BN’s power play

by Ng Boon Hooi
ngboonhooi@thenutgraph.com
20 Nov 08 : 9.00AM

Bullying giants

IN George Orwell's novel Animal Farm, there's a line about how all animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others. The same could be said about the component parties in the Barisan Nasional (BN).

The BN is made up of 13 disparate parties — five based in the peninsula, and the rest in Sabah and Sarawak — with Umno, the MCA and MIC forming the backbone of the coalition. This formalised power-sharing agreement helps ensure that the various voices are heard and the interests of the different ethnic minorities are represented.

But Umno is the dominant force in the BN, taking the lion's share of leadership positions in the government by virtue of it representing the Malay-majority populace.

This has resulted in some component parties complaining of being sidelined in the decision-making process. The BN formula of mutual cooperation, it seems, doesn't always work.

During the 55th MCA general assembly on 18 Oct, outgoing president Datuk Seri Ong Ka Ting raised eyebrows when he said the BN has to reform to resolve the perception that Umno dominates over the other component parties in the ruling coalition.

Despite an almost immediate denial by BN chairperson and Umno president Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, the "Umno bully" theme seems to have struck a nerve among the component party members.

The MCA and Gerakan leaders have blamed some Umno leaders' actions and perceived arrogance over the past few years for the results of the 8 March general election, which saw the non-Malay vote bank defecting to the opposition.

The imbalance of power within the BN is recognised, if not articulated, by other component parties as well. And if so, can anything be done to address this issue?

Rebalancing the BN

Newly-elected MCA Youth chief Datuk Dr Wee Ka Siong (right) believes that there is room for discussion within the BN. He tells The Nut Graph that the MCA Youth has always spoken up regarding whatever issues they disagree with, such as the use of the Internal Security Act (ISA), and bumiputera equity.

However, unlike many of the delegates at the MCA assembly in October who were very critical of Umno's dominant role in the BN, Wee prefers to focus on how best to re-balance the relationship between the component parties by overhauling the coalition.

"BN should not operate during election campaigns only. BN should have a system [in place] from central to state and local levels. The coalition members should hold regular meetings so that they can enhance understanding, and avoid making decisions and statements that conflict with one another," says Wee.

Wee, who is the deputy education minister, also has high hopes that regular BN supreme council meetings can be held to rectify whatever imbalances of power that exist within the coalition.

"It would change the perception that Umno has a dominant role. Umno should let people see that BN represents a multi-ethnic and multilateral approach [to decision-making], and not be seen as a homogenous party," he adds.

United Pasokmomogun Kadazandusun Murut Organisation (Upko) president Tan Sri Bernard Dompok also believes that regular meetings can help to give more voice to the component parties.

He says that there's no need to hide that Umno speaks louder in the BN as the party has the most seats in parliament (79 out of a total of 222 seats).

"We have to fight every step of the way in every issue that we bring up at the BN meetings. We try to get BN to improve [in getting consensus for decisions]. [It's] not easy, we are not denying it," explains Dompok in an interview.

No need for change

But the idea that the BN needs to reform or that there needs to be change in the political balance does not meet with Umno Youth exco Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir's approval.

Mukhriz, for instance, is firm in his belief that there is no real need for changes in the BN format, as called for by the outgoing MCA Youth chief Datuk Liow Tiong Lai during the wing's annual general assembly on 18 Oct.

As for bringing about a better balance of power between the parties, Mukhriz says it all depends on how the component parties present their views and whether it is brought up at the right forum — for instance the BN supreme council meeting.

But Mukhriz also tells The Nut Graph that it is also not fair for the other component parties to divert the responsibility for their problems, including the poor showing during the 8 March elections, to Umno.

"[The allegation that Umno is arrogant] is not the only issue, so how could it be possible to dump everything on Umno?" asks Mukhriz, who is vying to become Umno Youth chief at the party polls in March 2009.

Equal footing?

Though the BN supreme council now meets more regularly, it is not yet apparent how successful it can be in ensuring that all the component parties have an equal footing in fashioning government policy.

Who dares to challenge Umno's dominance within the BN?

The MCA and Gerakan have been the most vocal in lamenting the lack of consultation in decisions made by the government, especially over the ISA detentions that took place on 12 Sept 2008.

Yet, despite both parties passing resolutions at their respective general assemblies, neither party was willing to risk government displeasure by signing an opposition-initiated petition against the ISA in Parliament.

The choice of whether or not to make a stand against a government policy or statement by a senior Umno leader actually lies with the individual leader, says Dompok.

As an example, he points to the memorandum submitted by nine non-Muslim cabinet ministers in January 2006 calling for a review of laws to resolve religious disputes that affect the non-Muslims. After Umno leaders objected, eight of the ministers subsequently withdrew their endorsement of the memo. Only Dompok (left), who is Minister in the Prime Minister's Department, had the guts to refuse.

A year later, Dompok once again broke ranks with his cabinet colleagues by speaking out against Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak's remark about Malaysia being an Islamic state. The fact that he still remains in the cabinet is proof that some amount of criticism at least is tolerated within the BN.

Both Wee and Dompok note that the coalition is slowly responding to criticism about being overly dominated by Umno, and that some changes, such as regular surpreme council meetings, are under way. But Umno must do more to accommodate its smaller partners.

"US now has the first black president, but our country is still talking about ketuanan Melayu. In Sabah we don't have 'tuan'. The last 'tuan' left in 1963," Dompok says.

Gaining leverage

There has been some change within the BN power structure after the coalition lost its two-thirds majority in Parliament. With the opposition Pakatan Rakyat needing only 30 MPs to cross over to topple the government, the smaller component parties, especially in Sabah and Sarawak, have been able to speak out more forcefully.

This has especially been the case for Upko, which has four representatives in Parliament.

For example, Upko took a strong stand against the proposed Petronas gas pipeline project from Kimanis, Sabah to Bintulu, Sarawak, which the party said would not benefit Sabah. Angered by the prime minister's decision to go ahead with the project, Dompok hinted at a possible review of the party's position in the BN.

Amazingly, the threat worked. The cabinet agreed for Sabah to have its own petrochemical industry using the bulk of the state's oil and gas resources, while excess oil and gas can be piped to Bintulu.

The incident showed that it is possible to gain leverage over Umno within the BN, at least in the present political climate.

"I don't think that it is [a] question of using the leverage, but [finding a way of] working within the family of BN," Dompok says.

But whether the other component parties, such as the MCA and Gerakan, can find a way to get their views accepted without doing something similar remains to be tested.

AG’s dismal record merits dismissal

NOV 15 — Wanted: Attorney-General with ability to marshal strong prosecution team and achieve some degree of success in high-profile cases.

Caveat: present holder of the position need not apply.

The inability of the Attorney-General’s Chambers in even making a prima facie case against Abdul Razak Baginda in the murder trial of Mongolian model Altantuya Shaariibuu is just the latest in a long line of setbacks that Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail has presided over since becoming the country’s top legal officer.

Here is a sampling of his list of shame.

* The Fu Xian Juang murder trial in September 2005, where the three accused were acquitted without defence being called. High Court judge Datuk Abdul Musa said there were clear unresolved doubts and unanswered questions in the prosecution’s case. After a trial lasting 36 days and with 39 prosecution witnesses having given evidence, High Court judge Datuk Kadir Musa found that the prosecution had not brought forward any evidence which could implicate the accused in the murder and that there had been no “prima facie” case made out to warrant the defence being called to answer the charge. The prosecution had apparently omitted to call material witnesses, including the investigating officer for the case.

* Datuk Norjan Khan Bahadar murder trial in August 2004 where the accused was acquitted when High Court judge Datuk Ian Chin noted that there was little evidence to prove that the accused knew the victim.

* Noritta Samsuddin murder trial in July 2004 where the Court of Appeal judge Datuk Mokhtar Sidin noted that to establish a prima facie case, the prosecution had to prove that death had occurred, that the accused was responsible for Noritta’s death and that the act was done with the intention of causing her death. The Court of Appeal said the only fact proven was that Noritta was dead.

* The corruption case involving Tan Sri Eric Chia, the former managing director of Perwaja Steel. He was acquitted after 43 days of trial without his defence being called. The High Court judge heavily criticised the conduct of the prosecution, especially their failure to call several key witnesses who had obvious knowledge of the material elements of the case. With reference to particular key witnesses from Japan, the judge questioned whether it was the Japanese witnesses who were “reluctant” to come or “the prosecution was the one reluctant to bring them here”.

* The Altantuya Shaariibuu murder trial will also go on record as one of the longest trials in Malaysian history. After more than 150 days, Abdul Razak was cleared of abetting the murder. Two police officers have been called to enter their defence. The presiding judge said that the prosecution had not been able to make a prima facie case against Abdul Razak and had not rebutted points which he made in his affidavit.

In any other field or enterprise, such a dismal record would have merited a dismissal. Think about it.

If the Malaysian badminton team won only friendly matches but failed miserably at the Thomas Cup, All-England, Asian Games and Olympics, there would be calls for Misbun Sidek and Rexy Mainaky to step down. Or at least, both of these coaches would have offered to resign, especially if their charges failed to clear the first round of the contest.

Losing a case without the defence being called is akin to being shown the exit in the first round. It means that the courts do not believe that the prosecution has met even the minimum standard in the case.

Veteran lawyer Raja Aziz Addruse noted recently that as it is the taxpayers’ funds that ultimately pay for all criminal prosecutions, they have a vested interest in knowing how such cases, which appear to be ill-prepared, can be brought to trial.

“It is imperative that the Attorney General’s wide powers be subject to close scrutiny and not be permitted to be exercised arbitrarily. If the government is truly serious in wanting to improve and restore public confidence in the administration of justice in this country, it must be prepared to review the presently unfettered powers of the Attorney-General… There is currently no formal mechanism requiring the Attorney-General to account for his conduct in relation to prosecutions of criminal proceedings. In spite of the wide powers he wields, he has no duty to report to the prime minister, cabinet or Parliament. There has been no call for him to account for the failure of a number of high-profile prosecutions, which commenced with much fanfare but ended up being a waste of funds.”

Raja Aziz and others believe that there should be a move to limit the powers of the AG in Malaysia, noting that he is both chief legal adviser to the government as well as public prosecutor.

This dual role opens him up to a conflict of interest situation.

The Malaysian Insider has learnt that moves to limit the powers of the AG have met with some resistance in the Cabinet and from the AG himself.

And it is unlikely that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi — with a full plate of reforms to push through before March — will be inclined to use whatever goodwill and power he has left to re-examine legislation covering the AG’s powers in Malaysia.

But he still has the power to hire and fire. Few Malaysians will blame him for appointing a new AG to restore some confidence back in the system.

The Politics of China's Rural Poor

asia sentinel

Written by David Fullbrook
Wednesday, 12 November 2008

China's leadership stakes its future on reforming incomes in the countryside

The massive Rmb4 trillion stimulus package announced Sunday by China’s State Central Committee, which provides vast amounts of infrastructure spending and support for the rural poor, makes it clear that President Hu Jintao has at least partly staked his influence and legacy to the fortunes of China’s downtrodden farmers as well as hoping to use it to limit the influence of members of China’s potent Shanghai Gang.

Partly because rural poverty is so overwhelming, China’s authorities are seeking to engineer the biggest migration in history, from the countryside to the cities. Some 312 million of China’s rural dwellers are estimated to have no access to safe drinking water, for instance. As many as 120 million people -- twice the entire population of the United Kingdom -- are expected to urbanize over the next five years, leaving what is far too often a miserable life in the country. In addition to the stimulus package announced last week, the October plenary session of the Communist Party resulted in a communiqué describing several “musts,” including making food security for the country’s 1.3 billion people a top priority, strengthening agriculture as the foundation of the national economy and protecting rural property rights, a revolution in a nation that still calls itself communist.

Rural incomes dramatically lag urban ones, with 2007 average per-capita disposal income only Rmb4,140 (US$605) compared with Rmb13,786 in the cities --three times as much. Villagers and rural town residents lay blame for their poverty, real and relative, at the door of the party, which Hu Jintao heads. Party leaders fear that if matters don’t improve, the party’s crumbling legitimacy could turn to dust. Accordingly, the directive promises to double farm incomes by 2020.

The agriculture reform package is nonetheless a breathtaking gamble. Some 730 million people remain on the land, the subjects of what is about to become a vast social experiment. While the details still remain hazy nearly a month after the conclusion of the October Plenum, the ability to sell off land use rights allows for the creation of bigger farming plots and the conversion of land into industrial farming. One of the problems across Asia is that tiny plots farmed by individuals are not efficient. By moving more rural dwellers off the land, it is argued, bigger farms will allow for more efficient farming.

To many critics, however, the industrialization of agriculture has its own manifold dangers. Western-style agribusiness, they argue, produces high yields, but requires vast amounts of energy and chemical fertilizers to maintain what eventually become almost monocultures, causing increasing land degradation. Instead, they argue, the rotation of crops is a much wiser stewardship of land. More than 200 million peasants have already left the land for the cities. Whether they will be any better off as urban dwellers, they argue, is debatable. The masses moving to the cities are currently barred from receiving standard welfare benefits and, with poor educations, find it difficult to move up the economic ladder.

The "musts" in the agriculture package put some meat on the bones that Hu laid out when he was reappointed to a second and almost certainly final term as leader in October 2007. In broad terms, according to the state-controlled China Daily, farmers will now be able to trade, rent or mortgage their land use rights for profit in some sort of land transaction market. One of the biggest causes of tension in China has been the arbitrary seizure of land by authorities for conversion to urbanization. Thousands have rioted against authorities, with pitched battles that have raged for days.

Certainly, Hu knows the problems of China’s interior, which is where he worked for most of his career, becoming a central player in the Communist Youth League, the base for a faction which has by a whisker outsmarted the savvy Shanghai clique in recent years.

In simple terms the Youth League faction has its roots in the countryside, whereas the Shanghai clique previously headed Jiang Zemin, the former president, draws its strength from thriving cities, mostly along the coast.

When Hu succeeded Jiang as leader in 2002, hopes rose for political reform in some quarters despite his iron-fisted term as governor of Tibet. For a few years the press appeared to have greater slack before feeling a tug on the leash in 2005 as Hu began preparations for the 17th party congress in 2007. That tug has now largely become a chokehold.

The Youth League faction, represented by Hu, was expected to have strengthened and consolidated its influence clearing the way to dominate the new politburo by replacing all the members left in place by Jiang.

However, it was not to be. Jiang has proved a wily player in the shadows. The Shanghai clique has retained considerable influence. The politburo and other senior positions came out fairly balanced between institutional and factional interests. It is important to note that on ideological matters, all factions agree that they must use draconian means to keep
the CCP in power if necessary. They see the writing on the wall, and that they must hang together so as not to hang separately.

This tussle, although not an outright clash between the Youth League and the Shanghai clique, is perhaps most apparent in the rise of Xi Jinping, who although not a member of the Shanghai clique is now a contender for Hu’s job in 2012 thanks to support from Jiang. He is “running” against Hu’s protégé Li Keqiang.

One casualty of the Youth League’ struggle to assert itself over the Shanghai clique, as well as other interests, has been political reform.

Joseph Fewsmith of the Hoover Institution in California however detects strong currents in favor of more open politics to reflect the monumental changes in society over the last few decades and to confront deepening discontent with the party’s inability to tackle corruption.

Ad hoc experiments in greater public participation in appointing local communist party officials, as well as murmurings for change in Guangdong province, adjacent to Hong Kong, and publications from the Central Party School in Beijing all hint of changes to come.

One thing seems all but certain: the party will not be relinquishing its monopoly on power. In any case substantive reform, at least in the context of China today, will probably have to wait until new leadership, including the politburo and the state council, is appointed at the 18th party congress in Beijing in 2012.

This will be the second “formal” transfer of power between administrations following the precedent set when Jiang stepped down at the end of his second term in 2002. If it goes off without a hitch, which seems likely as the party, despite its “healthy” internal divisions and debates, seems far from cracking up, it would mark another step in the institutionalization of autocratic politics. This is a legacy of Deng Xiaoping, the architect of China’ opening up to the world in 1978, who was determined to avoid a repeat of Mao Zedong’s leadership, which had degenerated into terror.
Between now and 2012 Hu and Premier Wen Jiabao, another stalwart of the Youth League, have to deliver a strong performance by government to maintain the Youth League’s standing and ensure patronage flows in order to win the support of smaller factions, “independents” and “floating voters” in the party.

Their performance will be judged on the results of their policies, which is where farmers come in, because the plans revealed in October for boosting the rural economy are almost certainly going to stand as a major, perhaps the major, initiative of Hu and Wen’s administration.
Although rural reforms are penciled in to run until 2020 they must have a noticeable impact by 2012 to shore up support for the Youth League faction. If the countryside becomes noticeably more prosperous over the next few years, in part helping to mitigate the downturn from falling exports due to economic strife around the world, then the Youth League should be well represented in the new leadership taking the helm in 2012.

Political reform may then have a hope of making it onto the agenda. About time too. The middle class is growing, people are more worldly, society now expects choice in every sphere. Politics cannot remain stuck in the past forever without consequences.

Ex-leader uses blog to needle Malaysian government

By Seth Mydans
Published: October 26, 2008

KUALA LUMPUR: In a vast office at the top of one of the world's tallest buildings, former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad sits at a broad, glass-topped desk, scribbling his thoughts on a pad of unlined paper.

For 22 years Mahathir was the most powerful person in this land, and his thoughts were commands as he reshaped the country in his own grand image.

But he has become an irritant and a spoiler five years after stepping down, turning against his handpicked successor, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, and he has fallen victim to the press controls he perfected as prime minister.

It is mainly a system of self-censorship in an atmosphere of pressure and intimidation that produces an obedient press and has seen the closure or banning of many publications.

"Where is the press freedom?" he exclaimed two years ago, apparently surprised to be suddenly ignored. "Broadcast what I have to say! What I say is not even accurately published in the press!"

Earlier this year, like many other inconvenient critics, he joined what seems to be a political wave of the future, creating his own acerbic blog - www.chedet.com - an online journal where he vents in both English and Malay several times a week.

Around the region, bloggers like him are becoming a fifth estate, challenging the government's monopoly on information in Singapore, evading censors in Vietnam and influencing events in places like Thailand, Cambodia and China.

In March, political experts say, Malaysia's bloggers helped tip the balance, contributing to the biggest upset the governing party, the United Malays National Organization, had suffered since independence in 1957. For the first time in decades, it fell below two-thirds of the seats in Parliament, and it lost control of 5 of 13 states.

Two months after that, in May, Mahathir went digital, cutting and thrusting with elan.

"It is time the so-called intellectuals realize they were being duped by the Master of Spin," he wrote on Aug. 21, referring to his bitter enemy, Anwar Ibrahim, who was his deputy prime minister and now leads the opposition.

"The pious Muslim, who is also the bosom pal of Paul Wolfowitz, the neo-con Jew, the killer of Muslims," he said, referring to the former U.S. deputy secretary of defense.

Blogging on Sept. 3, he offered a sort of mission statement.

Many people are with him as he harasses the government, he asserted. "But they are not prepared to say it openly. That was why I started my blog. About six million had visited my blog site and tens of thousands have commented and supported me."

In case anyone doubts this, he posts the comments, by the dozens and hundreds, page after page, day after day. It turns out he has a lot of fans out there.

"Amazingly brilliant!" reads one comment. "I can't stop laughing... you made my day Sir!"

"HAHAHAHA :) ...This is your BEST posting so far, my dear Tun!!" reads another, referring to Mahathir by an honorific.

"Dearest Tun," reads another, "You are sooooo right.. spot on.. bulls eye.."

And just to clear up any possible misunderstanding, another writes: "You, sir, are the most brilliant politician Malaysia has ever been blessed with."

In the upheaval of the March election, several bloggers, following an opposite trajectory from that of Mahathir, used their online popularity to win seats in the national or state parliaments.

The most prominent was Jeff Ooi, 52, a former advertising copywriter who was one of Malaysia's first political bloggers, in 2003, at www.jeffooi.com.

"The government doesn't have a clue how to handle bloggers," he said in an interview. "If I were a dictator I would be despairing. What do you do against this?"

The government's assault on Ooi - "very hostile," he said - included threats of imprisonment without trial, attacks in the government-friendly press and defamation lawsuits, which are popular among leaders in Southeast Asia.

But that only seemed to make him a hero, and when he decided to run for Parliament with the opposition Democratic Action Party, he already had a big head start.

"As a person that has consistently faced threats as a blogger, I had a kind of iconism and imagery that this is someone you can trust, someone the government fears, someone you need to put into Parliament," he said.

But he said it is much harder to blog from the inside. "The trade-off is that I have to write with measured words," he said. "I am no longer my old self. I thought I had to take it to a higher level, and a lot of readers are getting disappointed. It isn't the same blogger that they used to know."

Mahathir Mohamad, the former prime minister of Malaysia, at his office in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia,
on Sept. 30. (Palani Mohan for the International Herald Tribune)

Earlier this year, Ooi said, he attended a public forum with Mahathir, and he claims that he is the one who persuaded the old war horse to get blogging.

"I threw him a challenge," Ooi said. "A blogger shares a few prerequisites. One, he is strongly opinionated. Two, he could be controversial. And, thirdly, he is an agent provocateur on issues.

"I thought Mahathir fulfilled all three."

The result, Ooi said, was "a miracle, he scored about 10 million visitors within months."

Now, a convert to free speech, Mahathir is using his blog to champion the most recent victim of government censorship, Raja Petra Kamaruddin, the country's highest-profile blogger, who posts his slash-and-burn commentary on his site, www.malaysia-today.net. The site has been blocked, but readers are redirected to another address, which continues to be updated.

The government has fallen back on the kind of tactics that Ooi said it threatened against him, charging Raja Petra with sedition and locking him up for two years without trial for comments he has posted.

Mahathir, the country's former strongman, sounded almost like Che Guevara when he said in his blog that the arrest showed "a degree of oppressive arrogance worthy of a totalitarian state."

Furthermore, locking people up is futile, he said in an interview in his sky-high office. There is no way the government can arrest all the bloggers, even if it wants to.

At least, he said, "I hope so. Otherwise I'll be in, too." - IHT

Najib misses the point, Malaysia misses the boat

Liew Chin Tong is the DAP MP for Bukit Bendera.

OCT 23 — The much-awaited official response from the new Finance Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak on the global meltdown was nothing but a letdown. Najib’s response was grossly inadequate, and misses the point entirely.

The world’s financial system is facing the worst breakdown since 1929, with the banking sector in total disarray and all the advance economies — representing 55 per cent of global gross domestic product — entering recession, it is incumbent upon any government to respond quickly and effectively in order to mitigate the effects of the crisis.

While the crisis and its impact are discussed daily in detailed fashion everywhere else, for our government leaders the only relevant index in Malaysia now is the nomination tally for Umno leadership positions. Who bothers about the economy?

As a response to the challenge by the Opposition to announce a revised Budget taking into consideration the new circumstances, especially the fall in oil prices which formed 46 per cent of the budgeted revenue for 2009, Najib promised a proper response on Oct 20.

However, apart from saying that the growth rate would be revised downwards, Najib could only manage to announce that the Government would inject RM5 billion into Valuecap Sdn Bhd so it can stabilise the stock exchange, as well as a promise that rules for foreign investment will be further relaxed.

The other strategies include the liberalisation of the service sector to attract investment and generate local employment, re-positioning of government projects to focus on those that generate higher multiplier effects, as well as strengthening of small and middle-scale enterprises.

He also announced that there will be no reduction in budgeted expenditure for 2009, which means a much bigger deficit as a result of a smaller revenue base due to the fall in oil prices.

Najib said details would be announced on Nov 4 when he concludes the Budget debate in Parliament, almost two months after the initial collapse of the financial markets.

In a global crisis of such calamitous magnitude, the Finance Minister is duty-bound to explain to the nation through at least a ministerial statement in Parliament as soon as he and the Treasury humanly can prepare it.

But instead the Government is acting as if there is no crisis, thus a revised Budget or even a tentative plan of action is not needed.

Malaysia is fortunate that its banks are not yet exposed to the international banking crisis but no one is immune from the global meltdown.

A decade after the 1997/8 crisis, problems contributing to the last crisis — cronyism, corruption and nepotism — are still very much alive. The net effect is that the cost of running the federal government tripled that of in 1998.

Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's final Budget as Finance Minister was only RM68 billion in total, miniscule compared to the RM207 billion Budget presented by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi on Aug 29.

The quality and availability of public goods like education, public housing, public health, crime prevention have all declined, while child and aged care and public transport are near inexistent, resulting in a Hobson's choice for the poor and middle class in either facing the decline in living conditions or an ever higher cost of maintaining a decent lifestyle.

A total of 57.8 per cent of the country's 5.8 million families live on a combined monthly income below RM3,000, including 8.6 per cent who make less than RM1,000 per month. The already skyrocketing inflation, and the impending crisis, has hit them really hard.

The dependence on government-related employment and foreign workers over the last decade stops the economy as a whole from moving up the value chain and to respond to a crisis effectively. One in four of Malaysia's labour force is a legal foreign worker while approximately one in four in the workforce works for the public sector directly or indirectly, for instance, in government-linked corporations. The private sector lacks the capacity to innovate and compete internationally, thus hindering its ability to weather the storm.

The challenge of our time is to ensure that there is sufficient food on the table of the almost 60 per cent of our nation's families, and to ensure that their quality of life does not descend further.

It is in this context that Najib's RM5 billion injection of capital into the controversial Valuecap misses the point. It is too little to boost the stock exchange in the face of the exit of foreign institutional players.

There is also a danger of throwing good money after bad money. The RM10 billion Valuecap possesses will not last for too many days if there is a storm while it may take years to recoup losses.

More importantly, it is, in the language of the United States, Main Street that matters, not Wall Street.

With Najib missing the point, the country risks missing the boat, of curtailing the fallout from the crisis. - The Malaysian Insider

Post-mortem necessary for Umno to understand March 8

OCT 22 - Immediately after the surprising results of Malaysia's March 8 general election became official, there was a rush by journalists, analysts, academicians, laymen and politicians – though apparently not from the ruling BN – to study the preceding months and to make a list of the things that Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi's people did or did not do that caused things to go so seriously wrong for them.

Since then, many books have appeared, and continue to appear, on this subject. The questions are simple, even if the answers cannot be.

How did the BN go from holding 90.4per cent of parliamentary seats to having only 63.1 per cent in four short years? How did the oh-so-dominant Umno manage to lose 28per cent of its federal seats?
Also, how could the other BN parties on the peninsula do so badly as to lose 51.6 per cent (MCA), 66.6 per cent (MIC), 80bper cent (Gerakan) and 100 per cent (PPP) of their strength?

Most interestingly, what do these figures say about the internal dynamics, and the public perception of, the ruling coalition?

The first sign that the establishment was not going to dig too deeply to identify the problem came when Abdullah, under pressure from the likes of former premier Mahathir Mohamad to resign, instead of generously taking blame for the results, declared on March 10 that "we are all collectively responsible for all that we have been doing because the government has been making decisions on the basis of consensus."

In line with this distancing stance, he stated that the BN – and not Umno as such – would set up a body to carry out a post-mortem. No further information about what such committee has been doing has been made available.

Former Finance Minister Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, strongly concerned about what he saw as a serious crisis for Umno, sent an open letter on 12 March to all 193 division leaders, pleading for an emergency general meeting to be convened to discuss the party's worst election results in history.

The Tengku was right in focusing on Umno as the body where reforms were most needed. As he pointed out, Umno once controlled two-thirds of Parliament all by itself. Today, it has 35.6per cent of the seats.

Supporting Umno has obviously gone out of fashion among young Malays. Is that Umno's fault, or is that everybody else's? His plea to the divisions fell on deaf ears.

Seven harrowing months later, it is time for analysts to make another list, this time to explain, not what Abdullah's people did wrong before March 8, but why they stay mired in reactive mode.

The recent decision to ban Hindraf was shocking for what it revealed of the establishment's inability of understand the country's socio-economics, and its reliance on old solutions to solve problems it does not even care to understand.

Certainly, Anwar Ibrahim's incessant taunts at the government had something to do with it. But he was able to do that because Abdullah was not doing enough to inspire confidence among his people.

That is now the job of his heir apparent.

If it had been brought home to Umno and the BN that government arrogance, the lack of reforms and the breaking of promises on reforms were the cause of their troubles, then adequate measures could have been taken to encourage its supporters. That did not happen.

Even now, when Abdullah has been forced to leave by March 2009, he continues to promise reforms.

But sadly, a reform deferred is a reform denied. There is only so much disappointment a voter can take, before he starts looking elsewhere.

To be fair, there was an attempt – perhaps half-hearted, but still an attempt – by Abdullah to revamp his image. On March 18, he presented his new Cabinet in which was included the much-respected lawyer from Kelantan, Zaid Ibrahim, as minister in the Prime Minister's office in charge of the judiciary.

Abdullah also relinquished his Internal Security portfolio, giving it to Syed Hamid Albar, who was moved from Foreign Affairs to Home Affairs.

Since then, Syed Hamid has made himself a very unpopular person by invoking the hated Internal Security Act to arrest blogger Raja Petra Kamaruddin, opposition politician Teresa Kok, and Tan Hoon Cheng, a young journalist. Raja Petra remains in custody, while the Teresa Kok case threatens to escalate into an inter-ethnic issue.

Syed Hamid's recent move to ban Hindraf is incomprehensible because it does not promise to solve any problem at all, aside from giving police more excuses for arresting Indians angry with the system.

It was his use of the ISA that led to Zaid Ibrahim leaving the government in protest, badly disheartening government supporters who had been hoping for substantial reforms to the judiciary.

Abdullah's government is therefore no longer championing – even rhetorically – any open agenda for reform. It should have listened to Tengku Razaleigh, and perhaps it could then have stopped undermining its own legitimacy. - The Malaysian Insider

About the Author:
The author, Mr Ooi Kee Beng is a Fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. His latest book is Lost in Transition: Malaysia under Abdullah (SIRD & ISEAS 2008).

Muhyiddin Yassin

BY KARIM RASLAN
2008-10-19 00:00

What can Malaysians expect from Muhyiddin Yassin, the 61-year old Minister of International Trade and Industry who is now front-runner for the Deputy Presidency of Umno, possibly our next Deputy Prime Minister?

Although he is not the easiest of politicians to read, a lot of who he is has to do with his deep roots in Muar. He draws a great deal of his personal strength and popular appeal (not to mention his solid grounding in Islam) from Johor, where his father ran a private Islamic school.

Johor, as I have often noted before, is unique amongst the states in Peninsula Malaysia. The racial ill-will and suspicion elsewhere doesn't seem to be a big an issue there, but its politicians never shy from speaking their minds. All of this shows in Muhyiddin,

In the aftermath of Umno/BN's disaster in the March 8th polls, he quickly repositioned himself as an independent voice in the party. Muhyiddin, interestingly enough, kept himself above the orgy of race-baiting some Umno leaders chose to engage in.

"Umno cannot stand alone in situation that's changed like this. We need the support of the non-Malay communities." His frankness is reassuring when he says: "For example, people say the component parties in BN lost because they were overly dominated by Umno."

"He is not one to quibble over the minute details of protocol either."

As he goes onto explain: "This has never been something we've dealt with. We need a new arrangement within the BN family. We need to make meetings more regular. We need to strengthen the rapport. Otherwise the situation quickly gets truncated."

"I feel this is very important. We must reinvent the BN. We have to go beyond the surface and deepen relations. It's about form and content I the need for a common mission and vision."

"The polarization of the past few decades is undeniable. It is a clear failure of government policies. These are the serious issues of the day.

"At the same time, the younger generation doesn't have the baggage of the past. History is just too remote for them! Laws and the constitution are not enough in themselves. We need to ensure these codes are embedded in our conventions - the way we live day-in, day-out."

"We need to create a new consensus. However, it needs time to evolve. As were doing this we need to engage with the younger generation. But it's a two-way flow. You can't force them and they're very exposed and sophisticated."

Whilst some might be sceptical of Muhyiddin's emergence as a multiracial figure, his interest is undoubted. Back in 2007 he was already talking and publicly about the unwritten 'social contract' and the need for it to be renewed. Certainly, for those who've despaired of Umno - especially among the non-Malays, he's been a crucial figure, talking sense when others were locked in hollow, self-serving rhetoric.

Also to his credit is his command of English and his sharp mind- he's not the kind of politician that has to rely on a phalanx of special officers or advisers. He is a tactical player who holds his cards close to himself and often springs the odd surprise mood. He is not one to quibble over the minute details of protocol either.

Furthermore, Muhyiddin has a sizeable curiosity about global affairs both political and economic as well as the mental agility to contrast and compare emerging trends with our own situation here in Malaysia. This is the sort of leader that Umno ought to encourage: he's a welcome return to an almost endangered Umno paradigm - namely the cosmopolitan, multilingual and principled Malay technocrat with his feet planted firmly on the ground.

But of course, Muhyiddin is not without his flaws. He comes across to people who don't know him as dour, unsmiling (which he ought to do more often) and distant- almost a Gordon Brown-type figure without the New Labour beliefs.

His record as a Menteri Besar and Minister are not without its critics. Furthermore, despite his reassurances many non-Malays are still fearful that yet another Malay ultra lurks beneath his cool exterior.

Nevertheless, Umno could do much worse as it faces a long period of internal instability leading up to the March General Assembly and the leadership transition. Many see a Najib-Muhyiddin as almost inevitable, and Malaysians shall have to wait and see if this equation can work in the long run.

We cannot get away from the fact that, however, that Umno needs more straight-talking realists like Muhyiddin in order to survive. In order to win back the support of moderates and liberals alienated by the recent times, he needs to clarify his position on civil liberties - legal and judicial reform, media freedoms and such like.

Applying his straight-talking to these vital issues will undoubtedly assist in his path to power. (By KARIM RASLAN/ MySinchew)

Getting there is the easy part for Najib

OCT 18 — Barring any major scandals, Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak is poised to become Malaysia’s Prime Minister by next March.

At 55, the youngish and debonair Pahang aristocrat is achieving his goal at an age not uncommon for first-time Prime Ministers in Malaysia.

Of the five previous ones, three got into top office when they were around 54 to 56. Najib’s father, Tun Abdul Razak Hussein, was the youngest ever, becoming Prime Minister at 48. Abdullah was the oldest, at 64.

Few in the upper echelons of power in Malaysia can match Najib’s political breeding. Not only is his father remembered by Malays in general as the man who laid the groundwork for Malay progress, Najib is also nephew-in-law of his father’s successor, the much respected Tun Hussein Onn.

Education Minister Datuk Hishammuddin Hussein is therefore his first cousin on their mother’s side.

Not only do blood ties place Najib auspiciously in the Umno power structure, among the ruling class of both Johor and Pahang, few have the wide experience in government that he boasts of.

A graduate in Industrial Economics from the University of Nottingham in the United Kingdom, he was drawn into politics by his father’s sudden demise in 1976. He was soon made deputy minister in several ministries, including finance and education.

Later, he headed both those key ministries, and was also Pahang Menteri Besar. He held the powerful position of Umno Youth chief from 1987 to 1993.

Given such a background, being Prime Minister should not pose too big a challenge for Najib. He is known to be a decisive man when he needs to be.

However, holding positions of power for 32 years has left him tainted by controversies and scandals. Corruption allegations follow him endlessly, and might haunt him all the more once he becomes Prime Minister.

Non-Malays have not forgotten his part in fanning inter-ethnic tensions in 1987 with threats of soaking a keris in Chinese blood. Incessant claims that he was involved in the murder in 2006 of a Mongolian woman, Altantuya Shaariibuu, have harmed his reputation somewhat.

The latest controversy centres around tender irregularities in the ongoing purchase of 12 aircraft from the French-German firm, Eurocopters.

Despite these predicaments, Najib’s control over Umno once he becomes its president is expected to be strong. His career path and political network put him ahead of most potential contenders. However, circumstances surrounding his ascendance to the premiership are far from ideal.

The reason why Abdullah has to leave will also be the cause of much anxiety for a Najib administration. The opposition Pakatan Rakyat , led by Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, is now a formidable presence in Parliament. With the opposition holding more than a third of the seats, Najib, as Premier, will be able to make constitutional amendments only with PR’s collaboration.

For the first time in Malaysian history, the ruling Barisan Nasional will be faced with an alternative coalition daring to dream of replacing it. To make matters worse for the BN, all its five members in mainland Malaysia, including Umno, fared badly in the March elections. The next BN leader will have to pay close attention to the strength and loyalty of its lesser allies, and reduce Malay-centrism within Umno.

By and large, Najib will need to demonstrate that he can withstand Anwar’s onslaughts and escape the stamp of passivity and tentativeness that Abdullah’s administration has been known for — and do all that without allowing former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad to steer his hand.

The purported reason why he was passed over by Dr Mahathir — Najib’s former mentor — in 2003 when the latter was choosing a successor is not an issue for Umno at the moment. The Muslim vote that Dr Mahathir lost for BN in 1999 and that Abdullah managed to regain in 2004 is now firmly in the hands of the opposition. It is not there any longer for Najib to lose, as was Dr Mahathir’s fear in 2003.

With opposition leader Anwar now seeking to be the next Premier instead of Najib, the latter will have little time for rest. The war of words between these two men will be intense, and there will be no shortage of political intrigue for Malaysians to gasp over in the coming months.

At present, the person most likely to become Najib’s deputy is Minister of International Trade and Industry Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin. Born in 1947, Muhyiddin is six years older than Najib. He is known to have ambitions of becoming Umno president, and being No. 2 to the younger Najib does not say much of his chances of ever getting there. How loyal Muhyuddin will be to Najib has yet to be tested. — TODAY

The writer is a Fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. His latest book is “Lost in Transition: Malaysia under Abdullah”.

Muhyiddin moves to finish off PM

COMMENTARY

OCT 16 — Buoyed by the overwhelming lead he has secured for the deputy presidency after the first week of nominations from Umno divisions, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin has moved to land a fatal blow on Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

Under the latest, and what many thought was the final version of the transition plan, Abdullah announced that he would not stand for re-election in Umno and hand over power when the party’s annual congress officially elects its new leader in March.

Following Abdullah’s announcement, as planned, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, is cruising towards an uncontested win with no one else managing to secure a nomination for the top post thus far. For many in Umno, it is already a foregone conclusion that Najib and Muhyiddin will be the next leadership pair of the party and government.

But until now, there was also widespread acceptance for the postponement of the party congress from December to March in order to give Abdullah some time to finish his promised reforms. It seems that even that is now under question.

When met by reporters today, Muhyiddin said that the campaign period was too long and that this would affect the official work of ministers and deputy ministers aspiring for posts in the party.

Reading between the lines of Muhyiddin’s statement is a clear move to oust Abdullah earlier.

Muhyiddin has been at the forefront of the campaign to get Abdullah to resign after the March general election which initially resulted in the 2010 formula, and then when Muhyiddin felt that he could push it further, he succeeded in orchestrating calls for an earlier handover which finally led to the March 2009 agreement where Abdullah would step down as Prime Minister after the party congress.

Now, Muhyiddin is at it again. Perhaps confident that he has no real challenger for the deputy presidency considering his nearest rival, Malacca Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Ali Rustam, is trailing far behind in nomination numbers, Muhyiddin is now going for the kill by appealing to Umno members to exert pressure once again on the leadership to bring the date of the congress forward and hence get Abdullah out quicker.

The move is calculated to give an advantage to the current frontrunners who are all perceived to be aligned to the Najib-Muhyiddin ticket — vice-president aspirants Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein and Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal, and Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir who is leading the race for the Youth leadership.

The quicker the congress, where delegates will elect those who make it past the nomination stage, the better the chances are for these frontrunners. If the congress takes place in March 2009 as scheduled, sentiment can turn against those who have taken an early lead.

However, the main point behind Muhyiddin's latest move is that it is designed to cut short Abdullah's extra time in office. It is possible that the latest round of political attacks on Najib has created a sense that the transition must happen quicker before any more damage is done to the incoming premier.

Many Najib supporters feel that he will be better able to handle the accusations if he is already the Prime Minister and that March may be too far away. For Muhyiddin, an earlier Abdullah exit will also see him appointed as Deputy Prime Minister quicker.

Muhyiddin's latest statement comes a few days after a telling photograph was published in a leading Malay-language daily of him, Najib and former premier Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad sitting together at a Hari Raya open house.

For political observers, the photograph spoke not just a thousand, but a million words. Dr Mahathir wants nothing more than Abdullah being booted out of office sooner than later.

It seems Muhyiddin is about to deliver that for the man who has come out in vocal support for him as Najib's deputy.

Cocktail of sleaze allegations poses threat to political stability

Monday, October 13, 2008

MALAYSIA LETTER: Blogs and online media are fuelling controversy as mainstream media remain tightly controlled, writes Clifford Coonan

NO ONE can say Malaysian politics lacks lurid stories. The grisly killing of a Mongolian model, links between that murder and the man tipped as Malaysia's next prime minister, fresh accusations that former deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim is a sodomite and sedition charges against a popular online editor are among the big issues in the press in Malaysia over recent days.

That is to say nothing of the decision by the prime minister, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, not to run in the next election as a way of averting an uprising against him within the ranks of his own United Malays National Organisation party, which forms the core of the National Front coalition that has ruled Malaysia since it became independent in 1957.

All the stories are technically separate, but connected in a thickening web of sleaze.

The government had a disastrous showing in elections in March, which combined with rising fuel costs and financial fears, is generating the kind of turbulence that threatens stability in the southeast Asian nation.

Abdullah's decision to step down opens the door for deputy premier Najib Razak to become premier. The former defence minister is also the subject of lots of speculation, although not in the mainstream media, which is effectively controlled by political parties in Malaysia. The country's hundreds of blogs are seen as independent platforms and offering anti-government commentaries on social and political issues.

The editor of the best-known anti-government news website, "Malaysia Today", is on trial on sedition charges for implying that Najib and his wife, Rosmah Mansor, were involved in the 2006 killing of Altantuya Shaariibuu, a 28-year-old Mongolian interpreter and model.

Journalist Raja Petra Raja Kamaruddin, who also faces other accusations of trying to undermine the government, made the accusations in an article on April 25th titled "Let's Send the Altantuya Murderers to Hell". Raja Petra (58), who denies the accusation, is already in jail in a separate case under national security legislation that allows indefinite detention without trial.

The two cases against Raja Petra have provoked an outcry against the government, with detractors accusing it of misusing the judiciary to crack down on critics and suppress freedom of speech. If convicted, Raja Petra faces up to three years in jail.

Two policemen have been accused of shooting Altantuya Shaariibuu twice in the head and then blowing up her body with explosives in a jungle clearing near Kuala Lumpur.

Abdul Razak Baginda, a close associate of Najib, is charged with abetting the murder. All three are currently on trial. The two policemen were part of the Special Action Squad, an elite team of bodyguards directly under Najib's control when he was defence minister.

Najib's name has barely come up in official media reports about the murder, except to say that he swears before Allah that he didn't know the woman.

Some websites say that it was Najib who in fact introduced the translator/model to Abdul Razak, allegations they say are backed up evidence.

But there are a whole series of sub-plots to the mystery, involving tampering with statements, disappearing witnesses and interference with witnesses.

In a letter she left behind, Shaariibuu claimed she had been blackmailing Abdul Razak without giving any details.

The prosecution says Abdul Razak had her killed because she pestered him for money after he ended an affair to support a child that she claimed he had fathered.

Najib is also being linked to accepting a large commission through a private company "for co-ordination and support services" on the purchase of French submarines for the Malaysian military.

Watching these various strands draw together is opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, who says he has won over enough defectors from the government to form a new administration and is confident the country's beleaguered government will be gone by the important Eid al-Adha Muslim festival, which falls on December 8th.

There are suspicions Anwar is crying wolf - his earlier self-imposed deadline of September 16th for his supporters to walk across the house and force a confidence vote passed. "We have built our base to go forward, if it does not happen this week or next week, it can possibly happen before Eid al-Adha," he told the Berita Harian newspaper, adding that it would happen peacefully. He needs 30 MPs to walk over in order to have a majority in the 222-seat parliament.

At present the opposition coalition, made up of Anwar's Keadilan party, the Parti Islam Se-Malaysia and the Democratic Action party, has 82 seats.

Anwar is one of Malaysia's best-known political figures. He was dismissed in the late 1990s by then premier Mahathir Mohamad after he started calling for Mahathir to quit.

He was charged with sodomy and corruption and the image of him in court in 1998 with black eye and bruises after he was beaten up by a police chief was flashed around the world.

He was convicted on both charges and spent six years in jail. Human rights groups called him a political prisoner.

Malaysia's Supreme Court overturned the sodomy conviction in 2004, after Abdullah became prime minister following Mahathir's retirement, and he was freed from prison.

Anwar was in court again last week on fresh charges of sodomising a young aide, charges that the father of six says are politically motivated.

But if he is convicted it will be a serious setback to his political ambitions. Whatever happens, Malaysia's political scene is hardly likely to get any less colourful in the coming months.

© 2008 The Irish Times

Hindraf demonised: Polishing the devil’s horns

By Helen Ang

Centre for Policy Initiatives
Sunday, 12 October 2008 12:34

An alert should go out to embassies in Kuala Lumpur cautioning foreign nationals. The updated travel advisory:

(1) Open houses in Malaysia are possibly illegal,
(2) If a tourist should saunter into the premises, he may be guilty of trespassing,
(3) A tour group could be banned by Malaysian authorities for unbecoming behaviour, such as all its members wearing uniform attire,
(4) Cops on duty at open houses will confiscate a greeting card and such other contraband, as well as
(5) Summon to police headquarters for questioning if someone attended open house but rejected refreshments, did not shake hands with the VIP host and failed to extend festive wishes.

Meanwhile, locals are expected to behave in exchange for free lunch at the Putra World Trade Centre. The Star reported Tourism Minister Azalina Othman warning that some Malaysians at open houses give a poor reflection of the country’s image to tourists. “If you are here as a guest, then behave as one. Parliament will convene on Oct 13. They can do so (submit their memorandum) then,” she said.

Azalina was referring to Hindraf supporters but Hindraf legal advisor N. Surendran has countered there was no memorandum delivered. Memo or no, Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, his deputy Najib Razak and Home Minister Syed Hamid Albar still complained the Indians were ‘kurang ajar’ (untutored), ‘biadab’ (unmannered) and ‘tak beradab’ (uncivilised).

The badmouthing is a clear example of one group, Umnoputeras, demonising another group of fellow citizens. Visitors should also be aware that they cannot believe all they read in Tourism Malaysia brochures about the country’s ‘racial harmony’, and in the mainstream media (MSM) about BN’s successful formula of ‘national unity’.

Yes sir, Umno sir

Deputy Home Minister Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh has intimated that there are many options on action against Hindraf for causing – I’m borrowing the following description from the Star’s headline – a ‘commotion at the government’s Raya open house’, and otherwise being ‘aggressive’, ‘unruly’, ‘provocative’ etc, etc, as alleged by some Malay associations. Home Ministry secretary-general Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof is looking into banning Hindraf. Information Minister Ahmad Shabery Cheek called on all political parties to condemn the incident.

What did Hindraf do that was so bad to make Umno big shots so angry?

A six-year-old girl wished to give the PM a teddy bear and Raya card. She is the daughter of Hindraf chairman P. Waythamoorthy and brought the bear in a basket along with some flowers. She had wanted to give roses too last year to Abdullah, who refused to receive her on Valentine’s Day.

This is a little girl who has been separated from daddy for almost one year now as Moorthy is likely to be ISA-ed if he ventures to step foot on Malaysian soil. This is the small child who must be wondering whatever her Uncle Kumar did wrong that caused the authorities to lock him up, under ISA.

And this is the gist of Abdullah’s complaint: “The rest (of their words), which I heard very clearly, was, ‘Abolish the ISA! Free the Hindraf! Abolish the ISA! Free the Hindraf!’ That’s all they wanted to tell me. This is not the spirit of Hari Raya, where you wish (Selamat) Hari Raya, are happy and have fun and socialise.”

How does an unwelcome guest answer when quizzed by police on why he fails to socialise and display the requisite joyfulness at the PM’s party? Lawyer Haris Ibrahim who blogs ‘The People’s Parliament’ wrote that he and his Hartal ISA group (wearing solidarity-with-RPK T-shirts) were ushered by police to a holding room and segregated.

People’s Parliament last November launched a ‘Hartal MSM’ campaign in the wake of newspapers disinforming on Bersih and demonising Hindraf. MSM has not changed its slant against the Indians. The Star article on the alleged commotion during Raya carried the byline of four reporters. If a whole quartet covered the story, surely one of them could have obtained Hindraf’s clarification that the movement did not present any memo. But no.

Instead, the popular rag – which incongruously dubs itself ‘the People’s Paper – preferred to give airing to VIPs as per its usual practice of cue journalism. The Star report had quoted Azalina and also Unity, Culture, Arts and Heritage Minister Mohd Shafie Apdal admonishing, “Hindraf members should have known their limits and not turn up at an open house ‘like this’.”

Star’s article had Shafie going: “There are platforms for you to make your submission. This is not the proper way of doing things. I mean, it’s a Raya do. Today is Hari Raya, it’s got nothing to do with memorandums.”

The spirit of Raya

The Star, a publication under the control of MCA, is big on ‘the proper way of doing things’. It has been full of how the Chinese communal party always used ‘proper channels’ and engaged in ‘internal discussions’ with BN (though not quite admitting that the outcome of any discussion is MCA invariably kowtowing to Umno).

But not only did that particular Star article omit Hindraf’s clarification that there was no memo, it also failed to mention that Indians throughout the past year had made many attempts to convey the community’s grievances to the powers-that-be and were ignored. So the ‘the proper way of doing things’ gets nothing done.

The paper similarly neglected to publish that unlike MCA Cabinet ministers who engage in closed door sessions where they ultimately accede to ‘the BN consensus’ (read, again kowtowing to Umno) Hindraf pleaded they had no other opportunities to approach the PM except at the open house.

BN’s idea of propriety and legality is ‘do as I say, not do as I do’. Abdullah, who often preaches Hadhari, sermonised on religious tolerance around Merdeka last year when at the same time, Hindu temples were tumbling down around him. His big ears did not hear government bulldozers destroying the houses of worship.

To the PM, the spirit of Raya is that everyone must be happy, have fun and socialise, unlike the Hindraf crowd creating “a lot of unhappiness to a lot of people who were around” at his PWTC, possibly illegal, gathering.

Since I’m not Muslim, it’s hardly in my place to contradict the Grand Imam of Hadhari. I’ll just note that when I balik kampung to Penang, I saw many billboards put up by the Pakatan state government bearing its Ramadan message of ‘Amar makruf, nahi mungkar’ (Do good, abhor evil and sin).

Does amar makruf not accommodate compassion for a discriminated community, and courtesy to women and children who were in the Hindraf delegation?

Umno and its collaborators instigating Malays to view Hindraf as bogeyman threatening Malay rights is amar makruf? Malaysiakini reported Surendran as saying Hindraf has become the victim of a harsh campaign to incite hatred against the movement and Indians.

Moorthy and many others in Hindraf agree, and have filed police reports but may have to wait for investigations to be completed first on insulting (Case 1) egg and (Case 2) PWTC food which the bloggers and Hindraf refused to touch.

We’ve often lamented ‘between the devil and the deep blue sea’ to signify BN, the devil we know, and the uncharted waters of the Opposition. A few months ago, Justice Ian Chin described Dr Mahathir Mohamed as “a devil incarnate” and Dr M hitting back at the judge, gestured with his hands at a pair on imaginary horns on his head.

Although the Malay word ‘ampu bodek’ has infinitely more oomph, the English translation ‘polishing apples’ largely characterises MSM coverage of domestic politics and BN politicians, First Families and their in-laws. But a metaphor of polishing the devil’s horns is a more apt on the nature of our mass media’s collusion with the establishment in demonising Hindraf.

A leader who started out boldly

Oct 9, 2008
NEWS ANALYSIS
By Leslie Lopez, South-east Asia Correspondent

JUST before Datuk Seri Abdullah Badawi assumed the premiership, a senior Western diplomat remarked to a group of foreign reporters that he was having problems telling his government what to expect from Malaysia's new leader.

'He has never articulated any vision, and you can't put a finger on what he stands for,' the diplomat told his guests at a lunch in October 2003. 'At this point, the cable I want to send back to HQ is blank.'

After Mr Abdullah (seen here - left) succeeded Dr Mahathir, he tried to shore up his appeal with the catchy campaign theme of 'Don't work for me, but with me'. He charmed voters in the March 2004 elections and scored an impressive electoral victory for the ruling coalition. -- PHOTO: ASSOCIATED PRESS

When Mr Abdullah hands over power to his deputy Najib Razak in March next year, he will leave a report card that unfortunately remains pretty much blank. Much was promised but little was achieved during his tenure.

If there's one thing Mr Abdullah will be remembered for, it will be the release from jail of Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, the former deputy premier who was sacked by Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad after the two politicians fell out in 1998.

Unlike his predecessor, Mr Abdullah did not interfere with the courts. That, many analysts believe, led to Mr Anwar's release from prison in September 2004. But it would be a gesture that would eventually eject Mr Abdullah from the premiership.

Mr Anwar cobbled together an alliance of opposition parties that scored major gains in the March general election, emerging as a threat to Umno's grip on power. Mr Abdullah was blamed for the electoral setbacks, triggering a rebellion within his party and culminating in his decision yesterday to step down.

Many Malaysians view Mr Abdullah as a well-intentioned but weak leader. He seemed helpless as an increasingly sophisticated electorate grew tired of Umno's style of governance.

Close aides of Mr Abdullah insist that the criticisms are unfair, and that their boss desperately wanted to carry out reforms. 'He tried to reform, but he was not given enough time and he faced too much opposition from Umno,' said one long-time aide.

Many analysts believe he was picked as Dr Mahathir's deputy after Mr Anwar's sacking because the former premier wanted a No.2 who wouldn't pose a threat to him. Mr Abdullah's animosity towards Mr Anwar also made him an ideal candidate.

After Mr Abdullah succeeded Dr Mahathir, he tried to shore up his appeal with the catchy campaign theme of 'Don't work for me, but with me'. He charmed voters in the March 2004 elections and scored an impressive electoral victory for the ruling coalition.

A carefully choreographed campaign presented him to the electorate and investors as the antithesis of the combative and often autocratic Dr Mahathir. The image worked in part because it did reflect reality: Mr Abdullah was indeed the opposite of his predecessor.

And he did start out boldly: He overturned costly infrastructure projects promoted by his ex-boss; initiated a crackdown on corruption, including charging a minister and a close business associate of Dr Mahathir; and promised more transparency in government, including using open tenders for contracts.

But his reform agenda ran counter to the culture in Umno, a patronage-driven party where warlords have long relied on easy access to government contracts to secure political support. Before long, support among Malaysians also started to slip. His reluctance to upset vested political and business interests disillusioned voters.

Mr Abdullah became a premier under siege from within his own party and an emboldened opposition. His inability to deal with these forces led to his party's poor showing in the March elections and the rebellion within Umno that has now forced him into early retirement.

Ultimately, he failed to break with the past and reform key institutions such as the judiciary and security agencies. That a decent and well-intentioned man like him failed indicates the extent to which the ruling elite may well be beyond reform.

ljlopez@sph.com.sg

Anwar's Troubles Grow

asia Sentinel

Written by Jed Yoong
Friday, 26 September 2008

Despite public promises of a political takeover, Anwar Ibrahim is still but a voice in the opposition wilderness

After months of eager anticipation, September 16 came and went like any other ordinary day in Malaysia.

That was the day opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim had repeatedly promised he would overthrow the Barisan Nasional, or National Front, federal government, ending over 50 years of rule following independence in 1957.

On the eve of the what-should-have-been a momentous day, the opposition coalition, Pakatan Rakyat, or People's Alliance, held a Malaysia Day celebration in Kuala Lumpur. Reportedly about 20,000 people turned up, eagerly awaiting the dramatic unveiling of the identities of at least 31 defecting Barisan lawmakers. But when the event came Anwar revealed only that he had the "numbers" to topple Barisan, and nothing more. The proof that he had the means to take power, remained firmly under wraps.

The next day, Anwar held a press conference to postpone the deadline further, pending Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi's approval of an emergency parliamentary session to allow a no confidence vote against him by September 23. Expectedly, Badawi ignored the request and this week the Tuesday deadline also came and went.

By Wednesday, Anwar was clearly singing a different tune. He urged Malaysians to be "patient" because Pakatan "do(es) not want to transgress the constitutional rules and procedures".

On accusations calling him a "liar" for failing to meet his self-imposed deadlines, he blamed Badawi for refusing to meet him, jeopardising his plans. "They have called me a lot of things before (but) the point is, if they really believe I am a liar then put me to (the) test and have a (no-confidence) vote taken (in parliament)," Anwar told reporters.

Moreover, Anwar has more to worry about than luring lawmakers to his side to form a government. He also faces fresh allegations of sodomy, a crime punishable by up to 20 years in jail. Saiful Bukhari Azlan, a 23-year-old one-time aide has accused Anwar of sodomising him in an apartment in the posh neighbourhood of Mont Kiara. A medical report and a statutory declaration by the doctor who examined Saiful says no medical evidence of sodomy was found. Yet, the government is rushing through a DNA bill that will allow it to compel Anwar to give a DNA sample. Anwar refuses, saying there is no case against him and that the sample will be used to fabricate evidence against him.

The government is also trying to move the case from the Magistrate Court to the High Court, although such cases are normally heard in the former. Anwar's lawyer has protested, observing that the transfer sheet was signed by Attorney-General Ghani Patail, whom Anwar is suing for fabricating evidence in the 1999 case which saw him imprisoned for six years for corruption. In 2000 he was jailed a further nine years for sodomy, but this conviction was reversed in 2004 and he was released from jail after serving his abuse of power sentence.

Anwar and his supporters have always maintained that the charges were "trumped up", part of a "political conspiracy" to end his political career by then Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad who famously sacked Anwar, his former political protégé, as Deputy Prime Minister.

But while Anwar's latest case is being put on the fast track, other more serious allegations against those in government are being swept under the carpet.

Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak and his wife, Rosmah Mansor, have been linked to the gruesome death of a 28-year-old Mongolian translator, Altantuya Shariibuu, in 2006. Witness testimonies in court have identified Najib in a photograph with the deceased and her lover, Abdul Razak Baginda, Najib's close friend and advisor who is on trial for her murder. In a statutory declaration, P Balasubramaniam, a private investigator and retired policeman hired by Razak Baginda, alleged Najib not only knew the murdered woman but had an affair with her, was involved in her disappearance and introduced her to Razak Baginda. Another statutory declaration by Raja Petra Kamarudin, editor of the political news portal, Malaysia Today, claimed that Rosmah was present at the crime scene where Altantuya was blown-up with military explosives after being shot twice. Despite this, Najib and Rosmah have not been charged.

Raja Petra's constant exposure of Barisan's dirty deeds, have landed him in jail again. The government on Tuesday locked him up under the Internal Security Act (ISA), which allows for indefinite detention without trial, for two years. The Home Minister Syed Hamid Syed Albar reportedly said that Raja Petra was jailed because some articles had "ridiculed Islam, which could arouse anger among Muslims."

International organisations have condemned the detention and called for his immediate release.

"A two-year jail term imposed at the government’s sole discretion against one of its known critics is cause for real concern," Bob Dietz, the Committee to Protect Journalists' Asia Program Coordinator, said. "We call on the home minister to overturn this sentence immediately. No online commentator should be jailed because of the articles they have published."

"As well as being issued arbitrarily, behind closed doors and without informing Raja Petra’s lawyers, this detention order is devoid of any legal basis as it violates the constitutionally-guaranteed right of religious freedom," Reporters Without Borders said. "The interior minister clearly wants to silence RPK for good and to keep up pressure on bloggers who dare to criticise the increasingly fragile government. We call for his release."

MALAYSIA'S LEADERSHIP A TRINKET

The latest UMNO shenanigans effectively reduced the party's (and thus the country's) leadership to a Sunday market trinket, to be haggled between a desperate discredited seller trying to get the best possible deal, and a bankrupt buyer who has only his incumbency to offer as currency.

THE CORRIDORS OF POWER

M. Bakri Musa

Tengku Razaleigh, in referring to the tussle between Abdullah Badawi and Najib Razak, said, "… [W]e are embarrassed at the sight of two grown men playing this endless children's game of 'yours and mine' with the most important responsibility in the land, oblivious of the law, oblivious to the damage they are doing to the nation." The Prince's observation on the damage wrecked on Malaysia is spot on, declaring that Malaysia had been reduced to a banana republic and a laughing stock

What Abdullah and Najib do not realize is that the value of the trinket they are frantically bargaining over keeps dropping. While the two are consumed with striking a deal between them, they fail to notice that Anwar Ibrahim is on the sideline, ready and willing to take over, thus effectively reducing the two protagonists and their trinket to irrelevance.

Meanwhile the important business of running the country is neglected. They have been consumed with lobbying their followers, as well as engaging in hours of "four eyes only" meetings, haggling over when, how, and at what price the trinket would be handed over. They are oblivious to the nation's compounding problems, from the massive public health hazard of contaminated milk products imported from China to the American credit crunch that will soon spread around the world.

It is time to make these two characters irrelevant. It is time to let this desperate drowning duo strangle each other and sink to the bottom of the cesspool they have created for themselves.

Our priority is to make sure that they do not drag the nation down with them. This responsibility falls heavily on those leaders of the opposition, in particular Anwar Ibrahim. He has to be ready to take over and make the necessary preparations now, especially with regards to policies and personnel.

The Price Keeps Dropping

Right after the March 8, 2008 electoral debacle, Abdullah declared that he still had the people's trust. Then with confidence borne out of ignorance a la the village idiot, he asserted that he would serve his full second term. He even intimated that he might lead his coalition to its third electoral victory in 2013!

Such detachment from reality! It was merely out of courtesy (that is the trademark of our culture), and respect for the highest office of the land that Abdullah was not laughed off the stage. Unfortunately he mistook that as acceptance, if not rousing endorsement, aided by his cronies, advisers, and family members feeding his fantasy. The world knew better.

On the surface Abdullah did seem to have a mandate. After all, his coalition secured a comfortable though not the usual two-third majority in Parliament. On closer scrutiny however, his Barisan coalition barely scrapped through the popular vote, while many of the seats won were only with the slimmest of majority. That election also saw five states, including some of the most developed, repudiating Abdullah's leadership.

When the rumblings of discontent over his leadership became louder, especially after his coalition's thumping at the Permatang Pauh by-election, Abdullah was forced to lower his bid, but just a tad. He now thought he could satisfy his detractors by agreeing to hand over power by June 2010. He set it far enough ahead such that should circumstances shift, he could conveniently change his mind. Abdullah was counting that people would not see through his not-so-sly scheming.

Again, he misjudged the public, and his party's mood. Following a ruckus September 2008 UMNO Supreme Council meeting in which a few finally caught on to the reality and spoke up, albeit tentatively and a little belatedly, Abdullah lowered further his asking price. Now he did not rule out on an earlier transfer, clarifying that the June 2010 date was meant to be the latest when he would quit.

That pacified the dissidents, including the outspoken Muhyiddin Yassin and the hitherto "Iron Lady" Rafidah Aziz. They were an easily-mollified bunch.

Then following the gathering of his clan, and undoubtedly convinced once again by them, Abdullah backtracked. They prevailed upon him that his leadership was worth more and that he should hold out for a better price. That triggered yet another volley of dissatisfaction.

At a special meeting of the Supreme Council last week, presumably to discuss specifically the leadership transition, Abdullah was given an ultimatum. He must decide by October 9, 2008 on whether to defend his leadership. The alternative presumably would be to quit.

To an average observer with a modicum of commonsense, that was just another nice way for the council to say, in the grand Asian tradition of "saving face," that it no longer had confidence in Abdullah. Abdullah however is thick-skulled and a tad slow on the uptake. Besides, another round of meetings with his clan and they would convince him that indeed was not the intent of the council. "Flip-flop" Abdullah listens to whoever has his ear last.

More to the point, that council's decision was meaningless. If Abdullah were to decide not to defend his position at the now-postponed UMNO convention, the country would still be faced with a leadership crisis and uncertainty for the next six months. Everyone would be consumed with positioning themselves. No effective government work would be done as every UMNO politician would be busy politicking.

On the other hand, if he decided to cling on, it would still create a leadership uncertainty, and there would still be heavy intrigue and campaigning. Nothing would have changed. Our nation's business would still be unattended.

Abdullah has again abused our traditional Malay culture of halus, the subtle way. The gullible Muhyiddin went so far as to describe Abdullah's latest "decision" as "magnanimous!" No word from the "Iron Lady." As I said, they are easily satisfied. I wonder how long before UMNO Supreme Council members realize that they had once again been had by him.

As for Najib, he is burdened with his own considerable baggage. He would like that trinket be handed over to him as if it were his due, and without contest, all in the name of party unity of course. Contest means having to scrutinize his record, which is not pretty. In fact it is sordid.

If only there were some jantans in UMNO Supreme Council, they would have long ago given Abdullah an ultimatum. Resign or we push for a "no confidence" vote! That is the only language Abdullah understands: direct and brutal. There cannot be any subtlety or he will pretend to miss it.

It does not take a jantan to do that, only some responsible adults concerned about the lack of leadership and the country being left adrift. Absent that, rest assured that come October 9, Abdullah will again waffle, and UMNO Supreme Council will have to find yet another face-saving device to spare some modicum of respect to someone who clearly no longer deserves any.

I could not care less about those UMNO Supreme Council members except that they are also the leaders of our country. That is the scary part. If they cannot stand up to a limp Abdullah Badawi, how can we expect them to face up to a President Bush, China's Hu, or even Singapore's Lee. That is what terrifies the heck out of me, as it should all Malaysians.

Meanwhile Malaysians are reduced to watching the bizarre haggling over an increasingly worthless trinket between their two top but desperate leaders. We all should be embarrassed by that, not just Tengku Razaleigh.