tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30089954838391466882024-03-07T20:24:02.798-08:00Brave New WorldThe Unofficial Archive of Azmi Sharom's Public WritingsElanorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15447273349249042635noreply@blogger.comBlogger419125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3008995483839146688.post-74362772164636543382019-03-07T18:55:00.000-08:002019-03-07T18:55:37.662-08:00Embarking on a brave new roleBrave New World (The Star)<br />
27 February 2019<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Lato, Arial, Helvetica, Arial, Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">After a long (and notorious) run, our columnist has elected to ‘do instead of just say’. His parting advice: We must always keep an eye on the powerful. </span><span style="border: none; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Lato, Arial, Helvetica, Arial, Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /></span><br />
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I AM not very good at goodbyes. I prefer to slip away quietly. I find it’s the best way (especially when evading bitter girlfriends and debtors!).</div>
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I wasn’t planning to say goodbye here either as farewell pieces seem awfully vain, but it was pointed out to me that not doing so would be ungracious. So, I will take this opportunity to express my gratitude.</div>
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After over a decade of writing <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Brave New World,</em> the time has come for me to stop. I have a new job, you see, and one of the terms of employment is that I can’t make money from anyone else. In other words, monogamous employment to a jealous employer is now my lot.</div>
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I admit it’s a sacrifice in a way, but it’s also one worth making as finally the opportunity has come for me to do instead of just say. If I fail miserably (very possible), at least I’ll still be able to say I tried, even as I hang my head in shame while tar and feathers are poured over me.</div>
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Only the most arrogant prat will say he or she is where they are solely through their own efforts. I am arrogant. And I am a prat. But I’m not the most arrogant prat.</div>
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Wherever I am today (the good stuff, not the bad, like needing polyps removed from my nose) is the result of a long list of people and experiences – family and friends, but also teachers, schools, universities, and even employers (including those who don’t want to be associated with me. It’s okay, Universiti Malaya, I still love you).</div>
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It would be false modesty to not acknowledge that over the years, I’ve acquired a certain degree of mild notoriety through this column. I’m very proud of my modesty but I refuse to bow to falsehood, so ... I’ll admit to it. This notoriety has been a gift as it’s given me the opportunity to express myself on many different platforms.</div>
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The right to speak is, to me, one of the most precious human rights and I’ve been blessed with many opportunities to do so.</div>
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And while I’ve been exercising this right (and borne the consequences of doing so), I’ve received much support and outpourings of vitriol from those who’ve read my work or listened to my speeches.</div>
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For all this, I am thankful – to the widespread support, which gave me the strength to go on, and to the vitriol for giving me pause for thought and reflection.</div>
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So, to <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">The Star</em> and my long-suffering editors, cheers for the opportunity. And to my readers, thank you very much from the bottom of my heart.</div>
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The battle for democracy and human rights in Malaysia continues. We all have a responsibility to try our best. In the age of social media and the rubbish it spews, old-school mainstream media like this paper has a huge role to play as the purveyor of truth and not propaganda or agenda-driven misinformation.</div>
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And it is we, the ordinary people, who must always keep an eye on the powerful. A beady, untiring, and critical eye. My time for doing this has gone, at least publicly. In fact, I should have beady eyes on me from now on! But this is the way it should be.</div>
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For this moment, I just want to say I will miss writing, but I’ve many wonderful memories as a result of doing so, and a lot of those are due to you.</div>
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Terima kasih and goodbye.</div>
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19 December 2018<br />
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THIS is my final piece for 2018. So I want to wish all of you an advance Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!</div>
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And what a year it has been. If at the end of 2017 you told me that in 2018 we would have a new government and there would be a fistful of Barisan Nasional bigwigs in court being charged for multiple crimes, I would have laughed in your face and asked you to share whatever it was you were smoking. But here we are.</div>
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And man, in May there was no need for any sort of substance, legal or otherwise, to feel high. The euphoria was practically tangible. Not for half the population, granted, but for those who voted for change. It was a moment of not just happiness but great pride.</div>
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As a university lecturer, I am often travelling abroad (Asean only for small fish like myself) speaking at conferences.This year, I got to use my country as an example of how people can peacefully change a government and how the democratic process can still work despite the filthy laws and tricks that those in power used and got up to. For a brief shining moment, we were the symbol of not just democracy but also a movement away from repressive regimes. Not just for our region, but the whole world. I have never felt so proud.</div>
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Besides being a wonderful achievement by itself, the election in May also marked a shift in the way that people were thinking. Suddenly, there was hope for the future.</div>
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The new government will be corruption-free and progressive and we can start moving forward. Moving forward in a manner that took the interest of all Malaysians at heart. No more politicising of race and religion. No more disrespecting of human rights.</div>
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Well, that went south pretty quick. Within a few short months, we have seen the government backing down to ignorance and racial fear-mongering as it made a U-turn on the promise to ratify the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (Icerd).</div>
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This was particularly painful because all the points that were raised by the opponents of the treaty were founded on outright lies.</div>
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The Icerd allows for – indeed it demands – affirmative action if it is needed. This is exactly what our Constitution says as well, where the special position of Malays and Natives of Sabah and Sarawak can be protected via quotas and the like as long as it is “necessary” and “reasonable”.</div>
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To say otherwise is to lie.</div>
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With all the machinery at its disposal, the government did not put up a convincing attempt to try to convince the Malays (and it was mainly the Malays who objected) that they had nothing to fear. And how sad is it to live in a country where we can’t say loud and proud that we disagree with racism.</div>
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Then there is the U-turn on local elections. This was promised to us and now we are told that it can’t happen because it will be racialised. Exactly how this will occur is not made clear. Once again, Malaysians are expected to just listen to Uncle Government because it knows better than us.</div>
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As the year comes to a close, instead of yuletide cheer and end-of-year merrymaking, we are now faced with the repulsive sight of slug-like creatures crawling out of their political party to slide towards those in power.</div>
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The noxious slime coating their bloated bodies leaves a trail of toxic mucus as they crawl with large pleading eyes to be admitted into a party that has not lost.</div>
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If they think that the stench of their previous loathsome life while in power is not going to stick to them like cat poo on the sole of a heavily threaded running shoe, then they are delusional.</div>
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But what is this? There is a possibility they will be accepted? Oh no! I realise this is the season of goodwill but this is too much, man.</div>
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It is not all over. There is still time to do good work. Institutions can still be reformed.</div>
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Ministers learning the ropes can still become experts and do a good job. And as much as we must criticise every bump in the road to reform, we must not give up on the agenda to change this country for the better.</div>
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The year started off like any other year – cynical but with the slightest sliver of hope. In the middle of the year, we had one of the most unexpected and significant things to have happened to us as a nation, and now at the end of the year, we are once again brought down to earth.</div>
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It is impossible to stay as wide-eyed and optimistic as we were a few short months ago. But we must continue to hope and continue to strive. After all, that’s what we have been doing all this time.</div>
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5 December 2018<br />
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SO, the Sedition Act has reared its little pimply head again. This time in relation with the Seafield temple riots.</div>
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This is all quite confusing to me because I thought there was a moratorium on the use of this archaic and undemocratic law.</div>
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However, news reports suggest the opposite with the men in blue reportedly investigating four cases under the Sedition Act.</div>
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Now, I will be the first to admit that I think some of those being investigated are highly unpleasant individuals. And yes, there is most definitely a frisson of schadenfreude that courses through me when I think that they may be getting their just desserts. If the police are investigating people under the Sedition Act, will it not be pointless if there is no prosecution under that law because it is the government’s policy not to use it? Would it not be wiser to simply start investigations using laws that we can guarantee will be enforced?</div>
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A quick perusal of the Penal Code shows several provisions that could be used against these thuggish fools.</div>
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There is Section 298A where uttering words designed to hurt members of a particular religious group can lead to one-year jail.</div>
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Or Section 503 and 504 which is about criminal intimidation and intentional insult with the objective to provoke a breach of the peace.</div>
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These offences, if found to have been committed, could lead to two years in prison.</div>
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Until we come up with a law against hate speech and hate crime, it is perhaps best to use the Penal Code for such things as opposed to the Sedition Act which can so easily be abused to quell genuine and peaceful dissent.</div>
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Let us be frank. There are some serious plonkers out there. Those who are intent to stir up racial problems for their own warped and nefarious reasons.</div>
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I don’t like them and I want them to be punished.</div>
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However, we have to keep the big picture in mind. The values of a nation must not be shaped by the brutal and the stupid. It must be shaped by principles of justice.</div>
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This being the case, using an unjust law, even against the unjust is not acceptable. There are other options available, use them instead.</div>
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Punish those who deserve it but in a way which respects the rule of law and democracy. Only in this way can we assure that our nation remains pure even if we have the filthy living amongst us.</div>
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21 November 2018<br />
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AS I am writing this, I am getting ready to go to Bernama TV for some programme or other. I’ve been told that we will be discussing issues such as human rights and judicial independence.</div>
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I’ve also been on government-run radio stations to talk about the lowering of the voting age and on several private broadcasters to discuss a variety of issues.</div>
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I am not listing all these things to show off. But it is just that for all our grouses and complaints, this kind of exposure to the media would have been impossible under the old regime.</div>
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The laws that can be used against the media are still in place, and therefore, until this changes, there will always be the danger of them being used.</div>
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But the point is, at this moment, they are not, and there is a palpable sense of having the freedom to express oneself.</div>
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It is very key that those who are hoping for a Malaysia that is democratic, inclusive, plural and progressive, make full use of this freedom. There has to be a concerted effort at putting forward progressive views in a manner that is understandable and clear.</div>
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It is so important because at the moment, the opposition is working on a very dangerous platform indeed.</div>
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Left in the lurch by the electorate, Umno is now desperately seeking relevance. And they are doing this by falling back into their comfort zone, which is to make everything about race and religion.</div>
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It is their right, of course, to do so, but there has to be a counter-narrative. I think Umno has given up on any idea of getting a broad mandate and support from Malaysians of all creeds, ethnicity and faiths.</div>
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Their recent activities point to them focusing on the Malay demographic and raising hot-button issues that they believe will get Malay people on their side.</div>
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The increasing flirtations with PAS is also ominous because there is the constant nagging concern that these two will try to form a super-Malay coalition. Let’s not forget that in the last general election, PAS and Umno received an estimated 70% of the Malay votes.</div>
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If these two were to become political partners, then politics in this country will not be about policies and ideas and instead be divided on that crudest of divisions – race and (seeming) religiosity. This is not healthy for the country.</div>
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What then can be done? I am quite certain that at the end of the day, most Malaysians, regardless of ethnicity, are concerned mainly with bread-and-butter issues. It is vital therefore that the government counteracts its opponents by making all our lives better in a practical and meaningful manner.</div>
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In the meantime, there also has to be a constant countering of the kinds of racist and supremacist talk being spouted by those desperate enough to do anything to reclaim power. We have greater freedom of speech now, so let us not allow the bigoted to drive the agenda and instead make sure that a different narrative can be heard.</div>
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There are those who will never back down from their stance, but there are many who have only heard one view. Now is the time to provide an alternative to as wide an audience as possible.</div>
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7 November 2018<br />
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I WAS looking forward to enjoying some chapati and muruku, but instead I received a WhatsApp from an old school friend with a disturbing forwarded message.</div>
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This mate of mine asked me if this message, which was about the consequences of Malaysia ratifying the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD), was accurate.</div>
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I normally don’t read forwarded messages, but this one was disturbing because it was so inaccurate that I feel I must respond. Especially if it is making its rounds.</div>
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Let me deal with the issues raised by the writer of this message. I won’t mention his name because heaven only knows if it is indeed his name.</div>
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Point one: Joining the ICERD will mean that the sultans won’t be rulers anymore and that Islam won’t be the official religion of the country.</div>
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This is false. The sultans are sultans not because of racial discrimination but because of ‘familial discrimination’.</div>
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Officially I am Malay, but I can’t be a sultan because I am not from any royal family. And the Convention says nothing about the official religion of the country. So I don’t know what the writer is on about regarding Islam.</div>
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Point two: With the ICERD, horrors, anyone can be prime minister, even, shudder, non-Malays.</div>
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Well, actually the Constitution says that already. The PM is the person who has the confidence of Parliament. That’s all. No mention of race, ethnicity or gender. Gosh, has this dude read the Constitu-tion?</div>
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Point three: No more 10% discounts for housing for Malays.</div>
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Actually there should not be 10% discounts in the first place. The Constitution only allows for affirmative action that is specifically spelt out in the Constitution itself.</div>
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There are provisions for quotas in business permits, education and civil service jobs, but nothing about discounted houses.</div>
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The final point is really about the special position of the Malays and natives of Sabah and Sarawak, which is provided for in the Constitution. There’s a whole list that the writer goes through including education institutions, certain military units and of course the famous Article 153 of the Constitution.</div>
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Actually, Article 1 of the ICERD says that affirmative action to advance certain groups (due to existing inequalities) is not considered racial discrimination.</div>
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Article 2 then goes on to say that governments shall take these measures if they are needed. In other words, affirmative action is actually a requirement.</div>
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The only thing is that it is only acceptable as long as it is necessary. This being the case, as long as the Malays are backward and need help compared to everybody else, then I suppose it is necessary.</div>
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What it also means is that affirmative action must have an objective and once that objective is achieved, then it ought to stop.</div>
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Our Constitution is actually in line with that principle. Article 153, which provides for the special position of the Malays and natives of Sabah and Sarawak, states that the King, under advice from the government, may set quotas (for business, education and civil service) for as long as it is reasonable to do so.</div>
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If parity is achieved, then surely it is reasonable to stop. This is in line with the ICERD.</div>
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Unless of course the writer of the message forwarded to me wants the Malays (and natives of Sabah and Sarawak) to be forever given special help, regardless of their standing and position in society.</div>
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If that is the case, then why not be honest about it and say that the Malays and natives of Sabah and Sarawak are of a different class of citizenry and everybody else is second class.</div>
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That would at least be honest – racist and bigoted, sure, but at least honest.</div>
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24 October 2018<br />
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ONE of the advantages of being a university lecturer is that we often get to read very good work from our students.</div>
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Jeong Chun Phuoc is a PhD student of mine and according to his work for me and his publications, it is clear that the laws regarding hillslope developments are poor and poorly enforced.</div>
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Before we go on, I mention Jeong by name not because I favour him over my other students, but I seriously don’t want to be accused of plagiarism. Unlike some professors I won’t mention.</div>
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Anyway, the Environmental Impact Assessment requirements for hillslope developments do not require several key things, such as rainfall patterns and geological reports.</div>
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This does not mean, however, that these things can’t be demanded for by the authorities.</div>
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Look, the country has faced landslides before and, more often than not, they have been as the result of heavy rain.</div>
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The volume of rainfall has become more intense (with some theories laying the blame on climate change) and this means greater danger.</div>
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This is nothing new, and therefore not to consider such things is negligent. The deaths in Penang due to the recent landslide have to be subject to a thorough and independent investigation.</div>
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If the work being done was careless and if there were things that could have been done to mitigate such events, then this must be exposed.</div>
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It is no good saying that this is the work of god.</div>
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If there were things that could have been done, then they should have been done.</div>
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And this is something that can’t be blamed on the previous government. DAP has been leading the Penang government since 2008.</div>
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In 10 years, Pakatan Rakyat and now Pakatan Harapan have had more than enough opportunities to impose good practices in the manner of how land in the state is being used, regardless of the weaknesses of the existing laws and the practices in other states.</div>
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Meanwhile, the comedy of Umno continues. The ongoing spate of arrests and investigations by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission has recently been compared to <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Operation Lalang</em> of 1987.</div>
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It has been alleged that the current government is unfairly quashing dissent and in that way is ensuring a weak opposition and one-party rule.</div>
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Oh, the irony. As if the previous government never tried to quell dissent.</div>
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Let me just explain a few things. Firstly, <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Operation Lalang</em> used the Internal Security Act, which means that people were being detained without trial.</div>
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All those now charged with money laundering, criminal breach of trust and corruption will face trials in open court.</div>
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Secondly, those detained under <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Operation Lalang</em> were never accused of any specific crime but were instead detained under the flimsy pretext of protecting national security.</div>
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And to use more recent history, there were scores who were investigated and charged because they voiced opinions that the previous government did not like.</div>
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Those being investigated and charged now are not being oppressed for political beliefs or dissenting views. They are being accused of common crime, pure and simple.</div>
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There has to be evidence offered to the court and then based on that evidence, a conviction occurs or not.</div>
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This could take years and the opportunity for defence is there. Unlike under the dead and unmissed ISA.</div>
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So, there is a huge difference between what is happening now and what happened 30 years ago.</div>
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If Umno wants to be a strong opposition (and it should try), perhaps it would be better to stop making pathetic excuses for people who are associated with such gross corruption and find some better leaders instead.</div>
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10 October 2018<br />
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HASSAN Al Kontar, the Syrian man who had been living in KLIA2 since March, is currently in police custody. I am sure you have heard of this man; after all, his story is interesting and has parallels with a particularly saccharine movie. Except there’s no Catherine Zeta Jones.</div>
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Due to a series of immigration issues, Al Kontar ended up in limbo in KLIA2 with no valid passport and absolutely no desire to return to Syria. Why does he not want to go home?</div>
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Well, according to him, he originally did not want to go back because he would have been forced to join the army. Something he did not want to do in the civil war-torn country as he did not want to kill his fellow Syrians. A conscientious objector then.</div>
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Now, if he does go back he will doubtlessly be punished for his political stand. Amnesty International reports that there is a high likelihood that not only will he be punished, but his life may well be in danger too.The Deputy Home Minister has also said that he was offered to be sent to friendly countries to wait out his application to go to Canada.</div>
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This, it is said by the Deputy Minister, was an offer he rejected. I do not know if this is the case as there has been no statements from Al Kontar, being detained as he is.</div>
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Let’s look at this from the legal perspective. From the angle of international law, Al Kontar does appear to fit the description of a refugee.</div>
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He faces the possibility of serious harm if he returns to Syria because of his political views (anti-war) and he will most definitely not get any protection from his government. In fact, they are the ones who may cause him harm.</div>
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This being the case, what can Malaysia do? Unfortunately, Malaysia is not obliged to follow the international law as we are not party to the Refugee Convention.</div>
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This does not mean, however, that we should just send him back. The situation in Syria is horrific and it is morally reprehensible to send a person to a place where harm may befall him simply because he refuses to kill.</div>
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There is no doubt that Al Kontar has breached the Immigration Act. However, the Act does say that the minister has the discretion to exempt him from the provisions of this law.</div>
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This is something I urge the government to do. There is the possibility of allowing him to stay here while waiting for Canada to approve his application (the UNHCR in Malaysia has already registered him).</div>
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What is imperative is that he must not be sent back to Syria or any other country that may even remotely consider sending him back to his homeland.</div>
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On another issue, I noted with some amusement that Rais Yatim complained about the possibility of Wan Hamidi Hamid being appointed the Bernama CEO. This is because he may politicise the institution.</div>
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This is quite laughable – is there any news agency in this country that is not politicised?</div>
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Besides, and this is an important point, Bernama is a government agency. It has often been mistakenly claimed that Bernama is like the Malaysian Reuters. This is simply not true.</div>
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Reuters is a private body and is thus independent from any government. Not so with Bernama.</div>
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It is more akin to RTM, seeing as both of them are directly under the Ministry of Communications and Multimedia. Thus it is not surprising that the current government would want someone they like to head Bernama.</div>
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Besides, let’s take a look at Bernama’s Board of Directors, shall we? Currently, we have four permanent members from government departments and one from UiTM.</div>
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There are six permanent representatives of newspapers and they are all from papers which are either owned by the current opposition or had in the past shown extreme political fondness for the previous government. If Hamidi is chosen, he won’t exactly be joining a PH-loving bunch of folks.</div>
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Perhaps the objection to Hamidi is because he used to be top dog at the <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Rocket</em> (DAP’s paper). This is true, but he also used to work for the <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">New Straits Times</em>, <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">The</em> <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Star</em> and <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">The Sun</em>.</div>
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In other words, he is a newspaper person through and through. The experience is there. What truly matters now is not whether he has close relations with one of the parties in the ruling coalition, but how he does his job, whether he will have the integrity to make Bernama as impartial as possible – something which under the previous government would have been extremely difficult.</div>
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Unless Bernama (and RTM) are changed to follow the BBC model, it is pointless to expect any government to choose anyone to head it unless it is someone of their choosing and liking.</div>
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It is far more important that they choose someone who is able, competent and honest. Only time will tell if Hamidi is that person; and he needs to be given the chance to show that he is.</div>
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26 September 2018<br />
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HE government of the day is facing a conundrum. Well, I think there is one. I don’t know if the government feels the same way.</div>
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You see, there are certain institutions that ought to be independent, or as independent as possible, from government interference. I’m not talking about institutions like the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, the judiciary, the Attorney General’s Chambers and the like.</div>
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That has been discussed before in greater detail by cleverer people than me. I am speaking of universities.</div>
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<span style="color: #4a4a4a; font-family: Lato, Arial, Helvetica, Arial, Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Ideally, universities are autonomous from government. It is normal and acceptable if the government was to engage with universities regarding things like the general needs of the nation.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #4a4a4a; font-family: Lato, Arial, Helvetica, Arial, Tahoma, sans-serif;">For example, there could be a greater need for IT graduates. And universities, being public bodies, would do well to try to be of use in achieving nation-building goals.</span></div>
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However, what they do on campus and how they do it should be up to them.</div>
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For instance, I find it ridiculous that the government can dictate the type of courses that universities should have and that it has so much influence in the selection of university management.</div>
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Why do I oppose such influence? Well, a university is a place of learning where we teach and where we hopefully generate new knowledge. In order to do this, we need freedom to think and express ourselves. We also need to be free to set our own academic agenda.</div>
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Governments are led by politicians. They therefore will always have their own political agenda. Such an agenda must not be allowed to enter the campus because it may very well be at odds with our aims and objectives of quality education and research.</div>
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I understand that public universities get their funding from the taxpayers, so some sort of accountability is called for. But please remember, we get our funds from you the people and not from any political party.</div>
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Therefore, our responsibility is to do the best we can for you.</div>
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The results can be direct, perhaps your children are able to enter local universities, or indirect, where we produce better graduates and research that may end up serving you better.</div>
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However, to do this, we must not be bound by any political agendas or misguided and politically motivated concepts of what makes a university good.</div>
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Hence the need for autonomy. Autonomy is not being free from accountability. It means being free from interference and it also ultimately should mean better quality universities.</div>
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So where does the accountability come from? Ideally, universities should be accountable to the University Board.</div>
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(The board used to be called the University Council, which sounds cooler and more dignified. The name became University Board in the 1990s, when the government, making yet another misguided decision, thought universities should be more like corporations and forced the change.)</div>
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This board should consist of eminent people, not just from higher education but also the public at large. The board members are the ones who oversee broad policy issues and they are the ones who take the lead in choosing a vice chancellor (VC), with the help of a properly constituted search committee.</div>
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As it stands, the Education Minister can impose all sorts of conditions and obligations on universities and he is the one who selects the VC as well as sets the VC’s KPIs (key performance indicators).</div>
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As I said, this should not be the case. But then, at the moment, there is a conundrum. Even if the board is given the powers it should have, will this mean that there will be an improvement? Not necessarily, because the current crop of university management in all public universities are those selected by the old regime.</div>
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This means (with apologies for generalising) that many, if not most of them, will be of the same mindset as the old regime – a regime that did not respect academic freedom and did not understand academic autonomy.</div>
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So, what does the Education Minister do? Should he stick to principles and give universities autonomy now?</div>
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Or should he use the powers that he has inherited and make sweeping changes, ensuring more independent-minded folks are in positions of authority before he steps back and allows universities to be autonomous.</div>
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I am leaning towards the latter. Unfortunately, sometimes in order to fix something, drastic measures have to be taken first in order for the foundations to be strong before one starts rebuilding. Having said that, the choices for the new faces of university management must be done in such a way that those chosen are truly qualified and independent-minded individuals.</div>
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Those within the same political circles of the current government need not apply.</div>
<br />Elanor's Assistanthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03785054079335704570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3008995483839146688.post-7990611872704175252018-09-26T20:33:00.000-07:002018-09-26T20:33:10.440-07:00Minimum wage is about dignityBrave New World (The Star)<br />
12 September 2018<br />
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MALAYSIA has the fifth highest number of public holidays in the world. This is all well and good, but in this newspaper business, we lowly columnists are often forced by our harsh editors to submit our pieces well ahead of holidays so that they can go and sit on a beach somewhere.</div>
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<em style="box-sizing: border-box;">(Editor’s note: Nope, no beach in sight.)</em></div>
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And as everyone knows, lots can happen in Malaysia in a few days. This being the case, I apologise for the hurried nature of this article. And if it becomes stale between writing and publication, blame my editor.</div>
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There are two things I want to speak about this week. The first is this business about teaching in English in Sarawak. According to a news portal report, the Education Ministry stated in a written parliamentary reply that it was against the use of English as the medium of instruction in government schools in Sarawak.</div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">One of the grounds of this stand is that such a move is unconstitutional as Bahasa Malaysia is the official language as stated in Article 152 of the Federal Constitution. According to this article, all activities by public authorities (which includes schools) have to be conducted in BM.</span></div>
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However, the thing is, there are special provisions for Sabah and Sarawak in the constitution. The one most relevant here is Article 161, which states that both the Borneo states are free to use English until 10 years after Malaysia Day. But after that date, if there are going to be any changes, these must be accepted by the two states via their legislature.</div>
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So, what this means is that even if there are federal laws making BM the lingua franca of schools in Malaysia, this can only apply in Sabah and Sarawak if they accept it.</div>
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Regardless what laws and policies have been made by Parliament or the federal government, with regard to the use of English, if there is no Sarawak state legislation accepting this, then it does not apply.</div>
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The question is, of course, whether Sarawak has ever made such a state law. If not, then in my opinion, the Education Ministry is mistaken and Sarawak can teach in English if it wants to.</div>
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The second thing I want to discuss is the minimum wage. RM1,050. Seriously? This is so low. The cost of living is insanely high and this figure seems very small.</div>
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Naturally, the government will say that the economy is in poor shape and this is what is feasible. I’m no economist, but will a decent minimum wage cause businesses to go bankrupt? Are our businesses now so close to collapsing that by having higher wage bills, we will have homeless CEOs begging for spare change to make their BMW payments?</div>
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I don’t know. What I do know is how annoyed I felt at a totally callous comment I heard on the wireless this morning.</div>
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I can’t remember the name of the person who said it, but this dude said the minimum wage would only help foreign workers because they were the ones earning less than RM1,050.</div>
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And then he went on to say that this is bad because all these foreigners would just remit more money back home and this would be bad for the nation. Wow. That’s a great argument. Let us not give foreigners decent pay because all they will do is send it home to help their families.</div>
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A minimum wage is about allowing people to live with a modicum of dignity. It should reflect the realities of the day and not be merely symbolic. And it should apply to all human beings who work, regardless of what passports they hold.</div>
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29 August 2018<br />
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I HAVE never written about Jho Low before because of embarrassment. He is a Penang boy and that just fills me with deep shame. We Penang boys are cool. We don’t do things like blow hundreds of thousands, maybe even millions, of dollars to propose to a woman and then fail. Twice.</div>
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Women are naturally drawn to our strange accents and beach tans. We don’t need money to be a failure. We can do that for free. This chap has done something that will make any self-respecting Penang person shudder with disgust – spend money and get nothing in return.</div>
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And now he has gone and done something worse – playing the victim.</div>
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Come on, man. Is there no end to his despicable effort to stain the good name of Penang? We are tough island folk. We don’t play the victim. And even if we do, it’s only so that we can get a refund or something.</div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black;">Anyway, this Jho Low fellow is in hiding somewhere. By the way, what is with the name? It sounds like a really sad attempt to sound cool. Seriously, you are either cool or you are not cool. The guy on the road to Batu Ferringhi who dances while he makes your burger, he’s cool. When you look like a plump spoilt brat but you give yourself a name that sounds like a cross between a Latina diva and some rapper, that is not cool.</span><span style="border: none; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><br /></span></div>
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Back to my story. He is a victim because according to him, the Malaysian government does not believe in the rule of law.</div>
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Well, this may have been true at one point. But there is a new government and as far as I can see, they are trying to comply with the rule of law. If they are not, some of Jho Low’s closest friends would be in jail by now.</div>
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He thinks he will not get a fair trial because the public has already made up their minds about him. Gosh, poor chap. All this while he has been keeping such a low profile, diligently doing his work and not spending money on celebrities like some attention-craving loser, is it?</div>
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If he is such a victim and he has not been pilfering the money of Malaysians, come and face trial. Many of us have had to face trial in this country. Many of us did not run away. Come home, Jho boy, come home and prove your innocence.</div>
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But I doubt he will. Firstly, because he thinks that the money laundering charges against him are merely a distraction to keep the public eye away from the injustice of his boat being seized.</div>
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That is a really brilliant argument. It is the most self-deluded line of reasoning I have ever heard in my life. Kudos to Jho Low for getting a lawyer who has a mind that can think in a way that normal people need certain banned substances to achieve.</div>
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Anyway, the little guy may be a blight on the good name of my state, but he is no fool. He will be hiding away in some luxury place in a country with no extradition treaty with Malaysia. Without such a treaty, it is very hard to get him back here.</div>
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There are ways, but they need government-to-government agreements and this chap is as slippery as a well-fed eel. He will wriggle away, I am sure.</div>
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Personally, I want him back. To face a fair trial, sure, but also so that I can get a movement going to formally reject his status as a Penangite. He can always make Pekan his new hometown.</div>
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15 August 2018<br />
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THE 100th day of the Pakatan Harapan Government is coming up. It is this Friday, if my math does not fail me. The coalition has promised to do 10 things within 100 days of forming the Federal Government and some have been fulfilled, like the abolishment of the Goods and Services Tax and the reintroduction of fuel subsidies.</div>
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Others may not have been fulfilled, but perhaps some progress has been made. I hope that come the end of the week, Pakatan will give us a report card explaining what has been done, what has not been done, and how it is going to ensure that it will be done.</div>
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But what of the other promises that have been made? Just how much time are we to give to those for which no deadline has been set?</div>
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For example, under Promise 27 of its election manifesto, Pakatan Harapan said it would abolish what it described as oppressive laws. Number one on the list of laws that it promised to do away with is the Sedition Act.</div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">This has not happened yet, but then legislative changes take time and I, for one, can be patient.</span></div>
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What I cannot understand, however, is why the law is still being used.</div>
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Activists Fadiah Nadwa Fikri and Asheeq Ali Sethi Alivi are both being investigated under this law for allegedly saying things against the monarchy.</div>
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Now, before we get too carried away, let us remember that these two people are being investigated. At the time of writing, they have yet to be charged. It could ultimately come to nothing if the Attorney General decides not to press charges.</div>
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And if I am not mistaken, at this point it is the police who are doing the investigating and they said investigations are normally the result of a police report made by someone.</div>
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In other words, somebody did not like what Fadiah and Asheeq said, thinking it was seditious. These persons lodged police reports, which were then acted on.</div>
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Supporters of the Government will say these investigations are not direct acts of the Government (unless the Government is the one that made the police reports).</div>
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Furthermore, aren’t the police supposed to do their job without fear or favour? If there is a report and there is a law that may have been broken (no matter how bad the law is), then they are duty-bound to investigate.</div>
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This is all true, but it is not satisfactory. The Government has promised that this law would be abolished. Therefore, it does not make sense that while we wait for it to be done, this law – which Pakatan itself has described as oppressive – continues to be used.</div>
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While we wait for Parliament to do its job, something must be done to ensure that the Sedition Act is not used, even though it continues to exist.</div>
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Civil society has suggested a moratorium on the Act. It is up to the Government to explain why this has not been done.</div>
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Anything less will show a lack of commitment to a very important promise.</div>
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1 August 2018<br />
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I sometimes wonder what it is that these Umno fellows eat and drink. I would not have thought that such self-delusion could be possible unless one was scoffing “special” mushrooms on a regular basis.</div>
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For example, Umno Youth chief Datuk Dr Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki took offence with some comments made by Human Resources Minister M. Kulasegaran.</div>
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He must resign, the youthful fellow yells. His comments are divisive and seditious and will cause disharmony amongst the people. And if he doesn’t resign, he must be sacked, he screams.</div>
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What did the minister say? It depends how you want to interpret it.</div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">Basically, when speaking in Tamil at an event in Nilai recently, Kulasegaran said that Indians have been on the Malay Peninsula for hundreds of years, as proven by the Hindu ruins in the Bujang Valley.</span></div>
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He then went on to assert that Indians were not “pendatang” but instead “they” were.</div>
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The question is, who is the “they” he was referring to? The minister said he was referring to those who would call Malaysian ethnic Indians “pendatang”.</div>
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People like the Umno Youth chief would say Kulasegaran was referring to all Malays. If such is the case, then it is super offensive and the minister’s head must roll.</div>
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Wow. Such hypocrisy. How many times have Umno ministers been unapologetically racist, telling non-Malays to leave the country and “go back to where they belong”? Have these people been fired or forced to resign? Of course not.</div>
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(Incidentally, the Human Resources Minister has apologised if he caused offence.)</div>
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And even now, the Umno machine (with their best pals from PAS) go on about how it is better to vote for someone Malay and Muslim regardless of his capability or indeed his integrity.</div>
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If anyone plays the race card, it is Umno and those of their ilk (which now seems to include PAS).</div>
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So please, Umno Youth leader, do us a favour and spare us your righteous anger.</div>
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I know that race and religion is all these sort go on and on about because it is all they know.</div>
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They scream about Malay rights and Muslim rights being under threat without defining those terms and without offering any evidence such a threat even exists.</div>
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This is what they do. This is the only thing they know how to do.</div>
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But Malaysians can rise above that. We can, all of us, regardless of ethnicity, see that when those who are intellectually bankrupt go on and on about some imaginary problem based on race and faith, it is because they have nothing to say of any actual intellectual value.</div>
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We changed our government in a peaceful manner. We showed to the world that democracy can work. Even when the odds are stacked against you. Even when the system is designed to ensure the victory of one side over the other.</div>
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We showed the world that if enough of us come out and vote and if enough of us take the trouble to do the hard work of PACAs (polling agents and counting agents), we can make a difference.</div>
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I am now somewhere in Yorkshire – in the West, where democracy is taken for granted and where people are so complacent that their laziness to even go out and vote has put Britain in the madness of Brexit and the Americans in the madness of Trump.</div>
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We have already shown how we can change things, despite the odds, by sheer effort of enough people.</div>
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Now we need to show that sustainable change can occur and we can move away from the vile and regressive with patience and reason.</div>
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We have to make small-minded voices redundant by firmly and surely working in a manner to benefit all Malaysians and not use the poisonous and toxic narrative of race and faith that only serves the few.</div>
<span style="border: none; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Lato, Arial, Helvetica, Arial, Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /></span>Elanor's Assistanthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03785054079335704570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3008995483839146688.post-70071244792988494742018-09-26T20:18:00.003-07:002018-09-26T20:18:53.555-07:00Objections built on false groundsBrave New World (The Star)<br />
18 July 2018<br />
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I CANNOT begin to tell you how angry I am at the objections raised regarding Tan Sri Richard Malanjum’s elevation to Chief Justice.</div>
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All forms of opinion are welcome, of course, and everyone has a right to object.</div>
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However, the sheer obtuseness of the objections and the language being used reflect both profound ignorance and a vile worldview.</div>
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The primary concern about Malanjum in the new post is that he is non-Muslim. Coupled with the fact that the new de facto Law Minister and the Attorney General are also non-Muslims, this has got some people’s knickers in an almighty twist.</div>
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And besides, how can a <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">kafir</em> (their words, not mine) be allowed to hold such power.</div>
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Right, let me sort this lot out.</div>
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Firstly, there is nothing, absolutely nothing, in our laws that says the Chief Justice (or the AG and any minister) has to be of any particular faith.</div>
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Nothing. Get that?</div>
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Secondly, these people seem to have no idea how laws are made in this country or how the judiciary works. The CJ does not make decisions on his own. Sitting in the Federal Court as he does, he is always part of a panel.</div>
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Furthermore, the CJ, AG and Law Minister do not make the laws. Laws are made in Parliament.</div>
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They are debated and voted for by 222 MPs.</div>
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The “three amigos”, therefore, cannot control the passage of any law, Islamic or otherwise.</div>
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The Law Minister, being an MP, has one vote. But that is it – just one vote. So they can’t influence legislation.</div>
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I don’t know how to make this any simpler.</div>
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A big deal is made about Malanjum’s decision in the Lina Joy case.</div>
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For those who have forgotten, Lina Joy was a Malay woman born into a Muslim family who converted to Catholicism. She wanted to change her status on her identity card and was prevented from doing so. The case was fundamentally about whether she had the freedom to choose her faith.</div>
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According to some, Malanjum’s dissenting judgment shows that he is anti-Islam. Rubbish. Utter and total rubbish. His decision in that case was not anti-Islam; it was in accordance with the Constitution.</div>
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He dealt head-on with the issue at hand, which is whether a person has freedom of religion in this country. The answer is an emphatic yes because the Constitution says all persons have the freedom of religion. Not non-Muslims only, all persons.</div>
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The other two judges did not deal with the issue.</div>
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They instead focused on the procedural, saying that Lina had to leave the faith via the Syariah Court for her new status to be recognised. And just a side note: there weren’t two majority judgments. One judge wrote the majority agreement and the other simply agreed.</div>
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So, let me get this straight. A judge who follows the rules – and the Constitution is the main rule of the land – is somehow a bad judge? Why? Because he is not a Muslim? How bigoted is that?</div>
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You know, it is the right of these folk who want to have an Islamic state in this country to ask for it, campaign for it and argue for it.</div>
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I have always said this and I maintain it now. However, it has to be done within the rules of this country.</div>
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If you want Syariah law to be the only law, if you want non-Muslims to be unable to hold certain posts (or perhaps these bigots don’t want them to hold any post at all), then campaign for it.</div>
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At the next general election, make that your manifesto, that you will change the Constitution and you will make Malaysian law Syariah law and that you will ensure non-Muslims be kept in their place with no major positions for them.</div>
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Get the requisite majority and change the Constitution. But be honest, for heaven’s sake.</div>
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Elanor's Assistanthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03785054079335704570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3008995483839146688.post-89129841240665273022018-09-26T20:14:00.001-07:002018-09-26T20:14:17.391-07:00Do we have a Cabinet of change?Brace New World (The Star)<br />
4 July 2018<br />
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INTERNAL party politics bore me. It’s like watching a particularly quarrelsome family next door. It has nothing to do with me and is at best a momentary distraction. So, I really could not care less if there were arguments within Pakatan Harapan regarding the number of ministerial posts each party got.</div>
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I am concerned however that the number of women in the Cabinet hardly make up 20%. Wasn’t there a promise of 30% women representation among policy makers?</div>
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That being the case, isn’t the Cabinet the primary policy maker? I don’t appreciate any fancy wordplay and political wheedling to get out of this important obligation.</div>
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There are those who disagree with quotas. I am not one of them. If it is done to achieve substantive equality and in a transparent manner, and if there is a sunset clause – that is to say all quotas will be abolished once parity is achieved – then I think it is a necessary measure to push-start an agenda, in this case gender equity.</div>
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With regard to the appointments in general, well, good luck, people, and get to work.</div>
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Amongst the new batch, I am glad to see Datuk Dr Mujahid Yusof Rawa in charge of religious matters. He has proven time and again that his is an inclusive and progressive view on how matters of faith should be dealt with.</div>
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I hope that he will be able to steer us away from the divisive, invasive, supremacist and intolerant religious narrative that the past government had been using.</div>
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However, I am most excited with Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah as the Foreign Affairs Minister. He has promised to ratify a whole slew of human rights treaties, which is long overdue.</div>
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Did you know we are not even party to the United Nations Convention Against Torture? What, we like torture?</div>
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If we do ratify a whole bunch of new treaties, then obviously it means I will have to change my syllabus! Some of my research students will also have to modify their work because they started writing under a regime that was quite indifferent to human rights.</div>
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Actually, come to think of it, Saifuddin is making my life difficult. Darn it.</div>
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My own selfishness aside, I am looking forward to seeing what changes all these new ministers are going to make. And I hope they do a very good job.</div>
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I say this because it is imperative they prove that this country can move away from the type of governance of the past and life will be better for everyone.</div>
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The Opposition at the moment appears to want to remain in the past. This can be seen by the selection of Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi as president of Umno.</div>
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Obviously, Umno people like how the party has been operating, so they chose a person who has been key in that modus operandi.</div>
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Umno still has significant support amongst the Malay demographic as does PAS. So if the Opposition takes over in the next general election, we will be trudging back to the bad old days.</div>
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The ball is in the court of the new Pakatan Harapan government. It is up to the current leaders to show the nation that a new way of doing things will be good for all of us. That is the only sure way to ensure that GE14 does not become a mere blip, albeit a very grand blip, in this country’s history.</div>
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Elanor's Assistanthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03785054079335704570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3008995483839146688.post-73690136359399493052018-09-26T20:10:00.003-07:002018-09-26T20:10:27.583-07:00We need a credible oppositionBrave New World (The Star)<br />
20 June 2018<br />
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It may be too early to come to any conclusions, but I am wondering when we are going to get a proper opposition in Malaysia.</div>
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Apart from PAS, the parties which used to form the Federal Government and are now in opposition, are all trying to sort themselves out. One has to wonder what will come out of these deliberations.</div>
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Right off the bat, I don’t think that there can be any fundamental changes in the parties of the former Barisan Nasional.</div>
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This is particularly true of Umno.</div>
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Every single leader in that party is tainted by their association with the former prime minister.</div>
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And I don’t care how many whinging declarations of regret that one makes; these people were in the corridors of power during what could turn out to be one of the most disgustingly corrupt regimes ever; and they did nothing.</div>
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You can’t just blame some American beverage and then walk away from this car wreck.</div>
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Maybe a change in top leadership will be good enough for Umno members; they are after all the masters of denial.</div>
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But for the rest of the country, these folk are soiled goods and they won’t be able to be deemed in any way credible as an actual alternative to the government.</div>
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And what of the Barisan Nasional? Will they disband completely?</div>
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It sounds like this is a distinct possibility.</div>
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If this were to happen, then things will be very interesting indeed.</div>
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This is because apart from a few parties like Gerakan and Parti Sosialis Malaysia which are officially not race-based; most of the other peninsula parties not in Pakatan Harapan are either expressly race-based or ostensibly so.</div>
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I don’t buy into the loose talk that is floating around about how there is a possibility that these parties are going to open their doors to other ethnic groups. Being about one race is their raison d’etre.</div>
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There is no way their rank and file, especially those of Umno, will accept any sort of opening up.</div>
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They’ll be in conniptions at the thought of their Malay-ness being infiltrated by others.</div>
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Besides which right-thinking non-Malay will want to join that lot anyway?</div>
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So, what we will have are opposition parties which are largely mono-racial against a multiracial government.</div>
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This can be even more dramatic and stark if Umno and PAS stop all their flirting and finally consummate their relationship.</div>
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If they were to do that then they could be a very powerful force indeed. Between them, they received about half of the popular vote.</div>
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If this were to happen then you will have the main opposition being a coalition (or who knows, maybe a brand new party) along racial and religious lines.</div>
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6 June 2018<br />
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I had a topic all laid out for this week’s article. I was going to give a dire warning full of snide asides about the danger of becoming so enamoured with the new Government that we slip back into the grovelling feudalistic people that we have such a tendency to be.</div>
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This is evidenced by the unbelievably sycophantic proposal to campaign for a Nobel Peace Prize for the new old Prime Minister.</div>
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Man, I could have written half an article just on that bit of silliness alone.</div>
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But as always in Malaysian politics, things change in a heartbeat.</div>
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Before I could say “Stop all this nonsense about buying Mat Sabu a new car”, bang, the Attorney General (AG) issue blew up.</div>
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Now, far smarter people have said their piece on this issue and so it would be a folly for me to add my rather inferior two cents’ worth.</div>
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So to quickly summarise: Tommy Thomas is the person that the Government would like to appoint as the new AG.</div>
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His name is Tommy Thomas and not Tommy bin Thomas, so he is not Malay. Neither is he Muslim.</div>
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The King was reluctant to appoint him. And some say the AG must be Malay Muslim.</div>
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The law is quite clear on this.</div>
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There is nothing in the Constitution that says the AG must be of any particular race or religion.</div>
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The King’s power to appoint the AG is under advisement from the Executive, which means that with all due respect he has no discretion in this matter and he must follow the advice of the Cabinet.</div>
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And now we hear that His Majesty has done just that.</div>
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So, why do I go on about this? What’s the big deal? The big deal is that the arguments used against Thomas have been primarily along racial and religious lines.</div>
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It is a timely reminder that even though we have a new Government, the same voices that harp on race and religion are still there and they will keep doing so.</div>
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This is not going to change for some time.</div>
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So what then can the new Government do? Some people have suggested that the Government pander to these types for the sake of maintaining the peace and not giving these people the fuel for their racist and supremacist views. I disagree.</div>
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I think the new Government must display fortitude and will, and stick to their guns.</div>
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It should continue to appoint the people that it wants based purely on merit and the belief that those chosen are the best ones to do the job.</div>
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Anyway, as I was saying, it is important for the Government to choose the right person for the job, and not place ethnicity or faith into the equation (except where expressly required by the Constitution).</div>
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And it is important for these people to take the trust placed in them seriously and for them to do a good job.</div>
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Racial and religious sentiments are the tools of those bereft of ideas.</div>
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If the Government can show that the country is progressing economically, that it punishes the criminals and makes life better for everyone, then no matter how loud some may screech, most Malaysians, whom I believe are able to discern what is important and what is not, will not pay these screechers any heed.</div>
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With the strength of conviction, honesty and integrity, make the country better with good choices.</div>
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Do this and the racists will lose their audience.</div>
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23 May 2018<br />
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I WAS informed by my editor that a few months ago I had said publicly that if Pakatan Harapan won, I would give them a two-week honeymoon before laying into them.</div>
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I hate it when people use your own words against you. Besides, I didn’t expect them to win, did I? Anyway, it has been exactly two weeks now, so let us begin.</div>
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But wait, there’s really not much to say at this point. These chaps haven’t started work properly, what with the new ministers having been sworn in just a couple of days ago.</div>
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Oh well, how about a few suggestions then. Twelve years ago, I started writing for this paper by penning an open letter to Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed, who was then the newly appointed education minister.</div>
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To be fair to the former minister, he actually responded to that article and took the trouble to try to fix things. But as was wont in the previous administration (how sweet it is to say “previous” administration), he was given a different portfolio.</div>
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Education was handed to some chap whom I remember very little about, except that when I had a chance to meet with him and speak about academic freedom, his eyes took on the look of a man thinking about lunch.</div>
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Now we have Dr Maszlee Malik as the new Education Minister. It has been a bit of a bumpy ride for him since the announcement that he was the Pakatan candidate for the post.</div>
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There was a petition against him because he was deemed by some to be an inappropriate choice. This was due primarily to allegations that he had supported controversial Muslim preacher Dr Zakir Naik.</div>
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Dr Maszlee has since come out to say that he did not support the content of what Dr Zakir said. Instead, the support was for Dr Zakir’s freedom of expression, which Dr Mazlee pointed out is something everyone has, regardless of creed.</div>
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Well then, that’s cool. Frankly, I don’t know what sort of person Dr Maszlee is. I have never met him and despite our newfound fervour in the democratic process, let us not forget that an elected government has a pretty broad mandate to make its own decisions.</div>
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We may not like it although we have the right to criticise it. But at the end of the day, unless the government’s decision is unlawful, we can’t stop it.</div>
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What is done is done and the proof, as they say, is in the pudding. I will now direct the rest of this article to Dr Maszlee.</div>
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In my letter to Mustapa, I was very polite (well, as polite as I could be) because the previous administration was quite heavily into protocol and the like. I don’t think I have to be so with the new lot – at least for the time being, before they get used to power. So, here goes:</div>
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Hey dude, it’s nice to see a fellow academic get into government. Don’t let us down now. I’ve been reading the stuff you said you were going to do. It looks pretty good so far.</div>
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I am not sure how you intend to make school fun for kids though. It sounds a bit vague and New-Agey to me and as far as I can tell, the only thing that kids find fun is fun. Then again, I am sure that there is some sort of Nordic study you are aware of that suggests methods to make school a pleasure for our children.</div>
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What I really want to discuss is our universities. You mentioned repealing the Universities and University Colleges Act because it stifles academic freedom.</div>
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This is true, but perhaps some amendments are all you need. The Act, as I am sure you know, is largely a dull document, full of bureaucratic details about the nature of a university. But it’s necessary stuff.</div>
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The things that are truly awful are the restrictions on our students’ freedom of assembly, association and expression. These provisions must be seen to.</div>
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But even that is not enough. Our young people get in trouble with the universities for simply asserting their rights not based on the Act per se, but via the individual rules that the universities have.</div>
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These are appalling regulations seemingly drafted by a bitter fascist trapped in a windowless grey government building who finds pleasure in punishing youths.</div>
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Therefore, it is not enough to bring the Act in line with human rights. The university discipline rules, too, must toe the line as established by the Constitution.</div>
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Apart from freeing our young minds, we must empower them to take responsibility for their lives and fates. For this, may I suggest that we return the power of students to form actual unions.</div>
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Scrap the pathetic and toothless “student councils” that exist now and bring back the unions of old (your new boss should remember those because he got rid of them).</div>
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A union with financial autonomy and the power to actually make a difference will ensure that the student body is independent and in a position to determine the way it is governed and treated by the university administration.</div>
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Speaking of university administration, it is time to take a serious look at the Student Affairs Departments, which should be purely about student welfare and nothing else.</div>
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If we treat students like adults, we will get adult graduates.</div>
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Oh, academics must be treated like adults too. Please have a look at the repulsive Statutory Bodies (Discipline and Surcharge) Act. You know, the one that says that academics can’t criticise the government or even praise it without first getting permission. The one which the odious “Aku Janji” is based upon. The one that I have been breaking all my professional life. That has to be scrapped.</div>
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Right, I must be caught up in the excitement of the times. This is the longest article I have written in a long time. I guess not fearing arrest does that to you. Anyway Maszlee (I can call you Maszlee right?), good luck and remember, we’ll be watching.</div>
<span style="border: none; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Lato, Arial, Helvetica, Arial, Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="border: none; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="border: none; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /></span></span></span>Elanor's Assistanthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03785054079335704570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3008995483839146688.post-4486001630205404762018-09-26T19:56:00.001-07:002018-09-26T19:56:27.425-07:00Tasting the power of true democracyBrave New World (The Star)<br />
11 May 2018<br />
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IT is 4pm on May 10 as I write this. I have turned off my phone as it has been incessantly buzzing for the past 24 hours. Moments ago, different groups of friends were calling with invitations to watch the swearing-in of the new Prime Minister. It feels as if there is a strong desire to gather, to celebrate.</div>
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Yet, as much as I never shy away from a party, today I feel a need for solitude, and oddly enough for a shallow person, a moment of reflection.</div>
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For the past few months, I have said time and again I did not think Pakatan Harapan could win. Or to be more accurate, I saw no way Barisan Nasional could lose.</div>
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The odds were simply too stacked in its favour although I was certain Pakatan would win the popular vote.</div>
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Indeed, the recent redrawing of electoral boundaries would have made it impossible for Pakatan to win a sufficient number of seats to form a government.</div>
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For that to occur, I thought morosely to myself, it would need the people of this country, all the people in this country, to shift away from the perceptions one has of Pakatan.</div>
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That rural and semi-urban voters cannot be sufficiently moved by large national issues to abandon their comfort zones; that is to say, a party promising continuity and racially based protection.</div>
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And the perception that voters in Sabah and Sarawak are only concerned about their own state politics and will thus make choices based purely on those considerations.</div>
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Even as May 9 wound down and the results started coming in, I still held fast to my convictions. It was close, true, but then so was the last general election. Wait and see, I kept saying to myself and to anyone who asked if there was a change in the offing. Perhaps I did not want to allow myself to hope.</div>
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It is no secret that I believe in a change of government. It is dangerous for one group to be in power for too long.</div>
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Peaceful transitions ensure greater accountability and this is the only way to bring forth positive changes in legislation and governance.</div>
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Sure, there are risks, but it is better to risk voting in a poor government than to never experience change at all; for those who have held the reins for so very long are loath to change the status quo.</div>
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But perhaps more importantly, I felt change was necessary because of my unshakeable belief in true democracy. And in the right of us, the people, to determine our own futures, our own fates. And we Malaysians have never really done this.</div>
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We have never tasted the power that a democracy is meant to give us. To hold in our hands the fate of our nation by selecting one group of potential leaders over another.</div>
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We needed to use this power, to truly feel this power, in order to appreciate it and through that, to appreciate our freedom.</div>
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And the night wore on. Hour after hour, I sat in front of my television watching the results roll in.</div>
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The mobile phone was hot in my hand as websites continuously updated the latest counts. It was all unofficial of course. The Election Commission was ponderous in issuing its final declaration of the winners.</div>
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And those unofficial results were shocking. The first 100 seats or so were neck and neck, but then one side started to pull away – further and further, until it became clear that something extraordinary was going to happen.</div>
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Finally the EC relented. It started releasing official figures and these did not contradict what had come before.</div>
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It was undeniable, we were facing history. I was witnessing history. In my sarong, in my living room, I was experiencing history.</div>
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I turned to my son beside me and said to him I couldn’t believe what was happening. He must have sensed something in my voice because as I reached out to him, he held my hand as if to comfort me.</div>
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I hugged him as we were the only two awake in the house and then he smiled and said he was going to bed. Alone, I looked out onto the balcony.</div>
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How many years have I wanted this, been fighting for this? I should be outside screaming my elation. But instead I just felt numb. The moment felt more than extraordinary, it felt strange, alien.</div>
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Moving into a mode I am used to, I turned the channel to watch Tottenham Hotspur play badly. Eventually, still unsure of my feelings, I too went to bed.</div>
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This morning, after a mere three hours’ sleep, I woke up. And like so many of us blessed and cursed by smartphones, I reached for my device to check my messages.</div>
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There was one from an older colleague. There were no words, just a video. I touched the screen and the first few notes of my national anthem started to play.</div>
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I couldn’t help myself. The tears rolled down my face and I cried like a newborn baby... which in a way, I suppose I was.</div>
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25 April 2018<br />
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I OFTEN get asked this question: “What can ordinary folk do to protect our democracy?”</div>
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My answer is usually along these lines: “Firstly, nobody is ordinary; everybody is weird. Secondly, do whatever you can.” I usually then mutter under my breath, “What democracy?”</div>
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Anyway, the second half of the answer is not as idiotic as it may appear. It’s general because what we can do depends on so many things.</div>
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On an ordinary day, we are usually thinking about what to have for lunch, so we do nothing except plan our meal. But sometimes extraordinary things occur.</div>
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So if you care about the issues being propounded and there is a demo going on, by all means, lend your support. Go out there. After all, it is our right to assemble peacefully.</div>
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At the moment we are approaching an extraordinary time. GE14 is around the corner. I have always said that if we value our democracy, we must fully utilise whatever is available to us and make sure our democracy lives (even if it may be on some serious life support).</div>
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So the least we can do is vote.</div>
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People have died to have the vote, and to not use it when there is a chance to do so seems rather odd to me. I don’t really believe that there should be compulsory voting, but that is because I don’t really like anything compulsory.</div>
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But refraining from voting seems counter-productive to me.</div>
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Especially when the condition of our democracy is so fragile. If we don’t use our right, there is always the chance we will lose it.</div>
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And besides, voting is not merely about choosing our leaders. It is the only peaceful method to ensure that the policies, laws and governance that we want (or as close to what we want as possible) can be implemented by the people that we want (or the ones we dislike least).</div>
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In other words, elections empower us to determine the direction our lives take. If you are unable to do so, what it means is that you are little more than a slave or a serf. Voting therefore is also about our dignity.</div>
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So, come election day, I hope as many of us go out there and vote. And we should encourage as many of our friends and relatives to vote too.</div>
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But there is more that you can do. This general election may be a very close one. The competition is fierce and you have PAS floating all over the place as a vote splitter. This means that there will be marginal seats aplenty. Each vote therefore counts.</div>
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And more importantly, each vote has to be counted properly and any sort of hanky-panky not allowed.</div>
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Here is where “ordinary folk” can play a massive part. Anyone can be a polling and counting agent (PACA).</div>
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With a bit of training, you can be the eyes and ears on the ground to ensure that GE14 is indeed clean.</div>
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Anyone can then be a very vital part of the democratic process and a protector of democracy.</div>
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So, in reply to the question “What can ordinary folk do?”, the answer is, “Plenty”.</div>
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11 April 2018<br />
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THE anti-fake news law has already been much criticised for its vagueness and broadness and, due to that, its potential to be a potent threat to free speech and the freedom of the press.</div>
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I won’t therefore add to that line of argument.</div>
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Neither would I dwell on the disingenuous argument that anyone who does not support the new Act supports fake news. That is too facile to dignify with a response.</div>
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I would like, however, to state that I find it difficult to justify the law from a legal perspective. The Constitution states that Parliament may make laws that restrict free speech if the purpose is to protect national security, public order and morals.</div>
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There is a reason the Constitution lists the circumstances in which freedom of speech and expression may be curtailed by Parliament.</div>
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Without some sort of limitation on the powers of the legislature, freedom of expression is merely illusory.</div>
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Our freedoms cannot be justifiably reduced based on political hot air. There has to be much more than that.</div>
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Furthermore, looking further afield, international law sets the standard regarding laws that restrict our rights. It says that there ought to be a presumption of freedom.</div>
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In other words, freedom is deemed as the ideal and anything that limits it has to be properly justified.</div>
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In my view, this has not occurred with regard to the Anti-Fake News Act.</div>
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Staying on the topic of international standards, it is also stated that any law that controls speech has to be proportional. Considering we have laws aplenty that can control the so-called fake news (namely the Sedition Act, Defamation Act, Penal Code and Communications and Multimedia Act, to name a few), what we have here is a case of overkill and definitely not proportional.</div>
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Another thing I want to look at is the move by the Registrar of Societies (RoS) to temporarily disband Parti Pribumi Bersatu. This is not the first time that an opposition party has trouble getting official recognition.</div>
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It took a decade and a court battle for Parti Sosialis Malaysia to be registered with the RoS as a political party.</div>
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After that, the Election Commission had an issue with the party’s logo. The clenched fist symbol – widely used to represent socialism – “has connotations of violence”, it seems.</div>
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Again, I refer to international standards. Of course, it is perfectly all right to have some sort of administrative measure to register societies and the like. However, if these measures are improperly conducted, then there is strong argument to say that it is breaching the right of association.</div>
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Unreasonable bureaucracy and delay is deemed as an unacceptable curb on this freedom.</div>
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There you have it. These two developments, in my opinion, breach the Constitution and international law. And these are things that we ought to be concerned about.</div>
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Elanor's Assistanthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03785054079335704570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3008995483839146688.post-55047137969235185832018-09-26T19:39:00.002-07:002018-09-26T19:42:39.236-07:00In fair elections, size does matterBrave New World (The Star)<br />
28 March 2018<br />
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WHEN we feel that our rights are being taken away, there is often a sense of outrage. Among the more obvious examples are when a person is not allowed to follow the religion of his choice, when a news story is prevented from being published, and when a person feels that he is denied a fair trial.</div>
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The threatening or taking away of other rights may not cause as much indignation.</div>
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This may be because those rights are not practised all the time. I am thinking about our right to choose our government.</div>
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This is reflected in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in December 1948. Article 21 reads:</div>
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“(2) Everyone has the right of equal access to public service in his country.</div>
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“(3) The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government; this will shall be expressed in periodic and genuine elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret vote or by equivalent free voting procedures.”</div>
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Note the term “equal suffrage”. What does this mean? In short, it means one person, one vote, and that each vote carries equal weight.</div>
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When you draw the electoral boundaries in a manner that is imbalanced, what you are doing is, in effect, taking away this element of a fair election.</div>
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You are making some votes more important than others. Namely, in smaller constituencies, it is easier for a party to win the election because it will take fewer votes. Thus, each individual vote carries more weight compared to a vote in a much larger constituency.</div>
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This happens in Malaysia. A lot. The discrepancies in some cases are ludicrous.</div>
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This by itself should cause unhappiness because it is fundamentally unfair.</div>
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It is poor constituency delineation like this that allows election victories that do not rely on the popular vote.</div>
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But what really gets me is this. As far as I am concerned, the flawed delineation of electoral seats only denies parties that may have won the popular vote.</div>
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Having fair elections is one of the best ways to ensure the country can be run in a peaceful manner.</div>
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When you know that elections are fair and that you can change governments in a peaceful manner, then there is no need to resort to any other ways to get that change.</div>
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How many elections must people endure over the issue of poor constituency delineation?</div>
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This is something that those who fail to do a good job when drawing electoral boundaries, obviously don’t think about.</div>
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Neither does it seem to matter to them that the right to choose one’s government is a vital element that makes us free men and women.</div>
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When our elections are held with imbalances in constituency sizes, it affects our electoral process; the peace of the nation and our dignity is at stake as well.</div>
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Many people may not see the undermining of equal suffrage as a blatantly odious crime, but in my eyes, it can be just as harmful.</div>
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Elanor's Assistanthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03785054079335704570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3008995483839146688.post-66396924325234625942018-09-26T19:35:00.003-07:002018-09-26T19:35:53.547-07:00Independence has its challengesBrave New World (The Star)<br />
14 March 2018<br />
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ACTIVIST Maria Chin Abdullah (<em style="box-sizing: border-box;">pic</em>) has said that she wishes to stand in the upcoming general election. The odd thing about her candidacy is that she intends to stand as an independent aligned with Pakatan Harapan.</div>
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Civil society players joining politics is not an odd thing. Elizabeth Wong and Sivarasa Rasiah are now probably better known as politicians than as civil society folk although many moons ago, they were famous for their NGO work.</div>
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And currently we see Wan Saiful Wan Jan, who was chief executive officer of think tank Ideas (Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs) until Feb 28, also joining the fray.</div>
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The difference is that these three individuals actually joined a political party. Maria chose not to, which I think can be problematic.</div>
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This is not a simple thing, as those who are in politics see a seat in the legislature as one of their main goals. It will be politically difficult to get anyone to willingly step aside.</div>
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Even if one were to join a political party, especially one that has been around for some time, being a newbie and wanting a chance to compete would put the noses of some of the players, who have been around and worked for the party for a long time, out of joint. So, imagine if that sacrifice is to be made for an independent.</div>
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I read that Maria has said that if an agreement can’t be reached, she will not compete. So, it remains to be seen whether this will really happen and whether we will have Maria Chin as an MP in the next few months.</div>
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Be that as it may, I for one am glad that Maria wants to stand. We moan and groan about so-called “professional politicians”, implying that it is good to have someone fresh come into the picture.</div>
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Maria would be competing on an agenda of reform and being free from party politics, she would not be bound by any larger party concerns.</div>
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The fact that she has aligned herself with the Opposition has caused some smug individuals to point out that this proves that she, and by extension Bersih 2.0, the election reform organisation she used to head, are in fact partisan and in cahoots with the Opposition.</div>
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This is a disingenuous argument for several reasons.</div>
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Firstly, Maria is not Bersih and Bersih is not Maria. Furthermore, she has resigned from her position in order to compete. The fact that she wishes to stand as an independent candidate is also indicative that her agenda is still primarily that of reform.</div>
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An independent who stands alone does not have much chance in our political climate, so Maria has aligned herself with Pakatan. This is logical because who else can she align herself with? Reform is clearly part of the Pakatan manifesto.</div>
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28 February 2018<br />
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ARE you easily annoyed? What does it take to get you annoyed?</div>
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Personally, I find that most annoyances are quite easily ignored (which is why I don’t use any form of social media).</div>
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Most annoyances are, except for that idiot with a ridiculously loud exhaust system who insists on revving his engines in the wee hours of the morning as he tears down the road in front of my house.</div>
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If I ever get my hands on him (and I presume it is a him as only men tend to do such stupid things), I will grab him by the lapels and gently tell him that such a loud car can only mean one thing: “You’re trying to compensate for something tiny, mate.”</div>
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The reason I raise this is because it is actually a crime in this country to be annoying.</div>
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You don’t believe me? Well then, allow me to quote the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998, specifically Section 233, which states that it is an offence if a person intentionally uses the Internet to make “any comment, request, suggestion or other communication which is obscene, indecent, false, menacing or offensive in character with intent to annoy, abuse, threaten or harass another person”.</div>
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You can get a pretty hefty punishment if you are found guilty. Fahmi Reza, the artist, was recently slapped with a 30-day jail sentence and a whopping RM30,000 fine under this law.</div>
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And according to the police, the rapper (I must admit to giggling every time the term “rapper” is used on a person who is not African-American) Namewee is being investigated under the same law.</div>
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Both men were deemed to be offensive and annoying, I suppose – Fahmi for a spot of drawing and Namewee for a bit of music video making.</div>
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I have of course seen both works. One is an obvious satirical dig at a person of power and another is either a more subtle dig at corruption or an advert for dog masks, I am not quite sure which.</div>
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The point is, it seems ridiculous that such things can be seen as a crime.</div>
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Now, don’t get me wrong. The Internet is used for all sorts of nefarious purposes and this law was meant to deal with such things.</div>
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Threatening a person is not cool. Neither is sharing photos of people who at one point trusted you.</div>
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But these two men were both being critical of government via satire.</div>
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Could a law meant to be used to protect people from vindictive exes and criminals be used against government critics? Or to ask a more accurate question, should it?</div>
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I would say absolutely not. There are many ways to show displeasure at a government, and other than using violence or inciting violence, anything goes.</div>
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This includes satire. It is part and parcel of the democratic process.</div>
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Criticism, no matter how biting and crude, is something those in the public eye, especially those who wield power, will simply have to deal with. There is no place for using criminal law against such practices in a democracy.</div>
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There are limits to free speech, of course, but as was stated by the US Supreme Court, voices that are critical of public figures, particularly in matters of public interest, must be given as much freedom as possible with the highest level of protection.</div>
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Now, some will say that satire is not “our way”.</div>
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Well, I am sure there are historians and cultural anthropologists who could point out this is not so. I remember, for example, an old P. Ramlee movie that poked fun at a ruling political party.</div>
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But for me, that is not the point. If it is not “our way”, then you can criticise it, you can shun it, but if you criminalise it, then you are in effect placing another shackle on our democracy and stifling our freedom of expression.</div>
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And I find that extremely annoying.</div>
<span style="border: none; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Lato, Arial, Helvetica, Arial, Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /></span>Elanor's Assistanthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03785054079335704570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3008995483839146688.post-78342213210511836032018-09-26T19:25:00.002-07:002018-09-26T19:44:09.324-07:00Do we need new law for ‘fake news’? <span style="background-color: white;">Brave New World (The Star)</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;">14 February 2018</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;">THERE is going to be a law against fake news, it seems. How reassuring.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">Personally, I hate the term “fake news” because every time it is used, it brings to mind a certain orange individual who pokes his tiny index fingers in the air and petulantly decries any news that he doesn’t agree with as fake news.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">The overuse of the term is now actually a threat to logic and reason because if anything can simply be decried as false (as opposed to being proven as false) by the powerful and small-minded, then what is the fate of truth?</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">However, it can’t be denied that in this information age, falsities are easily disseminated.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">I can’t comment on the proposed law because I have not seen a draft of the Bill; however, my fears remain. Let me explain why.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">When the Penal Code was amended to include offences that are a “threat to parliamentary democracy”, we were promised that it was aimed at terrorist activities. Instead, we see it as a tool to investigate and detain organisers of peaceful demonstrations.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">Our multimedia laws have provisions that are supposed to protect individuals against cyber offences such as “revenge porn” and the like.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">Instead, the law is used to punish news portals that are simply reporting the news. It’s just that there are people who don’t like what is being reported.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">And specifically on the so-called false news (notice how I am studiously avoiding the popular term), let us not forget that the Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984 has a provision on the publication of such things already. And by the way, this provision was used against the late Irene Fernandez. For what reason?</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">Because she chose to expose the appalling conditions that undocumented migrants had to endure when in detention.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">So it would appear that we have a history of laws being made and the people being told that the laws are for one thing and instead they are used for another thing, namely, the suppression and oppression of legitimate democratic dissent and the freedom of expression.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">This being the case, I think that no matter how they may cloak the proposed new law under seemingly noble intentions, history has shown that the use of such laws is hardly noble.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">I apologise for writing a cynical and rather dreary piece at this time when we should instead be celebrating and having a good time.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">So I will end on a happy note, at least for me – Tottenham Hotspur 1 Arsenal 0.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">Gong Xi Fa Cai!</span></div>
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Elanor's Assistanthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03785054079335704570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3008995483839146688.post-57244939242374074802018-01-30T19:31:00.001-08:002018-01-30T19:31:35.150-08:00Interview with The Malaysian Insight 28 January 2018<a href="http://www.themalaysianinsight.com/s/34752/">http://www.themalaysianinsight.com/s/34752/</a><br />
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Elanor's Assistanthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03785054079335704570noreply@blogger.com0