Job materialises above my desktop
Sometimes its hard to understand the meaning of suffering and misfortune.
I spent most of today running around taking the first step towards getting all my cards replaced. And discovered that it is an expensive affair to get burgled. The fee for replacing each card (whether bank ATM card, identity card, driver’s licence) ranges from RM12 to RM50.
It’s back to my old desktop PC now after the laptop was stolen. My Samsung monitor, for some reason, looks blur. Maybe because it is past its prime.
Yesterday, I discovered a book that I thought had gone missing. It was on wisdom spirituality based largely on material from the Old Testament. I found it lying strategically on the CPU of my desktop.
I flipped the book open to where I had left a book-mark inside to indicate where I had last stopped.
The next chapter was all about Job. How apt, I thought. I mean, I couldn’t help identifying with Job at this point in terms of the things he had lost.
Burgled! They even took the poor mouse
Today was not a great day.
I woke up this morning to find that my home had been broken into while I was asleep.
Here’s what they took:
- A laptop (yes, they took the power adapter, the modem… and even the poor mouse, but no, they weren’t interested in my older desktop PC, which was next to it);
- Wallet with around RM600 in cash (of which RM500 was actually donations passed to me to hand over to Aliran for its 30th anniversary dinner), identity card, driving licence, bank cards (not just mine but family members’ as well);
- Computer case with thumbdrive and bank pass books inside;
- Handphone.
- a snatch theft
- harassment by an “Ah Long” (loan shark). Apparently the Ah Long had demanded RM900 a day in interest, failing which he would “kerjakan” the hapless victim.
- an assault by unknown people.
The triumph of Life over Death
I like to think of these unexpected victories as a legacy of the Resurrection, a sign that the forces of Death and Oppression will never have the last word over those who struggle for justice and peace, even though those who struggle may never live to see the fruit of their work. For Christ’s Resurrection tells that the struggle to build a kingdom of love, compassion, justice and peace will always triumph against all the odds.
We need only look at a few examples to see the progress that has been made over the last few decades and centuries despite all the bad news along the way. But even with these triumphs, we always have to be on our guard against the forces of darkness, which continue to assail the human race, giving rise to fresh challenges.
Let’s look at a few examples in this piece I wrote for the Herald:
For many centuries, slavery flourished in many parts of the world. But thanks to the abolitionist movement and the dedication of enlightened souls, today slavery has been outlawed. (Though of course there are new forms of legalised ‘slavery’: Think of the migrant workers who are exploited, the domestic helpers who are treated like bonded labour.)Another classic example: In South Africa, after decades of struggle, the oppressive apartheid system was dismantled, thanks in large part to the perseverance of pro-democracy activists. Nelson Mandela’s party, the ANC, took over the reins of power as an entire nation celebrated. But sadly, the ANC has since then introduced top-down neo-liberal “free market” policies and embraced privatisation. It has also failed to introduce meaningful land reforms. The result: race-divisions under apartheid have now given way to class divisions. But that does not diminish the sensational triumph over apartheid. And let’s not forget how Gandhi and his independence movement brought down the might British Empire in India.
In Malaysia, the struggle for human rights has gone on for a few decades now. For many years, “human rights” was considered something of a dirty word. Darkness descended in the land during Operasi Lalang in 1986-87, when over a hundred people were detained without trial under the ISA. A decade later, we heard of cases of police brutality against street demonstrators during the reformasi period of 1998-2001.
Who would have imagined then that we would one day have a Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) – whose major contribution has been the official legitimacy it has bestowed on the human rights struggle. This was later followed by the Royal Commission’s recommendation to set up an Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC).
These were major victories, but unfortunately Suhakam, without any enforcement powers, remains a powerless and conservative toothless tiger while the IPCMC has still not yet been set up – a sad reflection of the current administration.
Fundraising walkathons for bailouts and fighter jets?
Most of us have done it while we were in school. You know, taking part in walkathons and donation drives to help the school build a new wing or to carry out urgent repairs. And we usually thought nothing of it and were glad to chip in.
But a friend of mine phoned this evening sounding upset that their child had been asked to take part in a school donation drive.
“No way is my child going from house to house to collect money for the school,” my friend told me. “I have written a letter to the school to tell them that my child is not to be involved in such fund-raising activities. And I told my daughter that if the teacher or the principal is unhappy, they should get in touch with me.”
“I mean, I am paying a lot in income tax; where is all that money going? Why should my child then go from house to house raising money for her (government) school?”
My friend has a point. After all the money the government has wasted on mega projects, our schools are still short of funds – especially schools in the interior areas and many of the Tamil vernacular schools.
But funny how we are never short of funds when it comes to buying the latest multi-million ringgit submarines or advanced fighter jets – or for the latest bailout. How many billions of ringgit have we spent on bailing out failed projects?. Now we have the fiasco over the Klang Port Free Zone – which is proving to be far from “free”. In fact, pretty expensive, if you ask me – a worthy contender for mega scandal of the year.
When was the last time you saw government officials going from house to house, cap in hand, trying to raise funds to buy a fighter jet or to bail out a failed mega project?
This is not a peculiarly Malaysian situation. Take Pakistan, for instance: it allocated US$4.2 billion on “defence” out of its US$21.7 billion federal budget compared to only 2 per cent of GDP on education.
And let’s not even talk about America. Listen to Robert Dreyfuss:
And it’s important to keep in mind that the official Pentagon budget doesn’t begin to tell the full story of American “defense” spending. In addition to the $650 billion that the Pentagon will get in 2008, huge additional sums will be spent on veterans care and interest on the national debt accumulated from previous DOD spending that ballooned the deficit. In all, those two accounts add $263 billion to the Pentagon budget, for a grand total of $913 billion.Gulp! Nearly US$1 trillion on “defence”. So I have a suggestion. Instead of donation drives for schools, why don’t we have walkathons to raise funds for the latest fighter jets and bailouts. I am sure the public would gladly chip in for such a good cause.
Look, a minimum wage would spur economic activity
Here’s more evidence to show that a minimum wage can actually keep the economy purring.
This time, we go to the United States.
San Francisco-based journalist, Dick Meister, a specialist on labour issues, is actually calling on the US administration to raise the minimum wage there to a more decent level. A minimum wage, far from dampening economic sentiment, could actually spur domestic demand and boost economic activity. Here’s what he has to say:
But what of that other bit of fiction spread by opponents, their flimsy argument that raising the minimum forces employers to eliminate jobs? Don’t you believe it. Just the opposite has happened after each of the 19 previous times the minimum has been raised since it was initially set at 25 cents an hour in 1938. The job growth has been spurred primarily by the increased spending of those whose pay has been increased. What’s more, the raises have benefited employers, since increasing workers’ pay raises their morale and, with it, their productivity, while decreasing absenteeism and recruiting and training costs. Taxpayers would benefit, too, since so much of the billions paid out in public assistance goes to families whose working members do not earn enough at the current minimum wage to be self-supporting.So isn’t that reason enough for Malaysia to introduce a minimum wage? After 50 years of Merdeka and 44 years of Malaysia, do you seriously think our nation as a whole stands to gain by paying poverty-line wages to hundreds of thousands of long-suffering workers?
Oil running out – and Malaysia allows an energy-intensive smelter
The oil is running out.
Yes, in Malaysia too.
By 2010, we will become a net importer of oil. If our domestic demand for petroleum products continues to increase by 4 per cent annually, we will have nothing left over to export as demand will exceed domestic crude oil production.
Many countries around the world are beginning to feel the energy squeeze. As Peak Oil – the slowdown in oil production, which is incapable of meeting rising demand – sets in, the price of oil will soar. The resulting energy squeeze has already hit dozens of countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America.
Jeroen van der Veer, the CEO of Royal Dutch Shell, has just laid out the “Three hard truths about the world’s energy crisis” and it is sobering food for thought:
- The first hard truth is that demand is accelerating.
- The second hard truth is that the growth rate of supplies of “easy oil,” conventional oil and natural gas that are relatively easy to extract, will struggle to keep up with demand.
- The third hard truth is that increased use of coal will cause higher carbon dioxide emissions possibly to levels we deem unacceptable.
What if Jesus had lived in Latin America?
I came across this interesting power-point presentation of the Stations of the Cross by Adolfo Pérez Esquivel, a Nobel Peace Prize Laureate from Argentina, and I thought I would share it with you. What is different about these Stations is that the scenes of the Passion are actually contextualised to reflect current day realities.
This particular presentation is set in Latin America with commentary by Alastair McIntosh, a writer, lecturer, social activist, broadcaster and campaigning academic based in Scotland. It is based upon, and builds on, original text from CIDSE agencies (Coopération Internationale pour le Développement et la Solidarité) that distributed the images.
Download the powerpoint presentation here. Amazing how this 2,000-year-old Gospel event can jump to life when set against a backdrop of current day socio-economic realities.
Religious leaders overcome odds to affirm right to water
It’s not often that religious leaders come together to take a common stand on an issue of national significance.
Over the years, Aliran organised a couple of seminars – one on corruption and the other on the human being – that looked at these issues from the perspective of the various spiritual traditions.
In recent times, we have seen religious leaders coming together to protest against the invasion of Iraq and, last weekend, to reaffirm the right to water in an interfaith seminar. But this time, the plan by various religious and civil society groups to hold the event at the National Mosque was scuttled at the last moment.
Obviously, some quarters are uncomfortable with the idea of Muslims and non-Muslims putting aside their differences and coming together to take a common stand on an important public interest issue especially at such a prominent landmark as the National Mosque.
In this piece for IPS, I looked at the run-up to the seminar and the last-minute change in venue.
When religious leaders from different faiths sought to jointly affirm the sacredness of wateron scuttle interfaith harmony as well as support plans to privatise a common resource. Plans to hold the highly symbolic interfaith forum on the right to water at the National Mosque, a major landmark in the capital Kuala Lumpur, on Saturday had to be scuttled when the organisers were suddenly forced to shift the venue to a location five km way. But, the last-minute change did not stop prominent leaders of the Muslim, Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, and Sikh faiths from signing a landmark joint declaration on water and affirm that the element is a sacred gift bestowed by the creator to people to be conserved and used to fulfil the basic needs of all living things on earth. Full article: Water a sacred gift, affirm interfaith leaders
Return the denarii to Caesar
Christianity should not merely be seen as a spiritual process. There are also the social, cultural and economic dimensions involving the whole human person and his/her relationship with the community.
In the Old Testament, God dramatically intervened in human history to rescue His people from slavery and oppression. Jesus heralded the reign of God in a more direct fashion. Inevitably, when we choose the side of the poor and criticise injustices, we run into conflict with the interests of the rich and powerful. This is an excerpt from a piece I wrote for the Herald.Jesus himself did not set about to upset the powers-that-be during his time. But his message that the Kingdom of God, God’s reign, was at hand was a slap against the sovereignty of Caesar, the Roman Occupiers and Israel’s own worldly rulers. The values that he proclaimed – love, compassion, justice – were diametrically at odds with the values of the Roman Empire (oppression, tyranny and greed).Seen in that light, Jesus’ message to render to God what was God’s and to render to Caesar what was Caesar’s meant that we should give back to worldly rulers the ultimately worthless and futile pursuits (wealth, greed, ambition) symbolised by the denarii (money and the oppressive economic system). The denarii was to be given back to Caesar, while the people were to go back to their rightful “owner”, God. Through this separation of the tainted denarii from the people of God, it could be said that Jesus was bestowing economic independence on the people – an independence from the oppressive structures of the time.
And that independence was seen in basic communities from the time of the Gospel to the conversion of Constantine. They saw themselves as under God’s direct reign – a reign that, even though dimmed by the later worldly ambitions and oppression of political and church leaders, continues to this day.
In that sense, we are called once again to return to the Gospel in basic communities, to take stock of global challenges and begin the transformation at the local level. This time, the challenges – economic, political, social and cultural – and the oppressive economic system are a thousand times more formidable. Whereas the empire of the Roman world in the Gospels was confined to the known world, today the tentacles of Empire stretch across the globe in the form of neo-liberalism (and other policies which favour the rich over the poor, the capitalist class over the workers), militarism and the arms race, global trade injustice…
Old tram railtrack unearthed along Penang Road
The other day I was passing by Penang Road and I noticed some major road excavation work in progress. I looked more closely – and there it was: preserved like an elongated time capsule under the surface of the road were two parallel metal strips right smack in the middle of the road. The old tram track!
This section is probably a continuation of the 50 metres of tram track that was unearthed – and now kept visible – following road and pavement upgrading works in 2004 at the Chulia Street/Penang Road junction.
Let’s hope these discoveries will inspire our urban transport planners to look more closely at the system of trams, which first began running in Penang in the 1880s. These trams later became part of an integrated people-friendly public transport system in the decades that followed.
Reviving the trams will be timely – and it won’t cost much. In fact, Australian tram engineer Ric Francis, author of Penang Trams, Trolleybuses and Railways, estimates that half of the old tram track could be dug out and re-used. One tram could keep 55 cars off the road, he says. Plus it will conserve our fuel, reduce pollution and complement the new public bus service, RapidPenang.
Moreover, trams that blend with the old-world architecture of George Town will surely enhance the heritage value of the inner city, which has the largest collection of pre-war shophouses in South-East Asia.
This is definitely the way to go!
Listen to Francis speaking about Re-introducing the Tramways in Penang – A Proposal for Action on Saturday at 10 am at the Penang Heritage Trust (26, Church Street). For details, phone 04-2642631.
Be there for a fascinating glimpse of what could be possible.
1,800 turn up for MTUC picket in Prai
Just heard from Abdul Razak Abdul Hamid, the chairman of MTUC Penang, that some 1,800 workers turned up for the MTUC picket near the Prai Industrial Estate, adding their voices to the call for a RM900 minimum wage and a RM300 cost of living allowance.
This exceeds the turnout for the earlier 25 June picket, in which some 1,000 workers took part.
Razak said that a few more new groups joined in today’s picket. He added that similar pickets were also held in about half a dozen locations across the country – Ipoh, KL (in three locations), Johor, Sabah and Sarawak.
So the issue is not dying out – there is still disquiet among the low-income working class. And a general election is looming.
The ball is now in PM Abdullah Badawi’s court.
Will a minimum wage drive away investors?
The MTUC resumes its nation-wide picketing calling for a minimum wage at 5 pm today.
I dropped by to check out the demo in Prai during the last picket on 25 June 2007. The turnout – a vocal crowd of close to 1,000 – exceeded the organisers’ most optimistic expectations. A large majority of the demonstrators were Malays with a smattering of Indians and Chinese – working class people. I found out from them that some factories in the area are still paying their workers a basic wage of less than RM400.
The government has said that investors will skip Malaysia if we were to introduce a minimum wage.
But check out this report from the OECD Observer website:
Minimum wages are a long-standing tradition in many other OECD countries. A minimum wage was first introduced in New Zealand in 1894, and followed a few years later by Australia. The US federal minimum wage was passed into law in 1938. Japan and Korea now have minimum wages, while in Europe, so do France, Greece, Portugal, Spain, the Benelux countries and many countries in central and eastern Europe. Ireland and the UK (not for the first time) introduced national minimum wage systems in the 1990s. Today 21 of the OECD’s 30 member countries have statutory minimum wages, and in just over half of these countries minimum wages have risen slightly faster than average wage levels in recent years. Only in the US have the real earnings of workers on the minimum wage dropped sharply in recent years, and there is strong pressure to raise them again.In fact, the hourly minimum wage in Ireland is 60 per cent of the net average wage in that country! That hasn’t stopped the Irish economy from booming nor has it driven away investors from Ireland. If higher wages drive away investors, explain Singapore. The Bank Negara governor has said that the one of the main priorities now is to boost domestic demand. Well, to me, the best way to boost domestic demand – and to ensure equitable economic growth for all – is to introduce a minimum wage so that workers can live in dignity. The lower income group tends to save less and spend proportionately more of their incomes on essentials than wealthier Malaysians. Putting more money into the hands of the lower income group will surely boost domestic demand across the country – and spur economic activity in the most meaningful way. It is time to introduce a minimum wage.
What does Najib mean by “Islamic state”?
When Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak declared that Malaysia is an “Islamic state”, he created quite a stir and quickly polarised public opinion between advocates of an Islamic state and those who believe Malaysia is a secular nation.
Much of the debate now is constrained by knee-jerk reactions to the labels. So let’s go behind the labels and look at the substance: what exactly does Najib mean by “Islamic state”?
An academic friend of mine shared these thoughts with me:
“Does he (Najib) mean a state which:
- has a constitutional monarchy,
- espouses parliamentary democracy with an equal franchise for all regardless of religion,
- has a plural system of laws (although non-bumiputera customary law has been eliminated), with the civil law based upon the Constitution as supreme and the final arbiter of our worldly affairs,
- has no restrictions on who, in principle, can be the prime minister of the federation or the chief minister of any state in the federation, not unlike, say, (Shmu’el) HaNagid (993-1056), the leader of Andalusia’s Jews, who became, in 1037, vizier of the Muslim kingdom of Granada and commander in chief of its Islamic armed forces, second only to the king of Granada,
- provides for equal rights for all citizens,
- upholds equality before the law,
- practises a single system of taxation for all,
- provides for the free practice of all religions without discrimination?
- non-Muslims must cede all secular power to Muslims,
- non-Muslims are subject to discriminatory taxation,
- non-Muslims live and worship only by the secular grace of Muslims,
- non-Muslims cannot, in principle, hold any positions above a certain technical level,
- a non-plural system of laws, defined by someone’s interpretation of sharia (see, Abdullah an-Na’im), is imposed upon all,
- the Constitution does not represent the supreme law of the land,
- non-Muslims are not free to live where they choose,
- there is no concept of citizenship regardless of religion?
Six reasons why you should avoid bottled water
Often, many of us think nothing about drinking bottled water.
But here’s why you should avoid it, whenever you can:
- Expensive: Litre for litre, it is thousands of times more expensive than tap water.
- Hardly hi-tech: Processes such as reverse osmosis aren’t exactly state of the art. Bottled water isn’t much safer than what you could obtain by running tap water through a simple water filter.
- Processed tap water: In fact, in many cases, bottled water is actually obtained from public water sources a.k.a. tap water (See report below).
- Diverted from communities: In some cases, water is diverted from local communities and sent for bottling. This reduces the level of groundwater in those areas and it becomes critical especially in places where water is scarce.
- Environmental headache: The disposal of water bottles, which are not meant for long-term use, is a major environmental headache.
- Same taste: In the United States, taste tests have revealed that people are unable to distinguish between the taste of bottled water and that of tap water. Getting people to drink pricey bottled water instead of tap water is in fact one of the major triumphs of marketing.
The soft drink giant Pepsi has been forced to make an embarrassing admission – its best-selling Aquafina bottled water is nothing more than tap water. Last week Pepsi agreed to change the labels of Aquafina to indicate that the water comes from a public water source. Pepsi agreed to change its label under pressure from the advocacy group Corporate Accountability International which has been leading an increasingly successful campaign against bottled water. Full article: The bottled water lie
Malaysia Today closes in on The Star online
I did a check on Alexa to find out the estimated global reach of the main English media in Malaysia.
Here are the rankings at 5.30 pm on 4 August 2007:
1. Star (0.052% of daily Internet surfers worldwide)
2. Malaysia Today (0.020%)
3. NST (0.014%)
4. Malaysiakini (0.009%)
5. Harakahdaily (0.0075%)
Colour code:
Beige – The Star; Blue – Malaysia Today; Black – NST; Red – Malaysiakini; Green – Harakah
Interesting to see that Malaysia Today has overtaken NST, Malaysiakini and Harakahdaily and is now closing in on The Star online!
Of course, this is just a very rough estimate – with all kinds of other variables that could present a different picture – but it is a revealing snapshot nonetheless.
Colour code:
Beige – The Star; Blue – Malaysia Today; Black – NST; Red – Malaysiakini; Green – Harakah
Interesting to see that Malaysia Today has overtaken NST, Malaysiakini and Harakahdaily and is now closing in on The Star online!
Of course, this is just a very rough estimate – with all kinds of other variables that could present a different picture – but it is a revealing snapshot nonetheless. There is a monster in the swamp
It was not so long ago when voters, hoping for reforms and change, gave Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi an unprecedented mandate. Among other things, Abdullah had vowed to tackle corruption.
Since then, the reality has not quite matched the rhetoric. The hopes of many have been dashed.
We seem to be stuck in a swamp of corruption and we just cannot haul ourselves out of it. The more we try and cling to an overhanging branch, the more we seem to be sinking deeper and deeper in the muck, right up to our neck in the bog.
We know the problem – endemic corruption – and yet we seem to be powerless to eradicate it. Worse, we do not seem to care much about it.
My friend Rustam Sani, one of Malaysia’s leading public intellectuals, has asked a pertinent question: “Having realised it in our guts that corruption is rampant in our society – and according to our luminaries in parliament and corporations it is causing harm to our social fabric – how is it that we still do not have a sense of indignation or outrage against it?
“The existence of a widespread public indignation or outrage, I have always thought, would have been the first step towards the eradication of corruption in our society.”
Rustam also observed that some local and state authorities seem more concerned about “moral policing” and snoop squads; on the other hand, they appear tolerant and lax when it comes to corruption. Perhaps the problem is that many people in our society are actually prospering in a system that is sustained by corruption so much so it doesn’t really bother them.
This can only mean one thing, concludes Rustam: “What we have in Malaysia is institutionalised corruption. And that is truly a chilling thought.”
This is an excerpt from a piece I wrote for The Herald.
Yes, there is a monster in the swamp of corruption: institutionalised corruption.
How is it institutionalised? For one thing, there is a close nexus between business and politics in Malaysia that has severely compromised the system. Too many vested interests are benefiting from corruption. No wonder the authorities are unable to drain this swamp and, moreover, they lack the political will to do so.
Everyone knows that the Anti-Corruption Agency is not really independent in the first place – for, after all, it reports to the Prime Minister and not to Parliament. Meanwhile, the media are fettered and controlled. Oppressive laws such as the Official Secrets Act and the fear of repercussions, which could put careers into cold storage, also serve to deter potential whistle blowers.
But then again, even if the ACA was independent, it would still be severely ill-equipped to deal with the issue of rampant and systemic corruption in Malaysia. For one thing, the ACA has traditionally focused on straightforward bribery cases, which is only part of the problem or even just a symptom of the larger disease. The ACA is not really up to the task of disentangling the tentacles of business and political interests. For beneath the surface lurk cronyism and greed, which has fed the monster over the years.
This monster first sprung to life during the tenure of former Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who presented us with Malaysia Inc. From then on, there was a blurring in the demarcating line between political and business concerns giving rise to situations of conflict of interests. One such example was the case of the then economic adviser to the government Tun Daim Zainuddin, who had his own vast business interests, including in the banking sector.
Seen in a broader context, the free rein given to corporate-led globalisation has also contributed towards a society that is engrossed in seeking material gain, not always legitimately. Corporate media propaganda bombards us with the image of the “good (materialistic) life”.
The result: there is a stampede in the pursuit of wealth. Many are tempted to take shortcuts to acquire such wealth whether it is through wheeling and dealing on the stock exchange, cronyism or schemes to get-rich-quick without hard, honest work.
Listen to the words of St Paul in his First Letter to Timothy:
“We brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it; but as long as we have food and clothing, let us be content with that.
“People who long to be rich are a prey to temptation; they get trapped into all sorts of foolish and dangerous ambitions which eventually plunge them into ruin and destruction.
“‘The love of money is the root of all evils’ and there are some who, pursuing it, have wandered away from the faith, and so given their souls any number of fatal wounds.” (1 Timothy 6:7-10)
As we survey our national landscape, those fatal, gaping wounds of corruption and greed are there for everyone to see.
Merdeka! Abolish colonial legacy of judicial whipping
It is time to abolish judicial corporal punishment (JCP) in Malaysia i.e. the barbaric whipping of prisoners with a thick rattan cane, which draws welts and blood and leaves permanent scars. As we celebrate 50 years of Independence, it is timely to remind ourselves that this form of corporal punishment is a legacy of British colonial rule.
According to the World Corporal Punishment research website:
The penal legislation in what used to be “British Malaya” — the peninsular part of present-day Malaysia, plus Singapore — has its historical roots in the criminal laws of England and India. When the Straits Settlements, comprising the three predominantly Chinese-populated port cities of Singapore, Melaka (Malacca) and Penang (George Town), was formed as a British colony in 1826, the criminal law of England applied. Corporal punishment was imposed for such offences as begging, pornography, treason, garrotting, and robbery with violence. Straits Settlements Penal Code Ordinance IV replaced the common law in 1871. It was based on the Indian Penal Code, which had been enacted in 1860 to unify the criminal laws of the various provinces in India. Offences punishable by whipping in the Penal Code were robbery, aggravated forms of theft, house trespass or house breaking, assault with intent to outrage modesty… This list of “whipping offences” is broadly similar to that of England and Wales at the time… …at least from the First World War onwards, the whole peninsula was in political terms regarded as “British Malaya” and for many practical purposes was run as an entity, overseen by a Governor based in Singapore who reported to the Colonial Office in London. What is clear, anyway, is that the JCP regime as it developed was entirely an outgrowth of British legal and judicial custom and practice. It did not have anything to do with “Islamic justice”. The fact that much of the territory (except for the Straits Settlements) had a majority Moslem population was coincidental.So if this is a British colonial legacy – and a barbaric one at that – aimed at keeping the “natives” in check and ensuring civil order under the colonial administration, why are we still persisting with it? It is interesting that the “natives” were being brutally whipped for theft and robbery at a time when colonial administrators (and their corporations) were occupying our land and plundering the country’s resources. Has anything changed? As we look ahead to the 50th anniversary of Independence from colonial rule, we must abolish this most cruel, inhuman and degrading form of punishment. In recent times, defenceless migrant workers have increasingly been given whipping sentences but I don’t see many of the human traffickers being similarly punished. Neither have I come across many tycoons and politicians involved in corruption and criminal breach of trust being whipped (not that I am advocating they should be). Even the Malaysian Bar has unanimously called for the abolition of whipping in Malaysia, as I reported in this article for IPS:
Of those brought to court, those with valid documents but who have overstayed face prison terms and deportation. A caning sentence, usually two to three strokes, in addition to a stint in prison, is meted out to those without any documents, according to Latheefa, who works in Legal Aid. Women are not whipped. Upon being brought to court, migrants often do not know what charges are brought against them, the two lawyers claim. ‘‘They are not informed of their right to legal representation, and in any event, are not provided with a reasonable opportunity to seek help. The lack of interpretation in appropriate languages renders the whole legal process a complete travesty of justice and human rights. Faced with indefinite detention, many of them turn in guilty pleas without realising the full implications. Full article: Illegal migrant workers may escape the cane
NCER: Who benefits more – Sime Darby or farmers?
Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi has launched the Northern Corridor Economic Region (NCER) masterplan. The masterplan was designed by Sime Darby although the project will be implemented by a regional coordinating authority.
But Sime Darby is not a disinterested party. It is eyeing the seed market and planning to produce patented “mother seed” for 10 popular crops, which it wants to sell, along with fertilisers, to the farmers. Not only that, it will buy the farmers’ produce, process it and market it via Tesco (in which Sime Darby has a 30 per cent stake).
When I contacted Jeyakumar Devaraj for comment, he told me, “It boggles the imagination that the government has come to the stage of contracting out the planning for poverty alleviation to a corporation whose primary aim is to maximise profits for shareholders.”
He said that smaller farmers could end up being pushed out or turned into agricultural labourers. Those who cannot afford to buy the expensive feed/fertilisers and don’t have economies of scale will end up losing their land. They might end up as casual labourers or be forced to move to urban areas.
“It is the invasion of corporate capital into the agriculture sector. We can see what they have done to the plantations sector: they have brought in cheap foreign labour to suppress wages below the poverty line. The same companies are moving into the traditional peasant sector.”
He pointed to how the Jabatan Hal Ehwal Orang Asli had developed plantations on Orang Asli land in the Sungai Siput area, but these are being run by private contractors who prefer to employ Indians and Bangladeshi labourers for agricultural work, leaving the Orang Asli without their land and their work.
Sarojeni Rengam of Pesticide Action Network (PAN) was also concerned. PAN’s experience of contract farming in other Asian countries suggests that the quality of the crops in the first two years would probably be acceptable. “But after that, the produce is often rejected or bought over at reduced prices” – the excuse being failure to comply with quality control standards. QC would also be used to justify “calendar spraying” according to the time of year rather than based on the actual pest problem.
Farmers may be given credit to buy proprietary seeds, pesticides and fertilisers, but this would be deducted from harvest revenue. ‘’If the produce is rejected, the farmers would be caught in a debt trap and find it impossible to survive.’’
Charles Santiago, for his part, said Sime Darby has identified the problems but the solutions have not been well thought out. “Controlling the seeds and and reorganising rice production based on agrobusiness models will not solve the systemic problems.”
“What is clear is that Sime Darby, a government-linked company, has been given the opportunity to further its investments in the country. …(and) the parties who control the seed will also control the livelihoods of the farmers.”
This is the article I wrote for IPS:
PENANG, Jul 30 (IPS) – The Malaysian government is unveiling an economic master-plan that it hopes will “revolutionise” farming and transform the economies of four northern states. Planners say the blueprint will raise farmers’ incomes but activists are concerned that it will instead make them more dependent on a small group of large corporations, which could take control of the entire food production chain from seed to retailing. Full article: Big top-down farm revival powered by business
Watch out for the BN ad agencies’ election media blitz
A couple of days ago, a friend of mine, a pensioner, received an unusual phone call from a woman he didn’t know.
From the way he described it, it sounded like someone from a market research agency was trying to gauge public opinion and sentiment. The woman asked him if it was okay if she took 20 minutes to ask a few questions.
Among the questions:
- What do you think of the Northern Corridor Economic Region plan?
- Are you happy with your recent pension increment? (He replied no, he still finds it hard to cope with the rising cost of living.)
- What do you think of Penang Chief Minister Dr Koh’s performance?
- Who do you think would make a suitable successor?
- What do you think of Keadilan?
- What do you think of Anwar?
- Would you be comfortable with Pas ruling the country?
- Do you think Visit Malaysia Year will help the economy?
- Who do you normally vote for?
In this advertising and marketing game, voters are reduced to unsuspecting consumers whose minds should be moulded and manipulated into buying the “product.” In this game, the BN is the brand, the dacing is the brand logo, the tag line is “Excellence, Glory, Distinction”, and the emotion they are trying to create is “feel good”. The principal “product” is of course, Abdullah Badawi, and the product attributes highlighted are the images of him as an anti-corruption crusader fighting against formidable odds, a man who listens to the people, etc.
It worked, didn’t it?Now I am wondering who first thought of those tag-lines “Work with me, not for me” and “Cemerlang, Gemilang, Terbilang“. And was it any wonder that Abdullah focussed on combating corruption and reforming the police as the main planks of his programme. I wonder if the Barisan Nasional has already appointed its ad agencies for the coming election and if they have already begun their “market research” to find out the issues that matter to you and me so that they can better mould public opinion through their next election media blitz.
Unable to access Malaysia Today; Keng Yaik warns bloggers
What’s going on? I am unable to access Malaysia Today, the website that has shaken up Malaysia, from up here in Penang at 7.30 pm today. It’s been like that for a few hours now. (It was back online when I checked at 10.45 pm – but downloading pages inside is still kinda slow.)
Meanwhile, I caught Minister Lim Keng Yaik, wearing his Multimedia portfolio hat, on the 8 pm news issuing a stern, blustering warning to bloggers. I didn’t quite catch what he was warning them about, but he looked suitably serious. It all looks ominous enough.
Anyway, Mustafa and I have released a statement on the implications of the interrogation of Malaysia Today webmaster Raja Petra:
Charter 2000-Aliran is deeply disturbed by recent developments that could restrict the space for freedom of expression over the Internet and curb the democratic right of bloggers to air their opinions. It is especially worrying because the Internet is one of the few avenues left for concerned Malaysians to freely express views and gain access to information that is normally not carried in the mainstream media. Full statement: Raja Petra’s interrogation: Striking fear among bloggers?