confidence in our judiciary.

Our judiciary has been the focus of attention in the past 20 years and numerous negative reports have emerged. The latest is of course the “Lingam Tape”.

The present system is not transparent and arouses too much suspicion.

The British appointment system before 2005 invited similar criticisms and it depended too much on individuals’ influence and lack of guidelines.

It cumulated in the enactment of Constitutional Reform Act in 2005 and formation of an independent Judicial Appointments Commission which was officially, launched on 3rd April 2006.

The Commission is evaluates applicants for judicial positions and promotions. It selects candidates and makes recommendations to the Lord Chancellor who can reject the recommendations but he is required to give reasons to the Commission.

The Commission has set up guidelines on procedure and qualities and merits required for appointment and promotion.

The English system is worthwhile for the Malaysian judiciary to adopt as we share a common history in legal development, which is based on common law.

We are confident the proposed system is effective and acceptable to the public. The present political and social circumstances merit the adoption of the proposed machinery which will restore confidence, status and image of the Malaysian judiciary which has received a lot of beatings in the past few years.

Dato’ Chang Ko Youn
Gerakan National Legal Bureau Chairman

Fair and equal society ?

(This post is in response to this news in Malaysiakini:  Tengku Faris: Non-Malays should not seek equality)

Even though my childhood memories are very blurred now, I can still remember that from the time I was conscious of my surroundings, I had been taught one simple fact of life - that all men are equal in this world. My parents, being both intellectuals in the teaching profession, had always stressed to me that every son and daughter of theirs were equal in their eyes.

When I was older,   women teachers were fighting for equal treatment as their male counterparts; equality of the sexes were again ingrained in my mind. I remember I was very glad one day when my mother came back from school and told us that she would be getting same pay as her male counterpart. It was really not the pay, because as small kids the value of money was not so important to us, but rather we were glad because the equal status made our mother very proud and happy.

In schools, we were taught the same thing— that all men are equal. We learned from history how India had started to do away with the caste system, how in Euporean countries. all citizens were treated equal. I learned about Martin Luther King and his “I have a dream” speech. I read about how in USA, civil rights movement had succeeded in getting equal rights for all races.

 I read the book “All men are brothers” from Dr Albert Schweitzer when I was older , and the notion of equality of all people are again ingrained on me. By the way, the book influenced me into taking up medicine.

All great religions teach about equality of mankind. Even UN passed the Universal declaration of Human rights, in which all humankind are supposed to have same rights and deserve the same treatment. As the world progresses to be one single big family, inequality has become less and less, and I believe that there would come one day, call me an idealist, that all men will be truely equal.

Now, suddenly, someone important is telling me that all my notion of equality is not vaild in this country.  My dream of equality can only be dreamt. How do I feel? How do you feel?

One royalty is telling us that a certain portion of Malaysians, which include me and my family,  cannot be equal and should not seek equal treatment; That there are in fact different classes of races in the country; that even those  born in this country long after Independence will still have to carry the burden left behind by our forefathers. How do you feel?  I feel disgusted and cheated.

Are we really still so medieval that we still need to have different classes of citizens? Can’t all citizens be treated equal - the tenet of the most basic of human rights?

I don’t know how to answer that. 

All my life , I have taught my children about fairness and equality. Now what am I going to tell my grandchildren?

“Gerakan needs to ‘Gerak’ now” - another email comment

There is a very interesting but thought provoking exchange of opinions by a few commentators following the posting of the last article ( Business as usual?) by a concerned member of PGRM, Sdr Pook Kong Fee. A reader known as romerz, who has posted many insightful comments in the blogs of many bloggers and is no stranger to the blogsphere , has commented on the inert situation of PGRM following the dismay results of the recent General Election.

We hope to hear the reply from PGRM leaders on their views as well as the views of other commentators. PGRM members are encouraged to give thier views too.

We received another input from Sdr Pook KF, which we will post it below.

Hi,
Romerz had posted a comment in relation to something that I had written “Business as Usual” - April 10, 2008.

I posted a comment in relation to that, basically agreeing with romerz’s comment and went to suggest what Gerakan leaders could do. Mind you, romerz declared that he is not a member of any political party and that he voted for Gerakan candidate for the past 3 elections, both state and parliament!!

I am enclosing my comments below (within curly brackets, { }) for discussion.

In order to assist others to understand the comments, I have also enclosed romerz’s comments within brackets ( ).

I would like to add here that one of the new issues that had arisen this week is Pak Lah’s comments that people who convert to Islam should notify their family and to have some form of documentary evidence to prove the notification.

Various comments and suggestions had been voiced by NGOs, MCA and also DAP Karpal Singh, but none from Gerakan (at least in the english press).

During the week I have also received emails from NGOs notifying of the proposed meeting between the NGOs with the Mentri Besar of Selangor on 16 Apr and also the proposed nonimation forms for nominations of Councillors to be submitted to the Selangor State Government as well as the meeting the NGOs have had with Ronnie Liu one of the Selangor State Exco Member.

The email also attached the main points the NGOs have made vis a vis various issues of concern and relevance to the residents of Selangor. The issues raised are wide ranging.

If the NGOs (more than one diverse groups) can within the short time after the Mar 8 election, organised themselves, meet and present their views to the Selangor Exco members and also the speed at which the Selangor State Government is meeting with them, there is no reason why Gerakan cannot put its act together quickly and immediately,

Much time has passed, people are watching and Party members are also waiting for directions. Perceptions are being created in the minds of the people that the Pakatan Rakyat government is pro-active and sincerely in trying to solve the problems or concerns of the people.

Seriously, Gerakan has to move and to move now. The Party’s name calls for that as well.

One more thing, I similarly did not, till today receive any response or reply (automated or otherwise) to my email to Gerakan. I wanted to log into the Gerakan and to post some comments/issues but could not do so. I sent an email asking for advice on what needs to be done. Sad to say there is no response todate

Pook Kong Fee

 

 

 This is the comment from member1982 in response to romerz’s comment below:

{romerz has summed the present perception of Gerakan very well.

I expected that Gerakan would be more organised, tech savy and would be the first amongst the BN parties to regroup and respond to the changes, expectations and aspirations that the Malaysian voters had shown in the Mar 8 elections.

Regrettably practically nothing is coming from the Gerakan leadership. Absolutely no comments, ideas as to what the Party’s positions are with regards to the various issues now being brought up as well as the allegations by the Pakatan Rakyat Penang state government about the land scams, mismanagement of the Penang State’s funds, both at council and state level.

This gives the impression that Gerakan is impotent. It also gives rise to the impression that the time that Gerakan was in power it was just warming the seats and do things on behalf of the UMNO, the dominant partner of Barisan Nasional.

It further provides the perception to the Malaysian people that Gerakan, for all the hype of many responsible and sincere professionals in the Party, is actually empty up there and do not have any opinions, ideas, plans, strategy whatsoever when confronted with issues and problems.

If the Party leaders really want to “reinvent” Gerakan and be the party of choice of the Malaysian people or to to provide the lead in formulating policies that will help heal the “gaps” between the various races, religions, social classes and segments of the Malaysian society, Gerakan leaders have to LEAD and to START TO LEAD NOW!!!! Otherwise Gerakan will find itself really irrelevant by the end of 2008.
Being out of the Federal and State Government, Gerakan may not be able to directly influence the policies of the Fed and Stat Government, but Gerakan can and must play the role of the “conscience of the Government and of the Barisan Nasional” by voicing out in the various medias, both conventional and non-conventional.

Gerakan can do so by stating the correct positions from a multi-racial, multi-religious and multi-cultural perspective to the various issues. Gerakan can do further, apart from stating its positions publicly, by studying and analysing the various immediate problems facing the country and the Malaysian people and to produce position papers proposing concrete solutions and action plans to solve or elevate these problems.

Granted Gerakan may not be in the position to implement any of these solutions or action plans, but it can be put to good use nevertheless. It can be used to educated its Party members and the general public so that people are more aware of the actual problems and the possible solutions and actions that could be taken.

It can be presented to the Barisan Nasional Supreme Council in which Gerakan is still represented for consideration and adoption. In fact this is the ONLY channel that Gerakan has to try influence the policies of the Fed Government, discounting the direct personal contacts between the Heads of the component parties.

The ideas, proposals, solutions or actions plans could well be “adopted” or “pirated” by Pakaktan Rakyat and implemented in the states under their control. I personally think that this may be too remote but I think some form or hybrid could be adopted by them and I think for the betterment of the country and the Malaysian people there is no harm. Never mind if they take the credit for the implementation, the country progress and the people are happy and enjoy the fruits of the progress.
But people will know that the solutions, proposal, action plans started from Gerakan.
Having said all these, perhaps the Gerakan leaders may have voiced some its opinions and may have been published in the non- english press, which I do not read. If this is so Gerakan leaders have also to find ways and means to ensure that their opinions are also widely publicised in the english media as well because many Malaysians read only one language media and english is one of the widely read media in Malaysia.

If the english press does not want to provide coverage due whatever reasons, perhaps it is high time that Gerakan consider its own Party newspaper to be sold to and subscribed by the general public, similar to what some other political parties have.

The Party newspaper can initially be published quarterly and the frequency increased as the paper gets more organised.

I believe the Party can find the resources, both brains, brawns and liquidity, to get these things done. After all the Party resources have improved tremendously sine 1982.}

 

Below is the original comment from reader romerz in response to the article “Business as usual” posted in this blog last week:

(romerz Says:
April 10, 2008 at 6:46 pm
The silence from Gerakan is indeed deafening. Except for a few comments here and there, it’s almost as if the party ceased to exist since 8 March. Even the Gerakan website has nothing much to say, more like it’s caught in a time warp before 8 March.

Well, it’s a month past 8 March and after the biggest blow suffered to Gerakan as a party since its formation. The silence is bewildering for those who supported Gerakan and are now unsure where to go from here.

I’m not a member of any political party but because of my residence, I have for 3 elections now, to choose between a Gerakan candidate and a DAP candidate. For all 3 elections, I have given my votes to the Gerakan candidate, both state and federal. It is not because I’m ‘in love’ with Gerakan but more because I didn’t see the opposition as a viable alternative then.

Well, all that has changed. Since 8 March, the 3 components of Pakatan Rakyat are saying and pressing all the right buttons, with the occasional hiccup here and there, which is amazing given its different ideologies and the short period of time they have had to transit from opposition to government in 4 states. I’m not saying that they have suddenly become viable but they are increasingly appealing to me as an alternative that will fight for what I cherish for this country and in turn, for my descendants.
Those of us not within the party or the inner circle of the leadership asks a very simple question of Gerakan.

 

“Do you still want our support or not?”

If you do, then for heaven’s sakes come forth and be seen to have heard the ‘loud’ message the rakyat just sent you a month ago and show us leadership. Silence only gives the perception that Gerakan is ‘lost’ and waiting for UMNO to show direction. The very reason why so many of the ‘middle ground’ voters has had enough and were ‘pushed’ to vote for the opposition.

No matter how ugly it is, be it leadership crisis, loss of direction, or even fear of the unknown, etc; put it to an issue now! Delay will surely spell Gerakan’s demise!

Having the party elections next year, after UMNO’s, will only give the perception that Gerakan cannot decide its own future by its own members. But is dependent on UMNO before setting its own course.
Perception is everything. As Aedhmar Hynes, CEO of Text 100 International, said, institutional trust is eroding, more and more people are turning to ‘peer media’. Unfounded accusations (as frequently raised in the blogs) of Gerakan may be perceived to be true, in part by Gerakan’s unwillingness to challenge it.

Difficult times require difficult response. Gerakan owes it to its members and those non-members who supported it all these times an answer now. If it’s unsure of where to lead us, then be sincere and tell us now then disband and let all its supporters choose their own course.

Isn’t sincerity what the party had always proclaimed when confronted with difficult issues? Not so much Gerakan’s own creation but UMNO’s. Why now when we need to know most is it so silent?
Even the MCA is moving faster than Gerakan. I say this because I was so stirred-up about Malaysia’s future since the outcome of the 12GE that I shot-off emails to MCA and Gerakan, giving my views about what happened on 8 March, uninvited as it may be.

Surprise surprise! I not only received a reply from MCA (I had expected Gerakan to respond 1st, if at all) but I actually got a phone call from MCA asking me to continue sending emails of relevance relating to the minority communities, which I might add is still ongoing and replied, not by a bot but by a person!

Guess what I got from Gerakan? Nothing, zilch, zero, and I thought being on a multi-racial platform would have a better chance than MCA for survival.

For those within the party, I appeal to you to set something in motion. Don’t really care what it is except that it makes the party leadership get off their behinds and do something drastic to salvage sinking ship!)

Business as Usual ? Email from a concerned member

This blog received an email from a member from Kuala Lumpur, Sdr Pook Kong Fee, which we will publish below.  Please feel free to give your views and comments.

        Start to be vocal now !!!

Hi,

We are still not catching up with the times. The people have spoken and our leaders have still not caught up.

A few issues have been raised amongst which is the Penang Govt allegations that there are numerous scams relating to land transactions in Penang.

Apart from Sdr Koh’s Secretary who had made a press statement in the the English press that the State Govvt at that time had initiated an investigation, no news or statements had been forthcoming.

Sdr Lee Kah Choon does have a point and that is the Party has to come out to clarify the matter and to prevent further asperations and doubt being casted onto the Party’s administration in the previous Penang Govt.

Another issue which was just raised is the Syariah Court Judge calling for the civil laws of Malaysia to be amended in order to charge non-muslims involved in khalwat with muslims.

Gerakan leaders should state in no uncertain terms what the Party’s opinions are on this issue. Otherwise the people will still think that we still following the “business as usual” despite the people clearing telling us that we have been doing are not enough and would want the Party to state clearly the Party’s positions on various contentious issues.

I hope the Party’s leaders will respond to these issues and other issues that may arise in future timely and promptly.

Pook Kong Fee

At the cross-road

It is now about 4 weeks since the 12th General Election which has really changed the political landscape of Malaysia. If you are a keen follower of Malaysiakini, you would have noticed that the past 3 weeks, so much unexpected have occurred.

The question in most people mind now is that will UMNO change for the better. One question everyone is asking: if UMNO wants reform, what is Mike T doing there?

I think the PM knows that he has to reform UMNO otherwise people will abandon UMNO. Already there are voices in some of the component parties such as PPP and Gerakan and even MCA that they should opt out of BN if UMNO does not reform. The question is : will he be strong and firm enough to institute a total revamp, including doing away with money politics, cronyism, nepotism and corruption?

For these component parties, there are 3 options to choose from:

   (graphic courtesy of inmagine.com)

1. Remain in BN, where their fate will be decided by whether UMNO reforms or not.  Their fate will be in the hand of UMNO. If UMNO does not reform radically, these parties will probably be wiped off the next round. Any reform taken by these parties without similar reform being instituted in UMNO will not endear them to the people.

2. Opt out of BN and join the Barisan Rakyat. But some of the parties are so weak now, they will be in no position to bargain for better terms to join Barisan Rakyat. In the reality of politics, do not expect PKR or DAP to give up seats for these parties to contest. They will probably be absorbed and disappeared from national political scene. So this might not be a viable option from the political point of view.

3. These small component parties can opt out of BN and remain independent and be a vigilant watchdog over both Barsian National and Barisan Rakyat. They can act as a consciense for the people and give constructive criticism for both sides. They can play the role like the Liberals in UK, which has thrived between 2 giants, the Conservatives and the Labour. Come the next election, they could probably opt to join force with either one of Barisan or Pakatan, depending on which is more closer to the people. They could then bargain from a  position of strength, and not from  a position of weakness, during any seat negotiation.

In any case, they will have to reform and be closer to the people, feel the pulse of the people and speak out on behalf of good governance.

Exco line-ups

Does the racial composition of the Exco line-ups, particularly in Perak, Selangor and Penang, really matter?  If one abides by Gerakan’s non-racial ideology, it doesn’t.

All that matters is that it is a Malaysian list, to serve Malaysians in those States. If mischevious elements try to exploit this issue to incite racial feelings, it is to be condemned. The Exco may be criticised if they fail to perform, but not on its ethnic breakdown.

The voting swing was multiracial. As far as the above-mentioned States are concerned, it is the Government that the people of all races wanted, and it is what they will get. Going against this democratic principle by playing the communal card is in bad taste.

Whether they can deliver the goods is another matter, and left to be seen.

Observer.

A meaningful dialogue - A new dawn for Gerakan

The central leadership of Parti Gerakan held a closed door dialogue with the national delegates on Sunday 23rd March in PGRM headquarters regarding the defeat the Party suferred in the last General election.

About 1500 delegates attended.

I would not comment on what transpired during the meeting since this is a closed door one, but suffice to say that both the leadership and the grassroots agreed that the party has to change its old way.

The party leadership, after listening to the voice of the grassroots, pledged  go back to basic - that is “Back to the People, Back to party Ideology and back to our Conscience“.

This is a correct direction. The party needs full committement of the leadership to go through this reform, otherwise, it may become irrelevant very soon.

I would also like to quote the Sun which has an excellent article on this meeting:

Gerakan blames Umno for polls defeat
Giam Say Khoon

KUALA LUMPUR: Gerakan acting president Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon yesterday blamed the “arrogance of power” of certain Umno
leaders for the party’s defeat in the generalelection.

After chairing a four-hour central delegatesbriefi ng on the elections yesterday, Koh said the party took the election results as an indicator of people being dissatisfied with what they perceived as the”arrogance of power” of the Barisan Nasional (BN).

“Certain Umno leaders’ deed, words and actions, in the past two years, have resulted in a feeling of resentment,” he said.

“However, we are very critical that we may have not done enough and did not do enough. Perhaps that power had got into our head after
leading Penang for 39 years.

“Koh said Gerakan would like to play a role of reformer in the BN but has to reform itself first.

Push for a Judicial Commission, Zaid !

I laud the appointment of Zaid Ibrahim as the de facto Minister of Law. He is one of the few sensible voices from UMNO. According to a  Malaysiakini report, he will be  in charge of legal affairs and also tasked to oversee Judicial reform.

                              

People will have high expectation of him, considering the state of our judiciary. His will not be an easy task, but I hope that all of us will give him a chance and some time to tackle the rots in the judiciary.

Perhaps, for starter, he can recommend to form a Judicial Commission to oversee the promotion of Judges and legal officers. This will cut out middle men and power brokers like the “it-sounds-like-me, looks-like-me-but-not-me” lawyer.

He could also try to ensure a fair trial for the Mongolian Altantuya’s murder case. Of course, in the name of justice , he could not interfere, but he could have use his influence to make sure that no evidence is being removed ignored and every ‘nook and corner’ in this case is being looked into.

He should, as the de facto law minister, recommend that the draconian Internal Security Act be reviewed and repelled. This is an archaic law formulated to tackle the communist insurgency, which is now history.

Many people argued that even USA is adopting such drastic measure since the 911 incident. But the US situation is very different. They are fighting a war, just like we did in the 50s and 60s when the ISA was formulated. They have instituted a Home Land Defence Dept, just to fight the terrorists war, and the threat is real!!

We, on the other hand,  are not fighting any war nor facing any external threat. Any person who has deemed to have done something wrong should therefor be charged in our courts; we have enough laws to deal with all sorts of misbehaviour.

In this context, I would appeal to the new Law Minister to use his influence to release the Hindraf 5. I know it is the prerogative of the Home Minister, but as a reformist, perhaps he could bring this up in cabinet meeting and push for the release of the Hindraf 5. Charge them in court if they have done wrong, but do not use ISA just to suppress dissent.

Also as a law Minister, I think he should push for the formation of a ICAC or ICPMC to tackle corrupt practices.

I have high hope of him, and I hope I will not be disappointed!

The new cabinet list

The full list of the new cabinet is out.

Rafidah and Tengku Adnan are out.

Zaid Ibrahim and Shahrir Samad are in:

Among Gerakan politicians, Sdri Tan Lian Hoe is the new Deputy Minister of Information and Sdr Senator A Kohilan is Deputy Minister of Plantation Industries and Commodities.

 

 

The full List:

Prime Minister
Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi

Deputy Prime Minister
Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak

Ministers in the Prime Minister’s Department
Tan Sri Bernard Dompok
Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz
Datuk Ahmad Zahid Hamidi
Datuk Mohd Zaid Ibrahim
Datuk Amirsham Abdul Aziz

Deputy Ministers in the Prime Minister’s Department
Datuk Johari Baharom
Datuk Dr Mashitah Ibrahim
Datuk K. Devamany
Datuk Hassan Malik
Finance
Minister - Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi
Second Finance Minister - Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop
Deputies - Datuk Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah, Datuk Kong Cho Ha

Defence
Minister - Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak
Deputy - Datuk Wira Abu Seman Yusop

Internal Security and Home Affairs
Minister - Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar
Deputies - Datuk Chor Chee Heong, Senator Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh

Housing and Local Government
Minister -Datuk Ong Ka Chuan
Deputies - Datuk Robert Lau , Datuk Hamzah Zainuddin

Works Minister
Minister - Datuk Mohd Zin Mohamad
Deputy- Datuk Yong Khoon Seng

Energy, Water and Communications
Minister - Datuk Shaziman Abu Mansor
Deputy- Datuk Joseph Salang Gandum

Agriculture and Agro-based Industry
Minister - Datuk Mustapa Mohamed
Deputy - Datin Paduka Rohani Abdul Karim

International Trade and Industry
Minister -Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin
Deputies- Loh Wei Keong, Datuk Jacob Dungau Sagan

Foreign Affairs
Minister -Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim
Deputy- Tunku Azlan Abu Bakar

Education
Minister -Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein
Deputies -Datuk Wee Ka Siong, Datuk Razali Ismail

Higher Education
Minister - Datuk Khaled Nordin
Deputies - Khoo Kok Choong, Datuk Idris Harun

Transport
Datuk Ong Tee Keat
Deputy - Anifah Aman

Human Resources
Datuk S. Subramaniam
Deputy- Datuk Noraini Ahmad

Women, Family and Community Development
Minister-Datuk Dr Ng Yen Yen
Deputy- Noriah Kasnon

National Unity, Culture, Arts and Heritage
Minister- Datuk Shafie Apdal
Deputy-Datuk Teng Boon Soon

Science, Technology and Innovation
Minister- Datuk Dr Maximus Ongkili
Deputy- Fadilah Yusof

Entrepreneurial and Cooperative Development
Minister - Datuk Noh Omar
Deputy- Datuk Saiffuddin Abdullah

Natural Resources and Environment
Minister - Datuk Douglas Unggah Embas
Deputy - Datuk Abu Ghapur Salleh

Rural and Regional Development
Minister - Tan Sri Muhammad Muhd Taib
Deputy- Tan Sri Joseph Kurup

Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs
Minister - Datuk Shahrir Samad
Deputy - Jelaing Mersat

Plantation Industries and Commodities
Minister - Datuk Peter Chin Fah Kui
Deputy- Senator A. Kohilan

Youth and Sports
Minister - Datuk Ismail Sabri Yaacob
Deputy - Wee Jack Seng

Health
Minister - Datuk Liow Tiong Lai
Deputy- Datuk Dr Abdul Latiff Ahmad

Information
Minister - Datuk Ahmad Shabery Cheek
Deputy- Datuk Tan Lian Hoe

Tourism
Minister - Datuk Azalina Othman
Deputy - Datuk Sulaiman Abdul Rahman Abu Taib

FT
Minister - Datuk Zulhasnan Rafique
Deputy- M. Saravanan

A total overhaul

10 days have passed since the 12th General Election. The initial shock should be over by now.

What is the aftermath? The emergence of a 2 party system and a possible defeat at Federal level if BN does not mend its way in the 13th General election.

Many BN leaders have spoken and all agreed on one point. They should be serious soul searching and find out why the coalition has lost touch with the people.

I have put forward my ten cents worth of opinion in what causes this political tsunami in 2 articles, titled ” The beginning of a new dawn” and its part 2. It was carried in Malaysiakini as a letter to the editor. Even though my voice is small since I am such an insignificant person, I really hope the ruling coalition can hear what I have said and buck up.

In this article, I will attempt to advise them what to do in the next 4 years. Actually all these suggestions are nothing new, since I have been harping like a long winded old man in my past articles in my blog. I have written, during the 17 months since my blog was started, a total of 514 articles majority of which are harping on these. 

What are my suggestions to BN in the aftermath of this big shock? I will list them below:

A.  Be humble and listen to the people.

A1.  To do so, we need press freedom. The leaders need feedback and what is better than feedback from newspapers?Review the Printing Press and Publications Act. Newspaper is the 4th pillar of democracy, and we must have a freer press for people to voice out.

A2. Allow public expression through peaceful gatherings. read my article : Reflections in a mirror

A3.Allow internet freedom. Blog have proven to be the effective voice of the people. Do not use threat against bloggers like what they did to Nat Tan last year.

A4.Go to the ground once a while and listen to the ordinary people. Do not trust everything your advisers tell you. Especially many of these so-called advisors practice “Eunuch politics”.

B. Good governance

B1. Be transparent in all government undertakings. This includes government expenses, tendering process, decision making process, promotion of government servants and police and army officers.

B2.Be accountable. Those who have done a mistake must take responsibility and cannot pass the blame on scapegoat. Take a pay cut. Take a demotion. That would form a good culture of accountability and would spur people to be careful when dealing with public funds and formulating public policies.

B3. Tackle corruption. I have mentioned so many times that the only way is to set up an ICAC in the style of the Hong Kong ICAC — an independent agency with the power to investigate, arrest and prosecute and answering only to Parliament. Read my past article: http://hsudarren.wordpress.com/2007/03/06/set-up-an-independent-commission-against-corruption/

B4. Practice meritocracy. Promote people on merits and merits solely. This will increase efficiency and productivity.

B5. Create a culture of excellence. Read this

C. Tackle racial tension

C1. The best way to do so would be to do away race based politics. Dissolve all race based party and form a non race based one.

C2. Affirmative action should be practised but only to help the poor segment of the population, regardless of ethnic origin. Only through this can true unity be achieved.

C3. Practice open tender. The best value for money should get it irrespective of ethnic origin.

c4. Provide special training and special scholarship for socially backward people.

D. Economy

I will paraphrase from my earlier article from my blog on this topic:

In order to expand the economy again, we need to improve on the ease of doing business. We need to attract more FDI again. We need to improve our ranking on the ease of doing business , currently we are ranked No. 28. We also need to improve our ranking on the economic freedom, currently at 48.

To do so we need to review the NEP to make our economy more competitive. NEP has served its purpose. During the 70’s, when NEP was first implemented, the cake was not too large, but then, the effort then was mainly to take from the shares owned by foreigners in our plantations and listed companies. So the different ethnic groups didn’y really feel deprived. Later on, in the late 80’s extending to mid 90’s, using the policy of privatisation , the economy was in good