Who is lying – father (2nd PM Tun Razak) or son (6th PM Najib Razak)?

I asked in Parliament today – “Who is lying – father (second Prime Minister Tun Razak) or son (sixth Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak”?

This was during the committee stage debate on the Prime Minister’s Department on the 2010 budget in Parliament.

On 3rd November, while replying during question time, Najib told Parliament that from a legal aspect, states such as Kelantan and Trengganu are not entitled to oil royalties for petroleum produced “off-shore” – as they are only entitled to oil royalties if the petroleum is drilled from its water.

Najib said:

“The offshore oil operations in their waters are defined as an area not more than three nautical miles, which is measured starting from the low watermark or the shoreline of the state.

“Currently, there is no oil production in the waters of Kelantan or Terengganu. Because of that, from the legal standpoint, Kelantan does not have a right to demand oil royalties, the same as Terengganu”.

This was in clear contradiction to the answer given by Najib’s father, Tun Razak when he replied to my question as the second Prime Minister in Parliament on the same issue 34 years ago in 1975.

This is the Q & A from Parliament Hansard of November 12, 1975:

Tuan Lim Kit Siang minta Perdana Menteri menyatakan samada semua negeri di Semenanjung Malaysia, Sarawak dan Sabah telah menandatangani perjanjian dengan Petronas untuk mencarigali minyak di sepanjang pantai dan samada perjanjian tersebut mengandungi apa-apa syarat dan kepentingan bersama. Nyatakan juga keuntungan bersama yang akan diterima oleh tiap-tiap negeri.

Perdana Menteri (Tun Razak): Tuan Yang di-Pertua, semua negeri di Malaysia, melainkan Sabah dan Selangor, telah menandatangani perjanjian dengan Petronas sebagaimana yang dikehendaki oleh Akta Kemajuan Petrolium, 1974. Saya diberitahu Kerajaan Negeri Selangor pun telah bersetuju menandatangani perjanjian ini. Mengikut Perjanjian itu, tiap-tiap negeri akan menerima 5% daripada nilai petrolium yang dijumpai dan diperolehi di negeri masing-masing samada yang diperolehi dalam kawasan perairan atau di luar perairan negeri tersebut, yang dijual oleh Petronas ataupun ejensi-ejensi ataupun konraktor-kontraktornya.

I called on the son and the sixth Prime Minister to keep to the commitment by the father and the second Prime Minister that Kelantan and Trengganu are entititled to 5% oil royalty for petroleum “whether onshore or offshore” as stipulated in the Petroleum Development Act 1974 (one of whose architects is Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah who had rightly spoken up on the legal rights of Kelantan and Terengganu to 5% oil royalty for petroleum produced offshore and not as mere “wang ehsan”).

Otherwise, Najib’s 1Malaysia would be sheer mockery if the legal rights and status of states to oil royalty is politicized to depend on whether Umno/Barisan Nasional controls the state government, as happened to Terengganu and Kelantan.

Nallakarupan Ordered To Furnish Details To Anwar

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 16 (Bernama) -- The High Court here today ordered Malaysian Indian United Party (MIUP) president Datuk S. Nallakarupan to furnish details concerning his allegation that Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim had received RM60 million from him and also from gaming company, Magnum Corporation Bhd

Judge Datin Zabariah Yusof made the decision after rejecting Nallakaruppan's appeal to overturn an order by the High Court's assistant registrar on Aug 28 granting Anwar's application to get the details.

Zabariah, who made the decision in chambers, ordered Nallakarupan to furnish the details as sought by Anwar, that is who gave the monies, when and where they were given, within 14 days from today.

Bernama was told of this development in the case by counsel S.N.Nair and Wan Anuar Wan Syahadat, who are acting for Anwar.

Nallakarupan, who is represented by counsel S.Murali, was sued by Anwar, who is also Opposition leader and Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) advisor, over an article titled "Anwar terima RM60 juta" (Anwar received RM60 million) that was published in the Mingguan Malaysia and Sinar Harian vernacular dailies in August 2008.

Anwar claimed that Nallakarupan had made a false allegation about him by alleging that he received such amounts of money in the article.

Nallakarupan in his statement of defence had claimed that Anwar had indeed received such amounts from him and also from Magnum Corporation.

Man who killed his mum found dead, hanging in his cell

The Star, By FARIK ZOLKEPLI

JOHOR BARU: J. Saravanan, 22, charged with killing his mother and stuffing her in a bag under the sink, was found dead in his Ayer Molek prison cell on Sunday where he was awaiting trial.

makkal osai

He was found hanging from a rope made from a pillow cover tied to a bar of his cell door.

His body has been sent to Sultanah Aminah Hospital for post-mortem.

Family members claimed they were only informed of his death at about 11.30pm Sunday have demanded an explanation from the authorities. They are waiting at the mortuary on Monday.

Johor deputy police chief Senior Asst Comm I Datuk Jalaluddin Ab Rahman confirmed that police had received a report that Saravanan was found dead and that he had allegedly hung himself.

Saravanan was charged with murdering K. Malilla, 47, using an iron rod at their home in Kampung MIC in Ulu Tiram.

He had also allegedly stuffed his mother inside a travel bag after the incident between 9.30am and 10.30am on Oct 5.

**********

Police Report No: JBS/020804/09
Time: 2.23 p.m
Police Report by: Selvaraj a/l Kathiravel (48)
NRIC No: 610727-01xxxxxxx
No. 104, Block 9, 5 Floor,
Taman Melur Tampoi,
81200 Johor Bharu.
Dated:16/11/2009

Last night at about 10.30 p.m the Air Molek Prison authorities telephoned
me to say that my nephew (my own sister’s son) Saravanan a/l Jeganathan
(22) had died in the said prison at about 10.00 p.m by hanging himself. I
do not believe this.

My nephew who is a Supermarket general worker was arrested on 16/10/2009
and detained at the Desa Cemerlang, Ulu Tiram police station up to
11/11/2009. From 11/11/2009 to 15/11/2009 ie within four days at the Air
Molek Prison, he is now dead. How is this so?

Today at about 12.30 p.m myself and my brother Chandran saw the body of my
nephew which was full of blue black marks on his back, (Spine area) legs
and hand as if he was beaten with a rotan, hit and also punched. His right
toe has bruises. The police and hospital personnel including Dr. Mohd
Hasnah have refused to allow us to take photographs of these injuries. I
now demand my right to take the photos before it disappears or any
evidence of this murder is tampered with by the police, prison and
hospital authorities..

I believe that my nephew was beaten up and killed by the Air Molek Prison
personnell.

I want the police and/or prison personnel responsible to be prosecuted for
murder forthwith and criminal action to be taken against the police and
Johor Baru General Hospital doctor and personnell for trying to cover up
this murder.



……………………..
Selvaraj a/l Kathiravel
NRIC No: 610727-xxxxxxx

Not jinxed after all!

By Grace Wong

Friday 13th has always been branded as an unlucky day. Some often associate mishaps and unlucky happenings to Friday 13th. As scary as it may sound to some, the Malaysian Bar Council Constitutional Law Committee nevertheless scheduled their launch of the PerlembagaanKu / MyConstitution campaign on Friday, 13th November 2009. Perhaps to many fellow Malaysians, it was just another day at work, at school or at home, but to a bunch of “kids” who had slogged day and night, ensuring detailed perfection and the smooth-running of the Launch, Friday, 13th November 2009 was a meaningful and memorable day indeed. It was the culmination of their shared hopes of launching the PerlembagaanKu / MyConstitution campaign, first of its kind, which aims to raise awareness on the Constitution amongst members of the public.

Prior to the Launch, there were concerns with regard to resources, reaching out to as many as we can, the endless list of tasks to be completed within a short period of time, bringing a pool of diverse ideas together…and the list goes on. Amidst all these, the major concern was whether the hall will be packed on the Launch date and whether the campaign would garner the kind of support we hoped to obtain.

At 3pm sharp, participants started to fill the hall and within minutes, the back portion of the Bar Council Auditorium was filled. Members of the media were seen busy setting up their gadgets whilst ushers constantly pace back and forth the auditorium in an effort to show participants and guests to their seats.

By 3.30pm the hall was packed full with guests and participants from all walks of life, consisting of students, lawyers, a former judge, politicians, lecturers, bloggers, parents (some even brought along their little children) and other members of the general public, all attending the Launch full of enthusiasm and with one common aim in mind - to show their support for a cause they all believed in. Finally, looks of relief were seen on Committee members’ faces when the hall was packed to the brim.

Chairman of the Bar Council Constitutional Law Committee, Edmund Bon started the ball rolling by delivering his opening speech. He introduced this campaign as “Your Campaign – after all, it is about you.” He stressed that it is a campaign by the people and for the people. “After all things said and done, the only person who is supposed to look after yourself - is you.” The aim of the PerlembagaanKu / MyConstitution campaign is to deliver key messages on the Constitution in simple language understandable by the man on the street.

The President of the Bar Council echoed Bon’s speech and further highlighted that “we don’t force you to take positions, what we intend to achieve is to get the people to look at it (Federal/State Constitution), understand it and interpret it yourself.” He also acknowledged that every time the Bar Council organised an event, there were bound to be objections, backlash and concerns – but not this time, as the campaign has not had any negative coverage. Surely then, we are doing something right!

The Campaign was then officially launched by Datuk VK Liew, Deputy Minister at the Prime Minister’s Department, and a special framed copy of the Rakyat Guides Booklet (1) was handed over to him. This was followed by the screening of our first Rakyat Service Advertisement, a one minute video clip, which the crowd seemed to enjoy very much. (The video is now available for viewing at www.perlembagaanku.com or at the Campaign’s YouTube page)

From Left to Right: Ragunath, Datuk VK Liew and Edmund Bon Tai Soon

The official launch was then followed by a forum; “Bual-bual Perlembagaan” or simply, a conversation on what is the Federal Constitution. This forum was mediated by Dato’ Ambiga Sreenevasan and panelled by Professor Abdul Aziz Bari, Tuan Haji Sulaiman, Azmi Sharom, Professor Shad Faruqi and Malik Imtiaz Sarwar.

Panelists agreed that what this campaign seeks to do is indeed an effort to “merakyatkan Perlembagaan”. For many years, the Federal Constitution had been seen as only a legal document, drafted for the lawyers or those educated in law – but it is not! Professor Abdul Aziz stressed that it provides a form of national identity. When asked why the Constitution is special to him, his answer was that the Constitution manifests, shows or portrays the beginning of a country and the will of the people.

Professor Abdul Aziz bari	Professor Shad

Professor Shad on the other hand summed up what the Constitution meant to him in three words; it is a Document of Destiny. It is, according to the Professor, a document for the future, in which we are realising the dreams that our fore fathers had. Professor Shad said that when asked by an American friend why Malaysians don’t kill each other, he simply responded that we have in some respects, tremendous achievements to our credit where we don’t have civil wars, cessationist movements and we have managed to keep the army and the police in the barracks and that is no small achievement! We have built a mosaic and not a melting pot. Although in many respects, there are attacks within communities, we are still like the colours of the rainbow, separate but not apart.

However, despite all the positives, not all is well. The Constitution has not become the chart and compass or the sail and anchor of the nation’s endeavours. Its imperatives have not become the aspirations of the people. Parliament has failed to check the Executive. Parliament is supposed to be the grand inquest of the people. Professor Shad added that Parliament today legitimises (the acts of the Executive) and not legislates. The Judiciary too has failed us as guardians of the Constitution. Even the Attorney General and the police have failed to enforce the law righteously, without fear or favour. Therefore the social contract (i.e. the Constitution) is placed under great strain. Constitutional literacy is very important, especially now. We must then work hand in hand to ensure that the Constitution is placed on the same pedestal as it had been during the formation of the country. Professor Shad stressed that we must walk the path of the Constitution with moderation and passion. “We must be determined to make it stronger.”

Tuan Haji Sulaiman Abdullah

Tuan Haji Sulaiman took a different approach where he talked about memories from his childhood days where the municipal elections were held for the very first time in Penang. He thought of it as a war between totalitarianism and democracy. “So to fight it (totalitarianism), we must promote democracy and not suppress it.

When Haji was asked to explain the constitutional system in Malaysia and this was in the “days of the long running prime minister”, Haji’s reply was simply: Malaysia’s constitutional system was just the same as England’s, except in England, they change their Prime Minister every 5 years and the Monarch rule for life, whereas in Malaysia, we change the Monarch every 5 years and the PM rules for life. This attracted a lot of laughter from the crowd.

On a serious note, Haji highlighted the value of Parliament in a democratic system, he said that Parliament is an arena for people to bring out the defects of administration without any fear of adverse repercussions. The Judiciary likewise ought to decide cases according to the law, and if that meant that a Minister was shown to have committed something wrong, so be it! Haji further quoted the case of Adegbenro v Akintola where the written constitution had failed in Nigeria and it was replaced with men in guns for several years. Haji explains that the Constitution is the document that guarantees our basic rights. However, we the people need to safeguard it and give meaning and life to it.

Azmi Sharom

Azmi Sharom said he had initially thought of our Federal Constitution as something simple to understand because it came in a nice little book, compared to the unwritten constitution of the United Kingdom. He went on to say that, “I didn’t realise I was treating the Constitution like it was a book on Governance for Dummies, as the politicians do!” It was when he started teaching Constitutional Law in universities that he realised our Constitution is more than that. The Constitution according to Azmi shaped the country we’re living in and gives and limits the power of the government. The Constitution must be examined not just by its words, but by its meaning and intent as well.

Malik Imtiaz Sarwar

The last of the panelist was Malik Imtiaz and he answered the question of what is the Federal Constitution by speaking of a 3-dimensional approach. First and foremost, the Federal Constitution in essence gave him the right to be left alone. In other words, he has the right to do whatever he wants as long as it does not infringe the rights of his neighbours. The second dimension is Universalism which underpins society. Ultimately, Malik Imtiaz said that despite all its imperfections, as long as the Constitution stands, there is at least some opportunity for us to get things right. There must be hope. Malik Imtiaz told the crowd that Raja Aziz once told him that we need to keep knocking on the door, and hopefully one day a light shine through. To Malik Imtiaz, the answer to the question “What is the Federal Constitution?” is very simple: it should be the way you want it to be.


In drawing the forum to an end, Dato’ Ambiga urged the crowd to change the culture of accepting answers given to them. She said that the Malaysian public must start questioning what we feel is wrong.

The Launch was brought to an end at approximately 7pm and the members of the Constitutional Law Committee could not be happier as the participants left the hall feeling satisfied, encouraged and motivated to help spread the word. This is merely the beginning; to make the campaign a success, every single individual must make a difference! In the words of Cassie Bow, a 12 year old, “it is not about what you can or can’t do – its about what you will and won’t do.” So I urge one and all to help make this campaign a success, after all the Rakyat are the beneficiaries.

Part of the Bar Council Constitutional Law Committee Members

Last but not least, we would like to take the opportunity to thank everyone who played a part in one way or another to help make this Launch a success. This goes out to all committee members, distinguished guests, participants and also not forgetting those who have shown great support by supporting our Facebook fan page and following our Twitter live feeds. Please continue to lend us your invaluable support and we certainly look forward to seeing you at our next event. We’ll keep you informed!


The campaign is now also available online through the following channels:
www.perlembagaanku.com
www.facebook.com/MyConstitution
www.twitter.com/MyConsti
www.youtube.com/user/PerlembagaanKu

Copies of the “The Rakyat Guides: 1. What is the Federal Constitution?” is available from the Bar Council Secretariat in both English and Bahasa Melayu. Please contact Ms. Lim Ka Ea at 03-2031 3003 (extension 127) for further inquiries.

Anwar Cabar Kerajaan Isu RM3 Bilion

Dari Malaysia Kini

Ketua pembangkang hari ini mencabar kerajaan supaya menyiasat semua akaun miliknya bagi membuktikan beliau mempunyai sumber kewangan meragukan sehingga mencecah beberapa bilion ringgit.

Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim berkata bahawa sebelum inipun akaunnya telah disiasat tetapi tidak ada apa yang dibutikan.

“Sebaliknya media yang dikuasai oleh kerajaan telah berterusan menyebar fitnah bahawa saya mempunyai RM3 bilion dalam akaun hasil daripada akuan berkanun bekas penolong gabenor Bank Negara, Datuk Abdul Murad Khalid,” katanya di Dewan Rakyat ketika membahaskan Rang Undang-undang Perbekalan 2010 di peringkat jawatankuasa hari ini.

Berhubung akuan berkanun Abdul Murad itu, Anwar berkata, Badan Pencegah Rasuah (kini Suruhanjaya Pencegahan Rasuah Malaysia) pada 1998 telah menjalankan siasatan tetapi telah ditutup oleh kerajaan pada masa itu.

Abdul Murad dalam akuan berkanunnya antara lain mendedahkan, bekas menteri kewangan itu mengawal 20 akaun induk yang diuruskan oleh kroni-kroninya membabitkan aset, saham dan wang bernilai lebih RM3 bilion. BERNAMA

ANWAR SEBAGAI PENASIHAT EKONOMI

1. Saya ucap taniah kepada Kerajaan Negeri Selangor kerana berjaya menganugerahkan Dato Seri Anwar Ibrahim dengan jawatan penasihat ekonomi dengan bayaran hanya RM1 setahun.

2. Mungkin kepimpinan Kerajaan Selangor tidak tahu akan prestasi Dato Seri Anwar sebagai Menteri Kewangan Kerajaan Pusat diwaktu krisis kewangan melanda Malaysia.

3. Dia begitu taksub dengan Dana Kewangan Antarabangsa (IMF - International Monetary Fund) dan Bank Dunia sehingga menerima bulat-bulat nasihat Michel Camdessus (pengarah urusan IMF) dan James Wolfensohn (presiden Bank Dunia dan sahabat karibnya) supaya negara ini mengurangkan perbelanjaan Kerajaan untuk mencapai surplus, menaikkan faedah pinjaman bank dengan tinggi supaya peniaga kekeringan modal dan tidak dapat berniaga, memendekkan masa untuk membayar hutang bank daripada enam bulan kepada tiga bulan untuk menjadikan yang berhutang muflis dan bank dibeban dengan hutang tak berbayar (non-performing loans), supaya bank tidak dapat berfungsi dan memerlukan suntikan modal dan bermacam lagi tindakan yang melemahkan dan memburukkan lagi ekonomi negara ini supaya terpaksa mendapat bantuan IMF dan Bank Dunia dengan syarat ekonomi Malaysia diserahkan kepada institusi-institusi ini.

4. Jika pentadbiran ekonomi Malaysia diserahkan kepada IMF maka Dasar Ekonomi Baru akan dihapuskan.

5. Tindakan Anwar ini dikenali dalam akhbar-akhbar sebagai pengamalan dasar IMF tanpa IMF - iaitu tanpa apa-apa bantuan kewangan daripada IMF.

6. Dengan dasar yang diperkenal oleh Dato Seri Anwar maka keadaan ekonomi menjadi lebih buruk dan Ringgit Malaysia jatuh lagi nilainya.

7. Jelas sekali Anwar tidak faham sama sekali pengurusan kewangan dan ekonomi negara.

8. Kuasanya keatas kewangan dan ekonomi terpaksa dipindah kepada Majlis Tindakan Ekonomi Negara (MTEN), sebuah jawatankuasa dan think tank yang ditubuh untuk menangani masalah kesusutan nilai Ringgit dan ekonomi negara.

9. MTEN-lah yang mencipta currency control atau kawalan matawang dan menyekat CLOB (Central Limit Order Book - pasaran saham haram yang ditubuhkan di Singapura) supaya segala perniagaan Ringgit oleh penyangak matawang dan penjualan saham Malaysia dalam CLOB ditamatkan.

10. Tindakan MTEN ini berjaya memulihkan ekonomi dan kewangan negara.

11. Mungkin sikap Gabenor Bank Negara dan Timbalan Gabenor yang cuba mengagalkan currency control tidak ada kena mengena dengan Dato Seri Anwar. Tetapi hakikatnya ialah kedua-dua pegawai ini terletak dibawah bidangkuasa Menteri Kewangan.

12. Saya berdoa Kerajaan Selangor tidak akan dipermainkan oleh Penasihat Ekonominya.

Interview on BFM: US Education

by Nathaniel Tan

Just a quick note to say that it looks like I’ll be giving an interview on BFM 88.9 this Wednesday, November 18th at 3pm, which will most likely cover some salient points regarding American education, getting into top schools, etc. Tune in if you’re free :)

Keinginan melihat 'bersih' dibawah Najib umpama mimpi

Membaca blog YB Wee Choo Keong yang dalam perbahasan belanjawan di Parlimen secara jelas membangkitkan nama setiausaha politik, Perdana Menteri Malaysia. Nama ini dikaitkan dalam ucapan Wee sebagai MR Political Toll yang dikatakan mengutip keuntungan dengan menggunakan kedudukan sebagai setiausaha politik Menteri Kewangan.

Beliau dikaitakan dengan agihan projek dan tender DBKL juga. Ucapan Wee ini perlu diberikan perhatian khusus. Dalam rang undang - undang kewujudan SPRM tidak memerlukan laporan rasmi, jika SPRM masih bernyawa sudah tentu pembongkaran seserius ini perlu diambil perhatian. Namun cheGuBard yakin SPRM telah lama mati menjadi bangkai.

Nama setiausaha Najib ini bukan kali pertama terkait dengan rasuah. sila klik sini

Berikut ialah contoh aduan mengenai rasuah politik yang melibatkan setiausaha Najib ini. Siasatan dijalankan dan berdasarkan beberapa maklumat dalaman sah memang boleh disabitkan, namun mungkin oleh kerana dia setiausaha Najib maka ia 'kebal'.....

Nampaknya untuk melihat 'bersih' dibawah Najib ia umpama mimpi yang tidak akan kunjung tiba....

Zaid Ibrahim - 2-party system Malaysia

Iranian couple nabbed, syabu worth RM1m seized

SHAH ALAM, Nov 16 – The police have detained an Iranian couple and seized four kilogrammes of syabu worth RM1 million, in a raid at a hotel in Petaling Jaya near here yesterday.

The suspects, aged 43 and 34, were picked up at a room in the hotel during the raid at 8am.

The police, upon inspecting two pieces of luggage at the room, found four kilogrammes of the drug, RM5,000, US$2,000 and Iranian currencies.

Selangor Narcotics Crime Investigation Department deputy chief Supt Abd Razak Md Zin said today, the man worked as a product manager at a private company in Malaysia and had been in the country for the past three years.

He said the woman had arrived two hours before the police raided the hotel room. Abd Razak believed that the woman, who had travelled from Dubai, had smuggled the drugs through the luggage scan inspection at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) in Sepang.

“We are trying to ascertain how the drug could have passed the security inspection at the KLIA, and are also investigating the relationship between the suspects who do not have any previous criminal record.

“We are not ruling out the probability that the drug was meant for the Klang Valley addict population.

“Based on tourist arrivals, the woman had entered Malaysia six times this year,” he told a press conference at the Selangor police contigent headquarters here today.

Abd Razak said the case was being investigated under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 which carries the mandatory death penalty upon conviction.

The suspects have been remanded for a week, beginning today. – Bernama

Malaysian police shot dead 5 Indians & Seetha's husband arrested over wife's suicide attempt

Man charged with killing mom found dead in prison - Malaysiakini

A 22-year-old man charged with the murder of his mother was found dead in his cell at the Air Molek prison in Johor.

According to the authorities, J Saravanan (left) hanged himself using a pillow cover tied to a bar of his cell door.

However, his family refused to believe that Saravanan would have taken his own life and suspect foul play.

Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) Johor coordinator Y Mohan told Malaysiakini that the family plans to file a police report on the matter this afternoon.

"When they saw the body in the mortuary, it was covered with bruises.

"The family thinks that Saravanan could have been beaten to death," he said.

Saravanan was charged with murdering K Malilla, 47, using an iron rod at their home in Kampung MIC in Ulu Tiram.

He had also allegedly stuffed her remains inside a travel bag after the incident between 9.30am and 10.30am on Oct 5.

Breaking news – death in custody of another Indian youth (22) @ Air Molek prison, Johor Bahru.

Breaking news – death in custody of another Indian youth (22) @ Air Molek prison, Johor Bahru. Family to lodge police report. Press Confrence at 2.00 p.m on 16/11/2009 at Johor Bahru General Hospital mortuary.

Mohan Hindraf HRP

(019 7102895)

Freedom for Malaysian human rights activists.

Cops deny husband arrested over Klang mass suicide bid (Malaysian Insider)

KLANG, Nov 15 — Police today denied they had arrested the husband of R. Seetha over her alleged attempts to kill herself and her four children or circulating text messages (SMS) to the effect, saying that he is only being questioned over the incident.

Selangor Criminal Investigation Chief Datuk Hasnan Hassan said M. Manimaran was only asked to help in the investigations.

The 35-year-old lorry driver was approached by police when he visited his wife and children at the Tengku Ampuan Rahimah Hospital at about 3.15pm today.

He is currently being questioned at the Klang District police headquarters.

On Thursday, the 31-year-old housewife in Klang was reported to have poured weed killer into mug and told her four children to “drink it so you can see uncle”, before consuming the poison herself.

Seetha’s brother, 24-year-old R. Surendren was among five men “high on the police wanted list” who were gunned down by police in Klang Utama on Sunday, and the attempted suicide has been attributed to her overwhelming grief over his death.

Police are looking at the possibility that domestic problems rather than her brother’s death were the reason she tried to kill herself and the children.

However, Human Rights Party leader S. Jayathas in an SMS to the press said the police, who are indirectly being blamed for causing the attempted suicide, were trying to cause a diversion.

Meanwhile, Seetha along with nine-year-old Darshini and Kugendran, five, continue to be in critical condition.

Two other girls — Usharani, seven, and Navina, three, — are being treated in a normal ward.

HRP Commented-

Selangor Criminal Investigation Chief Datuk Hasnan Hassan lied that Manimaran questioned at the Klang District police headquarters. Actually Manimaran was brought to Gemenceh, Negeri Sembilan.

(Police: Why twist facts on Seetha drinking poison). Father lodges police report. (Malaysia Nanban 16/11/2009)

Sordid game of politics

By Farish Noor
thenutgraph.com

SILLY season seems to still be around in Malaysia. First we were forced to witness the spectacle of the bust-up that never was among MCA leaders. And last week, we were treated to a display of Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) leaders posturing. First these leaders got on their respective soap-boxes to spout, only to step down to hug and make up.

All in all, such amateur theatrics do not bode well for the future of the country's politics.

Indeed, one of the most damaging consequences of the theatrics we are witnessing is its effect in eroding public confidence in the political process and in politicians in toto. Following the 11 Nov 2009 publication of the photo of two PKR politicians embracing just a day after they publicly fought, I SMSed 40 people. Though by no means a comprehensive study, the response I received was instructive nonetheless. Close to 26 people replied with more or less the same answer: "What do you expect? Politics lah."

Expecting more

But that is precisely what we ought not to expect, be it from politics and/or politicians.

Have we, as a young nation, aged beyond our time and grown so jaded with politics and politicians that we can accept and normalise such displays of posturing without complaint?

Why should we even bother with the politicians we get?Has our level of expectation sunk so low that we are prepared to accept the casual U-turns, non-committal froth, propaganda and deceitful promises that have become the norm of political praxis and discourse in this country?

And if so, why do we even bother to vote at all, if voting will merely serve us yet another helping of the same assortment of ne'er-do-wells, hypocrites, party-hopping amphibians and demagogues who play to the gallery at the drop of a hat?

The malaise that seems to affect this country is the erosion of belief, not only in state institutions, but also in the parties and politicians whom we expect to bring about the reform of these ailing institutions. But how can we expect people to have faith in politicians, when those politicians behave like, well, politicians.

Political behaviour

This brings us to the question of politics, politicians and political behaviour. Lest we forget, the term "politics" is an ambiguous one that is double-edged. To say of someone that she or he has behaved in a "political manner" is, as we all know, a backhanded compliment. It can often be understood in realist terms as harbouring the propensity to place political gains and considerations above all else. A good politician, in this respect, is someone who plays the political game well; but that doesn't necessarily make the person a good human being. On a similar note, one can also be a good thief — that is a thief who manages to steal and doesn't get caught — but that certainly doesn't make one a good human being.

Credibility of politicians has declined with the
increase of political playThe credibility deficit that seems to be mounting for our political parties — and Malaysian politics by extension — perhaps stems from this perception: our politicians have become too good at behaving in a political manner, and have abandoned the principles we voted them in for in the first place.

It was for this reason that PKR in particular was admonished time and again by sections of the public for not doing anything effective about some of the loose cannons in its ranks. The latest brotherly hug-ins does little to assuage our concern that PKR will not get its act together before it is told to pack up and get out.

Now for the sake of politicians who have come to play the political game a little too well, we would like to remind them of certain normative principles in Politics 101. For a start, political parties are composite entities made up of many individuals with different subjectivities that are bound to be different and unique. It is also perfectly normal and mundane for members of any political party to have differences of opinion.

But parties also depend on some degree of consensus in terms of their collective goals and ambitions, and these common goals define that party. It is therefore perfectly reasonable, even banal to state that any party has the right to expel any member who does not agree with the party's common goals. A socialist party, for instance, has every right to expect its members to agree with the principles of socialism.

If it is perfectly rational and mundane for any party to expel members who do not believe in the party's ideology, why, pray tell is it so difficult for some Malaysian parties to do the same with their own maverick members?

Judging by the internal strife, dissention and ill-discipline among several parties in Malaysia today, particularly among the MCA, MIC, PKR and PAS, one might conclude that this most basic rule of political association is lost. And it is lost on the very same people who seem more inclined to play the game of politics than perform the task of governance as politicians.

Some seem more inclined to play the game of
politics than governIf that is the state that we are in today — where the political game has taken a life of its own and has come to assume a greater importance than principles, ideology, governance and government — then we are in a deeper crisis than even this jaded historian imagined.

For it is when the public interest and the demands of governance are surrendered at the altar of realpolitik, that the path of political reform is closed off to the people. That would not only be an impasse for us all. Worse, it would be a betrayal of the highest order by the "politicians" among us. So, for Malaysia's sake, we hope these individuals can stop being such a bunch of politicians.

MB vs MB: Federal Court of Judicial Pillars or Political Stooges?

But without Nizar resigning, how could the post become vacant, and how could the Ruler appoint another mentri besar? This is the mother of all questions that the judges must answer before any one can rule that Nizar has lost his post.

By Kim Quek

There was deep disappointment and angry resignation when the Federal Court panel of five sat on Nov 5 to hear the Nizar vs Zambry appeal, immediately after rejecting Nizar’s request for a full panel to hear the case.

The appearance of the five judges alone was sufficient to impart the sense of foregone conclusion, for these are familiar faces that appeared in the series of hearings of the Federal Court held in respect of the current Perak constitutional crisis, and they all seemed to lean towards the Barisan Nasional.

The first three - Alauddin Sheriff, Arifin Zakaria and Zulkefli Makinudin – are virtually permanent fixture in the ‘Perak cases’, while the remaining two – Ghazali Yusoff and Hamid Embong – have also been involved. One cannot help but wonder: what happened to the rest? Why can’t we have fresh faces to also impart their wisdom over such a grave constitutional crisis?

What about the eminent Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak, Richard Malanjum, whose seniority was only next to Alauddin Sheriff (President of the Court of Appeal), and whose judgments often won admiration of the legal fraternity and the general public alike. He has not sat in a single case. Why should the country be deprived of the opportunity of tapping into his rich experience and much valued judgment?

Then, what about our very senior Justice Gopal Sri Ram – an appellate court judge since 1994 – who is distinguished by his deep legal knowledge and sound judgment delivered without fear or favour.

Surely, the participation of Malanjum and Sri Ram will restore some credibility to a judicial system already teetering on total mistrust, thanks to the long string of judicial decisions which have been perceived as blatantly biased and politically partisan since the crisis started in March this year.

SHOW OF ARROGANCE TO REJECT FULL PANEL

This is the third time that the Federal Court rejected Nizar Jamaluddin’s request for a full panel. And what irked the public is the court’s arrogance in rejecting the lawyers’ earnest, compelling and unassailable plea without bothering to offer the reasons of rejection.

That the coming court decision will be of paramount importance is underlined by the fact that it is expected to define the power limits and the inter-relationships of the triangle of King-Prime Minister-Parliament, though the case is over the Perak constitutional crisis. This is because state constitution and federal constitution are similar in these aspects of the law.

An affirmative decision in favour of Zambry will mean that in future the King is vested with the power to sack a Prime Minister. More than that, he can do so without the involvement of Parliament. This of course will mean the negation of the fundamental principles of democracy upon which this nation was founded.

Facing such a momentous decision, is it too much to ask for a full panel, or at least as wide a spectrum of judges as possible, to deliberate on an issue which may make or break our democratic system of government?

Since the Federal Court has convened panels of seven judges to hear drug related cases in the past, why can’t it convene an even bigger panel for the current case, since the issues involved are many times more important?

And why make the ‘Perak cases’ the exclusive domain of the few judges who are already looked upon with increasing dismay by the public for their perceived political partisanship? Why meticulously keep these cases out of bound to the well regarded judges?

Doesn’t Chief Justice Zaki Azmi, who only a short while ago was an UMNO stalwart, owe the nation answers to these perplexing questions?

COURT OF APPEAL ERRED

The court completed hearing in one single day of Nov 5, the submissions from the lawyers of both the Appellant (Nizar) and the Respondent (Zambry) as well as from Attorney General Gani Patail. The latter appeared as intervener to help interpret the Perak and federal constitution, though in actual fact, he acted more like an attorney for the Respondent.

The arguments from both sides are largely repetitions of those presented in May in the lower courts, with the exception of the Appellant putting in some fresh arguments. A new input was that the Sultan should not have taken upon himself to interpret the constitution like what he did in his press statement of Feb 5 that considered the posts of mentri besar and his exco vacant if they refused to resign. Interpretation of the constitution should be left to the court. Another point was that as a constitutional monarch, the Ruler was duty bound to take advice only from his mentri besar – not any other including then Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak.

The bulwark of the Appellant’s case, as submitted in the lower courts, remains that the Sultan is not empowered under the constitution to dismiss a mentri besar, and that only the assembly, through a vote of confidence, can dismiss him. The Appellant also hammered home the point that the Court of Appeal’s rejection of Nizar as the rightful MB was flawed in that it had failed to take cognizance of the fundamental findings of High Court judge Aziz Rahim.

And the Respondent continues to maintain its contention that BN had the support of the majority of assemblymen and that the Sultan is entitled to determine which party had the majority support, stressing that nothing in the Perak constitution stipulates that such determination of support must be made in the assembly floor.

AG Gani Patail said the Ruler had taken upon himself to determine who had the majority support. He said: “A press statement issued by the Perak ruler revealed this, where he was satisfied that BN had the majority, and therefore, Nizar’s post – despite his refusal to resign – was deemed vacant”.

Note how Gani avoided using the word “dismiss” on Nizar. In fact, none of Zambry’s lawyers or Appellate Court judges had claimed that the Ruler had the power to dismiss Nizar. They only claimed that Nizar’s post had become vacant.

But without Nizar resigning, how could the post become vacant, and how could the Ruler appoint another mentri besar? This is the mother of all questions that the judges must answer before any one can rule that Nizar has lost his post.

EXTREME TREATMENT AGAINST NIZAR UNJUSTIFIED

On reflection of the Respondent’s case, perhaps we should explore a new perspective. Let us ask: what has Nizar done to deserve such extra-ordinary treatment – his support being ascertained by the Ruler personally, ordered to resign immediately, failing which his post was “deemed vacant”? Had Nizar caused our democratic system of government to come to a dead end, which would have been the case if he had lost the majority support and yet clinging on to power by

a) failing to advise the Ruler to dissolve the assembly, and

b) refusing to subject himself to a vote of no confidence?

Did Nizar do any of these? No! In fact, he did the opposite. He repeatedly advised the Ruler to dissolve the assembly due to a stalemate, but was turned down. He wanted an emergency session of the legislature to resolve the stalemate; that was also turned down.

Since Nizar had committed none of the sins against the principles of democracy as enshrined in our constitution so to speak, what justification was there to subject him and his cabinet to such extreme treatment as described?

That begs these further questions: Why was the Ruler in such a hurry that he couldn’t wait for a short while longer to let the assembly meet to resolve the impasse? And why did he reject his mentri besar’s advice to dissolve the assembly when it was apparent that there was a political impasse – a classic case of instability which is always resolved by returning the mandate to the electorate? Granted that the Ruler has the discretionary power to withhold consent to a dissolution of legislature, but should a constitutional monarch exercise that power without accountability?

The time has come for our highest court to put things right. This is a rare opportunity for our judiciary to redeem its tattered image and for the judges to shine with their judicial integrity.

The stake involved is so grave that whatever decisions they make, each and every one of the panel should have the courage and dignity to stand up for their views for which they must write their individual judgments, unlike the recent practice of hiding under a single judgment, claiming it to be unanimous decision.

Graft is most serious problem country faces, new poll shows

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 16 — Corruption and abuse of power is the most important problem which needs to be solved, a new survey of voters in the country released today showed.

The survey by the independent Merdeka Center also showed a whopping 74 per cent of those polled were dissatisfied with the government’s handling of corruption and abuse of power issues.

Merdeka Center conducted the poll, commissioned by the Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ), between Sept 16 and Oct 12 this year, and has a margin of error of 2.78 per cent.

The poll was conducted before the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) charged a number of minor political figures and officials for corruption and abuse of power.

Among those polled, 52 per cent felt the country was headed in the right direction, while 47 per cent were of the opinion that Malaysia was headed in the wrong direction.

The economic recovery was cited as the main reason by those who felt the country was headed in the right direction.

For those who felt the country was going in the wrong direction, political instability and graft were listed as the top reasons.

A total of 13 per cent polled felt corruption and abuse of power was the most serious problem that needed addressing, followed by social problems at 12 per cent. Just 10 per cent thought crime and public safety was the country’s most pressing issue.

While 74 per cent were dissatisfied with the government’s handling of graft, a total of 67 per cent were also unhappy with how the administration dealt with social problems.

Among those surveyed, a very high 66 per cent were also dissatisfied with how crime and public safety were being addressed.

Unsurprisingly, 81 per cent of respondents felt corruption was a serious problem.

Notably, the kind of graft listed as most serious was petty corruption, with 42 per cent viewing it as “very serious.”

This was followed by nepotism (41 per cent), fraud (37 per cent), corruption among politicians (34 per cent), grand corruption (30 per cent) and administrative corruption (24 per cent).

An example of petty corruption faced by the public was given by a 24-year-old female in Kuala Lumpur who told of her experience when stopped by the police for a traffic offence.

“He asked how I wanted to settle it. Should it be ‘inside court’ or ‘outside court’,” she told the Merdeka Center.

The MACC was also perceived to be bias while one respondent pointed out that pinning an “Anti Rasuah” badge on the uniforms was ineffective.

Notably, one respondent pointed out that the Selangor Select Committee on Competency, Accountability and Transparency (Selcat) was “good because people now get to know what has happened in the past.”

On media reporting of corruption, 58 per cent could not name an incident of corruption that was widely reported in the media.

Of the 42 per cent who could, some 42 per cent cited the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) scandal.

This was followed by corruption among politicians (12 per cent), allegations about former Selangor Mentri Besar Datuk Khir Toyo (eight per cent), Teoh Beng Hock/MACC (seven per cent) and money politics in Umno (six per cent).

On celebration night, Pakatan turns defensive

By Adib Zalkapli - The Malaysian Insider

KOTA BARU, Nov 16 — The 19th anniversary of PAS rule in Kelantan turned into a damage-control exercise last night with Pakatan Rakyat (PR) leaders coming to the defence of Mentri Besar Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat who is facing allegations of cronyism and corruption.

At a public rally near here to commemorate the PAS's administration anniversary, PR leaders Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang and Lim Kit Siang described the controversy surrounding the state government as another political conspiracy to weaken the coalition, drawing parallels to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) investigation of the Selangor government.

Nik Aziz remained adamant, declaring to some 10,000 supporters who gathered at the Islamist party training centre that he will go to Mecca next year.

“With or without sponsorship, I will go next year,” he said to loud cheers from the crowd.

“And when I pray there, I will mention the name of Umno leaders who have defamed me one by one, may God open their hearts to repent,” said Nik Aziz.

The PAS spiritual leader has been embroiled in the controversial appointment of his son-in-law Ariffahmi Abdul Rahman as the Kelantan Mentri Besar Corporation (PMBK) CEO and his integrity has come under question for accepting a sponsorship from a businessman to perform the haj in Mecca.

Nik Aziz had decided to cancel the pilgrimage following pressure from the media and within his own party.

Opposition leader Anwar, who also spoke at the rally, described the controversy as a sign of Umno's desperation to take over the East Coast state which has been under PAS rule since 1990.

“This is too much, we have to fight till the end,” said Anwar.

“For almost 20 years, the attacks have never been so intense, are the Kelantanese going to keep quiet?” he asked the crowd.

The PR leaders also questioned MACC's lack of interest in other cases involving BN officials.

“Our skirt was lifted up slightly, but they have been naked all these while,” said Kelantan executive councillor Datuk Mohd Amar Nik Abdullah.

The clock is ticking on the NEAC

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 16 — The National Economic Advisory Council (NEAC) was set up by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak to articulate new economic strategies for Malaysia, to enable the country to dust off its old export-oriented growth model and evolve into a high-income economy that would be underpinned by a vibrant services sector.

Lest we forget, it was also a reaction to the global financial crisis, which plunged almost every country on the planet into recession.

In late May, Tan Sri Amirsham A.Aziz (picture), former chairman of Maybank and an ex-minister of the Economic Planning Unit, was appointed its chairman, with the privileges of a minister thrown in. It took a further two months to appoint the NEAC's nine “experts”.

It's been almost five months now and precious little is known about what conclusions, if any, the NEAC has reached.

Compare this to the sense of urgency the NEAC's predecessor — the one set up by former premier Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad in January 1998 under Tun Daim Zainuddin — possessed.

To be sure, the NEAC established then was faced with the Asian financial crisis with a tumbling ringgit and a free-falling stock market. Given the circumstances, it acted with considerable dispatch.

By June, it had established Danaharta as an overall asset manager and final purchaser of bad debt of the books of troubled banks. Danaharta is now acknowledged globally as a good way to deal with a banking crisis.

By July — six months after its inception — the NEAC had come out with a detailed blueprint — the National Economic Recovery Plan — which presented six separate areas of action to be taken to deal with the crisis.

The NEAC proposed stimulus packages and regularly came out with bimonthly, even biweekly, Economic Update newsletters for key decision makers. In addition, it did six separate studies into sectors — from tourism and education to services and transport — that it felt deserved more attention from government.

It did not operate in a vacuum either, consulting with various industry and business groups — both local and foreign. At one point, even economic journalists working for the foreign press were invited to present their views.

Indeed, one would be hard-pressed not to believe that the NEAC was crucial to weathering the storm of 1998.

What is known about its successor is precious little. There has been scant press coverage, except for a little news item that said the council was planning a study tour of Korea to observe first-hand how that nation evolved into the high-income country that it is now.

A study tour? Surely, this cannot be the best the NEAC and its much-vaunted panel of experts can come up with. There are any number of books describing the miracle of Asia's tiger economies and the NEAC will probably get more bang for its buck, for these books invariably aren't restricted to Korea but include Singapore and Taiwan as well.

Meanwhile, the clock is ticking on the NEAC. In his dialogue at the Apec Summit, Najib talked about having a new economic model by the end of the year. That's just two months away.

In addition, the country's civil servants have started work on the 11th Malaysia Plan. It cannot possibly exclude Malaysia's new growth model. — Business Times Singapore

MIC's Winning Team In The Making

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 15 (Bernama) -- The MIC on Sunday launched a nationwide evaluation exercise on its leaders at all levels aimed at creating a "winning team" and organising programmes cutting across racial lines to face the next general election.

Party president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu said the MIC was determined to "reinvent and re-energise" the party to remain relevant and wrest back the six parliamentary and 12 states seats it lost in the last general election.

He said the evaluation process would be done through a high-level Balanced Score Card (BSC), Key Performance Indicators (KPI) and Star-Rating "that will now steer the party's direction towards a people-centric party through its internal transformations and reform".

Speaking to reporters after launching a workshop on "A Sense of Urgency" for the party's 150 divisional leaders here, Samy Vellu said the three evaluation initiatives marked another milestone in MIC's effort to remain relevant and to reinvent itself as a progressive, caring and innovative party.

"After the last general election, the MIC has undergone various and numerous changes to reconnect with the people and the community by engaging in rebranding exercises, introducing new and young blood into the party as well as bringing about party liberalisation reforms to attract new members into the party," he said.

He said the BSC would consist of six perspectives encompassing various areas of paramount importance such as internal party efficiency, developing a creative delivery system, engaging with the people through timely and on need-based programmes and assistance, winning back and attracting new members, gauging people's satisfaction and the 1Malaysia perspective.

He said the members' perspective would focus on sustaining current members, attracting new members, winning over members and conversion of members who were non-voters into legitimate voters while the people's perspective would consist of outreach programmes, economic well-being initiatives, education and business ventures.

In line with the national agenda of 1Malaysia, Samy Vellu said, the MIC had included the concept in the BSC to undertake programmes that would strengthen unity and understanding among the various races.

He said a committee had been set up to implement the three initiatives (BSC, KPI and Star-Rating) and evaluate the party leaders every three months.

"With this initiative, the MIC has elevated its seriousness and commitment to reach out to every Indian in Malaysia utilising its proven system and structure nationwide.

"Indeed, it is expected to position MIC as a dynamic, caring and as a people-centric party by making all its grassroots leaders more responsible and accountable to the community as well as the party," he said.

-- BERNAMA

********
themalaysianinsider.com

Samy Vellu, MIC claim credit as Indians start backing BN again

Samy says BN’s Bagan Pinang by-election win shows MIC has recouped Indian support. — file pic

By Baradan Kuppusamy

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 15 – Datuk Seri S Samy Vellu and the MIC are laying claim to the return of Indian support for the Barisan Nasional (BN), and this appears to have given the embattled leader a new lease on life.

“The return of Indian voters is our victory in Bagan Pinang and we know now how to win back the Indian votes,” MIC president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu told The Malaysian Insider on the sidelines of A Sense of Urgency forum at a hotel today.

The MIC is quickly exploiting the gains achieved in the recent Bagan Pinang by-election where nearly 70 per cent of Indian voters who had voted for PAS in 2008 returned to BN in a dramatic reversal.

The party feels the reversal was an MIC achievement and is taking swift steps to exploit and ride on the momentum of the Bagan Pinang victory.

Today's party forum is for state and division leaders and is conducted by outside corporate experts to explain in detail why the MIC lost support, why Hindraf gained popularity and how to recover lost support.

“Nearly 50 per cent of Indian voters dumped us in 2008 and we now know why and how to win back their loyalties,” said Samy Vellu.

Samy Vellu said that after Indian voters fled the MIC they were not happy outside the MIC.

He said they instead felt isolated and exploited by people and political parties.

“They feel lonely and unappreciated,” Samy Vellu said. “They are lost and they want to come back.”

“They need leadership and appreciation and we are beginning to give it to them,” he said adding the party was reforming itself, hiring experts and opening up for new blood including the educated class.

Earlier when opening the forum, Samy Vellu, speaking in a mixture of Tamil, Malay and English, urged delegates to drop the defeatist mindset that has gripped the party and rise to fight again.

“If we fail to rise and fight back we are already defeated…we are buried for good and forever,” he said likening the MIC to an old, battered lady, limping in life and waiting for death.

“To attract the loyalties of Indians we have to become attractive again,” Samy Vellu said adding the party is transforming into a young and lovely woman with a sexy get-up. “People will die for a lovely woman.”

Samy Vellu said the party will soon form 700 new 1 Malaysia branches and most will be led by new faces including fresh university graduates.

He also said complacency was ruining the MIC and the forum was a way to reenergize the party and make it attractive to attract new blood.

He said that while rivals were speaking up but in a disorganised way, the MIC is a party and well organized at all levels and speaks with one voice.

While a new upbeat mood is visible in the MIC, the task of winning back the Indian voters is a formidable task but divisions in Pakatan Rakyat and its failure to deliver on election promises is helping MIC reinvent itself.

The meaning of “Malay”

By Shanon Shah
thenutgraph.com

Anthony Milner"BIAR mati anak, jangan mati adat." Quoting the Malay proverb that places culture above one's child, Prof Anthony Milner argued on 21 Oct 2009 during a lecture in Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) that Malay-ness was defined by civilisation, and not descent or bloodlines.

The lecture by Milner, who is Basham Professor of Asian History at the Australian University, argued that the Malays of this region might have seen themselves differently from how they do now, certainly in contemporary Malaysia. After all, the concept of race was a colonial import from Europeans who were trying to categorise people from different parts of the world in a successful attempt at divide and rule.

But did the Malays here self-identify using the same racial framework? Could Malay-ness have possibly been defined differently in a pre-colonial, pre-racial Malaya? If the answer is yes, was there a moment when the Malays of Malaya stopped seeing Malay-ness in civilisational terms and exclusively in racial terms?

It is important to analyse this more closely, since so many now accept "race" as an inheritable and indeed inherent category of identity.

Civilisational Malayness

Emeritus Professor Datuk Dr Abdul Rahman Embong tells The Nut Graph, "I agree with Milner that historically Malay identity was much more fluid and complex, enabling one to talk of a civilisational Malay-ness." Rahman, a principal fellow at UKM's Institute of Malaysian and International Studies (Ikmas), does not discount the fact that the importance of descent and blood ties in determining Malay identity did prevail through history. However, he says the civilisational aspect remained pronounced.

"Even the Federal Constitution adopted a civilisational definition of Malayness, defining [in Article 160] a Malay as someone who habitually speaks the Malay language, practises Malay culture, and embraces Islam," he continues in an e-mail interview. Of course, he says this definition is limited only to Malay Malaysians because there are Malays in other parts of Southeast Asia who may not be Muslim.

Only applicable in Malaysia: The Concise Student Dictionary / Kamus Siswa Lengkap
defines a Malay as one who follows the Malay way of life, or becomes a Muslim

The issue of Islam certainly adds complexity to the construction of the Malay Malaysian identity, says Dr Helen Ting, a research fellow at Ikmas. She tells The Nut Graph the phenomenon of political Islam was practically unheard of two decades ago in terms of the state's powers to determine who was a Muslim, and how a Muslim should or should not behave.

Helen Ting (pic courtesy of
Helen Ting)

Ting does not use terms like "ethnicity" and "race" interchangeably. Ethnicity, unlike race, does not attempt to explain all behavioural, intellectual and cultural differences as "inherent" in any way. Rather, ethnicity denotes a distinct cultural group with a shared heritage such as a cultural system, language or even religion. This may or may not include a shared ancestry or blood ties.

As such, ethnicity in itself is value neutral. "There is nothing right or wrong about this identity unless this identity leads [an individual] to disrespect or reject other identities as inferior or inadequate," Ting explains.

Which then brings us full circle to the question of "Malay-ness" in contemporary Malaysia. Does the definition of "Malay" in Malaysia entail rejection or disrespect towards other identities? The opposite question also needs to be asked – could there also be a rejection or disrespect towards those identifying as Malay in Malaysia?

Confronting myths

I, Too, Am Malay book cover

This is where Parti Keadilan Rakyat supreme council member and ex-Umno maverick Datuk Zaid Ibrahim says it is counterproductive to dwell on definitions. He tells The Nut Graph in an e-mail interview, "There is no need, I feel, to dwell on the true definition of a Malay [Malaysian] since it has been so defined in the [federal] constitution.

"What is important is for the government not to continue perpetuating the myth that there is one set of special rights for Malay [Malaysians] and another for the rest of our people."

Although Zaid shuns making any overt definitions of his own, his reasons for writing his book I, Too, Am Malay seems to lean towards cultivating a civilisational understanding of Malay-ness. "I want them to accept the realities where only those with the right education, right values, good work ethic and willingness to accept personal responsibility will do well," he says.

"No amount of Malay political power can protect them since in a corrupt political system those who wield power are merely pawns of the capricious and the greedy, irrespective of race," he continues.

Rahman Embong

A paradigm shift is what Zaid, Ting and Rahman are looking for. According to Ting, ethnic diversity is not the problem in Malaysia. "It is more a bigoted view of those outside [certain ethnic, racial or religious] boundaries that makes problems," she says. And so, she says a shift in how Malaysians think about diversity and differences is in order.

And according to Rahman, that shift is probably already happening. He points towards the growing popularity of Najib's 1Malaysia slogan.

"Many of the young people see their future in non-ethnic terms. They want to see 1Malaysia — shorn of its political rhetoric — become a reality," he says.

But mindsets are not the only things that need to change. Systems and processes need to evolve also. Ting says there must be a way to penalise political leaders when they become exclusionary and reward them when they are inclusive. Rahman says the growth of a two-party system is also an effective way to keep racial politics in check.

Zaid IbrahimZaid, however, has a caution. "No peaceful changes or transformation can take place in Malaysia unless Malay [Malaysians] are willing participants in that process," he says.

The good news is that history shows us that Malay identity, and indeed any ethnic or racial identity, can evolve and be redefined. It's good news, because it means that things can always evolve for the better. All it takes is a bit of honesty and self-awareness in looking at the past.