Ubah Sekarang, Bersihkan Malaysia!

DAP National Convention: A Positive Start

There is nothing better than starting the week, and 2012, with a massive surge of positive energy. The DAP National convention on Sunday in Shah Alam was certainly a focal point, and the delegates and leaders alike approached the gathering with hope, excitement and great expectation. Those in attendance who came in with open hearts and ears did not leave disappointed.

A Bang of a Convention

The convention kicked off with veteran DAP Chairman Karpal Singh prophetically declaring that he had no doubt in his mind that Anwar would be acquitted. Many of us hope the second part of his prophecy would come to pass as well, which is that he would become Prime Minister.

With an attendance exceeding 1000 branch representatives and observers, the entire hall exuded a huge amount of optimism and expectation. The VIP list included the likes of the Mentri Besar of Selangor, Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim, PAS Vice President Mat Sabu, PKR Vice President Azmin Ali and PSM President Dr Nasir Hashim. What was more remarkable was the presence of the ambassadors of the French and New Zealand High Commissioners as well as ambassadors from the Singapore, Australian and Japanese Embassies, clearly this was an event to watch!

Despite being wheelchair bound and clearly battle scared, Karpal Singh's message was not lacking in fire or zeal. The DAP is now in the position, in partnership with Pakatan Rakyat to sweep 9 states and Putrajaya at the next general election. He spoke of closing ranks, effective for burying the 'warlord-godfather' hatchet.

He went to great lengths to persuade the delegation present that Anwar is indeed a man of substance. Although, the applause in response to these comments were less than enthusiastic, one could feel that attitudes towards the embattled opposition leader are indeed improving. DAP members are beginning to accept the idea of Anwar becoming the next Prime Minister as they are now, more than ever, determined to rid the Barisan Nasional regime from Putrajaya.

A Veteran's Dream


Former Party Chairman and current DAP Party Adviser Dr Chen Man Hin took the microphone and emphatically reminded that he was still around and not dead! Indeed, this is a legend of a man, who was one of the pioneers of the party along with Karpal Singh and Lim Kit Siang. Another war-torn warrior, he echoed the message of hope to all present.

His dream along with the other leaders of the party is for Malaysia to be a democratic, fair and equal society. Today, he believes that this dream is coming closer and closer to being realised. "Our might is because we believe," he proclaimed to cheers from the delegates. Indeed it is this belief, hope and dream that the party clings tightly on to.

A candid reminder was addressed to the members that the DAP was a party which had a heart for the people and wanted to serve. "If you want to become a minister, don't join the DAP. If you want to serve the people, then we call you one of us!" It is the fervent hope that the DAP would maintain the party's integrity and commitment to the service of the people.

With an inspiring flourish, he concluded by calling on members not to fear anything in pursuit of the final goal. "Do not worry anti-DAP elements. Stick to our principles and we shall win!"

The Epic Keynote


Perhaps the highlight of the event was the speech delivered by Party Secretary General Lim Guan Eng. In the most pumped up speech I have seen him give to date, he outlined the party policy as well as the goals of the party come the general election.

After acknowledging delegates from ever corner of Malaysia, he proceeded to attack the issues one at a time. Never lacking in energy or zeal, Lim Guan Eng preached that the success of the DAP government in Penang was due to the uncompromising commitment to moderation and peace. As a result, Penang is cleaner, greener and safer than any other state in Malaysia. With this already having been achieved Penang, it is now the mission of the party to made all other states cleaner, greener and safer.

The DAP, along with PKR and PAS, is firmly committed to the vision of a country which the government is free of corruption and progressive. He reiterated to achieve this, Pakatan Rakyat cannot afford to repeat the mistakes of Barisan Nasional, and the values of integrity and incorruptibility must be exemplified by the leaders.

Pointing out the issue of inflation, rising costs and money lost due to misappropriation, Lim Guan Eng declared that this would be what the party would concentrate on during the run up to the general election. This is in order to realise the Malaysian dream in which we cannot be "a police state but a policy state". The DAP is committed to a minimum wage which would be adjusted as according to the rate of inflation, and promises to abolish the toll on the North South Highway.

The battle lines was drawn out in Sabah and Sarawak, where PR would have to gain 19 seats in order to win over Putrajaya. With party unity, this goal is certainly attainable. Concluding by saying "Let us dare to dream the Malaysian Dream", each delegate present was filled with the renewed hope that after 46 years of struggle, the impossible would become a reality.

Despite the clear references to the BN government, the Party Secretary-General was tactful and gracious, avoiding any direct attacks or slander of any BN component party. This is in stark contrast to the UMNO General Assembly which had effectively turned into an anti-DAP mud slinging rally. It is remarkable that by concentrating on tackling core issues and avoiding negativity, the leaders of the party had maintained their stance and integrity.

Bersihkan Malaysia


With the acquittal of Dato' Seri Anwar Ibrahim, the celebrations rage on. With the celebrations it is a renewed hope, and a renewed optimism.

Although it is clear that many, including Anwar himself, was expecting him to be heading back to Kamunting, the jubilation of the supporters would create waves of positive momentum for the opposition parties now that this farce of a trial is done and over with. The show of solidarity was indeed there, with PAS and DAP leaders standing alongside the opposition leader.

However, now the real work starts for Pakatan Rakyat. Indeed, putting Anwar in jail would have been political suicide for Prime Minister Najib and his government. If they had made him a martyr, it would have polarised support for the Opposition by arousing public sentiment. At least by acquitting him, the government can now claim that the judiciary is independent and that the reforms placed by the Prime Minister are actually bearing fruit.

Now the playing field has again been levelled. However, PR has to stick to their guns, get their noses to the grindstone and work hard in order to sway a fickle population. Issues such as massive corruption, graft, incompetence, media suppression and racially divisive policies have to be the fodder for PR.

A warning to BN would be in the words of Shakespeare: "A swallow does not a summer make". Just because Anwar was acquitted does not mean that all is well in the nation. Nevertheless, PR has their work cut out for them by convincing the public that they are the required and promised change the nation needs.

As PR no longer has a martyr to glorify, this would now turn into sword to sword combat. As for the DAP, we are ready.

Published exclusively for Free Malaysia Today (http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/2012/01/12/pumped-up-dap-ready-for-combat/)

Is Freedom truly Free?

After reading so many reports and articles on the Peaceful Assembly Bill especially with accusations being cast on both sides of the political divide, I believe that we have to go back to the root cause of the issue and examine it in a holistic and pragmatic manner. 

Trampling on our rights

First we must go back to the fundamental question as to whether the law, specifically Malaysian law, really stifles dissent and tramples on human rights. 

Indeed, we have examples of Ministers using their discretionary authority under the law in cases where there is no probable cause. Therefore that would lead us to believe that power was abused. 

Examples include the detention of a reporter, Raja Petra Kamarrudin and Teresa Kok under the draconian Internal Security Act, as well as the extra-judicial declaration that "Bersih" T-shirts are illegal as they represent an illegal organisation. 

I would submit that the examples I cited above represents a disproportionate response to the actual situation. This leads to awkward explanations afterwards which include the "She was detained for her own protection" and "because it represents an illegal activity" type of reasoning. Hardly impressive. 

There is no doubt that the current Barisan Nasional government has a history of abusing their powers under the law in order to preserve their own affair. However, by branding their discretion at making these arrests "to protect national interest and public property", many people as members of the public are led to believe by the Mainstream Media that the response was correct and proportionate. 

Bersih 2.0

The rally that truly triggered the necessity to call into question the Police Act provision on illegal assemblies was indeed Bersih 2.0. 

The 9th July 2011 is a day which would truly go down in infamy. Dubbed "709", we witnessed how the police doused the public with chemical-laced water and tear gas. Retreating into Tung Shin Hospital provided no respite when the Federal Reserve Unit decided to shoot the water into the compound. 

A rally to call for Free and Fair elections, which was entirely peaceful, was turned violent by police manhandling protesters. Protesters forced to disperse by violent means could have potentially created a stampede and it is only by the grace of God that there were not more casualties. 

Being in amongst the crowds, I believe how the FRU and police responded was truly disproportionate, although many quarters claimed they exercised a considerable amount of restraint. As a person who ingested tear gas into my system, I would beg to differ. 

But what was worse than the actual FRU and police crackdown, was the complete cover up of the Mainstream Media. The government went all out to deny the public the truth, and published their own version of events. This is despite an enormous amount of photographic and video evidence, which were posted in real time as the event occurred. 

So perhaps the true question to ponder is that, despite promised reforms in the law, including the repeal of the ISA and introduction of the Peaceful Assembly Bill, what is the check and balance to prevent Ministers from abusing their discretion under the Acts or issuing extra-judicial proclamations? 

Section 27 of the Police Act

The law causing the most amount of controversy is section 27 of the Police Act 1967 which deals specifically with illegal assembly. Under the draconian law, it was seen as a serious inhibition of any kind public assembly and gave the police the power to detain persons involved without a warrant (s27(6)). 

Holding a demonstration requires a police permit, and the senior district police officer has the absolute discretion to approve or deny the permit. Additionally under subsection 2, they can cancel the permit at any time. Police also "may do all things necessary for dispersing them and for arresting them". The scope of this provision is massive, which would protect the police from any allegation of brutality. 

There is no doubt that this section has to be abolished. It is fundamentally unconstitutional as it contravenes Article 10 of the Federal Constitution which guarantees the right to assemble peaceably. After a huge amount of pressure, the BN government appeared to relent by tabling the Peaceful Assembly Act. 

Truly a reform?

After a lot of condemnation from the Bar Council and Opposition MPs, we have to examine whether or not it should be called the "Anti-Assembly Bill" or "Illegal Assembly Bill" as proposed by some quarters. 

Notice of the assembly was proposed to be 30 days, which has since been revised to 10 days, after Myanmar's assembly bill which specified a 5 day notice period put us to shame. Under the Police Act, no time period is specified. However the need for a police permit is eliminated. I would take this development to be a good thing. 

However, let's look into the more contentious part of the bill. The fines of RM10,000 for participation in what is deemed as an illegal assembly, the prohibition of children at gatherings, limits in proximity to public places, places a complete ban on street demonstrations and the same scope of power given to the police as under section 27 of the Police Act. This throws up a lot of issues which would potentially cripple the freedom to assemble as under Article 10 of the Federal Constitution. 

Firstly, the fine of RM10,000 is clearly to deter anyone from coming to a protest or demonstration. Who can afford to be RM10,000 out of pocket? So, even if the cause is legitimate and of national concern, if the police uses their discretion to prohibit the assembly, the citizen is penalised heavily as a result? 

The prohibition of children is contentious as gatherings are supposed to be peaceful, and families would bring their children along with them. Penalising the parents for bringing their children along, rather than leaving them at home alone would be another reason for people to avoid protests. Additionally, there is the question of enforcement. When tear gas and chemical laced water are fired, would the police round the children up first? Unthinkable. 

With the list of restricted places so extensive, it appears that protest cannot happen unless you are out in the countryside! The government would say that this is to protect the interests of the people, but basically it is to give the police an excuse to accuse the group of being in a prohibited area, and thus have the authority to disperse the assembly. This would be especially true of any ceramahs held by the Opposition parties, and would affect whoever is in Opposition in future.

No to Street Demos

However, the one thing that riles up opposition MPs more than anything else, is the prohibition of street demonstrations, and that police are afforded the same scope of powers under the Bill. This would mean that Bersih 2.0 would be handled in exactly the same way under the new law as the old. For many, this is unacceptable.

Not everyone agrees with street marches, demonstrations or protests, but to place a complete ban on it would contravene the spirit of Article 10 of the Federal Constitution. Even our courts agree, as found in Cheah Beng Poh & Ors v Pendakwa Raya [1983] 1 LNS 65. The High Court Judge Hashim Yeop A Sani opined the following:

“The court as guardian of the rights and liberties enshrined in the Constitution is always jealous of any attempt to tamper with rights and liberties. But the right in issue here i.e. the right to assemble peaceably without arms is not absolute for the Constitution allows Parliament to impose by law such restrictions as it deems necessary in the interest of security and public order. In my view, what the court must ensure is only that any such restrictions may not amount to a total prohibition of the basic right so as to nullify or render meaningless the right guaranteed by the Constitution.” 

In the case of Sivarasa Rasiah v Badan Peguam Malaysia & Anor [2010] 3 CLJ 507, Federal Court Gopal Sri Ram opined the following:

“Now although the article says ‘restrictions’, the word ‘reasonable’ should be read into the provision to qualify the width of the proviso… The correct position is that when reliance is placed by the State to justify under one or more of the provisions of Article 10(2) of the Federal Constitution, the question for determination is whether the restriction that the particular statute imposes is reasonably necessary and expedient for one or more of the purposes specified in that article.”

Therefore the BN government cannot impose a complete ban on street protests unless they are willing to run afoul of the constitution.

Law vs Freedom

So is there a need for a law to govern Article 10, or shall we just leave the law as it is? I believe that we certainly have a need for a law to govern this. However, does making a law impinge on our ability to exercise our rights as per the constitution?

The issue of peaceful assemblies has certainly been a contentious one in our country, and most recently we saw 300 people gathering in KLCC park in protest of this very bill. But is it correct to allow an absolute freedom? Some argue that societies with sufficient maturity should not have their rights infringed upon by legislation.

However, I would liken this to removing all the lines, traffic lights, zebra crossings and speed limits on our roads. Now people are truly free to drive on the road, but would you dare? True freedom has boundaries. That way, we know the parameters to operate within.

Therefore, a Peaceful Assembly Bill is certainly essential. However, does the current piece of proposed legislation do us justice? I would submit that it does not. Laws must give space and act as guidelines, but not to the extent that it is stifling.

What are the main issues? One is public security, and the concern that a protest may turn violent. Where this is indeed the case, the burden of responsibility should lie on the shoulders of the culprits and the organisers. What this would do is that protestors would be able to self-police in order to avoid such incidents from occurring.

How about public order? This is where the police come in. If it is indeed a street protest, the police can cordon off the route and ensure that order is kept by escorting the procession to their final destination. This would ensure that there is no damage done, and the peace is kept. Traders along the way may experience a small interruption, but a business blackout like during Bersih 2.0 would not occur.

I believe that our Prime Minister is serious about making Malaysia “the world’s best democracy”. However, Malaysia as a member of the United Nations Human Rights council should surely be held to a higher standard. 

On Tuesday, lawyers from the Bar Council and others will march to parliament. Najib has a golden opportunity to do the right thing. Heed the voice of the people and make the appropriate amendments.


Written for Free Malaysia Today

(http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/2011/11/29/is-freedom-truly-free/)

Also published on:

Malaysia Chronicle (http://www.malaysia-chronicle.com/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=23597:is-freedom-truly-free?&Itemid=2)
The Malaysian Insider (http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/sideviews/article/is-freedom-truly-free-douglas-tan/)

NFC: No cow sense at all!

One of my father's favourite expressions is "use some cow sense!" which basically means "use your brain!". As a result, I found it highly appropriate for me to use in this article. It is remarkable to see how Shahrizat Abdul Jalil and her family utterly capitulated under the tirade of dirt dug up against them.

First we hear of the RM250 million National Feedlot Corporation (NFC) project awarded to the family of the Women, Family and Community Minister Shahrizat, who had no experience of breeding cows at all. Then there is a damning report from the Auditor General who reported that since 2010, the NFC has fallen short of its breeding target by 41%.

The public outcry was predictably loudest coming from the opposition, PKR in particular. They demanded to know how they got into this mess in the first place and proceeded to dig further. That is when they realised that they struck political gold and at the same time, opened a massive can of worms for the Barisan Nasional government.

Inexcusable scandals

PKR obviously wanted to dig deep for evidence of cronyism and fund misappropriation. It was simple logic. When so much money is dispensed for a project which the Auditor General (AG) declared to be "a mess", where did the money go actually? They followed the trail to Bangsar, and the purchase of a RM10 million condominium using NFC funds. Cue the beginning of the "Cowgate" scandal.

The deathly silence on the part of Shahrizat and family further compounded the feeling that this was tantamount to an admission of guilt. Naturally Sharizat crying out that she was victimised as the former head of Wanita Umno did not earn her many supporters, as it was clear that she was using the tactic as a scapegoat.

Umno Youth Chief Khairy Jamaluddin wading into the debate with another insanely far-fetched explanation that the purchase of the condominium was a good investment just did not help. But we have to ask, why did he get involved at all in the first place? What's in it for him?

For a man who is embroiled in controversy over "Kampung Buah Dada", you would have thought that he would have kept silent! Obviously, Khairy can take even more of a public bashing. Is this an act of self-sacrifice for the party? Only time will tell.

After this the second condominium unit surfaces. Where does it end?

The cover up

What was remarkable about this incident was that it turned into a bipartisan affair. BN backbencher Bung Mokhtar called for Shahrizat to hand in her resignation, which was met with a chorus of approval from the opposition MPs.

However, the cabinet members stepped up to the plate to say that it was not fair. Leading the defence of his cabinet colleague is Muhyiddin Yassin, who said that there was no need for her to step down as she was not directly involved with the NFC itself.

This should not come as a surprise to us, as BN are always so good at avoiding issues, passing blame around and use less popular members as scapegoats so they are able to continue plundering and pillaging. Only crooks protect other crooks. When all else fails, hire a lawyer.

The press conference

The belated press conference called by NFC director Dr Mohamad Salleh Ismail, who is also Sharizat's husband, created suspicion from the offset, when all alternative media and Chinese language press were barred from participating. Is it the inability to handle probing questions or fear of his words being twisted? Perhaps. Nevertheless the exclusion only worsens the

He explained to the BN friendly papers that the NFC was on track and that they need more time to deliver results. There were a couple of issues with the answers provided. The government target of 8,000 heads of cattle is not a breeding target but a slaughter target.

Although they did raise 8,016 heads of cattle, the issue the AG raised was that only 3,289 heads were delivered, which is well short of the target. The entire premise of the NFC project in the first place was to supply beef to the market. As a result, the Key Performance Indicator should obviously be the number slaughtered not raised.

Additionally, he tried to claim that they were receiving RM70,000 a month for the condominiums. When I asked a couple of developers and real estate agents, they scoffed at the possibility of being able to obtain such a high rental.

The income they get may be in the form of guaranteed yield over 2 or 3 years in which most developers offer as an incentive to purchase the property. However, this turns out to be no more than a glorified discount. Anyone who can pay RM70,000 a month would we well within their means to purchase their own property!

The logic of it all

After all of the articles in the online and print media about the scandal, I doubt I need to venture further into all of its sordid details. Wanita PKR has launched a national wide campaign to file police reports against five individuals considered to be instrumental to the epic failure of the NFC including the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister. Najib has been accused about lying to parliament, and Muhyiddin apparently does not see anything wrong with using public funds to purchase property.

However, let us take a look deeper into to the whole issue and the futility of it all. The question has to be asked as to why we needed the feedlot in the first place. The government would claim that it is to supply more halal beef into the Malaysian market. Nevertheless there are a couple of important questions that need to be asked:

1.     Farms in Western Australia already supplied beef which have received international halal certification to many countries in the Middle East including Saudi Arabia. However, Jakim has not approved this. Is Malaysia truly more Islamic than Saudi Arabia so as not to recognise the Halal certificate? If not, why are we unable to accept the beef?

2.     What is the point in importing Australian cows at great expense and import the feed as well? There is a massive difference in the quality of Australian beef and the so-called Gemas 'Gold' cattle, and I would presume that this is down to the massive change in climate and environment. Why short change the Malaysia public with sub-standard beef which costs more than 

3.     If this is an issue of sovereignty, why can’t the government just acquire a farm in Australia and send people from Malaysia to run it? The NFC ran losses of RM7 million in 2009 and RM11 million in 2010. This amount would have comfortably paid for the living and lifestyle expenses of the staff required, as last time I checked, cows pretty much take care of themselves.

4.     If this is an issue about slaughtering the cows according to Jakim’s standards, why not just import the cows and slaughter them locally to Jakim’s satisfaction? This would be far most cost effective than the current method as we still have to import cattle anyway!

5.     Was this project to stimulate the national economy or the agricultural sector? If so, why are local farmers not benefiting from this project instead of awarding this to a company with Ministerial connections that has never bred cattle before? 

Grab and run

What we are seeing now is nothing short of a day-light robbery. We can see the system is rotten to the core, with scandal after scandal surfacing. However, the NFC saga may be the straw that finally broke the camel's back.

It is clear that Najib is not interested in reforms but more interested in making cosmetic changes to policies just to retain power. His alphabet soup including the NRKAs, NEMs and the ETPs count for nothing if he allows his cabinet ministers to run wild with the nation's money, and gives his deputy license to display arrogance in telling off the public for not believing their version of the story.

With the MACC and the police silent about this, there is a definite reluctance in the air to probe this issue. The difficult questions are now being asked, and this is the greatest benefit of the strong Opposition we have today. It is clear that despite suffering the worse electoral defeat in history back in 2008, BN have not learnt a single thing. In fact they got worse, and expected to get away with it.

Pakatan Rakyat has a golden opportunity now to frame themselves as a credible government. Public sentiment and anger is high, and another season of protest votes may favour PR in the coming election. However, they must work hard and work fast. Malaysian politics is fickle and the landscape changes quickly. If they miss the boat now, it may be a long time for it to come around again.

An FMT Exclusive
(http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/2011/11/23/nfc-makes-no-cow-sense/)

Kedai 1Malaysia: Pulling a fast one

FMT reported that the Secretary General of the Ministry of Trade, Co-operatives and Consumerism, Mohd Zain Bin Mohd chose to respond to my letter "Who is short-changing Malaysians - BN or PR" which was published on FMT yesterday. The title he referred to was actually the title of the same article on my blog.

I am glad to have caught the attention of the Ministry, who had taken time out of their busy schedules to visit my humble blog and then level a response against it. Obviously, they feel that my writings are more significant than the press conference Tony Pua, Nurul Izzah and Dzulkefly Ahmad gave in the parliamentary lobby. For this, I am truly flattered.

"Up to 50% off"

Let us have a look into his 'justification' of the Minister's remarks. Ismail Sabri Yaakob told reporters that products sold at Kedai Rakyat 1Malaysia (KR1M) would be "up to 50% cheaper" than similarly branded products and cannot be compared to house brands.

Such statements are common in a video store who is trying to get rid of unpopular DVDs. One would go in and see a large pile of DVDs of obscure titles in the centre of the room. There would be a sign "up to 70% off", but the ones you would actually want to buy would only be 10% off. This is certainly the impression the Minister is giving if we were to believe the Secretary General.

For those that do not know, KR1M was established in 2010 in order to "combat against rising costs". The Prime Minister, under his "Rakyat Didahulukan" campaign envisioned a store in which essential goods could be supplied at rates cheaper than currently found in the market. This initiative would venture to relieve the burden of inflation and directly benefit the rakyat.

The first KR1M store was opened to great fanfare at the Kelana Jaya LRT station. There are currently 6 KR1M outlets and 22 more outlets are slated to open in 2012. Who operates these stores? Mydin. Was there an open tender? No. So much for Najib's shout for economic transformation.

When the KR1M concept was announced in the first place, I honestly believed that we would be able to get a pretty good deal across these 250 items. The Ministry now admits that this is not entirely accurate, and some items are found to be MORE expensive than what can be found in the market. In short, they misled the public.

What discount? 

When the Minister made the "50% off" comment, what was the benchmark price used to calculate the 50% off? If you are talking about Cold Storage, Mercato and 7-Eleven, he is probably right. However, what percentage of the population would actually do their shopping at Cold Storage, Mercato and 7-Eleven?

Perhaps they used the Recommended Retail Prices (RRP) of the goods to benchmark their discounts. However, whenever I enter Carrefour, Tesco or Giant, there are giant signs that say "Promosi Hebat!" On this basis, is the public assured that the prices offered at KR1M are lower than such promotions? If not, what benefit is there to shop at any KR1M when one could just head over to their local Tesco as usual?

The KR1M Brand is not a house brand


What is the definition of a "house brand"? A house brand or a generic brand in which a range of products is sold under a single entity, in this case, Mydin. Furthermore, house brands tend to be cheaper because of the generic branding.

However the Ministry denies that KR1M products can be compared to other house brands, like Tesco and Carrefour as they are not of the same quality, accusing Tony Pua of not making an 'apple to apple' comparison. Then why not just sell me Dettol at a cheaper price than slapping a KR1M brand on it? Is the Minister unaware that generic labels are associated to be lower quality products than the larger brands?

The Managing Director, Ameer Ali Mydin also jumped to the defence of the products sold at the store, reaffirming that the products are better quality. In that case, can Datuk Ameer kindly explain why the store previously sold milk which tested positive for E.Coli and also have 8 items in stock which fails the standards stipulated in the Food Act 1983 and Food Regulations 1985?

If we can take Datuk Ameer's statement that "KR1M sells quality products at lower prices. It is not a dumping ground for products of lesser quality as alleged by certain quarters" seriously, perhaps he may want to have a check on his procurement department, otherwise there would continue to be a lack of credibility.

RM40 million for CAPEX?


Normally when we talk about renovation, the sum of RM75,000 to RM100,000 would suffice for a space which covers 2,000sqft. However, when the RM40 million subsidy was clarified not to subsidise the products but the cost of refurbishment, how can it be justified?

We also have contradictory number over the number of KR1M shops operational. On their website, one press statement mentioned 83 stores in operation as of November 2011 and 25 more to be set up, but only the 3rd store was opened in August 2011.

Another article mentioned there would be a total of 85 stores next year, a Star report in August that 25 more will open in 2011, and a New Straits Times report dated August 27 says only 22 stores are to be opened this year. To make things worse, their official store locator only indicates 6 stores open. So what is the actual number? I can't help but feel that we are being taken for a ride.

I shall take the store locator to be accurate, and giving them the benefit of the doubt, add in the additional 25 stores for this year. So Mydin has spend RM40 million to renovate 31 stores, which has a price tag of RM1.3 million per store. Anyone smelling corruption here?

Pulling a fast one

One has to ask, what is the point of this exercise? There are so many existing supermarkets and mini-markets who could benefit from the subsidy to bring their prices down. Setting up these stores may save consumers some money, but serve to drive the average Mom-and-Pop stop out of business. Why appoint Mydin to operate these stores at such an extravagant cost to the taxpayers? Why was the tender not extended to the likes of Tesco, Carrefour, Giant and 99Speedmart who already have existing mini-markets!

Since the Auditor General's report came out, it is clear that this government has a lot to explain and account for. Kudos to the Secretary General that he was able to give a more plausible justification than Khairy's absurd story that buying a RM10 million condo for the National Feedlot Project is a sound investment!

If one Ministry is willing to counter what I wrote, why not the other Ministries? Can the Ministry of Defence clarify over the Skudai 7th Brigade project or the supply of RM7.55 billion worth of amoured carriers from DRB-Hicom? Can the MACC explain why they could not catch anyone else from the PKFZ scandal or why they were so keen to investigate Petronas but not Sharizat? Can the Health Ministry explain how goods in KR1M could fail Malaysian standards?

It appears that stealing money from the taxpayers is the easy part. The difficult part is for the government to justify it once the damage is done.

Free Malaysia Today (http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/2011/11/15/kedai-rakyat-pulling-a-fast-one/)
Malaysia Chronicle (http://www.malaysia-chronicle.com/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=22739:kedai-rakyat-1malaysia-house-brand-sales-puff-or-sub-standard-goods&Itemid=2)

PPSMI: The Language of Politics

With Muhyiddin Yassin slamming the door shut on PPSMI, the debate continues to rage on within both Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Rakyat alike. PKR comes out to support the abolishment, whereas the DAP wants to give parents the choice.

PAGE, the English rights action group is submitting 7,000 petitions in favour of the teaching of maths and science in English to the Prime Minister. Gerakan is also whispering that they would prefer that parents have the choice. How did we get into this place in the beginning?

The implementation of PPSMI created controversy back in 2003, but if one were to gauge the results of the 2004 General Elections which swept Barisan Nasional back to power with the biggest majority in their history, there is little evidence to suggest that the implementation of this policy was detrimental.

After a while, we hear praise for the government policy being forward thinking from different sections of the society. The mainstream media also ran pieces about English competency amongst teachers, and how many had struggled to cope with the teaching of the subjects in English. Obviously, this did not reflect well on the federal government, who then spent millions on books, training courses and computer software to train the teachers to become competent.

I strongly suspect that the decision to reverse the policy to teach maths and science in English is based more on the fact that the teachers did not want to make the additional effort to learn English, rather than poor results, especially in the rural areas. At times, one hears stories as to how children who can speak better English than their teachers would proceed to torment and taunt them for their poor command of the  language.

Malaysian parents are by-and-large extremely concerned about their children's education, in order for their children to secure their future, both socially and financially. We had the Education Ministry boast of the best UPSR results in history not too long ago, but obviously dissatisfied, the government has decided that teaching maths and science in Malay once again would further raise the standards.

With the General Election fast approaching, the Deputy Prime Minister is obviously intent to prevent what are traditional Barisan strongholds fall to the Opposition. He has cleverly observed that because heritage and pride are something deeply emotional, he waves the flag of "I'm Malay first, Malaysian second" despite this being in direct contradiction with Najib's 1Malaysia. Therefore touting the fact that he is a nationalist and defender of the race, he gets rid of PPSMI to raise up the Malay language once again.

He then introduces the idea of "Uphold the Malay language, Strengthen English" or MBMMBI, without a concrete plan as to the implementation. Despite the DPM's claims that the change was not a rushed decision, I would beg to differ. Aside from saying that English proficiency would improve through more contact hours, he has failed to explain what methods would be undertaken to reverse the appalling degradation of English standards in our local school system.

Nevertheless, this is a calculated political gamble which could land Umno/BN some crucial swing votes in the rural areas. Their logic would be that proponents of PPSMI are from urban areas, and since urban areas are against BN anyway, they would have to pander to the sentiments of the rural population in order to retain the federal government. PKR has not ignored this effect, which is why they have also come out to say that they support the change in policy.

Pakatan Rakyat as a whole is also unable to provide a satisfactory alternative policy. The policy contained in the Buku Jingga speaks about direct fund allocation to the school system, producing qualified teachers, reviewing teacher's salaries and reduction in bureaucracy.

However, this does not tackle the most crucial reform needed, which is to revamp the curriculum. We need to know how to train our next generation as critical-thinkers by doing away with the current robotic system of information regurgitation. If Pakatan Rakyat can set out a clear plan as to how they would reform education, this would truly strengthen their position as an alternative government.

Unfortunately, the current batch of Form four students would be collateral damage as a result of this political war. All over the country, whatever they have learnt in English, they would have to re-learn in Bahasa Malaysia in order to sit their SPM. It is tragic that a new policy would potentially cripple an entire generation of school children to further political gain.*

Barisan Nasional has clearly shown that despite 54 years of experience, they continue to put their own rice bowls as priority, even if it means destroying the next generation. Muhyiddin Yassin accused PAGE as "ketinggalan zaman". Perhaps it is you sir, who are behind the times.

*Shortly after this article was published on Free Malaysia Today, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin announced that the current batch of students would continue the PPSMI until the completion of their SPM exams. Primary schools would completely phase our PPSMI by 2016 while Secondary schools would do so by 2021. I applaud the cabinet for seeing sense and doing the right thing for our children. However, I would continue to urge them to unveil their roadmap as to how to improve English proficiency in our school children and make English a compulsory pass subject. 
(12:09am 5/11/2011)

Published in:

Free Malaysia Today (http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/2011/11/04/ppsmi-the-language-of-politics/)
Malaysia Chronicle (http://www.malaysia-chronicle.com/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=22364:ppsmi-the-language-of-politics&Itemid=2)
Malaysia Today (http://www.malaysia-today.net/mtcolumns/from-around-the-blogs/44711-ppsmi-the-language-of-politics)