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Malaysians, Burmese march for democracy

Anil Netto
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Monks have been leading tens of thousands of people as protests rock Burma

People are on the march in both Malaysia and Burma in their quest for justice and freedom.

The Malaysian Bar Council is organising a march of lawyers from the Palace of Justice in Putrajaya to the Prime Minister’s Office on the morning of Wed, 26 Sept after the explosive revelations in a widely circulated videoclip. They are expected to be joined by activists and other concerned Malaysians.

This is a piece I wrote for Asia Times Online:

Malaysia’s judiciary on Candid Camera
By Anil Netto

PENANG, Malaysia – On May 27, 1988, then-prime minister Mahathir Mohamad, his party faced with a legal challenge from rivals that threatened his leadership, summoned Malaysia’s top judge, Salleh Abas, and gave him an ultimatum: resign or face a judicial tribunal. That secret private meeting led to suspension of Salleh and five other top judges (three of whom were later reinstated). It precipitated a crisis from which the judiciary has never recovered.

Today, the once-powerful Mahathir, 82, is under sedation in intensive care after surgery to treat a infection following a heart-bypass operation on September 4.

And today, the credibility of the judiciary itself is also on life support after explosive revelations in a widely circulated (including on YouTube) eight-minute video clip featuring what appears to be a well-connected senior lawyer, V K Lingam, purportedly discussing promotions and factionalism among senior judges over the phone with Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim, the No 3 judge in the country at the time the clip was recorded on a mobile phone in 2002. Full article

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PGCC and CGCC

Anil Netto
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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 kept below two degrees centigrade, which will require the strongest mitigation efforts, and currently looks very unlikely to be achieved, the substantial global impacts will occur, such as species extinctions, and millions of people at risk from drought, hunger, flooding.”

Under the scale of risk used by IPCC, the words “very unlikely” mean there is just a one to 10 per cent chance of limiting the global temperature rise to two degrees centigrade or less.

Professor Martin Parry, a senior Met Office scientist and co-chairman of the IPCC committee which produced the report, said he believed it would now be “very difficult” to achieve the target and that governments need to combine efforts to “mitigate” climate change by reducing CO2 emissions with “adaptation” to tackle active consequences such as crop failure and flooding.

Speaking at the Royal Geographical Society, he said: “Ten years ago we were talking about these impacts affecting our children and our grandchildren. Now it is happening to us.”

“Even if we achieve a cap at two degrees, there is a stock of major impacts out there already and that means adaptation. You cannot mitigate your way out of this problem… The choice is between a damaged world or a future with a severely damaged world.”

The IPCC assessment states that up to two billion people worldwide will face water shortages and up to 30 per cent of plant and animal species would be put at risk of extinction if the average rise in temperature stabilises at 1.5C to 2.5C.

This warning should have been splashed on the front-pages of newspapers around the world with large bold headlines. Instead, the reports were largely tucked in the inside pages of our newspapers so that hardly anyone noticed them.

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Migrant workers vs expatriates – glaring double standards

Anil Netto
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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:

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Fahmi Reza’s outstanding film on the 1947 hartal

Anil Netto
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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 yes, the MIC too! It was a broad-ranging movement that was determined to seek Independence.

Of course, the British preferred to deal with Umno, which did not threaten colonial economic interests at that time, and completely ignored the Putera-AMCJA coalition’s constitutional proposals.

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Malaysian judiciary hits rock bottom

Anil Netto
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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:

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

Anil Netto
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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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PGCC: Council to hear nearby residents’ concerns

Anil Netto
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Feelings against the PGCC are running high. Despite the mainstream media’s almost total blackout of dissenting views, emails have been going around, highlighting the adverse implications for Penang if the project goes ahead. Concerned activists have begun a campaign to raise public awareness of the PGCC and its horrendous implications for Penang.

In the midst of all this, some welcome news: the Penang Munical Council (MPPP) has given an assurance that it would be transparent and accountable in vetting the project. MPPP president Zainal Rahim Seman said the MPPP would ensure all the requirements are met before approving the project.

theSun reports:

Commenting on the complaints raised by several NGOs in Penang after the project was launched by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi on Sept 12, Zainal said a public hearing will be held in three weeks time.

“The developer has submitted it’s plans for the PGCC and I want to assure everyone that the MPPP will be thorough and open in deliberations on the project,” he told theSun.

“We will invite those in the neighbouring areas to come for the public hearing and they will be given an opportunity to air their views, which will be considered in our decision-makings.

“The developer will have to fulfill all the criteria, including traffic impact assessment in the area and the EIA requirement. The relevant departments, including the Public Works Department and Department of Environment, will also submit their reports on the project.”

Zainal said the approval for the project will not be given “so soon”.

He said although the project had been launched even before the approval was given by the MPPP, the initial assessment had been carried out by the Prime Minister’s Office.

So I gather that the Council will be holding a meeting for neighbouring residents to hear their concerns, perhaps on 27 Sept. And I hear the NGOs are also thinking of a public forum. All of a sudden, the path to the promised PGCC land doesn’t look like like it’s going to be strewn with rose petals.

First stop, the call for an independent and thorough EIA.

PGCC: Why did the Penang Turf Club sell a goldmine?

Anil Netto
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Say you had a home that sits on vast, potentially valuable, prime land in a popular land-scarce island. You know that bigtime developers are greedily eyeing your sprawling green turf because when they look at it, you can almost see $$$$$ pop up in their eyes and hear the chek-chek-ting! of a cash register – you know, like in the cartoons.

And then someone comes by and offers to buy your land at the present (relatively cheap) market value. And instead of paying most of the purchase price in cash, he offers to build you a “better” home on his even cheaper land on the mainland. Would you jump at the offer and dance in the streets?

This is what has been bugging me the last few days. Something just doesn’t compute. Unlike the swamp land sold by the fishermen’s cooperative (which eventually was resold to the Port Klang Free Zone authority) for a pittance, the Penang Turf Club land is prized land.

So I cannot understand why the Penang Turf Club sold its 260-acre land to Abad Naluri, the associate firm of Patrick Lim’s Equine Capital, for just RM488 million in 2002.

That works out to RM43 per square foot.

Even if you exclude the portion of the land that cannot be developed, it still works out to RM64 psf, which is dirt cheap.

Today, open recreational land in Penang is worth around RM60 psf.

But with the rezoning of the Penang Turf Club land to “mixed development” the land value could leap to RM250-300 psf, which is the land value in neighbouring Jesselton. One pro-PGCC bank analyst, in his exuberance, even suggested the land could potentially be worth RM500 psf (trying to pump up the value of the land, are we?) – though I am told that real estate valuers feel that RM250-300 psf is a more realistic range.

Either way, Abad Naluri is laughing all the way to the bank – even before the first bulldozer rumbles into the site.

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NCER: Transforming agriculture – for whom?

Anil Netto
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On 30 July, the Northern Corridor Economic Region (NCER) master-plan was launched with much fanfare. Among other goals, the blueprint aims to transform agriculture in the rice-bowl region of Malaysia.The masterplan was designed by Sime Darby although the project will be implemented by a regional coordinating authority, chaired by the Prime Minister.

On the face of it, it all sounds great. After all, if we can increase our food production and be more self-sufficient, then we would achieve food security, right?

But there are some underlying issues that have not been highlighted in the mainstream media.

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 contract farmers. Not only that, the firm will eventually buy the farmers’ produce, process it and market it via Tesco (in which Sime Darby has a 30 per cent stake).

To get this scheme started, Sime Darby will introduce mechanised agro-business methods on a 700-acre model farm to a core group of pioneer farmers, who would be paid monthly salaries higher than the average farmer’s income. The contract farmers, once trained, would become contract farmers working on land allocated to them by the government or on plots merged through cooperatives.

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Lipstick on the PGCC gorilla

Anil Netto
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The PGCC developers talk about building a zero-carbon city, but they don’t tell us about the scale of carbon emissions during the years of construction.

It might be worth looking at what people in the know are saying about large so-called “eco-projects” elsewhere.

Check out this excerpt from The Georgian, Issue 1, 2007. The Georgian is the magazine of the Georgian Group, a national charity in the UK dedicated to preserving Georgian buildings and gardens. Every year, the group is consulted on over 6,000 planning applications involving demolition or alterations.

Lipstick on a gorilla

Nowhere are the contradictions of building these eco-homes better illustrated than in Dalston, East London. The Victorian theatre there, and adjoining late Georgian houses, were recently demolished to make way for a transport interchange, as part of a regeneration exercise loosely linked to the 2012 Olympics. The development contains homes complete with wind turbines, and the tower blocks will have ‘green’ roofs. As the propaganda has it, the whole exercise is environmentally sustainable. But once construction starts, more that seventy-five lorries will be arriving at the site daily, for several months. The Carbon Trust estimates that the carbon emitted in building the reinforced concrete slabs alone will be something like 15,000 tonnes, equivalent to the Greater London Authority’s carbon emissions from electricity use for the next twelve years – or the amount that would be emitted if the mayors of London and Hackney flew across the Atlantic and back continuously from now (2007) until 2045. – Robert Bargery, editor

You still think it’s going to be “zero carbon”? Aren’t we having wool pulled over our eyes?

This makes the Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi’s call to fast-track the approvals process all the more irresponsible. What we really need is a thorough, detailed, independent EIA process.

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