I spoke to a doctor friend of mine retired recently from Government service and he lamented the declining standard of the nurses and the medical assistants.

Medical assistants were formerly known as Hospital assistants. In the sixties and seventies, most of the district hospitals could not be run without the HAs. They were like the barefoot doctors,. They helped to man the emergency service in rural hospitals, helped run the outpatients clinics, stitched up wounds and lacerations, set up drips, catheterised patients who could not pass urine…. In short, they were great assistants to the doctors then.

HAs are trained in government institute locally just like the nurses. My doctor friend told me that the standard now is so horrid that some of them cannot even stitch up a wound properly. Diagnosis wise, they were world apart from the old HAs/MAs.

We wondered whether the latest death in NS camp has anything to do with wrong diagnosis by the MAs in charge. If the cause of death is toxic megacolon, which is due to infection, I would like to ask a few  questions: where is the source of infections, from food or water? When did the MAs realise that this is not a simple case of abdominal colic ? The treatment of toxic megacolon (which can kill very fast and is one of the medical emergencies) depends on early diagnosis and the speedy adminstration of correct treatment which may include surgical removal of a section of the colon involved.

 

  diagram from MedlinePlus- note that the colon has become so huge in toxic megacolon (normal size is like the one next to the distended section).

 

How good is our MAs and Nurses nowadays ?

Did we lower the passing marks for these people dealing with life and death situation? We need honest answers to really solve the declining standard of MAs and nurses. If these people are incompetent, then unnecessary deaths cannot be avoided in camps and even hospitals.

I view this as  part of the greater problems of loss of excellence in practically all aspects of Malaysian life.The examples are so numerous . Just to cite a few: 

In football, we were among the last in rankings. in hockey where once we were feared and respected, we are ow an also-run.

Our universities were ranked lower and lower; Our judiciary is in a mess (waiting for the Lingam tape report); our crime situation is much worse than 10 or 20 yrs back due to you-konw-what;

our civil service is not as efficient as before (that I suspect is one of the reasons that government has raised the retirement age; without the present badge of pengarahs and so on, the younger generations taking over cannot even speak good and decent English- how to get knowledge and ideas from other countries?)

 Despite the hundreds of all As students produced, the level of knowledge among these all As students are not even half as good as those all As in the sixties and seventies;

construction wise, houses are not built as solid as before; new schemes are full of problems like leaking roof, cracking walls; even MRR2 had to be closed for repair some time back.

What we need is to gain back the excellence that Malaysia has lost. To do it, there is no other way but to practise true meritocracy and fair competition among all races. In addition, education needs to be reviewed wholesome. Only with that, can attitude be changed and can a culture of responsibility and good work ethics be developed.

 

                    

One of the blogs that i like to read is the blog called Buuuuurrrrning Hot, by an innovative young man called Scott Thong. I think most bloggers would have known him or visitied his site. He writes great articles which have come out in the various newspapers.

Following my post on NS 2 days ago, I came across Scott’s calculations on the risks of going into National Service Camps. The risk is very high , for a peaceful training camp.

For details of his calculations, please go to Scott’s blog. I will post here the conclusion and one of the photos ( above photo)  created by him.

      

CONCLUSION: Malaysia’s peacetime, no combat training, no enemy fire National Service is 46 times less lethal towards its participants than the US Armed Forces’ wartime, constant combat, plentiful enemy snipers and roadside bombs and suicide car bombs Iraq War.

Yes!!!! America lose to us!!! Malaysia Boleh!!!

 

(But God forbid what kind of statistics we will have in the event of an actual war.)

………………………………………………………………………….

”””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””

 

A very happy Mother’s Day to all the great grandmothers, gandmothers, mothers and would be mothers.

                                              

             

                              (taken from www.mccullagh.org/…/carnation-flower.html )

 

I refer to the Malaysiakini report on the Royal Commission of inquiry, in which Chairperson Haidar Mohamed Noor was qouted as saying :

Picture courtesy of Malaysiakini .

“Personally I think the report should be made public. However, that is not for me to decide. The last word is still with the Prime Minister.”

I think the Commission’s report on ‘Lingam Tapes’ should be made public.

reasons:

1. To practise Transparency: If the report can be made public wholesome, it would show the public that the government is really sincere in reforming to pursue better governance with total transparency and accountability.

2. Pak Lah should have nothing to fear since this judicial black dot happened during the previous administration. By going public, the Prime Minister can win a lot of points and show his sincerity to reform the judiciary.

3. The Commission is set up using government money ( which means your money and my money), and so the government has a duty to the Rakyat to make the report public since public fund is used to set up the Inquiry.

4. As I have always mentioned, the world is being flattened now and the hierarchy of those who rule and those who are ruled is being blurred, due to the advances in knowledge, communication and internet. The people are as well educated as, some are even better informed than, the government  leaders. If the report is withheld, there would be a big cloud over the whole thing, and there would definitely a perception that the government is trying to sweep something under the carpet.

5. Politically, since the Commission has already been set up due to public pressure, it would be politically wise to make public the report. It would be politically stupid to set up a commission and yet to make the report private and confidential.

I look forward to read what is inside the Commission report, and in the name of justice, any wrongdoers , no matter how high the person is or was sitting, must be charged and tried.

 

I hav written 2 posts on National Service, various letters to Malaysiakini and NST, to ask that NS be suspended and reviewed. Now that there is another death, the authority should immediately suspend the whole program and have it reviewed thoroughly. I will publish my 2 previous letters here and I think the facts are still relevant. Please act immediately before another senseless death occurs. Think of the waste of life , think of the family , think of the parents.

                         Letter one (in Malaysiakini as well as NST)

Suspend NS programme pending review

Dr Hsu Dar Ren | Mar 6, 07 4:15pm

I refer to the malaysiakini report ‘Suspend NS training’ pending probe on death. I also refer to the picture of National Service Training Council chairperson Lee Lam Thye in one of the dailies crying at the funeral of a dead trainee.My sympathy goes to the parents of all the dead trainees as well as to Lee who has spent so much time and effort to oversee the project only to be thwarted by the incompetency of some of those in charge of the implementation of the project.There are so many deaths and other mishaps that I would like to call for a total review of the National Service programme here. Our National Service was mooted as a means to integrate the youths of the different races while at the same time provide training for them to become more independent and encourage them to embrace good values.Have we achieved these objectives? Are the trainers themselves well-trained to cope with the physical and emotional problems arising from various ethnic differences? There was a report that a canteen in one of the camp was ordered to be temporarily closed because food was found to be unhygienic. Are they adequate provisions for the trainees to get clean and nutritious food and water? Is there proper supervision from a hygiene point of view?Is there a variety of food to cater for the tastes of all the trainees? Or is the food prepared mainly just for one ethnic group only? This is important because many Chinese Malaysian youth are not used to spicy food while a lot of Indians and Malays cannot go without spicy food. There are stories that some trainees have survived only on biscuits. Is this true?Is there an adequate number of friendly medical staff present to attend to any complaints of discomfort or ill health? Are the camps conditions healthy enough? Do the people running the camps know enough about hygiene and prevention of diseases? Are the trainers or camp commandants overzealous? Or do they, on the other hand, adopt a ‘tidak apa’ attitude? Has the programme attained its objective of bringing the various ethnic groups closer together? How many of the youths of the different races still keep in touch after their discharge from the camp and how many of them go out together, watch movies together and eat together? How many of them visit each other’s home during the festive seasons? We need a review of the NS programme at this stage. We may need to suspend the training until a thorough review is properly done

After this letter in March 2007, Tan Sri Lee, a personal friend, spoke to me and I made some suggestion regarding food and medical aspects. The camps were subsequently staffed with Medical Assistants and food quality was improved. In September 2007, I wrote another letter , after another trainee died of asthma.

                          Letter 2 (Malaysiakini)

From national service to national unity

Dr Hsu Dar Ren | Sep 12, 07 2:26pm

Recently, after the death of yet another National Service programme trainee, the deputy prime minister was quoted as saying that so far, ONLY 14 deaths have occurred among NS trainees. I find the word ‘only’ appalling. I am sure the learned and politically seasoned DPM did not and would not have uttered this word, but was merely misquoted by reporters.The word ‘only’, when used in this type of context, gives a meaning that this is only a statistic and it is not that important. This is contrary to most views -including my own - that ‘life’ is sacred. Even one life lost is one too many.I am also appalled by the news reports which said that young people like NS trainees can die of asthma. Asthma deaths can be entirely preventable especially in young people. No one should die of asthma if adequate medical facilities or treatment can be instituted early. So deaths due to asthma are unacceptable.To read the newspapers, death is just a statistic. But to the people who are family or friends of the dead, it is not merely a statistic but someone dear that is lost forever. And to lose this precious life just because someone in charge is negligent or had a ‘tidak apa’ mentality is totally unacceptable.The National Service programme is not aimed at producing soldiers. So the training should not be too vigorous, although a certain amount of fitness training is necessary. We do not expect five-star accommodation for the trainees, but at least the environment must be clean and free from disease-carrying insects such as mosquitoes and flies. Food wise, it should be properly cleaned and freshly prepared.For those who cannot tolerate hot and spicy food, an alternative must be made available. There are many stories of trainees surviving on biscuits or instant noodles because they are not used to the food provided, which is mainly of the hot and spicy type. I would like to raise the point whether the NS programme has achieved its aim of fostering closer friendship among young people of the different ethnic groups. If it has not, then perhaps we should not continue this programme just because scrapping it would cause embarrassment to certain important people who first proposed the scheme. I think our leaders are big and strong enough to realise that when certain schemes proposed are not working towards their objectives, then they should be reviewed or even dropped. In my opinion, the NS programme has not succeeded in fostering unity. True unity cannot be achieved by arbitrarily camping together young people of various ethnic groups. True unity can only be achieved when every group feels that they have been fairly treated; that their culture and their way of life is respected; that there is no favouritism or discrimination against any one particular group. One of the main hindrances to true unity in Malaysia is the presence of racially-orientated political parties. Race-based parties give rise to racial politics. Racial politics give rise to divisive policies. Divisive policies divide the people - this is as simple as one, two and three. So to unite the people, we must be farsighted and bold enough to take the first step to do away with racial politics and that means raced-based parties. Not only that, now that we have achieved the 50th anniversary of nationhood, it is also time to do away with divisive and discriminative policies. New policies to implement affirmative actions based mainly on income instead of ethnicity should be adopted. All poor, regardless of urban or rural, regardless of colour, must be given assistance for them to enable them to have a better future. Universal values mean that the strong should help the weak, the rich should help the poor, the haves should help the have-nots. No one can accept, after 50 years of nationhood, that it is fair for a multimillionaire to be given a discount of thousands of ringgit for buying a property or be given scholarships worth thousands of ringgit for his children just because of his ethnicity. Only with a policy of helping the poor, regardless of race or colour, can there be a truly fair and equitable society. Only with a fair society, can true unity be achieved

Last year, after the military Junta indiscrimately killed thousands of monks after they went on to the street to protest, I wrote a post “The Burmese Way to Facism”  in which I qouted an article from Fast Eastern E review. I received 2 emails from  Burmese thanking me for highlighting the problem and the post was also quoted on one of the Burmese forum site.

Burma used to be the rice bowl of Asia, and at around the time of our Independence, Burma was about on par with us. But with dictatorship and military junta ruling thecountry for decades, the country has become one of the poorest in the world.

There is a Chinese saying, if your roof has leaks, there will be heavy storms coming. True enough, cyclone NArgis swept the country and it is now feared that the death toll can be as high as 100,000.

While UN and many countires are preparing to help , providing necessary medical supplies and essential food stuff, the Military Junta is not cooperating. 

This is the latest AP report :

 Myanmar’s refusal to give visas to relief experts is “unprecedented” in the history of humanitarian work, the United Nations charged Friday.

A spokesman of the World Food Program says the organization has submitted 10 visa applications around the world, including six in Bangkok, Thailand, and none of have been granted.

Spokesman Paul Risley said Friday “the frustration caused by what appears to be a paperwork delay is unprecedented in modern humanitarian relief efforts.”

Myanmar’s military government said more than 62,000 people died or are missing in a cyclone that hit the country’s Irrawaddy delta last Saturday. The junta says it needs international aid but not the foreign experts and staff to deliver it

Where in the world would a government behave in such a manner? It is their own people that are dying and suffering and yet the government seems not to care. They want the aids but not the experts, is it because they want to keep the food and medicine for themselves? Or sell it in black market?

These people have no feelings, and if they have no feelings, they do not deserve to be called human at all.

I pray with the Burmese people. They have really suffered enough. Hope that the day they become their own boss will soon come and hope that all of them can live a life of peace and freedom.

I will post some of the photos from Reuters :

aerial view of destruction

dead body foreground. Ten of thousands died

whole village gone leaving the dead

monks are helping to clear debris. Where are the army?

water water everywhere, not a single drop to spare. They need to queue for water.

houses were flattened

lucky to have home like this.

Poor children begging for food.

 

Help the Burmese!!!

 Read also this excellent report in the Economist

This evening , my wife and myself have a good walk around Dataran Merdeka. The whole area was cleared of traffic, and cordoned off. I think the police must be waiting for the candle light vigil for RPK.

We arrived by LRT at around 8pm. We walked from Masjid Jamek to the junction of Tuanku Abdul Rahman and Dataran Merdeka. The whole area was full of Police cars, police in uniform, special branch in plain clothes.

My wife and I just walked through and nobody stopped us, probably thinking we were tourists. Here and there , we see a few citizens like us, walking around . But at the other end, a group of people were blocked and refused entry into the area.

We walked to the back of Royal Selangor CLub but still did not find anyone holding the vigils for RPK.

So we have a good walk around for about an hour, from one end of Dataran to another, saying Hi to the police officers, and greeting a few fellow good citizens walking around there. We did not find anyone holding vigil. I did not manage to find Haris Ibrahim.

Why must the government deploy so many policemen there? We are all good citizens trying to do a good cause for the nation. These police could have been deployed for catching criminals.

I have taken afew photos from my old handphone, 1 mega pixel, not very clear, but still you can see the situation in Dataran tonight.

i was walking around the deserted Datran but met only a few people. 2 police cars opposite.

Heavy police presence…FRU trucks can be seen on both sides of road

the Dataran padang was deserted

 

a group of people were blocked from entering the Dataran

Another view of the area at about 9pm

The Star online reported that a muslim convert has been allowed to revert to her original religion.

Well, good news! I hope this is the beginning of a more sensible approach to conversion and reversion.

After all, religion is what someone believes in his or her heart. You can force people to follow certain ‘forms’  outside, you can never change their thinking inside.

I will post it here:

Court allows Muslim convert to return to Buddhism

Yesterday, NST published a column on the aftermath of Lee Kah Choon incident.

For the benefits of those who do not sunscribe to  NST, I will post the article here:

 All in a lather over the Kah Choon switch

Someone has started a group called  “Support raja Petra Kamaruddin” in facebook. I have just come to know about this via an email from facebook. I have joined  as a member.

There will also be a candle light vigil at Dataran merdeka at 8pm tonight. (8th May).

For more info, please go to Haris Ibrahim’s blog: http://harismibrahim.wordpress.com/2008/05/08/solidarity-with-rpk-2/

…………………………………..

I have also joined a new group , on the invitation of Lucia Lai. This is called BENAR.

description:

In recent days, everyone is talking about Raja Petra who  , according to Malaysiakini , “has rejected all contact with the outside world including his own wife, Marina Lee Abdullah.”

One would have thought that for a party that has lost 5+1 States and the popular votes in Peninsular Malaysia, there would be much soul searching and perhaps adoption of much needed reform and new strategy to win back the trust of the people.

I was hopeful when the PM announced that judicial reform would be undertaken. I was hopeful when Pm announced the formation of an Independent body for fighting corruption, the MCAC, in the mould of the ICAC of Hong Kong. I was hopeful when suddenly  many proBN politicians started to blog, thinking that  perhaps more freedom of expression would be allowed.

Alas!! My hope was dashed when the Sedition Act was used to charge well known blogger RPK.

Sedition Act is an archaic law  enacted by the British in 1948. The situation then and now is totally different, and this law should have been repealed long ago. It is like using a 1948 car in the formula one race of today, totally out-of -date.  

According to Wikipedia, the act criminalises speech with “seditious tendency”, including that which would “bring into hatred or contempt or to excite disaffection against” the government or engender “feelings of ill-will and hostility between different races”.

Is RPK’s writings seditious? I would not want to go into the debate as the case is before the court now.

But if anyone feels slighted by RPK’s writing, or for that matter, if anyone feels slighted or defamed by any writings of any blogger, there is such a thing called civil law and civil court. The person feeling slighted or defamed could sue in a civil court for libel or defamation, if necessary for hundreds of thousands ringgits, if necessary for millions.

It is just like the ISA, another archaic piece. If you feel someone is undertaking activities that may lead to security of the nation being threatened, by all means charged him in open court. So just like ISA, Sedition ACt is out of date and both should have been repealed long ago.

Lee Kuan Yew sued for libel and won many times against those who slighted him in either speeches or writings. I do not remember him using the state machinary to charge someone who has alleged defamed him. He has used ISA for security reasons, but not the Sedition ACt for personal vendetta.

I have a feeling of deja vu; it is like 2004, when we were promised so many things but none came about after 4 years. Is this a repeat of things? Will we ever see the lights of a Judicial Commission or a MCAC, despite the promise? Will it be like the IPCMC? I hope not.

But what RPK case has shown is that, we are taking one step forward , three steps back.

 

 

 

In history, there are many examples of writers being persecuted by the Big Brother .Ultimately, the big brothers all faded away but the names of those giants remain with us forever:

History is a mirror for us to learn and do not forget this principle  in the haste of climbing the corridor of power.

1. Aleksandr (Isayevich) Solzhenitsyn

 Soviet Union ’s critic and literary giant who won a nobel prize 1970. He was arrested in 1974 after he published inThe Gulag Archipelago , tried for treason. he would have been jailed for life if not for the international pressure. He was exiled to the West and eventually stayed in the States.

End results: He is remembered but USSR disintegrated. (Do you know the name of the leader who jailed him? -..Something.. Breznev…no one remembers )

2. Li Ao

Li Ao was credited for his contributions to the democratic movement in Taiwan between the 1960s and 1980s. In the 1960s, he was the editor-in-chief of Wenxing , a magazine that promoted democracy and personal freedom. He was jailed by the Kuomintanggovernment for more than five years (from 1972 and 1976, and again from 1981 to 1982) -from Wikipedia

end results: Li was remembered and revered and was even elected to the Parliament.  Chiang  was labeled as dictator and dictatorship gave way to a true democracy.

3. Bo Yang

Bo Yang is one of my favourite writers who wrote the famous book “The ugly Chinese”. He was jailed  from 1969  for nine years by Chiang kai Shek in Taiwan.

End results: He remains as one of the most loved Chinese writers, whereas his jailer, Chiang has been criticised as a dictator even in his own backyard, Taiwan.

4. Raja Petra

 pic from Star online.

He will be remembered for making the country more open and democratic.

History remembers those who did good to their country and despised those who persecuted the good.

 

(again, pls be careful of what you comment, thanks folks)

 pic sent to me by buuuuurrrning hot

 

Raja Petra is being charged in a PJ court this morning under the Sedition Act.

His blogsite, one of the most popular if not the most popular, has been posting ‘inside ‘ news to Malaysian bloggers. Many of what he posted or predicted have been proven true, such as his prediction that opposition would win about 80 seats and 5 states. Some have remained hearsay. We are still waiting to see whether his prediction of some BN MPs crossing over will become true.

We need more space in expressing our views. Even Ku Li, former financeminister from UMNO, realises this and in the Star today, he was quoted to say that:

 ”The Barisan Nasional Government must do away with draconian laws to make Malaysia a “true people-friendly nation,”

 ”it was time for the Government to also review those laws related to printing and publications towards giving more freedom to the press.”

“We are no longer fighting the communist rebels and any draconian law, including those that restrict the press, should be reviewed.”

Not only doing away the draconian laws, including the ISA , but the government must be seen to be magnanimous, tolerant of criticism, tolerant of dissenting opinion.  Why not let a hundred flowers bloom?  Only with more openness,  freer discussion and exchange of views can new ideas be formed and new concepts developed. That is how the West has progressed so fast over the last 150 years.

Although I enjoy reading RPK’s writings (i go to his blog almost evryday), I , for one, do not  believe everything that RPK said and do not agree with some of his views. But there are many good articles that he has posted.   And  as a principle of freedom of speech, I think he has the right to blog according to his belief, and I think he has done a great service to the nation in being vocal about a lot of things such as corruptions and abuse of power.

His exposure of many cases of bad governance would not have endeared him to those mentioned, but  in the first place, if everyone practises good governance, then there is really no worry about being exposed.

The best way to deal with criticism is to ironically allow criticism to improve your way of doing things. All humans are fallible; only those who learn from their fallibility and improve  would become endeared to the common people.

I would not want to comment on his case, or the case that landed him in trouble, since one is presently going through a trial and another one will be tried soon  as RPK has claimed trial.

But I would appeal to the power that be to be more tolerant and open to criticism. The best ways to answer to insinuations is to be transparent, and if satisfactory answers can be given to queries that are going round the blogs, I think the people are sensible enough to accept what is hearsay and what is truth.

Drop the charge against RPK, otherwise you may find that there are many who would walk with him.

(For this post, i would like to warn my commentators to be careful of what they post! Please do not insinuate anyone when posting. Thank you.)

 

Malaysiakini reported that Ong Tee Keat has called for a multiracial approach for MCA.

Immediately after the March 8 result, I have written a short article: MCA please disband and show the way. I am glad that one of my favourite politicians in MCA, Ong, are of similar views.

This is what is reported in Malaysiakini :

The main Chinese-based component party in the ruling coalition government must adopt a multiracial approach to survive in the new political landscape, said one of its top leaders.

The call by Ong Tee Keat, a vice-president of the MCA, comes after the Barisan Nasional’s worst losses in the March polls, with voters backing a more multiracial opposition alliance.

The BN government coalition lost its two-thirds majority in parliament and control of five states to the opposition, with component parties such as the MCA, Gerakan and Indian-led MIC suffering major losses.

“We need to project a multiracial outlook and multiracial approach to handle the people’s concerns,” Ong told state news agency Bernama.

Ong is one of the more sensible politicians from MCA, and I have mentioned before in one of earlier posts that he is the only one within the BN parties to admit tacitly when Lee Kuan Yew famously said that Chinese Malaysians are marginalised in 2006. He is the one who said the now famous phrase: those who drink water will know whether it is warm or cold.

In fact many MCA grassroots have expressed the same view. I remembered a few months ago, a former MCA candidate for Cheras, Lee Boon Kok, had told me the same thing when we chanced upon each other . He said that the only way forward in Malaysian politics is to adopt the multiracial approach.

I told them this is what i believe along, and that is what drawn me to Gerakan. Racial politics will only segregate the people and not unifying them. Unfortunately, Gerakan, as admitted by its leaders, have failed to change the mindsets of BN leaders to go for multiracialism.

Perhaps, now that MCA has voiced this , and from no less a person than their vice president Ong Tee keat, it is time that all the non UMNO members of BN should seriously consider merging their parties into a single multiracial one. There will still be problems, such as one race can still dominate , but it would certainly be less divisive than now. In a multiracial party, no one would openly make racial slur at least. (though whether they will make it privately, i do not know).

Another area is the civil service. In a multiracial country such as ours, it is really bad to have civil service dominated by just one race. Practical aspect wise, every Raya, you cann see the whole machinery being totally shut down. If it is multiracial, then at least during festivals, there will still be members of other races manning the fort. Socially, it would be good for better integration of races. Nothing is like working with people of another race together. You will find that they are also human, and by working together, you can actually blur the racial divide and learn first hand about their culture and belief.

I hope the next step the government will take is to make sure that at least 30 % of civil service intake is from other races.  That would be a real good start for multiracialism.

CNN has just reported that the plan asking single women travelling abroad to have a letter from the parents will be shelved.

This is the news:

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — A Malaysian minister has shot down a colleague’s plan to restrict women who travel abroad alone.

Foreign Minister Rais Yatim had wanted the women to carry a letter from parents verifying the reason for the journey. He said this would weed out genuine travelers from those being used as drug carriers.

But Home Minister Syed Hamid Albar said Monday such a plan “will not be practical.” He is in charge of immigration and the final authority on implementing the plan.

The plan was also condemned by women’s rights groups as repressive.

Rais Yatim’s proposal was born out of concern over government statistics, which showed that 119 Malaysians, 90 percent of them women, are imprisoned abroad for drug-related offenses

Malaysian government has been known  to do ‘flip flop’ act very often. This is another one of those plans that were thought of but that did not get any feedback from the ground. anyone worth his salt would have known that this type of restriction placed on half of the population will not be popular and will not be feasible.

I wonder whether these politicians have any so called think  tank around them. If they have, and I am sure they have, do these ministers listen to their think tanks? Or do these think tanks have common sense?

You really do not need Ph.Ds or even bachelors degree to know that such restriction over the whole womanfolk is wrong.

Maybe We need politicians with better calibre and better common sense.

Pls read mypost yesterday: see the logic, dear minister?

 

I was shocked reading this piece of newsin NST this morning

“In a move to stop Malaysian women being duped into carrying drugs for international syndicates, the Foreign Ministry has proposed that all women travelling out of the country alone be required to have a letter from parents or employers. “

Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim said the letter would be a declaration which stated clearly the reason the woman was travelling.

from NST: There are 119 Malaysian women in prisons worldwide for drug offences; the majority are aged between 21 and 27 duped into becoming ‘mules’; and so far this year, 29 have been detained or imprisoned

 

There is another piece of news in the same paper:

Regressive. Unfair. Biased.

These were some of the words used to describe the proposal by the Foreign Ministry that women leaving the country alone be required to have declarations from parents or employers stating the reason for their travels.

Minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim said yesterday he had submitted a proposal to the cabinet.

The proposal drew flak from non-governmental and women’s organisations, with their representatives making clear their outrage.

National Council for Women’s Organisations Malaysia (NCWO) deputy president Faridah Khalid called the proposal “backward and unfair”.

“This is an infringement of our rights,” she said.

 

The first thing that comes to my mind is that this is gross discrimination against women, which forms more than half the population.

It is like amputating the whole leg for a small boil on the tip of the toe. There is no logic.

I don’t like to be rude, but is it not akin to asking the police to castrate all males just because of a few rape cases?

The English will say, never use a sledgehammer to kill a fly.

How many women travelling overseas are involved in vice? Most would be legitimate travellers.

This is how someone who is brought up with a biased view against women would do. And I am supprised that this comes from an experienced Minister.

Socially, this is not acceptable, when the whole world, with the exception of some countries, is now going towards equality of the sexes.

Politically, this is a disaster. He should know that there would be an uproar from women groups. Even though I am a man, I feel this is grossly unfair.

Why has UMNO people not learned from the lesson of March 8?

Policies should be people orientated and should not be an encumbrance to people. There are your boss, Dear Minister. Always look from the angle of the people, not from the top of the ivory tower where the view tends to be narrow and clouded by clouds.

If the government ministers keep going like this, sooner or later, there will be so much red tapes, you have to have a police permit to go out after midnight, because the minister will argue that most crime is committed at night.

See the logic, Dear Minister? 

 

I would like to post a comment I made in one of the earlier posts. This is what I wrote in that comment:

 

Politics is noble, it is the players that make politics dirty. That is what I believe always.

That is why when the team is dirty, do you still join the team? if you dont, you are labeled as a non team player. that is why some MPs dare not voice out. It is a sort of peer pressure, a psychological game of keeping everyone in line.

Pakatan has won 5+1 states. My view is, since the people has made the choice, we have to give them at least a few months to prove themselves. If what they do is right, support for the sake of the people, if what they do is wrong, voice out ( I will be the first to voice out after a few months of watch and see). That is called check and balance.

If they are bad and perform badly, people will know and the next round they will be out.

If they are good and they do good for the people , then does it matter whether they remain as government? It does not , because politics is about the people, not about the parties. As long as a party is good and delivers, does it matter whether BN can come back or not?

Does it really matter whether a cat is white or black, as long as it catches mice?Unless of course, the cat is in the game for its own personal interest, then it would want the other cat to fail and fail miserably

In response to some of the comments in the previous post, where there were some discussion on why some Malaysians migrate and seek work else, I want to repost an article which I wrote early last year which I think is still very much relevant:

Chinese/Indian Malaysian Parents’ dilemma

Many Malaysian Parents, mainly the non Bumi,have a dilemma regarding their children’s education and future.

I just met a friend who has this to tell me. He is an engineer earning a decent living but not really rich. He has 2 children, and he was grateful that he has only 2. The eldest is a son now just finished his studies in engineering in Australia. The second one is a daughter who has just gone to Australia to study business management.

His dilemma is this. He has no choice but to send his son overseas in order to provide him with a good education, and at the same time to broaden his perspective . He could have asked his son to study locally but the problem was his son might not be given the course of his choice since majority of places for medicine and engineering courses are reserved for Bumi students. He has to work very hard, and has to be very thrifty in order to save to send his children overseas. And he is now near retirement age. He wants his son to come back Malaysia to work but he fears that his son may not get a good job and the prospect of promotion may be limited.

SO he asked me what to do. I told him this is the dilemma faced by many , many Chinese and Indian parents. Who doesn’t want their children to be around them? But at the same time , if the children cannot get good job prospects here , what would the parents do? They would want the children to have the best chance  and do something that they are happy with. And that means letting their children work overseas, where the employment prospect is better, work satisfaction is better and upward mobility is better.

I asked him, why don’t you join your son down under? He answered that he loves Malaysia, he was born and bred here, his friends and relatives are all here, and his business is also here. He would feel out of place and it would not be easy for a middle age man to start his network and friends all over again in a foreign country.

What can we do about this? When a citizen’s child studies overseas, we lose precious foreign exchange and this is no small sum as overseas education runs into hundreds of thousands of ringgits for each student. Over the years, how many Malaysians have gone overseas to study? One hundred thousand? half a million? one million? I don’t have the figure. But Malaysian used to be the biggest group of foreign students in Australia, UK etc. How much money was lost? Astronomical, perhaps.

Harvard University is very expensive

Even Auckland University is not cheap.

How many of these did not come back? I have so many classmates working as consultants in UK, SIngapore and Australia that I have lost count. This is “brain drain” and “brain loss”. Human capital is now recognised as the most important assets in this flattening world. Many of these who stay abroad becomes very famous scientists, doctors, entrepreneurs etc. How much brain was lost? No one can quantify! Who knows, Malaysia would have become a first world country by now if we have all these brains realising their potentials locally. Everyone, including Bumi and non Bumi, would have benefited more than now.

How about the human costs? How many families were seperated? How many parents died a lonely death because their children are overseas?

The lists go on………………………. And the dilemma is getting more acute. 

We should in fact be more farsighted. Tertiary education should be based on merits, with maybe a small proportion reserved for socially handicapped people. For those studying overseas, try to lure them back, place them in GLCs such as petronas, TNB, Telekom,, government departments and let the promotion be based on merits.

That way, the companies can be much more successful, the countiry will be more prosperous, there will be much more job prospects, the economic cake can grow bigger and we then have bigger capacities to offer affirmative action for the less advantaged groups.

 Be farsighted and then be rewarded with every ethnic group getting bigger share of the economy.

P.S. I am personally a victiom of this too. My own son is working in Johns Hopkins Hospital as a  specialist and my own daughter who is in final year medicine in University of AUckland is telling me that she will specialise and probably remain either there or Australia. So this applies to me as well.

Tomorrow, 3rd May 2008, is the World Press Freedom Day.

President Harry Truman, the president who made the decision to drop the atomic bombs on Nagasaki and Hiroshima, once said:

You can never get all the facts from just one newspaper, and unless you have all the facts, you cannot make proper judgements about what is going on.

This is the words of a great Statesman. He, through the implementation of the Marshall Plan, helped to rebuild Western Europe after the Second World War.

We cannot rely just on one source for opinion and news. Press freedom serves as a feedback to the governing party, to the civil servants ,  and helps to shape opinion and thinking.

For the past many years, Malaysia has not had a good rating on press freedom and the rating has been dropping. In 2006, World Press Freedom Index rated us as NO. 92, and last year NO. 124. (pls read this past article of mine: World Press Freedom Index 2007. ) Without a free press, some BN leaders have been misled by the spin stories published in our main stream media, and this has made them complacent and arrogant. They are caught by their own spins and lies.

Because of this,  blogs fill the vacuum in Malaysia. You can get a lot of info  from reading many blogs daily. Now, Malaysiakini reported that Dr Mahathir has become a blogger too.

But blog is only a medium. I have said before, do not blog just for the sake of blogging. If you blog just because it is fashionable to blog, and there is no substance at all, or worse still, all full of lies and bulls**t, then it is better not to blog. (I refer to social political blogs,)

Blog with a clear intention, with a clear consciense. A tool is only as good as the person using it. Some would be bloggers asked me, what is there to blog everyday? This is the advice I gave them: blog from your heart,blog what you believe. If you do that, you will find that there is so much to talk about, there is so much to write , time is the limiting factor.

Blogs have certain advantages over the mainstream printed media. It is fast and up to the minute. The minute you publish, others will be able to read. Blogs also attract comments from which different views on a single subjects can be obtained. Blogs also widen your network and you become friends with other blogers and even some of the commentators.

Many bloggers censor comments and publish only the ones they wish the readers read. That, in my view,  is also a way of spinning and slanting. I normally publish all comments, and have so far deleted only a few that attacks religions and races and with foul languages. Even those attacking me personally  will be published, because I believe in a free press. By doing so, you get to expose to different views from different places, and that is what printed media cannot do.

Printed media still have huge influence and very important role to play. My wish on this coming World Press Freedom day is that the government can do away with some of the restriction governing the press, allow more press freedom and allow more comments and views from both sides of the fence.

 

I wanted to move on from partisan politics to other issues affecting the nation.

Before I do that, I need to post something that one of the top leaders of the party told me. I am not at liberty to name him. (doctors are bound to doctor-patient confidentiality , and we are very good to keep things confidential ) 

We have a chat over the phone yesterday, and he said that he wanted to tell me the inside story about Lee Kah Choon.

As a responsible blogger, I will post his side of the story and his views.

Apparently, a few days after the general election, Lee met with top leaders and asked to be given the task of leading Penang and be the next CM if Gerakan win back Penang. When there was no reply from the leadership, which was still cosidering his request, Lee resigned from all his positions a few days later . Then few weeks later he accepted the 2 posts. The view of the leadership is that this sort of behaviour is selfish and not in the interest of the party. Also, this is part of plot of Pakatan to split Gerakan members.

I explained that what I have done is to present another angle of viewing this issue, strictly from the view of a rakyat who does not know the inside story. What I have presented and the majority of the commentors’ views are from a non partisan angle. So perhaps, this can serve as a feedback to the leadership. After all, people’s view and perception is the most important if the party wishes to win back the support of the people.

And even with this inside story, I still feel that the party should not have played into the trap that DAP has set, by attacking him openly and by giving show cause letter. I still feel that If the party has shown magnanimity and be big eough not to take action, it will not have played into DAP’s hands.

Well. This is my own opinion. I also standby my view stated in the press release that the advisor should keep to his promise of not interfering.

 

I refer to the interview of Dr Lim Keng yaik published in Malaysiakini today. I will qoute part of the interview on Lee Kah Choon in Malaysiakini for the benefit of those not subscribing to it:

Lee sparked controversy last week when he was appointed by Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng as a director for the state’s investment arm - Penang Development Corporation (PDC) and InvestPenang.

He subsequently withdrew from the party after being issued a show cause letter from Gerakan acting president Dr Koh Tsu Koon.

Keng Yaik said that party leders would have most probably agreed with Lee to take up the post if they were informed first about it.

“If he had the brevity to discuss with the party leadership, they would (have) most probably agreed with him to take up the post.

“If he had briefed us, we would have had a hard time seeing this so-called new paradigm shift as espoused by the ‘great’ Guan Eng,” he said.

 

So finally the truth has come out. Lee Kah Choon ’s fault, if you can call that a fault, is not informing the party leadership first.  If Lee has informed the party first, it would be OK. That is from Dr Lim KY.

So why call Lee all sort of names and by doing that, spoilt the name of Gerakan and the goodwill that such a move would have generated and the gain of support from Penang people.?Pls refer to the press statement I have made to understand the circumstances at that time.

Lee was only an ordinary member at that time. He has resigned all his positions within the party and by doing so, is no longer involved in the decision making process of party Gerakan. there would not have been any policy clash.

Do you need every Gerakan member to inform the party Central about taking up a position or a job? To me, that is not logical.

If the party wishes to reform , it has to place the people interest above self or even party’s.

For those who have not read this pst ,pls read this post which has received a few thousands hits on the first day of its publication: The ball is now at Gerakan’s foot and the press statements from a group of us.

 

 

Big foot and Big monkey?

Well, when someone called me and told me about what happened in the Parliament, my first thought was some one was attacking the bloggers again because bloggers were labeled monkeys just one year ago.

Oh No!! This time it is not for us bloggers. This time the name calling involves highly placed members of the society, the honourables , or in Malaysia we called them Yang Berhormat. If honourables can behave like monkeys and big foot, what about the ordinary citizens like you and me?I wonder.

My second thought was, they must have just came out of kintergartens, because only some small kids would behave like that.– majority of small kids behave better than this , of course.

It is like ” you friend him, I don’t friend you!” type of thing. It is like “you kick my butt and I will kick yours” type of things.

What to expect next?Don’t tell me they are going to fight like the Koreans inside the august house? Maybe the design of the lower house is a bit like that of a “wrestling ring”? Don’t be surprised that they would do that.

Nothing is going to surprise me from  the “honourables”. Some can asked custom to “close one eye”. Some can use 4 letter words. I wonder how they teach their kids, and how they set examples for their kids. Maybe it is a case of the crabs telling the baby crabs that they should walk straight rather then sideway.

They do not even have common courtesy , especially they know that the proceeding was telecast live and many young children are watching how they behave. If “honourables ” can do it, the children must be thinking, why can’t we, the not so honourables, do the same thing?

“Mou Gan Thai” - no eye see, literally translation of a Cantonese phrase meaning that I don’t want to see! I willmake sure that the TV is off the next time it is telecast live.

For details of what happened, please read Malaysiakini report on this : Fiery Start for post tsunami Parliament

 (There is nothing wrong for the live telecast, it is the actor monkeys that should be blamed . )

The government is apparently going to cut down on some of the projects announced before, including the Penang 2nd Bridge.

As a person who grew up and received my primary and secondary education there, I still consider myself a Penangite even though I have been in KL/ PJ for more than 20 years.  But where I come from does not really matter, I would still voice this out even if I am not from Penang, even if this thing happens in east Malaysia. (Even though in this case I feel a sentimental attachment to Penang……and Penang food lah!!!)

 

will this be scraped too?

I feel that development projects should not be cut just because the people chose Pakatan this time to govern Penang. Similarly, development projects for Kedah, Kelantan, Perak , Selangor should not be cut back just because of a change for state governments. I have stressed many times that PEOPLE ARE THE BOSS. If the employees they employed to look after their interest is not doing a good job, it is up to the Boss (people) to change the employees. The employees should accept it and try to prove to the Boss again that they have changed and hope that the Boss will take them back in the next evaluation!!

But, no employee in their sane mind would go and barricade the Boss house or go and break the windscreen of the BOss’s car, just because they were sacked for not doing a good job. What BN is doing, by scaling back projects in these States, is analogous to the sacked employees throwing a threat to the Boss. The people are well informed and well educated. Do you think they will accept this????

Do not wait until the last minute, then only you start to shower projects or throw money, like what happened in the past few by elections. I used to tell voter friends, if anyone give you money, take the money but vote the other way, because anyone giving you money to buy your votes will not be worthy of your support.  You should vote on the merits of the party and the candidates, not on their money or the last minute promise of projects, because last minute promise is usually not a sincere promise.

Even Dr  Mahathir talks sense sometimes (rarely though). In today’s Malaysiakini, he was quoted to say this:

Supposing the opposition are smart enough to provide good government, to look after the interests of the ordinary people, to lead a spartan life like not flying in chartered planes when going to Kuala Lumpur or taking excos and divisional heads on jaunts to foreign countries, then those people who voted for the opposition out of anger against the BN in 2008, would transfer their loyalty permanently to the opposition.

When that happens BN, Umno and other component parties can forget about recapturing the states lost to the opposition. To lose once is bad but to lose a second time in Malaysian election is an unmitigated disaster

If the government really suspends the second Bridge project and the monorail project, I would think that Gerakan leaders must immediately take Gerakan out of BN. The bridge might have cost about 4 Billions, but is it not true that the government has pledged more than 4 Billion AAA bonds as guarantee to save the PKFZ fiasco? I got this from a past PAC member. Is it not true that out of the 1000 ares of land in PKFZ , half were swamps and partly submerged in water? Is it not true that the government has asked the vendor company to undertake the construction of the projects, which is an obvious clash of interest?? Is it not true that the company bought the land dirt cheap from a Koperasi? Is it not true that Tiong, the present Chairman of the Backbenchers’ Club is connected to the company?/

The government could have given the chairmanship of the BBC to Alex Linggin, if they wanted a Sarawakian to take the post. Alex is the grandson of Temenggong Jugoh, and is deemed to be untainted. (footnote: I don’t know Alex personally, but other Ybs have been telling me he is clean ad untainted).

Why must the government always promotes people that seemingly have stains on them? Why untainted people are never given a chance in BN ??

I suggest that Penang people ask the government to let them know how much income tax and road tax are collected from Penang residents alone annually. If the project takes 5 years to complete, then what is the total tax paid over 5 years? Ask the government to take a portion say 10 percent of these taxes to build . If government refuses, take the government to court as a first step. There would be more drastic steps, but first step first.

Another way is to ask those involved in the PKFZ thing to foot the bill for the second bridge. Afterall, the whole cost of the second bridge is smaller than the amount involved in the fiasco.

 

Who is telling the truth?

Just read these in Malaysiakini :

According to Khir Toyo,

“Samy Vellu called me on the night of Nov 15 and told me that Hindraf (Hindu Rights Action Force) people had infiltrated the temple and that it must be demolished that night itself,”

According to Samy Vellu:

 “I am surprised by his statement. How can I tell him to demolish a temple which was already demolished?” asked Samy Vellu today.

“It was under his order that more than 500 enforcement personnel from the local authorities from various districts came to demolish just one temple.

Aiyo! Stop blaming each other lah.

A group of grassroots Gerakan memebers have decided to speak out publicly on the issue of Lee Kah Choon, whom they feel that should not be labeled as opportunist and political ‘frog”. 

They have also decided to give an advice to the party adviser Dr Lim Keng Yaik to stop interfering with party affairs publicly, as was the case over the past few months when he has preempted party top leadership with statements that were causing damage to the party image. They would lke to remind him to keep to his words that he would not give advice publicly after he retired, and would only speak his mind when his view is sought .

I have drafted the press release for the group in both English and Chinese and I will post it below:

Press release by a group of Parti Gerakan members: 

Press Release    by a group of KLFT Gerakan leaders  29 April 2008

 

1. The people have spoken. Barisan Nasional, including Gerakan, has suffered a big loss.

  We, as members of Parti Gerakan, are of  the view that Parti Gerakan  should accept and respect the people’s choice .We should be humble and listen to the voice asking for change. We should  find out why we have lost and take corrective steps to overcome the weaknesses .

 

2. We must realize politicians’ first priority is to the people. People’s interest must come first.

 Individuals can come and go but the people’s interest must always be defended and the people’s welfare must always be upheld.

3. The political scenario has changed. This change has come amidst many new challenges facing the country. These include the hefty increase in food prices due to world wide food shortage; the increase in energy costs due to the ever-rising petroleum prices; the inflationary pressure that you and I as ordinary citizens are facing.

 Other challenges include a sluggish economy due to a world wide slowdown as a result of recession in the United States.

 We also need to work hard to reform our Judiciary, improve governance, tackle corruption and improve the crime situation in the country.

4. As a result of these challenges, we need to make the country more productive. As Malaysians, we must pool our resources together to further develop the country and bring in new investments, create more employment and move up the technological ladder in industries.

5. To achieve these goals, we need to have the best available persons working together.

 6. This is the time for more work, and less politicking. We must cut down on politicking, and those in power and those in opposition must be prepared to work hand in hand to bring more development to the people and improve the economic status of the people, thus ensuring prosperity and raising the standard of living of the people.

 7. In this context, we view Sdr Lee Kah Choon’s acceptance of the directorship of Penang Development Corporation and the executive chairmanship of InvestPenang as something that is beneficiary to the people of Penang. These appointments are non political, and his work would be no different from that of a civil servant who is apolitical.

 8. We note that Sdr Lee Kah Choon, at the time of his acceptance of these positions, is only an ordinary member of Gerakan, with no decision making status in Party. Hence, his acceptance of these positions would not jeopardise the party’s interest.  Furthermore, he is putting people’s interest above his self interest . This sort of behaviour should be encouraged and should not be subjected to dispute let alone any disciplinary action. We feel that by his unselfish action, he has created an excellent example of how people with differing political views can work together for the benefits of the people.

 9. We feel strongly that Sdr Dr Lim Keng Yaik, as an advisor to the party and a retired politician, should not have labeled Sdr Lee Kah Choon as an opportunist and a political ‘Katak’.

10. At the time of his acceptance, Sdr Lee Kah Choon has stressed that he remains and wishes to remain as an ordinary Gerakan member and hence there is no ” crossing over’ as in the case of a political Katak, as was the case when Sdr Dr Lim himself joined Gerakan after being expelled from MCA in the early 70s.

 11. Sdr Dr Lim’s action has forced the hand of party leadership to  act and asked for a show cause letter from Sdr Lee Kah Choon. This has forced Sdr Lee to quit the party.

 12. We feel strongly that Malaysians should think more out of the box and should not oppose for the sake of opposing when the people’s interest is at stake. People’s well being and interest should always be viewed above the narrow partisan interest.

 13. We feel that in this new era, cooperation rather than confrontation would have benefited people more.

 14. We regret that a capable leader who was deemed to be fit enough to be a potential Chief Minister of Penang by party leadership just less than 60 days ago, is now deemed to be inexperienced and an opportunist. We regret that a capable leader has been forced out of the party as a result of the action by Sdr Dr Lim Keng Yaik.

 15. We wish to give an advice to Sdr Dr Lim Keng Yaik that he should stick to what he has said publicly, at the time when he announced his retirement,  that he would only give advice when asked for. By giving unsolicited advice publicly over party matters over the past few months, he has done the party image a lot of damages.

 16. Because of this, we ask that Sdr Dr Lim Keng Yaik should quit his post as party adviser and should not interfere anymore in the party affairs.

 17. Perhaps, he should now retire graciously and should devote more time to his family.

 

Drafted by

Dr Hsu Dar Ren

文告

 

1。 3月8日，人民已作了裁決。 作為民政黨員， 我們希望民政領袖，能虛心的接受這個事實，找出失敗的原因，作出改變。

 

2。 政黨應以人民的利益為歸依。領袖們要以人民的意愿和權益為根本。人民為先，政黨和個人的利益為后， 這才是從政之道。

 

3。國家正面對着許多問題。物價全面性的高漲。不單只汽油和運輸費，連食品米糧，也在上漲。這同時，美國經濟蕭條，影響全球經濟， 包括我國經濟也在放缓. 國家正是面臨多事之秋。

 

4。在這關鍵時期，我們應該要加緊努力，提高我國的生產力，盡力的去發展各有關領域，改善行政偏差，提高人民的收入和生活水準。

 

5。 要達到這些目標，我們需要最好的人才，全心全力的投入發展

工作。

 

6。這個時候，我們應該多工作，少玩政治。朝野政黨，應該減少政治摩擦, 在經濟領域里，任用優秀人才，為人民的利益服務，致力提高人民的收入和生活水準。

 

7。在這應以大局為重的時候，李家全同志接受委任為Penang Development Corporation 和 InvestPenang 的 董事，是理應受到人民和我黨領袖的贊許的。這兩個職位，不是政治性的，而是好像公務員性質的，負責策劃檳州的經濟發展和引進外資，以進一步改善檳州人民的生活和收入。對人民來說，是件很好的事情。

 

8。我們也注意到，李家全當時只是一個普通黨員，已經遠離我黨的權力中心，對黨的決策，已沒有影響。

 

9。我們認為我黨顧問林敬益醫生，對李家全同志的批評，指李家全同志是政治青蛙 和投機分子，是误导性的和錯誤的，也是不公平的。

 

10。李家全同志在接受這些職位時，還是民政黨員，并沒有跳黨。他曾表示，他會继续當民政的黨員。反觀林敬益醫生當年，是在被馬華開除后，才加人民政的。比較起來，李家全同志完全不是政治青蛙。

 

11。林敬益醫生误导性的批評，是造成黨領導層對李同志采取行動的原因。也造成李同志辭去黨員身份的主要因素。

 

12。我們認為，我國政治，在這個時候，應該跳出傳統的框框。不應為了反對而反對。人民的意愿和權益，才是最最重要的。

 

13。在適當的時機，朝野双方, 應該尝试為人民的利益着想，尝试在某些領域上合作，不要為了對抗而對抗。

 

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