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Historic day as Pokok Demokrasi is officially recognised

Anil Netto
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the-tree
The morning sunlight filters through the branches, lending an enchanted and mystical aura to the fabled tree

the-plaque
It’s official: The marble plaque beneath the Democracy Tree (Click to enlarge) Photos by Kinta Kid

Kinta Kid reports from the Democracy Tree, Ipoh:

Perak leaders gathered at the base of the ‘Democracy Tree’ this morning to officiate a plaque highlighting what transpired on 3 March 2009.

The black marble plaque with gold-plated inscription starts off with two quotes during somewhat similar episodes that occurred in France and the UK and then goes on to explain the events of the morning of 3 March:

…when 27 state assemblymen were locked out undemocratically from the house by the police and the FRU under instructions of the State Secretary… At 10.00am the Speaker of the House YB V Sivakumar then instructed the assembly to adjourn to the tree to deliberate the motions of the agenda… By 10.35am all motions were passed following full traditional procedures….

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20,000 turn up in Bukit Selambau

Anil Netto
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A large crowd of about 20,000 turned up in a little pekan in Bukit Selambau last night for a ceramah by Anwar Ibrahim, according to a source who was present.

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Ceremony to launch Pokok Demokrasi square

Anil Netto
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I gather there’s going to be some sort of “Majlis Perasmian Tugu dan Pokok Demokrasi” at the site of the fabled Democracy Tree in Medan Istana across the road from the rear entrance to the Perak state government building in Ipoh at 10.00am today. It will be exactly one year after the historic 8 March 2008 general election.

More trees are expected to be planted around the Pokok Demokrasi to symbolise justice, freedom, etc

Nizar and members of his administration are expected to be present.

Meanwhile, blog reader Anna Brella has sent in some quotes on trees:

“The tree is more than first a seed, then a stem, then a living trunk, and then dead timber. The tree is a slow, enduring force straining to win the sky.” – Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Wisdom of the Sands, translated from French by Stuart Gilbert.

“The true meaning of life is to plant trees, under whose shade you do not expect to sit.” – Nelson Henderson

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Focus on substantive issues, not personalities

Anil Netto
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Who is this mysterious Andrew, who has been criticised by a few readers of this blog? Here, the academic-activist explains where he is coming from:

Let me clarify that I am first of all, a Penangite and a Malaysian who believes in democratic discourse. Thus, unlike some of those who have attacked me on a personal basis above (and previously in other posts), I am more interested in the substantive issues at hand. So, let’s focus on the discussion instead of personalities. Consequently, I see no reason why I should give anyone my IC number or my full name if I choose not to do so in my comments to Anil’s blog. This is my democratic choice just as I do not demand anyone to disclose their full identity if they criticise me. I would honestly prefer if we addressed the issues.

Hence, I find it disturbing here in Anil’s blog to read postings that reflect die-hard partisan positions towards those whom we disagree with. One would have hoped for better considering that many of us who post comments are from the educated middle-classes; the enlightened intelligentsia of our society if you please.

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Odds and ends

Anil Netto
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Here are some links you might find interesting today:

Democracy under a tree

Anil Netto
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A message from DEMOCRACY TREE

I am just a tree, why not be like me..
I give shelter, and rest to all in need, you can see.
There’s shade under my branches, come and take your rest
You’ll know then, that I am simply Nature’s gift and I ….did my best.

– Shakuntala, an anak Bangsa Malaysia who adores trees and spends time just staring at their beauty and generosity and who believes in the fusion of Nature with human activity.

Some people are saying the tree in question is a yellow flame tree. Can anyone verify this?

Continuing on the tree theme, I wrote the following for IPS:

It has already been dubbed “Pokok Demokrasi” or Democracy Tree and is set to enter the annals of folklore in Ipoh, capital city of Perak state.

In an open space beneath this 60-foot high rainforest tree and another lush mango tree nearby, the state legislative assembly of peninsular Malaysia’s second largest state held an emergency session Tuesday as a crowd of several hundred looked on.

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Penang NGOs submit proposals to state gov’t

Anil Netto
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Lim Chong Eu once tried to “develop” Penang Hill while later, Koh Tsu Koon tried to pave the way for the development of the Turf Club land for the PGCC project.  In both cases, Penang civil society groups mobilised public opinion to “Save Penang Hill” and “Stop PGCC”.  Both proved to be costly errors, driven by corporate greed and the interests of develors. The rest, as they say, is history.

Himanshu Bhatt writes about the Penang Forum’s submission of civil society proposals and recommendations to the Penang state government. Will the state government heed the views of the activists?

This article appeared in theSun:

Ignore NGOs at your peril

LAST Saturday, at a private meeting in the chief minister’s office, the Pakatan Rakyat government of Penang was handed a stack of working papers by a motley gathering of NGOs. The reports, drawn up by independent working groups, were made as part of a “People’s Forum”, a community-based initiative of as many interest groups as one could imagine popping up in Penang, a former “crown jewel” of Gerakan.

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How much of approved FDI is actually coming?

Anil Netto
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Projects approved by state

State 2008 2007
No Domestic Invest (RM mill) Foreign Invest (RM mill) Total Investment (RM mill) No Domestic Invest (RM mill ) Foreign Invest (RM mill) Total Investment (RM mill )
Sarawak 39 1988.3 13180.5 15168.9 23 403 631.4 1034.5
Selangor 302 2866.2 9004.7 11870.9 318 6989.7 4191.7 11181.5
Johor 173 2315.1 9396.6 11711.7 188 2495.4 6747.4 9242.8
Penang 151 5068.7 5087.6 10156.3 134 1625.2 3143.4 4768.7
Melaka 41 182.3 3452.2 3634.5 38 1618.5 2219.2 3837.7
Perak 50 696.8 2433.2 3130 59 651.7 1382.9 2034.6
Kedah 46 288.1 2279.3 2567.3 46 7856.7 6133.6 13990.2
N Sembilan 26 821 294.8 1115.8 40 493.6 2181.9 2675.6
Pahang 23 1017.7 63.1 1080.7 28 406.9 1156.9 1563.8
T’ganu 9 636.8 355.5 992.3 11 2772.2 3391.1 6163.2
Sabah 40 620.6 343.8 964.4 41 1080.9 2176.7 3257.5
Perlis 2 63.3 107 170.3 2 7.1 0 7.1
KL 12 94 23.8 117.8 12 52.8 39.6 92.4
Kelantan 3 17.6 66 83.6 9 52.6 30.1 82.7
Labuan 2 9.8 10.7 20.5 – – – –
Total 919 16686.2 46098.8 62785 949 26506.3 33425.9 59932.2

Source: MIDA

If you consider that RM17.4 billion is for foreign investments in the electronics sector (think Penang and Selangor) and RM20.4 billion for foreign investments in basic metal products (think aluminium smelters in Sarawak), then you begin to wonder how many of these approved projects will actually materialise.

The global electronics sector is in deep trouble; so the Penang government shouldn’t rely on these figures for comfort this year. The figures for Sarawak include the proposed aluminium smelter (notice the sharp jump from 2007), which is nowhere near to being implemented – though that would be a blessing given the environmental implications.

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Speaker’s lawyers making another bid

Anil Netto
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The Speaker’s lawyers (from left): Chan Kok Keong, Augustine Anthony, Tommy Thomas, and Phillip Koh Tong Ngee Photo by KK

V Sivakumar’s lawyers are going back to court again in another attempt to represent the Speaker, says my source in Ipoh after a press conference held by the lawyers.

Yesterday, the court ruled that only the state legal adviser could represent the Speaker.

This time the lawyers will argue that under Article 132 (3) of the Federal Constitution, the Speaker is not part of the public services, and therefore he should be allowed to engage private lawyers.

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Fed gov’t interested in helping cronies: Water Panel

Anil Netto
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The Selangor government’s Water Review Panel has accused federal Water Minister Shaziman Abu Mansor of being more interested in protecting the private interests of businessmen rather than the Selangor and KL public.

In a Berita Harian interview yesterday, Sharizan had given two reasons for wanting to speed up the restructuring of the Selangor water industry:

  • to take over the water concessionaires’ assets by 31 March and avert a water tariff hike and
  • to assist the concession companies in bearing the costs of borrowings and bonds that they currently cannot afford.

In contrast, the Water Review Panel stressed in a statement that there would be no increase in tariffs should the Selangor government take over the assets.

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