Lapuran Audit: Pakatan buktikan kemampuan mengurus kewangan

Hutang negara telah meningkat kepada RM407 bilion. Peningkatan hutang negara ini ialah sebanyak 12 peratus sementara hutang asing meningkat sebanyak 22 peratus. Kita masih belum melihat sistem penyelesaian yang berkesan dan kepemerintahan yang baik di dalam negara. Apabila wang cukai digunakan tanpa tanggungjawab yang tinggi, kerajaan yang memerintah perlu memberi jawapan kepada pemilih. Hampir setiap tahun kita terdengan laporan-laporan kes penyelewengan dana awam oleh kementerian dan jabatan kerajaan yang tidak bertanggungjawab dan tidak bertauliah. Ironisnya, tiada pula tindakan tegas telah diambil terhadap pelaku kesalahan ini.

54 tahun berkuasa

Meskipun telah berkuasa lebih dari lima dekad, laporan Tahunan 2010 Audit Negara  yang lambat 17 hari, telah menunjukkan banyak kes-kes bagaimana wang awam telah dibazir dan tidak diuruskan secara berjimat cermat oleh badan-badan yang dipertanggungjawabkan. Pengurusan kewangan telah mengenal pasti kepincangan dan ketirisan yang mengakibatkan kerugian wang negara yang amat membimbangkan.

Laporan itu juga menunjukkan kegagalan kes-kes ini ialah kerana pemberian kontrek tanpa tender terbuka di mana sejumlah wang telah bertukar tangan bagi mendapatkan keuntungan yang lebih. Harga kontrek yang ditawarkan sentiasa saja terlalu tinggi dan tidak berdaya saing dan proses pemberian kontrek sering saja tidak telus, yang biasanya akan mengurangkan nilai dagangan ringgit. Di dalam pelbagai lagi kes-kes penyelewengan, proses pembayaran –walaupun dengan penyerahan tender – menampakkan harga barangan yang dilampirkan meningkat berkali-kali ganda dari harga biasa di pasaran. Namun, perjanjian tetap diteruskan selepas melalui beberapa selok-belok misteri. Banyak kes-kes seperti ini telah mengakibatkan penyalahgunaan dana yang diberikan kepada kementerian yang terlibat. Antara kepincangan dalam sistem penghantaran hasil melibatkan jumlah pembayaran yang besar kepada mereka-mereka yang tidak mempunyai pengalaman yang luas dalam perniagaan yang berkaitan.

Mana wang yang dijanjikan untuk petani?

Golongan yang memilih ingin tahu – seperti yang dilaporkan di dalam Laporan Audit Negara – apa yang terjadi dengan wang berjumlah RM110.67 juta yang dijanjikan kepada 73,291 orang petani di dalam skim khas meningkat jumlah pengeluaran beras negara. Menteri Pertanian dan Industri berasaskan Tani dilaporkan masih berhutang sebanyak RM110 juta berbentuk insentif kepada para petani yang berjaya meningkatkan hasil beras mereka.

Menurut laporanlagi, para petani dikatakan layak menerima RM341.29 juta antara bulan Januari 2007 dan Januari 2010. Syarikat Bernas (PadiBeras Nasional Berhad), yang menguasai 24 peratus pasaran beras dan 45 peratus permintaan beras tempatan, hanya mampu membayar insentif sebanyak RM230.62 juta pada akhir 2010. Alasan yang tilaporkan di Laporan itu ialah ‘kekurangan dana bantuan’. Para pemilih, bagaimanapun, mahu tahu kemana perginya dana awam bernilai RM110 juta itu?

Pengurusan leah dan tidak bertauliah

Projek Valley daging-lembu kerajaan yang bernilai RM73.64 yang melibatkan 5,000 ekar tanah perladangan di Gemas – tidak menampakkan hasil. Pusat Fidlot Nasional (National Feedlot Center) merupakan usaha-sama antara Negeri Sembilan dan kerajaan Persekutuan melalui Kementerian Pertanian dan Industri berasaskan Tani untuk mengkomersialkan produk daging tempatan dan mengurangkan kebergantungan import daging itu.

Tanah perladangan itu sekarang sudah dipenuhi semak samun. Ada kemungkinan projek itu dikendalikan oleh orang yang tidak mengetahui langsung tentang industri penternakan lembu. Laporan Audit Negara juga menunjukkan NFC yang ditubuhkan pada 2008 gagal menepati sasaran 8,000 ekor lembu ternakan setahun. Laporan menunjukkan hanya 41.1% (3,289) berjaya dihasilkan. Pengurusan yang lemah turut dikatakan tentang kenapa projek ini gagal selain kegagalan mengendali perusahaan dengan baik. Para pemilih mahu tahu kenapa dan siapa orang yang tidak bertauliah yang menguruskan projek ini, kerana ia melibatkan dana awam yang besar.

Begitu juga dengan Jabatan Perkhidmatan Awam yang turut dicatatkan di dalam Laporan Audit Negara itu. Lebih dari RM4.5 juta telah dibayar kepada pesara – kepada yang masih hidup dan juga yang telah mati – sejak 2007 hingga 2010. Laporan juga menemui antara sebab pembayaran wang pencen berlebihan ialah kerana data di dalam sistem komputer jabatan itu sudah ketinggalan zaman. Para pemilih mahu tahu kenapa kepincangan penjawat jawatan awam ini melibatkan duit cukai rakyat.

Kontrektor bermasalah

Kontrektor yang dipertanggungjawabkan untuk menyediakan perkhdimatan oleh kerajaan sering memberikan alasan-alasan remeh seperit kekurangan tenaga pakar, tiada bahan gantian dan turut menyatakan mereka tidak tahu punca yang mengakibatkan kerosakan kenderaan. Kepincangan ini adalah kerana kontrek itu diberikan kepada mereka mereka yang tidak bertauliah. Menurut Laporan, ramai kontrektor ini mempunyai rekod kerja yang agak tidak diyakini. Satu syarikat memerlukan lebih dari setahun untuk memperbaiki dan memulangkan lori tarik kepada kementerian. Meskipun telah banyak peringatan diberikan oleh Pejabat Audit Negara, Kementerian Pertahanan masih terus menggunakan kontrektor ini. Laporan menyatakan yang 10 kontrektor bermasalah telah diberikan RM67 juta untuk menyiapkan projek walapun sudah diberikan amaran oleh Pejabat Audit Negara. Inilah jenis kontrektor yang menerima projek jutaan ringgit dari Kementerian Pertahanan. Para pemilih mahu tahu bagaimana semua ini boleh berlaku kerana ia melibatkan jutaan ringgit dan wang itu adalah milik rakyat.

Laporan turut menyebut yang syarikat-syarikat ini lambat menyelesaikan projek dalam membaiki Air Force’s Aviation Ground Support Vehicles (AGSV). Kementerian tidak berbuat apa-apa selain menyerahkan surat amaran kepada kontrektor bermasalah ini. Yang mengejutkan, kontrek kerja mereka disambung pula sehingga 6 Disember 2010 dari tarikh 5 Jun 2010. Ia menyebut yang empat syarikat paling bermasalah kerana kelewatan membaiki kenderaan. Para pemilih mahu tahu kenapa kontrektor ini diberikan layanan istimewa.

Garis panduan asas tidak dipatuhi

Menurut Laporan Audit Negara, pengagihan Belanjawan untuk tahun 2010 meningkat kepada RM149.06 bilion daripada pengagihan awal iaitu RM138.28 bilion. Ini adalah peningkatan sebanyak RM10.78 bilion. Namun begitu, jumlah ini masih tidak mencukupi untuk semua perbelanjaan operasi bagi tahun 2010 yang mencecah RM151.63 bilion – lebih RM2.57 bilion dari apa yang telah diagihkan. Garis panduan asas tidak dipatuhi oleh beberapa kementerian dan jabatan kerajaan apabila mereka berbelanja melebihi jumlah yang telah ditetapkan. Ia juga turut dilaporkan terdapat 138 kelemahan di dalam pengurusan kewangan melibatkan RM390.96 juta. 75 kes operasi perbelanjaan terlebih berjumlah RM306.01 juta telah melibatkan 14 kementerian dan jabatan kerajaan – pembayaran perkhidmatan, penghasilan, peningkatan aktiviti dan pembayaran tidak berkala. Di dalam beberapa kes, peralatan seperti komputer, mesin LCDs dan peralatan lain selain kelengkapan pejabat telah dibeli dengan harga yang melambung tinggi. Para pemilih mahu tahu kenapa garis panduan asas operasi dan penghasilan tidak dipatuhi dimana ia telah mengakibatkan kehilangan dana awam yang besar.

Langganan langsung berbanding tender terbuka

Laporan Audit Negara mencatatkan bahawa Kementerian Pelancongan telah terlebih bayar sebanyak RM270 juta untuk pengiklanan bila mereka diminta untuk menggunakan sistem langgan langsung berbanding tender terbuka. Kaedah ini telah melanggar peraturan-peraturan Bendahari Negara. Ia menyatakan yang tender terbuka telah menelan belanja pengiklanan sebanyak RM 75.38 juta. Kementerian juga telah membelanjakan RM195 juta untuk membeli 1000 rak – RM1950 per rak -  bagi meletakkan maklumat pelancongan kempen Tahun Melawat Malaysia 2007 yang dilakukan tanpa kelulusan Bendahari. Ia juga gagal menyatakan sebab kenapa 22 dari 1000 rak kementerian itu tidak diagihkan, sementara 127 rak lagi tidak dapat dipastikan kedudukannya. Ia juga mencatatkan pengjelasan kementerian tentang 622 rak yang telah diagihkan ke hotel-hotel, 127 buah telah luput tarikh oleh syarikat yang dikontrekkan kepada “kesulitan kewangan” dan kekurangan ruang penyimpanan dan sebanyak 85 rak lagi telah diletakkan di dalam ruangan stor syarikat pembuat.

Kepincangan yang dilaporkan dan kes-kes kegagalan pengurusan kewangan kerajaan hanyalah sedikit dari apa yang sebenarnya berlaku. Melihat akan Laporan Audit Negara, kita akan melihat kes-kes serupa kecuaian pengurusan kewangan kerajaan. Para pemilih tidak begitu gembira dengan kerajaan yang telah berkuasa lebih dari 6 dekad tetapi masih tidak boleh belajar dair pengalaman bagaimana menyelesaikan kelemahan-kelemahan di dalam sistem penghasilan ini. Perbuatan pembaziran ini melibatkan wang cukai rakyat.

Tiga tahun berkuasa

Lain pula ceritanya dengan negeri-negeri yang dipimpin oleh gabungan Pembangkang yang telah membuktikan kemampuannya berjimat cermat dalam membelanjakan wang cukai rakyat meskipun masih baru sebagai sebuah kerajaan dengan Kerajaan Persekutuan yang sering melekehkan kepimpinan mereka.

Secara keseluruhannya, Kerajaan negeri Selangor mendapat ‘memuaskan’ dari Ketua Audit Negara atas kedudukan kewangannya pada tahun 2010. Negeri itu telah dipuji kerana prestasinya yang bagus dalam mengurangkan hutang awam. Hutang awam menurun sebanyak RM58.91 juta dan pembayaran semula hutang pinjaman menurun kepada RM173.47 juta. Laporan menunjukkan pada tahun 2010, hutang negeri kepada kerajaan Persekutuan menurun sebanyak 5.5% (RM58.91 juta) – daripada RM1004.64 juta (2010) berbanding dengan RM1063.55 juta (2009). Pembayaran semula pinjaman menurun sebanyak 20.9% daripada RM829.86 juta (2009) kepada RM656.39 juta (2010).

Laporan juga menyatakan negeri itu berjaya mengumpulkan penghasilan negeri sebanyak RM266.91 atau 20.2 peratus, daripada RM1,319.97 juta pada tahun 2009 kepada RM1,586.88 juta pada tahun 2010. Ini terjadi meskipun negeri itu mendaftarkan 10.9 peratus atau RM192.36 juta penurunan kerapa RM1,571.50 juta dalam penghasilan negeri pada tahun 2009 (RM1,763.86 juta).perbelanjaan operasi turut menurun kepada RM382.56 juta atau (20.9 peratus) kepada RM1,447.26 pada tahun 2010 berbanding RM1,829.82 juta pada tahun 2009. Kerajaan negeri turut dipuji kerana mengurangkan hutang penghasilan sebanyak RM99.87 juta atau 16.6 peratus, daripada RM601.92 juta pada tahun 2009 kepada RM502.05 juta pada tahun 2010.

Laporan memberikan ‘sangat baik’ kepada empat agensi kerajaan negeri kerana pengurusan kewangannya – Bendahari Negeri, Majlis Perbandaran Ampang Jaya, Majlis Perbandaran Selayang dan Jabatan Perancangan Bandar dan Luar Bandar. Menurut Laporan itu, 11 agensi diberikan ‘baik’ dan satu agensi diberi ‘memuaskan’. Ini menunjukkan pembaikkan berbanding tahun 2009, di mana hanya satu agensi yang disenaraikan sebagai ‘sangat baik’, dan 14 sebagai ‘baik’ dan satu ‘memuaskan’.

Kerajaan negeri Kedah mencapai sebanyak 135.8 peratus peningkatan di dalam penghasilan negeri dengan rekod lebihan untuk tahun 2010 sebanyak RM22.50 juta, berbanding ketirisan sebanyak RM62.89 juta pada tahun 2009. Perbelanjaan negeri itu meningkat kepada RM2.55 juta atau 0.6 peratus. Inilah sebab adanya lebihan bagi kerajaan negeri untuk tahun 2010. Laporan memberikan kedudukan kewangan Kedah sebagai ‘memuaskan’ dengan penghasilan terkumpul meningkat sebanyak 23.9% daripada RM265.52 juta kepada RM328.28 juta dalam tahun 2009. Peningkatan ini telah mengurangkan imbangan ketirisan Akaun Penghasilan Terkumpul untuk tahun 2010 sebanyak RM22.50 juta atau 7 peratus, daripada RM320.73 juta menurun kepada RM298.23 pada tahun 2009.

Laporan juga turut memuji kerajaan negeri kerana memperbaiki pengurusan kewangan agensi-agensinya berbanding tahun 2009, dengan empat agensi mendapat ‘sangat baik’ dan 12 mendapat ‘baik’ dan satu mendapat ‘memuaskan’. Secara keseluruhan, pengurusan kewangan negeri boleh dibanggakan berbanding tahun sebelumnya.

Laporan Audit Negara telah memberikan kedudukan kewangan negeri Kelantan untuk tahun 2010 sebagai memuaskan. Negeri itu memperlihatkan peningkatan penghasilan sebanyak RM51.07 juta atau 52.5 peratus, daripada RM97.23 juta pada tahun 2009 kepada RM148.30 juta pada tahun 2010. Pemeriksaan yang dijalankan selama 5 tahun ke atas penghasilan terkumpul dari 2006 hingga 2010 mendedahkan oenurunan pada tahun 2007 dan 2008 dan peningkatan pada tahun 2009 dan 2010. Simpanan wang dan pelaburan turut meningkat dalam tahun 2010, dengan baki sebanyak RM97.23 juta pada tahun 2009 meningkat kepada RM148.30 juta pada tahun 2010.

Laporan turut memuji pengurusan kewangan untuk semua agensi kerajaan negeri di Kelantan, yang mana empat agensi kerajaan negeri mendapat ‘sangat baik’ dan 15 lagi mendapat ‘baik’. Ini menunjukkan pembaikan di dalam pengurusan kewangan negeri berbanding tahun 2009 di mana hanya dua agensi yang mendapat ‘sangat baik’ dan 12 mendapat ‘baik’.

Kerajaan negeri Pulau Pinang mendapat pengiktirafan tertinggi di dalam Laporan Audit Negara kerana kedudukan kewanganya yang cemerlang untuk tahun 2010 berbanding tahun 2009. Penghasilan terkumpul Pulau Pinang meningkat kepada 2.7 peratus, daripada RM1,101.89 juta pada tahun 2009 kepada RM1,131.17 juta dalam tahun 2010. Simpanan wang terkumpul meningkat sebanyak 6.2 peratus kepada RM572.49 juta meningkat daripada RM538.95 juta pada tahun 2009. Penghasilan negeri untuk tahun 2010 meningkat sebanyak RM34.19 juta atau 9.1 peratus berbanding tahun 2009 daripada RM376.51 juta kepada RM410.70 juta.

Dalam soal pembangunan di bawah Rancangan Malaysia ke-9, Laporan memberikan prestasi negeri itu sebagai ‘memuaskan’ dengan jumlah pelaburan sebanyak RM787.17 atau 77.8 peratus telah dibelanjakan daripada jumlah yang disediakan iaitu RM1.01 bilion. Dalam terma perlaksanaan projek pula, Laporan memuji prestasi negeri sebagai ‘sangat baik’ dengan 99 peratus dari 9003 projek telah berjaya dilaksanakan.

Dalam tahun 2010, 3 agensi diberikan ‘sangat baik’. 10 agensi lagi diberikan status ‘baik’ dengan hanya satu ‘memuaskan’. Untuk tiga tahun berturut-turut, 13 agensi negeri diaudit sebanyak dua kali diantara tahun 2007 hingga 2010 telah menunjukkan ‘sangat baik’ dalam pengurusan kewangan oelh Bendahari negeri dan badan pembangunan lain. Laporan merumuskan yang pengurusan kewangan negeri ditahap yang baik untuk tahun 2010.

Perbezaan langit dan bumi dalam pentadbiran

Setelah 54 tahun bernaung di bawha Barisan Nasional (BN), tidak memberikan kesan mengurangkan kelemahan pengurusan kewangan negara. Kelemahan daya saing, tidak bertanggungjawab dan telus telah menyebabkan sejumlah besar wang cukai rakyat dibazirkan. Memandangkan para pemilih melihat kelemahan-kelemahan yang sama berulang setiap tahun, mereka mempunyai hak menyatakan tentangan mereka terhadap kepincangan yang teruk oleh kerajaan yang memerintah. Sebaliknya pula, hanya dalam masa tiga tahun mentadbir negeri – Pulau Pinang, Selangor dan Kedah –di bawah pimpinan Pakatan Rakyat membuktikan kepemerintahan yang efisien. Negeri Kelantan juga semakin menunjukkan kemampuannya dalam kejayaan rekod kewangannya walaupun terpaksa berhadapan dengan pelbagai masalah di dalam negeri. Kerajaan Persekutuan di bawah Barisan Nasional mungkin sahaja tidak akan memberikan apa-apa kepada negeri-negeri ini, namun mereka telah membuktikan kepada para pemilih di negeri itu bahawa kejujuran dan ketelusan menguruskan negeri dan wang cukai rakyat membuahkan hasil dengan kejayaan yang boleh dibanggakan.

- Malaysia Chronicle

Did Malaysia mature when we were not looking?

Ooi Kee Beng - The Malaysian Insider

OCT 31 — The flurry of Malay organisations making the news in Malaysia bodes well for the country, whether or not these group together extreme rightists, opposition voices, concerned students or professors, or green or human right activists.

The matter has now become too obvious to be denied, which is that the Malay community in Malaysia is like any other community anywhere in the world. Its collectiveness, like anyone else’s, is pragmatic and contingent. This is how it should be. They are not an entity whose extremely diverse and individual needs, thoughts and aspirations can be articulated through one single political party.

The myth is broken. What will take its place is a cacophony of noises or a symphony of tunes, depending on one’s politics and disposition.

That powerful party, Umno, is the oldest in the country, founded as it was just one year after the Second World War. It has dominated Malaysian politics to this day, but now rightly fears that it will lose power in the very near future.

When the party started, its slogan was “Hidup Melayu” — Long Live the Malays. Only after changing that to “Merdeka” in March 1951 did it begin to make serious headway into the popular consciousness.

From the very beginning, Malay political consciousness went in many directions. There were pan-Indonesianists, communists and other leftists, monarchists, Fabian socialists and republicans. The British, with their reputation lost through their defeat by the Japanese, favoured conservatives who were willing to work closely with the nine sultanates. This entity was Umno.

The amazing diversity found in the Malay community — as in all communities — was obvious from the onset. Those more concerned about religious values broke away to form PAS in 1951, while Umno itself split around the same time when its president, Onn Jaafar, left with his group of followers to form the Independence of Malaya Party (IMP).

Umno gained the upper hand through co-operation with the Malayan Chinese Association, formed at the instigation of the British to draw Chinese support away from the communists. This coalition managed to gain independence in 1957 for the country after its electoral successes saw the British abandoning the IMP, which they had favoured since its founding.

Even after 1969, when the so-called Malay agenda could be applied fully through the New Economic Policy, internal fighting continued within Umno, leading to outright splits in 1988 and 1998.

Today, when more and more Malays are urban and well educated, and make up an increasing portion of the population, the expression of diversity within that community — the breaking of the collective myth — should be seen as the coming into being of Malaysia’s modern citizen, largely determined by the Malays.

Opposition from other communities since 1969 has been generally weak, and based on the activism of certain individuals. The propaganda that had served Umno for so long, that the Malays are in danger of extinction, does not work anymore.

This became most obvious when the group Himpun recently demonstrated with a cry against purported Christian threats to Islam.

Despite the claim that a massive crowd of one million would turn up, the Umno government granted the permit. Only 5,000 people showed up, indicating quite clearly that Malays in general cannot relate to the old idle logic any longer.

The Malays continue to decide the national discourse, as they have done since the beginning. But most hearteningly, diversity is taken for granted, and a lot of activism is done in collaboration with non-Malays.

The Malaysian citizen has come into his and her own right.

There is no longer any doubt that the Malays will “hidup”; and Merdeka was won a long time ago. What seems to be the problem now is, how quickly will the death of the old myth mean the fall from power of Umno?

Instead of 1 Malaysia, Umno’s latest slogan, to be correctly reflective of the government’s concerns, should be “Hidup Pemimpin Umno” — Long Live Umno Leaders. — Today

Is Malaysia’s nuclear power programme really on hold?

Are Malaysia’s nuclear power plans on hold – or are they quietly proceeding behind the scenes according to a scheduled timeline that could see the first plant commissioned in 2021?

According to an NST report dated 18 October, Energy Minister Peter Chin was reported as saying the government has not yet made a ‘final decision’ on the proposal to build nuclear power plants in the country.

But what’s happening behind the scenes?

Take a look at the the INPRO Dialogue Forum, which “brings together nuclear technology users and technology holders from interested Member States to discuss issues related to sustainable nuclear energy development and deployment”.

The Director of the Nuclear Power Division of Malaysia, Mohamad Puad Haji Abu, made a presentation on the progress of the nuclear power programme in Malaysia. The presentation was published on the IAEA website page for the INPRO Dialogue Forum, which was held on 10-14 October 2011 in Austria.

Among the key challenges Puad identified: to “promote public acceptance”, and to “acquire approval for plant sites” and “obtain public support in the locality”.

According to the detailed timeline, the programme managers are now supposed to be identifying potential sites and the final site selection is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2012.

Puad ended his presentation by stating, “In 2021 and 2023 Malaysia plan to have 1000 MW reactor respectively and probably by 2030, 2 SMR might be proposed to propel nation’s future energy demand.”

So how? Who is telling the truth?

The Sankei news portal reported that METI (Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry) of Japan had announced on 3 September 2010 that it had signed a a document with Malaysia for the cooperation on infrastructure development of the country’s nuclear power programme. The ministry will cooperate on human resource development, public relations and legislation development.

Of course, Japan turned out to be a public relations disaster with Fukushima in March this year; so that is why one of the key challenges is winning public acceptance of the nuclear power programme in Malaysia. Memories are short; and Bernama reported in August that that Japan had decided “to continue with its policy of exporting nuclear power generation technology after reviewing the policy” in the wake of the Fukushima disaster.

So is our nuclear power programme really on hold given what was revealed in the presentation in Austria?

Malaysia

Malaysia boasts one of south-east Asia's most vibrant economies, the fruit of decades of industrial growth and political stability.


Its multi-ethnic, multi-religious society encompasses a majority Muslim population in most of its states and an economically-powerful Chinese community.


Consisting of two regions separated by some 640 miles of the South China Sea, Malaysia is a federation of 13 states and three federal territories.


It is one of the region's key tourist destinations, offering excellent beaches and brilliant scenery. Dense rainforests in the eastern states of Sarawak and Sabah, on the island of Borneo, are a refuge for wildlife and tribal traditions.

Malaysia made the transformationfrom a farm-based economy

Ethnic Malays comprise some 60% of the population. Chinese constitute around 26%; Indians and indigenous peoples make up the rest. The communities coexist in relative harmony, although there is little racial interaction - and the overturning of a ban on the use of the word "Allah" by non-Muslims in December 2009 highlighted the religious divide in the country.


Although since 1971 Malays have benefited from positive discrimination in business, education and the civil service, ethnic Chinese continue to hold economic power and are the wealthiest community. The Malays remain the dominant group in politics while the Indians are among the poorest.


The country is among the world's biggest producers of computer disk drives, palm oil, rubber and timber. It has a state-controlled car maker, Proton, and tourism has considerable room for expansion.


Malaysia's economic prospects have been dented by the global economic downturn, which has hit export markets hard. In March 2009 the government unveiled a $16bn economic stimulus plan as it sought to stave off a deep recession.


The country also faces other serious challenges - politically, in the form of sustaining stability in the face of religious differences and the ethnic wealth gap, and, environmentally, in preserving its valuable forests.


Malaysia's human rights record has come in for international criticism. Internal security laws allow suspects to be detained without charge or trial.

Perkasa spewing new venom

Birds of a feather flocked together at the right wing group’s assembly on Deepavali

Perkasa, the ultra right wing movement, desecrated Deepavali day by spewing more than its usual venom at its second annual general assembly. Obviously, Perkasa activists had no Hindu friends to visit on that auspicious day.

It is a wonder that these toxic Perkasa people are not locked up on national security grounds and the keys thrown away for good. That is the only way to prevent them from infecting all good people in the country with their poisonous brew of half-baked theories, lies, politicised history, pseudo-science and racism.

Birds of a feather flocked together as Perkasa chief Ibrahim Ali was joined by former IGP Abdul Rahim Noor and an assortment of various unsavoury characters with dubious pasts. These included Shazryl Eskay Abdullah, a masseur associated with the production of a pornographic tape, Kulim-Bandar Bharu MP Zulkifli Noordin, who got the boot from PKR for making racist outbursts too frequently, and former information minister Zainuddin Maidin, an Indian Muslim who was sacked as Utusan Malaysia editor.

Rahim distinguished himself more by giving de facto PKR chief Anwar Ibrahim a black eye about 10 years ago. He got off with a light two-month jail sentence. Thereafter, he laid low until he made his Perkasa debut yesterday.

Beware the human rights wave

Rahim took centre stage with a keynote address that warned against a “human rights wave” in the country, confirming that he needs to have his head examined for mental defects. He advocated the theory, offering no proof, that the human rights wave would threaten the principles on which the country was founded. He seemed to be suggesting that these principles of his, which he obviously cherished so much but could not spell out at all, were against the concept of human rights, enshrined in international law and the United Nations Charter, of which Malaysia is a signatory.

Why these so-called principles mattered, when the Federal Constitution is the supreme law of the land, did not figure at all in Rahim’s raving, ranting, foaming and frothing. It is a wonder that such a rabid racist wore a police uniform and made it all the way to the top as the inspector-general of police. Rahim, backed by emergency laws, had the dubious distinction of running a police state during his time at the top.

It is a great mystery why he never hinted even once at what these principles of his were, but perhaps this indicates more the coward in him.

Instead, he likened the human rights wave — he also described it as a new religion to alarm the more simple-minded Muslims — to the communist wave of the 1930s and 1940s, which according to him killed many Malays, “obviously for being Malays”.

He failed to distinguish between Malays and Japanese collaborators, glossed over key details, and went on to suggest that May 13 was payback time for the number of Malays killed by the communists — he singled them out as Chinese— at the end of World War II.

Rahim and his kind bring up the dire need for a national movement to defend the Federal Constitution in all its purity against any attempts to deviate and distort or observe it more often in the breach.

‘Political David Copperfield’

If Rahim was coy on his principles, Ibrahim left no one in doubt with his version principles, i.e. various articles in the constitution in deviated and distorted forms.

During Ibrahim’s raving and ranting, foaming and frothing, the special position of the natives of Sabah and Sarawak, Orang Asli and Malays, suddenly became special privileges. He was trying to do a political David Copperfield.

He did not mention that the special position had a shelf life of 15 years and was confined by the constitution under Article 153 to four areas known as CISO — intake into the civil service, intake into government-owned institutions of higher learning and training privileges, government scholarships, and opportunities from the government to do business.

He did not mention that CISO is not a “sapu bersih” (clean sweep) clause, as being advocated by Perkasa, but instead only reserves an unspecified reasonable proportion of the seats and positions for the natives of Sabah and Sarawak, the Orang Asli and the Malays.

Again, Ibrahim did not mention that only the King had power over Article 153 and that the same constitutional provision recognises the legitimate aspirations of other citizens in the country.
He made reference to the position of the Malay rulers, which he inferred was under attack, and therefore in danger of being eroded.

In fact, this is the mother of all lies manufactured by Ibrahim and Perkasa in order to scare the Malays into circling the wagons and gathering under one platform — Umno — so that a tiny minority of people like him could continue to live it up at the expense of the nation.

If the Malay rulers are really under attack, the Conference of Rulers would be the first to notice it and respond as the constitution provides. The Malay rulers do not need an embarrassment like Ibrahim to defend their position.

The Malay Rulers have nothing to fear from the non-Malays and non-Muslims.

However, if the Malays themselves want to do away with the Malay rulers, no force on earth can stop them, Ibrahim and Perkasa notwithstanding. All this seems to suggest that Ibrahim and Perkasa are self-servingly trying to project the opposition alliance as being anti-Malay rulers.

Islam, the sole purview of the Malay rulers, got an Ibrahim mention as well, as did Bahasa Melayu, the national language. He seemed unaware that Bahasa Melayu has fallen into disuse and replaced by Bahasa Malaysia.

The bottom line is that Ibrahim and Perkasa want the Federal Government to continue to give a free ride to blood suckers like him. He would like a licence to continue to be a parasite, leeching off the rest of the nation. Otherwise, he would create endless trouble and there would be hell to pay.

Kashmir’s 'mufti azam' summons Christian priest to explain alleged conversions

SRINAGAR: Mufti Bashir-ud-din - J&K's official " mufti azam", or head Muslim clergyman - issued fresh summons to a leading Christian priest, CM Khanna, on Friday, asking him to appear before his court to explain his activities of reported conversions of young local boys and girls at his church in Srinagar. Khanna said the mufti was annoyed with him because he had expressed his inability to help the mufti in the admission of a boy to a Christian missionary school.

Talking to TOI, Mufti Azaam Bashir-ud-din said: "Our shariat court had summoned the Christian priest, CM Khanna, to appear personally today at 11am but he failed to appear. Now we have issued fresh summons to him for personal appearance on November 12."

A shariat court has existed in J&K since the early 1960s; Mufti Bashir-ud-din is the judge of the court and the appeal against this court lies in the civil court. Mufti Bashir said that the court was recognized by the state government because of the majority Muslim character of the state. The shariat court, however, has no enforcing agency like police to implement its judgments, he said

Mufti Bashir-ud-din said: "I have received the complaint that the said priest, CM Khanna, is involved in converting young Muslim boys and girls to Christianity. This warrants action as per Islamic law. So we summoned him to appear before the shariat court to explain his position."

The mufti claimed to possess a video cassette purportedly showing Reverend Khanna urging young Kashmiri Muslims to embrace Christianity and asking them to take a dip in a pond inside the church near the cricket stadium in Srinagar.

"I will take all necessary measures in exercise of the powers vested in me by Islamic shariat," the mufti said when asked what course he would take if the priest failed to appear in his court.

"It is a matter of grave concern that Christian missionaries active here should be running an organized and integrated campaign to convert young Kashmiri Muslims to Christianity," he said.

When contacted, CM Khanna said : "I am an officiating priest at the Srinagar church and Mufti Bashir-ud-din last fortnight asked me to help him in getting admission to some boy in a Christian school called Tyndale Biscoe school, but I told him that the school was not under my control and he had better approach the principal of the school. He was annoyed over the issue."

Khanna said that he had not received any summons and the allegations levelled against him were false and concocted. "I am at present out of state," Khanna told TOI on the phone.

MTUC warns Najib labour law battle will go on to polls

MTUC members protest amendments to the Employment Act, outside Parliament
 in Kuala Lumpur, October 3, 2011. — Picture by Choo Choy May

SUBANG JAYA, Oct 28 — The Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) warned Datuk Seri Najib Razak today that the votes of 5.7 million workers “could decide matters” on polling day unless labour law changes that could affect job security and workers’ rights are withdrawn.

The umbrella body, which comprises 390 of the 692 labour unions and a total of 802,323 members, said in a press conference today that “we are non-partisan, but our battle will have to go on” against amendments to the Employment Act passed on October 6 which it has called “a return to slavery.”

“We call on the prime minister to hear our calls that have become shouts and screams on behalf of 5.7 million voters. There are 5.7 million workers who are registered workers. That is our signal to him,” general secretary Abdul Halim Mansor told reporters today.

The MTUC affirmed today that its nationwide picket in at least 20 locations on November 3 continues “an ongoing action” against legislation that it says will “green light investors to hire Malaysians as contract workers instead of permanent staff.”

It said this will encourage companies to outsource more of labour requirements, handing over responsibility over rights and benefits such as social security and Employees Provident Fund (EPF) contributions to third-party contractors who “can escape easily when business goes bad.”

The MTUC had first protested the amendments on October 3, drawing hundreds of workers to the gates of Parliament.

Najib tabled his Budget 2012 proposals earlier this month that provided cash handouts and an extra one per cent employers’ contribution to the pension fund for those earning up to RM5,000 a month, which covers most of MTUC’s members.

His government has also promised to implement a minimum wage policy by end-2011 but Pakatan Rakyat (PR) have already pledged a national minimum of RM1,100 and support for the union’s protest against labour law changes.

Najib is expected to hold a general election soon, after announcing RM4.5 billion in direct assistance to citizens and pay hikes for some 1.3 million civil servants for next year’s Budget.

Winning the mind, not the heart

A business leader says that Barisan Nasional must not take the Indian community for another ride, and calls for concrete steps to be initiated.

KUALA LUMPUR: The mammoth turnout for the Deepavali open house in Batu Caves has been trumpeted as another sign of the Indian community’s support returning for the ruling coalition under the stewardship of Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak.

In the last general election, Indian voters, whose support for BN remained unwavering till then, cast their ballots for the opposition, leaving the coalition with a bloodied nose.

Upon assuming office in the following year, Najib embarked on a quest to win back the heart and mind of the Indian electorate.

While a spate of by-elections revealed that his efforts to woo Chinese votes yielded little, if no success, the voting trend in the same by-elections appears to be encouraging as far as Indian support is concerned.

Indian leaders in MIC and other pro-BN organisations have lauded Najib for his willingness to elevate the socio-economic standard of the community.

However, a seasoned political observer and business leader noted that the prime minister is winning over the minds with mere cosmetic changes and fanfares but has yet to make inroads into the hearts of the Indians.

Politician or statesman?

According to Malaysian Indian Business Association (Miba) president P Sivakumar, Najib must make an important decision.

He must decide between being another run-of-the mill politician churning out “quick-fixes” to win votes and a statesman who will initiate genuine reforms to uplift a community that has been, in the words of MIC president G Palanivel himself, marginalised for decades.

“Spending millions on Deepavali bashes, fancy billboards and holding concerts will not benefit the community. We must journey beyond such superficial efforts to remedy the malaise,” he told FMT.

“BN should not take the Indian community for another ride,” he stressed, showering criticism on the community’s leaders who are willing accomplices in this plot.

The community leaders who help the ruling coalition perpetuate the oppression of the Indian community, he added, are committing a cardinal sin.

“This is because they are digging the graves of the future generation even before the dust has settled on the graves of the older generation,” he said.

GLC ads meaningless

Commenting on the Deepavali advertisements by government-linked companies, Sivakumar said it would have been more meaningful if Najib had announced that a certain percentage of employment opportunities or business contracts have been set aside for the Indians in GLCs such as Petronas and Pos Malaysia.

“For years, these companies only display their ‘all-encompassing’ attitude in advertisements during the festive season but the reality on the ground is starkly different.

“Are we as Malaysian citizens whose forefathers’ sweat and toil contributed immensely towards the progress of this nation, asking for too much?” he added.

Acknowledging that Indian support is growing for BN, the Miba president warned that the urban middle class and more educated Indian voters remain unconvinced and the government should not make the mistake of resting on its laurels thinking that all is well.

“These voters want to see significant changes and not dancers prancing on the stage. They are not interested in being paid to attend functions or a free lunch. If the government fails to deliver the goods, they will not deliver the votes. It’s as simple as that,” he added.

He said these voters want a just, equitable, transparent and accountable government which respects fundamental human rights.

Learn from Singapore

The Johor-based businessman said that the Malaysian government should learn from its counterpart across the causeway with regard to uplifting minority groups.

“Even the other day, I was having a chat with an elderly Singaporean gentlemen and he was telling me how in the early years, the Indians in the republic experienced similar social ills.

“But with the right policies and actions, the Singaporean government empowered the Indians there both economically and academically. Look at them today… compare them to us,” he said.

Sivakumar also took a swipe at the mindset of the civil service here, saying that it is still trapped in a dungeon of discrimination.

If Najib’s 1Malaysia concept is to be successful, he said, the rot in the civil service must be fixed first and those in government positions should stop considering the non-Malays as immigrants.

“Only then can we have an effective delivery system,” he added.

The Miba president also criticised Najib and Indian leaders for nurturing divisiveness through the caste system instead of uniting the community similar to Singapore.

“Why must the prime minister attend this and that caste function. This is a disease that has paralysed the Indian community for a long time and it should not be allowed to continue.

“I am aware that there are those who feel strongly about this issue but the hard truth is that the caste system will only impede our march forward. So let’s progress and not regress,” he said.

Proxy war in the battle of three PMs

Lim Kit Siang says that Najib's credibility rests on his human rights stand at CHOGM.

PETALING JAYA: DAP adviser, Lim Kit Siang, today questioned whether the twin warnings by former Inspector-General of Police, Rahim Noor, and former premier, Dr Mahathir Mohamad, on human rights in Malaysia was in fact “an open proxy shot in a battle of three prime ministers”.

Rahim had likened the rise of human rights movements to communism during Perkasa’s general assembly on Wednesday.

His statement sparked outrage among various human rights groups but won endorsement from Mahathir who warned that human rights was being used for political benefit by the opposition.

In his latest blog post, Lim noted the uncanny timing of both warnings with the opening of the CHOGM today, which will consider a report of an 11-member Eminent Persons Group (EPG).

The report contains reform proposals to end its organisational “decay” and avoid the Commonwealth being condemned as “hypocritical” for allowing rogue member states to violate human rights and democratic conventions.

Lim said that the EPG report includes 106 recommendations including the appointment of an independent Commonwealth Commissioner for Democracy, the Rule of Law and Human Rights commissioner empowered to monitor violations and propose action against rogue states.

“And heading the EPG is none other than our fifth prime minister, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi,” he pointed out.

“Were the warnings by Mahathir and Rahim a warning to Najib not to support Abdullah’s EPG proposals in improving the Commonwealth’s response to human rights violations?”

Poor analysis

The Ipoh Timur MP further queried whether Najib would now endorse Abdullah and the EPG proposals or buckle under pressure by Mahathir and Rahim to shield rogue Commonwealth countries from scrutiny and censure.

“The stand Najib takes in Perth will be a clear indication as to whether his promises of democratisation and political transformation have any credibility,” he said.

The EPG report had also warned that it was time for the Perth CHOGM to authorise the urgent reform it recommends and to mandate a concrete implementation plan.

It further emphasised that “there may not be another chance to renew, reinvigorate and revitalise the Commonwealth to make it relevant to its times and people in the future”.

“Najib should take serious note of this warning as it is of equal pertinence to him as to the relevance of his premiership and Umno-BN rule to the people and country of Malaysia,” Lim said.

“Will Najib prove to be unequal not only to the task of Commonwealth reform but also to the challenge of reform and national transformation of Malaysia?”

Lawyers for Liberty (LFL), meanwhile, expressed incredulity that both Mahathir and Rahim appeared to be getting away with their “absurd and irresponsible” statements.

In a media release this afternoon, LFL remarked that Rahim’s statement came as no surprise seeing as he was guilty of widespread human rights abuses during his tenure as IGP.

“Nobody in their right mind can fathom his poor analysis in trying to dismiss human rights as a communism-like wave,” it said.

“Mahathir was another blatant violator of human rights during his tenure as prime minister. One clear example is the mass arrests during Ops Lalang and police brutality during the early years of reformasi.”

LFL pointed out that the attitude of  BN governments since independence is that  human rights advocates and activists are mere pests who should be disregarded and  persecuted.

“In taking this position they are absolutely wrong and failing in their duty to the rakyat,” it concluded.

India's Congress Party and Corruption

Manmohan Singh, looking unhappy

Sniping at anti-corruption crusaders won’t save them

A sustained campaign of sniping at the leaders of the anti-corruption movement by senior members of India’s Congress Party speaks of policy confusion and lack of leadership. What is it designed to achieve?

Two members of corruption protest activist Anna Hazare's campaign team -- Kiran Bedi and Arvind Kejriwal -- were found to have allegedly fiddled expenses and diverting donations . That gave the Congress Party opportunity to ridicule the anti-corruption campaigners.

Lawyer Prashant Bhushan, another key member of Hazare’s team, delivered the opinion that people of Kashmir should decide whether they wished to stay in India, be independent or switch to Pakistan. That is a 'sacred-cow' issue with most Indians. He was assaulted in his office by thugs believed to be members of an extreme Hindu fundamentalist organization.

Thus Team Anna are on the back foot and divided. But that doesn’t absolve the Congress Party of accountability for corruption in government. A corrupt government smearing anti-corruption campaigners does not win it sympathy from a public fed up with civil servants and politicians who abuse their positions.

Manmohan Singh, a weak prime minister out-maneuvered by powerful political warlords, signals administrative dysfunction to voters. There is no one in the driver's seat. This is a lame-duck government that will in all likelihood be turfed out at the next general election.

Corruption works for everyone except the dispossessed. The victims of India's systemic corruption are the powerless masses who can't get relief from policemen, government clerks or elected representatives with their hands out for bribes. The middle classes are annoyed that they have to grease palms at every turn. The rich leverage it to bend the system to their benefit.

State legislators and parliamentarians see election to the government as their ticket to amassing wealth by exerting influence on government contracts. Corruption works for everyone except the dispossessed. So what incentive is there for Parliament to pass the Jan Lokpal Bill, also known as the citizens’ ombudsman will, which seeks to pass restrictive laws dealing with political corruption?

None. About 25 percent of sitting parliamentarians are convicted of crimes or pending charges. A larger proportion manage to benefit without legal trace. Indian 'black money' estimated at more than US$1.4 trillion is stashed in Swiss banks. It has been estimated that up to 40 percent of India’s gross domestic product disappears from the economy, stolen by politicians, businessmen and bureaucrats. The last thing India's political class wants is public scrutiny of its methods of enrichment from public finances.

Thanks to the Right to Information Act which was forced on the government in 2005 by an earlier public campaign, activists can request sight of documents, memos and contracts which were previously inaccessible. That data can be quickly distributed through social networks to name and shame the guilty. The politicians deeply regret passing the information act. Manmohan Singh recently floated a trial balloon saying the RTI needs to be reviewed as it inhibits civil servants from appending notes and comments to proposed bills and projects and that it slows down the normal functioning of government.

That brought a torrent of protest from social activists, amply magnified through TV talk shows and press commentary.

Taking lessons from the effect of the information act, the political class is in no rush to pass the Jan Lokpal Bill despite lobbying by Anna Hazare which has brought thousands to the streets. It is a severe tool designed to rid India of its Neta-Babu (bureaucrat-politician) nexus through swift justice meted out by a citizen's Ombudsman and his avenging angels. It gives corrupt judges, ministers, civil servants and legislators little legal privilege. It is punitive and extreme to a political class used to distorting legal process to escape responsibility.

Election risk 

Anna Hazare has warned that if a strong Jan Lokpal Bill is not passed into law by the winter session of parliament, he will tour all the states where by-elections are due and re-ignite public anger against Congress Party candidates. That is no idle threat.

The public fury that was triggered across the nation by Anna Hazare's fast in August has not gone away. India's voters are restive. And the game has gone well past the stage for the government to invoke security as a cover to lock him up.

Congress Party strategists are toying with the parliamentary process and legal punditry to water down the Lokpal bill and starve budget allocations for the ambitious central and state anti-corruption machinery. By a clever combination of toothless legislation and budgetary under-provision, politicians of all parties hope to escape dismissal, seizure of assets and jail.

After all, what’s the point of getting elected if you cannot leverage your position to become a millionaire?

(Cyril Pereira is a senior journalist who comments regularly on Asian affairs.)

I’m 25, Malaysian. Should I give up on Malaysia?

by Alex Lee
Friday, 28 October 2011

My recent trip back to Malaysia made me realise the lack of political awareness in the country. Business owners, working individuals, family and friends have virtually given up trying, or simply not want to court unnecessary trouble. They continue to complain of our government’s incompetence. But simply complaining will take us nowhere.

Only abusers and authoritarians, who do not want to hear the truth and how we feel want us to be silent, allowing them to continue squandering our nation’s coffers and they be left unpunished. Countless loopholes in the legislations are making the rich even richer, and the poor to continue to suffer.

A simple example is the real estate situation in Malaysia. Housing has become impossible for new starters to own, with the unaffordability standards at an all-time high. Yet, the rich are still able to continue reaping gains from the market, inflating prices, causing houses to be even more and more unaffordable. In the rural areas, people are struggling to access basic needs such as water and electricity, not to mention basic healthcare.

Malaysia has an incredible pool of talent, and I would attest to that, having gone to school with many of them. Unfortunately there has been a continuous brain drain from our country; and these are intellectuals with tertiary-level education. The outflow of talent has not been matched with equal and compatible inflow, thus damaging the quality of Malaysia’s narrow skills base.

54% of the brain drain can be traced to Singapore, 15% to Australia, 10% to the US, and 5% to the UK, resulting in Malaysia’s economic growth rate to fall to an average of 5% pa. Major push factors include corruption, social inequality and lack of academic freedom.

Malaysia is now at a unique moment in its history. For the first time, there’s a broad realisation that the country must move in a new direction.

Malaysia is fortunate to have some great political leaders, who have made huge sacrifices, and facing countless allegations, are still standing strong to fight another day for our country. They have shown us the way and given us hope to introduce the true essence of a democracy.

We are on the verge of being able to make a great change to our country in the next coming election, but will it be possible without the support from all of us?

Is it important for Malaysians to realise that each of us have a role to play in creating a Malaysia we can be proud of? We live in Malaysia, and we love Malaysia. Malaysia has so much potential, and so much unique diversity that if we are able to deal with all the grouses and discontent that people speak about, we would be a world-class country.

But we must act. Our communities must be transformed and become independent, action communities that perhaps one day there is no need or a reduced need for us to rely on politicians. We need to build a non-partisan, issue-based, youth-driven, community-centred platform to promote greater ownership, participation and seek workable solutions to problems that affect our communities.

We need to learn how to ask the right questions and make more informed choices in our daily lives. We need to have more control more of over our well-being rather than having “top-down” policies implemented on us without our consent, tacit or otherwise.

Most of all, we need to claim our civil space for otherwise, ruthless, manipulative, racist elements will claim that space for us.

By that time, the damage will be too deeply embedded to allow any rescindable change. The time is now. We need to activate all Malaysians to drive our agenda for a better Malaysia.

Let us all unite and work towards creating a society with integrity.

Quarrying threatens India's farmlands

India's rapidly expanding economy has created a growing demand for building materials.

The stone mining industry has become a large and lucrative business, but corruption and a lack of transparency have had a damaging effect on the environment.

Al Jazeera's Nilanjan Chowdry reports from the western state of Rajasthan.