Rilek1Corner

Category: Komentar

Send in your opinion to [email protected].
Kirimkan pandangan anda kepada [email protected].

  • Elected Presidency Changes: Big Step Backwards For Malay community

    Elected Presidency Changes: Big Step Backwards For Malay community

    I worry about the unintended consequences of changes to the elected presidency, especially the move to reserve elections for minority candidates.

    I was brought up in an era where we Malays were told we had to fend for ourselves in school and in our careers, as Singaporeans of other races did. After initial trepidation, due in part to seeing how Malays in other countries in the region depended on race-based policies to help them advance, Malay Singaporeans grew out of their historical reliance on such crutches. And that has over time become a source of pride and motivation for the community.

    In my frequent travels to neighbouring countries and in the speeches I deliver there, I speak proudly of the significant progress the community has made as we proved we could stand on our own feet. That was thanks in no small part to the brave decision by our earlier leaders to take away our proverbial crutches and make us compete on a level playing field. Like everything else, healthy competition drives the community to a higher level.

    Now, I worry that all that is being undone. The announcement that next year’s presidential election will be reserved for Malay candidates strikes me as a major step backwards. Like it or not, it risks being read as a vote of no confidence in the community. It seems to suggest that we are still unable to compete on the same level with the rest of the population and that we remain a troubled community that requires – selectively – a big handicap. It makes me wonder what happened to our belief in boosting self-reliance and self-respect through doing away with affirmative action and race-based state aid in education and career progression.

    During the last three decades of minimal race-based policy assistance, Malays have worked hard to prove our self-worth with significant achievements in the education and professional arenas. Today, more private sector and business leaders are drawn from the community than ever before.

    There has been gradual but meaningful progress in all other statistics too, including education. The sense I get from my daily interactions with members of the community is that we are patient in waiting for further public sector achievements. I did not sense any clamour for the next president to be from the Malay community.

    America waited more than 230 years for a member of a minority race to be elected president. That did not make people from minority races there feel any less American. When the day finally arrived in November 2008 and Mr Barack Obama was elected America’s first black president, the outcome was greeted with great celebration not just within the country but in countries across the free democratic world, including those in Asia and Africa.

    Here in Singapore, the last time a president of a minority race was in the Istana was five years ago. The last time we had a Malay president was 46 years ago. I believe most Malays are willing to wait patiently for our next Malay president to be voted into office based on his own merit and in a contest against other capable Singaporeans of different races or creeds, however long it takes.

    I personally think that even without changes to the elected presidency, it will not take quite so long. After all, minority MPs have regularly won elections in single-seat constituencies while others have led teams in group representation constituencies – a scheme originally created to assist minority candidates to be elected into Parliament – instead of being pedestrian members of the GRCs.

    I would argue that more than a Malay president, what Singapore needs is policy consistency – we cannot afford policy twists and turns, especially on a selective basis, no matter how well intended.

    Still, if the chance to have a member of their community as president is offered on a platter, not many Malays will reject such a gift. That is human nature. But what would be even more satisfying is a hard-fought campaign leading to the election of a Malay president who deserves the position based on the famously Singaporean values of grit and merit.

    That is worth waiting for. The changes to the Constitution relating to the elected presidency may have inadvertently denied me and other members of Singapore’s minority communities the pleasure of seeing that happen.

     

    Source: The Straits Times

  • Malacca Harbour Plan Raises Questions About China’s Strategic Aims

    Malacca Harbour Plan Raises Questions About China’s Strategic Aims

    A RM43 billion (S$14 billion) harbour being developed in Malacca aims to overtake Singapore as the largest port in the region, but questions are being raised about the need for the added capacity and whether China’s eager participation has to do with good business or its crucial strategic interests in the Malacca Strait.

    For China, not only does most of its trade pass through the Malacca Strait, but so does up to 80 per cent of its energy needs. This prompted then President Hu Jintao to make the “Malacca Dilemma” a key strategic issue as far back as 2003.

    “There is the strategic element of the Malacca Strait. It always starts with an economic presence, which can develop into a naval one, because China will be obliged to ensure the safe passage of its commercial ships,” said Dr Johan Saravanamuttu of the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, who studies the Malaysia-China relationship.

    The Melaka Gateway joint venture is part of a wider port alliance between Kuala Lumpur and Beijing to increase bilateral trade and boost shipping and logistics along China’s much-vaunted Maritime Silk Road.

    Chinese firm Guangxi Beibu International Port Group already owns 40 per cent of Kuantan port, which faces the disputed waters of the South China Sea, and 49 per cent of the Kuantan Industrial Park in Pahang, the home state of Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak.

    The Malaysian authorities are talking up the game-changing Melaka Gateway deal between little-known KAJ Developments and energy giant PowerChina International, which will form a joint venture and spend RM30 billion to reclaim three islands off Malacca’s coast. The entire Gateway development will be completed in 2025 but the deep-sea port is expected to be ready by 2019. The Malaysian government hopes to attract the bulk of 100,000 vessels, most of them Chinese, that ply the Malacca Strait annually.

    Some industry players have expressed concern about the cannibalising of existing ports along the strait, especially in the light of Singapore’s own port expansion.

    Though the Malaysian government has said a new port is needed because Klang, the country’s most important port, will be full by 2020, studies appear to show otherwise.

    A World Bank study commissioned by the government last year showed a new port on Malaysia’s west coast is not necessary, as existing facilities have yet to reach capacity, according to sources. Both operators at Port Klang – Westports and MMC – have also made expansion proposals that would double the port’s capacity, the sources added.

    “Because there seems to be no logic to the Melaka deal, many are questioning if this has more to do with military rather than commercial interests,” a logistics player told The Straits Times.

    Sources also said the reclaimed islands would be given freehold status and the port granted a 99-year concession – both rare and generous terms. Melaka Gateway did not respond to a request for comment.

    China’s military presence around Malaysian waters has increased significantly since last year. In September last year, all three branches of the Chinese armed forces took part in a six-day joint exercise on “disaster relief” in the Malacca Strait.

    China has also gained access to Kota Kinabalu, a crucial dock in Sabah close to the disputed Spratly Islands, where Beijing’s construction activities have been a source of diplomatic strife in the region.

    A former port authority chief noted that China has made moves to reduce its reliance on the Malacca Strait, such as via port-and-rail or pipeline projects in Pakistan, Myanmar and Eastern Europe, which means “we cannot take Beijing’s commitment here for granted”.

    “If China pulls out her support, the port becomes useless because it has no hinterland, unlike Klang and Penang which serve a big local market. In fact, many businesses prefer to send their goods to Klang by road instead of the existing Malacca or Penang ports because it is more efficient.”

    Critics have questioned Malay- sia’s over-reliance on China, in the light of the huge deals struck during Datuk Seri Najib’s recent visit to Beijing, as well as a whopping RM55 billion loan to build a railway that will eventually link Port Klang on the west and Kuantan port in Pahang and also Terengganu and Kelantan.

    “There is the question of over-dependence, and the diplomatic leverage involved if Beijing were to move in more aggressively. So far, Najib is still hedging, but when it comes to investments, you can’t expect as much from America as you can from China. If you want to go up against Singapore, then this port makes sense, especially when it is in the form of foreign investment, given Malaysia’s fiscal constraints,” said Dr Saravanamuttu.

    Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai batted away these concerns on his return from Beijing, telling reporters that “with the economy growing, we need more ports”. He said: “The port alliance… has seen results, bringing more competitiveness to our ports and logistic sectors.”

     

    Source: The Straits Times

  • Secret Beauty Pageant For Indonesia’s Transgender Women

    Secret Beauty Pageant For Indonesia’s Transgender Women

    JAKARTA (AFP) – Crowds cheered on Friday (Nov 11) night as a group of Indonesian transgender women showed off glittering gowns in a beauty pageant held almost entirely in secret to avoid unwanted attention from hardliners in the Muslim-majority nation.

    Twenty-eight-year-old Pie Nabh Tappii won the title of Miss Transgender Indonesia, facing off competition from 18 other contestants.

    “I am happy, but I want to cry as well… I didn’t expect this,” Tappii told AFP after being crowned.

    In addition to the crown, Tappii’s prizes included 10 million rupiah (S$1,000) and a 2m-high trophy.

    The pageant in Jakarta was kept mostly under wraps, with just a handful of media invited as organisers warned cheering supporters not to share images of the event on social media as it unfolded, fearing the wrath of religious radicals.

    Hardliners in the world’s most populous Muslim-majority country have grown increasingly bold in recent years.

    They have halted a festival focusing on women’s issues and have targeted the Christian minority, seeking to close down churches and stop their community work.

    The Indonesian constitution officially recognises six different religions and most of its 255 million inhabitants practise a moderate form of Islam.

    But critics say the influence of fringe hardline groups, and the authorities’ unwillingness to tackle them for fear of being labelled anti-Islamic, has fuelled a dangerous increase in intolerance, including against the transgender community.

    The parade comes just a week after tens of thousands of Muslims protested in Jakarta against the city’s Christian governor, angered by allegations he insulted Islam.

     

    Source: www.straitstimes.com

  • Dr Mahathir: Malays Lack Good Values, Lazy And Uncompetitive

    Dr Mahathir: Malays Lack Good Values, Lazy And Uncompetitive

    KUALA LUMPUR — Former Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohamad yesterday once again lashed out at the Malay community in his country, accusing them of lacking good values and being lazy.

    Dr Mahathir said the country’s ethnic majority was not hardworking enough and therefore uncompetitive, causing them to trail behind the other races economically.

    This also resulted in the Malays being driven out from the main cities to the rural interior.

    “Like Alor Setar (the capital of Kedah) and now there are no more Malays there when it was them that raised the city. This is because the Malays are poor and they have no money so they sell their land. So what happens is now they stay outside the city,” said the former leader at a book launch.

    Dr Mahathir, who served as prime minister for 22 years and is regarded as the country’s “Father of Modernisation”, admitted that he may have failed to transform the country’s ethnic majority so that they become more hardworking.

    Despite all the government had done to help them, Dr Mahathir said the Malays still expected things to come easily and refused to adopt working cultures of more successful races, such as those in Japan.

    Japan was an integral part of the Mahathir administration’s Look East Policy. The policy was to push Malaysia to follow the East Asians in becoming diligent, hardworking and loyal.

    “I have tried for 22 years to help the Malays. Maybe I have failed, although some may say that I did achieve some success,” said Dr Mahathir.

    “Values dictate if one race should succeed or not … Like the Japanese, they are ashamed if they fail. That is why they are afraid to fail … But the Malays, they lack shame.”

    Dr Mahathir said the Malays are also bankrupt of honesty. He claimed of first-hand experience in the matter when his bakery company, The Loaf, tried in the past to sack several managers for stealing money from the restaurants.

    He said the establishment of his bakery was to help the Malays by giving them job opportunities but instead they stole his money.

    “That is the problem with the Malays. They don’t have honesty,” he added.

    Dr Mahathir is a staunch defender of race-based affirmative action policies as prescribed by the New Economic Policy, an economic model mooted in 1971 to close the socio-economic gap between the largely-urban Chinese and the rural Malays as well as other indigenous Bumiputera.

    Ironically, however, the former prime minister has admitted in the past that the programme has made the Malays more complacent, while noting that the system had been abused to enrich only a few elites who were close to the ruling party.

    But the former prime minister has continued to defend the policy, saying it was still needed to help the Malays compete and bridge the income disparity among the races.

    Dr Mahathir has also been at the forefront of criticism against Prime Minister Najib Razak and his administration for the past year. He has accused Mr Najib of corruption linked to state investment firm 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), and has launched a new party, the Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (PBBM) that he said would ally with the opposition to ensure straight fights against the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition at the next General Election, which has to be called by 2018.

     

    Source: www.todayonline.com

  • Yuna Tegas Kekal Di Amerika Di Sebalik Kebimbangan Tentang Sentimen Anti-Muslim

    Yuna Tegas Kekal Di Amerika Di Sebalik Kebimbangan Tentang Sentimen Anti-Muslim

    KUALA LUMPUR: Penyanyi antarabangsa berhijab, Yuna, berikrar untuk kekal di Amerika Syarikat dan meneruskan kerjayanya di sana.

    Ini meskipun di tengah-tengah kebimbangan tentang tindak balas anti-Muslim di negara itu menyusuli kemenangan Donald Trump dalam pilihan raya presiden.

    Yuna menegaskan demikian setelah sesetengah peminatnya meminta beliau pulang ke Malaysia, lapor Malay Mail Online.

    Encik Trump, semasa berkempen untuk menjadi presiden, sebelum ini menyeru agar semua orang Islam diharamkan daripada memasuki Amerika Syarikat.

    “Saya akan pulang ke rumah sekali-sekala untuk pekerjaan/keluarga. Namun, ingat. Pelajar Malaysia di sini kena terus di sini untuk belajar. Kena jadi ‘brave’ macam mereka,” tulis Yuna di laman Twitternya semalam (9 Nov).

     

    Catatan Twitter Yuna itu sudah dikongsi lebih 3,650 kali sejauh ini.

    “Nampaknya, kami harus bekerja lebih keras untuk menggalak rasa kasih sayang, hormat, kesefahaman dan persamaan,” kata Yuna dalam satu lagi kiriman di Twitter seperti ditukil Malay Mail Online.

    Selain retorik anti-Muslim, Encik Trump semasa kempen pilihan raya juga menyifatkan warga Mexico sebagai “perogol” dan “penjenayah.”

    Bagaimanapun, laman The Independent melaporkan bahawa kenyataan Encik Trump yang menyeru orang Islam dilarang masuk ke Amerika Syarikat itu sudah dipadamkan dari laman rasminya.

    Source: http://berita.mediacorp.sg