Respect One Anothers Way of Life

September 17, 2010

Respect One Anothers Way of Life

by Prof Dr. Mohamad Tajuddin Mohamad Rasdi@www.malaysiakini.com

COMMENT In the Quran, there is a verse that says that Allah has created man as many races and nations so that they would know one another. Muslims obviously take this verse to mean that all these different races of man were Muslims only. The verse does not stipulate as such and I read this verse to mean that we must respect one anothers way of life.

Anyway, if Malays feel that Chinese are a race of bad people and nothing good can come out of learning their language, customs and beliefs, how will we be able to live together as a nation or how can we explain Islam to them? In order to effectively communicate any message to another culture, we must not only learn the language but also immerse ourselves with that culture and belief system.

I have many times recommended that Muslim ustaz and ustazah who have degrees in Islamic studies take up post-graduate studies about people from other cultures and beliefs. But most ustaz and ustazah would still confine themselves ever smaller in scope to only the study of their own belief.

How is Islam to expand or be tolerated by others? I believe that all cultures possess knowledge from which all of us regardless of race or religion can benefit, the least of which is to be able to live side by side in harmony in a multi-cultural nation such as Malaysia.

The Prophet Muhammad once stood up to pay respect to a dead body he saw passing by in front of him. When the Muslims told him that the dead body was a Jew and wondered why he had paid respect to an enemy, he said, Does he not have a soul too?

Loving others as part of faith

Muslims believe that they must love only Muslims, their relatives, family and parents along with their undying devotion to the Prophet Muhammad and ultimately, Allah the most high. But in his book, In the Early Hours, the great teacher and scholar Ustaz Khurshid Ahmad recorded a hadith as follows:

There are three types of people who will experience the sweetness of faith: he to whom Allah and His Messenger are dearer than all else, he who loves a human being for Allahs sake alone; and he who has a great abhorrence of returning to unbelief after Allah has rescued from it as he has of being cast into Hell. (Muslim Bukhari, from Khurshid Ahmads In the Early Hours, pg 86)

In the hadith, it was narrated that we are to love all man as a prerequisite to faith for without it, there is only the imitation of rituals but no true faith.

Muslims who are mostly Malays in Malaysia feel that the non-Muslim citizens are nothing more than to be merely tolerated or coped with or put up with at arms length. Muslims are not to make friends with non-Muslims because non-Muslims are the enemies and not to be trusted.

We have to correct this attitude because the hadith does not mention that we must love only Muslims. We must love all men regardless of their belief. We must render all men our help, our sympathies, our concern our love. If not we would not be able to attain true faith as Khurshid Ahmad mentions:

Iman is something which must penetrate deep into your heart and generate love for Allah and his Prophet more than anything else. Unless this happens you cannot experience the real iman. To develop this love for Allah does not require us to retire to or seclude ourselves in a monastery.

This love makes us do our duty to Allah while we are on the street, at home or in the ! office. With this love, we live as servants of Allah everywhere, and willingly making every sacrifice required of us. In fact it propels us to share actively in the service of Allahs other creatures. True love of Allah makes us care for people and their needs. (from Khurshid Ahmads In the Early Hours, pg 64)

There are also a few hadith that Khurshid Ahmad highlighted about being respectful of neighbours. Islam considers it a great sin to put your neighbours in difficulty. The hadith again does not stipulate that the rights of neighbours must depend on whether they are Muslims:

O Messenger of Allah, such and such woman has a reputation for engaging very much in prayers, fasting and almsgiving, but she hurts her neighbours with her tongue quite often. He said, She will go to Hell.

Then he said O Messenger of Allah, such and such woman engages in only a little prayer, fasting and almsgiving and just gives a few pieces of cheese in charity, but she does not hurt her neighbours with her tongue. He said, She will go to Paradise. (Baihaqi Ahmad, from Khurshid Ahmads In the Early Hours, pg 125)

Thus arrogance was born

It is wrong for Muslims to take the attitude that they are perfect. No one is perfect. As human beings our imperfection is our asset to grow and be humble. Without a sense of humility humanity becomes an arrogant entity akin to Iblis who refused to bow to Adam. Iblis swore that he would put man astray by giving him or her this sense of perfection and thus arrogance was born.

Islam, as all the other great religions of this world, seeks to educate man how best to live this life amongst his or her family, community and others of different belief by teaching basic and simple human and humane values.

Science and technology are valueless and have no capacity whatsoever to t! each man how to live. Those who use simple logic or rationality and attempt to offer an alternative discourse than religion find themselves with a very short end of the stick. Ask that of Karl Marx or the like.

Religion was the force that saw the development of human civilisation and they would still be this force into the future. The problem of wars and misunderstandings are the product of leaders of societies that have interests that do not conform to entire communities and societies needs.

These very few leaders or politicians, on the one hand, purposefully play on the fears and uncertainties as well as the ignorance of the masses. Some leaders actually believe what they do is for the good of their religion but this honesty is not coupled with a broader concern that we are all imperfect and we are all inhabiting this spaceship, earth, together.

The way to our salvation lies in knowledge of one anothers faith that would strengthen all our faiths. Some may say that we must have the right or correct religion and there cannot be many correct religions. If Islam is right then Christianity must be wrong. If Islam is right then Buddhists must cease to exist and allow the youngest and most up-to-date religion to survive.

From my experience, I rejoice in the multiplicity of approach to aspire to a spiritual connection with Allah or God. All these approaches help me to understand and practice more meaningfully. Like a company that has a multiplicity of talents, it would thrive more than by enforcing only one standard way of operating or thinking.

Strength in differences

Humanitys strength is its differences of culture. Humanitys strength is also its imperfection. And humanitys strength is that it has a similar set of goalsto live peacefully and to leave this world in a state of ! acceptan ce or ridha. The many sages and prophets of old have taught us how to do this and all we have to do is to learn from as many sources as possible.

Finally we must be careful of those leaders who seek to drive their own private agendas and not let them create discord between us and our children. We must in unison reject all these leaders and their parties and elect new ones who understand and respect one anothers religion in a more liberal way.

The ustaz and ustazah who are given the responsibility to teach Muslims must equip themselves with the knowledge of mans civilisation and of other religions. If not they must refrain from making any comments at all outside their own limited educational experience in the madrasa or others.

From where I stand, I think Muslims must make the stride to liberate themselves from the shackles of perfectionism as this is an antithesis to becoming a true mukminun and be accepted in the grace of Allah the Most High.

In the movie Kingdom of Heaven, the message is that heaven must be a kingdom of conscience and not religion because the word bears a political and historical framework that can be twisted by individuals with personal agendas. Until Muslims realise their imperfection there will never realise in this world about the true meaning of perfection of Islam. I end with a verse of the Holy Quran:

Those who believe (in the Quran), and those who follow the Jewish (scriptures), and the Christians and the Sabians, and who believe in God, and the Last Day, and work righteousness, shall have their reward, with their Lord: On them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve. (Surah al-Baqarah, Verse 62)

Part 1: Malay-Muslims and the Perfect Religion Syn! drome

Letter & Opinion From Joe Public

DAP wants Najib to reprimand Utusan

By Adib Zalkapli

September 17, 2010

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 17 — DAP publicity chief Tony Pua urged the Prime Minister today to openly reprimand Utusan Malaysia for what the Petaling Jaya Utara MP called promoting extremism.

Pua said Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s Malaysia Day message where he expressed sadness on the rise of extremism was not sufficient.

“Instead of just expressing his ‘sadness’ on the ‘rise of extremism’ in the country without naming those guilty of the so-called ‘extremism’, Datuk Seri Najib should openly reprimand parties who repeatedly lie and slander to harness the feelings of ill-will and

extremism among the rakyat, especially Umno’s own Utusan Malaysia,” said Pua in a statement.

“The Prime Minister’s failure to act will not only mean blanket approval for Utusan to continue its reckless actions against the DAP and Pakatan Rakyat, but it will also mean the height of irresponsibility by jettisoning of his own “1 Malaysia” goal,” he added.

Pua also pointed out that Najib has repeatedly defended Utusan in his speeches.

“In September 18 last year, he had at a breaking fast function at Sri Utusan Printing Complex hailed Utusan for ‘ethical and unbiased’ reporting,” he said.

“Just earlier this month, he told the public while breaking fast at The New Straits Times headquarters to “trust the mainstream media and not the alternative media which are based on half truths,” said Pua.

He cited several reports by the Malay daily, on the Friday sermon controversy in Penang and the surau visit by a DAP lawmaker, which he claimed were made to sow racial hatred.

He added that Utusan Malaysia also attempted to link DAP with the murder of businesswoman Datuk Sosilawati Lawiya and her friends.

“In a report yesterday, Utusan Malaysia quoted a Mohd. Zahid Md. Arip who tried to implicate DAP as being connected, even if remotely to the ghastly murders of Datuk Sosilawati Lawiya and three others,” said Pua.

In the report, Zahid who was a PKR Youth leader who defected to Umno claimed that DAP has been silent on the murder because of the suspects’ ties with the party.

“First of all, the question of DAP not condemning the murders does not arise. The party condemns all crimes, much more so heinous crimes such as the above and we have been at the forefront both in and outside parliament to call for the Royal Malaysian Police to increase their efficiency and effectiveness in fighting crime in this country,” said Pua.

“Secondly and more importantly, it is a disgusting attempt by the Umno-owned newspaper to insinuate and allege through its ‘news’ report that the murder suspects are life-members of DAP, with no attempt at all to confirm the veracity of the allegations,” he added stressing that the suspects are not party members.

Pua said Utusan’s reports reflect Umno’s desperation to maintain the Malay support.

“The unethical and downright unscrupulous attempt by Utusan Malaysia to use any and every opportunity to slander and publish lies about the DAP with the sole intent to incite racial hatred among its largely Malay readers signifies the utter desperation of the Umno leaders to maintain its hold on power, even if it were to mean using immoral means,” said Pua.

“In recent weeks, Utusan has headlined inflammatory and slanderous stories such as ‘Nama Guan Eng ganti Agong’ and alleging that the MP for Serdang, Teo Nie Ching had delivered a religious sermon in a surau, which were all based on manipulated lies,” he added.

Do we fear Perkasa?

I refer to a post at Rocky's Bru titled "The irrational fear of Perkasa".

Perkasa.

What does that name evoke? Fear? Unlikely.

To me and many others, that name is almost comical and tragic at the same time, quite in the same mould as Roberto Benigni's "Life is beautiful," only that the later was poignant and sorrowful, rather than tragic.

Perkasa is comical in the way it - through its leader, Dato' Ibrahim Ali and its various extras whose names I do not even care to remember - went around calling people who do not agree with its views names. YB Khairy Jamaludin knows about this well. Minister Nazri also knows about this very well.

Whenever Perkasa's views are opposed or critisised, Perkasa has been unable to counter such oppositions or critics. When Perkasa cannot rebut another's opinion, what would it do? Yes. It will attack the person who expresses the opinion rather than the opinion itself.

And so, Khairy Jamaludin was a stupid, crazy, feeble-minded and a confused child. according to Dato' Ibrahim Ali. And not to mention, also "mentally ill."

Just look at one full sentence by Dato' Ibrahim Ali about YB Khairy:-

This is the talk of a stupid, brainless person. He is talking like a crazy person." (source is here.)

Then, who would forget the "shit, shit, shit" Al-Jazeera interview? In full view of international audience, Perkasa's real ugly, uncouth, unrefined and even uncivilised nature reveal itself. It is comical.

And it is tragic. It is tragic because the international community may think - and I am sure they do think - that Malaysians in general are as uncouth as these Perkasa creatures. And that my friends, is a insult to Malaysia and to all Malaysians.

It is also an insult to the Prime Minister, because as I am told, the Prime Minister has a voracious appetite for knowledge and is an avid reader. And what an insult would be to the Prime Minister if the international community th! inks tha t Malaysians are generally uncouth because of that Al-Jazeera interview with Dato' Ibrahim Ali.

Ah, let's not forget about all the police report.

That Perkasa is only able to shout and scream slogans and misleading statements about rights which do not exist is exemplified by its inability to accept YB Nurul Izaah's polite, but firm, invitation to debate on the purview of Article 153 of the Federal Constitution.

Perkasa's response - and no less than Minister Sharizat's response (I am addressing her as a Minister in a loose sense) - to YB Nurul Izzah's clear articulation on the subject matter was taken right from the 1st line of the 1st Chapter of Dr Mahathir's guidelines to a discourse, namely, twist and hijack the issue.

This they did by saying YB Nurul Izzah had "challenged" article 153. When in fact she did nothing of that sorts.

By twisting - and thereby, hijacking - the real issue, they hoped to make YB Nurul looked bad. To challenge article 153 would make YB Nurul anti-Malay "rights" and therefore anti-Malay. How convenient.

This tactic has been employed so many times. Ustaz Asri, the former Perlis mufti, of course, is branded as a "Wahabbi" and therefore anti-Islam. Zaid Ibrahim is of course an "alcoholic" and therefore is unfit. Haris Ibrahim is a "liberal-secularist" and therefore he is also anti-Malay, anti-Islam and anti-whatever.

What YB Nurul was trying to do was to set out the REAL provision of article 153. She never challenged it. To challenge it would mean she was asking that that article ought to be repealed or amended. But she was not doing that.

Since she challenged article 153, according to these real smart people, she has committed an offence. The standard offence nowadays is of course the dreaded "S" offence. No, it's not sodomy. It is sedition.

And so Perkasa had to lodge a police report against YB Nurul. And then they would take pictures of themselves while holding the police report.

T! hat's th e standard operating procedure.

The new IGP should come down hard on this kind of police report. It wastes the police's time and the tax payers' money. The police has many other more important things to do. Like investigating murders, corruptions, breach of trusts, drug trafficking and taking care of the traffic during this festivity. Not to spend time on all these totally moronic police reports.

But then again, that's Perkasa. Nothing more and nothing less.

And now, YB KJ, Minister Nazri, Minister Khalid and Datuk Tengku Adnan, the secretary general of UMNO have come out to distance UMNO from Perkasa. These are big people. Not some cikus from UMNO. Can we take it then that UMNO now does not want to be associated with - and is not associated with - Perkasa?

I think we can make that conclusion.

Well at least I will make that conclusion, personally.

The Prime Minister wants change. He wants to transform Malaysia and the Malays in general. He wants the Malays to stop being spoon fed and promote meritocracy. Of course he is not doing away with affirmative actions just yet, because he recognises the needs for such actions.

However, I believe the Prime Minister wants to change the way the affirmative actions are being implemented. He wants to introduce a semblance of accountability to it. A certain level of defined methodology which is rooted in meritocracy to it.

But I also believe he is facing a revolt from within his own party about what he wants to do, particularly the was he wants to redefine the affirmative actions and its methodology. Sometime, the perception is, even his own deputy is against him on this.

And of course we have Dr Mahathir Mohamad who is dead against the Prime Minister's well intent moves. And Perkasa - like Dr Mahathir - is also dead against it. in fact, personally, it is my perception that Perkasa is just echoing Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

No, not echoing. But parroting him. Yes, that's more apt.

! So, it i s high time that UMNO, as a party, puts a stop to this insidious counter-movements against its own President, who happens to be our Prime Minister. He needs full support of UMNO for this much needed - if a bit radical to the Malays - change which he intends to introduce. And he also needs support from the BN component parties.

These supports are not forthcoming. MCA is too lame to do anything. MIC is mired in internal problems. AS for the others, I do not even know their names to begin with.

The statements by YB KJ and gang wouldn't have come at a better time for the Prime Minister.

However, I note with a bit of puzzlement, that no such statement has been forthcoming from the likes of Minister Hishamuddin; Minister Shafie Afdal, the Wanita Wing chief, Minister Rais and other top leaders of UMNO.

And so it makes me wonder what UMNO's official stand on Perkasa is.

But one thing is clear.

To many, Perkasa is not feared. Let alone irrationally feared.

What is feared is what Perkasa and its ilk represent.

And I don't think there is any need for me to spell out what they represent.

See What Barisan Nasional Gotta Say?

One Lady Sabahan's Open letter to the Malaysian Prime Minister

An open letter to the Prime Minister of Malaysia

Dear Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak,


I write to you as a deeply concerned and saddened citizen of Malaysia. For most of the 45 years of my life, I have been proud to be Malaysian. Recently, I have become heartbroken to be Malaysian.


I am profoundly grateful to write this with the support of both my local communities in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo and California, U.S.A., and a larger world community. That said, I take full ownership of and sole responsibility for the views articulated in this letter; I express them from my stand as a mother, an earth citizen and a leader.


I founded and lead a public charity and non profit organization both in Malaysia and in the U.S., to bridge between worlds and build partnerships for ecological conservation. I have been at the front lines of the founding and mobilization of Green SURF (Sabah Unite to RePower the Future), the civil society movement opposing the construction of the 300 megawatt coal-fired power plant in Lahad Datu, Sabah, on the edge of the Coral Triangle, one of three of the world's most bio-diverse ecosystems. You know. You signed the 6-nation declaration between Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Papua New Guinea, East Timor and Solomon Islands to collectively protect this 1.6 billion acres of ocean. You also know of course of your pledge at Copenhagen to reduce carbon emission intensity by up to 40% by 2020. You likely also know that the plant will displace fishing communities who have been there for a long time - irreparably contaminating their livelihoods forever. And if you listened, you would also know that they do not want the "development" that your government is imposing on them.


One of the priorities of Green SURF was to study clean energy alternatives to the coal-plant, and propose them to the government. We collectively invested tremendous time and resources to identify and commission the expertise of Professor Daniel Kammen at Renewable and Appropriate Energy Laboratory of University of California, Berkeley to conduct the Clean Energy Options for Sabah report. We had no notion of the outcome of the study, and results showed that Sabah is in an exceptional position to shift towards clean energy due to the availability of natural resources. We are in fact in an opportune position to lead the nation and the region in clean energy - the kind of leadership the world so urgently needs now. I wonder if you know that Sabah is the last coal power-free frontier of Borneo. FYI, the 5 core NGOs in Green SURF are amongst the largest, oldest and most recognized conservation groups in Sabah and Malaysia - collectively responsible for most of the conservation work in the nation, with partnerships that span the world.



We have tried every avenue available to communicate to you the results of our findings and to engage in discussion about the future of energy for Sabah. After months of unsuccessful attempts to meet with you, I can only conclude that you do not want to meet with us. This confuses and disturbs me. Your words in public are about listening to the rakyat (people) and hearing their views. A sizeable portion of the rakyat of Sabah has been doing everything within their power to be heard by you. To no avail. We have given you the benefit of the doubt that word is not getting to you, and yet we have met with those around you who promised they would convey our message to you. Many months, memos, reports, letters, faxes, emails and phone calls later, and we have not received a single response from you or any member of your administration. We also did our best at state level government, and have huge support from within the government but ultimately the message is that this is untouchable because "ini Najib mau" (Najib wants this).


Sir, my most consistent experience of your administration is stone walls, arrogance and insincerity. I am shocked by the behavior of the leadership of my nation. I find it patronizing, archaic, oppressive, blatantly and self-righteously elitist and top-down. I do not experience your administration as democratic, transparent, open, accountable or responsible. There is a deep incongruence between what you are projecting externally and what we have experienced internally. I can only surmise that you intentionally run your administration in this manner. Otherwise, it would mean that your leadership is incompetent and ineffective.


I am angry, and I am not willing to accept systemic disempowerment of our people. I am writing this open letter as a last resort. Sabahans are speaking up because we are deeply troubled and scared about the fate of our ecological and cultural legacy, and what we will be able to hand down to our future generations. Please show true leadership and listen. You and your administration have much to do to regain a modicum of respect amongst many Sabahans. If 1Malaysia is more than a PR campaign and is truly intended "to provide a free and open forum to discuss the things that matter deeply to us as a Nation", please walk your talk.


Yours sincerely, for the children,


Cynthia Clare Ong Gaik Suan

IC# 650423 12 5708


c.c. United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon

United Nations General Assembly

Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights

Human Rights Watch

Amnesty International

The Parliament of Malaysia

Suhakam - Human Rights Commission of Malaysia

Professor Daniel Kammen, Renewable and Appropriate Energy Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, U.S.A.

FaceBook, Twitter, blogs and websites

Local, national and international mainstream and alternative media


The Universal Declaration of Human Rights(passed by United Nations General Assembly, 1948)Article 21.


* (1) Everyone has the right to take part in the government of his country, directly or through freely chosen representatives. * (2) Everyone has the right of equal access to public service in his country. * (3) The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government; this will shall be expressed in periodic and genuine elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret vote or by equivalent free voting procedures.

Water Change Required

from Work Fails & Job LOLs - Monday Through Friday

Submitted by: Unknown

Vision 2020 likely to fail, say economists

Malaysia will likely fail to achieve Vision 2020 as political indecision and global economic uncertainty looks set to hamper economic growth over the next five years, according to economists.

With average GDP growth in the next five years projected to be just shy of the 6 per cent target set by the prime minister, the Najib Administrations 10th Malaysia Plan (10MP) looks set to go the way of the last two Malaysia Plans, which also failed to achieve their GDP targets.

Under the 7th and 8th Malaysia Plans, the economy expanded by 5 per cent and 4.7 per cent respectively, well below the 8.6 per cent and 6 per cent targets set.

Similarly, under the current 9th Malaysia Plan, it is projected to grow by just 4.2 per cent annually, meaning Malaysia will once again fail to achieve its target.

This will put paid to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razaks dreams of making Malaysia a high-income nation in 10 years time and, by extension, Vision 2020 as well.

Unveiled in 1991 by then-prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, Vision 2020 laid out the governments 30-year ambitious plan to make Malaysia a fully developed nation by the year 2020 by boosting GDP and per capita income.

Although there is no single definition, advanced nations are usually identified by their high per capita income and developed service and knowledge industries, coupled with high life expectancy and quality of education.

Calling the high-income goal a moving target due to inflationary pressure, Kenanga Investment Bank economist Wan Suhaimie Wan Saidie said Malaysia will be hard-pressed to achieve Vision 2020 even if it managed to maintain a growth trend 6 per cent per year for the next 10 years.

We have another 10 years to go to achieve Vision 2020 and youre still growing below your potential even in the next five years. So what does that say? he asked.

Theoretically! , what t hey need to do is to grow more than 6 per cent. The way we are going right now they need to grow about 8 per cent (to reach the high-income goal).

While admitting that it was not an impossible task, he nevertheless said it was going to be difficult unless the government did something drastic to lift itself above its current growth trajectory.

He cautioned that there could be turning points in the next five to 10 years that will either propel Malaysia forward or negate everything that it has built so far.

It could be war, it could be disease, it could be new technology... Maybe they are banking on the X factor. That means theyre banking on a major turning point that may or may not happen, he said.

At the same time, Wan Suhaimie felt that it was more important to focus on equitable distribution of nations wealth than obsess about economic expansion.

They need to narrow the divide between the haves and have-nots. No matter how high your GDP growth, if you cannot address these issues, youre going to have problems eventually, he said, citing a possible drop in investor confidence as an example.

He said the government will have to deal with structural issues such as Bumiputera equity policies, which it can do away with or at least tweak to improve investor opinion of the country.

They should do something with it to make sure they really implement it. Now it gives the impression that only the select few elites are benefiting, he said. Its a perception thing.

Wan Suhaimie also stressed that Malaysia needed to address this perception issue and improve the education and migration systems to attract talent so it could compete with regional rivals for foreign investment. However, he remained skeptical that such measures will do much good at this point, saying they might help but offered no guarantee.

Despite this, public confidence in Vision 2020 remains high, according to an International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) survey conducted last month. The survey! polled 1,367 respondents, most of whom had high hopes for Malaysia based on the governments current programmes, including those to do with development, peace and harmony, the economy and the 1 Malaysia concept.

Popular support notwithstanding, CIMB Investment Bank chief economist Lee Heng Guie explained that dissecting the 10MP revealed some very challenging targets for the country, and predicted that Malaysia will only achieve an average annual GDP growth of 5.5 per cent for the next five years.

This comes at a time when traditional regional rivals have outpaced Malaysia. Singapore booked a blistering 18.8 per cent growth in the second quarter among the highest in the world and looks well on its way to achieving a 14.9 per cent expansion for the year.

Thailand enjoyed 10.6 per cent economic growth in the first half, its highest in 15 years despite political turmoil, while Indonesia recently revised its projected GDP growth for this year upwards from 5 per cent to 6 per cent and expects to achieve 7 per cent growth next year.

Even upstarts Vietnam and the Philippines managed to make strong gains of in the first half. The Vietnamese government has revised this years GDP growth estimate to 6.7 per cent and set a target of 7.5 per cent for 2011 while the Philippine economy grew more than 7 per cent in two consecutive quarters, the first time since 2004.

Lee said the government was running into a high savings-to-investment gap and will have to work hard to pull in the RM115 billion in private investment needed yearly to reach its 10MP target of 12.8 per cent annual investment growth. In comparison, investments grew by only 2 per cent on average from 2006 to 2010.

Minister of International Trade and Industry Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed last month said he remained confident that the target was attainable despite the well-publicised 81.1 per cent drop in foreign direct investment (FDI) last year. It was the first time in history that Malaysia fared worse than the Philippines, long ! seen as the economic basket case of Southeast Asia.

Its the most challenging, Lee said of the private investment target. Itll be interesting to see next year, the first year of the 10th Malaysia Plan.

He believed the government had realised there were long overdue weaknesses and were now taking proactive measures to address them, noting however that private investment was still languishing due to perceived policy flip-flops.

The government will have to show that theyre committed and has the political will, he said, adding that it will also unwind its involvement in the economy.

An economist with a local private investment bank who declined to be named agreed that the private sector will be the main driver of growth going forward, which he expected to moderate from 6.8 to 7 per cent this year to 5 per cent next year.

However, he cautioned that growth was very difficult to forecast beyond 2011 given the uncertainty in external demand, and stressed that it was important to boost domestic demand to mitigate the effects of a possible global economic downturn.

In order for domestic demand to drive growth, theres a need for government to maintain accommodative monetary policies, ensuring access to financing, as well as bringing down the cost of doing business, he said, adding that the Najib Administration should introduce incentives in the coming Budget to lower the cost of doing business and support private sector consumption.

If government continues to adopt business-friendly measures... then, obviously, private sector in Malaysia will continue to be the growth driver beyond 2012.

The economist said that, while next years performance depended on the sustainability of Chinas growth and US economic recovery, Malaysia could not ignore Greeces sovereign debt problem if the global economy slowed down more than expected.

If Greece were to default on their sovereign debt or if something were to happen to the US economy, it will trigger a double dip recession, he said.

Whet her we can achieve 6 percent will depend on the health of the global economy... Malaysia is a very open economy so it will be challenging for Malaysia to achieve 6 per cent (GDP growth) if the external situation deteriorates.

Singapore-based UOB regional economist Ho Woei Chen voiced similar concerns that export-oriented Malaysia was still at the mercy of external factors.

Eventually, the end demand is still very dependent on US, EU. No matter how your diversify youll be hit by a downturn in the major economies, she said, pointing out that there were still many risks in terms of global growth, such as the battered housing sector and high unemployment in the US as well as fiscal issues in EU countries.

Theres going to be a moderation in growth but I dont see a very big risk of a double dip in Western economies.

Ho, who predicts decent growth for Malaysia over the next one or two years, expects the country to book real GDP growth of 6.8 per cent this year, 5.1 per cent next year and an average of 5 per cent annual growth from 2011 to 2015.

She said there is still room for stronger growth but lamented the fact that Malaysia was still being hampered by policies inherited from the New Economic Policy (NEP).

This thing has been entrenched and has been there a long time and itll take effort to move out of some of these policies, she said. I think FDI will have to be dependent somewhat on the changing political landscape.

Maybank Investment Bank chief economist Suhaimi Ilias, on the other hand, believed it was not practical to project beyond 2011 as there were too many variables to consider, including the second half of the New Economic Model (NEM) due to be unveiled in the next couple of months.

He said that, the key concern at the moment was how to stem investment outflow from Malaysian companies in order to compensate for falling FDI. Net direct investment abroad reached RM5.8 billion in the first half of this year, up from RM3.3 billion during the same period l! ast year .

The key issue is to try to entice local companies to not sell out and invest overseas, which seems to be the trend, he said.

He said Petronas and other government-linked companies (GLCs) should be encouraged to focus their capital expenditure locally in order to compensate for the drop in FDI that will accompany the expected global economic slowdown next year.

Getting FDI now is already tough but getting FDI in times of uncertainty or even downturn its even tougher, he said.

However, Suhaimi said that while it was possible for Malaysia to achieve a certain level of growth through domestic investment, it would be difficult for the countrys economy to expand without external demand.

With a small market of not even 30 million people its difficult to see us growing without external demand, he said, suggesting that the governments current strategy of strengthening intra-regional trade was the right way to go.

courtesy of Malaysian Insider

Letter & Opinion From Joe Public

'Killer' lawyers are MIC's members, we heard ...

'Killer' lawyers not DAP members

PETALING JAYA: DAP has denied that the two lawyer brothers arrested in connection with the murder of milionaires Sosilawati Lawiya and three others were party members.

Its publicity chief Tony Pua described the allegation as a disgusting attempt by Umno and its newspaper Utusan Malaysia to discredit the opposition party.

“We want to set the record straight. Both suspects were not members of DAP at any point of time,” he said in a statement today.

“Even if they were members of a political party, their political affiliation has no relation to the crime they are alleged to have committed. A crime is a crime, and even Umno has its own leader who was found guilty of murder,” he added.

Responding to a report in Utusan yesterday, the Petaling Jaya Utara MP urged Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak to put a leash on his party's slanderous mouthpiece.

“Utusan has continued its campaign to slander Pakatan Rakyat, in particular DAP, with baseless allegations and insinuations with the specific intent to poison the minds of its readers and sow the seeds of racial hatred,” he said.

The Utusan report had quoted one Mohd Zahid Md Arip as asking if DAP's silence over the murders lent creedence to the allegation that the main suspect was a life-member of the party.

The report read:

Dalam pada itu, Mohd. Zahid mempersoalkan kenapa DAP langsung tidak bersuara bagi mengutuk pembunuhan kejam tersebut, sedangkan sebelum ini parti berkenaan gah mendakwa organisasi mereka sebagai sebuah parti yang memperjuangkan hak semua pihak.

(Why has DAP not criticised these ghastly murders, especially when the party claims to champion the rights of all quarters)

Apakah tindakan membisu ini mempunyai kaitan dengan dakwaan yang mengatakan bahawa suspek utama adalah ahli seumur hidup parti tersebut. Jika benar (dakwaan itu), ternyata DAP sebuah parti hipokrit yang hanya memperjuangkan kepentingan kaum tertentu sahaja.

(Is the party silent because of the allegation that the main suspect is a DAP life member. If this is true, then it is clear that DAP is a hyocritical party which only champions the rights of one race)

'Sad' Najib must act

Meanwhile, Pua said DAP condemned all crimes and has been at the forefront both in and out of Parliament to call on the police to increase its efficiency and effectiveness in fighting crime.

“It is the Barisan Nasional government which has been pleased with the crime situation here which escalated to record levels before declining recently according to official statistics,” he said.

“The unethical and downright unscrupulous attempt by Utusan to use any opportunity to slander and publish lies about DAP with the sole intent to incite racial hatred among its largely Malay readers signifies the utter desperation of Umno leaders to maintain their hold on power, even if it means using immoral means,” he added.

Despite its obvious transgressions, Pua pointed out that the prime minister had repeatedly defended Utusan.

“Last September, he held a 'buka puasa' function at the Sri Utusan Printing Complex and hailed Utusan for 'ethical and unbiased' reporting.

“Earlier this month, he told the public while breaking fast at the New Straits Times headquarters to 'trust the mainstream media and not the alternative media which are based on half truths',” he added.

Referring to Najib's Malaysia Day message, the DAP leader said the premier should not stop at expressing sadness over the rise of extremism in the country without naming the guilty parties.

“He should openly reprimand those who repeatedly lie and slander to harness the the feelings of ill-will and extremism among the rakyat, especially Umno's own Utusan Malaysia.

“Najib's failure to act will not only mean a blanket approval for Utusan to continue its reckless actions but also the height of irresponsibility by jettisoning of his own 1Malaysia goal,” he added.

Pua also revealed that DAP had instructed its lawyers to look into the Utusan report and take the necessary action, including filing a lawsuit
.

Why charge Sultan of Sulu?

From mr dt, via e-mail

Why charge the Sultan of Sulu, the owner of Sabah North Borneo? Its like someone charging you in your own house.

Sabahan Filipinos are not the illegals of Sabah North Borneo. The real illegals are the Malaysians. Sabahan North Bornean Filipinos had been living in for centuries before these people from Kuala Lumpur came around and started claiming it as their own property.

We challenge the Malaysian government to bring this Sabah North Borneo ownership case to the ICJ as soon as possible.

Read:

Sabah flag incident: 'Sultan of North Borneo' ordered to enter defence

Ooooooh Yeah, That’s The Spot.

from Acting Like Animals - Silly Animals. Being Funny is for Humans! by matthewmartell

11 people liked this

via "+Cool" via xBlog®

Yeah, scratch my tummy. Both hands, that’s it. Keep going.

Man, I could let you do this all day. So I think I will. Please never stop.

Check out more gifs here!

New Kelantan Sultan says touched by support

Tuanku Muhammad Faris (left) succeeded his father as the Sultan of Kelantan. file picKOTA BARU, Sept 17 The office of the Sultan of Kelantan has said it was touched by the expression of support by the people for the proclamation of Tuanku Muhammad Faris Petra Sultan Ismail Petra as the new Sultan.

The Comptroller of the Kelantan Royal Household, Datuk Abdul Halim Hamad, said today many congratulatory messages had been received stating joy over the proclamation, pledging loyalty to Tuanku Muhammad Faris and expressing hope that the new Sultan would be able to rule well.

On behalf of the office of the Sultan, I must say that I am touched and convey my thanks for all the expression of support and loyalty to Tuanku Sultan, he said in a brief statement to Bernama, here.

Abdul Halim, who was discharged from the Perdana Specialist Hospital where he had been warded over the last two days for fatigue, said he would manage the programme of visits by several guests of the Sultan to Kelantan. Bernama

See What Barisan Nasional Gotta Say?

Anwar Ibrahim Sodomy II The Recorded Truth 17 September 2010

Di Dalam Mahkamah Rayuan
Di hadapan : Y.A. Dato Ahmad bin Haji Maarop, HMR
Y.A. Dato Sulaiman bin Daud, HMR
Y.A. Dato Azhar bin Haji Maah, HMR

Pihak-pihak:
PP : Semua hadir
PB : Datuk Param Cumaswaram, KS, SN

Rayuan terhadap keputusan Mahkamah Tinggi di dalam permohonan mengenepikan pertuduhan

[9.45 a.m.]
YA: The appellant is here?
KS: Yes.
KS memohon untuk berhujah dalam Bahasa Inggeris
KS: This is an appeal against the decision by Yang Arif Dato Mohamad Zabidin Mohd Diah in the High Court on the application to strike out the charge. I take you to the translation of the appeal.
YA: Is there any preliminary issue?
MY: I thought KS will address the issue first on whether it is appealable or not.
KS: We accept it as a final order. In fact the Lordship in High Court accepts it as a final order.
MY: I believe YA in the High Court did not make any ruling on that.
YA: I raise this because in the skeletal submission of the respondent the issue was raised.
KS: We did not anticipate my learned friend to submit on this. We did not receive any notice on this.
MY: The only reason we did not give any notice is that in the lower court in fact in the High Court, on the application for stay this is the thing that the court has to consider, whether the matter is appealable or not. We have raised this point consistently in the High Court. So there is no point to give notice.
YA: So, are you ready to submit on this point?
MY: Yes.
YA: Its only a short point, I guess.
KS: Short point, but crucial to us my Lord. It will be difficult for us because we have to argue based on merits. [] I was under the impression that the ma! tter is considered less. It can be found in my learned friend skeletal submission in the High Court.
YA: What pages are you referring to?
KS: I refer to my learned friend skeletal submission in the High Court. Here, in the bundle.
MY: Page 33 of the appeal record. Paragraph 20.
KS: [read para 20]. It was certainly is a final order. []
YA: So you are not making any submission on the issue?
KS: I will. In fact it is in my learned friend skeletal submission. Unfortunately my learned friend did not give notice, but we dont mind to go into the matter. Unless my learned friend wants to stick with the preliminary issue.
YA: So we can proceed on the issue?
KS: []
YA: We proceed on the preliminary issue first, and then well proceed with the merit of the application.
KS: We cant []
MY: May I refer to para 20. It only refers to the nature of the application, not the order.
YA: What you are saying is it may be interlocutory order, but not a final order?
MY: Yes. The nature of the application is only a final order. It cannot contain hearsay. It is pertinent for us to know the nature of the application and then to decide whether the application is a final order or interlocutory. If it is not interlocutory, the facts deposed by the deponent must be based on his personal knowledge. [] The order is a different thing. If the order is against us, the order is final for us, but not to them. If it not against us, it is not final for us, but to them.
YA: Before we go the merits, lets hear the preliminary objection first. So are you taking up this point?
MY: Yes. Because it is not appealable, then the court has no jurisdiction to entertain this matter.
YA: In fact this point is a short one. KS has submit it in va! rious ca ses even in the Federal Court and you have argue this point outside.
KS: Outside is the other thing. In fact, when we submit this issue on the application of 112 statement of SP1, it is different. Why if there is anything against them, they can appeal, but when it is against us we cannot appeal?
YA: []
KS: [] My learned friend should serve the notice on preliminary objection earlier. We are seeking time until Monday. We should not rush things.
YA: What if we give you time until 3.00 p.m. today.
KS: We need time to look into it. This is an important matter. The prosecution is an abuse process of the court. The case should be thrown out.
YA: MY, whats your opinion?
MY: I agree with your Lordship for the matter to be heard in the afternoon. The case itself is [] The authorities we are using are still the same and also Section 3 of Courts of Judicature Act 1964. I dont think it would be a problem for us to continue this afternoon. [] in fact Ks can refer to [].
KS: There is one reserved judgment by the Federal Court in the appeal on 112 statement.
YA: Well stand down the matter for a while.
[10.15 a.m.] Stand down
[10.28 a.m.]
YA: So, position is still the same?
MY: Yes.
YA: Monday is on the 20th September 2010. So, well take it up at 9.00 a.m. because there is other cases.
[10.32 a.m.] Appeal adjourned.

Utusan's racist spin in Sosilawati murder condemned

by Malaysians Must Know the TRUTH

Harakahdaily

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 17: There seems to be no end to politicising any issue in Malaysia. In the case of the savage murder of businesswoman Sosilawati Lawiya and three others, Malay daily Utusan Malaysia continues this trend by linking politics to the case which shocked the nation. The Perkasa and UMNO mouthpiece is said to have carried a statement by a defecting Parti Keadilan Rakyat deputy youth chief Mohd Zahid Md Arip who questioned what he termed as DAP’s "silence and hypocrisy" over Sosilawati’s murder, a now-familiar charge among pro-UMNO bloggers. “Is the silence related to claim that the main suspect (in the murder case) is a lifelong member of the party? "If the claim is true, it clearly shows that DAP is a hypocrite party that only fights for certain race,” he was quoted as questioning. His suggestion was however in stark contrast to what deputy minister in the Prime Minister's Department T. Murugiah’s had claimed earlier, that the main murder suspect had expressed his intention to join MIC. Murugiah had also claimed that he met the suspect during a Hari Raya community programme in Bukit Cheeding, three days before he was arrested. DAP to sue DAP secretary-general is clearly not amused by Utusan's latest attack on it. “Murugiah said he wanted to join MIC, yet Utusan spins to say he is a DAP life member. Utusan has politicised the issue," twitted Lim Guan Eng, adding that the party would be taking the paper to court for libel. Describing the paper's reporting as evil and malicious, Lim said it should just be renamed to Utusan Shin Bet and Mossad, referring to the notorious Israeli secret service agencies. In another posting, Lim said the DAP did not attempt to exploit Murugiah's revelation that the suspect had wanted to join MIC. Coupled with allegations on the internet mostly by pro-UMNO bloggers, Utusan's reporting on the murder case has thrived on sensationalism, and recently bordered on racism due to the different races involved in the high-profile case. Following this, the police chief has been forced to issue a statement, telling the public that the case had nothing to do race. The racial polemics surrounding the case also prompted Selangor's Seri Setia assemblyman to condemn "irresponsible journalism" by the media involved, especially those known as 'mainstream'. “What kind of humans are us?” twitted Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad. “The scary thing is this was not spun by unknown blogs and stupid tabloids, but the mainstream media."

Sarawak land owners held to ransom, says DAP

By Joseph Tawie

KUCHING: Sarawak DAP has accused the Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) and its president George Chan of holding land owners to ransom over refunds for land premiums . News reports have quoted Chan as telling landowners they had to apply for the refunds through SUPP.

Last May, as the Sibu by-election approached, the state government announced a reduction in the rates charged for renewal of leases for residential, commercial and agricultural purposes. The reduction was supposed to take effect from June 1 this year, but the state subsequently announced refunds for those who had paid earlier.

Chan, who is the deputy chief minister, has several times been quoted as saying the refunds were available only through SUPP. According to reports in the Chinese media, he said it again last Wednesday.

“This is ridiculous,” said Chong Chieng Jen, secretary of Sarawak DAP.

He said the state was being discriminatory in requiring claimants to apply for the refund through SUPP.

“If the government decides to refund the difference between the old and new rate, it should be across the board and anyone affected is entitled to the refund because that is a government policy,” he said.

“But if refunds must be made through SUPP, then the party is holding the people to ransom.

“Today SUPP is against the land owners. Tomorrow it can be against anyone who wishes to apply for a birth certificate, identity card or passport.

“This is an abuse of power.”

Zaid says will win — eventually

By Clara Chooi

September 17, 2010

Zaid said he was taken aback by the hostility towards his decision to contest the deputy presidency. — file pic

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 17 — Datuk Zaid Ibrahim has been unfazed by the growing support for his contender, Azmin Ali, in the PKR deputy presidency race, claiming he would likely win the next round even if he faltered now.

Both party strongmen are due to slug it out to replace incumbent Senator Dr Syed Husin Ali, who opted not to defend the post in the party’s first direct elections since its formation in 1999 and merger with Parti Rakyat Malaysia in 2003.

The former Umno man, who created headlines when he joined PKR last year after ending his brief stint in Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's Cabinet in 2008, told The Malaysian Insider in an interview that he would continue his campaign even if he lost in the coming polls.

“Well, if you lose once, it does not mean you will lose again. No problem. I will try again... I am still young, only approaching 60,” Zaid said when met at the Tropicana clubhouse near his residence here.

Looking relaxed, he said that it was “okay” that he was walking into this fight alone, claiming that in the long term, he was likely to win.

Azmin has secured clear and visible support in the race.

Unlike Zaid, Azmin has received endorsements for the deputy presidency race from a host of PKR leaders, including 20 MPs and 13 state assemblymen from Selangor and Negri Sembilan before confirming his candidacy yesterday.

“I will win. I am sure of that. If I do not get the support now, or if not tomorrow, then next year or the year after. You never know,” Zaid said.

The former de facto law minister expressed confidence that if all PKR members knew of his visions and goals for the party, they would back him 100 per cent.

“If they knew me, not just on a personal level, but if they understand in full what I want to do, then yes, why not?

“Unfortunately, our culture does not encourage discourse or debates. Instead, we are branded and people label you and you have to live with that label. It just takes time for people to see the kind of things you have to offer them,” he said.

Zaid pointed out that his brand of politics was clear-cut and vision-based, and that he was an “honest man” who did not believe in flip-flopping on his policies.

“I have been in politics for a long time. I was a minister before and I do not have the ambition to be somebody, the prime minister or something, at some point.

“I want to be a catalyst or someone who can help make the country a better place in terms of policies — that is why I left the government. I am very clear on what I want to do,” he said.

Zaid also said he believed he could bring more inclusiveness in the party and unite the factions.

“I do not like camps or cliques. I do not have preferred leaders. I do not have that sort of habit in me.

“I look at people for the value they give... for the contributions they make and that is how I judge them. I am slightly more open-minded in the way I look at things, and as a reformist party, we need new ideas, new people, the ability to tap into people’s strengths and I think I can play that role,” he said.

Zaid laughed off claims that he was engineering a takeover of the party leadership.

Zaid also scoffed at talk that party members, especially the present leadership, believed that he had an intention to singlehandedly take over the party and gain power for himself.

“Why is everyone so worked up? Why do they think of me as so dangerous? You know what they are saying about me... that there are so-called enemies within the party.

“If there are enemies, then why did you not stop us from coming in, in the first place? So it is very strange that these people say these things... just because you offer yourself up for contest,” he said.

When he decided to offer himself up as a candidate, Zaid explained, his only intention was to offer PKR members an alternative so they could feel they had a say in the party’s future.

“I just want to help the party. I want to contribute. I have certain skills and strength... I think. I just want to give the members an alternative so why is everyone blocking me? I do not understand. I find it hard to understand.

“I am just offering myself just in case members think there are things we can do differently, certain approaches can be different and maybe we should have someone else as a leader, who is not a part of the group from 1998,” he said.

He also dispelled fears that he would bring Umno’s culture into PKR, claiming that his was the more “enlightened” culture of Umno.

“The question now is — are the members happy with the party? With the cultures, the values, with the whole set up, with the preparations? If they are happy, they can just vote for the present group of leaders, right?” he said.

Zaid said he was disappointed, however, in the reactions displayed by party leaders at his decision to contest, accusing them of failing to show respect to their own party members.

“That is the problem with the leaders... they think they know what is good for the party. But if that is so, then why have elections? Just appoint the leaders.

“The whole point of having direct elections is to show trust to your members. If you think they cannot think for themselves, then just forget elections,” he said.

He added that the present PKR leaders had proven their lack of commitment to the party’s reformist ideals with their open display of disapproval for his bid to contest.

“It is proven by this chorus of disapproval that I, as a new guy, am offering myself [up for election]. There is a chorus of opposition, accusing me of bad faith and bad intention. That is what is wrong with this party.

“If I am so bad, then I should not have been admitted into the party. If I am not that bad, then I should be allowed a fair contest without discrimination or personal attacks,” he said.

Zaid, however, promised that he would continue to stay low-key in his campaign, claiming confidence that although he did not have a large “delegation” of supporters like Azmin, the grassroots still backed him.

“At least I think so. Let the members decide,” he said, shrugging.

Conceding to the difficult competition, Zaid nevertheless pledged that he would not resort to underhandedness to gain support.

“Any contest is tough. Never underestimate your opponent. I am not blind... I know what is happening but I never shy away from a good contest.

“But on my side, the competition will stay friendly. I will not play the same game. If they are weak, I will say so but I think I am better and I will explain why I am better,” he said.

Zaid had previously alleged that since announcing his intention to contest late last month, his loyalty to the party has been questioned and he was also accused of working for former finance minister Tun Daim Zainuddin to destroy PKR.

He also claimed that he was warned that he risk being “buried” — the way the late Tun Ghafar Baba had been in the 1993 Umno party election — if he chooses to stay in the race.

Then, Ghafar only received four nominations in that contest and withdrew from the race in favour of Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

Some 400,000 PKR members began voting across the weekend, in polls that will run until November 21.

The party amended its constitution last year allowing all members to vote for divisional leaders and the 25 members of the central leadership council — including the president, deputy president and four vice-presidents.

The party’s 218 divisions will hold two separate meetings: One for the annual general meeting and election of divisional leaders, and a second meeting to vote for national leaders.

The divisions will vote for national leaders over several weekends, from October 29 to November 21.

For Zaid, winning in PKR polls is a step towards Putrajaya

By Clara Chooi

Datuk Zaid Ibrahim will be walking into the PKR polls this week with his sights set on Putrajaya, and not at the deputy presidency post he is contesting.

To the 59-year-old former Umno man, the main goal is not to win a more powerful party post, but to capture the country from the ruling Barisan Nasional government.

Speaking to The Malaysian Insider in a recent interview near his home at Tropicana Golf and Country Resort here, Zaid explained that winning the PKR deputy presidency was merely a step towards the opportunity to help in the process of preparing Pakatan Rakyat’s future in the country.

To the veteran politician, the fledgling PR coalition still lacked cohesiveness.

“We are too fractured. We must have a concrete plan. We must be able to tell the people of the country – What will we do to Malaysia when we come to power?

“I do not care about who becomes the Prime Minister because if it is just more of the same, then what difference does it make? I am interested in policy transformation on a grand scale, not about who is most powerful in the party,” he said.

As such, Zaid pointed out that he was not at all interested in who is in whose camp and all the petty infighting within the party, ahead of the looming party elections.

“I do not care. I want to focus on issues. Issues like what we stand for... our stand on issues of various fields, whether they are about economic policies, educational, race relations.

“If you look at PR today, we can strengthen each other by articulating policies that are clear. I want to focus on that... it is key to convincing the people that we are a serious opposition and a viable alternative government,” he said.

Zaid said that although PR had taken huge leaps forward by coming up with its common policy platform last year, it needed better follow-up actions.

“I was an architect of that platform but I believe we can do better and I would like to develop that further. So that is why I think my role in PKR can help to remove some of the ambiguities.

“For example, there are so many policy issues that we have yet to resolve. Like when DAP said they wanted to give RM1,000 to senior citizens... When (DAP’s) Tony Pua spoke about the housing discounts.

“These became issues but they were not yet discussed among all PR parties,” he said.

Zaid noted that the fact that the issues were only being raised by individual parties within the PR and not by the coalition as a single entity, proved that the opposition still had a long way to go.

“These things are just being bandied about in that fashion and this suggests a lack of cohesiveness.

“To me, it is key to be able to answer all these questions and this is what I want to contribute.

“What do we want to do with Felda, with Felcra, with the issue of race relations, on oil royalty? What is our stand on these issues?” he said.

He expressed disappointment at the common practice of many PR leaders to immediately point their fingers at the BN whenever administrative matters were mishandled.

“It is one thing to blame BN, Umno or Najib for their mismanagement... but then you too have to come up with something, tell the people that this is what PR wants to do and why it is the better way,” he said.

He complained that this was the kind of leadership that PKR currently lacked.

“And as the leader of the opposition, PKR needs to take the lead in this. We need to move forward and mobilise our partners in PR to draft out these common policies.

“We may not be able to do everything now but at least when the time comes, we can work from there,” he said.

When asked if this meant that he felt the PR would not know how to run the country if it were voted into government in the next general election, Zaid smiled and said it was hard to tell.

“I am not a soothsayer so I do not know what the future holds for us... however, stranger things have happened in politics. PR had nothing in 2008... and then suddenly, here we are, so another miracle could happen.

“However, we cannot take for granted that we will have another 2008. We need to have more cohesive policies on the table so it would strengthen our case as the next alternative government,” he said.

Zaid acknowledged that PR may still win even without doing this but pointed out that it was better to be prepared than to make big blunders in the future.

“You cannot just brand yourself as a reformist and then do nothing about it or you feel you are afraid to take forceful steps forward for you fear losing votes.

“I think the opposition today has much responsibilities as the government of the day to make democracy work,” he said.

Zaid expressed disappointment at the lack of maturity in many political leaders who feared taking a stand for what they believed in because they were afraid of losing support.

“I am the sort of person that, if the government, or [Prime Minister Datuk Seri] Najib [Razak] comes up with a policy or a piece of legislation that is commendable, I will not be afraid to stand up and support it.

“There is nothing wrong with that... bipartisan support is very important in an effectively-run government. Your support on one bill does not mean you are going to jump and leave your party,” he said.

He noted that if all politicians feared making a stand, there would never be reforms in the system.

“That is the problem with this country... lawmakers are still afraid of their own shadow. That is why we need to start something new here and this is the role I want to play.

“I hope we can steer into a new approach to making policies in the country. I like to judge politicians by the policies they make. Policies should be their guiding measure of support because politics is about making policies.

“If you have nothing to offer, then why are you a politician?” he said.

Zaid famously caused ripples in the country’s political landscape when he spoke out against the arrests of DAP MP Teresa Kok and a journalist under the Internal Security Act last year.

He subsequently quit his post as the de facto law minister and was later expelled from Umno.

Zaid joined PKR in June last year and is presently the PR coordinator, a member of the party’s political bureau and the supreme council.

He is one of the two frontrunners vying for the party’s deputy presidency and is pitted against vice-president Azmin Ali, seen as PKR de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s wing-man in the party.

Azmin has so far received endorsements from scores of party leaders while Zaid appears to be walking into the fight without the backing of any party heavyweights.

He is, however, said to be popular among the grassroots in Sabah and Sarawak.

A candidate needs only two nominations to qualify for the competition.

Nominations for national posts and divisional meetings begin this weekend.

The party’s 218 divisions will hold two separate meetings; one for the annual general meeting and election of divisional leaders, and a second meeting to vote for national leaders.

The divisions will vote for national leaders on weekends, from October 29 to November 21.

Have You Seen This Baby?

By Blair Koenig

If you haven’t seen this baby, it’s probably because you don’t live in Japan. According to a story in the New York Times, this picture was innocuously posted in 2000 by an average dad who was proud of his very happy baby.

Cut to July of this year when the father, Allen S. Rout, a systems programmer from Florida, decided to Google himself and stumbled upon something very strange. Something that looked like this:

Unbeknownst to him, that harmless baby photo he’d posted several years before had been appropriated by Japanese culture, where the baby’s face became a viral meme sometime in 2004. The image has been remixed and re-purposed in dozens of ways and was a total surprise. Luckily Mr. Rout and his son Stephen, who is now 10, took it all in stride. The Internet is a funny place sometimes.

Source: New York Times

Bar Council prepares 100-lawyer team to defend MyConstitution

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 16 — The Bar Council has prepared a 100-strong lawyer team to defend its MyConstitution campaign against claims made last week by a youth group that its public awareness booklets were seditious. Lawyer Edmund Bon, who heads the campaign, told reporters today that the council was ever ready to face the accusations, should the police come knocking.

“But no one has called on us so far. We are prepared to meet with the police and we are getting 100 lawyers to defend our MyConstitution campaign. “There is nothing seditious about it,” he said. The council launched its sixth booklet on the role of the judiciary at Cava Restaurant in Bangsar without a hitch today and will continue with the next phase of its campaign in Sabah on Saturday.

“Our next one will be on the 18th, in two days' time, in Kinarut, Sabah, and it will be launched by (Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister) Tan Sri Bernard Dompok. “Sabah and Sarawak are very important to us and we value them a lot so we have a special booklet just for the two states,” he said. Bon was responding to the police report launched last week by the 1 Malaysia Youth Graduands club in Serdang, calling on the authorities to take immediate action against the campaigners for allegedly advocating the changing of provisions in the Federal Constitution, especially those touching on the special position of Malays and Islam. He has also defended the contents of the booklets, claiming that they were written in a simplified form but were accurate guides to the provisions of the highest law of the land and denied that the campaign was aimed at changing the Constitution.

Some 90,000 booklets have been distributed nationwide to date since the campaign was launched last year, with the support of the Federal Government and in partnership with several state governments including Sarawak, Selangor and Kedah.

Bar Council cannot police lives of lawyers, says president

Ragunath: We are not here to defend any lawyer who has committed any form of CBT or any form of offence against any person.KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 16 — The Bar Council rejected the alleged remarks by Malacca Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Ali Rustam that it should carry an internal audit so that rogue lawyers are found out. Its president Ragunath Kesavan described Mohd Ali's suggestion as “mischievous” and “irrelevant”, pointing out that the council already had a very strict disciplinary board (CBT) to punish errant lawyers and could not be policing the lives of every single member. “The DC is a very stringent committee. In so far there is a case of criminal breach of trust (CBT) or other offences, we take action. “We are not here to defend any lawyer who has committed any form of CBT or any form of offence against any person,” he stressed in a press conference held after the launch of the council's MyConstitution campaign's sixth booklet in Bangsar. Ragunath was asked for his response on a suggestion supposedly made by Mohd Ali to the council, to conduct the audit on all its 13,000 members to ensure that the legal service would be clean of professionals involved in criminal activities. The statement was made in relation to the recent detention of two lawyers, one with a 'Datuk' title, in connection with the murder of cosmetics queen Datuk Sosilawati Lawiya and three others. Police found out that the four had been killed, their bodies burnt and the ashes thrown into rivers near Ladang Gadong in Tanjung Sepat near Banting, and have detained eight suspects, among them two lawyers. “I look at Ali Rustam's statement as mischievous and irrelevant to us because it was not done in the course of their duties as advocates and solicitors. “We cannot be policing everyone's personal lives and as much as we are shocked an upset at what happened, I do not think we can control the lives and role of lawyers in that sense, when they are outside of their duties as bar council members,” Ragunath said. Former Bar Council president Sulaiman Abdullah joined Ragunath in rejecting the suggestion, charging instead that the Malacca Chief Minister should be the one conducting an audit on the members of his administration. “We in the bar have a disciplinary board that comes down very hard on errant lawyers but we have situations where the court steps in and says that we have been too hard and we should give these lawyers a chance. “But I think everybody should do an audit on their members, starting with the Chief Minister of Malacca to ensure that Umno and all of its state exco members are absolutely clean and set an example for all of us,” he said. Ragunath also reminded that even the DC had no powers to imprison any lawyer, despite confirming that the person had committed an offence, but could only ensure that he was disbarred from the service. “But we understand that in our roles in the legal profession, we have to look at public interest as well. “That is why we are more than ready to work with the Inspector-General of Police to ensure that in the future, we want stern action taken on any lawyer involved in CBT,” he said. Ragunath also slammed the police for acting slowly in such cases, pointing out that in most of the matters, the cases were often eventually classified as “NFA” (no further action. “In most cases, if not all, police reports are lodged. Our issue however is that police action has been very slow in all these cases,” he said. Ragunath suggested for all complaints lodged against any errant lawyer to be handled by the Bukit Aman police headquarters, instead of in the regional or district police stations. “It should be centralised in Bukit Aman and monitored there because like I mentioned, now, most of our cases are returned as NFA. “It is our position that in any situation that the DC has disbarred a lawyer, there must be prosecution. If there is a misappropriation of funds, breach of stakeholder duties, it is on the face of CBT so the police must act and we are willing to work with them to ensure that whatever has happened, will not be repeated,” he said. He expressed that the council was regretful and sad at that its members were implicated in the Sosilawati murder probe and said it would be taken as a lesson. “If we could have prevented it, we would have. It is a lesson for all of us. “On behalf of all of us at the Bar Council, I would like to extend my sincere condolences to the victims of this heinous crime,” he said. The Malaysian Insider understands that the two lawyer brothers in the probe had managed to continue discharging their legal duties as they had successfully obtained a stay pending an appeal to the court against the council DC's decision to disbar them in November last year. The brothers were also apparently suspended from their practice from March 9, 2007 to March 30, 2008, over a land transaction gone awry. Last month, one of the brothers faced three counts of CBT involving the transfer of a piece of land. His case is up for mention in four days' time on Monday. Ragunath also commended the police for their speedy investigations into the murder, and pleaded with the public and the media not to exert too much pressure on the force to rush their probe. “If we are looking for a conviction, we must allow the police a little bit of space top complete their investigation. “If there is haste... we do not want a situation where someone is charged in court and then acquitted because of a technicality so please, I urge the press and everyone to give leeway to the police. They have done a great job so far,” he said. He added that despite the public anger over the involvement of the persons detained, it was important that they were given fair trial. “They are still innocent until proven guilty. As much as we abhor the heinous crime committed on the victims, the criminal justice system should be adhered to to ensure that anyone who faces a trial or is charged must have a fair chance of defending himself,” he said.

August 31st Merdeka Day to Sept 16 Malaysia Day – “bumper harvest” of bad news for Malaysia

By Lim Kit Siang,


Never before in the nation’s history has the country been buffeted by such a “bumper harvest” of bad news in the 17 days between Merdeka Day on August 31 and Malaysia Day on September 16.
This plethora of bad news for Malaysia cannot be more detrimental to Malaysia’s ability to escape from her decades-long “middle-income trap” and the terrible fate of a bankrupt nation in 2019 by undertaking a national transformation to achieve an inclusive and sustainable high-income developed nation in 2020.
Today for instance, there are two such bad news.
First is today’s Malaysian Insider story “Investors shun Malaysia for neighbours” which reports:

“Malaysia is now the “least favoured market” in Asia Pacific for investors after nearly doubling its underweight rating from last month, according to a recent Bank of America Merrill Lynch report.
“The country slipped two spots — from 10th place to dead last — in the investment bank’s latest Fund Managers Survey, even as the Najib administration prepares to unveil ambitious economic reforms meant to boost investor confidence.

“The report appears to be the latest indictment of Malaysia’s inability to compete with rival regional markets. In the past decade, the once roaring Asian Tiger has seen its dominant position as an investment destination in Southeast Asia crumble even as neighbouring countries push to the fore.
“A survey last week by the World Economic Forum (WEF) of 139 nations showed that Malaysia had slipped two places in global competitiveness rankings to 26th in the past year, while Indonesia surged 10 places to 44th…
“Elsewhere in the region, China remained the favourite market by far despite an uncertain global outlook. A net 11 per cent of investors expect China’s economy to strengthen, up from -39 per cent in July, according to Merrill Lynch.
“Indonesia, slightly underweight last month, jumped to second place on an overweight call, edging out Hong Kong in the process. New Zealand, Taiwan, South Korea and India remained neutral.”

The second bad news is the release today of the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2010-11, regarded as the gold standard in international university performance comparisons, which confirmed the QS World University Rankings 2010 released a week ago that Malaysia’s premier university, University of Malaya, has fallen off the world Top 200 Universities Ranking.
University of Malaya fell from 180th to 207th ranking in the QS World University Rankings 2010 but it is not known what placing University of Malaya has fallen to in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2010-11.
The top 10 universities ranked by Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2010-11 are:

1. Harvard – US
   
2. California Institute of Technology – US
   
3. Massachusetts Institute of TeCochnology – US
   
4. Stanford – US
   
5. Princeton – US
   
6. Cambridge – UK
   
7. Oxford – UK
   
8. University of California Berkeley – US
   
9. Imperial College – UK
   
10. Yale – US
    

Twenty-seven Asian universities are emplaced in the latest THES ranking led by University of Hong Kong (21), Tokyo (26), Pohang University of Science and Technology (28), National University of Singapore (34) and Peking University (37).
The plethora of bad news in the past 17 days from Merdeka Day on August 31 to Malaysia Day September 16 could be discerned from the following headlines or headings:

• September 15 – Najib saddened by rise of extremism in Malaysia (Malaysiakini)
  
• September 15 – “Sabahans losing patience over 20 Points – Maijol” (Borneo Post)
  
• September 14 – ANALYSIS – Malaysia “top-down” reforms set to disappoint (Reuters)
  
• September 14 – Utusan champions Dr M’s views in campaign for Perkasa (Malaysian Insider)
  
• September 12 – Sosilawati and three others brutally murdered and burnt (Malaysiankini)
  
• September 10 – M’sia Today ‘blocked to stop release of documents’ (Malaysiakini)
  
• September 9 – Global competitiveness: M’sia goes down further (Malaysiakini)
  
• September 9 – Malaysian universities falling out of top 200 universities in QS World University Rankings 2010 latest proof that Najib’s NEM are just empty words lacking political will and leadership necessary to effect Malaysia’s economic transformation (blog.limkitsiang.com)
  
• September 4 – Why double standards against Namewee, questioned for over 10 hours, for his anti-racist outburst as compared to treatment for the two errant school principals? (blog.limkitsiang.com)
  
• September 4 – Teo says surau row nadir in her life (Malaysian Insider)
  
• September 3 – Hishamuddin should not act both as prosecutor and judge to pass judgment that Nurul Izzah had committed the offence of sedition, dictating and usurping the powers of the Police, AG’s Chambers and judiciary (blog.limkitsiang.com)
  
• September 3 – Rising racism, 53 years on -David KL Quek (Malaysiakini)
  
• September 1 – Mahathir is the major obstacle to Najib’s 1Malaysia and National Transformation Agenda (blog.limkitsiang.com)
  
• August 31 – Why Police investigating Wee Meng Chee for sedition when there is nothing seditious in his latest 3-minute rap against the Kulai secondary school principal for making racist slurs against students? (blog.limkitsiang.com)
  
• August 30 – The ultimate Malaysian debate: Malaysia or Malaysaja? – Nurul Izzah Anwar (Malaysian Insider)
  
• August 30 – Quo Vadis Malaysia 18 months after Najib’s 1Malaysia slogan? (blog.limkitsiang.com)
  

What is the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak going to do with such a “bumper harvest” of bad news for Malaysia?

“Paul Kept Mostly To Himself”

from Work Fails & Job LOLs - Monday Through Friday

Submitted by: Brian