Or I shall send you all to Hell !
Psalm 1.2.3
APRIL 15 — Dear sisters and brothers in the faith,
Greetings in the name of our beloved Saviour and Lord Jesus Christ. His love, grace, peace, joy and blessings be upon all of you who love, honour and obey him.
I write this open letter as a fellow believer and as a humble servant of the Almighty God to make a clarion call to my sisters and brothers in the faith to unite in solidarity of vision and mission to bring about a moral and spiritual transformation of our beloved nation, by our individual prayers and united corporate intercession, and through our vocal articulation and visible demonstration of our life and faith beyond the walls of our comfort zone within our churches. The time has come for us to wake up from our spiritual slumber, and stand up, without fear or favour, and be counted for the Lord Jesus.
Most, if not all, of you are surely aware and concerned that our beloved country is currently going through a very critical and uncertain time, during which various delicate and sensitive matters are being exploited and abused by the evil forces out to destroy the peaceful and harmonious co-existence of our multi-racial, multi-religious, multi-cultural, multi-ideological and multi-lingual nation. It is during such a time as this that we as followers of the Lord Jesus Christ need to go on our knees before the throne of grace to seek forgiveness, mercy and divine intervention to save our nation from disintegration and destruction.
The church and state
One of the most heretical deceptions that the Christian community has been infused with by misguided western missionaries is the so-called separation of the church and state, meaning that Christians should not be involved in matters of the state, or take any stand on political issues. This teaching is based on a distorted exegesis of the statement by the Lord Jesus on the issue of paying tax: “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s” (Matthew 22:21).
The traditional church community has always used this statement to mark a demarcation between what is supposed to be “spiritual” or sacred, and what is considered “secular” or worldly. Hence, a broad boundary exists today between the church and the world outside its walls, with Christians having two distinct spheres of lifestyle.
Such a compartmentalisation of life into “spiritual” and “secular” is certainly bad theology, and is, in fact, contrary to the biblical doctrine of man with its emphasis on the whole person, with the involvement in the whole of life in every area and sphere of life and thoughts. Unfortunately, many Malaysian pastors and church leaders still have such misconceived and mislaid socio-political conscience, and are even paranoid over anything political. Many are also living in fear and trembling of such harsh and draconian laws like the Internal Security Act (ISA), which provides for indiscriminate detention with trial.
Hence, there is much reluctance of the part of the pastors and church leaders to preach, teach and articulate on socio-economic and political matters, even though the Bible is full of such stories and teachings of social ethical values and practices. For example, the story of the Exodus in the Old Testament is a narration of a political liberation movement led by Moses to free the Hebrew slaves from the despotic Pharaoh of Egypt. In the New Testament, the beheading of John the Baptist was the result of the prophet’s moral-political campaign against the immorality in high places. The Lord Jesus himself was crucified for his challenge to the corrupt religious leaders and the oppressive Roman authorities.
In the Malaysian Christian community, there are many, especially pastors and church leaders, who are sincere and anxious to preserve and protect the fundamental faith without compromise and condensation, and are faithful and obedient to strive for the fulfilment of the Great Commission of our Lord Jesus. However, due to the shallow theological education they received at local seminaries, which are mere clones of the western seminaries, many of them have developed unbalanced and narrow views and attitudes, especially in relation to socio-economic and political matters. This is why many pastors and church leaders are perceived as docile and submissive, and are easily frightened, bullied or placated by the bureaucracy outside the church. This can also be observed when a VIP government personality visits their church. They dress up in their formal best and get so excited like little children getting gifts from Santa Claus.
And over the years till even now, the pastors and church leaders who represent the Christian community in negotiations with the governmental authorities over matters of dispute have used the so-called soft diplomatic approach, meeting behind closed doors, without press coverage, although the issues are of public interest and concern. However, all these meetings seemed to end with meaningless conclusions, with the pastors and church leaders apparently at a loss over what had actually transpired, and what had been pledged, since all the so-called agreements were never ever implemented.
I expect the so-called instant 10-point plan proposed by the federal government to resolve the current controversy over the Bahasa Malaysia version of the Bible to similarly become a political mirage that will disappear as soon as the current Sarawak state election and the impending 13th general election are over. Basically, the 10-point plan, amazingly formulated instantly within a few days, is an expedient tool to deal with the impounding of the Bahasa Malaysia Bible, to provide a convenient political diversion for the Sarawak state election. The pastors and church leaders who agree to endorse such an illusive and delusive “solution” to the Bahasa Malaysia Bible controversy certainly lack wisdom and are short-sighted. Thankfully, the Christian Federation of Malaysia (CFM) chairman Bishop Ng Moon Hing is a wise leader who is able to discern the real situation. He made the following media statement on the issue:
“The 10-point solution deals with the impounding of the Alkitab but not with the prohibition of publications containing the word ‘Allah’. The root cause of the problem of the impounding of the Alkitab lies in the following:
(a) The 1982 prohibition of the Alkitab and the 1983 prohibition of the Perjanjian Baru under the Internal Security Act 1960 (ISA) on the grounds that the Alkitab is prejudicial to national interest and the security of Malaysia.
(b) The 1986 administrative order prohibiting the use of the term ‘Allah’ in Christian publications on the grounds of public order and prevention of misunderstanding between Muslims and Christians.
(c) The Garis Panduan of the Bahagian Kawalan Penerbitan dan Teks Al-Quran of the Ministry of Home Affairs prohibiting the use of the word ‘Allah’.
In this regard we refer to item 9 of the 10-point solution which reiterates the government’s commitment to address religious issues. The government, therefore, should take immediate steps to remove the root causes by revoking the orders made under the ISA and the administrative order and to amend the Garis Panduan to remove the prohibition.
The ‘one country two policies’ approach is confusing and unacceptable. We look forward to working with the government to address other long-standing issues affecting the Christian community including the relevant provisions in the state enactments.”
Syabas, Bishop Ng. We stand firmly in support of your stand.
Time to take a firm stand
At such a time as this when our nation is immersed in such serious controversies involving the question of human, civil and constitutional rights of Christians to freely profess, practise, promote, and propagate our faith without constraints and restraints, Christians of all denominations and differing theological inclinations should stand in solidarity to preserve and protect our rights from being diluted, deprived, and severely undermined.
There is also the increasingly dangerous moral decline infesting the soul of our nation, with corruption, cronyism, nepotism, and immorality fast becoming a way of life among some of the elites of the nation.
English historian Edward Gibbon, in his famous six-volume “The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire”, has shown us that it was the immoral behaviour of the Roman emperors, politicians and rich people that led to the decay and eventual fall of the Roman Empire.
According to Gibbon, the Roman Empire succumbed to external invasions because of the gradual loss of moral values and virtue among its political leaders, who were enjoying the luxurious comfortable life and lifestyle, with nary a concern about the country, its future, and posterity. The emperors and the political leaders were immoral, corrupt, weak and lazy. They outsourced their responsibilities and duties to develop and defend their nation to foreign migrants, who later became so numerous that they were able to overrun the country and take control of it.
If we are not to go the way of the Romans, surely we need to protect our children and progenies from the current onslaught of the destabilising and destructive sensually self-indulgent hedonistic culture invading our nation from the West, transmitted directly to our homes via the globalwide cyber network connection and by satellite television.
The horror of such a moral incursion into our society should not be simply dismissed as scaremongering, or as spreading ominous reports or rumours of impending disaster.
The moral decay is fast descending upon us. Truth, righteousness, justice, fairness, love, equality and basic human rights are being compromised too. Then there are the racists with their insensitive, offensive and outrageous attitude and actions. The horror of such a scenario cannot be ignore, and we need to act fast to arrest the increasingly fast moral decline in our nation.
Need for electoral revolution
Hence, we need to initiate an electoral revolution, by going all out to vote en bloc for candidates who have impeccable integrity, blameless character, irreproachable moral and virtuous immaculate lifestyle.
As Christians constitute 10 per cent of the nation’s population, and nearly 45 per cent of the Sarawak population, we are a formidable force with tremendous electoral clout to bring about a transformation of the political landscape in our nation. We should exercise our civil and constitutional right to vote for the best possible candidates to lead our state and nation.
The fate of our nation and the future of our children are in our hands. We must not waste this opportune kairos time to bring about a moral transformation in our nation, so that righteousness will exalt our nation (Proverb 14:34).
As we pray the Lord’s Prayer, saying “Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:19), let us allow the Lord to do his will through us when we exercise our right to vote.
May God bless all you real good, and may he also look favourably upon our homeland and bless it with peace, harmony, and prosperity.
Your servant in the service of the Lord Jesus Christ.
* Thomas Lee Seng Hock is a veteran journalist.
Although BN's popular vote in yesterday's Sarawak election dropped significantly from 63 to 55 percent, preliminary analysis showed that it was mainly contributed by the swing in Chinese and Bidayuh areas.
Understanding voting patterns
However, the Iban v! oters in the more interior areas along the Rejang river such as Tamin, Kakus, Katibas, Machan and Baleh decided to punish BN by slashing its majority. They even chose to vote out BN in Pelagus for Independent candidate George Lagong.
To understand such an outcome, it must be remembered that the pattern in Malaysia politics has generally seen the tendency for voters in areas closer to towns which enjoy better infrastructures and wider penetration of information to have higher political awareness and more attuned to matters of national concerns and ideology.
On the other hand, in the more under-developed interior areas - deprived as they are of basic facilities such as treated water, electricity, roads and medical service - financial goodies, aids and the services of elected representatives have greater utility. They thus remain BN's stronghold, and where money politics and last-minute development promises run rampant.
Complicating this general pattern of politics further is a factor that can overshadow national issues and perceptions surrounding Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud 30-year term - local issues and the impact made by the individual candidates on the areas concerned.
These two factors are highly dynamic and vary from an area to another. Thus, local issues in one village may differ completely from those of their neighbours across the river. Both elements are also, however, inter-connected. Therefore, representatives who are seen as capable of address the local issues of concern would get support.
Where incumbents had failed to perform in their previous term, votes cast for the opposition are generally out of sentiments of protest rather than out of genuine support for the opposition. Family politics also play a crucial role in local politics. It is! not unc ommon for a candidate to win a seat due to his strong family network within the constituency or the contributions and services by his family members - even forefathers - to the people there.
Neutralising Pakatan
Many elected representatives are the descendants of respectable politicians. Thus, while Pakatan sought to capitalise on local issues during their campaigns in rural constituencies, BN managed to neutralise this strategy by sending Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak and his cabinet members on a statewide visits to provide last-minute promises and quick-fix solutions.
When the opposition struck back by highlighting many of BN's unkept promises, the personal visits by Najib - magnified by pro-establishment/mainstream newspapers - managed to convince the fence-sitters. Understandably so, given government propaganda serving as the only constant source of information for natives in longhouses. The BN, thus, is seen as the only party that can improve their livelihood.
Yesterday's results also proved that issues such as religion freedom, corruption and native customary rights land did not resonate with Iban voters.
While there have been disgruntlement among natives who feel they have been shortchanged, there were also fears that by voting in the opposition would jeopardise the status of their lands, many of which are involved in joint-venture programmes with government agencies or private companies that are linked with figures in the ruling coalition.
Hitting home Religion and issues of corruption, thus, are seen as being too 'far' compared to issues like how much their joint venture programm! es would pay in dividends next month or whether there would be enough rain in the coming weeks to fill up their water tanks.
It is still a long way for Pakatan to pose a real challenge to BN in the interiors of Sarawak. The only way to build their base is through consistent ground work, from the very basics of political education for voters on how parliamentary democracy functions, to empowering the people against political inducements and intimidation.
A source of support that Pakatan has yet to tap for such purposes is the growing number of young voters in the semi-rural ares. Many of these more educated and Internet-savvy youths have not registered as voters. Pinning hopes merely on the 'magic' of creative and aggressive campaign launched a mere weeks before an election does not work in the interior. Should Najib decide to call for an early general election in the next six months, Sarawak would still maintain as BN's fixed deposit, though with a lower interest rate.
source:malaysiakini
cheers.
The average Chinese voters have rejected BN and supported DAP.He said that BN (ie UMNO) must formulate a new strategy without depending on the support of the Chinese voters.Therefore the BN state government can no longer be too generous to give place to representatives from the community. Sarawak cabinet must be reflective of the decisions and attitude of the voters.
Once again, the attitude of the Chinese voters is clear in rejecting BN! . Awang believes that sentiment of Chinese voters in the peninsular is also the same.
The reality is that after dominating the economy for so long, the Chinese community wants to have greater influence and become a dominant political force.
The campaign to change the state government seems to only be accepted by a majority of the Chinese voters. The Bumiputera community still remains strong with BN."
If the Chinese voters continue to reject BN then we (ie UMNO) should NOT worry as there will be a way out."
Despite failing to deny Sarawak BN of its two-thirds majority at yesterday's polls, Pakatan Rakyat is content with the fact that the ruling coalition's popular vote has slumped eight percent.
As polls closed last night, BN was left virtually wiped out in the urban areas and lost three rural seats.
Ubah DAP's lucky charm
The Pakatan spirit shows that we are committed to bringing change to Sarawak. The land is very fertile for Pakatan, he said.
Meskipun bertarung dengan seluruh jentera kerajaan dan sumber kewangan Barisan Nasional, Pakatan Rakyat memenangi dua kali ganda jumlah kerusi pada pilihanraya negeri kali ini, sekali gus menyampaikan mesej bahawa Ketua Menteri Abdul Taib Mahmud perlu berundur segera.
Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak said BN's victory in Sarawak was all the more meaningful given the difficulties posed by having an open democracy. The existence of media operating through the Internet does not make it any easier, said the BN chairperson.
KUCHING: DAP celebrated its smashing victory tonight with a toast to the new voice of Sarawak that saw the party doubling its seats in the 10th state election.
DAP national chairman, Karpal Singh, hailed the day as a historic one and thanked Sarawakians for giving DAP a “100% success”.
“Let us see now if Prime Minister (Najib Tun Razak) calls for a general election soon,” he smiled during a packed press conference.
“There is no doubt in my mind that this is just a preview of the coming attractions. I hope that the example shown here will be followed in the next general election.”
Karpal pointed out that Sarawak Chief Minister Taib Mahmud now had to deal with a lot more on his hands.
“The strong presence of the new Pakatan Rakyat state leadership would push Taib to change his ways,” he said. “But change will not happen until he steps down. And we will continue pushing forward until Pakatan takes over the Sarawak government.”
Taib’s biggest defeat
DAP adviser, Lim Kit Siang, meanwhile said that while they were disappointed at failing to deny BN a two-thirds majority, it didn’t distract them from the fact that there are now 15 opposition assemblymen in the state government.
“This is the largest opposition group that Taib has to face and it is his greatest defeat in his 30 years” he said. “This is a kenyalang (hornbill) revolution.”
“It is a political awakening of Sarawakians of all ethnic groups. It may not be reflected in the represented seats but it is present in the number of votes cast.”
Kit Siang also said that he agreed with Umno Youth chief, Khairy Jamaluddin, who said that BN had suffered its greatest loss in Sarawak.
“Putrajaya must face the facts,” he said. “This is the truth and the political reality. And at the national level, this is also a setback for Najib. Sarawak is no longer BN’s fixed deposit.”
Largest win in DAP history
DAP secretary-general, Lim Guan Eng, emphasised that this was the largest number of seats won in DAP’s history and that a new dawn had begun for Sarawak.
“The people have shown that they want an end to a one-party, one-man rule and are ready for a two- party system and a people’s rule,” he said. “The number of votes we won is more than the 2006 state election and even the 2008 general election.”
“I hope that Najib will heed this message by asking Taib to step down now and not in two years. This is an exciting journey for Sarawakians because it’s only a new dawn and not yet a new day.”
Chong Chieng Jen, who defended his Kota Sentosa seat, declared that this was the day that Sarawakians had chosen between corruption and good governance.
“The people have clearly told Taib that they have had enough of BN’s corrupt system,” he said. “Sarawakians have displayed their political maturity.”
“The newly elected assemblymen promise that they will continue speaking up for all Sarawakians and that no community’s voice will be overlooked.”
Malaysia in the Era of Globalization #60
Chapter 7: Enhancing Human Capital
Sharpening Malaysian Competitiveness
Ensuring that the citizens are healthy and well educated is the first step in turning them into productive and contributing members of society. The two are enabling conditions or prerequisites, but Malaysia needs to go beyond that to ensure that her citizens, and thus the nation, are competitive. The surest way for Malaysia to thrive with globalization and free trade would be if her citizens could produce goods and provide services at a better price and quality than anyone else.
There is no way to predict which individuals will be able to do something better (more competitive) than someone else. In feudal societies birth and social ranking determine ones place in society and what one does. Children of nobility and royalty are born to rule others, while those of the warrior class will continue to become warriors, and children of peasants are fated to remain as peasants. This is not a design of nature, rather shaped by the social norms and culture. Were human societies like colonies of bees, yes, biology would then rule supreme. It is biology that determines whether individual bees would become the queen, drone, or worker bee.
In modern societies, it is the individuals who determine their own fate. In America, the son of a farmer could become a president (Jimmy Carter), a high school dropout could go on to win a Nobel price (Albert Einstein), and a college dropout could form a multibillion corporation (Bill Gates). There is no central authority, power, or social dictate that will determine that someone be this or that. The fate of individuals lies in their own hands. The powers that be in America did not have an important meeting and decide that Bill Gates should be chosen to start his software company or that Einstein be funded for his research because of some national interest. There is no central planning committee of wise men or elders charti! ng the c ourse of society. Rather, individuals were given the freedom to pursue their own interests and imagination (or even to drop out of society completely) and from there, the discoveries and innovations would follow.
The states role is limited to ensuring that these individuals are not hampered or constrained in developing their talent. Bill Gates Microsoft did not become a giant because the government decreed that IT is such an important sector of the economy and thus must be protected and supported so it could withstand foreign competition. For many years Microsoft existed beneath the radar screen of the political establishment in Washington, DC. Now that it is one of the biggest corporations, Microsoft is facing antitrust charges for alleged predatory marketing practices.
Related to the freedom of individuals to pursue their own interests is the concept of merit. Merit, broadly defined, is simply the qualities and actions of an individual that is praiseworthy or deserving of reward, honor, or esteem. It is not, as the current Asian obsession seems to be, based on some tests or examinations scores. That is only one measure, and a very narrow one at that. What is considered meritorious depends both on the individuals abilities and contributions as well as that societys sets of values. Thus Pramoedya Ananta Toers writing talent is not considered praiseworthy in his native Indonesia because the social milieu there considers sucking up to the authorities as an esteemed attribute. Indonesia does not value creative literary talent, especially when it is not used in singing high praises of those in power. In America by contrast, Pramoedya is widely lauded because it values artistic creativity. Back in Indonesia, they jailed him.
In modern law-abiding society, corruption and criminal activities are not tolerated. You go to jail for that. But in many backward societies, being corrupt is regarded as being smart; and taking care of ones own family and clan a virtue; hence the blight of corruption an! d cronyi sm. In Mafia-riddled Sicily, being law abiding is risky and can be dangerous to ones life, but being an outlaw produces tangible bountiful results.
Thus we can tell a lot about a society by the kind of personalities it values and honors, and who gets to be the elite. At the same time the types of individuals who flourish in a society reflects the underlying societal and cultural values. In graft-ridden Nigeria, an honest and law-abiding citizen is not likely to thrive; indeed only the corrupt and the dishonest are nurtured and rewarded. In Malaysia when one peruses the royal honor lists, it is clear that the producers and creators are not honored, rather the politicians and cheerleaders.
In the public service, the engineers and scientists are not rewarded, rather the administrators and bean counters. That is, the country rewards the staff personnel rather than the line people. In war if you reward those who stay behind at headquarters rather than the brave frontline warriors who risked their lives, you would never win the battle.
In America everybody knows Bill Gates but nobody recalls the name of the mayor of Seattle or the governor of its state. Using the yardstick of the American reward system (financial success), producers like Bill Gates are much more amply compensated as compared to civil servants or politicians.
In Malaysia yet another pernicious element has cropped up. You are not considered meritorious if you do not support the government or more specifically, the ruling party. Indeed you could be labeled an ingrate or worse, a traitor. When the National Literary laureate Shahnon Ahmad published his wildly successful and bitingly satirical political novella Shit, many in the ruling party were calling for his literary award to be rescinded. Shahnons sin was his audacity to criticize Prime Minister Mahathir.
In Malaysia , as in Indonesia, to be considered good or have your deeds deemed meritorious, you have to toady to the powerful. It reminds me of China during the t! umultuou s Cultural Revolution when many ambitious party apparatchiks were frenetically outdoing each other brandishing and hyping their little Red Book containing The Thoughts of Chairman Mao. In the process the country went down the tube. Now China has sober and realistic leaders, and they are rewarding the producers and entrepreneurs, not the political rabble-rousers on the streets.
To reiterate, the point I made in concluding Chapter 2, the social institutions and culture must nurture the Jeffersonian natural aristocrats those endowed with virtue and talent and not the artificial ones based on birth and heritage, without either virtue or talent. As the economist Lord Bauer once wrote, Economic achievement depends primarily on peoples abilities and attitudes, and also on their social and political institutions.
Next: Trajectory of Progress
The winds of change which were expected to blow through Sarawak, however forceful, were thwarted as fear and financial dependance on the government still play a role.
For the Malay-Melanau community especially, politics of patronage still plays a major role. We expect this from civil servants and maybe the business community but the ordinary Malays are also cautious as the! y don't want their children and future to be victimised.
Overall, what we describe as the 'politics of Panadol' is still prevalent here. People are relieved of their pain and suffering with RM20 or RM30 and a tangki air (water tank), and then they are willing to bear the pain for the next five years. 
In rural Iban and Dayak areas it is not unexpected, given that they depend on BN for their livelihood. 