Benign neglect and Malignant Indifference

Though it is suspected that there are 'other' reasons for such a photo shoot to grace the front page of your paper, I must admit that the report >> Ties with London set to soar is indeed uplifting. It is good to see a leader of our country stand shoulder to shoulder with a Head of State of a World Power{albeit faltering} and exchange views of mutual importance, treating each other with equal and genuine respect.

The underlying reason for such confidence and comfort demonstrated by our Prime Minister is of course his excellent command of the English language, and his ability to trade word for word, without loss of understanding and without diffidence, views on the nation's needs and aspirations.

The British Prime Minister has also promised to 'end an era of benign neglect' and restore Britain's relations with Malaysia to its 'former glory'. May I paraphrase Mr Cameron and suggest that, in order for our nation to continue to command respect in the International Arena, and improve our relations globally, the Government has also to end an era of  'malignant indifference' over the teaching of English in our schools. We need to grab the issue by the scruff of the neck, and get it right. Leaving it to the politicians and their inherent parochialism, we will end up spelling 'butterfly' as 'batefelai' 

Najib's command of English lets him soar

Malaysian contractors to build Bangladeshi's largest bridge {RM9bil deal with Bangladesh}

It is indeed a feather in the cap for Dato Seri Samy Vellu and the Prime Minister regarding the RM9bil deal with Bangladesh which have opened the path for Malaysian contractors to build Bangladeshi's largest bridge  when the Government announced the signing of the MOU with Government of Bangladesh.

However, on reading the details of the reports, I feel the initial euphoria should now be tinged with some caution. Two facts stand out and I quote:

1. " The Padma bridge project had last year been halted after the World Bank suspended a US$1.2 billion loan on allegations of corruption in the pre-bidding process. To this, Samy said the allegations are an internal matter for the government of Bangladesh to resolve."
2. " Under the MoU, the Malaysian Government would form a consortium of companies to implement the project on a Build, Operate, Own and Transfer (BOOT) concession basis.

1. Considering that even the august body like the World Bank has seen fit NOT to support the project because of alleged corruption, we would expect the Malaysian Govt, or even the private companies roped in to implement and finance the project would be extra cautious when signing the detailed joint venture and other implementation agreements, and not do it with "one eye closed", to their own peril. Those who have had international experience in implementing international G to G projects know that there is a tremendous amount of "discrepancy" between an MOU and the subsequent implementation agreements.
   
2. The other announced matter that should be taken with a pinch of salt is that under the MOU, the project is to be implemented on a Build, Operate, Own and Transfer basis or BOOT. Again, those with international experience on such projects will advise to tread with caution. In most countries around the South and South East Asian region, local and national laws normally prohibit ownership of projects that involve land, and that will include all infrastructure projects. Foreign operations of high profile and landmark projects are normally frowned upon by the unions and the Opposition, and sometimes, it can be too late when the real facts are made known. Foreign companies can subsequently be booted out in spite of firm support from the Governments who had inked the MOU. 

I am writing this based on personal experience, having managed  and organised two such similarly conceived projects a decade ago in a country SE Asia.
Be forewarned

Living next door to vice

Reading this column, >> Living next door to vice gave me a huge dose of deja vu  and a heightened feeling of hopelessness that our country is veering towards lawlessness, where its own citizens now live in fear of their own lives, as clusters of ethnic immigrants increase in numbers and viciousness.

I have been writing in my blog that we have too many foreigners staying in Malaysia, and also frequently in the media, { Concern over littering by foreign workers , foreign workers staying in slums, paying the price for cheap foreign labour, Malaysia a haven for illegal workers, and sex ring bust only addressing the symptoms } but all these portentous comments seem to have fallen on deaf ears.

While I have previously addressed mainly the issues of foreign 'workers', PGolingai has highlighted a new element in our 'love affair' with foreigners, that is, our uninhibited admission of foreign 'students' who use the opportunity to study in a foreign country to escape the drudgery of their own lives in their motherland.

Uncontrolled admission of  foreign students will have the same effect of continuous influx of foreign workers and I would like to repeat here,  that unless the Government seriously address the issue of our increasing dependence on cheap and often illegal foreign labour, and our love of foreign students, we are just introducing our country to all the negative and undesirable consequences of unrestrained and sub standard population. As the number of foreign workers and students with limited skills and no experience increase and converge inside our country, they inevitably form cliques, recklessly occupying previously peaceful residential areas, and exerting their influences forcefully and abusively, as can be seen by reports of foreigners fighting to evade arrest and eviction. We know now there are numerous enclaves in KL and all over the countryside, where suddenly a foreign (non citizen) group has become a majority in the area, depriving the locals of living space, clean water and houses, and even business opportunities.

While culturally, it may offer Malaysia an excellent opportunity to claim that it's "Truly Asia {and maybe partially Africa}", the social and environmental effects of such a large number (and still multiplying) of very low skilled foreigners ferried into our country and muscling our denizens out of their living space and work opportunities can only be deleterious in the long term.

Additionally, with Malaysia insisting on paying 'slave like' wages to those who clamour to work here, we cannot deny that we are just a part of the larger human trafficking system that is exploiting the poor and the down trodden of the world.

It's right; the worse is yet to come, not only for the residents of Venice Hill Condo, but for all the peace loving citizens of Malaysia.
Problems we don't need.... 

The other end of the blow by Joceline Tan,

Serendipitously, this feature >>> The other end of the blow by Joceline Tan, was published in Sunday Star, just after our "lively" discussion on the subject on Friday night, after some voluminous drinking :-) . We may not agree totally on the subject, but read through this column for a more sober analytical view, {which may also be not agreeable to some of us}

.. Cheers!

Quotes from the column:

1. Perkasa and Dong Zong should merge because they are best friends. They may look like enemies from the outside but they actually have a lot in common. Don’t believe me? Check how they behave in public. The only difference is their ethnic background and language but the rest of their mannerism is pretty much the same. Please think of a suitable name when they merge later,” said one Kuala Lumpur blog.
2. Normally, a rally of this sort would have been done under the umbrella body of Dong Jiao Zong. But Jiao Zong could not agree with all of the four resolutions that Dong Zong was trying to push through. For instance, Jiao Zong disagreed that even English and Bahasa Malaysia in Chinese primary schools must be taught by those with Chinese school qualifications.
3. As one Chinese businessman put it: “I’ve never seen a Chinese scold another Chinese the way they scolded him (Dr Wee). I felt sad for both sides.”
4. Saifuddin is from a multi-racial party; he could not understand a word of what was being said at the all-Chinese-speaking affair but he would surely know that this sort of event would send the average Malay voter straight into the arms of Umno.

As I have written in The Sun, >> Chinese groups ask wrong question  I strongly believe that we fight relentlessly against injustice, corruption and cronyism that is rampant in the present Govt., but we must be objective in our approach to the battle, and not stoop to belligerent tactics that are used by the others.. It will backfire, and will also demonstrate that we are in it for the same nefarious ends..

Till then, until next Friday, have a blessed week..

Chinese groups ask wrong question

Hello Dr Wee,
I saw the news on TV7 >> Dr Wee: My duty to listen to problems of the community and I admit I was saddened by the behavior, and the bigotry and immaturity of the Chinese who were present. I do not know the exact 'semantics' of the issue, ie the removal of non Mandarin teachers in Chinese vernacular schools, and/or the shortage of Mandarin speaking teachers.  I think those Chinese who propound that view are too narrow minded and arrogant. WE must fight relentlessly for injustice that has been served on our community, but in Malaysia, if we truly want to live graciously,and in harmony, the question to ask is not for the removal on non Mandarin teachers from Chinese schools, BUT to raise the question on why the number of non Malay teachers fall so far short of the National  ethnic ratio. If the recruitment of teachers have been impartially made in accordance of the racial composition of the country, we would have sufficient teachers for any scenario. So let's address the issue in the right way, and not behave so perversely.

Additionally, I do not agree that a Bahasa Malaysia teacher in a Chinese school must be Mandarin speaking, nor even a Mathematics teacher, if the teaching medium is in English.

We protest and cry when the UMNO provocateurs stir up the racial and religious emotion at every turn, but are we any better?

I am happy for the restraint shown by Dr Wee.

 Chinese groups ask wrong question

Fighting crime using LED lights

On reading your report, Fighting crime using LED lights I could not help but 'rolled on the floor, laughing out loud' {ROFLOL} as I felt that MBPJ is having another one of its hare brained schemes again. I have already commented on the wastefulness of the "prototype" parking bay project in PJ New Town which is apparently rusting away, and also from my email below, I have asked MBPJ why they are not continuing to MAINTAIN the Solar Panel Backlane Streetlights that they have installed in Section 11, PJaya, and elsewhere.

Attached are some pictures of the Solar panel back lane street lights installed at the BACKLANE of Jalan 11/10 PJ. Despite numerous complaints no action has apparently been taken to fine tune the lights. At the moment, all the lights shown in the pictures turn on approximately at 7.30pm, and turn off before MIDNIGHT. The streetLight behind house no 52 Jalan 11/10 has its solar panels hidden by on overgrown tree, and so does not turn on at all. In spite of numerous phone calls and emails to Aduan MBPJ, no action has been taken to trim the tree, as the MBPJ staff claimed that since the roots of the tree originated from a house, the overhanging branches are the responsibility of that house owner {no 10 Jalan 11/4}. So the residents of Jalan 11/10 are left with backlanes without lighting after midnight, and any right thinking person would agree that the times from midnight to dawn are the most 'dangerous' times in terms of criminality.

So my question, this time, to MBPJ is, are we now supposed to join the LUA program and install the beautiful Korean made LED lights, at our own expense? My next question is, will this be another hare brained scheme of MBPJ, and then left to 'rot' without maintenance, just like the hundreds of solar panel street lights that have been installed in many sections of PJ?

Millions spent to clean up rubbish which cause clogging

On reading this report, >Millions spent to clean up rubbish which cause clogging I have to agree wholeheartedly with what PJ City Council public relations officer Zainon Zakaria said that "about RM1mil was spent in cleaning up drains as well as repairing broken ones last year. She added that the city council had to deal with commercial waste, such as cooking oil, which was dumped into the drains. People must change their habits. If not, no matter how much cleaning up we do, the problem will continue,.."

I fear she is right in saying that no matter how much cleaning the Councils continue to do, the problem will persist, as long as people's attitudes remain. I also fear that the problem of rubbish clogging our drains and rivers will increase tremendously in spite of super efforts made by these local authorities, as our nation continues to depend significantly on "imported" labour for our basic cleaning needs.

For cost and availability reasons, the foreign workers all come from depressed countries in the regions around us, and due to extensive poverty, the citizens and the governments there do not have the time and resource to practise and maintain a culture of keeping the environment and the neighbourhood clean and hygienic. In certain countries that we 'extract' our labour from, it is well known that toilets are 'where and when the need arises' and in those areas, often drains do not even exist. Garbage bins? Who needs them!

Fast forward to Malaysia, where we have {in spite of difficulties with the Indonesian Govt relating to the 'import' of maids}, close to 5 million foreign workers performing basically cleaning services in homes, restaurants, factories, offices, plantations, construction sites, old folks nursing homes, and rubbish collectors, and who have indifferent ideas to the disposal of rubbish, what can you expect from such a workforce? And if they observe that their employers also have dirty habits and attitudes, how can we hope to keep our streets and drains clean and unclogged?

We have a huge problem on our hands, and continuous Govt corruption and 'tidakapathy' will only see it getting worse.