PGCC and CGCC

 Development issues, Environment, Malaysian finance/business, Media, People's Park/PGCC  1 Response »
Sep 242007
 

Well, you all know what PGCC is by now – the massive RM25 billion Penang Greenwash… err, I mean Global… City Centre project. And CGCC? That’s Catastrophic Global Climate Change. If we go ahead with PGCC, it would only add to CGCC. If you are not convinced that building 37 “tombstones” (high-rise towers) on the Penang Turf Club green space is a terrible idea, then consider this dire warning published in the Independent: ‘Too late to avoid global warming,’ say scientists By Cahal Milmo Published: 19 September 2007 A rise of two degrees centigrade in global temperatures – the point considered to be the threshold for catastrophic climate change which will expose millions to drought, hunger and flooding – is now “very unlikely” to be avoided, the world’s leading climate scientists said yesterday…. In its latest assessment of the progress of climate change, the body said: “If warming is not [Read more]

Migrant workers vs expatriates – glaring double standards

 Human rights, Workers' rights  1 Response »
Sep 232007
 

Today, I dropped by to check out the Migrants Sunday celebrations organised by the Migrant Workers Support Centre on mainland Penang. As I looked around at the gathering of workers from Burma, India, Indonesia and the Philippines, I couldn’t help thinking about the double standards we practise when we think of foreign workers. Why should there be double standards when both categories comprise human beings, workers, who have come to our land to make an honest living? Let’s look at some of the glaring differences:

Fahmi Reza’s outstanding film on the 1947 hartal

 Ethnic and inter-religious relations, Human rights, M'sian politics, Malaysian history  5 Responses »
Sep 222007
 

Remember the name – Fahmi Reza, the worthy winner of the Freedom Film Festival 2007. Last night I headed for the opening day’s screenings at the Actors’ Studio in Penang, mainly to see Fahmi’s “Sepuluh tahun sebelum Merdeka” – and I was not disappointed. It was the best local political documentary I had seen. The film focused on the first multi-ethnic political coalition in the country and depicted the events leading to the 1947 nationwide hartal or total national strike. The visionary women and men behind the hartal were nine years ahead of their time in coming up with constitutional proposals for a “Melayu” citizenship covering all the major races. In fact, the term “Melayu” to describe citizenship for all was surprisingly well received even by the non-Malays. The hartal had the backing of left-wing Malay nationalist groups, middle-class English-speaking non-Malays, even the Chinese Chambers of Commerce, women’s groups, and [Read more]

Malaysian judiciary hits rock bottom

 Accountability, Democracy, Judiciary, Malaysian finance/business  5 Responses »
Sep 202007
 

Well, say no more! As my academic friend observes: …this is a sterling opportunity to draw out the oligarchic control of this country — a chance to pull away from the ethnic ding-dong that’s going on. Here is the oligarchy of wealth and privilege: an Indian lawyer, a Chinese tycoon, a Malay judge, etc. And claiming to do this in the interests of the country, of the PM (Mahathir). Gives a whole new meaning to the word “muhibbah” – while they divide-and-rule the rest of the country, secure in their own positions of wealth and power. See this press statement by Aliran president P Ramakrishnan. He is calling for the immediate suspension of the Chief Justice and a review of decisions in the following cases:

NO! to M’sia’s FTA with police state, USA – Remember, 1.2 million dead in Iraq

 FTAs, Human rights, Malaysian finance/business, Neo-liberal economics, United States  3 Responses »
Sep 202007
 

The new US ambassador to Malaysia, James Keith is urging both Malaysia and the United States to conclude a Free Trade Agreement after an earlier deadline in June was missed. Of course, the US stands to benefit far more in such an “open market”. To draw an analogy, it would be like Manchester United playing against the Malaysian football team. Sure it may be a “level playing field”, but we all know who would win such a game. The thing about an FTA with the United States is that it’s not just about trade. Keith said that trade and security issues will be a major focus during his tenure.

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