Samy Veloo is still the president despite losing the Sungai Siput parliamentary seat. Certain faction within the party accused him as causing MIC’s fatal defeat in the recent general election. Certain other leaders and followers demanding him to step down. Certain youth leaders are causing waves within the party especially pertaining to age limit set for youth leaders at national and divisional levels. The Hindraf occurrences has put MIC in a blind spot. Nothing much is heard about Samy Veloo these days as compared to his heydays as Works Minister. For all intent and purpose, he’s busy recuperating the party, someone said. At the same time, Hindraf and PKR are wooing MIC grassroot followers.
Change is expected within MIC come its next party election. And change is certainly set. Let’s wait and see !!! Likewise UMNO and MCA, It should be very an interest political theatre, indeed it is!
Monday, June 30, 2008
MCA – THE TRANSITION HAS STARTED
Ong Ka Ting announced that he will not seek re-election as the President of MCA, and so is his deputy, Chan Kong Choy; thus paving ways and means for second echelons in the party to move upwards.
It was said that Ong Tee Keat, a VP is slated to take over the Presidency with Liow Tiong Lai. The current Youth Chief and Heath Minister is expected to move up the ladder and so is Wee Ka Siong. They are some of the line-up purportedly enumerated by Ka Ting and Kong Choy.
Speculation is adrift that Chua Soi Lek partnering Donald Lim are contemplating a comeback by contesting the Presidency and the Deputy respectively. Also on the rumour mill, Chua Jui Meng is showing his interest to wrestle.
Far and wide, I’m pretty sure Ka Ting prominently figured as the A-Team leader has his own line-up and Kong Choy as the B-Team camp has his own line-up too. The C-Team comprises of those party stalwarts and their followers that seems to dissociate from both the A and B-Teams; or so it seems. These include Soi Lek, Donald Lim and Jui Meng,
So, where will be Ong Ka Chuan, the younger brother of Ka Ting, in the line-up? Will he remains as the party’s Secretary-General? Having known him from the outside, I can safely say his political target is very ambitious. From nepotism point of view, the time is ripe for him to replace his elder brother as the next party president despite the fact that Ka Ting seems to have endorsed Tee Keat.
It is really interesting to watch these players campaigning for positions right from the beginning – that is even before the branches and divisional elections commence. The Big Bang shall be during the party election. Let’s watch gleefully!!!
It was said that Ong Tee Keat, a VP is slated to take over the Presidency with Liow Tiong Lai. The current Youth Chief and Heath Minister is expected to move up the ladder and so is Wee Ka Siong. They are some of the line-up purportedly enumerated by Ka Ting and Kong Choy.
Speculation is adrift that Chua Soi Lek partnering Donald Lim are contemplating a comeback by contesting the Presidency and the Deputy respectively. Also on the rumour mill, Chua Jui Meng is showing his interest to wrestle.
Far and wide, I’m pretty sure Ka Ting prominently figured as the A-Team leader has his own line-up and Kong Choy as the B-Team camp has his own line-up too. The C-Team comprises of those party stalwarts and their followers that seems to dissociate from both the A and B-Teams; or so it seems. These include Soi Lek, Donald Lim and Jui Meng,
So, where will be Ong Ka Chuan, the younger brother of Ka Ting, in the line-up? Will he remains as the party’s Secretary-General? Having known him from the outside, I can safely say his political target is very ambitious. From nepotism point of view, the time is ripe for him to replace his elder brother as the next party president despite the fact that Ka Ting seems to have endorsed Tee Keat.
It is really interesting to watch these players campaigning for positions right from the beginning – that is even before the branches and divisional elections commence. The Big Bang shall be during the party election. Let’s watch gleefully!!!
DOCUMENT OF DESTINY
DOCUMENT OF DESTINY : The Constitution of the Federation of Malaysia by PROFESSOR DR SHAD SALEEM FARUQI
Professor Dr Shad Saleem Faruqi -
Senior Professor of Law & Constitutional Expert, University Technology MARA, Malaysia.
He simply said that his book is important because the Constitution is under attack during the launch of his abovementioned book – a historical an legal analysis of the Malaysian Constitution published by The Star Publications (Malaysia) Bhd recently.
“The Constitution is under attack by a number of people who believe that we should move towards the Islamic state. It is under attack by those who feel that the ‘social contract’ must be renegotiated. It is also undermined by judges and civil servants who apply their own interpretations of the Constitution and allow their personal allegiances to colour the practical application of the laws that govern our country” he said vehemently.
The Constitution performs a number of functions. It creates the branches of government (legislative, executive and judiciary) and confers powers upon these branches. Importantly, it also imposes limits on these powers and describes the relationship between the various arms of government, the King, and the Prime Minister, the Federal and State Governments, the Upper and Lower Houses, an so on. The Constitution also delineates a state’s relationship with its citizens, setting out their rights to life, liberty, property ownership, freedom of speech and freedom of religion. Despite his obvious passion for these legal documents, he admitted that a Constitution is by nature imperfect. A Constitution is sure to be full of ambiguities and conflicts. It seeks to strike a balance between might and right, to permit liberty, while at the same time enforcing responsibility.
Shad believed that the Constitutional literacy is an absolutely essential tool if Malaysians are to develop a keen political and civil consciousness. The Constitution is the chart and compass; knowledge of the Constitution is a pre-requisite to good citizenship. The Constitution is the guardian of rights and the source of freedoms. Yet it is not even taught in universities except to those studying law. Members of Parliament and senior civil servants can be blissfully unaware of the provisions of the Constitution. The youth are terribly ignorant of the painstaking process under which it was forged by leaders who had to battle extremism from within and without their respective communities. The Malaysian Constitution was not framed by ideological passion, but guided by the spirit of moderation. It has reconciled the seemingly irreconcilable conflict of interest between ethnic and religious groups in a way that has few parallels in the modern world.
Bar Council Human Rights Committee Chairman, Mr Edmund Bon has this to say – “I applaud Shad because he is one of the few scholars who will speak freely about religious freedom in this country. He is also very active in promoting constitutional awareness. His column is an excellent forum to expose Constitutional and human rights issues, and its useful to the ay person because it is written in a way that is easy to understand without distracting from the importance of the issue at hand”.
University Putra Malaysia’s Professor of Social Anthropology, Professor Dr Sarjit S Gill – “I think he’s doing a very good job. Shad is known as a man of principle, who is critical with his work and who is not afraid to be critical of the Government in defence of the Constitution. That is something that is lacking in Malaysia, the ability to have healthy debate on important issues and take the opposite view if need be – we have many ‘yes man’ professors in Malaysia. The younger generation should take the cue from Shad, whose work is known internationally not just in Malaysia”.
The book DOCUMENT OF DESTINY : The Constitution of the Federation of Malaysia is now on sale. A book everyone must read and take to heart. Other books by the author includes “Human Rights, Globalisation and the Asian Economic Crisis”, “Islam International Law and the War Against Terrorism”, “Islam, Democracy and Development”, co-author “Media Law and Regulations in Malaysia”.
Professor Dr Shad Saleem Faruqi -
Senior Professor of Law & Constitutional Expert, University Technology MARA, Malaysia.
He simply said that his book is important because the Constitution is under attack during the launch of his abovementioned book – a historical an legal analysis of the Malaysian Constitution published by The Star Publications (Malaysia) Bhd recently.
“The Constitution is under attack by a number of people who believe that we should move towards the Islamic state. It is under attack by those who feel that the ‘social contract’ must be renegotiated. It is also undermined by judges and civil servants who apply their own interpretations of the Constitution and allow their personal allegiances to colour the practical application of the laws that govern our country” he said vehemently.
The Constitution performs a number of functions. It creates the branches of government (legislative, executive and judiciary) and confers powers upon these branches. Importantly, it also imposes limits on these powers and describes the relationship between the various arms of government, the King, and the Prime Minister, the Federal and State Governments, the Upper and Lower Houses, an so on. The Constitution also delineates a state’s relationship with its citizens, setting out their rights to life, liberty, property ownership, freedom of speech and freedom of religion. Despite his obvious passion for these legal documents, he admitted that a Constitution is by nature imperfect. A Constitution is sure to be full of ambiguities and conflicts. It seeks to strike a balance between might and right, to permit liberty, while at the same time enforcing responsibility.
Shad believed that the Constitutional literacy is an absolutely essential tool if Malaysians are to develop a keen political and civil consciousness. The Constitution is the chart and compass; knowledge of the Constitution is a pre-requisite to good citizenship. The Constitution is the guardian of rights and the source of freedoms. Yet it is not even taught in universities except to those studying law. Members of Parliament and senior civil servants can be blissfully unaware of the provisions of the Constitution. The youth are terribly ignorant of the painstaking process under which it was forged by leaders who had to battle extremism from within and without their respective communities. The Malaysian Constitution was not framed by ideological passion, but guided by the spirit of moderation. It has reconciled the seemingly irreconcilable conflict of interest between ethnic and religious groups in a way that has few parallels in the modern world.
Bar Council Human Rights Committee Chairman, Mr Edmund Bon has this to say – “I applaud Shad because he is one of the few scholars who will speak freely about religious freedom in this country. He is also very active in promoting constitutional awareness. His column is an excellent forum to expose Constitutional and human rights issues, and its useful to the ay person because it is written in a way that is easy to understand without distracting from the importance of the issue at hand”.
University Putra Malaysia’s Professor of Social Anthropology, Professor Dr Sarjit S Gill – “I think he’s doing a very good job. Shad is known as a man of principle, who is critical with his work and who is not afraid to be critical of the Government in defence of the Constitution. That is something that is lacking in Malaysia, the ability to have healthy debate on important issues and take the opposite view if need be – we have many ‘yes man’ professors in Malaysia. The younger generation should take the cue from Shad, whose work is known internationally not just in Malaysia”.
The book DOCUMENT OF DESTINY : The Constitution of the Federation of Malaysia is now on sale. A book everyone must read and take to heart. Other books by the author includes “Human Rights, Globalisation and the Asian Economic Crisis”, “Islam International Law and the War Against Terrorism”, “Islam, Democracy and Development”, co-author “Media Law and Regulations in Malaysia”.
WANITA UMNO –LEADERSHIP IN TRANSITION
It was reported in The Star (Sunday 29th June) that “Trouble brewing in the wing”. Rafidah Aziz has been the chief for 20 years and intends to go on emulating the ever charming Samy Veloo. She has proven her mettle during her long stint as the Minister of International Trade and Industry. She has also proven her mettle helming the UMNO‘s Wanita wing all these years. The Iron Lady rules the wanita wing with an iron fists. But she was left out of the Cabinet after the recent general election because of the AP fiasco.
Her No. 2 Sharizat Jalil, was a Minister before she was defeated by Annuar’s fragile daughter in the general election recently, has always declared herself as “a loyal No 2 who will not challenge her No. 1”. Some how she managed to retain her ministerial status when Abdullah Badawi appointed her as Women’s Affairs Advisor by.
To Rafidah, this is what I have to say – everybody and everything has spoken; the general election result winning only very marginally; not a Minister anymore; grassroots demanding leadership changes; wanita excos wanting better portfolios and in dire need to climb up the ladder; lukewarm responses during visits at grassroot levels are some pertinent indicators. It’s time for you to leave it to Sharizat or some other younger personalities to steer the wing.
Or, shall we wait for the court’s judgement on a petition to disqualify her from the Kuala Kangsar parliamentary seat?
Her No. 2 Sharizat Jalil, was a Minister before she was defeated by Annuar’s fragile daughter in the general election recently, has always declared herself as “a loyal No 2 who will not challenge her No. 1”. Some how she managed to retain her ministerial status when Abdullah Badawi appointed her as Women’s Affairs Advisor by.
To Rafidah, this is what I have to say – everybody and everything has spoken; the general election result winning only very marginally; not a Minister anymore; grassroots demanding leadership changes; wanita excos wanting better portfolios and in dire need to climb up the ladder; lukewarm responses during visits at grassroot levels are some pertinent indicators. It’s time for you to leave it to Sharizat or some other younger personalities to steer the wing.
Or, shall we wait for the court’s judgement on a petition to disqualify her from the Kuala Kangsar parliamentary seat?
THE “RUBBER GLOVE SYNDROME”
During mid 80’s, I’ve met up with a potential American investor looking at the possibility of setting up a examination rubber glove factory in Malaysia. These gloves are for consumption in the US markets. Apart from looking at the possibility of investing, he also managed to talk to a number of Malaysian investors who are eager to invest in new opportunities. After series of talks and negotiations, the American offered a deal to these Malaysian investors to produce and supply a minimum of 10 million pieces of gloves per month. He is expecting a total constant supply of about 50 million pieces a month. At least 10 local manufacturers were then frantically set up examination glove factories all over Malaysia with each producing an average of 10 million pieces monthly supplying to that particular American investor’s need – equivalent to a total production capacity of about 100 million pieces per month. In actual fact, that US trader only commands a market share of about 50 to 60 million pieces monthly.
By the time these 10 factories were in production, news that rubber gloves are the “new gold” spread throughout Malaysia and no sooner that dipped rubber glove factories started mushrooming and expanding supplying various types of dipped gloves especially for the US markets and the European markets. In less than 5 years, there was intense competition among the local small and medium scale glove manufacturers both in securing constant supply of latex as main raw material and particularly in trying to secure market orders from a few select US traders. As the competition became more and more intense, new players crept into the market resulting in excess production capacity. Price war then emerged as the prime tool for these manufacturers to outdo each other. As a result, the rubber glove industry has turned itself into “survival of the fittest” – product quality of some of theses manufacturers soon deteriorated and export price of rubber gloves dipped further. What was left was only a few survivors; some were bought over by larger corporations, both by local and foreign investors. Others died in doldrums.
The real situation as described above is what I personally called the “Rubber Glove Syndrome”. It is a common trait among Malaysian business community existed till today and forever.
The Rubber Glove Syndrome is basically termed as “the flocking of capital and assets by Malaysian businesses and investors in an uncertain market demand purely based on hearsay and artificial business environment.” In other words, most Malaysian businesses and investors are generally not business leaders but mere followers; they emulate what a select few has started and in so doing distorts market conditions and disrupts business viability.
We can see the same situation happen in the tiger prawn rearing industry, in oil palm sector, the chicken breeding industry, “kedai makan tom yam”, the cut flower industry, automotive parts manufacturing and hosts of other businesses. The same situation occurred repeatedly and will continue to occur. But then again, if a business opportunity knocks on the door, shall we just lay on the sideline watching others enjoying their Mercs, and BMW’s?
Now that the government is hype on transforming and modernizing the food production sector as outlined in the Third National Agriculture Policy and the 9th Malaysia Plan – the emergence new breeds of goat breeders, dragon fruit farmers, herbal growers and herbs formulation manufacturers, various multi-level business and so on and so forth. What’s becoming of them in a few years time? How many of them will survive? Only time will tell!
Whatever it is, the “Rubber Glove Syndrome” should be done away with!!!
By the time these 10 factories were in production, news that rubber gloves are the “new gold” spread throughout Malaysia and no sooner that dipped rubber glove factories started mushrooming and expanding supplying various types of dipped gloves especially for the US markets and the European markets. In less than 5 years, there was intense competition among the local small and medium scale glove manufacturers both in securing constant supply of latex as main raw material and particularly in trying to secure market orders from a few select US traders. As the competition became more and more intense, new players crept into the market resulting in excess production capacity. Price war then emerged as the prime tool for these manufacturers to outdo each other. As a result, the rubber glove industry has turned itself into “survival of the fittest” – product quality of some of theses manufacturers soon deteriorated and export price of rubber gloves dipped further. What was left was only a few survivors; some were bought over by larger corporations, both by local and foreign investors. Others died in doldrums.
The real situation as described above is what I personally called the “Rubber Glove Syndrome”. It is a common trait among Malaysian business community existed till today and forever.
The Rubber Glove Syndrome is basically termed as “the flocking of capital and assets by Malaysian businesses and investors in an uncertain market demand purely based on hearsay and artificial business environment.” In other words, most Malaysian businesses and investors are generally not business leaders but mere followers; they emulate what a select few has started and in so doing distorts market conditions and disrupts business viability.
We can see the same situation happen in the tiger prawn rearing industry, in oil palm sector, the chicken breeding industry, “kedai makan tom yam”, the cut flower industry, automotive parts manufacturing and hosts of other businesses. The same situation occurred repeatedly and will continue to occur. But then again, if a business opportunity knocks on the door, shall we just lay on the sideline watching others enjoying their Mercs, and BMW’s?
Now that the government is hype on transforming and modernizing the food production sector as outlined in the Third National Agriculture Policy and the 9th Malaysia Plan – the emergence new breeds of goat breeders, dragon fruit farmers, herbal growers and herbs formulation manufacturers, various multi-level business and so on and so forth. What’s becoming of them in a few years time? How many of them will survive? Only time will tell!
Whatever it is, the “Rubber Glove Syndrome” should be done away with!!!
SPATES OF “EXPRESS BUS” ACCIDENTS
We’ve been hearing a lot about accidents involving express busses which had claimed numerous lives. The next day, the authorities made press statement, among others, saying that the express the bus drivers involved in the accidents had multiple summonses some came as close to 30; both the Police Department as well as the Road Transport Department. How satirical!!!!
The world (if I’m not mistaken) has acknowledged the Multimedia Super Corridor locate in Cyberjaya as the new Silicon Valley with its up-to-date super infrastructure to cater to the needs of the development in the information technology.
Most (by now, may be all) government departments including especially the Police Department and the Road Transport Department have been well equipped with computer systems, hardwares and softwares that enable them to store and analyse information on road users including the summonses “incurred” by express bus’s drivers.
For the public, especially the victims’ families, to be told that the bus drivers had already have 20 to 30 summonses in hand after the fateful accidents is really too much for us to chew. I’m pretty sure that the information system that they now possess should be able to figure out well in advance of who’s who list of culprits and act accordingly well before they took the wheels heading for a showdown on our road system.
I personally urge the Traffic Police and the Road Transport Department to act pro-actively by reprimanding these culprits before they had any chance of making history in Malaysia again and again and again …………………………. Life is so sacred; or is it?
The world (if I’m not mistaken) has acknowledged the Multimedia Super Corridor locate in Cyberjaya as the new Silicon Valley with its up-to-date super infrastructure to cater to the needs of the development in the information technology.
Most (by now, may be all) government departments including especially the Police Department and the Road Transport Department have been well equipped with computer systems, hardwares and softwares that enable them to store and analyse information on road users including the summonses “incurred” by express bus’s drivers.
For the public, especially the victims’ families, to be told that the bus drivers had already have 20 to 30 summonses in hand after the fateful accidents is really too much for us to chew. I’m pretty sure that the information system that they now possess should be able to figure out well in advance of who’s who list of culprits and act accordingly well before they took the wheels heading for a showdown on our road system.
I personally urge the Traffic Police and the Road Transport Department to act pro-actively by reprimanding these culprits before they had any chance of making history in Malaysia again and again and again …………………………. Life is so sacred; or is it?
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