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Sakmongkol ak 47

ariff.sabri@gmail.com

Sunday 5 April 2009

PM’s Challenge for Progress

In his maiden speech, the PM said:-

I remain committed to the goals of tackling poverty; of restructuring our society; of expanding access to quality education for all; and of inspiring a new generation of young Malaysians to work on behalf of this great country.

All these things he mentioned affect the Malays most. They formed the largest group with higher incidence of poverty. They are locked structurally in economic pursuits which offer relatively lower added returns. Their mobility across economic structures is hampered by lack of skills and deficiencies in training.

My attention is particularly drawn to the last part of the PM's message, that of inspiring a new generation of young Malaysians.

Inspiring the young Malay is an even trickier endeavour and objective. You inspire with self propelling values and setting achievable objectives.

I am loath to bring up this subject; lately I have been reading quite a bit about Singapore's history, in particular refreshing my reading on Lee Kuan Yew. Many find the mere mention of Singapore and Lee Kuan Yew revolting. Personally I find this attitude very self defeating as we can learn or at least look at our own set of problems from a different perspective.

Consider the formation of Malaysia as illustration. Lee Kuan Yew and Singapore supported the idea of a Malaysia. His premise of a Malaysia was quire in contrast to the premise of a Malaysia held by Tunku Abdul Rahman.

TAR was sold to the concept of a Malaysia built on the idea that Malays would always be the senior partner in a unified Malaysia and being a senior partner, was entitled to a few privileges. Lee Kuan Yew and Singapore viewed Malaysia as a modern state which must aim at delivering economic prosperity to all while moving to the ideal of equality of status and opportunity for all, regardless of race.

My question: how could descendants of displaced people (Chinese and Indians) persistently and doggedly pursue this concept of Malaysia for all? It was a powerful motivation fuelled by what?

I can only see two dominant and powerful factors here; (a) absolute faith in the rule of law which accorded everyone equal legal rights and (b) absolute confidence in one's own ability and capabilities. Most important is the belief that with one's ability and capability, the appropriate and just rewards will accrue.

Now, when our PM speaks of inspiring the young who are malleable and impressionable, the foundations that make a Malaysian nation need to be spelt out clearly.

The foundations must include an ideology of struggle. This will involve accelerating the process of history and even re-writing history. I am talking about history being a sum total of our collective experience.

Question: since 1970 what has been our collective experience? It has been sadly, a history of 'give me welfare' or 'give me crutches' way of moving the Malays that's even elevated to an all consuming ideology. We can justify the application of this give me welfare policy on the infirmed, the truly dispossessed, the hard core poor. It would be unpropitious however, to apply the policy wholesale as to include the Malays en masse under this policy.

Hence, perhaps the objective of inspiring a new generation of young Malaysians to work on behalf of this great country
must involve the re-writing of recent Malay history? Because to my mind, the re-writing of recent Malay history is crucial to acquire:-

  1. Absolute confidence in one's own ability and capabilities.
  2. The belief that with one's ability and capability, the appropriate and just rewards will accrue.

38 comments:

Anonymous,  5 April 2009 at 01:04  

Dato'

You are PM material for a modern Malaysia where the Malays would emerge empowered in confident capability.

Quantum Metal Consultant 5 April 2009 at 01:48  

Dari satu sumber, jika Kj Ketua Pemuda 305 didapati sekali bersalah dalam politik wang, dia dijangka akan digantung selama 3 tahun dan Razali akan memangku jawatan Ketua Pemuda.

Sak harus melakukan sesuatu menyelamatkannya.

Www.InderaSempurna.Com,  5 April 2009 at 01:51  

Dato'

The idea of One Malaysia??. I'm scared it's become another Malaysian Malaysia.

Thanks.

halim,  5 April 2009 at 02:50  

While "the mere mention of Singapore and Lee Kuan Yew" may be revolting to some, these very same people are probably those who would not think twice to cross the causeway for a wide-eyed visit, if they can afford it. Kalau dapat sponsor apa lagi. What is it about the tiny red dot that rubs most malays here the wrong way? I tell you it is jealousy.

halim,  5 April 2009 at 03:39  

"My question: how could descendants of displaced people (Chinese and Indians) persistently and doggedly pursue this concept of Malaysia for all? It was a powerful motivation fuelled by what?"

The 'displaced people' word cuts to the bone but a spade is a spade eh? The motivation is what could have been...a Singapore multiplied 1000 times? Er..not likely. TAR's vision is probably right, given the racial riots in the 60s in both Singapore and Malaysia. Going the LKY's way, the Chinese would have completely overwhelmed the majority natives. And that would entail doing the Soekarno tango, dont you think?

Anonymous,  5 April 2009 at 04:38  

Hey, hey, hey......

Look at what Anwar doing.......Don't you think it's what LKY doing during the 60s.....

1) Malaysian solidarity convention
2) Selling Malaysian concept to Africa states
3) Speeches all over malaysia
4) Foray into 1964 Malaysia GE. Attracting 10000 In Suleiman court (KL)

looes74

Ariff Sabri 5 April 2009 at 07:09  

excuse me people,
dont be sidetracked by the mention of LKY and Singapore;
my concern, how will the PM seek to inspire young Malaysians? new and recharged values or reinforcing old ways. in particular, how do you move Malays- self propelling values or perpetual external push?

Anonymous,  5 April 2009 at 07:39  

Halim

I tell you what rubs.

1. His "Malaysian Malaysia" propaganda, without regard for the circumstances that led our forefathers to have the special position of the Malays written in the Constitution, without mention of what is now commonly referred to as the Social Contract, in complete disregard of what Tan Siew Sin had said - that the Malays have been "genereous enough". It resulted in the May 13, 1969 racial riots. And his admirers are still trying to promote that concept - though not that slogan - even now. Yet Malays have only 18% of corporate wealth, not counting other forms of wealth.

2. His not practising a "Singaporean Singapore" when he got his own city state to rule. Haven't you heard or read about the Malays there? Does that not tell you the mischievousness of intent when his slogan was shouted about before the riots here, not in Singapore that he rules?

3. His telling the world after he got Singapore that Malays have no culture. Is this not rude and mischievous enough? And fellows here have been talking about "the better culture will prevail" in the context of a Bangsa Malaysia. Do you know what that means? Read Demi Negara blog to get some idea.

4. His employment of Israeli Advisors - military etc, knowing that the Jews whacked the Arab neighbours and the Palestinians endlessly, knowing that the Muslims in Malaysia and Indonesia have no love for the Zionists. No doubt it's his prerogative but does that not prod you to ask whether he has ulterior motives? We know what military advisers do in times of heightened tension and conflicts like the British and French in the Suez Canal Affair, the Russians in Egypt and Afghanistan, and of course the Americans everywhere - some of them are in the front line, "advising". Ask our military people if you have close contacts.

My dear friend, we Malays have a short memory, have always been generous. But do we have to be so endlessly, why not be generous to our own kind endlessly? For a united Malaysia we must not disregard the other communities, but we must be kind to ourselves.

There was a time when Malaysia always (re)acted after Singapore acted. To the extent even of copying them. The simple matter of landscaping public spaces was a case in point. True, no harm in imitating. Even the Japanese did so. Some, they improved on the copied ideas. They took the German rotary engine and developed it further. They have been World No 2 economic power for a long time. I don't mind if we do that. I'm not an economist but can another country get to a stage of controlling your economy? I read someone complaining about the Singapore company Temasik having control over the private health facilities in this ountry.

Let's not forget the facts of history, be cautious of hidden agenda and follow only the ones that are not harmful but truly beneficial.

Anonymous,  5 April 2009 at 08:26  

Excuse me Dato, I began typing my 07:39 comment above before your comment 07:09 appeared on my screen. Had to go on the throne in between.

What I had in mind was that Singapore should not be much of an inspiration to us.

I would give my views on how to inspire the young in due course, if I may.

kuldeep 5 April 2009 at 09:48  

Focus on NEP is completely skewed becos predominant for most are CONTRACTS,APs and such.Only a very small slice of the Malay community actually have direct benefits from these goodies...and even then the second level beneficiaries are generally non Bumis.

Strip out those quick buck theme and focus on education and employment..the scenario is more balanced.

We hv to instil the old adage that 99% is perspiration.

halim,  5 April 2009 at 11:28  

My final comment on the tiny red dot, if Sak permits. To Anon 07:39, your points are all in the records but they dont mean jack to the great unwashed. We didnt like each other and have gone our separate ways decades ago. Highlighting what the other guy said and did can go both ways and is not what Sak's piece is about in the first place.

Unknown 5 April 2009 at 11:56  

lately your article seems to have this spine of a malaysian malaysia concept of governance for Tanah Melayu

i sincerely apologise if i'm wrong

first, did you know that the sing dollar will depreciate??

that the perception is really STRONG that the singaporean malays are always the first to be retrenched

that highly qualified and 'valuable' chinese singaporeans are packing up and giving up their citizenship

that extreme meritocracy means an uncaring "me first" mentality which is good for competitive sports but NO NO if you are building a nation

what happens to the handicapped in physical, mental, social aspects of community

what happens to the poor, the old, the women, the children who thru no choice of theirs are in a "weak and unequal" position

i sense an agenda in your recent writings

i beg your pardon if i'm mistaken

your "supporters" seem to be mostly anonymous

zooky 5 April 2009 at 12:26  

Tough one, this.
How do you inspire the young? What turns them on?
Looking at Malay youth, it runs somewhere between Jom Heboh, AF and religiosity. Indifference, for sure.
Parental guidance, Question mark.

So how? Schooling the children get and I'm not discussing whether they are getting quality education.
It's what they do in the after hours that interest me.

You don't have to go far to see the disadvantaged. Just take inner city Cheras. Rows and rows of tower blocks, two-roomed at most. What is there for the young? Recreation?
Here's where I think the KJs, the KTs and the Mukhrizs can play a part.
Start small. Have they ever thought about doing quiet "missionary" work?
Computer workshops, etc. Surely there must be budget. In times of tragedy, fire, floods and such, we see political parties donating, so why not ongoing social work?
Another area: If we really are going to be teaching Maths and Science in English, address those reservations about Malay rural children not being able to cope.
Organise extra classes after school hours to help them.
It's doable. I once read that Datuk Mustapa organies English classes for the children in his kawasan.

It's the little things that count. Win hearts and minds.

Anonymous,  5 April 2009 at 12:32  

And what about the perception of the ‘campaign’ that is being mentioned in the article below, extracted from https://airkosong.com/_/2009/04/03/a-deadly-distract-and-go-for-the-kill-campaign-by-najib/ ?

A deadly ‘distract and go for the kill’ campaign by Najib

It could be late by now, but we should all be made aware of a potentially deadly campaign by Najib brewing behind the scene, much of the campaign has already been executed with success.

It is a campaign planned with such precision and minute details that I compare it to what Mahathir has done during the fall-out crisis with Anwar in 1998. Furthermore, the campaign has one distinctive characteristic: it is robust to cope with the expected, as it has turned out that along the way many unexpected events have happened but the campaign cope with them well.

It all started with the coup d’état in Perak in Feb. Najib gang swung into action to grab the power of the state. After the infamous ’second visit to the palace’, where many quarters have speculated as the return trip for either deal making or arm-twisting by Najib, the fate of the PR state government duely elected by the rakyat was sealed, when the Sultan decided to take side of Najib.

Then came the fateful events that vacated the Parlimen seat of Bukit Gantang and the state seat of Bukit Selambau. The by-elections are clearly tough battles for Najib and could be fatal to the imminent power transition to Najib slated for April. Much earlier on, UMNO general assembly was already scheduled for Mar 24-28. The factional fights for positions were expected to be divisive and chaotic for the party. The two potential deadly blows from the ‘Two Bukits’ cannot come before or around then.

That is where the campaign made the Election Commission did the job: fixing the nomination day for the by-elections to be one day exactly after the UMNO general assembly, and the polling day on Apr 7.

Most of us did not take Apr 7 with much meaning, except it is a weekday. But it is so significant with what the subservient EC has done:

A weekday of course will reduce turn-out, usually affecting outstation voters who are commonly known to be anti BN.

The weekend immediately before Apr 7 is the Cheng Ming weekend for Chinese. Also known as Tomb Sweeping Day or Qingming Festival, most Chinese would travel back to their hometown to pay their respect to their elders who have passed on. Apr 7 being a Tueday, Chinese voters of the Two Bukits, commonly recognised to be anti BN too, are unlikely to extend their stay all the way. Hence reducing opposition votes further.
Most important of all, the campaigning period, from Mar 29 to Apr 6, covers a very important event: the power transition from Abdullah to Najib. The opposition and most of concerned Malaysians would be so occupied by the campaign that any resistence to the transition is kept at very low level. This is the largest distraction to us all for Najib to go for his first kill.
Along the process, the unexpected also happened in Sarawak, that led to the by-election of Batang Ai. The subsevient EC again did what the campaign needed: include Batang Ai with the same by-election schedule. Two potential deadly blows are no difference from three potential deadly blows, but Batang Ai, far from the tsunamic Peninsula Malaysia and with a different voter composition, could offer a potential consolation to the BN to reduce the impact of the Two Bukits. How convenient the EC to oblige.

At Bukit Selambau, the record number of independent candidates puzzled all of us. By now, we have the answer. And need I say anything else but it’s part of the campaign?

Then on the judiciary side, where many high-profile cases related to Perak are in progress, the campaign has again planned and executes its steps carefully. First on Mar 23, the Federal Court returned the case of Nizar vs. Zambry to KL High Court, much to people’s surprise. Two new judges were parachuted into the KL High Court. The original High Court judge, Justice Lau Bee Lan, who is well respected in the legal fraternity, is not assigned for the case that she has been so familiar with. Instead, a new judge, Justice Abdul Aziz Abdul Rahim, on his first day at KL High Court after being transferred from Kuching High Court, is given the case. He shiftly decided that the first action is to decide if leave should be granted for the case to proceed. So today at 3pm, the decision will be made. It will be no surprise that the decision will be a rejection of leave, therefore summarily deal a blow to the case brought by Nizar.

The significance is the timing. While any decision at the KL High Court can be appealed, so all is not lost for Nizar as far as the case is concerned, but it immediately adds to the perceived ‘legitimacy’ of Zambry as an installed (vs. an elected) menteri besar, which BN has been fighting very hard in facing the rakyat. The timing will be fatal to Nizar, who is the PAS candidate of Bukit Gantang by-election. “The court has decided no case for Nizar” will ring loud all over the sky of Bukit Gantang, seriously hurting Nizar’s image.

Then there is another new judge, Justice Balia Yusof Wahi, being parachuted on the case of Perak Speaker with the three ‘frog’ state assembly representatives. He is a High Court civil division judge who had been brought specifically from Kuala Lumpur to hear the case in Ipoh. According to Edmund Bon, the lawyer of Sivakumar, “(we) were not informed of the change until the very last minute… no reason was given for the change.”.

So by now, Najib is already sworn in peacefully at Istana Negara as the sixth prime minister of Malaysia, despite his tainted character and baggae of unresolved scandals. Tomorrow, the critical by-election weekend, he will surely go to the various places giving his speeched as the newly minted prime minister. Carrying with him are all those advantages described above that his campaign has already engineered and bagged. His final kill will be the collapse of opposition campaign for the by-elections and the surprises beyond imagination on the night of Apr 7.

Already, the campaign has made smaller punches here and there, including seizing all printed copies of opposition publications. As the title of my previous post, Malaysia has entered dark ages from 10am today. Hold on tight, all! The ride will be very bumpy, but we will reach the destination, surely.

Anonymous,  5 April 2009 at 13:19  

Anon 12:32

You are giving all the credit to DSN. Couldn't it be that some of those events were coincidental or fell in place and helped the other events that he actually planned?

Granted, he and his team must be thinking out all and every strategy and move. But let's not foget that the Election Commission, since the time of the previous Chairman who got Parliament to extend the age limit to accomodate him, also think out and strategise for the Government in power. Several members of the previous Chairman's team are still there. The EC not independent? If the opposition comes into power, would they not propose dates etc that are suitable to whoever is in power?

We have a new leadership lah. Why has it to be dark ages when you have not seen his performance as No I. Give him time lah.

Anyway, let's get back to the subject of this posting.

Anonymous,  5 April 2009 at 13:43  

Dato'

Sorry for side tracking but I think for the benefit of those who "over-rated" this man LKY pls. visit web-site like http://yoursdp.org/

When you scroll down at the end of the main page left hand corner you can listen the audio file of the so-called brilliant LKY got stucked on his throat trying to reply in his defamation case against the opposition leader Chee Soon Juan.

The non-bumiputra will off course refused to acknowledge that their icon is a fake. And that is a fact. Don't forget to visit the site mentioned and you can get a clearer picture on how this man operate.

Anonymous,  5 April 2009 at 14:41  

wanger j khairy

where are you?

kenapa tutup blog?






tanpa nama

Quantum Metal Consultant 5 April 2009 at 18:39  

Wenger J Khairy malu bossnya politik wang.. tinggal sekor lagi yang dok ubah topik...

Esok lusa, cerita Kj keluar semula dan mereka terpaksa mempertahankannya sekali lagi.

Syabas dan tahniah.

Anonymous,  5 April 2009 at 19:08  

halim 11:28 tried to deflect the flak when he was the one who started talking about the red dot in both his earlier comments and asked what rubs the Malays. Anyway, it's no longer relevant now.

On how to inspire the young: new & recharged values or reinforced old ways, self propelling values or perpetual external push -

I like zooky's comments, above.

I think there must be some new values and new ways but the external push must continue. The NEP must remain but the implementation must change - spread the benefits, get rid of money politics, corruption and cronyism.

The key to it must be education. We need to inculcate a sense of unity, of common destiny, of pride for the country, the need to shun the social ills prevailing in the country now to children in schools and to school leavers thru the mass media. The school curriculum should be reviewed, civics should be taught. Children from age 15 should have a rudimentary knowledge of democracy, elections, Parliament, citizenship, basic understanding of the Constitution -the fundamental source of the laws of the country, the Social Contract. So that they would understand what it means being a citizen, appreciate the value and the responsibilities of being one, give and take and not demand too much of one another.

To be inspired to strive and contribute towards the growth, prosperity and well being of the nation, they need to know the history of the country, how and what their forefathers sacrificed, and how we progressed and lasted as a nation despite the outgoing Colonialists scepticism on whether we would last as a multi-racial group. History text books need to be reviewed, if necessary new ones written to ensure they contain accurate historical facts.

Proponents of vernacular schools say the national schools do not have high standards, etc. The Education Minister must be strong-willed and carry out a proper study of this and the vernacular schools whose distractors claim are insular, children with non mainstream perspectives and difficulty in adjusting to society at large, not conducive to the evolution of a Bangsa Malaysia. The government should continuously attempt to have dialogues and resolve issues coming out from such a study. That would help dispel misunderstandings and inspire the young to strive to greater heights.

Outside school and the negative effects of globalisation - they must first be drawn away from excessive time on the lap top and electronic play things. Greater facilities for outdoor activities to draw them away from being cocooned, closed home environment and tendencies for insular thinking. Provide easy access, low rental bicycle or motorbike racing circuits so that the Mat Rempits have no excuse to race on the streets. Multi-faceted competitions with sufficiently attractive rewards. Regular ads in the mass media.

To inspire young Malays about business, publicise the self-propelling and successful ones - applaud them periodically, give them Datoships etc. But there are not enough of them because we have only 18% corporate wealth and the number owning that 18% who are non-corrupt and non-crony is small, 1-2are billionaires. So, let the external push continue indefinitely. Keep the NEP. The economy goes up and down, we must avoid desperate situations flaring up out of financial frustration and anxiety like it did before, our problems now compounded by overstaying Indonesian, Bengladeshi, Nepalese, Burmese workers, and Chinese tourists, etc.

Anonymous,  5 April 2009 at 19:59  

meritocracy?

Anonymous,  5 April 2009 at 20:04  

find it in singapore or china

Anonymous,  5 April 2009 at 21:36  

The re-writing of recent Malay history can be done only after major progress in reducing money politics, cronyism and corruption.

Otherwise how to inspire the young? That recent history is so full of those.

Anonymous,  5 April 2009 at 23:35  

Sak, why on earth are you advertising LKY here? Don't you have any other brand to sell?

Anonymous,  6 April 2009 at 00:38  

Let's cut the crap.

There are only two things that the Malays must master. And master them well.

They are:
Mathematics and the English language (both written and spoken).

The rest will fall in place.

F-1 Driver

Anonymous,  6 April 2009 at 06:12  

the totality of a man is the continuum of its deeper inner self right up to his outer physical manifestation ie. his physical self.

this deeper inner self or jatidiri and is the perfection of the man bestowed by God, the part alloted to the him in a measure which differ from one man to another, and from one group of man to another. it finds outward manifestation in the man physical appearance, demeanour, talent etc. so bestowed suitable to his assigned role as Khalifah of God to sustainably use and manage God's bounty for the development of his individual and for the ppl under his immediate influence in his immediate settings. it what makes ali, ahmad and ah kow different. a man's jatidiri is his link to God and a man who goes out and face the world with his jatidiri intact to meet life challenges he will find success in all his endavours.

corrrespondingly for a group of men ie. a nation (race) of men, the nation's jatidiri finds outwards manifestation in its culture and it what makes the nation of ali and ahmad different from the nation of ah kow and ah seng, etc. the nation's jatidiri is the sum perfection of the individuals of the nation and is betowed in an individual exemplar of the nation. in the quran these exemplars were the nabi-nabi of a nation. for a nation of men eg. the malays who goes out and face and interact with world with their malay jatidiri intact they will find success in all their endavours. this is the way of God and is the first principle of sustainable success.

just to give a well.. not so hare-brained of a background.

today we have a culture that we seems not too proud about. that we even have a culture means sometimes in our distant past we have an exemplar that we have forgotten about. Anyway it has been modelled in the person of our kings, which is said to represents the best of the malays, in our literiture is said to be the shadow of God. the the malay rulers in our collective memory is anything but that and has lost its potency and meaning. any wonder the gall of those who mohon derhaka. the malays have lost or rather have fragments of their jatidiri.

but we have Islam with Muhammad pbuh the the universal exemplar, the exemplar of exemplars but seems the mainstream formulation of things have made arabs out of the malay, some even more arabs than the arabs, even the real arabs doesn't make any meaningful headway in today's world, a dwarf among nations. there seems to be a huge hole that we have to fill, which the mainstream formulation does not take into account probably, to muhammad.

moving forward these are things that probably najib have to probably start looking at for the long term, in terms of generations probably. that's a gargantuan challenge right there. in the short term he should go for quick wins, probably starts projects to strengthen our jatidiri, make the malay feel good about themselves, might look frivilous like what dr m did, with his tallest building in the world, sail around the world thing, things like that.. apart from the normal leader things that he got to do.

his 1malaysia idea needs to have the malays put their best foot forward.

Anonymous,  6 April 2009 at 08:04  

Dato'

Say melihat dengan sedikit hampa, melihat dato' masih quoting nama Lee Kuan Yew (LKY). Saya heran samada dato' tak baca apa2 mengenai LKY, mengenai melayu di singapura and yet sato' masih lagi nak tackle melayu dari sudut pandangan LKY sbg COMPARISON.

Samada dato' pura2 tak tau atau dato sendiri telah taksub dengan agenda LKY dan menjadi kuncu2nya.

Atau dato' memang suka mencari kontroversi. Dah org tak suka dengan nama LKY lagi mau sebut2.

Apadaaaa

Anonymous,  6 April 2009 at 09:02  

Boleh sebut nama LKY tapi jangan puji. Dia menyebabkan banyak masaelah politik di Malaysia ini. Penganut2 dan kuncu2 nya masih ada lagi di sini. "Malaysian Malaysia" nya tidak mengambil pertimbangan di atas Social Contract, special position of the Malays, hendak lebih, lebih, lebih.

Bila ada di sebut pasal LKY, pasal apa tak boleh timbulkan fakta2 dlm sejarah? (halim). Boleh coba cari meritokrasi di singapura, kena pikir pasal Big Brother On The Wall, even in the toilet. (Anon tanya Meritocracy? dan yang berikut nya). Di sana tak boleh bercakap macam kita cakap sekarang.

Saya harap pemimpin kita jangan gunakan perkataan tongkat crutches saperti yang sabelom ini. Itu memperkecilkan, mengatawakan, ridiculing NEP lebih perit lagi dari bantahan bangsa lain.

Sekarang saya boleh mula berkerja. Terima kasih.

Anonymous,  6 April 2009 at 09:39  

Kalau mengagungkan pendirian LKY kira berpaling tadah pada bangsa sendiri la..You like it or not, that is how people perceive it.

Kalau continue memalingkan Melayu, menidakkan Melayu dan ada bau2 bacang mengagungkan atau menyokong or any slightest act, verbally dan seangkatan dengannya, I can say atok, bersedialah UMNO untuk tersungkur.

Jangan main-main tau!

Anonymous,  6 April 2009 at 09:55  

dato sak,

singapore was the only chinese majority state among malaysian state then and as a straits settlement they have been fairly developed by the british as their center of trade and industry making the peninsular as their hinterland.

lky is probably a dynamic personality in the same mould as tdm but i think his desire for 'equality' would have been stop shot if he did not have the comfort of knowing the he has the capital that he has above. lky has decided then to have a go alone, thus being difficult and wanted to be kicked-out. i never read his book he might write different.

now desiring for equality is perfectly all right for a future in a certain land if it is a no-mans land. for a land that's been populated for thousands of years, the equality equation is not the same and this is agreed upon. i remember not too long ago, months ago, prof khoo kay kim tried to socialize the idea of everyone here is a pendatang, that i guess trying to change the equality the equation.

as for how they would motivate themselves, looks like its never been a problem to them. moreover, nep is a creation out of the special clauses in the constitution we can decreated it if the malays has achieve parity. its a question of implementation, of how the malays want to help themselves and how the non-malays can help the malays for everyone to progress further.

its not for the malays to abuse the privelege and for the non-malays to hold the malays by the ball with, that's not a good way to go through with it.

Anonymous,  6 April 2009 at 09:59  

its not for the malays to abuse the privelege and for the non-malays to hold the malays by the ball with, that's not a good way to go through with it.

1malaysia should be in this spirit.

Raison D'etre 6 April 2009 at 10:29  

To Anon 12.31 "Then there is another new judge, Justice Balia Yusof Wahi, being parachuted on the case of Perak Speaker with the three ‘frog’ state assembly representatives."

The JC is not a parachute (not literally) judge as he was previously holding post in Ipoh for a good long while.

In Ipoh, there are not that many High court judges around and with the other JC recusing himself, there's (if I am not mistaken) only two other judges who could sit on the cases.

The newer JC has normally less on their hands, so as to handle the less strenous (read: not taxing, time consuming, non crime) cases.

Anyway, SM:
How do you inspire the Malaysian youth?

I had over the weekend met a young couple (with one child) doing contracting jobs: renovations, cabinets etc.

Their's a relatively good portfolios in projects completed, and I have since decided to take their offer for my own coming soon home.

There is however some bitterness: in two Malay customer, the first a youngish couple about their same age as them and the second an always with a kopiah abang.

The first paid only 40% of a total RM22K job, while the second an even worse culprit: RM500 for a RM13K job.

My point: We (as in the one holding the purse) empower them with a promise, but these acts of reneging on this promise is what would sometime break the exuberance of youth.

Malaysia needs it young to be of vigor, but all we have to be proud of - it seems - are the daredevil of Mat Rempits (some of whom are Pemuda Umno definition of being youthfull :) ) with no respect for the interest of others.

Yet, these are also the very ones some politicians go out of the way to empower.

Ariff Sabri 6 April 2009 at 10:52  

omon,
you asked:-
what happens to the poor, the old, the women, the children who thru no choice of theirs are in a "weak and unequal" position

you have not read my articles clearly. they must be the object of welfarism. i am against the free loaders hiding behind the magical phrase bumiputraism. baca lah betul2 dulu.

Anonymous,  6 April 2009 at 11:17  

"Prof Khoo Kay Kim tried to socialise the idea of everyone here is a pendatang".

He was a history professor. That's the kind of new version of history that some of the "Malaysian Malaysia" adherents tried to follow, that I've been concerned about. He conveniently did not mention and may have avoided in his lectures and writings what Prof M.A Fawzi Basri wrote, in his Sejarah Kesultanan Negeri Perak, that during the clan warfare and secret societies' endless fighting in Larut in the 1860s and early 1870s, the Ghee Hins ran to Penang where their bosses resided, asked the Resident Commissioner to help get back their tin mines taken over by the Hai Sans in Larut. When the British first started to intervene in August 1873 by calling Menteri Larut and Raja Abdullah to Penang, the Ghee Hin and Hai San chiefs were present in the ensuing discussions. These led to Pangkor Treaty 1874 and full British intervention in Perak, etc and bloody colonialism in Malaya.

Now, it is this kind of history that should be taught in schools. Not in an accusing or inflammatory way but just state the raw facts. So that the young would know, not so much of clan warfare, secret societies, gangsterism and treachery but how our forefathers had fared in our pre-Merdeka history. Why they should stay clear of bad elements so that they would become useful citizens.

Not all Chinese in Perak at that time were gangsters and secret society members. Most were plainly hard working coolies and labourers wanting to make a living after running away from the terrible and unbearable conditions in China that was ruled for hundreds of years by a foreign power, the Manchus. But the greedy towkays who employed the secret societies and the gangsters cared only for their tin mines that they had secured from the Malays and asked for a foreign power to intervene.

In trying to inspire the young, they must be imbued with the spirit of love and loyalty for their country, of defending their country against all evils, especially of foreign domination, be it economic or spiritual. That can come about only when they are given the real facts and provided with the correct perspectives.

Anonymous,  6 April 2009 at 13:26  

The structural imbalance is found specifically within the malay community and not between the races. By all accounting that are honest race based equity had been addressed beyond the target of 30%. The real imbalance lies within the community but umno continued to blame it on the "other races" to stir up jealousies and hatred so that they could continue to remain relevant and to steal from the nation coffer.

Anonymous,  6 April 2009 at 13:34  

One of the most important foundations of a nation is the quality of its primary & secondary schools. Is there any minister or senior politician who send their children to our local schools ?
Even the PM and minister's children in the little red dot study in local schools. That is the confidence they have in their schools.
Heard from a friend that his son goes to school to socialise and studies in his tuition classes because school teachers are absent frequently and there are normally no replacements.

Anonymous,  6 April 2009 at 17:38  

That 13:26 fellow doesn't know what he is talking about. He is poorly misled by one so-called think-tank connected with one of the Sungai Way Group executives which used dubious and unacceptable methods of calculation. This fact has been pointed out many times. A few of the directors of the "researching" organisation resigned after that.

The Government has done their calculations and the figure given was about 18%. Of course this kind of fellow would say the Government is lying, etc, etc. No point to layan this kind of fellow. Just ignore him and the likes of him.

Anonymous,  7 April 2009 at 11:32  

"Absolute confidence in one's own ability and capabilities" -

It's extremely important that in instilling such values to the young, utmost attempts are made to reduce the current ills of society. Otherwise, the confidence may never be absolute and may turn to despair. Imagine a young boy does his best and performs well in all aspects of life in school and finds out later he can't even get the desired job or the preferred housing lot because of cronyism, nepotism, corruption, etc.

Agreed that welfarism is only for the needy but the Malays as a whole still need NEP and that its implementation must be changed, the benefits spread out to the maximum number of Bumiputeras, tenders/ awards made transparent, prequalification of companies to bid negotiated projects reserved for Bumiputeras, several prequalified companies invited to submit bids. Of course, the projects and tenders open to non-Bumiputeras will continue.

Until a true Bangsa Malaysia has evolved, it would be difficult for people to walk about with their heads up knowing they are the economically backward and displaced group. There's no chicken and egg situation here. Especially when the rationale for the NEP was clear, the circumstances for introducing the policy have been explained time and again since the 1970s. They stick in the minds of the young, not many of whom have received the benefits except perhaps UMNO Youth delegates. Muhyiddin having said the NEP is "good", only its implementation defective, we can now expect the new government to tackle this. As it stands now, deserving non-Malays are also given scholarships and other forms of assistance. These should also be continued to make the young see fairness, though the hardcore detractors will continue to say otherwise.

Najib after his recent walk about said there is no sense of desperation. Good, if it's representative of the situation in the country. His CIMB CEO brother mentioned about the NEP retarding national unity, investments and economic efficiency. Yes, we must have a united Malaysia, a Bangsa Malaysia, and by all means have programmes to get everybody understand and accept NEP. But investments and economic efficiency are retarded not so much by NEP but by its improper implementation. I have many times personally heard foreign businessmen in this country saying that, apart from political stability, foreign investors look for transparency, both in business deals, approvals, tenders and awards, as well as in the law courts where they can have proper redress in case of problems.

I think it must be encouraging and inspiring to many of the young to hear Muhyiddin saying the NEP is "good", only its implementation is bad. He is being realistic, practical and does not appear to be influenced by the pseudo- liberalists who get ideas from the West where, in fact, we still find theories often differing from practice.

Icarius 7 April 2009 at 23:34  

Hi Dato',

How to inspire?

Zooky's comment (5th April 12:26) shows an effective way to execute. Especially after we have guided the young to have aspirations.

As children, we all have some form of aspirations, be it from our own family members, Superman, James Bond, or whoever/whatever. There is someone we want to be or some trait we want to have.

As we grow up, we get more "realistic" views, and reduce the dream. Still, a dream exists, maybe it is a big house, or a fast car, a large family with all the comforts, a leader of men, an educator of people, a care-giver, etc.
As you rightly pointed out, "You inspire with self propelling values and setting achievable objectives."

What are these values and objectives?
Who do we look up to?

This nation needs a hero or heroine) now more than ever.

Too many of the successful (read powerful and/or rich) have too many (unproven) allegations to be respected. And some of the senior people in government are still there despite evidence of pointing towards guilt.
(e.g. technical-visit-cum-family-holidays-with-maid and then offering to pay back if it was out of line? If it was a public listed company, would this be a case of CBT? and isn't it weird how no other government official puts a stand on this? sorry, digressed)

In order to address how we can inspire young, we should perhaps also ask, what are their dreams of the young and who are the people that they look up to nowadays?

Then and only then, we can address the question of how (which Zooky provided a good example).

Cheers,
Icarius

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