Malaysian polls observers declare Uzbek “non-election” fair

 Democracy, Europe, Malaysian elections, Politics  1 Response »
Jan 082008
 

So a six-man Malaysian election observer team, led by the Malaysian Election Commission deputy chairman, have declared the Uzbekistan elections “fair” even though critics have described it as a “non-election”. Remember, the Uzbekistan government is notorious for torturing dissidents and even putting them in boiling pots. Check out this analysis: Murray began receiving photographs and other evidence from victims’ families that the Uzbek government was engaging in brutal torture techniques as part of its interrogation of dissidents. One corpse had been beaten around the neck and jaw, and boiled alive. There was a line across his chest, under which it was scalded. Boiled like a lobster. Gee, I wonder why they invited the Malaysian Election Commission deputy chairman as an observer… I hope the Election Commission in Malaysia won’t reciprocate and invite the Uzbek election commissioners as observers in our general election. Check out this Bernama report: Uzbekistan Election Fair, [Read more]

Beware those who want to hijack Malaysia’s People Power movement

 Asean, Civil society, Corporate agenda, Development issues, Europe, FTAs, Global justice movement, Human rights, M'sian politics, Malaysian finance/business, Marginalised groups  1 Response »
Nov 172007
 

In a parting shot, Thierry Rommel, the European ambassador who left his post on Tuesday, castigated the Malaysian government for its deplorable human rights record and the “discriminatory” New Economic Policy (NEP). News reports quoted Rommel as saying the executive in Malaysia is “all-powerful and not accountable” while the judiciary remains beholden to the executive because the prime minister directly makes the appointments. He said Umno runs the country like its own backyard and that the Malaysia was “a one-party state”. “The parliament (is) useless. No fair elections, no freedoms. Police is unaccountable. Internal checks and balances? Forget it. So where do you find characteristics that (represent) democracy?” Malaysians struggling for greater democracy, who marched in the tens of thousands on 10 November, might be forgiven for thinking that they had found an influential ally in Rommel and the European Union. Big mistake. Although most of Rommel’s remarks ring true, [Read more]

Rommel, the NEP and the EU’s hidden agenda

 Asean, Corporate agenda, Development issues, Europe, Neo-liberal economics  1 Response »
Jun 282007
 

When writing the piece below for IPS, I spoke to economist Charles Santiago, who told me that non-Malays are so tired of the discrimination under the NEP that many of them would support FTAs with the US and the EU. “But they have to keep in mind the larger implications of an FTA, which means that whether you are a Chinese, Malay or Kadazan businessman or woman, you will face stiff competition from TNCs who are technologically superior,” he warned. ”It will be a takeover of our businesses in the long run.” ”There is a hidden agenda here,’‘ he added. ”They (EU officials) are in effect saying, ‘You guys open up your economy so that our European investors can take over your market’.” Rommel’s salvo on the NEP is an opening shot across the bow as EU-Asean FTA negotiations get under way in Vietnam in July and perhaps reflects underlying [Read more]

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