It looks like there is a great chasm between the Barisan Nasional government and the Opposition Front, Pakatan Rakyat, over the seizure of Bibles issue.
While the government has been giving rather confusing statements as to whether the 5,000 Malay Bibles impounded at Port Klang have been released or not, the Pakatan Rakyat leaders have not been confusing and have indeed been consistent in their stand that there is no issue with non-Muslims using the Arabic word "Allah" for "God".
Today, the Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin denied that the Cabinet had approved the release of 5,000 Malay Bibles confiscated by the Home Ministry since 2009, The Malaysian Insider reported.
The deputy prime minister said that Cabinet had yet to discuss the status of the seized Bibles.
His remarks come after DAP MP Tony Pua claimed yesterday that Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein had issued orders last June for the release of the Malay-language Bibles currently impounded at Port Klang.
The home minister had said over the weekend that the Bibles had been impounded due to the ministry’s pending court appeal on the Catholic weekly The Herald’s use of the word “Allah” in its publications, The Malaysian Insider reported.
However, Pakatan's adhoc leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has said Pakatan has no issues with non-Muslims using the word "Allah" for "God".
Yesterday, PAS deputy president Nasharudin Mat Isa joined his non-Muslim colleagues in Pakatan Rakyat in condemning the detention of Malay-language Bibles asserting that the holy book should be respected, The Malaysian Insider reported.
When approached in Parliament on the issue the Bachok MP explained that Islam recognised Christians as “people of the book” which meant that the Bible should be given due respect by all.
This he added was regardless of what language the Bible is written in.
He added that he even knew of the existence of Bibles written in Jawi that were presently available in Malaysia.
“There are many books in the market many Christian books that are written in Malay. The home ministry has impounded 35,000 Malay-language bibles.
“And even if people cannot read it in Malay they will read it in English so I do not see any reason why these Bibles should be detained ” he said. Nasharudin also rubbished fears that such Malay-language Bibles would encourage Muslims to convert to Christianity expressing confidence in the faith of Muslims.
“The Muslims have a strong belief in their religion and everyone has a right to practise their own beliefs.
“This is just a matter of a book and we should respect the Bible because in Islam we consider the Christians to be the people of the book,” he told Malaysian Insider.
Nasharudin noted that the sensitivity over the issue was in the use of the word “Allah” by non-Muslims which he described as “rigid”.
“Perhaps it is because of the very rigid interpretation of the word Allah that caused this issue. But then to detain a book just because it is in the Malay language thinking that it might help to propagate Christianity...” he said without ending his sentence.
In January last year, PAS spiritual leader Datuk Nik Aziz Nik Mat said it was permissible for those following Abrahamic faiths to use "Allah", the Arabic word for "God", which is the norm in Arabian nations where the Abrahamic faiths of Christianity, Judaism and Islam originated.
Whether the Pakatan leaders are sticking to this moderate stand for political purposes like winning the votes of Christians, especially the Kadazans and Ibans in Sabah and Sarawak, is immaterial. The fact is their words sound very pleasant to Christians and may just sway them to vote for them.
Thus you can see the wide chasm between the Government of the day and the Opposition that is trying hard to repair its image which has been badly damaged by Anwar's sodomy trial II and the alleged irregularities in the recent PKR election.
What the Barisan government decides to do will surely influence the voting pattern of the Malaysian Christian community. If the Barisan government decides to continue impounding the Malay Bibles, then the very fabric of the 1Malaysia concept championed by the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak will be torn to bits.
And Pakatan Rakyat will become the next coalition to champion racial and religious harmony in Malaysia. After all they have always claimed that they were the first to conceptualise the 1Malaysia theme.
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Monday, March 14, 2011
Barisan must not make rash decisions
The issue of Bibles in Malay stuck in Malaysian ports is a tinderbox that can be set on fire easily if not handled carefully.
Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein claimed the detention of 35,000 Malay-language Bibles in Port Klang and Kuching port had been due to its pending court appeal over Catholic newspaper The Herald’s use of the word “Allah” in its publications, the Malaysian Insider reported.
But the Christian Federation of Malaysia has lashed out at the federal government for what they see as a systematic move to deny their religious rights enshrined in the Constitution.
It is such ill-conceived decisions by the Government of the day that will undermine its own political agenda.
At this moment, the Barisan Nasional coalition seems to have the upper-hand with Pakatan Rakyat in tatters with its adhoc leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim drowning in problems of his own creation.
The seizure of Bibles in the Malay language by the authorities will only serve to give the Opposition ammunition to fire at will at Barisan.
Hishamuddin himself seems aware of this as he was reported to have accused "opposition parties of using the protracted Bible row as campaign fodder with an eye firmly on the impending Sarawak election, which must be called not later than the middle of the year".
So it seems rather foolish for someone who is aware of the implications of the issue to pass the advantage to the Opposition.
Sarawak has many Christians who speak the Malay language and they have been using the Bahasa Indonesia version of the Bible for quite some time.
The Bible issue will surely be exploited by the Opposition, and even Hishamuddin is expecting them to, and many Christian voters in Sarawak may be swayed by Pakatan Rakyat's stance on the issue - that it has no issues with the word "Allah" being used by Christians.
Sarawak’s Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Dr George Chan is aware of the danger of the Bible issue causing loss of support for Barisan Nasional and he has called for the Bibles’ immediate release, saying the state government could not understand the rationale behind such treatment of the Bible or why the Bahasa Malaysia version could not be imported into the country.
As I said earlier, Barisan is now favoured to win the general election, but foolhardy decisions can change the situation.
Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein claimed the detention of 35,000 Malay-language Bibles in Port Klang and Kuching port had been due to its pending court appeal over Catholic newspaper The Herald’s use of the word “Allah” in its publications, the Malaysian Insider reported.
But the Christian Federation of Malaysia has lashed out at the federal government for what they see as a systematic move to deny their religious rights enshrined in the Constitution.
It is such ill-conceived decisions by the Government of the day that will undermine its own political agenda.
At this moment, the Barisan Nasional coalition seems to have the upper-hand with Pakatan Rakyat in tatters with its adhoc leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim drowning in problems of his own creation.
The seizure of Bibles in the Malay language by the authorities will only serve to give the Opposition ammunition to fire at will at Barisan.
Hishamuddin himself seems aware of this as he was reported to have accused "opposition parties of using the protracted Bible row as campaign fodder with an eye firmly on the impending Sarawak election, which must be called not later than the middle of the year".
So it seems rather foolish for someone who is aware of the implications of the issue to pass the advantage to the Opposition.
Sarawak has many Christians who speak the Malay language and they have been using the Bahasa Indonesia version of the Bible for quite some time.
The Bible issue will surely be exploited by the Opposition, and even Hishamuddin is expecting them to, and many Christian voters in Sarawak may be swayed by Pakatan Rakyat's stance on the issue - that it has no issues with the word "Allah" being used by Christians.
Sarawak’s Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Dr George Chan is aware of the danger of the Bible issue causing loss of support for Barisan Nasional and he has called for the Bibles’ immediate release, saying the state government could not understand the rationale behind such treatment of the Bible or why the Bahasa Malaysia version could not be imported into the country.
As I said earlier, Barisan is now favoured to win the general election, but foolhardy decisions can change the situation.
Monday, February 28, 2011
Will there be an 'Arab Facebook revolution' in Malaysia?
Just the other day someone asked me if there could be a people's power revolution in Malaysia a la the so-called Facebook revolutions sweeping the Middle-East now.
In fact, some opposition politicians have also urged Malaysians to do an Egypt. DAP's veteran leader Lim Kit Siang tweeted: "17 days changed Egypt Middle East n world. Egyptians stand tall. Let Sarawakians do an Egypt n send clear unmistakable message 2Swak Mubarak."
Later he told Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak to heed the Egyptian crisis and withdraw the sedition charge against Sri Muda assemblyman Shuhaimi Shafie.
“If the Najib administration is to learn from the lesson of the Egyptian crisis, there are many things it would have to do — but let it start with the tiny step of withdrawing the sedition charge against Shuhaimi on Monday,” Lim said in a statement.
Yesterday, Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim told Southeast Asian leaders to learn from the Arab uprising by strengthening the institutions of democracy and freedom.
The former deputy prime minister said that with the exception of Indonesia, other regional countries have systematically removed democratic principles put in place during independence, The Malaysian Insider reported.
Soon after the turmoil began in Tunisia and then Egypt, Najib said the people should reject anyone who tries to instigate them by connecting the turbulent situations in other countries to the situation in Malaysia.
He said the instability in some countries currently should not be equated with the situation in Malaysia which had been stable due to the people's spirit as one big family.
"We don't need to do that (create chaos) as our family spirit has been implanted since a long time ago," Bernama reported.
He also warned against any attempt to usurp power in Malaysia, using demonstrations like those in Egypt.
“Don’t think that what is happening there must also happen in Malaysia. We will not allow it to happen here,” he said at the national-level Chinese New Year open house in Miri, The Star reported.
So will there be an 'Arab Facebook Revolution' in Malaysia?
Frankly I do not think so - unless the Barisan Nasional government plays into the hands of Pakatan Rakyat and falls foolishly into the traps set by the cunning opposition leaders.
The situation in the Middle-East is different - there the gap between the rich and poor is vast and the oil wealth (in the oil producing nations) has not been shared equitably.
The Arabian governments did not diversify their economies and depended too much on the oil industry, which actually hires lots of foreign workers.
Few jobs were created in sectors other than petroleum-related ones; thus young Arabs remained jobless and when food prices soared, their hunger fuelled their anger.
Most of the leaders were dictators who clung onto power for far too long and some like Egypt's Mubarak and Libya's Gadaffi were planning to start dynasties by grooming their sons to take over. Other leaders were absolute monarchs like those in Saudi Arabia (where there has been no protests so far) and Bahrain (where there are protests but they have a religious sectarian flavour because the poorer Shiites are rising up against the fewer but richer Sunnis, who hold the reins of power).
In Libya, tribal rivalry is also a factor. In almost all the Mid-Eastern nations facing popular revolts, factors like corruption, abuse of power and brutal suppression of freedoms also fanned the people's anger.
In Malaysia, unemployment is not much of an issue. There is a huge middle-class of all races that provides a cushioning effect between the relatively few poor folks and the increasing number of rich folks, especially Malays (though critics have pointed out that they are mostly linked to the people in power).
The Sultans abide by the system of constitutional monarchy. The economy is well diversified and there are plenty of jobs. There is no shortage of food though rising prices are a reality and critics say official inflation rate figures are not reliable.
Suppression of freedoms has been a thorny issue though there have been efforts (half-hearted, say the critics) to review the hated Internal Security Act. But by and large, Malaysians are not starving, suffering or jobless though racial issues are still thorny (critics say politicians are responsible for fanning them) and keep getting in the way of true unity.
If the Pakatan politicians post a message on Facebook asking Malaysians to gather at a certain place at a certain time, would tens of thousands of Malaysians be there to vent their fury and frustrations?
Would middle-class Malaysians turn up? Would mid-managers turn up? Would they leave the jobs that pay them RM4,000-6,000 a month to shout slogans and throw stones at policemen?
Bear in mind that the middle-class in Malaysia is relatively large and that strata of society actually prevented the nation from collapsing into chaos when hit by unforseen storms in the past like the financial crisis of 1997.
The danger is that Pakatan leaders - when confronted by the realisation that they will lose the next general election badly - may just organise an Arab-style people's power protest as a last stand.
And it may win the support of the people if Barisan leaders do foolish things like rigging the election, sending bus-loads or boat-loads of phantom voters to the strongholds of Pakatan leaders, opening their wallets and start buying votes, ensuring that some names are missing from the voters' lists especially in opposition strongholds, ensuring that some 'voters' are registered in multiple constituencies, slipping in bundles of fake ballot papers into ballot boxes, etc.
If these 'tricks of the trade' are utilised, then Barisan would be playing into the hands of Pakatan and handing to them - on a silver platter - the 'petroleum' to power the protests of the people. And people would quickly forget that Anwar himself was alleged to have resorted to such 'tricks' during his party's election recently.
If the next few elections - the by-election, Sarawak state election and general election - are held in a transparent and truthful way, then Pakatan would be deprived of issues to play up and things should be smooth sailing for Barisan and I can safely state that there would be no Arab-style revolution in Malaysia.
In fact, some opposition politicians have also urged Malaysians to do an Egypt. DAP's veteran leader Lim Kit Siang tweeted: "17 days changed Egypt Middle East n world. Egyptians stand tall. Let Sarawakians do an Egypt n send clear unmistakable message 2Swak Mubarak."
Later he told Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak to heed the Egyptian crisis and withdraw the sedition charge against Sri Muda assemblyman Shuhaimi Shafie.
“If the Najib administration is to learn from the lesson of the Egyptian crisis, there are many things it would have to do — but let it start with the tiny step of withdrawing the sedition charge against Shuhaimi on Monday,” Lim said in a statement.
Yesterday, Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim told Southeast Asian leaders to learn from the Arab uprising by strengthening the institutions of democracy and freedom.
The former deputy prime minister said that with the exception of Indonesia, other regional countries have systematically removed democratic principles put in place during independence, The Malaysian Insider reported.
Soon after the turmoil began in Tunisia and then Egypt, Najib said the people should reject anyone who tries to instigate them by connecting the turbulent situations in other countries to the situation in Malaysia.
He said the instability in some countries currently should not be equated with the situation in Malaysia which had been stable due to the people's spirit as one big family.
"We don't need to do that (create chaos) as our family spirit has been implanted since a long time ago," Bernama reported.
He also warned against any attempt to usurp power in Malaysia, using demonstrations like those in Egypt.
“Don’t think that what is happening there must also happen in Malaysia. We will not allow it to happen here,” he said at the national-level Chinese New Year open house in Miri, The Star reported.
So will there be an 'Arab Facebook Revolution' in Malaysia?
Frankly I do not think so - unless the Barisan Nasional government plays into the hands of Pakatan Rakyat and falls foolishly into the traps set by the cunning opposition leaders.
The situation in the Middle-East is different - there the gap between the rich and poor is vast and the oil wealth (in the oil producing nations) has not been shared equitably.
The Arabian governments did not diversify their economies and depended too much on the oil industry, which actually hires lots of foreign workers.
Few jobs were created in sectors other than petroleum-related ones; thus young Arabs remained jobless and when food prices soared, their hunger fuelled their anger.
Most of the leaders were dictators who clung onto power for far too long and some like Egypt's Mubarak and Libya's Gadaffi were planning to start dynasties by grooming their sons to take over. Other leaders were absolute monarchs like those in Saudi Arabia (where there has been no protests so far) and Bahrain (where there are protests but they have a religious sectarian flavour because the poorer Shiites are rising up against the fewer but richer Sunnis, who hold the reins of power).
In Libya, tribal rivalry is also a factor. In almost all the Mid-Eastern nations facing popular revolts, factors like corruption, abuse of power and brutal suppression of freedoms also fanned the people's anger.
In Malaysia, unemployment is not much of an issue. There is a huge middle-class of all races that provides a cushioning effect between the relatively few poor folks and the increasing number of rich folks, especially Malays (though critics have pointed out that they are mostly linked to the people in power).
The Sultans abide by the system of constitutional monarchy. The economy is well diversified and there are plenty of jobs. There is no shortage of food though rising prices are a reality and critics say official inflation rate figures are not reliable.
Suppression of freedoms has been a thorny issue though there have been efforts (half-hearted, say the critics) to review the hated Internal Security Act. But by and large, Malaysians are not starving, suffering or jobless though racial issues are still thorny (critics say politicians are responsible for fanning them) and keep getting in the way of true unity.
If the Pakatan politicians post a message on Facebook asking Malaysians to gather at a certain place at a certain time, would tens of thousands of Malaysians be there to vent their fury and frustrations?
Would middle-class Malaysians turn up? Would mid-managers turn up? Would they leave the jobs that pay them RM4,000-6,000 a month to shout slogans and throw stones at policemen?
Bear in mind that the middle-class in Malaysia is relatively large and that strata of society actually prevented the nation from collapsing into chaos when hit by unforseen storms in the past like the financial crisis of 1997.
The danger is that Pakatan leaders - when confronted by the realisation that they will lose the next general election badly - may just organise an Arab-style people's power protest as a last stand.
And it may win the support of the people if Barisan leaders do foolish things like rigging the election, sending bus-loads or boat-loads of phantom voters to the strongholds of Pakatan leaders, opening their wallets and start buying votes, ensuring that some names are missing from the voters' lists especially in opposition strongholds, ensuring that some 'voters' are registered in multiple constituencies, slipping in bundles of fake ballot papers into ballot boxes, etc.
If these 'tricks of the trade' are utilised, then Barisan would be playing into the hands of Pakatan and handing to them - on a silver platter - the 'petroleum' to power the protests of the people. And people would quickly forget that Anwar himself was alleged to have resorted to such 'tricks' during his party's election recently.
If the next few elections - the by-election, Sarawak state election and general election - are held in a transparent and truthful way, then Pakatan would be deprived of issues to play up and things should be smooth sailing for Barisan and I can safely state that there would be no Arab-style revolution in Malaysia.
Friday, February 25, 2011
Winds of change
The winds of change are sweeping across the Middle East leaving a vast swathe of destruction (or could it be construction?) in their wake.
In a dramatic show of people's power, the governments of nations in the Muslim crescent have been brought to their knees by the very people they are supposed to serve.
First it was Tunisia, then it was Egypt and the demonstration of people's power has spread to other nations like Algeria, Bahrain, Libya, Iran and Yemen.
The question is - what fuelled these revolts? Each nation has its own unique issues, but generally the Middle- East nations have been controlled either by despotic leaders who have overstayed or by absolute monarchs who have favoured their circle of cronies or tribal leaders.
Though there is much oil wealth in this region, the wealth has not been equitably distributed - the handful of rich live ostentatiously and shop in London, dine in Paris and party in the Caribbean.
Most of the nations with oil have depended for far too long on the diminishing natural resource and did not diversify their economies enough. Thus while the elite were skiing in the Alps, the poor could not find work even as prices of food rose.
And when there was dissent, the vociferous rabble-rousers were silenced by questionable and brutal methods.
But the leaders found it hard to control certain things - like the Internet and the handphone.
Through social networking sites like FaceBook and Twitter, the disgruntled and mostly young jobless Arabs vented their frustrations and later organised their protests.
This is the new face of revolution - the FaceBook revolution. Anyone can post a message to meet at a certain place and certain time for a demonstration and tens of thousands of protestors will be there.
The protestors turned up in symbolic spots of cities; so did the army. Governments normally resort to heavy-handed tactics when confronted this way and so the thugs, mercenaries and soldiers were let loose to massacre the masses. Look at what's happening in Libya.
But once blood is spilt, a matyr is created. Just to correct Gaddafi, the eccentric and perhaps lunatic leader of Libya, matyrs are those who die fighting for freedom or some idealistic cause, not ageing despots who want to die hanging on to power.
While the revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt were secular, the demonstrations in Bahrain has a religious factor - it is a fight between the minority Sunni Muslim elite and the impoverished Shiites, who though being in the majority have suffered from discrimination for ages.
Nobody is certain what the Middle East will look like when the flames are doused and the rubble cleared.
Some commentators have said that the Arab nations should look at the political models in fellow Muslim nations like Malaysia and Indonesia where there is some semblance of democracy.
Also, Malaysia's constitutional monarchy - which is styled after the English model - could also be a system that the Sultans and Emirs of Arabia could implement.
The revolutions in the Middle East have taught vital lessons - the anger and frustration of the people cannot be suppressed forever, and freedom and democracy are very powerful motivators.
In a dramatic show of people's power, the governments of nations in the Muslim crescent have been brought to their knees by the very people they are supposed to serve.
First it was Tunisia, then it was Egypt and the demonstration of people's power has spread to other nations like Algeria, Bahrain, Libya, Iran and Yemen.
The question is - what fuelled these revolts? Each nation has its own unique issues, but generally the Middle- East nations have been controlled either by despotic leaders who have overstayed or by absolute monarchs who have favoured their circle of cronies or tribal leaders.
Though there is much oil wealth in this region, the wealth has not been equitably distributed - the handful of rich live ostentatiously and shop in London, dine in Paris and party in the Caribbean.
Most of the nations with oil have depended for far too long on the diminishing natural resource and did not diversify their economies enough. Thus while the elite were skiing in the Alps, the poor could not find work even as prices of food rose.
And when there was dissent, the vociferous rabble-rousers were silenced by questionable and brutal methods.
But the leaders found it hard to control certain things - like the Internet and the handphone.
Through social networking sites like FaceBook and Twitter, the disgruntled and mostly young jobless Arabs vented their frustrations and later organised their protests.
This is the new face of revolution - the FaceBook revolution. Anyone can post a message to meet at a certain place and certain time for a demonstration and tens of thousands of protestors will be there.
The protestors turned up in symbolic spots of cities; so did the army. Governments normally resort to heavy-handed tactics when confronted this way and so the thugs, mercenaries and soldiers were let loose to massacre the masses. Look at what's happening in Libya.
But once blood is spilt, a matyr is created. Just to correct Gaddafi, the eccentric and perhaps lunatic leader of Libya, matyrs are those who die fighting for freedom or some idealistic cause, not ageing despots who want to die hanging on to power.
While the revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt were secular, the demonstrations in Bahrain has a religious factor - it is a fight between the minority Sunni Muslim elite and the impoverished Shiites, who though being in the majority have suffered from discrimination for ages.
Nobody is certain what the Middle East will look like when the flames are doused and the rubble cleared.
Some commentators have said that the Arab nations should look at the political models in fellow Muslim nations like Malaysia and Indonesia where there is some semblance of democracy.
Also, Malaysia's constitutional monarchy - which is styled after the English model - could also be a system that the Sultans and Emirs of Arabia could implement.
The revolutions in the Middle East have taught vital lessons - the anger and frustration of the people cannot be suppressed forever, and freedom and democracy are very powerful motivators.
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Math and science
Looks like even the President of the (still) most powerful and most advanced nation in the world recognises the need to have better education in math and science to ensure that the United States are ahead of the pack in this competitive world (read story below).
Note that there is no debate in the US over whether to teach math and science in English or some other language. One can argue that the situation in America is different since all Americans speak only English whereas in Malaysia Bahasa Malaysia or the Malay language is the national language and English is the former colonial power's tongue and thus the policy to revert back to using Malay as the medium of instruction for science and math is justified, at least from the perspective of nationalism.
However, the point is that advances in science and math do not emerge from countries like Malaysia. Paradigm shifts in knowledge and invention take place in the West and English is the lingua franca of these vital developments.
Students from non-English speaking nations like China, South Korea and Japan work hard to learn English so that they can catch up with the West in science and technology, but in Malaysia issues of language and culture are more important and politicians are guided by expediency rather than pragmatism. It matters not if Malaysia lags far behind other Asian nations in science, math and technology as long as the Malays are happy that their language is used for teaching these subjects, and as long as Umno, the political party that draws its support from the Malays, remains in power.
And who are the losers? Malaysia and Malaysians.
WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama says better education in math and science is critical to pushing the U.S. forward in the global competition for innovation and jobs, and he wants the private sector to get involved in making it happen.
Obama recorded his weekly radio and Internet address during a visit this week to Intel Corp. outside of Portland, Oregon. He praised the company Saturday for making a 10-year, $200 million commitment to promote math and science education - and held it up as an example of how corporate America can make money at the same time it builds the country.
"Companies like Intel are proving that we can compete - that instead of just being a nation that buys what's made overseas, we can make things in America and sell them around the globe," Obama said. "Winning this competition depends on the ingenuity and creativity of our private sector. But it's also going to depend on what we do as a nation to make America the best place on earth to do business."
Obama's West Coast swing, which also included a dinner with big names in California's Silicon Valley including Apple's Steve Jobs and Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg, was part of his push to promote a budget proposal that increases spending in targeted areas like education, research and development and high-speed Internet, while cutting in other areas. Republicans newly in control of the House are pushing much deeper cuts and resisting new spending.
The Republican is also taking Obama to task for avoiding significant changes to the biggest budget busters: the federal entitlement programs Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. In the Republicans' weekly radio address, Rep. Tom Price trumpeted the Republican push to cut $60 billion from the current fiscal year budget and promised a 2012 budget proposal that, unlike Obama's, offers "real entitlement reform."
"Our reforms will focus both on saving these programs for current and future generations of Americans and on getting our debt under control and our economy growing," Price said. "By taking critical steps forward now, we can fulfill the mission of health and retirement security for all Americans without making changes for those in or near retirement."
Note that there is no debate in the US over whether to teach math and science in English or some other language. One can argue that the situation in America is different since all Americans speak only English whereas in Malaysia Bahasa Malaysia or the Malay language is the national language and English is the former colonial power's tongue and thus the policy to revert back to using Malay as the medium of instruction for science and math is justified, at least from the perspective of nationalism.
However, the point is that advances in science and math do not emerge from countries like Malaysia. Paradigm shifts in knowledge and invention take place in the West and English is the lingua franca of these vital developments.
Students from non-English speaking nations like China, South Korea and Japan work hard to learn English so that they can catch up with the West in science and technology, but in Malaysia issues of language and culture are more important and politicians are guided by expediency rather than pragmatism. It matters not if Malaysia lags far behind other Asian nations in science, math and technology as long as the Malays are happy that their language is used for teaching these subjects, and as long as Umno, the political party that draws its support from the Malays, remains in power.
And who are the losers? Malaysia and Malaysians.
WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama says better education in math and science is critical to pushing the U.S. forward in the global competition for innovation and jobs, and he wants the private sector to get involved in making it happen.
Obama recorded his weekly radio and Internet address during a visit this week to Intel Corp. outside of Portland, Oregon. He praised the company Saturday for making a 10-year, $200 million commitment to promote math and science education - and held it up as an example of how corporate America can make money at the same time it builds the country.
"Companies like Intel are proving that we can compete - that instead of just being a nation that buys what's made overseas, we can make things in America and sell them around the globe," Obama said. "Winning this competition depends on the ingenuity and creativity of our private sector. But it's also going to depend on what we do as a nation to make America the best place on earth to do business."
Obama's West Coast swing, which also included a dinner with big names in California's Silicon Valley including Apple's Steve Jobs and Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg, was part of his push to promote a budget proposal that increases spending in targeted areas like education, research and development and high-speed Internet, while cutting in other areas. Republicans newly in control of the House are pushing much deeper cuts and resisting new spending.
The Republican is also taking Obama to task for avoiding significant changes to the biggest budget busters: the federal entitlement programs Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. In the Republicans' weekly radio address, Rep. Tom Price trumpeted the Republican push to cut $60 billion from the current fiscal year budget and promised a 2012 budget proposal that, unlike Obama's, offers "real entitlement reform."
"Our reforms will focus both on saving these programs for current and future generations of Americans and on getting our debt under control and our economy growing," Price said. "By taking critical steps forward now, we can fulfill the mission of health and retirement security for all Americans without making changes for those in or near retirement."
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Is this really happening in China?
I honestly could not believe my eyes when I read this today. Is this really happening in China? Of all nations, China? Where the communist government has muzzled the press and even the Internet? Where those who criticised the government have been sent to jail?
If even China is opening up, what then of Malaysia? Would Prime Minister Najib ever announce that Malaysians should criticise the government?
China's premier says public should criticize govt
BEIJING (AP) - China's premier has urged citizens to voice their criticisms of the government and speak out about injustice during an unprecedented visit to the country's top petition bureau, where people are allowed to file complaints against officials, state media reported.
The official Xinhua News Agency said late Tuesday that it was the first time since the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949 that a premier has met with ordinary petitioners.
China Central Television quoted Wen Jiabao as telling visitors and staff at the bureau in Beijing on Monday afternoon that the government must "create conditions that allow citizens to criticize and supervise the government, and enable government to responsibly resolve the problems and difficulties of the masses."
China is extremely wary of dissent. The government doesn't allow protests and routinely censors the media and internet of any content that is potentially destabilizing or overly critical of the leadership.
Outspoken critics of the communist regime, including Nobel Peace Prize winner Liu Xiaobo, have been jailed on vague subversion charges.
Wen has spoken before about giving the public greater freedom to voice anger and frustration over social problems such as corruption. The comments have been interpreted by some as a signal that the leadership wanted to more aggressively pursue democratic reforms, but they have yet to be followed up by concrete initiatives.
A human rights activist said Wednesday that Wen's high-profile visit to the bureau would likely result in more petitions being filed, which was unfortunate since the petition system is widely seen as an outmoded and ineffective way of resolving grievances.
Human Rights Watch researcher Phelim Kine said in an e-mail that Wen's public encouragement of the petitioning system would "likely only attract greater numbers of Chinese citizens, particularly the marginalized rural residents ... to seek redress through a broken petitioning system which rather than resolves past abuses, continually creates new ones."
In China, local officials are under pressure to have no petitions from their area, since their performance is linked to the number of grievances filed - a sign of instability - from their locality. As a result, petitioners are sometimes detained by thugs before they can file their petitions and held in illegal jails that are covertly run by officials.
Kine cited a Chinese government-backed study from 2004 that indicated that only a tiny fraction - 0.2 percent - of a sample of 623 petitioners successfully resolved their problems through the petitioning system. - AP
If even China is opening up, what then of Malaysia? Would Prime Minister Najib ever announce that Malaysians should criticise the government?
China's premier says public should criticize govt
BEIJING (AP) - China's premier has urged citizens to voice their criticisms of the government and speak out about injustice during an unprecedented visit to the country's top petition bureau, where people are allowed to file complaints against officials, state media reported.
The official Xinhua News Agency said late Tuesday that it was the first time since the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949 that a premier has met with ordinary petitioners.
China Central Television quoted Wen Jiabao as telling visitors and staff at the bureau in Beijing on Monday afternoon that the government must "create conditions that allow citizens to criticize and supervise the government, and enable government to responsibly resolve the problems and difficulties of the masses."
China is extremely wary of dissent. The government doesn't allow protests and routinely censors the media and internet of any content that is potentially destabilizing or overly critical of the leadership.
Outspoken critics of the communist regime, including Nobel Peace Prize winner Liu Xiaobo, have been jailed on vague subversion charges.
Wen has spoken before about giving the public greater freedom to voice anger and frustration over social problems such as corruption. The comments have been interpreted by some as a signal that the leadership wanted to more aggressively pursue democratic reforms, but they have yet to be followed up by concrete initiatives.
A human rights activist said Wednesday that Wen's high-profile visit to the bureau would likely result in more petitions being filed, which was unfortunate since the petition system is widely seen as an outmoded and ineffective way of resolving grievances.
Human Rights Watch researcher Phelim Kine said in an e-mail that Wen's public encouragement of the petitioning system would "likely only attract greater numbers of Chinese citizens, particularly the marginalized rural residents ... to seek redress through a broken petitioning system which rather than resolves past abuses, continually creates new ones."
In China, local officials are under pressure to have no petitions from their area, since their performance is linked to the number of grievances filed - a sign of instability - from their locality. As a result, petitioners are sometimes detained by thugs before they can file their petitions and held in illegal jails that are covertly run by officials.
Kine cited a Chinese government-backed study from 2004 that indicated that only a tiny fraction - 0.2 percent - of a sample of 623 petitioners successfully resolved their problems through the petitioning system. - AP
Saturday, January 1, 2011
NUJ blames racist editors for Utusan Malaysia's decline
From www.themalaysianinsider.com
KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 1 – National Union of Journalists (NUJ) president Hata Wahari blamed Utusan Malaysia editors and what he called their racial rhetoric for the daily’s declining sale.
He also called on the authorities to act against Utusan Malaysia editors for fanning racial sentiment in its reports.
“Utusan Malaysia which used to enjoy daily circulation of 350,000 has now become government’s propaganda tool in playing up racial issues and creating discord among the people of various races,” said Hata (picture) in a statement today.
“NUJ Malaysia also calls on the authorities to act against the chief editor and other editors of Utusan Malaysia for undermining racial harmony in the country,” he added.
Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC) figures for the full year ended June 30, 2010 showed that Utusan Malaysia’s circulation dropped from 181,346 to 170,558, or a drop of 5.9 per cent.
“NUJ Malaysia hopes that the chief editor and editors of Utusan Malaysia will revert to the objectives of the newspaper during the early days of its publication,” said Hata who is also an Utusan Malaysia journalist.
The Utusan Group was founded in Singapore in 1939 by Malay intellectuals including the republic’s first president Yusof Ishak who were critical of the then colonial government.
The company is now controlled by Umno and Utusan Malaysia has been accused by Pakatan Rakyat (PR) leaders promoting racial hatred in its reporting.
It had accused Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng of being anti-Malay and recently launched an attack against DAP’s Serdang MP Teo Nie Ching for alleged failure dress appropriately in her visit to a mosque.
“Failure of the authorities to take action against Utusan Malaysia chief editor and editor would only show that they are consenting to the agenda of creating racial discord in the country by a racist and undignified newspaper,” said Hata.
He also urged editors of other mainstream dailies that have suffered declining circulation to stop from being government propaganda tools.
“The union also asks editors of mainstream media especially Utusan Malaysia, New Straits Times, Berita Harian and the The Star to play the role of disseminating information to the public and not as propaganda machinery of the government, political parties, or any individual,” said Hata.
The ABC report also showed that The Star’s circulation dropping from 295,479 to 286,409 (-3.1 per cent), the New Straits Times from 120,770 to 109,341 (-9.5 per cent), and Berita Harian from 183,187 to 160,597 (-12.3 per cent).
Sales of the three newspapers and Utusan Malaysia have been falling these past five years, with all but The Star registering drops of 20 per cent or more between 2005 and 2009.
So-called “light reading” newspapers like Malay-language Harian Metro and Kosmo, on the other hand, continue to go from strength to strength, posting higher sales numbers this past year on top of already impressive circulation numbers.
Kosmo was the biggest winner with a massive 32.9 per cent jump in circulation from 129,633 last year to 172,252 this year. Harian Metro also managed to chalk up an impressive 11.8 per cent rise in circulation to 378,354.
The weekend editions of both newspapers, Kosmo Ahad and Metro Ahad, saw similar increases of 35.1 per cent and 11.5 per cent, respectively.
All Chinese-language papers managed slight single-digit bumps in sales this past year, with the exception of Guang Ming Daily which slipped by 2.67 per cent to 95,158.
Circulation for Sin Chew Daily went up from 374,757 to 382,578 (2.1 per cent), China Press from 159,034 to 160,841 (1.1 per cent) and Oriental Daily News from 97,882 to 103,827 (6.1 per cent).
Free paper The Sun recorded a 4.38 per cent boost in circulation from 287,935 to 300,512.
KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 1 – National Union of Journalists (NUJ) president Hata Wahari blamed Utusan Malaysia editors and what he called their racial rhetoric for the daily’s declining sale.
He also called on the authorities to act against Utusan Malaysia editors for fanning racial sentiment in its reports.
“Utusan Malaysia which used to enjoy daily circulation of 350,000 has now become government’s propaganda tool in playing up racial issues and creating discord among the people of various races,” said Hata (picture) in a statement today.
“NUJ Malaysia also calls on the authorities to act against the chief editor and other editors of Utusan Malaysia for undermining racial harmony in the country,” he added.
Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC) figures for the full year ended June 30, 2010 showed that Utusan Malaysia’s circulation dropped from 181,346 to 170,558, or a drop of 5.9 per cent.
“NUJ Malaysia hopes that the chief editor and editors of Utusan Malaysia will revert to the objectives of the newspaper during the early days of its publication,” said Hata who is also an Utusan Malaysia journalist.
The Utusan Group was founded in Singapore in 1939 by Malay intellectuals including the republic’s first president Yusof Ishak who were critical of the then colonial government.
The company is now controlled by Umno and Utusan Malaysia has been accused by Pakatan Rakyat (PR) leaders promoting racial hatred in its reporting.
It had accused Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng of being anti-Malay and recently launched an attack against DAP’s Serdang MP Teo Nie Ching for alleged failure dress appropriately in her visit to a mosque.
“Failure of the authorities to take action against Utusan Malaysia chief editor and editor would only show that they are consenting to the agenda of creating racial discord in the country by a racist and undignified newspaper,” said Hata.
He also urged editors of other mainstream dailies that have suffered declining circulation to stop from being government propaganda tools.
“The union also asks editors of mainstream media especially Utusan Malaysia, New Straits Times, Berita Harian and the The Star to play the role of disseminating information to the public and not as propaganda machinery of the government, political parties, or any individual,” said Hata.
The ABC report also showed that The Star’s circulation dropping from 295,479 to 286,409 (-3.1 per cent), the New Straits Times from 120,770 to 109,341 (-9.5 per cent), and Berita Harian from 183,187 to 160,597 (-12.3 per cent).
Sales of the three newspapers and Utusan Malaysia have been falling these past five years, with all but The Star registering drops of 20 per cent or more between 2005 and 2009.
So-called “light reading” newspapers like Malay-language Harian Metro and Kosmo, on the other hand, continue to go from strength to strength, posting higher sales numbers this past year on top of already impressive circulation numbers.
Kosmo was the biggest winner with a massive 32.9 per cent jump in circulation from 129,633 last year to 172,252 this year. Harian Metro also managed to chalk up an impressive 11.8 per cent rise in circulation to 378,354.
The weekend editions of both newspapers, Kosmo Ahad and Metro Ahad, saw similar increases of 35.1 per cent and 11.5 per cent, respectively.
All Chinese-language papers managed slight single-digit bumps in sales this past year, with the exception of Guang Ming Daily which slipped by 2.67 per cent to 95,158.
Circulation for Sin Chew Daily went up from 374,757 to 382,578 (2.1 per cent), China Press from 159,034 to 160,841 (1.1 per cent) and Oriental Daily News from 97,882 to 103,827 (6.1 per cent).
Free paper The Sun recorded a 4.38 per cent boost in circulation from 287,935 to 300,512.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)