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THis is an interesting write-up from Asia Sentinel. Day by day, it looks like our current PM is becoming like our previous PM. Too much rhetoric but nothing much has moved. Too much flip-flops and changing policies. Whatever so-called economic policy transformation that he had promised before seem to be reversing due to pressures within UMNO and certain Malay right groups!! PM and DPM saying 2 opposite things ? Did you realise that? And today’s news: 43% of MRT work bills will be given to Bumi contractors! I can assure you many UMNOputras will be queuing up in front of his office to get this projects! Some how, I feel the MRT project is going to be riddled with problems and delays. Let’s see whether what I say will come true in 5-10 years time! And why the hell they need to demolish all the heritage buildings in China town/Petaling Street for underground tunneling? Is it a way to take over and sell off the prime land from the people who has been staying and working there for centuries?

Enjoy the article below:

There are strong institutional reasons for the lagging performance against its regional neighbors

In the 70 years since World War II ended, East Asian economies, including Malaysia, appear to have largely got performance right. Malaysia was also one of 13 countries identified by the Commission on Growth and Development in its 2008 Growth Report to have recorded average growth of more than 7 percent per year for 25 years or more. Malaysia achieved this spectacular performance from 1967 to 1997.

However, since the Asian Financial Crisis of 1997 and1998, Malaysia’s economic performance when compared to previous decades has been lackluster and most macroeconomic indicators are trending downwards. This was confirmed by Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak himself in the publication on March 30, 2010 of the New Economic Model – Part 1. This was a very brave move but a necessary one by the premier as he acknowledged publicly the failures of Malaysia’s current economic model in order to demonstrate urgency for reforms.

The New Economic Model identifies domestic factors such as weak investor confidence, capability constraints (weak human capital, entrepreneurial base and innovative capacity) , productivity ceilings and institutional degradation and external factors such as a sluggish global economy caused by the global financial crisis of 2008-2009 and the rise of neighbors in the region in contributing to the declining growth trajectory.

If we were to revisit the determinants of growth and agree that proper institutions form the overall structure that determines long-term sustainable growth, then the logical response is to reform Malaysia’s institutional set-up, as it must be the deepest determinant of what is hindering economic growth.

This view is further strengthened as Malaysia’s other deep determinants, geography and trade, are favorable. The country has abundant natural resources, is shielded from natural hazards and is well-located strategically both geopolitically and economically. Malaysia has also benefitted tremendously from being an open economy, especially in the merchandise sector.

The New Economic Model also reports that regional challenges from China, India and Vietnam, etc. are a cause for Malaysia’s declining economic performance. What has changed about these countries? They have all undertaken institutional reforms: China since 1978, India since 1992 and Vietnam since 1986. They are reaping the benefits while Malaysia has stalled in its institutional reforms since the 1990s, regressed in some ways and is suffering from the consequences.

The above points stress the importance of institutional reforms in Malaysia, something that Najib has ironically neglected in his signature policies – 1Malaysia, Government Transformation Programme and Economic Transformation Programme.

According to the Growth Commission report, “…fast sustained growth is not a miracle; it is attainable for developing countries with the ‘right mix of ingredients.’ Countries need leaders who are committed to achieving growth and who can take advantage of opportunities from the global economy. They also need to know about the levels of incentives and public investments that are necessary for private investment to take off and ensure the long-term diversification of the economy and its integration in the global economy…”

Michael Spence, the Chairman of the Growth Commission, elaborated on his extensive experience working with developing countries on growth issues in his latest book by emphasizing two important characteristics for developing countries to ensure long term sustainable growth – the role of political leadership and democratic norms. He suggests four characteristics for governments that are necessary requirements to underpin long term growth:

1. The government takes economic performance and growth seriously.
2. The governing group has values that cause it to try to act in the interest of the vast majority of the people (as opposed to themselves or some subgroup, however defined)
3. The government is competent and effective and selects a viable sustained-growth strategy that includes openness to the global economy, high levels of investment, and a strong future orientation.
4. Economic freedom is present and is supported by the legal system and regulatory policy

Manifestations of Malay/Muslim Supremacy

Malaysia is classified as a non-democratic state by all international indexes measuring quality of democracy. This is also affirmed in academic circles. During the boom years, Malaysians accepted this tradeoff – restricted freedom for economic growth. Since 1997/98, this has changed as expected. The government has not delivered on growth, therefore the natural demand for reforms and by extension freedom.

There is consensus that Malaysia needs extensive economic, political and social reforms. This is all the more evident IF we agree that institutions are key to long term growth. Also, IF we agree with Spence, these reforms must come from a government with the four characteristics identified above.

Astute observers of Malaysia know the reasons why the present administration and the ones before were unable to make fundamental reforms. This has much to do with the ideology of Malay/Muslim Supremacy as defined by the United Malays National Organization (UMNO) and accepted by large swaths of Malaysians, Muslims and non-Muslims alike.

From the literature we can infer that the ideology of Malay/Muslim supremacy has provided the perverse incentives that have manifested themselves in many ways. The more critical ones are:

• Institutional degradation: The deterioration in the quality of Malaysia’s institutions, particularly during former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad’s years, such as the lack of independence between the branches of government; the politicization of the civil service, producing a culture of risk aversion and a lack of creativity; and the expansion of the non-transparent Government Linked Corporations (GLCs):
• Crony capitalism: Affirmative action in the name of Malays has become a smokescreen for crony capitalism. Affirmative action is the instrument for rampant elite-based (from all races, not only Malays) corruption. High levels of income inequality in Malaysia in general but more so within the Malay community prove this.
• Race based affirmative action: Race-based affirmative action in itself is recognized as one of the important reasons for Malaysia’s declining economic performance. Malaysia’s focus on the ex-post equalization of outcomes across ethnicities rather than ensuring effective ex-ante equalization of access to opportunities has had important direct efficiency implications, affecting growth by distorting incentives and thereby the competitive process.
• Excessive centralization: An interesting institutional feature is the lack of decentralization in the country, which is nominally a Federation and the top-down approach in public policymaking. This is a key disconnect in the reform rhetoric in the ETP and GTP. To strengthen public service delivery, local communities need to be empowered. Fiscal relationships between federal-state-local also demonstrates institutional failure.
• Feedback mechanisms: Related to Malaysia’s top-down approaches is an almost complete disregard for monitoring and evaluation. As a result there is little feedback from outcomes into policy design. The obsession with centralizing policy-making is also evident in lack of information sharing both within government and with the public.

The need to remove UMNO to create a new “people based ideology”

In relation to competency, the quality of the human capital base in Malaysia is suspect. This is due to the quality of education from preschool through tertiary and on-the-job training. It is linked with ethnicity issues and is exacerbated by the outflow of high-skill individuals and affected by the inflow of low-skill labor.

There are not only problems on the supply side of the market for skills, but also on the demand side, where firms may not be competitive enough to offer higher wages. The market for skills itself is also problematic in that the price mechanism does not work adequately and this is where wage-setting issues play a role.

A bigger and more important challenge than competency is the question of internal competition. This is quite distinct from external competitiveness, on which front Malaysia has scored relatively well in the merchandise sector given its stage of development and the nature of its manufacturing processes which are still dominated by competitiveness identified by low cost rather than high value.

Internal competition refers to the allocation of certain factors including labor, capital, land and product markets. Internal competition works well when there is good governance, openness and transparency. It relates to the need for deregulation, liberalization and competition policies especially in key areas such as government procurement and the activities of GLCs in the domestic economy.

All of these are also needed to produce effective competition for good ideas and good policies as well as competition in the political arena. This of course challenges the basic idea of meritocracy and affirmative action in Malaysia.

To reform these will ostensibly mean changing Malaysia’s embedded incentives and institutions. This definitely means undoing the manifestations of Malay/Muslim supremacy.

Can UMNO implement these reforms?

My hypothesis is that the present leadership in Malaysia within the Barisan Nasional framework is incapable of institutionalizing reforms as the present leadership does not meet the criteria set out by Spence for a simple reason – its ideology. This ideology that overrides and at the same time influences all other norms, rules, conventions, habits and values is the ideology of Malay/Muslim Supremacy.

As the Prime Minister of Malaysia always comes from UMNO it will be impossible for him or her to undo the cornerstone ideology of his/her political party and its adherents in the Barisan Nasional, which includes Malays and non-Malays.

The logic above is discussed extensively in the political science literature. To summarize, the Malay/Muslim ideology provides psychological and material benefits to its adherents. This makes it a potent force for groups that rely on this ideology. However, since it is deeply embedded, it is also extremely difficult to counter when needed. Malaysia’s present institutional equilibrium is a reflection of the strength of the adherents of Malay/Muslim supremacy, known by its Malay-language slogan Ketuanan Melayu.

There are many examples to illustrate Malay/Muslim supremacy but the one that is cited most often as holding back Malaysia’s economic reforms is affirmative action, the most comprehensive in the world. It has by inference been touted as the one of the key reasons for Malaysia’s declining economic performance although causality has not been explicitly demonstrated.

Supporters of affirmative action argue that Article 153 of the Federal Constitution provides the Bumiputeras the right to this extensive affirmative action. However this is factually incorrect.

Article 153 of the Malaysian Federal Constitution states that:

153. (1) It shall be the responsibility of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to safeguard the special position of the Malays and natives of any of the States of Sabah and Sarawak and the legitimate interests of other communities in accordance with the provisions of this Article.

(2) Notwithstanding anything in this Constitution, but subject to the provisions of Article 40 and of this Article, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong shall exercise his functions under this Constitutions and federal law in such manner as may be necessary to safeguard the special position of the Malays and natives of any of the States of Sabah and Sarawak and to ensure the reservation for Malays and natives of any of the States of Sabah and Sarawak of such proportion as he may deem reasonable of positions in the public service (other than the public service of a State) and of scholarships, exhibitions and other similar educational or training privileges or special facilities given or accorded by the Federal Government and, when any permit or license for the operation of any trade or business is required by federal law, then, subject to the provisions of that law and this Article, of such permits and licenses.

In more simple words, the Federal Constitution limits affirmative action to placement in the civil service at the Federal level, scholarships and permits and licences for Bumiputras and only if necessary and in a reasonable manner by the Prime Minister who advises the Yang diPertuan Agung.

Does the Prime Minister have the power to revoke or reform affirmative action policies?

Yes, he does. Malaysia is a constitutional monarchy where the monarch reigns but do not rule. Article 153 is subject to Article 40 and Article 40 states that the Yang diPertuan Agung must act on the advice of the Cabinet.

40. (1) In the exercise of his functions under this Constitution or federal law the Yang di-Pertuan Agong shall act in accordance with the advice of the Cabinet or of a Minister acting under the general authority of the Cabinet, except as otherwise provided by this Constitution; but shall be entitled, at his request, to any information concerning the government of the Federation which is available to the Cabinet.

The decision to continue or reform affirmative action policies and the attendant institutions in Malaysia lies solely at the prerogative of the Prime Minister along with his colleagues in Cabinet as stated in Article 40.

With power centralized in the Executive (Cabinet), and with the Prime Minister already having six Ministers of 31 from the Prime Minister’s Department in the Cabinet, and with the Prime Minister himself holding two portfolios (Prime Minister and Finance Minister I), and legitimised by the Constitution (Article 40), the Prime Minister should on all counts, be able to implement these reforms without much difficulty.

Yet he has been unable to do so for the simple reason that the Federal Constitution may be the law of the land but it is clearly not the supreme power/ideology in Malaysia. The supreme power/ideology is the primacy of Malays/Muslims as defined by UMNO. Hence the Prime Minister may have de jure power to reform, but he does not have de facto power. This power resides among the Malays and non-Malays who support Malay/Muslim supremacy and the current institutional set-up.

Until and unless this supreme ideology of Malay/Muslim supremacy is removed, Malaysian politicians will be constrained in making the necessary institutional reforms to move Malaysia towards long term sustainable growth.

(Greg Lopez is a PhD candidate at the Crawford School of Economics and Government, Australian National University. A longer scholarly version of this appeared on The New Mandala.)

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Again another excellent article from Mariam Mokhtar. I did not want to comment much on what was happening lately regarding the sex video issues and the latest Utusan fiasco because only fools will listen to all these nonsense when there are so many other important issues that are going on.  It is the government’s way of trying to divert the attention of the people. While people are diverted with these issues, the oil price and sugar price has gone up! People who still believe in what the “toilet paper” aka Utusan Merapu writes must be  a complete idiot. How can 9% of Christians in this country change the constitution to make Christian as an official religion? Only retards will believe in this! And where is the source? a blog postings WTH!! However, I am surprised that even so-called educated professionals can believe is these type of non-sense and that makes me wonder how these people were successfully brain washed by BTN aka UMNO! God is watching and punishment will come one day! God bless……………

The Ugly Muslim

The Muslim NGO Pembela is wrong to blame Christianity for the alleged decline of Islam in Malaysia because the worst enemies of Islam, in Malaysia, are from within the ranks of the Muslims.Islam may be a beautiful religion, but some of the Muslims in Umno, Utusan Malaysia, and the extremist groups like Perkasa and Pembela are ugly. Islam may preach love and tolerance, but Muslims in Umno, Utusan, Perkasa and Pembela are bigots who are consumed with hate.Perhaps the so-called Muslims in these organisations, who profess to be true Muslims, are Muslim in name only. They lust after power and are aware that without the Malay vote, the activities of their party, their newspaper, their institution or their way of life (the Ketuanan Melayu lording it over other communities) will be curtailed or cease to exist altogether.

Umno has been stung by the successes of the Opposition in Sarawak. They then suffered further humiliation with PAS rejecting their overtures. So, their only recourse to remain in power, come the general election, has been to provoke and manipulate Malay/Muslim minds, especially the rural Malays.

Umno has capitalised on the power of distraction. The trick is to divert Malaysians from BN’s failure to stabilise the economy, to reinvigorate the private sector and investment, and to manage the public finances.

Instill fear in Malays, blame the others

They do this by instilling fear in the Malays and by shifting the blame onto others. This time, the hapless recipient of Umno’s degeneracy, are the Christians of Malaysia. On previous occasions, it has been the ‘ungrateful’ Chinese.

Last Saturday, Utusan Malaysia defiantly provoked Malaysians with a front-page headline claiming the DAP was in league with a group of Christian pastors to instal Christianity as the country’s official religion. The insinuation was that the act would pave the way for a Christian prime minister.

Had this been a non-BN sanctioned newspaper, the editors would have been sacked and jailed, their licence to print revoked and the paper shut down. As Utusan is owned by Umno, it was business as usual at this Malay daily.

Time and time again, Utusan has got away with seditious publications when others, like Raja Petra Kamaruddin, face arrest for publishing revealing documents. It is the same treatment meted to Clare Rewcastle-Brown, the non-Muslim founder of the online website, Sarawak Report (SR).

SR prints original documents alleging Sarawak Chief Minister Taib Mahmud’s corruption and illegally obtained wealth. Clare is trying to make Malaysians aware of Taib’s corruption, but very few of the Muslims in Umno have taken heed.

It is without doubt that weak leadership of the country has given rise to this dangerous state of affairs.

Najib’s pledge may prove to be just hot air

Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak finally broke his silence on the Utusan article; however, his announcement that the government would ‘investigate the matter before it was blown out of proportion’ and lead to ‘serious polarisation in society’, may prove to be just more hot air.

Perhaps he should ask himself how many times Utusan has been guilty of sedition and escaped censure? Most will say far too often.

How soon, and how severely, will he clamp down on the extremist Muslim elements in Malaysia, who have fanned anger and suspicion in the community?

Perkasa has already lodged a series of police reports in every state, saying that the ‘Christian state issue’ was a threat to national security.

Pembela finds fault with the Christians, by claiming that the Christians were on a mission to convert Muslims in the country, starting with “confusing” Muslims by the use of Islamic terms, presumably like the word ‘Allah’.

Those who have lived in the 50s, 60s, 70s and 80s will recall that Christmas was a time when all the races and religions would mix and mingle in open houses. There was no issue with the food or drink, no issue with the religious symbols like crosses or that there was a Christmas tree and hymns and carols were sung. Those times are but a distant memory.

If it is any consolation, all these machinations by the media are an indication that the general election is near. There is nothing like a dose of fear to manipulate people to do the wrong thing.

Perhaps the best way to reason the perceived threat to Islam, in Malaysia, is in the Muslim populace. If Islam here is under siege, it is because the enemy is the ‘Ugly Muslim’.

They are the ones who crave power. They are the ones who maintain that the term ‘Allah’ cannot be used by non-Muslims in Peninsular Malaysia, but is permissible in Borneo. They are the ones who confiscated the Bible in the Malay language and held the Christians to ransom.

So, why do they keep silent on the serious issues?

If we dig deeper, who are the ones who force children to convert to Islam, if one of the parents becomes a Muslim? How about body snatching or grave robbing? What about the child in Sarawak who was whipped for eating food that had been prepared for his school break?

What about the women who are treated like cattle? Or those who are abandoned by their husbands who yearn for a younger model? What about the Muslims who are flogged for drinking beer when this should be a personal choice?

What about the moral policing which has caused several deaths? What about the endemic corruption or the public screening of sex videos? What about child marriages?

Why do the Muslims keep silent on these serious issues but harp on about a fictitious demand by the Christians for Christianity to be the official state religion?

The biggest threats to Malaysia and Islam in Malaysia are the thieving, power-grabbing Muslims in political parties, the media and the NGOs, who know the truth but prefer to manipulate it for their own selfish means. They have failed their fellow Malaysian and others of their religion. That is the profile of the Ugly Muslim.
 

MARIAM MOKHTAR is a non-conformist traditionalist from Perak, a bucket chemist and an armchair eco-warrior. In ‘real-speak’, this translates into that she comes from Ipoh, values change but respects culture, is a petroleum chemist and also an environmental pollution-control scientist

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By Lee Wei Lian

April 28, 2011

KUALA LUMPUR, April 28 — World Bank senior economist Philip Schellekens painted a gloomy picture of the Malaysian brain drain situation today saying that it not only grew rapidly but is likely to intensify, further eroding the country’s already narrow skills base.

Schellekens said that the number of skilled Malaysians living abroad has tripled in the last two decades with two out of every 10 Malaysians with tertiary education opting to leave for either OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development) countries or Singapore.

“Brain drain from Malaysia is likely to intensify in the absence of mitigating actions,” he said at the launch of the World Bank report titled “Malaysia Economic Monitor: Brain Drain”.

The report defined brain drain as the outflow of those with tertiary-level education.

The economist said Malaysian migration was increasingly becoming a skills migration with one-third of the one million-strong Malaysian diaspora now consisting of the tertiary educated.

“Expect the trend to continue,” he said.

He added that the outflow of talent was not being replaced with inflows, thus damaging the quality of Malaysia’s “narrow” skills base, noting that 60 per cent of immigration into Malaysia had only primary education or less, even as the number of skilled expatriates declined by 25 per cent since 2004.

The report also noted that there was a geographic and ethnic component to the brain drain, with about 88 per cent of the Malaysian diaspora in Singapore being of ethnic Chinese origin.

“The numbers for US and Australia are similar,” said Schellekens.

Report figures also show that 54 per cent of the Malaysian brain drain went to Singapore while 15 per cent went to Australia, 10 per cent to the US and 5 per cent to the UK.

The top three drivers for brain drain identified by the report were career prospects, compensation and social justice.

“(Lack of) Meritocracy and unequal access to scholarships are significant push factors and a deterrent to coming back,” said Schellekens. “Non-Bumiputeras are over-represented in the brain drain.”

He suggested that Malaysia implement important structural reforms in tandem with introducing targeted measures such as income tax incentives to reverse the brain drain.

“Once the highway is built, you must compete for traffic,” he said. “One suggestion is to hold a competition among members of the diaspora to get ideas on what can be done to attract them home.”

He added that while this report estimated the Malaysian diaspora at one million compared with about 1.4 million in a previous World Bank report, it was due to the lack of Singapore government information on the breakdown of its non-resident population.

“This is a conservative estimate and the diaspora could well be larger,” he said.

Social injustice main cause of country’s brain drain, says World Bank

By Asrul Hadi Abdullah Sani

April 28, 2011

KUALA LUMPUR, April 28 — Social injustice is one of the top three reasons behind the country’s brain drain, the World Bank said today, adding that Malaysians are only willing to return if the government shifts from race-based to needs-based affirmative action policies.

The World Bank conducted an online survey in February of 200 Malaysians living abroad in conjunction with the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

In its fourth issue of the Malaysia Economic Monitor, the report stated that 60 per cent of the respondents found that social injustice as their main concern to migrate or return-migrate, citing unequal access to scholarships and higher education especially among the younger generation within the non-Bumiputera community.

Of those surveyed, 66 per cent found that lack of career prospects was a major factor and 54 per cent agreed that unattractive salaries as underlying factors in the Malaysian diaspora.

The report also showed that a large number of the diaspora migrated to Singapore, resulting in Malaysian-born individuals contributing to a quarter of the island nation’s population in 2010.

According to a census conducted in Singapore last year, there are currently 385,979 Malaysians-born residents comprising 47 per cent of all skilled foreign labour in the country.

The number of ethnic Chinese among Malaysian migrants in Singapore has also jumped from 85 per cent in 2000 to 88 per cent in 2010.

The World Bank also said that a large number of Malaysians obtained their tertiary education overseas, pointing out that those emigrating are getting younger as more of those below 23 are leaving the country.

The report concluded that the “Malaysian diaspora is large and expanding, as well as geographically concentrated and ethnically skewed.”

In a Bloomberg news service report earlier today, World Bank senior economist Philip Schellekens was quoted as saying that foreign investment could be five times the current levels if the country had Singapore’s talent base.

“Migration is very much an ethnic phenomenon in Malaysia, mostly Chinese but also Indian,” Schellekens told Bloomberg in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday ahead of the report’s release today.

Governance issues and lack of meritocracy are “fundamental constraints” to Malaysia’s expansion because “competition is what drives innovation,” he said.

Malaysia’s growth fell to an average 4.6 per cent a year in the past decade, from 7.2 per cent the previous period.

Singapore, which quit Malaysia in 1965, expanded 5.7 per cent in the past decade and has attracted more than half of its neighbour’s overseas citizens, according to the World Bank.

Malaysia has in recent years unveiled plans to improve skills and attract higher value-added industries.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has pledged to roll back the country’s NEP-style policies but he also told the Umno assembly last year that the government’s social contract of providing benefits to Bumiputeras cannot be repealed.

According to the Bloomberg report, Najib has eased some rules to woo funds, including scrapping a requirement that foreign companies investing in Malaysia and locally-listed businesses set aside 30 per cent of their Malaysian equity for indigenous investors.

Last year, he unveiled an economic transformation programme under which the government identified US$444 billion (RM1.3 trillion) of projects from mass rail transit to nuclear power that it would promote in the current decade.

 

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Mariam Mokhtar
Mar 21, 11
11:36am

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Another interesting piece from Mariam Mokhtar!

 

Will the real Malay please stand up?

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Mariam Mokhtar
Mar 14, 11

Who can blame the poor modern Malay for being confused about his identity when someone of Indian extraction claims to fight for their rights and a Chinese convert calls the non-Malays immigrants?

Former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad said recently that Arabs, Indians and Indonesians who came to Malaya became constitutional Malays, because they adopted the Malay language, their customs and traditions, and they were Muslims.

Mahathir (left in picture) also said that Malays still required affirmative action policies as their businesses were still weak and failing. He disagreed with calls from various quarters for the government to stop helping Malays as these policies had not met their goals.

Last year, Mahathir warned the Malays that they would “lose their power” if Pakatan were to assume control of the country because Pakatan leaders were “a bunch of self-serving and racist politicians”.

Mahathir took pot shots at Perak ex-mentri besar, PAS’s Mohamad Nizar Jamaluddin, whom he said “had followed DAP’s orders until he fell”. Despite Nizar’s Malay name and Muslim faith, Mahathir accused Nizar of being a DAP tool and that the Perak government under Pakatan was a “Chinese government”.

He also spoke ill of opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim and accused him of ignoring the rakyat but was using the party to further his own ambition of becoming prime minister.

Then of course, we have the Utusan Malaysia columnist Dr Ridhuan Tee Abdullah (right) who is less proud of his Chinese identity and frequently uses his assimilation into the Malay culture, his embrace of Islam and his proficiency with the Malay language to attack the non-Malay communities.

Tee had said that non-Malay-speaking Malaysians and the “ultra kiasu” will be the stumbling block to the government’s transformation programmes.

So who is the ordinary Malay?

By the law of the land, every Malay is born a Muslim. When Article 11 of the constitution states that every person has the right to profess and practice his own religion, this excludes the Muslims.

Last week, Shiites in the country, who have been termed a “deviant” sect, were banned from promoting their faith to other Muslims but were free to practise it themselves.

In the last three decades, more Malay women have been donning the tudung because of peer pressure. Others complained that if they did not, their chances of promotion, especially in the civil service, were limited.

In the last decade or so, more Malay children have been segregated according to sex, and prevented from playing together. Several girls, including toddlers, are also made to don the tudung and dress conservatively. Their dress precludes the girls from participating in more rigorous playground activities and when indulging in water sports, little girls have to wear complete head to toe outfits.

A heirarchy exists in the city

What must the rural Malay think when he sees his urban cousins frequent the clubs like Zouk or Loft? Little does the rural Malay know that a hierarchy exists in the city.

The children of politicians and influential Malays go to international schools unlike their rural cousins in the Felda settlements who just drop out from school.

In the cities, Malay kids are subject to western influence. Cheerleaders are common at school sports. School proms are held at five-star hotels, for end-of-year parties. Girls go around in slinky creations that would make their parents blush.

Alcohol is freely consumed and they think nothing of being with the opposite sex. Those who do drugs only consume “designer drugs”, whereas in the Felda settlements, the kids huff glue and chase the dragon. Incest in the rural communities is a big problem because kids (and adults), have no other sexual outlet.

For the Malay elite, conditions at home are the same as any luxury hotel. They have television projectors and several maids unlike most households which are only allowed one maid, unless there are exceptional circumstances, like a sick relative in the house, in which case they might be allowed two maids.

The privileged Malay children are chauffeur driven, enjoy at least three holidays a year in Europe or the Americas and have credit cards and an allowance that would make most people with a job envious.

The next tier of urban Malay enjoys more freedom than his rural counterpart but not as much as the Umnoputra or crony offspring. He can only enjoy a drink in the privacy of his own home to avoid the debacle that people like Kartika and her friends had to endure.

If he has a girlfriend, he can only see her in public places and even then, he may not touch her for fear of the moral police who are ready to pounce on him. Unlike his more privileged Umnoputra cousin who seems to evade capture by the moral police, he has to be very vigilant as he seems to be an easy target.

Last week, Isa Samad, the chairman of Felda, accused the opposition of raising issues to erode the confidence of settlers in the government. Are they really?

Racist rhetoric and religious intolerance

Mahathir, Isa, and Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak and his cabinet have been confusing the Malays with their racist rhetoric and their religious intolerance for so long that the Malays are incapable of thought and analysis.

The Malay mind and his behaviour are closely scrutinised. He has no leeway so that when faced with several restrictions, he finds it easier to let the government do his thinking for him.

That is why he needs those crutches that the government tells him he requires to get on in life.

The way the Malay raises his children has affected the Malay youth and his perception of life in Malaysia.

He is told he deserves all sorts of perks and privileges. He forgets about compassion and equality. He becomes arrogant when Umno praises him for being part of the ketuanan Melayu breed. Ketuanan Melayu has made Malays lose their values and their self-respect.

Is it any wonder that Malays who venture outside of the country tend to remain overseas, as both physical and mental freedom is like an elixir of life?

Sadly by allowing Umno to think on his behalf, the Malay does not liberate his mind. He becomes ignorant and insecure. He fails to understand many things in the real world and his lack of knowledge is perhaps his greatest failing.

The Malay of today is a confused human being.

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MARIAM MOKHTAR is a non-conformist traditionalist from Perak, a bucket chemist and an armchair eco-warrior. In ‘real-speak’, this translates into that she comes from Ipoh, values change but respects culture, is a petroleum chemist and also an environmental pollution-control scientist.

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Mariam Mokhtar
Feb 21, 11
1:42p

 

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 I received this joke below from one of my friend. I am not sure how many of it is the truth but definitely worth having a good laughter!

DS Samy Vellu finally and officially resigned from his post of the longest MIC President ever live, after leading the party for almost 31 years. The Malaysian Insiders has its story, here . Frankly, I will miss him very much especially for all his funny quotes he made all these years. Like what our Prime Minister said in the 2010 Barisan Nasional Conference, “We will miss DS Samy Vellu because he add a lot of color … sometimes a bit too much color”. Therefore, as a token of appreciation, I just wanna share his famous quotes ever made by the one and only, Samy Vellu.

1. Samy Velu quoted on Pos Laju:
“Besoh kirim, hari ini juga sampai”

2. On one TV news when he tried to say he felt very ashamed:
“Ini prekara sangat memalukan saya dan kemaluan saya sangat-sangat la besar”

3. Samy said in one of his “ceramah”:
“Kita akan bina satu jambatan wuntuk worang2 kampong di sini.” Then one pakcik asked, “Datuk, sini takde sungai, buat apa bina jambatan?” And Samy gloriously replied, “Kalao takde sungai, kita bina sungai”

4. Samy’s most favourite quote on the news for the decade is this:
“Toll naik sikit, banyak marah saya. You worang ingat semua ini toll saya punyer bapah punya kah!”

5. During water crisis:
“Semua worang diminta jangan membuang aiyerr!”

6. On social society’s problem:
“Worang2 muda sekarang banyak suka hisap dade”

7. During blood donation’s program at Sungai Siput:
“Marilah kita semua menderma dare”

8. His welcome speech in most of his functions:
“Selamat datang saudara-mara semua” (It should have been “saudara-saudari”)

9. During the height of the Al-Arqam’s saga, he said in a press conference:
“Saya gumbira bahawa didapati tiada pemuda MIC terlibat dalam kes Arqam”

10. At an opening ceremony for a new building:
“Mempersilakan Datin Paduka Rafidah Aziz naik dari pentas wuntuk membuka 

kain”

And of course the world’s greatest joke of all times:

“Kita akan bina roket pigi matahari.” One of the reporter responded, “Tapi Datuk, matahari terlalu panas untuk didekati.” Samy replied, “Itu tade masalah. Kita hantar waktu malam”

There you are folks. For DS Samy Vellu, we wish you all the best!

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There is a famous hospital down here which I have talked about in my “Are we going back to 3rd World?” series. The angio machine has not been functioning since August 2010, if I am not mistaken. One of the cardiologist got so frustrated , bypassed his boss (who doesn’t do anything!) and wrote an email directly to the DG. Some actions were taken and the hospital has just received a new set of angio machine. But wait! Guess what? The door is too small to bring in the angio machine and thus it is left at the car park to be cooked under rain and sun! I guess it is worth at least 1-2 million! Well done ! Please continue to pay your taxes!

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Najib has created the so-called ” Talent Corporation”. Will it work? Will it bring back all our talents and “brains” that left the country over the last 40 years?  If you ask most of the people who left this country, it is not because of money! It is the system and politics of the country that pushes them away. Even for myself, leaving the country is something that I am keeping my options open. Too much of racial and  religious “sermons” everyday. Institutionalised discrimination. No freedom of speech, can’t question our leaders/policies in the name of ” Malay rights” etc etc. These are the factors that chases away our best brains.

How can a person call themselves a citizen and be proud of it if they are not treated as equal. Every form that you feel , you need to state your race and religion! Lately it has got even worst. If you notice that even bank account opening form has the race and religion in it!! WTH. Even our Malaysian Medical Council form for APC renewal has included race and religion. For what reason , I got no idea. I thought APC is just for us to be able to practise medicine in Malaysia. Worst still, even Ministry of Health disease notification forms has race! So what if the dengue patient is a Malay/Chinese or Indian? Does it matter?

Almost every form that you fill when sending your child to Standard 1 has this 2 important questions! When you ask the school, they will tell you that it is for statistics purposes. After 53 years of independence, we should all be known as Malaysians but this will never happen in Bolehland!

Unless and untill the government changes these policies, the Talent Corporation will be a big failure. UMNO chased away all the best brains since Mahathir’s era but beginning to realise their mistake and trying to make a U-turn.  History repeats itself!, the real history I mean, not BN’s history book.

Malaysia struggles to stem ‘brain drain’ as talent departs

When computer engineer Wan Jon Yew left Malaysia in 2005 for a job in Singapore, all he wanted was to work in the city state for a few years before going home. Now, he says, he will never return.

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This is an interesting write-up by Ahmad Mustapha Hasasan, a person who had worked with 4 Prime Ministers. Please read his book ” The Unmaking of Malaysia”  which clearly illustrates how Mahathir single-handedly destroyed our forefather’s vision of Malaysia. We are heading towards destruction. Our politicians are more interested in taking care of their own interest and thus the racial and religious “sermons” everyday in the newspaper. Everytime I see the headline of Utusan Merapu, I feel like puking! Anyone with a sane mind will not even bother to read Utusan! It is what I call ” the Malays cheating the Malays”. Keep the Malay minds under the “tempurung” and make them artificially look good. I feel sad for people who fall for all these propaganda……………….

The future!! Happy people!? Beautiful country!? — Ahmad Mustapha Hassan
December 22, 2010
DEC 22 — In the 50s and the early 60s, when I was actively involved in the struggle for independence, I was more than convinced that with independence the country would experience a future full of promise, stability, prosperity, with a happy  and united nation.
During the colonial period, economic activities had been segregated by race. The British were only interested in making as much as possible from the country. The arrangement that they had created had served them well.
Independence would mean the integration of all these activities, and as such, there would be interactive relationships among all. The breaking down of these segregated economic walls, however, did not materialise in a systematic and speedy way. Thus conflicts occurred.
Remedial measures were carried out but it was hijacked by greedy and self- centred politicians. Instead of moving forward, the country went backwards and more acute problems arose. The vision and goals of independence had been thrown into the gutter. We thus moved towards a failed state status.
This is the problem faced by all former colonies. Leaders after tasting power, instead of taking care of the welfare of their people, took care of themselves first and forever. The people remained poor and neglected. Just see the conditions in the African states. See what is happening in Myanmar. Malaysia is no better. See the palaces built by politicians in power.
In Malaysia, to remain in power and continuously rape the wealth of the country, race is used to frighten the followers, that if they abandoned this (greedy) leadership, their future will be in jeopardy.
In fighting for independence, the people were cajoled to support the cause but after the achievement of independence, the people are again coerced into fear of their future if they abandoned the current leadership.
Race is the menacing factor that is being used to their personal advantage, that it will threaten the stability of the country. Not only that, it will also bring about intense communal feelings.
For failure to improve the lot of the Malays, the powers that be encouraged the phrase emphasising the supremacy of the Malays — “Ketuanan Melayu”. This never cropped up during the struggle for independence, nor was it ever used after independence. Only now suddenly it rears its ugly and venomous head, to frighten the non- Malays.
Naturally, a much wider chasm is created and the authorities simply have turned a blind eye to what it has unleashed. The agenda is to create divisions as done by the British colonial powers for self enrichment. But it must be remembered, this is the 21st century and not the late 19th or the early 20th centuries.
The environment and the scenario have changed and the situation is now wrought with all kinds of happenings that can become examples for fear and suspicion. Killings and ethnic cleansing in the name of race have become common occurrences.
The world too has become a smaller place and with that people are no longer incapable of sizing things up. People turn to emigration to escape what they feel may be an impending catastrophe. Even the Malays have no hesitation leaving the country as they feel things have gone too far in this mania of seeking wealth without regards to the welfare of others. The country is suffering from brain drain and only the corrupt are happy with this.
The situation cannot go on like this indefinitely. It is bound to proceed towards disaster. Children in schools have already been made familiar with racial profiling. Teachers are no longer dedicated in their professions. Instead of showing good examples to the students, they have become the source of creating tensions among the students with their brainless comments about the races in the country. But the authorities have shown reluctance in meting out stern action against these recalcitrant so-called teachers.
As long as they are Malays, they can commit these hideous acts and the government will try to provide excuses for their unpardonable acts.
The non-Malays will fall into a different category. Any slight excuse, they will be hauled up as what had happened to the young man Namewee. The young man will be persecuted for all kinds of reasons. This is done to satisfy and pacify the Malay communal extremists.
That racism has been on the increase in the country cannot be denied. Evidence is everywhere, be it in the social sphere, economy or even education.
The activities of the Malay ultra group have only pushed the other racial groups to emphasise more on their own well being and not that of the country. This is the direct result of not stopping the actions and utterances of those advocating the supremacy of the Malays.
The government only talks of racial unity but very little positive action has taken place. Even the governing political party has not moved towards integrating all the parties into one single political entity.
Of greater danger, however, is not the racial element but the religious aspects. This is a much more vicious and serious threat to the country. Unless the country maintains its secular nature and eliminates the dominating character of the religious authorities, the future does not augur well.
Although Islam is the official religion of the country, it does not mean that Islam overrides the interest of other religions in the country. The unwarranted religious conversions have to stop and the episodes of body snatching will have to be put to an end.
These incidents have caused a lot of family sufferings and the government must not condone such acts. The government will have to be bold if it wants to safeguard the future of this country. The Syariah courts now seem to be having the upper hand in every family dispute. The courts will naturally support the Muslim member of the family at the expense of the other members. The civil courts have been reluctant to play its role in all these conflicts.
This only brings about a sense of injustice to the aggrieved parties. They have no recourse to correct the injustice that they suffer. The government has not acted on these conflicts for fear of antagonising the religious zealots.
A church that was erected by the Orang Asli who professed the Christian faith was demolished on reasons that could easily had been overcome and the word “Allah” has been banned from use by Christians although in East Malaysia, the word had been in use for a very long time.
The Fatwa Council has become very powerful. Their approach is always negative in nature. Instead of trying to bring about the understanding of Islam to a wider circle, it functions as if everything about Islam is its prerogative to interpret and nobody else’s.
It also takes on the role of seeing that the unfortunate Muslims, who it believes being ignorant and stupid, are not led astray by the non Muslims. Thus non Muslims cannot quote from the Quran as this will confuse the Muslims. There are other major issues which have passed the scrutiny of this wise and able council.
All these are trends that will create greater suspicion among the people in the country. There is no attempt to make each understand the others’ religion and beliefs. The Muslim authority has kept away from associating itself in the interfaith group as this will affect Islam’s standing in the country. This is arrogance of the highest order.
The two most critical factors that will determine what the future of this country will be are race and religion. The government must act fast to counter the ruinous nature and the possible catastrophe that can be brought about by the uncontrolled and emotional makeup of these two elements.
The ugly writings are on the wall.
* Ahmad Mustapha Hassan is the author of “The Unmaking of Malaysia” and a former general manager of state news agency Bernama. He was also the press secretary to prime minister Tun Abdul Razak Hussein and the then deputy prime minister, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication. The Malaysian Insider does not endorse the view unless specified.

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