Malaysia: The Second Coming of Federalization

When Malaysia first heard the jubilant cries of "Merdeka" in Malacca and the resonance of it on Merdeka Day, 31st August 1957, every right thinking man on the street thought of the true essence of a federation, akin to the USA, was born.

The new Malaya was supposed to have a federated system and states will have some residual powers.Despite a federated structure, states could act and operate different from the Federal Government in limited matters. To date, only Sabah and Sarawak which joined the Federation in 1963, could continue to yield some residual powers of its very own particularly with regard to immigration.

The other states and federal territories all came under the big brother control of the Federal Government. The federal whip was in full control until recently. Apart from the sultans which are guardian of the Islamic religion in their own states, erosion of state powers were seen in land matters,local government, town and country planning, fire services and lately water services.

It was only after the 'wake-up' call of 8 March 2009,that the Federal Government realized that it has bitten more than it can chew. The clawing back started at the Sultanate level where the few sultans showed brilliantly their state powers to over-ride the selection of the Chief Minister by the then Prime Minister.

The loss of the 5 states allowed major political reconstruction. Kelantan had its own theological way of doing things which was quickly emulated by Kedah. Perak had a mixed government of sorts and worked the middle way. The PR Government lost Perak 9 months later due to many reasons, some obvious while others,undoings behind closed doors. Some changes did occur in Selangor in spite of internal problems on the side of the PR Coalition government. However, they have started a citizen programme where senior citizens were provided with insurance cover which included burial expenses. The 'No Plastic Day' beginning on Saturdays started this year.

Penang somehow had a freer hand after DAP became senior partner of the state They started on civil and community services. First came the 'No Absolute Poverty' programme. Cash was doled out to remove the problem. Then it was the 'No Plastic Day' campaign at the supermarkets and now the ruling that physically challenged drivers no longer need to pay for parking charges. They have also won international accolades and have brought more investments into the state.

I believe, with the better revenue in the state coffers, more will be done in these PR states.

That is not all. The very fact that PR governments have reached out to the people at the local level has now prompted the Barisan Nasional leaders both at the state and federal levels to be more citizen-conscious. We now have 50% student travel card on KTM, better LRT and bus transport for KL/PJ folks and the opening of 1M medical clinics. A medical school will also open in May at UTAR that will cost only some RM250,000 to complete. Premier Najib has also done many things, albeit ad hoc and small, but it is a good beginning.

So, do you see the silver lining of the 8th March General Election?

Political competition does beget citizen gains.

Spectacular Annular Eclipse of the Sun

The longest, ring-like solar eclipse of the millennium started on Friday, with astronomers saying the Maldives was the best place to view the phenomenon that will not happen again for over 1,000 years.

US space agency Nasa said on its website the eclipse was annular, meaning the moon will block most of the sun’s middle, but not its edges, causing it to look like a ring.

This blockage will last for 11 minutes, 8 seconds, an annual duration Nasa said would not be exceeded until Dec 23, 3043.

The “ring” will be seen in a narrow stretch spanning Central Africa, the Maldives, southern India, northern Sri Lanka, parts of Myanmar and China. In Africa, the Middle East and Eastern Europe, it will be a partial eclipse, NASA said.

Astronomers said Male, the main island of the Indian Ocean island nation the Maldives, will be the best place on land to witness the eclipse as it will last there for over 10 minutes.

In India, the eclipse gave an added auspicious edge to the Kumbh Mela festival where thousands of people immerse themselves in the Ganges river, an act believed to purge all sins.


“Today is a combination of a moonless night and a solar eclipse that (is also happening) during the time of Kumbh Mela. It is a very rare phenomena,” Baba Ram Vilas, a Hindu monk in saffron robes, told Reuters Television on the banks of the Ganges river, where the Kumbh Mela is held every 12 years in a different city.

“Taking a holy dip during the solar eclipse is a very pious act. It is very auspicious, it is very fruitful and it can get one salvation,” Hindu priest Babu Ram Sashtri added in Haridwar.

[Students view an annular solar eclipse on a projector attached to a telescope in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka. – Reuters pic]

Students view an annular solar eclipse on a projector attached to a telescope in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka. – Reuters pic
Astronomers said the eclipse started at 0514 GMT in the Central Africa Republic, peaking at around 0700 GMT and ending completely at 1007 GMT.

“Many amateur astronomers have taken time off work and spent a lot on money on travel to see it,” said Lin Qing, head of the Sheshan Station of Shanghai Astronomical Observatory, Chinese Academy of Sciences, told China’s official Xinhua news agency.

“We will travel across China simply to witness the magnificent astronomical phenomena,” Lin said.

The eclipse, the first of its kind to cross over Sri Lanka since 1955, sent sea birds along the oceanside capital of Colombo looking for a place to roost for the night, shortly after lunchtime.

A pelican looped over the city as the skies darkened from the north and the eclipse neared its peak.

“Wow, it’s marvellous,” said an army officer, who was on security duty in Sri Lanka’s capital Colombo. “This is the first time I have seen this kind of eclipse.”

According to astronomical websites, the last annular eclipse occurred roughly 1 year ago, January 26, 2009. The next one will happen May 20, 2012.

Malaysians: Their Main Concerns

VISA did a study on the main concerns of the Malaysian public.

What are these?

Cost of living, salary changes and personal debt are the top three financial worries

In the survey conducted between Aug 21 and Sept 23 last year, 69% of Malaysians said they were extremely concerned about the cost of living expenses while 62% and 59% were worried about salary changes and personal debt respectively.

Interestingly, the survey found that Malaysians were less worried about the value of their retirement fund and portfolio, and fluctuating interest rates.

On the other side of the spectrum, 25% of the respondents surveyed also said they were more confident about their personal financial situation compared to six months earlier although 52% felt there was no change.

Only 23% indicated they were less confident than earlier.

Sixty-six per cent of Malaysians also said they were more concerned about the impact of the global financial crisis on the local economy.

The survey involved 5,520 respondents aged between 18 and 65 years, of whom 500 were from Malaysia.

The rest were from Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, Singapore and Taiwan.

Visa country manager Stuart Tomlinson said Malaysians were being practical during the current economic climate by focusing on managing their concerns, providing themselves with a level of security and peace of mind.

“For Malaysians, potential changes in salary levels are also of concern,” he said, adding that across the region, consumers were looking to see how they could manage their expenses, savings and job security, rather than macro-economic conditions such as exchange and interest rates.

So, it looks like the 'here and now' is of importance rather than the fear of money depreciation or nest eggs.

Malaysia: The PM Equalizer

Look at the intake of non-Malays in the Royal Military College (RMC)these days. The figures are just too dismal that you would have to say it in whispers. Only 5%? When did they started downsizing on the non-Malay intake, not yesterday?

So it has come to pass again. "The evil that men do, lives after them." says the Bard. Contextually, it is the same case here too.

So, what does it take to right the wrong? A Prime Minister-a prime minister that is willing to call a spade a spade. A prime minister who is willing to be an equaliser.

PM Najib has now ordered that 30 per cent of intake into the RMC must now on be reserved for non-Malays.

Now, even the Defence Minister Zahid Hamidi has jumped on the bandwagons to enlighteningly say that 30 per cent quota of non-Malays was to demonstrate that the RMC is a full-boarding school open to all races in the country. What a sea-change!

He is in full implementation mode.

“Even though the new campus located in Sungai Besi will be ready in 24 months but this year when the Penilaian Menengah Rendah (PMR) was announced, intake into Form Four and Five will begin as directed by the prime minister,” he assuaged.

He said presently the number of non-Malay students in the college was less than five per cent. He said based on the 1 Malaysia concept as espoused by Najib he was confident the intake of non-Malays would increase to 50 per cent.[This has now to include the pribumis from Sabah and Sarawak as well.]

Zahid said RMC graduates could make a choice to continue their education in university or join the military service.

“If they choose to join the military service they will be paid an allowance,” he said.

So, let us see more 1Malaysia being implemented,courtesy of a right-thinking PM.

Kudos to you, PM Najib!

Malaysia: They Dared to be Doctors

This is a letter from the Readers Write in the STAR today. I want to paste it here to caution parents that being a dcotor these days is no longer glamorous. Also, I wonder whether it justifies your RM1 million dollar investment.

So please read.

"Don’t work our doctors to death

DOCTORS hold one of the most noble jobs in the world but it is known that doctors in Malaysia are not treated well enough.

They need to work seven days a week and rarely get any public holiday.

When they are on call, they need to stay alert throughout the night. Can anyone imagine having to work through the night and continue working the next day?

Not even night shift workers work for 36 hours straight like some doctors do. The pay of a doctor is not as high as is expected as they only get between RM3,000 and RM4,000. Other than that, doctors are constantly yelled at by their seniors during their house-manship.

Although most doctors choose the profession to help the sick, the bad treatment they get often makes them neglect their duties.

All in all, Malaysia should truly appreciate their talented doctors and not work them to death.

Doctors should be given regular holidays as they have to work hard when they are on call. Those who do not know the real job of a doctor may think that it is easy. On the contrary, it is truly challenging.

YONG CHEE YUEN,
Kajang.

So there you have it.

Think twice. It is no longer the golden goose of an occupation.

Japan: IT or Bust!

Haraguchi Kazuhiro,Japanese Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications gave a dire warning today. The Business Times Singapore today quoted his fear for the nation and economy.

"Follow Singapore’s lead by prioritising the use of information technology or prepare to lose its status as an economic superpower within mere decades!

What is this warning premised upon?

"Japan risks falling to No. 8 by 2050 from its current ranking as the world’s second largest economy", he bluntly told the Foreign Correspondents Club of Japan yesterday.

Asked how Japan could achieve the “sustainable annual economic growth of around 3 per cent” that his ministry is targeting in about 10 years from now, Haraguchi replied that “the answer lies in Singapore”.

He acknowledged valuable help that he said he had received from academic friends in Singapore in formulating his ideas of how Japan could raise its lagging productivity trends.

Haraguchi cited what he called Singapore’s transition from a “concrete road” of industrial development to a “road of light” through the widespread use of fibre-optic and other forms of IT communications promoted by the Singapore government.

According to the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore, Internet penetration among Singapore households in 2008 was at 76 per cent of the population.

In contrast, only around 30 per cent of households in Japan are linked to the Internet, Haraguchi said. Japan needs to catch up on the use of IT in education, government and business in order to boost productivity, he stressed.

Haraguchi also suggested that Japanese society is suffering from an “excess of government paternalism” that is stifling individual effort and innovation.

While the most competitive and export-oriented industries have achieved high productivity through competition and cost cutting, a “second layer” of manufacturing and service sectors suffer from low productivity and high costs, he added.

If these industries continue in this low-growth mode, the country’s economic growth rate could be dragged down to around one per cent annually over coming decades, the minister warned.

"Better use of IT communications could help make such laggard sectors more competitive and raise their productivity dramatically, he suggested.

Likewise, an easing of central government regulation that stifles such innovation is needed if Japan is to retain its high ranking as a global economic power, the minister said.

Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama’s Democratic Party of Japan-led coalition government is dedicated to improving the autonomy of local governments in order to help unleash the currently untapped power of the people, Haraguchi added.

Malaysia: The Literati and the Illuminati in Singapore

Lee Mun Fah's article in mysinchew.com today is interesting. It tells about the Malaysian bright minds studying in Singapore and those who are gainfully driving the economy of Singapore.

Let us read the translation.

"When the Singapore-Cambridge General Certificate of Education (Ordinary Level) Examination results were released last year, the country’s leading Chinese-language newspaper Lianhe Zaobao used the headline: Top O-Level student again a Malaysian”.

I was attracted by the word “again”.

Her name is Lai Kai Rou and same as top student last year Haw Sue Hern, she studied in SRJK (C) Lick Hung before going to study in Singapore.

The report stressed that in SRJK (C) Lick Hung, everything is taught in Chinese except for English subject. I would like to add that SRJK (C) Lick Hung is a Chinese primary school.

Lai, who has again won glory for the country, is one of the 17 foreign students among the 43 top O-Level scorers.

I must mention here that among the above-mentioned 17 foreign students, 11 of them are from China and six of them are Malaysians. The number is equal to 40 per cent of the 43 top scorers.

Singaporeans exclaimed in surprise. They wondered why there were so many foreigners among the top scorers.

“In fact, leaving home is no longer about the pain of ‘homesick’ but the freedom without fear!” At the same time, we also exclaimed in surprise. We wondered why so many top students have gone to Singapore.

Singaporeans were wondering why the top O-Level student was not a Singaporean and why Singaporean students were lack of spirit compared to foreign students.

Meanwhile, we were wondering why we always lose talents.

Lai said: “I like the freedom given by the peaceful Singapore, it allows me to move around without worry.”

In fact, leaving home is no longer about the pain of “homesick” but the freedom without fear!

Of course, a little girl’s way of thinking is relatively simple. For her parents (both graduates of the University of Malaya), studying in Singapore allows her to enjoy other freedoms. For example, the freedom of choosing a university, the freedom of choosing a major and the freedom of getting a scholarship based on academic results without the so-called quota system and colour distinction.

How many Malaysian students, like Lai and her younger brother, have been flocking to further their studies in Singapore right after they have completed their primary schools with the scholarship provided by Singapore every year?

And how many Malaysian students from Chinese independent high schools (second-class students and copycats for Singapore Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew and historian and academician Prof Emeritus Tan Sri Khoo Kay Kim) have been enrolled into prestigious universities of the Lion City every year and end up settling down while contributing to the prosperity of the country?

There are many shining stars who are originated from Malaysia in Singapore. For example, founder, Group Chief Executive Officer, and President of the Singapore-based Hyflux Group Olivia Lum used to be an orphan from Perak; and Chief Executive Officer of Jetstar Asia Chong Phit Lian was just a little girl selling pineapples at her own doorstep in Kulai, Johor when she was six.

The current Health Minister of Singapore Khaw Boon Wan is also originated from Malaysia. He used to study in the Penang Chung Ling High School.

In fact, there are too many similar stories to tell."

For many, Singapore is the proverbial launching pad to excel in studies so as to be able to enter the great universities of the world. It is also the metaphoric ''Garden of Eden' where careers thrive on merit and performance.