10 ways to really help bumis - P Gunasegaram

QUESTION TIME The recent RM30 billion package (although I am not sure how it works out to that) for bumiputera economic empowerment is certainly not something that will help or have any kind of impact on the vast majority of bumiputeras who form 67 percent of the population.

Just think of that figure for a moment. Nearly seven out of ten people in the country are bumiputeras. Help everyone in the country who needs it and you help the bumiputera community the most. More on that later.

Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak’s plans to economically empower bumiputeras will not help the ordinary bumiputera because he is not the one who owns shares, or will become a major entrepreneur, or live off government contracts. That affects only the rich bumiputeras.

Realistically, the economic empowerment programme is a thinly disguised ruse to help those who continue to live off the government through patronage and corruption. And in this case this is the Umno elite and many of them are likely to be among the 150,000 delegates who will vote in Umno’s forthcoming general assembly.

It’s another form of vote buying.

So what will help ALL bumiputeras and especially those who are in the poor and middle classes and thereby help bridge the income gap between bumiputeras on the one side and Chinese and Indians on the other?

For that, you simply go back to the basics. Here are are 10 things we can identify immediately. If the government had been doing this without respite and full sincerity for the last 56 years from independence we would long ago have become a developed a country, even far surpassing that of our southern neighbour Singapore which has no natural resources to speak of.

1. Raise school education levels

In the haste to increase Malay usage and hire more Malay teachers into the education system after 1970, educational quality dropped in national schools. Until today this is a major problem because of poor quality of teachers (entry standards were foolishly dropped) and lowering examination standards to favour bumiputera students.

It will require much more than the national education blueprint, a document laced with political considerations. Education has to be de-politicised, secularised and its syllabus reoriented to modern needs.

And this has to be done by true educationists, not nationalists who tend to be blinkered because of their political overzealousness and who think of education as brainwashing instead of a development process. Education needs to be taken out of the hands of politicians.

This is crucial for bumiputera development. If they don’t get good education right from the start – and that includes preschool – then they are going to be handicapped relative to the rest because most bumiputeras go to national schools. National schools must be at least as good as vernacular schools. That would also mean that non-Malays will start coming back to national schools.

Education is such an important thing to improve incomes that it covers several of our other points. No country has managed to improve and equalise incomes without a superb education system. Putting as much resources as possible into this is vital.

2. Revamp higher education

The entire education system must be revamped to put meritocracy and higher educational standards in place. If bumiputera students lack minimum standards, you must enable them to reach those standards through tuition and other means and not drop minimum standards. Only then will bumiputera students take the trouble to be on par.

Genetic studies have shown beyond doubt that no race is superior in terms of intelligence which implies that attitude and environment is all important.

There is really no point in government universities churning out graduates in the thousands if they don’t have the basic skills to be employable.

3. Don’t compromise on education quality and standards

In education as in life, one cannot aim for equalisation of outcomes – you can only hope to equalise opportunities. Then it is up to those given the opportunity to make use of it. If results are adjusted to sort of equalise the eventual outcome, inefficiency and incompetence will be the result.

If our programme of eradicating poverty and eliminating the identification of race with economic function – the original and oft-forgotten twin pillars of the New Economic Policy of 1971 – was premised on these methods, we would most likely have been able to bring about the change in attitude necessary to produce better outcomes. Instead spoon-feeding has needlessly lengthened dependence.

4. Empower bumiputeras with English

Sometime back, I witnessed the unhappy spectacle of a young, suave, urbane, Malay Oxford graduate defending the move by the government to revert to teaching of science and maths in English who swore blue that evidence is that teaching these subjects in the mother tongue made it easier for them to understand them. I told him that in his case – he was the son of a diplomat, I believe, and educated all over the world – it did not seem to have done him much harm.

That young man is Khairy Jamaluddin, son-in-law of former prime minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, and current Umno Youth chief. I just cannot understand the attitude of people who have benefited so much from the English language and yet who are so keen to deny this benefit to millions of others from their own race. Does being a politician blind them to what is good for their own race? Or is it something else that motivates them?

5. Cut corruption

If the government wants to reduce income gaps, then it must cut corruption, bring it down to virtually zero. Look where it got Singapore to. Just one illustration will be sufficient for this. Let’s say our chief ministers were corrupt. Then this land proposal comes up – one of them de-gazettes forest reserves, allocates the land to a developer and then approves the conversion for mixed development.

The chief minister, who may be bumiputera, will get, oh, let’s say anywhere between RM1 million and RM10 million. And the developer, most likely non-bumiputera, will make anywhere between a RM100 million and RM1 billion from the deal. A precious state resource is sold way below its value and the income gap between the bumiputera and non-bumiputera is considerably widened – because of corruption.

And to make it worse, this bumiputera chief minister may well go out on his political rounds and talk self righteously to rallies and such and rail against the wide gap between bumiputera and non-bumiputera incomes!

This is just by way of illustration of course, the point being corruption when analysed and tracked almost always increases income gaps..

6. Cut subsidies and import taxes

One of the myths is that the poor are helped considerably by subsidies on say fuel and electricity. That’s wrong because the poor don’t use much of this. The rich and industries use much more of this than the poor. The clear implication is that subsidies while helping the poor, help the rich much more.

What should be done in tandem with subsidy cuts is to cut or remove import taxes altogether so that the prices of goods come down and local industries (such as cars for instance) are not protected by tariffs which make their product prices higher. This is a policy which will help the poor but since probably more than 70 percent of them are likely to be bumiputera, they will be the prime beneficiaries.

7. Have open tenders

Contrary to popular belief negotiated tenders are not likely to benefit bumiputeras – instead they are likely to benefit connected bumiputeras through patronage. Best to have an open tender. If it is deemed necessary to give bumiputeras an advantage, then this can be done via a price differential, say 5 percent.

That does two things – one, bumiputera pricing is not way out of line with the others, and two it still does give a preference to bumiputeras but a quantified one.

8. Use all resources available

Any wise country will use all the resources available to it and not restrict it to a particular race. It is important to staff government departments on merit to ensure proper performance and to cast the net for recruitment as far and as wide as possible.

The rush and needless urgency to put more Malays into the education system ahead of time resulted in a huge and rapid decline in the quality of education as entry standards for teachers were lowered. This directly affected most the quality of national schools which most bumiputeras attended.

9. Raise government efficiency

There is one imperative for raising efficiency – those who are not efficient must be made efficient or removed altogether. Government departments cannot be made refuge for idlers and shirkers. They must earn their income and to do their part for the betterment of the nation – we can’t afford a subsidy mentality in government.

Once that is established, we must put in all effort needed to make our government services really top class and one that facilitates rather than hinders all legitimate private efforts to initiate economic and other activity.

10. Give loans, not grants

Najib’s bumiputera empowerment programme even envisages grants for entrepreneurs. That’s absolutely the wrong move which is sure to encourage abuse and breach of trust. Instead grant loans instead. That way only those confident of their projects will seek them. And the repayment of these loans will ensure that financing is available for future generations.

The same should be the case for scholarships. Limited number of merit scholarships are fine but it is pointless extending scholarships in the thousands indiscriminately. What is given free is seldom appreciated. Instead, these can be loans which will have to be repaid and which will then enable others to take advantage of opportunities in future.

These measures are not anywhere near rocket science and I trust most Malaysians will agree with them. But unless politicians eschew race politics and become really and genuinely interested in helping their communities, things are not likely to change.

I wish these politicians had the “scrotal gumption” (to borrow the words of retired judge Mahadev Shankar) to put aside politics and do the best for their own race. In the process, they can’t help but do well for all Malaysians too as all these 10 measures will help all of them no matter their race, religion, creed or social status.

With seven out of 10 people in the country being bumiputeras and perhaps more in the lower income category, Isn’t it about time we moved to a Malaysian agenda? Even if it is 56 years too late?

———————

Happy Birthday - fractured Malaysia.

On Aug 28,1963,Rev Martin Luther Kng Jr gave the "I have a Dream" speech at the steps of the Lincoln Memorial,"I have a dream" speech, "that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character. I have a dream today,when all of God’s children,of all color,creed,race and religion will be able to join hands and sing, Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!” 

And the face of America changed forever,50 years on, America had the first balack President in Barack Obama.

Nineteen days later,on Sept 16,1963, our father of independence, Tunku Abdul Rahman, stood before a nation and said: “Now finally, the peoples of Malaysia are celebrating the establishment of Malaysia. With trust in Almighty God, unity of purpose and faith in ourselves, we can make Malaysia a land of prosperity and peace, a true democracy and an example to the world of harmony and tolerance with eternal peace and happiness for our people".

Here,50 years later,Sept 16,2013,we as Malaysians are being torn asunder,Malaysia is still grappling with the “ownership” of the word “Allah”, which race should get more or less,which institute of higher learning should be restricted to which race, who should be empowered to determine the religion of a child and the like,corruption,abuse of power,institutionalized racism and marginalisation and the threat of communal unrest.In the name of helping Bumiputras,Umnoputras and their cronies have enriched themselves,NEP has become a 'Never Ending Policy and Billions have been siphoned off.

PM Najib's 1Malaysia 'endless posibility','Nambikai','Ah Gib Goh' have all become a sham.Najib's “1Malaysia transformation” programmes and national reconciliation is pathetic.Today our PM is seen pandering to the right wing ultra 'ketuanan' dumno Malays and unless Najib and his 47% government looks into the structural issues and ensure all Malaysians get a fair chance of moving up the economic ladder.We are doomed.

But we, as Malaysian will persevere ,we'll determine everything,regardless of what is thrown at us, we will hold the options because we want a Malaysia which is truly worthy of the aims and hopes we share and our forefathers,shared.We don't want a Malaysia with endless hatred, bigotry, bickering,fractiousness,corruption,abuse of power,institutionalized racism,marginalisation and the threat of communal unrest.We want a Malaysia, we can all call home,without reservations.

We will endeavour,Happy Malaysia Day.

Malaysia in 2013 - a fractured, polarised nation.

Today our country celebrates its 56th Merdeka(some say it should be 50th Merdeka) but gone are days when we use to celebrate Merdeka with pride and happiness because out nation,today,is teetering at its seams on racial and religious intolerance.

In the land of Najib's 'Endless Possibility' racism and religious fanaticism are fanned by the regime politicians to perpetuate their hold on power after more than half a century There is an air of despair and despondency as shown by the absence of the Malaysian flags on cars and elsewhere on Merdeka Day unlike the past.

"A fractured, polarised nation",is far too kind a description. A failed corrupted nation, rule by an illegitimate administration stuffed with Umno 'ketuanan Melayu' corrupted racist nincompoops,will be the right description.

Today,racist scums are protected,encouraged,rewarded with 'datukship' and even nominated as candidates in election,while those who reprimand or oppose these racists are dragged to the police station,charged and punished.

No where else in the world, the Government of the day fan racial sentiments to incite hatred towards another race to stay in power and even finance a historically distorted racially divisive propaganda movie 'Tandas Putera',using tax payers money,in the month leading to the Merdeka celebration.

Anyway to all those who still harbour hopes for the return of the bygone years of the old Malaysia and Merdeka,I wish you '56th (or 50th) Happy Independence Day.

The NEP (New Economic Putsch) - Sakmongkol AK47

Just yesterday amidst the pomp and splendour, Prime Minister and Umno president Datuk Seri Najib Razak, announced his “Permerkasaan Ekonomi Bumiputera”. I translate that loosely into English as The Empowerment of Bumiputera economics. I haven’t seen the English version.

Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin says he is all for the economic push. It’s a lucky day, he says. Except he has got it wrong. It will not be a push but it will be a putsch.

Where was it declared? It was done at the UiTM main hall in Shah Alam. UiTM in the words of the PM, is the ultimate symbol of Malay achievements and potential. That symbolism, I don’t find objectionable.

What are disturbing are the increasingly flawed leadership qualities of the PM as the proclaimed leader of all Malays. I hear him. I hear him loud and clear as he thanked all the Malays for their fabled support that allowed UMNO to increase its parliamentary seats from 79 to 88. He can only point that part of his generalship from the recent general election. He won’t fool everyone.

Of course he didn’t and won’t qualify this claim by revealing that Umno increased the number of seats due to gerrymandering and because of unfair voter density in the constituencies. He did not qualify it by saying he only got 133 seats compared to 140 in the previous administration. And he of course didn’t say that he only managed 47%
of the popular votes and that he failed to regain Selangor where UiTM is itself located.

Here is a leader who revelled in ceremonies and decorum. It is anyone’s guess to imagine how much money was spent to set up the prop and stage from which the emperor shall issue the edicts and dictates for an economic blueprint for the Malays. If anything, Najib was emperor-like when he announced the economic blueprint for the Malays.

If Tun Razak were to declare such a plan, he would have done it in a natural and unaffected setting. It’s a blueprint for the poor and yet the declaration is done in all its pomp and glory more fitting and suitable for a declaration of a business model for corporate mandarins. No doubt many of the Malay economic mandarins were around on hand in the PM’s entourage and salivating at the prospects of stealing more.

The first thing that comes to mind- now which of the consultants came up with this idea for the PM to announce? Maybe not many people have realised this, but Najib began the era where many of the ideas and initiatives – as Najib cautiously describes them, are produced by consultants.

I am not surprised when friends in the government tell me that the upcoming Budget for 2014 is prepared mostly by consultants with little involvement from officers and researchers in the Finance Ministry. How do we expect government officers to wholeheartedly support the Budget if the final version of the budget wasn’t the result of much involvement from them?

How do you expect them to defend what you can’t claim ownership on? You are asked to implement a version which is put up by consultants using the diverse inputs supplied by them in the first place.

We begin by asking who are the Bumiputeras that Najib has in mind. 60% of our population of around 28 million is Malay. That’s about 16.8 million Malays. 8% are non-Malay Bumiputeras. That’s another 2.2 million non-Malay Bumiputeras.

Altogether there about 19 million Malays and Bumiputeras. The average monthly income of these Bumiputeras, says the PM, is RM4,457 I can only exclaim, “hip, hip hooray”.

Najib’s declaration of a new economic agenda or blueprint for Malay and Bumiputras has the immediate effect of infusing renewed confidence and comforting feelings among the Malays. It gave many Malays the placebo effect at once. But that is all they will get.

What does the declaration mean actually? I am fearful more for the Malays because I think they are going to be misled further. The basic cause for the failure of Malay economics thus far has not been addressed.

What is that? In my mind it’s the idea of unqualified entitlement which needs to be secured only by means of edicts and dictates.

Rights and privileges are thought as being birth right entitlements and so create the false thinking that they do not have to be qualified by hard work or corresponding educational levels. Malays are thought to believe that every one of them ought as a right, to become
millionaires by way of declaring an edict.

That being so, the new economic blueprint for the Malays is set to become the NEP with a vengeance. Prepare and brace ourselves for economic marauding by the elite and powerful Malays as they use the new empowerment tools and instruments to muscle their way into the economy at the expense of the majority Malays who will continue to be left out.

Do we remember what happened to the RM54 billion worth of shares and equities distributed to Malays during the NEP period? RM52 billion worth has been sold off by the Malay sell-outs. The Malays are left with RM2 billion.

For as long as the Malays are not programmed to believe at the onset that rights and entitlements are objects that you qualify for, there won’t be the drive and vibrancy to sustain the Malay economy.

How does the Malay qualify? Qualify by working hard to secure the fruits of your labour and qualify by developing technical skills and education. Because in the end of it all, there is no such thing as a free lunch. One is rewarded according to the qualifications one puts in.

Najib is doing a great disservice to the Malays by entrenching the free lunch mindset. Many Malays will now believe that their economic entitlement is an unqualified right. Malay economics will now become an enforcement of edicts regime. – sakmongkol.blogspot.com, September 15, 2013.

MP, NGOs and individuals come to support Pak Mie and Mak Intan

A Malay couple who are sheltering stary dogs and cats were issued with a notice by the Kedah state government to vacate the premises in 16 days.Pak Mie and Mak Intan are alleged to be squatting on government land.

Mak Intan laments that they were discriminated by some people because of their passion of saving dogs. Later, the local authorities got to know about the two of them opening a dog shelter on a land at the outskirts of Alor Setar that does not belong to them, thus making it illegal – the couple was given a 6 month notice to move out all their dogs and cats from the land they are living in now. (Deadline 16 days from today) They still live there despite the warning and do not have any plans to leave the place with their 500 dogs and cats.

How can the Kedah government be so cruel to a couple who are so passionate in caring for stray animals.I thought Mukhriz was a compassionate man but I stand corrected.Mukhriz Mahathir is like his father,heartless.

There is a hadith narrated by Abu Hurayrah, the Prophet told his Companions of the virtue of saving the life of a dog by giving it water and quenching its thirst: one referred to was a man who was blessed by Allah for giving water to a thirsty dog. The other was a prostitute, who filled her shoe with water and gave it to a dog that was lolling its tongue in thirst. For this deed she was granted the ultimate reward,eternal Paradise.

God bless all those who are lending their support to lessen the burden and sympathized with Pak Mie,Mak Intan and their stray cats and dogs.God bless Pak Mie and Mak Intan,too.

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  Ganesan Ramiah Correction,the couples have until 19/9/2013 to vacate the premises.

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DPM: No need to be apologetic to other races.(read Indians and the Chinese)

DPM: No need to be apologetic to other races.(read Indians and the Chinese)

The government is not apologetic nor worried about the perception of other communities following the announcement of multi-billion ringgit(RM30 billion) measures to give bumiputeras business, training and asset opportunities.

"For me, today is a very lucky day and indeed the most-awaited event. We are not apologetic or worried if the non-bumiputeras or even the international communities see this as something concerning only a certain group, 'the I am Malay first' DPM MOOheddin Yassin said today.

Remember 'Nambikai' and Ah Jib Gor', PM Najib pleaded with the Chinese and the Indian communities to support BN in the just concluded 13th general elections, promising that his victory will ensure that his cornerstone “1Malaysia transformation” programmes will be carried out with the inclusive participation of all races in the country.

Now that they have won GE13 through deceits and cheating,the true racist colour of Najib and his gang of 40 thieves is surfacing.Now that PM Najib,DPM and their party have shed their sheep's skins,it is now clear for all to see the real Najib, the wolf pandering to the right wing ultra 'ketuanan' dumno Malays.

Bravo MOOheddin,you certainly and definitely live up to our expectations. This is exactly the kind of response, we expected to hear from you,Najib and Dumno,telling non-Malays to f@%k off.

MOOheddin's call is not surprising because ultimately the call to help Bumiputra will turn out to be enriching the Umnoputras and their cronies instead.PM Jibby's 49% government is good at one thing: It knows how to break the dumno Malay's legs, hand them a crutch, and say, "See, if it weren't for the government, you wouldn't be able to walk.

Every economic empowerment policy,since Independence,has only benefited the Umnoputras,the warlords and their cronies,while many ordinary Malays,Indians and the Chinese not aligned to the regime,remain in poverty forever,begging for handout from the regime.

Surendran Nagarajan

PRESS RELEASE: New Bumiputra Economic Empowerment plan is illegal, unreasonable & racist

I refer to the Bumiputra Economic Empowerment plan announced by PM Najib on 14th Sept 2013 at UITM. Among the benefits announced are contracts worth billions from Petronas; a new Amanah Saham Bumiputra scheme; Mara, Tekun, Ikhtiar, Superb funds; race-based housing; GLC participation etc. All these benefits are solely for bumiputras! This new racial economic plan is unreasonable, unlawful, unconstitutional and racist. Article 153 of the Federal Constitution which allows very specific and limited quotas for Bumiputras, does not permit wide-ranging race-based economic discrimination as set out in this new plan. The Bumiputra Economic Empowerment plan thus falls foul of Article 8 of the Federal Constitution and is blatantly discriminatory. Nothing in the Constitution allows the government to set up massive funds, share schemes, housing developments and contracts, for the benefit of one race only. Such racial discrimination is not only in breach of our laws and Constitution, but also international human rights standards. It also reeks of massive immorality.

Further, the PM states that object of the setting up of the plan is to reward Malay support for UMNO in the recent GE-13. This is nothing short of punishment of non-Malays for voting opposition, and an attempt at large-scale political bribery of the Malay community. The object of the Bumiputra Economic Empowerment plan is thus completely illegal,racist and criminal in nature.

Economic improvement plans must be on the basis of need, and not on the basis of the race of the recipient. Najib and UMNO/BN are once again threatening to set back the development of this country and are deliberately encouraging racial division and disharmony. Najib and UMNO/BN have become a positive danger to the unity, peace and prosperity of this country. And they have recklessly embarked on this plan for the narrow political agenda of UMNO/BN. This disgraceful new plan is the worst ever Malaysia Day present for this country and its people. 

After a few plans, another plan for the Bumiputeras?

A couple of days from celebrating 50 years of Malaysia, the Barisan Nasional (BN) government has come out with a new economic plan for the dominant Bumiputeras and in the process, entrenching the state's role in the economy.

In not so many words, it would appear that BN is admitting that all previous plans, including the New Economic Policy (NEP) and the National Development Policy (NDP), have all failed to redress the Bumiputeras' economic plight.

Under the plan, Bumiputera students will be retrained and reskilled for jobs in the market place while ownership of non-financial assets such as houses will be increased.

Putrajaya will also enhance the availability of credit to Bumiputera entrepreneurs and, on this note, Amanah Ikhtiar Malaysia funds will be boosted as will Tekun funds, which will be raised to RM700 million.

Nothing new here. Even housing has been made a priority with the PR1MA and other affordable housing projects announced in the past two years.

Except increasing more of what has been given in the past and acknowledging that past plans did not work.

"If we do not bring up the economic participation of the Bumiputeras, the country will not be able to achieve developed nation status by 2020," Najib said today.

"Certainly we are doing what is fair, we are doing what is right and we are doing what is equitable," he added.

Fact is, the country has been doing this since the NEP was launched by Najib's father, Tun Abdul Razak Hussein, way back in 1971 in the aftermath of the May 13, 1969 race riots.

The NEP had two limbs, to eradicate poverty among all races and to restructure the economy. Has it worked? No. The government said it only achieved 23% of equity, against the target 30%, in 2010, 20 years after the NEP officially ended.

The other fact is this, Najib is essentially rolling back his plans of reforming and liberalising the economy that was introduced when he took office in 2009 – to reward the Bumiputeras who supported BN in the May 5 polls and ahead of his Umno party polls.

Respected pollster Ibrahim Suffian put it succinctly, "He is shoring up support of the Malays, particularly business people and contractors," he told AFP. "He's appealing to the base."

But more of the same is not expected to work this time. Even the government-sponsored Majlis Tindakan Ekonomi Melayu (MTEM) has expressed reservations about the latest plans.

"We wanted to see stronger outcome-based targets in the five strategies... Otherwise the risk is we end up only measuring inputs and outputs without knowing if we have achieved our intended outcomes," MTEM chief executive Nizam Mahshar said today.

There is also that deleterious effect on the economy if Putrajaya's plans are just about reallocating resources to various interest groups with an affirmative action policy and not ensuring the economy remains healthy.

Wan Saiful Wan Jan of the Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs said Najib's reluctance to dismantle the affirmative action policy would harm Malaysia's economy in the long-run.

"It will definitely have a negative impact on the economy," he told AFP. "The announcement today further enhances the role of government in the economy."

Last month, Malaysia lowered its economic growth forecast for the year to 4.5-5.0%, down from 5.0-6.0%, amid weak export data, the news agency said.

Will the latest plan help the Malaysian economy or just be seen as pandering to the government's supporters? Will there be another plan to replace this plan in the next decade or so?

Malaysia's track record on this would suggest so, unless the government looks into the structural issues and ensure all Malaysians get a fair chance of moving up the economic ladder. – September 14, 2013.

Race and police

DPM: No need to be apologetic to other races. The government is not apologetic nor worried about the perception of other communities following the announcement of multi-billion ringgit(RM30 billion) measures to give bumiputeras business, training and asset opportunities. "For me, today is a very lucky day and indeed the most-awaited event. We are not apologetic or worried if the non-bumiputeras or even the international communities see this as something concerning only a certain group, 'the I am Malay first' DPM MOOheddin Yassin said today. Remember 'Nambikai' and Ah Jib Gor', PM Najib pleaded with the Chinese and the  Indian communities to support BN in the just  concluded 13th general elections, promising that his victory will ensure that his cornerstone “transformation” programmes will be carried out with the inclusive participation of all races in the country. Now that they have won GE13 through deceits and cheating,the true racist colour of Najib and his gang of 40 thieves is surfacing.Bravo MOOheddin,you certainly and definitely live up to expectations. This is exactly the kind of response, we expected to hear from you,Najib and Dumno,telling non-Malays to f@%k off. MOOheddin's call is not surprising because ultimatelt the call to help Bumiputra will  turn out to be helping the Umnoputras and their cronies instead.PM Jibby's 49% government is good at one thing: It knows how to break the Malay people's legs, hand them a crutch, and say, "See, if it weren't for the government, you wouldn't be able to walk. Every economic empowerment policy,since Independence,has only benefited the Umnoputras,the warlords and their cronies,while the ordinary Malays still remain poor IGP denies 'OP CANTAS' is racial profiling a certain race(read Indians) IGP Khalid Abu Bakar denied today that 'Op Cantas' is not carried out to target a certain race.What he is saying is,that police are not targetting the Indians,which,I think is a load of bulls$!t.The IGP went on to claim that thus far,the police had captured more Malay criminals compared to Indians criminals,5000 Malays to 3000 Indians.He then asked,"is this racism"?.He went on to claim that the police are colour-blind.They act without fear or favour and I was like,oh really? Then again the IGP contradicts himself by shooting his own foot by cliaming that, so far a total of 4,806 criminals have been arrested from 122,255 people vetted by the police.Was the IGP lying when he said that the the police had captured 15000 Malay criminals and 3000 Indian criminals? I think this IGP didn't too well in his maths subjects in school,IGP's maths don't add-up,he claim that 4806 criminals have been arrested,which include 15000 Malays and 3000 Indians. I don't blame the IGPlah,he is the same man who said the the police need not inform parents whenever police wish to interrogate their children.I believe the IGP,that the police are not colour blind,but my take is, the IGP is totally blind and out of touch with reality. I'm not upset that the IGP is telling us a far fetch cock and bull story,I'm sorry for him, that from now on no one will believe a word, the IGP say. https://www.facebook.com/PolisDirajaMalaysia/posts/657104807633163

Najib Jiwai Tujuh Wasiat, Sembilan Raja-Raja Melayu Bagi Perkasa Ekonomi Bumiputera

SHAH ALAM: Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak menyifatkan Tujuh Wasiat oleh Sembilan Raja-Raja Melayu sebagai sesuatu yang sangat jelas dan tidak boleh dipertikaikan.

 

"Wasiat ini sangat terang lagi bersuluh," kata Presiden Umno itu pada pelancaran agenda Pemerkasaan Ekonomi Bumiputera pada Sabtu.

 

Menjiwai pentingnya perjuangan Bumiputera, Najib memetik Tujuh Wasiat tersebut yang memperkenan perjanjian kemerdekaan untuk menubuhkan sebuah Persekutuan.

 

"Kami isytiharkan dan kami simpan untuk kamu dan kami benarkan kamu isytihar dan simpan untuk anak cucu kamu, selain gunung-ganang, tasik dan hutan simpan, Tanah Simpanan Melayu sehingga nisbah 50 peratus, selebihnya kamu rebutlah bersama-sama kaum lain," ucapnya dengan lantang.

 

Najib berkata Wasiat itu telah menyatakan tentang ekuiti dan pemilikan orang Melayu dan kemudiannya diperluaskan kepada Bumiputera, melalui penyertaan Sabah dan Sarawak apabila Malaysia dibentuk 50 tahun lepas.

 

Najib yang juga Menteri Kewangan, mengumumkan lima strategi utama bagi memperkasa Ekonomi Bumiputera, meliputi modal insan, pemilikan ekuiti, pemilikan aset bukan kewangan, keusahawanan dan penyampaian perkhidmatan.

 

Hadir sama, Timbalan Perdana Menteri Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, menteri-menteri kabinet, ahli perniagaan Bumiputera, ahli akademik, dan ribuan penuntut di Dewan Agong Tuanku Canselor, Kampus Induk UiTM, di sini.

 

Katanya Bumiputera yang mewakili 67.9 peratus warganegara Malaysia seramai 27.4 juta orang, perlu menjadi teras kepada agenda nasional dan tidak boleh dinafikan oleh sesiapa.

 

"Sesungguhnya, sebarang prakarsa (inisiatif) bersifat nasional yang tidak mengambil kira atau mengabaikan agenda Melayu serta Bumiputera, adalah tidak adil dan tidak saksama," katanya.

 

Sejak Merdeka, kata Perdana Menteri, semua perancangan serta dasar ekonomi Melayu dan Bumiputera oleh pihak kerajaan telah digubal berasaskan perhitungan komposisi masyarakat majmuk tersebut.

 

Secara prinsipnya, perkara dan amalan ini telah diterima pakai sebagai satu kontrak sosial sejak sekian lama oleh seluruh rakyat Malaysia, seperti dipersetujui oleh bapa-bapa pengasas negara kita terdahulu. "Mereka dilindungi, dan dimaktubkan dalam Perlembagaan Persekutuan melalui "Perkara 153, Perkara 160 kurungan 2, Perkara 161A kurungan 6 sub kurungan a. Juga Perkara 161A kurungan 6 sub kurungan b," kata Najib.

Billons siphoned out the country

Time Magazine quoted an economist at Morgan Stanley in Singapore as saying that the country might have lost as much as US$100 billion since the early 1980s to corruption (RM300 billion = 300,0000 million).
Perwaja RM10 billion. Forex fiasco early 90s RM30 billion. Maminco scandalRM 1.6 Billion.
Bank Bumiputra Scandal RM10 billion. STAR-LRT bailout RM3.256 billion. RM 38.5 billion compensation to highway companies. Putra transport system, which cost RM4.486 billion. Maminco scandal RM 1.6 Billion. PKFZ 12 billion. Bank Islam RM700 million. M.V. Agusta & Proton lost RM 348 million. Wang Ehsan, oil royalty Terengganu RM7.4 billion. Philharmonic Orchestra has swallowed a total of RM500 million. Bailouts of Malaysia Airline System RM7.9 billion. Spent RM3.2 billion in teaching Maths and Science in English over 5 yrs. Jets and submarines to 2 private companies Perimeker & IMT Defence amounted to RM910 million. RM1.3 billion wasted building the white elephant Customs, Immig & Quarantine (CIQ) facilities on cancellation of the Scenic Bridge. National Service Training Programme yearly estimate of RM 500 million. RM 4.63 billion, ’soft-loan’ to PKFZ. RM250 in NFC Cowgate scandal. RM15billion with Sarawak’s CM & cronies in 31 years. RM 160 million for 300 computer labs in Sabah – only 2 completed. RM29 mil Tsunami Warning System doesn’t work.
http://list.wikia.com/wiki/List_of_Malaysia_scandals
http://wtfreport.wordpress.com/
UMNO & cronies are among the world’s biggest laughing-stocks, in some countries would have been charged with treason and jailed.

Rich in your pocket, poor in your soul - A disgusted TTDI resident

Death is never a pleasant subject. Doubly so if the person chooses to take his or her own life in a public manner. On September 11, a foreign migrant worker from Nepal took his own life in the lush and posh neighbourhood of Taman Tun Dr Ismail, Kuala Lumpur.

The deceased, as was revealed a day later, was one of tens of thousands of migrant workers brought into Malaysia to work as a helper in one of the generic "Kopitiam" chain restaurants which had closed down over the month of Ramadan.

From then on, he had no work, no pay and no way to go back to his beloved family and friends in Nepal. In essence, he was stuck in not only an economic limbo but also a geographic limbo with little way out.

Under the mental strain of having had to pay the eye-watering debt he owed to agents for his journey here, he took his own life in the most public way on a rooftop of one of the shophouses where
he lived.

This story unfortunately is a lot more common than we think, what with employers and the system allowing for such migrant workers to be exploited and abused in the worst possible manner. I shall refrain from elaborating on this issue as being a non-expert, I am sure many of you reading this are aware of their problems.

This is, however, about a handful of residents of this so-called posh neighbourhood.

What happened, thanks to social media, was just as shocking, if not more shocking than the suicide itself. TTDI has a community page on Facebook where the residents communicate on lost and found pets, sale of food, restaurant reviews, crimes and traffic problems. If you were to go to the page, you would see a lot of petty postings such as of residents complaining about their neighbours taking over the public nature strips outside their houses. That is to be expected from residents of a posh enclave priding themselves on being educated, well travelled and shall I say sophisticated.

On the morning of September 11, someone posted a picture of the now deceased on the roof, asking for verification that such an event is actually happening. Confirmations came in, with some people reporting that people were shouting at the man, goading him to jump.

This sparked a debate on the Facebook page, which revealed much about the hearts and minds of a few of the residents there. One said he should just jump and get over it, one even said that there was no way he could die from a relatively short height, which was of course proven wrong.

This absolutely disgusted the majority of the residents, me included. I have to caveat this because the most heartening thing that came out of this was that a majority of the residents chided the few who mocked, made fun of and assumed many things about the deceased. One even said that he wished he had actually jumped, instead of rolling off the roof in an undramatic fashion and falling to his death. To be fair, emergency services were there with an air mattress but he evaded it so that death could embrace him, to end his extremely miserable short life on this Earth (he was only 30 years old).

Some said that he was looking for attention and if he indeed was seeking attention, can we blame him?

Some residents even posted the picture of the corpse, uncovered and even videos of the “action”, all in the name of “educating” everyone on this tragedy. The administrators then removed the videos and pictures after an outcry. Of course the next day, some pictures were posted on this event in the newspaper, accompanying the story on the suicide. Of course being that editors are experts at self-censorship, less gory pictures were published. The residents who had their pictures and videos removed from the community page, in all their pompousness declared that if the newspapers could publish it, why not them?

My answer to that is, it’s a question of taste and respect to the deceased. While newspapers are out to sell more newspapers and increase their revenue, are the people who posted it on the community page out to garner a reputation for themselves?

Whilst they were not on-site goading the deceased, the semi-anonymity of posting on Facebook or any social media does not give them any immunity having played a small part in contributing to not only this man's death, but any future would-be suicides. Mocking, bullying and encouraging on social media is as good as them being there. Recent cases in the US and UK have revealed how mass online bullying has encouraged a shockingly high number of teenagers into committing suicide. Be it may that they were troubled children in the first place, one of the rules of humanity which I quote from Hippocrates is, "First, Do No Harm".

For it to come from a community that would help each other look for lost pets, bring lost pets into their homes until their owners were found, hold charity drives (yes, we do have a gaggle of social climbers who hoot and toot about their charity work), have strays medically treated with an ad hoc catch-and-release programme.

This contradiction in the character of a community in itself calls for people to have a long hard look at themselves. I am not asking for my neighbours to have rushed to the site and try to rescue him or try to talk him out of it. None of us are equipped with the necessary skills to do this. I am asking for something that is so simple to be and do. Just be a good human. Refrain from speaking ill of someone who has lost not only his mind, but also everything he has, and much much more.

I hope a lot of my neighbours, and I am targeting the ones who mocked and later tried to aggressively justify why they said what they said, that I hope one day you never have to lose your child in this manner.

I don't have confidence though that this message will get through to such people because they're so firmly ensconced in their luxurious air-conditioned home, lying on their Egyptian cotton bed sheets staring numbly at their 44” flat screen that their world is as far away as it possibly can be from an indentured migrant worker's life. For all their air of sophistication, attempts at writing in English, shopping at designer boutiques and travels to exotic countries that they so proudly display on their Facebook pages, their reactions just tell me how rotten they are inside.

From the good, kind people of TTDI, as most of us are, I would like to extend my condolences and apologies to the family of the Nepalese man. May he rest in peace. - September 12, 2013.

This is a token donation collection to assist the late Mr Padam Bahadur' family. En Padam was a worker from Nepal who has  gone through so much and that his life ended in tragedy. We as the community of Taman Tun Dr Ismail were very saddened and touched by his story in TheMalaysianInsider and vow to make amends as well as some contributions to his family in any capacity. Your forthcoming donations are so much appreciated and we will ensure that it will be passed to the Nepalese Embassy and straight to his family. This donation campaign is also to create awareness of the hard life some of the workers here in Malaysia have to go through and that we Malaysians are always willing to help and sympathize with them. May his soul rest in peace. Thank you very much.