If the finding of the royal commission was amounting to no legal ramifications, then for judgement of the electorate!

Pakatan presents key witness for Lingam-Eusoff NZ trip

By Syed Jaymal Zahiid

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 10 — Pakatan Rakyat MPs today presented the alleged key witness that may support their claims that senior lawyer VK Lingam and former chief justice Tun Eusoff Chin had planned their New Zealand trip together.

They hope the alleged key witness, Lingam’s former secretary Jayanthi Naidu, will prove that the government is attempting to cover up the scandal which has raised suspicions about possible collusion.

The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) had said there was no case to answer and that a key witness could not be located. It had also said that Lingam had not broken any laws for fixing judicial appointments as there was no evidence he had a hand in the appointments.

Lingam had claimed he was not the person captured in a video that opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim showed in 2007, claiming it was proof that judicial appointments were fixed during Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s reign as prime minister.

Appearing in the Parliament lobby today alongside R Sivarasa, Subang MP and PKR vice-president, a smiling Jayanthi reiterated she had been the one who arranged the trip for both Eusoff and Lingam.

“After the Royal Commission proceedings, I gave another statement to the MACC in the presence of my lawyer (which) among the matters… were that Lingam and Eusoff and families’ holiday trip to New Zealand was all paid for by Lingam,” she said.

Jayanthi, who quit working for Lingam in 1995, also made fresh claims of how Lingam had “fixed” a judgement by a judge in the Vincent Tan v MGG Pillai libel case back in 1993.

Lingam had represented Tan Sri Vincent Tan in the case, in which Pillai was ordered to pay compensation in the millions and resulted in the veteran journalist declaring bankruptcy.

“The judgement delivered by Datuk Mokhtar Sidin were written in Lingam’s office. I was among the various staff present in the office assisting in the process.”

“I am also aware of a few incidents in Lingam’s office where he and other lawyers have also written or assisted the writing of draft judgements,” added the former secretary.

Jayanthi also claimed she had been instructed many times by her former boss to withdraw cash in amounts between RM100,000 and RM300,000 to be “hand delivered by others to individual judges.”

All her claims had been made to both the MACC and the Royal Commission set up to probe a video clip of Lingam purportedly brokering the appointment of judges.

Though the commission strongly suggested that action be taken against Lingam, Eusoff and others involved, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz yesterday told parliament that no further action will be taken as they have, technically, not broken the law.

He also said the MACC had cleared both Lingam and Eusoff of any wrongdoing as a “key witness” could not be located.

It is uncertain as to whether Jayanthi is the person MACC is looking for but PR leaders insist that Lingam’s former secretary is the so-called missing key witness.

Sivarasa claimed with the presence of Jayanthi today, Nazri and government had blatantly lied and are trying to sweep the case under the carpet.

“It shows that the government had, from the beginning, never intended or possessed the political will to take any measures to reform the judiciary,” he said.

Sivarasa added that while there are no longer any legal ramifications, the move to present the alleged key witness to prove the purported cover-up attempt will leave the government open to judgment by the electorate.

And this may prove to be a setback for the government who is trying to win support from a sceptical public, said the Subang MP. – The Malaysian Insider

Malaysiakini: An agent for change

THE premier online news portal Malaysiakini will be celebrating their 10 anniversary with a big bang on the 28th of this month with a big dinner at the Sime Darby Convention Centre in Bukit Kiara in Kuala Lumpur.

Three special classes of tickets are also available, with the platinum ones priced at RM20,000, the silver ones at RM500, and the bronze ones at RM100. They are trying to raise funds to buy their own building.

For those of you who are not savvy with Internet news, Malaysiakini is the name of the first and premier net news organisation in Malaysia. Though there are many other news portals, such as the Malaysian Insider, the Malaysian Mirror, The Chinese language Merdeka Review and the Rock News, Malaysiakini is still the most popular newspaper on the Internet.

Those of you old timers who still wallow in your fear of computer technology don’t know what you are missing on the Internet. The amount of alternative information, news, and commentaries in virtual space is mind-boggling. Much of this sea of goodies you will never gain access in the mainstream media.

One estimate put the proportion of net users under the age of 23 at a whopping 80 per cent! With the increase of number of service providers like WYMAX, the number of young people lured to hours and hours of connection to their modem will only increase, allowing them to gain access to an alternative political world of critical thinking and often dissent.

According to one study, there are now 16 million net users, with 500,000 bloggers who daily flood the net with all kinds of information and opinions. About 30 per cent of the bloggers consider themselves as social-political commentators. For many bloggers, Malaysiakini is their most reliable and authoritative source of news.

This must have been very gratifying to the two founders of Malaysiakini, their editor-in-chief Steven Gan, and their CEO Premesh Chandran, both former employees of the Sun.

They were both disillusioned with the lack of press freedom in Malaysian mainstream media, and were looking for alternative means to do journalism. While watching the Reformasi unfold at the end of the 1990s, they discovered how powerful the Internet can be in disseminating information and influencing opinions.

The idea of an Internet newspaper was a logical choice.

The capital outlay was low, since there was no printing and distribution costs to speak of.

Even with a complementary staff of editors, reporters, support staff and technicians, the maintenance cost is still very low compared to the traditional mainstream media like the Star and New Straits Time which takes many millions to set up and maintain.

In order to attract foreign investment to the Multimedia Super Corridor in Cyberjaya, the former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad had promised the nation that no censorship or licensing laws will be imposed on the virtual space, thereby granting freedom of the press in the Internet.

This had given much optimism for the founders of the Malaysiakini, and they decided to launch their new net portal in late 1999, expecting to plough back their investment within two years through advertisement revenue alone.

From the very beginning, they had decided to revert back to the international standards of journalistic excellence, credibility, independence, fairness and accuracy. Malaysiakini was to be political, but non-partisan.

Over the years, Malaysiakini has always stuck to this editorial philosophy, though the freedom of expression has meant that views and news critical of government has more chance of seeing the light in Malaysiakini than in the Star or the NST, giving some people the perception that Malaysiakini is anti-government.

Sometimes, when Malaysiakini publish news and views adverse to opposition leaders in the Pakatan Rakyat coalition, they too get very nasty phone calls and notes of protests from opposition supporters.

Obviously, some opposition members and supporters expected Malaysiakini to be pro-opposition, showing that they did not understand the concept of independent journalism as well.

Steven Gan’s position of giving equal space and time for both sides of any dispute has not gone down well even with some people who claim to be fighting for democracy in Malaysia.

Malaysiakini was launched officially on November 20 1999, polling day for a general election. It soon caught public imagination with its usually professional type of reporting and commentary, and a faithful audience was slowly cultivated.

But as a media business venture aiming at self-sufficiency financially, the future of Malaysiakini was far less assured.

This was especially when it was revealed that George Soros could also be one of the contributors to Malaysiakini’s start-up funds through one of the few NGOs that helped set up Malaysiakini.

The mood in the late 1990s was very nationalistic at that time. The advertisers stayed away from Malaysiakini, and the financial future of Malaysiakini looked very much in doubt.

So Malaysiakini started out a subscription scheme, at RM10 a month and RM100 a year.

But in those early days of Malaysian Internet, everybody expected to get everything online free of charge. People did not like to pay Malaysiakini for news and views where they can get them free elsewhere online.

By February 2002, they had only 800 subscribers. In early 2003, they had only 2,000 subscribers, when they would need at least 10,000 subscribers to be self-financing.

A noble and ambitious media adventure in Malaysia looks set to be defeated by market forces.

Then something came to their rescue as a kind of blessings in disguise.

Because of a police report lodged by Umno Youth accusing Malaysiakini of sedition over a letter to the editor published earlier on, the police descended upon Malaysiakini office on January 20, 2003. Ten policemen carted off 19 computers for ‘investigation’, practically shutting down the site.

Within ten hours, Malaysiakini came on line again, using alternative servers at another location. A wave of sympathetic support poured in within Malaysia, offering loans of computers and donations in cash.

The news was immediately reported regionally and worldwide, by influential newspapers such as New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and the Economist.

The raid was the worst public relation disaster for the Malaysian government on the international stage. The police backed down.

If nothing else, the raid simply confirmed for Malaysians that Malaysiakini was the only bona fide independent press in Malaysia.

It earned them many more subscribers and advertisements, and in a year in recent past, they made their first profit of over a million.

By now, Malaysiakini has grown from strength to strength, and they and other Internet media players have changed entirely the way politics is played in 21st century in Malaysia,

The Malaysiakini CEO Chandran once said, “We believe Malaysia is right for a cultural change, a change in thinking. We are ready to confront issues that have hidden in the shadows, serving the status quo. We are entering a new era in nation-building.”

In retrospect, many commentators have pointed out how the alternative media was one of the many critical factors that brought about the unexpected political tsunami in the March 8 general election last year.

It was a giant hump passed by Malaysians in their change of thinking, as predicted by Chandran and his colleagues in Malaysiakini.

Therefore, Malaysiakini is a rare success story of a group of like-minded people engaged in a common project to bring progressive change to their own beloved country. It is a great act of patriotism.

So I would like to say, congratulations and thank you to Malaysiakini. Happy 10th Anniversary!

As for you old timers with technology phobia, switch on your computer and click the mouse. That mouse will not let any cat on earth to catch it!

(The writer can be reached at bapakmiki@yahoo.com)

The result of the survey was not a surprise, it had actually been so even before PRU12.

PAS seminar was indictment of itself

By Baradan Kuppusamy

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 9 – If anything, the special PAS seminar on Saturday convened to debate the “Malay unity” government thing ended up, instead, as an indictment of the party as a whole.

Both hardline and progressive factions had a shock after two invited academics told the congregation that the issue is not who leads the party but that the party itself is rapidly losing ground among non-Malays and especially among the younger generation of all races.

About two million youths are potential new voters in the next general election, and many are excited by the party’s slogan of “PAS for All”.

But, they are now seeing the darker and more sinister side of PAS.

Where, before, they saw PAS as a leader of change and welcomed its moderate stance and inclusive policies, that view has changed dramatically into a rejection of PAS, a survey shows.

They now see PAS as backward, trapped in a theocratic past and unwilling to transform its self in order to transform the nation.

The perception of PAS as problematic and trapped in the past especially among the younger generation was supported by a survey conducted by University Malaya academic Dr Abu Hassan Hasbullah, who spoke about his findings at the seminar.

Among the younger generation, the survey said, PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang fared the poorest. In fact he had little standing or respect from the 20 to 30 age group.

Some party leaders like Vice-president Mohamad Sabu and former Perak Menteri Besar Datuk Nizar Jamaluddin were more popular then Abdul Hadi or his deputy Nasaruddin Mat Isa.

The survey showed nearly 90 per cent in the 20-30 age group had lost faith in the current PAS leadership as a whole while among the 31-40 age group nearly 75 per cent felt that the party is regressing under Abdul Hadi.

Respondents aged 50 and over however viewed the PAS leadership positively – this is the group that grew up under the “fire and brimstone” lectures that Abdul Hadi is famous for.

The survey covered 2,100 respondents divided into three age groups.

Worse for PAS, the Dr Abu Hassan findings indicate that most of the erosion in positive perception was happening in the Malay heartland states of Terengganu, Kelantan, Kedah and Perlis, where PAS’s presence had been traditionally strong.

And surprisingly, too, most of the positive comments came from Sabah and Sarawak, states that have not experienced direct rule by PAS.

The seminar was called, ironically, to appease party spiritual leader Datuk Nik Aziz Nik Mat, who had demanded an EGM to allow delegates to oust party president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang and other luminaries labelled as “pro Umno” for wanting Malay unity. But it ended up as an indictment of the party itself.

The question is whether PAS can lead the transformation of the country and the answer from both Aziz Bari and Dr Abu Hassan is that PAS has to transform itself first before it can transform the nation.

Without spelling it out, both men were pessimistic about whether PAS can transform itself in major ways to lead a multi-ethnic and secular society.

Observers were also pessimistic because power in the party is not passing over from the “hell and brimstone” leaders like Abdul Hadi to younger, more inclusive, leaders who can bridge the cultural, racial and religious gap. – The Malaysian Insider

Ageing

The world of ageing

By Kaypo anak Kuching

ACCORDING to the definition established by the United Nations, an aged person is one who has reached or exceeded 60 years of age. That makes me an aged person.Of course, when you have passed the magic hurdle of 60, you think sometimes of the ‘Grim Reaper’, for there is no way of getting out of this life alive. But according to the national statistics for life expectancy, I should have 16 years more to go, if I am careful.

But life is hard to tell. A friend’s son aged 49 just died from a heart attack three days ago on the badminton court; he was given a clean bill of health 6 months ago by his doctor during a regular medical check up.

So I consider myself blessed, living in relatively good health, except for the mandatory conditions of the aged like diabetes, high blood pressure, and creaking joints.  I still contribute to the national GDP growth by my writing, a task I can do as long as I am sane and have two hands to do the typing on the computer keyboard.

The contribution to the GDP by the aged is an important issue for national economic planner.

Our country Malaysia is still a relatively young country. In 2000, Malaysians aged 60 and above were estimated to be 1.4 million. By 2020, it should reach 3.3 million.

In the period between 1990 and 2020, population is estimated to increase from 18.4 million to 33.33 million, an increase of 80 per cent. In the same period though, the number of Malaysians over the age of 60 would increase from 1.05 million 3.26 million, an increase of 210 per cent.

In short, as standard of living and health care facilities continue to improve, Malaysians are going to live longer lives. This may be good news to middle-aged Malaysians, but bad news for economists and politicians.

As the percentage of aged people grows, it means that the younger people in the workforce will have to pay for their upkeep and the health care costs.

In case you didn’t know, Japanese live the longest lives on earth. There the ageing population exerts great stress on the Japanese national economy.

The proportion of the elderly in Japan (people over 65 years of age) in 2003 stood at 24.3 million, but this figure is expected to go up to a whopping 34 million by 2018.  The percentage of old people is expected to go up from 19 per cent in 2003 to more than 30 per cent by 2033.

In Japan, 70 per cent of government social security benefits are distributed to the elderly, to be paid out of the tax-payers’ pocket. In economist terms, a higher proportion of ageing population will reduce savings and induce a higher capital/labour ratio. That is bad news for macro-economic planners.

But elderly people are not just numbers and percentages in national statistics. They are also living and breathing human individuals who have been young and productive once, and contributed their share to the care of their family and national development. It is only right that the society should repay them with all kinds of special amenities in return.

I note that MAS no longer offer half fare to senior citizens, and that is morally wrong for any corporate citizens.

Malaysians are Asians with Asian value of filial duty to ageing parents. Many children and grandchildren continue to care for the aged in their home. I have known many aged friends who move in to live with their children to take care of household chores and caring for the grandchildren.  There, the greatest beneficiary would be the children and the grandchildren.

But many older people are not healthy, having been afflicted by typical diseases that attack the aged, like frailty, diabetes, heart conditions, kidney problems, stroke, weak eyesight and poor hearing, and urinary incontinence.  Most senior citizens fear a fall the most, because the old bones do not heal well, and they can become bed-bound or wheel chair-bound.

Another much feared disease among the aged is the Alzheimer’s, which is believed to have attacked 5% of all those Malaysians above 65 years of age.

Alzheimer’s disease was first identified in 1906, and this incurable, degenerative and terminal disease affects 35 million worldwide in 2009. Patients affected by this commonest form of dementia usually die within seven years of diagnosis.

The care of a bed-bound elderly person can be very stressful for the whole family, especially if the patient is incontinent and suffers from horrible bed sores. That is when the children will face the painful choice of keeping the elderly at home and suffering the trauma of daily stress or sending the elderly to a nursing home or some kind of medical facility for professional care.

Our general hospitals are bursting at the brims and so are not really suited for long-term care of the aged. Private nursing homes are far from being an industry in Malaysia.  The government run homes for the aged are mostly for abandoned old people. They are not the place you want to send your aged parent to spend their sunset years.

I have heard of this gentleman in Kuching who runs a private home for the aged in Kuching. He rented a big house with inmates who are still able-bodied. He hired two maids to do the cleaning and the cooking, so that food and drink were available around the clock. The ambulance and doctor’s service was one telephone call away during an emergency. He charged RM900 per month for each elderly person, at no profit to himself.

The Lions Nursing Home run by the Kuching Lions’ Club houses 56 elderly people, and I wish there are more voluntary and charitable organisations that emulate their fine example.

Like almost all aged people, I have formed long-time personal habits in my private life. Going to live in one of those nursing homes would mean making radical adjustment to a new environment, especially to the loss of personal privacy. Frankly, I don’t see how I can ever fit in as a guest of those special institutions for the aged.

Fortunately, I am in relatively good health, and keep myself busy writing and reading everyday. The important thing in old age is to keep busy and engaged with the world.

I know of this friend in my neighbourhood who is 54 and had long ago retired from his life-long career as a printing technician.  He has a year ago purchased a van and started going around collecting old newspapers and household junk.

He loves a beer or two in the evening after work, and reports to me his day’s progress. I was amazed that he often makes more than RM100 a day, and that any old junk is worth a lot of money. The copper wire in old electrical coils can fetch up to RM20 per kilo, for instance. Because of his heavy lifting work, he has maintained his very robust physique.

That is really a very good way of spending one’s retirement years. The EPF would soon run out, and a pension is never sufficient to maintain one’s life style in one’s old age. By continuing to work at his own pace, my friend has shown that he can still contribute to our nation’s effort at recycling instead of depending on the government or other people for the enjoyment of his life.

By the time you pass the magic milestone of 60, your life-long struggle would be over. Your youthful ambition for true love, fame and fortune is all behind you. All you want is peace and quiet.

In the world of the aged, there is also this consensus that good health — and a set of good teeth or good denture — is the most important thing in life, and not a great deal of money. They would all tell you there is no worse fate for the aged than to lie in bed with a debilitating disease for years, and being a burden to others.

They will also tell you that in their youth, they might have spent all their life trying to make money, but now that they are old, they cannot bring a million bucks to six feet underground!

That is the wisdom that come with old age.

(The writer can be reached at bapakmiki@hotmail.com) – The Borneo Post

The Pruning!

Wan Azizah on People justice Party  Leadership.

29 Nov 2009

Rombakan kepimpinan Keadilan telah menimbulkan kekeliruan dan keresahan di kalangan tertentu. Saya sepenuhnya menyedari bahawa tidak semua akan berpuas hati dengan keputusan yang dibuat kepimpinan parti serta menghargai betapa sukarnya kami untuk membuat keputusan dengan meneliti setiap pandangan yang disampaikan, termasuk dari cabang-cabang yang menjadi tulang belakang parti, di samping memastikan parti mencapai matlamatnya.

Tatkala parti kita mulai berkembang dan menjelma menjadi sebuah organisasi yang disegani dan dihormati, sememangnya kita akan menempuh saat sukar untuk mencipta kesimbangan kepimpinan yang terbaik dan strategi yang ampuh untuk mengangkat kita ke tahap perjuangan seterusnya. Sepanjang itu kita telah menempuh pelbagai cabaran serta menemui bakat-bakat baru yang komited dengan perjuangan parti. Kita perlu bekerja kuat untuk mencapai apa yang dicita-citakan dan keputusan yang dibuat minggu ini dibuat selepas mendapat mandat dan berdasarkan semangat musyawarah dalam parti.

Keadilan ditubuhkan untuk menjadi wadah penyatu kepada semua Rakyat Malaysia merentasi batas agama dan kaum serta mengembalikan keutuhan keluhuran Perlembagaan Persekutuan. Perjuangan ini ternyata bukan tugas mudah dan merupakan satu tanggungjawab serta cabaran kepada semua pendokong Keadilan.

Beberapa tahun lalu ramai yang mencemuh kita kerana kesungguhan perjuangan Keadilan yang berhasrat untuk menamatkan politik perkauman sempit dan membanteras amalan rasuah. Namun bersama rakan-rakan dalam Pakatan Rakyat, kita telah melakarkan kejayaan bersejarah demi memulihkan demokrasi, kebebasan dan kedaulatan undang-undang. Kejayaan tersebut kita kecapi walaupun tidak mendapat sokongan media arus perdana dan berhadapan dengan segala kekuatan serta serangan bertali arus institusi kerajaan yang dikongkong pimpinan Umno-Barisan Nasional.

Sememangnya kita terpaksa berhadapan dengan pelbagai masalah yang mengecewakan selepas pilihanraya umum Mac lalu. Perjuangan politik kepartian terbukti berhadapan dengan jalan berliku, dan permuafakatan politik tidaklah menjelma sekelip mata. Kekecewaan yang diluahkan oleh sebilangan rakan dan ahli parti ada asasnya. Walau bagaimanapun saya sedia berbincang dengan semua pihak didasari rasa hormat, persefahaman dan iltizam menegakkan keadilan.

Masa hadapan negara ini, perjuangan kita serta Pakatan Rakyat tidak bergantung kepada mana-mana individu. Saya menyeru agar semua berpegang teguh dan tetap bersabar memastikan kejayaan perjuangan kita demi Rakyat Malaysia.

WAN AZIZAH WAN ISMAIL
Presiden
Parti Keadilan Rakyat

Translation

Recent changes to the leadership in Keadilan have caused confusion and consternation among some. I recognise that not everyone will be pleased with decisions made by the party’s leadership and not everyone will appreciate the difficulty we face in seeking to accommodate all views, including those of the divisions and branches which make up the backbone of the party, while striving to guide our party towards achieving its goals.

As our party grows in number and transforms into a national organization we have struggled at times to identify right strategy and mix of leadership that will carry us to the next level. Along the way we have encountered great challenges and have also uncovered promising new talent. Our task remains a work in progress and the announcements made this week are based on consensus and consultation within the party to work towards a better future.

Keadilan was established with a mission to be a unifying force for Malaysians of all races and religions and restore the integrity of the principles enshrined in the Federal Constitution. This mission carries unprecedented import and its pursuit confronts us with unparalled challenges.

Over the years many have poured scorn on our aspirations for a brighter future and have derided our belief in an end to racial politics and rampant corruption. And yet we, with our partners in the Pakatan Rakyat, made historic progress towards restoring democracy, freedom and the Rule of Law. We have done so despite a hostile media and the relentless attacks on us by the institutions of the government and the unlimited resources of the UMNO-led BN coalition.

I acknowledge the setbacks that we have faced since the March elections. Political parties are complex organisms and political coalitions are neither crystallised overnight nor even in a fortnight. The frustrations which have been expressed by some colleagues within the party and by some supporters are valid and I remain open to engaging all parties on the principle of mutual respect, understanding and an unrelenting commitment to the principles of justice and fairness.

The future of the nation does not lie in the hands of any one individual nor does our party nor does this coalition. I continue to ask the ongoing faith and patience of the people in supporting the mission of Keadilan and of Pakatan Rakyat.

WAN AZIZAH WAN ISMAIL
President
Parti Keadilan Rakyat

Adjourned to Nov 10 – will it finally materialise?

‘Allah’ ban: Herald’s application decision on Nov 10

28 Oktober 2009

The High Court here today fixed Nov 10 to arrive at a decision on whether to set aside or uphold its own order in allowing eight parties to intervene in the matter relating the use of the word “Allah” in the weekly publications of The Herald magazine.

Justice Lau Bee Lan set the date in chambers after hearing submissions from the contesting parties on the Kuala Lumpur Roman Catholic Church’s application to set aside the court’s order.

Counsel S Selvarajah, who is representing the church, informed the media that the church had submitted to court that based on the Federal Court ruling on Sept 3 in the case of Majlis Agama Islam Selangor vs Bong Boon Chuen & 150 others, the High Court had no jurisdiction to allow intervention in judicial review proceedings under Order 15 Rule 6(2)(b) of the Rules of the High Court 1980.

In opposing the application, one of the interveners’ counsel, Abdul Rahim Sinwah, submitted that the eight parties had legal interest to be interveners in the judicial review proceedings.

On Aug 3, the court allowed eight parties, including Islamic religious councils, to be interveners in the new application by Archbishop Murphy Pakiam for a judicial review over the usage of the word “Allah” in the church’s publications.

In her ruling, Lau had held that the eight parties – the Islamic religious councils of Perak, Terengganu, Penang, Selangor, Kedah, Johor and Malacca, and the Malaysian Chinese Muslim Association – had legal interest in the issue.

On Feb 16, Pakiam, as the publisher of The Herald, filed a new application for a judicial review after a similar application in 2008 was deemed academic following the expiry of The Herald’s publication permit for Jan 1 to Dec 31, 2008.

In the application, naming the Home Ministry and the government as respondents, he is seeking, among other things, a declaration that the decision by the respondents on Jan 7, 2009, prohibiting him from using the word “Allah” in the “Herald-The Catholic Weekly” publication was illegal and that the word “Allah” was not exclusive to the religion of Islam. – Bernama – Malaysiakini

PAS antara Pragmatisme dan Idealisme

Nik Aziz calls for EGM to pick new PAS leaders

By Adib Zalkapli

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 23 — PAS spiritual leader Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat has urged the party to hold a special muktamar to weed out “problematic leaders” whom he said have made the party look inconsistent.

Nik Aziz’s call suggests that the party has yet to solve its differences on whether to strengthen the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) or to work closer with Umno. He said that the special muktamar should decide on the fate of the party leadership.

“This time, I strongly believe that there is a need to replace the main players occupying the national PAS leadership posts,” said the Kelantan mentri besar.

“You can call it a preparation for the 13th general election,” he added.

At the party muktamar last June, almost all of Nik Aziz’s men were defeated in the party election, most notably Datuk Husam Musa who lost the deputy presidential post.

In his statement dated Oct 21, Nik Aziz said the outcome of the special meeting would help fence-sitters to decide whether to back PAS or not in the coming elections.

“For the sake of ‘tajdid’ (renewal), we have to call for a special muktamar. If the muktamar resolves not to replace the president, for example, then we move on,” he said in the statement which was posted on his blog last night.

He said PAS must take similar steps as taken by Umno and MCA in calling for an EGM to sort out their internal problems. “The issue in MCA was corruption; we do not have to worry about holding an EGM as we are not plagued with corruption. Our problem is with two or three problematic leaders,” said Nik Aziz.

The statement was made to back a similar call by a pro-PAS academician, Dr Abdul Aziz Bari, who blamed the conservatives in the party for causing the embarrassing defeat in the Bagan Pinang by-election.

Abdul Aziz described Selangor PAS chief Datuk Hasan Ali — who attempted to ban the sale of beer and to empower mosque officials to act as moral police — as a liability to PR, urging the party to take disciplinary action against the state executive councillor.

“In the Selangor dispute, Abdul Hadi (PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang) was silent which led to some people in the party equating him with former Prime Minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi,” said Abdul Aziz in his commentary published in Malay tabloid Sinar Harian.

The commentary caused a stir in PAS and Abdul Aziz was criticised by party leaders as not understanding the party’s struggle. – The Malaysian Insider

PAS : Keperluan Muktamar Khas Luarbiasa?

Latarbelakang:

Jarang sekali hati saya menjadi tidak sedap sepanjang melibatkan diri dalam kepimpinan Islam. Hati saya pernah bergolak dizaman bekas Presiden PAS yang mahsyur iaitu di zaman Allahyarham Dato’ Haji Mohamad Asri. Di peringkat itu, saya terpaksa bersuara dan menunjukkan sikap saya yang ada sebahagiannya dirakamkan melalui buku saya yang berjodol “kemuncup dalam perjuangan.” Di waktu itu, saya masih ingat betapa sukarnya saya untuk memilih antara menegur atau mendiamkan diri. Namun, setelah teringat bahawa Nabi SAW juga pernah ditegur oleh Allah SWT,  maka, saya memutuskan untuk berdiri dengan santun dan saya pun katalah jua apa yang munasabah untuk dikata. Saya memilih untuk mengambil sikap ini berasaskan adanya hujah nas yang memboleh, bahkan dalam keadaan-keadaan tertentu bersifat wajib untuk berbuat demikian. Sampai ke hari inipun saya masih berpegang dengan pendirian ini.

Untuk lebih terpimpin, mari kita terlebih dahulu perhatikan tiga petikan surah dan latar peristiwa disekitar tiga kisah ini. Ia ada dirakamkan didalam kitab suci al-Quran.

i). Dalam peristiwa Badar setelah perang berakhir yang memberi kemenangan kepada tentera Islam, terdapat sejumlah 70 tawanan perang. Apabila Nabi SAW membuka perbincangan, apa yang patut dibuat dengan tawanan-tawanan perang ini, Saidina Umar berpandangan, mereka semua perlu dibunuh manakala Sadina Abu Bakar pula berpendapat lebih baik mereka dibenarkan bebas setelah diambil wang tebusan.

Ditakdirkan Allah, keputusan yang ada dilangit adalah selaras dengan syur yang dikemukakan oleh Saidina Umar. Ia berbunyi:

“Tidak patut bagi seorang Nabi mempunyai tawanan  sebelum ia dapat melumpuhkan musuhnya di muka bumi.  Kamu menghendaki harta benda duniawiah sedangkan Allah menghendaki (pahala) akhirat (untuk mu) dan Allah Maha Perkasa lagi Maha Bijaksana. Kalau sekiranya tidak ada ketetapan yang telah terdahulu dari  Allah, nescaya kamu ditimpa seksaan yang besar kerana tebusan yang kamu ambil.” (Surah Al-Anfaal Ayat 67 – 68)

Dari sini,  jelas bahawa tidak ada sesuatu yang pelik dalam tradisi menegur pemimpin didalam Islam.

ii). Peristiwa kedua ialah sewaktu Nabi S.A.W. bersumpah tidak akan meminum sejenis madu dari bunga tertentu kerana menerima teguran dari salah seorang dari isteri baginda S.A.W. sewaktu berada  di rumah salah seorang isterinya.  Dalam peristiwa ini, sekali lagi Nabi S.A.W. di tegur dengan lafaz berbunyi:

“ Hai Nabi, mengapa kamu mengharamkan apa yang Allah menghalalkannya bagi mu; kamu mencari kesenangan hati isteri-isteri mu? Dan Allah Maha Pengampun lagi Maha Penyayang.” (Surah At-Tahriim Ayat 1)

iii). Dalam surah ‘Abasa, sekali lagi kita dapat saksikan teguran Allah S.W.T. ke atas Nabi S.A.W. yang dilihat tidak memberikan layanan kepada seorang buta ketika Baginda didatangi oleh pemimpin Quraish yang turut berada di dalam majlis yang sama pada waktu itu.  Teguran Allah S.W.T. berbunyi:

“ Dia (Muhammad) bermuka masam dan berpaling, kerana telah datang seorang buta kepadanya.  Tahukah kamu barangkali ia ingin membersihkan dirinya (dari dosa).  Atau dia (ingin) mendapatkan pengajaran, lalu pengajaran itu memberi manafaat kepadanya.  Adapun orang yang merasa dirinya serba cukup, maka kamu melayaninya.” (Surah ‘Abasa Ayat 1 – 6)

Apa isunya?

Isu yang ada di hadapan kita sekarang ialah isu kepimpinan. Biar saya mulakan begini. Saya  boleh bersetuju dengan sebahagian dari tulisan Dr. Aziz Bari yang ada tersiar dalam akhbar Sinar Harian pada 19 Okt. 2009 di mukasurat N16.  Antara lain, beliau mengemukakan teguran dan saranan seperti berikut :

“Dalam konteks sekarang Pakatan perlu dibenarkan membentuk kerajaan di peringkat Persekutuan supaya kita dapat membezakan kelainan mereka melaksanakan Perlembagaan.”

“Fungsi Dewan memantau kerajaan.  Dalam sistem demokrasi berparlimen yang kita amalkan kerajaan pada hakikatnya dimiliki Dewan.”

“Dengan itu mungkin sudah sampai masanya Pas membuat langkah drastik, sama ada mendisiplinkan Exco Selangor, Datuk Dr Hasan Mohamad Ali atau menyingkirkannya terus.”

“Bagaimanapun, ini tidak mudah untuk berlaku kerana Hasan dilihat mewakili golongan yang pro-Umno dalam PAS seperti Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang dan Nasharuddin Mat Isa dan penyokong mereka.”

“Dalam kekecohan di Selangor Abdul Hadi membisu sehingga di dalam parti sudah ada yang berkata bahawa Abdul Hadi adalah watak bekas Perdana Menteri, Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi dalam PAS.  Sementara itu Nasharuddin membela tindakan Hasan itu secara terbuka.”

“Saya fikir ada beberapa tokoh tertentu dalam PAS yang boleh merubah keadaan.  Beberapa bulan kebelakangan ini imej dan kemampuan Menteri Besar Kedah, Datuk Seri Azizan Abdul Razak agak menonjol dan kelihatannya beliau mempunyai kemampuan untuk memimpin parti.”

“Saya tertarik dengan kelicikan Azizan menyiku Azman Shapawi, Naib Ketua Pemuda PAS dalam isu penjualan arak beberapa bulan lalu.  Dalam pada itu organisasi PAS di Kedah dikatakan lebih baik daripada apa yang ada di Terengganu.”

“Buat masa ini, hanya 32 peratus pengundi yang yakin dengan kemampuan Pakatan.  Jika PAS kekal dengan kapten yang ada ini (sokongan) mungkin akan berkurangan.”

Pandangan Saya

Atas pandangan inilah saya berfikir dan  terus berfikir.  Setelah berfikir sambil berdoa, maka saya berpuashati untuk mengatakan begini :
Kalau Umno boleh buat sesuatu dengan mengadakan Mesyuarat Agong Khas dan MCA pun boleh mengadakan EGMnya sehingga sempat menggugurkan Presiden dan Timbalan Presidennya. Demikian juga dengan PKR yang telah membuat pindaan Perlembagaannya melalui Kongres Khas mereka. Maka kita?

Walaupun isu MCA benda lain, iaitu rasuah,  kita lagilah tidak payah khuatir untuk adakan Muktamar Khas kerana kita bukan membawa isu rasuah .  Isu kita ialah isu dua tiga kerat pemimpin bermasalah. Masyarakat India pun boleh menentang  Samy Vellu dengan mewujudkan parti lain. Maka pelik apa, kita panggil  mesyuarat parti yang tergempar misalnya; mungkin dipanggil muktamar khaslah.  Kalau nak kirakan, kitalah yang sepatut buat dulu.  Demi “tajdid” kita perlu buat Mesyuarat Agong Luarbiasa ini.  Bila Mesyuarat Agong tak mahu tukar Presiden, misalnya maka tidak mengapalah.  Kita pakat-pakat belalah. Begitu juga dengan isu-isu disekitar Hassan Ali atau Mustafa Ali yang tak habis-habis dengan  nak  bekerjasama PAS dengan Umno ke arah kerajaan Perpaduan atau UG.  Tenggelam-tenggelam, timbul, kemudian dihidupkan.  Kemudian dimatikan pula bila nampak orang marah.  Apa ni?

Tidak boleh jadi ni, kita duk “ghok-ghak” (kacau) begini.  Orang boleh terima atau tak boleh terima, bawa ke Muktamar Khaslah;  senang cerita.  Biar tentu sah, nak ikut yang mana.  Kita nak kekal yang mana dan buang yang mana.  Dengan Muktamar Khas yang boleh menjelaskan dan memutuskan banyak perkara ini, puak-puak atas pagar yang membuat swing votes dan mempengaruhi keputusan pilihanraya juga akan berpuas hati samada nak swing atau tak nak swing lagi kerana mereka sudah dijelaskan oleh keputusan Muktamar Khas berkenaan.  Mereka jelas.

Biarlah kita ambil mandat baru sekali lagi.  Mesyuarat biar ringkas;ambil sehari penuh atau dua hari penuh misalnya tetapi prosesnya mesti ringkas, dan keputusannya adil, telus, tepat, terus dan jelas.  Undi perlulah sulit dan dilakukan di atas kertas .

Untuk kali ini, saya dengan kuat merasakan bahawa perlu ada perubahan dalam pemain-pemain penting yang menduduki kerusi kepimpinan PAS diperingkat pusat.  Kalau nak kata ini persiapan ke arahPRU ke 13 pun, kata gi lah.  Dan memang betul begitulah.

Tok Guru Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat
Mursyidul Am PAS/Menteri Besar Kelantan

Bertarikh : 02 Zulkaedah 1430 / 21 Okt. 2009

Pengajaran dari Bagan Pinang

Oleh Profesor Dr Abdul Aziz Bari

Pilihan raya kecil Dewan Undangan Negeri (DUN) Bagan Pinang yang berlangsung, 11 Oktober lalu, sudah pun diketahui keputusannya. Kemenangan calon Barisan Nasional, Tan Sri Mohd Isa Samad memang dijangkakan meskipun kegagalan calon Pas yang mewakili Pakatan Rakyat, Zulkefly Mohamad Omar, untuk mengurangkan undi majoriti Barisan Nasional (BN) agak memeranjatkan.

Pelbagai analisis dibuat dan saya tidak mahu menambah apa-apa. Saya sekadar hendak mengungkap beberapa perkara yang penting daripada sudut perlembagaan khususnya dan sistem politik umumnya. Hal-hal ini penting kerana selain menjadi tema dan mauduk utama ruangan ini, itu semua penting dalam membina sebuah Malaysia yang adil, telus dan sistematik walau siapa dan apa pun warna politik kita. Saya ada menyebut betapa kewujudan sebuah sistem dua parti yang mantap penting bagi memperkasa ideal perlembagaan kita. Dalam konteks sekarang Pakatan perlu dibenarkan membentuk kerajaan di peringkat Persekutuan supaya kita dapat membezakan kelainan mereka melaksanakan Perlembagaan.

Berbalik kepada Bagan Pinang apa yang kita lihat ialah betapa wakil rakyat – yakni Ahli Parlimen dan Ahli Dewan Undangan Negeri (ADUN) – pada hakikatnya dianggap sebagai ‘pegawai kebajikan’. Walaupun ini tidak salah tanggapan dan imej memberi kesan yang besar kepada kedudukan dan peranan wakil rakyat berkenaan dan kualiti dewan perundangan kita. Dan seterusnya ini memberi kesan langsung kepada kualiti undang-undang yang dibuat oleh Parlimen atau Dewan Undangan Negeri (DUN) kita. Begitu juga dengan fungsi dewan memantau kerajaan. Dalam sistem demokrasi berparlimen yang kita amalkan kerajaan pada hakikatnya dimiliki Dewan.

Ada kemungkinan pengundi dalam DUN Bagan Pinang, kerana ia adalah pilihan raya kecil dan tidak memberi kesan kepada kedudukan Kerajaan Negeri, mahu mengingatkan Pakatan supaya lebih berhati-hati dan memberi perhatian kepada masalah dan kebajikan rakyat. Ada pihak yang mengatakan bahawa Ahli Parlimen Teluk Kemang yang merangkum DUN berkenaan gagal memainkan peranan. Ini mungkin benar. Tetapi apakah ini cukup kuat untuk mereka memenangkan calon Barisan yang diketahui korup, yang hanya dikatakan ‘teknikal’ oleh pemimpin utamanya Datuk Seri Mohd Najib Tun Razak. Bekas Presiden UMNO, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad sendiri pun tidak suka calon itu meskipun selepas keputusan diumumkan Mahathir berubah dan turut bergembira dengan keputusan di Bagan Pinang itu.

Keputusan pilihan raya kecil itu menyebabkan sesetengah pihak kesal dan sedih kerana kemenangan besar itu menandakan sikap pengundi yang semacam tidak kisah dengan soal integriti dan kebersihan calon. Apatah lagi mengingat bahawa calon Pas adalah seorang yang begitu aktif dalam isu-isu umum, termasuk alam sekitar dan kes pelupusan sampah Broga. Dalam pada itu sebagaimana di tempat-tempat lain khidmat Barisan bukanlah sempurna, di sana sini banyak juga kegagalan dan kelemahan pentadbiran Mohd Isa sewaktu beliau menjadi Menteri Besar dahulu. Begitu juga dengan pentadbiran sekarang di bawah Datuk Seri Mohamad Hassan.

Hal ini memberi gambaran bahawa kemenangan besar Barisan itu adalah kerana kawasan itu memang kubu UMNO. Sebab itulah ada pihak yang berkata bahawa parti itu tidak harus terlalu seronok kerana apa yang terjadi di Bagan Pinang itu tidak semestinya aliran umum yang akan mendominasi politik negara.

Walau apa pun imej Pakatan yang dipaparkan dalam media yang dikuasai Barisan juga tidak membantu. Imej yang dipaparkan membayangkan betapa gabungan ini rapuh dan tidak berupaya mengambil tempat Barisan. Secara kebetulan itulah kesimpulan yang dibuat oleh Merdeka Center dalam tinjauan lapangan yang diselesaikannya pada awal bulan ini: sekitar 43 peratus dari pengundi berdaftar yang diselidikinya tidak yakin kepada kemampuan Pakatan untuk memerintah di peringkat persekutuan.

Dengan itu mungkin sudah sampai masanya Pas membuat langkah drastik, sama ada mendisiplinkan Exco Selangor, Datuk Dr Hasan Mohamed Ali atau menyingkirkannya terus. Dalam beberapa portal berita Hasan dilihat sebagai liabiliti kepada Pakatan umumnya dan Pas khususnya. Bagaimanapun, ini tidak mudah untuk berlaku kerana Hasan dilihat mewakili golongan yang pro-UMNO dalam Pas seperti Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang dan Nasharuddin Mat Isa dan penyokong mereka.

Dalam kekecohan di Selangor Abdul Hadi membisu sehingga di dalam parti sudah ada yang berkata bahawa Abdul Hadi adalah watak bekas Perdana Menteri, Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi dalam Pas. Sementara itu Nasharuddin membela tindakan salah Hasan itu secara terbuka. Tindakan dan perangai Hasan itu memang pelik kerana adalah mustahil seorang pegawai tadbir beliau tidak faham konsep tanggung jawab bersama dan bezanya dengan kedudukan penyokong kerajaan.

Saya fikir ada beberapa tokoh tertentu dalam Pas yang boleh merubah keadaan. Beberapa bulan kebelakangan ini imej dan kemampuan Menteri Besar Kedah, Datuk Seri Azizan Abdul Razak agak menonjol dan kelihatannya beliau mempunyai kemampuan untuk memimpin parti. Secara perlahan-lahan lulusan syariah Universiti Al-Azhar dan sarjana undang-undang perbandingan Universiti Kent itu mula dilihat sebagai mampu mengisi kekosongan yang ditinggalkan oleh Datuk Mohd Fadzil Noor yang meninggal dunia pada 2002.

Saya tertarik dengan kelicikan Azizan menyiku Azman Shapawi, Naib Ketua Pemuda Pas dalam isu penjualan arak beberapa bulan lalu. Dalam pada itu organisasi Pas di Kedah dikatakan lebih baik daripada apa yang ada di Terengganu. Ini menyedihkan kerana selain pernah memerintah dari 1999-2004 Pas juga mentadbir negeri itu dari 1959-1961.

Perubahan kepemimpinan penting bukan saja untuk Pas, tetapi juga dalam konteks mereformasikan sistem kita. Perubahan mendasar hanya akan berlaku sekiranya ada kerajaan baru di peringkat persekutuan. Kita semua maklum Barisan tidak akan berbuat apa-apa kepada SPR dan undi pos umpamanya. Begitu juga dengan kedudukan perkhidmatan awam umumnya dan pasukan polis khususnya. Perubahan-perubahan ini amat penting jika kita mahu Malaysia membuat perubahan sebagaimana yang mula kelihatan di Indonesia selepas dua penggal Susilo Bambang Yudiyono memimpin negara. Jika tidak kita akan terus ketinggalan dan menggigit jari.

Buat masa ini, hanya 32 peratus pengundi yang yakin dengan kemampuan Pakatan. Jika Pas kekal dengan kapten yang ada ini mungkin akan berkurang. Sejumlah 21 peratus pengundi yang masih berada di atas pagar kemungkinan besar akan berpihak kepada BN dan untuk memperkasa demokrasi di Malaysia akan gagal lagi. - Detikdaily

* Profesor Dr Abdul Aziz Bari mengajar undang-undang di UIAM, Gombak.

Selangor MB Khalid Ibrahim an inspiration to Sarawak’s People Justice Party

No more short-changing ourselves

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 20 — For corporate czar turned mentri besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim, the past 18 months have seemed like 18 years.

From Day One, Selangor’s 14th — and first from the opposition — mentri besar has been beset by shocks and scandals — from protests against a pig farm project approved by his predecessor to a Malay mob publicly stomping on a severed cow’s head in August to protest against the presence of a Hindu temple in their neighbourhood.

Many of his colleagues in the opposition Pakatan Rakyat coalition have also suffered body blows — from being detained under the Internal Security Act to having their sexual trysts filmed. Recently, an aide to one opposition figure died suddenly after being interrogated by a federal government agency.

But then Khalid, 62, is a seasoned giant-killer steeled for tough challenges, on and off the political scene. In September 1981, the then-CEO of the government’s investment vehicle Permodalan Nasional pulled off an infamous dawn raid on the London Stock Exchange by taking over Britain’s Guthrie Corporation within two hours.

An economist by training, Khalid has since tried to show Selangor folk that they “own the state economy”. He has, among other things, given each family some free water monthly, set up an education trust fund for all born last year in the state as well as harnessed the state’s riverine resources by treating river water for sale and building along riverbanks.

While he despairs of the state’s 6,000 or so civil servants who prefer, as he puts it, “coordinating things to being proactive”, the married father of four sees hope in his four grown-up children. His three daughters are, respectively, a computer engineer, a cat surgeon and an animator while his investment banker son represents Bank Negara in New York.

On a recent trip to Singapore to meet investors and investment advisers from DBS and Nomura as well as support the Selangor football team in a match against Singapore — Singapore won 3-0 — he told The Straits Times how being mentri besar has changed his life:

What’s it like to be Malaysia’s most embattled opposition mentri besar?

I’m resigned to the fact that I’m going to have as much political support as political resistance. I’m resigned to the fact that politics does not give you a level-playing field. I’m resigned to the fact that I’m going to have to go through rough patches to achieve the ultimate objective. If I accept all that, I will not be frustrated by sudden noises or the cow’s head problem.

It’s not just noise, surely, not when your Pakatan partner PAS starts wooing Umno again.

The vision of socialistic thinking versus the vision of the Holy Book may be different. We have to adapt to move forward, rather than discuss how to change all these thinking processes. In this, I’m not going to have a common means to an end.

But even the ends are not common, surely. PAS wants an Islamic state, the rest of Pakatan doesn’t.

Helping the helpless is the same to those who have democratic as well as religious thinking. That’s what we call the ends. The Pakatan parties are now stumbling onto various platforms where we feel we don’t understand each other, even though we may be in the same team. But you cannot just throw away the ball in your hands and you cannot tackle your team-mate. It’s better to tackle the other party for us to win.

But how can you win when PAS in Selangor is wooing Umno?

I’m not sure if that is true or not.

Selangor PAS leaders such as Datuk Hasan Ali have reportedly done so.

First, Umno may not want him and he may not want Umno too. If they had gone merry-making, as they are said to have done, they would have been partners years ago. I do not think that the intelligent people in PAS would have gone and joined. Only those who are desperate, maybe 10 per cent of PAS, may want join (with Umno).

You say it’s been painful for Umno after March 8, 2008. But hasn’t it been very painful for you too?

Oh, yes! But government servants will have to understand that, before, you had to kowtow to one BN government in order to be assured of reasonable promotion and so on. But today, you have two sets of governments (one federal and one state) and adapting to that is painful.

Many see you as a bitter, ex-Umno man with a big chip on your shoulder. What say you?

During my student days, maybe I was not yet mature, I would say the government was quite stupid in doing all the things they were doing. But then I joined an institution that helps the Bumiputeras at large, and Umno invited me to give them advice. I readily gave it because I thought it would add value to the society I’m helping. So of course Umno felt that I’m part of them. But I’m part of Malay society, not part of them.

How can you help your Malay brethren most effectively?

Through education and skill-building. There is no other option. You have to earn your keep. That means it will take years. Education is not a rushed job; you’ve got to build the capacity (of the Malays) to understand. What’s happened in the last 30 to 40 years is that we’ve tried to short-change ourselves. We want good Malays but we don’t train them well. In the end, they get through some education (programme, but) without basic capabilities — and fail.

What else should they have?

They must be very patient. You can’t become an entrepreneur and a millionaire overnight. Until we can say “Yes, this is the way our society should go”, we’ll have to go through change.

How long will this take?

At least another generation.  — Straits Times – The Malaysian Insider

Khalid: ‘We’re understanding the misunderstandings’

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 20 — Affable and avuncular as he is, Selangor Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim tends to take every challenge by the horns. In an interview with The Straits Times in Singapore recently, he shared his thoughts on:

Being Malay

“I’m proud to be a Malay, yet not proud just to be a Malay who makes use of my ‘Malayness’.”

Being a Malay politician

“That doesn’t mean I cannot help the whole of Malaysia. If I help (everyone), invariably the Malays will be helped anyway.”

Being an ex-Umno man

“I didn’t get rewards from Umno. I got rewards for the work I had done.”

What he is doing today

“I’m trying to translate what I as a taxpayer would love a good and effective government to do — to have that done.”

Civil servants

“If they’re in charge of water, they must not get into sand. Multitasking is not in their vocabulary.”

Globalisation and Malay rights

“My second daughter, who’s in Australia, cannot say she should get preference. The Australians will just tell her to go wherever she thinks she can jump into.”

PAS-Umno unity talks

“Intelligent PAS people understand it’s too late to reform Umno. It’s best that they reform themselves.”

How loosely held the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) coalition is

“Even though we are in the same team, somebody may be playing rugby as opposed to football.”

How PR is faring

“We haven’t reached total success, but at least we have total understanding — or understanding the misunderstandings.” — Straits Times – The Malaysian Insider

UMNO and Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu after about 50 Years

Hopefully, Umno will be more responsible now

Paul Sir

AT the outset, let me apologise to readers who are fed up with me and the political articles I have been churning out of late.

This week, two readers of The Borneo Post wrote to me and told me off. “Can you please write about something else other than politics?”

I have replied telling them apologetically that I’m also fed up with politics at times. It’s just that too many political events are taking place in the country and readers must be duly informed and hopefully, be guided to make rational conclusions on national political affairs.

It’s the Umno big do this week and I feel compelled to touch on several important things taking place within this ‘big brother’ of the Barisan Nasional.

I’m aware that many in Sarawak will not think much of Umno; in fact they don’t really care about what’s happening in the party. Also, Umno is not in Sarawak, so it’s just an alien party over in Malaya.

But let’s be realistic. Umno is Malaysia’s dominant ruling party and the Umno president is the prime minister of Malaysia, i.e. also the prime minister of all of us, Sarawakians. The programmes and policies he implements have a bearing on Sarawak, like it or not.

I think I can safely say that Umno is not a popular party in Sarawak. Why? One main factor is that the people of Sarawak in general had to bear the brunt of their racially-biased policies such as in the economic and educational sectors in the past. In fact, we can say that Umno has been irresponsible in many ways.

At the on-going Umno general assembly, Umno approved many amendments to its constitution. The party has declared that it will be reformed in order to make it more relevant to the changing Malay society and to the nation as a whole.

Oh, how I love the rather philosophical speech by Umno deputy president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin who outlined four principles which he said should be understood by party members in creating One Umno and ridding the party of negative elements.

According to him, the four principles are unity of mind, unity of heart, unity of deed and unity of objective.

I enjoyed the DPM’s next line, “We should be united in our struggle so that there won’t be anymore instigators, provocateurs or hypocrites among us. So that there won’t be anymore internal conflicts, or the existence of Team A-Team B like in the past or plot to topple leaders, or the culture of issuing threats, and power struggle, to the extent of undermining the party.”

Well said, Tan Sri but I hope your Umno members heard you properly and more importantly that you are able to practise what you preach.

Hey, was it not someone familiar who made scathing remarks against a former prime minister and forcing him out of office? Hey, didn’t someone mention ‘hypocrite’.

Of Umno president Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak’s long presidential address, I pay particular attention to this one.

“Let us make sure that Umno now helps Malays who are really in need of help and not those who come to the party pleading for help so that they could get richer,” he said. I’m glad Najib and Umno realise this, although it may be a little late in coming.

For too long, ‘Umnoputras’ have remained a sore thumb for the party. Not only did other races feel sidelined but the majority of Malays in the country were also left out, even during those times when the going was good for the country.

Frankly, the other amendments like abolishing the quota system for Umno elections and recommending direct elections of party leaders are of little interest to me.

But to be fair, I must commend the new Umno leadership for taking such bold steps in revamping a party system that is no longer relevant today. Hopefully, that will change the mentality of the second echelon leaders of the party so that in future, we will be able to see a more responsible and accountable Umno.

In case Umno and its members get carried away and feel too good with their newly charted direction, here’s some food for thought for them from a prominent Malay personality.

Perhaps Tan Sri Megat Najmuddin Megat Khas, a member of Umno’s disciplinary board, has good reasons to be a pessimist.

He told a web portal this week that “I am not that enamoured of the amendments to the constitution as I do not think that it is big or deep enough. Until and unless our total political makeup changes, I think nothing is going to change.

“Widening the pool of voters is good, but the system and culture of self-interest and money politics have to change. There is this culture of focusing on material gains, and the question of ‘Apa yang ku dapat?’ is being asked all the time.

“I think that being in the party should be about sacrifice and struggle, and this is what we have lost sight of. It has been replaced by self-interest.”

Megat Najmuddin further questioned: “What is our ideology now? We have not spelt it out. What is our struggle? The whole old fight for Malay rights and interests, that is kaput. What is our new tagline now, and what is our thinking and our sense of purpose?

“Currently, we have people who are in the party who view their positions in it as a means to achieve material success or power. But our forefathers started the party based on notions of sacrifice.

“It is time to fight for everybody, and that includes the non-Malay (Malaysians). That mindset has not gone in yet, not even after (the general election of) 2008. On the ground, we still have people spouting semi-racist or racist comments, and this is worrying to me. I think we should open up the party to the non-Malay (Malaysians),” he added.

Allow me the last say: Umno has only one path and that is to return to basics, to be open and once again looking after the welfare of all Malaysians might be the surest route to political survival.

(Comments can reach the writer at paulsir99@hotmail.com) – The Borneo Post

JOHN TEO Time Taib considered successor issue

2009/10/16

IT is a rather backhanded tribute to the political genius of Sarawak Chief Minister Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud that in the twilight of his nearly three decades in power, he still runs the state without facing any personal need or political pressure to anoint a clear successor.

Given his advancing age and health scare a few years ago, and his iron grip and towering political presence in the state, the question of his successor is a pressing, if largely unspoken, matter in Sarawak.

In the immediate term, Taib’s Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) will unquestionably return him unopposed as party president for another term, together with his key party officials, at the upcoming party convention. He will thus lead both his party and Sarawak Barisan Nasional into another state election, expected within a year.

Barring the fast receding possibility of an electoral upset, Taib looks set to remain at the state’s helm for another two to three years at least. The question then is what follows.

Taib had for many years publicly said he was grooming three leaders to take his place. Two of them — Datuk Seri Adenan Satem and Datuk Seri Effendi Norwawi — are no longer active politically, although the former remains a state assemblyman and then a federal senator.

The lone holdout among the trio has always been the least fancied, even if he is the most senior in the party: deputy president Datuk Amar Abang Johari Tun Openg.

There is unfortunately no established tradition of the PBB deputy president automatically moving up to fill a vacant party presidency. In the event of an unexpected vacancy at the very top, another deputy president, Tan Sri Alfred Jabu, could conceivably be tapped to become chief minister by virtue of his government seniority as deputy chief minister, and therefore concurrently become the new PBB president.

Abang Johari’s current position as the lone holdout of three possible successors comes about by default, rather than any clear endorsement from Taib. If anything, Taib has all along been rather ambivalent about Abang Johari succeeding him.

This was evident from Abang Johari having gone from the relatively high-profile ministerial portfolio of industrial development to tourism and now to housing, hardly the career trajectory of someone being groomed to become chief minister.

In spite of the apparent snub, Abang Johari has stoically performed his duties as the loyal deputy and has made the most of the ministerial assignments given him, building up a solid reputation as an effective and competent performer.

There are now tantalising glimmers that all the years of stolid and unobtrusive diligence may finally be paying off for Abang Johari.

The first public signal came with his being bestowed with the prestigious state title of “Datuk Amar” last year. This week came revelations by Taib that Abang Johari is slated for a beefed-up state ministry in a state cabinet reshuffle to be announced soon.

Abang Johari has always been tagged as the unlikely successor by local pundits because he is Malay and not Melanau, like Taib. His coming in from the cold will not have come a moment too soon in the eyes of the Sarawak Malay community, perhaps the bedrock of unquestioning political support in PBB and Sarawak BN.

Sarawak Malays will view Abang Johari’s appointment as the state’s first Malay chief minister as long overdue. Of aristocratic bearing and impeccable pedigree as a son of the first Malaysian Sarawak governor, Abang Johari’s grassroots popularity nevertheless cuts across the state’s multiplicity of ethnicities.

Moreover, the political seniority of Abang Johari makes him an acceptable and credible leader among the component parties of the state BN. He is also widely seen as enjoying favour with the powers-that-be in Putrajaya.

The post-Taib political landscape in Sarawak will bring uncommon challenges, owing largely to the political longevity of Taib himself. While Abang Johari hardly has an inspiring abundance of charisma, he will assuredly be a very safe pair of hands at the state’s helm during a time of possible turbulence as the state settles into a political transition last seen in 1981.

Taib no longer has the luxury of time to hand-pick and groom a new successor. If that realisation has finally dawned on him, a more explicit easing-in of Abang Johari as his undisputed successor will prevent much ensuing political intrigue and may be a fitting crowning glory — and perhaps the best political legacy Taib can bequeath to a state he has ruled over such a remarkably long stretch.

bimpeabc@tm.net.my – NST

‘Blood Is Thicker Than Water’, Says Tun Rahman Yakub Of Ties With Taib

By Caroline Jackson

KUCHING, Jan 2 (Bernama) — Tun Abdul Rahman Yakub, who turns 80 tomorrow, said he has patched up his differences with his nephew, Sarawak Chief Minister Pehin Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud, saying that “blood is thicker than water”.

The former Sarawak Yang Dipertua Negeri said his relationship with Taib was much stronger, now that a minor misunderstanding between them in the past had been sorted out.

Rahman also said he had made the right decision to step down as Sarawak’s third chief minister in 1981 and name Taib his successor.

Since retiring from active politics, Rahman, who served as Sarawak governor from 1981 to 1985, has been enjoying his free time with his children, grandchildren and great grandchildren.

He has also devoted his time to kampung folks in his neighbourhood, initiating Islamic religious classes for them.

Rahman recalled the then British colonial government being happy that he had graduated with good results, having given him a scholarship to read law at Southampton University and Bar-at-Law from Lincoln’s Inn in London.

At the end of 1953, he sat for the Senior Cambridge examinations together with 13 classmates at the St Joseph’s School here and passed with Grade Two.

His family was originally from Mukah, the heartland of the Melanau but the young Bintulu-born Rahman grew up in Miri in the 1930s and right through the Japanese Occupation, where his late father eked out a living as a fisherman. In an interview with Bernama, Rahman, who was also the third Sarawak chief minister from 1970 to 1981, touched on his relationship with Taib then and now, the friction between them and Sarawak’s future leaders.

He had served at the federal level as Lands and Mines deputy minister and later as Education minister before resigning to return to Sarawak as chief minister.

Below are excerpts of the interview:

Q : Tun, you have led a colourful public life. Indeed, it is the story of your life. Can you relate some of the ups and downs, especially during your tenure as chief minister and head of state?

A : Until the end of 1980, I was not feeling well, I had heart problems so I went to London for an operation. I came back and saw then prime minister, the late Tun Hussein Onn, and asked him for permission to step down as chief minister. He asked who should take over from me. I said the No. 2 in Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) was Abdul Taib Mahmud, the present Chief Minister. So, by right, he should succeed me.

But I have to get the party to agree. The party agreed. Therefore Taib became chief minister when I stepped down as Sarawak chief minister in 1981.

At the end of four years, starting from 1981, I stepped down as Sarawak governor but the Council of Rulers asked me to continue (as head of state).

I said I was flattered that they wanted me to continue my service but because of my health, I could not. Since retirement, I have been enjoying myself with my children, grandchildren, great grandchildren.

I’m convinced that I made the right decision to step down at the right time, when one’s health does not permit one to continue to bear a heavy responsibility.

When I was governor, my wife Toh Puan Normah, she was Chinese, passed away in 1984.

It was a very big blow because she was so helpful when I was chief minister and minister at that time. She never interfered in politics, preferring to play the role of housewife, taking care of me and the children.

My present wife, Toh Puan Hayati Ahmad, is looking after me now.

When I was chief minister, I managed to persuade Jabu (Tan Sri Alfred Jabu) to resign his post as a civil servant in the Agriculture Department and became a politician. He contested against former chief minister (Tan Sri) Stephen Kalong Ningkan and defeated him. So he remains a deputy chief minister until today. A very amiable person, the rulers like him very much because he’s very humble.

Q: At that time Tan Sri Jabu was considered a giant killer, wasn’t he?

A: Oh yes, the first election was not with Ningkan. I think he won unopposed. Then there was a general election and he defeated Ningkan.

The wife (Senator Puan Sri Empiang Jabu) is very influential, very good wife. They team up very well.

Q: How is your relationship with Taib now?

A: Very good, he’s my nephew. There was a minor misunderstanding due to the work of someone who died a few years ago, creating a lot of problems between us.

Taib invited me for dinner at his house last month, My daughters, I… we all went to his house. Praise be to Allah. I looked after Taib since he was a child.

Q : Would it be correct to say that your relationship with Taib is like “air dicincang tidak akan putus”? (Blood is thicker than water).

A: Yes, air tetap tidak putus. To us (uncle and nephew), it is not really a big issue. Somebody reported to him that I was going to topple him. That was not correct. He (Taib) discovered later that what they told him was completely wrong. He even told my daughter about it.

Q: Being an elder statesman of Sarawak, do you think you would advise our present chief minister on what’s best for Sarawak’s future?

A : No, he (Taib) knows very well. He grew up during my time, as minister in Kuala Lumpur and chief minister in Sarawak. He has got Bidayuh, Iban and Orang Ulu team with him.

Q : What do you think of the leaders who may take over from Taib when the time comes?

A : I had a long chit chat with Taib during dinner at his house recently. He was scratching his head. Between the two of us, we have administered Sarawak for a total of 35 years.

He (Taib) said he is having difficulty in trying to find someone who could succeed him and be accepted not only by the Malays and Melanaus but all the other races as well.

During my time, we had this background — friends among the Iban people, Kenyah, Kayan and so on. When I was native officer, I had to travel from Baram to Miri on foot. I went to Marudi and remote areas when I was Sarawak assistant minister for Rural Development and stayed with the other local leaders.

Q : A few months ago Tun called for a press conference. It was regarding some speculation that you were endorsing one of your nephews, Datuk Salleh Jafaruddin, a former Deputy Education minister as Taib’s successor.

A : I heard the report from my sister, Teh Yakub, who got it from her son in Miri. Someone was saying that I have mentioned this to Taib and that Taib agreed to make Salleh Jafaruddin his successor. So, I made a statement (that) I never interfere with Taib’s decision and the party. I’m no longer active in politics.

It’s up to Taib and the party, not only PBB but also the Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP). There must be a consensus to really, really support someone. So far, Taib told me he has not found anyone. He’s not very strong since he had his operation, as you know, cancer of the colon.

I don’t know whether Salleh Jafaruddin is suitable or not, I don’t know. I tried to avoid appointing just your own relations.

Q : Who do you think is suitable?

A : I don’t know.

Q : How about Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Effendi Norwawi?

A : He doesn’t want to come back. Taib has seen him a few times. He’s a good successor if he wants to. He’s a very good worker, Effendi Norwawi, so Pak Lah (Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi) has entrusted him to the Economic Planning Unit to implement the Ninth Malaysia Plan.

Q : How would you describe Taib now as a leader?

A : I don’t see anyone measuring up to him. He’s a very qualified person. He studied law in Australia and he got his feet on the ground.

Q : What is your comment on plans by the Sarawak government to celebrate the state’s 45th anniversary of independence within Malaysia next year when the country had celebrated its 50th Merdeka anniversary last year?

A : We joined Malaysia in 1963 after Malaya was already independent. It’s a good idea to remind people that we joined Malaysia voluntarily. As you know, we joined Malaysia on Sept 16 1963.

Q : Do you think that Umno is welcome to spread its wings in Sarawak in future?

A : I think Taib has made the right decision (not to bring Umno to Sarawak). At this stage, it’s better for us to be just partners in the Barisan Nasional (BN), at least, for now, to have PBB as the state BN backbone, to run the state.

Q : Now that you have retired from active politics, what do you do during your spare time? How do you divide your time?

A : Children, grandchildren and home. I’ve started religious classes on Mondays and Thursdays and at night twice or three times a week, free of charge. The kampung people come here to learn, for example, how to pray properly according to Islamic teachings. That’s the least I can do for the people here.

Q : What is your aspiration for the future of Sarawak and its people?

A : To continue to remain in Malaysia. It’s better to be in a big nation. We can see problems in countries like Bangladesh, India and Pakistan and we need to instill the spirit of oneness in our country, and this can only be done through education and the school system.

We also need people here to understand the political workings of Kuala Lumpur and also the country. So far we’ve been doing very well. – Bernama

Muslim Melanau strongmen rule in Sarawak

By Faisal S Hazis

KUALA LUMMPUR, Oct 4 – During the first seven years of Malaysia, Sarawak was in a state of turmoil due to the strained relationship between federal and state leaders.

When the first Sarawak Chief Minister, Stephen Kalong Ningkan, pursued regional interests at the expense of the federation, federal leaders came down hard on the Sarawak National Party (SNAP) president by removing him via a constitutional coup not unlike what occurred recently in Perak except that it involved the declaration of an emergency in the state.

Ningkan was replaced by another more pliant Iban leader, Tawi Sli, from Parti Pesaka Anak Sarawak (Pesaka). But being pliant, he lacked the leadership qualities that were needed to restore political stability in Sarawak.

To resolve this “problem”, the Malaysian regime co-opted Muslim Melanau elites, namely Abdul Rahman Yakub (1970-1981) and later Abdul Taib Mahmud (1981-present), paving the way for an unprecedented 39 years of Sarawak Barisan Nasional (SBN) government but via Muslim Melanau strongman rule.

The federal leaders’ co-optation of the Muslim Melanau elite was aimed at cajoling and pressuring Sarawak society in order to maintain the federal govern-ment’s presence and interests there. As an extension of the federal government, the local Muslim Melanau elite were expected to fulfill the core demands of the federal leaders as a prerequisite to their continued support.

Although there was no written document stipulating the political pact between the federal and state leaders in Sarawak, the political crisis that engulfed the state during the administration of the two early Iban Chief Ministers indirectly spelt out the federal leaders’ core demands that any Sarawak Chief Minister ought to meet.

Among these demands were:

1. to safeguard national interests,

2. to maintain Malay/Muslim political dominance,

3. to ensure the ruling party’s continued dominance of state and parliamentary elections,

4. to transfer the rights to extract the state’s natural resources to the federal government,

5. to provide political stability.

Throughout Rahman Yakub and Taib Mahmud’s administration, these Muslim Melanau elites religiously fulfilled all of these demands in order to acquire federal government endorsement of their leadership.

Once these Muslim Melanau (MM) elites acquired federal endorsement, they were accorded a certain degree of autonomy to control Sarawak’s society and the state’s rich resources. With this freedom, these MM elites gradually transformed themselves into powerful local strongmen who ruled Sarawak with an iron fist. Between 1970 and 1981, Rahman commandingly strengthened his ruling party’s position (Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu – PBB) in Sarawak and built up his image as a wealthy and powerful leader.

As a political strongman, Rahman was able to achieve this feat by using a combination of repressive and accommodative measures. One of the strategies used by Rahman was to weaken SNAP and the Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP), both component parties of the Sarawak Barisan Nasional (SBN).

In the case of SNAP, Rahman was responsible for removing the party’s senior leader, James Wong, who was also the strongman’s staunchest critic, by detaining him under the Internal Security Act (ISA).

With Wong out of the picture, Rahman paved the way for new SNAP leaders such as Dunstan Endawie, Leo Moggie and Daniel Tajem to helm the party. These new SNAP leaders were more supportive of Rahman’s leadership, which amplified his authority within the coalition government.

Rahman further weakened SNAP’s influence in Sarawak by fielding PBB candidates in Dayak-majority seats thus reducing SNAP’s representation in the Council Negeri (State Legislative Assembly) and parliament.

Rahman’s approach in quelling the influence of SUPP was more confrontational as compared to his dealings vis-à-vis SNAP.

Disappointed with the SUPP leaders’ constant criticism of his leadership, Rahman adopted two aggressive measures to subdue the Chinese-dominated party. First, Rahman refused to appoint SUPP leaders who were critical of his leadership to the Sarawak cabinet. Instead, Rahman appointed junior SUPP leaders who were not even endorsed by their party to assume Sarawak cabinet posts.

Second, Rahman weakened SUPP by allowing the Democratic Action Party (DAP) to spread its wings into Sarawak. The opposition DAP’s presence in the state thus quelled SUPP’s influence within the Chinese community.

Apart from imposing his authority in PBB and the SBN, there were two other measures undertaken by Rahman in order to buttress his position in Sarawak.

First, by transforming PBB into the most formidable force within the SBN and second, by establishing a network of political-economic clients through timber politics and electoral patronage. By strengthening PBB, Rahman used the Muslim Bumiputera dominated party as a vehicle to build his power base within the ruling coalition and also among Sarawak’s population at large.

The establishment of a network of clients through timber politics and electoral patronage further fortified Rahman’s power, enabling him to form political alliances and to dominate Sarawak elections for over a decade. As a result, Rahman was able to bring ‘order’ and ‘stability’ to the former fiefdom of the Brookes, outperforming his two non-Muslim Iban predecessors who had failed to achieve the same goals during the formative years of Malaysia.

The political dominance of the MM Bumiputera strongmen-politicians continued to prevail after the retirement of Rahman in 1981 when another influential MM elite, Abdul Taib Mahmud, was appointed to succeed him.

In his first seven years in office, Taib’s leadership was seriously tested by Rahman who was paradoxically responsible for Taib’s ascendancy in Sarawak politics. The uncle-nephew conflict was not only personal in nature; it was actually a struggle between two powerful strongmen who were each trying to wrest control of Sarawak’s rich natural resources and the state bureaucracy.

Occupying the state’s highest political office, Taib was able to out-manoeuvre Rahman despite the latter’s formidable influence and wealth.

With a combination of the sacking of many community leaders who supported Rahman, the revocation of timber licenses owned by Rahman’s family and supporters and accommodative measures (the co-optation of formerly pro-Rahman assemblymen), Taib was able to subdue his political enemies and build new alliances within the SBN, thus allowing him to survive the most testing period of his long authoritarian rule in Sarawak. After 1987, Taib successfully consolidated Sarawak’s electorate as evident from the SBN’s domineering performance in both state and parliamentary elections throughout the 1990s and the new millennium.

Since 1981, Taib has effectively performed the role of the federal state’s representative by religiously fulfilling its demands. In return, federal leaders have endorsed Taib’s leadership along with granting him a high degree of autonomy which has allowed Taib the strongman to dominate Sarawak’s society and its rich resources.

Apart from securing the endorsement of federal leaders, Taib has employed two key strategies in ensuring the continuity of his Rajah-like rule in Sarawak.

First, the Muslim Melanau strongman has resorted to the use of development goodies as a tool to cajole and pressure the electorate. After more than three decades of politicising development, the SBN has successfully embedded the culture of developmentalism in Sarawak society, making it almost impossible for any opposition party — which does not have access to these political “goods” — to unseat the ruling coalition.

Paradoxically, this ‘politics of development’ has triggered a wave of contestation by a small number of Malay and Dayak groups who have criticised the ruling coalition’s development policies as being urban-biased and crony-centred.

The importance of “development politics” in Sarawak is thus likely to persist for decades to come as development achievement in the state is still lacking. And as long as development achievement is scarce, development would remain a priceless “commodity” which the ruling party will effectively exploit as a tool to remain in power.

Second, Taib has exploited the large Sarawak civil service as a tool of extensive social control given its  ability to reach into every small district in the state. Apart from that, Taib has also utilized the Sarawak civil service as a source of patronage for his cronies, clients and the people of Sarawak by providing them employment and access to state resources. Furthermore, the civil service, known locally as perentah, has long been a highly respected institution among Sarawakians especially the Muslim Bumiputera.

This has further enhanced its capability as a tool of social penetration and control.

Consequently, the civil service has proven to be a highly effective tool of domination compared to the PBB. Although the Muslim Bumiputera PBB has grown stronger under Taib’s rule (with 71 divisional offices, 1,095 branch offices and 226,346 registered members), it still lacks the financial resources and the manpower to effectively bind the scattered population of Sarawak.

Moreover, the PBB, just like any other political party, normally becomes “active” only during election periods. The seasonal-nature of PBB thus has impeded any attempt to exploit the party as a vehicle of social control within Sarawak’s society.

This conjuncture in Sarawak between the federal government and the two MM strongmen has over the years generated significant change among the population. Within the Muslim Bumiputera community, the most significant change affecting them after 1970 has been their increased support towards the ruling party.

Prior to the co-optation of the MM Bumiputera elites, the electorate was deeply divided with Muslim Bumiputeras supporting either Parti Negara Sarawak (PANAS) and Barisan Rakyat Jati Sarawak (BARJASA), the non-Muslim Bumiputera rallying behind Pesaka and SNAP, while the Chinese were divided between SUPP and Sarawak Chinese Association (SCA).

However, the MM elites who later became the strongmen of Sarawak successfully cajoled the electorate towards the SBN , transforming the state into one of the BN’s bastions.

This domination, however, has not been absolute. The Chinese electorate would every now and then switch their ‘loyalty’ to the opposition DAP, depending on the issues at play. In the 2006 election, for example, the Chinese overwhelmingly gave their support to the opposition, with the DAP winning six seats while Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) secured one seat.

The non-Muslim Bumiputera community, on the other hand, is less inclined to vote for the opposition, as compared to their Chinese counterparts. Only in the 1987 and 1991 elections did the non-Muslim Bumiputera resist the ruling party by voting the then in opposition PBDS which was involved in the failed attempt (along with Rahman Yakub) to unseat the Chief Minister.

The Muslim Bumiputera are generally aligned to the SBN but there are a small number of them who have resisted the ruling party’s dominance by supporting the opposition.

To these non-conformists, various factors have influenced their political choices with inequitable development as the major source of contention. Apart from that, other sources of resistance have been ethno-nationalism and the struggle for democracy which is still at its infancy.

These two factors along with other localised issues (especially land related matters) have continued to challenge the ruling coalition and the MM strongmen’s attempt to dominate Sarawak’s multi-ethnic society. Thus, despite the federal government’s success in dominating Sarawak, it is imperative to note that its domination is not absolute even among the relatively docile Muslim Bumiputera.

The federal government’s strategy to rely on the MM strongmen have generated change not only in society but also in the federal government itself. To accommodate the strongmen, the federal government has  been forced to transfer some of its power to these influential individuals who have exploited the state’s resources and agencies to maintain their dual positions.

As a result, the federal government’s agenda and policies have also been compromised while malpractices such as corruption and abuse of power are rampant. Some of the signs of government weaknesses are the failure of its development policies in bringing equitable growth to Sarawak’s multi-ethnic society; the widespread practice of money politics during elections; the supremacy of regionalism and localism over national issues and democratic idealism; and the widespread public perception of corruption among state leaders.

Still, it is unlikely that the MM strongmen’s rule is going to be a permanent feature of Sarawak politics. Various forces are likely to diminish the role of this powerful institution. Although responsible for elevating and sustaining the MM strongmen of Sarawak, the extensive power of the Federal government could effectively halt this arrangement arbitrarily for whatever reasons that they deem fit.

One of the ways federal leaders could displace these MM strongmen is to establish UMNO in Sarawak. Once established, PBB would be dissolved via assimilation into UMNO. The formation of Sarawak UMNO would definitely cripple the power of Muslim Melanau leaders who would lose their hitherto independent political platform (i.e. PBB) to exercise their regional power.

And the rule of the Muslim Melanau strongmen in Sarawak would certainly be ended if the federal government is led by Pakatan Rakyat (PR), which has promised to reserve the Sarawak Chief Ministership for the Iban community.

The transformation of Sarawak’s society, especially the emergence of the middle class, will also play a significant role in eroding the institution of local strongmen. Like colonial-era elites, the middle class has the potential to challenge the political dominance of local strongmen through their active participation in civil society and electoral politics.

Today, civil society in Sarawak is dormant except for the active engagement of local and international environmental groups which are fighting for the land and ancestral heritage of Penans and other indigenous groups.  This absence of a vibrant civil society in Sarawak is likely to be resolved as the state’s pool of middle class grows and begins to assert itself as a pressure group.

As well, the local MM strongmen would not be able to continue dominating Sarawak politics as time passes as the public’s access to alternative information especially through the advent of information communication technology grows. When the control of information is shattered, the abuse of power and malpractice of strongmen and other leaders would inevitably be in the spotlight, leading to the erosion of strongmen’s dominance.

Information communication technology via the internet is influential as it has the potential to act as a genuinely robust fourth estate long non-existent in Malaysia. For now however, the low internet access rate in Sarawak, standing at 6.8 per cent in 2006, is still effectively preventing Sarawak’s populace from receiving alternative information let alone launch a mass reform movement to challenge the strongmen.

But as internet access in Sarawak grows allowing more Sarawakians to access alternative information, these informed masses will begin to put more pressure on local strongmen, leading to a possible collapse of their authoritarian rule.

These forces would thus act as an earthquake that triggers a tsunami that is big enough to sweep away not only the MM strongmen but also the entire SBN. A preposterous proposition you may think. Maybe. But again that is exactly what the sceptics said about the Pakatan Rakyat opposition chances in the historic March 8 election. — aliran.com – The Malaysian Insider

Razaleigh’s keynote speech on the launch of the book “Multi-ethnic Malaysia”

A Constitution of Consensus*

One place for us to begin this process together is our Federal Constitution.

The spirit in which Malaysia came to be is captured in our Constitution. At the moment of our independence, Malaysia possessed firm foundations in the rule of law and was permeated with a spirit of constitutionalism.

The pledge contained within the proclamation of Independence says that “…with God’s blessing [Malaysia] shall be forever a sovereign democratic and independent State founded upon the principles of liberty and justice and ever seeking the welfare and happiness of its people and the maintenance of a just peace among all nations.”

The Constitution is the ultimate safeguard of our fundamental liberties. These are liberties which cannot be taken away.

One view put out by those who are impatient with these safeguards is that our Constitution is an external and Western imposition upon us, that it is the final instrument of colonialism. People have drawn on this view to subject the Constitution to some higher or prior principle,  be it race, religion or royalty. Of course, the proponents of such views tend to identify themselves with these higher principles in order to claim extra-constitutional powers. These are transparent attempts at revisionism which erode the supremacy of the Constitution. We should have the confidence to reject such moves politely but firmly, whoever advocates them, whatever their social or religious status.

The truth is that our Constitution was built by a deliberately consultative process aimed at achieving consensus. The Reid Commission was proposed by a constitutional conference in London attended by four representatives of the Malay Rulers, the Chief Minister of the Federation, Tunku Abdul Rahman and three other ministers, and also by the British High Commissioner in Malaya and his advisers.  This conference proposed the appointment of an independent commission to devise a constitution for a fully self-governing and independent Federation of Malaya. Their proposal was accepted by the Malay Rulers and Queen Elizabeth.

The Reid Commission met 118 times in Kuala Lumpur between June and October 1956, and received 131 memoranda from various individuals and organisations. The commission submitted its working draft on 21 February 1957, which was scrutinised by a Working Committee. The Working Committee consisted of four representatives from the Malay rulers, another four from the Alliance government, the British High Commissioner, the Chief Secretary, and the Attorney General.

On the basis of their recommendations, the new Federal Constitution was passed by the Federal Legislative Council on August 15, 1957, and the Constitution took effect on August 27.

As you can tell from this narrative, the Commission solicited the views of all sections of our society and had, throughout, the support and participation of the Malay Rulers and the Alliance government. The process preserved the sovereignty of the Malay Rulers

The resulting document, like all things man-made, remains perfectible, but most certainly it is ours. It brought our nation into being, and it is our document.

The question of whether the Federation should be an islamic state, for example, was considered and rejected by the Rulers and by the representatives of the people. Had we wanted to be ruled by syariah, the option was on the shelf, so to speak, and could easily have been taken, because prior to this the states were ruled by the Sultans according to syariah law. The fact that we have a constitution governed by common law is not an accident nor an external imposition. We chose to found our nation on a secular constitution after consultation and deliberation.

Our country was built on the sophisticated and secure foundation of a Constitution that we formed for ourselves. For us to continue to grow up as a country we need to own, understand and defend it.

Sadly part of the memory we have lost is of our Constitution and of the nature of that Constitution. Today, in the aftermath of the scene-shifting election results of March 2008,  people are restless and uneasy about the ethnic relations, and about their future. There is a sense of anxiety about our nation that is often translated into fear of ethnic conflict.

I think we should not fear. On an inviolable foundation of equal citizenship, the rights of each and every community are protected. These protections are guaranteed in the Constitution. What we should be uneasy about is not so much ethnic discord, which is often manufactured for political ends and has little  basis in the daily experience of our citizens, but the subversion of our Constitution. Such subversion is only possible if we forget that this Constitution belongs to us, protects us all, and underwrites our nationhood and we fail to defend it.

Our country had a happy beginning in being built on firm foundations in the rule of law. A strong spirit of constitutionalism guided our early decades. The components of that spirit are respect and understanding for the rule of law, and the upholding of justice and liberty. That spirits is antithetical to communal bickering and small-minded squabbling over fixed pie notions of education, economy or whatever. That spirit has declined and with it has come all kinds of unease. It is time we recovered it. With its recovery will come our confidence as a nation once more.

The political framework of this country cries out for reform. But reform is not about the blind embrace of the new. That would be to fly from disorder to confusion. Our path to reform must come from a recovery of  the “old” living spirit of Constitutionalism, and the “old” values of freedom and justice, and the “old” memories each of us carries in themselves of what is good about our nation.

So far I have spoken more generally about principles. I want to turn now to some examples of how these can work out in pursuing particular reforms.

National reform must begin with reform of our party system. This is because one of the chief reasons this nation is sick is that we have a diseased party system. A diagnosis of the disease of the party system finds that the parties are sick because they have strayed from from the Constitutional principles that govern them (they are subject to the Societies Act). In doing so they have become undemocratic. In becoming undemocratic they have lost legitimacy. In losing legitimacy they have lost public support and the ability to rejuvenate themselves. The cure, surely is for them to conform themselves again to constitutional principles.

I have warned that Umno, like any other political party that has been in power for so long, must reform, or it will be tossed out by the people. The people themselves have had a taste of the power of their free vote. They know that parties and governments answer to the people, and not vice versa, they want a repeal of draconian laws, and they have lost patience with corruption. They seek accountability, justice and rule of law. The people are ahead of the government of the day, but the principles they want to see applied are universal, and they are enshrined in our Constitution.
It is not just Umno that needs to reform. The entire political system needs to change, to be in greater conformity with our Constitution and in the spirit of the Rukun Negara, which says from these diverse elements of our population, we are dedicated to the achievement of a united nation in which loyalty and dedication to the nation shall over-ride all other loyalties.’”

We should not expect our political parties to reform of their own accord. Leaders who owe their position to undemocratic  rules and practices are the last people to accept reform. The people must demand it. I say we need a movement embraced by people at all levels and from every quarter of our rakyat, to establish a national consensus on how our political parties should conduct themselves from now on. In the spirit of the Rukun Negara, That consensus should be based on a set of principles such as the following:

1. All political parties are required to include in their constitutional objectives the equality of citizenship as provided for in the Federal Constitution.

2. An economic and political policy that political parties propagate must not discriminate against any citizen.

3. All parties shall include and uphold constitutional democracy and the separation of powers as a fundamental principle.

4. It shall be the duty of all political parties to adhere to the objectives of public service and refrain from involvement in business, and ensure the separation of business from political parties.

5. It shall be the duty of all political parties to ensure and respect the independence of the judiciary and the judicial process.

6. All parties shall ensure that the party election system will adhere to the highest standards of conduct, and also ensure that the elections are free of corrupt practices.  Legislation should be considered to provide funding of political parties.

7. It shall be the duty of all parties to ensure that all political dialogues and statements will not create racial or religious animosity.

8. All parties undertake not to use racial and communal agitation as political policies.

9. To remove and eradicate all barriers that hinder national unity and Malaysian identity.

10. To uphold the Federal and State Constitutions and its democratic intent and spirit, the Rule of Law, and the fundamental liberties as enshrined in Part II of the Malaysian Constitution and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

What we need now is the rise of an empowered public. Democracy in Malaysia is fragile so long as public opinion remains weak. Our hope for a more democratic future depends on our ability to build a strong public opinion. It’s good news that a vigorous body of public opinion, aided by information and  communication technologies, is in making on the internet. I myself rely on it through my blog. If not for my blog, what I say would scarcely get out in the mainstream media. We need a freedom of information act, and I call for the repeal of the Printing Presses Act. It is silly that we limit the number of newspapers while every person with a blog or a twitter account can publish to the world. In limiting the printed media we have only succeeded in dumbing it down, so that those who rely only on the printed mass media and the terrestrial broadcast channels are actually the poorer for it.

Race and hope

Let end by returning to the theme of racial harmony. I repeat: the constitutional guarantees are ironclad.  We ought to feel secure in the Constitution’s protections of our rights. A free people must be a secure people.

Another story:

In 1962, when I was a delegate to the United Nations, the Late Tun Ismail and I went out one evening to a posh restaurant on New York’s East Side. The maitre d’ turned us away firmly. No, he said, the restaurant was closed for a private function.  We could see clearly that the restaurant was open. We understood that we were being denied entry because were “coloured”. This is despite the fact that our reservation had been made UN’s offices.

Today, in 2009, an African American man is President of the United States. He has just won the Nobel Peace Prize. In 46 years, and well within my lifetime, how far things have come. Had you told me in 1962, after that incident, that a black man would be president in my life time, I would not have believed you. This change did not happen without struggle.

From Leo Tolstoy to Henry Thoreau to Ghandi to Martin Luther King and Nelson Mandela,  we see a thread of conviction about the overriding ethical claim of our common humanity. It is more important that we are alike in being sons and daughters of God than that we are different. This is also the thread of a spirit and method of resistance.  Where all reasonable persuasion fails, the final “No” to wrongdoing, the place at which the citizen stands up to defend something fundamental, is through peaceful resistance. I allude to this only as a reminder of the final redoubt of the free citizen. Things may or may not have come to such a bad state that we must rise in this fashion, but let us be conscious of the power we hold in knowing just who we are and what we are capable of as ordinary citizens.

If the authorities do what is unjust, ride roughshod over constitutional rights and deny the sovereignty of the rakyat and the primacy of our constitution, we rest secure in the knowledge that history shows us that the just cause, defended stoutly, persistently and peacefully, will prevail. And sooner than we might expect.

UCSI University, Cheras, October 16, 2009

Not every law that comes out of Parliament is publicly justifiable

The Rule of Law and Judicial Independence

“According to F.A. Hayek, this means that government in all its actions is bound by rules fixed and announced beforehand which make it possible to foresee with fair certainty how the authority will use its coercive powers in given circumstances, and to plan one’s individual affair on the basis of this knowledge. That definition is indeed a powerful formulation of the concept but I would hasten to add a major rider to it, which is, that the coercive powers referred to must be predicated on the basis that the laws in the first place must meet the criterion of justness. Hence the rule of law means the exercise of publicly justifiable power. I emphasise the phrase ‘publicly justifiable power’ because not every law that comes out of Parliament is publicly justifiable. In other words, the rule of law requires the application of moral standards to legislative output. And this is because every individual possesses rights founded on justice which are inviolable. The positivity of law is not sufficient to establish its lawfulness. If laws are unjust then the rule of law itself is in jeopardy.” – Anwar Ibrahim