If Only our Ministers and Mayors were like this.............

11-02-2011 18:41 New mayor anything but bureaucratic

Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon, left, throws trash bags into a garbage truck on a street in southwestern Seoul, Wednesday, as he joins street sweepers in cleaning to experience their hardship firsthand.

/ Courtesy of Seoul Metropolitan Government

Park turning his office into secondhand bookstore

By Kim Rahn

A Secondhand Bookstore in Wonderland.

This is what Seoul Mayor Park Won-soons new office will look like. It represents the activist-turned-mayors taste which is in stark contrast to that of his predecessors who were bureaucrats or politicians.

Only a week into office, Park, a long-time civic activist and human rights lawyer, is showing an informal, practical and unconventional attitude to city affairs.

Breaking bureaucracy

Parks office is turning into a library. He plans to have bookcases on all four walls of the place, and will bring all the books from his office at the Hope Institute, a policy alternatives think-tank where he is a director, to the new office.

The mayor wants to make the! room a comfortable place where he can conceive ideas, a city official said.

Mirrors and glass, which were used in the interior design of his election campaign office, will also be used here, as he thinks they symbolize openness and transparency.

On one side of the office, the mayor will put post-its on which citizens wrote policy ideas during his campaign.

He earlier said, Ill put citizens ideas near me, look at them every day, and refresh my resolution.

Park will not use a reception room next to his office but move the secretarys office there.

The space where currently the secretarys office is will be turned into a cafe. How to operate the cafe, including whether to open it to the public, has not been decided yet, the official said.

A large room used by senor officials may be reduced and the newly-created space will become meeting rooms, he added.

Meetings with city officials are planned to take place differently from those presided by former mayors.

Previously, director-level officials collected juniors opinions and reported them to the mayor, but Park has all the juniors and directors attend the meeting and listens to opinions from all of them directly, another city official said.

For better communication with citizens, Park has pledged to listen to their complaints by visiting their workplaces and residences himself. For public welfare, he has emphasized fieldwork rather than policymaking in the office without knowing what is really going on in real time.

On his first day of office on Oct. 27, he took the subway instead of the car provided by the city and talked with other commuters.

On-spot communication

Before getting on the subway, his first official task was visiting Noryangjin Fisheries Wholesale Market at 6:30 a.m. to meet merchants there. Later that day, he visited a town in Yeongdeungpo, Seoul, where small and shabby houses are situated as homes for the poor usually the elderly living alone or day laborers.
Ea rly Wednesday morning, he swept garbage and fallen leaves together with street sweepers in southwestern Seoul. The amount of garbage is much larger than I thought. I think we need to make improvements in the recycling system and peoples awareness of waste dumping, Park said.

He then listened to the sweepers talk about their hardship, such as a lack of suitable places where they can eat breakfast or lunch.

The new mayor, an active tweeter with 187,000 followers, uses the social network service to communicate with citizens, especially the younger generation. He sometimes makes public his schedule on Twitter and heeds the opinions of his followers on city affairs.

He is considering broadcasting his inauguration ceremony through Twitter and YouTube. When to hold the ceremony hasnt been decided.

In that way, the city doesnt need to pay rent for a ceremony venue and send invitations to participants. It may also be able to highlight Parks vision of seeking practicality, an official said.
************************************************************************
To dream the impossible especially in a corrupted country like ours. Damn all the top leaders are make worst that they are Muslim and Malay.

Wake up Malaysia: Protect Refugees and Asylum Seekers from Forced Labor and Human Trafficking

There are over94,000 refugees and asylum seekers in Malaysia, and they are among themost destitute and marginalized populations in the country.

Refugees do not have the right to work. Their children cannot go to public school. They have very poor access to health care. Poverty and hunger are daily realities. And because they fled from their home countries due to persecution, they cannot return home.

Refugees and asylum seekers are all around us in Malaysia. To survive and provide for their families, refugees and asylum seekers in Malaysia often work in low paying jobs without legal protection. A refugee might have served you coffee this morning in a restaurant. Or built the apartment you are living in. Suchis the reality of their daily existence here in Malaysia.

Here is a short (3 min) video for you to understand the issue better.

This is where you can do your part.

Sign the Petition Letterto the Prime Minister of Malaysia, Dato Seri Najib Tun Razak, to take a stand against forced labor and human trafficking in Malaysia and to ask for a more strongly protected environment for refugees and asylum seekers.

The Wake up Malaysia: Protect Refugees and Asylum Seekers from Forced Labor and Human Trafficking public awareness campaign is held by Health Equity Initiatives (HEI). HEI is an NGO in Kuala Lumpur which is commited to advancing the right to health of marginalized populations through its int! egrated core programs, which include community based health interventions, professional mental health services, research and monitoring activities, and evidence based advocacy. For more information about the campaign, please click here.

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Tags: Malaysia, Mohani Niza, plight of refugees, refugee

I'm a 20-something writer from Kuala Lumpur. I have written for a news website, which saw about 70 features published on a variety of topics. I'm planning to eke out a living as a freelance writer for some time, and found hospice in LoyarBurok. Im also here: http://mohaniniza.wordpress.com/

Posted on 2 November 2011. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0.

Read more articles posted by Mohani Niza.

Bravo UKM4!

The BN government, stupid as it is, has made some good survival decisions in the past. One of them is to silence university students.

Nothing spells firebrand like a young student discarding his teens and embracing his 20s. It's an exciting age, it's a world of revelations.

The Mahathir administration made it illegal for even political science students to be involved in politics. That is tantamount to forbidding an engineering student from undertaking industrial training.

The protest was meek, if anything. So the Act went ahead and the students were silenced.

But no more.

In a landmark decision, Section 15 of the AUKU -- Act disallowing student participation in politics -- was considered unconstitutional. One judge had the moral fortitude and sense of justice.

A lot of people chastised the UKM4 for being on the ground at Hulu Selangor. But they have paved the way for a wrong to finally be corrected.

Overpaid RM270 Million

The Auditor General Report for 2010 has shown that the Tourism Ministry overpaid close to RM 270 million for advertisements.

The reports expressed that the Tourism Ministry had direct awards without any tender being called for it's advertisements. The Auditor General had further noted that if the Ministry had held an open tender the advertisements would have cost RM75.38 million instead of more than RM345 million expended.

The Auditor General had noted that the Tourism Ministry had breached the Treasury regulations as extended in a circular in 2007.

More Irregularities under the Tourism Ministry as ReportedHERE and HERE

Mahathirs remarks on second DPM proposal nauseating

Mahathir: unassuming and relevant? | Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/kamalsell/

I have for a long time thought of Mahathir as a former great man who had lost some of his sense of balance, after reading his many irritating comments about a lot of issues. We notice that of all the many former chief executives of nations anywhere in the world, he has gone on record as the most the most acidic and the most sarcastic.

Tun Mahathir has been so aggressive in his criticism of the West and the Jews that he has been called The Last Mohican of Asia, but he is also a kind of warrior whose war is not yet finished, so he is still on a rampage to bulldoze everything he thinks is against his beliefs. Humility and moderation are very far away from his mind, thanks to the 21 years of wielding power. And now in active retirement he feels he is free to say whatever he wants, even at the embarrassment and expense of the current Prime Minister. But a long period in a powerful post doesnt make one right in everything. In fact, arrogance often sets in and can make one make a lot of mistakes; even become delusional.

His comments on the proposal to introduce a second prime minister for Sabah and Sarawak is a case in point, in which he is now on record as having said, Why Sabah and Sarawak? What about other states? I think Kedah also wants a deputy prime minister. Everybody wants a post. There should be a MCA deputy (PM), an MIC deputy (PM), a Gerakan deputy (PM). And if Pakatan Rakyat wins, everybody will want to become prime minister. Whether youre deputy (prime minister) or not, if you can serve the people, thats fine. If you dont serve the people, youll suffer the fate of (Muammar) Gaddafi.

The irritation you get from this wild and arrogant ranting simply gives you nausea, and makes you want to puke out of pure disbelief. Firstly, the second deputy PM post is not aske! d for by Upko for somebody in Upko, but for someone from Sabah or Sarawak. So saying other BN components also want the same thing is taking it totally out of context out of sheer sarcasm. And then saying Whether youre deputy (prime minister) or not, if you can serve the people, thats fine is saying you can serve the people the same way whether you are an Assistant Minister or a Deputy Prime Minister. And how did he come up with the silly idea that Kedah wants to have a DPM as well? How can he equate Sabah and Sarawak to Kedah, a small state in the Peninsular which itself is smaller than Sarawak? Doesnt he see the logic in having a DPM for the Borneo states knowing the huge size of the area and its 2,000-mile distance from KL, and having hugely different historical and cultural backgrounds? Perhaps he just cant admit that the two states have suffered half a century of economic discrimination, and even neglect in many aspects. Unless a DPM is given for them (and the current DPM was agreeable to this during the Upko congress where it was voiced out by Tan Sri Bernard Dompok) the two states will continue to suffer and lose. Now, I wonder if Mahathirs opinion in the matter is of any relevance at all. Why do reporters still think his remarks have so much value?

And as to the grossly crude remark If you dont serve the people, youll suffer the fate of Gaddafi, I would like to ask Mahathir if what he meant was some leaders in Malaysia should be shot dead for not doing their jobs? What about those who stole tens of millions from the national coffers through kickbacks? Should they be dragged in shame through the streets as well? I remember that at one time during the Libyan revolution Mahathir sympathized with Gaddafi, perhaps because in 2005 Mahathir received, in Tripoli, the Gaddafi International Prize for his human rights contributions. In pointing to Gaddafis example for injustice and tyranny, at least Mahathir is showing a lot of rational thinking wrong is wrong and right is right, regardless of who you were. H! istory c ant be changed because in the end, truth always does prevail. And Mahathir, as a former leader of international status, should know more than anyone of us that reckless statements will not go unnoticed, and will always come back to haunt you, and often you have to swallow them yourself.

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Tags: Daniel John Jambun, DPM, Gaddafi, Sarawak, Tun Mahathir

Posts by Daniel John Jambun

Daniel John Jambun is the President of CigMa (Common Interest Group Malaysia), an ad hoc apolitical human rights movement in Sabah.

Posted on 2 November 2011. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2. 0.

Read more articles posted by Daniel John Jambun.

Pemansuhan AUKU dipelopori MBM

PETALING JAYA: Usaha pemansuhan Akta Universiti dan Kolej Universiti1971 sebenarnya dipelopori oleh bekas presiden Majlis BeliaMalaysia (MBM), Mohd Khir Toyo.

Saya telah membuat desakan selaku presiden MBM sekitar tahun2003-2004 agar AUKU dimansuhkan, kata bekas menteri besarSelangor itu ketika dihubungi hari ini.

Menteri Pengajian Tinggi ketika itu adalah Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamad.

Semalam media melaporkan Menteri berkenaan Mohd Khaled Nordin sebagaiberkata akan membincangkan keputusan MahkamahRayuan berkenaan seksyen 15 AUKU dalam mesyuarat Kabinet akan datang.

Khir berkata demikian ketika diminta mengulas keputusan MahkamahRayuan yang mengisytiharkan bahawa Seksyen 15(5)(a) yangmelarang pembabitan pelajar dalam politik adalah bertentangan denganFasal 10 Perlembagaan Persekutuan.

Beliau menambah bahawa desakan MBM seterusnya menyebabkan pindaandilakukan terhadap AUKU.

Tapi kita tak setuju kerana kerajaan tak boleh skeptikal terhadapgolongan mahasiswa, tambah Khir yang juga Adun Sungai Panjang.

Khir menambah bahawa desakan terhadap pemansuhan AUKU dibuat keranauniversiti menjadi tempat mahasiswa menimbapengalaman dan mendapat pendedahan sebagai bakal pemimpin.

Bagi saya, pengalaman dan pendedahan lebih penting kerana mahasiswamatang dan adalah bakal pemimpin. Bakal pemimpin tidaksemestinya terdiri dari mahasiswa cemerlang.

Khir juga hairan kerana pemansuhan AUKU tidak diumumkan oleh PerdanaMenteri Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak dalam ucapan HariMalaysia dalam bulan September, sebaliknya hanya mengumumkanpemansuhan Akta Keselamatan Dalam Negeri (ISA).

Lihat juga:

Abol! ishing U UCA needs political will

Moral victory for student politics.

Cops molested me woman charged instead

PUTRAJAYA: A 39-year-old finance accountant, who recently highlighted her plight of being allegedly molested by a group of 11 policemen seven years ago, found herself in the dock instead.

Wong Bee Fong was charged this morning with voluntarily obstructing the duties of public officer lance corporal Muhammad Faudzi Abdul Aziz on Aug 13, 2004 at 2.30am, Brigate Tengah PGA, Batu 11, Cheras.

Wearing a pink top and jeans at the Kajang magistrate court which held its sessions here, a hand-cuffed Wong pleaded not guilty.

The offence comes under Section 186 of the Penal Code, which carries a maximum penalty of two years prison, or RM10,000 fine or both.

Deputy public prosecutor R Siamalah applied for bail to be set at RM5,000 while Wongs lawyer Keppy Wong asked for it to be reduced to RM500.

Keppy said his client was arrested last night and was put in the Batu 11 lock-up for a day and a high bail would constitute a punishment.

The conditions of the arrest warrant, which was issued on Sept 5 was not adhered to. She was not allowed a police bail, he said.

Keppy said the charge was related to an incident where his client had lodged a police report about her modesty being outraged by 11 policemen seven years ago.

Magistrate A Akhiruddin @ Boy Acho fixed bail at RM2,000 with one surety. The mention date was set at Dec 5.

Charge was mala fide

Speaking to reporters later, Keppy said the charge against his client was done in mala fide (bad faith) and amounted to a revenge by the police.

My client is disappointed that the Attorney-Generals Chambers decided to charge her instead of the 11 policemen who outraged her decency.

! And this , after seven years, and two months right after she highlighted police inaction in the media? You did not even charge her seven years ago and no statement was taken from her employer, an important witness, he added.

Keppy said his client was unnecessarily arrested at her home last night at 11.30pm. Police had allegedly kicked at her door and threatened to cut open her lock, before bringing her to a lock-up .

The police and prosecution have had no indication that she would abscond and should not have arrested her, he said.

Keppy said that the police had also grossly violated the arrest warrant that allowed a police bail, citing the recent case of 11 municipal councilors who were charged with a similar offence but weresimply called to the court via telephone.

Traumatic episode

In August, the media reported that Wong held a press conference highlighting her alleged molest and unlawful detention in 2004.

She said that the traumatic episode left her scarred and fearful of men, but police had not taken any action till now.

In the incident, Wong had said she was travelling home in her car with her employer when they were stopped at a roadblock near Taman Connaught, Cheras.

Policemen allegedly accused her of drunk driving, an accusation she denied then. They confiscated her IC and driving licence and allegedly even demanded RM3,000 to settle the case. Wong also claimed that they threatened to take her into custody if she did not do so.

Feeling uncomfortable with the way they were dealing with her, Wong had driven off, and a Proton Wira gave chase.

When she was at the General Operations Force headquarters, a car rammed into her car, and another pa! trol car arrived, and 10 policemen began kicking and knocking on her car and demanded that she get out of the vehicle.

Wong was allegedly dragged out and molested by 11 men there, while her 56-year-old male employer stood aside helplessly.

They made me feel like a fool and they just stood there laughing, she had told the press. She had subsequently lodged a police report but instead, police investigated her for obstruction.

Keppy said he believed police did not even open up an investigation paper on her molest case.

How many ministers children are studying abroad?

KUCHING: The opposition in Sarawak are backing a call for a referendum to find out how many federal cabinet ministers, their deputies and those involved in education policy-making are sending their children overseas to study where the medium of instruction is in English.

The Sarawak opposition parties have also urged the government to be practical about the issue, saying that when the national economy is weak, you cannot be overzealous about Bahasa Malaysia.

According to Sarawak PKR chief Baru Bian, many Sarawakian parents along with party members wanted to know where the ministers sent their children to study and how many were sent abroad.

There is a suggestion by certain quarters that there should be a referendum among the federal ministers where and which schools they are sending their children to.

I support this suggestion so that we know where they send their children to. Are they sending their children overseas to learn English?

With this referendum, then we can see whether these ministers are sincere or they just want to make it (using Bahasa Malaysia to teach mathematics and science) just a political issue, he said.

Bian was responding to Education Minister Muyiddin Yassins announcement that starting next year all schools will start using Bahasa Malaysia as a medium of instruction to teach mathematics and science.

De-politicize education

Bian, who is the BaKelalan assemblyman, said that both as a parent and a party member he wants the education policy de-politicised.

As a father and a PKR leader, we would like to make a stand regarding the change of education policy as announced by the Education Minister that the teaching of Mathem! atics an d Science should be changed back to the use of Bahasa Malaysia.

An earlier indication from the school was that that they were given option. But now the use of Bahasa Malaysia to teach mathematics and science is absolute and without any option.

Looking at the history of our Education Ministers, each one of them would come with a different kind of policy when he took over the ministry, resulting in very inconsistent educational policies.

Our stand is that you should stick to one policy only as changing it mid-term is really making it worse for our people, said Bian.

He added that the government, it appeared, had not learnt from the past.

As the country is approaching the 13th general election, he said: It is irresistible conclusion, as a lawyer would say, that the minister is using it as a political issue to gain political mileage.

As a minister for all races, he should not use it as a political issue. It is not fair to other people, he said.

Step backward

Commenting on the same issue, Sarawak DAP leader Chong Chieng Jen described the change of teaching Mathematics and Science from English back to Bahasa Malaysia as a step backward.

We are all concerned as this is a step backward, said Chong who is the state DAP secretary.

It is a great burden for our students who have to study Mathematics and Science in Bahasa Malaysia from Form One right to Form Five, and then to English in Lower and Upper Six.

It would be better for the students in secondary schools to be taught Mathematics and Science in English as we are laying the foundation for them to go to colleges and universities.

All research materials for engineering, medicine and science subjects are in English. It will be a great burden for our students, he said.

Chong, who is the MP for Bandar Kuching, accused certain ministers of overzealous over the importance of Bahasa Malaysia.

Bahasa Malaysia is our national language. It is important, but w! e have t o understand that the country is not an island. We are playing in global fields, he said.

Pemansuhan AUKU dipelopori MBM

PETALING JAYA: Usaha pemansuhan Akta Universiti dan Kolej Universiti1971 sebenarnya dipelopori oleh bekas presiden Majlis BeliaMalaysia (MBM), Mohd Khir Toyo.

Saya telah membuat desakan selaku presiden MBM sekitar tahun2003-2004 agar AUKU dimansuhkan, kata bekas menteri besarSelangor itu ketika dihubungi hari ini.

Menteri Pengajian Tinggi ketika itu adalah Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamad.

Semalam media melaporkan Menteri berkenaan Mohd Khaled Nordin sebagaiberkata akan membincangkan keputusan MahkamahRayuan berkenaan seksyen 15 AUKU dalam mesyuarat Kabinet akan datang.

Khir berkata demikian ketika diminta mengulas keputusan MahkamahRayuan yang mengisytiharkan bahawa Seksyen 15(5)(a) yangmelarang pembabitan pelajar dalam politik adalah bertentangan denganFasal 10 Perlembagaan Persekutuan.

Beliau menambah bahawa desakan MBM seterusnya menyebabkan pindaandilakukan terhadap AUKU.

Tapi kita tak setuju kerana kerajaan tak boleh skeptikal terhadapgolongan mahasiswa, tambah Khir yang juga Adun Sungai Panjang.

Khir menambah bahawa desakan terhadap pemansuhan AUKU dibuat keranauniversiti menjadi tempat mahasiswa menimbapengalaman dan mendapat pendedahan sebagai bakal pemimpin.

Bagi saya, pengalaman dan pendedahan lebih penting kerana mahasiswamatang dan adalah bakal pemimpin. Bakal pemimpin tidaksemestinya terdiri dari mahasiswa cemerlang.

Khir juga hairan kerana pemansuhan AUKU tidak diumumkan oleh PerdanaMenteri Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak dalam ucapan HariMalaysia dalam bulan September, sebaliknya hanya mengumumkanpemansuhan Akta Keselamatan Dalam Negeri (ISA).

Lihat juga:

Abol! ishing U UCA needs political will

Moral victory for student politics.

Mahathirs remarks on second DPM proposal nauseating

Mahathir: unassuming and relevant? | Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/kamalsell/

I have for a long time thought of Mahathir as a former great man who had lost some of his sense of balance, after reading his many irritating comments about a lot of issues. We notice that of all the many former chief executives of nations anywhere in the world, he has gone on record as the most the most acidic and the most sarcastic.

Tun Mahathir has been so aggressive in his criticism of the West and the Jews that he has been called The Last Mohican of Asia, but he is also a kind of warrior whose war is not yet finished, so he is still on a rampage to bulldoze everything he thinks is against his beliefs. Humility and moderation are very far away from his mind, thanks to the 21 years of wielding power. And now in active retirement he feels he is free to say whatever he wants, even at the embarrassment and expense of the current Prime Minister. But a long period in a powerful post doesnt make one right in everything. In fact, arrogance often sets in and can make one make a lot of mistakes; even become delusional.

His comments on the proposal to introduce a second prime minister for Sabah and Sarawak is a case in point, in which he is now on record as having said, Why Sabah and Sarawak? What about other states? I think Kedah also wants a deputy prime minister. Everybody wants a post. There should be a MCA deputy (PM), an MIC deputy (PM), a Gerakan deputy (PM). And if Pakatan Rakyat wins, everybody will want to become prime minister. Whether youre deputy (prime minister) or not, if you can serve the people, thats fine. If you dont serve the people, youll suffer the fate of (Muammar) Gaddafi.

The irritation you get from this wild and arrogant ranting simply gives you nausea, and makes you want to puke out of pure disbelief. Firstly, the second deputy PM post is not aske! d for by Upko for somebody in Upko, but for someone from Sabah or Sarawak. So saying other BN components also want the same thing is taking it totally out of context out of sheer sarcasm. And then saying Whether youre deputy (prime minister) or not, if you can serve the people, thats fine is saying you can serve the people the same way whether you are an Assistant Minister or a Deputy Prime Minister. And how did he come up with the silly idea that Kedah wants to have a DPM as well? How can he equate Sabah and Sarawak to Kedah, a small state in the Peninsular which itself is smaller than Sarawak? Doesnt he see the logic in having a DPM for the Borneo states knowing the huge size of the area and its 2,000-mile distance from KL, and having hugely different historical and cultural backgrounds? Perhaps he just cant admit that the two states have suffered half a century of economic discrimination, and even neglect in many aspects. Unless a DPM is given for them (and the current DPM was agreeable to this during the Upko congress where it was voiced out by Tan Sri Bernard Dompok) the two states will continue to suffer and lose. Now, I wonder if Mahathirs opinion in the matter is of any relevance at all. Why do reporters still think his remarks have so much value?

And as to the grossly crude remark If you dont serve the people, youll suffer the fate of Gaddafi, I would like to ask Mahathir if what he meant was some leaders in Malaysia should be shot dead for not doing their jobs? What about those who stole tens of millions from the national coffers through kickbacks? Should they be dragged in shame through the streets as well? I remember that at one time during the Libyan revolution Mahathir sympathized with Gaddafi, perhaps because in 2005 Mahathir received, in Tripoli, the Gaddafi International Prize for his human rights contributions. In pointing to Gaddafis example for injustice and tyranny, at least Mahathir is showing a lot of rational thinking wrong is wrong and right is right, regardless of who you were. H! istory c ant be changed because in the end, truth always does prevail. And Mahathir, as a former leader of international status, should know more than anyone of us that reckless statements will not go unnoticed, and will always come back to haunt you, and often you have to swallow them yourself.

Recommended Reads:

Is it time to let go of our Constitution?

Remember, Review & Reclaim: LoyarBurokking It ...

Sarawak's Low Voter Registration Problems: A Respo...

So You Want To Be A Teacher (Part 2)(Stories From ...

Tags: Daniel John Jambun, DPM, Gaddafi, Sarawak, Tun Mahathir

Posts by Daniel John Jambun

Daniel John Jambun is the President of CigMa (Common Interest Group Malaysia), an ad hoc apolitical human rights movement in Sabah.

Posted on 2 November 2011. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2. 0.

Read more articles posted by Daniel John Jambun.

ETP on track but vision some distance away

KUALA LUMPUR: The governments Economic Transformation Plan (ETP) is on the right track but the light at the end of the tunnel is still some distance away.

The ETP was incepted one year ago and the Performance Management and Delivery Unit (Pemandu) chief Idris Jala is pleased with the results, so far.

Things are looking okay were on the right trajectory, weve not achieved our 2020 vision just yet on track but we cant declare victory. We must remember this is not a sprint, but a marathon, the minister in the Prime Ministers Department said at a briefing of ETPs one-year anniversary at Bukit Kiara yesterday.

Idris said some RM10 billion have been invested into projects under the ETP over the past one year, which was 64% of the RM15 billion in investments committed for 2011. Another RM5 billion is expected by the end of 2011.

He also said that Entry Point Projects (EPPs) were progressing well and a total of 70 out of the 131 EPPs, or 53%, have taken off.

As some EPPs have multiple projects, we now have 97 projects which are in various stages of implementation, he said.

The ETP aims to transform Malaysia into a high income nation by 2020.

According to the 2010 Auditor-Generals Report, the national debt rose by 12.3% at RM407billion. The economy grew by 7.2% last year, while the fiscal deficit maintained public debt at over 50 per cent of GDP for the second year running.

Positive progress

Despite saying that progress was encouraging, Idris also said that GDP growth stood at 4.4% and was not as rosy as we would like as under the ETP, the growth should be at 6% per year.

However, ! because the 2nd half of 2011 is expected to grow to 5% and that the previous years growth was at 7.4%. We are still at about 6% in two years, he said.

Of the ETPs 2011 Gross National Income (GNI) target of RM494 billion, RM288 billion was reached so far; of the RM83 billion private investment target, RM51.2 billion was achieved while the targeted 684,000 jobs created, about 50% have been achieved.

We are hitting all of them just about right this is a positive progress after just 12 months. By being focused on the 12 key growth areas, the countrys private sectors confidence in the local economy has also increased, he said, adding that the final target for 2020 was to achieve RM1.71 trillion in GNI, RM1.4 trillion in commited investments and 3.3 million jobs.

Not happy being Mr Average

Idris also said that the only thing he regretted about the ETP was that it was not implemented 10 years earlier.

If we started 10 years ago, we would have made it 10 years ago we were not focused and we tried to do everything under the sun. Its like Usain Bolt trying to be a champion in sprint but also wants to be the best at long jump, marathon. If you try to be best at everything and lose focus, youll just be MrAverage, he said.

Idris said a lesson learnt from neighbouring countries trying to go into high-income nation was that an economic plan needed focus.

During question and answer session, Idris said that the plan to cut subsidies was still in place.

However, he added that feedback from the ground showed that subsidy cuts must be done in small doses and over a long period.

Although weve begun to cut subsidies in fuel and electricity, were al! ways min dful of the bottom 40% (lower income group), he said.

Idris also said that it was possible for Malaysia to go bankrupt by 2019, but added that this prediction was based on the country having no ETP, economic growth was less than 4%, borrowings standing at 12.5% and revenues not growing.

But rest assured, the government would never allow that to happen, he said.

Also read:

Talent Corp lured 450 Malaysians back

Ask the natives if they want to move

KUCHING: The Sarawak government has been urged to immediately carry out a census poll on the 394 families from four villages affected by the construction of the multi-million ringgit Bengoh Dam.

State opposition PKR said a completed census would show how many families and villagers from Kampung Taba Sait, Rejoi, Bojong-Pain and Semban would be willing to shift to the resettlement scheme between Kampung Semadang and Skio.

This census is necessary because the resettlement scheme risks being an expensive flop as the affected villagers appear not in favour of moving into the resettlement scheme, said See Chee How, Sarawak PKR vice-chairman.

See, a lawyer who is also representing the villagers, said the census was imperative considering the recent Auditor Generals Report 2010 which had strongly criticized the Bengoh Dam project.

I must draw the publics attention to the drawback of the Bengoh Dam project as it had attracted much criticism from the Auditor-Generals Report 2010 published two weeks ago.

The Auditor-Generals Report has actually identified two areas of vital concerns. Firstly, it found the resettlement for the affected families to be unsuitable and questionable.

Secondly, completion of the dam project has been delayed and as a result they expect the cost to over-run to RM58 million, he said.

Resettlement scheme unsuitable

Work on the dam, which is situated some 40 kilometres from here, began in July 2007.

Once completed it will supply untreated water to the Kuching Water Boards treatment plant until 2030.

The dam was scheduled for completion in December 2010 but as of February 2011, only 97.3% of the dam has been completed! .

The initial cost of the dam is RM310.65 million but the delay is expected to cost the government an additional RM60. 57 million.

According to the AGs Report, the delay was due to poor coordination between land acquisition, the resettlement of nearby villagers and the preparation of the Bengoh Residents Resettlement Scheme.

The report has found the resettlement location unsuitable and questionable.

Said See: As the Auditor-Generals Report was vague on the first issue (unsuitability and questionable resettlement location), the state BN government seems to have found an excuse to its shortcoming.

The MP for Mambong James Dawos Mamit and Bengoh assemblyman Jerip Susil had commented and declared that the Auditor-Generals Report was referring to the original plan of resettling the affected villagers near Kampung Bayur.

However, since the dam project was carried out in 2007, the affected villagers have been told of the resettlement site near Kampung Semadang and not Kampung Bayur.

There is no reason why the AGs Report was referring to any original resettlement plan near Kampung Bayur.

AGs Report exposed flaws

See, who is also the Batu Lintang assemblyman, pointed out that the AGs Report had exposed an ill-conceived resettlement plan of which there was no prior consultation with the affected village families.

Whether the resettlement scheme is near Kampung Bayur or Kampung Semadang, it appears that the affected village families are not moving into the resettlement scheme.

As of today, these affected Bidayuh families are building their new houses in Mok Ayung, Nyagong, Sting and Kandong which are all situated in upper Bengoh, not far from their original village settlements.

On the other hand, many families of Kampung Semban are determined to stay put as their traditional village site will not be affected by the water impoundment.

In view of this, a census or poll on the 394 families and 1,595 former villagers of ! Kampung Taba Sait, Rejoi, Bojong and Semban all of whom are affected by the dam is now necessary to determine the number of families who are willing to be resettled at the resettlement scheme between Kampung Semadang and Skio, he said.

See described the census as particularly crucial now as the implementation of the project has been delayed and the AGs Report 2010 has found that the state would have to bear an additional cost.

No benefit to villagers

The report noted that in September 2010, the Works Department had recommended that villagers be temporarily relocated to a nearby area.

It expected the total cost, including housing rental and allowances to cost RM39.81 million, an amount to be borne by Sarawak government.

The audit, however, estimated that this cost could easily balloon to RM58.37 million depending on the state governments decision on the resettlement issue.

Said See: So far there has been no response from the state cabinet, but the costs are escalating by the day.

Meanwhile, additional works in road construction and improvement together with flood mitigation work worth more than RM2.5 million have been added to the cost overruns.

Such cost overruns could have been avoided had there been transparency and good governance.

The state government owes all Sarawakians and Malaysians in general an explanation on its failure as the country can ill-afford such hefty cost of mismanagement and poor governance.

To avoid the hefty cost overruns, I would suggest that the state government seriously considers the option of allowing the affected Bidayuh villagers to construct their houses on their ancestral land which is outside and above the area which will be inundated.

After all, if the affected villagers have decided not to move into the resettlement scheme, there is no point in spending more money for works at the resettlement scheme.

It will only prove to be an expensive flop, and become the quarters of plant! ation wo rkers who are foreigners or settlers from other parts of the state.

No benefit will be brought to the affected villagers, he said.

Najib should announce full acceptance and no appeal against landmark Court of Appeal judgment striking down Section 15(5)(a) of UUCA as unconstitutional

Media statement by Lim Kit Siang in Parliament on Tuesday, 1st November 2011:

Najib should announce full acceptance and no appeal against landmark Court of Appeal judgment striking down Section 15(5)(a) of UUCA as unconstitutional

The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, should announce full acceptance and no appeal against the landmark Court of Appeal judgment yesterday striking down Section 15(5)(a) of Universities and University Colleges Act (UUCA) as unconstitutional in violating the constitutional guarantee of freedom of speech.

This will be an early test of Najib's political will, bona fides and commitment to initiate a sea change of democratization and political transformation which he had promised after the most adverse national and international reactions to the high-handed government crackdown of the July 9 Bersih 2.0 peaceful demonstration for free, fair and clean elections system - with the establishment of the Parliamentary Select Committee on the Electoral System, and the pledges of repeal of the draconian Internal Security Act as well as repeal or reform of the arsenal of repressive laws in the country including the Universities and University Colleges Act, the Police Act, the Printing Presses and Publications Act, the Sedition Act, etc.

Najib should know that all his promises of "democratization and political transformation" have evoked more cynicism, skepticism and disbelief than hope, expectation and belief - and this is because the Najib government has not demonstrated any change of mindset and mentality that the whole apparatus of government has been attuned and oriented to the new challenges of democratization and political transformation.

It is most refreshing and inspiring that the Court of Appeal, through Justice Hishamuddin Yunus and Justice Linton Albert, have spoken out courageously, loud and clear for human rights and the supremacy of the Constitution at this particular juncture.

The landmark Court of App! eal deci sion is most timely in upholding the centrality of human rights in our nation building and Constitutional framework of guarantees, at a time when democracy and human rights have again been assailed as a dirty and dangerous conspiracy by none other than the former Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir and the former Inspector-General Tan Sri Rahim Noor representing the voices of reaction in the country.

The majority decision Court of Appeal decision yesterday is no less than a repudiation of the political heresies preached by Mahathir and Rahim Noor when they warned of "a human rights wave" which would be like "a new religion" and threaten and erode the basis on which the nation was founded.

The question now is whether Najib and his Cabinet are prepared to step forward to support the Court of Appeal majority decision and demonstrate a new spirit and mindset of democratization and political transformation by overruling the decision that the University Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) appeal against the Court of Appeal judgment - as announced by UKM counsel Muhammad Shafee Abdullah in court yesterday?

What signal and message will Najib and his Cabinet send out on whether to respect and uphold the majority decision of the Court of Appeal striking down as unconstitutional and undemocratic the UUCA ban on university students from expressing support or opposing any political party?

Do Najib and his Cabinet agree with the majority Court of Appeal judges that "Universities should be the breeding ground of reformers and thinkers and not institutions to produce students trained as robots" (Justice Hishammdudin) and that the UUCA is "an utter absurdity" when university and college students faced "the grim prospect of expulsion" because of their presence at a by-election?

*Lim Kit Siang, DAP Parliamentary Leader & MP for Ipoh Timor

When road thugs rule

FMT LETTER

From Jackson Ng, via e-mail

WHAT was it that the police and Barisan Nasional (BN) government labelled the Mat Rempit? If the police and BN are suffering from amnesia, let me refresh their memory road thugs.

The police and BN had said the people should not glorify the term Mat Rempit because these road bullies are no different from gangsters and mobsters. They are a nuisance and a threat to peace-loving Malaysians.

Then, what happened in George Town?

There was no clampdown on the road thugs who were allowed to roam the streets and make their way to the Penang State Assembly to demonstrate, illegally I suppose. Or was there a police permit?

Unlike the peaceful Bersih 2.0 demonstrators, who were brutally attacked by the police, this did not happen to the road thugs. And what were the demands of the Bersih demonstrators? They just want the universal rights of the people to have free and fair elections.

In the case of the road thugs, the police just stood and watch, allowing the them to create havoc and scream racially-tainted abuses. And do you remember there were injuries and deaths caused by such road thugs, as related by the police in the past?

So, what do you have now in Malaysia? Like I had written and feared, Malaysia is today a lawless state. The law is used to serve only BN-Umnos interest, not the people. Umno is the law, not the Federal Constitution, the police or the judiciary.

How else to explain the lack of action by the police against the road thugs? When they serve BN-Umnos interest, it is okay. Public safety can take a back seat.

In defence of the road thugs, I wont be surprised if BN-Umno will respond next to say that Mat Rempit is our kebudayaan (culture). Buy that if you are a hardcore BN-Umno supporter.

And what a ridiculous demand the road thugs are making? They want the state government to use taxpayers money to build a race track for them. I guess the Pakatan Rakyat (PR)-led st! ate gove rnment should for the first time support the BN-Umnos cause for the road thugs.

Build the race track, let the road thugs zoom as they please and kill one another in crashes.
The Police di-Raja Malaysia is in a shameful state. It has abandoned its most important role to protect the people against criminals, mobsters.

Imagine what would have happened if, in the midst of the rowdy demonstration by the road thugs, an accident had occurred? Who is to blame? The road thugs or the police? The Sun reported today (Nov 2, 2011) that Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng told the State Assembly that he was a little bit shaken by the demonstration by some 300 motorcyclists.

I can see why Lim is shaken. The police let loose and allowed the thugs to roam the streets. We peace-loving Malaysians now cannot even rely on the police to provide basic public safety. The BN-Umno government and the system are in near collapse as can be seen by the polices support for the road thugs.

The fear of losing political power has made them paranoid, resorting to devious and unethical means to drum up racial and religious discord to remain in power. The strategy of BN-Umno is clear divide and rule.

They have also forgotten the need to promote a conducive environment to maintain the confidence of investors both local and foreign. As long as BN-Umno can stir racial and religious hatred in Malaysians, BN will have the advantage to remain in power, they think.

Sadly, that is yesterdays thinking. Today, Malaysians are more informed and educated in the digital era. They can judge an issue better. BN-Umno, like what many have said and described, is a dinosaur wanting to become extinct as they continue to alienate themselves from the majority of peace-loving Malaysians.

Let us hope sanity prevails in the next general election before all is lost.

Reforming the A-Gs Office

By Zaid Ibrahim

Abdul Gani Patail has been the Attorney General (A-G) for many years now. He assumed office at an early age, and it is his good fortune that Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad (who was prime minister at the time) liked him.

During my short stint working with him, I found him cooperative and a hardworking civil servant.

Abdul Gani will probably remain A-G for a while more, even though he has received a lot of flak and criticism. Some are justified, and some are not.

The list of cases and complaints is too long for me to recite here but everyone knows that no one has been brought to book for the MAS scandal that caused losses of billions of ringgit.

Everyone knows that those responsible for the death of Teoh Beng Hock, and Ahmad Sarbaini Mohamed have not been held accountable. Everyone remembers the no further action against those implicated in the judge-fixing (i.e., the Lingam Videotape) scandal.

There are many other cases involving high-profile personalities who were acquitted or had their charges dropped without the public being given satisfactory explanation of why those cases were not successful.

This happened in the 2007 prosecution of Tan Sri Eric Chia for criminal breach of trust. It happened again in the 2009 prosecution of former Land and Cooperative Development Minister Tan Sri Kasitah Gaddam for corruption and cheating.

It happened again this year in the high-profile case against Constable V Navindran, who was charged with causing grievous hurt to A Kugan who died in the Taipan police lock-up two years ago.

The person who holds the office of AG must be one who make himself transparent and accountable. He must not be the the type who ! is reluc tant to engage with the public. He must not remain below the radar, a personality trait common among those who like fishing.

Its true that he is the chief legal adviser to the government and the Prime Minister, and in a sense its true that for as long as his employer is happy with him, why should he care about what the public thinks.

But he is wrong to take this attitude. He is no ordinary civil servant. He is ex-officio the Public Prosecutor with powers conferred to him by the Federal Constitution.

Malaysian Attorneys-General assume a dual role: they are simultaneously the legal adviser to the government and the Public Prosecutor.

Taking responsibility

As Public Prosecutor the A-G is entrusted with making sure that the criminal justice system works well and functions with integrity and fairness. As a legal adviser, the A-G makes sure that the activities of the government are legally defensible.

The A-G works for the government of the day to make sure that all government actions are in accordance with the law a good legal adviser will also put his or her foot down when the government transgresses the law.

This is easier said than done when there are politicians in the Cabinet who place politics first and law second. Usually the AG will relent in such situation.

However as a Public Prosecutor, the A-G works not for the government but for the public at large.

He serves the public in providing a justice system that serve them well. As Public Prosecutor, the A-G is a public institution empowered by the constitution with all the discretionary powers in the world to charge or not to charge anyone for any offence or crime.

He is the barometer by which we measure our success as a country governed by the Rule of Law.

Unfortunately whist he is responsible for the well being of the justice system in the country, he has no control over other stakeholders.

He has no say in how the police force should be managed. He ! has no s ay in how the investigation team could be improved. He has little say in the efficiency of the court system.

He has to accept the quality of politicians managing the country. So its not fair to blame him soley for the weakness and defects in the overall administration of justice in the country.

Still he has to assume some responsibility. When a public official has such wide discretionary powers, he or she must exercise them with care, based on established principles and with integrity and fairness.

This is where the A-G must be transparent, must engage with the public, and must provide reasons for all his or her actions and decisions.

The A-G cannot say its my power and thats the end of the matter. The A-G is a public institution and, as such, must be held accountable and answerable to the public.

I tried to convince former prime minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi that the A-Gs post should be made a political position and that the incumbent must be made a Cabinet member.

The Attorney General, in my view, must be prepared to stand in Parliament and be held fully accountable. I was of, course, unsuccessful in pursuing this.

Are the politicians ready?

Making the A-G a political position does not mean that the A-Gs Office automatically becomes somehow better than if it were non-political.

The character and personality of the person appointed as A-G would still be the most important factor, but as a political office the incumbent would not be able to escape enquiry and questioning in Parliament.

Some who opposed my idea said that a politically-appointed A-G would be motivated or influenced by political considerations.

The fact is that, in the old days when the A-G was a member of the Cabinet, there was a lot more more confidence by members of the public in the AG office.

The Solicitor-General (S-G) was effectively the Public Prosecutor and the S-Gs team pursued prosecutions without interference from political! bosses while the A-G remained the nominal Prosecutor and also chief legal adviser to the government.

Why cant we do this today? Indeed, it is possible that we can do other, better, things to make the criminal justice system more transparent and accountable.

But the A-Gs Office will not improve if political parties forming the government (regardless of which parties) are reluctant to reform the police; reform the laws or continue to exert political influence over the A-Gs role as Public Prosecutor.

The question will always be: how prepared and willing are politicians to share power with other state institutions such as the A-Gs Office in order to provide proper checks and balances to our system of government?

Will the politicians be willing to establish an independent Prosecutors Office which ; of course, will make them somewhat vulnerable?

The weakness in the present criminal justice system is not the sole fault of the AG. Criminal investigation and case preparations are not done by the AG office but by the police, and yet the weakness in the investigation will reflect on the Attorney General.

Also the lack of evidence can be attributed to unwillingness of key witnesses to come forward; again we cannot blame the AG for this situation.

I have not heard from the Prime Minister or Pakatan Rakyat about how, or even if, they intend to reform this important institution called the AG Office in order to make our justice system better.

They should think seriously about it if they want reforms and and improve our justice system as much as they say they do.

Zaid Ibrahim, a former law minister, in the president of Kita.

Idris Jala is way off the mark

FMT LETTER

From Rajiv Rishyakaran, via e-mail

I refer to the Bernama report, Klang Valley will be choked by 2020 if no MRT, says Idrishttp://www.bernama.com/bernama/v5/newsindex.php?id=623995

With all due respect to Idris Jala, he is wrong is stating that MRT is the only thing that will prevent Klang Valley from choking up by 2020. Traffic congestion stems from the high usage of private cars, especially single occupancy vehicles.

While the proposed Sungai Buloh-Kajang (SBK) MRT is bound to take some private cars off the roads of Klang Valley, this is not the direct answer or remedy to the fact that more and more private cars are coming into our road system every day.

What is very important is having a reliable public transport network, that enables all citizens from in the Klang Valley to be able to move around from one end to another solely on public transport, regardless of bus or MRT. Today, this is lacking, and we need to see the government and Pemandu address this lack of a complete network.

The SBK line will not even cover 20% of the Klang Valley population, so, at this rate, many who may be staying along this transport corridor may still have to resort to using private vehicles to get to their destinations.

Since the government is not in a financial position to role out MRT lines all over the Klang Valley (similar to New Yorks subway), the government needs to concede the importance of buses in building and achieving the network. Both highly dense Singapore & Hong Kong today record higher bus ridership than MRT ridership, showing the importance of bus networks.

The writer is advisor to The Association For The Improvement Of Mass Transit (TRANSIT)

Scandal after Scandal, so what's new with UMNO Wanita Chief?

Defending The Indefensible, the latest by Prme Minister Najib Tun Razak, siding his blue-eyed lady so good at PUBLIC RELATIONS.

Najib defends cattle project linked to ministers family

November 01, 2011

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 1 Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has dismissed allegations of abuse of power in the federal governments RM250 million soft loan to a company owned by Cabinet minister Datuk Seri Shahrizat Jalils husband that operates the National Feedlot Corporation (NFC).

Najib, who is also Finance Minister, said today in a written reply to a parliamentary question that the company Agroscience Sdn Bhd had been selected to operate the NFC project to create Malaysias Beef Valley after a tender process involving five other companies.

The Auditor-Generals Report released last week had criticised the project, and pointed out that it was now in a mess.

It said production in 2010 was only 3,289 head of cattle or 41.1 per cent of the target set.

Yesterday, Minister of Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Datuk Seri Noh Omar told Parliament the NFC project was a success, insisting that the cattle farming scheme met its target of producing 8,000 head of cattle by 2010.

In a separate response today, Najib (picture) said that as at July 31 RM181.9 million had been channelled to NFC to implement the project.

The loan was given with the aim of implementing the project to meet the demand for beef in the country and achieve the 38 per cent self-sufficiency goal, he said

Najib added that the NFC was currently producing local beef of high quality and commercial value.

NFC products are now available at major supermarkets like Jaya Jusco, Giant, Carrefour and Cold Storage, as well as in wet markets, restaurants a! nd retai l shops nationwide.

NFC is in the midst of increasing its feedlot production capacity to 12,000 cattle from 6,000 previously. It will also increase the capacity of its abattoir to 200 cattle daily. All these developments are expected to be completed by early next year.

Earlier today, PKR revealed what it said was proof the NFC had only met under five per cent of its annual production target, refuting Putrajayas claim that the scheme was a success.

Backing the Auditor-Generals assertion that the project had turned into a mess, PKR strategy director Rafizi Ramli claimed the NFCs original target was to produce 60,000 head of cattle annually.

Rafizi said it had cost the NFC RM141 million to produce 8,016 head of cattle, which is 22 times more than the ministrys original estimate of RM6.37 million to rear 9,000 cows annually.

He was referring to the policy paper on the project that is still available on the Department of Veterinary Services (DVS) website.

Yesterday, Noh denied that the project was awarded directly to Agroscience, a company owned by Women, Family and Community Development Minister Shahrizats husband, Datuk Dr Mohamad Salleh Ismail.

The Agriculture Ministry has also released the biodata of NFCs top management, naming Shahrizats three children Izran, 27, Izmir, 31, and Izzana, 25 as chief executive and executive directors respectively.

It further said that Mohamad Salleh, NFCs executive chairman, holds a doctorate in fermentation technology and was head of food science at Universiti Pertanian Malaysia in 1981.

DESIDERATA: I recall -- do you, short-memoried Malaysians? Mudah lupa ke? -- former MITI minister fondgly referenced as the Fat Lady objected when her son-in-law was given less than desired portion of share allocations for a listed company's Special Bumi Share Issue! . It was sent back for reconsideration, and finally the share allocation was revised upwards (the amount I forget, but methinks at least THREE-FOLD!)

It involved the same minister who replied with a poker face that she was not the only Minister whose family received vehicle APPROVED PERMITS. Then PM Dr Mahathir Mohamad blew his top ( I could picturise smoke&steam coming out of his nose and ears!). You dare aRsEk me why? Desi says: "Hey, get the here out of hell!"

Kebebasan akademik hanya mitos

KUALA LUMPUR: Ahli akademik Malaysia menyifatkan kebebasan akademikhanya mitos sedangkan realitinya para pensyarah danpelajar dihimpit dengan pelbagai sekatan yang dikenakan terhadap mereka.

Pensyarah di Universiti of Nottingham, Prof Madya Zaharom Naim berkatadisebabkan sekatan itu juga mewujudkan perkembangangolongan cendawan dan bukannya cendikiawan.

Malah lebih malang, ia mewujudkan golongan akademik yang kurangsensitif terhadap isu terkini sehingga boleh diklasifikasikansebagai minda kelas ketiga, katanya selepas ditemui dalam ForumKebebasan Akademik di Malaysia di sini malam tadi.

Zaharom berkata, kebebasan akademik hanya mitos seperti kebebasanmedia. Ahli akademik tidak fikir tentang ini malah jauh sekaliuntuk pertahankan. Sekatan rasmi seperti akur janji di universiti olehpensyarah dan pelajar hanya untuk menekan.

Sistem penghargaan melalui kenaikan pangkat hanya mewujudkan golonganyang mementingkan diri dan tidak ambil tahu, terangbeliau. Golongan cendawan berkembang dan bukannya cendikiawan keranamelihat kerja mereka sebagai pekerjaan biasa danbukannya satu profesion.

Ujar beliau, peranan utama ahli akademik adalah untuk mengekalkankuasa sedia ada dalam masyarakat tanpa mempersoalkannya.

Bagi mereka soal-mempersoal adalah kerja orang lain.

Inilah minda tahap ketiga dan mungkin ia akan jadi lebih teruk,katanya, merujuk kepada tindakan disiplin terhadap pensyarahundang-undang Profesor Dr Abdul Aziz Bari oleh Universiti IslamAntarabangsa Malaysia (UIAM) baru-baru ini.

Golongan intelektual jadi pak turut

Katanya, kejadian yang menimpa Aziz Bari akan mewujudkan kaki bodekdan penakut yang dihasilkan melalui sistem ahli politik dalamgolongan tertentu. Peristiwa mala! ng ini d iwarisi dalam sistempendidikan Malaysia dan implikasinya menghasilkan intelektual yangrendah daya inteleknya.

Wujud hamba Allah Aziz Bari yang ditekan akan mewujudkan 10 kakibodek dan 10 kaki penakut. Ini dihasilkan melalui sistemsosialisasi oleh ahli politik untuk golongan tertentu. Implikasinyanilai intelektual akademik rendah sehingga menghasilkan hujah bodohyang tidak dicabar.

Wujud pejuang hak asasi disifatkan seperti golongan komunis. Golonganintelektual enggan beri pendapat dan hanya tunggu arahanorang atas. Mereka tiada pendirian langsung dan hanya jadi pak turut, katanya.

Sementara itu, Datuk Dr Denison Jayasooria dari Universiti KebangsaanMalaysia berkata, kredibiliti ahli akademik akan dipertikaikanapabila menyuarakan pandangan mereka kepada umum.

Apabila mereka (ahli akademik) bersuara atau mengkritik secaraterbuka kepada umum mereka akan dikatakan sebagai pembangkang,NGO, katanya.

Forum Kebebasan Akademik di Malaysia dianjurkan Pergerakan TenagaAkademik Malaysia dan Persatuan Kakitangan AkademikUniversiti Malaya (PKAUM).

Ahli panel terdiri daripada Profesor Wan Manan Wan Muda dariUniversiti Sains Malaysia, Dr Denison Jayasooria, Profesor Zaharom(Universiti of Nottingham) dan Timbalan Presiden Gabungan MahasiswaIslam Malaysia (Gamis) Mohd Zaki Sukery. Turut hadir AzizBari dan kira-kira 30 ahli akademik lain.

Another way to exploit workers

PETALING JAYA: The changes to the Employment Act 1955 are just another guise to exploit workers and to benefit political cronies, lawyer-cum-activist Charles Hector said.

He said that the amendments would promote outsourcing of workers to middlemen but do not offer the workers any protection.

The amendments have nothing to do with protecting workers. In my opinion, it is something like the APs (approved permits) for vehicles in Malaysia, where permits and licences are allegedly issued to persons connected to those in power politically or economically, Hector told FMT.

This will purely be a big money-making business for whoever gets the required licences to operate as contractors for labour.

Hector said that even now, factories are paying some of these outsourcing agents about RM60 per worker on a normal working day, whereas the worker only gets about RM20.

This means the income for these labour outsourcing companies (also called contractors for labour) would be about RM40 per worker per day, and we are talking about 1.9 million migrant workers and many million local workers.

Hector, who had represented 111 civil society groups locally and abroad, called for an immediate withdrawal of the amendments, saying that a total re-look at the law was needed.

With the way the amendments are being phrased, I think withdrawal is the only solution at this point. Re-tabling an act is not a problem.

Referring to the Human Resources Minister Dr S Subramaniams statement that the ministry had gone through rigorous consultation, he said specific suggestions by the Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) had been ignored.

Yes, they may have gone for 18 meetings but were their (MTUCs) views properly heard?!

H ector likened the new amendments to the Indian Kangany system, where a plantation head called a mandore would recruit workers from India and subsequently supervise their work here.

Its exactly like the Kangany system. The problem is, these labour suppliers can easily close shop and disappear if anything happens (to the workers), he said.

We need to go back to the traditional worker-employer relationship where the employer is responsible for the worker, said Hector, who is being sued for RM10 million in a defamation case brought by a Japanese company Asahi Kosei against him for a blog posting alleging mistreatment of migrant workers at the companys facility.

(In the case, Asahi had claimed that the workers are not theirs as they were supplied by an external contractor and that the contractor was responsible for the workers wages and welfare.)

Now they are trying to legalise this If this continues, one day we might have a bank without employees and all inhouse unions are essentially killed. If the bank employee complains, the bank will simply say oh, Im not your employer, said Hector.

Making agents liable

Hector said if the government insists on going ahead with the amendments, he suggests that outsourcing agents be made as secondary employers as is practised in other countries.

He also said the amendments will not help in dealing with sexual harassment cases.

Now the employer himself will hold an inquiry rather than Labour Department. How can you find justice?

The revision of the Employment Act was passed in early October despite widespread protests. The proposed Bill now needs to be approved by the senate and receive royal assen! t, befor e it becomes law.

Various union groups have called the amendments a return to slavery, anti-worker and anti-union. The Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) had staged a picket outside Parliament and will be organising nationwide picket against the amendments on Thursday.

The Human Resources Ministry, however, has defended the amendments, saying that it was not intended to promote or institutionalise contractors for labour.

It said that it was to ensure workers rights were protected when all outsource agents were registered and monitored.

Kita bising ahli sukan Israel masuk tapi senyap dengan hubungan dagang ?

Ini gambar Menteri Umno dan dibelakng beliau berdiri seorang peninju Israel yang masuk ke negara ini melalui sempadan Malaysia - Thailand. Dikatakan peninju tersebut ditahan oleh Imegresen ketika cuba memasuki negara. Jelas Malaysia tidak membenarkan warga negara malaysia memasuki Israel dan begitu juga sebaliknya namun kerana campur tangan Menteri sendiri peninju tersebut kemudian dibenarkan masuk. Imegresen hanya akur arahan Menteri, membenarkan peninju itu masuk.

Memang benar kononya Malaysia menyokong perjuangan rakyat Palestin dengan memu

tuskan hubungan diplomatik dengan Israel. Walaupun begitu ramai yang sudah maklum pemutusan hubungan diplomatik itu bersifat lemah dan longgar. Pernah didedahkan seorang warga negara Malaysia yang terdiri dari kerabat diraja pernah memasuki Israel atas urusan perniagaan. Malah Malaysia sendiri berapa banyak kali telah ditembusi oleh warga Israel atas nama persidangan dan sukan. walaupun putus hubungan diplomatik tetapi ia boleh disambung dalam keadaan tertentu berdasarkan kepentingan semasa. maka apa erti pemutusan hubungan diplomatik ini ?

Terbaru masuk seorang peninju dari Israel dan kali ini menjadi sedikit heboh kerana kononya peninju ini telah ditahan Imegresen tetapi kerana campur tangan menteri dia dibenarkan masuk. Menteri tersebut pula secara dangkal menyalahkan pula orang lain kononya tindakan dia halal hanya semata - mata acara sukan tersebut turut mendapat tajaan Kerajaan Selangor. Adakah kalau perkara salah tetapi turut dibuat PR maka ia menghalalkan tindakan salah tersebut turut dilakukan Bn ? seperti hujah anak tahun 3 sek! olah ren dah sahaja. Kerajaan Selangor dalam respon mereka kemudian menyatakan dengan jelas tajaan diberikan kepada penganjur kerana penganjuran secara tidak lansung mempromosikan pelancongan Selangor dan penganjur tidak dimaklumkan kehadiran peninju Israel tersebut.

Namun bagi SAMM isu ini masih kecil dalam perihal menangani keganasan Israel. Tahukah kita semua bahawa Malaysia telah lama punya hubungan dagang dan membantu ekonomi Israel. Soalan ini telah dibangkitkan dalam parlimen minggu lepas oleh Ahli Parlimen Bakri. usaha beliau menuntut jawapan telah menyebabkan beliau dihalau dari dewan.

di atas ialah bukti jelas bergambar bahan - bahan rujukan berkaitan pe! rdaganga n Malaysia - Israel yang terdapat di perpustakaan MITI di Kuala Lumpur.

Malah dalam satu petikan ucapan pimpinan utama negara haram israel Micha Harish, Israel Minister of Industry & Trade dalam Israel-Asia Chamber of Commerce menulis pernah menulis kata-kata aluan yang dipetik dalam satu makalah promosi perdagangan Israel mengucapkan penghargaan kepada Kerajaan Malaysia kerana sudi punya hubungan dagang membantu ekonomi Israel.

Dahulu sememangnya Malaysia ada satu undang undang yang dipanggil Akta Larangan Perdagangan yang menghalang sebarang hubungan dagang lansung dan tidak lansung dengan dua buah negara iaitu Israel dan Afrika Selatan kerana dasar Apartheid.

Namun sebaik sahaja dasar Apartheid di Afrika Selatan runtuh maka pada tahun 1994 dibawah kabinet Dr. Mahathir dasar kerajaan telah diubah dengan meluluskan pindaan Akta Larangan Import (pindaan bil.7) yang bukan sahaja menarik balik sekatan larangan dagang dengan Afrika Selatan tetapi kesempatan diambil untuk jalin hubungan dagang dengan Israel.

Sejak itu Malaysia menjadi antara rakan dagang utama dan penyumbang kekuatan ekonomi kepada negara haram Israel ketika kebanyakan negara memboikot Israel.

Kepada seluruh rakyat Malaysia khususnya organisasi yang memperjuangkan isu Palestin, tidakkah kita membuang masa mengumpul dana kecil atau baju terpakai untuk rakyat Palestin sedangkan regim penguasa sedang! giat se cara rasmi jalin hubungan dagang bantu ekonomi negara haram Israel.

Seluruh rakyat harus malu dengan hakikat ini, melawan Israel itu wajib khususnya bagi umat Islam. Tidak ada yang paling bangsat bagi satu satu umat itu apabila kiblatnya dijajah. Maka bangkitlah, hanya satu cara sahaja jatuhkan Bn regim pewaris penjajah penjaga legasi perang salib maka kita meletakkan negara ini dalam trek betul membantu perjuangan pembebasan Palestin khususnya Al Aqsa.

Kenyataan terbuka
che'GuBard
Solidariti Anak Muda Malaysia (SAMM)
2 Nov 2011

Choose a better power-sharing formula

By Awang Abdillah

Political parties have to adhere to the democratic universal law of majority rule, whereby a party or an association of parties that secures a majority of the seats (or at least a simple majority ) in the legislative assembly, namely the Parliament or State Legislative Assembly, will have the right to form the government.

The formation of the government where one single party can obtain a majority of the seats is a straight-forward case .

However, the problem arises when no one single party can garner a majority of the seats in the legislature.

A crucial issue takes centre stage when a government that has been formed cannot perform according to the expectations of the people and the standards of good governance, as expressed by the members of the legislative assembly .

Such dissatisfaction may lead to the members of the House losing faith in the chief executive or a member of the Cabinet or the whole Cabinet.

In many democratic countries there are a number of approaches adopted in forming a government in the event no one single party has obtained a majority of the seats.

Among them are:

The coalition system

There are a number of advantages to the coalition system. After a general election is held, if no one political party has garnered a majority of the seats, then two or more parties, among all the parties contesting, will have to form a partnership government provided they can obtain the majority number of seats in the legislature.

Such a loose political partnership is common in Western countries where minority political parties team up to form the government, without affecting each partys own en! tity and independence .

Own check-and-balance

A coalition system of government has its own check-and- balance formula among its partners without resorting to the opposition type of check-and-balance.

In fact, the type of check-and-balance in a coalition system is most effective in bringing down a government that does not practise good governance.

Under the coalition system, there are a number of options that can be taken by the coalition partners and the opposition, and these are:

• Tabling a motion of no confidence in the chief executive of the coalition government, and if passed by the House, forcing him to resign. A new president/prime minister/chief minister/menteri besar will be chosen among the coalition Cabinet members.
• Tabling a motion of no confidence in a member of the coalition Cabinet, and if passed by the House, will lead to the resignation of the minister concerned. A new minister will be appointed from the coalition.
• Tabling a vote of no confidence in the whole Cabinet, and if passed by the House, will force the Cabinet members to resign en bloc. A new Cabinet comprising new members from the coalition may then be appointed.

However, if the House does not agree, then the government will have to resign en bloc leading to the dissolution of the Parliament or the State Legislative Assembly and fresh election called.

But if the government refuses to resign, then option number four can be adopted.

• One or more of the coalition partners will have to leave the government provided they can reduce the coalition majority seats to less than half of the total, which means the coalition is reduced to a minority government.

If this happens, all the coalition legislative members would have to resign en bloc leading to the dissolution of the legislative assembly and the holding of fresh election.

Viable provisions

Hence in a coalition system, there are provisions in our true democr! atic sys tem that will ensure that an elected government will perform according to the rules and principles of good governance.

Furthermore in a multi-racial and multi-religious state like Sarawak or in a country like Malaysia where the interests of minority parties and races should be protected, the coalition system is a better alternative.

Since 1974 the state of Sarawak and Malaysia have abandoned the coalition system.

The leaders believe they have alternative approaches to achieve good governance in the context of multi-racial and multi-religious country like Malaysia. Their solutions were:

Party mergers

Party merging is possible where two minor political parties have common objectives and aspirations.

The first major political merger in Sarawak is the combination of the Bumiputra Party with the Pesaka Party in 1973 to form one entity Pesaka Bumiputra Bersatu (PBB ).

At the time of the union, the Bumiputra Party had 12 seats and Pesaka had nine seats totalling 21 out of 48 .The merger was forged while both were partners in the state coalition government.

The formation of the united front is essentially to consolidate their position whereby their combined seats can strengthen their negotiating power in the formation of a (coalition) government.

Though these two parties have become one single entity, each still retains its own internal party identity and seats. PBB now has 35 seats out of 71, one seat short of forming a simple majority government.

However, the merging of two bigger parties which have similar objectives and aspirations is more advantageous, especially if they have a considerable number of seats and are confident of securing a majority of the legislative seats to form their own government, without resorting to the coalition system.

Multi-party alliance

Unlike the direct coalition system where parties agree to form the coalition government after an election, an indirect coalition! governm ent can also be formed later where two or more parties forge a multi-party alliance before an election is held.

An alliance of political parties is an association of parties that agree to contest as a single party prior to an election being held based on the belief that they are in a strong position to obtain enough seats to form their own alliance coalition government.

In 1963, Sarawak National Party (SNAP), Pesaka, Berjasa and PANAS (the last two merged as Bumiputra Party) agreed to contest under the Sarawak Alliance Party in the 1963 state election.

They won and formed their own Alliance government which is indirectly a coalition government that ruled the state from 1963 to1969, while in Malaya the three main parties Umno, MCA and MIC formed the Malayan Alliance Party (Parti Perikatan ) to contest the 1955 election.

The Alliance Party formed the first coalition government after winning the 1955 election and continued on till 1973 before the Barisan Nasional took over in 1974.

However, in the 1970 Sarawak state election the reduced Alliance Party ( SNAP left in 1966) comprising the Bumiputra Party and the Sarawak Chinese Association (SCA) managed to obtain only 15 seats (12 +3 respectively) out of 48 in the State Legislative Assembly.

This meant they could not form the government. Sarawak United Peoples Party (SUPP), which won 12 seats, agreed to form the first direct coalition government of Sarawak with the Alliance Party.

With SUPPs support, the Alliance now had 27 seats. Later, Pesaka Party joined in the coalition and proceeded to form the merger with Parti Bumiputra in 1973.

The national grand alliance

The Barisan National is a power-sharing entity that believes in the concept that different political parties of different racial and political backgrounds can come together to work as a team at the party, government and national levels.

They saw the possibility of power-sharing at all three levels.

For a! multi-r acial and multi-religious nation like Malaysia, there are many advantages derived from such a political approach, especially in reducing bickering and politicking among the parties, reducing racial tension, and having better coordination and cooperation.

As such in the BN there are procedures to join and conditions to withdraw as members.

Compared to a direct coalition approach, under the BN a party may find it difficult to join in and once you go in, it is difficult to leave, as this involves the three levels of cooperation.

The BN concept is believed to have been mooted by certain Sarawak state leaders due to their experiences in the 1960s involving the removal of a chief minister, which led SNAP to leave the Alliance Party.

This was followed by a political crisis in the 1970s and the state coalition government could not guarantee the future status of its partners like PBB.

Furthermore, there were many different political parties in Sabah, Sarawak and Peninsular Malaysia which required better cooperation and coordination.

Hence, there was a need for the different parties to work together as a family.

Finally, the leaders of the various parties in the whole of Malaysia agreed to form a grand national alliance in 1974, dubbing it the Barisan National.

Domineering politics

Over the past 30 years, the people of Sarawak have given the state BN parties the opportunity and chance to govern the state based on good governance.

Unfortunately, instead of practising fairer and just power-sharing among the parties and implementing sound policies of economic development for the people, PBB has chosen to practise domineering politics.

Under PBBs domineering politics the issues of power-sharing among the partners and good governance are ignored.

Instead, the abuses of power and corruption have become the hallmarks of the PBB-led state BN government.

Among the worst casualties are the state green environment and ! the demo cratic rights of the people.

What is worse is that the abuses of power and corruption continue to escalate by the day resulting in the state political power being vested in one man akin to that of a dictator.

And it is all happening right under the nose of the so called federal BN government!

All the hope of a better future for the state through this political affiliation has turned into a nightmare.

An unbelievable phenomenon now surfaces the majority of the Sarawak people live in poverty in a resource-rich state.

Believe it or not, the BN federal government only watches over such a sad state of affairs, giving false promises of taking action against its comrade-in-corruption, the chief minister of Sarawak.

The BN representatives in the State Legislative Assembly are so dependenton Chief Minister Taib Mahmud for personal business handouts and positions that they leave him alone to plunder and loot the wealth of the state!

Forge new ties

Weighing the existing situation, it is time that state parties in Sarawak and in the peninsula chose a better power-sharing formula.

In Sarawak, there is no dominant race and political party that can claim the majority in numbers. Hence in Sarawak, the power-sharing through the coalition system and its safeguards is the most suitable option.

Under the coalition concept, no party has absolute power or designated power.

Parties can come and go and I recommend Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS), Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party (SPDP) and Pesaka to consider working out a coalition formula with PAS, DAP and PKR before the coming parliamentary election.

The Bumiputera wing of PBB only has 26 seats. It cannot act big in a coalition.

The coalition government at state level can still work with other national parties at federal level of their choice, or even the ruling party in the federal government.

Imagine if the many political parties in Sabah, Sarawak and Peninsular! Malayis ia can agree to form coalition governments at state and national levels.

They can have a big say in running the country without being too dependent on Umno and the Bumiputera wing of PBB in Sarawak.

Awang Abdillah is a political observer and a veteran journalist in Sarawak. He is an FMT columnist.

AKHIRNYA TERLONDEH JUGA NOH OMAR

Pusat Feedlot Kebangsaan (NFC) yang disebut sebagai projek sakit oleh Laporan Ketua Audit Negara baru-baru ini ternyata benar walaupun Noh Omar (NO) mendakwa projek itu diberi kepada anak Shahrizat (yang tiada pengalaman langsung dalam bidang itu) melalui tender terhad, bukan tender terbuka.

Projek bernilai RM73.64 juta ( dulu kata RM250 juta ) itu diberi kepada Agro Science Industries Sdn. Bhd. (ASI) dan Lambert Malaysia Sdn. Bhd. (syarikat dari Australia). Lambert diberi kawasan seluas 500 ekar tetapi cabut lari. Sebab musababnya tidak dinyatakan. Perkara ini sudah menjadi kelaziman kerajaan yang memerintah. Beberapa kemungkinan dapat diagakkan. Pertama, berlaku campur tangan politik yang berlebihan. Kedua, Lambert tidak mampu hulur kepada terlalu banyak tangan yang menadah. Ketiga, kejayaan Lambert akan dijadikan lembu punya susu sapi dapat nama.

ASI diberi peruntukan sebanyak RM13 juta. Dari jumlah itu, sebanyak RM6.52 sudah dibayar. Untuk sejumlah itu, mereka hanya diminta membekalkan sebanyak 8,000 ekor lembu untuk tempoh 2008 hingga 2010. NO kata sasaran dipenuhi kerana ASI berjaya membekalkan sebanyak 8,016 ekor lembu. Dia bangga dan minta ASI tidak diperlekehkan.

Kita terima hujah NO itu. Namun, persoalan yang ditimbulkan oleh Ketua Audit Negara tidak dijawab. Projek itu gagal melaksanakan program keusahawanan seperti yang disyaratkan oleh kerajaan lantaran kekurangan bekalan. NO juga membisu tentang dakwaan PKR bahawa ASI hanya memenuhi 0.6 daripada 40% permintaan kerajaan dalam RMK-9. Terbongkang NO di sini. Kantoi!!! Apo nak dikato, tak dapek den nak nolong!!! Kah! Kah!! Kah!!!

Perlu diingat bahawa NO juga tidak memberi maklumat kepada kita semua tentang tempoh yang diperlukan oleh ASI dan kerajaan untuk mencapai sasaran yang telah ditetapkan itu. Adakah kes ini akan diselindungkan dengan projek y! ang seru pa dengannya? Teknik dan taktik ini sudah menjadi kebiasaan UMNO/APCO-BN untuk menutup kelemahan mereka. Harus diingat bahawa Kementerian Pertanian dan Industri Asas Tani masih ada kes untuk dijawab berhubung dengan bayaran insentif kepada petani yang berjaya meningkatkan hasil pengeluaran mereka. Ke mana pergi wang beratus juta itu?

Rakyat Malaysia sekurang-kurangnya sudah mendapat maklumat berharga tentang kesamaran fakta dan kecelaruan NFC yang dengan sendirinya melondehkan kecurangan Kerajaan UMNO/APCO-BN. Isu ini akan terus dipantau. Kita tunggu dan lihat kandungan Laporan Ketua Audit Negara Tahun 2011 yang sepatutnya dikeluarkan sebelum pembentangan Bajet 2013 pada bulan Oktober 2012 nanti. Ke mana UMNO/APCO-BN nak lari?