The Fish Rots from the Head

BN has not learnt its lesson. It fielded many new faces in the 12th General Election in its bid to convince the electorate that it is in a process of rejuvenation. Its severe loss however, clearly showed that the strategy failed. In contrast, many new faces from the Opposition went on to thump veteran BN candidates. How is it that the same rejuvenation strategy yielded huge defeats to one party but handsomely rewards another?

The answer is so obvious, that the BN leadership must be in denial as it seeks to absolve itself of its responsibility. A rejuvenation process has to start from the top-down, not bottom-up. Whereas the Opposition presented a clear new direction, with its leadership espousing brave changes to the way it wanted to govern the country, the BN leadership stuck to its old agenda. Whereas the Opposition leadership is ready to stake its credibility by challenging the status quo, the BN leadership stuck to its old tired formula of “if it ain’t broken, don’t fix it”.

Hence, even with many fresh faces in the line-up, the people have no reason to believe the renewal process is a genuine one, when old hands in the leadership is still steering the ship. Fresh faces are needed at the top, not at the bottom!

(For example, in the UK, Tony Blair’s transformation of the Labour Party into New Labour convinced the British people to break more than a decade of Conservative rule and gave him a landslide majority. New Labour was successful because Tony Blair himself presented a fresh change from “Old” Labour (under John Smith), and he successfully moved the Party to the centre by purging the leadership of veterans who were still clinging to the left. )

In the aftermath of their heavy loss, the BN leadership is still living the illusion that they can “rejuvenate” the party. If they have failed to convince the electorate before the 8th of March 2008, what makes them think they can after this historic day? If the BN leadership genuinely wants to rejuvenate the party, it has to hand over the reins to a new leadership. Only a new leadership can convince the people that change is at hand. Save yourselves, destroy the party. Leave now, and there is hope for BN.

As Barack Obama says so eloquently, give us “Change We Can Believe In”.

A Letter to the Star Editor

Dear Sir
It is not the Opposition that has broken the National Front’s seemingly invincible two-thirds majority. It is the People. It is not that the Opposition wrested the states of Selangor, Penang, Perak, Kelantan and Kedah. It was the People that consented to the new governments.

This was despite the extreme biased reporting on the part of the mainstream media, of which Star was part of. I have never seen such one-sided opinion in favour of the ruling party. Positive spin was poured on ruling coalition candidates’ campaign rounds, while the opposition’s campaigns were barely covered. And when it was, it was mostly negative commentaries.

Where is the responsible and fair journalism? Do not mock our intelligence. By demonstrating such blatant disregard for unbiased reporting, the Star failed in its duty to play a role as an important pillar of Malaysia’s democratic process. It only serves to push the readers to resort to alternative media, while the Star’s reports was read with great scepticism, and in some instances, even anger at the complete disregard for fair competition in a democratic country.

Of course we know that the Star is not an independent corporate entity, since its ultimate owner is a component party of the ruling BN. However, unless it wants to maintain its relevance as an important institution in the Malaysian society whose editorials are respected and read without preset prejudices, it has to break its shackles from its political masters. Let us form our own opinions by giving us both sides of the stories. If the Star continues to neglect its role as a provider of balanced views and genuine news to the People, then it will be a matter of time before its readers forsake the Star and turn to other sources that will.

8th March 2008 - A Glorious Day

I woke up today to a glorious morning. A perfect storm has swept, leaving not destruction in its wake, but an upheaval in the political structure and a fresh beginning throughout the peninsula.

Malaysians today can proudly proclaim that their thunderous message can be heard through-out the entire country. No more political hegemony. No more race-based politics. The opposition coalition, led by the multi-racial Party Keadilan Rakyat, has delivered a huge blow to the seemingly invincible two-thirds Parliamentary majority that has been held by the ruling party for so long.

BN has only itself to blame. This time, its substantial loss of seats is not due to one particular race switching to the opposition camp. Malays, Chinese and the Indians have indicated that PKR, DAP and PAS is a viable alternative coalition. How did the BN, from a formidable 90% majority in the 2004 elections, could have stumped to substantial loss in a matter of 4 years, a huge pendulum swing?

Prime Minister Badawi has to shoulder the responsibility as the BN leader that has led the coalition to its first two-thirds majority loss in its entire history. He won a huge mandate in the 2004 elections, by promising to be a PM to all Malaysians, by promising to act on corruption and reduce excess spending, by promising to improve the civil service. But he failed to deliver - crime became more rampant; there was no open tender of projects; virtually no convictions for exposed cases of corruption. He said he is a PM to all Malaysians, yet engage in a scare tactic to cower Chinese and Indian to vote for MCA and MIC, otherwise, their voice will be lost in the Cabinet, and hence, excluded from decision-making that will affect their livelihoods.

Malaysians did give PM Badawi more time to fulfil his promises. We still elected BN into government in this 2008 elections. However, this time, we are telling the BN party, we want to see results this time. No more empty rhetoric. No more arrogance that we should be told what is best for us. Whether we are Malays, Indians or Chinese, we want to see transparency; tolerance and respect in the way Malaysia is governed.

It is a healthy development for Malaysian politics. 8th March 2008 is a day I will remember forever. It is the day my faith in Malaysia is restored. It is the day where I smiled even though I haven’t slept in the last 22 hours, knowing my daughters can look forward to a brighter future in Malaysia. It is the day, where we the Malaysian rakyat finally did something which the ruling party BN has preach but never practice religiously, that it is just possible, for the Malays, Chinese and Indians, to find a common voice in order to achieve a common good that transcends race and religion. This is not so much a defeat for the ruling BN, or a win for the opposition. It is a victory for Malaysian politics – for all Malaysians.

It is a glorious day.

Malaysia Chooses 2008

"Let our track record speak for itself." This the the rallying cry coming from all Barisan Nasional candidates. Indeed, it is an impressive track record. Since independence, Malaysia has been transformed by successive Prime Ministers into a modern country with many achievements to be proud of. I am proud to be a Malaysian, and I stand in awe of the work and accomplishments that our leaders has brought to our nation.

However, lets not confuse past performance with future performance. Malaysians are generally avid stock punters, and those with long memories of the local stock market will tell anyone who would listen how they were burnt by a "darling stock" - a stock that was previously touted to be a blue chip investment based on its track record and strong fundamentals, only to be routed to penny stock status when the reality is exactly the opposite.

Apart from that, we need to ask, "Whose track record?" The present leadership of BN, under the current Prime Minister, has been in power for 4 years. To critically access whether it has been a successful one, we need to ask: whether the new administration has advanced the track record it has inherited from its predecessors; whether it has made positive changes to rectify obvious weaknesses in the previous administration; and finally, whether the new leadership has made any concrete changes in policies and governance that benefit the people.

PM Badawi got a landslide victory in 2004 because many people, myself included, believed that he is a breath of fresh air, a noble man who will fulfill the true destiny of Malaysia by being a PM to all races. A PM who will push Malaysians to reach their potential via hard work and intellect, not via connections. A PM who will strive to reward competence and success, and penalize mediocrity and failure. A PM who will lead a responsible and transparent government, one who will unite the various race, so we compete not with each other but against other countries (say Singapore) whom has exceeded our achievements.

However, what we have seen in the 4 years since PM Badawi's victory is disheartening. The pain is made worse when we have given such a strong mandate to the PM, only to see the mandate being squandered away. BN MPs are openly raking the May 13 incident, when we should be looking forward, not backwards. Zero marks for tolerance. BN MPs are openly humiliating women in parliament. Zero marks for respect. BN's elected representatives who broke the law are getting away with it, while ordinary rakyat are hauled up for the same offence. Zero marks for integrity.

Prices of essential goods have risen substantially. This cannot be blamed on the current administration, since it is a worldwide phenomenon as commodities prices surged. Yet, instead of practicing responsible governance, the current BN leadership espoused the rakyat to "change our lifestyles". Instead of tightening its pursestrings, the current leadership continue to splurge on prestige events (the Monsoon Cup), proposed to build a sports centre in a foreign land that costs hundreds of millions of ringgit, sending a Malaysian on a tour of space, to name a few. Low marks for prudence.

How about the promise to revamp the police force? Where is the independent commission recommended by the Royal Commision? Why has the ACA not produced any conviction?

PM Badawi asked for more time, and it is given that he will be given more time. With the formidable resources and organization that the BN has in this General Election against the Opposition, the outcome is heavily in the former's favour. With the mainstream media skewed to paint a favourable picture of the government, we will not get to enjoy the robust workings of democracy in action. In the US, the media is an integral part of the democratic system where investigative journalism and critical editorials let the voters decide if either side are speaking the truth. In Malaysia, the broadsheets display little independence from their business owners, who are the ruling political parties or affiliated to them.

The election will yield huge wins for BN. This is a certainty. However, lets hope there will be one or two major upsets, one or two surprises, one or two miracles. Lets send out a message, that we the people matters.

Hypocrisy

Every day, our learned politicians urged the people to "change our mindset"; "live in harmony"; "improve our skills", "practice tolerance". Our national newspapers are full of these slogans. No wonder more people are turning to blogs and international papers for real news and debates.

Mahatma Gandhi said, "We must be the change we wish to see in the world.".

To our leaders - please lead by example - have the courage to take the first step.

Defining the National Cake

All Malaysians, including myself, have been beneficiaries of the strong economic growth that Malaysia has enjoyed for the past few decades. Affirmative action in Malaysia, notably via the NEP, has never created any obstacles in my way – whether in pursuit of a good education or a good employment. If the NEP is designed to make Malaysia more equitable, without holding back any one particular group, I say, go for it. No nation can enjoy prosperity, hand in hand with peace, when the minority consumes a huge chunk of the national cake whilst the majority scrambles for scraps. Nor could any country claimed to be truly developed when a significant minority lives in squalor while the country can afford to build the tallest towers in the world or the most beautiful administrative capital.

The NEP has some measure of success. Poverty rate is down, and sizeable middle-class families are created amongst the Bumiputera’s and across other ethnic groups. However, the NEP’s target of increasing Bumiputera’s ownership in the nation’s corporate wealth to 30% still falls short. The question is; is corporate wealth an appropriate yardstick of Malaysia’s economic wealth? Put it another way, is 30% of the nation’s corporate wealth equivalent to 30% of the nation’s economic wealth? Are there any other targets that the government should consider for inclusion?

Taking corporate wealth as the only yardstick is flawed. For one, it is “leaky”, i.e. shares and equity ownership is extremely fluid. It is difficult to ensure it stays within the intended beneficiary group, whether in bad times or in good times. In bad times, certain quarters are susceptible to liquidate their holdings even where the realized value is lower than the initial purchase price, in order to reap some temporary financial reprieve. In good times, some may sell equity/make redemptions to make quick profits, but the proceeds are not channeled to another class of assets which generates returns or capital gains. The fact that the Bumiputera’s ownership of share capital declined during the 1997 Asian financial crisis indicates that wealth retention in the form of corporate equity is inherently unstable. A more “sticky” class of assets needs to be included.

“Sticky” assets in this sense must fulfill two conditions: – Firstly, it must not only retain its value, but the value should grow steadily over the owners’ lifetimes. Secondly, it must equip the owners with the lifetime ability to secure more income and wealth. Home ownership serves the first purpose; whilst education fulfils the second. Indeed, the previous NEP has incorporated programmes to provide housing and education entitlements for the poor. What is lacking, however, is a visible, concrete target for each of these enabling factors. A new programme of poverty eradication must include setting targets for, 1) percentage of home ownership among the low-income groups; and 2) percentage of education participation among children from low income groups.

A home is a basic necessity that every Malaysian household must possess. Good homes provide a conducive environment to raise harmonious and productive family units, in addition to providing a sense of financial security to the household. House values tend to appreciate, at least in tandem with inflation over a lifetime. As house purchases easily constitutes the largest lifetime expenditure of any families, it is even more critical to assist poor families to attain this basic right. The poor has almost no access to bank loans; hence the government has to step in to provide cheap housing loans to the poor to widen home ownership. Bumiputera house discounts should also be restructured. For homes prices exceeding, say RM300, 000, Bumiputera purchasers should pay the full price, and the discount proceeds are channeled to a central housing fund for the less fortunate Bumiputera’s. It is surely an equitable and progressive move to ensure those who can afford expensive homes are not subsidized, whilst there are those who can’t even decent homes.

It is also important not to create clusters of cheap homes merely to fulfill the objective of increasing home ownership amongst the poor. Those from low-income groups also demand, rightfully, houses of adequate quality, and they do not wish to be segregated into “poor neighbourhoods” reminiscent of the ghettos and slums in the US. The government must integrate poor families into the mainstream Malaysian society, and not sidelined them into a separate environment where despair and low self esteem is allowed to fester.

A second target, the percentage of children from poor families enrolled in primary to tertiary schools, must be defined. Households who fall below the poverty line (or indeed, just above) tends to neglect education for their children. Poor families tend to have larger families, and thus have a high dependency on their off-springs to bring home some income to sustain the whole family. Hence, these underprivileged children will never have the opportunity to break free from their parents’ financial predicament. Generations to come are mired in a low-income trap as their job opportunities are extremely narrow without any solid academic credentials. The enrollment percentages must be continuously monitored, to ensure every underprivileged child completes his or her education all the way to attaining a university degree. This can be achieved via an assortment of full scholarships; incentives to parents for every child put through school; and if necessarily, reserved quota of university places.


John F. Kennedy once quoted, “a rising tide lifts all ships.” The fruits of strong economic growth are spread, though not necessarily equitably, among the low-income groups to the high net worth individuals. When the national cake is expanding, each citizen’s slice, though unequal in size, gets bigger. That keeps most happy. Nevertheless, there will come a time when the Malaysian economy stop growing strongly, or even contracts. When that happens, income and consequently wealth distribution will be even more skewed. Should the Malaysian economy stalls, then redistribution will be a zero-sum gain, a term economists coined which basically means someone else’ gain will be someone else’s loss. Poverty eradication works best when the economy is still expanding, and when measurable targets that matters to the man on the street are set. No Malaysians can be disenfranchised from the abundance of fruits that our blessed nation has to offer. The NEP, or any other poverty eradication programme, must be sustained until this poverty scourge is eliminated from our society, albeit with some serious policy changes.

Malaysian-born appointed Cabinet Minister in Australia

This is indeed a proud moment for Malaysians. An inspiration to all aspiring politicians.

Aged 38 year old, born in Sabah and migrated to Australia at the age of 8, Penny Wong was made Climate Change and Water Minister by the new Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd. Penny was described as a brilliant strategist in the Labour Party, playing a part in the downfall of incumbent Prime Minister John Howard's government.

The appointment illustrates the political maturity of Australia. A foreign-born woman is elevated to the top ranks of the Australian political house based on merits. No fuss about race, colour, gender or background.

Lets look at Malaysia's political landscape. The government always tout Malaysia's multiracial diversity as the country's attraction, yet, it continues to pretend that the racial harmony is strong. It refused to debate the issue, labelling any attempts to openly discuss the NEP, the power-sharing formula, religious issues, etc. as either seditious or a threat to national unity.

UMNO is the big brother, the political elite. It's decisions is de facto government's decisions. MCA, MIC and other smaller component parties that make up the ruling National Front Party, has no real bargaining power with UMNO, which meant that frequently, new legislation that are unpopular with the minority races are pushed through without proper consultation. These weak component parties are then pushed to do the dirty job of explaining the "merits" of these new laws to their supporters and to the electorate to whom they were supposed to be fighting for.

The damage to Malaysia will not be immediate. If the minority races cannot have an equal opportunity in education, work and politics, there are other countries which will gladly take them. "Bring on your well-educated, your strong, your brightest," they will call out. And the brightest minds will certainly move. Penny Wong is a good example. She may not have left Malaysia because of frustration. But she is a good case of Malaysia losing precious human resource to another country when it should have actively sought the return of these Malaysian born talents.

Well done, Penny.