ARTICLE 1
Impressions of a non-Old Boy – Friday, 30 March 2012 Super Admin
In Perak’s picturesque royal town, the MCKK shows physical signs of ageing, and some licks of paint would do much to improve the first impression.
TUNKU ‘ABIDIN MUHRIZ, The Star
Obviously, some Malay College Old Boys read this column because I received about a dozen messages of curiosity after I wrote that I’d describe my trip to the Malay College of Kuala Kangsar (MCKK), fulfilling an invitation by the headmaster.
One old boy of the Sixties predicted that I would be scathing, lamenting dejectedly: “If you want to see how much the Malaysian education system has deteriorated over the years, just look at MCKK. It is a perfect symbol of how things have gone wrong.”
Coming from an old boy, that was instructively candid.
Certainly when I arrived at the school, nestled in Perak’s picturesque royal town, there were physical signs of ageing, and some licks of paint would do much to improve the first impression.
Immediately in the entrance lobby are signs of the school’s illustrious history: plaques commemorating events from generations ago that probably enhance the self-confidence of the teachers and students who walk through it.
An adjacent waiting room has shelves crammed with trophies, shields and mementoes of equally ancient provenance.
In a classroom, I saw the fruit of the international relationships that the MCKK has cultivated, including youth summits and sports fixtures; they have a particularly special relationship with Vajiravudh College in Bangkok.
I was shown a dormitory of the Mohd Shah house, named after the Yang di-Pertuan Besar of Negri Sembilan who co-founded the school in 1905. The other three houses are named after Sultans of the other Federated Malay States.
In the old days, princes were not allowed to be in the house corresponding to their state, presumably to prevent overzealous expressions of state patriotism and to instead inculcate loyalty to the school.
Today, the school enjoys the patronage of all nine Rulers.
After meeting the relaxed senior boy charged with the heavy responsibility of overseeing the dormitory, I joined the Form Ones for lunch.
Their discipline was impressive: after synchronised seating and prayers, barely any clanging was heard from hundreds of forks and spoons against the metallic dishes as ravenous appetites were appeased before an afternoon of activities and further studying.
I informed the students that I had come to the school having met many illustrious alumni, and that they should be mindful of this institution’s role in the life of the nation.
Headmaster Anand Baharuddin is working to ensure the school continues to play a leading role.
New developments include the International Baccalaureate wing: so far, the only other school offering this in the government system is Tunku Kurshiah College, mirroring the anecdotal propensity that MCKK old boys end up marrying TKC old girls who produce offspring who repeat the cycle.
Next month, the school will for the very first time in its 107-year-old history participate in an international competition outside Asia, courtesy of its new Robotics Club who will be sending a team to the VEX Robotics World Championship in California.
However, the headmaster is also inspired by history on campus.
Astoundingly there are two courts for Eton Fives, which he says he wants to restore – but who they will play against is baffling, as there are probably no other courts within a four-hour flying radius.
I spotted a dilapidated, probably once gorgeous house nearby – Norton’s House, they call it – but as so often is the case with decaying buildings in this country, it has proven difficult to find sufficient interest and money to restore it.
I have seen this mismatch of ambition with resources in so many schools I’ve been to recently, whether or not they have a historical legacy.
Of course, the nation’s coffers cannot endow every school with the funding that the elite private schools enjoy, but empowering teachers and parents to make decisions without recourse to the ministry is something more easily done.
Indeed, in Malaysia today, the depth of concern from parents about their children’s education can be seen across ethnic and class lines: from the numerous petitions of the umpteen pro-PPSMI groups to the incident involving Deputy Education Minister Datuk Dr Wee Ka Siong on Sunday.
> Tunku ’Abidin Muhriz is President of Ideas Malaysia.
Tunku Abidin Muhriz
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Won’t say anything here. Tunku ’Abidin Muhriz can extrapolate from my response to ARTICLE 4 response on below article link :
Malaysia is in trouble. A rare word from a ‘progressive’ Tunku and all the Rakyat get is an article on a coat of paint?!? Eyes up and bodies about apex classers, the PEOPLE first please (leave the ‘coat of paint’ issues to the fund raising teachers who probably would consider such details beneath them busy politicking) . . . end the apartheid and Asabiya let Malaysia join the First World.
Speaking truthfully and with a conscience? Or did Tunku Abidin end up abiding? A Royal can mince no words when admonishing wayward civil servants! The people will be aware of the truth of this matter and judge any and all on the basis, every wrongful retraction weakens the Royal Institution . . .
IDEAS must be ethical support and demand that all Malaysian lawmakers abide by Article 1 of UNHCR or withdraw as a signatory of the Human Rights Charter. The current state of affairs in Malaysia’s 2 citizenship system is untenable!
(NLP name? Abidin – Abiding . . . Or pre-NLP’d? Well the potential for NLP certainly is there, just informing the unwary in case . . . ).
ARTICLE 2
Guan Eng calls Muhyiddin’s education claim ‘preposterous’ – by Yow Hong Chieh – April 01, 2012
KUALA LUMPUR, April 1 — Lim Guan Eng has ridiculed the deputy prime minister’s claim that the standard of local education is superior to that of Britain, the United States and Germany, calling the statement so “preposterous” that “even a primary school student won’t believe” it.
The Penang chief minister pointed out that while British, American and German universities are widely acknowledged to be among the best in the world, not a single Malaysian university had made it into the top 200 global rankings.
Lim today said the DPM is in denial over the problems that exist in the local education system. — file pic
“I don’t know on what basis he is saying that our education system is better than the UK, US and Germany’s…,” he told reporters in George Town today.
“If that is the case, why are all our students going to the UK, US and Germany to study? Why is it no students from the UK, US and Germany are coming to Malaysia to study?”
Lim, who is also DAP secretary-general, said that Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin should take steps to improve sliding academic standards rather than remain in denial.
“If you deny there are problems, then no action will be taken… and there are real problems,” the Bagan MP stressed.
Muhyiddin, who is also education minister, said yesterday a report by the World Economic Forum (WEF) stated that Malaysian students were getting a better education than their counterparts in Britain, the US and Germany.
He pointed out that the WEF’s 2011/12 Global Competitiveness Report ranked Malaysia 14th among 142 countries in terms of quality of education.
The deputy prime minister was quoting findings in the Executive Opinion Survey portion of the report, which polled top business figures on the competitiveness of various sectors and institutions.
According to the survey, the number of executives polled for Malaysia was 87.
The respondents were asked to rank how well the Malaysian education system met the needs of a competitive economy on a scale of 1 to 7, with 1 being “not well at all” and 7 being “very well” but they were not asked to rank the country in comparison to others.
Malaysia achieved a weighted average score of 5.1, as did Australia, Lebanon and Barbados.
Switzerland, Singapore and Finland led the rankings after each secured a rating of 5.9.
Germany placed 17th with a score of 4.9, Britain came in 20th with 4.8 and the US took the 26th spot with a 4.7 rating.
Despite Malaysia placing 14th, the WEF report said in its summary for Malaysia that as the country becomes increasingly innovation-driven, “it will need to improve its performance in education and technological readiness”.
“In terms of higher education and training (38th), improving access remains a priority in light of low enrollment rates of 69 per cent (101st) and 36 per cent (66th) for secondary and tertiary education, respectively,” it said.
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Even more preposterous is the strawman debate that LGE wllingly wades into instead of attacking apartheid. The government could END all funding for schools in exchange for ending apartheid via the below items and the people would be happier. LGE is still not using that mandate.
1) Freedom from Apartheid/Fascism (UNHCR Article 1)
2) Freedom from Religious-Persecution/Religious-Supremacy. (UNHCR Article 18)
3) Equality for all ethnicities and faiths in all aspects of policy, Law and Constitution. (UNHCR Article 1)
Pretending to argue with Muhyiddin is almost as good as colluding with BN to continue apartheid. File that lawsuit against the Federal Government for Article 1 of the UNHCR at least if no Malay leaders are willing to file for UNHCR Article 18. Waste of mandate and mutual distraction between BN and PR to keep the minorities pre-occupied with unimportant rubbish! Give over that CM’s post to a real minority leader who will file suit and then resign in disgust THEN act like Dalai Llama and go to India or China to seek asylum from persecution. LGE is a fool playing the part of lapdog when LGE refuses to act as above suggested. Give over that CM’s post to the right man and then see how apartheid ends, not argue about ‘education’ endlessly. This is a sandiwara of the worst kind!
As for the minorities, boycott national schools and stop wasting time watching LGE ‘play drama’ with DPM Muddy. Set up your own private schools. Accredit yourselves with foreign boards or individuals working on foreign boards. Work with private companies using those non-Malaysian MOE recognized qualifications. Suggest starting accreditation efforts with advice and oversight from China and Taiwan and Indian also Brazil and Russia and South Africa. With a little work minorities could even get the BRICS to DE-RECOGNIZE Malaysian degrees.
ARTICLE 3
Support for NEP coming from ‘captive minds’, says Ku Li – by Shannon Teoh – April 01, 2012
KUALA LUMPUR, April 1 — Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah resumed his attack on the New Economic Policy (NEP) today, stating that “captive minds” continue to support it despite Malaysia moving further from its objective of redistributing wealth through pro-Bumiputera policies.
The Umno veteran said there has been “no intellectual inquiry” into why “despite many years of implementing the NEP, inequitable distribution of income continues to plague the people” as “we have become incapable of devising an analytical method independent of current stereotypes about Malays, Chinese, Indians and others.”
Ku Li today said, “…The NEP…has produced results that are diametrically opposed to the original intention of bridging the gap between the haves and the have-nots.” — file pic
“If the doctor keeps on prescribing the same medicine which produces opposite results, then something must be wrong with the doctor, and something more serious must be wrong with the patient who keeps on trusting the same doctor.
“Our thinking is based completely on a racial world view when it comes to matters of politics, education, economics, planning, and so forth. Needless to say, we promote a racial world view that thrives on the policy of divide and rule,” the Kelantan prince said at a book launch in Ipoh this morning.
Tengku Razaleigh, popularly known as Ku Li, had in February said “as a former finance minister, let me emphasise that it was never the intention of the NEP to create an incubated class of Malay capitalists.”
His statement further fuelled scrutiny of former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s policies after the Najib administration decided to settle out of court the RM589 million debt owed by former Malaysia Airline System Bhd (MAS) chief Tan Sri Tajudin Ramli.
The settlement sum was undisclosed, prompting intense public criticism and attacks from the opposition over the right of taxpayers to know the amount of public funds recovered.
Tajudin, 65, had served as the airline’s executive chairman from 1994 to 2001 and was a poster boy of former finance minister Tun Daim Zainuddin’s now-discredited policy of nurturing a class of Malay corporate captains on government largesse during the Mahathir administration.
Ku Li, one of the greatest critics of the NEP and Dr Mahathir’s handling of the policy, had challenged the long-serving prime minister for leadership of Umno in 1987, which he subsequently lost by a narrow margin.
He said in his speech today that the country’s education system does “not encourage the moral and intellectual reform of the mind” resulting in a lack of debate on major issues such as good governance, corruption and rule of law.
“To this very day, the electorate has not understood the implications of the NEP which has produced results that are diametrically opposed to the original intention of bridging the gap between the haves and the have-nots. The longer we try the policy, the further we are from the original goal.
“The discrepancy between vision and reality has taken an alarming turn. It has gone far beyond economics into the realm of ethics and morality. In numerous instances it has taken the form of corruption and decadence which has pushed the economy further down the drain,” he said.
He said “wanton corruption and wasteful spending” had resulted in spiralling national debt that now amounts to RM456 billion or 53 per cent of the GDP, which “if we are not careful, it won’t take us long before we become another Greece
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Make yourself clear Tengku . . .
1) Freedom from Apartheid/Fascism (UNHCR Article 1)
2) Freedom from Religious-Persecution/Religious-Supremacy. (UNHCR Article 18)
3) Equality for all ethnicities and faiths in all aspects of policy, Law and Constitution. (UNHCR Article 1)
ARTICLE 4
62 years and years well spent – NO HOLDS BARRED – Friday, 30 March 2012 Super Admin (RPK)
Maybe this is a dream, and a dream that can never come true. However, as the late Tun Ghafar said, we all must have dreams. Only dead people no longer have dreams, said Tun Ghafar. As long as are still alive then we shall certainly have dreams, Tun Ghafar argued. Martin Luther King Jr. had a dream at a time when dogs had a higher status than African-Americans. And, today, that dream eventually saw a non-white become the President of the United States. Is it wrong, therefore, to dream of a Chinese Prime Minister of Malaysia?
NO HOLDS BARRED – Raja Petra Kamarudin
Another weekend will soon be upon us — a week gone and a week closer to our graves. Friends have told me that my articles of late have been very morbid. Actually, thinking about death remind us about the journey we have travelled and what awaits us at the end of that journey. It is good to reflect on whether we have achieved anything or whether we have wasted our entire life.
My first 21 years were wasted in trying to get an education. Yes, 21 good years wasted sitting in a boring classroom when I could have learned more on the streets of Kuala Lumpur. However, it was not a total loss. At age 11, I got caught up in the 1960s Revolution. Today, that era is known as The Sixties. It was the era when changes swept the world. I lived through that era. I was part of it. I experienced it. And that is probably why the spirit of change flows through my veins.
We had the Vietnam War. We had Woodstock. We had the Bay of Pigs invasion in Cuba. We had the Cuban Missile Crisis. We had Marilyn Monroe and President Kennedy who brought glamour to the White House. We had Muhammad Ali who brought glamour to boxing and Islam and who was arrested for refusing to fight in the Vietnam War. We had the anti-Vietnam War university student protests in the hundreds of thousands in the US, France, Germany and Italy. We had the India-Pakistan War. We had the Six Days War between the Arabs and Israel. We had the Cultural Revolution in China. We had the North Ireland conflict. We had Gay Rights Movements springing up all over the world, the result of the Stonewall riots in the Greenwich Village neighbourhood of New York City. We had Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech in Washington. We had the Civil Rights Act of 1964 signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson. We had the March on Washington. We had Martin Luther King Jr.’s famous “Letter from Birmingham Jail”. We had the construction of the Berlin Wall. We had British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan deliver his “Wind of Change” speech. We had the assassinations of President Kennedy, Robert Kennedy, Vietnam President Ngo Dinh Diem, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King Jr., and many more all over the world. We had the Hells Angels in the US. We had the Rockers in England. We had the Mersey side music revolution in Liverpool. We had Jane Fonda, Peter Fonda, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendix, Joe Cocker, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Jethro Tull, The Who, Jefferson Airplane, Uriah Heep, Grand Funk, Cream, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, Bob Dylan, Donovan, Led Zeppelin, The Byrds, The Moody Blues, Procol Harum, Bob Marley, Santana, Joan Baez, Ravi Shankar, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, Yoko Ono, and many, many more.
Phew, my brain is bursting just trying to remember every significant event and person of the 1960s. I think I just managed to scratch the surface with my list above. Closer to home, we had the Pudu Jail demonstration and the first time I ever experienced the pain of tear gas (yeap, I was there). We had the demonstration in front of the USIS where one chap was shot dead. We saw Umno almost brought down. And, of course, we had May 13.
The 1960s was also when I met the first love of my life. Actually, to be honest, I had four loves in my life. The first was my wife Marina, who I met when she was 14 and I 17, and the other three were my Honda 350, Honda 450 and Yamaha 650 — not necessarily in that order of priority.
THE FOUR LOVES OF MY LIFE
The 1960s certainly moulded me into what I am today. Okay, I admit, I did not mould into a perfect human being. I mean, when I transferred my education from the classroom to the streets of Kuala Lumpur, I discovered that the Long Fu Tong was more exciting than the rugby team. I discovered that fistfights solved arguments better than debates and gang fights are more fun than track and field events. I discovered that if you can’t avoid a bike crash then smile as you go under and go out in style — I had 12 bike crashes in the 1960s and lost as many comrades due to bike crashes, all spectacular, I must add. Further to that, about ten or so comrades were murdered in gangland wars and ambushes.
I really don’t know how I survived the 1960s when, with my lifestyle, the odds of living past 21 were very slim. Anyway, enough talk about the events of the 1960s. Let’s move to the 1970s. That was when my father died and I was forced to wise up to the reality that life is not just about partying, fighting and racing at breakneck speed along Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman. With my father now gone I had to go out and earn a living and the following year Marina and I got married. Two years later, we moved to Kuala Terengganu to start our own business. And that was when my life changed — not sure whether for the better, though.
In Kuala Terengganu, I ‘discovered’ Islam and almost immediately became a Muslim fundamentalist. I aspired to see Malaysia turned into an Islamic State. I became the chairman of our local mosque in Kuala Ibai (I brought Bernard Khoo, Haris Ibrahim and the rest of the gang to visit that mosque in 2008 during the Kuala Terengganu by-election). I participated in the anti-Saudi-anti-American demonstration in Mecca. And, for the first time, I met the late Ustaz Fadzil Noor, the President of PAS (this was in Mecca together with Ustaz Hadi Awang, Mustafa Ali and a couple of other PAS leaders).
My Mecca trip and the meeting with Ustaz Fadzil were not long after Anwar Ibrahim joined Umno in 1982. Ustaz Fadzil and I spent hours talking into the wee hours of the morning about politics, Islam, and the ‘betrayal’ by Anwar Ibrahim. Surprisingly, Ustaz Fadzil was more tolerant about what I viewed as Anwar’s betrayal. Ustaz Fadzil said that there are many ways to fight. Some have to fight from the outside and some from the inside. And while we may want to fight from the outside, Anwar has chosen to fight from the inside. So we must give him the benefit of the doubt that he sincerely joined Umno to change Umno from the inside.
Ustaz Hadi and Mustafa were not that convinced, though. You can’t jump into the tong taik to clean the shit from the inside, they argued. Instead of cleaning the shit, you will get shit on you. Anwar will never be able to change Umno, they said. Instead, Umno will change him. I could see why Ustaz Hadi and Mustafa were considered the ‘Young Turks’ while Ustaz Fadzil was perceived as the diplomat.
Nevertheless, I had tremendous respect for Ustaz Fadzil and listened to what he said. Hence, as Ustaz Fadzil suggested, I was prepared to give Anwar the benefit of the doubt, and although I was with PAS and he with Umno, I supported him and campaigned for him when he contested the Umno Youth leadership. Actually there were three contests in all — twice against Suhaimi Kamaruddin and once against Syed Hamid Albar. Then, in 1993, Anwar challenged Tun Ghafar Baba for the Umno Deputy Presidency. After ten years of supporting Anwar, I decided to walk away. I felt it was wrong for Anwar to oust Ghafar. Our struggle was not about power but to try to change Umno, from the inside as what we were told. Now it appeared like it was all about seeking power.
The rest of my story has been told many times before so maybe I do not need to repeat it. Suffice to say, I kept searching for the right platform to seek change. The 1960s was a different era for me. It was an era of challenging authority, of opposing the establishment, the age of protest. The 1970s was about Islam. The 1980s was about making money and to hell with the world. The 1990s was about reforms and about seeing change in Malaysia (yes, we started our fight even before Anwar was kicked out of Umno and jailed in 1998). The 2000s was about challenging Umno and Barisan Nasional and about seeing a strong opposition and the emergence of a two-party system.
So now we come to the 2010s. What is the struggle of the 2010s to me? The 2010s is about peoples’ power. It is about taking back the fight for change from the hands of the politicians and giving it back to the people. It is about bringing the 2010s back to the era of the 1960s when the people made a difference and the people were that platform for change.
Maybe this is a dream, and a dream that can never come true. However, as the late Tun Ghafar said, we all must have dreams. Only dead people no longer have dreams, said Tun Ghafar. As long as are still alive then we shall certainly have dreams, Tun Ghafar argued. Martin Luther King Jr. had a dream at a time when dogs had a higher status than African-Americans. And, today, that dream eventually saw a non-white become the President of the United States. Is it wrong, therefore, to dream of a Chinese Prime Minister of Malaysia?
I have reflected on the various stages of my journey in life — the 1960s, the 1970s, the 1980s, the 1990s, and now the 2010s. I have changed course many times, I admit. I have changed platforms more than once. But my destination has never changed. From the 1960s till now, for almost 50 years, it has always been about challenging authority, about fighting the establishment, and about daring to be different.
I was the only Malay amongst hordes of Chinese running down Jalan Pudu to protest the hanging of the Chinese prisoners who had killed a Malay warder in Pudu Jail. I was the only Malaysian amongst 100,000 Iranians protesting against Saudi Arabia and the US along the main street of Mecca. I was also in the demonstration that protested the relocation of the Damansara Chinese school.
I liked to do what others would not do. And I am still doing what others would not do, and would not approve to boot. That’s me. And nothing is going to change the way I think and the way I do things. I am a product of the 1960s. I was moulded in the 1960s. We may have left the 1960s, but the 1960s has not left me. You can take me out of the 1960s but you can’t take the 1960s out of me. That is my 62 years and years well spent as far as I am concerned.
Death will be upon us all in due time. It is only a matter of when that time would be. We must not regret our deaths. What we must regret is how we lived our lives. Have we lived the life we wanted to live or have we lived the life that others expected of us? I do not live up to other peoples’ expectations, I know. But that is only because I do not wish to do so. What I wish is to live the life that pleases me. And what pleases me may not please others. Tough!
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RPK said : ‘I liked to do what others would not do. And I am still doing what others would not do, and would not approve to boot. That’s me. And nothing is going to change the way I think and the way I do things. I am a product of the 1960s. I was moulded in the 1960s. We may have left the 1960s, but the 1960s has not left me. You can take me out of the 1960s but you can’t take the 1960s out of me. That is my 62 years and years well spent as far as I am concerned.’
Like Bumi-Apartheid cannot be taken out of the system? RPK is indeed out of touch. So would any other Sultan’s kid from that era have these opportunities. No big deal. Not even mid 60s and when a old woman like Maimun at 86 can run for MP. RPK’s reminiscing and hiding in England is but a sad joke. Fund a few proxies and lead for the next 2 or even 3 decades (thats 5 GEs), not spew rubbish here and displaying a privileged side. Now if everyone else will step aside, there are empires that need raising . . .
Malaysia truly stagnant . . . if RPK ‘liked to do what others would not do’, then RPK should condemn Apartheid and lack of religious freedom in Malaysia. Being in England safe from persecution or legal retaliation, and comfortably funded, RPK sure says very little that is ‘what others would not do’. Toeing the line while pretending to be a rebel and ignoring UNHCR Article 1, UNHCR Article 18 and Section 377B, amongst others . . . just pitiful when already so powerfully backed.
Verdict? RPK = Strawman. Guess what the Wizard of Oz might recommend? RPK, please stop writing obvious rubbish propaganda and do something good for Malaysia.
ARTICLE 5
Temples Demolished But Guan Eng’s Eyes Remain Shut
Tee Siew Kiong
Saturday, 31 March 2012 15:54
Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng does not practise what he preaches as he had promised that the Penang state government would look after the interest of the people by not allowing any places of worship to be demolished. However, the Majlis Perbandaran Pulau Pinang (MPPP) had demolished the Tua Pek Kong temple in Butterworth without facing any objections by the state government, contrary to what has been promised.
Besides Penang, other states under Pakatan Rakyat, such as Kedah and Selangor, are also responsible for demolishing Chinese and Hindu temples alike, thus causing discontent among the people towards the state governments.
On 29 Mar 12, Guan Eng informed that the state government would not allow land marked for schools and places of worship to disappear. However, we know his words don’t hold water.
Guan Eng hasn’t prevented mosque land from disappearing
Regarding the complaints by UMNO Youth that land for a mosque has been given away, Guan Eng had changed his words by saying that when the 102.6 acres of land was sold by open tender, there was no sub-division of title but the entire piece is to be sold. He also claimed that the developer will only do sub-division of title after submission of new plans to MPPP for approval.
As such, Guan Eng argues that since the proposal and the sub-division of the land title has not even been approved, UMNO Youth cannot claim that the mosque land has disappeared.
But if Guan Eng can claim that the land is not considered disappeared if it has not been sold, thus he can only be blamedafter the land has been sold. Guan Eng has not taken any action in preventing land marked as a place of worship from being transferred and can only give confirmation after the sale. Therefore, if the land can be sold, then there will not be any land reserved for places for place of worship.
If Guan Eng does not know how to be a good government, he should learn from Johor whereby the Barisan Nasional state government would specify clearly any land which is reserved for religious places of worship or schools in any housing development project.
As Penang Chief Minister, Guan Eng is insincere on preserving reserved lands and would only secretly learn from the BN government once people start complaining about his misleading actions.
Cases of temples destroyed under Pakatan govts
Besides Penang where the Tua Pek Kong temple in Butterworth was demolished, a Hindu temple and a Chinese temple was also torn down in Sungai Petani, Kedah. In Selangor, a Hindu temple which was demolished in Ampang had caused the Hindu community to demonstrate peacefully in front of the Selangor state government building.
Thus it can be seen that Pakatan Rakyat has been misleading the people by saying that the temple would be rebuilt as these promises are nothing more than an act.
TEE SIEW KIONG is MCA National Organising Secretary
(The views expressed above belongs to the author in its entirety and does not represent the opinion of Malaysian Mirror in any way)
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If the MP or Assemblyman loves their faith too much, they will make terrible leaders (that may keep this fact hidden by smiling and acting in public) as their agenda will not be neutral, and will be slanted to their personal preferences. They will first favour their family (nepotists) then their faith (fundo) and will sacrifice every other citizen 9including their own coalition members – think Teo Beng Hock – think Karpal’s lawsuit against Anwar via very likely UN illegal Section 377B). Already unable to keep campaign promises like Local Council Elections, and declare MP and assemplyperson assets, and now not even able to address APARTHEID, the Rakyat should know that only NEUTRAL non-party candidates are a safe choice. As of now, 3rd Force is the best choice, BN is too racist and lapdog, Pakatan is too nepotistic and fundo. By unqualified reports, some of that faction’s people also are inclined to use DRUGS or LSD or other rubbish on the local population while posing as good ‘religious’ citizens, alongside contaminating the water with fluoride (they haven’t stopped) and perhaps use even psychotropic substances to control their supporters.
Potential 3rd Force Parties are :
KITA, JATI, ABU, MCLM (whats left of it, but homophobes could find it a good party that has 20 candidates), PCM, Borneo Front, Konsensus Bebas, HRP/Hindraf and PSM maybe SUPP if SUPP wakes up (much like MCA/MIC and Gerakan will not) and perhaps SAPP and LDP . . .
And any independent candidates as in the list below who can CLEARLY take up the above 3 items (not like mealy mouthed Pakatan who looks preferring to keep the entire term limitless, apartheid system ion place to benefit themselves) . . . :
1) Maimun Yusuf http://www.worldbulletin.net/index.php?aType=haberArchive&ArticleID=19162
and potential wolves/turncoats in the making :
2) Koon Yew Yin (the plutocrat Civil Engineer who cannot commit to candidacy though suitable),
3) Ummi Hafilda (PKR hater at odds with PKR VP Azmin)
4) Auntie Bersih 2.0 Annie Ooi Siew Lan (so far basking in limelight for being old but not yet running for candidacy)
5) Another Auntie Bersih 2.0 the high profile one Ambiga Sreenevasan (who struck down rightful Perak MB Nizar while Bar Council President during BN’s 11th term)
6) any plutocrats out there with a conscience ready to fund some 99%ters (especially Malays) to run on the above 3 items .
PM Najib is inclined to use of apartheid and religion as a wealth stealing tool with religion as a political tool of control but are less fundo per se, though greedy and corrupt especially when politically strong. Of course PM Najib could make things easy for himself and everyone to decide how to vote and grant :
1) Freedom from Apartheid/Fascism
2) Freedom from Religious-Persecution/Religious-Supremacy.
3) Equality for all ethnicities and faiths in all aspects of policy, Law and Constitution.
3rd Force probably is the only way to go.
ARTICLE 6
Pua: Short notice for 1 Care roadshow indicates ministry’s ‘insincerity’ – by Clara Chooi – March 28, 2012
KUALA LUMPUR, March 28 — DAP MP Tony Pua today accused the Health Ministry of being insincere in its promise to explain “1 Care” to Malaysians, pointing to the four-day notice given for the first of its nationwide roadshow this Saturday.
The Petaling Jaya Utara MP claimed that notices on the 10.30am event was just distributed to healthcare professionals today and offered little time to concerned stakeholders to arrange to be there.
If the notice was to be published in the newspapers tomorrow, the public would only have three days’ notice.
“I feel this is an insincere act by the ministry, because if they truly want to collect feedback from Malaysians and industry players, they need to give a longer notice,” he said at a press conference in Parliament today.
Pua said there would be “limited seating” for the event, to be held at the Healthcare Management Institution in Bangsar.
“From what I know, there are no more than 100 seats available there,” he said.
According to the notice, those interested to attend would have to register through email at daftarforum@moh.gov.my.
“I hope all concerned parties will attend this forum and record their opposition to 1 Care,” he said.
Dr Wan Azizah: Doctors concerned.
The ministry earlier this month said it would tour the country to explain and engage on healthcare plans after the opposition demanded it reveal details and the status of the 1 Care scheme.
PKR president Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail charged that the roadshow was an “afterthought”, mooted only after strong public opposition.
She said it was surprising Health Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai had waited until after the issue hit the headlines before engaging the public. She questioned Liow’s sincerity.
“Like other BN pronouncements such as the SBPA (Public Service Remuneration Scheme), it seems consultation is only an afterthought,” Dr Wan Azizah said.
“We have received complaints from doctors involved in previous consultations on 1 Care that there was no true engagement or dialogue involved. The government is set to continue with 1 Care.”
Dr Wan Azizah, who served as a government doctor for 14 years before entering politics, urged Liow to end his silence on the opposition’s suggestion on what should be done to improve the healthcare system.
1 Care has come under fire from healthcare practitioners and the public, who claim that individuals and businesses will be forced to hand over 10 per cent of their earnings each month to the government-run insurance fund.
The scheme is expected to replace the current two-tier healthcare system with one that integrates private and government hospitals in the hope of ensuring more equitable healthcare for Malaysians of all classes.
Under the present system, patients can choose to be treated at private clinics or hospitals and pay out of their own pockets, or opt for government clinics or hospitals, paying a nominal fee for basic, federally subsidised healthcare.
The ministry has assured critics that the 1 Care scheme will not burden the public with undue costs. Talks are continuing on the financial arrangements and their impact on the government and taxpayers.
[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]
Tony is no less insincere by keeping mum about unkept campaign promises (Local Council Elections, MP asset declarations, continuance of Bumi-Apartheid) by Pakatan Rakyat as if everything is fine and disparaging on comparatively non-issues like Healthcare compared to Bumi-Apartheid while ‘Family Bloc Azizah’ acts as if all citizens are equals this day.
Equality is not important, but arguing about healthcare is?
Points scorers are not MPs, more so family bloc MPs. Will someone from Tony Pua’s and Azizah’s constituency PLEASE challenge this political seat as an independent? Supporters of nepotism (PR’s family blocs) are as unpleasant as racists (BN’s unequal policy UNHCR Article 1 non-compliant maintainers). No self respecting politician will tolerate DAP’s term limitless and nepotistic behaviour and Tony Pua much like a Goh Chok Tong to LKY in PAP Singapore, is as lapdog (and ready to betray citizens by toeing party lines – DAP is not a democratic or ethical political party, nepotistic and term limitless, fails to keep campaign promises, abuses by-laws etc.. . . . ) as politicians go.
ARTICLE 7
Malaysia: The Future Is In Our Hands! – Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah – Monday, 02 April 2012 00:12
There are many interesting implications inherent in the topic of my address to you today: Malaysia: The Future is in Our Hands. The rakyat is reminded that he is master, and that he holds the key to the future of this land.
Ladies and gentlemen,
When I say the future is in your hands, I am not referring to the lines on your palm. I am saying the future is in your hands because it is with these hands that you are going to elect the people who will represent your best interest in the government.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Some people told me that we are poised on the cusp of change, and the choice that you make is significant, perhaps not so much for you as for your children, grand children and great-grand children. To put it another way, the future of innocent children yet unborn for generations to come is in your hands.
In other words, it is not the King who will decide the future for us, it is not what the Prime Ministers want that will be of any consequence. It is not the VVIPs or the so-called political analysts who are going to decide the future of our land. It is you, and here I include the ordinary citizens of the country, meaning the farmer, the teacher, the petty trader, stall keeper, the trishaw puller, the watchman, the bread man and even the unemployed vagrant who is going to decide the destiny of our children.
The issue of choice is sacrosanct to human beings who have been endowed with free will. You are born to be free. It is not for the government or the opposition to decide whether you should be free or not. Remember, nobody can dictate your choice unless you let him.
Therefore, more sacrosanct than any other day is the day of election. It is a day when you will hold the country’s future in your hands. In fact, no other election has been so much talked about and anticipated with as much anxiety and expectations as the forthcoming elections. The coming election appears so important that it may be likened to the ‘battle of the century’ for our country.
There are many Malaysians who complain about the government but are not registered voters. They make loud comments but lack the will to make a difference. They do not commit themselves wholeheartedly to seek change and to exercise their voting rights to choose a better government.
Your future is in your hands and if you fail to treasure the right, and exercise the right with wisdom, then you and no one else is to blame for your own destiny. As the Qur’an says in chapter 13, verse 11:
“Truly, God does not change the condition of a people unless they change what is in themselves”.
Now the next issue is, are we able to exercise our mind with wisdom?
Unfortunately, as a people and as a nation, we are not able to do so. We are born free, but our minds have become captive.
In our country, the problem of the captive mind has its origins in the race dilemma to an extent that we have become incapable of devising an analytical method independent of current stereotypes about Malays, Chinese, Indians and the others. Our thinking is based completely on a racial world view when it comes to matters of politics, education, economics, planning, and so forth.
Needless to say, we promote a racial world view that thrives on the policy of divide and rule.
The citizens of the land are exiting the country in large numbers, and the gap is filled, not by people with equivalent skills and potentials, but by unskilled labour from abroad. Public universities have no places for locals, but they are absorbing large numbers of foreign students. It is sad that our own people should be deprived of the benefits of a good education – a resource that has been described as the global currency of 21st century economies.
And yet education is seen as the best solution to the economic uncertainties of the times, as it enables our people to compete, collaborate and connect in a way that drives our economies forward. And today, we have the captive mind, the product largely of our education system, which has failed to generate its opposite, the creative mind. The captive mind feeds on trivia and fragmented knowledge, and students are not taught to be philosophical, universal or intercultural.
Our educational curricula do not encourage the moral and intellectual reform of the mind. If we look west, we find that the development of education took place as part and parcel of the evolution of society and civilization as a whole. But in our own case, the education system has failed to impart the fundamentals of scientific thinking and reasoning in relation to our own society.
Captive minds tend to avoid major issues such as the concept of good governance, meaning of development, the effect of corruption on society and the rule of law.
Again, as it stands today, in the area of economy, there is no honest intellectual inquiry to find out why, despite many years of implementing the New Economic Policy, inequitable distribution of income continues to plague the people, and why we are lagging behind countries that do not have as much resources.
To this very day, the electorate has not understood the implications of the New Economic Policy which has produced results that are diametrically opposed to the original intention of bridging the gap between the haves and the have-nots. The longer we try the policy, the further we are from the original goal.
If the doctor keeps on prescribing the same medicine which produces opposite results, then something must be wrong with the doctor, and something more serious must be wrong with the patient who keeps on trusting the same doctor.
Today, the discrepancy between vision and reality has taken on an alarming turn. It has gone far beyond economics into the realm of ethics and morality. In numerous instances it has taken the form of corruption and decadence which has pushed the economy further down the drain.
Today, we are saddled with a spiraling national debt brought to exist by wanton corruption and wasteful spending. It is feared that in relation to Singapore which is free of foreign debts, if we are not careful, it won’t take us long before we become another Greece. The problem continues to escalate, despite being highlighted by the Auditor General year after year in his annual reports. It has been estimated that we can easily save RM25-30bn without changing any of the deliverables if only we can get rid of corruption and cronyism.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Professor Alatas once said that we have different types of governments such as democracy, autocracy, theocracy, and so forth, and now we need to describe our government as one that keeps the people ignorant. According to him, we need to use new terms such as “ignocracy” to describe a government that wants to keep the people ignorant.
And yet for a democracy to succeed it is of cardinal importance for us to make informed choices.
Ladies and gentlemen,
We have the power to cast away our misfortune by casting our votes for the right candidates. But our captive minds are unable to guide our hands in making the right choices for our future and the future of our children.
When I say that the future is in your hands, it is not merely a reference to your individual role as a voter. I must add that the future is in your hands in a larger collective sense. In those days, the duty to educate and inform was left to educators and writers, as well as the government. Today we can longer trust them to act as purveyors of truth.
It has become our responsibility to hold the future in our own hands. In this effort, we are thankful for the new technology which has flung open the doors of democracy, making it easier for us to organize and share information.
Therefore, through our efforts at educating and promoting political consciousness, let us hope that the people of this country, in the rural and urban areas alike, will cast away their slumber, and wake up to greet the dawn of a new day, as we did fifty five years ago when the Tunku called this nation into being in the name of God, the Compassionate and the Merciful, a nation that “ever seeks the welfare of its people”.
TENGKU RAZALEIGH HAMZAH
Speech at the “Road Map For Achieving Vision 2020” Book Launch Ceremony at Syuen Hotel, Ipoh on 1st April 2012
[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]
Dyed in wool politician or some speech writer generalizing some feel good stuff again. Generalisations in a positive voice. But being in UMNO, well, one can barely hope and from among Malays and royals and determine who is votable, the choices are ever fewer . . . A personal consideration much needed or gentle remonstration is no end of apartheid, will not reach the thick and communal minded – unless also tacit approval of an untenable policy – AGAIN. Independent candidates without any party roots still look the best though, while Tengku Razaleigh and Ong Tee Keat appear to be the only people in BN who could CONDEMN the Apartheid of Bumiputra, lets not get our hopes too high for these 2 guys. Also the term limitless issue looms, yet will Tengku not use that mandate to best effect than merely holding political power without distribution the same by ending apartheid, updating laws, than fetting of ordinary and least educated citizens most uunsuited and disinclined to act against apartheid while casting aside the all important :
1) the Agong (King) who CAN denounce and revoke Special Malay Privileges as well as address the issue of Asabiya
2) the Prime Minister who can galvanise and use the mandate of so many lapdogs which constitutte a simple majority to END APARTHEID and allow UNHCR Article 18 (Malaysian Constitution Article 11)
3) the VVIPs who can sway opinion by adopting right minded stances and arbitrate via the powers they hold (i.e AG, Judiciary, Bar Council – the LEGAL JUNTA) to grant below listed 3 items, as well as MP VVIPS who can demand the end of apartheid or extreme religion
4) the so-called political analysts who can can sway opinion by adopting right minded stances and propagate the same via word and personal influence
;Freudian slip noticed anyone? Tengku, it would almost seem you speak with 2 tongues, promoting those unable to conceive what is wrong with the nation as the main deciders of fate (leading to stagnation) while disenfranchising those with wide powers and ethos to institute the logos of :
1) Freedom from Apartheid/Fascism
2) Freedom from Religious-Persecution/Religious-Supremacy.
3) Equality for all ethnicities and faiths in all aspects of policy, Law and Constitution.
‘3 times ladies and gentlemen’ were used, but a platitude without substance and meaning, as the above reasons cannot displace the strength of universality of the 3 items above, even as Voltarian physical/spiritual rights can NEVER be challenged by a concept so poorly and mean (after the initial 15 years at least in any rate) as Bumiputera Apartheid, which is merely corporeal and base minded economics.
One can only hope that a man of Tengku’s age is flexible enough of understanding to comprehend the above, even as younger people like Raja Petra have already become purveyors of wrongful, un-Islamic and UNHCR incongrous stands. Try harder, and sad to say I recommend that the until Tengku is able to reconcile the issue of Humanity, existential angst at disenfranchisement via Bumiputra Apartheid, with tacit approval of apartheid policy, that the farmer, the teacher, the petty trader, stall keeper, the trishaw puller, the watchman, the bread man and even the unemployed vagrant DO NOT vote for Tengku until Tengku has reconsidered this possibly hasty (taking wrong stances . . . though so quietly) and guarded (against political assassins?) article.
Even if abstruse in promulgation, there can be no justification for this quietly pro-Bumi/Special Privileges (long expired by Reid Commission btw) stance Tengku. Speak to UN Sec.Gen. Ban Ki Moon, Martin Luther King III, or even Pres. Obama Hussein. Mankind needs for at least Malay Royals to display exceptionalism in this raising of Constitution and Law to that of full equality via removal of Special Privileges and Bumi-policy. Asabiya is indeed too entrenched in BN, though PR has little inclination but political survival. All above parties mentioned, study the UNHCR Article 1 and Surah An Nisa 75, then vote for the politicians that can abide by these 2 civilisational/religious value based laws that will make Malaysia a first world country.
‘Malaysia: The Future Is In Our Hands!’ hopefully is not an NLP somehow representative the Royal Collective’s stance via Tengku’s background, very disappointing otherwise.
And just after Malaysia and China jointly build a industrial park in Qinzhou, China with a sister park in Malaysia mooted . . . and Malays still want Special Privileges? Will Tengku say that this was an April Fool’s joke that was given to some PA to prepare? If so, will the false writer of this article own up and claim credit, (yes poor ghost writers if that is not Tengku writing as an April Fools joke?) otherwise another apex classer is displaying ‘out of touch’ again . . .
UNHCR Article 1
All human beings are born *free* and *equal* in dignity and rights.They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
Surah An Nisa 4:75
And what is [the matter] with you that you fight not in the cause of Allah and [for] the oppressed among men, women, and children who say, “Our Lord, take us out of this city of oppressive people and appoint for us from Yourself a *protector* and appoint for us from Yourself a *helper*?”
Some help here PM Najib? The minorities need a *helper* to end the Apartheid of Bumiputera and grant Equality to all Malaysians . . . Allah would approve and only the PM of a Muslim country could gain the merit of acting in the capacity of a Quran mentioned (though not specific) Muslim (even to the benefit of non-Muslims as the Prophet PBUH would have doubtless done) . . .
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