King Edward VII School, Taiping. The First 125 Years.

My alma mater, King Edward VII School, Taiping is in its 125th year this year. Being one of the oldest schools in the country, it had its beginnings in July of 1883, 9 years after the Pangkor Treaty that ended the Larut Wars and the protracted succession struggle for the Perak Sultanate.

Back then, the British already had control over the Straits Settlement states of Singapore, Malacca and Penang (Penang Free and Melaka High School already existed). They were eager to strengthen their monopoly over tin in Perak and expand their influence in Southeast Asia. The opportunity arrived when an internal dispute over the Perak Sultanate and the machinations of local Chinese business and triad leaders resulted in the Pangkor Treaty that effectively put the state under British protection.

Since Taiping was the centre of the tin industry and after the murder of the first British Resident, JWW Birch (1875), the state capital was shifted to Taiping in 1876, while Kuala Kangsar remained the royal town. The end of the Larut Wars and the stability provided by the British, saw the Chinese community in the state who were located mainly in the major tin mining areas of Taiping and the Kinta Valley, thrive.

Without having to go into the entire history of the town, this was the historical backdrop against which Central School, as it was called then was founded. The school started as a small wooden building along what was later called Station Road (the first railway line in the country ran from Taiping to Port Weld) with only 13 students. It was named Central School simply because of its central location in a town that was growing fast with increasing British influence in the state.

According to research done by my friend M.N.Taib,

"...the British colonialist and early Chinese interests coincided in the inception of the school. The British wanted semi-literate running dogs, as it were. and the Chinese wanted to anglicize their children. The Malays were scared of sending their children for Western education for fear that they would 'masuk Christian'. Most of the Malay kids who came to the school then were children of the landed gentry and the Jawi Pekan - Indian muslims"

By 1895 when the Federal Regulation Policy was instituted which stipulated among other things that an English education was an important criterion for recruitment into civil service, the student population had grown to 159. However, only 28 were Malay boys. This bears out M.N.Taib's findings.

Later, at the conference of rulers in 1903, Perak Resident J.P Rodger observed that there was a lack of Malay participation in the civil service. To address this, it was suggested that a special English school be established. In the end, however, it was decided that certain existing schools be selected to educate more locals, especially Malays, and the Central School was one of those chosen.

With increasing enrolment, a larger building was needed. It was decided, in 1903, that the school shift to a spot further up along Station Road where the country's first railway station stood. The station was shifted to its present premises, still along Station Road, and work on the construction of the new school began. The headmaster at this time was one Roger Francis Stainer, one of the most famous and loved persons to ever head the school in its chequered history.

When the school shifted to the new building, Stainer was at the helm. The official opening on Jan 19, 1906 was performed by the then Sultan of Perak, Sultan Idris-Mersid-El Azam Shah Iskandar Shah. He also renamed the school King Edward VII School, in honour of the new King of England, Edward, who had ascended the throne in 1901 upon the death of Queen Victoria.

The rest as they say, is history...history as it ACTUALLY WAS, that is.

Now comes the real subject of this post. The re-writing and re-interpretation of the school's history:

A wise man once said:

"History is the present. That's why every generation writes it anew. But what most people think of as history is its end product, myth" while another said,

"Inanimate objects never live, yet at the same time live forever"

The above was how it was decided by some Tigers (as we who come from the olde school like to call ourselves) to celebrate a meaningful yet meaningless 125th Anniversary in 2008. Mortal man's way to immortality is not only through great achievements; lesser men seek it through attaching themselves to inanimate objects that live forever. This is so true of how this 125th Anniversary celebration was conceived and is being carried out. It remains a standing joke to those in the know.

King Edward VII School became 100 years old in 1983. The landmark date came to pass without notice. In many ways this reflects the general lackadaisical attitude of Tigers towards communal details; a selfish nature that is reflected in the inability of the alumni associations (we have two! One in Taiping and another in KL) to become anything better than social clubs after decades of existence. I say this in comparison to other alumni associations of many established schools. Anyway, why did we notice the 125th year when we missed the 100th year?

The story goes like this. In 1983, the Tigers who decided to celebrate 125 years were still building their careers. Being Tigers, we do not mind showing great camaraderie between Tigers but few of us volunteer to do anything substantial for the school or any greater good. The true history of the school holds little importance to most Tigers. Moreover, in the history of the alumni associations, the annual calendar consists only of one agenda; the annual dinner. In 1983, Tiger Mohaideen was still quite new in his current position as President of the OE Association in Taiping and as for the OE Association in KL, the focus was as usual on the annual dinners. Probably none had the stomach to undertake the task of commemorating a centenary, if the landmark was noticed at all.

Coming back to the proponents of the 125th Anniversary celebrations, some of them did (or do) have distinguished careers and now in their retirement years, they somehow feel a compunction to leave their names behind "in stone"...immortality perhaps. What better way than to etch names into "stone" that "will live forever as long as the Taiping Hills stand", borrowing a line from the school song.

The first attempt at "immortality" was in 2005 when the coterie "brilliantly" decided to celebrate the school's centenary! Great fanfare was generated and a committee of eminent Tigers was set up! As I said, Tigers are generally not bothered about the true history of the school; they assume too much. Two errors in interpreting historical facts here:

1. They assumed the school had its beginning with the completion of the new building in 1905. This is also erroneous because the school only became known as King Edward VII School in January, 1906.

2. The school had been in continuous existence since 1883! It was not set up at the turn of the 20th century!

I have often wondered whether this arbitrary consideration for historical accuracy is a reflection of the state of History (as a subject) being taught in our schools. Sometimes I think it is the elitist "I can, therefore I do it" mentality that breeds this kind arrogance and disregard for truth. That there is blatant warping and "dis-interpretation" of the country's history is well documented. Heck! For instance, there is no documentation to even show that the British ever "divided and ruled this country! Incidentally, King Edward VII School, Taiping has produced the most number of Director Generals of Education compared to any other school; but that is another matter altogether.

Anyway, the whole idea of celebrating a centenary in 2005 was scuttled when the Department of Museums & Antiquities came up with the official age of the school as 122 (as at 2005) upon an official query by well-known old boy, the late Tiger U. Ravinder "Junjung" Singh (see letter).

But if you know the Tigers, you will also know they are taught never to give up easily. This would have been the same with the 125 anniversary coterie who would never want to be victims of a "near miss" in their date with destiny. Some bright spark amongst them suggested that a 125th anniversary be celebrated in 2008! As far as I am concerned, they might as well have celebrated the 122nd anniversary in 2005! What is the significance of a 125 years anyway? Why not 127 years or, 130 years or, 131 years or, ... whatever? Maybe 150 years can be considered significant enough.

But wait a minute...that would not be until 2033! Most of the 125th Anniversary celebration proponents would be dead by then! How to be immortal?

So that is why we now have a 125 year anniversary celebration. It is not about the school per se, nor is it about the historical significance of a 125 years or is it about the future of the school; it may just boil down to be about seeking immortality in a few tons of bricks that are a 125 years old!

And to celebrate the reaching of this "grand milestone" the following projects were instituted in 2008:

a. The launching of a King Edward VII School Museum

b. The launching of a RM1,000,000 trust fund for the school

c. The series of events in 2008 between May and October:
- Soft launch (May)
- Old Boys Vs present school team rugby game (June)
- 10-A-Side Rugby Tournament (July)
- Edwardians' Parade through Taiping Town (31st July)
- Old Edwardians' Golf Tournament (11th October)
- 125th Anniversary Dinner and the launching of the Coffee Table book (11th October)

d. The publishing of a coffee-table book covering the first 100 years of the school

At first glance, the above could appear impressive but lets scrutinize the list one by one:
(i) Museum: is a physical museum still viable and relevant in this cyber day and age? Who bears the maintenance cost? The trust fund?
(ii) RM1 million trust fund: probably take another 125 years to achieve a million bucks!
(iii) The events: Apart from the parade and the soft launch the rest are annual events anyway
(iv) The coffee-table book: 100 years? Why not 125 years?

The most telling evidence of the relative insignificance of 125 years is the fact that the promoters are publishing a commemorative coffee table book that covers only the first 100 years! Apparently the fixation with the 100 years is hard to shake off! This to me is the most ludicrous aspect of the whole affair. Could it be that 100 years is "more sexy" than 125?

25 years of recent history (1983 to 2008) or 20% of 125 is not recognized and I wonder how many younger Tigers are disenfranchised by this. Needless to say, none of the promoters of the book were in school after 1983.



The students in school today will be the old boys of tomorrow yet their only participation is a walkabout around Taiping; it was no parade. They will be the ones celebrating the 150th anniversary and wondering what the hell was the 125th year. They are the ones who will read the coffee-table book in future and find it does not include them even though they were a substantial part of the history.

Well, someone said; "A book is the only immortality" and I know a bit about the circumstances under which the coffee-table book is being done. I just can't wait to get my hands on a copy...if only to see who the immortals are.

As for the "gala" dinner on the 11th of October...well, what can and will it be but a glorified annual dinner. It will be devoid of alcohol because the Sultan of Perak is supposed to be attending. Devoid of alcohol!?! I thought it is also about celebrating tradition! I suppose it is okay to sacrifice tradition when there are possible datukships in the offing. Hmmm...they wish!!!

Also, why can't the organizers give all the students a fete on 11th October albeit on a less elaborate menu. It will not take a whole lot of money to do that and some old boys would be more than willing to chip in. For about RM15 per kid, for say 2,000 is only RM30,000. The students will be instilled with a sense of pride and surely remember their involvement with the celebrations for years to come! Isn't this what celebrating milestones for schools all about? For the future generations and not so much about past laurels?

Instead, the organizers have planned 100 tables on a 40:60 split between indoor and outdoor tables in the town hall; the difference being RM3,000 and RM1,000. I wish them luck in elevating this dinner into something greater than the usual annual mundane affair...they need loads of it!

After all the merry-making has died down, the school will again be left to continue its drift into history with nary a major contribution from the alumni. I would not be surprised if the museum and trust fund projects that were started to add “glamour” to the 125 anniversary celebration will languish and eventually be left to die naturally. This to me is the reflection of the great Old Edwardians affliction; hangat hangat tahi ayam mentality! This is why in a 125 years, the Associations do not even have a brick under its name let alone set up anything long term for the school.

I was in King Edward VII School for 10 of the 125 and among the highlights, the best were the rugby memories and the very good friends I made. For whatever I think about the 125 Anniversary dinner, I concurred when some of my old teammates thought it was a good opportunity to meet up. It has been exactly thirty years since we beat RMC to become the official Malaysian champs for the first time. We had about 5 tables booked for the 11th of October until we were told of the table segregation; not all could afford or were willing to pay RM300 for an ordinary dinner.

In three weeks we managed to organize our own reunion dinner in Taiping on the day before the 125 anniversary dinner, The team work was almost like 30 years ago, only better. We will have more than 100 attendees, each given a genuine personalized jersey, in the same design (pix) 30 years ago.

It is not our intention to boycott the 125 anniversary dinner nor is our 30th year rugby reunion dinner just a day before, a sign of protest.

On the night, we will be honoring our former coach, Mr Yiew Siew Seng and also present school coach Tiger Ahmad Din who is responsible for so much of the successes of the KEVII rugby teams after "Pak Yiew" left the school in 1986. The get-together will mean more to us than number 125. It will be a blast!

I shall not be attending the 125 anniversary dinner on the next day but it is not because I am a lesser Tiger. My presence has been requested in Pahang; a buddy is getting married to his fourth wife! Now, that IS a significant number!

MAGNI NOMINIS UMBRA

The Anonymous Analyst Continues...

This is really getting interesting. Sakmongkol AK47 just received another instalment from Anon. Read on...

Just when sakmongkol thinks, Mr Anon has completed his story, he has posted another poser on sakmongkol’s blog. That being so, sakmongkol has to defer his own instalment of his response to Mr. Anon’s many postings.

So here it is:-

Mr Sakmongkol

After my exposer there is mayhem played now on the political scene.

My first exposer was during the UMNO last week and I bet the warlords have read it and now are sucking up to AAB. Knowingly that the will definetly sink like a piece of lead if they outster AAB. AAB has nothing to lose but everything to gain.

See how thye secret talks between AAB and Anwar team has been exposed. This has now added the warlords worries and even Muyuddin's tone is changing.

AAB has told Anwar to hold off as he wants to teach the traitors a leson. After my exposer AAB now is getting stronger and the tone of the Warlords have changed alot. Najib is now like a meek or a mouse. No noise from him.

Do not worry RPK will be out soon. Syed Hamid is only settling some minor old scores. It was made out to look like a idoit by RPK. Hamid has assured that there will be a review time frame in place for him to be release at any of these stages. No harm and RPK can use this time for a good rest and recharge his batteries.

Khairy's stock has risen and now he is on a war footing to destroy his enemies. Plan as I mentioned in my earlier articles is now all systems go.

I am also anxious how the final part will play out. I have a front seat and happy as I am now.

Who am I and what have I to gain from all this.

I remember seeing aloneAAB once in Alor Setar airport window shopping. He was just another person and minding his own business. I wanted to go and shake his hand but I did not.

Nobody was with him. I remember he was the MP for Kepala Batas. I though he came visiting his parlimentary constinquecy which was next to Alor Setar airport. I did not know there was another Kepala Batas in Penang. What a fool I was. This was the time back in 1993 when he lost the UMNO VP contest to the wawasan team.

Sorry for the spelling errors and had no time to do a word check.

I am going to followup with a full set of articles soon . My previous articles was the Past and next will be The Present and last will be The Future.

The Present set of articles will be
1. The impact of my exposer of the Anwar/AAB/Khairy polt and its effects on BN Umno and PR and the general public.
2. What is happening on the ground now.
3. Who am I and what am I up to. This will provide some hints on who am I .

Mr Anon

23 September 2008 20:55

Once again, Sakmongkol has reproduced Mr. Anon’s posting verbatim. Sakmongkol is not responsible for any distress that it may cause.

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UPDATE: 3.51 AM 24TH SEPTEMBER, 2008

Satmongkol AK47's own analysis of Anon's postulations.

Continuing Sakmongkol’s response to Mr Anon’s posting- Political Whodunit. This section must be read as companion to Sakmongkol’s postings on his responses to Mr. Anon.

But Mr. Anon would insist that Pak Lah and Khairi are very reform minded if not for the warlords.

Ah yes , we come now to the WARLORDS.

The biggest stumbling block are the warlords. These are the ketua perhubungans, normally the chief minister or menteri besars. These people as painted by Mr. Anon, are too weighed down by their own vested interests to have any passing interests in the fate of UMNO. Generally speaking, they are just there, milking the cow, making hay while the sun shines and ensuring they stay as the regional Mafiosi for as long as they can. The same principle applies to all the other division chiefs and UMNO has many of them. 193 division heads at this moment.

Therefore, reasons Mr Anon, they must be dispatched. It is to the manner by which they are to be dispatched that Sakmongkol finds disturbing and incredible. They must be removed. And how are they going to be removed?

Here now lies the unreasonableness of Mr Anon’s solution. In order to remove them and to avoid suspicions, Pak Lah and his SIL must work in tandem with terminator Anwar Ibrahim to destroy UMNO. It is the proverbial Malay adage of burning the mosquito net to kill one mosquito.

Which means, both Pak Lah and Khairy J are willing participants in this dastardly commission.

And to preempt reprisals and revenge, SIL with the encouragement of Pak lah of course, will provide all the black files on each of the UMNO warlords to Anwar Ibrahim. It will start with the 2nd in command himself, Najib Tun Razak. Najib will have his hands full in trying to ward off the numerous taints that now haunt him; the purchase of the submarines, the purchase of Sukhoi planes, the debacle surround the construction of the NGPV aka PSC-Naval Dockyard financial scandal, the insinuations about his involvement in the Altantuya murder. Perhaps they are so numerous that Najib will be completely ostracised.

Muhyidin will be hung dry in public. His record as MB in Johore with the sale of land and other business deals will be revealed to generate sufficient public contempt so as to incapacitate Muhyidin.

Syed Hamid Albar is just a two bit actor doing Najib’s bidding. Enough dirt about him will also be revealed such as allegations of his involvement in the sale of land to Singapore.

Ali Rustam can be easily neutered just by revealing the real findings of the UMNO Disciplinary Cmmitee that investigates money politics. Yes, the one that extinguished the political life in one Isa Samad. Had the committee been absolutely impartial and transparent, Ali Rustam, would have suffered the same fate as Isa Samad.

The rest of the UMNO cast are just film extras who can be dismissed at will.

Sakmongkol’s principal objection to this scenario is why go though all this elaborate and byzantine charade to do all the warlords in? Isn’t it simpler just to use his position as PM and control over the thought forming institutions, to carry out the required character assassination?

Which can only mean, that Mr. Anon has a different agenda.

The first obvious agenda, is his wish to salvage some remaining credibility of Pak Lah and Khairi, thus he provides this theses tomitigate Pak Lah’s and Khairi’s complicity and collusion to the destruction of UMNO. After the destruction, Mr Anon will be able to say- actually Pak lah and Khairi did all this because they love UMNO. They did this because its the only way to save UMNO. They did this passive euthanasia to give UMNO a good death.

Or it is also very plausible, that Mr. Anon spins this incredible story to actually give Khairy a second lease of life? Sakmongkol asks earlier, isn’t it simpler for Pak Lah to use his position as PM and UMNO president and control over mind bending apparatuses, to extinguish the UMNO warlords and UMNO itself?

The answer it seems, is Pak Lah cannot. Because by that time PKR would have already formed the federal government. Therefore in order to place Pak Lah and more particularly, Khairy in a favourable light, Mr. Anon spins the story that these two fellows are doing the passive euthanasia to Anwar’s aggressive euthanasia. Anwar of course, in his megalomaniac element with characteristic magnanimous farce, will accept the collusion of the two, as proof of the reform mindedness of Pak Lah and SIL.

At thus juncture, Sakmongkol can already hazard a guess as to who this Mr Anon is.

He is most probably a hired spin-meister for Messrs Khairy and Pak Lah.

To be continued.

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UPDATE: 25th September 2008

unraveling Mr Anon's Whodunit.....

Or perhaps because, Mr. Anon actually has the inside track of things?

What is it that Mr. Anon wishes to accomplish?

Sakmongkol sees the following points in Mr Anon’s argument.

1. Yes, UMNO is in a hopeless state. It needs to be reformed and maybe reconstituted.
2. To achieve that aim entails the destruction of UMNO as a necessary.
3. The reform and values that Pak Lah wants to push are achievable trough Khairy?
4. But Khairy cannot hope to achieve these aims because of the stumbling block is the form of the MKT and UMNO warlords.
5. Since the UMNO machinery is rotten extensively, Pak Lah and Khairy must make political capital from the ascendency of Anwar Ibrahim.
6. And because that is his primary goal, he is willing to be conspirator to the demise of UMNO a the hands of Anwar Ibrahim?

That is the only way it seems to reform UMNO, save Pak lah and save Khairy! Because it is so preposterous, that the story becomes believable. Sakmongkol remembers a Latin maxim; CREDO QUIA ABSURDUM! I believe it because its is absurd!

That would place Pak Lah and Khairy on top of the hate list, wouldn’t it? The crux of the matter is this. People see the removal of Pak Lah and by extension, Khairy and his cohort as the means of reforming and saving UMNO. Pak Lah has become the most despised PM Malaysia has ever had. That realisation has begun to sunk in among the more vociferous MKT members and sakmongkol suspects, among many more of the silent ones.

Pak Lah, Khairy and company, on the other hand, see the values and corrupting culture represented by the UMNO warlords as utterly reprehensible that they must be removed. And to secure that objective, Pak lah and Khairi have a powerful ally in Anwar Ibrahim?

Mr Anon pushes hard the agenda of presenting Pak Lah as a true reformist. He has the interest of UMNO and the people at heart. His fight can only be continued by Khairy Jamaludin.

If Mr Anon’s story is to be believed, then it confirms our own perception that UMNO is at war with itself. The majority of the UMNO warlords are loyal to Pak Lah and for as long as he remains thenumero uno, they will stay loyal. But while loyal, Mr Anon sees them as primarily responsible for all the ills in UMNO.

The credibility of Mr Anon’s argument hinges on people’s acceptance that the majority of the MKT gumbahs are depraved people, responsible for years of corruption and abuses of power. Once that perception is accepted, then Mr Anon can disassociate Pak lah and Khairy from the cause of UMNO’s cancer. It is the UMNO warlords who caused all those years of abuse and corruption that have so alienated Malay support for UMNO.

Pak Lah and Khairi are saying, yes they confirm that all is hopeless in UMNO but that hopelessness and despondency are not the fault of Pak Lah. The people responsible are the UMNO warlords. Since they do not fit into Pak lah’s values system, they must be expelled.

What Mr Anon is advancing is essentially a blame game. It became more interesting when retold in the form of a whodunit. It takes on the appearance of a big mystery and all that.

Mr Anon is of course correct on his analysis on the need of a political catharsis but he chooses to be selective in identifying the means of relief and cleansing. The people and the majority of UMNO members see the removal of the top leadership and the entire cabal of depraved warlords responsible for the years of corruption and abuses of power as a mandatory. Mr Anon is wrong in wishing the purge of UMNO warlords but insists that Pak Lah and Khairi and his band of brothers, remain to continue a new UMNO struggle.

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Here is another installment from our mystery man, Mr. Anon.

Look who is talking now

Najib has cancelled his trip to UN and why.

Najib does not trust Abdullah Badawi. with all the leaks in the Internet about Abdullah and Anwar getting a deal got poor Najib worried and depressed. Najib does not have the army intelligence now to spy on his political enemies. This avennue was closed to him when he was with immediate effect shafted to the Finance Ministry.

Najib is keeping Abdullah at arm's length ( Must be sleeping in Abdullah's King size bed with Abdullah and Jean. He knows very well if Anwar becomes PM he is a goner and with the hangman's noose staring at him. Poor guy and what must be going thru his mind mind. Worried when he is away overseas , Abdullah will handover the PMship to Anwar.

Anwar has now said wait a while longer. Plan all now got screwed up when the covert plot of co-operation / handover of the PMship from Abdullah to Anwar has been exposed. Poor Abdullah was caught between a rock and a hard place when Tian Chua open his month and said Anwar and PM's team are in talks. Anwar had to bail out Abdullah when he when to the media and denied that no talks are taking place between his and Abdullah's team. I bet Anwar must have verbally wacked Tian Chua. See now Tian Chua is all silent now. All of sudden with all these verbal cockups between Anwar's team ,Dap's Eng Guan have now suggested that Anwar will be the person who will comment on 916 issue ( Anwar taking over from Abdullah the PMship) and nobody else from PR (This will not stop me commenting as I am not from PR )will comment on this issue.

Any idea where is Khairy and what is he up too. Too silent , I guess he was be now knee deep in the covert take over talks.

Najib poor Najib , he is acting like a enuch. I guess Mahathir must have had snip his balls.

What is in for Abdullah is this deal. Immunity against prosecution against corruption and abuse of power for him and his team .

(Who is his team , wait until Anwar becomes PM and all will know)

Mr Anon

"Anonymous" Analyst

This analysis was apparently left as comments by “Anonymous” in the blog belonging to Sakmongkol AK47 over a couple of days. A very interesting read; it even sounds very much like Raja Petra style expose'….the intrigue continues.

“Sakmongkol has received an intriguing analysis from a person calling himself/herself, anonymous. Sakmongkol feels that his comments posted on Sakmongkol's blog presents a good read. Probably sheds some light on the byzantine world of our politics. Sakmongkol produces the comments here, verbatim. “


Part 1

Pak Lah is smart and very sly. He is not going to give up the PM to Najib while under pressure. It is a known fact he does not like Najib and only tolerates him . He chose Najib as a DPM because he has dirt on Najib.

Do not spend to much time reading into PaK Lah but watch Khairy's wheeling and dealing with Anwar. Khairy is throwing the support behind Anwar and to stay relevant. He will not show his hand but have his people support Anwar. In the mean time as soon as Umno is out of power he will consolidate his power in UMNO by instigating a witch hunt.

Najib and the others who plotted against Pak Lah will be surrendered to Anwar with evidence to proscute them in court. These senior UMNO plotters when convicted and will be bar from political office. He will rebuild UMNO and will have UMNO allied with PR has a stragetic partner. MCA/MIC/Gerakan and other BN parties will be left high and dry if by this time they have not gone over to PR.

Khairy knows once he has made UMNO strong and he can bid for power in PR as a stragetic partner. This is the only way for Khairy to survive. Do not write off Khairy. Read the Anwar's PR statements that the BN MPs do not necessary need to cross over to support the PR government. This way Khairy keeps UMNO intact and mold into a progressive party in the mold of PKR. UMNO will remain a Bumiputra party but the UMNO constitution will be change to bar racial politics and statements by UMNO members.

In 2 or 3 years Khairy will made a bid for PM with the blessing of PR.

He wil prove that UMNO without the racist will be a asset to PR and the people.

Pak Lah in next fews days is going to get the King to call Anwar to show prove that he has the backing of the majority of the MPs. What Pak Lah is saying in the media is a wayang kulit to keep his enemies in UMNO off balance. This is the only way to say his legacy and history will judge him as a man who place the country before himself.

Part2

The story or you can call the script continues as I left it with the parting words “More to Come”

As the days get neared to the suppose target day, the haze suddenly stars to clear as the plot / script becomes clearer.

Anwar Ibrahim as say very famously “why wouldn’t Abdullah Badawi want to meet me, He is my friend”. This statement is to assure Abdullah Badawai the he Anwar has not ditched the plan agreed by both of them.

Abdullah Badawi when he says something but means the opposite. He says no Emergency session of Parliament is planed but what he is try to say is that there will be a emergency session of Parliament in the next few days. Abdullah knows that for UMNO to survive, it has to be reformed, getting rid of the self serving UMNO warlords and be in the opposition and reflect on it self. When UMNO is in the opposition, it will be easy to rid the party of the Warlords. Simple reason is to hand them over to the PR government with evidence for prosecution.

Khairy is the Middle and point man between Anwar and Abdullah. Remember when he returned Anwar’s passport personally to Anwar on his release from prison. Khairy knows if he wants to succeed, he must get rid of the obstacles in UMNO. Down the line after 2 to 3 years UMNO in the opposition, UMNO been reformed will be invited by PR to be a partner.

Anwar will be PM for another 9 years and when he reaches 70, Khairy will be the PM by virtue of the largest party in PR. These 9 years Khairy will work to polish his image and the public will be grateful that he was instrumental in placing Anwar in power and getting rid of racial politics. He will prove to be an even better PM that Anwar.

Najib , ooh Poor Najib. He has already got a smell on the plot (But too late) and had to call of his visit to the Middle East. Najib knows that Anwar with Abdullah’s backing have sent the letter to the King to seek an audience with the King.

Najib is trying to foil the plan. Once Anwar has the audience, Abdullah will have Parliament in session. Najib is no longer the Defense Minister (Abdullah’s master stoke) and can not call on the Armed Forces to effect a coup d-eta. Najib is working hard now to marshal the BN MPs and trying to prevent the defections. All is lost now for Najib. It is too late for him as he has already been checkmate by Khairy . Najib must be wondering about his fate either in exile, prison or in the hangman’s noose.

Syed Hamid has played the dumb Interior minister to the hilt and deserves an Oscar. He has as per plan made UMNO and the government unpopular with the tactic approval of Abdullah / Khairy. When the BN government falls, no pity will be felt for UMNO. Khairy knows he needs to get rid of the 40 to 60 years old warlord if he wants to be PM in 9 years time.

Mahathir, poor Mahathir, he was sucked into the plan unknowingly by Abdullah and Khairy. He made the Government very unpopular when he criticized the Government. Including washing the dirty laundry in the public. He is a has been and would not be of any use now to anybody. He is an old man past his glory days.

Muyuddin is just a stooge of Najib to force Abdullah out as a PM. This is only role and he has no more value except spending time in Prison.For the other warlords I will come back to them in regards to their fate in my follow up which will be soon and also the role of the bloggers in the rise of Anwar and the defeat on Najib.

Part 3

DECIDING AND TURNING FACTOR AND REVERASAL OF NAJIB’S POLITICAL FORTUNES.

I am sorry I have to skip the write up on the fate of the UMNO (Busy) Warlords and the Bloggers factor in the rise of Anwar and the downfall of Najib.

The intense infighting in UMNO for the Premiership is one of the most telling factors as of why Taib Mahmud Chief Minister has swung his support behind Anwar. You have may or may have not notice that Taib Mahmud is been silent. He is very much pissed off at the attitude of UMNO warlords. He state and Sabah (UMNO) hold the balance of power. He has not been consulted as who will succeed Abdullah. As a senior BN leader and the second biggest party fraction in BN, he is not getting the due respect from UMNO. Taib have already sounded Anwar that he will have the support of PBB MPs and some of the otherSarawak BN MPs. It is too late for Najib now to reconcile Taib to his side. Remember it is also important to keep you friends and partners informed on important decisions. Taib knows that his days are getting fewer and fewer as he will not live long enough. His family influence is Sarawak may die with him and PBB and its allies will be wiped of in the next Sarawak state elections. His son’s and relatives political fortunes and their riches and wealth must be safe guarded. Hence the alliances with Anwar will safe guard his legacy and empire in Sarawak.

Majority of MCA MPs are in a dilemma and state of shock. They have been told point blank by Anwar that he does not need their MPs to have a majority in parliament. Anwar has offered them a place in PR, provide DAP approves it and no special favors. MCA as a party will not be accepted in PR because DAP is already championing the Chinese rights. A few MPs will join DAP and PKR as not to miss out on their political careers.

MIC is a no no and have not been offered a place in PR nor their MPs. MIC will die a natural death and no CPR can help them to live.

Gerakan is already a has been party and the party will die and natural death once the MPs join PKR

UMNO is in a very serious coma state. It will remain so until the end of the year and will come out of coma once Khairy is the leader.

Najib is having his people camping day and night out at the istana and having the King followed. Can not do much as Syed Hamid has told the police to stand down and make sure the security of the King.

The King has already informed the fellow brother Sultans of Anwar’s letter. The is going to be an emergency meeting tonight or tomorrow of the sultans and Agung. This could be a Video conference meeting or a formal meeting to discuss Anwar’s letter. Abdullah will attend the meeting to lend his support to Anwar’s letter.

Abdullah is a good and sincere man and tried to make the country better. The UMNO warlords did not let him. His legacy for Malaysiawas to be reforms of the police, judiciary, economy, Education, racial and religious rights of all races and religions.

Anwar is not on a standby mode and within an earshot once the King summons him. He is very heavily protected as talk in the streets is that his life is in danger. Knowing Anwar he will laugh out this threat.

More and more MPs are getting into the Anwar band wagon. They all know it is credible that he has the numbers.

Tonight is going to be a long night and tomorrow is going to be even longer.

Khairy is busy as a beaver and fine tuning the necessary details and arrangements to have a smooth change over from Abdullah to Anwar as a PM.

The police and immigration has been given a list of people who are bared from leaving the country and Bank Negara has a list to inform the banks to freeze the accounts of the names mentioned.

WOOOW IT IS GOING TO BE A BIG PARTY AND HIP HIP HOORAY TO CHAOS FOR NEXT 2 WEEKS AND THEN TO NORMALCY.

Watch for the fall of the UMNO warlords and the Bloggers influence in the rise of Anwar and the fall of BN

21 September 2008 20:54

UPDATE 1: 22/09/08


Part 4

The Royalty and deciding factor in the battle between Najib’s UMNO –BN (I did not mention Abdullah Badawi as it is not his fight but Najib’s fight with Anwar) and Anwar’s PR

The flexing of the Royalty powers in Terengganu, Perlis, Perak and Selangor

Perlis – the Raja of Perlis has been a career military man until he was made a Raja Muda and then Raja of Perlis. He has known the excess of the pervious MB. He knew Abdullah after the near defeat of BN in the 13th General elections has not stomach for any fight. He has given up in the face of the massive reversal of his political fortunes. Sharidan was the guinea pig which the Malaysian royalty was to experiment one to see if they still have the powers. Abdullah was unknowingly dragged into the experience. The plot (Experiment) was agreed by the brother Sultans to test the resolve of Abdullah Badawi. Raja of Perlis started the ball rolling when he refused Sharidan to take the oath of MB of Perlis. The success of this experiment spread like wild fire to the royal states. This in effect was payback to BN for humiliation in public and curbing of their powers.

Terengganu was a small experiment for a later much larger stage (which is now been played out in KL – The play is called the testing of the Agung’s constitutional powers in appointing the PM. We all know how it is going to turn out now. Again is Terengganu the excess of the pervious state government was noted and the MB was shown the way out. Another successful experiment and not a whimper from Abdullah Badawi. All systems go and Anwar was encouraged to make a go for the PM post.

Selangor and Perak another set of experiment to see if PR will respect, all successful. Now is the eyes of the public the royalty has been redeemed.

Najib was not promoted to Finance ministry but moved out as a request from the King. The King feared chaos with Najib as the defense minister during these trouble times. Najib does not think twice when it comes to a violent decision as in the case of the Mongolian girl.

The Royalty in effect hijacked some of the constitutional powers of the PM who meekly surrender it to the Royalty. The Agung and Sultans will act on the advice of the PM, but this is no more the case now.

If Mahathir has not curbed the Royalty powers and humiliate them in Public, the royalty will not be taking the side of Abdullah’s BN. Milk is spilled and no point crying years later. The seed of this chaos was planted by Mahathir 20 years ago and now it has grown into a monster. The people are all behind the Agung now and that is where the power is “THE PEOPLE”

I will take a break for now until tomorrow evening to my 2 cents of input. UMNO warlords andBloggers role in rise of Anwar will be after the PR Take over.

21 September 2008 22:13

"We will see how the story unfolds. Mr anonymous, who are you?"

**************************************
INTERLUDE-comment by Sakmongkol AK47

Sakmongkol cannot wait until Mr. anonymous finishes his story. Since he wishes to remain incognito, we shall call him Mr Anon. Mr. Anon has posted a series of comments on the political scene. He has posted them on Sakmongkol’s blog. It has 4 parts at this time of writing. Sakmongkol has re-produced them verbatim as feature articles. The title of the series was named as Political Whodunit. His intention is to open up a debate on the postings by this Mr Anon. it has become more nail biting than an Alfred Hitchcock’s thriller.

It tells us, of the following main points.

1. That UMNO is in the throes of death. Some say, it is in comatose. Its main cause is the decaying forces from within. They take the form of internecine wars between the UMNO warlords.

2. The only way to re-constitute UMNO , reform it, rejuvenate it, is to allow UMNO to die. Readers will remember that Sakmongkol has posted an article, shall we do a Kervokian on UMNO. It tells us the story about euthanasia- or doctor assisted demise. Mr. Anon has responded by posting his comments there. The result of his action has now placed everyone of us in suspense and some agitated.

3. Now, the doctors assisting the death of UMNO are the honest to goodness Pak Lah and Khairi Jamaludin. The euthanasia on UMNO shall be done in both manners, i.e. passively, by Doctors Abdullah Badawi and the Oxford trained Khairy Jamaludin.

4. It shall also be done the aggressive euthanasia way by Dr. Anwar ‘Mengele’ Ibrahim. Remember the story ‘The Boys fromBrazil’ starring Gregory Peck as Dr Angel of Death, Hans Mengele who injected boys with some substance to turn them into blue-eyed Aryans? Yes the same Gregory Peck who played Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird( the story so well loved by our blogger friend, that connoisseur of the English Language,

Mat Bangkai). Well, in our case, Anwar Ibrahim will undoubtedly inject some enthusiasm in the new emerging UMNO that will be headed, as per the scheme of Mr Anon, Khairy Jalmaludin.

Parts 1 and 2 of the Whodunit series, are vainglorious attempts to recast Khairi Jamaluddin as the emerging force within UMNO. Mr Anon appears to be in a hurry to force a conclusion. His analysis appears to be a rush job and disjointed at that. That the man, UMNO can rely to salvage UMNO is Khairy. This high speed attribute makes the whole story seem rushing and desperate to acquire self fulfilling prophecy overtones.

The UMNO which Mr Anon describes is an UMNO The Day After. It is the successor of the UMNO which has been despatched by Anwar Ibrahim’s aggressive euthanasia.

Mr Anon projects the image of khairy as the man who will one day lead a re-constituted UMNO sans the warlords, sans the old guard, sans Najib and leaders of the same genus.

Sakmongkol wishes to suspend judgement as to the exuberant way Mr Anonymous has painted Abdullah an Khairy. Clearly, this is a blatant attempt to recast these two central figures in favourable light in the unfolding drama. Hence, the benign phrase that Pak Lah is a nice fellow etc. and Khairy of course as the brain box being Oxford trained and all that.

That aside, Sakmongkol agrees with the observation as to the character of UMNO. If Mr Anon is an UMNO insider and who walks on the fringes of the corridors of powerful people, his admission of the ills that are ravaging UMNO now serves to do this. It would confirm once and for all that UMNO is nothing but an elitist political party, dominated as always, from the beginning, by powerful party bosses.

Leadership in UMNO then becomes a race among those not civil of men to secure control of the party and then extract as much benefits and gains as possible. Subsequently the spoils and loot of incessant power struggles would be shared among enforcers and foot soldiers.

In the meantime, the meek public, always fearful of reprisals and at the same time dependent on the vast protection racket devised by the Mafiosi dons, received the one thing that has been elevated to the status of all important life giving elixir- PROTECTION.

Hence UMNO is the only defender of RELIGION, RACE and COUNTRY.

The writer would have us believed that the principal protagonists in UMNO, Pak lah and khairi have been sent down to earth to save UMNO from itself. The question that follows then, is what has UMNO done that merits saving by such elaborate scheme? By positing Pak Lah and Khary in such a favourable light, ignoring the fact that these two are part of the UMNO problem, Mr Anon really wants to salvage whatever semblance of credibility is left from these two players.

Whereas in reality, UMNO finds itself in total disarray today is because of Pak Lah’s flaccid leadership. That leadership is further weakened by the schemings and machinations of the young, ambitious and reckless Khairy Jamaludin.

That UMNO has become rancid and bad because of political warlordism is also true. That would suggest on the reverse and quite to the contrary to Mr Anon’s thinking, the need for strong and resolute and determined leaders, ruthless in political finishing, to unite the dispersing forces that are pulling UMNO apart. But it is mischievous for Mr. Anon to suggest that Khairy Jamaluddin fits the bill.

To be continued-in the spirit of the serialised thinking of Mr. Anon.

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Part 5 (Final)

This is Mr. Anonymous’s final instalment of the political whodunit series. Sakmongkol wishes to thank him for his permission to reproduce his postings verbatim.

Sakmongkol commends him for his diligence and resolve to pursue his line of arguments. It in turn, has sparked a lively debate in the form of responses from several other bloggers including sakmongkol. Sakmongkol cordially invites Mr. anonymous to continue posting his comments in Sakmongkol’s blog.

Here is the final and Part 5 of Mr. Anonymous comments.


Final part on how it is and told as it is of the countdown the end of the old empire and rise of the new empire .All great empires are built on the ashes of great empires. Heil CesarStart of the new empire building.

The seeds for the lineage of the new empire was sowed the moment Abdullah became the New Cesar of Malaysia.

1. Khairy with the tactic approval of Abdullah met with Wan Azizah (wife of Anwar) to help obtain Anwar’s release from prison for a price. Not too many details were discussed during the first meeting.

2. Wan Azizah on her first meeting with Anwar after meeting up with Khairy, informed Anwar the general outline of the discussions and a request from Khairy for a four eye meeting.

3. Anwar gave the go ahead and Wan Azizah thru emissaries pass the message to Khairy the meeting is acceptable but must not take place in Sungai Buloh prison but somewhere else. The meeting was finally arranged in a place acceptable to both Khairy and Anwar. Guess where, The Sungai Buloh prison warden’s home. This was done as not to raise suspicion. All involved were sworn to secrecy.

4. The four eye meeting got under way and it was not one meeting but several meetings to formulate the plan and understanding.

5. Terms and conditions were discussed. Some details of the meeting were that

a) Anwar will be freed and cleared of the sodomy charges but not of the corruption of power charges. This is done as not to raise suspicion and also to make sure that Anwar does not bid for power for the next five years.

b) Khairy discussed with Anwar of an orderly succession as PM.

c) Abdullah Badawi will be PM for 5 years, Anwar for 9 years and the Khairy. Anwar was shock and amassed at Khairy’s confidence.

d) Khairy will provide Anwar damaging material on the UMNO warlords who will need to be disgraced via corruption charges , racial insensitivity

e) Anwar will thru his network will feed this info to the bloggers. The bloggers for involuntary became part of the plan and the spin. The bloggers were looking for hot stories to popularize their blogs. The more you keep on repeating a story; the story sooner or later will take a life of it own. RajaPetra Kamarudin fitted the bill because he was the King of the bloggers. All the bloggers will belief was he writes on his blog. Raja Petra is in a sense a blogger with a romantic sense of life that is the man to save Malaysia. What a pity that he belief in own spin. He was made to look as the fall guy and help push the Anwar Khairy agenda.

6. The alienating of the Indians in Selangor thru Temple demolishing and the holding of UMNO general assembly was the plan to turn the Indians off from BN. Plan succeeded because Hindraf where unknowingly sucked to this web of deceit. Organizations need men to boys to lead and sorry for the case of Hindraf it was the other way round. Detention of the Hindraf 5 was a god given opportunity to future alienate the Indians from BN. Poor Samy Vellu was not a party to the plan and did not know if it was bicycle or a train which hit him. He is still clueless as to what he is doing. What do you expect from a man who taught only for himself and his family and not of his fellow Indians?

7. Chinese alienation from MCA. This is interesting as there were too many anti-Chinese statements by the UMNO members and also by Khairy to further alienate the Chinese and the meek or now response from MCA and Gerakan. DAP, PKR and even PAS came out to condemn the remarks and support the Chinese.

8. Who were Khairy stooges in UMNO? This is a closely guarded secret and even Anwar will be surprised.

9. Why was the General election called before the expiry of Anwar’s 5 years ban? First it was to make sure Anwar can milk the sympathy votes and to make sure that Anwar is not distracted by his own election. This way he can spend his energy to help the opposition to deny BN a 2/3 majority.

10. Najib was left to his own doing by Abdullah and that is the reason for some of the bizarre decisions taken to prosecute Anwar and knowing his IQ level it was self destruction the moment he pressed the panic button.

11. Now is the time Khairy and Anwar must make sure their plan has to succeed.

12. The King (Agung) has taken an oath to be the King for all Malaysians and to reign and not rule. Let see the advice given by his fellow Sultans on the next course of action. I am inclined to belief that the final interpretation of the law on the royalty side will come from Sultan Azlan Shah.I am also curious to the ending of the chaos and waiting for the new DAWN. Heil Cesar.

As for the Umno warlords, these were suckers taken for a ride and now await their vacation in prison. As of the bloggers thanks for the naïve approach to the politics ofMalaysia.As for me I have said my piece and I will reveal myself in due time.

22 September 2008 12:54

Sakmongkol hopes readers will enjoy reading Mr. Anonymous's interpretation of current politics.

*************************************************************

UPDATE: 23Rrd September.

Sakmongkol answers a political Whodunit-2

Mr anon sounded very jubilant indeed at the prospects of (a) Anwar Ibrahim coming to power and (b) that somehow, Anwar becomes the PM by courtesy of Pak lah and Khairy doing the machete clearing of the UMNO undergrowth.

Mr anon then offers the very distended argument that Anwar Ibrahim somehow owes a favour to Abdullah Badawi through the point man, Khairy Jamaluddin.

Where does kind of reasoning leaves Mr Anon? He is seen straddling both sides( uncannily similar to Anwar’s alleged behaviour?). but Sakmongkol sees him as doing the running with hares and hunting with the hounds routine. Mr Anon hedges his bet both on Anwar during Anwar’s projected tenure of premiership and then later to be continued under the reign of the most famous SIL.

First let Sakmongkol tackle the role played by Pak Lah and Khairy in this earth shattering project. The role that can be aptly described as complicity in the hastening the downfall of UMNO.

Where is the Achilles heel in Mr Anon’s argument?

The weak link Sakmongkol believes lies in the overestimation of the cunningness of both Pak lah and Khairy. By painting a picture of both of them were in the whole thing from the beginning, planning, hatching and executing, would be to prescribe extraordinary abilities on both of them, which they ill deserved.

To impute omniscient political prowess on both of them is a bit of a stretch on the credibility. It runs counter to the track record exhibited by Pak Lah. He is most of the time lost and bewildered. To suggest that he is now on top of things capable of conceptualising and then implementing the plan outlined by Mr Anon, can only elicit a WOW exclamation. Very rare and impossible.

Then, there is the question of Khairy. Isn’t he the brain box, da man from Oxford?. To that, Sakmongkol can only retort- how clever can a man from Oxford be? He may be a clever chap but sakmongkol is not so sure whether that cleverness extends to the ability to hatch such a byzantine and serpentine plot.

When was this complicity and plot alleged to have begun? It began, says Mr.Anon when SIL was sent to hand over the passport to Anwar Ibrahim enabling the latter to go to Germany. So that Anwar Ibrahim can save himself from a life threatening back ailment, an affliction no doubt caused by numerous turning and bending overs. For that, Anwar is supposed to owe Pak Lah big time.

How are these mortal enemies united? Because Mr Anon postulates, that Pak Lah and Khairi are as reform minded as Anwar Ibrahim. Wow and double wow!. For according to Mr Anon;
Abdullah is a good and sincere man and tried to make the country better. The UMNO warlords did not let him. His legacy for Malaysiawas to be reforms of the police, judiciary, economy, Education, racial and religious rights of all races and religions.

This bold claim by Mr Anon, is objectionable. Since 2004, what had Pak Lah achieved?. The IPCMC which was touted to be a proof of the new government’s transparency and honesty, was abandoned. The report is nowhere to be seen. If it is in Police Custody , then that could even be more of a jeopardy. The Police has acquired an ignominious reputation of easily losing evidences.
And the Judicary? Can any reasonably minded person accept the payment of ex gratia to sacked and sacked-but-later reinstated judges be an earth shattering judicial reform? In fact, if the judges had any moral compunctions, they would not have accepted the purchase of their loyalty. Pak Lah’s nod to the elevation of dubious persons to become high court judges runs counter to Mr Anon’s claim that Pak Lah is judicial reform minded. If Pak Lah is still judicial reform minded he would not have hired Zaid Ibrahim and now nazri Aziz as law ministers. The appointments proved that Pak Lah has not got any clue as to what judicial reform is all about.

The Economy? Pak Lah has not run the finance ministry to be able to know how the economy functions, what more to reform it. How? By insisting Malays stay put in low productivity agriculture because now 50 agricultural experts have just come back from Taiwan? They are eager to go barefooted into the rice fields and palm oil estates, into the leased and illegally occupied lands to teach our stupid kampong folks the art of agriculture?

Education? Will our education be improved when we are continuously see-sawing between English medium and Malay medium or having Malay or English as medium of instruction? Or that we are about to create thousands of PhDs?

And we can improve our race relations when within UMNO, Pak Lah accommodates and indeed tolerated outbursts of overt racist incendiary remarks?

And religion? People are actually put off by this appendage called Islam Hadhari. Or as Mr Anon would have found most agreeable, Pak Lah’s Islam Hadhari is really an extension of Anwar Ibrahim’s Islam Maddani? Both versions would indeed have maddening impacts on the Malays.

The Octogenarians LKY and MM

Our Tun "Chedet" Mahathir is Malaysia's No.1 So-Po blogger and at 83, he appears as healthy as ever. However, circumstances surrounding the state of his beloved UMNO do not seem to be panning out as well as he would like. His handpicked successor having virtually dismantled his legacy in a short 5 years now seems to have set the party as it is, on a backslide.

The promised real reforms that would have taken the country to the next level did not materialize. The popular votes garnered in the 2004 general elections were not harnessed to make positive structural changes to a legacy system that was deemed corrupt and deficient. More importantly, the opportunity to make real changes within the party was lost.

I would not be surprised if Tun is begining to dislike how he thinks history is going to remember him, what with the antics of Preacher Man and his kin. Tun has been man enough to admit his mistaken choice but still, for a man who put Malaysia on the world map he deserves better

At an age when most people are readying for or already in the netherworld, Tun is still in the thick of battle. His ultimate motivation is probably to ensure his good name in history; I do not think it is UMNO which he has quit or even the race, about which he had already admitted his failure in a tearful speech at one of his last UMNO conventions as President.

But it pains me to see the desperation in some of Tun's posts as he tries to extricate his name from being sucked into the rubbish dump of history; it has already become collateral damage as the warring parties continue to have it out in the country's current bloody political battleground. Fingers seem to be pointing at him for, many of the ills faced by his imploding UMNO, his choice of successor, racial discord and the general state of the country. His continued advocacy of race based politics even as the nation showed its renunciation on March 8th has lost him some fans especially amongst the non-Malays. 

The fact that Tun has to turn to blogging to defend himself and also convey his true thoughts was inconceivable 5 years ago but now, it is representative of what his beloved UMNO has become. Judging from the numbers, he certainly continues to be relevant while his successor slips into oblivion.

Meanwhile across the causeway we have another octogenarian, Lee Kuan Yew who at 85 has nothing to worry about how history will remember him. History is already being interpreted about these two men and how they match up. An example is this article reproduced in Din Merican's blog that was written by none other than Mahathir's own nephew, Ahmad Mustapha.

It has been circulating in cyberspace for some time now and speaks for itself; please read:


Note by Din Merican:


I am grateful to my fellow Kedahan, Ahmad Mustapha, for allowing me to post this piece on Lee Kuan Yew (LKY) for the reading pleasure of my friends and bloggers.

LKY is to be admired, even grudgingly, for his intellect, integrity and passion, and for building Singapore into a modern city state. This father of modern Singapore is tough and compromising in the pursuit of excellence and leads by example. A strict disciplinarian, he sets very high standards and walks the talk. At 84, he is very active as Minister Mentor with a razor shape mind. I take this opportunity to wish him many happy returns of the day.

My friendship with Ahmad Mustapha goes a long, long way. He was one of a handful of Kedahans from Alor Star who were educated at University of Malaya in Singapore (now the prestigious National University of Singapore) in the late 1950s. The other is my dear friend, Kassim Ahmad, who also has his own blog. Both of them, Ahmad Mustapha and Kassim Ahmad as my seniors had a big influence on country boys like me and others who went to the University of Malaya in Kuala Lumpur— Din Merican


Singapore’s Minister Mentor, Lee Kuan Yew, who was Singapore’s founding father, has always been very direct in his comments. This was the man who outsmarted the communists in Singapore (with the innocent help of Malaya then and the willing help of the British) and who later outwitted the British and outpaced Malaysia in all spheres.

Singapore practices meritocracy and Malaysia affirmative action. The former attracted all the best brains and the latter chased out all the brains. The Singapore cabinet consists of dedicated and intelligent technocrats whereas Malaysia has one the most unwieldy cabinet. Not only that, brain wise it was below par.

With that kind of composition, one that is very brainy, naturally Singapore, with no natural resources could outstrip Malaysia in every aspect of development. Malaysia, on the other hand, was too much preoccupied with its Malayness and the illusory “ketuanan Melayu” and was also more interested in iconic development rather than real social and economic development.

Whenever Kuan Yew utters anything that deemed to be a slight on Malaysia, voices were raised admonishing him. Malaysia would never dare to face reality. That Singapore had shown that it could survive was a slap on those who believed that Singapore would fold up once it left Malaysia. Therefore it was natural that these doomsayers would try to rationalise their utterances to be in their favour to combat on whatever Kuan Yew commented.

Singapore achieved its development status without any fanfare. But here in Malaysia, a development that was deceptive was proclaimed as having achieved development status. It was trumpeted as an achievement that befits first world status. This was self delusion. Malaysians are led to believe into a make believe world, a dream world. The leaders who themselves tend to believe in their own fabricated world did not realise the people were not taken in by this kind of illusion.

Lee Kuan Yew believed in calling a spade a spade. I was there in Singapore when the People’s Action Party won the elections in 1959. He was forthright in his briefing to party members as to what was expected of them and what Singapore would face in the future. Ideologically, I did not agree with him. We in the University of Malaya Socialist Club had a different interpretation of socialist reconstruction. But he was a pragmatist and wanted to bring development and welfare to the Singaporeans. Well! He succeeded.

Malaysia was so much embroiled in racial politics and due to the fear of losing political power, all actions taken by the main party in power was never targeted towards bringing wealth to all. Wealth was distributed to the chosen few only. They were the cronies and the backers of the party leadership.

Seeing the efficiency and the progress achieved by Singapore caused the Malaysian leadership to suffer from an inferiority complex. That Malaysia should suffer from this complex was of its own making.

In a recent interview, Kuan Yew said that Malaysia could have done better if only it treated its minority Chinese and Indian population fairly. He added that Singapore was a standing indictment to what Malaysia could have done differently. He just hit the nail right there on the head.

Malaysia recently celebrated its 50th year of independence with a bagful of uncertainties. The racial divide has become more acute. The number of Malay graduates unemployed is on the increase. And this aspect can be very explosive. But sad to see that no positive actions have been taken to address these social ills.

Various excuses were given by Malaysian leaders why Singapore had far outstripped Malaysia in all aspects of social and economic advancement. Singapore was small, they rationalised and therefore easy to manage. Singapore was not a state but merely an island.

There was one other aspect that Malaysia practises and that is to politicise all aspects of life. All government organs and machinery were ‘UMNO-ised’. This was to ensure that the party will remain in power. Thus there was this misconception by the instruments of government as to what national interest is and what UMNO vested interest is.

UMNO vested interest only benefited a few and not the whole nation. But due to the UMNO-isation of the various instruments of government, the country under the present administration had equated UMNO vested interest as being that of national interest. Thus development became an avenue of making money and not for the benefit of the people. The fight against corruption took a back seat. Transparency was put on hold. And the instruments of government took it to be of national interest to cater to the vested interest of UMNO. Enforcement of various enactments and laws was selective. Thus a ‘palace’ in Kelang could exist without proper procedure.

Singapore did not politicise its instruments of government. If ever politicisation took place, it is guided by national interest. To be efficient and to be the best in the region was of paramount importance. Thus all the elements like corruption, lackadaisical attitude towards work and other black elements, which would retard such an aim, were eliminated. Singapore naturally had placed the right priority in it’s pursueit to achieve what is best for its people. This is the major difference between these two independent countries.

Malaysia in its various attempts to cover up its failures embarked on several diversions. It wanted its citizens to be proud that the country had the tallest twin-tower in the world, although the structure was designed and built by foreigners. It achieved in sending a man into space at an exorbitant price. These are what the Malays of old would say “menang sorak” (hollow victories).

It should be realised that administering a country can be likened to managing a corporate entity. If the management is efficient and dedicated and know what they are doing, the company will prosper. The reverse will be if the management is poor and bad. The company will go bust.

There are five countries around this region. There is Malaysia, and then Indonesia. To the east there is the Philippines and then there is that small enclave called the Sultanate of Brunei. All these four countries have abundance of natural resources but none can lay claim to have used all these resources to benefit the people. Poverty was rampant and independence had not brought in any significant benefits to the people.

But tiny Singapore without any resources at all managed to bring development to its citizens. It had one of the best public transport system in the world and it is a very clean city state.
It is impossible to compare what Singapore has achieved to what all these four countries had so far achieved. It was actually poor management and nothing more. Everything is done for the vested interest of the few.

Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines and the Sultanate of Brunei need good management teams. They would not be able to do this on their own steam. I would advise that they call on Kuan Yew to show them what good governance is.

Of Lame Ducks And Limp Dicks

RPK is behind bars and Malaysia Today is still up and running. This has been RPK's contention to the Keystone Cops; the portal is "not his" and he cannot be held liable for third party comments posted therein. Another thing for the authorities to figure out is, how the hell is he still publishing while still a guest of His Majesty's government? This, Heads They Win, Tails I Lose appeared in Malaysia Today on the 19th of September. RPK never ceases to amaze.

The commentaries like this, The Limp Replacing The Lame also dated 19th September by M. Bakri Musa (posted in the Malaysia Today, The Corridors of Power section) continue to make the site worth visiting. The portal is alive without RPK!

The Limp Replacing The Lame

With Najib Razak scheduled to replace Abdullah Badawi as Prime Minister by June 2010, we have the specter of the limp replacing the lame.

THE CORRIDORS OF POWER
M. Bakri Musa

Abdullah's recent announcement that he may give up even sooner thrilled Najib. Presumably to "prove" his sincerity, Abdullah traded ministerial responsibilities with Najib. Now we have the limp taking over what was once the responsibility of the lame, and vice versa.

In classical Malay literature, for example Hikayat Malim Deman, everyone in society has his or her own responsibilities, doled out according to one's capabilities. Thus the deaf would man the cannons, an appropriate enough duty as the blasts could not possibly damage his hearing any further! This reflects the traditional values of our culture in respecting the inherent dignity and worth of every individual, and that each of us can contribute in our own unique ways.

Those great narratives of our ancient literature also reveal something else. While the lame and the limp can still contribute to society, there is one place where they should not be. The limp and the lame have no place in the leadership. I have yet to read of the limp or the lame becoming Bendahara or Panglima in our literature, ancient or current.

Abdullah The Lame

As shown by his performance during these past five years, Abdullah is a lame leader. His propensity to doze off aside, the responsibilities of leading our nation is way over his head. The poor man is simply overwhelmed. He does not realize that he is drowning as the crowd around him keeps cheering him on.

Abdullah clearly has been promoted beyond his capability. Judging by his talent, Abdullah is more suited to run the Kepala Batas municipal council, at best.

Malaysian voters were not the only ones fooled by Abdullah; so too that shrewdest of politicians, Tun Mahathir, who appointed Abdullah. Voters realized their collective misjudgment in giving Abdullah his undeserved massive mandate in 2004 by repudiating him in this last election. Mahathir too has openly admitted his error and is now desperately trying to remedy it.

There are two groups of individuals still mesmerized by Abdullah's pseudo talent. One is his cabinet colleagues and two, his fellow leaders in Barisan, specifically those in UMNO Supreme Council. Lately however, we are seeing signs of them getting wise, only a few of them though. It is not so much that they are finally seeing that their emperor is stark naked, rather that he is no emperor at all, in demeanor or performance.

Abdullah received much praise when he appointed Zaid Ibrahim as the de facto Law Minister. Those praises came less out of conviction, more of hope.

It did not take long for Zaid to realize that what he thought from afar as a sultan wrapped in shining samping sutra was, up close, nothing more than a jungle man wrapped in tattered bark loincloth. He was not amused. Zaid recognized early his error and despite pleas from Abdullah, quit the cabinet. Zaid did not build his hugely successful law practice without being a good judge of character and talent. In Abdullah, Zaid saw neither.

Zaid's reputation soared on quitting the cabinet. It was not at all tarnished by his brief association with Abdullah.

To be sure there are some rumblings in the cabinet suggesting that a few may share Zaid's assessment of Abdullah. There is for example Trade Minister Muhyyiddin Yassin. Like many, his is only cakap kosong (empty talk). Unlike Zaid, Muhyiddin does not have the courage to act on his conviction. He is reduced to mumbling his dissatisfaction in the hope that his uttering would be incoherent enough so that whoever would win, he could say that he was on their side!

As for Abdullah's fellow leaders in his Barisan coalition, they too are assuming Mohyyiddin's mumbling and indecisive posture. So far only the leaders of the small SAPP with two Members of Parliament have taken decisive action by leaving the coalition. Even they are hedging their bets by choosing to remain independent

Leaders of the other Barisan coalition in MCA and Gerakan are clearly unhappy. However, either due to lack of courage or out of loyalty, they too are reduced to Muhyyiddin-style mutterings.

There is one brave soul in UMNO Supreme Council, Tengku Razaleigh. He alone was the first to see through Abdullah. He is also the only one who has come out to challenge Abdullah openly. Even more remarkable, he did so very early on. This prince can sniff out the qualities of real sultans from the pretenders very quickly.

The meek may inherit the earth, but they, like the lame and the limp, have no right to the leadership of our nation.

Najib The Limp

The mainstream media and the hierarchy of UMNO are as usual delirious with joy with Najib taking over the finance portfolio from Abdullah. I am uncertain whether that sentiment is genuine or merely the meek paying homage to the powerful.

Najib has not demonstrated much competence in running the Defense Ministry. It was during his tenure that a ragtag bunch of village bums, members of the Al Muanah group, successfully overran the Army Base near Grik, Perak a few years ago. We were promised by Najib a White Paper over this massive security breach, but so far that is only a promise.

It was also during Najib's tenure that the newly-built Pularek base in Johore collapsed just as it was being completed. Mercifully it was before its opening ceremony!

In the current trial of the Altantunya murder case, there is the grisly reminder of the massive corruption and bungling of the multibillion dollar submarine deal with France. The list is long as well as expensive.

We are told that Najib is particularly qualified to take over Finance from Abdullah. We are also told that Najib is a "British-trained economist! Take a few courses in economics in your undergraduate years and presto, you are an economist! This effusive praise and embellished accolade reflects the generosity of our culture. We are generous even in our praises, whether they are deserved or not.

Frankly, it is not too difficult to be "better" than the inept Abdullah. That is no praise!

Anwar Ibrahim and his Pakatan Rakyat have every right to demand the reconvening of Parliament and to introduce his "no confidence" motion against Abdullah. In denying Anwar his demand, Abdullah merely reaffirms his weakness. Only the lame and the weak shy away from challenges.

Malaysians are not lame or limp. We successfully stood up against the British colonialists. We still remain unique in that we are the only nation that had successfully beaten back the communist insurgency. We are proud of our traditions and achievements. This is not the time to let the lame or the limp lead us. In fact, there is no such time.

Freed But Not Free...

Teresa Kok’s release yesterday afternoon is welcomed yet overdue news. She should never have been taken in let alone had to endure 7 days of senseless incarceration.

Without disparaging the fears and emotional turmoil that her parents and loved ones felt the last week, I think they were consoled that she would not be physically abused given the high profile nature of her predicament.

However, one can only imagine the mental anguish Teresa would have endured because of the indignity and uncertainty she faced. Stuck in the claustrophobic confines of a 6 x 8 cell and staring at the uncertainty of how long and how far her jailers would go with the detention, uncertainty about how wide the “ISA net” had been cast this time and uncertainty about the course the nation was taking, how could she have felt? No matter how barbaric the ISA, not many would expect her to be physically harmed yet, how does one measure her pain?

Unfortunately, Teresa was not released into freedom; there can be no freedom so long as innocent Malaysians can be detained at the stroke of a pen, without due process of the law. None of us are free! The ISA has to go!

There has been so much written and debate about the action taken by the government. So much has come to pass these seven days amidst hew and cry following the arrests of Raja Petra, Teresa and Tan Hoon Cheng. While the authorities so unconvincingly hid behind national security, there was hardly a voice in favor of her detention apart from those of her antagonists. The candle-light vigils, the surge of blog posts, the Kelana Jaya Stadium anti-ISA rally, all a plea against injustice and intimidation. The simple appeal from the masses was that the universal moral principle; the Quranic “amar maaruf, nahi munkar” (to uphold truth and oppose evil) be upheld.

The arrest of Raja Petra under the ISA though totally unjustifiable is perhaps more acceptable than that of Teresa and Tan. There is no need to elaborate on the exploits of RPK - goading and baiting the government through his writings and exposés. There are not many who have been described with so many antithetical adjectives; traitor/patriot, liar/veracious, irreverent/ devout …the list goes on!

What the government may deem subversive, RPK considers, “amar maaruf, nahi mungkar”. This “irresistible force meeting the immovable force” scenario was bound to come to a point; alleged threat to national security!

Teresa and Tan’s arrest stank of political motivation and this has been borne out by facts and revelations widely reported in the alternative media and indeed even mainstream media. The public can judge.

To Teresa and Tan, I would like to say congratulations! You are now paid up members of the ISA alumni. The dubious honor is shared with hundreds before them and if Anwar goes all the way, later even a Prime Minister! Membership will become exclusive the day the Internal Security Act 1960 is finally repealed.

I am pleased to read Teresa Kok hit the ground running immediately after her release. With this 7-day ordeal now behind her, why do I somehow have this nagging suspicion that she may even feel glad it happened. There have been more positives that came out of this for the nation.

Apart from “amar maaruf, nahi mungkar”, my Muslim friends have taught me the concept of “hikmah” (wisdom) that is important in Islamic Philosophy. Hikmah has been described as:

“…knowing things for what they really are, as much as is possible. In other words, it is such that one is not confused by various doubtful possibilities mixed together, and is not mistaken as to why certain things have occurred.”

Or

“…to realize the essence of things, and to understand the connection between cause and effect – in regards to the Creation, occurrence of events, fate, and legislation.”

Before last week I had of course heard of Ms Teresa Kok and the impression I had was that she was a “person of the people”. That kind of generalization tends to take away a lot from Teresa Kok, “the person”. Who exactly is Teresa Kok? The ISA spotlight has changed all that. The convergence of diversified brackets of Malaysian society to protest and plea for her was amazing. It was “Bangsa Malaysia” in motion. I have heard first hand, people of different races heap accolades on her in vigils and seen outpouring of emotions at the mere thought of her in prison.

RPK’s detention stirred anger, Tan Hoon Cheng’s evoked sympathy but by cutting across the partisan, racial and religious divide, Teresa’s united the masses. As some of my friends would say, “Mungkin ada hikmahnya Teresa Kok ditahan ISA”.



P/S 

I have also read that Teresa Kok is suing the government for wrongful arrest and detention. She is ill advised to do that because she may soon be sitting on a different side in Parliament. Wouldn’t it look ridiculous? Spare us the tax payers.

She should just go after Tempe and Utusan.

FREE RAJA PETRA NOW!!!

Oh Brother!

The decision to bring in Najib as Finance Minister is a good decision if only for the mere fact that it IS a decision.

Nevertheless, it is a sign that finally something (at least SOMETHING) will be done since Najib will have to do something. I am glad to see he is finally now "shoved" to the forefront but this may yet be his opportunity to show his mettle.

But mettle does have to come with some know-how right? I have been asking around about his academic qualifications for the job...I am still asking. In any case, the previous 2 guys did not have any, anyway. But for all our sakes Najib better be equipped to manage a crisis!

I personally think it may be too much too late and no one can blame him in the short term. Even Anwar has admitted, "... for the Pakatan (to rule), it is going to be tough under the current economic situation."

Since Najib has now finally put up his own website probably in effort to get closer to the people, we hope he will keep us posted about his ideas, opinions and indeed his own thoughts and decisions about things critical to the country; especially now the economy.

But there are some who are already cynical about Najib's new website and his new role. One such person is a guy seems to be in the know and he claims Najib was his former boss.

What ever said and done, since he has accepted the job he is already expected to bring in new blood into the Ministry based on this Malaysiakini report and among them is probably his younger brother, Nazir from CIMB.

However, Nazir Razak himself has this to say:

Najib's appointment as Finance Minister comes at a most challenging time, says Nazir

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 18 - The appointment of Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak as Finance Minister comes during one of the most trying times for Malaysia, his younger brother and CIMB Group Chief Executive Datuk Seri Nazir Razak said today.

"With the possible exception of 1998 (the Asian financial crisis), this is by far the most challenging time to become the Finance Minister," he said when asked whether Najib could provide renewed strength to the economy as the world enters a tumultuous period brought about by the global credit crisis.

"This is what I told him. We wish him all the best," he said after launching CIMB InvestSave, a saving and investment product.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi announced yesterday that he and his deputy were swapping portfolios, with Abdullah taking over defence and Najib the finance portfolio with immediate effect.

Nazir was also asked on the selling pressure on Bursa Malaysia, with the benchmark Composite Index falling almost 39.70 points or 3.96 per cent this morning, a 39-month low of 963.29 points, rendering the local bourse among the biggest losers in the region.

"The sharp decline reflects the global turmoil. We are not immune to the crisis," he said.

On the prospect of a KLCI recovery, Nazir said: "It is very difficult. We are in uncharted territory." - Bernama


Che Det also had this to say in Malaysiakini:

Pak Lah can't manage finance: Dr M

The former prime minister marked another milestone in his astonishing career by publishing a book based on his blog CheDet.com.

Aptly named "Blogging to Unblock" as Dr Mahathir Mohamad only started blogging after he claimed to be blacked out by mainstream media – the book (in English and Bahasa Malaysia) is entirely made up of his postings.

At 83, the former premier continued to display his wit and sharpness in the ensuing press conference in Putrajaya after the book launch.

Commenting on the portfolio swap between Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and Najib Abdul Razak yesterday, Mahathir said that it was about time.

"I think it is an admission that he (Abdullah) cannot manage the Ministry of Finance. But actually there is nothing there because all the time it was being managed by Nor Mohamed Yakcop anyway (Second Finance Minister).

"Only problem is there is a lot of interference with Nor Mohamed (that's what I learnt). He, himself (Abdullah) played no role at all in the management of the finances of the country," said Mahathir.

"He has put Najib there but we are going to face a very critical stage in our economy because of what is happening in the United States, especially the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers and the US$85 billion bailout of AIG."

He warned that if Najib does not manage the economy well, the deputy premier will be blamed for it.

On whether the swap will relieve some pressure off Abdullah within Umno, Mahathir replied with his trademark sarcasm.

"I don't think he feels any pressure at all," said the former prime minister.

"Even when he lost the election or Permatang Pauh, he said it was nothing. I think his blood pressure must be very low. The whole country may feel the tension but he doesn't," added the doctor by training.

Recent arrests unjustified

Being a popular blogger now, Mahathir was also asked to comment on the recent arrests of bloggers.

"I think it is not justified. When people were arrested under ISA in 1987, there was tension in the country.

"There was this incident where a soldier shot somebody and Chinese were leaving the country. In order to restore law and order, the police had to take action.

"But this time, if you say that there is tension or security risk in this country because of the writing of a blogger … I don't think it's true at all," said Mahathir.

"Even if Teresa Kok was involved in a move to stop the azan that can be remedied by explaining that this is not a subject she should be discussing about."

Mahathir said that there is no risk at the moment (even in the case of Kok) and when the need arises, arrests can be made then.

"As far as bloggers are concerned, if they attack the government that is not subversion. If it (subversion) is defined as attacking the government, then Harakah (PAS paper) should be placed under detention, including some of the PAS leaders.

Despite his many clashes with Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim, the former premier was also against any ISA arrest for his former deputy.

"I think there is a case against him. Wait until the case is heard instead of detaining him under ISA."

On him rejoining Umno, the elder statesman said that he wants to wait and choose his own time to return to the party he re-founded in 1988.

He added that there were many who are trying to persuade him to rejoin, saying that he can still contribute to the party.

"But I haven't made any application yet and I will choose the right time to rejoin," said Mahathir with his trademark grin.

Che Det Feels Vindicated

Che Det's latest blog posting may sound self-vindicating but who can blame him for feeling so. This is more cause for alarm. Please read:

FINANCIAL TURMOIL

Posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at September 18, 2008.

1. The world is going through financial turmoil but most Malaysian politicians especially those in the Government seem blissfully unaware or unconcerned. Already 10 major banks in America have collapsed. The almighty US Dollar has depreciated. Now the huge insurance corporation, the American International Group is on the verge of bankruptcy.

2. In the last three quarters AIG lost US$18.5 billion dollars (68 billion Ringgit). AIG is struggling to raise funds to overcome its difficulties. If it fails it may have to opt for bankruptcy. But AIG is going to lose even more.

3. The failures are all due to playing with money, selling mortgages, selling papers and all kinds of financial dealings which have been invented by the finance houses in order to make huge sums of money out of nothing. Currency trading is one of them.

4. I am not a financial expert but I see trouble coming our way. Our currency should be appreciating against the cheaper US Dollar. But instead it is depreciating. This must be caused by weaknesses in our economy.

5. Despite Government propaganda through the controlled media that we are doing well, the reality is otherwise. The foreign investors, including Arabs came, and the reports claim that hundreds of millions of Ringgit in investment would be coming in, but there is no sign that the investors are actually investing. In fact I hear in the IT sector a proposed 600 million Ringgit investment has been withdrawn.

6. Apart from Arabs buying up new skyscrapers there is no sign that investments are really coming in.

7. I talked to potential investors and they told me they would not be investing and they are pulling out from the Malaysian stock market. The KLSE figures show how much market capital has disappeared. I am told that it is more than 100 billion Ringgit.

8. In the meantime the prices of oil and foodstuff are high and may go higher. But incomes are not increasing. In other words we are experiencing inflation. When the American financial crisis really hits us we may not be able to handle it.

9. Dato Seri Najib Tun Razak's appointment as Minister of Finance has come at a crucial time. I pray and hope he will be able to handle the impending crisis. If he fails then he will have to take the blame. Dato Seri Abdullah is now only involved in social issues, reform (of what?) and Islam Hadari. Appropriately he has taken over the Ministry of Defence.

10. We are in for a very interesting time. The PM should read carefully SAPP President Yong Teck Lee's press statement. But I don't think he would. He is reputed to have told Malaysian diplomats undergoing training that if they are asked critical questions they should "buat bodoh" i.e. pretend to be stupid. I believe that is precisely what Abdullah would do to Yong's statement.

PS

1. I read this morning that the Federal Reserve Bank will loan to AIG US$85 billion to prevent it from going into bankruptcy.

2. I remember well how we were told never to bail out failing companies. But in the last one year the Fed has bailed out dozens of failing banks, mortgage corporations and other businesses. Altogether the bail out has cost the Fed almost US$500 billion dollars.

3. I just wonder where the money comes from. Does the Fed hold hundreds of billions of dollars in readiness to rescue failed banks? I don't think so.

4. The money used is "created" through entries in account books. No cash or dollar notes are issued or even printed. Like a magician, the Fed make money from invisible sources.

5. Whatever, the USD will continue to fall.

6. Malaysia would be wise to get rid of dollar holdings. This goes for Bank Negara too. It must have lost quite a bit because of the depreciation of the USD.

Our Increasingly Shallow Pockets

This article was in the Wall Street Journal Asia and I found it on the Malaysian Insider news portal. Politics be damned, with Wall Street's plunge yesterday and today's KLSE fall, we cannot be blamed for being worried about our increasingly shallow pockets and for Malaysia.


Pak Lah’s economic reckoning

SEPT 18 —Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim announced this week that he has enough parliamentary support to unseat the current government, led by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. If he does, Abdullah's lacklustre economic management will be largely to blame.

The prime minister has not introduced any substantive reforms during his nearly five years in office, preferring to rely instead on opening up the government purse. Under the Ninth Malaysia Plan announced in 2005, he expanded public-sector spending to RM200 billion annually from RM160 billion. In his Midterm Plan Review this year, he increased this outlay to RM240 billion. The national debt now stands at RM285 billion, up from RM192 billion in 2004. The official fiscal deficit has risen to 4.8% of GDP this year, from 3.2% last year. Revenue is being spent faster than it is coming in.

It's hard to argue that these outlays have served the broad public interest. Much of the funding has been channelled to elites in the majority Malay community, under the country's pro-Malay affirmation action programme. That has created discontent with many Malay who don't see the full benefits of the programme, and among the minority Chinese and Indians, who are excluded from it altogether.

Abdullah's stewardship has had a real impact on the economy. Capital flight has risen sharply; Malaysian investment abroad now exceeds inward foreign investment. The Kuala Lumpur stock exchange has lost almost one-fifth of its value this year to date. Malaysia's currency, the ringgit, saw its biggest one-month loss last month since the end of the dollar peg in 2005. Although GDP growth has averaged a robust 5% annual growth under Abdullah, that record is now under threat. Inflation reached a record 8.5% this summer. Job creation has reached record lows, as unemployment, particularly among young majority Malays, remains high. Ironically, only the opposition-led state governments are attracting new foreign investment — and without the federal government's help, no less.

Abdullah's 2004 attempts to promote growth and investment — such as through the promotion of the biotechnology and agricultural industries — have failed. He also fumbled discussions with the United States on a free trade agreement, which have now stalled. What Malaysia really needs is education reform and the liberalisation of its labour markets to improve its economic competitiveness.

The political opposition, in the form of Anwar and his Pakatan Rakyat coalition, have seized on these issues. They have promised to root out corruption and to implement a new economic policy to address the concerns of all ethnic communities in Malaysia. Their platform aims to move beyond populist spending to introduce structural reforms in government procurement programmes and in the management of government-linked companies.

When Abdullah assumed office in 2004, he inherited an economy in need of structural reform. Malaysians have had to pay for his poor stewardship through higher prices, stagnating wages and growing private sector debt. Soon, Abdullah may have to pay the political price for that record. — Wall Street Journal Asia

Najib In Cyberspace

UPDATE: 19th September, 1246 Hrs

A couple of reviewers of the website not too impressed huh?

Sakmongkol AK47 and NIAMAH!!!

Well, as the lawyers like to say...res ipsa loquitur

*****************************************************

Deputy Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak has finally decided to have his own presence in cyberspace. I think it is the best decision he has made recently.

Frankly, he may be the Deputy Prime Minister and has been around in the political scene for as long as I can remember, but he remains an enigma...to me at least.

Politics aside, I really do not know very much about him. I find this intriguing since he has been a public figure since his father Tun Razak died in 1976.

To me, compared to most leading politicians, he does not seem to be as charismatic.Well, maybe he is now trying to reach out.

Do check him out at http://www.1malaysia.com.my/v1/index.php . Lets see Najib up close...

NUMBERS

I was one amongst my fellow Malaysians at the Kelana Stadium last night. It was a Pakatan Rakyat rally in protest of the ISA and to show solidarity with all ISA detainees particularly Raja Petra, Teresa Kok, Manoharan (as part of the HINDRAF 5).

The Pakatan Rakyat speakers were Anwar Ibrahim, Khalid Ibrahim (MB Selangor), Kamaruddin Jaafar (SecGen of PAS) and the father and son team of Lim Kit Siang & Lim Guan Eng. However, another Syed (no not Hamid); Syed Ibrahim Syed Nor the Chairman of the Abolish ISA Movement (GMI) kicked off the speeches. The theme of the night was after all the dreaded Internal Security Act.

It is obvious the spectre of the ISA is merely a "symptom". It is symptomatic of a cancer that has been eating away at the very foundations of nationhood; the "carcinogens" being widespread corruption, exploitation and plunder. It is the "sword of Democles" that hangs over the heads of dissenters who dare.

Yet to the thousands of ordinary Malaysians there, the threat of ISA detention would merely be a remote possibility, although I am sure their hearts went out to the victims and their families.

I am certain if many care to admit, rather than the ISA, they were there looking for a glimpse of hope. Hope for a future that seems becoming gradually more futile even after the great "tsunami" of GE12. Hope for a drastic change that seemed impossible before 8th March 2008. Hope for a tenable formula that will foster racial harmony for years to come rather the "divide and rule" that we are continually reminded is sacrosanct to avoid spilling the blood of our children.

No. I was not there because of the ISA per se. I risk sounding insensitive, uncaring or even self-serving saying I was there not mainly to protest the detention of my friend M. Manoharan, nor for RPK, the man I regard as the true Malaysian hero, and neither Teresa, nor the other HINDRAF four, or other nameless and faceless detainees.

I was there because of a series of NUMBERS. A collection or combination of numbers that will eventually lead to CHANGE for the better; CHANGE that will make collateral damage of the ISA and other injustices. That will ensure hope for future generations of Malaysians!

831 was when we gained independence and all agreed to work together for better or for worse under the terms and rights enshrined in the original Constitution. We have entrusted too much to too few and we have had the Constitution hijacked from under our noses.

513 was why we allowed our minds to be held at ransom. All races rightfully subscribed to the ideals of the NEP in true "prosper thy neighbor" spirit. We could accept implementation contentions but we certainly did not expect the gravy train of Orient Express proportions only for the privileged few and bread and circuses for the masses.

22 years of Mahathirism ended with two additional zeros for Vision 2020 that now seems 5 years behind schedule. We also inherited an insatiable ruling elite and a culture of patronage that ingrained corruption.

5 years of his hand-picked successor is 5 spinning years too many. We hear of 4th Floor boys, the 4K Kitchen Cabinet and who has not heard of the ambition to be PM by 40.

General Elections number 12 threw up a 140:82 proportion and the Preacher Man now wants 2 more years to risk doing more damage than the drastic RM2.70 petrol price. Yet handing over to a deputy who seems to have problems with C4 is somehow not comforting.

916 is today. Now Saudara Anwar Ibrahim wants us to rally around 916, Malaysia Day and he assures us CHANGE; he assures us HOPE.

30 more seats is all he needs! He says he has it already but the numbers can be tricky.

But today, 15,000 (some say 20,000) Malaysians heard him promise a better Malaysia; a New Dawn for ALL and today, I will accept his promise and believe he will deliver. I can believe him because I believe he can. He believes it is his destiny to become PM and when he does, a legacy that falls short cannot be an option for the history books.

I believe him because for all the numbers that were swirling in my head at Kelana Stadium last night, I heard him say (eventhough it was merely in thr context of language) one thing: that it is NOT a ZERO SUM GAME.

HAPPY MALAYSIA DAY MALAYSIA!!!

Negara Ku

Lim Guan Eng

"Sky Change"...Lim Kit Siang (here)

The Sound Of Silence

Hush! Listen! Do you hear it? I can sense it in my bones; I can smell it in the air; I can feel it on the ground; I can hear it in the silence.

The ISA Fiasco has been on since Friday and nothing much can be said that has not already been said. Government point-man Syed Hamid has said more than most of us want to hear. Borrowing a line from Forrest Gump, "Stupid is as stupid does..." and for the life of me I do not think Syed Hamid is a stupid man. He may not be as smart as he should be but certainly he is not stupid. But why is he appearing so by saying what he is saying about the ISA arrests?

I think the loud silence from both the PM and the DPM since Friday, speaks the loudest and says the most! Well, maybe the DPM has said enough last week but certainly the Preacher Man has something to say, however scripted it may be. I am beginning to wonder whether he actually knew about the impending ISA arrests. Could it be possible he did not know? After all we are seeing the tail being pinned on the police donkey.

Could it be that the "management without managing" style of his that has left many asking whether the country is indeed on auto-pilot, is finally catching up with reality? Could it be that the right hand only knows too late what the left hand is doing? Who is advising the Preacher Man now? Are we about to witness history in the making when he finally breaks his silence? It takes a strong (or clueless) man to withstand the heat he must be feeling now. Will he pack it in?

The vibrations in UMNO appear reaching the inflexion point where the reverberation will finally cause change within. Too little too late perhaps...but will we finally have it merely being an entirely a UMNO family matter that does not affect the whole nation? I see hope for them; they are learning...sometimes passive is good.

I can sense it in my bones; I can smell it in the air; I can feel it on the ground; I can hear it in the silence...

Candlelight vigil at Bloghouse last night

Sometimes passive is good...

A good (and passive) crowd braved the drizzle and showed up at Bloghouse last night for a candlelight vigil in appeal for the release of not only RPK, Teresa, the Hindraf 5 but all others under ISA detention.

Shooting your own foot and then stuffing it in your own mouth

Very confusing la! Who ordered Friday's ISA arrests? Was it Pak Lah or Syed Hamid or was it actually the Police acting on their own? The ongoing comedy or study in illogics, whichever your fancy continues to amaze the whole nation. Who is running the country!?!

I do not think a government servant in the Police would dare make a unilateral decision without consulting his political bosses on something that could embarass the latter. Embarassing it has turned out to be at a time when solid decision making is crucial from the government. For the government, is this turning out to be a case of "shooting one's own foot" and then "stuffing the foot into one's own mouth"?

Whoever ordered it, our de facto law minister, Zaid Ibrahim points his finger directly at his own boss. This was from Malaysiakini today:


Law minister threatens to quit over ISA
Beh Lih Yi Sep 14, 08 2:42pm

De facto Law Minister Zaid Ibrahim today threatened to resign if the government continued to use the Internal Security Act, which he described as 'unjust'.

The outspoken Barisan Nasional politician also called for the immediate release of DAP MP Teresa Kok and controversial blogger Raja Petra Kamaruddin who were held under the security law which provides for detention without trial.

"We have a government that commits to laws and reforms, we can't be using old-style politics or resort to creating fear. We have laws and they (the detainees) can be charged in court.

"I am trying to meet with Prime Minister (Abdullah Ahmad Badawi) this week to convey to him my position. If (he considers) my position untenable, I will leave," he told Malaysiakini in a telephone interview from Kota Baru, Kelantan.The minister, who is a lawyer by training, held a press conference in Kota Baru earlier, where he also spoke on the same matter.

Use ISA to fight terror

Zaid, who is the minister in the Prime Minister's Department overseeing legal matters, said his position on the ISA is that the law should only be used to curb terrorism, the reason why it was enacted.

"The problem with the ISA now is that it is used against certain people, it is a very unjust law," he added.

The ISA is a relic from the British which used the law to battle the communist insurgency. The Act earned notoriety after it was invoked by the government to stifle dissent, leading many to call for its abolition.

However, the government has continued to defend the relevance of the law on the grounds of national security.

Commenting further, Zaid said: "I am very sad that people like Teresa (right), who I know personally, can be seen as a threat. I can't see how a journalist doing her duty or even Raja Petra can be seen as a national threat.

"If their statements upset certain people, let the police investigate," the minister said, adding that he did not see the need for the government to use such a "strong-arm tactic."

Zaid, who is the former Kota Baru MP, was made a senator and named as minister in charge of legal affairs during the cabinet reshuffle by premier Abdullah in March. His appointment was lauded by many quarters, especially within the legal fraternity, as it was seen as a gesture by the prime minister to honour his pledge for judiciary reforms.

'A setback to judiciary reforms'

However, Zaid lamented that the latest ISA arrests dealt a blow to his six-month-long task of trying to regenerate the judiciary.

In relation to the concept of collective responsibility, the minister acknowledged that his views on certain matters do not go down well with his cabinet colleagues.

"I don't want to make it difficult for him (Abdullah). If my views are inconsistent or unsuitable (to that of the cabinet's), I can leave the government."

"It is a setback (on my work). The government wanted to change certain things otherwise they don't need me (to be in the cabinet)," he said.

Friday's ISA crackdown began with Raja Petra, who has targeted government figures on his website Malaysia Today. He was detained at 1.10pm.

Tan Hoon Cheng, a journalist for the Chinese language Sin Chew Daily, was later arrested at about 8.30pm.

She was detained in connection with her report regarding the derogatory remarks made by an Umno leader against the Chinese community which led to a national uproar.

Close to midnight, DAP MP and Selangor senior state exco Teresa Kok was detained outside her condominium.

The arrests elicited a round of strong protests from all quarters, including those within the BN component parties.

Journalist Tan was released yesterday after being held for less than 24 hours and Home Minister Syed Hamid Albar explained that her detention was "to ensure her safety."


And This was in the Malaysian Insider:


Law Minister Zaid says ISA wrongly used
By Leslie Lau
Consulting News Editor

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 14 - De facto Law Minister Datuk Zaid Ibrahim broke ranks with the government today, and criticised the use of the Internal Security Act (ISA).

At least one other Cabinet member from the MCA has also called for the ISA to be replaced.
Zaid said the ISA should only be used against terrorists or against those who are trying to topple the government by force.

The minister said the legislation, which provides for detention without trial, should not be used against "civilians."

His comments, made at a press conference at his home in Kota Baru, today comes amid widespread criticism of the three recent arrests made under the ISA.

On Friday, the police detained Sin Chew Daily reporter Tan Hoon Cheng, Seputeh MP and Selangor state executive councillor Teresa Kok and blogger Raja Petra Kamaruddin.

Tan has since been released following string protests and representations made on her behalf by Barisan Nasional (BN) leaders, including some from Umno.

Leaders from the opposition Pakatan Rakyat (PR) alliance have also criticised the use of the ISA by the police, and have accused the BN government of using the arrests to head off possibility of the opposition seizing power next week.

But the criticisms of the ISA appear to have found a voice within BN.

Zaid was not the only minister who spoke out against the ISA today, amid mounting public pressure for some sort of review of the ISA.

Health Minister Datuk Liow Tiong Lai today proposed replacing the ISA with a Race Relations Act.

MCA vice-president Datuk Dr Fong Chan Onn has also called for the ISA to be either reviewed or abolished.

The police made the arrests last Friday, sparking fears of widespread detentions, to quell what the authorities believe was mounting racial tensions.

This followed weeks of open disputes between the non-Malay and Malay parties within the ruling BN coalition over the controversial remarks of Penang Umno warlord Datuk Ahmad Ismail.

Zaid said today that he would seek a meeting with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Badawi for a "frank discussion" about the issue.

"I know I am breaking rank here," he told reporters.

"I am prepared for the consequences. If I am to resign I will do so."

Zaid pointed out that he was not trying to be a troublemaker, but he would always be a vocal critic of the ISA.

Writing in his weekly column today, The Star's Wong Chun Wai described the ISA as a draconian and archaic law.

"It shouldn't be used even against Ahmad," Wong wrote. "As this deprives him of the right to defend himself in open courts."

Eh? What's This Ar?

This was in The Star Online today.

Home Minister Syed Hamid Albar gave his latest statements on the ISA arrests:

Sin Chew reporter may be released Saturday (updated)

By FARIK ZOLKEPLI

JOHOR BARU: Sin Chew Daily News reporter Tan Hoon Cheng, who was arrested under the Internal Security Act 1960, maybe released as soon as Saturday, said Home Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar.

He said Tan was detained under Section 73(1) of the Act in order to ensure her safety as police intelligence indicated that there were threats to her life after she reported on Bukit Bendera division Umno chairman Datuk Ahmad Ismail’s allegedly racist remarks.

“We have no intention of holding a reporter as after all she was just taking notes of the comments made by a certain party that led to a public debate.

“She maybe released as soon as today after police have obtained all information needed,” he said, adding that the reporter’s detention was part of the police preventive action.

Asked on the detention of Selangor senior executive councillor Teresa Kok, Syed Hamid said she was arrested due to her comments on mosques and the Azan recently.

”Her comments have created public disorder and problems,” he said.

Asked whether Kok would be released soon, he said it was up to the police, as they have to access the situation before taking any further action.

He added no more arrests under ISA are expected but it would depend on the situation of public order.

”We are not making arrests just for the sake of arrests. ”We will not make any more arrests under ISA as long as there is no more disturbance to peace and public order,” he said.

He also appealed to all newspapers to cooperate with the Government and not incite negative feelings or sentiment.

What? "...released as soon as Saturday (today)"?

And, "...after all she was just taking notes of the comments made by a certain party that led to a public debate."?

And also, "...not making arrests just for the sake of arrests."

If he knows very well "she was just taking notes", then why the hell take her in under the ISA just to release her the next day?? Couldn't they just summon her to the police station to take her statement?

No more arrests under ISA expected and not making arrests for the sake of arrests? Since they expected to arrest her yesterday and "she was merely taking notes", why arrest her if it is not merely for the sake of arresting her? I am utterly confused!!!

Why do I get the feeling that someone is jerking our chain?

UPDATE: 9.00 pm 13th September 2008

Journalist Tan Hoon Cheng has indeed been freed this afternoon. Just when things could not get more ludicrous, the Home Minister said in press conference at Bukit Aman that it was purely a decision by the police to arrest her under the ISA because her life was in danger.

Since she is now free, she is safe? Purely a police decision...hmmm. So now are we suppose to laugh or cry?

Read this Malaysian Insider report yourself la!

Journalist freed, was held because her life threatened, cops tell Syed Hamid

2nd UPDATE

By Shannon Teoh

Journalist freed, was held because her life threatened, cops tell Syed Hamid

2nd UPDATE

By Shannon Teoh

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 13 - Sin Chew journalist Tan Hoon Cheng was released at 2.30pm today.

Home Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar said this at a press conference at the Bukit Aman police headquarters.

"She made the first report so we had to get to the bottom of it and we received information that her life was under threat," he said.

He added that blogger Raja Petra Kamaruddin and Seputeh MP Teresa Kok would continue to be held for investigations and if there was no reason to hold them, that they would be released within the 60 days allowed for by the Internal Security Act.

He explained that RPK had been held after being given sufficient warning but continued to "create tension" while DAP's Kok had touched on sensitive issues, that is the azan call to prayer.

Kok has since denied this allegation that was originally put forward by Umno's former Selangor Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Mohamed Khir Toyo.

Syed Hamid insisted also that the move was not political and it was purely the decision of the police.

"I can tell you that the police need not refer to me. Under Section 73(1) it is under their discretion but they will let me know.

"I think there has not been any malice on their part. We have acted within the law," he said, adding also that if he interfered in police action, people would say there is a political motive.

"Each one of us have our own logical explanation but none of us, whether we are reporters or editors, we are not above the law," he said when asked why Tan but not Datuk Ahmad Ismail, whose statement she had reported on, was picked up.

"Ahmad has been punished as a party member and suspended for three years. At the same time there is a report against him for sedition, so we are not treating politicians differently."

He, however, said that there was no logical link between the ISA action and opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's Sept 16 plan to take over the federal government as claimed by some quarters.

When asked if there would be more arrests as it was reminiscent of 1987's Operasi Lalang, he quipped, "Is it? Let me know if there is," and insisted that "so far, there are no other arrests".

He also scoffed at suggestions that the country would be put under a state of emergency.

"The arrests are about public order. We do get information from members of the public who feel unsafe, so we have to take preventive measures."

When asked if similar action would be taken if members of the public came forward to say they felt they were under threat due to the statements by Ahmad or Khir or any other politician, he called the question one that was racial in nature.

"At present everything we are doing, we are looking at it from an ethnic angle. Khir Toyo is a Malay, Ahmad Ismail is a Malay, we arrest Chinese...We should start to think as Malaysians. Even me, if I'm considered a threat, the police are free to take action against me."

Bernama adds that in BUKIT MERTAJAM, Sin Chew Daily reporter Tan defended her report on alleged racist remarks made by former Bukit Bendera Umno chief, Datuk Ahmad Ismail.

Tan, 33, said the report was done in a professional manner and was based on what she heard on the night the remarks were made.

"I just write what I heard," she told reporters at her house here after being' released today.

Yesterday, Tan was detained under the ISA at her home in Taman Alma about 8.40pm over the controversial report.

Tan said she was treated well by the police during the 17 hours in custody.

"My thanks to everybody including the police who treated me in a very good and professional way," she said.

"I could not sleep but the police treated me well, no problem," she said, adding that the incident will not deter her from carrying out her duties.

Hush!

This afternoon I read on the Net that Raja Petra Kamaruddin was taken in under the ISA. Surfing through various sites, it was obvious the news had spread through cyberspace fast and furious, and reactions were mainly protests, disbelief, apprehension, anxiety and some even outright defiance.

Sketchy initial details coming through appear pointing to the content of certain postings and comments on Islam in Malaysia Today. The arrest was in many ways to be expected since RPK's Malaysia Today had been in the thick of numerous major political issues in the country. Even RPK was expecting it.

What was totally unexpected when I got home late tonight was the news that Sin Chew Daily reporter, Tan Hoon Cheng who is embroiled in the Ahmad Ismail "squatters" controversy was also arrested under the ISA! And even more baffling is the breaking news of DAP MP Teresa Kok's arrest awhile ago. I hope we are not witnessing a repeat of the 1987 Ops Lallang.

There was talk of Ops Lallang II in the internet the whole day and personally I was not too convinced that we were witnessing the beginning of the recurrence of that nightmare. The thing of concern which came to mind as a blogger myself was to wonder whether I had posted stuff that would provoke the ire of the authorities and put me at risk of incurring their wrath. I honestly do not think so. Certainly my so-po postings especially on Bangsa Malaysia are mild and measured compared to thousands of postings on both sides of the political divide!

Now with the arrests of Tan Hoon Cheng and Teresa Kok I am totally shocked that it has come to this. At the moment, I really do not know what to think anymore.

In relation to the "messenger" i.e. the Sin Chew reporter; after reading the "perpetrator" Ahmad Ismail's 14-paged press statement explaining himself, I scoured the www for video/audio of that infamous speech to see if he had been taken out of context. I have not been able to find and indeed there are also other bloggers searching too. Does any record exist that shows verbatim what was actually said? Certainly that would prove beyond doubt who has been wronged. Admittedly, I do not read Chinese so I do not know exactly what was reported in Sin Chew but I have read their statement in English, standing by their story.

As for Teresa Kok, I only noticed the Toyo/Utusan/Masjid Kota Damansara/Azan episode the last few days. I had not really paid attention because I felt it was a "storm in a teacup" since it was obvious the matter could be easily clarified and cleared up. Theresa Kok did come across as shocked and incredulous that she had found herself embroiled and "broiled". She is either a great actress or she was totally clueless about her alleged involvement.

I cannot help thinking: if these two women have been taken in for what they appear to have been taken in for, then certainly many, many more have said and done worse in recent months. Is no one safe from these draconic measures? I hope I am wrong.

I hope sensibility will prevail...I hope whatever happens in the immediate future, peaceful protests will not escalate into civil disorder...I hope members of the public remain calm. Our nation needs hope and I know we have reached a watershed; for many there is no turning back.

Hush........

Of Titles And Entitlement

Just like the peerage in England, we have our own titled persons in Malaysia. Some of the titles are conferred by the Sultans or the respective heads of non-sultanate states and some are conferred by the government through the Agung of the day. The most common is the title "Dato'" or "Datuk"; I cannot confirm but I think the latter is conferred by the government which also confers more prestigious titles like "Tan Sri" and "Tun".

I remember 40 years ago there were not many Dato's nor Datuks, let alone Tan Sris and Tuns. The population of the country was probably about 13 to 15 million then; roughly half of what it is today. Nevertheless, the number of titled individuals today are in many multiples of the tally back then. Why? Has the number of people who are deserving of titles increased exponentially? Or is it that the pressure of one-upmanship has given rise to a greater demand to be titled. One thing is certain though, most will not only deny having paid anything for their titles but instead attempt to justify how they are more entitled than those without. Perhaps they are right.

My drift is not so much about the titled but about the nons. The demand for datukships (and other such titles) is as much about the rest of us as it is about those "eminent" personalities. The fact that we tend to respect or at least show respect to the titled puts them on the pedestal whether deservedly or in many cases, undeservedly. It is probably due to the feudal mentality that is ingrained in us. I am not knocking the conferment of titles per se but I think the great numbers being given out these days has affected the prestige of such awards.

I am heartened when recently, some sultans have seen it necessary to refrain from awarding titles during their respective birthdays. It does appear that the royalty, led by the Sultan of Selangor, the Agung (Terengganu) and perhaps, even the Perak and Johore Sultans, are trying to restore the prestige that is associated with their respective awards. I just had an epiphany about the many titled friends that I have. It appears I tend to gravitate towards those with awards from Pahang, Malacca and Negeri Sembilan who seem to form the majority. Or maybe it is not me.

It is obvious that awards can be political in as much as they are meritorious. Recent awards come to mind and I am refering to badminton player Lee Chong Wei and former great, Misbun Sidek who is now his coach.

Like many other Malaysians I followed Lee Chong Wei's progress and final stumble in the Beijing Olympics. Before the final with China's Lin Dan, based on his form and performance I had expected Chong Wei to go all the way and secure the first Olympic gold medal for Malaysia. But at the back of my mind, I suspected he would fall prey to the great "Malaysian Sports Affliction"i.e. falling at the last hurdle!

Lin Dan was the then world number one and to lose to him is no shame but what disappointed me was how Chong Wei lost. He promised to "fight to the death" and I am glad to see he is very much alive today with a datukship to boot! The RM300,000 was pre-agreed and I suppose kosher.

This is a clear example of politics coming into sports and getting awards appears as much about timing and political capital as much as it is about performance. Who can forget the oft repeated television montage showing Chong Wei and Misbun and the congratulatory message stating clearly both their names? Why must the Information Ministry make things so obvious that the kind of publicity becomes counter productive; why must everything reflect race?

Mind you, I am not saying Misbun is not deserving of any credit. I happen to think Misbun is the Father of Badminton Revival in this country and he should have been awarded his well deserved datukship years ago! He stands above his other illustrious siblings. Heck! I would not even be surprised if Chong Wei admits he counld not have improved so much without Misbun.

Perhaps it must have been due to this long term contribution that Misbun was awarded. If not, why was coach Rexy Mainaky not accorded the same publicity and accolade when Koo Kien Keat and Tan Boon Heong won the prestigious All England doubles title in 2007? Remember how the pair won and were just in time to be paraded around Ijok by the MCA during the by-election? For that matter, our well deserving datuk and darling on the squash courts, world champion and world number one Datuk Nicol Ann David; shouldn't her coach be Datuk Liz Irving?

My contention is: Lee Chong Wei should not have been conferred the datukship for coming out second! Misbun should have been awarded his datukship many years ago for outstanding contribution to the country in badminton both as a player and coach!

Perhaps Chong Wei would deserve a datukship if he can retain his world number one status for a longer period. I am not convinced that he has done more than his predecessors who are not datuks today, to deserve a datukship. I admire Chong Wei as a player and an Olympic Silver is no mean feat, but history does not tend to remember who came in second.

Hysteria

I grew up in idyllic Taiping; a town surrounded by countryside that is depicted so often in paintings of rural Malaysia; kampung scenes, padi fields and more pertinently, the wonderful people. For many years, my father was a headmaster of a kampung secondary school called Sekolah Menengah Dato' Idris in Pengkalan Baru, near Pantai Remis (45 minutes drive from Taiping on the trunk road).

It suffices to say, I am no stranger to rural life in Malaysia and my father, well he was a personification of the traits I consider a true "bangsa Malaysia" should have. In those days, he used to commute daily between Taiping and Pengkalan Baru on the kampung roads. He became a well known figure in that area by virtue of the kids under his care and his involvement with communal activities. He was not averse to wearing a songkok or even a kepiah to a kampung Quran reading competition and was equally comfortable mingling with the Chinese fishermen of Pantai Remis or the Indian rubber estate owners of the estate fragmentation days.














His Malay teachers used to say that if Mr Cheah Keat Hin were to accidentally knock down a malay on the kampung roads he would not get beaten up or killed; this was a fear most people had driving on rural roads. Well, I am glad that the "honour" never had to be proven but those scenarios were my own first encounter with mob mentality or mass hysteria possibilities amongst Malaysians.

Also, in those days i had also witnessed first hand la'ta behaviour that was so prevalent especially in the kampungs. There were also occurences of mass hysteria especially amongst female students and one can only imagine how a Chinese headmaster handled the situation with his Malay teachers and bomohs.

What I am trying to say is, as a non-Malay Malaysian growing up amongst the Malay community I have found many life-long friends within a community of one of the most friendly and hospitable people in the world! Yet, there is always that nagging trepidation of the la'ta, mass hysteria and worse still amok tendencies.

Today, browsing through The Ancient Mariner blog of Capt Yusof Ahmad, I found this rather interesting post by his fellow MCKK buddy, Zaharan Razak. ZR's message is particularly relevant during this period of "racial madness" which I hope will blow over soon. Please read:


Hysteria: Asking Some Hard Questions, Giving Some Hard Answers

Q: Why does hysteria occur almost exclusively among the Malays - a particular subset of them - involving more girls than boys and happening mostly at religious schools?

A: The answers are to be found hidden in the questions. Don't have to look far. The answers beg another question - What are the Malay characteristics that predispose them to hysteria?

Let's start from the general to the specific: Malays are generally mono-linguists and mono-religionists. What does that imply? A closed mind and a narrow set of beliefs that is not open to outside inputs to invigorate it. Fossilized, medieval and feudal with its emphasis on the supernatural, beliefs, myths, a rigid, set power system and crass deferment to authority symbols, that is non-egalitarian and not based on meritocracy or authenticity but more of who know who and who got cable, orang-kita, UITM for bumniputras-only, incestuous kousin-kahwin-kousin, referral to same set of medieval kitabs - imagine, no renewal for 1400 years for fear of bida'ah - mind-set.

So what do you get? A risible, impressionable character that is easily swayed by tribal sway, unswayed by detribalized say, such as rationality and science in the formative years and rigor mortis of ideas in the sunset years. The later rigidity may provide a shield against garden variety hysteria but it also shields in its seminal mechanism. This maturity spectrum proves itself in the fact that hysteria occurs almost exclusively among the young and among girls who are more "protected" and even less exposed to rational ideas than boys.

When they are older, these risible youngsters grow into quiescent, unquestioning, stodgy, unimaginative adults whose favorite activity is watching Indian movie reruns on the telly. Maybe they don't show hysteria in the form shown by youngsters but the predisposition is still lurking in there only it comes out in other more disguised forms such as mental stupor, being adverse to creative work, being abhorrent of scientific knowledge and an intense and intractable complex over the learning and use of the English language, the very tool they need to pulverize their sundry complexities.

The fact that hysteria tends to hit religious schools is an indictment that speaks for itself. It is a trenchant proof of the ineffectualness of religion to deal with life's problems but in fact adds to its woes by being like the dog in the manger or the old man who sat on the shipwrecked sailor's shoulders and insisted on being carried around. And yet the very victims who need the most succor are the biggest perpetrators of the self-deception and scam, barking at the wrong tree and represeniting no less than a red herring to divert attention away from the need to face up to reality. The more you tell them the more they will say "Dah Tau!", you're trying to poison their minds or that you yourself have gone astray! The potential helper has been made an honorary enemy.

Why is this so? Because like drug or pacifier, belief in the false but fascinating gives them comfort, an identity, a Peanuts security blanket and satisfies a deep and inchoate longing to which they have been pandering for turun-temurun so much so that it is not only entrenched in their synapses but in their genes as well by some yet-to-be studied process of sympathetic magic or crossover osmosis from mental state to cellular trait to genetic coding.

Of course traditional power and influence seekers are happy with this mass deception because they derive power, influence and even remuneration by being relied upon to provide temporary, pseudo palliatives which may dispel the symptoms but do not treat the causes or rake over the soil in which the predisposition to hysteria takes root and sprouts its tentacles. In the instances they appear to succeed in overcoming the hysteria outbreak or its effects, it is achieved through a series of coincidences and parallel happenings or for objective reasons repackaged as occult or spiritual workings. At the very most it is pop psy in its myriad forms at work. The mind indeed has many untapped capabilities including having a repressed imagination so powerful that under the right intersection of circumstances can project realistic hologram images, especially when allied with powerful emotions like repressed fears. Hence the apparitions are nothing more than holograms amenable only to people who are undergoing a heightened, altered state of consciousness such as those induced by hallucinogenic drugs. Proof? Simple, only the victims of hysteria can see them. If the apparitions have an objective existence then everybody could see them including non-hysterical observers.

The ghost, my dear co-religionists and fellow humans of all persuasions, is neither in the machine, nor in the machinations, but, yep, you've guessed it, is a resident of your imagination who one day decides to take a hike outside! Aren't you coming?

The traditional figures, the bomohs and pseudo religious drones, who menangguk di air keruh, fish in trouble waters, in fact make hysteria and the cultural and belief system which subsumes it become self-propagating, self-feeding and self-conducive by their mere presence, influence, misguided ministrations. They do it all on purpose so as not to kill the market without which the very base they draw their power and influence from would be pulled away from under their feet and without which the very raison d'etre for their role would cease to exist along with them too.

So it is in the interests of the power and influence seekers and the interests of Malay society at large to see hysteria and a host of other emotional baggage associated with the Malay race not to disappear. As a counter formation, they love to nurse their psychological complexes and hangups in the same way as a dog love to lick its wounds. Without these psychological fleas what else are there to scratch? Without his panau, what tattoo could Malim Mawar Merah Muda his body flaunt? What excuse for failure, for mediocrity, for under-achieving? Like a hypochondriac or a patient who refuses to seek treatment lest she loses her source of power to gain sympathy and attention or lacking in something to moan about, Malay society does no want to incise off the malignancy in their body politic and psyche. Denials are part and parcel of the syndrome. Being a lame duck, hobbling around with an elephantiasis of a leg may be at the far end of the spectrum of being an Olympic and world women's pole vault record holder such as Yelena Isinbayeva, but, believe me, however perversely, it is just as satisfying - such being the convolutions the human psyche - iqraq, the Malay psyche - can contort to consort with the cohort of the besotted and the Satanic.

There!

Not quite. Here's more salvos.

Fact of the matter is hysteria is merely an individual and collective projection of memories fearful, triggered by psychological mechanisms, a re-enactment of the ghost stories and momoks the poor girl had been subjected to since small in the name of religious indoctrination. It is fundamentally a play on elemental fear much resorted to by harassed mums and jealous aunts telling tales by the serambi as bored campers telling ghost stories by a campfire. The word TAKUT, HANTU, TAK MALU and others of its repressive ilk have been part of the diet she was fed on to knead her into a malleable, manageable, little prune and twit of a good Muslim girl. The result? The girl is a walking zombie of hangups, personality disorders, stuckupness, shyness, with repressed emotions, identity confusion, with little or no imagination, no interest in the arts, literature or scientific knowledge. Only nonthreatening frivolity is allowed. There has been no case so far of a girl who scores an A in English, is a member of the school debating team and who excels in sports - wearing shorts - who has been a victim of hysteria. That in a nutshell is what hysteria is all about and therein lies its solution.

But I'm not quite done yet! The solution is the Malays simply have to throw out the baby with the bath water. They have to jettison their closed and narrow version of religion and opt for a more dynamic, open and liberal one which is the true religion. Call it any name you like - hadiri, kadiri, ismaili, teapotti, zveloyaki - eheng, eheng - so long as you don't get stuck at naming only.

Thus my solution to hysteria is: Go to China to study wushu, tai chi, mandarin, kung fu, chi kung and Kung Fu Tze's art of governance, or even more practically, from the Chinese who are already in our midst. As one pointer in this direction of Malay liberation from the fear of their own shadows, accept the possibility that one day, if not Lim Kit Siang or Koh Tsu Koon, a Chinese will become the prime minister of Malaysia. For now, can a Malay accept Pairin Kitingan, the Paramount Leader of the Kadazandusun as premier? If you say YES, hysteria will disappear overnight! For, along with the acceptance, it implies you've got rid of your baggage of hangups including the predisposition and mechanism of hysteria.

That is my formula. No jampi, no bomoh, no self-serving recitals or rituals to pukau the crowd or appease resident spirits. Just plain psychological makeover. Overnight it can be done or else be trapped for eternity.

Those who oppose this idea are either victims turned perpetrators or power and influence holders, seekers and their hangers-on who fear they will lose their moorings and bearings, their hoot and toot.

Hustle to the bustle.

Somebody Had To Openly Say This

Updated Version: English translation of Syed Imran's article is now at the bottom of this post courtesy of blogger John Lim.

A buddy forwarded this blogpost to me and I am reproducing it (without permission) as a first posting here in Malay. It is written by blogger Syed Imran or "Kuda Ranggi" who was a journalist with Bernama and also a former Press Secretary in the PM's Department.

I hope someone will translate this into English and circulate because it concerns a matter that all Malaysians know yet in the past, few would want to talk openly about.

Please read: Antara pendatang dan penumpang by Syed Imran.

Pada mulanya saya agak keberatan nak ulas kekecohan yang berpunca ekoran daripada kenyataan ketua UMNO bahagian Bukit Bendera, Pulau Pinang bernama Ahmad bin Ismail. Sama ada benar atau tidak apa yang didakwa dikatakan olehnya mengenai rakyat Malaysia keturunan Cina bukan persoalannya kerana isu tersebut sudahpun merebak dan mengapi-apikan keadaan.

Jika tidak ditangani dengan cermat, teliti dan bijak, isu itu boleh ditangguk dalam air yang keruh oleh anasir-anasir yang ingin melihat negara ini hancur serta mengundang campur tangan kuasa asing. Dalam zaman dunia tanpa sempadan dan liputan meluas dan segera oleh media elektronik antarabangsa, apa yang berlaku di sesebuah negara itu tidak dapat disembunyi atau dinafikan.

Isu pokok yang dibangkitkan oleh Ahmad Ismail membabitkan persoalan "menumpang" iaitu rakyat Malaysia keturunan Cina adalah penumpang di negara ini. Beliau menjelaskan bahawa ia merujuk kepada zaman pra-Merdeka. Bagaimanapun, sensitiviti rakyat Malaysia keturunan Cina telah terguris.

Saya tidak mengenali secara peribadi Ahmad Ismail, tetapi kenal agak rapat dengan Allahyarham abangnya, Abdul Rahim Ismail, pemilik Syarikat Pembinaan Rahim yang pada satu ketika dahulu agak terkenal sebagai sebuah firma pembinaan Bumiputera yang unggul di Pulau Pinang. Saya tidak tahu apa dah jadi dengan syarikat itu selepas Abdul Rahim meninggal dunia.

Secara peribadi, saya tidak setuju dengan apa yang didakwa dikata oleh Ahmad Ismail atas beberapa sebab.

Bagi saya, hampir 90 peratus rakyat Malaysia, khususnya di Semenanjung, adalah pendatang dan kita semua sebenarnya menumpang hidup di bumi Allah. Kita bukan pemilik kekal tetapi hanya menumpang.

Sebagai contoh, saya sendiri adalah keturunan pendatang yang menumpang hidup di bumi bertuah ini. Datuk nenek di sebelah bapa saya berhijrah dari Makkah dan dari Brunei ke sini manakala di sebelah ibu pula dari Hadhramut, Yaman. Kami adalah pendatang dan penumpang sama seperti hampir semua penduduk negara ini khususnya di Pulau Pinang.

Bagi Ahmad Ismail, dia juga datang dari keluarga pendatang dan menumpang hidup di negara ini. Ahmad Ismail tidak boleh menafikan hakikat bahawa datuk neneknya adalah pendatang dari India untuk menerokai penghidupan yang lebih baik dan selesa di bumi bertuah ini.

Perdana Menteri Abdullah bin Ahmad juga tergolong dalam kategori yang sama. Datuknya di sebelah ibu adalah pendatang dari wilayah Guandong, China. Pendek kata, datuk Pak Lah iaitu bapa Allahyarhamah Kailan bernama Hassan Salleh atau Hah Su Chiang adalah seorang pendatang. Beliau berhijrah ke Tanah Melayu dari wilayah Guandong (Kwantung) pada pertengahan abad ke-19 dan menetap di Bayan Lepas sebagai pekebun getah, pesawah padi dan kemudian saudagar intan berlian.

Najib Tun Razak, Timbalan PM juga berasal daripada keluarga pendatang iaitu dari Sulawesi, Indonesia atau lebih senang disebut orang Bugis manakala sepupunya Hishamudin Hussein tidak terlepas daripada darah keturunan Turki.

Datuk nenek mantan PM Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad juga pendatang dari Kerala, India manakala ibu Almarhum Tunku Abul Rahman berasal dari negeri Siam (Thailand).

Kesultanan Melayu Melaka pun dibuka oleh orang pendatang dari Sumatra bernama Parameswara, seorang anak raja atau bangsawan beragama Hindu.

Dalam sejarah kesultanan Melayu, kita dapati ada yang ditubuh oleh pendatang dari Bugis dan ada pula dari Hadhramut selain dari Minangkabau.

Hampir semua orang Melayu di sini berasal dari luar Tanah Melayu tetapi diiktiraf sebagai "bangsa Melayu" oleh Perlembagaan Persekutuan. Kita adalah "Melayu mengikut takrifan Perlembagaan" iaitu beragama Islam, mengamalkan adat resam Melayu dan bertutur dalam bahasa Melayu. Malangnya, bahasa Melayu nampaknya dimatikan oleh orang Melayu (UMNO) sendiri apabila dinamakan sebagai bahasa Malaysia.

Oleh itu, orang Arab seperti Syed Hamid Albar dan saya, orang Aceh seperti Sanusi Junid, orang India seperti Kader Sheikh Fadzir dan Nor Mohamed Yakcop, orang Bugis seperti Najib, orang Minang seperti Rais Yatim, orang Jawa seperti Mohamad Rahmat dan yang lain seperti dari Madura, Pulau Boyan, Siam, Burma, Yunnan (China) dan selatan Filipina dengan mudah boleh diiktirf sebagai "Melayu".

Mereka diterima sebagai orang Melayu tidak kira sama ada mereka bertutur bahasa Melayu atau tidak di rumah umpamanya si Arab berbahasa Arab, si Jawa berbahasa Jawa dan si Minang berbahasa Minang atupun si Mamak berbahasa Tamil.

Bahasa-bahasa yang disebut itu bukan bahasa Melayu dan jika dilihat dari sudut Perlembagaan Persekutuan, tidak boleh diterima atau diiktiraf sebagai bangsa Melayu. Walau bagaimanapun, atas kepentingan dan faktor politik, semuanya diterima sebagai Melayu dan Bumiputera.

Oleh itu, adalah tidak adil untuk menuding jari kepada orang Cina yang juga kaum pendatang sama seperti orang Arab, India, Aceh, Minang, Batak, Mandailing, Jawa, Madura mahupun Bugis, sebagai menumpang di negeri ini. Kita tidak boleh menafikan bahawa sebilangan besar datuk nenek orang Cina telah berhijrah ke negeri ini semasa Kesultanan Melayu Melaka, bahkan kesultanan-kesultanan terdahulu di Kedah mahupun Terengganu dan Kelantan serta semasa Francis Light berjaya menipu Sultan Kedah untuk menduduki Pulau Pinang pada 1786.

Kita adalah kaum pendatang yang menumpang hidup di negeri ini. Golongan yang boleh diiktiraf sebagai orang asal atau anak bumi tulen adalah mereka yang kita kenali sebagai Negrito, Jakun, Semang, Jahut, Orang Laut, Orang Darat, Senoi dan suku kaum masyarakat Asli lain yang masih menjadi penghuni belantara.

Kita tidak harus lupa akan sumbangan dan pengorbanan semua kaum dan suku kaum untuk membangunkan Malaysia sama ada dari sudut ekonomi, kemasyarakatan, keselamatan dan yang paling penting kesepakatan dan perpaduan. Semua orang yang kena dan seharusnya membayar cukai, berbuat demikian tanpa mengira kaum atau asal keturunan, sama ada pendatang atau penumpang.

Kita semua adalah rakyat Malaysia.

English Version:

At first, I was quite reluctant to comment on the mess created by the statement made by Ahmad bin Ismail, the head of Bukit Bendera, Pulau Pinang UMNO Division. Whether he has made the statement regarding Malaysian Chinese is not the question anymore, as the issue has been spread and fire up the scene.

If it is not handled carefully and smartly, this issue can make the clear water become dirty, and give opportunity to parties that want to see this country crash and fall into the hand of foreigners. In today global world that has no boundary, the coverage by international electronic media make it difficult for any country to hide or deny a single event.

The main issue brought up by Ahmas Ismail revolves on the question “squatter”, that is, the Malaysian Chinese are squatters in this country. He explained that he was refering to pre-independence days. However, it had hurt the Malaysia Chinese’ sensitivity.

I don’t know Ahmad Ismail personally, but quite close with his elder brother that has passed away, Abdul Rahim Ismail, the owner of Rahim Construction Company that has once quite famous as a “Earth-Prince”construction firm in Pulau Pinang. I don’t know what has happen to the company after Abdul Rahim passed away.

Personally, I don’t agree with what Ahmad Ismail said for the following reasons.

For me, nearly 90 percent of Malaysians, especially those in Penisular, are immigrants, and we all actually the squatters on the Allah’s land. We are not permanent owner, but just squat.

For example, I come from a family that squat in this fortunate land. My grandfather and grandmother on my father side migrated from Mecca and from Brunei to here, while on my mother side, she is from Hadramut, Yaman. We are immigrants and squatters, as to almost all people in this country, especially Pulau Pinang.

For Ahmad Ismail, he is also an immigrant coming from an immigrant’s family and squat in this country. Ahmad Ismail cannot deny the fact that his grandfather and grandmother are from India who move to this country to seek better life in this fortunate land.

Our Prime Minister Abdullah bin Ahamd is also the same. His grandfather on his mother side is coming from Guangdong, China. In short, Pak Lah’s grandfather, Allahyarhamah Kailan, has a name Hasson Salleh or Hah Su Chiang, is a immigrant. He move to Tanah Melayu from Guangdong in middle of 19 century. He stayed in Bayan Lepas as a rubber estate worker, padi farmer and later became a diamond trader.

Najib Tun Razak, Deputy Prime Ministry, is also a descendent from immigrant’s family that come from Sulawesi, Indonesia, who is also a Bugis. Hishamudin Hussein cannot escape to the fact that there is Turki’s blood in him.

Malacca Malay Sultanate was founded by an immigrant coming from Sumatra, Parameswara, a prince that practice Hindu.

In history of Malay Sultanates, we will know that some were founded by Bugis immigrants, while some from Hadramut and Minangkabau.

Almost all Malays that stay here are from outside Tanah Melayu, but are defined as “Malay Race” by the Federation Constitution. We are “Malay in definition by the Constitution”, that is, we are Muslim, we practice Malay customs and speak Malay language. Unfortunately, Malay language itself seems to be murdered by Malays in UMNO when they name it Malaysia language.

Therefore, Arabs like Syed Hamid Albar and myself, Achehs like Sanusi Junid, Indians like Kader Sheikh Fadzir and Nor Mohamed Yakcop, Bugis’s like Najib, Minangs like Rais Yatim, Jawas like Mohamad Rahmat, and other from Madura, Pulau Buyan, Siam, Burma, Yunnan (China) and Philippines are conveniently being declared as Malays.

They are accepted as Malays no matter they speak Malay or not in their family like those who speak Arabs, Jawas that speak Jawa and Minangs that speak Minang or Mamak that speak Tamil.

These languages are not Malay if we look from the perspective of Federation Constitution, so they should not be declared as Malays. But, for the benefits and political factors, all are accepted as Malays and “Earth Prince”.

It is not fair to point to Chinese as immigrants while Arabs, Indian, Achehs, Minangs, Bataks, Mandailings, Jawas, Maduras, or Bugises are also immigrants in this country. We cannot deny that most of the Chinese’s grandfather and grandmother have migrated to this country since Malacca Malay Sultanante, some during Kedah Sultanate, Terengganu Sultanate and Kelantan Sultanate. After Francis Light conned the Kedah’s sultan and grabbed Pulau Pinang in 1786, more Chinese came here.

We are all immigrants that squat in this country. Only Negrito, Jekun, Semang, Jahut, Orang Laut, Orang Darat, Senoi, and other indigenous peoples can be considered as the original populace in this country.

We should not forget the contributions and sacrifices of all races that develop Malaysia in all aspects, including economy, social, safety and the most important thing, unity. All have to pay tax, and all have to do this, no mater you are descend from immigrants or squatters.

We are all Malaysian citizens.

A Wish Common To All Bangsa Malaysia

I posted this message in my alma mater eGroup today. I hope...


Dear All,

Most of us have been watching the unfolding of a New Horizon in the Malaysian political landscape since GE12. Some of us (me included) remain skeptical and adopt a wait and see attitude although it is clear that anything apart from the status quo would be a better option. The process of change has already started and for better or worse, none of us can avoid being affected. Nevertheless, I think we all share a common wish; that this change happens without bloodshed and civil disorder.

I have searched for the right words to post in this colorblind Tiger community of ours to reflect this Bangsa Malaysia wish for the country for some time now. Today, I spotted the following blog post by Nathaniel Tan. This is the young man who was arrested and released under the ISA last year writes well, and I believe he has put things rather well here. Hidup Bangsa Malaysia!!!



The real significance of Ahmad Ismail
Posted on September 9th, 2008 by Nathaniel Tan


Does Ahmad Ismail represent a huge swath of Malaysian society, or is he a lone ranger?

Examining this question may yield important answers about the current state of Umno in Malaysia.

After Monday’s incident which included infantile supporters ripping up pictures of Koh Tsu Koon, we can expect some further shows of support for Ahmad by a few individuals and groups.

It is worth recalling the NEP protest in Penang and Selangor soon after March 8th, as well as the UiTM protests more recently. These gatherings, numbering usually in the low four figures or so, should have us questioning just how deep and wide the fears of Malay Malaysians currently run.

Concerns about uprisings were indeed widespread in early March, where many feared the period when Umno-led ultranationalists would have had the most reason and impetus to display extreme displeasure with the election results.

That cloud passed without a storm, a fact which left a distinct impression amongst Malaysians that we had come a long, long way in our fifty years of existence as a nation.


Legitimate Malay concerns

The passing of this storm should not be taken to mean however, that widely felt, legitimate concerns amidst the Malay middle ground do not exist.

In an era where globalisations swallows cultures whole, and amidst a global backdrop where Islam appears constantly under siege, it is undeniably understandable to fear the loss of one’s identity.

Thus far, that risk is in Malaysia offset by truly painful, back breaking governance by the incumbent ruling coalition as well as the existence of a currently acceptable alternative. That said, the concerns that communal dignity and identity are at risk remain and people will continue to watch closely.

Luckily for Malaysia, the current willingness to take a chance on a new government goes hand in hand with a lack of appetite for destructive behaviour on a mass scale. Malaysians have proudly shown that they love their families and their neighbours too much to visit violence on one another in solidarity with a party that has done more than anyone else to frustrate its own stated aims.

We now face the possibility of another major political shift, and are once again faced with the same questions of whether a major uprising of discontent is in the books.

My feeling is that if it didn’t happen in March, it will not happen in the event of a change of federal government. A number of observations inform this view.


Umno no longer trusted by Malays

Firstly, we must not underestimate the power of a simple truth: that Malays have been betrayed not by any ‘kaum pendatang,’ but by Umno itself.

The last few decades have seen damage done by Umno to itself and to the Malay community that can only be described as irreparable - a term not used lightly.

With the centrality of image to politics, the typical mansion-dwelling, Mercedes-riding Umno leader who built his or her fortune on the back of poor Malays is an enduring liability, as is its role in creating an increasingly dangerous and widening gap between the Malay poor and the Malay rich. Pakatan Rakyat’s constant reinforcement of this image has certainly hurt as well.

Umno’s stewardship has by its own admittance failed to realise the goals of policies such as the NEP aimed at raising the standard of living in the Malay community. Raised keris in one hand, the other hand has stole everything of worth from Malays and Malaysians. Fortunately, Malaysians can now see in the cold light of day what been done time and time again by those hidden hands.

As a party, Umno has clearly degenerated from a service oriented institution to a patronage based one. While this may have been vaguely, if immorally, sustainable with a totalitarian idealogue at the helm during good times, it is certainly not surviving inept leadership and even more severe levels of graft. Ahmad’s defiance is also clearly symptomatic of the dangerous power vacuum left behind in the leadership crisis currently affecting Umno and BN.

In short, with ever dwindling public support - especially in urban areas - Umno is indeed a sinking ship. Take away the myth of invincibility, as was done in March, and very little of substance remains.


Last ditch efforts by Umno dependents

This is not to say that the Umno hardliners are without any support whatsoever. Yes, there is a section of society - from all ethnic groups - who are simple, hateful racists. I don’t think they number greatly though; the group we should watch is far more sophisticated and dangerous.

We must remember that many, many people got rich via Umno connections - connections that soon stand to lose essentially all their worth (except perhaps if you live, say, in Johor).

In other words, there is a massive amount at stake.

The priority of those who stand to lose so much is, obviously, to retain power at all costs. For Umno, means of doing or so are limited by at least two impossibilities: moving towards true integrity, and moving out of a race-centric framework. The former would defeat the entire purpose and the latter, the raison d’etre of race based parties.

In Umno, this means that as far as strategies go, they are back to square one: defending Malay supremacy against the “evil machinations” of non-Malays.

I think it is wisest to view this desperation coldly. Rather than rush to defend the dignity and rights of non-Malays, which is all well and good, we should be thinking about how to manage any potential impact the rhetoric of Umno leaders like Ahmad Ismail may have.

Fortunately, it is unlikely to achieve much mileage or gain traction on its own merits, for the simple reason articulated above: people no longer trust Umno leaders - not even to defend Malay dignity.

That said, we should both expect and not be surprised by some level of support, recalling again that many individuals and their dependents (who provide bodies and numbers when called upon) rely on Umno not for the dignity or prestige of their ethnic group, but for the size of their wallets.

We should also not take this threat for granted, but manage it wisely.


Sound and fury

Fluster, bluster, sound and fury will amount to very little. At the end of the day, the best defender of non-Malay rights is a Malay, and the best defender of Malay rights is a non-Malay.

It is thus the duty of myself and many reading to reinforce the notion as publicly and as often as possible that the central tenets of Malay economic well being, culture, religion and way of life will always be held sacrosanct in this land and never, ever sacrificed to posterity or allowed to assimilate excessively and fade away.

The rest, I leave to my Malay brothers and sisters.

The clock ticks for Malaysia; race-based politics has been the biggest structural impendiment to true Malaysian harmony by far, and the time has come to leave it far behind in the dust of history.

Watch What You Say!!!

Tis the same guy? Politicians oh politicians!

---

2008/09/08

Khairy: Watch what you say

KUALA KANGSAR: Leaders of political parties should not seek to be champions of their race merely to fish for votes during party elections, said Barisan Nasional Youth deputy chief Khairy Jamaluddin. "Let's not be so keen for votes to the extent that we readily utter remarks that can strain relations within BN.

"Umno will also face elections, so let's not make statements that can strain our relationship with other component parties," he said, adding that party leaders should not utter remarks which could hurt the feelings of people of other races.

Khairy, who is also Rembau MP, expressed confidence that problems could be resolved in the BN spirit and said there was no need for calls for any party to leave the coalition.

"Similarly, MCA Youth should not try to be a hero in their party and say things that will hurt the feelings of others in BN," he said after breaking fast at Masjid Taman Kuala Kangsar on Saturday.

Noting that elections were ongoing for BN component parties, Khairy urged leaders to be cautious and reasonable when making remarks.

The Eternal Soul: Past-Life Regression Therapy In Malaysia

This set of related articles appeared in the Sunday Star on 7th September 2008. It looks like more of the same are coming to our shores. More will come to believe!


Sunday September 7, 2008
Looking to the past for healing
By ANDREW SIA


An alternative therapy maintains that our memories of previous lives can heal some deep seated problems in our present lives.

WHY do you have such a strong attraction or dislike to someone? Do you have irrational phobias? Dreams that seem too real? Why are you so interested in a particular country? Were you a child prodigy? Do you get strange feelings of deja vu when you go somewhere?

















Well, maybe these are traits carried over from a previous life, says Selina Chew, a law graduate turned “past life regression therapist”:

“When you regress deeply back into your past lives under hypnosis, you will gain insight into why you have these kinds of strong feelings, such as phobias. Once you understand that, it is easier to heal.”

Past life regression therapy is, of course, associated with reincarnation, which is the idea/belief that our “souls” have “lived before”; this form of therapy is based on the idea that we can clear some of our psychological baggage by revisiting those past lives.

Western evidence

Before dismissing regression and reincarnation as some New Age “hocus-pocus”, it’s worth considering the numerous cases of people remembering past lives reported in the Western mainstream media.

For instance, there is Captain Robert Snow, a no-nonsense, sceptical police homicide captain in Indianapolis in the United States.

















On a Sci-Fi channel show about past lives (youtube.com/watch?v=lB_j-chZvR0), he agreed to try regression “just to show how stupid it was”. While hypnotised, he “saw” himself as an artist painting a hunchbacked woman, how his mother had died of a blood clot, how his wife was barren, and many other details.

As he was disturbed by this, he decided to investigate the matter – like a police officer – and months later, saw the very same painting he had seen during regression in New Orleans, painted by someone called James Beckwith.

He then traced the artist’s personal diary to the National Academy of Design in New York. After reading through it (it took him a year to get through the 17,000 pages), all the details he had “seen” during regression were confirmed, and he became convinced that he was the reincarnation of James Beckwith.

Another amazing case was shown on American TV station ABC’s Primetime Thursday programme on April 15, 2004, about a boy called James Leininger who would play with nothing but toy air planes (youtube.com/watch?v=_EWwzFwUOxA). When he was two, he began having violent nightmares of “air plane crash, fire, little man can’t get out”.

His parents, Andrea and Bruce, said James was only watching shows like Barney and Teletubbies, not war documentaries. Nor did they talk about military history. The highly educated couple thought that the idea of reincarnation was “baloney” and looked for a “logical” explanation.

One day, Andrea bought her son a toy plane and said, “Look there’s a bomb underneath”. To which James correctly responded, “No, that’s a drop tank”. That’s when the parents took James to see past life therapist Carol Bowman, who has written books about children’s past lives.

The nightmares decreased but James started to recall even more details, such as the model of the plane he dreamt about (a Corsair), its technical problems, the name of the “boat” with planes (Natoma) and the name of a fellow pilot (Jack Larson). One day, when the father was looking through a new book about the battle of Iwo Jima (between the Japanese and Americans during World War II), James declared, “Dad, that’s where I was shot down.”

By this time Bruce had begun combing military records and soon discovered there indeed was an aircraft carrier called USS Natoma Bay – whose sole pilot casualty at Iwo Jima was someone called James M. Houston. He managed to track down survivors – including Jack Larson. Another survivor, Ralph Clarbour, was in a plane nearby and corroborated little James’ story of how he crashed: when anti-aircraft fire hit the front propeller.

“It was, like, holy mackerel,” Bruce said on the programme.

Bowman explains that Westerners often reject reincarnation as it’s not part of their Judeo-Christian beliefs. So, asked the programme, do we go with “hard facts” or “religious beliefs”?

For Andrea, she reconciled reincarnation with her Christian faith as evidence of the “eternal life of the human spirit” that God has promised. (The programme’s partial transcript is at http://abcnews.go.com/Primetime/Technology/Story?id=894217&page=1.)


Malaysian experiences

Well, believe it or not? These and other reports are highlighted by Chew during her workshops on past life regression (see Backwards to birth on SM6).

Then again, do we Malaysians need validation from the Western (Christian) mindset for what are fundamental Eastern tenets found in Buddhism and Hinduism?

While reincarnation is alien to the Western worldview, a Discovery channel programme (on another amazing reincarnation story, found at youtube.com/watch?v=E_T5vNgusEw) shows that stories about people remembering past lives are quite commonly reported in the newspapers of Sri Lanka, a predominantly Buddhist country.

Chew, who has been doing past life regressions in Malaysia for the past four years, has a string of (Western) qualifications in various holistic therapies; she is, among others, a Certified Hypnotherapist (International Association of Counselors and Therapists, US) and a Certified Past Life Regression Therapist (American Hypnosis Association). She also holds a Masters of Metaphysical Science (M.MSc from the University of Metaphysics, US) and a PhD in Holistic Life Coaching (University of Sedona, US) on top of her more conventional qualifications of an MBA (Charles Sturt University, Australia) and a law degree (Universiti Malaya).

She has had many successful cases of people who have “gone back” and “healed” their problems.

For instance, one of her clients, S.K. Ong, a music teacher in her mid 30s, explains:

“My tears would just burst out whenever people talked of separation. Even when my sister got married. I didn’t know if regression would work but I was willing to try.”

Under hypnosis, she “saw” that she had lived in a mountainous country resembling Afghanistan: “I was a teenaged goatherd carrying a pail of milk to the market. Then men on horses with swords came and killed everybody,” she recounts. Ong then “floats” out of her body and “sees” her mother crying next to her dying body.

“I also saw another scene somewhere in Europe, where I was the mother and my child suddenly died. After the funeral, I soon died from great grief.

“After seeing these, I understand much better why I have such feelings about separation. I don’t cry so easily nowadays.”

Another one of Chew’s clients, a Ms Lim, was disturbed after a good friend abandoned her “without reason”.

“When I regressed back to another lifetime, I saw that he wanted to be my boyfriend. But I could not really accept him and just left without saying why. So in this life, he has done it to me,” says this former senior finance manager turned lecturer in her late 30s.

For her, the experience was healing. “It was very good. It helped me to release the negative energy. From now on, I want to handle all relationships very carefully and not hurt anyone. Even if people hurt me, I want to refrain from fighting back with the same ‘weapon’. Otherwise the negative energy will come back to me.”


Mere fantasy?

Then again, are these people really seeing “themselves”? Or are they merely imagining things?
Ong relates, “Even before the soldiers came (to the market in Afghanistan), I could already feel the (emotional) pain. If I was imagining things, I should see the picture first, and then only feel the pain. It was not a show. It was very real.”

The lecturer says, “It’s quite impossible that it’s just imagination. It just popped up spontaneously in my mind. Even though my friend had a different face in the past life, I just knew it was him. It’s the feeling.”

Shanthi, a 37-year-old telebanker, has had vivid recollections of various past lives including as a lady carrying a lace fan in Austria, and a Balinese priest who was stabbed by his own disciple. Was she just fantasising?

“I’d rather be fantasising about Denzel Washington than of those things, for heaven’s sake!” she laughs. “My experiences may sound surreal, but it all just seems to make sense to me.

“I just knew, I guess. I’ve never been to Austria or Bali. But I’ve always been instantly attracted to anything about Bali, like pictures of its architecture. Oddly enough, though, I don’t long to visit Bali. From my regression, I understand why.”

Then again, Dr Phang Cheng Kar, a medical doctor specialising in psychiatry at a Government hospital in Kuala Lumpur (see A Malaysian doctor’s view on SM4), says that some research has shown that a patient’s recollections can be “easily” influenced by the hypnotist-therapist’s suggestions.

“Nearly all such hypnotically evoked ‘previous personalities’ are entirely imaginary ... like most of our dreams,” he says, citing Dr Ian Stevenson (see Experts who believe below).

Furthermore, even the historical details “remembered” are usually derived from what the patient has seen on TV or read elsewhere.

Even dramatic improvements in the patient does not prove that a “real” previous life has been remembered, says Dr Phang, since people can also recover with the help of most psychological therapy generally due to factors such as a belief in a kind therapist or a soothing environment.

But regardless of whether one is “really” seeing a past life or not, the benefits – in this life – are often real enough.

The psychiatrist Dr Brian Weiss, after 21 years of experience in regressing thousands of patients and witnessing “many extraordinary and incredible phenomena” (see Experts who believe below), says that believing in reincarnation is not important in obtaining healing from regression therapy.

“Regardless of whether the material evoked is processed as metaphor or symbol, the knowledge and insights gained can lead to significant physical, emotional, and spiritual transformations,” he says in his book Mirrors of Time: Using Regression for Physical, Emotional and Spiritual Healing..


Pull towards a higher calling

Chew herself has had transformative experiences, she says.

“Ever since I was young, I was always interested in the spiritual side of things.

“When I was five, before taking our daily afternoon nap, I told my mother, ‘Lock the door, thieves are coming’. She slapped my face and said I was talking nonsense. That afternoon itself, thieves broke into our house.

“That incident sparked my interest in intuition, parapsychology, healing and human potential.”

When she was 10, she started searching for spiritual guidance, asking herself about the meaning of life.

“Perhaps this was also due to my birthdate, which revealed that I am strongly inclined towards spirituality and intuition,” she says. “In addition, my grandmother was a bomoh who healed many people. However, she passed on when I was just two years old.”

After getting her law degree, Chew did corporate training in several multinationals while pursuing her MBA.

“However, despite a financially sound future, I still felt something was missing. I read materials on spirituality. My life’s purpose began to unfold slowly after attending a past life regression facilitators’ workshop,” she remembers.

“I saw myself in several lifetimes as a healer and a spiritual person. After going through several regression sessions, I became more confident and had a greater understanding of my life.

“I spent many sessions in meditation asking myself whether I should go against the grain and follow my heart towards a higher calling. As (American author and philosopher) Ralph Waldo Emerson says, ‘Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail’.

“I decided to take a leap of faith and left the corporate world. So here I am now, doing my work and helping people in a special way. It is much more fulfilling and satisfying.”

For more information, go to life-inspirations.com.



Sunday September 7, 2008
Experts who believe

THESE are two well-known experts who believe that people can regress into and “see” their past lives.

Dr Brian Weiss





















He is one of the most compelling cases, as he was chairman of the psychiatry department at the prestigious Mount Sinai Hospital in Miami, United States.

“I was an academic psychiatrist, utterly sceptical about what I considered ‘non-scientific areas’. I knew nothing about the concept of reincarnation, and didn’t have the slightest interest in it,” he says in his book, Mirrors of Time: Using Regression for Physical, Emotional, and Spiritual Healing (Hay House, ISBN: 978-1561709298).

But his life changed forever when, 20 years back, he had a new patient, Catherine, who was suffering from panic attacks, phobias and nightmares.

A year of conventional psychiatric treatment saw little progress so Dr Weiss decided to try hypnosis, a therapy he’d used successfully before. Catherine was able to easily recall traumatic childhood memories. But when he asked her to go to the “source” of her pain, Dr Weiss was shaken to his core – because Catherine regressed back hundreds of years and started talking about living many “remarkably emotional” previous lives with “an extraordinary wealth of detail”.

“I thought it was imagination or fantasy,” says Dr Weiss. “I didn’t believe in any of this. And neither did she.”

Yet, as Catherine recalled more past lives, her symptoms vanished within a few months, without the use of any drugs.

But Dr Weiss was still stuck in his “left (analytical) brain” and didn’t believe it until Catherine told him she had “met” Dr Weiss’ own father and related intimate family details – like how his daughter shared his father’s Hebrew name, Avram – that nobody could have known.

Even then, fearing for his professional reputation, Dr Weiss waited five years and did more research before “going public”.

“I was clinical professor at the University of Miami. I had ... children ... a big mortgage,” he says. “I could lose all of that. But (Catherine’s experience) was so real and so detailed. You know how you get the feeling in your gut, in your bones? There was no trick to this.”

After treating thousands of patients, he says, “Now, there is no doubt in my mind that past-life regression therapy offers a rapid and effective way of treating physical and emotional symptoms, in addition to offering many other benefits.”

In May, Dr Weiss discussed past life regression on the Oprah show (oprah.about.com/od/oprahshowrecaps/p/pastliferegress.htm). His website is brianweiss.com.


Dr Ian Stevenson

He was a trained medical doctor and psychiatrist (who headed the University of Virginia’s Division of Personality Studies in the United States) who travelled around the world for over four decades to research possible reincarnation cases.

Among some 3,000 cases studies, Dr Stevenson (pic) found several hundred with “strong evidence”, according to the Psychiatric News magazine (December 2004) of the American Psychiatric Association.

For example, back in the 1970s, while under hypnosis, a woman called Delores Jay assumed the personality of a 19th century German named Gretchen Gottlieb who spoke fluent German – although Jay herself had apparently never learnt or even heard the language.

“I think most memories of previous lives recalled under hypnosis are fantasies,” Dr Stevenson said. “But this appears to be an exception because the subject was able to speak a foreign language.”

Then there was a Lebanese boy who spontaneously recalled that he was a man who had died in another village. The boy and his family had purportedly never had contact with the deceased.
Dr Stevenson took the boy to the other village. There, the deceased’s relatives asked the boy where, in his previous life, he had kept his dog. The boy pointed to the right place. What was the deceased’s sister’s name? Where had he lain while dying from tuberculosis? Where did he hide his gun? The boy answered everything correctly.

In interviewing witnesses and reviewing documents, Dr. Stevenson searched for alternate explanations: that the child knew through other means, that the witnesses were engaged in fraud or self-delusion, that there was sheer coincidence or misunderstanding. But in scores of cases, Dr. Stevenson concluded there was no “normal” explanation.

The Psychiatric News article quotes other professors of psychiatry, such as Dr Harold Lief (University of Pennsylvania) and Dr Paul Wender (University of Utah), praising Dr Stevenson’s “meticulous” and “detailed” research findings.

After 40 years of research, 12 books and dozens of scholarly articles, Dr Stevenson concluded that his detailed case studies provided more than ample room for, “a rational person, if he wants, to believe in reincarnation on the basis of evidence”.

Some of Dr Stevenson’s research can be accessed at healthsystem.virginia.edu/personalitystudies.



Sunday September 7, 2008
Back beyond birth
By ANDREW SIA

What happens during a past life regression workshop? Our writer braves a group session to find out.

TO start with, the logical mind is primed for past life experiences. Past life regression (PLR) therapist Selina Chew explains to our group that there are several ways in which people can “access” their past lives. It can happen spontaneously through vivid dreams or a sense of deja vu at certain places. Or one can undertake breathing exercises, psychic readings by mediums, intensive meditation, and, finally, hypnosis.

Chew uses hypnosis for her PLR therapy, and reassures us that it’s not about some magician with a handlebar moustache swinging a pendulum.


















“That’s just Hollywood hypnosis,” Chew smiles. “Hypnosis is merely an altered state of mind, when we tune out other things.

“It can occur naturally when we daydream, when deeply engrossed in an exciting novel or when driving on (a monotonously straight) highway. Advertising is also a mild form of hypnosis, as branding is imprinted in the subconscious.”

Chew explains that we are using our conscious mind when we think, analyse, and criticise, “whereas the subconscious mind is where emotions and intuition come from”.

Far from being sinister, the American Medical Association has accepted hypnosis as a medical tool since 1958, she says. Nowadays, it is used to help people quit smoking, increase confidence, and to train top athletes.

“Hypnosis is not mind control. All hypnosis is ultimately self-hypnosis, and a therapist only acts as a guide to relax and focus the person,” she emphasises.

Before getting into hypnosis, our motley group – businessmen, salesmen, an engineer, a pilot, a yoga teacher and one sceptical journalist – do warm up exercises to “integrate” our left (analytical) and right (creative) brains.

We are asked to close our eyes and use our senses to visualise three specified items and, later, to draw pictures of those items and describe what we saw, smelt, tasted, touched, heard, and felt.

Next, we are asked to hold a piece of thread with a paper clip suspended from its end.

“Okay, I want you to move it in a left-right direction, without moving your hands. Use only your mind power,” she instructs.

No way, I think, is this some ESP thing? To my amazement, my clip starts moving left and right....

Thus suitably piqued, it’s time to regress – to our childhoods. We sit or lay down on the floor, lights are dimmed, and we are asked to imagine a pleasant early childhood experience. Easy enough. Then comes the crunch. With a soothing voice, we are asked to imagine descending a long flight of stairs and then opening the “door of our birth” and going beyond that into our previous lives.

When it’s time to get “back” and share our experiences, I can only say I had some blurry, dreamy sort of images. Then again, Chew had warned us beforehand that people who are “too analytical” would find it hard to “let go”. Okay, so that’s a problem right there for this journalist.

Two or three other people say they had seen more vivid images but they lacked that “I know it!” feeling that it really was their past selves. A woman who had earlier said she has momentous dreams (including of winning 4-Digit lottery numbers!) believes that she “glimpsed” herself getting killed. The yoga teacher “saw” her past life as a sumo wrestler with a demanding ring manager – who is her boss in her current life!

Chew clarifies that it’s more difficult to “see” past lives in a group session and recommends one-to-one therapy, where she can give more personalised guidance.

I may just try it one day.



Sunday September 7, 2008
A Malaysian doctor’s view

DR Phang Cheng Kar, a medical doctor specialising in psychiatry at a local Government hospital, says there is, “little scientific evidence” to support past life regression (PLR) therapy.

“There are plenty of personal opinions and case reports, but these are not considered strong scientific evidence,” he says, adding that many of the so-called memories of past lives are akin to fantasy-like dreams.




















“False Memory Syndrome is a recognised phenomenon. And it may give rise to more conflicts, for example, what if you remember that your current spouse betrayed you or killed you in a previous life? Some people can’t take it and may end up more distressed,” he points out.

So far, he has only come across very few scientific studies on the outcome of PLR therapy, and for him, that’s not good enough.

“In talks, workshops, and books, of course only people who have benefited will be highlighted. I have seen some with no change or who became worse.”

Dr Phang is careful to distinguish between PLR therapy, which involves an “altered state of mind” (usually hypnosis) and spontaneous “past life experiences” (PLE), especially of children, which occur in “a relatively normal state of mind”.

He says that studies on children’s PLEs so far offer “the best scientific evidence” to support the idea of reincarnation and rebirth, whereas the PLEs of adults are relatively questionable because “memory can be easily conditioned, as shown in many scientific studies”.

Venerable Kumara, a Malaysian Buddhist monk at the Sasanarakkha Buddhist Sanctuary in Taiping, Perak, has discussed these issues with Dr Phang before and responds, “Is love evidence-based? Is it safe to love? Should we relate to others with more evidence-based methods first?”

Dr Phang is also concerned that some PLR therapists are not properly trained as mental health professionals, and may not be able to pick up neuro-psychiatric disorders that may mimic PLE. For example, temporal lobe epilepsy can cause feelings of deja vu.

However, he concedes that such misdiagnosis would be less likely with figures such as the psychiatrist Dr Brian Weiss (mentioned in Experts who believe, opposite).

While admitting that PLR therapy is gaining popularity in Malaysia lately, especially in local Buddhist circles, Dr Phang cautions that some people with psychological problems may “compulsively dwell on past life issues instead of working on the current life problem, which is the actual ‘diagnosis’.”

Dr Phang says that, as a mental health professional, he would give his patients other “better scientifically proven” options. Nevertheless, he does not want to discourage people from seeking PLR therapy, and admits that it “may be helpful for certain people”.

“It’s up to my patients to decide,” he says. “But we should not be deluded that PLR is a miraculous cure for all of life’s difficulties.

“A balanced perspective is important to avoid abuse of PLR therapy and to allow it to be scientifically studied for potential benefits.

“I’m still reading about and experimenting with it with an open-mind.”

Dr Phang Cheng Kar’s blog on past life experiences, positive psychology, Buddhism, and happiness is at pckar.blogspot.com. He, Venerable Kumara, and Selina Chew will be speaking at the Closer-to-Reality Buddhist Conference about ‘Understanding Death and Beyond’. The conference will be held on Dec 27-29 in Kuala Lumpur. For details, go to c2rc.org.

The News

My friend Mr BG sent me a succession of 3 smses yesterday (Sunday; 7th September 2008). The first sms asking me to read The Sunday Time page 6 went like this:

"U see pg6 sunday times whether maths n science taught in english or malai results so bad. d hole edu sys is sick! questions r in such simple nglis"

The second and third smses went:

"Spelling should be malaise" and

"Next time politicians corrupt they can say they don know maths"

The first thing that came to mind was I had to do something that I have not done in quite a while; read the New Straits Times! That I did online and after reading the article, it was obvious why BG sent the third sms. This article seemed politically motivated.

I had also wanted to comment about the article as there was so much I wanted to say. On second thought, I knew the article was bound to attract opinions from proponents and detractors alike so I decided to wait. Lo and behold! Today we see so many comments.

Since I was already reading mainstream newspapers I decided to check out The Star and Utusan too. It suffices to say that I not only had not missed much the last couple of years but also saved money by sparing myself lots of aggravation reading shit. Shit to me anyway.

I may be wrong but it appears to me reporting in mainstream newspapers has not only gotten more blatantly slanted, some reports are even outright inciting or bordering on seditious! Perhaps this is the concerted strategy to counter socio-political bloggers who tend to say anything and everything. If earlier, bloggers and internet news portals have been accused of being blasé and irresponsible it appears now the mainstream media are in on the act and all shackles are off!

Alas! All is fair in love and war and unless we be mistaken, the country is at war! It is a civil war fought over the hearts and minds of the people. Mainstream and alternative media are but weapons of war. They are the purveyors of information (or disinformation). The powers that be who control mainstream media have every right to dictate what is written and what is not including how, if written. Where this leaves journalists who are supposed to be the custodians of such a valuable and essential institution of modern society is obvious! The end it appears, justifies the means. M. Bakri Musa has this take:

Sycophantic Editors Ruin Trust

SEEING IT MY WAY

M. Bakri Musa (www.bakrimusa.com)

The result of the recent Permatang Pauh by-election was a surprise only to those who depended on the mainstream media and the government's massive propaganda machinery for their source of news and information.

A measure of how far detached from reality those who sit in the editorial suites of our mainstream papers can be gauged by the pre-election editorial of The New Straits Times where its Editor-in-Chief Syed Nadzri boldly predicted that Anwar would be defeated. Obviously Syed Nadzri was beginning to believe his own spin.

In coming to such a wildly off-the-mark conclusion, Syed Nadzri is either a lousy observer of the public mood or he is more concerned with sucking up to his political superiors. In either case, he does not deserve to be the custodian of such a valuable and essential institution of modern society.

To me Syed Nadzri is both. That he is a poor judge of the public mood can be seen by the ever declining circulation and influence of his paper. Syed Nadzri is only the latest in a long series of those who, through their lack of professional integrity and journalistic skills, have destroyed this once-valued brand name. As one naughty wag put it, that paper should now be more correctly called, The New S**t Times.

It pains me to note (what is obvious to all) that since the paper was acquired by UMNO, nearly all its senior editors and journalists are Malays. I refuse to believe that a Just Allah had not bequeathed upon the Malay race our fair share of talent. I also refuse to believe that past luminaries like the now-ailing Samad Ismail was an accidental fluke and not the trademark of our culture. He should be an inspiration for the present generation of journalists, a measure of what we are capable of producing.

Instead we have the likes of Syed Nadzri, individuals more adept at sucking up to their superiors. Syed Nadzri has obviously learned little from the fate and experiences of his many predecessors who were similarly afflicted. While such a trait may have facilitated their ascent to the top, once there it is no guarantee of career longevity.

Syed Nadzri should have learned, or somebody should have taught him, that while political winds and personalities may change, your professional duties and ideals do not. Yours is to ensure that the public be well informed, the prerequisite of a healthy, functioning democracy.

The slow but sure decline of The New Straits Times was interrupted only briefly when Abdullah Ahmad, a former Ambassador to the UN and a Mahathir appointee, took the helm. He survived but only briefly under Abdullah Badawi. At least Abdullah Ahmad left in a blaze of glory, having had the courage to speak his mind publicly.

As I look at its roster of past Editors-in-Chief, I am struck at how quickly they, with few exceptions, have descended into oblivion once deprived of their perch at the editor's desk. Kadir Jasin has his widely-read blog where he gives the occasional pungent comments now that he is freed from the tethers of officialdom. Again remarkable because of the rarity, Abdullah Ahmad is one of the few editors whose writings have been respectable enough to appear in reputable foreign publications.

The New Generation of Pseudo Journalists

My observations apply equally to those who helm Bernama, RTM and TV Tiga, as well as the other mainstream papers like The Star, Berita Harian, and Utusan Melayu. What we have today is a generation of pseudo or pretend editors and journalists. Ever wonder why the public ignores them? They have betrayed the public's trust in them.

It is instructive that Ahiruddin Atan, Noraini Samad and Kadir Jasin now reach more readers through their blogs than when they were with the mainstream papers! It would not be long before they would effectively overcome the blemish in their resume that was the time they spent with the mainstream media.

I would be irresponsible if I were to stop here, pointing out only the problems and not offering solutions.

One thing is clear. The present "leaders" in journalism are very much part of the problem. Having brought up and flourish under the present system, we cannot expect them to change, or be part of the solution. Getting rid of them would be a necessary first step to solving the problem.

Replace them with competent and established editors from abroad if need be, and tie their compensation to the success of their papers. There are many measures of this (circulation figures, advertising revenues) but an important one would be how often articles and commentaries in their paper are being picked up by other publications.

Additionally, I would have as a regular event an annual week-long continuing education series for our reporters, journalists and commentators where they would hear from the leading practitioners in their respective fields. I would invite established journalists from abroad in various fields (political reporting, economic analyses, and investigative journalism) to lecture and share their experiences.

I would include as part of the program a basic writing course as well as courses on effective interviewing. Even more basic, I would gather all the editors, and guided by a competent teacher of English grammar and stylist, craft a uniform editorial format on such things how to handle long names and honorifics, as well such simple things as standardized spelling. Is it Kota Baru or Kota Bharu?

While we are discussing the basics, I would have someone competent in mathematics to teach our reporters and journalists on the meaning and significance of numbers. Then we would not have such silly statements as, "The price of food increased 5 percent last month." Is that 5 percent over the previous month or over the same month of the previous year. Percentage is a ratio; you must therefore state the reference point.

Then as a concrete commitment to ensuring the future quality of the profession, I would groom at least half a dozen young journalists every year for entry into the leading journalism schools in America. With the promise of future infusions of fresh, bright and well-trained talents, rest assured the quality of local journalism and media would be enhanced considerably.

Only through such careful preparations and nurturing would our future journalists be able to differentiate between news and propaganda, between ministerial speeches and important policy announcements. Our society would then be well served. Journalists owe their readers and the public honest professional reporting, not propaganda to serve the needs of their political masters. This is what separates a free democratic society from an authoritarian state.

Syed Nadzri did reply the above in Rocky's Bru citing that M. Bakri erred. Check it out HERE

As readers we too should have the right to choose what we read notwithstanding the fact that most of us tend to be part of the choir that is being preached to. The following by Asohan in the Star underscores this:

The view from the centre

Stray Thoughts
by A. ASOHAN

We should let facts colour our opinions, not the other way around.

AT the risk of showing my age (yet again), I have to ask: How many of you out there can remember the "great" scientific discoveries and research experiments of the 1960s to 1980s?

The two that remain most fixed in my mind were the ones involving "paranormal" research and experiments that "proved" that plants have emotions. They were exciting enough to have even seen coverage in Malaysian newspapers.

J.B. Rhine (1895-1980) and his foundation in the United States conducted most of the cutting-edge research into what he called parapsychology – as well as some of the most mundane ones too. You know the type: Researcher holds up a playing card with its back to you, and you try to read his mind to find out what card it is.

Apparently, the number of correct guesses could not be attributed to pure chance alone, and women were more "psychically sensitive".

Around the same time, in the 1960s, US scientist Cleve Backster (b. 1924) used lie detectors to get polygraph readings of plants while they were being cut or burned. The spike in readings, he ventured, indicated that plants felt fear.

Many people took up the call that, yes, plants have emotions too. Never mind if they do not have any limpid glands.

The general press ignored the developments – or lack thereof – that followed. It turns out that the emotions being recorded were those of the people doing the cutting, according to some peer reviewers of Backster's experiments.

What about the mind reading? It turns out that the ones conducting the experiments were invested in proving the hypothesis.

They gave out subconscious cues, while both subject and experimenter were eager to please.

As for women being more sensitive ... well, having participated in similar experiments in university, I believe there is a reason why women did better on such tests.

Think about it: Most parapsychology departments are part of the arts and social sciences faculties, where you get the hottest chicks. Geek wants to prolong his interaction with a test subject who just happens to be a pretty girl. Chances are, his hormones will be generating subconscious cues. She goes, "Is it a red ..." and he frowns slightly. "Oh, I know, it's a black suit," and they go on from there. Everyone's happy.

Oh, okay, it may not have been that bad, but the issue remains: Many of these experiments were not rigorous or objective enough to eliminate what is known in scientific circles as "confirmation bias".

That's when you allow the hypothesis you're trying to prove nudge the data you collect.

And it's not just science geeks who are vulnerable to it. We all are. We let our beliefs cloud our judgement. Or, as a letter to the editor by someone from Sydney explained "confirmation bias" on Monday (Need for a media watchdog, Views, The Star, Sept 1) "favouring information that supports one's own views".

When a politician (or blogger) says what you want to hear, it's the truth. When he doesn't, it's a damned lie. When the mainstream media misses a story, it's because they're trying to cover it up; when the alternative media misses it, it's because they didn't have the resources.

Dan Cohn-Sherbok, a rabbi of Reform Judaism and professor of Jewish theology at the University of Wales, once wrote in an essay, "In our encounter with reality, it is also the case that one's conception of the real is to a large measure socially conditioned".

He argued that there were three theories of truth:

1. Correspondence theory: A statement is true if, and only if, it corresponds with the facts (science).

2. Coherence: Truth is equivalent to systematic coherence; that is, a statement is true if it logically coheres with other statements within some systematic whole (mathematics).

3. Pragmatic theory (or functional truth): A statement is true not because it corresponds with the facts or because it is systematically coherent with other statements, but because it is made true by events ... because it works in the lives of those who believe in it.

The last can be a powerful and meaningful "truth". It is what gives faith and religion, when properly applied, their strength.

But it is also a double-edged sword. When applied dogmatically, it gives rise to the kind of a socio-political scenario we have now in Malaysia, where the truth has become a malleable commodity to be shaped by the powers-that-be for their own purposes.

Heck, even the powers-that-wannabe seem to be doing it, which is why the DAP has kept relatively quiet over the racist actions of Kulim-Bandar Baru MP Zulkifli Nordin (PKR) but has lodged police reports against Bukit Bendera Umno division chief Datuk Ahmad Ismail over his racist statements.

Revelations and epiphanies come only to those who open up their minds. The greatest movers and shakers in human history are people who managed to move away from their complacent cultural frameworks to forge new truths – Abraham Lincoln, Ashoka, Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr, Nelson Mandela, Mother Teresa.

(Making a politically expedient about-turn doesn't count, by the way!)

Cohn-Sherbok may be right. We view the world through lenses honed by our beliefs and our cultural frameworks, and tempered by our experiences.

But if we truly have courage and vision, we would allow these lenses to be shattered once in a while and use our naked eye to look for the truth.

A. Asohan, New Media Editor at The Star, swears he's been smoking only tobacco.

The bottom-line is still the freedom of choice. It is when this freedom of choice meets with Dan Cohn-Sherbok's third theory of truth (per Asohan's article above) i.e. the Pragmatic Theory, that we may find vindication. I agree with Asohan when he says,

"...we view the word through lenses honed by our beliefs and our cultural frameworks, and tempered by our experiences. But if we truly have the courage and vision, we would allow these lenses to be shattered once in a while and use our naked eye to look for the truth."

Yes the nation is indeed at war. It is a war being fought on numerous political and economic fronts. The economic war can only begin in earnest after the war for the hearts and minds of the majority has been won over. On the political front, the war that will probably be won eventually through the ballot box as the nation moves towards a two-party system. Essentially, by their sheer numbers, it is actually a struggle for the hearts and minds of the Malay voters and I believe amongst the many salvos already fired, the following "shot" in the Utusan yesterday (7th September 2008) is an obvious example. This is clearly not a war for the faint hearted:

Ancaman kepada Melayu

Entah mengapa sejak kebelakangan ini sudah timbul 'keberanian' luar biasa daripada pelbagai pihak untuk mempertikaikan apa yang sudah termaktub dalam Perlembagaan Persekutuan.

Antara perkara yang semakin lantang menjadi perdebatan atau perbahasan ialah mengenai Perkara 153 berhubung keistimewaan orang Melayu.

Walaupun pihak-pihak yang berbuat demikian amat memahami ia sesuatu yang sensitif namun mereka tidak mempedulikan itu semua.

Sebaliknya satu demi satu hujah mereka keluarkan bagi menggugat apa yang sudah terpahat dalam Perlembagaan. Persoalannya wajarkah perkara seumpama itu terus menjadi pertikaian? Tidakkah ia sepatutnya dihormati memandangkan ia adalah satu Perlembagaan negara?

Dalam pertemuan dengan wartawan Mingguan Malaysia, ZULKIFLEE BAKAR dan NORAINI ABD.RAZAK, Pensyarah Undang-undang Universiti Islam Antarabangsa Malaysia (UIAM), Dr. Sham Rahayu Ab. Aziz secara terus terang menyifatkan, apa yang terjadi sekarang kerana orang Melayu dilihat lemah.

Malah katanya, kegagalan orang Melayu untuk berhujah mengenai intipati apa yang terkandung dalam Perlembagaan juga menjadi punca pihak lain mampu mempertikaikan apa yang sudah diperuntukkan.

Selain itu pada pandangan Dr. Sham Rahayu sikap generasi baru yang mahu memperjuangkan kesamarataan antara kaum juga turut menyebabkan segala yang ditetapkan oleh Perlembagaan mengenai orang Melayu semakin 'terancam'.

Mingguan: Kenapa sejak kebelakangan ini perkara-perkara dalam Perlembagaan terus dipertikaikan?

DR. SHAM RAHAYU: Kalau kita mengkaji sentimen sesetengah pihak pada masa ini ia memang menunjukkan mereka mahu melihat apa yang ada dalam Perlembagaan dan kemudian mempertikaikan kewujudannya tanpa mahu memahami kenapa ia diwujudkan. Apa yang sepatutnya orang ramai lakukan ialah bertanya kenapa sesuatu perkara dalam Perlembagaan itu diwujudkan, contohnya dalam soal hak keistimewaan orang Melayu yang terkandung dalam Perkara 153.

Kalau melihat sejarah bangsa kita dan pembentukan Perlembagaan sesetengah perkara itu harus diterima, ertinya tidak boleh dirobek atau diubah semata-mata untuk mengikut perubahan semasa. Bagi saya, dalam demokrasi ada ruang bagi membolehkan perkara dalam Perlembagaan diperbincangkan tetapi bukan sampai ke tahap yang boleh menggugat Perlembagaan itu sendiri. Ini termasuklah perbincangan yang menjurus ke arah provokasi seperti hendak membuang peruntukan Perlembagaan yang sedia ada.

Apakah peruntukan Perkara 153 dalam Perlembagaan itu keterlaluan melindungi orang Melayu sehingga menjejaskan bangsa-bangsa lain?

DR. SHAM RAHAYU: Kalau kita mengkaji Suruhanjaya Reid, ia mengatakan kalau kita mengambil hak Melayu secara tidak terancang ia boleh meruntuhkan pembinaan bangsa dan negara. Atas sebab itu saya tidak bersetuju jika ada pihak mengatakan bahawa Perkara 153 memberi kelebihan melampau kepada orang Melayu.

Ini kerana sistem tersebut mesti bergerak dengan hak-hak munasabah terhadap bangsa lain. Suruhanjaya Reid merujuk salah satu terma Perlembagaan ialah menjaga kedudukan Melayu dan Islam serta menjaga hak-hak munasabah terhadap bangsa lain, jadi apabila kita menjaga kepentingan Melayu ini tidak bermakna kita mengabaikan bangsa lain. Untuk membina sebuah negara yang aman dan damai serta mewujudkan kestabilan politik kita memerlukan kesaksamaan dan keadilan.

Tetapi apa yang ditonjolkan seolah-olah orang Melayu mendapat segala-galanya sedang bangsa lain tidak mendapat apa-apa?

DR. SHAM RAHAYU: Saya berpendapat mengikut Perlembagaan orang Melayu diberi sedikit kelebihan atau keistimewaan tetapi dari segi aplikasinya mungkin tidak begitu ketara. Adalah tidak adil untuk mengatakan orang Melayu mendapat segala-galanya. Cuba lihat siapa yang mengawal ekonomi kita?

Kalau kita mengkaji laporan Suruhanjaya Reid mengenai Perlembagaan, kelebihan kepada orang Melayu diberikan sejak 1948. Pada tahun itu, orang British sendiri tidak pernah menyentuh soal Melayu dan Islam. Ini kerana ia menjadi subjek yang terlalu sensitif kepada British. Namun dalam masa yang sama terdapat terma bahawa bangsa lain tidak diabaikan.

Kenapa baru sekarang semua ini hendak dipertikaikan sedangkan ia sudah termaktub dalam Perlembagaan?

DR. SHAM RAHAYU: Punca utama kerana orang Melayu tidak pandai berhujah, kita tidak memahami sejarah sendiri. Kelemahan orang Melayu sekarang ialah tidak memahami kenapa diwujudkan keistimewaan dalam Perlembagaan. Atas sebab itulah kalau kita lihat ada di kalangan orang Melayu sendiri menentang Perkara 153.

Kalau kita merujuk pembinaan bangsa, adalah jelas semua rakyat Malaysia tanpa mengira kaum berhak untuk merasa bangga menjadi rakyat negara ini tetapi ia tidak bermaksud kepentingan Melayu harus dilunturkan. Kita memahami sejarah menunjukkan Malaysia adalah sebuah negara yang dianggotai oleh pelbagai bangsa tetapi kita tidak boleh mengenepikan kerangka asas pembinaan negara ini iaitu orang Melayu.

Seharusnya kita memberi pemahaman kepada bangsa lain kenapa terdapat peruntukan tertentu mengenai Melayu dan Islam dalam Perlembagaan.

Dalam soal Perkara 153 bukan mudah ia ditarik begitu sahaja. Ini kerana ia mempunyai hubung kait dengan peruntukan-peruntukan lain seperti keistimewaan raja-raja.

Kalau soal Melayu hendak ditarik balik apa yang raja ada lagi? Sedangkan institusi raja-raja bertanggungjawab terhadap dua perkara iaitu Melayu dan Islam. Institusi raja-raja dibentuk oleh Perlembagaan dengan tujuan mewujudkan kestabilan politik. Tetapi kalau soal Melayu ditarik dalam Perkara 153, ertinya raja pun tidak akan wujud. Keadaan itu kalau berlaku sudah tentulah akan menjejaskan kestabilan politik negara. Bagaimanapun kalau boleh soal mengenai Melayu ini tidaklah dibincangkan dalam suasana terlalu panas atau penuh provokasi. Tetapi dalam masa yang kita sudah tidak mampu menyembunyikan segala-galanya di bawah karpet. Masyarakat kita sudah mengetahui isi kandungan Perlembagaan. Oleh itu orang Melayu terutama pemimpin kita harus pandai berhujah dan memahami Perlembagaan tanpa sentimen politik.

Kita harus pisahkan antara isu politik dengan isu Perlembagaan. Kita perlu berbincang soal Perlembagaan secara akademik dan intelektual bukan provokasi. Saya lihat dari semasa ke semasa semakin banyak peruntukan Perlembagaan mengenai orang Melayu diganggu gugat. Dahulu ia bermula dengan Perkara 152 iaitu mengenai bahasa Melayu dan sekarang Perkara 153 pula.

Kalau pencabulan ini terus dibiarkan, ia akan menyebabkan porak peranda kerana sistem pentadbiran negara dan kestabilan politik akan terancam.

Dalam soal pemain dalam menjayakan peruntukan sedia ada, apakah ia berpunca dari kelemahan pelaksanaan?

DR. SHAM RAHAYU: Saya bersetuju kalau orang mengatakan masalah kita bukan dengan sistem tetapi pemain. Bagi saya membiarkan peruntukan-peruntukan itu dibincangkan secara provokatif mendatangkan masalah lebih besar. Dalam soal ini pemain harus memastikan peruntukan itu dijalankan sebagaimana yang dimaksudkan dalam Perlembagaan. Selain itu, mereka juga harus memantau sejauh mana peruntukan itu dilaksanakan.

Para pemain dalam sistem ini perlu berubah dan melihat balik apa yang mereka buat itu bertepatan dengan tujuan atau objektif Perlembagaan atau tidak. Ini bagi mengelakkan Perlembagaan hanya menjadi kosmetik.

Kalau Perlembagaan itu hendak dihormati ia harus dilaksanakan, masalahnya tidak ada penguatkuasaan jika ia dilanggar. Walaupun Perlembagaan bukanlah kanun keseksaan tetapi kita sudah membina satu konvensyen atau adat Perlembagaan yang harus dihormati.

Atas sebab itu kita memerlukan penguatkuasaan yang tegas ke atas pencabulan Perlembagaan. Kalau kita dilihat lemah dalam soal ini sudah pasti ada pihak yang akan melakukan provokatif untuk menolak apa-apa yang termaktub dalam Perlembagaan.

Di kalangan generasi muda adalah jelas mereka tidak menghiraukan mengenai pencabulan Perlembagaan ini?

DR. SHAM RAHAYU: Tidak dapat dinafikan bahawa generasi baru memperjuangkan kesamarataan. Saya setuju dengan pandangan bahawa akibat daripada perjuangan inilah berlakunya pencabulan Perlembagaan. Justeru kita harus melihat agenda di sebalik tindakan berkenaan.

Adakah asas kesamarataan itu menjadi benda yang kukuh? Kenapa kita analogi sistem kesamarataan kita dengan barat. Apa yang ada di negara kita terlalu unik. Sepatutnya kita pergi kepada keadilan bukan kesamarataan.

Saya rasa faktor utama yang menyebabkan kekeliruan ini berlaku kerana orang tidak faham apa konsep keadilan dalam sistem Perlembagaan kita. Kalau hendak bagi semua orang sama rata itu tidak adil. Lihatlah sejarah bangsa mana-manapun sudah pasti ada sesetengah golongan harus diberi keutamaan. Apa yang diberikan oleh Perlembagaan kepada orang Melayu tidaklah melampau. Jadi tidak perlulah lagi dipersoalkan mengenai hak keistimewaan orang Melayu ini. Bagi saya mereka yang membangkitkan isu berkenaan mempunyai agenda politik.

Kenapa orang Melayu selalu dilihat bersalah apabila mempertahankan hak Melayu?

DR. SHAM RAHAYU: Apologetik. Orang Melayu terlalu berdiplomatik dengan sifat kemelayuan, sedangkan Melayu sebenarnya kuat dan hebat, tetapi sekarang ini kita terlalu apologetik. Sikap apologetik dan diplomatik, sikit-sikit minta maaf menyebabkan orang naik tocang. Sikap ini kalau dilakukan terlalu kerap orang akan bosan. Saya rasa faktor utama mengapa hak orang Melayu di sisi Perlembagaan sering dipersoalkan ialah tidak tegas dari segi penguatkuasaan dan sifat apologetik. Inilah dua karakter yang menyebabkan Perkara 153 dipijak, menyebabkan kedudukan orang Melayu dipijak sehingga orang Melayu rasa bersalah dan malu untuk mengaku kita sebenarnya ada keistimewaan.

Sekarang ini ada pula Melayu liberal yang juga mahu supaya diwujudkan kesamarataan?

DR. SHAM RAHAYU: Kelompok ini yang menjadi racun, saya sebut ini adalah Melayu yang makan Melayu, Melayu yang menjadi racun kepada Perlembagaan. Tidak mustahil mereka yang mencetuskan semua ini. Mereka yang nak jadi juara memperjuangkan hak sama rata, tanpa memahami sejarah Perlembagaan secara semangatnya. Mereka melihat Perkara 153 itu seolah-olah membawa pandangan buruk kepada Melayu, mereka rasa keistimewaan itu macam bantuan kepada orang cacat, benda yang buruk kepada orang Melayu. Ini menjadikan orang memijak Perlembagaan. Mereka ini tali barut yang menjadikan Perkara 153 dan orang Melayu sendiri bencikan keistimewaan Melayu. Kita tidak menafikan perkembangan mutakhir ini menunjukkan wujud dua Melayu iaitu Melayu liberal dan Melayu Perlembagaan..

Kita lihat suara untuk kesamarataan ini semakin berkumandang tetapi ia seolah-olah menjurus kepada bidang tertentu sahaja?

DR. SHAM RAHAYU: Masalah ini tidak akan selesai selagi kumpulan yang tidak berpuas hati ini menyatakan dengan jelas apa sebenarnya yang mereka mahukan. Kita lihat dalam pengambilan anggota polis terbuka kepada semua kaum tetapi adakah kaum bukan Melayu berminat menyertainya. Kita tidak pasti apa benda dan sektor mana yang mereka inginkan. Kalau nak juga keistimewaan Melayu ditarik balik tunjukkan bahawa keistimewaan ini telah menafikan mereka daripada mendapat hak-hak yang munasabah termasuk dari sudut ekonomi dan politik. Tunjukkan, barulah kita fikir Perlembagaan itu layak diubah.

Adakah Doktor melihat ada agenda lain di sebalik timbulnya cakap-cakap mengenai hak keistimewaan orang Melayu ini?

DR. SHAM RAHAYU: Saya melihat isu bukan agenda saja-saja atau demi kepentingan bangsa tetapi lebih kepada agenda politik. Sepatutnya semua pihak mesti membezakan antara politik dengan Perlembagaan. Jika kita lihat kedudukan bukan Melayu terutama dari sudut politik dan ekonominya amat memberangsangkan dan bukan sedikit kalangan mereka yang kaya raya di sebalik wujudnya Perkara 153 ini. Saya tidak nampak apa salahnya dalam sistem itu, cuma mekanisme itu yang perlu dilihat balik dan saya rasa Perkara 153 tidak boleh dikompromi dalam membina bangsa Malaysia. Kita tidak boleh potong Perkara 153 sampai bila-bila pun, kerana bangsa kita memerlukan safeguard (pengawalseliaan) iaitu Perlembagaan untuk mengawal Melayu.

Kita mesti ingat di dunia hanya di Malaysia yang wujud Melayu begini, di Indonesia sudah tidak ada, di Afrika Selatan juga tidak ada identiti Melayu sebegini. Kita yang masih tulen dan mempunyai keistimewaan kalau hendak dilihat Melayu di Singapura apa agaknya yang mereka ada.

Mungkinkah semua ini berpunca daripada kelalaian di pihak pelaksana Perlembagaan itu sendiri?

DR. SHAM RAHAYU: Saya tidak fikir kerajaan semasa begitu prihatin dengan apa yang terkandung dalam Perlembagaan. Jika diikutkan misalnya Perkara 152 mengenai kedudukan bahasa Melayu sebagai bahasa kebangsaan tetapi kerajaan memperkenalkan dasar pengajaran Sains dan Matematik dalam bahasa Inggeris. Walaupun untuk menarik balik dasar itu melibatkan kerugian dari aspek perbelanjaan kewangan tetapi kalau hendak menghormati Perlembagaan kita kena kembali kepada dasar lama. Jika tidak orang akan melihat dasar Kabinet bercanggah dengan Perlembagaan, bercanggah dengan sejarah dan kehendak Suruhanjaya Reid itu sendiri.

Saya percaya jika banyak sangat orang persoalkan sesuatu dasar yang ada kait mengait dengan Perlembagaan maka pasti ada silapnya. Semua pihak patut lihat balik apa yang tak kena dan sepatutnya kita pulihkan perkara-perkara yang tidak betul ini secepat mungkin.

Berikut petikan Perkara 153 Perlembagaan

Perkara 153. Perizaban kuota berkenaan dengan perkhidmatan, permit dan sebagainya bagi orang Melayu dan anak negeri mana-mana antara Negeri Sabah dan Sarawak.

(1) Menjadi tanggungjawab Yang di-Pertuan Agong untuk melindungi kedudukan istimewa orang Melayu dan anak negeri mana-mana antara Negeri Sabah dan Sarawak dan kepentingan sah kaum-kaum lain mengikut peruntukan Perkara ini.

(2) Walau apa pun apa-apa jua dalam Perlembagaan ini, tetapi tertakluk kepada peruntukan Perkara 40 dan peruntukan Perkara ini, Yang di-Pertuan Agong hendaklah menjalankan fungsinya di bawah Perlembagaan ini dan undang-undang persekutuan mengikut apa- apa cara yang perlu untuk melindungi kedudukan istimewa orang Melayu dan anak negeri mana-mana antara Negeri Sabah dan Sarawak dan untuk memastikan perizaban bagi orang Melayu dan anak negeri mana-mana antara Negeri Sabah dan Sarawak apa-apa perkadaran yang difikirkan munasabah oleh Yang di-Pertuan Agong daripada jawatan dalam perkhidmatan awam (selain perkhidmatan awam sesuatu Negeri) dan daripada biasiswa, danasiswa dan keistimewaan pendidikan atau latihan yang seumpamanya atau kemudahan khas lain yang diberikan atau diadakan oleh Kerajaan Persekutuan dan, apabila apa-apa permit atau lesen dikehendaki oleh undang-undang persekutuan bagi mengendalikan apa-apa pertukangan atau perniagaan, maka, tertakluk kepada peruntukan undang-undang itu dan Perkara ini, daripada permit dan lesen itu.

(3) Yang di-Pertuan Agong boleh, bagi memastikan, mengikut Fasal (2), perizaban bagi orang Melayu dan anak negeri mana-mana antara Negeri Sabah dan Sarawak jawatan-jawatan dalam perkhidmatan awam dan biasiswa, danasiswa dan keistimewaan pendidikan atau latihan atau kemudahan khas lain, memberikan apa-apa arahan am yang dikehendaki bagi maksud itu kepada mana-mana Suruhanjaya yang baginya Bahagian X terpakai atau kepada mana-mana pihak berkuasa yang dipertanggungkan dengan tanggungjawab bagi pemberian biasiswa, danasiswa atau keistimewaan pendidikan atau latihan atau kemudahan khas lain itu; dan Suruhanjaya atau pihak berkuasa itu hendaklah mematuhi arahan itu dengan sewajarnya.

Jangan prejudis kepada perkara 153
Senarionya sekarang Melayu cuma mempertahankan hak dalam Perlembagaan tetapi pada masa yang sama bukan Melayu menuntut tambahan hak, adakah ini bermakna akan berlaku kesamarataan yang sekali gus menjejaskan hak orang Melayu?

DR. SHAM RAHAYU: Apa yang kita faham akan sampai satu tahap di mana demokrasi seumpama barat yang menekankan kesamarataan akan berlaku di negara ini. Tetapi untuk proses tersebut menjadi kenyataan tidak diketahui bila masanya. Saya percaya tempoh 51 tahun biar pun ada pihak yang berpendapatan sudah tiba masanya untuk kesamarataan namun hakikatnya tempoh tersebut belum mencukupi. Paling penting untuk kita fikirkan ialah apabila tiba masa tersebut apa akan jadi kepada Perlembagaan kita?

Bukankah ketika itu Perlembagaan akan menjadi kosmetik?

DR. SHAM RAHAYU: Itu yang saya maksudkan. Kalau sampai ke tahap itu pasti akan timbul cadangan supaya Perkara 153 dimansuhkan daripada Perlembagaan. Mungkin kita akan sampai ke satu tahap di mana orang Melayu sendiri rasa tidak perlu lagi keistimewaan atau pun sampai satu tahap kerajaan kata kita tidak mampu mempertahankan Melayu lagi, mungkin satu kerajaan lain yang akan berkata begitu, maka ketika itu lepaslah orang Melayu macam anak ayam. Apabila berlaku keadaan seperti itu tentunya akan menimbulkan ketidakstabilan politik. Sebabnya saya melihat sejarah, mungkin orang kata apa yang dah berlaku biarkan berlalu, tetapi ada juga yang berkata, jika kita tidak belajar dari sejarah maknanya kita akan mencipta sejarah kejatuhan kita.

Walaupun Perlembagaan kita dikatakan living document, boleh berubah dari semasa ke semasa tetapi sebenarnya kesamarataan itu yang Suruhanjaya Reid mahu. Kalau kita baca semula laporan Suruhanjaya Reid sampai satu tahap tidak akan ada beza antara kaum-kaum di negara ini. Saya rasa ia terlalu ideal. Sampai macam mana kulit saya tidak akan jadi putih macam orang Cina, orang India tidak akan jadi sawo matang macam orang Melayu. Masalahnya sampai ke satu tahap kita bimbang Perlembagaan menjadi perhiasan dan ini yang perlu dimainkan oleh pihak yang menjaga Perlembagaan ini.

Jangan sampai satu tahap sama rata dan itu boleh membahayakan Perlembagaan dan kestabilan politik kita. Kita mencipta satu bentuk sistem Perlembagaan yang unik dan tiada mana-mana contoh Perlembagaan di dunia yang mempunyai ciri-ciri Perlembagaan kita. Cuma Malaysia sahaja di dunia ini ada Yang di-Pertuan Agong. Apabila saya baca laporan Suruhanjaya Reid saya tertanya-tanya adakah mereka faham keadaan di Malaysia ini atau mereka menggunakan minda Inggeris untuk menilai bangsa-bangsa yang ada.

Boleh Doktor berikan contoh wujudnya minda Inggeris dalam Suruhanjaya Reid?

DR. SHAM RAHAYU: Contohnya mereka berkata keistimewaan orang Melayu untuk substantial number of years – banyaknya itu amat subjektif, adakah 50 tahun cukup untuk membina bangsa kita, adakah 50 tahun cukup untuk orang Melayu matang. Kalau diikutkan sekarang memang orang Melayu itu matang tetapi dari segi keupayaan yang sebenar bolehkah orang Melayu berdiri. Sebab itu Perkara 153 ini tidak boleh dilepaskan kerana menyedari orang Melayu belum sampai ke tahap itu. Saya tertanya-tanya apa sangat yang bukan Melayu hendak sebenarnya. Adakah mereka tidak mendapat peluang pekerjaan, adakah mereka tidak mendapat kepentingan ekonomi, apa sangat yang disusahkannya tentang Perkara 153 ini. Lebih menyedihkan lagi apabila ada orang Melayu sendiri tidak mahu mempertahankan kedudukan Melayu.

Adakah ia mungkin disebabkan oleh kaum-kaum lain percaya bahawa kaum Melayu diberi keistimewaan keterlaluan sehingga hak menjejaskan hak mereka?

DR. SHAM RAHAYU: Kalau hendak kata mereka tidak mendapat legitimate interest (perkataan yang digunakan dalam Suruhanjaya Reid), kita sendiri lihat kedudukan kaum-kaum lain di Malaysia sekarang ini. Adakah mereka tidak diberi peluang sedangkan mereka boleh 'survive' malah dalam banyak bidang mereka amat berjaya. Kalau Melayu tidak diberi kedudukan ini adakah Melayu boleh survive, itu yang penting dan mesti kita tengok.

Saya juga tertanya-tanya adakah selama ini negara kita tidak aman dengan adanya keistimewaan orang Melayu. Adakah kita tidak gembira berada di Malaysia hanya kerana adanya 153 ini. Persoalannya apa susah sangat dengan 153.

Dalam buku Chinese Dilemma dan Chinese Contributions mereka bangkitkan tentang peranan mereka, sememangnya kita terima peranan mereka membangunkan Bank Negara misalnya, tapi mereka kena ingat ini adalah negara mereka dan itu adalah sumbangan mereka. Apa yang mereka tidak dapat di negara ini. Sistem pendidikan misalnya kita lihat Singapura hanya ada satu sistem, tetapi di sini semuanya ada. Perpaduan bangsa kita seperti yang dikatakan oleh Syed Naquib Al-Attas umpama jalur-jalur besi yang tidak boleh nak dicairkan kerana adanya prejudis. Adakah 153 menjadi satu isu untuk mereka prejudis kepada Melayu, saya rasa itu tidak adil untuk bangsa Melayu.

Sepatutnya mereka kena tunjukkan sejauh mana benarnya Dasar Ekonomi Baru telah menyekat legitimate interest mereka, kalau Lim Kit Siang kata orang Cina tidak diberi peluang sila perjelaskan peluang apa.

Blogger Aisehman has this comment about the above.

Coming back to my friend BG's smses, this following was the article. There were so many who commented on NST Online. Not all agreed with the thrust of the article and NST allowed their opinions to be posted; to me this means not all hope is lost.


TEACHING OF MATHS AND SCIENCE IN ENGLISH
Study reveals policy's flaws


By: Elizabeth John and Aniza Damis

TANJUNG MALIM: Five years after schools began teaching Mathematics and Science in English, tests on thousands of students have revealed poor scores in these subjects.

The tests and surveys, part of a study of that policy, have also shown that the majority of students still find it hard to follow Mathematics and Science lessons in English.

Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI) put over 3,000 Year Five pupils and about 2,800 Form Two students around the country through short Mathematics, Science and English language tests between February last year and January.

The schoolchildren were from a mix of urban, rural and vernacular schools in Peninsular Malaysia.

The tests were made up of modified past-year examination questions. Some were taken straight out of textbooks.

Some 1,700 Year Five pupils tested this January had a mean score of 7.89 out of a maximum 20 for Mathematics.

The results were not much better for Science: a mean of 4.08 out of 14. English proficiency was not good either: a mean of 11.87 out of 31.

The mean scores of Malay and Orang Asli pupils were also much lower than those of the Chinese and Indians, said study leader Professor Emeritus Datuk Isahak Haron.

Isahak has called the policy a failure, particularly in terms of its impact on Malay students in national schools (Sekolah Kebangsaan), and is asking for a return to the teaching of Mathematics and Science in Bahasa Malaysia.

In the survey, many Year Five pupils told researchers they found it hard to learn Mathematics and Science in English, saying they did not understand the lessons.

In one sample, less than a fifth of the Year Five Malay students surveyed considered it easy to learn Science in English and only about a third thought it was easy to learn Mathematics in English.

When a sample of 1,300 Malay students were asked how well they understood the Mathematics and Science lessons when it was taught in English, over 60 per cent said they only understood the lessons "sometimes".

The policy had even failed in its aim of improving the pupils' command of English, said Isahak, a lecturer at the Faculty of Cognitive Science and Human Development.

Students struggled to correctly complete even simple sentences, he said, citing the following sentence in a passage taken out of a school textbook: "He ..... to bed" (The answer is "went".)

An average of 14 per cent and 19 per cent (two different groups) got the answer right.

Even the highest score according to racial breakdown -- 41 per cent of Chinese students in one group answered correctly -- did not speak well of the policy's aim of improving English.

Isahak suggested that it would do more good to allocate more time, staff and money to the teaching of English at the primary school level.

He urged a change in how the language was taught in schools. He said the standardised syllabus should be scrapped in favour of lessons tailored to suit the abilities of different students.

The UPSI study also incorporated findings from other surveys of secondary school students that pointed to similar problems.

Shortly after the policy was implemented in 2003, Associate Professor Hashima Jalaluddin of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia interviewed 43 teachers and 971 Form One students from six schools in the central and southern states of Peninsular Malaysia .

Most of the teachers said students had problems following Mathematics and Science lessons in English, while 70 per cent of the students said they would be more interested if the two subjects were taught in Bahasa Malaysia.

Only a quarter said they had no problem following the lessons in English.

In 2004, Zainuddin Bikum surveyed 229 students in two schools in Kuala Kubu Baru, Selangor, for his dissertation at UPSI and found that more than half of the group was facing difficulties.

Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia's Professor Juriah Long found that about half the students in both urban and rural schools were worried because they found it difficult to follow Mathematics and Science in English. This was one of the results of her 2005 survey of over 7,000 Form Two students nationwide.

Her study, which also looked at the location of schools and the socio-economic background of students, found the concern was greater among Malay students, those in rural schools, and poor students.

Isahak said Malay students in national schools, mostly in rural areas and from lower socio-economic backgrounds, had lost out the most as a result of the decision to teach Maths and Science in English.

The ones who gained from the policy were a small percentage of Malay students from upper middle class families who went to good schools, he said.

However, UPSI's own test results showed Year Five Malay students from rural schools scored highest in nine out of 10 Maths questions and two out of seven Science questions compared with Malay students in big town and city schools.

Meanwhile, Malay students in city schools consistently fared the lowest.

Isahak believes the difference in the percentages is marginal and because there are more Malay students in rural areas, it is these students who will be most affected.

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Readers' Comments:

Ben, PJ:
Note that it not the fault of the subjects being taught in english that is the issue here. What contributes to the students lack of interest in Maths and Science being taught in English is the pure lack of effort made by most teachers. In most primary and secondary schools, once the language change for these two subjects were made 5 years ago, the teaching personal remained the same. Most of the teachers were good at what they taught, but only in Bahasa Malaysia. Yes, there were courses set up by the government for school teachers to attend. But how can one improve his or her language skills, especially to the level of TEACHING in just a week or two attending such courses? There should be more effort made by our teachers in adjusting to this change in order for any progress to be seen amongst our students.

David Ng, Petaling Jaya:
Patience, hard work and sacrifice are the main ingredients to allow the young minds of our children to expand and excel. My son will be sitting for his UPSR exams starting tomorrow. When he was enrolled into a national school which he is still in since Year 1, he could hardly utter a word in Malay, let alone form simple sentences, speak nor understand properly. His exam results were poor and carried red ink in almost anything in the national language. He struggled in school without private tuition. My family and I endured a frustrating yet satisfying journey in guiding him on the right track. Right now he is on his own. By all means, he is no "A" student but he is finally scoring decent marks in his Bahasa Malaysia subjects at par with his peers in his term exams and UPSR trials. I wish him well in his UPSR and regardless of the end result, I will still be proud of him as he has come a long way. What we need are more educators who are proficient in both the Malay and English languages to help our young ones master this shotcoming of unsatisfactory results in Science and Mathematics. As it is, a large number of our primary school teachers themselves cannot confidently nor proficiently teach in the English language. It is not a problem with our children. They can be taught to master almost anything. The problem stems from the educators, or rather the system that created our educators. Reverting Science and Mathematics back to our national language is definitely not the solution.

Farhan, Kuala Lumpur:
When teaching Maths, the objective is to increase the student's proficiency in Maths. Likewise for Science. The teaching of the subjects should not have anything to do with the language. Let the teachers use whatever language would better serve the students, whether it be Bahasa Malaysia, English, Mandarin or Tamil. As long as the objective of imparting knowledge of Maths and Science is met, then language shouldn't be a barrier. To improve English, improvement should be made to the English syllabus, not making other subjects as scapegoats.

Concern parent:
Bahasa Malaysia has been the national language but for Malaysian to be able to compete internationally, they must be able to communicate in English and soon Mandarin. It not enough just to teach Maths and Science in English but other subjects as well. Further, the use of English must be taught early in the primary schools. Many dropped out due to the weak command in English (poor effort to improve due to lack of motivation), poor attitude of the students and incompetent teachers. ENGLISH IN MATHS AND SCIENCE MUST STAY. I am sure the Ministry would have to put in more effort to ensure the competitiveness of the future of our children globally rather to be complacent of "Malaysia" scenerio only. The malay saying, "Katak di bawah tempurung" - shameful.

Geraint, Johor Baru:
We will see just how much the education ministry values the opinion of the people when a decision is made on this issue. I am sure if a survey is made, find out whether the majority wants the current policy to stay or not, most of us would say yes. If we persist long enough, I am sure we will see improvements. Common sense should prevail over idealistic nationalism.

Ariff:
Look at the results of the above study positively. Analyze it properly, find out where the problems are and figure out good corrective measures. Don't just scrap the whole policy! For example, if some teachers are not good at teaching Math & Science in English, send them for more training (only the problematic teachers). Another example, if students at rural areas are not able to catch up, send to them better teachers (probably more incentives should be given to these teachers for their willingness to be sent to rural areas). Anyway, some students are still failing Bahasa Melayu subject even though it is taught in Malay language! My point is we should use the results of the study to IMPROVISE THE POLICY and not to decide whether to continue with it or scrap it totally.

Amran, Pulau Indah:
My answer is simple. The "culture" of learning Math & Science in English is NOT there!

Paul, Petaling Jaya:
It's not the language that is the problem. So stop blaming the language. My elder brother and sisters studied in the MCE and LCE days and I the SRP and SPM era. We still did well without tution. My teachers were very dedicated to teach. They take the pain to ensure we do well and so did my parents. Let's face it, the real problems are 1) The teachers are not interested in teaching the students and in the students' future, 2) The focus is on students going for tution where the teacher teaches; 3) Parents don't spend time with their children to encourage them and help them in their studies. My children have challenges in BM based subjects does that mean all subject must be thought in English. Please go to the root cause and admit the failures and work to improve the quality of our teaching staff rather then fault the policies. The teachers also can't speak proper English and so communication is really bad. Teachers and Parents should desire to want the best for the children and work towards ensuring that they know how to teach and do it effectively.

Theresa MJP:
I strongly believe that Maths and Science should be taught in English. I have a few reasons for this. I am now living in New Zealand and I am one of the pioneer students who sat for PMR, SPM and STPM in BM. My BM is no doubt very strong and powerful. However, now I am associating with people of the globe who mostly speak English. I am sad to say that I am not able to put across my opinion nor thoughts to them confidently and thus, hinders my performance and confidence. Learning only one period of English is insufficient. Therefore, in order to prepare our citizens to face the world and voice out opinions confidently the use of English is definitely paramount. So by learning the two most important subjects in English, students are given additional opportunity to use the language. Moreover, the scientific terms used in both the subjects are universally accepted. As such when we further our education to foreign country we are able to stand on par with the rest of the world. Currently, when our local university degree is used overseas very often, our certificate is assessed and not equivalent to foreign degree. Therefore, we are asked to spend money to sit for special English Test. It is so stressful on the student and on the parents when their child is not competent in using English. Why put the the candidate in such predicament? Why can't we have a paper qualification that is compatible worldwide? The people of Malaysia just have to be open minded and see the truth. Please give our students to use English in Maths and Science. Children when are supported and given the right environment they can master most everthing. Our teachers too are not confident in using English in the classroom, so select and train teachers who are competent.

Chin, Klang:
We have to remember that 1 generation of good spoken Engish has gone. The parents of the present group of children also can't speak, read and write English well (inlcuding myself), so it's natural that they find it difficult. We might need 2 generations before we can be succesful in the implementation. Please be patient and realistic. Everybody knew that we can't survive outside Malaysia without English.

AMJ,KL:
I come from Malay School, later joined English medium school thru Special Malay Class.

Two main benefits of this school: 1.Racial integration, 2.Learned English, plus Bahasa Melayu thru subjects Bahasa Malaysia(compulsory),Sastera and Pendidikan Agama Islam.

I noticed those who come from this school were better off than those who came from Malay school, Chinese or Tamil schools. We had good command of English and Bahasa Malaysia, and least chauvinist. Government should re-introduce English medium school like those years.

drnik:
Go back to BM! It is true countries like Singapore, India and Pakistan produce some of the best brains in the world. But, is it really due to English as their 'teaching language'? What about countries like Japan, Korea, Russia and China? English is not the main teaching language in these countries. Yet, they are able to produce excellent scientists,engineers, physicians etc.

If the problem is with the attitude, do something to change the attitude. Dont blame Bahasa Malaysia as our main teaching language.

cc, Sarawak:
Teaching mathematic and science in english is better. I agree with Ze, Johor about students should work harder and learn like the rest. Do you really think that changing back to old system will be better? I'm not good in english but i enjoy teaching mathematic in english because it's an opportunity for me and my students to learn speaking and understand english.

HangMokhtar, Melaka:
Even at IPTA?

My worry is how this cohort of guinea pigs will fare at the university level(even in the local IPTAs)?

The dearth of technical academic books in Bahasa Malaysia points to a similar policy option at the university level - usage of English for science and mathematical subjects. In this regard, Dewan Bahasa (DBP) and local publishers should accelerate the publication of such books in Bahasa Melayu, possibly through government support in the form of better incentives to the writers/translators.Learn from the Japanese experience - look east policy?

haroldz, miri:
These days we can find english cartoons being translated into BM.

In order to appreciate and understand the cartoon, the children must master (and learn) english.

That how i improved my english during the "growing years".

i try to read english newspaper, watch english news, listen to english channel and use english dictionary.

In schooling days (primary and secondary school), students TOLD to concentrate on BM. When they in the Universities and working environment, english is mainly used.

Some local IPTA still use BM as medium to complete final year report.

eddie penang:
Blame the teachers i don,t think the teachers knows English well. should test the teachers first before.

we blame the students.bet you 85% of the teachers will fail the subject.

Quote:catch the bull by the horn not by the tail....

Githa, KL:
Maths & Science should continue to be taught in English. Having experienced it by myself, I feel it will be much easier when the students further their studies in university as they have to search information from the internet and reference books, which are mostly in English.

Students must be encouraged by their parents to speak & read more on English, I believe that is a good way to boost English usage.

At times, the teachers themselves have difficulty teaching in English. They tend to use both Bahasa Malaysia & English in class and confuse the students. Thus, teachers should also play a crucial role to teach Maths & Science in English to their students. Of course, there are some who are really dedicated in delivering their lessons well to the students.

But, if every teachers put extra effort, I am sure the students won't have much problem. It is easy to create and implement a policy, but the pain comes when practising it.

Just because some students don't do well, we should not 'encourage' them by switching to Bahasa Malaysia.

Instead, we should look forward and take actions on how to improve the students' performance further. Why should we give an 'easy' option for students?

If we make it easy for them, will their flying colors reflect a better quality? No, their standard will be lower compared to international students. Everyone should play their role in making this policy a successful one.

Students and teachers should put more effort, and parents should encourage and motivate their children always.

menaz,johor:
English is an universal language and it is important students should take initiative to master it as it opens doors to many oppertunities.

The teaching of math and science in english was a good start.

Any policy to be success takes time.

Govt cannot judge or change the policy just bcos there was not much improvement in just 5yrs.

It is not just the failure of students but actually the teachers who are not taking initiative to learn.

If teachers dont encourage then why will children be interested.Govt should be strict only then teachers and students will start to take it seriously.

If given choice they will always take a easy route.So just make it compulsary.Instead of wasting time fighting for change of language,they should become serious in teaching and learning in english language.

Siva, Serian:
The survey done IS NOT accurate because the study is done on students that are not being exposed to both B.melayu medium and english medium. How can you tell some thing is bad when you cannot compare it with others???

Pls give as time as teachers to do our job, we will improve it soon...

Mustafa:
Only idiots who do not believe statistical analysis. The outcomes are eye opener. Instead of teaching science and maths in English, more resources should be allocated for English in school. Rectify the subject teaching. And hopefully for idiots and 'mat saleh' wannabes, please stop messing with our children future!

AA,Kedah:
I feel the trouble is with the medium and not the policy nor the students.

Teachers play an important factor here.

Majority science and maths teachers are not competent in the language and they also do not upgrade themselves with language skills.

Please conduct a survey on this and I think we,ll know how many maths and science teachers read english materials other than the provided textbook and a couple of revision books filled with severe language mistakes.

Children can grasp languages quickly and and it's proven with english medium schools long time ago where students from non- English speaking background can easily converse within months of schooling.

WHERE DID WE GO WRONG?

Debra:
Science & maths should be taught in english. I sat for my senior cambridge and we speak good english. Stick to the old system if we want to compete internationally.

Employ proper english teachers to teach proper english... not the ones who cant even pronounce words correctly.

Bornfree:
It is sad that a lot of students didn't do well but that doesn't constitute a failure.

It's just a lot of students are lazier.

Try teaching those subjects from that grassroot level than to try to prune the tree at midlevel.

Foundation is very important and start from primary level.

joanne, Ipoh:
Please spare our children of Malaysia from further confusion of even thinking of changing the system again!

Let us, Malaysians be known to be a people that does not change our policies based merely on some 'findings'.

We need to think further ahead in the future if we want to progress as a nation, to go further beyond Asia.

Our children needs a vision from those who are supposed to be in authoritive to bring about a better future for them.

For once, please stop debating whether English or Malay. Let's see things in proper perspective.

WTan, Auckland,NZ:
Stick to present decision, the students pay the penalty if one reverts back to the previous policy.

Educationist should realise that the tree of any system will bear good and bad fruits.

It is all about how one cultivates the process to bring good results.

Zie, Kuala Lumpur:
Policy have been made. As a parent I think we should just continue.

Those days before KBSM and KBSR being introduce we learn most of the subject in English.

The issues is not about the policy, but how does the policy been implement.

Most teachers today just concentrate in their language since those who observe them just evaluate their capability to speak english and in the end, the skill of the subject being taught is neclected.

However, my cousin which is also a teacher told me that they are going to implement other ways of student-centered and result oriented teaching methods.

I hope also for examinations to not just evaluate what students can memorise but how they apply what they have learnt in Maths and Science.

Yhee - Ipoh:
I strongly agree to continue using English to educate our children. This is for the sake of our country and our children. Goverment should make sure that the teachers thenselves can speak properly before doing any research like this and blame the system.

jT3elf, Kuching:
I believe these two subjects (Maths and Science)would be best thought in BM, as in other countries (i.e Japan ,Iran), these subjects are taught in their own native languages, yet we found many of world class Scientist and Mathematician came from these countries. What is important is for our student to grasp the fundamental knowledge first, and understanding the basic principle in these two subjects. The easiest way to make them understand is to explain in their own mother's tounge.

Faidhur, Shah Alam:
Cathy Paul wrote a very good letter, but unfortunately didn't go far enough.

It will certainly not do to revert to teaching Mathematics and Science in Bahasa Malaysia, Mandarin or whatever. The subjects need to be continued to be taught in English. English has been accepted by all, Indians in India, Chinese in China, and Indonesians in Indonesia, as the global lingua franca, and having cognizance of this fact, must we pander to the desires of narrow minded communalistic peoples whose only desire is to strengthen their mother tongue at the expense of a good education for our children?

Surely the most obvious solution is to bring back English medium schools, and not alongside Malay and Chinese ones either as that would be impractical. We can expect the State to support such a broad range of schools.

No, we need to have the political will to, as did Lee Kuan Yew of Singapore a long time ago, abolish all other schools and replace them with one single language as a medium of instruction, English.

HLNg:
As an experienced sixth form mathematics teacher, l found that students did equally well in the subject matter; irrespective of the medium of instruction of the subject prior to their Form 6 education. So, at the upper secondary level, it is best to continue the present policy.

Inderbir, KL:
I think the whole education system in Malaysia is in jeopardy.

It is not only Math and science that should be taught in English but all the other subjects as well.

I went to an international school and I realize how much I would have missed had I studies any of the subjects in a language understood only by a tiny fraction of the world population.

long, ampang:
To improve english, learn english. Those Olympic Chinese commentators on TV polish their english by learning english. I dont think they learn Science and Math in English in order to be able to understand, speak and deliver spotless English.

Science and Matth should be taught in the mother tongue so that the children can grasp the concept.

Benny, Melaka:
I am of the opinion that the teaching of Science and Mathematics in English in our Malaysian schools will be flawed. The reason is very simple.

A student should master the English language first before he can read, write and understand the other subjects in English.

It will be difficult to master the English language if insufficient time is allowed for practice.

By this I mean the students will need to speak English most of the time in their schools.

Hence, the only practical solution is to change the medium of instruction to English.

I was from an English medium school right from primary to secondary school.

During those days, I believe almost all Malaysians speak English in schools except for rural schools.

My Malay, Indian and Sikh friends, they all speak English naturally, albeit sometimes Malaysian-style English if you know what I mean. Language learning is the most difficult task.

I believe it may take a decade or so to master a language. Who are our present Malay ministers, past ministers, politicians and other professionals who can speak and write good English today? They are non-other than Anwar Ibrahim, ex-PM Tun Mahathir, Syed Husin Ali, Bakri Musa, Din Merican, Farish Noor and many more who are also bloggers. These are the ones who were mainly educated in the English medium schools where English was spoken 90% of the time. Yes, practice makes perfect. In the rural areas, there is hardly any opportunity for these children to speak English, least of all to have any practice in speaking the language. The Malays speak Malay amongst themselves, the Chinese speak Mandarin or their dialects, the Indians speak Tamil and so on. How then can we expect these rural children to read and write in good English? Speaking and listening skills come first before reading and writing. For a start, the government should allow for the setting up of English-medium schools. There are in fact such schools already called international schools like Alice Smith ( where Raja Petra Kamaruddin came from), ELC, Mont Kiara etc... but these schools are meant for the rich who are affordable. Let the parents decide on whether they want to send their children to English- medium, national-medium or the other vernacular schools. In this way, Malaysia can allow for her people to master the language of their choice. After all, our constitution guarantees the freedom of our peoples to decide on their choice of schools. We cannot have a "one-solution" for all schools as far as the English language is concerned. We had better opt for diversity in the languages. Let our peoples be made up of different language experts - Malay, Chinese or Tamil.

A.Jay:
Scientific terms in BM is a problem. Esp when you study abroad, and trying to coupe with the English terms.I hope people understand this .

Janice,Johor Bahru:
Personally, I think the idea of implementing Science and Mathematics in English was good. But, the implementation itself is not really effective. To SJK(C), those 2 subjects are somewhat of an optional subject. They aren't given enough attention by the schools, teachers and the students.

Worse still, most of the teachers aren't proficient in their command of English too. Therefore, it is no wonder the outcome of the implementation is disappointing. Since it has already been implemented, hold on to it but of course with some ammendments. Thank you.

Ju, Kota Damansara:
Based on the this article and the questions and answers presented, it has thus proven that English is the better language to teach Maths & Science.

Referencing to Q&A question No.1 and No. 9 of similar type of question structure shows that the English format scores better than the Bahasa Malaysia language except for Orang Asli children as indicated with the total percentage score of 40.5% for questions in English compared to 38.7% for questions in BM. Even the Malay student scored better in English than in BM for Maths.

Based on the above studies, it does not show the percentage of Maths & Science results if it was conducted in Bahasa Malaysia. I suspect that the result tested in BM would not be much different from question tested in Englsh but atleast they have acquired the command of English as a tool to solve other subjects.

ed:
Stop changing the policy...it confuses our kids...

Please move forward, adopted English as a medium language in Math & Science is a right choice!

Teachers, please equip yourselves and do not blame the policy and pupils.

Ab Jalil Baharan:
I suggest to add more time in the teaching of english for all.

Reverting the learning of science and mathematic in BM will not solve the problem.

Egbert Louis:
The study has its flaws as it has to show whether the method of teaching the subjects in English was appropriate or correct.

I feel that present teachers are not froficient in the language and thats where the flaw lies.

Very often the teachers are unable to express themselves in English and therefore resort to teaching in B.M.

Noria, Kuching:
What an interesting thought!

Since they can't master English why not other languages.

I suggest Mandarin.. or better yet German.

Since the Germans are considered to be at the fore front of technology these days.Or maybe Bahasa Melayu..or Malaysia.

Oh no!.. I'm confused, now. What language again? To me, it is not the language that is plaguing our students. It is just their attitude. They are so used to being spoonfed and are living in a world where there is practically does not require them to work hard for anything.. not even to buy their textbooks, school fees, uniforms for extra curricular activities, ..even the exam fees are free. Do you know, some of them even say that to get a job is so easy as long as you know the right person... What have we done to our young ones today is very sad.. They have become the most indulgent, narcissistic beings I have ever seen. They are not interested in anything. This is because, if they fail their UPSR they can still go to school, if they obtain all E's in PMR, they still go to school, if they get all 9G's in the SPM hey as long as their Bahasa Melayu is a pass, they still get a certificate. So, everybody knows the olsd adage that says no pain, no gain. Unfortunately this is something tha students today do not learn yet. Thus the lackadaisacal attitude towards learning. Please... we do not need another change of policy..even Rome is not build in a day. To base our judgement on a 5 year term is definitely not fair to the students, to the teachers, to the Ministry. Besides, this is English, our supposedly second language. The students will do fine. the maths symbols will not change, science facts will not change. Besides the UPSR, PMR and SPM questions are in both BM and English. Socan we say that it is the language that is the problem?

Observer of Johor:
First of all, determine the root causes of the poor showing of those students.

Study whether the teachers themselves are qualified to teach.

Are the studnets given enough exposure to English speaking environment.

Students are preferably placed under those English speaking environment during their pre-school education followed by their primary education.

Therefore, emphasis in English education is important to begin right from the beginning.

Actions need to be taken to mould the children from the very beginning with qualified teachers.

Lim, Cameron Highlands:
I think the Ministry of Education should stick to the policy because English is the 'lingua franca' for this century.

Although Malay language is the official language in Malaysia, but English language is everything in this world. For example,agreements etc.

We should not just change the policy just because Malay students failed to cope with the policy.

Ramani:
Please do NOT revert back to teaching them in BM.

You do not expect a policy to work overnight, and to make it work, why not pump in the rural schools with more English teachers?

Don't we have enough manpower to do so?

Choosing BM will probably another great downfall to the education system in Malaysia.

How long do we only want to be Jaguh Kampung? Don't the rural folks also want to be on par with the town folks?

Ze, Johor:
Just because Malay students failed to catch up doesnt mean the policy is a failure. They should make a point to work hard and learn like the rest.

First of the Education Ministry should stop changing policies as and when it pleases.

Once a policy is made stick to it and keep going.

First of all are the teachers suitable for the job. Most of the Malay teachers can hardly speak English and if you engage them to teach in English what can you expect?

Its not the policy that is at fault - it's the attitude of some teachers and students who just refuse to accept English, that's all and they know they can get away with it as most likely next year the policy would be scrapped. This is embarrasing and shameful!

ccm:
The choice of language in Education is a difficult one. With National, Chinese & Tamil schools available, parents have to decide what is best for their children. In my opinion the decision on Math & Science (BM or English) should not be imposed nor should it be determined by the government. National Schools should continue to teach in BM, likewise in Chinese for Chinese Schools, etc. In a globalised economy, it will be a step forward to bring back English medium schools.

Rayme:
I always hold firm to the belief that education should not be adulterated with politics.

English is always a second language to Malaysian. I came from an era where schooling is very straightforward with all subjects taught in Bahasa Malaysia and yet my command of the English language is perfect.

Bring back the good old education system, please.

Billy, Kuching:
For these six years, we have been teaching Mathematics and Science in English. The learning outcomes and statistics were not showing impressive colors though since our teachers and pupils are not really prepared for this. English is not our mother tongue, it is another subject to be taught! In another words, we are teaching two things simultaneously. Singing and dancing at the same beat sometimes could be very confusing. So this is where it started, blaming the floor by saying that it is not carpeted well. Skeptics and pessimist digging for point to highlight this setback for personal agenda and to discredit the government policy maker. I think it is not fair just to blame the policy and not to consider our attitude as well. Even though it had been an encumbrance for both teachers and student, optimistically I think that it is positively helpful in the long run. This is to consider that our education policyies are to prepare our citizens for a world class education. I strongly believe that our students will appreciate our effort when they are in the top of success.

Umar, Kuching:
The main intention was to improve the command of English among our students. Therefore, more focus should be given to the teaching of the language in the curricullum. Leave Mathematics and Science out of it for these subjects are universally understood in any language. I scored A's in both Sains and Matematik in my SRP 1982 examination although they were taught in Bahasa Malaysia. At the same time I did equally well in Bahasa Inggeris! It did not stop me from going overseas to complete my Engineering Degree! I am very concerned with my firstborn who is sitting for UPSR next week, for he seems to have the typical problems identified in the UPSI research, eventhough he is schooling in one of the so called "Sekolah Bestari" in the heart of a City. Regrettablly, I wouldn't put high hopes on his Mathematics and Science results this coming exam. The Minister of Education and his Ministry should bear the responsibility for the failure. I totally agree with UPSI's recommendation to revert back to the National Language (Bahasa Malaysia) without FURTHER DELAY. What can be a better way of educating our children than in our own mother tongue? English is just a SECOND language. I wish not to see my children's education and future used as a trial or experiment!

Thong KC -Malaysian=Ipoh:
Changes take time but it has to be fast and furios. As GLOBALISATION does not wait for you, decide to be left behind or make haste like India or China. Be forward looking or be left to rot in years to come as we are slowly decaying now.

Cathy Paul:
The debate about the use of English in the teaching of Mathematics and Science in English has not abated even though 6 long years have gone by since the introduction. On the contrary the debate is increasingly becoming more frequent and intense particularly those who hold the view that the two subjects must not be taught in English.

These groups of people includes politicians, educationists and also sadly those championing sectarian causes who are masquerading as educationists are becoming increasingly vocal.

Some of the views put across are very detached from the reality in the classrooms and the tremendous effort and resources put in by the Education ministry to ensure its success because the future of the country in this very globalized world hinges very much on the proficiency level of her citizens. Any tinkering and call for reversion back from English should only and only be based on present reality and future needs and further progress of the country.

I am a mathematics and science teacher with many years of experience. I have gone through the medium change in the seventies as a student and now another change as a teacher. I believe I am an “insider� of some sort and is able to speak with some degree of authority and understanding based on years experience rather than some preconceived ideas or some fears based on unfounded grounds.

Lets go back to the objectives of using English as a medium in the teaching of mathematics and science and compare it with the reality of the classroom situation based on my last 6 years of experience in teaching the subjects completely in English from lower secondary and to form 6 level.

There are two main objectives, namely to get the scientific knowledge at the source language and to increase the contact hours with the source language so that general proficiency level of the language and the mastery of scientific terms can be improved in the process. Many have argued that Malay, Chinese or Tamil are also the source languages for mathematics and science. I do not intend to argue otherwise but suffice to say that from being a student once and a teacher now I have gone through two of the three mediums in the preceding sentence and each time I need to read up on something scientific, invariably and without fail I will lay my hands on English materials, the very source language that many seek to do away with. The reason for such automatic action is simple ; either I can’t find any in Malay ormy mother tongue or they are hopelessly out of date or when I go to the net only English is shouting for my attention!

I too shared the fear many have expounded that students may not be able to master the subject matter of mathematics and science and neither can the students improve their English proficiency level. So the end results is that they are neither here nor there. These fears are legitimate, however it is not generally true across the board. This is because the determinant is not the subject matter nor the language but the ability, primarily, of the students themselves.

From my experience in the classroom situation, many have adapted well to the English medium in mathematics and science and are performing very well indeed. The mastery of subject matter did not suffer and the English proficiency level have improved tremendously. They are able to write reasonably well and able to converse and communicate meaningfully. This is a very marked departure from the same category of students who can master mathematics and science in Malay but usually lack ability in the English language before the introduction of English as the medium of instruction for the two subjects.

The amazing thing about this group of students is the fact that they do not come from English speaking middle or higher class homes but ordinary man on the street. This goes to show that the objectives set out above are achievable and success within reach. There is no need to change course midway and deprive the nation of vital human resource competent in the source language. Any change of course is rather premature at this stage. A major policy matter such as this must be given sufficient time to prove itself.

There is of course another group of students who are not able to master mathematics, science nor the English language. This is usually cited as the proof that the switch to English is a failure. Such a conclusion is simplistic. They have conveniently forgotten to mention the success of the other group cited above. As a teacher I can tell you, from experience, that this group of pupils is academically disinclined or challenged. They will be weak in almost all other subjects that use Malay as the medium. Some even fail the Malay Language itself. They will still not be able to master mathematics and science even if the medium is Malay. If the reader is a teacher he will understand the point I try to establish here. There is sufficient empirical evidence to support this point in every school if one cares to conduct a study. To put it in simple uncouched language, for the low ability students, the medium of instruction is immaterial. So is the subject matter. Every year there will be thousands who fail more subjects than they pass in the UPSR, PMR , SPM and STPM before this policy initiative. Please get hold of a copy of national result from the relevant authority and you will see my point .

At the higher end of the spectrum in terms of learning ability, I can see a very sharp improvement not only in the English Language itself but also the mastery of the subject matter. It will also be superfluous to mention their mastery of the scientific and mathematics terms in English.

Another fear factor is the proficiency level of the teachers themselves. Granted there are teething problem in this area at the beginning of the policy. This is simply because of the many lost generations in terms of the mastery of English when everything is taught in Malay. However this problem is largely overcome with tremendous resources poured in by government and the various programmes to help to uplift the standard of English among the science and mathematics teachers. Their level of proficiency is no longer a major impediment that should contribute to the reversion back from English, if at all.

A case in point here. At the beginning of the year, I was to a mathematics trainee teacher from a local university under my supervision. I was rather apprehensive about their English proficiency level. However all those apprehensions were put to rest after their first lesson. I was surprised by their level of mastery of the English language. The reason cited by them was that they learn the two subjects in English. This is an early indication of the success of the policy.

Moving away from the situation on the ground, let me focus on the debate on this policy. I note with regrets that the debate focuses on the either-or type of solution. It is either English or Malay. If the political situation is such that some sort of change is necessary , the solutions need not be a either - or type of solution.

I propose a two mediums solution. This is to take into consideration of those who can learn the two subjects effortlessly in English and those who might have difficulty coping. This solution can take various forms, for example :

1. all students in the science stream must be taught the subjects in English. This is applicable to students in the upper secondary.

2. all school must have a minimum number of classes teaching the subjects in English base on the enrolment. The rest of the classes be taught in Malay/mother tongue. This is applicable to all primary schools. This will be a win-win situation for all; for the parents who want their children to learn in their mother tongue and for the nation’s future need for man power who are proficient in English and able to compete on the world stage.

Another and bolder and better alternative is to resurrect the English Medium schools along side with the existing schools. This can be done in a certain ratio, for example, for every three existing schools, one English medium school be created in every district. In short let us find solutions that are inclusive not exclusive. Creative and inclusive solutions will silent all critics without losing the competitive edge of the country. Finally, as a teacher, I fully support the present policy of using English as a medium of instruction in mathematics and science. And I pray for its continuation.

Allen, Segamat:
Change takes time. Why hurry to see the result? This change in policy has not achieved good results partly because for the past few years, there are still some teachers and policy makers who still think that Science and Maths should NOT be taught in English. Many teachers did not bother to teach both the subjects whole-heartedly. There are even some teachers who have taken the incentive but have never taught these subjects in English. They do not speak a single word. So is it the students' fault or there is a problem during the implementation process? Is our country rich enough to simply change policies? Please take into consideration the future, the resources, the training and all sorts...do not mix education up with politics.

GD, Negri Sembilan:
By all means, carry on teaching in English! We need to ensure our future workforce is able to compete on a platform which uses the English Language. UPSI's study found that students were incompetent in using the correct lexicon of the English language.
By all means, ensure the teachers are up to mark - after all the BISP (monetary incentive) was given to them to improve their English Language command and writing skills, not as Elaun Kesusahan!
This policy is in place for only 6 years. Give it more time.
As it is, we have more kids using the language socially, compared to before. More parents are picking up the language because the kids need to be coached at home.
In short, don't kill the goose that lays the golden egg! The older generation switched midway into Bahasa Malaysiain the 70's without a hitch and it resulted in good speakers of BM proficient in the language structure.Why can't we give the EL more time and reap the rewards a little later for the larger majority? Let us focus on our children, for our country and NOT pay heed to the selfish few with vested interests.

Grace Kong, Sibu.:
We can teach Maths and Science in English but before that, make sure that the teachers concerned are all well-trained in English Language before implementing the programme.

Mirinda Stephens, Malacca:
Sure, we can switch to Bahasa to teach Maths and Science and see how the current generation grow up and suffer the consequences of the future. Maybe some of the policy makers wont be here anymore, so why care? How much weight should we put on one survey like this anyway? Aren't there flaws as well? 10 years from now, when we compete on an international platform with the English savvy people, where will we end? Do we want scientists and mathematicians who can only speak in our national language but cannot communicate at the international level because they lack understanding of English? If we do, by all means, change back and see how our children and their children suffer.

DM:
One of the problems with this is the lack of qualified instructors that have good command in English. Is this the problem with the students themselves or the blind leading the blind?

Blogger Dr Rafick (drrafick - Rights 2 Write) has a good comment:

The end justifies the means..
September 8, 2008 by drrafick

I refer to the news article published in NST dated 7th Sept 2008 commenting on the research done by Prof Emeritus Dato Ishak Haron et all (UPSI) which was published in April 2008 on the impact of the use of English in the teaching of math’s and science in schools.

First of all, for many who do not realized it numbers sometimes does not the reality, I am going to try and make it as simple as possible in interpreting the numbers that was presented in the paper.

First the research suppose to evaluate the impact on decision by the government to study math’s and science in English but the content of the research does not reflect the aim of the studies. What the study should have done is to look at the outcome as a result of the government decision in terms of the objective of introducing it in the first place and not look at the difficulty in how the system cope with the decision.

The sample size is too small to reflect the true picture. Out of thousands of schools in the country, only about 30 schools was chosen and this does not meet the minimum sample of any study which should be about 5%-25% of the population studies. From the list of school that was chosen, it appears that there is a gross sampling bias. This means that the school was not chosen at random but was chosen with the purpose that the program has failed to deliver its objectives.

One of the glaring impacts of the study was the comparison between Malay and non Malay students which show marked weakness among the Malay students. In this aspect I think the study was to highlight the glaring problem affecting the Malay students and it is aimed to ask the government to reverse their original decision because the Malays are weak in English.

Overall, having being a parent that was involved in the government decision in 2002, I must say I am appalled at the poor quality studies which are skewed in intention and not representative of the study population. The study failed to take into consideration on the impact of changing course mid stream. What will happen to our children who have been studying those subjects in English in the last 6 years? The study also failed to highlight the actual weakness which is the implementation of the program which is trained teachers, materials and other supporting program to support the weak decision

Having said that, I feel the study conclusion was not proper and actually is a step back. It is well known fact that this issue is a political one and it appears that the research is partly politically motivated.

It does not take a genius to figure out the problem and solution behind this matter. If a proper study was done it will point to the right conclusion. In my assessment the factors that MOE need to consider is as follows:

a. I agree that there is a nationwide weakness among students in studying math’s and science in English. However I disagree on the conclusion where we must revert back to the old way of teaching. The problem lies with resources and program implementation. This must be reviewed. We must find ways to move forward and solve the actual problem and not run away from it. Running away from it does not help and it will have a long term impact on the nation.

b. I proposed:

i. The MOE review its current weaknesses in the program implementation and find ways to rectify it. Train teachers. Provide more materials. Encouraged reading program. Start with comic books!

ii. Give options for the people to chose. Many parents cannot afford to send their children to private school that uses English as medium of instructions. MOE must identify certain schools in every district and allow the current practice to continue. This will give options to parents to choose on the language that they want their children to master.

I sincerely hope that the powers at be will evaluate the study done by Dato Ishak et al with an analytical view. The study in my opinion carries little value and is not representative of the actual scenario. If we are really concern about the fate of the Malays in economics, law and many others field, than more reason why it should be done. We should be nationalistic about this. Maintain the studies as it is.

Re-Post: Bangsa Malaysia

The unfolding events in Malaysian politics especially the last two years remind me of a 2005 Merdeka Day comment I posted in my alma mater e-Group. I posted it here before in May, 2007 and I think it is timely to post it again today in light of GE12 and its aftermath. For all my optimism in 2005, I did not expect things to develop so much and so fast! Hidup Bangsa Malaysia!!!

More on Bangsa Malaysia: Bringing Malaysian Politics Closer to Home

Another posting in my e-group dated August, 2005 ironically just in time for Merdeka Day. Now almost 2 years later, we see the government adjusting to the information juggernaut.

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Dear All,

I believe we have to give credit where credit is due and by this I mean the Preacher Man. He had promised greater latitude in the freedom of expression and now I see many, many exhibitions of this. Opposition MPs are given air time albeit for now, only as panelists or in debates with luminaries of the ruling establishment. This would be unheard of one year ago! Mind you, I am no supporter of DAP or Keadilan for that matter but I strongly believe that true accountability and transparency can only be if there is freedom of expression; let the people decide what to filter.

A few years ago, we would all be put behind bars for voicing counter-political opinions on a restricted egroup let alone blaring out to the public at large. The spirit in our little egroup is freedom of expression at the same time being mindful and respectful of each others opinions. We can talk from matters most trivial to matters that impact our daily lives and it is hoped that we can enrich our respective existence along the way. No, we hope not to be relegated to inane chatter that is worth nothing more than a tick on a porcine butt.

Now there are so many hundreds of websites on Malaysian matters alone! Malaysiakini was a forerunner but now it has lost much of its flavor since becoming a “subscription only” site. The opinions, expressions and “disclosures” contained in these sites have forced mainstream media to move slightly (for a start) away from traditional bias. Some of these sites are even sponsored by ruling political personalities for their own spin. Our government can only “hide in plain sight” and more and more closeted liberals are beginning to surface. The days of being blind sided by unscrupulous, self-serving politicians are increasingly numbered.

Granted that the propagandists are working overtime to buffer any ill effects of this new paradigm on the status quo of the incumbents, the overall effect can only be good for the country. We are in the Information Age and there is no stopping the information juggernaut. The www amongst other media has indeed paved the way, and blogs together with other www tools have ensured the emergence of the Fifth Estate! The buzz word is DISCERN.

I have a gut feeling that our beloved country is at a threshold; that there is an imminent “tidal wave” that will sweep away old conventions and prejudices and set the country on a new track of reification, claiming our rightful place in the new world order. This is not a sign of proclivity towards a pathetic euphoria based on an erroneous premise nor am I a hopeless optimist! I am hopeful! I am an Edwardian from Taiping and what my school taught me was never to give up easily. I yearn for the “colorblind” days at school where my rival was across the drain regardless of whether he was Malay, Chinese or Indian. How did I become a Malaysian when I am in other countries and a Chinese in my own country!?! I want to die a Bangsa Malaysia!

Happy Merdeka Day!!!!!

Cheah

Is The Tun Sounding The Death Knell?

This latest blog posting by Tun Mahathir entitled, "Why Don't I Do Something?" seems to be written with a sense of foreboding and a rather defeated sounding tone. Is he sounding the death knell for UMNO and BN? Does he already know something that we do not yet? Read it yourself:

Why Don't I Do Something?

1. All four computers in my house are somehow not connected to the Internet. I wonder if other people are having the same trouble?

2. I cannot access my blog though I was able to do so this morning. I read some of the comments.

3. I wanted to reply but I can only do so imprecisely from memory.

4. One comment asked me what am I doing about the current situation and my criticisms about it? It also suggested what I should do.

5. I have always been asked to do "something". I had done my best and:

a) I had openly blamed Dato Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and asked him to step down

b) I had criticised his decision on the bridge

c) I have openly accused him of corruption

d) I have told UMNO leaders and members that they are destroying UMNO etc etc

e) I have resigned from UMNO

f) I have spoken about the corruption and the fate awaiting the Malays

g) I have started my blog and you know what I said on the blog

6. For all these, all I got from UMNO leaders were condemnation and abuse. You know what Nazri Aziz said.

7. None of the UMNO leaders have shown any desire to act against Abdullah. Even when he openly practised corruption, except for one division head, nobody else said anything. If anything, Nazri's re-election seem to imply that the majority of UMNO members and the voters in his constituency supported his abuse of me.

8. When I was invited to speak, no UMNO member or leaders would attend. And except for one leader in Perak, none have supported me.

9. My son Mukhriz has not resigned from UMNO. That is because no other leaders or MPs would resign. Without being in UMNO he cannot fight to restore UMNO. He openly told Abdullah to step down after the General Elections in 2008 and also after Permatang Pauh.

10. My son Mokhzani resigned. But who else have resigned? Instead even those who were supposed to be against Abdullah, e.g. the Cheras division head, now pledged their support for him.

11. Privately many said they support me and they want Abdullah to step down. But they are not prepared to say it openly.

12. That was why I started my blog. About six million had visited my blogsite and tens of thousands have commented and supported me.

13. But most appear to be worried and would not give their names. They are usually anonymous. So the support is not effective.

14. I cannot do everything all by myself. I need support. I cannot just go to Dato Seri Abdullah, catch him by the scruff of his neck and throw him out.

15. All things that I should do will need support especially from UMNO. But UMNO and its other leaders are useless. They are only interested in getting something for themselves but do not care if UMNO and this country are totally destroyed.

16. The only thing that the disgruntled UMNO members and other BN supporters could do and did was to vote for the opposition in order to show their displeasure with the party and the Government.

17. But the opposition will also destroy this country if they win and form the Government.

18. A people deserve the Government they get. If they get a bad Government it is because they are unwilling to fight against it, unwilling to take any risk.

19. Abdullah has already destroyed UMNO, MCA, Gerakan, MIC and the BN. Gerakan is talking about leaving the BN. MCA is more muted but its leaders who used to support Abdullah come what may, have deserted him.

20. Senior members of the MCA, Gerakan and MIC have joined the opposition.

21. In the Permatang Pauh election UMNO and BN members dared not wear shirts with BN or UMNO logo. They dared not put party stickers or flag on their cars. Their rallies were invaded by PKR supporters wearing the party logo and BN and UMNO members were quiet like mice even when the PKR youths shouted "bohong" when Dato Seri Najib spoke.

22. Really, the BN is in a sorry state. Not one leader has any gut. I hate to say it but the Permatang Pauh victory by PKR probably sounded the death knell of all the BN parties and the BN.

23. This is the doing of Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

24. History will record the failure of Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and his minion and the founders of the parties and future politicians will curse the leadership of BN through and through.


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Rumours are rife on the sms networks but it is probably another telco ruse to get us to spend more money. This is in Malaysian Insider today.