Share |

Monday, 7 December 2009

MACC must raise its performance

The Malaysian Anti Corruption Commission (MACC) should investigate any form of graft and misappropriation of public funds highlighted in the Auditor-General’s Annual Report, a Gerakan grassroots leader said today.

Kedah Gerakan youth chief Tan Keng Liang said MACC should promptly probe into such reports irrespective of whether the graft activities occurred at federal or state levels, or in Barisan Nasional or Pakatan Rakyat-ruled states.

To date, he said large number reported wrongdoings in the AG’s annual report had not been probed, nor anyone charged.

Consequently, he said the government had failed to recover the ‘missing’ funds.

He said this should be among main agenda of the MACC deputy chief commissioner Abu Kassim Mohamed when he helms the anti-graft agency Jan 1 next year.

Referring to Abu Kassim vow to restore the agency’s credibility, Tan said the MACC chief designate should comprehend that time was not on his side to implement his plans and measures to redeem MACC's integrity and public confidence.

www.malaysiakini.com/news/119075

“Of course it is not an easy task to redeem credibility in a short span of time,” he acknowledged.

However, he said the general public would not be forgiving and show leniency to granting anymore extension of time to MACC to nab persons involved in corrupt practices.

“Time is of essence in any steps to redeem credibility and restore public confidence on MACC,” Tan said in his statement posted to Malaysiakini today.

He said the public now believed that graft was a main cause of wastage in government funds, increasing public expenditure and high deficit budgets.

Thus, he attributed corruption as an indirect cause to the government introduction of various taxes such as the five percent real property gains tax (RPGT), RM50 credit card service tax, and the soon to be tabled goods and services tax (GST).

Pointing out that these taxes burdened ordinary laymen on the street, except the graft perpetrators, he stressed that hopes of removing unnecessary taxes depended much on MACC performance.

“MACC can reduce Malaysians’ cost burden by eradicating corruption.

“It’s crucial to the country’s socio-economic development and political stability,” said the Gerakan youth leader.

Tan suggested MACC to also publish an annual report to disclose number of cases reported to it and types of actions taken on them, including probe results into the AG’s Annual Report.

He said MACC was also duty bound to explain publicly reasons behind its failure or reluctance to take action on certain cases.

Abu Kassim has vowed to introduce several steps to restore the credibility of the agency when he takes over the reins on New Year.

He said cooperation from other agencies and non-government organisations was also important in restoring the MACC's credibility.


"Without help from all quarters, the MACC will not be able to do a good job," he said.

Abu Kassim will replace MACC chief commissioner Ahmad Said Hamdan, who will retire by the end of the month, five months earlier than scheduled.

www.malaysiakini.com/news/119083

Ahmad Said has denied that his early retirement from the post was due to outside pressure.

MARGINALIZATION OF THE INDIANS AN ACCOUNTING OF HOW THIS HAS HAPPENED

ECONOMIC MARGINALISATION

Through these columns I intend to present a picture of the marginalization of the Indian poor in Malaysia and also try and put forth a coherent explanation of how it happened. I am going to do this in several parts. Part One was published a week ago. Here is Part Two. In this part I am going to lay out a picture of the phenomenon of the Economic Marginalization of the Indian poor.


The story of Mariappen

Let me narrate the story of Mariappen to you to illustrate how all of this works . Mariappen now 32 years old ( born in 1977) is married, lives in Kulim with his wife, Pechai and 3 young sons. He ran away from home when he was eleven, rebelling aginst a drunken father and a miserable life in the estate. He lived a life between being a runaway child, an inmate of a juvenile home, and a prisoner a few times over. He says he cannot remember how many times he has been in and out of the home and prison or how many years he has spent thus.

His father, Subramaniam was born in 1928 in the estates, grew up and worked first in one Estate in Sungei Bakap, then after that estate was sold worked in another called the Merah estate and finally in a Coffee estate, all in the Kedah region. His father was a daily paid worker for most of his life. Mariappen was the last of his16 children – boys and girls. All of them are now deceased except for Mariappen. I asked him how come, because his siblings would be in their forties and fifties, had they been alive, and were too young to be all deceased.. He said this happened for various reasons, but several of them died due to drinking, including his father. Alcoholism has been a major scourge to this family, like I suspect to many other marginalized families. Marginalization leads to alcoholism, which leads to short and unproductive lives. Condoning this process of marginalization has an effect of reducing the population of such poor. When such condoning happens with impunity, it is probably intentional.

Mariappan now works as an odd job laborer, whenever he can find a job. He is totally illiterate – can do some basic arithmetic. His wife, also illiterate works occasionally as a cleaner in a restaurant. He and his wife do not have ICs , his 3 children have no birth certificates. He and his wife therefore cannot find legitimate jobs. They do not effectively exist under the law. His marriage to his wife is not registered. Two of his children are attending a nearby Tamil school, two out of about twenty children without birth certificates in that school. Every Tamil school in the country has several children with this problem, from what I have seen. He and his wife have frequent violent fights, in the house, mostly over money and often when he is drunk. They live in a rented house in the fringes of Kulim, struggling through their lives every single day in this manner. They barely exist…. Also, imagine what all this will translate to when his children became teenagers or young adults. I asked him this question. Of course his answer was that they would likely turn out to be the same, now times three. See how the problem multiplies. That is exactly what has been going on to the problem over these 50 plus years.

The key factors in the economy which initiated the marginalization process

That his life became like this is not an accident of history. It was a natural outcome of what was happening in the economics and politics of this country. Let me share some data to show how this was happening on a National scale. The data clearly shows how the Indian Population distribution changed from being primarily in the Estates to being primarily in the towns and cities:

%

1970

2004

Urban

25.5

81.2

Rural

74.5

18.8

Source: Dept of Statistics, Government of Malaysia Census report 1991-2000, 9th Malaysia Plan 2006

From 75 % rural to 80% urban. From the estate shanties to the urban squatter homes.

This shift occurred because of a few key things that were taking place in the economy:

1) Large rubber plantations run by the British in the early years after independence, were being broken up into smaller estates as the large British companies left Malaysia.

2) Plantations were shifting production to palm oil from rubber because of the higher returns for palm oil than for rubber.

3) The plantation companies in collusion with the Government allowed in foreign workers, both legal as well as illegal to man the oil palm plantations both depressing the earnings of the Indian workers as well as reducing the number of jobs available to the Indian workers.

According to a recent report there are 2.1 million foreign workers in the country (Source: Dept of Statistics, Government of Malaysia Census report)

4) Land was being taken up for industrial, commercial and residential development as the economy expanded. So many estates just turned to property development from production of rubber or palm oil.

The Indian marginalization problemwas ignored as a matter of policy

That this displacement was happening was no surprise to the policy makers. The policy makers just ignored it. The Indian Political representatives in the MIC too could not make any difference to the outcomes. They were impotent by virtue of their self serving relationship with the UMNO elite. This problem effectively was not national priority. The UMNO led Government of the period did not provide anything to address this problem. They could have taken measures such as:

a) Compensation for loss of the estate homes and the secondary incomes from small scale breeding or small scale agriculture.

b) Alternative housing in the urban areas, for those forced to move out from the estates because of factors beyond their control

c) Provision of land through agencies such as FELDA, FELCRA, PERDA, KEDA, KEJORA and such other development agencies of the Government.

d) Providing support to become self employed

e) Retraining into new skill areas

f) Social support schemes, to help in the transition

The Alliance government of that period and the BN government of today, led by UMNO, just washed its hands off the problem. The MIC that was supposed to safeguard the Indian interest reneged on its historical role and at best only looked after the interest of the few among the Indian elite. They could not stop the fragmentation process. Instead as with so many other problems afflicting Indians they started a self help program - the National Land Finance Co-operative Society (NLFCS) with false promises of a solution to the problem of displacement and riches to come for the poor. The likes of this never could touch Subramaniam, the father of Mariappan.

To continue with my story, nothing resulted from all of that for Mariappan’s family. Subramaniam, Mariappan’s father did not get any compensation when the first estate was sold and he had to move out. They were just thrown out of their jobs and they had to go. There were no institutes to retrain them into some new trade, maybe carpentry, maybe metalworking, maybe basic wiring, maybe mechanical or electrical trades to meet the needs of the new economy. The thought of that would have been preposterous, and all kinds of arguments would have been raised against the feasibility of such programs. There was to be nothing.

Complicity between the MIC and UMNO behind the marginalization process

FELDA or FELCRA or RISDA definitely did not consider that Subramaniam was the type that they were set up for. It is all just a question of priority for the Government and Subramaniam was not their priority – that’s all. After rejection from UMNO to address the problem and not to appear impotent to do anything about this problem, the MIC set up the NLFCS. But anyway,the only ones to have really benefited from these feeble schemes set up by the MIC, are a few among the Indian elite and some of their cronies. I quote this example because it clearly was repeated time so many times and with impunity – the NESA scheme, the MIC Unit Trust Scheme, the Koperasi Pekerja Jaya company, the Maju Jaya Cooperative, the MAIKA Scheme, The AIMST and MIED funds.

UMNO got away scot free from any responsibility for uplifting the poor Indians because of this kind of complicity between the MIC and UMNO. MIC worked hand in glove with UMNO to create an illusion of grand plans for the salvation of the Indian poor. MIC was the front guy. UMNO was the mastermind behind. This is the kind of treacherous role that MIC has played and caused harm to all the Indian poor in this country, over the last fifty years. But the real culprit is UMNO.

The creation of the underclass

So, left with no support or real help, this large shift of the Indian workers to the urban centers resulted in squatter colonies mushrooming across the country in urban areas on fallow land, old mining land, on State land. These communities were bereft of their ancestral social structures which they were forced to abandon when they left their estate communities. The squatter colonies were no better. They were just basic settlements, crowded, without proper sanitation or amenities for an urban dwelling.

The migration to the urban areas further resulted in the breakdown of the social system the Indians had been living with for several generations prior. Hard earned social facilities like hospitals, dispensaries, crèches, and schools, meager as they were in the estates were abandoned. Effectively the Indian worker was cut free from all bondage and support and left entirely to fend for themselves and in the process the underclass was created.

The result is that a vast majority of them landed up as menial laborer, contract worker, unskilled factory workers, manual workers, drivers, security guards, helpers, sweepers, jaga kereta boys, cleaners, restaurant hands, gardeners and so on.

Crime and alcoholism as a direct result of marginalization

Like Mariappan many also turned to crime. The ecosystem for the turn to crime was building up. I asked Mariappan, how come he got involved in the crime like he did. His answer was that there were many friends who showed him how, and there were people to buy whatever they stole. It was easy while it lasted, he said. . The net result, 200,000 Indian youth are involved in crime, said our erstwhile Minister for Human Resources, Dr.Subramaniam recently in Parliament.

Alcoholism seems also to be common with the poor Indians, like Mariappen. It seems to suggest that this is a kind of response to the effects of the marginalization experienced by Mariappen and his like. They see very little in the form of hope. Their self image anyway is already very low. They do not see a way out. When I asked Mariappen, why he let so many administrative lapses happen in his life, like with ICs and birth certificates, his response was that even when he wants to do something, he feels he has to do everything on his own, he feels alone, abandoned. He feels a kind of hopelessness. They feel they do not belong, they feel rejected, they feel there is no more hope, so what does it matter. This is fertile psychological background for something like alcoholism to set in for the males and I suspect suicidal tendencies for the females.

In summary

The overall social and economic conditions in the urban centers created this kind of a poverty trap. This became a breeding ground for the underclass, of which Mariappen is just one example. .And most of them were living just above the Poverty Line Income established by the Economic planning Unit.

Indians form 60% of urban squatters and 41% of beggars (The Economist

22nd Feb 2003

Not every case of the marginalized will be exactly like Mariappen. But elements of what is happening in Mariappen’s life is surely present in most of the Indian poor. This is all directly a result of the shift in the economy of the country, the socio economic position of the vast majority of the Indians to start with, the utter negligence of this problem by the UMNO led Government and the complicity between them and the deceiving MIC.

In the next part I will discuss the way in which our system based on unequal rights and
opportunities catalysed and accelerated the economic marginalization process.
Naragan

Survey on Malaysian Indian blog readers and bloggers

Apologies for multiple/cross postings. For your information, the survey ends December 10. If you have not participated please see message below.Thanking you in advance for your participation.
___________________________________________________________________________
This survey is part of my dissertation focusing on ethnic mobilization using blogs. Please participate in this survey that will take 10 minutes or less, and responses are completely anonymous. This survey is intended ONLY for Malaysian Indian bloggers and blog readers.

If you have any questions, you can email me at asha5115@gmail.com or leave your comments at http://malaysianindian-blog.blogspot.com/. The survey will end on December 10, 2009. Appreciate if you could post the survey link on your blog (if any) or other social networking sites (e.g. facebook). Please share it with your family and friends.
Please follow this link to access the survey
URL: http://www.surveyshare.com/survey/take/?sid=97053

Thanks so much.

Regards,
Asha Rathina Pandi
Ph.D. Candidate, Department of Sociology (ABD)
Graduate Certificate, Population Studies
University of Hawaii at Manoa
Honolulu, Hawaii

Vasanthakumar seeks to remain silent about his true masters - the Special Branch. Read this email exchange and my comments.

E mail from me, Namasivayam to Vasanthakumar on Nov 30th 2009

Why do you not just fade away?.

You are doing damage to the Indian cause.

Why do you sell yourself to the special branch?

You are not going to achieve anything other than to destroy.

Why don't you look for money in some other less destructive way.

I cannot see what else you want .

Namasivayam

Reply by Vasanthakumar to me on the 1st of December

Dear namasivayam,

I welcomed your doubts. But, to be fair for everybody.

I have explained in fact and figure behind your doubts on 25/11 Hindraf Anniversary.

Please contact/liaise the people who have attend the event.

Or, contact me on below h/p no.

Thanks

K.Vasantha Kumar

( no phone number was given)

My response to Vasanthakumar on the same day ,1st of December

Why did you lodge the police report on the 14th of January 2008 against Uthaykumar and sveral others. We know your allegations are not true - and so do you. Why then did you lodge that report.

Give a credible explanation for your actions or remain silent and accept the fact that you have sold out.

Namasivayam

Vasanthakumar’s reply to me again on the 1st of December

Dear Namasivayam,

please call me at 012-6422109 for clarification

Thanks

Hindraf

My response to Vasanthakumar again on the same day ,1st of December

Vasanthakumar,

Please reply by email to my question if you are truely blameless. I do not want a verbal response.

My question to you again -

Why did you lodge the police report on the 14th of January 2008 against Uthaykumar and several others. We know your allegations are not true - and so do you. Why then did you lodge that report.

Give a credible explanation for your actions or remain silent and accept the fact that you have sold out.

Namasivayam
My (Namasivayam's) comments to all of you:

There is no response yet from Vasanthakumar till today the - 4th of December 2009 . He has chosen to remain silent . By remaining silent he accepts the fact to me, the fact that he has sold out.
Now, I want for all of you to know.
We just saw how one traitor Thanenthiran lies exposed . But he looked a hero on the 10th of October 2009 in the PWTC auditiorium with his "party members" - 3000 of them in full view. Barely two months after, his true intentions are exposed. And it is clear who his true master is - Najib.
Similarly, we will wait for this traitor Vasanthakumar, to be exposed .
Until these traitors are all exposed they will continue to be played up by the hidden hands behind, to create an illusion of another credible person, another credible leader, another split in the Hindraf movement. And they will continue to spin the story of a visionless and leaderless Indian community.
My own experience with this kind of Machiavellian play is that there is always a large hidden hand behind these traitors. These traitors do not make a breakaway because of ideological differences. They breakaway because their puppetmaster - the hidden hand behind wants them to breakaway - to creat confusion, create a picture of disunity, to water down the influence of the true leaders. In effect to kill off the true leaders and kill off the true organization.
Maybe when the hidden hands could stay hidden in an age where information did not move about so readily, these kinds of plays were effective. It is not the same, now in the age of information. It is not so easy. We must not let it be easy, we must use these new levers of information to make it difficult for the traitors and their puppetmasters, nay make it impossible.
We must all seek to expose the.
So, my advice to Vasanthkumar is that he should leave the scene now,when he can, so that he can avoid the same shameful and ignominous exit as Thanenthiran's.
--
Regards
Namasivayam

Friday, 4 December 2009

Event:HRP Port Dickson Forum & P.Uthayakumar’s book launch 12/12/09

HRP Port Dickson Forum & P.Uthayakumar’s book launching-

Malaysian Indian Political Empowerment Strategy - The Way Forward.

Date:12/12/09 (Saturday)

Time: 7.31pm

Place: Lot 2D, Kg.Kuala Lukut, Batu 3 1/2, Jalan Seremban, Port Dickson.( Mr.Sivam Residence)

For more information please contact:-

Mr.Siva - 019-6944693

Mr.Sivam- 019-6621948

MS.P.Waythanayagi - 019-2762511

Poster and hand bill below. Please forward to all.

Thank you.

S.JAYATHAS

HRP Information Chief.

POSTER  BOOK LAUNCHING OO

cry-freedom-batu-caves-17509

DAP DCM II Indian mandore’s political gimmick - Nov 25th public holiday if P.R wins next G.E. (ref Makkal Osai 28/11/09 at page 6)


dap

P. Utahayakumar, Nurul Izzah at Bangsar T.N.B hindu temple consecration ceremony on 29/11/09 (Ref: Makkal Osai 30/11/09 at page 16)

makkal-osai

Samy Vellu Wants PM To Intervene In Resolving SPM Stalemate

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 3 (Bernama) -- MIC president Datuk Seri S.Samy Vellu Thursday appealed to the prime minister to intervene in resolving the "impasse" over the Indian community's request to allow Indian students to take a maximum of 12 SPM subjects instead of 10.

He said the time had come for Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak to intervene to ensure that Indian students were allowed to take the two additional subjects, namely Tamil Language and Tamil Literature, along with the 10 other subjects in the Sijil Pelarajan Malaysia examination.


"I fear that this issue will lead to more problems and a backlash to the Barisan Nasional (government) from the Indian community,' he said in a statement here.

The Education Ministry announced last June that students would be allowed a maximum of 10 subjects in the SPM from next year.

The move caused an uproar among the MIC and the Indian community as it would exclude students from taking the Tamil Language and Tamil Literature subjects although they could drop one of the 10 subjects to take up either one.

"Students can drop the Moral subject and take up one of the two Tamil subjects but the Education Ministry has stressed that Moral is an important subject.

"So, what do we do? The only way out is to allow the students to take 12 subjects," Samy Vellu said, adding that Tamil was a "life and death" matter for the Indians.

He said he had instructed the MIC's sole member in the Cabinet, Human Resources Minister Datuk Dr. S.Subramaniam, to resolve the issue with the Education Ministry and to bring it up in the Cabinet.

He said the Indian community had voiced its displeasure over the Education Ministry's decision that there would be no change in its ruling on 10 SPM subjects and many Indian non-governmental organisations hade sought the MIC's help.

Police Detain Woman In Connection With Killing Of Two Contractors

JOHOR BAHARU, Dec 3 (Bernama) -- Johor police have detained a woman in connection with the murder of a contractor and manager of a construction firm at Jalan Tebing Runtuh, during a robbery here, Wednesday.

Johor police chief Datuk Mohd Mokhtar Mohd Shariff said the woman, aged 22, was detained in Nusajaya last night.


"With the arrest of the woman, we believe the case can be solved soon. The public who have any information on the murder, can contact the police," he told reporters after attending an auxiliary police seminar here Thursday.

During the 3.30pm incident yesterday, 39-year-old contractor (Saravanam) and 43-year-old (Visva), manager in a road building firm in Nusajaya, were shot dead by assailants during a robbery, while the victims were on their way to the construction site after withdrawing money from a bank, believed to be for the salary of workers.

The incident happened when the Mitsubishi Pajero four-wheel drive that was driven by the victims was intercepted by two suspects in another car (Toyota), who later walked up to them and shot them from close range before escaping with the money.

The assailants who escaped the scene had later set their escape car on fire at Lima Kedai, about five kilometers from the scene, in an attempt to erase evidence, before driving away in another car driven by their accomplice.

Initial investigations revealed that the motive behind the murder was robbery but police have not ruled out the possibility that the robbers had information that the victims were carrying a large amount of money, because the road was new and isolated.

-- BERNAMA

MACC probes PI Bala claims

By Neville Spykerman

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 3 — Anti-graft authorities will begin investigating private detective P. Balasubramaniam’s claims of being paid off in the Altantuya Shaariibuu murder case by people linked to Datuk Seri Najib Razak when they question an opposition politician tomorrow.

PKR Youth chief Shamsul Iskandar Mohd Akin said he will cooperate fully with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) over his report that the private investigator was paid off to overturn his first statutory declaration that the prime minister knew the murdered Mongolian model.

“I told MACC that I would give them my full cooperation but in turn, I want all the allegations to be fully investigated,” said Shamsul, who added he was told by an MACC officer that they were starting their investigations by speaking to him.

Shamsul, who lodged an MACC report against architect Nazim Razak and a businessman called Deepak, was summoned to the MACC headquarters in Putrajaya today. Nazim is Najib’s younger brother.

Deepak was named repeatedly in Bala’s series of interviews and was painted as a key go-between in getting the latter to repudiate the claims which linked Najib to Altantuya. The former, along with his siblings, also appeared instrumental in arranging an alleged meeting between Bala and Nazim prior to the private investigator’s sudden disappearance.

“I told the officer that my schedule today was full and have arranged to meet them tomorrow at 9.30am,” said Shamsul.

Shamsul, who was accompanied by PAS Youth chief Nasarudin Hassan and DAP Youth chief Anthony Loke when the report was lodged yesterday, said he was informed by the MACC that they needed “further information”

“I don’t know if this means they will be taking a statement from me or if I am a witness in their investigations,” said Shamsul, who added he would be bringing along several lawyers with him tomorrow.

He said among the allegations are that Bala was offered RM5 million to retract his first statutory declaration and that his family was threatened if he did not do it.

Bala had further alleged that he was forced to sign a second pre-prepared statutory declaration which he claims to have never read and was paid RM750,000 after he disappeared. He also claims his passport was taken away and only returned to him after Najib was sworn-in as prime minister.

The former special branch policeman was hired by Abdul Razak Baginda, a close friend of the prime minister, who was acquitted of murdering Altantuya. Two elite police escorts, Azilah Hadri and Sirul Azhar Umar, have been found guilty and have been sentenced to hang for the 2006 murder.

Najib, who continues to be linked with the grisly murder in which the model was shot and subsequently blown up with C4 high-explosives by the two police officers, has repeatedly denied any involvement in the sordid affair. “I have sworn in the name of God, of Allah, that I had nothing to do with her and I can’t go beyond that.”

Bala went “missing” after making the dramatic reversal on his first statutory declaration but has resurfaced in recent days through a series of interviews released online.

In those interviews, the private investigator has made sensational claims regarding efforts made to quash his original statutory declaration, which he now claims to be true.

The Malaysia Today website has also gone on to tie the personalities named by Bala to Najib, insinuating that the Deepak mentioned in the interviews was a close associate of the prime minister’s wife, Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor.

Anwar Mula Bertugas Secara Rasmi Sebagai Penasihat Ekonomi

Dari Malaysian Insider
Oleh Neville Spykerman

SHAH ALAM, Dis 2 – Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim petang ini memulakan langkah awal untuk menarik sokongan kakitangan awam negeri sejurus selepas mengangkat sumpah secara rasmi sebagai penasihat ekonomi kerajaan Selangor.

Dalam ucapan sulungnya, bekas timbalan perdana menteri dan menteri kewangan itu menzahirkan bahawa kejayaannya semasa berada di kerajaan persekutuan adalah atas sokongan kakitangan Perbendaharaan.

Anwar dipecat dari kedua-dua jawatan itu pada September 1998.

Pelantikan Anwar yang juga Ketua Umum Pakatan Rakyat dilihat perlu untuk menangani ‘hubungan tegang’ yang masih wujud antara kerajaan negeri dan kakitangan awam Selangor.

Justeru Anwar berkata beliau optimistik bahawa beliau mampu untuk menangani masalah yang wujud.

Ketua Pembangkang itu dilantik ke jawatan tersebut pada 13 November lalu oleh Menteri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim bagi menarik pelaburan dari rantau Timur Tengah dan menjadikan Selangor sebagai hab kewangan Selangor.

“Walaupun saya ketua Khalid dalam PKR tetapi di Selangor, dia adalah ketua saya. Jadi jangan risau,” kata Anwar yang juga Penasihat PKR sambil menambah beliau akan berada lingkungan sebagai anggota sepasukan untuk membantu Selangor.

Can Malaysia rise from the lost “decade of stagnation”?

Second Finance Minister Datuk Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah’s speech at Malaysian Institute of Economic Research (MIER) National Economic Outlook Conference 2010-2011 on Tuesday that Malaysia has lost ground to neighbours such as Indonesia in the race for foreign investment and the imperative need to rebuild confidence by building the highest standards of governance did not say anything new as they have been repeatedly raised by DAP and Pakatan Rakyat leaders inside and outside Parliament.

It is nonetheless unusually refreshing as it is the first admission by a top government leader of a lost decade of “stagnation” after the 1998 Asian financial crisis.

Just like the pledge by the former Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to declare war on corruption when he came into office in six years ago and the pledge by the present Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak just eight months ago to lead a government committed to the concept of “1Malaysia. People First. Performance Now” but which have not followed by action and the political will to “walk the talk”, will Husni’s remarkably frank speech end up as the latest addition to a mountainous pile of high-sounding speeches of government leaders never translated into deed and policy?

The first eight months of Najib premiership provide more than ample grounds for skepticism as to whether it will be different from previous Barisan Nasional administrations in conducting a wholesale reform of government policies if Malaysia is to rise from the last decade of stagnation.

It is not good enough for Husni to admit that Malaysia is “trapped in a low-value-added, low-wage and low-productivity structure”, that our private investment is now half of what it was since before the Asian crisis while both manufacturing and service sectors have become less capital intensive; or that “the long-term success of the nation’s economy must take precedence over the short-term interests of a few protected groups”.

The issue at stake is whether there is the political will to carry out long-needed reforms and not just to admit to a lost decade of stagnation.

Parliament this week was give two stark facts about the aggravation of the national situation, viz:

  • that a total of 304,358 Malaysians left the country between March last year and August this year for better education, career and business prospects, working out to some 630 Malaysians leaving the country every day – a big leap from the 139,696 Malaysians who migrated to other countries in 2007.

  • the number of Malaysians who surrendered their citizenship has almost doubled in this year – about 3,800 Malaysians have given up their citizenships to date compared to 2,000 last year.

How can Malaysia succeed in securing international confidence when there is an increasing tide of Malaysians registering their lack of confidence by voting with their feet?

Can Malaysia rise from the lost “decade of stagnation”?

Enhancing The Role of the Private Sector in Education

By M. Bakri Musa

(First of Six Parts)

Introductory Remarks

In the proposed Tenth Malaysia Plan scheduled to be unveiled next year (2010), the government will again re-commit to develop human resources through improving our education system. We have heard all these before, but the twist this time is that the government will actively engage the private sector.

I applaud this. There are many avenues for private sector involvement in education at all levels, either independently or in a variety of public-private partnerships (PPP).

Two points are worth noting as Malaysia embarks on this endeavor. The first is that there are already many models of private sector involvement in education throughout the developed and developing world. There is no need to reinvent the wheel. All we have to do is study these existing models, ascertain their strengths and weaknesses, and then adopt with suitable modifications the ones that would best suit our needs.

There is no point in adopting wholesale a system that works wonderfully in South Korea or the Netherlands. Their society is very different from ours. Theirs is homogeneous ethnically, culturally and also linguistically. Ours is diverse, separated by race, culture, language, and religion, among others. Failure to recognize this essential difference would doom any plan.

The second is that no matter how brilliant and diligent our policymakers are, they cannot anticipate everything. Thus the policies they create can never be perfect. Even when the policy is sound but if the implementation were flawed, that would also destroy and discredit the policy. That would make the later resurrection of what otherwise had been a sound policy that much more difficult.

In Malaysia there is a wide gulf separating the formulation and implementation of a policy. There are many ready examples, the latest being the debacle over the teaching of science and mathematics in English. In the end it is our students, not our leaders and officials, who bear the brunt of that poor planning and execution.

I may be stating the obvious, but it would take more than just a bit of humility on the part of our leaders to acknowledge and then accept this reality. Our leaders and policymakers think they know it all.

When formulating a policy, you want the greatest possible input from all sources, especially the various stakeholders. The best time to do this is after you put forth your preliminary plan. Then post it on the Internet and invite written submissions from all. Go beyond simply issuing a passive open invitation but actively solicit the views of key players like heads of private universities, leaders of industry, local and foreign educators, student and faculty leaders, and yes, even if not especially politicians. Make it clear to all that the plan at that stage is only preliminary and subject to radical changes.

Again I would also post those submissions on the web so others could view them. At this stage the submissions would have to be written to ensure that only those who are serious and willing to put their thoughts on paper would respond. This is also an effective way to weed out those who are interested only in posturing and spouting off. This would also discourage ugly and distracting demonstrations.

Asking for submissions before you have a preliminary plan would result only in unfocused and jumbled submissions, as responders would not have an idea of the scale and scope of your proposed reform.

When all the comments are in, I would invite those with substantive ideas (as judged by their submissions) to direct conversations. Only after all that would I rewrite the policy incorporating the fresh insights and perspectives. This is the only way to garner the widest possible input and to tap the wisdom of the crowd. It is also an effective way to make the stakeholders buy into your proposed policy as they had been engaged in its formulation.

Even after all these I would still be cautious when implementing it. I would first do some downstream analyses anticipating possible problems and sources of opposition. Anticipate a problem and you are already halfway to solving it.

Again to be cautious, I would start small, with a limited number of pilot projects that could be easily monitored closely. It would also be easier to iron out the inevitable kinks, get feed back from the participants, and evaluate the preliminary results. Only when all is working smoothly and as expected would I expand the program nationwide. Anything less and you would risk jeopardizing your policy.

Likewise with the upcoming policy of engaging the private sector in education; I would post the proposed policy on the Internet, seek the widest possible input, and then revisit your policy based on those comments. When implementing the final policy, be cautious and start with a manageable number of pilot projects. Only when all is smooth sailing would you expand the program.

Malaysia has yet to recognize the full potential contributions the private sector could make to education as there is as yet no coherent policy to govern it. Instead, what we have is a series of ad hoc rules and policy pronouncements.

If we were to have an enlightened policy we would realize that creatively marshaled, the pubic sector’s contribution could be significant. It would lighten the government’s load, thus enabling it to focus on the truly needy and be able to do a better job. With its flexibility and responsiveness, the private sector would be in a better position to meet the increasingly sophisticated and varied educational needs of Malaysians. Most importantly, the entry of the private sector would provide much needed competition thereby improving services all around. It would also provide our students (and their parents) with some meaningful choices.

Before these could happen however, our leaders must rid themselves of their entrenched “zero-sum” mentality that views the private sector in adversarial rather than complementary terms. Otherwise all those fancy policy statements and earnest public pronouncements would mean nothing; the reality on the ground would remain unchanged.

In this six-part essay I explore ways for meaningful and productive private sector participation in Malaysian education. Following this introduction, I will discuss the rationale for such a participation (Part Two), followed by my examination of the current state of affairs. The fourth part is my appraisal of the experiences elsewhere, from both developed and developing countries, for useful lessons that Malaysia could learn. The next two parts are my specific prescriptions for greater private sector involvement in our schools (Part Five), and then post-secondary institutions (Part Six).

We have seen far too many examples of ill-conceived policies, of sound policies incompetently implemented, and privatization projects that benefited only the few at the expense of the many. I hope this time around the government will do it right. This commentary is my contribution towards that goal.

Next: Part Two: The Rationale For Private Sector Participation

Migration of Malaysians increasing exponentially – What’s the real reason?

by Nathaniel Tan

TMI:

The number of Malaysians who surrendered their citizenship has almost doubled in this year, according to Deputy Foreign Minister Senator A. Kohilan Pillay, who revealed today that about 3,800 Malaysians have given up their citizenships to date compared to 2,000 last year.

This figure, however, is much smaller than the 304,358 Malaysians who were reported to have migrated from March 2008 to August 2009.

There was nevertheless a sharp rise in the number of Malaysians who registered themselves as having moved abroad with 210,000 of them doing so from January to August this year compared with 94,000 from March to December 2008.

There’s a topic close to the heart.

A very rough guesstimate: about a quarter to a third maybe of my high school classmates are currently working overseas. Possibly more.

Their jobs? Doctors, consultants, bankers, engineers, lawyers, actuarists – you name it.

I made the observation some time back, that it’s likely that my friends who have came back by now will stay back, whereas those who are still working overseas now will likely never make Malaysia their home again.

The government talks about ‘brain gain’ programs and somewhat insultingly thinks that attracting foreign talent is the answer (when we have tonnes of Malaysians overseas that are plenty talented).

I think they miss the point though. Although it’s part of the overall package, people don’t leave just for money or better career prospects.

It’s after all not easy to leave one’s home, family, and nasi lemak. It really isn’t.

I think though, that so many young Malaysians – not unlike my classmates – just feel that the country is going nowhere.

Many of course feel discriminated against, and many more feel that the current culture of corruption is so ingrown that there is no place for an honest man or woman anymore in this country.

I think the key to bringing the talent back home is to give Malaysians hope – hope that tomorrow will see a cleaner Malaysia with genuine integrity, a Malaysia where unity goes beyond an empty slogan.

Hasn’t really happened under 50 years of BN rule, so I doubt there’s any hope there.

Is there hope for change?

I had the pleasure of making it to the Malaysiakini dinner last Saturday night, and it always warms me to see so many old friends and comrades together, celebrating a truly fine Malaysian institution.

One of the performances that featured the following song (different version), which I hadn’t heard in a long time. It’s message is one I still believe in for Malaysia.

The forgotten settler-families of Jalan Raja Uda

The descendants of settlers from Kwangchow have been waiting a dozen years for the compensation they were promised after they were forced to vacate their family homes along Jalan Raja Uda in Butterworth to make way for a major property development project.


Photos by Anil Netto – click icon on bottom right to toggle to full-screen slideshow mode

Today, their temporary concrete and zinc-roofed homes are rapidly decaying while the elusive agreed compensation – 800 sq ft three bed-room medium-cost apartments – is nowhere in sight.

Since the mid-1990s, over 300 households scattered over 50 acres have lost their family homes to the Raja Uda Commercial Centre project in Butterworth. This project comprises rows of new shophouses, each priced at between RM500,000 to RM1 million, fronting both sides of a one-kilometre stretch of Jalan Raja Uda towards the intersection with Jalan Telaga Air/Jalan Siram.

Some 200 settlers had accepted cash compensation ranging from RM20,000 to RM60,000 while 72 others signed compensation agreements in 1996/97 for a medium-cost apartment worth around RM80,000. Another 50 households or so are affected by the latest phase of the project.

Of those 72 households, 27 chose to find temporary rented accommodation elsewhere while 45 were given temporary housing: 600 sq ft two-bedroom units in rows of long-houses (the blue-coloured area of the map).

But these houses, not built to last, are falling apart. A few residents have placed additional corrugated sheets – held down by bricks to prevent them from flying off – on top of damaged roofing. Gaps in the roofing have led to leakages, which have stained ceiling boards. Termite infestation is worsening.

The 27 who opted for rented accommodation while waiting for the apartments were given a RM400 monthly rental subsidy, but this stopped after about 18 months, say village committee members.

In 2001, the Seberang Perai Municipal Council (MPSP), then under the BN, stunned the settlers when it approved the construction of low-cost flats on the site that was meant for the settlers’ medium-cost apartments. These low-cost flats (see photo), to meet the developer’s social housing quota, are meant for the general public – not the affected settlers – and are to be allotted by the state. The low-cost blocks are almost completed but have not yet received Occupational Certificates (OCs).

The site for the medium-cost apartments was moved to the site originally meant for the low-cost housing – the same spot where the settlers now live in their longhouses (the blue area). This creates another dilemma: how is the developer going to build the medium-cost apartments as compensation for the settlers when their temporary longhouses are located on the site?

The original developer was Cherating Development Sdn Bhd. In 2000, the business was taken over by Woolley Development Sdn Bhd.

The 50 households affected by the latest phase of the project – another row of shophouses possibly priced at up to a million ringgit each – could receive cash compensation ranging from only RM8,000 to RM20,000.

Most of the settlers arrived in Jalan Raja Uda in the 1920s and 1930s from Kwangchow, a sub-provincial city that is the capital of Guangdong province in southern China. Mostly Teochew and Hokkien-speaking, they toiled as farmers and reared livestock in the area, selling their produce in the town market near the Maha Mariamman Devasthanam Temple in Bagan, the Butterworth old town centre. Next to the temple stood the old jetty where open-air wooden-platform ferries, guided and pulled forward by cables, plied between Butterworth and George Town. (Bagan incidentally means jetty or landing point; there is even a Bagan in Burma.) The sole Punjabi family in the area, who reared cattle, supplied the local folk with milk.

In the 1950s, the younger generation began working at the new Khian Guan Biscuit Manufacturing Company in Jalan Siram at the intersection with Jalan Raja Uda. It was the first factory in the area, well before the establishment of the nearby Mak Mandin Industrial Estate, one of the oldest industrial zones in the country.

Jalan Raja Uda before the 1960s was just a sand road, largely traffic-free, on which kids sometimes played marbles. Alongside the road, the more mischievous ones climbed trees and snared birds with glue. If they were unfortunate, a passing policeman might order them to come down and do ear-squats. Whole families would pull out brightly coloured chairs, made of plastic straps around a metal frame, to sit by the road and savour the evening breeze. The children studied at the nearby Chung Hwa (Central) School in Kampong Gajah Road and the branch school in Telaga Air Road.

Today, the children of the pre-war settlers may not live long enough to see their final homes and die with dignity if the compensation is not hurriedly given. Seven or eight of them have already passed away since the compensation agreements were signed a dozen years ago.

The MPSP, now under Pakatan, still has some leverage: it can see to it that the settlers are properly compensated before issuing the OCs for the project. Will those still alive receive a fair deal before it’s too late?


Anti-corruption memo 'litmus test' for IGP

A group of 15 activists handed in a memorandum to Bukit Aman police today urging them to take action against top politicians involved in alleged cases of corruption.

NONEThe group led by Malaysian Youth Solidarity (SAMM) coordinator Badrul Hisham Shaharin (better known by his blog pseudonym, che'GuBard), presented a 52-page memorandum to Bukit Aman public relations officer, Inspector Mohd Sail Hassan.

The memorandum, which was also signed by members of the Malaysian Students Solidarity (SMM) and Malaysian Youth Integrity Council, urged the authority to investigate allegations made by private investigator, P Balasubramaniam recently on YouTube.

It also called for probes into alleged bribery and abuse of power by the prime minister's political secretary, Shafie Abdullah, as well as allegations of embezzlement of RM10 million by Negri Sembilan Menteri Besar Mohammad Hassan.

NONE"This is a litmus test for the inspector general of police, Musa Hassan and the police force, to show that they are not just tools of the ruling regime," he said.

The memorandum included reports by Bank Negara and MACC's predecessor, the Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA), which Badrul said was sufficient evidence for the police to begin investigations.

"We already consider MACC impotent, and if the police do not act, then they would have failed to restore what little faith we have in them," he said.

According to Badrul, police should investigate those who acted as proxies to Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak and his wife, Rosmah Mansor in Bala saga.

"These proxies allegedly offered Bala RM5 million to change his statutory declaration inrelation to the death of Mongolian Altantuya Shaariibuu.

"Making a false statutory declaration is a serious crime, and not investigating this implies that there is collusion to hide the 'secrets' of national leaders," he said.

He added that there is clear evidence of bribery as Bala said that he has already received RM750,000.

"It would be a lie if the police say that they cannot locate him as they have recorded his statement while he was overseas," said Badrul.

MACC yet to take action

In the case of Shafie Abdullah, the memorandum details evidence to support allegations that the premier's political secretary used money politics to secure his position in Umno.

"There are also reports alleging that Shafie used his close relationship with Najib, through the Finance Ministry, to threaten his political opponents in Umno," he said.

He added that SAMM had on Jan 2, handed in reports and other evidence to support these allegations to MACC, but the commission has yet to take any further action.

Wangsa Maju MP Wee Chee Keong has also come forward with evidence showing that Shafie had allegedly "influenced" the decisions of government agencies like the Kuala Lumpur City Council (DBKL).

mohamad hasan negeri sembilan mbThe group also urged the investigation of Negri Sembilan Menteri Besar Mohamad Hasan (right), whom Badrul alleged to have committed "economic sabotage by embezzling RM10 million out of the country using a money lender."

While the implicated money lender, Salamath Ali Money Changer, has since had its license revoked, no action has been taken against Mohamad Hasan.

"If a lorry driver used his lorry to transport illegal drugs, his license will be revoked and the drug traffickers will be arrested.

"So why has there been no action (against) the person trying to embezzle money out of the country?" asked Badrul.

He added that if the allegations are true, the act is akin to "treachery" and should be investigated by the commercial crimes commission of the police force.

Badrul was invited by the police to give his statement to the commission at Bukit Perdana later today.

The group dispersed at 10.40am, approximately an hour after their arrival, upon request from the police.

more....


LAPORAN RASMI MENGENAI TIGA KES UJIAN LITMUS BUAT PDRM

Solidariti AnakMuda Malaysia

(S.A.M.M)

Tarikh : 3 Disember 2009

KENYATAAN MEDIA

Per : LAPORAN RASMI MENGENAI TIGA KES UJIAN LITMUS BUAT PDRM

Adalah dengan ini, atas keinsafan dan kesedaran selaku anak muda Malaysia yang cintakan negara maka kami bagi pihak Solidariti Anak Muda Malaysia (sebuah gerakan anak muda dari perbagai latar belakang yang bersama berkongsi keyakinan untuk merobah Malaysia) hari ini membuat laporan rasmi mengenai

  1. Isu sogokan wang oleh 'proksi' Najib Razak (Perdana Menteri Malaysia) kepada Balasubramanian

Balasubramanian individu yang dikenali sebagai penyiasat persendirian yang diupah Razak Baginda (tertuduh dalam kes pembunuhan Altantuya dan kawan Najib Rzak) telah membuat kenyataan bersumpah pertama pada 3 Julai 2008 dengan menyatakan beberapa kenyataan yang mengaitkan Najib Razak dengan pembunuhan Altantuya. Namun sehari selepas itu Balasubramanian telah Balasubramanian telah tampil dalam stau sidang media lain dengan akuan bersumpah kedua menafikan akuan bersumpah pertama.

Balasubramanian telah membuat dua akuan bersumpah dalam isu yang sama dimana kedua – dua akuan bersumpahnya jelas bertentangan. Maknanya sudah tentu salah satu akuan bersumpahnya adalah palsu. Membuat akuan bersumpah dengan maklumat palsu adalah salah di sisi undang – undang. Namun tiada sebarang tindakan dikenakan ke atas Balasubramanian, apakah peguam negara (pihak pendakwaan) juga terlibat dalam melindungi 'rahsia besar' ?

Sebaik sahaja Balasubramanian membuat kenyataan bersumpah ke dua, dia dan keluarganya telah hilang. Namun PDRM pernah membuat kenyataan berjaya merakam kenyataan Balasubramanian di sebuah lokasi yang dirahsiakan. Namun selepas itu perkara ini disenyapkan. Adakah PDRM juga terlibat dalam melindungi 'rahsia besar' ?

Tanpa disangka baru – baru ini Balasubramanian muncul semula dalam bentuk rakaman video. Rakaman yang tersebar dalam youtube dan banyak laman lagi menyatakan dengan jelas, beliau diculik, diugut dan disogok untuk menutup menarik semula akuan bersumpahnya 'yang pertama dan menghilangkan diri. Beliau mengakui semua kegiatan tersebut melibatkan Polis, Tentera dan beberapa individu yang bertindak bagi pihak (proksi) Najib Razak.

Laporan kenyataan beliau boleh dicapai di link dibawah ini

Dia menyatakan dengan jelas telah menerima RM 750, 000 dari proksi Najib dan dijanjikan RM 5 juta sebagai habuan tambahan selepas penarikan akuan bersumpah yang pertama dan 'menghilangkan' diri.

Satu siasatan terbuka perlu dilakukan. Jelas akuan kesalahan sogokan telah dilakukan. Malah ugutan juga berlaku bagi melindungi 'rahsia besar' pemimpin negara. Lebih malang lagi akuan wujud keterlibatan polis dan tentera amat – amat mengecewakan.

  1. Isu rasuah dan salahguna kuasa babitkan Shafie Abdullah, Setiausaha Politik Perdana Menteri Malaysia

Pada 2 Januari 2009, Solidariti Anak Muda Malaysia sendiri telah menghantar kompilasi laporan dan bukti rasuah baru serta lama. Antara laporan yang dihantar ialah laporan ke atas Shafie Abdullah, Setiausaha Najib Razak yang pada ketika itu terdapat tuduhan serta bukti mengenai rasuah wang untuk mendapatkan sokongan bagi jawatan dalam Umno. (rujuk http://www.scribd.com/doc/9720777/sulit1 / http://www.scribd.com/doc/9720813/sulit2 ) .

Malah terdapat aduan bagaimana Shafie menggunakan kedudukan beliau yang rapat dengan Najib melalui Kementerian Kewangan menggugut lawan politiknya dalam Umno.

Selepas sebulan membuat laporan tersebut. SPRM ketika dihubungi menyatakan masih dalam sisasatan kes tersebut. Namun malangnya sehingga kini tiada tindakan.

Terbaru YB Wee Chee Keong, Ahli Parlimen Wangsa Maju menyatakan dengan jelas bagaimana Shafie menyalahgunakan hubungan dia dengan Najib dan kedudukanya di pejabat PM untuk mempengaruhi dan menikmati faedah dengan 'mengganggu' keputusan agensi kerajaan seperti dalam DBKL.

Dengan ini kami membuat laporan rasmi mengenai kegiatan 'salah' Shafie dan mendesak satu siasatan telus, terbuka dan adil dilakukan segera. Sikap berdiam diri Najib dan terus membiarkan Shafie terus berada disampingnya amat mengecewakan. Ini membuktikan betapa tidak seriusnya Najib dalam janji mempertingkatkan integriti.

  1. Kaitan YAB Menteri Besar Negeri Sembilan dengan aktiviti 'penyeludupan wang haram' ke luar negara

Pada 26 Okt 2009, Bank Negara Malaysia telah mengumumkan pembatalan sebanyak 20 lesen perniagaan pengurupan wang di bawah Akta Pengurupan Wang 1998. Perdebatan mengenai pembatalan lesen ini telah membongkarkan sati fakta yang mengaitkan Mohammad Hassan (Menteri Besar Negeri Sembilan) dengan kegiatan penghantaran wang yang menyalahi undang undang pada Mac 2008. Jumlah yang dikatakan ialah RM 10 Juta.Syarikat Salamath Ali Money Changer yang terlibat dibatalkan lesennya tetapi kenapa tiada tindakan terhadap Mohamad Hassan yang menghantar wang dan penerima wang tersebut.

Dalam ucapan penggulungan persidangan DUN N.S baru ini secara tidak langsung Mohammad Hassan tidak mempunyai keberanian menjawab mahupun menafikan keterlibatan beliau malah secara tidak langsung mengakui keterlibatan beliau dengan mengakui sedang disiasat, tanpa memberikan penjelasan lanjut.

Tindakan menghantar wang tunai dalam jumlah yang besar adalah mensabotaj ekonomi dan mengkhianati negara. JSJK didesak memulakan siasatan berkenaan perkara ini.

Ketiga kes tersebut jelas mempunyai impak besar terhadap negara.

Kami telah menghantar laporan setebal 52mukasurat termasuk lampiran berkaitan. Demi menjaga kepentingan bersama dan kedaulatan undang – undang negara satu siasatan 'adil, telus dan terbuka' harus dimulakan segera. Ini merupakan laporan rasmi bagi membolehkan JSJK PDRM atau mana – mana jabatan dibawahnya memulakan siasatan.

Sebelum ini Ketua Polis Negara sendiri begitu menunjukkan minat dengan turut memberikan komen untuk mensensasikan kes berkaitan beberapa individu bukan dari Barisan Nasional (regim pemerintah negara). Laporan ini juga sebagai 'litmus test' kepada Ketua Polis Negara dan Institusi PDRM itu sendiri, sama ada benar bebas atau sekadar alat kepada regim pemerintah. Laporan ini harus di siasat dengan mengenepikan kepentingan politik atau kumpulan tertentu demi menjamin kepentingan negara dan rakyat keseluruhanya. Malah seharusnya rakyat berhak mengetahui hasil siasatan tersebut.

Laporan ini turut disokong oleh Solidariti Mahasiswa Malaysia (SMM) dan Majlis Integriti Angkatan Muda Malaysia.

Sekian.

BADRUL HISHAM BIN SHAHARIN a.k.a che'GuBard

Penyelaras, Solidariti Anak Muda Malaysia (S.A.M.M)

email : chegubard@gmail.com
blog :
http://chegubard.blogspot.com

Thursday, 3 December 2009

PKR Selangor’s racist Government Tender.

PKR Selangor’s racist Government Tender.

(ref tender No MPSJ/HSL/100-18/2)

This tender is specifically stated for Bumiputeras only. But PKR claims to be multi-racial as does DAP and PAS!

S.JAYATHAS

Information Chief

kontrak-sel

pkr-selangor-khalid