tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27256617.post7613284682628691258..comments2024-02-19T03:21:42.482+08:00Comments on CHARLES HECTOR: REAL protection of rights in law will end abuse of workersCharles Hectorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10962669552161424734noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27256617.post-84246378146601731972008-09-05T17:24:00.000+08:002008-09-05T17:24:00.000+08:00When you read below, you will derive a scenario wh...When you read below, you will derive a scenario where Malaysia has employment laws that protect the capitalist and also the employers in Malaysia. Only the rich and powerful can afford legal expenses. Many law makers are feeling complacent and perhaps mentally incarcerated in their own unique ways believing that it is never good to have laws to protect the employees as it will hinder productivity and growth, a common reason given by everyone who loved the notion of humiliating their employees in order to gain control over them.<BR/><BR/>My only wish is that one day, we will be matured enough to stand up and such unacceptable abuse by employers and companies by their higher dominant position will not be tolerated. Hopefully one day, Malaysia can be mature enough to be in a position to execute Antitrust Laws as in the developed countries.<BR/><BR/>To start, there is more than one tier should one view issues regarding employment in Malaysia. For simplicity sake, there is the below RM1500 (union) monthly salary category as well as the above RM1500 (non union) monthly salary category. Much protection is for the lower (union) income group of employees.<BR/><BR/>I need to further stress here that anyone above RM1500/month or in a managerial position does not share any protection even though they fall within the current employment act. <BR/><BR/>For example in case where an employee has been unlawfully terminated, this person has 60 days to file a complain and any time after this period, no request will be entertained in Malaysia’s Industrial Court. Upon receiving this complain, the traumatized as well as jobless employee will be called along with employer for reconciliation purpose witness by a labor department personal. Here, the labor personal has no authority what so ever except giving mere suggestions to the employer to reinstate this person back. Failing which this labor personal can also suggest a “golden hand” shake for the betterment of both parties. If both parties cannot come to an understanding, this matter will be brought up to the Human Resource Ministry in Putrajaya for approval and later to be sent to the Industrial Court.<BR/><BR/>Now this is the tricky part. What happens if the HR Minister did not approve this case? This so called employee has to employ a lawyer to contradict the HR Ministry’s decision and it will cost him or her at least RM 50,000. So, it’s like good bye to this employee in most cases. <BR/><BR/>What happens when the HR Ministry approves the case to be submitted to the Industrial Court? Then it will take at least a few years when this case appears in industrial court bearing up in mind that most financially equipped companies can appeal after appeal to make sure the employee loses out in the end.<BR/><BR/>What happens when the employee wins the case in the industrial court and the company decides to appeal this case? Then most likely it will take another few years before it can be settled in court. Many cases will take between 3 to 8 years to be settle and the sad part in that the maximum payout is only 24 months, in which the so called employee has to bear lawyers fees, the emotions going to court and so forth. Please also remind ourselves that in our system the employees may not have the financial capabilities to go through this process as compared to the employers who are using their company’s expenditure.<BR/><BR/>A sad day for all unlawfully terminated Malaysians to endure in.<BR/><BR/>STAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27256617.post-85443274090652623902008-09-05T10:58:00.000+08:002008-09-05T10:58:00.000+08:00FOLKS, CAN DEMOCRACY ACTUALLY GUARANTEE US FREEDOM...FOLKS, CAN DEMOCRACY ACTUALLY GUARANTEE US FREEDOM???<BR/><BR/>CAN WE LEARN SOMETHING FROM THE AMERICAN EXPERIENCE ....<BR/> <BR/>read on<BR/>---------------------------------------------------------------------------------<BR/><BR/>What's the Meaning of 'Freedom'? .... But don't ask a politician!<BR/><BR/>by Rep. Ron Paul<BR/><BR/>"Man is not free unless government is limited. There's a clear cause and effect here that is as neat and predictable as a law of physics: As government expands, liberty contracts".<BR/><BR/>- Ronald Reagan<BR/><BR/><BR/>We've all heard the words democracy and freedom used countless times, especially in the context of our invasion of Iraq. They are used interchangeably in modern political discourse, yet their true meanings are very different. George Orwell (picture above right) wrote about "meaningless words" that are endlessly repeated in the political arena. Words like "freedom," "democracy," and "justice," Orwell explained, have been abused so long that their original meanings have been eviscerated. In Orwell's view, political words are "often used in a consciously dishonest way." Without precise meanings behind words, politicians and elites can obscure reality and condition people to reflexively associate certain words with positive or negative perceptions. In other words, unpleasant facts can be hidden behind purposely meaningless language. <BR/><BR/>As a result, Americans have been conditioned to accept the word "democracy" as a synonym for freedom, and thus to believe that democracy is unquestionably good. The problem is that democracy is not freedom. Democracy is simply majoritarianism, which is inherently incompatible with real freedom. Our founding fathers clearly understood this, as evidenced not only by our republican constitutional system, but also by their writings in the Federalist Papers and elsewhere. James Madison cautioned that under a democratic government, "There is nothing to check the inducement to sacrifice the weaker party or the obnoxious individual." John Adams argued that democracies merely grant revocable rights to citizens depending on the whims of the masses, while a republic exists to secure and protect preexisting rights. <BR/><BR/>Yet how many Americans know that the word "democracy" is found neither in the Constitution nor the Declaration of Independence, our very founding documents? A truly democratic election in Iraq, without U.S. interference and U.S. puppet candidates, almost certainly would result in the creation of a Shi'ite theocracy. Shi'ite majority rule in Iraq might well mean the complete political, economic, and social subjugation of the minority Kurd and Sunni Arab populations. Such an outcome would be democratic, but would it be free? Would the Kurds and Sunnis consider themselves free? The administration talks about democracy in Iraq, but is it prepared to accept a democratically elected Iraqi government no matter what its attitude toward the U.S. occupation? Hardly. For all our talk about freedom and democracy, the truth is we have no idea whether Iraqis will be free in the future. <BR/><BR/>They're certainly not free while a foreign army occupies their country. The real test is not whether Iraq adopts a democratic, pro-Western government, but rather whether ordinary Iraqis can lead their personal, religious, social, and business lives without interference from government. Simply put, freedom is the absence of government coercion. Our Founding Fathers understood this, and created the least coercive government in the history of the world. The Constitution established a very limited, decentralized government to provide national defense and little else. States, not the federal government, were charged with protecting individuals against criminal force and fraud. For the first time, a government was created solely to protect the rights, liberties, and property of its citizens. <BR/><BR/>Any government coercion beyond that necessary to secure those rights was forbidden, both through the Bill of Rights and the doctrine of strictly enumerated powers. This reflected the founders' belief that democratic government could be as tyrannical as any King. Few Americans understand that all government action is inherently coercive. If nothing else, government action requires taxes. If taxes were freely paid, they wouldn't be called taxes, they'd be called donations. If we intend to use the word freedom in an honest way, we should have the simple integrity to give it real meaning: Freedom is living without government coercion. So when a politician talks about freedom for this group or that, ask yourself whether he is advocating more government action or less. The political left equates freedom with liberation from material wants, always via a large and benevolent government that exists to create equality on earth. <BR/><BR/>To modern liberals, men are free only when the laws of economics and scarcity are suspended, the landlord is rebuffed, the doctor presents no bill, and groceries are given away. But philosopher Ayn Rand (and many others before her) demolished this argument by explaining how such "freedom" for some is possible only when government takes freedoms away from others. In other words, government claims on the lives and property of those who are expected to provide housing, medical care, food, etc. for others are coercive?and thus incompatible with freedom. "Liberalism," which once stood for civil, political, and economic liberties, has become a synonym for omnipotent coercive government. The political right equates freedom with national greatness brought about through military strength. <BR/><BR/>Like the left, modern conservatives favor an all-powerful central state? but for militarism, corporatism, and faith-based welfarism. Unlike the Taft-Goldwater conservatives of yesteryear, today's Republicans are eager to expand government spending, increase the federal police apparatus, and intervene militarily around the world. The last tenuous links between conservatives and support for smaller government have been severed. "Conservatism," which once meant respect for tradition and distrust of active government, has transformed into big-government utopian grandiosity. Orwell certainly was right about the use of meaningless words in politics. If we hope to remain free, we must cut through the fog and attach concrete meanings to the words politicians use to deceive us. <BR/><BR/>We must reassert that America is a republic, not a democracy, and remind ourselves that the Constitution places limits on government that no majority can overrule. We must resist any use of the word "freedom" to describe state action. We must reject the current meaningless designations of "liberals" and "conservatives," in favor of an accurate term for both: statists. Every politician on earth claims to support freedom. The problem is so few of them understand the simple meaning of the word.<BR/><BR/>Merdeka!!!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27256617.post-22448547529451212042008-09-05T09:53:00.000+08:002008-09-05T09:53:00.000+08:00The migrant workers are being exploited by employe...The migrant workers are being exploited by employers mainly because Malaysian government advocate low wage policy. Pro-capitalist government of Malaysia is supportive to this policy to compete for FDI from multinationals and even local companies. Laws and regulations are formulated to protect this exploitative policy for the benefits of capitalist. This profit oriented companies will not fulfill the fundemental needs of workers. <BR/><BR/>The trade unions should play crucial role in campaigning for the rights of migrant workers or workers generally. They should also organise more workers (including migrant workers) into unions. Build links with progressive trade unions or workers movement in other countries. We need a fighting and democratic unions. Only strong workers movement/organisation could defeat these draconian laws and policies. <BR/><BR/><BR/>Ravichandren<BR/>http://asocialistmalaysia.blogspot.com/CWI MALAYSIAhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10919700786983095252noreply@blogger.com