Three Issues , One answer..!

Reading through this Sunday's Star, I found that the issues raised on "Stateless Malaysians", "Brain Drain" and "Unskilled Local Labour", can, surprisingly be answered with one word. Allow me to elaborate.

In the first news report, Number of Stateless Malaysians stun even Hishamuddin it was reported that the Home Minister said that the National Registration Department's mobile units had found that as many as 30,000 people did not have MyKad, 96,000 people did not have birth certificates and more than 60,000 people were holders of red identity cards, mostly in Sarawak..."

In the Sunday Star focus column Tracing the brain drain trend .. Dr Fong Chan Onn was reported to have said, "..As I have elaborated at the beginning of this article, under Malaysian law, a child born overseas to a Malaysian mother, whose husband is a non-Malaysian, is not entitled to Malaysian citizenship or even permanent resident (PR) status. This large pool of talent is just kept out of our shores. I vividly remember Datuk Syed Norulzaman (a retired Malaysian ambassador) lamenting to me last month over dinner about how his daughter, a JPA medical scholar at Dublin, worked hard over the years to qualify as a medical specialist. She unfortunately could not return to serve Malaysia because she married her Norwegian classmate, and their children are classified as non-Malaysians. With tears in his eyes, he said he had never felt so helpless as an ambassador because he could not explain to his daughter why Malaysia does not accept her children. And of the thousands of talented foreign spouses who have returned to Malaysia with their Malaysian husbands, what is happening to them? Medical experts, top-notch scientists or experienced teachers they may be, but they are not even accorded PR status and are not allowed to work here, their adopted home..."

And finally, in the Sunday Editorial,Shift Gear to Higher mode Senior Editor Wong Chun Wai said,".. Recently, I decided to hire a Malay­sian who had migrated to New Zealand as a trainer under a one-year contract. There were so many obstacles along the way that we finally gave up. It was easier hiring a foreign toilet cleaner... "

One word suffices to explain the reason for those issues raised above, the the word is "Distrust". Why is it so, after more than 50 years of Merdeka, that those entrusted with the formulation and implementation of Govt policies still distrust anyone who is a non Malay, or who is even associated with a non Malay? A look at the full stadium of Malaysians cheering our Thomas Cup Badminton team in their match against Denmark show that there is nothing wrong with Malaysian unity in diversity. And I personally think also there is nothing wrong with the 1Malaysia concept, if articulated with sincerity. Coming back to those issues raised in the papers today,

• why is it so tough for Malaysians born in Malaysia to get their Birth certificates and subsequently MyKads? It's a shameful thing for a citizen to have to hold on to a Red card, and treated like a 'pariah'
  
• Why do we distrust spouses and children who are married to Malaysians? If we don't even respect a Malaysian's choice of spouse, and expect him to treat his family again like pariahs, what would he think of his own country?
• If a Malaysian, who is qualified and wants to return to contribute to his country, why treat him with the same status as a foreign toilet cleaner? What is wrong with him having worked overseas, if his own country did not have provide the same opportunities at that particular time?

The Government can only succeed in its objective of an inclusive 1Malaysia, if it sincerely embraces all citizens, and accepts them as equals. And the first thing it has to do, is to actively eliminate all forms of actions that show and sow distrust among its citizens. Will citizens vote for a Government that treats them like other foreigners?

We must WALK THE TALK, but at the moment, it's more like balancing on a tightrope

Distrust the reason for one of our major woes

Root canal politics, and lessons to be learnt

I never miss Thomas Friedman, syndicated by your Paper, and today's column ROOT CANAL POLITICS,or the Death of the Tooth Fairy is also very good reference to the ills in our country. While the column specifically addressed the current turmoil engulfing Greece, and the imminent crisis that can hit Britain, in fact largely due to the excessive spending of the baby boomers, who believe that wealth can be infinitely created, and political stability maintained by pandering to the narcissistic needs of the populace, the current and future generations will be left heavily in debt, and with the environment destroyed, and resources heavily depleted. Some of the examples he has mentioned bear repeating here:

• Our parents were “The Greatest Generation,” and they earned that title by making enormous sacrifices and investments to build us a world of abundance. My generation, “The Baby Boomers,” turned out to be what the writer Kurt Andersen called “The Grasshopper Generation.” We’ve eaten through all that abundance like hungry locusts.
  

• Greece, for instance, became the General Motors of countries. Like G.M.’s management, Greek politicians used the easy money and subsidies that came with European Union membership not to make themselves more competitive in a flat world, but more corrupt, less willing to collect taxes and uncompetitive. Under Greek law, anyone in certain “hazardous” jobs could retire with full pension at 50 for women and 55 for men — including hairdressers who use a lot of chemical dyes and shampoos. In Britain, everyone over 60 gets an annual allowance to pay heating bills and can ride any local bus for free. That’s really sweet — if you can afford it. But Britain, where 25 percent of the government’s budget is now borrowed, can’t anymore.

• Here is how The Financial Times described it {British elections} “The next government will have to cut public sector pay, freeze benefits, slash jobs, abolish a range of welfare entitlements and take the ax to programs such as school building and road maintenance.” Too bad no party won a majority mandate in the British elections to do this job.

• After 65 years in which politics in the West was, mostly, about giving things away to voters, it’s now going to be, mostly, about taking things away. Goodbye Tooth Fairy politics, hello Root Canal politics.

Of course Malaysia is not in such dire straits, but if we do not stiffen the political spine and take hard decisions, that may be hugely unpopular, it would not be too far away before events witnessed in Greece might be happening on our doorsteps. For example, we talk about wanting to achieve a high income status, but is increasing the salaries of only civil servants without demonstrable improvements in their productivity be just akin to 'subsidizing' a high standard of living? The NEM seeks to assure all races of their rights and lives being protected, but can a certain quarter continue to clamour for assistance based on merely being a majority in the country, without the need to contribute the same amount of effort and productivity to drive the country forward? Can a minority be taxed and burdened to support the demands of the majority, which in effect, it should be the other way around?

It's not easy to make strong decisions being surrounded by parochial politicians, but we must learn from the mistakes of the others, and not wait for the mistakes to be repeated here. As Friedman said to the Americans, ...." Sitting in America, it’s hard to grasp the importance of the British elections and the Greek riots. Nothing to do with us, right? Well, I’d pay attention to the drama playing out here. It may be coming to a theater near you....."

Look out Malaysia!!

Stick with English

Reading the letter to TheStar by DR ABU BAKAR ABDUL MAJEED, DR MEGAWATI OMAR, of the Research Management Institute, UITM, Shah Alam -->Stick With English I was struck by what he said, that our children lament that the moment they are out of school, they discover that they need English in almost every aspect of their daily and academic lives, especially if they live in cities. They have been so handicapped that, even in the day to day functioning of their lives, these students and graduates seem to be dysfunctional. Switching back to Bahasa Malaysia as the medium of teaching the important subjects will only serve to aggravate the situation, leading to future Malaysians unable to challenge and compete in the global arena.

If I am not mistaken, one of those reasons given by the Education Ministry to switch back to Bahasa Malaysia as the teaching medium, was that the rural students have been unable to cope with English and have been marginalized in Examinations. In this instance it can be said that the "mountain" [ie. the rural students poor command of English] cannot come to "Mohamad", then "Mohamad" must go to the "mountain". Putting it in another way, do we want our rural students to continue to lack behind even in the day to day living in Malaysia, not to mention that they will be severely handicapped when they leave the country? Upgrading the education system to ensure the rural students can cope should be the objective of a caring Government.

Do we want to see Malaysians, especially the rural children, fall behind and live lives filled with insecurity and inferiority because of the deficiency in the English Language? Do we want to remain in the backwaters of progress, while even countries like Indonesia and Vietnam forge ahead?

We should re-think this issue. Can our leaders rise above parochial politics, or do they waver at the first sound of the naysayers? Malaysia's diverse mix of races will have more than its fair share of sycophants and self styled champions of 'race and culture', but the Govt has to be able to rise above such bigotry if our future generations is to have a chance in this challenging World

Think about it

We cannot afford to ignore the importance of English

How NOT to follow Greece

In his timely column on the continuing world economic turmoil now roiling Europe Malaysians must learn from Greek Crisis, excessive loans no good and the dire consequences it is bringing onto the countries affected Greek Crisis: 3 die in violent protests the writer Jagdev Singh has observed, that in order for Malaysia not to 'follow in" the path of the Greeks, it has to start removing the major bulk of the subsidies given the the people, and that is in the energy sector. I quote with thanks:

"..It’s the middle class that is the foundation to consumer demand and striking a balance between reducing such subsidies and keeping people happy will be a tricky task.

Appealing to people’s season of reason and articulating the consequences of not doing so may work.

People have to know that the precious resource the country is blessed with should not be frittered away. And while conservation and efficient use of energy resources will help reduce wastage and help the environment, people also need to be shown that their efforts are helping to build something worthy for the future.

Any programme of reducing energy subsidies should be met with a similar programme that will improve the economic welfare of the people...."

I would like to add here that, appealing to the sense of reason will not work, unless the Government has continuously demonstrated its desire to keep down extravagant and wasteful spending. For example, would it not be better for the Govt to, say, drastically reduce its expenditure on the Military and defense, and show that the reduction of that expenditure will be channelled towards improving the logistics and transport system of the country, and for example, make the LRT accessible to all regions, regardless of ridership? It would then make the removal of the fuel subsidy less "painful"

The Govt must also actively pursue the departments and officals who have spent their budgets in extravagance and on projects that have subsequently failed or have tremendously overshot its budget. In this respect the respected AG's report should be pursued to a meaningful end. At the moment, the middle class know that after the initial hullabaloo, inevitably the AG's report is left to collect dust. What a waste of trees chopped down to write the Report. Questions by the Auditor General still unanswered.

What I am trying to say is, Malaysians are reasonable by nature, they will accept that hard times are ahead of them, and that the Govt needs to do the necessary to keep the country safe and "healthy". But can they tolerate a continuing regime of extravagance and nugatory expenditure, and watch as the politicians continue to "roll in the fat" while they are asked to tighten their belts for the good of the country?

Let the present violent turmoil in Greece be a potent reminder of the "deep hole" we can dig ourselves in...

Thanks Jagdev

Is Asas Serba's proposal really workable?

Good analysis--> Is Asas Serba's proposal really workable? I find your 'concerns' quite reasonable. Though Ibrahim Bidin is an experienced Toll Expert and entrepreneur, [I know him well from our Manila days], taking over the toll business from disparate parties with their own reasons for desiring their own toll business, consolidating various suppliers of equipment, technology may present more problems than solutions. it may also be seen that the Govt is 'trying to twist' the arms of the smaller players, and drive the smaller suppliers out of business? Reducing the toll by 20% is commendable, but more can be given.

However, the reply that was given to the concern that Asas Serba may not maintain the roads well is patronising. I quote... ".. There’s also concern that Asas Serba may not maintain the highways as well as the current operators. Asas Serba director Ibrahim Bidin said market forces would dictate that they would. “If we don’t, the number of highway users would drop and our toll collections will decline. Our bondholders would then come after us.....” To me, it would be a horrible time for Malaysian road users, if in the near future, Asas Serba really neglected to maintain the roads in the same condition as now, what will be the traffic situation on the roads if the road users avoid potholed tolled roads and use the free Federal Roads? Can you imagine the jams that we will be having? The whole country will be gridlocked!!! It would be better for the Govt {in the event it accepts Asas Serba's offer} to write into the takeover agreements some form of punitive punishment for Asas Serba in the event of non compliance of conditions, and not accept such a flippant reply.

Indonesians show of violence at Stadium, with offensive weapons!!!

This report of yours really give us the creeps [it is also the 'most viewed' news online] Indonesians show of violence at Stadium, with offensive weapons!!! Many letters have been published voicing concern that there are too many foreigners working in the country, and total dependence on such lowly paid unskilled labour can only have long term deleterious effects on our society. Looking at the pictures of the Police showing to the Press, the large number of weapons 'captured' from the foreigners show frighteningly that these harmful effects have arrived. And will continue to be a major dilemma for our Govt to deal with. If we do not find a solution to stemming the need for cheap foreign labour soon, it will not be long for us to see the day, when large groups of foreigners* from the South Eastern countries clash with each other for "territorial" control and gang rights. What will become of civil society then?

Malaysia's Path to Destruction..

I must commend the Star for another very good effort in exposing the seeming nonchalant attitudes taken by the Govt in protecting the assets of the country, in the feature >>PATH TO DESTRUCTION but I must say, even the Star seems to be knocking its head against a very hard rock. The perils that you rightfully warned the readers against, ie loss of catchment area, nasty run offs, destruction of forests, less drinking water etc.appear not the be the concerns of the authorities at all. Reading through the column slowly, I appreciate the details that you have managed to piece together to make a very worrying read. In particular, I must ask the authorities the following questions which I hope The Star would be able to get a response:

• It was mentioned that the new highway would cut through the Gombak, Ampang ahd Hulu Langat Forest Reserves.. My question is.. If these areas have already been designated as a Reserve, who has the legal as well as moral authority to destroy them? If Reserves are designated precisely with the reason to protect them for posterity, why are they being destroyed now? Are we enacting such legislation, JUST FOR FUN and for immoral politicians to make use of? Why do we have to sign petitions and beg the Prime Minister to intervene? Until we begin to treat violation of Forest reserves a a crime against the nation, we will not see the end of all such dastardly acts.
  
• It would be nice, if The Star could detail what the EIA study has concluded on the impact of the construction of the highway on the water catchment capacity of the area. It does not require any expert on environmental study to observe that the removing or trees and vegetation from the reserve will just reduce its capacity to act as a holding storage for rainwater. Trees and vegetation hold a tremendous amount of water during heavy rains, and slowly release it to the rivers and the reservoir. Lack of such vegetation will cause, as you have mentioned it, nasty run offs, besides, losing much valued potable water. My question here is, can the EIA study have ANY OTHER CONCLUSION, other than construction of the highway will be highly dangerous for the future of the water supply of our Selangor denizens.
• What about the trees that are cut? Who owns them and the revenue they bring in as Logs.??

You know Mr Editor, I have to take my hat off to your staff for soldiering on and doing such excellent investigative journalism, but it will look again to me, this will be another drop of water off a duck's back!

People First, Performance Now?.... Hah

Going Green

Reading the cover features, Going Green, Mindset change needed to reap the benefits of green technology and Reducing our carbon footprint make a lot of sense, but something seems to be troubling my mind. I was wondering how those businesses and corporations involved in destructive use of the Earth state in their mission statements the efforts or steps they take to reduce the effects of their businesses on the environment, that will comply with internationally acceptable standards of carbon footprint reduction or staving off the effects on global warming. Generally all companies and corporations exist to make money and to give profit to its shareholders, based on an ongoing concern and increasing profitability. Based on such a world wide business premise, for example:

• How would a Timber company reconcile the need for continuous and sustained profits with sustainable practices? We know in Malaysia, it is a foregone fact that annual concessions of virgin forests (sometimes from a part of the forest reserve) are applied for by companies, and often approved by various State governments, for the extraction of valuable hardwood. The companies, whose core business is timber extraction, need regular infusions of new forest lands so that its profits can be maintained. Replanted forests do not have the kind of wood that virgin forests produce, and anyway, replanted forests are unable to fulfill the voracious demand for hardwood only found in our forests in Borneo. I wonder if these companies can ever be classified as companies that will comply as "Green" companies, if one day we wake up suddenly to the fact that we do not have any forests left?
  
• Similarly companies in the Americas and elsewhere that destructively mine for copper, aluminum, diamond, etc. To be successful ongoing concerns providing sustained profit streams to its shareholders, these companies must necessarily destroy more land, and often have to evict natives from the spot as those poor denizens are sitting on literally pots and pots of gold. Again, my question. How will these companies ever meet with the criteria to be called "green"

Or, do we practise double standards? Allow "destructive" companies to carry on, because we don't what to do otherwise? If so, what is the point of talking about "going green" then? :-(