Friday, August 29, 2008

HINDRAF

Some readers asked whether I'm a HINDRAF follower, more so a sympathiser. Let's look at HINDRAF starting with their 18 Point Demands with my comments in bold.


18 Point demands of Hindraf

1. Realizing the five leaders from the ISA because they were arrested for Malaysian Malay political purpose.

Not sure if they are arrested for Malaysian MALAY political purpose. But I would jail them for public nuisance, especially after being caught in the traffic jam for hours. They could have done it at some open area, stadium or padang and not the streets. Imagine the losses by bussineses, lost of manhours, petrol, people rushing to clinics/hospital on life or death situation, and many other difficulties faced by the public.

2. Realizing or acquittal the Hindraf people charged by AG /PM Charges against for political purpose

What is PM’s role here. Again, I would jail them for public nuisance.

3. 18 POINT DEMANDS OF THE MALAYSIAN INDIANS TO

They can even get their ethnicity right, it should be Indian Malaysians.

1. Whereas:The Reid Commission was appointed by her Majesty the Queen of England and the Conference of Rulers in 1956 with the view to Malaya (and now Malaysia) achieving independence by August 1957.Among the primary terms of reference of the Reid Commission were a Common Nationality for the whole of the Federation.

2. And whereasThe overwhelming of the 131 written memoranda submitted to the Reid Commission as evidenced by the declassified documents from the Public Records Office, Kew, London, United Kingdom which represented the will and wishes of the then Malayan population were primarily equality and equal opportunities etc for all Malayans irrespective ofrace or religion as follows: -

2.1 In the grant of state land,

No evidence whatsoever provided that Indian Malaysians are denied any state lands. I know many have obtained own land despite maybe through the right connections.
Some have been granted state land for farming. I’m sure many who own properties on their own land apart from being leased by the state authorities. It’s the matter of applying, then appealing through the right channels.

2.2 Admission to public and administrative service,

Agree that there maybe discriminations here and there, so does non-malay companies and institutions. They (Chinese and Indian based companies), though not all, practise the same. Have you ever seen a malay employed in an Indian Malaysian company. The ones you see are indonesians. Only MNCs are usually not biased and does not discriminate.

2.3 To trade and do business, licences, permits etc

Many Indian Malaysian businessmen are as succesfull as their counterparts, many are provided with government assistance . Maybe those who are not handed contracts without even trying all the avenues are complaining.

2.4 Primary, secondary, skills Training, university and overseas university education.

All these are available. If not Tamil schools, there are always National schools everywhere. The same applies to tertiary education, although places in public institutions are limited, there are always private institutions and plenty of funding and loans eg PTPTN made available to all races.

2.5 No special privileges for the Malays,2.6 No discrimination of any ethnic community based on race or religion,2.7 The retention of all their places of worship in particular Hindu temples, crematoriums and burial sites,

This is always a contentious issue. Indian Malaysians built temples everywhere without asking permission or applying for permits. Are they correct to take away government or other landowners rights in the first place. There were numerous ocassions where both MIC and Hindu Sangam requested temples to register the temples with them. Many failed to do so and when they are asked to vacate or relocate, they cry ‘Makkal Shakti’ and put in every effort to stop it. Why can’t HINDRAF put the same amount of effort to legalise all the temples rather than cry wolf when someone wants their land back.

2.8 Freedom of Religion

I did not realise that there no freedom of religion in Malaysia especially amongst Indian Malaysians. This is the freest country for Hindus apart from India, they can even built temples in their homes, slaughter goats for 4D numbers, pray to various living people (Cult), invite all and sundry priest and Mahagurus from India and elsewhere. They are also free shout on top of their lungs publicly during festivals, free to create traffic jam during thaipusam and individual annual temple festivals nationwide. They are even free to drink and have fun during these festivals.

2.9 Malaya is to be a Secular State and not an Islamic state

Why care if the above freedom of religion is provided in abundance

2.10 Right to mother tongue education in particular Tamil schools to be fully aided,

Quite agree with this request. But then again, who asked Indian Malaysians to built Tamil Schools on private land without thinking about future problems. Why blame the government when all these are started by Indian Malaysians themselves? Do other races, especially chinese have this problem?

2.11 Minimum wage for the lowest paid, and

Agree and Disagree. I have lived in many estates before. One can earn decent wages if they are hardworking, with or without minimum wage. I have seen in many instances where they waste time and money on booze, gambling, videos, 4d numbers Eg, they skip they daily wage and are more interested to gamble during funerals rather than pay their respects and get back to work.

2.12 Equal recognition as sons of soil for all Malayan born.3. And whereasBased on the aforesaid proposals the Malaysian Federal Constitution, which is the supreme law of Malaysia as drawn out by the Reid Commission in 1957 was passed by the inaugural Malayan Parliament and which formed the basis of independent Malaysia.4. And whereasOver the last 50 years since independence on the 31st day of August 1957, the United Malays Organisation (UMNO) controlled Malaysian government with their majoritarian might, and backed by police, Attorney General’s Chambers, Judiciary, civil service and the media continuously violated the Malaysian Federal Constitution by their racist and Islamic extremist policies and which in effect have created an apartheid system ala Malaysia and especially resulting in the degeneration of at least 70% of the ethnic minority Indians to become the underclass of Malaysia who end up in the poor and hardcore poor category. The rest of the 29% raised above the poor and hardcore poor category wholly and/or substantially through their own efforts, sacrifices and labour with no or very little assistance by the UMNOcontrolled government. The 1% of the cream thrives anyway.

Aparthied System, ghosh, really. Nothing wrong with Indian Malaysians and all the blame on UMNO and Government. Not sure about the figures though. A lorry driver relative of mine (with standard 6 education) and his friends earns more than the national average wage, drives a car and have their own house. They are forward looking families who gives emphasis to education for their children. Most Indian Malaysian have good living standards compared to say 10 years ago. Agreed that maybe it was because of their own efforts, but then it would not have been possible if there are Aparthied like policies, there are always opportunities, it’s up to us to grab it and make things work to our advantage.

5. And whereasThe plight of the Indians have been made worse by the racist UMNO mindset having spilled over to even almost all of the Opposition parties, NGOs’, Civil society, Malaysian Human Rights Commission (Suhakam), Bar Council, the media etc who do not take up the Indian plight for they are deemed to be lacking “political mileage” (race based) and/or no funding.

Not quite sure what is their contention here. Though that they blindly supported opposition in the recent elections.

6. And whereasThe Indians having no or very little opportunities for upward mobility or hope either turn to crime (60% of Malaysian detainees are Indians though they are only 8% of population-Suhakam 2005) or end up committing suicide which is 1000% higher than Malays (Utusan Malaysia 12.9.2005).

Again, opportunities are there. As long as Indian Malaysians do not prioritise education for their children, nothing will change. Suicide is more of a cultural issue. I may be wrong but never heard of Indians committing suicide due to lack of jobs or due to hunger!.

7. And Whereas at a public forum attended by 1,000 over Indians on 28.7.2007 at 7.00p.m at the Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall, the participants unanimously resolved to forward their 18 point demands and which this peaceful assembly gathered here today on the 12th day of August 2007 at Putrajaya once again unanimously resolves to demand as hereinbelow outlined.And now it is hereby demanded for and on behalf of the two (2) Million ethnic minority Indians in Malaysia from the UMNO controlled Malaysian Government their 18 point demands as follows: -Hey, I thought there are officially 1.8 Million Indian Malaysians and by the way who appointed them to speak on behalf of the whole Indian Malaysians population?. (1) End 50 years of violations of the Malaysian Federal Constitution.(2) End Racism, end Islamic extremism and end Malay privileges on the 50th year golden jubilee mega Independence celebrations of Malaysia on 31st August 2007.(3) Call for affirmative action plans for all poor Malaysians especially the ethnic minority Indians. A Protection of EthnicMinority Malaysian Indian Act 2007 be passed to secure and safeguard the interests of the poor and defenceless ethnic Indian Minority Community.They want Malay Privileges to be ended, but still have the cheek to ask for affirmative action for Indian Malaysians and special act for a particular race. Mana boleh kawan!(4) All 523 Tamil Schools in Malaysia be made fully aided government schools with immediate effect and to have equal and same facilities as granted to national schools especially in terms of financial allocations, sufficient graduate teaching staff, financial allocation for extra tuition, ample computers, Information Technology facilities, school fields, sports, recreational facilities, air conditioned library, textbook loans, kindergarden, school uniforms and pocket money for poor pupils, nutritional food programmes, teaching aids, school building, infrastructure, film screening room and facilities, financial assistance for poor students, rehabilitation classes, non Muslim religious classes, etc. A RM 100 Billion grant @ 20 Billion per year with effect from 2007 be allocated to Indians under the 9th Malaysia Plan (5 years) for refurbishing the existing 523 Tamil schools and rebuilding of the 300 Tamil schools demolished over the last 50 years.

The figures appears to have been plucked from the sky. The government total budget for education is about 20 Billion per year. What do they want to do with 20 Billion, built castles? If HINDRAF comes up with a proper studies and blueprint with proper plan, I am sure the government would consider.

(5) Extend and implement with immediate effect to Indians the affirmative action plans, grants, scholarships, loans etc as extended to Malay Muslim citizens with the view to providing equal opportunities for higher education, university education, admission to foreign universities, post graduate studies locally and overseas, Trade and Skills Training Institutions, Science Colleges especially for each and every Indian student from the 70% poor and hardcore poor Indian category.
These are all available, Indian Malaysians only need to go through the right channels rather than complaining although I quite agree that allocation for scholarship must be reviewed.

(6) Extend and implement with immediate effect affirmative action plans as extended to Malay Muslim citizens with the view to provide equal opportunities in acquiring wealth, venturing into business, trade, industries, medium and small scale industries, government linked companies, corporate sector, procurement of direct government contracts, in acquiring licenses for contractors, blue chip and / or guaranteed return shares, lorry, taxi and bus permits, loans and licenses to venture into trade, business banking and the corporate sector for each and every Indian from especially the 70% poor andhardcore poor Indian category. To this effect the UMNO controlled government allocates RM100 Billion at RM20 Billion per annum with effect from 2007 and implements successful strategic schemes in investments for the Indians as implemented for the Malay Muslims with the view to the Indians acquiring at least 10% of the nation’s equity.

Again, figures seems ridiculous. Who on earth would provide guaranteed return shares. They too want direct government contract, now who is talking about equality?

(7) All the aforesaid is to be handled directly by the UMNO controlled government and UMNO is to stop “playing politics” through the “Mandore” (supervisor) system by dishing out on a piecemeal and/or peanuts basis or merely public and/or newspaper announcements and declarations by the Malaysian Indian Congress ( M.I.C) who have no or very little power or say in the UMNO controlled Malaysian government.

This is just an emotional outburst, nothing else!

(8) 20% of the Government top most level postings (Secretaries Generals), Middle level Management (Directors) and management level (Managers) postings, and the same for the Private Sectors, and positions of District Officers; Foreign and Diplomatic Service positions, civil service positions are reserved for Indians for the next 15 years.

Now, they want quotas, thought that they wanted equal opportunity!

(9) The UMNO controlled government makes public and is transparent on all of the aforesaid affirmative action plans i.e. the aforesaid education places, licenses, scholarships, grants, loans, permits, licenses, opportunities etc by publishing the same in the official website of the Government of Malaysia as and when the same is granted and/or on a monthly basis specifying the Indian beneficiaries thereto.

(10) Stop the indiscriminate unconstitutional and unlawful demolitions of Hindu temples, crematoriums and burial sites inMalaysia. All existing Hindu temples, crematoriums and burial sites be granted state land and permanently gazetted as Hindu temple reserves as has been done for all Islamic places of worship and burial sites. Compensation at RM10 Million per temple be paid by the UMNO controlled Malaysian Government for the 15,000 Hindu temples demolished up to date over the last 50 years.

Agreed that government assist temples but it is ridiculous to demand compensation when all those demolished are illegal temples. Now my turn, I would like to demand HINDRAF to do a proper study and decide how many temples are required in each parlimentary constituency and then ask for government aid. Many temples are built to boost egos of certain Indian Malaysians and are hardly frequented except for certain days. In many town, there are far too many temples built unnecessarily with Indian Malaysians funds. The money donated mainly by Indian Malaysians could have been well spent on education of their children.

Every individual given the Right to practice and profess Religion/s of his/her choice in accordance to Standards adopted by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1948. The State and its Authorities barred from interfering in the personal beliefs and conscience of individual citizens . Disputes between Muslims & Non Muslims should be adjudicated in the Civil Courts.

Agreed but Indian Malaysians have to be responsible too when they convert. The root cause is Indian Malaysians themselves. Most of the recent cases are their (Indian Malaysians) own doing. They were never been forced to convert.

(11) Stop the victimization and direct discrimination by the Police and all other state authorities of the Indians. All Malaysians earning RM 3,000.00 and below are to be fully borne by state funded legal aid for any criminal charges they face.

There maybe cases where victimisation happened but why should taxpayers money used for criminals.

(12) The UMNO controlled government forms with immediate effect a Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Kg Medan Mini Genocide, condemns the violence thereto, apologises to the Indian community on this mini genocide, undertakes not to repeat the same in future and pay a compensation of RM1,000, 000.00 for each and every citizen killed, permanently maimed, maimed or injured in this tragedy.

Agree with the need for government to come clean on this issue. Maybe compensation, what about those killed by Indian Malaysians.

(13) Each and every Indian especially the Indian poor in the aforesaid 70% Indian poor and hardcore poor category is paid compensation which is to be adjudicated and determined by the United Nations Secretary General for the aforesaid 50 years of Constitutional violations by the UMNO controlled government.

It never says how the compensation are to be determined. Why UN?

(14) All homeless Malaysians are to be provided affordable homes and not low cost flats by law. A minimum wage of RM1,000.00 for each and every Malaysian be made law.

Agreed. But there are people who refuse to move even when provided with below RM 100 rental flats! The same group of people can afford to spend on ASTRO, VCDs, booze, unnecessary celebrations etc.

(15) A Royal Commission of Inquiry is initiated to report on the aforesaid constitutional violations by the UMNO controlled government and appropriate recommendations for amongst others further affirmative action plans for especially the 70% Indian poor and hardcore poor category. (16) All forms of racial and religious discrimination, oppression and suppression of the Indians / Hindus in both the public and private sectors are stopped with immediate effect and a Race Relations Commission Act 2007, an Equal Opportunities Commission Act 2007 and a Freedom of Religion Commissions Act 2007 be passed and powerful Commission thereto be put into force to give effect to anti racism, anti Islamic extremism and anti direct discrimination practices by the UMNO controlled government in both the public and private sectors.Never seen those proposed Acts, so cant really comment.(17) The UMNO controlled government passes specific laws to give effect to the Independence of the Judiciary, the Attorney General’s Chambers, Civil service, Police Force, Army, the Malaysian Human Rights Commission and the Malaysian media and for the Opposition parties, NGOs’ Civil Society groups, Bar Council and the media not todiscriminate and side step Indian issues but instead to voice out the same without fear or favour. The Malaysian media is also to be legislated to report the real happenings especially on the 70% Indian poor and hardcore poor without fear or favour.

Most are in the works, now they want Media Controls, to report in their favour.

(18) A minimum of 20 Opposition members of Parliament are elected exclusively by the Indian Community to represent their interest at the highest political level and also as a Parliamentary Democracy check and balance and the same is safeguarded and entrenched into the Federal Constitution and which is to be increased proportionately with the increase in Parliamentary seats.

Yet another request for quota!

In summary, this is a poorly drafted memorandum,full of holes, vague, racist to the core aimed at UMNO, opportunistic and with multiple figures plucked from the sky. It only goes to show how people may be well read but not wisely educated. At least this memorandum is a bit toned down as compared to the ones purportedly addressed to Queen Elizabeth.
Being an Indian Malaysian, I’m quite embarassed with the qulity of this memorandum. I think I have all the rights to talk about HINDRAF since they claim to represent me.


Claims against the British Government

First and foremost, it was our grandparents decision to move to Malaysia for a better life would be the rootcause that brought about this situation, hundred years later. Nobody would want to imagine how Indian Malaysians would have fared if their forefathers chose to remain in India.
Their demand that the British government compensate each Indian Malaysians 2 Million ringgit is ridiculous if not stupid. I shook my head in disbelieve, asking myself how could a group of lawyers write such an outrageous memorandum which includes words such as ‘ethnic Cleansing’ when the same group of lawyers are living comfortably in this country.
I would agree that some of their demands are ought to be considered but they ( Licenses, University seat allocation etc) are something that has been brought up by other parties long time ago.

Indian Malaysian Representation in Government & Society

Indian Malaysian are broadly represented in various political parties, cabinet, government agencies, trade unions, the cabinet, private sectors and independent institutions such a NGOs. To say that Indian Malaysians are without voice is certainly not true. In fact prominent NGOs and trade unions are usually headed by Indian Malaysians.

There are far too many Indian based organisation, political parties, NGOs and not forgetting race and caste based societies. This is perhaps why everyone lost their focus and government listened to only MIC.
MIC is partly to blame because after decades in power, they became complacent, corrupt and clueless about the situation on the ground. But then again Indian Malaysians are not even united in the first place..
Indian Malaysians are reasonably represented in the Parliament and State Assemblies, local councils and city halls, therefore it would not be accurate to say Indian Malaysians have no say at all.

I wonder why HINDRAF did not request government to abolished all caste based Indian societies, when they are requesting malay rights to be abolished.

HINDRAF was born of out of frustration of certain groups with the government and particularly MIC. The same group of lawyers actually made their money out of people’s misery, usually suing the government and institutions for negligence, death in lock-up etc.


HINDRAF(Hindu Rights Action Force) may sound like a Hindu Extremist outfit, claims to represent all Indian Malaysians, when they actually focus on the plight of ethnic Tamilians. Their propaganda materials, functions and speeches are all in Tamil. The other ethnic Indian Malaysians such as Telugus, Malayalees, Ceylonees and Punjabis are ignored.
They should be renamed as Tamil Rights Action Force (TAMRAF)
The Indian Malaysian Dilemma The root cause of most of the issues highlighted by HINDRAF are Indian Malaysians own doing, not UMNO or the government.

Hindu Temples & Tamil Schools

Bulk of HINDRAF’s complains are towards the treatment of Hindu Temples and Tamil Schools. The temple issues are often played up to raise emotions. The actual fact is there are more than enough temples for Indian Malaysians. Indian Malaysians built temples eveywhere they liked, according to their whims and fancies, and then blame government when someone claims the land.

For example, there are a dozen temples in Jalan Ipoh/Sentul area when probably two would be have been sufficient. Indian Malaysians built illegally, spend millions of ringgit but do not think! Some are even built side by side while others are built for the needs of certain caste.

Why aren’t there similar issues with Chinese temples or churches? Because they are built according to needs of the population of the particular area unlike Indian temples, where it is usually built without thinking about current and future needs. Chinese temples are usually built by Associations held by group of trustees and they ensure that the own the land before they built anything on it,good example of right thinking.
So, who is at fault here?The same applies to Tamil Schools. If everything would have been done correctly and legally from the beginning, none of these would have surfaced. This is also where MIC failed.

HINDRAF also never fought for the rights of mother tongue education for Indian Malaysians of Telugu, Malayalee, Punjabi or Ceylonese descent while claiming to represent all Indian Malaysians. Yet the had the cheek to demonise UMNO and Malays.

Jobs, Business & Tertiary Education Opportunities

HINDRAF’s insinuations that Indian Malaysians are denied all the opportunitites are grossly inaccurate. There are many thriving businesses owned by Indian Malaysians although the numbers may be small in comparison to Chinese Malaysians and Malay.
There are known difficulties in getting permits and licenses that the governement could consider to be improved. . The other problem is that Indian Malaysians are engrossed in doing what they know best, I,e traditional Indian related Businesses such as Indian Groceries, Clothings, Scrap Metal, Money Changing, Jewellery etc and not venturing into businesses which are the dominated by other races. This is where they probably need support or guidance.

In terms job opportunity, Indian Malaysians are doing extremely well in professional fields. Many of them are prominent lawyers, doctors and engineers. They are widely employed in the private sector and generally does well in MNCs. Not sure why HINDRAF is bent on getting Indian Malaysian get employed more in Government Sector.

HINDRAF also never spoke about getting assistance on making Indian Malaysian more employable.

Educational & Economic Upliftment

A lorry driver relative of mine (with standard 6 education) and his friends earns more than the national average wage, drives a car and have their own house. They are forward looking families who gives emphasis to education for their children. Most Indian Malaysian have good living standards compared to say 10 years ago. Agreed that maybe it was because of their own efforts, but then it would not have been possible if there are Aparthied like policies, there are always opportunities, it’s up to us to grab it and make things work to our advantage.

HINDRAF have given little attention to the need to focus on holistic education of their own (continous learning) or for their children as only education can provide upliftment of the whole society and not Tamil Schools or temples.

Eg, You hardly see any reading materials in their homes but latest tamil movie VCDs are there all the time.

HINDRAF Followers/ Sympathisers

HINDRAF followers are mainly people frustrated with government when things are not favourable to them although many of their own follower are quite well to do. They are not grateful for what they have and want more and want it easy.
Having some close relatives and friends who are staunch HINDRAF supporters, I can easily describe the charactristics of a HINDRAF followers.
Some actually seek connections or in local language 'lobang' or any form of short cuts to achieve wealth, to get contracts, they dont mind bribing policeman to get out of trouble or favour, spend tones of money of booze, women, focus little onself and children education, able to spend excessively on private functions, jewerlley and 4D numbers.

The same followers can be found in Chinese Coffee shops with 20 bottles of beer downed, Expensive pubs (with few bottles of whiskeys finished, while embracing some foreign women) , Chow Kits & Red Light Area in Brickfields and some as far as phuket. They have no qualms to do all the above, but claims that they are being suppressed, victimised and marginalised.
They are the same people who talks nonsense half the time, loves negativity and some are racist to the core.They are also prone to listening to what others say i.e huge cow herd mentality rather than verify what they hear.
In short they are all hypocrites, I am in no way saying that I don’t do any of the above, I would feel guilty if I went to the streets claiming victimisation or suppression and later walk into 4D Number Shop and bet against the number 2511 for hundreds of ringgit.

Conclusion

While I agree that there are still poverty amongst Indian Malaysians, the same can be said with the Malays and even Chinese. Malaysians must be gratefull that not a single race are rich or satisfied, if there’s such a situation, it spells trouble for the whole country.
My arguments may sound flimsy, but the point is that there’s nothing to gain from pointing fingers at everybody else except ourselves. HINDRAF’s demands are grossly one-sided ignoring completely weaknesses within Indian Malaysian community.
Hindraf’s demands are not likely to help the community in the long term as they are only asking for fish and not a fishing rod or if one looks at the amount(RM) that HINDRAF demanded,perhaps they are asking for a deep sea fishing boat.
Indian Malaysians are all not angels themselves but they should not simply embarass themselves with nonsensical memorandum that we know (but fail to admit) are full of half-truths.
HINDRAF have successfully played the emotions of Indian Malaysians, triggered their inferiority complex, allowed themselves to be exploited by some political parties and used during the recent elections. While they are proud to shout’Makkal Sakthi’with full emotion, most of their arguments and demands, are with no basis whatsoever and highly unlikely to be fulfilled. HINDRAF leaders know that.

Most of the followers would have never read the both memorandum in it’s true form.Most of the demands look appealing when read in Tamil,while some are included to point out that they are at the losing end compared to Malays.Some remarks and statements don't really look atrocious or ridiculous when translated. Eg they would have realised that there would not have been any Indian Malaysians still alive if ‘ethnic cleansing’ was practised for 5 decades by the UMNO, let alone demonstrate with holding Mahatma Gandhi’s potrait on one hand while sipping Tiger beer on the other, along Jalan Ampang.

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Malay Dilemma

This feedback is from a friend of mine in response to one of my earlier blog entry. I am reproducing this comment as it reflects current sentiments on the ground. This is, in no way reflects my opinion.

Sekarang ni, isu isu tentang melayu banyak diperkatakan. umno dan pas nak bergabung untuk melayu, uitm nak dibuka untuk bukan melayu, majlis peguam pertikai hak melayu dan banyak lagi. secara automatik, berduyun-duyun orang melayu berdemonstrasi, menghantar petisyen untuk mengecamnya. mereka kata, melayu sudah lama bersabar.... jangan dijolok sarang lebah (jangan cabar melayu). saya memang akui yang melayu ni amat terkenal dengan sikap pemarahnya.... tapi selalunya tak bertempat.

Keluarga saya (pro kerajaan) memang sudah maklum yang saya lebih cenderung kepada pembangkang... jadi apabila timbul isu-isu ini, mereka akan jadikan ia modal untuk menghentam saya. saya menghormati mereka kerana mereka sudah berpengalaman tapi kadangkala apa yang mereka luahkan saya tak dapat terima.

saya dapat tahu yang kebanyakkan cikgu melayu akan cuba sebaik-baiknya untuk menolong pelajar melayu. kalau lagi sikit nak lulus... mereka akan tambah markah. mungkin untuk bukan melayu pun mereka bagi juga. tapi cikgu bukan melayu tidak akan mengubah markah walaupun lagi sikit pun. yang menjadi mangsa ialah cikgu bukan melayu... mereka dituduh tidak berperikemanusian, kejam dan tidak mahu tolong pelajar melayu. yang patut dimarah ialah pelajar itu sendiri... siapa suruh malas nak belajar sampai tak lulus... kalau nak dapat A belajar la betul-betul. hak pelajar itu ialah untuk dapat markah yang dia berhak... tidak lebih dan tidak kurang.

satu lagi yang saya dengar kebanyakkan sijil berhenti sekolah sekarang ni dah tak boleh pakai. cikgu-cikgu sekarang dengan senangnya akan memperakui yang pelajar aktif dalam pelbagai kegiatan kokurikulum. ini semata-mata dibuat supaya pelajar akan mendapat markah yang banyak ketika mengisi borang UPU. tidakkah kita pelik kerana dalam data UPU menunjukkan banyak pelajar aktif dalam kokurikulum sedangkan kita tahu banyak pelajar menghabiskan masa dengan internet, main game, pergi tusyen dan duduk dirumah. tak hairanlah waktu saya di universiti dulu... dalam sijil kata wakil sekolah dalam debate... tapi suruh buat presentation depan kuliah... berterabur. dalam sijil kata ahli kadet tentera sekolah... suruh kawat tak tahu. apa yang cikgu-cikgu itu buat sebenarnya ialah tidak menolong sesiapa.

isu uitm pula.... siapa khalid ibrahim tu? dia berhak ke nak tukar dasar-dasar uitm? dia hanyalah menteri besar selangor... tak berhak nak tukar dasar-dasar uitm. dia hanya memberi cadangan... terpulangla pada pihak-pihak yang berhak keatas dasar-dasar uitm membincangkannya. kenapa nak marah-marah? kenapa tak marah apabila uitm tak tersenarai dalam 200 ranking terbaik? kenapa tak marah apabila banyak graduan uitm menganggur? saya dengar uitm la saja tinggal untuk melayu.... unversiti MIC di sungai petani tu walaupun dibuka untuk melayu tapi ramai melayu yang masuk tak tahan. banyak yang dah keluar. saya tidak pasti sama ada pelajar ini diberhentikan atau keluar dengan rela. universiti lain pun sama saja. saya tak pernah dengar pelajar bukan melayu diberhentikan kerana gagal peperiksaan... semua melayu saja. jadi apa bezanya? jangan marahkan universiti... marah la pelajar-pelajar yang kena buang tu. pelajar lain ok je belajar sampai habis....cuba fikir kalau universiti al-azhar di mesir cakap hanya pelajar arab yang beragama islam saja yang boleh jadi pelajarnya??

saya dari kecil memang rapat dengan bukan melayu. dari sekolah rendah sampai sekolah menengah memang rapat. dekat universiti pun saya ada banyak kenalan bukan melayu. di tempat kerja saya sekarang... 50% india, 25% melayu, 20% cina dan 5% orang putih dan lain-lain. banyak orang kata, orang bukan melayu rapat dengan orang melayu kalau ada kepentingan sahaja. bila dah tak ada kepentingan, mereka tidak akan kisah kepada kita. memanglah!!! lumrah alam... dah tak berguna buat apa simpan? memanglah habis madu sepah dibuang.... sepah tu nak buat apa? kalau kaum melayu sentiasa memperkasakan diri masing-masing... tentu orang bukan melayu akan sentiasa bekerja sama dengan orang melayu. jangan marah mereka... cermin diri sendiri.

dalam kad pengenalan saya... saya bangsa melayu. ayah saya seorang pengkaji sejarah. dia telah membuat kajian salahsilah keluarga saya. dia dapati asal usul keluarga saya berasal dari india. ini bermakna moyang saya berketurunan india. bagaimana saya boleh menjadi melayu?
kalau saya boleh menjadi melayu... kenapa rakan-rakan saya yang berlainan bangsa tidak mendapat hak yang sama dengan saya?

oleh itu, saya ingin cadangkan dasar-dasar kerajaan dan pelembagaan dikaji semula agar lebih relevan dengan keadaan semasa. yang saya tahu, hanya islam sahaja yang relevan sepanjang masa. inikan pula dasar dan pelembagaan yang dicipta oleh manusia...

saya minta maaf jika apa yang saya tulis ini menyinggung mana-mana pihak. jika ada perkara yang tidak betul... sila betulkan.

Dr M: Malaysia lacks good decision-making

Dr M: Malaysia lacks good decision-making Karen ArukesamyKUALA LUMPUR (Aug 26,2008) : Malaysia is lacking in good decision-making because it fails to anticipate the problems of the future.
Former premier Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said to achieve Vision 2020, "we must anticipate the problems we may face in the future and be ready to make decisions to counter them".
Mahathir, who introduced Vision 2020 to Malaysia, said the world is going through price hikes in fuel, food, aluminium and steel and Malaysia now needs to be able to handle the high-cost situation.
"Our people are used to very low cost of living, services and food and they are not prepared to face a high cost of living. I think we need to learn from countries with a high cost of living -- how do they survive, how do they prosper and how to be competitive," he said, at the Futurist forum 2008 entitled "Mindset: A framework to anticipate the future" today.
"If we do not do that, then I think we cannot achieve Vision 2020."
Addressing questions from participants on Malaysia's incompetency, Mahathir said: "Malaysia is the most planned country in the world. But people do not follow the plans prepared for them. If people had followed the plans, we would have been a developed country by now."
He said every plan has to have an implementation strategy, without which the plan is useless.
"Fortunate for Malaysia, we do have an implementation unit and the Economic Planning Unit," he said.
Mahathir said planning for people is much more difficult because people resent others telling them what to do or how to think.
"I have spent 22 years trying to change the mindset of the Malays, for example, and I must admit that I have failed in that, but people won't give any more time."
Among other issues, Mahathir also said the education system had become very politicised.
He said the people's mentality has not changed, they want different kinds of education system because they want to preserve their own languages, they want more emphasis in religious education and so on.
He said the people like to blame politicians but the politicians are complying with the people's wishes.
Mahathir also said national intergration is difficult to achieve because politicians are bringing out sensitive issues which create more division amongst the people.
"People think for a multiracial country, we are doing rather well but even then we need to be extremely careful," he added. Reproduced from The Sun, 26 August 2008.

Agree that current leaders have no direction, let alone making wise decisions.

Malaysians generally resent changes, despite all the claims of wanting a change, especially change of government. Majority Malaysians are comfortable with what they are doing, not wanting to come out from their comfort zone to do something different.

I quite agree with the statement that Education is politicised, not really by politicians but by the selfish people themselves.

People blame the politicians for everything that are not favourable to them but aren't the same people are the ones who chose the politicians in the first place that we ended up with the amateur cinematographer, housewife, street fighters, close one eye businessmen, local warlords, gangsters, racist, religious extremist (PAS & HINDRAF), etc as politicans and declared that it was a new dawn for Malaysia. Serves them (Rakyat) right!!

Malaysians forgets easily, ungrateful, loves untruths, rumours, loves to hear the loudest(no matter if the person speaks nonense) and spends the whole day talking and thinking negatively that the accumulated negative energy pushed the whole country into a wrong direction.

We nowadays hardly hear any politician, be it from the government or opposition, who speaks the same way as DR M did; simple, straight forward, logical and full of common sense.

There are either complete silence (Government) or too much rhetorics and nonsensical half truths (Opposition) and recently more swearing, that does not really make us think, it only making us shake our head far too regularly of recent. To me, at these trying and confusing moments, Mahathirism rules.

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Political Maturity. Malaysians, Nah.... Part 2

I did write about political matuarity among Malaysians way back in April http://balankumarpremakumaran.blogspot.com/2008/04/political-maturity-malaysians-nah.html further to various analysis by politicians, armchair analysts and journalist, both mainstream and alternative media, post March 8 General Elections.
I also concluded that Malaysians are not as politically matured as analysts would like us to believe post March 8 General Elections. It's just that people vent their anger on Barisan Nasional and found themselves voting Pakatan Rakyat into power in 5 states.

Recent events further vindicates the believe that these initial euphoria on how Malaysian has voted across racial lines are all but temporary.

Common sense (in Malaysian terms) has prevailed and everyone has gone back to hide behind their own race and religion rather than talking about 'Bangsa Malaysia'. The talk of transparency, freedom of speech and right of assembly are now seen credibly as a mere empty talk of hope and nothing else.

Recent events suggests that no single political party have communicated or acted consistently on the need for everyone to change and act like true Malaysians.

PAS and Umno met secretly purportedly about Malay unity and common understanding on Islam infuriating their partners in in Pakatan Rakyat or Barisan Nasional respectively.

The recent demonstration at the Bar Council by some Malay/muslim groups and political parties , mainly PKR, PAS and Umno related groups, over the conversion of Muslims issues shows how matured malaysians have become.

Pakatan Rakyat's defacto leader released a statement that such issued should not be discussed openly. Now, looks who's talking... about openess, freedom of speech, transparency and equality.

His own party MP defied his boss and stormed into meeting room hurling racial slurs that shocked those who were present. Talk about PKR being a multiracial party??PKR counterparts in Pakatan Rakyat slammed the Kulim MP for his atrocious behaviour, unbecoming of an MP from a multiracial party.

They also slammed police for failing to take action against demonstrators. Hey, wait a minute, I thought they (opposition parties) are the ones who were fighting for freedom of speech and rights to assemble wherever and whenever the public wishes.
DAP Assemblyman for senawang has reportedly called police for arrest those demonstrators under ISA. And all the while we were made to believe that DAP wanted ISA repealed. If the police had arrested the main preparators, Kulim MP and PAS members, DAP would have then changed the story and cried foul over police actions claiming police brutality over a peaceful assembly. We have heard enough of this already over the last 2 years.

On the other hand we have Hindraf continuing to champion for their race, although their focus should be on Hindu Rights, they mainly fight for the rights of Tamilians, not Hindus per se. (Their communication and speeches are all in Tamil, Hindu's of telugu, malayalam and ceylonese are ignored) The Pakatan Rakyat who gladly accepted their support and catch phrase ' Makkal Shakti' and used them to the hilt during the elections, appeared to have moved on. Hindraf is a forgotten entity now.
There was a hunger strike at KLCC last week to fight for the release of 5 ISA detainees. It was reported that hardly 30 people turned up and none of the Pakatan politicians were there to support their cause. Hindraf is now demanding a meeting with PM Abdullah and mentioned that they would not mind supporting BN if the government is willing to meet them and their demands.

Except for Karpal Singh and few other lawyers associated with Pakatan Rakyat, defending the ISA detainees, hardly anyone speaks about Hindraf nowadays.

Haji Hadi Awang of PAS in the recent PAS General Assembly, assured their supporters that PAS will not compromise on Islam even if it means leaving Pakatan Rakyat. It was also reported that PAS would not be part of federal government if Non-Muslim MPs outnumber Muslim MPs. This was in response to Anwar's grand plans to take over the federal government by Sept 16 where large number of expected cross overs are likely to consists of non-muslim MPs from Sabah and Sarawak.

Then we have Selangor Menteri Besar Khalid Ibrahim proposing 10% of places in UiTM to be reserved for non-malays and foreigners. Khalid's suggestion was intended to provide student with better exposure and competition. To be fair,UiTM is certainly not a world class university and Khalid's proposal has it's merit but he miserably miscalculated the people's readiness to change when in comes to race, religion and rights.

About 5,000 students marched to his office to hand over a memorandum protesting his statement. Some of the placards and banners bandied around during the demonstration proved that crude racism is well and alive, at least in Shah Alam.

My advise to Khalid is focus on running your own state rather than sticking your head into KL matters such as Kampung Baru and UiTM. I invite him to visit my area, Selayang where there are lots of work waiting for him and his state government as nothing much has changed here since Pakatan took over.

In Perak, the unregistered Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) complained that none of their nominees were appointed as state councillors. They and Hindraf further complained lack of Indian representation in the state councillor line-ups in Perak and all other Pakatan ruled states. They appear to want Barisan style quota in the state line up, from Exco's to councillors.

MIC and MCA on the other hand jumped onto the bandwagon and now says that they would take a multiracial approach when dealing with public. Aren't they supposed to do just that since they are part of a multi-racial coalition, Barisan Nasional.

These incidences and statements proves the fact that everything is still race based. It's just that political analyst and politicians trumpeted the slight shift in the recent election as if it was equavailent to a Tsunami or Sept 11.

We are far away from that, not least in our generation.




Tuesday, August 12, 2008

RECAP : By-elections totally unnecessary

I wrote this just after the bruising Lunas by-election in 2000 and this article was first published on Dec 9, 2000 in Malaysiakini.com. It was also published in the Sun Newspaper with similar title.

By-elections totally unnecessary

The battle between the Barisan Nasional and Barisan Alternatif over the Lunas state assembly seat has finally come to an end.
The whole by-election campaign, which started immediately after the death of Dr Joe Fernandez, has drained both the Barisan Nasional and the opposition.
A lot time and money were spent during the by-elections by candidates, supporters and their senior party leaders. Dirty campaign tactics, name calling, lies and maybe even indirect vote buying made the situation worse.
I believe the majority of citizens in this country would not want this unhealthy situation to continue every now and again.
The Works Minister, S Samy Vellu even camped there for a couple of weeks while some other ministers and also Kelantan and Terengganu state leaders made regular visits to Lunas.
I believe they, both Barisan Nasional and opposition party leaders who assume government posts, should concentrate on their jobs rather than spending their time campaigning for by-elections.
They are not elected by people to campaign for by-elections and neglect their official duties for weeks.
It is about time we re-think if there is a need for by-elections should the incumbent pass away or is disqualified due to other reasons.
Generally the trend shows that the constituents actually vote for the party and not the candidate, therefore the party who wins in the general elections shall retain the seat, state or parliament, should the incumbent assemblyman or member of parliament becomes unavailable.
The incumbent's party shall decide on another candidate to assume the seat.
The opposition parties would of course love to continue having by-elections as they believe that their chances of winning are brighter. But they have to remember that they may also lose their own opposition-held seats in by-elections.
Therefore it is a no-win situation for either side which begs the question - why should we have by-elections in the first place?
K Balan
Kuala Lumpur

2008 now, and we have another by-election in Permatang Pauh, only that the situation is slightly different where the opposition leader gave up the seat for her 'Prime Minister in waiting' husband. Millions of ringgit will be wasted organising the elections alone. This does not include the anticipated huge amount to be spent by both political parties. The nation will also come to stand still for almost two weeks. Resident around the constituency would benefit economically though.

I would still stand by the statement that By Elections are totally unnecessary and the money and time could be well spent where it's needed most and certainly not for the purpose accomodating whims and fancies of some politician or political parties.

Wednesday, August 6, 2008

Losing The PR War

As much as we are anxious to know what will happen to this country in a month or two, the government and it's leaders appears to be unperturbed over continous onslaught by Anwar Ibrahim and the opposition.

Recent study by the Merdeka Centre clearly shows that the government is fast losing their popularity and PM abdullah's approval ratings are at an all time low. The retired Mahathir is far more popular despite all the misgivings that people might have. His recent writings on his blog are remarkable.

BN performance is not that bad when compared to all the weak governments around the world and PM Abdullah situation actually mirror the UK Government where Gordon Brown's approval ratings are more or less the same with PM Abdullah.

Reforms on judicial appointments, ACA, redistribution of resources through cut in subsidies, windfall tax on IPPs and plantations commodities, more open press and freedom, significant investment committed to Iskandar Development Region, cancellation of some mega projects, improved delivery system through PEMUDAH etc are what was expected from the government and they are actually working on it.

The government is actually losing the PR war. They are unable to communicate all these plans and actions effectively. If you remember, when it comes to Malaysians, it will only get into the head if key messages are repeated continously.

If you remember the constitutional crisis, both in early 80s and 90s, Mahathir undertook a nationwide tour to explain his arguement for the need of contitutional amendments. He was basically repeating the same thing, just that in various different venues around the country. He was featured in all dailies and TV almost everyday with the same messages and arguements.

Mahathir did the same right after 1998 crisis, this time to explain on the economic crisis, Anwar, plans to overcome the crisis, currency controls etc. I can still remember that he undertook a nationwide tour and insisted that he explain the whole crisis, political and economic to the Rakyat. He wanted the Rakyat to hear from him directly.

While this approach can also be seen as trying to justify his actions and also partially campaiging, it was effective, no matter if one thinks whether the elections were free or fair in 1999. The Rakyat, the market was convinced as improvements were seen post the currency controls.

What we have now is completely the opposite. Anwar has been criss-crossing the country, having ceramah freely without any restriction. He openly challenges the government, tell his version of Sodomee Part 2, even to the extend how was was stripped at the hospital, how he plans to be the next Prime Minister by Sept 16, the cross overs, corruption, mercedes, fuel price reduction by, now, 70 cents, Najib, the murderer, Abdullah weakness, economy etc. He did not, however, tell the crowd how suddenly he feel safer going around the country and talking freely on an open stage.

The the public appeared to be convinced, if you go by the turnout and also results of the Merdeka Centre survey. Anwar was clever to take advantage of the lack of PR and communication initiatives by the government. As we know how matured malaysians are, they are bound to believe whom they hear most, at the moments they hear Anwar loud and clear, repeatedly with consistent messages, no matter whether they are truth or otherwise.

Today, they announced the by-election date for Permatang Pauh and at around the same time came the news that Anwar will be charged tomorrow. Another round of accusations will fly around the country that Anwar is being deliberately denied the opportunity to contest and also to become the next prime Minister.

If the government chose to keep quiet, they will not only lose the PR war, they may lose power sooner than later. Winning and losing in politics very much depends on perception, not entirely the truth. At the moment Anwar is winning, although not on the basis of truth.