These Malaysian adverts miss the point of Ramadan

The Islamic holy month is a time to connect with, not chastise, non-Muslims. This is lost to some in Malaysia's media

• 
• • Nazry Bahrawi
  • guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 9 August 2011 14.06 BST
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Malaysian Muslims buy food for Iftar, the evening meal when Muslims break their fast, at a market in Kuala Lumpur. Photograph: Chong Voon Chung/ Chong Voon Chung/XinHua/Xinhua Press/Corbis

To opt for a dry throat and a crooning gut when a mere phone call can get you a decent feast is nothing short of foolhardy. Yet millions of Muslims around the globe choose to do just that when they fast inRamadan.

Those with purchasing power must surely see this enforced austerity in a world of plenty as something akin to a warped practice: Why live like paupers when you can afford more?

In this very question also lies the spirit of Ramadan: empathy for the "other", or that which is different from one's self if we accept the definition provided by the German philosopher Hegel. By way of divine decree, Ramadan has come to denote a month where Muslims who can must not, an act that accords them a chance to feel for the have-nots.

Writing for the people's panel on fasting just a few days back, Guardian commenter Zarka Anwar describes Ramadan as "a time when beauty moulds in a Muslim's heart to remember the unfortunate".

It is a point that is lost to some in the Malaysian media. With about 60% of the nation's population professing Islam, the local broadcaster 8TV ran a trio of 30-seconds clips in the first week of Ramadan aimed at instructing its non-Muslim ethnic minorities about the etiquette of proper conduct appropriate to this Islamic holy month.

The advertisements feature a young Chinese woman behaving greedily, obnoxiously and wearing tight clothings at a Ramadan bazaar to the chagrin of the Muslim Malays around her. Rightly so, the racist undertone has caused a public uproar as multitudes registered their displeasure on the station's official Facebook page.

While the station retracted the advertisements within 48 hours of first screening them and issued a public apology, this episode is telling of the dominant interpretation among members of the Malay bourgeoisie there about the value of Ramadan.

Ending each advertisement is a condescendingly moralising message that puts the onus of betterment on the culturally "other" when the focus should be an improvement of the self. In one, non-Muslims are explicitly told: "Do not be loud or obnoxious." In another, it was: "Do not be greedy and eat in public."

Such a didactic view of Ramadan ignores the inclusive leanings of this holy month. Indeed, empathy for the other is not just theologically expressed through the act of fasting. It is also invoked in the injunction to pay the zakat al-fitr, or the obligatory Ramadan alms.

As spelled out in verse 9 :60 of the Qur'an, zakat proceeds are to be distributed to eight classes of people, or asnaf, that includes the destitute and poor, as well as travellers in need. This is normally done at the end of Ramadan.

Some Islamic theologians argue that these categories of zakat recipients should include non-Muslims. Embracing this interpretation is the UK-based international aid agency Islamic Relief, which dispenses zakat funds to non-Muslims in Africa.

Back in the 1980s, Indonesian theologian and politician Amien Rais even went as far as to suggest a radical form of tiered zakat, which taxes Muslims according to the salaries they draw. Rais argues that proceeds from this zakat should be invested in ventures that benefit all, specifying education as a priority area.

Such progressive interpretations signal that Muslims are to be charitable not just to the less fortunate, but also to the culturally other – an important nuance that the 8TV advertisements fail to capture.

Sadly though, Malaysian Muslim elites are not alone in their insularity. Even in neighbouring Singapore where Muslims make up about 15% of the cosmopolitan population, the official stance is that non-Muslims could not receive the zakat proceeds, even if they "fit into one of the asnaf".

Even though 8TV's advertisements run counter to the Ramadan spirit of hospitality, it is tenuous to read this episode as further proof of Islam's intolerance. Rather, this is a textbook example of how the humanistic elements of a rich religious tradition have been drowned by the contextual concerns of its practitioners.

More than spell out the exclusive nature of Islam, the advertisements are revelatory of the inability of Malaysia's ultra-Malay elites to overcome ethnic tensions with the minority Chinese. Ramadan or not, the advertisements suggest that their rose-tinted view of Malaysia is one coloured by race-tinted glasses.

Taken from: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/belief/2011/aug/09/malaysian-adverts-ramadan

Hudud PAS dan Hudud Umno – Apa Bezanya?

KALAU dulu hanya PAS yang menjadikan hudud dan negara Islam sebagai simbol identiti partinya, sekarang ada pemimpin Umno pun mahu ikut serta dalam permainan itu. Ahli Dewan Undangan Negeri Kemelah Datuk Ayub Rahmat dalam sidang dewan undangan negeri Johor baru-baru ini mencadangkan agar Johor menjadi negeri pertama di Malaysia melaksanakan hukum hudud “sebenar” yang berbeza dengan hudud PAS.

Tidak mahu ketinggalan, ketua wanita Umno Kepala Batas, ketua Puteri Umno dan ketua Perkasa juga menyokong pelaksanaan hudud, kononnya kerana memikirkan kepentingan dan kebaikannya umat Islam di Malaysia. Selain PAS dan Umno, penasihat PKR Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim pun menyokong PAS untuk melaksanakan hudud.

“Hudud dan negara Islam” seperti menjadi alat dagangan politik yang dikibar-kibar terutamanya setiap kali mahu pilihanraya. Soalannya, apakah perbezaan hudud PAS dan hudud Umno? Dan apakah isu-isu penting yang mesti dijawab oleh semua ahli politik sebelum hudud boleh dilaksanakan seperti yang mereka inginkan?

Apa kelebihan hudud Umno?

Mashitah Ibrahim (sumber: islam.gov.my)

Pada waktu ini, belum diketahui apakah perbezaan antara hudud PAS dan Umno kerana walaupun Ayub Rahmat mahu melaksanakan “hudud sebenar”, beliau sendiri pun belum ada membuat sebarang draf cadangan. Cuma yang diketahui ialah Ayub Rahmat mahu hudud itu meliputi semua rakyat Malaysia, termasuk orang bukan Islam. Dan walaupun menyokong, namun Timbalan Menteri di Jabatan Perdana Menteri Datuk Dr Mashitah Ibrahim mengakui bahawa kerajaan masih kekurangan prasarana terdiri daripada mahkamah, hakim dan pegawai pendakwa bagi melaksanakan hudud di Malaysia.

Pengerusi Jawatankuasa Kerja Sekretariat Ulama Muda Umno yang turut ghairah menyokong, juga sekadar mencadangkan untuk “menghimpunkan pakar-pakar terlebih dahulu bagi memberikan pandangan supaya hukum ini benar-benar dapat dilaksanakan.”

Soalan yang belum dijawab 

Selain daripada persoalan di atas, isu yang lebih penting ialah apakah hudud sesuai dilaksanakan di Malaysia? Saya kira, penyokong-penyokong pelaksanaan hudud tak kira mereka itu daripada Umno, PAS atau PKR masih belum menjawab persoalan penting iaitu:

• Bukankah pelaksaan hukum hudud bertentangan dengan perlembagaan Malaysia?

• Apakah ia sesuai dengan konteks masyarakat Malaysia yang moden dan berbilang kaum?

• Bukankah ia melanggar hak asasi manusia?

• Walaupun hudud hanya dilaksanakan pada orang Islam, apakah benar kehidupan dan hak orang bukan Islam tidak akan terjejas langsung?

Pengkempen hudud seperti tidak begitu selesa menjawab persoalan yang dikemukakan ini.

Realiti lawan utopia

Penyokong-penyokong hudud sering cuba menyedapkan hati orang ramai dengan mengatakan, “Jangan risau, walau ada hukum sebatan, namun sebatan itu tidak menyakitkan.” Atau, “Orang-orang miskin tidak akan dipotong tangannya.” Mereka akan beri jaminan bahawa hukum hudud akan dijalankan dengan penuh keadilan.

Orang-orang yang mendengarnya pun mengimpikan sebuah negara utopia, yang mana tiada lagi jenayah serta diskriminasi dan rakyat akan hidup aman bahagia. Tetapi bolehkan hidup aman bahagia itu dicapai tanpa hudud? Realitinya, beberapa negara bukan Islam di Eropah mempunyai kadar jenayah yang lebih rendah berbanding sesetengah negara Islam yang telah melaksanakan hukum hudud.

Orang Islam juga suka berbangga menceritakan bahawa setiap kali ke masjid, pedagang di Mekah akan meninggalkan barang dagangannya begitu saja kerana tiada siapa yang akan mencurinya. Namun hakikatnya, sering sekali kita dengar cerita tentang dompet yang dicuri semasa menunaikan ibadat di tanah Arab.  Jemaah wanita juga sentiasa diingatkan betapa bahayanya untuk berjalan atau naik teksi bersendirian atau walau bersama saudara atau teman perempuan saja semasa di sana.

Realiti lain yang lebih membimbangkan ialah pendekatan yang diambil oleh penyokong hudud. Mengikut logik dan respons pemimpin politik yang menyokong hudud, lebih keras sesuatu hukuman hudud, maka lebih Islamlah ia.

Contohnya, semasa Kartika Dewi Shukarno dijatuhkan hukuman enam kali sebatan kerana minum alkohol, lebih kurang 70% orang Islam di Malaysia menyokong hukuman tersebut. Walaupun berkali-kali Kartika menyatakan kekesalannya dan memohon maaf di media, namun tetap saja orang-orang dan pertubuhan-pertubuhan Islam mendesak kerajaan untuk segera menyebat beliau. Sikap sadis sedemikian amat menyedih dan mengerikan sekali.

Nik Aziz

Pemimpin PAS Tok Guru Datuk Nik Aziz Nik Mat tidak puas hati dengan hukuman enam sebatan kerana menurut beliau, sepatutnya Kartika harus disebat 80 kali. Apakah sebagai seorang ulama, Nik Aziz tidak tahu bahawa Al-Qur’an tidak ada memberi sebarang hukuman apa pun terhadap orang yang meminum arak?

Adanya perbalahan di kalangan ulama klasik sama ada hukuman sebatan terhadap orang yang minum arak itu 40 kali atau 80 kali malah menunjukkan ia adalah hukuman takzir (budi bicara kerajaan) dan bukan hukum hudud. Malah, Nik Aziz dan para penyokong hudud memberi alasan bahawa hukuman sebat itu kononnya tidak menyakitkan. Mereka juga mengatakan hukuman hudud itu hanya bertujuan untuk memalukan. Aduhai, saya kira hukuman hudud rejam dan juga potong tangan itu bukan sekadar untuk memalukan, tetapi tersangat menyakitkan dan malah membuatkan si pesalah hilang anggota badan atau hilang nyawanya.

Penyokong hudud gagal mengangkat sikap Islam yang mengutamakan keadilan dan kasih sayang, tetapi sebaliknya sukakan hukuman keras, seperti lebih keras hukumannya, maka lebih Islamlah ia.

Mengapa perlu bimbang?

Kita punya sebab untuk bimbang terhadap pelaksanaan hudud kerana:

i) Draf undang-undung hudud yang telah diusulkan oleh PAS dan disokong oleh Anwar walaupun secara peribadi lebih merupakan “cut and paste” dari undang-undang Pakistan atau kitab fikah klasik. Ia tidak menunjukkkan ada usaha menawarkan ijtihad atau pemikiran baru yang lebih sesuai untuk konteks masa kini.

ii) Agamawan dan penguasa agama masih menunjukkan sikap autokratik dalam membuat sesuatu keputusan, seperti amalan mengharamkan apa saja acara, filem atau buku yang mereka tidak suka atau tidak fahami.

iii) Masih banyak kedengaran wanita-wanita yang tidak berpuas hati terhadap layanan buruk dan diskriminasi yang mereka alami di mahkamah syariah. Maka, sikap dan kemampuan hakim dan pegawai-pegawai mahkamah syariah masih boleh dipersoalkan.

iv) Ramainya agamawan yang masih kurang faham dan peka tentang isu-isu sosial kemasyarakatan dan kesukaran hidup yang dihadapi sesetengah anggota masyarakat.  Kefahaman mereka tentang isu gender juga masih tipis sekali. Seperti yang ditunjukkan dalam kes Kartika, sikap mahu menghukum seberat mungkin masih menebal.

Undang-undang hudud PAS tidak menerima perempuan dan orang bukan Islam sebagai saksi

v) Dalam hal kelayakan menjadi saksi, undang-undang hudud PAS hanya mengiktiraf “lelaki Islam yang akil baligh dan tidak pernah melakukan dosa-dosa besar serta tidak mengekalkan dosa kecil” sahaja sebagai yang layak menjadi saksi.  Perempuan dan orang bukan Islam tidak diterima sebagai layak menjadi saksi.

Hukum siapa?

Saya ingat lagi sewaktu kerajaan PAS Terengganu mengemukakan draf hudud mereka untuk pertama kali, mereka telah meletakkan kesalahan rogol dalam kategori zina. Ia tentu saja ditentang oleh para aktivis wanita kerana zina adalah perbuatan suka sama suka. Rogol pula adalah jenayah di mana ada unsur pemaksaan terhadap wanita. Jadi, di manakah keadilan sekiranya mangsa rogol juga dikenakan hukuman sebat?

Setelah diprotes hebat, draf hudud PAS pun dipinda. Seorang ahli Sisters in Islam, Dr Nik Noriani Nik Badlishah, berkata kepada pemimpin PAS pada waktu itu: “PAS kata undang-undung hudud PAS ini adalah hukum Tuhan. Tapi nampaknya setelah diprotes, hukum hudud PAS ini boleh pula dipinda-pinda. Maka, akui sajalah bahawa hukum hudud PAS ini hanyalah ciptaan manusia semata-mata”.

Keperluan untuk melaksanakan hudud juga bukanlah sesuatu yang dimestikan di dalam Islam. Dengan kebangkitan Arab Spring sekarang, kelihatannya parti-parti Islam yang kini menerajui pemerintahan di Tunisia, Turki dan Mesir masih mengekalkan undang-undangnya yang agak sekular dan tidak melaksanakan hudud. Presiden PAS Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang pun kini mengatakan yang pelaksanaan hudud bukanlah keutamaan PAS dan sebenarnya dalam Al-Qur’an tidak ada pun menyebut Negara Islam, tetapi konsep negara kebajikan.

Jelas bahawa mengamalkan hudud bukanlah sesuatu yang akan menyempurnakan Islam di negara kita. Yang akan mengharumkan nama Islam dan menjaga kepentingan rakyat sama ada yang Islam ataupun yang bukan Islam adalah keadilan, kesetaraan dan kesejahteraan masyarakat. Hudud yang dicadangkan oleh PAS dan disokong oleh Anwar langsung tidak memberi jaminan bahawa unsur-unsur inilah yang akan diutamakan. Hudud Umno pula kekurangan apa-apa bentuk dan nilai yang boleh meyakinkan rakyat Malaysia bahawa ianya berbeza daripada hudud PAS.

Jadi apa tujuan sebenar ahli-ahli politik daripada Umno, PAS dan PKR mencadangkan dan memajukan pelaksanaan hudud jika bukan hanya kerana mahu main politik sesama sendiri? 

---

Norhayati Kaprawi is a Muslim woman activist, a filmmaker and an Asian Public Intellectualsfellow.

Taken from http://www.thenutgraph.com/hudud-pas-dan-hudud-umno-ae/

No good time for Najib

No good time for Najib
By Anil Netto 

PENANG - Malaysia's ruling coalition is having second thoughts about holding an early snap general election. The problem for Prime Minister Najib Razak and his United Malays Nasional Organization (UMNO)-led administration, however, is that time is running short to win a pre-emptive electoral advantage before the current five-year parliamentary term expires in April 2013. 

Speculation about snap elections has intensified as parties led by opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim's Parti Keadilan Rakyat (People's Justice Party) begin to fancy their chances of wresting power from UMNO and the Barisan Nasional coalition for the first time since independence. 

A steady stream of corruption allegations against Najib's government has dented its public image and, amid economic weakness, has raised popular concern that the country cannot sustain the endemic official hemorrhage. Earlier vows by Najib to repeal, reform or replace some of the country's more anti-democratic laws, meanwhile, have failed to give UMNO any popular momentum as officials have maintained heavy-handed tactics against political dissent. 

Anwar and his opposition allies in the Democratic Action Party and Parti Islam Se-Malaysia (PAS) have campaigned previously on issues related to clean and more-democratic governance. Already at a considerable disadvantage due to election rules and regulations that favor the incumbent including an official campaign period of only 10 days before the polls, they have vowed not to be caught off guard by snap polls. 

The belief is that Najib, like previous premiers, is waiting for an opportune moment when public opinion is perceived to be in his favor to call the polls. But as his UMNO predecessor Abdullah Badawi discovered at the 2008 general election, where the opposition scored historic gains including control over five of 13 federal states, there may not be a favorable time on the near-term horizon. 

Some analysts believe he missed an opportunity earlier this year when his personal approval ratings were high. The premier had just announced a string of grassroots handouts, including one-off cash payments of 300 ringgits (US$94.70) to each household with a monthly income of less than 3,000 ringgits, a populist program known as One Malaysia People's Assistance. His Government Transformation Program (GTP) and Economic Transformation Program (ETP), meanwhile, had given his administration a reformist sheen. 

Najib had also announced a 15,000 ringgit windfall for settlers, many of whom are UMNO supporters, who are part of a decades-old nationwide rural cash crop resettlement scheme, the Federal Land Development Authority (Felda). The announcement came ahead of the listing of Felda Global Ventures (FGV), an investment vehicle created to unlock the value of Felda's commercial assets and holdings. 

Prices rose quickly when FGV was first listed, but analysts have since questioned the future commercial returns of the listed concern given that many of the plantations in its fold consist of palm oil trees that are reaching maturity. A protest rally by those worried about how the policy will impact on Felda's future will be held on July 14. 

Controversy also arose over a proposed new remuneration scheme for civil servants when it was pointed out that top officials would receive especially hefty pay hikes, widening the already yawning income gap with those at the bureaucracy's lower tiers. Amid the criticism, the scheme was hastily revised. 

Pundits earlier predicted snap polls would be held in March, coinciding with Najib's hand-outs, pay raises and privatization policy. But faced with uncertainties about those policies' popular appeal, including among UMNO stalwarts, Najib was forced to recalculate. 

Reform ruse
In the interim, the civil society coalition for clean and fair elections, known locally as Bersih, stepped up its campaign demanding wide-ranging reforms to the country's electoral process, which is widely viewed as giving the UMNO-led ruling coalition unfair advantages. 

The turning point came during a huge rally held on April 28 attended by, according to some estimates, more than 200,000 people demanding electoral reforms. The government's heavy-handed treatment of peaceful street demonstrators, including mass arrests and the use of tear gas and water cannons, dispelled any notions that Najib's government was serious about democratic reforms. 

Najib's legal reforms also came under fire in June when detainees under the Internal Security Act (ISA), which allows detention without charge, launched a high profile hunger strike. Najib had announced last year that the ISA would be repealed and replaced with a new Security Offenses Act (which notably still allows for detention without charge), but 45 ISA detainees remained incarcerated, some for years without formal charges being pressed. Najib met the criticism with silence. 

Official transparency also took a hit when whistle-blowers were investigated, questioned or visited by authorities in at least three high profile cases: the inquiry into official corruption in a submarine deal with France (the subject of an ongoing judicial inquiry in Paris) initiated by human-rights group Suaram; a 250 million ringgit grant for breeding cows to a feedlot company managed by the husband of a cabinet minister; and the questionable selection of a company during a tender process for the extension of a light rail transit system in the capital, Kuala Lumpur. 

Meanwhile, prominent Bersih activists, including an analyst who is due to speak at Bersih events over the next few days, have faced intimidation and even assault by unknown individuals or little-known groups. In the aftermath of the April Bersih rally, Ambiga Sreenevasan, the Bersih steering committee co-chair, was harassed outside her private residence by groups believed to be supportive of UMNO. 

Bersih steering committee member Wong Chin Huat was assaulted by unknown assailants while on a recent neighborhood jog. Analyst Ong Kian Ming, who has regularly highlighted discrepancies in voters' rolls, including apparent phantom voters, saw intruders trying to break into his house this week while he was in his living room. 

The government-controlled Election Commission has bowed to a couple of protester demands. For the first time it will allow the use of indelible ink to prevent multiple voting and permit the registration of overseas Malaysians as postal voters provided they have returned to Malaysia at least once in the previous five years. 

Concerns remain, however, over significant increases in voter registration in peninsular Malaysia's most developed state, Selangor, one of the four states currently under opposition rule. (The opposition lost control of one of the five states it won at the 2008 polls.) In some seats in Selangor, the number of registered voters has inexplicably swelled by more than 20% since 2008. 

Najib must now also factor into his political calculations the extent to which the economic crisis in Europe and the slowdowns in China and the United States will affect Malaysia's export-reliant economy. The potential economic hit from abroad comes at a time the government's fiscal management has come into question.

The Edge, a local business weekly, recently expressed concern about the long-term sustainability of the government's heavy reliance on national oil corporation Petronas to finance its spending programs. Petronas finances an estimated 45% of the national budget and payments have doubled over the past five years. A huge chunk of the budget goes to the heavily centralized and somewhat opaque prime minister's department. 

"Oil majors plough back close to 55% of their profits into the business, while national oil corporations reinvest as much as 65%," The Edge noted in a comment piece. "[But] Reinvestment at Petronas stands at just over 20% of profits." The editorial suggested that at current usage and export rates Malaysia could soon become a net importer of oil. 

The longer Najib waits to call elections, the more global uncertainty will cloud the country's economic prospects and raise new questions about the government's performance. Although a fiscal boost when the annual budget is passed later this year will no doubt aim to dole out more populist sweeteners to grassroots voters, a longer wait could also allow more damaging corruption allegations to rise to the political surface. 

Anil Netto is a Penang-based writer. 



(Copyright 2012 Asia Times Online (Holdings) Ltd. All rights reserved. Please contact us about sales, syndication and republishing.)



*News taken from http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Southeast_Asia/NG14Ae01.html

Passion for conservation

Posted on 10 October 2011 - 05:11am

by Azrina Abdullah

I WAS reading the news the other day about students and their favoured career paths. I was struck by how little our future leaders were interested in conservation as a career and proceeded to contact one of the most passionate conservationists I know, Reuben Clements, a PhD candidate in Wildlife Conservation, to talk about his chosen career path. Reuben has numerous international publications under his belt and is highly respected for his work. Here is the interview with some fascinating views on how conservation became his passion.

Why conservation?

 Life is too short, so why not make a career out of something that enables you to contribute to the well-being of this planet? When I saw hills being mined, trees being logged and animals being killed for no reason, I felt I had to do something about it. I feel many would be emotionally affected after seeing habitats destroyed and try to make a difference. To paraphrase Gandhi, if you want to make a change, be the best example of that change, and others will follow.

Were you always into conservation?

No. Before entering university, I did not know what to do with my life. I was “following the crowd” and pondered on safe career choices that would yield a comfortable monthly salary. Back in my time, few teachers or parents would ever tell their kids that they could make a career out of conserving biodiversity. But times are different now with greater awareness of green issues.

My turning point was doing a MSc at the National University of Singapore which focused on limestone karst conservation. I started to take more interest in conservation during my field trips to pristine and quarried limestone hills in Malaysia, where I witnessed both majesty and travesties. My involvement in on-the-ground conservation grew even more when I got a job with WWF-Malaysia as species conservation manager. Although I had limited opportunities to work on limestone karst conservation, I learnt a great deal more about the realities of conserving other ecosystems and species, and had the freedom to design and implement conservation programmes to help protect wildlife. I found this to be very fulfilling.

How do you think your PhD will benefit conservation, and society as a whole?

 My PhD focuses on the issue of habitat connectivity for wildlife. Animals need to move safely across highways in order to find food and mates. We want to find out if highway viaducts are being utilised by large mammals, and the factors affecting their effectiveness. This will allow us to identify important wildlife habitats where highways should be avoided in order to reduce the risk of forest fragmentation. We are also conducting research to better understand the attitudes of indigenous peoples towards highways. Only time will tell whether our research will contribute to conservation and society – this largely depends on how effective we are at communicating our research findings to decision-makers who can make important policy changes.

What would you say to encourage youth to select conservation as their first career choice?

In order to do conservation, you need to have interest and passion. Even if someone forces you to be a conservationist, don’t listen to them. I always tell young people to follow their dreams. If a person chooses conservation as a career over a medical or legal path, I still think it is a valuable experience to try it out for some time. But if you still do not derive any satisfaction from it, then please vacate that position and let a more passionate person take over.

Azrina Abdullah conducts research on the links between indigenous groups and wildlife trade. She was regional director of Traffic, an NGO which monitors the global wildlife trade. Comments: letters@thesundaily.com

from http://www.thesundaily.my/news/171357

Does MIC Deserve Three Ministers?

By Kee Thuan Chye

PRIME Minister Najib Razak is being cavalier with taxpayers’ money in making MIC president G Palanivel a full minister. His promotion from deputy minister will incur increases in Palanivel’s salary, perks, claims and pension – and the rakyat will be paying for them. Is it justifiable?

The MIC has only four Members of Parliament, but it now has a line-up of three ministers and two deputy ministers. How is that proportionate? If T Murugiah had not lost his senatorship last April and thereby his deputy minister position, there would be three MIC deputy ministers now.

It’s surprising Ibrahim Ali and Perkasa have not uttered a squeak about this. Which reinforces the general perception that Perkasa fights shy of criticizing the ruling party and may actually be linked to it, despite claims to the contrary.

Why do I say the MIC now has three ministers?, you ask. Well, let’s not forget Samy Vellu. Less than eight months ago, he was appointed – also by Najib – to be Malaysia’s special envoy to India and South Asia with ministerial status (my italics). That was apparently his reward for stepping down as MIC president. It was to give him face through a dignified exit. But why was that necessary?

I raised questions about it then. I asked why the MIC should get another ministerial position after its poor performance at the last general election (GE). Where is the regard for values if rewards are given when they are not deserved?

Now Najib has further displayed this lack of values by giving a third ministerial position to a party that has performed miserably. So, to answer my own question about whether it’s right to make Palanivel a minister, I say unequivocally, “No.”

What purpose is served by promoting Palanivel?

According to Najib: “I want to return to the era of Abdul Razak where there were two Indian ministers in the Cabinet.” Is that all? Just because he wants it? Where’s the good reason? It sounds almost as whimsical and flippant as saying Abdul Razak was his father and therefore he must emulate the latter.

He also says the decision proves that the Government is committed to the Indian community and intends to work closely with them; and giving them another minister is giving them the opportunity to play an even more effective role.

What, pray tell, is that “role”?

If you suspect it is to support Barisan Nasional (BN) at the next GE, you would probably be right. Najib is clearly trying to win Indian votes with this move. But if public funds have to be incurred for him to do that, it cannot be proper. Why should taxpayers’ money be used to keep BN in power? BN is only the government of the day; it cannot use public resources to improve its chances of getting re-elected.

Najib may also feel that Palanivel should hold the same rank as MIC’s deputy president, S Subramaniam, who is already Human Resources Minister. But it is not Najib’s duty to give Palanivel face by putting him on ministerial par with his deputy. Palanivel must, first of all, deserve the position.

The question is, does he?

He was not duly elected at the 2008 general election. He in fact lost his Hulu Selangor parliamentary seat. And when it came time for a by-election for that same seat in 2010 – because the PKR candidate who had defeated him died while in office – he was not chosen to be the candidate. Instead, a much junior MIC member, P Kamalanathan, was selected. What did that signify?

It seems at the time, Najib himself did not favor Palanivel, and for a good reason: Palanivel was not liked by his constituents when he was the MP there; they said he was seldom seen in the vicinity.

Nonetheless, when the by-election was over, Najib made Palanivel a deputy minister in the Plantation Industries and Commodities Ministry. This was apparently both consolation for his being bypassed as Hulu Selangor candidate and preparation for his takeover as MIC chief.

Najib accomplished this by using the backdoor method of making him a senator first. This was the same method he employed to make ministers out of other politicians openly rejected by the rakyat in 2008, like Koh Tsu Koon and Shahrizat Abdul Jalil; and also to make deputy ministers out of election losers Awang Adek Hussein and Chew Mei Fun.

Bringing back losers in this unsatisfactory manner has made Najib’s practice questionable. The same goes for his appointment of Palanivel as Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department.

Besides, why do we need yet another Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department when there are already five – Koh, Nazri Aziz, Nor Mohamad Yakcop, Jamil Khir Baharom and Idris Jala? Is there so much work to go round for six?

What positive effect will his appointment have on the public interest? How will he better serve the rakyat when he was a disappointment to his Hulu Selangor constituents?

Such considerations, however, don’t seem to matter to Najib. What matters most is the Indian vote. He probably sensed that he had lost some Indian support after the unpopular month-long detention of the six Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) members under the Emergency Ordinance (EO). Making the offer to Palanivel is his attempt to salvage the loss.

The timing tells it all.

First, Subramaniam (on July 27) and then Palanivel (on July 28) publicly called for the PSM 6’s release. “I spoke to the Prime Minister several days ago and asked him to release them,” Palanivel said, as if to declare that the PM would listen to him. Then on July 29, the PSM 6 were actually released.

This made it look like the MIC could take credit for the release of the PSM 6, which would go down well not only with Indians but other Malaysians who had expressed outrage at the detention. But knowing how our wayang politics works, we may not be wrong in thinking that the release decision had already been made before the MIC’s appeals.

After all, why did Subramaniam and Palanivel choose to speak up only a month after the six were detained? Why did they not speak up when the arrest was first made of the six and 24 others on June 26 on suspicion of “waging war against the King” and “resurrecting Communism”? Why did they not come out then to say that such a suspicion was ridiculous? They kept quiet; their silence was an endorsement. They were complicit to the arrests as partners of the ruling regime.

Be that as it may, on July 30, at the MIC’s general assembly, Najib announced making Palanivel a minister. That being the day after the PSM 6’s release, it was obviously calculated to add to the feel-good momentum. As a result, Najib’s ratings might well go up, and those of the MIC’s as well.

But before Indians exult and decide to swing back to BN, what they might need to ask is how they will benefit from this. As minister, will Palanivel dare to speak up for them when at his own party’s general assembly last weekend, delegates were directed not to discuss the Interlok issue? When it comes to the big issues, will he be able to stand up to big brother Umno or just be a “running dog” doing its bidding?

And as for the PSM 6, the story is not yet over. Five days after their release, they were charged for being in possession of subversive documents, and will be tried together with the other 24.

Perhaps Palanivel’s first test as minister should be talking to the Prime Minister and asking him to drop the charges. Let’s see how far he can get with that. If he succeeds, then we can truly say that he deserves being made a minister. And that taxpayers’ money is being wisely spent.

*The views expressed here are the personal opinion of the writer.

http://www.malaysiandigest.com/opinion/28485-does-mic-deserve-three-ministers.html

what a JOKE of the day

hohohoho people what a good Monday!

i'm laughing out loud (in my heart)!

you know who makes me laugh?

it's Datuk Anifah Aman and UiTM and Ibrahim Ali.

come read it at http://oh-chineng.blogspot.com/2011/07/what-joke-of-day.html

If you don't feel it's funny, bye bye go away!

Queen in yellow

So why is the Queen Elizabeth wearing yellow when granting an audience to Najib and Rosmah? There are reasons. Hahah you are so cool la Queen of England. I respect you for your hidden message to my country. =p

read more at http://beingvernon.blogspot.com/2011/07/let-me-tell-you-why-queen-wearing.html

Life’s an ocean of possibilities

Graduating with a CGPA of 3.77 provided me with the opportunity to pursue my PhD directly without having to complete my Masters.

I was blessed with the opportunity to pursue my PhD and work with a world-reknown researcher in the University of Sydney, Prof Dr Nicholas Hunt, whose research work is in the field of malaria, and who is also credited with the groundbreaking find of a new human enzyme.

It’s been two years since I started applying for scholarships. I’ve been to a number of interviews that puzzlingly found me and my research project not worth funding.

Yet, I believe that great things are still possible. Not because of who I am but because of who God is in our midst. After almost two years, various applications and countless email, I was finally offered a scholarship by the University of Malaya to pursue my PhD last March.

Has the journey been smooth since then? Don’t even think about it. My approval is still stuck with the Ministry of Higher Education, although I am supposed to report in Sydney in July.

Have I given up? Of course not. Do I feel like giving up? Sometimes, but rarely so. Will I have to rush through my preparations? Without a doubt. Do I wish that the system was more efficient and assisted the students better? Of course.

But none of this stops me from trying every day to move forward to the things I dream for.

Opportunities come, but never easily or smoothly. Good things worth fighting for, are worth waiting for. I see where I come from and I see where I am today.

In all of it, I see a never-ending string of surprises intricately entwined in the journey of my life. Where we come from does not determine where we will go. What we don’t have does not decide what we will end up with.

Life is an ocean of possibilities. It moves forward with the vehicle of faith.

FELICITA FEDELIS JUSOF,
Butterworth.


http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/6/17/focus/8916375&sec=focus

I think all those Malaysians whom had migrated are a pain-in-the-arse

Recently, there are lots of stories from those Malaysians whom had migrated overseas. And there are equally many who didn’t migrate and wrote in to online news site why they stay in Malaysia.

Let me tell you lah, I find those who had moved overseas such a pain in the arse. You know why? Cos they are a bloody bunch of people whom had abandoned ship and then, try to talk patriotic why they had to do it. As if someone held a gun to their head and kick them out.

Please la…if you have moved out, just get out and shut up. Don’t talk like our country is such a dumps. It is not. It is still a lovely country. You moved because of your selfish reasons. Enuff said.

Firstly, when a person or a family moved out, they are bound to leave their aged parents behind. Many filial sons won’t do that. Never in our minds, i.e. my husband or my mind would think of leaving our aged mothers to move to greener pastures. It is just wrong. Don’t fool yourself with ‘never mind, my mother will fly to Canada for a few months in a year to enjoy the weather’. You are just escaping…

Next, you have to be blardy rich or blardy educated (in most case, it is because you are blardy rich) to be able to do that. You think all those gwailoes will want you to squat in their countries if you are not skilled or have tonnes of money to invest? So, don’t talk like every single Malaysians can opt to migrate and make the rest of us who stayed back like we are fools for not abandoning ship.

Then, there are those who think ‘ang moh sai eh ciak’ (english shits is edible, i.e. a sense of idolising caucasians) and kept praising how good England is, how good Australia is etc etc. Please lah, our politicians are shits but so are all politicians in the world. Just because you idolise them, you are blinded to their imperfections.

Another group is the parents who migrated for the ‘future of their children’. We did think of doing that at one stage in our lives. We were keen on seeing all our children having better education in Australia. But what held us back is whether it is fair to uproot our grown children from their familiar environment here for the sake of education? What about their friends and the sense of belonging here? We didn’t want to end up with rebellious teens who have problem adjusting. What good is good education when the children aren’t happy in a new country?

Like to admit or not, if we are in foreign land, we are second-class. We are Asians. Asians don’t have very good image there. Asian porn is like second class porn. Asians are sometimes mistook for being terrorists. Asians are those noisy Chinamen portrayed in kungfu movies. So, get real…fool yourself but there is no place like home here in Malaysia.

You can whine and whine about how discrimination exists here in our country if your skin colour is too pale or too dark. But look at yourself, aren’t you capable of working harder for a better life? Our ancestors from China and India did that, so why can’t we when we have better opportunities than them?

You think it is smart to abandon ship and when you are away in a foreign country, you curse the PM, curse the Tun M, curse the exam SPM and a 100 other M you can find just to justify why you abandon ship. But…we know, you did it because for selfish reasons. Nicer weather, higher standard of living, far away from the in-laws, lesser haram-halal restrictions etc etc…But the fact is, you left your country which you could have contributed your expertise to. You want a way out for your selfish needs.

So, stop all those letter like ‘oh I am so poor, my country treats me badly, so I have no choice but to leave’. Go play far-far and stop complaining now that you are out. We will stay here and make the best of what we have and work harder to make it even better. Sekian, terima kasih.

By Chan Lilian http://www.chanlilian.net/2011/05/30/i-think-all-those-malaysians-whom-had-migrated-are-a-pain-in-the-arse/

Nazri maintains stand on putting nationality before race

PETALING JAYA: Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Nazri Abdul Aziz has maintained that he is a Malaysian first and a Malay next.


“Does any bigot have a problem with that?” he said in an open letter to an online news portal to refute a Mingguan Malaysia column written by Awang Selamat titled “Alahai Nazri” on Sunday.

Awang had questioned Nazri’s criticism of Datuk Ibrahim Ali, saying the minister had treated the Perkasa president as though he was an enemy of Umno.

The columnist also accused Nazri of being anti-Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
In response, Nazri said:

“I want Awang to know that I am always sure who my boss is. It’s not (Lim) Kit Siang or (Datuk Seri) Anwar (Ibrahim) because they are not the Prime Minister, the Barisan Nasional chairman or Umno president.”

On Ibrahim, he said Umno had never asked or needed him to help them.

“The association with him will only cause us to lose votes,” he said.

Stressing that he was not “anti-Dr Mahathir”, he said the former prime minister was the one criticising the Government and not the other way round.

“To me, so far he was the best prime minister I have served. However, as an ex-premier, there is much left to be desired.

“Regardless of who criticises the Government, (the critic) will receive relentless attacks in defence of the Government by me just as I did in the past when Dr Mahathir and Tun Abdullah (Ahmad Badawi) were prime ministers,” he added.

Nazri also stressed that he was never afraid to be criticised by the Opposition, adding, however, that being civil to rivals was the right thing to do in a democracy.

“Just like me, they are also elected by the people,” he said in the letter, which he sent from Bucharest, Romania, where he is attending the Malaysian-Romanian Inter-parliamentarian Friendship Group meet from Sept 19 to 23.

DAP adviser Lim Kit Siang, in his blog, congratulated Nazri for being the first in the Cabinet to declare he was Malaysian first and put race second.

Source ~ The Star http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/9/21/nation/7070367&sec=nation

Gerakan Matters

By Lingswaran Singh

Lings My Name is Singh puts on his Penangite hat and gives us the low-down on Penangites’ love-hate relationship with their homegrown party, Gerakan.


I was at Line Clear Nasi Kandar, having my nasi with juicy ayam goreng masala, blanched bendi, papadoms on the side with the best curry ever and a cup of teh tarik kurang manis while this uncle at the next table was singing Ji Ba Pan. No, that is not a curse word, although we use plenty of those daily.

You see people, I’m a Penangite, and we Penangites find so much bliss in eating delicious foods. We love Penang – the smell of the beach, the warm weather, the history, the big beautiful green trees, the unique people, the culture, and just about every single thing about Penang!

We are very nostalgic people. We like memories. We like to eat and talk, mostly al-fresco. We are simple people and we take great pride in being Penangites. Ever noticed how people from Penang always say “I’m from Penang” with a certain sense of confidence and pride? Yes, most of us do think being Penangite is so cool and so special. In Penang, as long as you can curse in Hokkien, we are brothers. I know, how crude right? But that’s the case for many of us, cursing has become a habit and soon to be culture.

We are straight forward people. We tak pandai pusing-pusing – if we think you stupid we say you are stupid, or mangkuk, and if your worse than that its mangkuk hayun. I’m used to hearing “Ask him go die la” so many times that it is simply a phrase to express disappointment. People here can be very harsh with their language, but that doesn’t mean they are rude or anything, it’s usually only between close friends. Ironic, isn’t it? We use curse words to a certain degree to portray closeness.

On my table was a copy of GERAKAN Matters – Apa Anak Malaysia Mahu?, the official newsletter of Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia. Why on earth is Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia not in Pakatan Rakyat? This is probably because they are not listening to the rakyat.

I think I share the sentiments of the younger generation of Penangites with regards to Gerakan. I flipped through the pages of that zine, I saw the spirit of Penang encompassed in it. It contained articles written in or translated into Malay, Chinese and Tamil; okay, maybe just a little bit of Tamil.

So why did they loose big? Simple, because they refused to listen.

We love Gerakan, oh yes, the whole idea of it. The founding father, the principles, the ideology, the opposition voice in the Barisan Nasional, our homegrown Party – our pride! But they have failed us. Failed us by compromising too much, failed us for not opposing when they should, failed us by remaining silent. However, as I have said, we are sentimental a people and our love is true.

So if anybody from Gerakan is reading this, then hear this; we love Gerakan, oh yes we do! We are Penangites, we could even sweep DAP out the next election if we want to, so listen and listen well.

Just leave the coalition! Repent already! We are ever willing to forgive you and only you, so please join us, the Rakyat. Listen to us, we are asking you to leave Barisan Nasional, just leave. We are not asking you to join Pakatan but we are asking you to join the Rakyat! Well, you can join Pakatan if you want to, but leave Barisan Nasional; this is the will of Penangites! Listen to us, not UMNO, not the Prime Minister, not Khoo Tsu Koon, but us the younger generation.

Yeah, we do like our current Chief Minister, and I am sure he is going to be around for a while, as long as he doesn’t play us off. Nice guy la, but not so authentic, I mean we are proud of a person who holds true to good values, but we wished we had a Penangite like him. Not so important but we wished lah… it’s a state nationalism kinda thing. As things are now, Gerakan would most probably disappear soon if they don’t listen to Penangites. They should, because we love them, we want them out of Barisan Nasional. We don’t promise them the state, but we would like to see them as strong and wise oppositions.

Gerakan needs no rejuvenation plans; it just needs to leave Barisan Nasional, now. That is all, we are ever willing to forgive you, we want you back, do not disappoint us. I believe this is your last call, if you do not leave now I guess you have betrayed us for the last time. By the way, Line Clear Nasi Kandar, damn nice la wei!

Source: http://www.loyarburok.com/human-rights/express-yourself/gerakan-matters/