Happy Tamil New Year..Happy Vishnu...Happy Vaisakhi.. Happy Poila Baisakh .. Happy Assamese New Year

Indians - there are many different ethnic/language groups of India, and many of them have their own calendar, and their own New Years. In Malaysia, we also have persons from the various different Indian ethnic groups, whereby the Tamils are the largest of these ethnic groups. Other ethnic groups found in Malaysia include the Malayalees (from the State of Kerala), Telugus, Punjabis, Gujeratis, Goanese, Assamese, Bengalis, .... 

Let us also not forget the Sri Lankans - and the Sri Lankan Tamils.

Happy Tamil New Year (April 14, 2010)

Varusha Pirappu, or Puthandu or Chithirai Vishu, is the Tamil New Year celebrated all around the world by Tamil people. In 2010, Varusha Pirappu or Puthandu date is April 14, 2010. This is the first day in Tamil month of Chithirai masam in Vikrudhi year. As per Hinduism (Tamil beliefs), Chithirai Vishu is the day during which Lord Brahma started the creation. Many temples host special pujas during Puthandu in Tamil Nadu.-  Varusha Pirappu 2010 – Puthandu or Tamil New Year 2010

Happy Vaisakhi (April 14, 2010)

Vaisakhi (Punjabi: ਵਿਸਾਖੀ, Hindi: बैसाखी vaisākhī, also known as Baisakhi or Vasakhi) is an ancient harvest festival in the Punjab region, which also marks beginning of a new solar year, and new harvest season. Baisakhi is a Sikh religious festival. It falls on the first day of the BaisakhNanakshahi calendar, which corresponds to April 14 in the Gregorian calendar. In Sikhism, it is one of the most significant holidays in the Sikh calendar, commemorating the establishment of the Khalsa at Anandpur Sahib in 1699, by the 10th Sikh Guru, Guru Gobind Singh. month in the solar

This day is also observed as the beginning of the Hindu solar new year celebrated by the people of Nepal and India in Kerala, Orissa, West Bengal and some other regions of India. The particular significance attached to the occasion shows regional variation outside of Punjab too. In Himachal Pradesh, the Hindu Goddess Jwalamukhi is worshipped on Vaisakhi, while in Bihar, the Sun-god Surya is honoured. The festival is celebrated as Rongali Bihu in Assam, Naba Barsha or Pohela Boishakh in Bengal, Assam and Tripura, Puthandu (Tamil New Year) in Tamil Nadu, Vishu (or Vaishakhi) in Kerala, Maha Vishuba Sankranti (or Pana Sankranti) in Orissa, and the Sinhala and Tamil new year festival in Sri Lanka. Besides Punjab, Baisakhi is widely celebrated as traditional harvest festival in many northern states of India, such as Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. In many places the day is marked by ritualistic bathing in sacred rivers like the Ganges. - Wikipedia

 Happy Vishu (April 15, 2010) - Malayalee New Year

Vishu is the harvest festival of Kerala observed on the first day of the Medam month (April – May) of Malayalam Panchang. It is the first day in Malayalam calendar. Vishu 2010 date is April 15. This festival is also celebrated in Tulu Nadu region in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. In some places Vishu is known as Bisu. Vishu festival also marks the day of Mesha Sankranti or Mesha Sankraman during which Sun transits to the first zodiac – Mesha Rashi or Aries zodiac. Literally, Vishu means equal and signifies one of the equinox. Malayalam calendar is also known as Kollavarsham.

Vishu festival or the first day of Medam month is considered as the astrological New Year day whereas the official Malayalam New Year starts in Chingam month (August – September).- Vishu 2010 – Vishu Festival date in 2010 or Malayalam New Year 2010

Happy Poila Baisakh (April 15, 2010) - Bengali New Year

Poila Baisakh or Pohela Boishakh or Poela Boishakh, also known as Naba Barsha, is the traditional Bengali New Year Day celebrated in West Bengal, Bangladesh, and Bengali communities in Assam and Tripura. Poila Baisakh 2010 or Naba Barsha 2010 date is April 15. Poila Baisakh gets all Bengalis together irrespective of their religions, regions, traditionas, and cultures. In traditional Bengali calendar, 2010 – 2011 is Bengali Year 1462.

In Bengal, Poila Baisakh and the whole month of Boishakh is considered as auspicious time for marriages. ‘Probhat Pheri’, processions in the morning, is widely celebrated all over Bengal to welcome the New Year in a traditional way. Bengalis consider Pohela Boishakh very auspicious to start any new venture, business, or house constructions.Poila Baisakh 2010 or Pohela Boishakh 2010 – Bengali New Year in 2010

Happy Assamese New Year (April 15, 2010)

Bohag Bihu, also known as Rongali Bihu, is the Assamese New Year Day celebrated in mid April every year. This is the first day of Bohag month in traditional Assam calendar which follows the solar calendar. Bohag Bihu 2010 or Rongali Bihu 2010 date is April 15. This festival is celebrated for three days. Goru Bihu, Manu Bihu or Manuh Bihu, and Gosain Bihu are the three days of Bihu festival in April 2010.

Rongali Bihu or Bohag Bihu is the collective name of Bihu festivals celebrated during the Assam New Year. Goru Bihu is the last day of previous year which is dedicated to cattle worship. Assam New Year day is known as Manu Bihu or Manuh Bihu. The next day of Manu Bihu is known as Gosain Bihu. There is no particular ritual associated with Gosain Bihu.

• Goru Bihu 2010 date – April 14 (Last day of 2009-10 Assam Year)
• Manu Bihu 2010 or Rongali or Bohag Bihu 2010 – April 15 (Assam New Year Day)
• Gosain Bihu 2010 date – April 16 (Third day of Assam New year celebrations)- Bohag Bihu 2010 – Rongali Bihu in 2010 or Assamese New Year 2010

Telugu New Year (March 16, 2010)

Ugadi is the New Year (Lunar New Year) for Telugu and Kannada speaking people and it ushers in the spring season. In 2010, the date of Ugadi is March 16. Ugadi (yuga and adi) means beginning of an astronomical cycle. It is also the first day of Chaitra, the first month of the traditional Hindu calendar followed in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. Ugadi is also known as Chadramana Ugadi or Chandramana Varsha Thodaku or Vatsara Arambha.

For the Telugu and Kannada speaking people, Ugadi day begins with an extensive oil bath. Rangolis or Kolams are drawn in front of homes and doors and windows are decorated with a 'thorana' - mango leaves strung together. Then, it is time for the preparation of the famous ‘Ugadi Pachadi’ in Andhra Pradesh. In Karnataka, it is the ‘Bevu Bella.’

A major event on the day is “Panchanga Sravanam” – predictions for the year. It is organized at temples and by cultural and social organizations. 

Ugadi Pachadi which is distributed on the day is a unique dish with a mixture of six tastes ranging from sweet to bitter. It comprises of jaggery, raw mango, tamarind, neem flowers, salt and green chilli. This is the first dish that people have on Ugadi day.

Ugadi Pachadi has an important symbolic meaning that life brings different experiences ranging from sweet to bitter. Therefore each individual should learn to take the different experiences in one's stride and move ahead.

Instead of the Ugadi Pachadi, in some places people serve jaggery mixed with neem leaves. The bitter taste of neem leaves and the sweet of jaggery symbolize joy and sorrow in life. This is more popular with Kannadigas. Ugadi in 2010 – Yugadi – Telugu and Kannada New Year

Has Najib made Malaysia a US crony? Have we abandoned our principles? Did he say anything about US's NPT breaches? Did he also hail Obama?

There is great concern about the position of Malaysia vis-a-vis USA. Have we surrendered our principles and became just another US crony state?

During the Mahathir era, Malaysia was respected amongst the international community as being a nation that stood against the US and 'the more powerful' nations of the world. But seeing the picture of Najib with the US President - it looks like Malaysia has compromised itself. 'Good  Loyal Boy Najib' seems to be the message I get from the picture of Biden and Najib in the recent Star report. (see the Star Report below)

On the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), it is important to note that one of the primary objective was for the destruction of all nuclear weapons - but the US have been developing new ones, and have also been guilty of placing nuclear weapons/capabilities in other non-nuclear countries in Europe, etc. It discriminates against Iran and North Korea - and its lack of action against Israel is so telling. Sadly, UMNO-led BN governed Malaysia may also now be having the same position with the US.  

So happy was our Prime Minister to be invited to the this 47-nation 'Nuclear Security Summit'  aimed at getting support for the US position and against US's 'enemies' like Iran and North Korea. Iran and North Korea, , by the way, were not even invited, and this is really odd. Was the attendance of Malaysia, a confirmation that Malaysia is now one of  US's crony states?

What did Najib do at the Summit? Did he raise issues of US's breach of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Agreement? Did it say anything against Israel - and possible sanctions against Israel? Did Najib raise the issue of the obvious discrimination against Iran and North Korea,  as compared with the attitude and behaviour with regard to Israel, and the other countries. Or, was Najib just so happy to have been invited by that great US? And, ...he just sat there nodding in agreement with all that Obama said - a faithful loyal unquestioning Malaysian Prime Minister.

The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, also Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT or NNPT) is a treaty to limit the spread (proliferation) of nuclear weapons. The treaty came into force on 5 March 1970 and currently there are 189 states party to the treaty, five of which are recognized as nuclear weapon states: the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, France, and China (also the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council).

Four non-parties to the treaty are known or believed to possess nuclear weapons. India, Pakistan and North Korea have openly tested and declared that they possess nuclear weapons, while Israel has had a policy of opacity regarding its own nuclear weapons program. North Korea acceded to the treaty, violated it, and withdrew from it in 2003...

The NPT consists of a preamble and eleven articles. Although the concept of "pillars" appears nowhere in the NPT, the treaty is nevertheless sometimes interpreted as a three pillar system, with an implicit balance among them:

1. non-proliferation,
2. disarmament, and
3. the right to peacefully use nuclear technology.- Wikipedia

Despite the ending of the cold-war, US and the other nuclear weapon states have not fulfilled their obligations to disarm - to destroy all nuclear weapons. 

It has also placed nuclear weapons in other countries - which is certainly against the spirit of the NPT, and also a violation. But, the US and its 'cronies' always have justifications - and the rest of the world just do not have the power and the ability to do much against the US, and these other countries.

Under NATO nuclear weapons sharing, the United States has provided nuclear weapons for Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and Turkey to deploy and store.[31] This involves pilots and other staff of the "non-nuclear" NATO states practicing, handling, and delivering the U.S. nuclear bombs, and adapting non-U.S. warplanes to deliver U.S. nuclear bombs. ....The Institute of Strategic Studies Islamabad (ISSI) has criticized the arrangement for allegedly violating Article I and II of the NPT, arguing that "these Articles do not permit the NWS to delegate the control of their nuclear weapons directly or indirectly to others."[34] NATO has argued that the weapons' sharing is compliant with the NPT because "the U.S. nuclear weapons based in Europe are in the sole possession and under constant and complete custody and control of the United States."[35] - Wikipedia

What about Israel? They are not only researching for peaceful use - but have developed, and have nuclear weapons. But, then there has been no 'sanctions', investigations or public outcries by the US, etc...compared with Iran, who has not only allowed inspections but have also declared that they are not intending to develop nuclear weapons - but merely is developing the technology for peaceful purposes. [Of course, US and its cronies do want anybody, especially those that are not its 'friends', to have even this technology. They want countries to buy the enriched uranium from the US, etc...do not learn the technology needed to make cars - just buy the cars from us directly - is all this really just 'business' and monopoly of technology and control?]. The sad thing is that Malaysia may already be an-unquestioning crony of the US.

But no country comes close to the United States in defying international agreements against the spread and use of nuclear weapons—agreements administered by the IAEA. The IAEA enforces the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), supposedly an agreement of the world’s governments to stop the spread of nuclear weapons. The NPT does not ban nuclear weapons, or their use. In large part, the point of the NPT is to maintain the monopoly of nuclear weapons in the hands of a handful of world powers—mainly the United States and Russia. Nuclear powers supposedly agree not to spread nuclear weapons to other countries, and non-nuclear states promise not to acquire or develop them. The incentive for this is supposed to be that countries with nuclear technology share that technology with non-nuclear countries for peaceful purposes. (The NPT is available at fas.org/nuke/control/npt/text/npt2.htm.)

Even while the NPT is a stacked deck to maintain the current U.S. monopoly on global nuclear terror (with Russia as its only competition), the U.S. is by far the greatest violator of rules in the NPT against the spreading of nuclear weapons technology.

Many of the U.S./NATO nukes in Europe, for example, are set to be deployed in, and under the control of, non-nuclear NATO countries. As a 2005 study by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) points out, this is a “violation of Non-Proliferation Treaty’s (NPT) main objective.” (“U.S. Nuclear Weapons in Europe: A Review of Post-Cold War Policy, Force Levels, and War Planning,” by Hans M. Kristensen, Natural Resources Defense Council, February 2005)

One of the fundamental goals of the NPT is supposed to be “the cessation of the nuclear arms race and to undertake effective measures in the direction of nuclear disarmament.” The U.S. has developed “bunker buster” nuclear bombs—again in violation of the NPT and other treaties that prohibit the development of new nuclear weapons. By upgrading its nukes, modernizing them, and integrating a nuclear war component into its warfighting strategy, the U.S. eclipses anything any so-called “rogue nation” could even dream of in undermining the stated intent of the NPT.

For years, the U.S. has targeted non-nuclear nations (including Iran) with nukes. A recent article in Scientific American, based on documents obtained by scientists using the Freedom of Information Act, revealed that “The [U.S.] nuclear warheads resting on ballistic missiles in silos, circling the globe in submarines or carried—sometimes mistakenly—by aircraft” are targeted at “so-called ‘regional proliferators,’ smaller states seeking to acquire such weapons of mass destruction.” The latest list of targeted countries made available to the authors of the article, for 2002, included North Korea, Libya, Iran, and Syria (“‘Axis of Evil’ Targeted by U.S. Nuclear Weapons” by David Biello, November 5, 2007). Targeting nations without nuclear weapons for nuclear attack is in violation of NPT agreements.

And then there’s Israel—the only country in the Middle East armed with nuclear weapons. Israel has never signed the NPT, and its nuclear weapons program is unsupervised and uninspected by the IAEA. Israel has an estimated 400 nuclear and thermonuclear weapons, and is developing the capacity to launch them from submarines (“U.S. Air Force: Israel has 400 nukes, building naval force,” World Tribune, July 4, 2002). Israel’s current missile capacity can fire nuclear warheads into Iran and every other nation in the Middle East.

In January 2005, Dick Cheney made a not-very-veiled threat that Israel could attack Iran: “One of the concerns people have is that Israel might do it without being asked.... Given the fact that Iran has a stated policy that their objective is the destruction of Israel, the Israelis might well decide to act first, and let the rest of the world worry about cleaning up the diplomatic mess afterwards.” (MSNBC interview, January 2005)

The U.S., right now, holds nuclear weapons over the heads of the people of the world. A U.S. attack on Iran, under the pretext of stopping nuclear weapons proliferation, could very likely involve the use of nuclear weapons. In an article in The New Yorker that outlines highly developed plans for a U.S. attack on Iran, Seymour Hersh writes, “One of the military’s initial option plans, as presented to the White House by the Pentagon this winter, calls for the use of a bunker-buster tactical nuclear weapon, such as the B61-11, against underground nuclear sites.” (“The Iran Plans: Would President Bush go to war to stop Tehran from getting the bomb?” by Seymour M. Hersh, April 17, 2006).

Imagine the Pandora’s box that would be opened by the first actual use of a nuclear bomb in the Middle East by the U.S. That would set a precedent for all kinds of new development and potential for use of nuclear weapons. And it would escalate the whole McWorld vs. Jihad clash with terrible consequences. - Who is the Greatest Proliferator of Nuclear Weapons?

State of the World’s Nuclear Powers

There are nine countries in the world who currently maintain nuclear weapons in their arsenal: Russia, the United States, France, China, the United Kingdom, Pakistan, India, Israel, and North Korea. It should be noted that Israel neither confirms nor denies having nuclear weapons and South Africa remains the first and only country to have dismantled its nuclear arsenal, which it did in 1989.

Out of those nine nations, only India, Pakistan, and North Korea currently lack operational intercontinental delivery mechanisms. India’s Agni-II, Pakistan’s Shaheen-II, and North Korea’s Taepodong-1 nuclear capable missiles all maintain an estimated delivery range of 2,500 kilometers. While this limits the countries which could potentially be targeted in the event of a nuclear confrontation to their direct neighbors, all three are in the process of developing ICBMs.

WASHINGTON: President Barack Obama has congratulated Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak for initiating legislation against those involved in the proliferation of weapons of mass des­­truction.

A statement issued by the White House after Monday’s bilateral meeting noted that Najib shared the US concern about the destabilising ef­­fects of such proliferation.

“The President congratulated Na­­jib for the recent action on the Strategic Trade Act, which will strengthen the ability of Malaysian authorities to take action against individuals and entities engaged in proliferation,” said the statement.

The Strategic Trade Act, passed on April 5, gives the authorities power to act against those involved in the design, development and production of weapons of mass destruction and protect Malaysian exporters from being used as a channel to supply illegal strategic goods.

Warm ties: Najib and Biden sharing a light moment as the vice-president welcomes him at the Naval Observatory, the vice-president’s residence, in Washington on Monday. — AFP

Both leaders, the statement said, also agreed to work together to further strengthen the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and to achieve a successful NPT Review Conference next month.

The bilateral meeting, held on the sidelines of the Nuclear Security Summit, touched on non-proliferation, trade and investment, human rights, Afghanistan and Iran.

The White House stated that Malaysia’s economic vibrancy, democracy, and willingness to cooperate on key security and multilateral issues formed the basis for a strong bilateral partnership with the United States.

Malaysia is currently the 18th largest trading partner of the US, with approximately US$34bil in two-way goods trade in 2009.

On Afghanistan, Najib informed Obama that at the request of the Afghan government, Malaysia recently deployed a team to assess possible ways to contribute to the reconstruction of the country.

Both leaders agreed on the importance of Iran abiding by its obligations under the international nuclear non-proliferation regime.

Najib also informed Obama that Malaysia had made significant efforts to curb human trafficking.

The Prime Minister later joined Obama and other world leaders at the summit, after days of intense lobbying by Washington to gain support to pressure Iran over its nuclear weapons programme.

Bringing together leaders from 46 countries in the US capital, Obama is seeking to rein in loose nuclear materials within four years to keep them beyond the reach of terrorist groups.

Obama will chair all three plenary sessions to discuss national and international actions to secure nuclear material and curb illicit trafficking, among other things.- Star, 14/4/2010, Obama hails Malaysia’s move to curb WMDs

Will PKR reward 'party hoppers'? Or will they choose persons with long history of fighting for human rights, justice, ..?

There seem to be a lot of people (within PKR and otherwise) that is lobbying for Zaid Ibrahim to be fielded as the PKR candidate in the upcoming Hulu Selangor by-elections.

I personally hope that he is not the candidate that PKR chooses - Why? Because he is a 'very recent' party hopper from UMNO (and BN), who suddenly seem to have been struck by a 'lightning of conscience' who started 'voicing out' when ISA was used against MP Teresa Kok and some others. I do not think he has much of an history standing up for justice and human rights before this. I do not remember him as being a lawyer that stood for human rights as a member of the Bar. He may have changed - but it is best that we give him some time, at least 5 - 10 years, before we put him up as an MP for PKR - surely there are so many others that are better qualified, and who have a very long history of fighting for change, for human rights, for justice, for the people....

 

In March 2008 elections, Zaid Ibrahim stood as an UMNO/BN candidate and lost. I wonder whether we have the tapes about what he said about the Opposition during the election campaign.

 

Now, despite losing, he was chosen by the UMNO Prime Minister to be made a Senator and a Minister - that tells you a lot, does it not.

 

Zaid Ibrahim, being a Kelantanese UMNO man, really did not have much of a political future within the UMNO/BN if was to contest in Kelantan - hence, not much of a 'sacrifice' to jump over to PKR ...whereby, he really has been 'rewarded' too much - to be sky-rocketed into the position of PR Coordinator, and even there is talk that he may be made the No.2 [3] in PKR after Anwar, Wan Azizah...

 

There is a lacuna in the PKR leadership because PKR itself has filed to project other leaders - spending too much time and effort promoting just one man, his wife and maybe his 'close associates'. I believe that there are more than sufficient persons within the PKR that can be the current leaders and future leaders. But alas, PKR seems to be 'side-lining' even the former Reformasi leaders, the ex-PRM leaders, civil society leaders - preferring rather to promote the more recent party-hoppers from BN. Look and see who are the speakers at the recent PKR ceramahs - Zaid, Chua.... 

 

The people are watching, and we shall see who Pakatan Rakyat fields as its candidate in this upcoming by-elections... Will some UMNO/BN party-hopper be getting their 'reward' for jumping? Or will it be a candidate with a long history of working for 'reformasi' (change), human rights and justice? I do not forsee the Opposition bringing about much changes, if most of their leaders/MPs/ADUNs were really former UMNO/BN persons...all we can then hope, is a mere change of 'faces' but no real changes that will benefit the people.    

We shall see...we shall see...

 

PKR is "most likely" to field supreme council member Zaid Ibrahim in the Apr 25 Hulu Selangor parliamentary by-election if the BN names MIC deputy president G Palanivel as its candidate, according to party insiders.

They said PKR may change its candidate at the 11th hour if the BN decides not to field Palanivel.

"As for now, what I heard is that Zaid Ibrahim (right) still tops the list of being the best PKR candidate for the by-election. Zaid still carries 'national weight' despite being an outsider and is seen by PKR as the best candidate to challenge the BN.

"However, there could be a change (in the candidate) if the BN decides not to field Palanivel," one party insider told Bernama.

He felt that Zaid and Palanivel would be the ideal candidates as both had served the federal government administration.

Zaid, who was expelled from Umno in December 2008, was a minister in the Prime Minister's Department in charge of legal affairs and judicial reform while Palanivel (left) was the deputy minister of Women, Family and Community Development.

"It would be only appropriate if a Datuk fights a Datuk, a heavyweight fights a heavyweight," the insider said.

Another insider said fielding Zaid would be most favourable to PKR in light of the constituency's recent voting pattern.

"Zaid is a recognisable face. Everyone knows him and he is quite popular with the non-Malays as well. Furthermore, Zaid is seen as a principled politician, since he was willing to resign as a minister. People respect him for this,” he said.

Meanwhile, sources claimed that PKR's intention to field Zaid reflected the party's anticipation that the BN would field a political heavyweight.

The Hulu Selangor seat fell vacant following the death of the Member of Parliament, Zainal Abidin Ahmad of PKR, on Mar 25.

In the 2008 general election, Zainal Abidin defeated Palanivel by a 198-vote majority. Hulu Selangor has 63,593 voters.

The BN has announced that it would nominate a candidate from the MIC to contest the seat.

The candidate is expected to be identified on Apr 15, two days before nomination for the by-election.

Speculation is rife that Palanivel, 61, who had been Hulu Selangor MP from 1990 to 2008, would be fielded once again as the BN candidate although there is some clamour for a younger candidate.- Bernama - Malaysiakini, 11/4/2010, PKR to field Zaid if BN chose Palanivel

Anwar, Zaid, Chua (former BN Ministers) should reveal the mistakes that BN(they) made that may affect free healthcare in Malaysia..

Whenever there is a debate about the need for free universal healthcare, the problem may be the characteristic of our people's representative, the Member of Parliaments, State Legislative Persons, Senators. Many a time, these persons are rich and are not consumers of the public health care facilities/services - and have the capability and the money to go to the private medical establishment locally (and even overseas).

Another characteristic is that many are corporate personalities - or involved in private businesses, hence their concern seem to be not so much the general welfare of the common person - but the question of business, profits and losses. In Malaysia, it is the fact that it is the corporation and the businesses that have the ears of these politicians. Even, the recent argument for the reduction of subsidies - the abolition of subsidies, is so that money could be channeled to more building, etc projects .... 

There is a documentary that one should watch, i.e. entitled 'SICKO'. It was screened in ASTRO last year, I believe. This documentary looks at the healthcare in the US, and compares it with the developed nations in Europe, UK, France...Canada, Cuba, etc...[In the UK, you do not pay any fees, and in fact, you have the right to claim travel cost to and from the hospital. In France, if not mistaken, you also have the mobile doctor service, whereby the doctor  will come to your homes ...]

But alas, the UMNO-led BN government is not looking at all these better models where healthcare is free...Malaysia seems be interested in 'privatizing'...charging the people more. Pay the doctors, specialist and medical staff more - and give them all the benefits of a public servant including pension. So much unnecessary money is spent in buying submarines and bailing out big companies. So much money is also lost through inefficiency - a project is given to one company who sub-contracts to another who sub-contracts to another who sub-contracts to another...and so much money is wasted by this practice. It may be interesting to note that many of these companies also may not even the capacity to carry out the projects... some say that is how money is 'siphoned out' to political party coffers...cronies, etc...

Previously, if there is a pothole in the road - the JKR comes out and gets it repaired immediately. Today, there will be a tender....a project...etc and so much unnecessary money gets wasted just to even maintain public roads...Why? There must be a review of all these - and the government must have their own public workforce especially when it comes to maintenance work...

Taxation is one of the way the government gets money...and in fact, maybe there must be higher taxes especially for the rich. 

Oh yes, our UMNO-led BN government also went and signed that 'copyright' agreements when it signed those World Trade Organisation(WTO) Agreements and the free trade agreements. Of course, then they talked only about CDs, VCDs, DVDs.... but this agreement also covers medicines. Previously, Malaysia made its own basic medicines - and they all had that 'KK' impression - but by reason of the agreements that Malaysia have signed, now they have to buy almost all medicines from the big Pharmaceutical companies - and that certainly has increased the cost of healthcare. Lose tablets would save money - but now it all comes in metal strips (again a waste of money) - which makes the cost of medicine higher. Nowadays, government hospital pharmacies is able to give only 2 weeks (or 1 month supply) of medicine - requiring the patient to make repeated trips to get their supply of medicine. And now, they are moves to get Pos Laju to deliver the medicines - again unnecessary increase in cost.

It is, at the end of the day, the failings of the UMNO-led BN government that have put us all in this situation. And, guess what, agreements are also kept 'secret', and it is rather difficult for us to get out of many of these agreements. The government did not consult, let alone inform people about these agreements when they were considering signing them - and, interestingly, these agreements are still 'secret'. 

Anwar Ibrahim, former DPM and Finance Minister, surely knows about all this. Zaid Ibrahim, former Minister, also should know about this. Chua Jui Meng, former health minister, also definitely should know this. But alas, I wonder why they are not telling the people about all this. Rather they chose to bring about issues of some Israeli 'Zionist' company ...and Israeli personnel here and there...Why do you keep secrets still?  

What is the Malaysian Medical Association's (MMA) stand on the issue of the full-paying patients? The MMA has always supported better remuneration for doctors and specialists in the public health sector, although in this particular issue of full-paying patients, the MMA has some reservations.

We have always been working closely with the Health Ministry (MoH) and the government including the JPA (Public Service Department) for better conditions and wages and other perks for our doctors. We recognise that doctors who opt to remain in service often place a lot of their potential earnings on hold and sacrifice a lot for their civic duty and responsibilities. In the recent announcement by the prime minister, the enhanced and accelerated promotional exercises and benefits for doctors are therefore greatly welcomed.

So in this context, should the MOH allow specialists in the public hospitals to be given a choice to have private practice? Earlier, this was in the form of limited private practice at private medical centres and the universities to help make their service conditions more attractive, and perhaps to help retain their much-needed services in the public sector.

Whilst this has possibly helped to stem the outflow of experienced staff to the private sector, this approach has been criticised for some abuses, especially when found within the same hospital's private wing. It has been pointed out repeatedly that some specialists appeared to spend more time in private practice than in the public health facilities, thus undermining the services provided for the less privileged.

Some poor patients have also been asked to go to the private wing or centres for quicker access for some surgeries or procedures, which has caused complaints of unfair rationing, pressure and preferential treatment. Therefore the MMA supports that better regulatory limits be put in place to clearly define how many hours doctors can work in the private sector versus public institutions, where the patient load is far more onerous.

The approach of using public hospitals for full-paying patients may put the pressure on doctors to subconsciously prefer these patients and may encourage queue jumping and even undermine natural justice of fair waiting times and queues for limited resources. This may be a natural human response to immediate 'reward' for services, but is unfair in the context of a public sector expectation, where equitable care should be the standard.

So we hope the MOH and government would seriously reconsider this move. Particularly at this time when the economy is far from being healthy and many people are still reeling from the financial crisis. Perhaps a better system of healthcare financing or insurance can be put in place before embarking on this sort of 'luxury' or 'Cadillac' buying move for healthcare services.


Nevertheless, the MMA has always been worried about our very heavily subsidised healthcare, so much so that our rakyat do not seem to understand that healthcare is not free - someone has to pay for it. Having a system where the poor pay only RM1 for clinic visits and medications is not sustainable in the long term, no matter that this seems to be politically correct, and popular. So the government has painted itself into a corner.

Is the rakyat ready?

We recognise that the government would love to continue to provide nearly free medical and healthcare for everyone, but the mechanism for financing this is far from adequate or structured sufficiently well. We do not have enough allocation for such a heavily subsidised system of healthcare. There has to be a form of tax or insurance buying that is big enough and purely allocated for healthcare for this to work.

But is the rakyat ready for this new form of tax or social insurance scheme? Perhaps the time has come to bite the bullet and expose the reality behind the healthcare costs - there are no short-term measures just for political grandstanding moves, which cannot be sustained. Will such a co-payment scheme help pay for costs of healthcare? A report from the Selayang Hospital full-paying patients experience showed that in 2008 and 2009 respectively, some RM1.794 to RM1.717 million per year were generated from this scheme.

This catered to a total of some 1,830 to 1,649 patients respectively, with the bulk paid for from in-hospital services (RM1.35 to RM1.47 million) but actually catering to only 497 and 499 in-hospital patients, respectively. Specialist doctors receive 30% to 90% of the services provided, but the actual quantum was not specified.

Considering the amount of money retrieved by one such hospital experience, the MMA is not at all convinced that a sufficiently large financial return can be collected to overcome the subsidies that the government has to dish out so far. We are talking about RM13 billion of healthcare expenditure per year, so even if all the main tertiary hospitals embark on this mode of financial reimbursement scheme, it will be a small fraction of the total.

Given the above scenario, will 'subsidised' patients be given fair treatment in the public hospitals? There is always the fear and perception that poor subsidised patients would be shortchanged and asked to wait longer, or even be pressured to move toward the full paying side for 'quicker' queue-jumping accelerated care. This cannot be denied.

And unfortunately some poor patients have every right to feel this to be so. Because every ill patient would surely like or even demand diagnostic testing and treatment at the quickest possible time. However, for urgent treatment including surgeries for emergencies, the rakyat need not be too worried.

All doctors and health services will always give preference and priority for emergencies, no matter whether one can afford to pay or not. This fear of being ignored or wait-listed is unlikely to happen because there is always the medical 'need' consideration, which will always give such patients the leapfrog priority for all urgent or emergency cases to the front of queues for treatment. However, perception and possibly experience may be different in reality.

For less serious conditions however, when this is not life threatening, there could be some inconvenience and possibly longer painful periods of waiting for their turn, eg, hip/knee arthritis or stable angina patients.

Subsidy remains unaddressed

There is a suggestion that the government reverts all healthcare personnel to be paid like the (National Heart Institute) model, where premium salaries are paid to help retain personnel and encourage greater dedication to work. This has helped to reduce staff turnover (to less than 3%) and greater stability of available experts and other personnel and also more consistent service availability.

In other words, there is a suggestion that we develop an entirely different salary scale for the health and medical services, perhaps even a dedicated Medical Services Commission, parallel but outside the Public Services Commission. This has been suggested, but may not be feasible, as someone still has to find the funding for such a service commission.

Also, other professionals from other services may then also demand their own commission, so where do we stop? But this identification that doctor salaries are the main costs of this exercise is also misleading. Salary or remuneration costs while important and high, form perhaps just 20 to 30 percent of the costs of healthcare in most countries' healthcare expenditure.

The concept of full-paying patients is also to collect for the other services and other components other than doctor fees. So the larger subsidised component still remains unaddressed.

The health minister has said that “government and private sectors should work together. Because the doctors that we train are for the nation, irrespective of (whether they work for the) government or private.

“Doctors are serving the people. In Malaysia, 41 percent of our population go to private hospitals and clinics and 59 percent go to public health institutions. Therefore, the private sector is playing an important role to ease the burden and also the workload in government hospitals.”

It is heartening that the current health minister is enlightened and positive about this private sector contribution. It is with this in mind that the MOH has recently invited GPs (general practitioners) to register and help participate in MOH health clinics throughout the country. However, whether this goes on into a viable full partnership is left to be seen.

But we certainly encourage all our members to participate and help make this collaboration succeed. Therefore, this is an opportune time to ensure that these mechanisms for better partnership between public and private healthcare sectors be further forged to facilitate closer and more meaningful collaboration.

No foolproof system anywhere

We do need some reform of the healthcare system but this has to be done carefully with the rakyat fully understanding that no government can continue to heavily subsidise healthcare to the tune of 98 percent in the public health sector. There is no free lunch in healthcare services, and the sooner the people understand this, the better.

The rakyat has to learn to accept some form of co-payment, either from specified taxes, social health insurances (similar to EPF or Socso) and the government cannot sidestep this issue much longer - a dedicated allocation from such a mandated community collected financing scheme is the best way forward. Finding the exact numbers and correct formula is the tremendous challenge, but it is not impossible. It can and should be done, soon.

In his book on 'Good and Bad Power', Geoff Mulgan (a British political scientist) discusses that while most governments provide the structure, it is the more comprehensive, well thought-of infrastructure provisions that lead to transformative services - that “much of the recent thinking about service ... has adopted models from the private sector ... largely drawn on industrial ... models favouring speed, standardisation, flow and efficiency”.

He went on to describe: “(t)hese services are human, immediate, personalised and rich in communication, anticipating need rather than just meeting it and 'going the extra step'. In the case of therapeutic services the servant's job is to change the master, to make him healthier, fitter, and happier.”

In a paper on the Singapore model of public-private partnership, Dr MK Lim identifies three key questions which should be answered: (a) how to raise revenues to pay for healthcare; (b) how to pool risks and resources; and (c) how to organise and deliver healthcare in the most efficient and cost-effective manner.

It is clear that there is no foolproof system anywhere on the globe. Some of the more successful models involve a mix of safety nets with monitored privatisation/corporatisation of services and allowing 'coopetition' (competition and cooperation) to thrive.

Lim further argues that “even in Europe, the sustainability of healthcare systems founded on egalitarian welfarism is increasingly being challenged as growth in demand outstrips supply. The debate is no longer about 'who should pay?' or 'who should provide?' but 'who can do the job more efficiently?'”

Thus, as our two-tiered system is now so well-entrenched, we should find ways and means to ensure that it works better and more efficiently, where we can synergise our efforts to provide good quality, safe, and cost-effective healthcare for our patients.

However, this must not only be affordable but also be self-funding and self-sufficient. Where too much bureaucracy bogs down the better productivity and efficiency, these should be dismantled and restructured in ways that encourage best practices, and which empowers and benefits the patient ultimately.

More cost-effective system

Full integration of private-public healthcare sectors appears unlikely (although this is one of the strategies of the MOH), but better partnership and collaboration of services can be aspired to, where the best of each system can be harnessed for the healthcare betterment of our citizens.

We should aim for a more cost-effective system, although not necessarily a lower-cost one. A single or easily portable system of reimbursement should also be considered.

While corporatisation/privatisation is still much feared and deeply unpopular as a model of divesting central control of unavoidable rising costs and developmental constraints, this might be the way to go if the model for market-driven healthcare is adopted.

This is the model practiced by Singapore, with its well-tried and tested schemes that can be tweaked to respond to the many diverse facets of healthcare peculiarities. Or conversely, a single-payer (and/or single insurance) National Health Service mechanism could be introduced, learning from the examples of say, Taiwan, Canada or the UK.

Whatever the decision, the government must make greater efforts to engage and explain to the public the policy directions that it wants the country to advance with regards healthcare services. The MMA stands ready to assist in any way to bring about the best system that is livable, affordable and acceptable for all Malaysians.

Part 1: Obstacles to improving healthcare

DR DAVID KL QUEK was the editor-in-chief of the 'MMA News' (bulletin of the Malaysian Medical Association) for 11 years and is currently president of the MMA.- Malaysiakini, 10/4/2010, Can the Govt Continue to Subsidise Healthcare?

 

Should we cut 'cooking gas' subsidy? Electricity subsidy? Water subsidy? No, we should not...

Malaysia enjoys the sun all year around - but sadly UMNO-led BN government had decided not to extract and use this solar energy. Why? I say it is foolishness - and the government was too dependent on oil and gas that the country produced.

Because we have the national grid, solar energy need not be stored in solar cells but could immediately be utilized by transmitting through the national grid. At nights, then the other sources could be utilized.

Wind is another natural resource that could have been developed but again the Malaysian government has not done anything about this. Our east coast shoreline in the Peninsular provides massive untapped wind resources.

Why did the Malaysian government not utilize these alternative resources? Was it to protect the profits of the IPP and government cronies?

There is a pre-occupation with the UMNO-led BN government to achieve developed nation status, but we must ask the reason for this. I see no real benefit in achieving 'developed nation status' - and, in fact achieving  such status will be to the detriment of the Malaysian people, and the nation.

People - the welfare and the well-being of all the persons in Malaysia must be the priority of the government. If we move out of the Klang Valley and the bigger towns, we will realize that development has not really filtered down to the whole of Malaysia, and its peoples. Development models have focused very much on the towns.

Railway - since independence, we find that new railway lines have not been developed. Should there not have been developed an east-coast line linking Johor Bahru, Mersing, Pekan, Kuantan, Kuala Trengganu and Kota Bahru? What about a railway line linking Kota Bahru to Penang. What about lines in Sabah and Sarawak. We need a mass public transport system in place for we cannot just continue with the policy of trying to get all Malaysians to buy cars for getting around - what with fuel getting depleted, and cost of fuel rising? 

In most developed countries,  Japan, England, France...Europe, etc... people are encouraged to get into bicycles - and there are proper cycle lanes, parking places, etc... everywhere but in Malaysia, we find that even the pedestrian walkways are disappearing. What about bicycles? New bridges and flyovers do not even have place for the pedestrian to walk.

Malaysia can move faster towards the much sought target of a high-income economy under the New Economic Model if current cheap electricity rates, linked to subsidised gas, can come to an end, analysts said.

They said a prolonged dependency on inexpensive power will do more harm than good as domestic industries are relying too heavily on low production cost, made possible by subsidised gas, so as to compete in the world market.

With the country's gas reserves reportedly to deplete by 2016-2019, there was a more compelling reason for a gradual removal of subsidy on gas as soon as possible.

"There is no escape from winding down the subsidies as we have limited resources which need to be preserved and maximised for future generations," said Jupiter Securities' Head of Research Pong Teng Siew.

Another analyst opined that low tariff rates made possible by subsidised gas prices do not reflect the country's true competitiveness.

"Just picture ourselves nine years down the road when we have to depend on imported gas.

"That is why there has to be a commitment to move domestic gas price to the market price and raise electric tariff rates accordingly," he told Bernama recently.

Power tariffs reviewed every six months

Domestic electricity tariffs are currently reviewed every six months.

In the last tariff adjustment in March 2009, the average electricity tariff was cut by 3.7 percent in line with a 25 percent reduction in gas price to RM10.70 from RM14.31 per MMBTU.

In July 2008, the government implemented a 24 percent hike in tariff as a result of a 123 per cent increase in gas price.

OSK Research's Head of Research Chris Eng said if Malaysia was to be viewed in the context of a trading country in a globalised world, "one cannot expect the subsidies to last forever. We need to discard the subsidy mentality."

Pong believed pressure groups lobbying to keep cost artificially low through cheap power would always be around but this needs to be handled delicately so as to ensure the best interest of the country going forward.

"Private entrepreneurs, particularly the bigger ones who employ inexpensive foreign labour to produce goods using cheap imported materials, frequently oppose tariff hikes as they benefitted substantially from cheap power.

"That basically means that they continue to make extraordinary profits at the expense of future generations," he said.

As to the possible repercussions of higher power tariff on manufacturers, Eng said if tariffs were increased by five percent, their earnings would not be affected.

However, should the government decide to raise tariffs by 20 percent, the impact on earnings would be substantial.

"But then again, why are we subsidising industries at the expense of public interest?" he asked.

Need for clarity

A senior analyst, who requested anonymity, said the delayed tariff increase did not augur well for the local bourse and shares of utility service providers, especially Tenaga Nasional Berhad.

Prices of TNB shares had been weekly traded over the past few weeks, as market investors were disappointed by the deferment of a decision on tariff hikes.

She pointed out that foreign investors holding stakes in Tenaga currently stands at only nine percent compared with a peak of 28 per cent sometime back.

"There is a need for clarity in the electricity tariff through a more transparent tariff pass-through formula.

"With the economy gradually recovering, uncertainty (in the market) is the last thing that investors want to deal with," she added.

She noted that coal prices have somewhat stabilised at the moment but gas prices were trending upwards.

Gas price in Malaysia is tied to Medium Fuel Oil (MFO).

The daily average price of MFO in Singapore has risen to around US$72 per barrel in December 2009 from US$37 per barrel in March 2009.

At present, the power sector's fuel mix comprise of 65 percent gas, 28 percent coal, almost seven per cent hydro and less than 0.1 per cent diesel.

Consumers to pay more

Should the government decide on a cut in subsidy for gas prices, the national utility company has no choice but to pass the extra costs to consumers.

"Tenaga is already heavily burdened by high capacity payments to independent power producers (IPPs) and rising costs of supply. It cannot absorb additional cost," said the analyst.

Total IPP and fuel costs represent 65 percent of TNB's total operating costs for the financial year ended Aug 31, 2009.

The national utility corporation paid over RM14 billion to IPPs for the 2009 financial year.

Eng added compared with its global peers, Tenaga's return on assets was very low.

"If you want to make Tenaga more attractive and viable to investors a tariff hike is very important," he said.

Pong believed the best time to review tariffs was when the economy was on a strong footing but a strong political will was also necessary to institute change.

"Equally important is for Malaysians to willingly accept a mindset change. Bite the bullet for the removal of gas subsidy and correspondingly for higher tariff rates.

Although this would surely cause "a hole in our pockets" everyone needs to sacrifice for the long-term benefits of future generations, added Pong.

- Bernama - Malaysiakini, 9/4/2010, Gov't told to bite the bullet on power tariffs hike

The consequence of the failures of the UMNO-led BN government over the past 50 years is now hurting Malaysians - but still this government is only interested in  achieving 'developed nation status' and an 'high-income economy''. High income for all persons in Malaysia - no, that really is not the intention of the government.

My concern is how is the Malaysian government going to cater for :-

- the welfare needs of those that have stopped earning - i.e. those over 55 years old

- the welfare needs of those who have no annual pensions (for the lump sum EPF sums for those who had it will also not be enough for survival beyond 3 - 5 years)

One off payments of RM100 (or RM150) per year is certainly not going to solve the problem.

Has the UMNO-led BN government lost control to the big corporations and companies? 

Short term gains should not be our priority - it should be long term gains. We first need to eliminate the income disparity between the rich and the poor, whereby Malaysia is amongst the worst in Asia...and the world.

Should Malaysia remove gas subsidies? 

Effect:-

Cost of the cooking gas will go up, and hence the price of food, etc..

Now, we are told that it will also cost a rise in electricity tariffs,...

Legalize all undocumented migrants - it will certainly help small/medium businessmen/employers in Malaysia

The number of documented migrant workers in Malaysia was about 2.4 million, and the number of undocumented migrants could be double that number. 

There are about 700,000 undocumented migrants from Burma (Myanmar), of which maybe 10% of these are recognized asylum seekers/refugees. We understand one of the factors why there are many from Burma, is because of political and economic situation under the 'illegal' military junta (that refused to hand back power to the democratically elected government of Aung San Su Kyi). 

Large number of undocumented migrants also come from neighboring Indonesia, Philippines and Thailand. 

Sometimes, the 'official and formal' channels created by governments, is just inaccessible to the poor especially. The problem is not just the initial large payments that potential migrant workers need to come out with, but also corruption, etc. As such, many will still just come over in the same manner people were freely moving from place to place in the past ...

Suggestions have been made that employers should be free to engage/employ any migrant worker - and, upon employment inform the relevant Labour Department (and other relevant authorities)  thereby registering and legalizing the employer-worker relationship, and this could also include giving the worker some 'legal documentation' to keep him/her safe from harassment by RELA, police, etc... When the worker leaves, the employer reports to the relevant authority.

This is the procedure when it comes to local Malaysian workers. When the employer employs a worker, the laws places an obligation on the employer to immediately inform Employees Provident Fund (EPF/KWSP), Social Security Organisation (SOCSO/PERKESO), Income Tax Department, etc...and the worker leaves, the employer also informs the relevant departments.

It could be the same procedure for foreign migrant workers. 

No employer wants to hire a worker blindly - and then be bound to that contract to keep that worker for a defined number of years. Likewise, no worker wants to be forced to work for a 'bad' employer for a certain fixed number of years. Both worker and employer wants the freedom of choice...and that is exactly what has been happening in Malaysia especially in the restaurants and other small businesses...(and there have been no problems).

But now, it looks like the badly wounded UMNO-led BN government is lashing out at the 'small people' that rejected it in the last elections. If they crack down and remove all undocumented migrant workers from these smaller establishments, many of these businesses will fail....and close down. No good Malaysian worker is interested in working in restaurants, etc... 

KUALA LUMPUR: A group of business owners are calling on the Government to legalise their foreign workers who are currently employed without proper permits.

The group, consisting of seven associations representing Chinese and Indian restaurant owners as well as other businesses in the services industry, said they needed these workers to continue operating.

Spokesperson for the group Tan Tong Heng said forcing the estimated 150,000 illegal immigrants currently employed in the services sector “into the streets” would give rise to numerous social and security issues.

Tan, who is Pan Malaysia Koo Soo Restaurants and Chef Association deputy president, said there were 30,000 foreign workers currently employed without permits in Chinese restaurants and coffee shops alone.

Another estimated 9,000 were working in Indian restaurants.

Tan believed that this represents about 30% of the total number of such workers employed in Chinese and Indian restaurants and coffeeshops.

He was speaking to reporters at the MCA Public Services and Complaints Department at Wisma MCA here yesterday.

Malaysian Indian Restaurant Owners Association (Primas) president Datuk R. Ramalalingam Pillai, who was also at the press conference, said his members always try to hire Malaysians.

“But they tend to leave for better offers. We simply cannot afford to pay them that much,” he said.

Tan said the associations handed a memorandum on the issue to Home Ministry special officer Armizan Mohd Ali on April 6 to be forwarded to minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein.

Head of the department Datuk Michael Chong, who is also special officer to Hishammuddin, witnessed the handing over of the memorandum.

Chong agreed that sending the workers home would create more problems.

“At least give the workers permits to stay for a year to allow them to organise the necessary paperwork or financial arrangements to go home,” he said. - Star, 9/4/2010, Businesses want illegal foreign workers legalised

What is the Pakatan Rakyat position on this matter? It will be good to know...

"Pay RM50,000" - Are the Malaysian Courts sending a message to us? Do not challenge the government...???

When the courts 'punish' victims of injustice that take the government of Malaysia to court with such exorbitant costs - RM50,000-00, the signal it is sending out to all is that one should not take the Malaysian government to court. Result: Victims may just have to keep quite and suffer the injustice that they are subjected to.

High cost have also begun to scare ordinary Malaysians from taking their disputes with other persons, companies, etc to court - because they just cannot afford to pay such high costs. I remember the day when the Court of Appeal was ordering persons to pay cost of just RM500-00, which is very reasonable. High Court cost should also not be more than RM500-00, or some nominal sum. 

If cost are too high, then the poor, middle-incomed persons will just have no more access to justice through Malaysian courts. 

As it is the cost of lawyers, attending court, filing fees, etc is already high. Now, the Malaysian courts have send a clear message that if you bring cases to court, you risk having to pay a very high sum as cost. This may the strategy of the Malaysian Judiciary to resolve the issue of the 'backlog of cases' - for now, many will not file any cases anymore....especially against the Malaysian government. Courts will now be place for the rich only....

What can the government do.... What can the judiciary do ...to remedy this situation so that Malaysian courts will once again be a avenue that the poor and the oppressed will see as an avenue for justice...and human rights?

 

 

Malaysian Bar Council

____________________________________

 

No. 13, 15 & 17, Leboh Pasar Besar, 50050 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Tel: 03-2031 3003 (Hunting Line) Fax: 03-2034 2825, 2026 1313, 2072 5818

E-mail: council@malaysianbar.org.my

Website: http://www.malaysianbar.org.my

 

---

Press Release

Court of Appeal’s decision is regressive

 

The Malaysian Bar is disappointed with the Court of Appeal’s ruling last week in the case involving former Internal Security Act (ISA) detainee Abdul Malek Hussein.  The decision, which overturns the High Court’s earlier RM 2.5 million award to Abdul Malek Hussein for wrongful arrest and detention, is regressive, and disquieting. 

We are surprised that the Court of Appeal appeared to overturn findings of fact made by the trial judge, who saw the witnesses and heard their live testimony.  Furthermore, the order of costs of RM50,000, especially against a victim of the ISA, is exorbitant, and punitive in nature.

The Judiciary serves as the last bastion of protection against any abuse of power, particularly by those who wield authority, such as law enforcement personnel.  It must operate as a check-and-balance mechanism.  By allowing the appeal, the Court of Appeal has failed in this role.  The judgment is inimical to the safeguarding of the rights of individuals against unlawful arrest, detention and torture.

The Court of Appeal’s arguments reinforce the potential for grave abuse of the ISA’s already draconian and repressive features.  Its standard for the burden of proof regarding the occurrence of torture is unfairly stringent and will, in practice, almost never permit allegations of torture to be substantiated, given that the victims are already in conditions of strict detention and are generally denied access to legal counsel and to all outsiders during the initial 60-day period in custody.

We denounce the detention of persons without trial under any circumstances, as it is an unjustified infringement of universal principles of human rights, and a violation of the Rule of Law and the principles of a democratic Government.  Among other reasons, detention without trial violates a person’s right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty and his/her right to a fair and public trial where he/she may be defended.

We urge the Judiciary to exercise its function of providing the final recourse when rights are violated, and to provide redress against acts of impunity.  We look to the Federal Court to do what is just, and right. 

Ragunath Kesavan
President
Malaysian Bar
29 March 2010

Najib is revealing information - when will Pakatan Rakyat follow suit? Tony Pua does it again...

It must be appreciated that Najib's UMNO led-BN is being transparent and is disclosing information to the public at last, and that is why MP's like Tony Pua is able to find issues that he is now highlighting to all of us. Now, hopefully we will get some explanation and answers...

Maybe, Najib (though he is totally responsible), may not be aware of these 'hanky-pankies', and now he is thanks to Tony Pua. That is all the more reason why we need a Freedom of Information Act in place, and the government of the day must be totally open in disclosing how it utilizes the money of the people.

Whilst, we are all excited with the revelations of Tony Pua - it must be pointed out that the Pakatan Rakyat State Government (and its Local Councils) have yet to be transparent and provide all with the information of its own spending. Even the minutes of their meetings is not made public.

It would certainly be good to see the accounts of the Pakatan Rayat State Governments (and also the individual local councils). As, it was pointed out, the MBPJ itself in its websites do not even have its annual reports let alone its accounts. [See earlier posting: - MBPJ is still not transparent, accountable and giving effect to Reformasi, 'People Power'...Makkal Sakti, Kuasa Rakyat..] 

Like Tony Pua of DAP, other MPs/ADUNs must also start acting on behalf of the people and highlight the wrongs, the rights and the questionable policy/practices of not just the Federal Government but also the State governments, and the Local Councils. See also earlier posting of yet another revelation of Tony Pua - Tony Pua - We need more MPs to highlight issues of concern to Malaysians

MP Pua digs up more 'dirt' on gov't contracts

 

Parliamentarian Tony Pua today revealed further cases of highly questionable government contracts published on the newly-launched MyProcurement portal.

He called on the authorities to investigate four contracts which were awarded by the Education Ministry, the Royal Malaysian Police and the Defence Ministry.

Pua (DAP-Petaling Jaya Utara) yesterday raised the issue of a RM77 million contract to build a hostel for 200 students at a school in Terengganu.

It turned out that the figure as reported in the website was a mistake and has since been corrected to RM7.8 million.

However, a check on Rafa Sepakat Sdn Bhd - the company awarded the project - shows that it was the beneficiary of RM53.4 million worth of contracts in the last six months.

More so, the company was set up less than three years ago with the key owner not even 23.

"The company was only established at the end of December 2007, and as at Dec 3, 2008 it had no revenue in its books," decried Pua.

He said the main shareholder and director of the company, Abdul Rahman Abdul Ghani, will turn 23 only this month.

Umno leader gets RM1.4 mil food contract

Pua also claimed that most of the contracts to supply food to 76 boarding schools in Pahang, awarded by the Education Ministry, were to individuals and not companies.

The contracts for cooked food reached a total of RM123.5 million, with the amounts ranging from RM420,000 to RM3.91 million each.

"I do not know that there's such a big difference in the size of our schools," he quipped at the large gap in contract prices and called for greater scrutiny.

He also highlighted that one of the contract recipients, Rafidah Halib, was a Wanita Umno leader in the Maran division.

"She was awarded a RM1.4 million contract to supply food to SMK Maran," Pua said.

Pua also zeroed in on a RM82.8 million contract awarded by the Defence Ministry to clothing company KDI Garment Sdn Bhd for the supply of body-vest protection.

"A check with the Registrar of Companies showed that KDI Garment last filed their accounts in July 2006, with a revenue of RM1.75 million and a profit of only RM1,600. 

"Should such a company be awarded a contract that is nearly 50 times its last known revenue?

Two other 'interesting contracts'

Additionally, Pua discovered two other "interesting" contracts awarded by the Royal Malaysian Police - one to purchase 'OKI printer ribbon and toner cartridges' for RM25.4 million and the another, to buy 'ink and toner cartridges for Canon printers' for RM12.9 million.

"That amount works out to approximately RM400 spent on each police officer for the use of printer ribbon and toner cartridges. 

"But because there is no other information provided, we do not know how long the contract is for and the quantity (of ribbons and cartridges)," he added.

Pua blasted the portal for its lack of details regarding the contracts as this will help provide greater transparency.

"While there are no details of tender specifications, dates of tender and award, quantities, number of competitive bids and other relevant information, we have been able to detect various discrepancies and highlight potential 'rent-seeking' and 'patronage' deals," he said.

Pua, who is former economic spokesperson for DAP, had been scrutinising the portal since its launch last week and has over the past few days pointed out a number of discrepancies.- Malaysiakini, 8/4/2010, MP Pua digs up more 'dirt' on gov't contracts