Share This

Showing posts with label race and religion. Show all posts
Showing posts with label race and religion. Show all posts

Monday 5 December 2022

Political factor was crucial, kindness and graciousness of DAP

 

 

 

PETALING JAYA: A wide range of views has emerged on the Cabinet line-up but most analysts agree on one thing – it reflects the current political set-up and the need to appease all the parties involved.

“I think it does reflect the strength and number of seats that each party has,” said senior fellow from Nusantara Academy for Strategic Research, Dr Azmi Hassan.

He described the appointments as “fair”, adding that they were made in tandem with the ratio of parliamentary seats held by each party.

The main factor in determining the line-up of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s Cabinet was the need to please the political parties involved, he added.

This, he said, was to ensure that Anwar would have the support of the parties in the unity government.

“The political factor was crucial in determining the Cabinet appointments,” he added.

Azmi said the ministerial appointments might not please everyone.

DAP, he noted, has been relatively quiet since the Cabinet list was unveiled.

“I would understand why – they (Pakatan Harapan) needed to appease Barisan Nasional and thwart the advance of PAS,” he said.

The 28-member Cabinet includes 15 Pakatan ministers comprising four from DAP, eight from PKR, two from Amanah and one from Upko.

There are six Barisan Nasional ministers, five from Gabungan Parti Sarawak, one from Gabungan Rakyat Sabah and one without a political party – Datuk Mohd Na’im Mokhtar, a Syariah court chief judge who was appointed Religious Affairs Minister.

Presently, Anwar has the support of Pakatan’s 82 MPs, Barisan (30 MPs), GPS (23), GRS (six), Warisan (three), Muda (one), KDM (one), Parti Bangsa Malaysia (one) and two independent MPs.

International Islamic University Malaysia’s Dr Tunku Mohar Tunku Mohd Mokhtar said the Cabinet line-up was a result of negotiations between the Prime Minister and the component coalitions of the unity government.

“It reflects the proportionality of the components and party hierarchies,” he said.

He added that parties such as Muda and Warisan were not given ministerial positions, “but I think they would not protest about it”.

However, Tunku Mohar noted that Barisan chairman Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s appointment as Deputy Prime Minister had compromised Pakatan’s pledge for good governance.

Ahmad Zahid is facing 47 charges involving criminal breach of trust, corruption and money laundering.

Universiti Sains Malaysia senior lecturer Dr Azmil Mohd Tayeb said the Cabinet was one which Anwar could cobble up based on the current political arrangement.

“It’s much slimmer and appeases almost everyone,” he said.

However, he was of the view that Anwar should not have assumed the Finance Minister’s post.

The last prime minister to hold both portfolios was Datuk Seri Najib Razak from 2008 to 2018.

Back then, this had come under criticism with Pakatan pledging in its 2018 general election manifesto that the prime minister would not hold the finance portfolio.Azmil also had reservations about the appointment of Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz (International Trade and Industry Minister).

“I don’t think it is a good idea, while excluding someone like Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad,” he said.

Dr Dzulkefly, the health minister in the Pakatan-led administration from 2018 to 2020, had defeated Tengku Zafrul in the battle for the Kuala Selangor seat.

Political analyst Oh Ei Sun, a senior fellow at the Singapore Institute of International Affairs, said the Cabinet appointments could appease those supporting the unity government “for a while, perhaps”.

He said the political parties would be “temporarily satisfied” with their allocated representation in the Cabinet.

“But politics nowadays is so fluid that anything could change rapidly,” he added.

Oh, however, conceded that the ministerial appointments reflected the proportion of the various parties in the administration.

“It is, in essence, a coalition government,” he added. 

 By TARRENCE TANRAGANANTHINI VETHASALAM

Source link

 

Related 

 

Saying 'No' to hate speech in Malaysia | The Star

 

Realpolitik the order of the day - The Star

A new dawn begins | The Star

 

      CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE LIST       New Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has been welcomed by many like a breath of fresh air..

  Great expectations: Anwar – pictured here receiving congratulatory calls from world leaders in the Prime Minister’s Office in Putrajaya – 
 
Here’s a look at the pay and allowances our elected reps get, and it’s a pretty sweet deal. I AM writing this week’s column on Monday, a...

A unifying PM is what we need , Rebooting the economy

  


 



New Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has been welcomed by many like a breath of fresh air. But can he cleanse the nation of the many ills it now suffers? It remains to be seen.

MY retired brother called from Penang the other day. He had yet to get his pension and needed some cash. Why? I asked. “Anwar has won and I want to celebrate with my friends,” he cheered. He is just one of many who are anamoured of our new Prime Minister.

There is also this man in Bukit Mertajam, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s hometown, who is buying everyone meals at restaurants around town.

Elsewhere, a large non-Muslim crowd gathered outside a mosque as Anwar prayed inside. And they mobbed him when he came out. Everywhere he goes, the PM is being cheered.

He’s probably the most welcomed Malaysian chief executive in living memory. It’s all quite exciting, but I think the celebrations are also a bit premature.

Yes, it has been a long wait for him, his supporters and those who have been rooting for him all these years. He has been the underdog, facing failure after failure, falling every time he believed he had reached the pinnacle.

It’s the kind of story that would touch any heart.

But it’s only the beginning. Now is not the time to put him on a pedestal. He has much to prove, and he could fall off that high horse any time, just as the last three prime ministers did.

The plotting is going on. Those who do not like the idea of him being PM will do their best to bring about his downfall.

It happened before in 2020 with the Sheraton Move; and even days after Anwar’s appointment, there was talk of a Tropicana Move.

That has been denied, but his performance will be under intense scrutiny. There will be little room for relaxation.

His first task just got done. He has named his full Cabinet, obviously done with much juggling, putting together a unity government that will keep everyone happy and yet meet his promise of a small Cabinet.

If that was hard, the really herculean task awaits now.

There is so much wrong with our country now – an economy in the doldrums, a ringgit that’s floundering, an education system that’s well off the mark, and a population that’s deeply divided.

There’s so much to do – or undo.

I say undo because Anwar himself may be responsible for some of those maladies. He was once Education Minister – way back in 1986 – and started a revolution in the system.

He is the man credited with Islamisation of our schools, and the growth of religious schools, while working with then Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

Those actions have come back to bite him, say analysts. Two weeks ago, his daughter lost the Permatang Pauh seat, held by members of his family since 1980, to a tahfiz teacher.

Anwar, and his Angkatan Belia Islam Malaysia (Abim), were the driving force behind such schools.

The children in many of these schools are being taught to only vote for a certain party, and with Undi18 now law, there was a flood of such voters, the analysts say.

With the mushrooming of religious schools, the days when children of all races laughed, played and mixed in schools seem to be long gone.

Now, schools are divisive. Even the syllabus has been questioned with Malays themselves asking why there are so many religious classes and too few teaching modern-day living skills like English, science and technology, computer know-how and things like that. 

t;

The Chinese and Indians are flocking to vernacular schools, leaving the national school system largely to the majority Malays. So many Malays are also migrating to these vernacular schools.

Already, there is a call for one stream of education for all. I think it’s too early for that too. We first need to make the national school system the one of choice. For that, a good Education Minister is needed, as is a revamp of the school syllabus. Fadhlina Sidek and Datuk Seri Khaled Noordin have a lot to do.

We have heard the perennial complaints – discrimination in matriculation places, the closure of canteens during Ramadan, children forced to eat in the toilet and odd corners, non-Muslim children being left to their own devices during agama classes ... the list is long.

Public universities too need to be places where a Malaysian identity can be forged, not where differences are reinforced.

A National Unity Minister who sincerely believes in his job could be a big help. Aaron Ago Dagang, a man from Sarawak, could be the right choice.

There is a lot we can learn from the Borneo states, which have retained much of the old-world charm that places like George Town, Klang, Johor and even Kuala Lumpur once had; the days when Chinese coffee shops housed nasi kandar stalls and people of all races sat together at the same table, eating and drinking together.

Even my mee jawa man had prawn and beef broth for his different clientele, each with a different wok.

Then there’s the minister for Religion. We have all heard about the one from Indonesia; his mantra is that he is a minister for all religions – Islam, Christianity, Hinduism or Buddhism.

It was not so the last time for the minister in Malaysia. He believed his job was only to cater to the religion of the federation.

What we need is a minister who looks at the similarities among religions, all of which preach peace and unity, not one who considers his religion superior and therefore untenable with the others.

The Rulers have got it right. They have called for an end to all extremism, religious or racist, and for unity to be the main consideration. It is important that the government works towards bringing the bitterness to an end.

“I hope there are no more leaders who will raise racial or religious issues to provoke the people,” said Negri Sembilan’s Tuanku Muhriz ibni Almarhum Tuanku Munawir.

They also want the Rukun Negara, whose first tenet is “Belief in God”. It does not say which religion. The supremacy of the Constitution and the rule of law are also important.

Now, it is up to the new PM. He has his job cut out for him. The honeymoon with the voters and adulation of the supporters will be over real soon.

The work – and it’s a lot of hard work – will have to begin. The pitfalls and booby traps are many. His supporters have faith that he will make it.

Five years from now – if Anwar succeeds as a unifying PM – we can celebrate as a nation. For now, though, I am holding that champagne, or non-alcoholic beer as the case may be. 

 by Dorairaj Nadason  

 Source link

 

Rebooting the economy 

 Anwar says he took Finance Ministry to bring new policies 


PUTRAJAYA: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, who appointed himself Finance Minister in his new Cabinet, is hoping to restore economic confidence through new policy approaches.

“I was not inclined (to take on the post), but I want to embark on new policy approaches and restore economic confidence among local traders as well as foreign investors.

“I will be assisted by a strong team that isn’t only civil servants, but also a group of advisers who will not burden the government’s coffers,” he said in announcing his Cabinet at Perdana Putra here yesterday.

In the follow-up press conference, Anwar said the Finance Ministry will be assisted by several advisers led by former PETRONAS president and chief executive officer Tan Sri Mohd Hassan Marican.

Meanwhile, Anwar said the new Cabinet members will be sworn in at 3pm today.

“I will have a special meeting with the ministers so I can convey several matters to them, such as new rules, direction, and new methods,” he said.

Anwar said ministers should begin their duties soon and he advised them to avoid wastage, bribes and power abuse.

“I have made it clear to the Cabinet that the unity government prioritises good governance and the need to reduce the people’s burden, as well as stimulating the economy,” he said.

The Prime Minister said his Cabinet, which comprises 28 ministers, is a clear signal to the people that the unity government, together with the civil service, will ensure its promises to the people are fulfilled.

The last prime minister who also served as a finance minister was Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

Anwar had served as finance minister and deputy prime minister to then premier Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad before being sacked in 1998.

By TARRENCE TAN   Source link

 

Related posts:

 

      CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE LIST PETALING JAYA: Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has named Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi from Barisan Nasional a...
 
Here’s a look at the pay and allowances our elected reps get, and it’s a pretty sweet deal. I AM writing this week’s column on Monday, a...
 
 
  Great expectations: Anwar – pictured here receiving congratulatory calls from world leaders in the Prime Minister’s Office in Putrajaya – ...
 
Anwar to unveil leaner Cabinet with lower ministerial pay Leaner Cabinet on the cards - The Star CLICK TO ENLARGE ..
 
. Malaysia's newly appointed Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, right, and his wife Wan Azizah take part in the swearing-in ceremony at the Nat.

 

Saturday 12 November 2022

Liberate the MALAY MIND



This is the strongest criticism yet, written by a Malay about the contemptible Malay power elites.

Apa Malu!

Malays-and-muslim-two-of-a-kind-corrupt-arrogant/

aloq staq awez khan ali Selamat Pagi Malaysia

The Malays are a broken people. Broken by our own leaders. Broken by the antics, greed, and hubris of Malay political leaders lost in a world where self-interest and nothing else, matters. It is a world where these political pariahs take every advantage of any opportunity to make themselves some money.

Whether these political pariahs are stealing money from Tabung Haji where Malays have saved their hard-earned cash in order to do their holy pilgrimage to Mecca, or getting commission and kickbacks in the purchase of Covid 19 vaccines which are critical to the saving of Malaysian lives – especially the most vulnerable Malaysians – the old and those in the front lines fighting the pandemic by putting their own lives in danger.

Whether it is playing Russian roulette with the lives of our Armed Forces by purchasing submarines and weapons not fit for purpose that could result in the death of our Armed forces or not providing them with Helicopters and weapons that they need to defend our nation and our people against any encroachments from without.

Our children’s education is disadvantaged by the hundreds of millions siphoned from the Ministry of Education budget. Money allocated to buy solar panels, laptop, text books and the construction of schools to anything else that our children would need for their education – the contracts to supply these items are grossly inflated to pay off politicians and even the ex PM’s wife, Rosmah Mansor.

They even take money from suppliers of food and drinks for our students. There is simply no limit to what these political pariahs will do to make money.

And as if the education of our children is not sacred enough for them to leave alone, the Islamic religion is also a source of funds for these political pariahs. They have no shame, they have no sense of fairness and certainly, there are without morals and ethics in their greed for anything they consider of value for themselves.

And the most despicable of things they do is for PAS to use Islam to benefit their political pariahs. And as if it is not enough that these political pariahs steal, their wives, children, and extended family are also into the thieving.

I spit upon these political pariahs.

These political pariahs are still today free to roam and plunder our nation at will. All of them Malays. Most of them are old. All of them must be discarded and punished for what they have done in plundering our national coffers. What they have plundered from our coffers must be taken back from them and put to good use to help our nation get back on its feet and prosper.

The narrative spun over and over again: that the Christians will destroy Islam, that the Chinese and DAP will take over the country, and that the Malays must have the political power to survive in their own Tanah Air is stale and are no longer relevant in the world the Malays live in today.

Let us get rid of these Malay political pariahs and banish them where they can no longer shame the Malays by what they do. 

We know who they are, and it is time that these political pariahs be held to account for what they have done to the Malays.

Whether they are Prime Ministers, Ministers, Menteri Besar, all those loathsome and despicable Yang Berhormats or those little Napoleons who think that being a Malay gives them license to behave in an obnoxious manner to other Malays, and anybody else that question their plundering of our nation’s resources.

Let us start by making sure the Father of all Plunderers, Najib Razak, is in incarcerated immediately, to be followed by his wife, Rosmah Mansor and anyone else who has been the cause of the fall and fall of the Malays.

Today I am ashamed to call myself a Malay. Being a Malay means you have to take responsibility for what these Malay Political Pariahs have done. 

Today being a Muslim in Malaysia is nothing to be proud of because all these plunderers, thieves, and scammers are Muslim. The non-Malays do not have to tell us these things.

There are many Malays today who can think, and we know what Malays have done to our country. You do not have to tell us how much the non-Malays have contributed to the development of Malaysia. We Malays know. You do not have to tell us that Malaysia is also your home. That too, we know. And we know that the Malays have been left behind by the others because it is all there for the Malays to see.

The best politicians are not Malays. The least corrupted politicians are not Malays. The most hard-working politicians who deliver on their promise to their electorates are not Malays. But this much we Malays know. The most corrupted politicians in Malaysia are Muslims. The most arrogant politicians are Muslims. And the politicians who do not deliver on their election promise are also Muslims.

So there you have it, this nation of ours has been brought to its knees by corruption and the political shenanigans and devious duplicity of these Malays and Muslims. And you and I know that it will also have to be the Malays and Muslims who will have to work to get these political pariahs into the dock, to be tried, convicted, and incarcerated if there is to be any hope for our nation to survive past 2020.

Enough said. 

Source link

Apa Malu ! Apakah Orang Melayu Makin Sedar Siapa Musuh ...

 

Related posts:

 

GE15, polling Nov 19: Destroy Umno for the betterment of Malaysia, support Aliran for Justice, Freedom, Solidarity

 

 

Multi-coalition govt may make a return, paving the way for unity government?

 

  WHO IS A “MELAYU” AS EXPLAINED BY A MELAYU: Melayu by a Melayu

 

Liberating Malay mind, unnecessary hoo-ha and nonsense!


Malays in need of a paradigm shift

 

 


Malaysia sacrifices talent to keep one race on top, said Lee Kuan Yew of Singapore

Malaysian talent lost due to racial bigotry

Malay supremacy - Ketuanan Melayu ! How to be supreme ?

 

 

 

 

While 60% of the country’s population are Malays, non-Malays find the narratives of race and religion outdated and reflecting poorly on political leadership

  Malaysians now looking for a new narrative of diversity and inclusiveness, not just Malay unity

No easy battle ahead for Pejuang

Monday 4 July 2022

Whither the international rules-based order?

 

 

US’ so-called rule-based order means international gangsterism

 The United States’ so-called rule-based order is  gangsterism while its sanctions on other countries are illegal, a renowned Canadian lawyer has said a recent interview. Christopher Black, a veteran Canadian lawyer who has been involved in a number of high-profile cases, including defending former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic, strongly condemned actions from the U.S. and the U.S.-led North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), which have repeatedly accused other countries of destroying postwar international orders, portraying themselves defenders of international order. The lawyer believes that U.S. sanctions on other countries are illegal and are a ploy to defend its economic wars against other countries.

 

 

 China's challenge to the rules-based order 

 

Top priority: The moral principle that we all should live peacefully on one planet should over-ride sovereign nations fighting over power and ego from turf to space, when humanity could be burned by climate warming or nuclear war. — AFP
 


EVERYDAY, we are told we must defend the rules-based order. But whose order? What rules? Why should we defend an order if we did not have a say in shaping?

All this is in the realm of politics and geo-politics. The biggest thinker who shaped the current neoliberal order was Austrian philosopher Friedrich Hayek (1899-1992), whose ideas of classical liberalism of freedom, democracy and self-order of markets dominated global relations.

Neoliberalism was put into practice in the 1980s, when US President Ronald Reagan and British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher pushed through the free market philosophy that swept away Keynesian state intervention of the 1950-1970s.

The deeper thinker on the whole question of constitutional law, politics and international order was German jurist Carl Schmitt (1888-1985), whose influence on conservative political circles in almost all the Big Powers has been growing.

I only became aware of Schmitt’s work when Noema magazine wrote an editorial on Schmitt’s Nomos of the Earth (1950).

Schmitt is controversial, because he essentially wrote the legal basis for Nazism in the 1920s, which accounts for his ostracisation (in today’s language “cancelled”) from academic circles for decades.

Main priority: A demonstration calling on the German government not to intervene in the ongoing conflict in the Ukraine, in Berlin. The moral principle that we all should live peacefully on one planet should over-ride sovereign nations fighting over power and ego from turf to space, when humanity could be burned by climate warming or nuclear war. — AFP 

Main priority: A demonstration calling on the German government not to intervene in the ongoing conflict in the Ukraine, in Berlin. The moral principle that we all should live peacefully on one planet should over-ride sovereign nations fighting over power and ego from turf to space, when humanity could be burned by climate warming or nuclear war. — AFP

Schmitt was a brutally realist thinker who explored the legal foundations of European political theory. Schmitt argues that no order can function without a sovereign authority. A state is legally constituted when the politics distinguishes between friend and enemy and when the citizens are willing to fight and die for its identity. The state alone is given the power of violence (and enforcement) by the citizens to enforce the law.

Schmitt is considered an authoritarian supporter, because he saw sovereign power resting ultimately in the Executive (rather than the Legislature or Judiciary) because the sovereign (i.e. the President) decides on the exceptional situation, where he/she must suspend the law because of war or assume emergency powers in order to restore order.

Decisions by the Executive are either bound by law or bounded by his or her moral bearings.

The world is today watching on TV whether former President Trump is morally culpable for causing the Jan 6, 2021 riots, or legally culpable.

The Ukraine war is being supported by the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation or Nato on a matter of moral principle for a non-member, but if the war escalates to nuclear global destruction that kills all, how do we trade off the individual rights with the collective right of everyone else to survive?

Schmitt dissected the European constitutional laws and international order, dividing them into three phases: pre-1500, 1648 to 1919 (World War I) and thereafter.

Before the discovery of America, European powers fought each other under a religious cloak, since the Pope decided on disputes of rights on moral grounds.

Indeed, it was the Papal Bulls of 1455 and 1493 that authorised the Portuguese and Spaniards to conquer all lands and seize and enslave Saracens and non-Christians in the Americas, Africa and Asia.

The religious rationales comprised the Domination Code whereby Christians can rule over non-Christians and possess their property, as well as the Discovery Code, whereby land owned by non-believers are treated as terra nullius (empty land), meaning non-Christian indigenous peoples do not have rights.

But when the Dutch and English started fighting with the Portuguese and Spaniards over overseas territories, what was the legal justification?

Dutch jurist Grotius (1583-1645) provided the secular rationalisation that discovery alone is not enough, but since there was freedom in the seas, occupation by a sovereign state confirms rights seized through war.

Schmitt argued that Jus Publicum Europaeum (European Public Law) emerged after the 1648 Treaty of Westphalia to allow sovereign countries to have the right to go to war based on their own judgement of justice and necessity without interference in each other’s domestic affairs.

This changed after the end of the First World War, when the 1919 Treaty of Versailles treated the losing side as criminals, with their rights cancelled or confiscated.

While the Europeans were busily fighting each other, the United States rose in global power and imposed its 1823 Monroe Doctrine that asserted that it has its own sphere of influence, with the right to intervene in Central and South American states.

That sphere of influence would spatially cover cultural, economic, military, political and today technology exclusivity beyond legal sovereign borders.

Schmitt was prescient in seeing that where war is fought on the basis of “good versus evil”, in which all rights of the other side are “cancelled” (like the foreign exchange assets of Afghanistan and Russia are frozen or seized), the situation may be an unstable equilibrium.

The unstable European security architecture was settled decisively by the United States in two World Wars because of her overwhelming military, economic and industrial power.

But in today’s multipolar situation, who decides on the rules of the international order? If both sides accuse the other side as evil and illegitimate, who decides other than the use of arms?

To cut a complex story short, the Nato military alliance, comprising nearly one billion people and 47.3% of the world’s gross domestic product or GDP (2020) assumes its status quo role as the final arbiter of the “rules-based order”.

The problem is that BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa), plus Indonesia have 3.5 billion population with one quarter of world GDP in market terms (25.6%).

However, on GDP PPP terms, they are near parity with Nato and therefore may have their own views on the international order. What if the larger non-Western countries want their own version of the Monroe Doctrine?

The moral principle that we all should live peacefully on one planet should over-ride sovereign nations fighting over power and ego from turf to space, when humanity could be burned by climate warming or nuclear war.

For Nomos (or order) of the Planet, rather than the Earth, we should all rationally cooperate. If we truly believe in democracy, can the eight billion people in the world vote on the rules-based order, or do we still leave it to G-7?

No order is stable without true legitimacy on democratic principles. How to achieve that order remains a truly open question.

Andrew Sheng writes on global issues from an Asian perspective. The views expressed here are the writer’s own. 

Source link

Related posts:

 

Moral vacuum at the heart of modernity, now embodied in US laws!

  ` `


  Europe will certainly not become more secure after this round of NATO expansion   There is a lack of mutual understanding and compromise i...

BRICS summit kicks off, calls grow for parallel payment system to counter US hegemony

 

  

 

 

       Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, US President Joe Biden, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, and Indian Prime Minister ...
 

Monday 13 December 2021

Malays in need of a paradigm shift

 


A PARADIGM shift occurs when the usual ways of thinking or doing things are replaced by new and different ways. This normally happens when fundamentals are progressively changed.

Developing a country takes time, starting with a holistic education that seeks to address the emotional, social and ethical needs of students, apart from academic studies and skills training. Students must reflect on their actions and how they impact the local and global community, and engage in projects that require critical thinking skills towards solving real-world problems.

But if education is centred on rote learning just to pass school examinations and plagiarism to gain academic qualifications, young adults will be unproductive, and the country will remain poor. This is evident in Malaysia as huge numbers of graduates are churned out every year but most are underemployed or remain unemployed for months.

Not in Singapore, though. It separated from Malaysia in 1965 and developed on its own to become a rich nation, thanks mainly to good governance and sound education. Although the cost of living in Singapore is high to match the high living standards, the average Singaporean salary is several times higher than in Malaysia, allowing for more disposable income and savings. Hence, there are about a million Malaysians, or former Malaysians, residing in Singapore, and another 350,000 workers and students who commuted daily from Johor in pre-pandemic times. Malaysia had also lost much of its human capital to many countries around the world over the years, initially to Britain and then to the United States and Australia and, in recent years, China.

While other non-english speaking countries have adopted or promoted English as their second language to be better connected to the world, we are doing the exact opposite. In fact, some politicians seem bent on nurturing island mentalities in cultivating their support base by sowing fear of other races, religions and languages. Those who truly love their own race, religion and language would focus on lifting their community, which would be admired universally. But such efforts require too much hard work, it seems. Sadly, our country will not be transformed if people remain insular, if we remain, as the Malay proverb puts it, “katak di bawah tempurung” (frog under a coconut) shell).

One of the best ways for Malaysians to be exposed to the world is to be multilingual by not only learning our national language but also other important languages. Mandarin and Tamil could easily be learned in vernacular primary schools, and these students could later contribute greatly to economic and cultural ties with China and South India. Likewise for Arabic, Japanese, Korean, German, French and Spanish. In any case, learning at least three languages would expose Malaysians to a great variety of cultures and ideas.

Apart from the valuable exposure gained by communicating with people of different races, religion and cultures, it is also necessary for those at the top to come down from their ivory towers.

Recently, Transport Minister Datuk Seri Wee Ka Siong made a surprise visit to the Road Transport Department in Johor Baru and was shocked by the long queue for counter service. He rightfully described the counter service system as “ancient”. He then used Facebook to voice his unhappiness about a host of problems and the immediate actions that he had taken.

If we wish to modernise, we should not continue to be bogged down by antiquated methods and mindsets. We should continuously take small, medium and large incremental steps to move forward.

If not, we will stagnate and be left behind while other countries, such as Indonesia, race ahead. But some of our politicians seem to prefer to harp on racial, religious and language issues, and raise petty matters in Parliament hoping to gain popularity.

Perhaps a paradigm shift will only occur when a coalition wins by a two-thirds majority in the next general elections and the economy ends up in total shambles. Perhaps if everyone is forced to work together to rescue our country from total disaster, we could still rise from the ashes.

- S CHAN Kuala Lumpur

Source link

Related posts:

All the majority Malays need to change is to abandon their fear of the minority non-Malays, well said Datuk Zaid Ibrahim 

Liberating the Malay mindset, the right way to speak out


The real Malay dilemma: race, religion & politics messed up!

 

 

Liberating Malay mind: Shed ‘excess baggage’ of privileges !

 Malays must shed ‘excess baggage’ of privileges, says Rafidah 

 
 
 

Thursday 4 February 2021

Ex-AG says Mahathir’s monumental betrayal made way for Trump-like Muhyiddin


https://www.malaysiakini.com/news/560580
 

In new memoir, ex-AG reveals Dr M wanted him out after Malay backlash


A “monumental betrayal” by Mahathir Mohamad led to a “kakistrocracy” formed by Muhyiddin Yassin, says Tommy Thomas. (Bernama pic)


 PETALING JAYA: Former attorney general Tommy Thomas has harsh words for Dr Mahathir Mohamad, whose resignation as prime minister in February 2020 paved the way for Muhyddin Yassin to take power.

In an epilogue to his recently-published memoirs, Thomas described Mahathir’s resignation as “a monumental betrayal”.

In a Churchillian turn of phrase, Thomas said: “Seldom in our nation’s history have so many million voters been let down by the actions of one man.”

Mahathir resigned on Feb 24, causing the collapse of the Pakatan Harapan government two years after it came to power in the 2018 general election. His resignation led the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to seek a new prime minister and cabinet from members of Parliament.

Muhyiddin was appointed five days later after the King consulted political leaders to determine who commanded a majority in the Dewan Rakyat. He formed a government of parties in the Perikatan Nasional coalition.

Thomas said the formation of the new government “by a coalition of Malay-centric parties that proudly proclaim their race and religion” had brought disastrous consequences to multi-racial Malaysia.

He compared Muhyiddin Yassin to former US president Donald Trump, saying they both represented the rise to power of those lacking credibility and principle.

Both Muhiddin and Trump represented the modern ‘”kakistocracy”, he said, using a term invented in 17th century England to mean “government by the worst; to describe the political rise of the least qualified or most unscrupulous”.

Calling it a “misgovernment for profit”, Thomas said the kakistocracy served a political agenda – the shameless pursuit of hate politics: (Trump’s) America First, or the Malay/Muslim Agenda of the PN government.

He also said that Trump displayed “dictatorial conduct” during his tenure, disregarding conventions, norms and even legal requirements. Malaysia’s opposition parties have used similar terms against Muhyiddin after his government declared a state of emergency.

Source link

 

Related:

 

Rightways