pp3739/12/2004 issn 0127 - 5127 / rm3.00 / 2004:vol.24no ... · kungfu masters the problem within...

Aliran Monthly : Vol.24(10)

PP3739/12/2004 ISSN 0127 - 5127 / RM3.00 / 2004:Vol.24No.10

MCA mustMCA mustMCA mustMCA mustMCA muststruggle forstruggle forstruggle forstruggle forstruggle fordemocracydemocracydemocracydemocracydemocracy

Corruption cannotbe ended by talk

Europe, Islam and theseach for new politics


he Malaysian ChineseAssociation (MCA) heldits 51st Annual GeneralMeeting (AGM) in Octo-

ber 2004. Unlike UMNO whichalso recently held its AGM, 2004it was not an election year for theMCA, the number-two party afterUMNO, in the Barisan Nasional(BN). The MCA’s party electionwill only be held next year.

In the previous issue of AliranMonthly (vol. 24 no. 9), Khoo BooTeik highlighted how the issue ofUMNO’s ‘rising sons’, perhapsthe most significant aspect of theUMNO AGM and election, re-ceived scant attention. Instead,attention was given to many is-sues of insignificance.

COVER STORY

Looking BeyondD e v e l o p m e n t a l i s m

by Francis Loh

The MCA must return to the struggle for democracy

TTTTT


The cover story by Francis Loh looks at the lack ofissues deliberated at the recent MCA general assem-bly. It goes on to discuss how the MCA has changedits role to a purveyor of goods and services whileencouraging a withdrawal from politics. He callson the MCA to return to the struggle for democracyand human development.

The accompanying story by Tan Lee Ooi reviewsthe recent debate in the Chinese media on just thisissue, which probably was not noticed byMalaysians who do not read the Chinese press andwebsites.

In the wake of George Bush’s presidential victory,which will surely lead to an intensification of USunilateralism in global affairs, John Hilley consid-ers the possibility of Islam and European Unionemerging as countervailing forces to US hegemony.The implications for Malaysia are also considered.

We present Aliran’s representation to the Parliamen-tary Select Committee set up to solicit feedback onamendments to the Criminal Procedure Code.Alarmingly, these amendments seek to grant morepowers to the police including the power to inter-cept communication and to arrest terrorist suspectswithout warrant.

A J Patrick, the former deputy president of theMTUC, argues that retired and serving public sec-tor employees under the EPF scheme deserve bettertreament.

Do not miss Anil Netto's report on Anwar’s home-coming visit to Penang. Anwar chose this occasionto highlight the problem of corruption and lop-sideddevelopment priorities in the country.

C O N T E N T S

Printed by Percetakan Tujuh Lapan Enam Sdn. Bhd.No. 16, Lengkangan Brunei, 55100 Pudu, Kuala Lumpur.

EDITOR'S NOTE

COVER STORYCOVER STORYCOVER STORYCOVER STORYCOVER STORY••••• Looking Beyond DevelopmentalismLooking Beyond DevelopmentalismLooking Beyond DevelopmentalismLooking Beyond DevelopmentalismLooking Beyond Developmentalism 22222

••••• Has The MCA Abandoned Politics?Has The MCA Abandoned Politics?Has The MCA Abandoned Politics?Has The MCA Abandoned Politics?Has The MCA Abandoned Politics? 88888

FEATURESFEATURESFEATURESFEATURESFEATURES••••• Prime Minister Does Not UnderstandPrime Minister Does Not UnderstandPrime Minister Does Not UnderstandPrime Minister Does Not UnderstandPrime Minister Does Not Understand

The IssueThe IssueThe IssueThe IssueThe Issue 1 11 11 11 11 1

••••• Aliran's Representation To TheAliran's Representation To TheAliran's Representation To TheAliran's Representation To TheAliran's Representation To The

Parliamentary Select CommitteeParliamentary Select CommitteeParliamentary Select CommitteeParliamentary Select CommitteeParliamentary Select Committee 1 41 41 41 41 4

••••• Corruption Cannot Be EndedCorruption Cannot Be EndedCorruption Cannot Be EndedCorruption Cannot Be EndedCorruption Cannot Be Ended

Just By TalkJust By TalkJust By TalkJust By TalkJust By Talk 1 91 91 91 91 9

••••• What Is The Thai PublicWhat Is The Thai PublicWhat Is The Thai PublicWhat Is The Thai PublicWhat Is The Thai Public

Prosecutor Doing Now?Prosecutor Doing Now?Prosecutor Doing Now?Prosecutor Doing Now?Prosecutor Doing Now? 2 62 62 62 62 6

••••• American DominanceAmerican DominanceAmerican DominanceAmerican DominanceAmerican Dominance 4 04 04 04 04 0

REGULARSREGULARSREGULARSREGULARSREGULARS••••• Current ConcernsCurrent ConcernsCurrent ConcernsCurrent ConcernsCurrent Concerns 2 92 92 92 92 9

••••• LettersLettersLettersLettersLetters 3 13 13 13 13 1

OTHERSOTHERSOTHERSOTHERSOTHERS••••• Datuk WatchDatuk WatchDatuk WatchDatuk WatchDatuk Watch 2 42 42 42 42 4

••••• Review Ceremonies And TitlesReview Ceremonies And TitlesReview Ceremonies And TitlesReview Ceremonies And TitlesReview Ceremonies And Titles 2 52 52 52 52 5

••••• Subscription FormSubscription FormSubscription FormSubscription FormSubscription Form 3 83 83 83 83 8

••••• Aliran's New ExcoAliran's New ExcoAliran's New ExcoAliran's New ExcoAliran's New Exco 3 93 93 93 93 9

ALIRANALIRANALIRANALIRANALIRAN is a Reform Movement dedicated to is a Reform Movement dedicated to is a Reform Movement dedicated to is a Reform Movement dedicated to is a Reform Movement dedicated toJustice, Freedom & Solidarity and listed on theJustice, Freedom & Solidarity and listed on theJustice, Freedom & Solidarity and listed on theJustice, Freedom & Solidarity and listed on theJustice, Freedom & Solidarity and listed on theroster of the Economic and Social Council of theroster of the Economic and Social Council of theroster of the Economic and Social Council of theroster of the Economic and Social Council of theroster of the Economic and Social Council of theUnited Nations. Founded in 1977, Aliran welcomesUnited Nations. Founded in 1977, Aliran welcomesUnited Nations. Founded in 1977, Aliran welcomesUnited Nations. Founded in 1977, Aliran welcomesUnited Nations. Founded in 1977, Aliran welcomesall Malaysians above 21 to be members. Contactall Malaysians above 21 to be members. Contactall Malaysians above 21 to be members. Contactall Malaysians above 21 to be members. Contactall Malaysians above 21 to be members. Contactthe Hon. Secretary or visit our webpage.the Hon. Secretary or visit our webpage.the Hon. Secretary or visit our webpage.the Hon. Secretary or visit our webpage.the Hon. Secretary or visit our webpage.

Published byPublished byPublished byPublished byPublished by

Aliran Kesedaran Negara (ALIRAN)Aliran Kesedaran Negara (ALIRAN)Aliran Kesedaran Negara (ALIRAN)Aliran Kesedaran Negara (ALIRAN)Aliran Kesedaran Negara (ALIRAN)103, Medan Penaga, 11600 Jelutong,103, Medan Penaga, 11600 Jelutong,103, Medan Penaga, 11600 Jelutong,103, Medan Penaga, 11600 Jelutong,103, Medan Penaga, 11600 Jelutong,

Penang, Malaysia.Penang, Malaysia.Penang, Malaysia.Penang, Malaysia.Penang, Malaysia.

Tel : (04) 658 5251 Fax : (04) 658 5197Tel : (04) 658 5251 Fax : (04) 658 5197Tel : (04) 658 5251 Fax : (04) 658 5197Tel : (04) 658 5251 Fax : (04) 658 5197Tel : (04) 658 5251 Fax : (04) 658 5197

Homepage : http://www.aliran.comHomepage : http://www.aliran.comHomepage : http://www.aliran.comHomepage : http://www.aliran.comHomepage : http://www.aliran.com


Similarly, the MCA’s AGM fo-cused attention on issues like es-tablishing joint-ventures with gov-ernment-linked companies, coop-erating with the Police to combatcrime, strengthening the party andcommunity, getting on board therecently launched “LifelongLearning Campaign’, and ‘grap-pling with globalization’ via‘positive thinking’.

For its part, the MCA Youths weremore concerned with launchingits 14-day expedition by 23 4WDsto Kunming codenamed ‘The Jour-ney of Friendship between Malay-sia and China’.

Small wonder that many MCAcentral delegates were absent orleft midway during the one-daymeeting. Only 1,980 of 2,776 or 71percent of central delegatesshowed up. Some of the MCA’s107 elected delegates (31 Membersof Parliament, 76 State LegislativeAssembly members) went miss-ing, resulting in a warning byMCA president Ong Ka Ting thathe would be scrutinizing their‘quality performance reports’ andmonitoring their performance onthe ground.

Then again, perhaps it is not thatsignificant even if major issueswere not deliberated at the MCA’sAGM. After all, the MCA is not thedominant political party in thecountry. In fact most ChineseMalaysians are not members ofthe party. And apart from theMCA, Chinese Malaysians alsoidentify with several purportedlymulti-ethnic but Chinese-domi-nated parties like Parti Gerakan,the SUPP in Sarawak and theSAPP and LDP in Sabah as welll

as of course, the opposition par-ties such as the DAP and PartiKeadilan Rakyat.

Moreover, Chinese politiciansunlike their Malay and Indiancounterparts, do not play very im-portant roles within the Chinesecommunity. For leadership of theChinese community also accruesto captains of industry and fi-nance, especially those who dou-ble-up as philantrophists, leadersof the Dongjiaozong or the educa-tional movement, the shetuan orChinese associations, and evensuccessful professionals. Why,there are also well-knowngeomancers, religious leaders andkungfu masters

The problem within the Chinesecommunity, therefore, is not fearabout the MCA’s domination ofthe community. Nor is it a ques-tion of transiting towards a newgroup of rising sons within theMCA, as in the case of UMNO. Theproblem, instead, is the increas-ing withdrawal of the Chinesecommunity from politics. In turnthis withdrawal from politics is aresult of the emergence of a cul-ture of ‘developmentalism’ forwhich the MCA and the other BNparties are largely responsible.Developmentalism is especiallyevident among middle-class Chi-nese.

With global trends moving to-wards privatization and eco-nomic deregulation in the 1980s,Malaysia, too, adopted neo-liberaleconomic policies in the late1980s, especially after the coun-try had experienced economic re-cession in the mid-1980s. With the

end of the NEP (1971-90) ap-proaching, the private sector re-placed the public sector as theengine of growth under the aus-pices of ‘Malaysia, Inc.’ and theNational Development Plan,1991-2000.

The rapid economic growth ratesregistered in the early 1990s, andthe resultant ‘trickle down’ pro-vided new jobs and opportunitiesas well as improved the livingstandards of most Malaysians.This lasted until the 1997 finan-cial crisis set in. The discourse ofdevelopmentalism came into itsown amidst this economic growth.It coincided with the consolida-tion of Malaysia’s middle classesinvolving all ethnic groups.

Embraced by the middle classes,the new political culture placesvalue on sustained economicgrowth that facilitates an im-provement in material standardsof living while also resulting inthe spread of consumerist habits.Its corollary is an appreciation ofthe value of political stability,which many Malaysians believedcould only be guaranteed by astrong BN-governed state evenwhen it resorted toauthoritarianmeans.

Developmentalism, therefore, isthe cultural consequence of thestrong developmental state whencitizens begin to enjoy improvedliving conditions as a result of theeconomic growth the state has fos-tered. During the 1990s, thisdevelopmentalism increasinglydisplaced the ethnic political dis-course and practice. Two otherrelated occurrences, namely, cul-tural liberalization and the con-solidation of a politics of publicworks and services, further facili-

What is‘ d e ve l o p m e n t a l i s m ’ ?

Not too Much a Worry


tated this developmentalism.

Largely for utilitarian reasons,various measures of ‘cultural lib-eralization’ were introduced toenhance economic growth in theearly 1990s, especially whenviewed from the perspective ofnon-Malays. Specifically, theUMNO leaders began to de-em-phasize or redefine the most im-portant emblems of Malay iden-tity – the Malay rulers, Malay lan-guage and culture, and Islam –hitherto considered central at-tributes in defining the Malaysiannation-state.

The symbolic and actual powersof the Malay rulers were curtailedas a result of UMNO’s challengesto the rulers in 1983-84 and againin 1994. While reaffirming the sta-tus of Malay as the national lan-guage, Dr Mahathir and otherUMNO leaders also promoted theuse of the English language onutilitarian grounds. This includedthe use of English as the mediumof instruction for certain techni-cal subjects in the local universi-ties, a move that partially reversedthe policy, introduced in 1971, ofusing Malay as the sole medium.

Additionally, the new EducationAct 1996 formally empowered theEducation Minister to exempt theuse of Malay as the medium of in-struction for certain purposesdeemed necessary, even in second-ary schools. By introducing otherActs and amending existing onespertaining to higher education,the government further facilitatedthe corporatisation of public uni-versities and the setting up of pri-

vate universities and branch cam-puses of foreign universities inMalaysia.

The changes further allowed stu-dents enrolled in ‘twinning col-leges’ (attached to foreign univer-sities) to complete their entire uni-versity education locally, therebyallowing their parents to savemoney. Since these private col-leges and universities were en-couraged to recruit foreign lectur-ers and students, English becamethe medium of instruction. Othernotable aspects of cultural liber-alization were the promotion ofnon-Malay cultures by the Minis-try of Culture, Arts and Tourismas a means of attracting the tour-ist dollar and the increasing useof English in the mass media es-pecially by privatized radio andtelevision stations.

In response to the resurgence ofIslam, the BN government intro-duced various Islamisation poli-cies of its own beginning from theearly 1980s. But it has distin-guished itself by advocating amore liberal interpretation of Is-lam which emphasized the pro-motion of Islamic values in admin-istration and society writ large,

rather than the realisation of anIslamic state which Pas and otherMuslim radicals advocated.Taken as a whole, the new poli-cies appeared to stress a more in-clusive rather than an exclusivenotion of Malaysian nationhoodfor non-Malays. The non-Malaystherefore welcomed this culturalliberalization.

Coincidentally during this periodof economic growth, the MCA dis-engaged itself from ‘sensitive’ eth-nic and cultural issues. They alsode-emphasized political educa-tion and mobilization. Hencewhen the issues of Chinese lan-guage, culture and educationwere addressed, it was their utili-tarianism and their relationshipto development, indeed, to ‘self-help’ community efforts whichwere highlighted. A politics ofdevelopmentalism that empha-sizes the delivery of services andgoods - sustained by economicdevelopment, and guaranteed bypolitical stability, which the Chi-nese parties argued only the BNcould provide - was promoted in-stead.

Put simply, the MCA transformeditself into an extension and instru-ment of the state so as to assist inmaintaining the status quo and insupplementing the delivery ofpublic works and services. TheMCA provided tertiary-level edu-cation via the various campusesof its Kolej Tunku Abdul Rahman.Now there is also the UniversitiTunku Abdul Rahman. ItsLangkawi Project caters for theeducational needs of primaryschool children by organizing tui-

Cultural Liberalizationand Utilitarian Goals

in the 1990s

Politics of DeliveringPublic Worksand Services


tion classes and providing booksand other resources, especially inChinese new villages.Fundraising has also been con-ducted on behalf of the independ-ent Chinese secondary schoolssince the 1990s while Kojadi, theMCA’s savings co-operative, pro-vides low-interest loans for thechildren of co-operative membersto attend universities and col-leges.

The party has also set up ‘servicecentres’ and complaints bureauxthroughout the country. These arepartially financed by the constitu-ency development funds allo-cated by the government to electedBN politicians only. ChineseMalaysians from the lower-in-come group in particular haveturned to these centres instead ofrelevant government agencies inresolving their everyday problemsand needs. The latter includesapplying for official documents,enrolling their children intoschools of choice, acquiring busi-ness licenses and seeking repairsto roads and drains.

It should be clarified, however,that there are structural limits tothe kinds of problems that theservice centres and complaints

bureaux can help to resolve. Forinstance, they could not help toprevent the repeal of the Rent Con-trol Act in 2000, which has re-sulted in an escalation of houseand shop rentals in various cit-ies. This hike, in turn, has resultedin thousands of households beingunable to pay the new rental rates,forcing them to move, under threatof eviction. Nor have these centresand bureaux been able to preventthe transfer of services like sewer-age, electricity and telephone toprivatized concerns, which inevi-tably leads to increased rates. Still,in contrast to the perceived dis-crimination and neglect duringthe NEP years, there emerged viathe efforts of the MCA a way inwhich ordinary Chinese couldreceive benefits and identify posi-tively - in many cases for the firsttime- with the BN government.

Finally, the MCA as well as MCApoliticians also ventured intobusiness activities in a major way.Studies have shown how the BNparties have ventured into busi-ness activities and forged close tieswith other captains of industryand commerce. Together withthem and their associations likethe Chambers of Commerce andIndustry and other industry-spe-cific bodies like the Federation ofMalaysian Manufacturers, the BNparties have initiated variousprojects in support of the BN’spost-NEP economic policies.These policies have been friend-lier to the private sector in generaland beneficial to BN-linked busi-nesses in particular. Often this ledto conflict of interests - for throughtheir connections, individualsand companies associated withthe MCA successfully won priva-tization projects and benefitedfrom the government’s largesse.

The end result has been a deepen-ing of patronage politics, nepo-tism and corruption.

In summary, the MCA assumednew roles related todevelopmentalism. In the processit redefined the meaning of poli-tics and contributed to a with-drawal from politics in the classi-cal sense of searching for and con-tributing towards the “good soci-ety” (which is imbued with jus-tice, solidarity and peace andwherein all citizens play activeroles in making decisions).

Consequently, despite the BN’sresort to undemocratic measuresto remain in power, widening cor-ruption within the governmentand money politics in the rulingparties, it appears that a substan-tial proportion of the Chinese busi-ness and middle-classes - even thelower-income group, who havebenefited from the MCA’s busi-ness, educational and co-opera-tive activities, as well as its bu-reaus and service centres - haverallied behind the BN these pastdecades.

Development should not becomean end in itself, not for any soci-ety or political party. Develop-ment, instead, should be themeans to a higher goal, namely thesearch for the good society. Thisgood society, we believe should bea democracy which by definitionmeans rule by the people. Thisimplies that power should not beconcentrated in the hands of cer-tain elites, but distributed aswidely as possible among all citi-zens. To ensure that rule by thepeople and distribution of power

A Means Notan End in Itself


is practised, we need to institu-tionalize the ‘rule of law’.

With rule of law, there will beless opportunity for those inpower to resort to arbitrary ruleand misuse that power to re-press one’s enemies and criticsand to privilege one’s friendsand relatives. In this regard it istelling that corruption andmoney politics is becomingwidespread. There are also morethan 80 people detained underthe ISA without being broughtto trial and numerous com-plaints about deaths of suspectswhile being arrested and in cus-tody. Clearly, there are seriousissues that need to be addressedif the MCA cares to go beyonddevelopmentalism.

In an article entitled Democracy asa Universal Value (publishedin1999), Nobel Laureate and dis-tinguished development econo-mist Prof Amartya Sen high-lighted three ways in which de-mocracy enriches the life of citi-zens.

‘First, political freedom is part ofhuman freedom in general, andexercising civil and political rightsis a crucial part of good lives ofindividuals as social beings’. ‘Po-litical and social participation’, hesays, ‘has intrinsic value for hu-man life and well-being’. To be de-nied participation in politics is amajor deprivation.

Second, ‘democracy has an impor-tant instrumental value in enhanc-ing the hearing that people get inexpressing and supporting their

claims to political attention (in-cluding claims of economicneeds). What Sen means is that de-mocracy makes governments ac-countable and responsible.

And third, the practice of democ-racy gives citizens an opportunityto learn from one another, andhelps society to form its valuesand understand its needs, rightsand duties. Sen states, ‘even theidea of “needs”, including theunderstanding of “economicneeds”, requires public discus-sion and exchange of information,views and analyses. In this sense,democracy has constructive impor-tance, in addition to its intrinsicvalue for the lives of citizens andits instrumental importance in po-litical decisions’.

What counts as ‘needs’ including‘economic needs’ requires the ex-ercise of political and civil rights.A proper understanding of thecontent of these ‘needs’ requirediscussion and exchange. ‘Theguaranteeingof open discussion,debate, criticism and dissent arecentral to the process of generat-ing informed and consideredchoices…we cannot take prefer-ences as given independently ofpublic discussion….’

Towards Democracyand Human

D e v e l o p m e n t

Based on the ideas of AmartyaSen and other scholars of devel-opment, the United Nations De-velopment Program (UNDP) hascome out with the notion of ‘hu-man development’. The five di-mensions of human developmentare: Sustainability, Empower-ment, Equity, Productivity andAccountability, popularly re-ferred to as SEEPA. Based onthese five dimensions, the UNDPdeveloped its Human Develop-ment Index (HDI). In 1991, Ma-laysia registered number 52 on theHDI. Its position worsened tonumber 60 during the 1997/1998period, which coincided with theregional financial crisis andevents related to the treatment ofAnwar Ibrahim and theReformasi movement. For the pe-riod 1999 to 2004, Malaysia’sranking hovered betweennumber 56 to number 61. In otherwords, the level of human devel-opment in Malaysia has wors-ened since the early 1990s.

Clearly, there is much to do for theMCA or any political party. Allparties should contribute towardsushering in democracy and hu-man development, not egging theMalaysian people to withdrawfrom politics. q

Langkawi Project: Caters for primary school children


n the morning of 8 Octo-ber, passengers ridingthe Kuala Lumpur LRTwere caught in a delay –

up to 50 minutes, for some pas-sengers. Most were probably una-ware that a major media eventwas happening in KL Sentral sta-tion, the principal station on theLRT route, that very morning: theMCA president Ong Ka Ting andother party leaders were sched-uled to take a 10-minute ride fromKL Sentral to the MCA headquar-ters in Jalan Ampang. Not that thelatter was the cause of the delay,which was probably due to a tech-nical problem.

At any rate, the MCA leaders weremore concerned getting on boardthe LRT and symbolically riding‘the train of knowledge’ and solaunching the MCA’s latest cam-paign of promoting ‘LifelongLearning’. There was much hypeover the event, especially in theChinese media. Unexpectedly,however, a lively debate alsoemerged among Chinese intellec-tuals over the role and prioritiesof the major Chinese party in the

country. Was the MCA overem-phasizing a role in developmentand educational pursuits? Hadthe MCA abandoned politics assome of its critics declared?

Phoon Wing Keong, a researchofficer at the New Era College, wasprobably responsible for kickingoff the debate. In his article enti-tled ‘When Will the MCA Returnto Politics?’ published in theOpinions Column of OrientalDaily (15 October 2004), he urgedthe MCA leaders to first learn howto bring back politics into the partybefore embarking on a lifelonglearning journey.

Alas, the new leadership of MCAhad inherited the mindset of theprevious president, and like him,was further distancing the partyfrom the mainstream of politics.At a time when we need to com-mit ourselves to work towards amore democratic polity and a bet-ter system of governance, the MCAchooses instead to hop on the

train of knowledge. Phoon arguedthat the MCA’s focus on ‘deliver-ing public goods’ so as to ‘pacifythe people’ would not satisfy therising expectations of the new gen-eration of Malaysians. Phoontermed the MCA’s stance as an actof ‘running away from politics’(tao li zheng zhi).

Agreeing with Phoon, severalother young Chinese profession-als next opined that the MCA hadbecome confused and forgotten itspolitical role. Ngoi Guat Peng, aregular commentator who is alsoa PhD candidate in National Uni-versity of Singapore, posed thequestion, ‘What is the role of a po-litical party?’ and questioned howthe MCA’s Lifelong Learningcampaign fitted in (Oriental Daily,30 October 2004). A chemist whohad graduated from the Univer-sity of Malaya, also a columnistfor the Nanyang Siang Pau, wel-comed a campaign to promote life-long learning. However, such aproject had to be incorporated intoand made part of the national de-velopment strategy. It had to be apolicy located ‘inside the govern-

COVER STORY

Has the MCAabandoned politics?The party’s own “lifelong learning”has to begin now

by Tan Lee Ooi

OOOOO

Debate inthe Chinese dailies


ment’, not ‘outside the govern-ment’. At any rate, embarking onlifelong learning ‘outside of thegovernment’ should not be usedby the MCA to ‘withdraw the Chi-nese community from the politi-cal process’ (Nanyang Siang Pau,24 October 2004).

Needless to say, several readerscame out in support of the MCAas well. By and large, they re-peated the usual: that is, that theChinese had to keep in mind ‘thereality of Malaysia’s multi-ethnicand multi-cultural society’ andthat there were constraints aris-ing from the ‘social contract’agreed upon at Independence in-cluding acknowledging the pre-eminence of Malays in the coun-try and UMNO as leader of the BNcoalition government (see theopinion in Oriental Daily, 16 Oct2004, for instance).

Another writer attached to theMCA’s think tank criticizedPhoon for talking only in terms of‘theory’ without considering‘practice’ and practical realities.He further challenged the opinionof Phoon and other critics forclaiming that they were raising is-sues of macro-political impor-tance while the MCA was merelyinvolved in trivial activities of mi-cro-political significance (SinChew Daily, 19 October 2004).

Phoon wrote another article in re-sponse to his critics and to elabo-rate why he claimed the MCA was‘running away from politics’.Many young Chinese profession-als, Phoon claimed, no longer re-garded the MCA as a politicalparty. This is consistent with the

kinds of activities, especially edu-cational with which the MCA isassociated nowadays. In factmuch of the party’s energy andpassion seems to be devoted to-wards establishing UniversitiTunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR)and running and developing themany branches of Kolej TunkuAbdul Rahman (KTAR). Moreo-ver, since 1993, then MCA presi-dent Ling Liong Sik had alsolaunched the Langkawi Project toprovide for the educational needsof poorer Chinese.

Apart from education, the MCAhas also undertaken projects likethe ‘anti-ecstasy’ and ‘anti-gam-ing machine’ campaigns. Otheractivities included promoting‘Cupid Clubs’, a ‘Mental Revolu-tion Gathering’, and crime pre-vention. Then there was theMCA’s move to control the Chi-nese media by taking over theNanyang Press through the par-ty’s investment arm Huaren Hold-ing. All these, it should be noted,were being conducted ‘outside ofgovernment’. Where is the politicsin all these activities, campaignsand projects? Not surprisingly,MCA leaders are now worriedabout ‘the quantity and quality ofits younger members’. The youngChinese professionals, Phoonconcluded, are not interested injoining an ‘old Chinese clan as-sociation’ which he claims, theMCA had become.

This debate soon spilled over be-yond the major Chinese dailies tothe online websites, especially inAsia Times (Chinese), Old Kopitiamand The Free Media. In fact the de-

bate there was more heated butalso moved quickly from explor-ing whether the MCA is runningaway from politics to why theMCA was running away frompolitics to how to bring MCA backto politics.

A pro-MCA article posted in OldKopitiam argued that Phoon andhis elitist group of supporters didnot appreciate nor did they under-stand the new socio-economic cir-cumstances. Nowadays, it argued,ethnic tensions have receded andMalaysia is a more peaceful coun-try thanks to the BN. Under thecircumstances, there was lessneed for political participation(Old Kopitiam, 7 November 2004,4:24pm, www.oldkopitiam.com).

On 2nd November the SelangorChinese Assembly Hall Youthwing organized a public seminaron the same issue. The speakersincluded Phoon, MalaysianYoung Graduates president QuekNgee Meng, who had played animportant role in planning theMCA’s Lifelong Learning cam-paign, and Teh Hon Seng, associ-ated with The People Are the Boss.Apparently, Quek was grilled bythe audience during the Q and Asession.

I do not wish to evaluate the mer-its of this or that argument. I sim-ply want to highlight that the de-bates were conducted rationally,not emotionally. There was a sig-nificant difference between thisround of debate and previousones, which often were tingedwith chauvinistic overtones. Itwas no longer simply issues ofhow the rights of minorities were

Where haspolitics gone?

…to the websitesand the assembly hall

Towards anew politics?


being trampled on and that cul-tural rights must be defended. In-stead, a considerable extent of thedebate centred around notions ofdemocracy, good governance, andthe rights and liberties of allMalaysians, not just the Chinesecommunity..

As an example, I wish to refer tohow Phoon argued his point byciting from Aristotle’s The Politics:‘Any one who by his nature andnot simply by ill-luck has no stateis either too bad or too good, ei-ther subhuman or superhuman’.For Phoon, this meant that poli-tics is central to being human. TheMCA, therefore, has to choosewhether it wants to be a humanentity that participates in politics,or a subhuman or a superhumanentity existing outside the state,i.e. politics. Maybe MCA DeputyPresident Datuk Seri Chan KongChoy, who was the organizingsecretary of the Lifelong Learninglaunching ceremony, has pro-vided the answer. In his speechon that occasion, he told thecrowd, “In this information age,things are changing and evolvingso quickly. We must be aware ofthe changes and ready to learn tobe instep with the global pace, orelse, we will miss the ‘train’ (TheStar, 9 October 2004).

Is the MCA catching the train ofLifelong Learning but missing thetrain of politics? Perhaps theMCA’s own journey of lifelonglearning ought to begin now.

Tan Lee Ooi, a formerTan Lee Ooi, a formerTan Lee Ooi, a formerTan Lee Ooi, a formerTan Lee Ooi, a formerjournalist, is now finish-journalist, is now finish-journalist, is now finish-journalist, is now finish-journalist, is now finish-ing his Masters degreeing his Masters degreeing his Masters degreeing his Masters degreeing his Masters degreein Political Science at ain Political Science at ain Political Science at ain Political Science at ain Political Science at alocal university.local university.local university.local university.local university.

I welcome the move by theGovernment to grantMembers of Parliament anextra allocation ofRM20,000 each for deserv-ing welfare cases in theirconstituencies. It is in-deed gratifying that thisgrant will be allocated toall MPs both in Govern-ment and the Opposition.

Poverty transcends politi-cal barriers and there

should be no discrimination against Opposition MPs.Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawishould take this move one step further by also grant-ing Opposition MPs the RM500,000 annual allocationextended to Barisan Nasional MPs for small projectsin their constituencies. This traditional grant has allalong been denied to Opposition MPs.

It is indeed impossible to justify such discrimination.It will certainly enhance the Prime Minister’s imagefurther if he takes the initiative also to extend thisallocation to Opposition MPs. The Prime Ministershould free himself from the mold he has inheritedfrom his predecessor.

In the democratic process, the Opposition plays a sig-nificant and crucial role. The Opposition should notbe discriminated against when the welfare of citizensis at stake.

Karpal SinghMember of Parliament

O p p o s i t i o nMust Not BeD i s c r i m i n a t e d

q


he Prime Minister, DatukSeri Abdullah AhmadBadawi stated in Parlia-ment — in a written re-

ply to DAP MP Lim Hock Seng —that the Federal State Public Serv-ices, Statutory Bodies or Local Au-thority employees joining the Pub-lic Sector Service after 12 April1991 could opt for the EmployeesProvident Fund (EPF) scheme ifthey wanted to. According to him,both the pension scheme and theEPF scheme “have their own ben-efits”.

He said that the Government serv-ants should take the initiative tofind out as much as they couldabout the benefits provided beforeopting for either the pensionscheme or the Employees Provi-dent Fund Scheme (EPF).

He said that they “cannot just waitto be spoon-fed” and added thathe was sure that “if they tried toseek the necessary informationthey would be able to get it”.

It must, however, be made knownthat when Public Sector employ-ees were given the option to

choose between the EPF schemeand the pensionable scheme, theywere not informed of the benefitsavailable either in the EPF schemeor the pensionable scheme. Whilethe Pension Act provided somedetails regarding the pension ben-efits, there was no informationconcerning the EPF scheme, ex-cept for the rate of EPF contribu-tions and the mode of payments.

Prior to 1975, employees in theStatutory Bodies and Local Au-thorities were treated as non-gov-ernment servants and, therefore,were in the EPF scheme, except fora very few who had opted for theGovernment Suffian SalaryScheme earlier on which providedfor pension and gratuity benefits.However all employees in theCivil Service were in the pension-able scheme then.

On 15 January 1975, the HarunSalary Scheme was implementedfor employees in the StatutoryBodies and Local Authorities.Serving permanent employeeswere given the option to choosebetween the EPF scheme and thepensionable scheme.

Before 1975, the employees in theStatutory Bodies and Local Au-

LABOUR

Prime Minister does notunderstand the issue

TTTTT

Public sector employees under the EPF schemedeserve better treatment for their loyal service

by AJ Patrick

Not informedof the benefits


thorities enjoyed a salary schemethat was 10 per cent higher be-cause of their contribution to EPF.The Harun Salary Commissionalso provided a salary structurewhich was also 10 per cent higherthan that of the Suffian SalaryCommission.

The Cabinet Salary Committeewhich was set up in 1976 to re-view and co-ordinate the varioiussalary structures recommendedby Suffian Commission, AzizCommission and the Harun Com-mission, standardized the salaryschemes of both the StatutoryBody/Local Authority employeesand the Civil servants.

While employees in the PensionScheme were entitled to a monthlypension — 50 per cent of lastdrawn salary on completion of 25years of service — and a gratuityon retirement calculated at 5 percent of the monthly salary for everycompleted month of service, thoseon the EPF scheme were entitledto 10 per cent of the employ-ers’share of the EPF contribu-tions, including accrued divi-dend. The 10 per cent EPF contri-bution by employers was 100 percent more than the statutory rateof EPF contribution of 5 per cent.

While the Government enhancedthe gratuity payment by 50 percent from 5 per cent to 7.5 per centof the EPF contribution was keptat the statutory rate, unlike in thepast when employers had to con-tribute more than the statutoryrate. This did not provide anyadded advantage to this group ofemployees. There was noextention of any similar benefit tothose who opted for EPF.

The Harun Salary Commission

and the Cabinet Salaries Commit-tee provided terms and condi-tions of service which includedmedical benefits and governmenthousing loan in addition to super-annuation benefits for employeesin the Public Sector either in theform of pensionable scheme orEPF scheme and employees hadto opt for either one. They onlyknew the pension and the quan-tum of gratuity that they wouldreceive as well as the EPF rates ofcontributions and the variousmode of payments to be made.Other details such as medical ben-efits and the “golden handshake”for accumulation of vacationleave was not specified.

While employees under the pen-sionable scheme and theirdependents are entitled for freemedical treatment at GovernmentHospitals, including at the IJN,on their retirement, such benefitswere, however, denied for thosewho opted to remain on the EPFscheme.

The General Orders Chapter “F”provides details of the medicalbenefits for employees in the Pub-lic Sector and clarifies those whoare entitled to this: pegawai -bermakna mana-mana pegawai ataupesara dalam PerkhidmatanKerajaan Malaysia atau mana-manaNegeri. (Officer means any officeror retiree in the service of the Gov-ernment of Malaysia or any of thestates.)

The various Statutory Bodies andLocal Authorities had subse-quently adopted this General Or-ders and as a result, the employ-ees of these two bodies were then

entitled to the medical benefits asprovided for under the GeneralOrders (GO).

By virtue of this definition in theGO, all retirees (pesara) — in-cluding those under the EPFscheme and their dependents —should be entitled for similar ben-efits as those enjoyed by retiredemployees under the pensionablescheme. However, those on EPFscheme are denied this medicalfacility and consequently had topay in full according to the ratesapplicable to the general public.As a result, these retired employ-ees end up paying hefty medicalbills when they are hospitalised.

It is pertinent to note that LLN,previously a Statutory Body andcurrently a privatised Agency,continues to provide medical ben-efits to their retirees and their de-pendants, including those on theEPF Scheme, at private hospitals,including Specialist centres andGovernment hospitals.

While employees on the pension-able scheme are eligible to receivepayment in cash for their accumu-lated vacation leave — (known as“Golden Handshake”) — up to amaximum of 120 days on retire-ment, such privileges are not ex-tended to those on the EPF schemeby some employers in the PublicSector — unlike the MalaysianRubber Board, etc — and are there-fore required to use up their accu-mulated leave prior to their retire-ment.

But according to ServiceCirculars, No. 3 of 1983 and No. 4of 1993, those on the pensionablescheme and the EPF scheme were

Medical benefitd e n i e d

Golden handshake


permitted to accumulate their va-cation leave for a period up to 90days and benefit from the“Golden Handshake” i.e. cashpayment. There was no discrimi-nation.

There are cases when employeescould not use up their vacationleave because their leave applica-tion was rejected due to exigen-cies of service. But they don’t re-ceive payment in kind for theleave not utilised. The circularsin force then did not state that thiswas only applicable to those onthe pensionable scheme.

The present Service Circular No.7 of 2003 which came into effectten years later after Services Cir-cular No. 4 of 1993 unfairly statesthat this is only applicable to thoseon the pensionable scheme. Thisdecision was made retrospectiveand therefore denied all those whowere elligible for the “GoldenHandshake” under the earlierService Circulars. With one strokeof the pen, benefits given earlierwere taken away without anyqualms.

Employees in the Public Sectorcan optionally retire at the age of40 years. The relevant Service Cir-cular Letter No. 1 of 1991 issuedon 11 April 1991 does not specifythat it is applicable only to thoseon the pensionable scheme. How-ever, employees on the EPFscheme opting to retire at the ageof 40 years are treated differentlyand harshly. These employeeswho had been paying 4 per centinterest previously for their hous-ing loan while in service, are nowforced to pay 7 per cent interest

after retiring optionally whiletheir retiring counterparts on thepensionable scheme continue toenjoy the 4 per cent interest rateafter their optional retirement.

This is totally unfair. When em-ployees on the EPF Scheme ap-plied for the Government housingloan, they were not informed thatthey had to pay the increased in-terest rate of 7 per cent when exer-cising optional retirement at theage of 40.

Employees in the Public Sectorexercising their optional retire-ment at age 40 are normally re-quired to give 7 to 8 months’ no-tice. However, those public serv-ants intending to contest as can-didates in either the State or Par-liamentary elections give less thana week’s notice and are eligible forall the benefits. This double stand-ard is not only unfair but difficultto understand.

Datuk Seri Abdullah had ex-plained in Parliament that the EPFcontributions withdrawn in alump sum on retirement by thoseon the EPF scheme is higher com-pared to the “compensation” paidout under the pensionablescheme. This is certainly mislead-ing and not true. About 40 percent of the EPF contribution comesfrom the employee and the remain-der 60 per cent EPF from the em-ployer. When this is comparedwith the gratuity of 7.5 per centfor every completed month of serv-ice and the 50 per cent pensionpayable to the government serv-ant over the years far exceeds theemployer’s 60 per cent share of theEPF contributions. According tothe Harun Commission, by com-parison, this 60 per cent contri-bution from the employer repre-

sents only 3/4 of the total sumthat an employee on the pension-able scheme receives.

Furthermore, the EPF dividendwhich used to be around 7 percent in 1976 and 8.5 per cent be-tween 1983 - 1987 had dwindledto around 4 per cent, thus reduc-ing the quantum receivable on re-tirement. The diminishing valueof money affects the purchasingpower of the ringgit whereas thepension and gratuity is based onthe last drawn salary.

Before 1975, some Statutory em-ployers, such as those from theRubber Research Institute of Ma-laysia (RRIM) ensured that tomeet the objectives of the EPF, re-tiring employees would on re-tirement receive a sum of moneywhich, if invested at 8 per cent perannum, would provide 60 percent of their terminal salary. If thisobjective was not met, the RRIMwould augment any shortfall witha sum of money by way of retire-ment benefits sufficient to achievethat objective. Unfortunately thisnoble objective, which wouldhave greatly helped those in theEPF scheme, has not been givencognizance by both the Harun andthe Cabinet Salary Committee.

In comparison, Public Sectoremployees on the EPF Schemeare worst off than many of thosein unionised private sectors.These private sector employeesare better off because of theirCollective Agreements (CA)which provide for retirement

D i m i n i s h i n gvalue of money

Housing loanand interest

Continued on page 18Continued on page 18Continued on page 18Continued on page 18Continued on page 18


Aliran congratulates theMalaysian Parliament for settingup this Select Committee to seekthe views of citizens. For the firsttime in nearly 20 years - the lasttime being in relation to the for-mulation of the dangerous drugslaw in 1985 - Malaysian citizensare being consulted to providetheir comments and views on theproposed amendments to theCriminal Procedure Code (CPC)introduced in Parliament.

It has been Aliran’s stand allalong that Bills for debate shouldbe made known to the public atleast three months before they areconsidered for adoption. It hasbeen our view that it is the demo-cratic right of citizens to commentand participate in the enactmentof any law. It is of utmost impor-tance since laws enacted by Par-liament would invariably affectus, the citizens. As such, it is im-perative that the views of citizensmust be taken into consideration.

This consultation is also a wel-come departure from the past de-plorable practice of tabling the Billat the eleventh hour without evengiving our elected representativestime to study the Bill diligently and

debate intelligently. Bills mustnever be rushed through.

However, we wish to highlightthat there was very little publicityabout this consultation nor, it ap-pears, were individuals andgroups encouraged to come for-ward. On our part we only re-cently heard about this eventthrough the NGO grapevine

In countries like India, Australiaand the United Kingdom whichpractise a Westminster system ofdemocracy, the setting up of Par-liamentary Select Committees andconducting public hearings tostudy proposed bills are commonoccurences. Indeed, consultationof one’s own citizens prior to themaking of laws and policies is ahallmark of any democracy worthits name.

We like to believe that we will nothave to wait another 20 years be-fore we are invited for anotherconsultation!

Having said that, let us turn to thebusiness of the day that is to com-ment on the proposed amend-ments to the CPC which the gov-ernment believes is necessary inorder to combat terrorism. It is ourcontention that we already havetoo many coercive laws whichhave allowed the government to

act rather arbitrarily. The pro-posed amendments, we contend,are redundant.

What is provided for under thissection is shocking. It smacks of apolice state.

It is unthinkable that any policeofficer may arrest without warrantany person whom he has reasonablegrounds for suspecting to have com-mitted or to be committing a terror-ism offence.

DEMOCRACY

I n t r o d u c t i o n

Welcome departure

P r o p o s e dA m e n d m e n t s

to the CriminalProcedure Code

Amendments to the Criminal Procedure Code:

Aliran's Representation to theAliran's Representation to theAliran's Representation to theAliran's Representation to theAliran's Representation to theParliamentary Select CommitteeParliamentary Select CommitteeParliamentary Select CommitteeParliamentary Select CommitteeParliamentary Select Committee

SECTION 106B:SECTION 106B:SECTION 106B:SECTION 106B:SECTION 106B:Powers of arrestPowers of arrestPowers of arrestPowers of arrestPowers of arrest


Take note of the words: has reason-able grounds for suspecting. It doesnot emphasize valid grounds nei-ther does it mention definite evi-dence – only reasonable groundsfor suspecting.

How can suspicion be reason-able? On what basis can suspi-cion be construed as reasonableground for arbitrary arrest? Canaction based on suspicion be everjustified?

This is a dangerous provisionwith a great potential for abuseand corruption. This provisionhas an intimidating effect and canforce people to cooperate undercoercion.

Arrests must only be made with awarrant, for valid reasons, andbased on reasonable evidence ofwrongdoing.

In a civil society such undemo-cratic provision should have noplace.

This whole section unfortunatelyreflects the characteristics of apolice state with unbridled powerin the hands of one person. ThePublic Prosecutor solely decidesand acts without restraint and heis beholden to no one for his ac-tion.

On a mere suspicion based on alikelihood, he is armed with limit-less powers to make a mockery ofthe rule of law and invade ourprivacy and have access to ourconfidential matters. He can

snoop and spy on us, listen in onour conversations, tap our phonesand bug our homes. And he is ac-countable to no one.

He can act on dubious grounds -as long as he considers that it islikely. He presupposes that acrime is likely to take place andacts on that basis. Arising out ofthis presumption, he can intercept,detain and open any postal arti-cle, intercept any message, inter-cept or listen to any conversation,install any device in any premises.He has that kind of vast authoritythat does not question his right todo all of these things. And this isdisturbing.

When so much power and arbi-trary authority is vested in thehands of one person, justice willbe trampled upon and everyman’s freedom is at stake.

This wide, unfettered powersvested in the hands of one indi-vidual will unfortunately and ul-timately lead to the abuse of therights of the citizens. Dissidentsand opposition figures can easilyfall prey to this provision. Theycan be hounded and harassed.

Where surveillance (such as inter-ception and wire-tapping) is re-quired to safeguard the securityof the state, the court must estab-lish whether there is any genuinejustification for such measures.Only with the moral authority ofthe court can such serious surveil-lance that invades the personalprivacy of a person be allowed.

Whatever authority conferred bythese proposed amendments onthe Public Prosecutor on what isclearly flimsy grounds - i.e. if heconsiders that it is likely or has rea-

sonable grounds for suspecting - mustbe removed.

This amendment permits an in-formant to request for a report on thestatus of the investigation of the of-fence complained of. However, weare concerned that this is onlylimited to seizable offence.

Any complainant should be enti-tled to receive on request a statusreport, as a matter of right. Thatright should not be given on quali-fication only. Indeed, it should bemandatory and should be giveneven without any request made. Ifthe police need the cooperation ofthe citizens, they are also morallyobliged to cooperate with them.

When citizens are convinced thattheir complaints will receive theattention of the authority and beinvestigated, they will be encour-aged to come forward to make re-ports. The only way to encouragethem is to make available the in-vestigation status report so thatthey will not come to the conclu-sion that it was a waste of timeand effort.

Clause (3) (c) is arbitrary and can-not be sustained. This provisioncan be used quite easily to denythe status report on the groundthat it contains information that islikely to adversely affect the investi-gation into the offence or the prosecu-tion of the offence.

Surely, rather than denying thecomplainant the entire report,couldn’t some aspects of the inves-tigation be made known to him?

SECTION 106C: Power toSECTION 106C: Power toSECTION 106C: Power toSECTION 106C: Power toSECTION 106C: Power tointercept communication andintercept communication andintercept communication andintercept communication andintercept communication andadmissibility of interceptedadmissibility of interceptedadmissibility of interceptedadmissibility of interceptedadmissibility of intercepted

communicationscommunicationscommunicationscommunicationscommunications

SECTION 107A:SECTION 107A:SECTION 107A:SECTION 107A:SECTION 107A:Report on status ofReport on status ofReport on status ofReport on status ofReport on status of

investigationinvestigationinvestigationinvestigationinvestigation


While we agree that in certain cir-cumstances it may be prudent -even necessary - to give evidencethrough live video or live televisionlinks, such decisions must be leftto the court.

Aliran disagrees with the involve-ment of the Minister in decidingthis as is suggested under Clause2 (c): such other offences as the Min-ister may, after consulting the ChiefJustice and the Public Prosecutor, pre-scribe.

It mentions such other offences with-out defining them. What can theseother offences be? It gives the Min-ister absolute discretion and au-thority to do as he likes.

In particular, ISA detaineesshould not be allowed to testifyby video or tele-conferencing;rather, they should be producedin court to establish that their tes-timony is voluntary and to allowfor cross-examination. It must berecognised that they are essen-tially in the custody of the authori-ties and may be coerced into giv-ing the “right” testimony in ex-change for their early release or toavoid being penalised with ex-tended detention.

Date of Royal Assent: 17 Decem-ber 2003. Date of publication inthe Gazette: 25 December 2003

The essence of Act A1210 of thePenal Code(PC) (Amendment) Act2003 is with regard to the inser-

tion of a new Chapter VIA “Of-fences Relating to Terrorism” tothe Penal Code.

This amendment was passed byParliament in 2003, given RoyalAssent on 17 Dec 2003, and thengazetted on 25 December 2003, onChristmas Day.

Alas, such an important changeto the Penal Code was made with-out soliciting the views of ordi-nary citizens and groups. We areencouraged that the CPC Amend-ment Select Committee is now giv-ing us an opportunity to commenton the amended Penal Code aswell.

Aliran believes that there is afundamental flaw in this newChapter VIA of the Penal Code.Interpretations are given to de-fine/clarify the meaning of ‘en-tity’, ‘explosives’, ‘harbour’,‘imprisonment for life’, ‘master’,‘operator’, ‘property’, which arethen used to clarify the meaningof, among others, ‘terrorism fi-nancial offence’.

But there is no substantive defini-tion/clarification/interpretationof ‘terrorist’, ‘terrorist entity’, ‘ter-rorist group’. As we well know inthe case of Palestine, it is very dif-ficult to determine who is the ̀ ter-rorist: is it simply the Palestinianwho resorts to arms to get rid ofthe Israeli occupiers? Or is it theIsraeli state which uses force ofarms to deny the Palestinianstheir rights? In the case at hand,the interpretations given are ’tau-tological’, meaning that one is say-ing the same thing twice over indifferent words.

For example, under 130B (1) ‘In-terpretation in Relation to thisChapter’, it is stated:

‘terrorist’ means any person who –a) commits, or attempts to commit,

any terrorist act; orb) participates in or facilitates the

commission of any terrorist act;

‘terrorist entity’ means any entityowned or controlled by any terroristor terrorist group and includes anassociation of such entities;‘terrorist group’ means –a) an entity that has as one of its

activities and purposes thecommitting of, or

the facilitation of the commissionof, a terrorist act…

‘terrorist property’ means –a) proceeds from the commission of

a terrorist act; and so on

It is only under 130B (2)a to 130B(2)j that the definition of what con-stitutes a ‘terrorist act’ is given.And here, it is too general and toowide in scope, ranging froma. serious bodily injury to a per-

son;b. serious damage to property;c. endangering a person’s life;d. creating a serious risk to the

health or safety of the public;e. involving the use of firearms,

explosives and other lethaldevices;

f. involving releasing into the

Penal Code( A m e n d m e n t )

Act 2003

SECTION TO 272B:SECTION TO 272B:SECTION TO 272B:SECTION TO 272B:SECTION TO 272B:Evidence through live video orEvidence through live video orEvidence through live video orEvidence through live video orEvidence through live video or

live television linkslive television linkslive television linkslive television linkslive television links


environment any dangerous,hazardous, radioactive orharmful substance; toxicchemical; microbial or otherbiological agent or toxin;

g. disrupting or intending to dis-rupt or seriously interferingwith any computersystem…related to communi-cations infrastructure, bank-ing or financial services;

h. intending to disrupt…with theprovision of essential emer-gency services such as police,civil defence or medical serv-ices; and then the catch-all

i. involving ‘prejudice to na-tional security or publicsafety’.

j. combinations of the above (a)to (i)

Do we not already have enoughprovisions in other parts of thePenal Code, and specific laws todeal with all of these offences?And do we not already have othercoercive laws to deal with variouscombinations of these offences?

By not giving more substantiveclarifications of ‘terrorist acts’ andwho constitutes a ‘terrorist’, thePenal Code as recently amendedgrants even more arbitrary pow-ers to the authorities.

Words such as - attempts to com-mit, is likely to be used, may reason-ably be regarded as being intended to- can mean anything to enable aperson to be detained. It is an ac-tion based on presumption andgoes against natural justice.

In this regard, Section 4(1) (e) asamended is cause for alarm. It re-fers to any offence by any person tocompel the Government of Malaysiaor the Government of any state inMalaysia to do or refrain from doing

any act.

What constitutes an offence isopen to wide interpretation andmay include anything and every-thing.

If a certain person or certain sec-tion of the citizenry disagrees withsome policy that the governmentis intending to implement and un-dertakes certain measures to op-pose it, would that amount to com-pelling the government to refrainfrom doing it?

If we as citizens oppose thePenang Outer Ring Road, tollhikes or petrol price increases, forexample, would it mean that wecannot lobby, cannot exert pres-sure, cannot hold forums, cannotcollect signatures to convey ouropposition to these decisions?Such actions are aimed at pressur-ing the government to refrain fromimplementing its plans or revers-ing its decisions.

Perhaps this Clause is not in-tended to be used in that manner,legally speaking. But if someonechooses to interpret the Act as itstands, he won’t be wrong. If an

opposition party were to engagein a democratic, legitimate exer-cise to oppose a particular govern-ment policy, how would that beviewed under this Clause?

We are also concerned how evi-dence that a terrorist act has beencommitted is determined.

Under Clause (2) what is deemedas sufficient evidence is very dis-turbing and undemocratic. It isstated: a certificate purporting to besigned by an appropriate authorityto the effect that the item or substancedescribed in the certificate is aweapon, a hazardous, radioactive orharmful substance, a toxic chemicalor a microbial or other biologicalagent or toxin shall be sufficient evi-dence of the facts stated in it.

It is very upsetting that this cer-tificate is not even signed by anexpert. It is a certificate that is pur-porting to be signed by an appropri-ate authority. No one knows whatthis means or how qualified orcredible this “appropriate author-ity” is.The fact that such intentionscouched in vague language cancreep into our statute books canonly raise improper motive andnothing else.

This country already has too manycoercive laws and adding morestringent laws to this arsenal isnot going to make us any safer. Itwill certainly not make us moredemocratic.

Nonetheless, we welcome this

C o n c l u s i o n

SECTION 130C:SECTION 130C:SECTION 130C:SECTION 130C:SECTION 130C:Committing terrorist actsCommitting terrorist actsCommitting terrorist actsCommitting terrorist actsCommitting terrorist acts


Aliran’s representation toAliran’s representation toAliran’s representation toAliran’s representation toAliran’s representation tothe Parliamentary Selectthe Parliamentary Selectthe Parliamentary Selectthe Parliamentary Selectthe Parliamentary SelectCommittee was made onCommittee was made onCommittee was made onCommittee was made onCommittee was made on29 October 2004 in the29 October 2004 in the29 October 2004 in the29 October 2004 in the29 October 2004 in thePenang State AssemblyPenang State AssemblyPenang State AssemblyPenang State AssemblyPenang State AssemblyHall. The Aliran team com-Hall. The Aliran team com-Hall. The Aliran team com-Hall. The Aliran team com-Hall. The Aliran team com-prised P. Ramakrishnanprised P. Ramakrishnanprised P. Ramakrishnanprised P. Ramakrishnanprised P. Ramakrishnan(President), Dr. Francis(President), Dr. Francis(President), Dr. Francis(President), Dr. Francis(President), Dr. FrancisLoh (Secretary), DrLoh (Secretary), DrLoh (Secretary), DrLoh (Secretary), DrLoh (Secretary), DrMustafa K Anuar (Asst.Mustafa K Anuar (Asst.Mustafa K Anuar (Asst.Mustafa K Anuar (Asst.Mustafa K Anuar (Asst.Secretary) and Anil NettoSecretary) and Anil NettoSecretary) and Anil NettoSecretary) and Anil NettoSecretary) and Anil Netto(Exco Member).(Exco Member).(Exco Member).(Exco Member).(Exco Member).

once in 20-years opportunity toshare our views directly with aParliamentary Select Committee.We hope that there will be manymore opportunities to do so.

It is our earnest wish that you willsucceed in presenting the submis-sions that you have received fromvarious sectors of Malaysian so-ciety to your parliamentary col-leagues. Your recommendationsto Parliament must include ourviews and concerns as well asthose expressed by others whohave appeared before you. Thesecitizens’ views should then be re-flected in the Bill when finallyadopted to give this whole con-sultation exercise real meaning.Otherwise, this whole exercisewould have been a waste of timeand public funds.

It is important for Parliament tobe viewed as an institution that issincerely concerned with humanrights issues, even as we discusshow to combat terrorism. It mustbe seen as an institution that safe-guards the people’s security whilestanding up for the rights of allcitizens.

Ultimately, Parliament shouldstand out as a symbol of justice -that is our prayer.

benefits between one to twomonths salary for every com-pleted year of service. This is inaddition to their EPF contribu-tions. The EPF savings receivedon retirement can be substan-tial as employees ofCorporatised Agencies such asEPF Board, Socso, etc, contrib-ute 17 1/2 per cent, while thereare also some private sector em-ployers who contribute morethan the statutory rate of 12 percent of EPF contribution.

New employees who opted for theEPF scheme on or after 12 April1991 in keeping with Service Cir-cular Letter No. 2 of 1991 are notallowed to contribute to theSOCSO scheme, unlike their coun-terparts who opted to remain inthe EPF scheme prior to 15 Janu-ary 1975 and who could partici-pate in the SOCSO scheme. In theevent of death of an employee, hisdependants will not be eligible forthe survivor’s pension and in theevent of incapacitation of the em-ployee he will not be eligible ei-ther for the invalidity/disabilitypension because he is not coveredunder the SOCSO scheme.

It is rather regretable that employ-ees were not properly briefed re-garding the implications of opt-ing for the EPF scheme. When thesalaries were revised under theHarun Commission and the Cabi-net Salaries Committee, the em-ployees were given the opportu-nity to choose between the EPFscheme and the pensionablescheme. However, under theSistem Saraan Baru (SSB) and theSistem Saraan Malaysia (SSM)which provides for salary revi-sions, no option was given to

AJ Patrick is the currentAJ Patrick is the currentAJ Patrick is the currentAJ Patrick is the currentAJ Patrick is the currentExecutive Secretary of theExecutive Secretary of theExecutive Secretary of theExecutive Secretary of theExecutive Secretary of theMalaysian Rubber BoardMalaysian Rubber BoardMalaysian Rubber BoardMalaysian Rubber BoardMalaysian Rubber BoardStaff Union and a formerStaff Union and a formerStaff Union and a formerStaff Union and a formerStaff Union and a formerDeputy President ofDeputy President ofDeputy President ofDeputy President ofDeputy President ofMTUCMTUCMTUCMTUCMTUC

those on the EPF scheme to opt forthe pensionable scheme.

Government employees whoopted for the EPF scheme in April1991 are still in service, while theircounterparts in the Statutory Bod-ies and Local Authorities, whohad opted for the EPF scheme inJanuary 1975 had already retiredfrom service and they are the onesaffected now by the loss of the vari-ous essential benefits and findthemselves in difficulties.

Decision makers in the Govern-ment, who are in the pensionablescheme, must understand and ac-knowledge the plight of those inthe EPF scheme who are in direneed for government assistance.Unfortunately our planners notaffected by this loss and thereforeare unable to appreciate theirplight.

The Government must be fair tothose serving and retired employ-ees in the EPF scheme by eitherextending them similar benefitsenjoyed by those on the pension-able scheme, such as medical ben-efits after their retirement, the“Golden Handshake” and inter-est rate of 4 per cent for those whohad exercised optional retirementor give them another option to beon the pensionable scheme. Thiswould be the 3rd option.

Loss of benefitsand difficulties

Continued from page 13Continued from page 13Continued from page 13Continued from page 13Continued from page 13

q

q


Penang Chinese Town HallPenang Chinese Town HallPenang Chinese Town HallPenang Chinese Town HallPenang Chinese Town Hall4 pm Friday, 5 Nov 20044 pm Friday, 5 Nov 20044 pm Friday, 5 Nov 20044 pm Friday, 5 Nov 20044 pm Friday, 5 Nov 2004

Recently freed former deputy pre-mier Anwar Ibrahim was mobbedby reformasi supporters when hereturned to his home-state ofPenang after a six-year absenceand promptly launched into a stri-dent attack on corruption.

Some 2,000 people thronged thePenang Chinese Town Hall in theheart of George Town to giveAnwar an ecstatic welcome.

“Some cynics ask, ‘Which coun-try in the world hasn’t got corrup-tion; it is a way of life.’ I say, wehave to change that!” he said tothunderous applause.

One of Anwar’s last official du-ties as deputy premier in 1998 wasto grace the national-levelMerdeka celebrations in Penangthat year, just two days before hewas sacked.

In scenes reminiscent of the after-math of his sacking and arrestsoon after that, cries of“Reformasi!” erupted outside andinside the Penang Chinese Town

Hall when the four-wheel drivecarrying Anwar pulled up outsidethe hall.

Hundreds spilled out of thepacked hall despite the lack ofpublicity for the event and the factit was held in the afternoon dur-ing working hours. In a sign ofhow wary the authorities are of

Anwar’s ability to mobilise themasses, police set up at least fivecheckpoints along major routesleading into the city just before thescheduled start of the gathering,worsening traffic congestion anddelaying those heading for thevenue.

Apparently, Anwar had taken the

POLITICS

Corruption cannot beended just by talkCrowds in Penang give Anwar a rousing home-comingafter six-year absence

by Anil Netto


ferry across to the island aftermeeting more supporters after Fri-day prayers at the Seberang Jayamosque on the mainland.

Though there were no policetrucks near the hall on the island,plainclothes police and SpecialBranch officers were out in num-bers.

Anwar, who returned to Malay-sia on 31 Oct 2004 after undergo-ing spinal surgery in Munich andthen going on a pilgrimage toMecca, showed that he had lostlittle of his charismatic appealand his ability to strike a chordwith ordinary people.

Looking visibly older, his hairthinning, he beamed as his aidesstruggled to wade him through asea of people, their hands out-stretched as they tried to shakehis, leading up to the stage.

Earlier, Tian Chua, vice-presidentof Keadilan, headed by WanAzizah, who was also present,paid tribute to those gathered. “Weshould be proud that if not foryou, the people, who stood byyour principles, (Anwar’s return)today would not have been possi-ble,” he said. “‘Today is not theend of the road but the begin-ning.”

In a rare sign of unity of pur-pose, almost equal numbers ofethnic Malays and Chinese,with Indians making up the rest,filled the hall. “It is good to seethe people coming together likethis,” said an activist cam-paigning against the controver-sial Penang Outer Ring Roadproject (PORR), which critics

say would lead to more trafficon the island.

Speaking in a mix of Malay andEnglish, Anwar pointed out thatMalaysia had slipped from 37thto 39th place in this year’s Cor-ruption Perceptions ranking byTransparency International. Theslide had occurred despite currentpremier Abdullah Badawi’s year-long anti-graft campaign, whichappears to have faltered.

“We are getting worse in terms ofcorruption,” he lamented. “Why?Because from the top down thereis corruption.”

But Anwar struck a conciliatorynote with Abdullah. ‘‘Whateveraction that the Prime Ministertakes for the benefit of the people,we will support,’’ he said. ‘‘But itmust be remembered corruptioncannot be ended just by talk. It canonly be wiped out if action is takenagainst the most corrupt.’’

Anwar highlighted the plight ofpetty traders and hawkers who heclaimed had to pay bribes to en-

forcement officials. Complainingthat little had been done for thepetty traders whom he had visitedin Kuala Lumpur, he said the costof upgrading facilities for themwould have been miniscule, justa few hundreds of thousands ofringgit. “Even the fencing atPutrajaya costs more than that!”he said, referring to the lavish newadministrative capital, nearKuala Lumpur.

He slammed mega projects, in aveiled attack against the previousMahathir administration, thoughhe did not mention names. ‘‘Noth-ing was done for eight years forthe small traders, but during thattime we spent tens of billions ofringgit on mega projects, buildingthe longest, the tallest and thegreatest,’’ he said in a reference tothe Mahathir administration’spenchant for world records in ob-scure categories.

“Penang is a special state, its peo-ple are unique. When I was in jail,I would think of rojak, nasi kandar,Penang,” he mused.

He urged the Penang governmentto speed up projects that would

Back to basics

Still appealing


benefit the people. ‘‘If there areprojects that do not benefit thepeople, like PORR, consult thepeople and if they don’t wantthem, just defer or amend them;why ram them down theirthroats? And why the insistenceon specific contractors?’’ heasked. ‘‘I don’t understand this.’’

He also referred to talk of build-ing an expensive second bridge(linking Penang to the mainland).‘‘If basic needs such as water, elec-tricity, facilities for small tradershave not yet been met, don’t thinkof mega projects,’’ he urged. ‘‘Set-tle the people’s problems first.’’

‘I don’t oppose big projects, butour priorities should be schools,healthcare facilities and publicamenities.”

A former official of the PenangDevelopment Corporation, thestate government’s developmentarm, later complained outside thehall that Penang state had wastedfunds by building a new multi-million ringgit stadium on themainland when it already had asmaller though older stadium onthe island. ‘‘The new stadium hasturned into a white elephant be-cause of its location,’’ he grum-bled.

Not everyone shared the eupho-ria over Anwar’s return. One gov-ernment security official struck adiscordant note in conversationsamong the crowd after the event.‘‘What was Anwar doing whenhe was Finance Minister (in the1990s)?’’ he said. ‘‘He was ap-proving all kinds of projectsthen.’’

Anwar said Malaysia was in a

state of denial over the fact thatthe economy is not growing as itshould. “Unemployment is get-ting higher, inflation is rising, theprice of oil is soaring and foreigninvestments are not coming,” hesaid.

Peace, he said, was necessary forcontinued development. “We willdo everything possible to ensurethat Malaysia remains peaceful.If at all terrorism emerges – if Mus-lims are found to be involved interrorism – we will fight them to-gether. We don’t want any of theminvolved in terrorism.”

The one-time heir to former pre-mier Mahathir sought to allayfears that he might be rejoining theruling United Malays NationalOrganisation. ‘‘I was astonishedat the number of people whowould come up to me and aftergreeting me (in the usual way),would then whisper into my ear,‘Jangan masuk UMNO’ – Don’tre-join UMNO, ’’ he revealed, asthe crowd roared with laughter.

‘‘Even before I could say anything,they (the UMNO people) were

angry with me and said, ‘You can-not enter UMNO!’ ’’

‘‘Enter what?’’ Anwar mocked, toloud applause. ‘‘Who wants toenter UMNO? I never said any-thing about entering, why werethey angry with me?”

Still, it seemed clear that Anwarhad avoided any direct attacks onthe premier and UMNO presi-dent, Abdullah Badawi. His offerof support for Abdullah in thefight against graft, especiallyamidst talk that the premier facesstiff resistance within UMNO,will be closely watched.

Anwar, however, reiterated hiscommitment to reformasi andthe opposition parties. ‘ ‘Re-member, I am committed to theagenda of bringing about re-forms and change to the coun-try,’’ he stressed at the end. ‘‘Iam committed to working withopposition parties likekeADILan, DAP (DemocraticAction Party), and PAS (PanMalaysian Islamic Party) as wellas progressive NGOs for thegood of the nation.’’ q


I don’t regret (my ordeal) becauseI did what I had to do. I had towork to clean up Malaysia fromthe scourge of corruption.

We will cooperate with the gov-ernment in wiping out corruption.The challenge is how to wipe outcorruption and improve theeconomy so that it benefits evenmore Malaysians.

Anwar cited the example of tendersthat may cost RM30 million for in-stance, being inflated to RM50 mil-lion, with RM20 million given tofriends. That RM20 million will notreach the people.

If for everything you need to paybribes, the cost of doing business goesup, he said.

We are losing our competitiveness.

(If) we don’t want migrant work-ers without permits, okay. Sendthem back properly. But whathappens now? They are caught,their money and handphones arestolen, they are whipped. If youdon’t need them, fair (enough). Ar-

rest them and send them back.(But) don’t do such things.

When I was in the cabinet com-mittee for foreign workers, I didnot send a single person to jail.They were rounded up, sent to im-migration and then sent backhome. “Not a single person waswhipped. But now thousands ofthem have been whipped. I can-not accept this. Whether they arefrom Bangladesh, Indonesia orMyanmar, they are human beings.And we have been taught to re-spect human beings.”

In the Qur’an, we are taught re-spect for human beings. If you areMuslim and you don’t respectnon-Muslims, you are not a goodMuslim.

I don’t want to talk about my six-year “holiday” – some peoplecome up to me and say “long timeno see”. I reply, “I didn’t see any-thing” during those six years!

Anwar criticised those who claim thathe received VIP treatment in jail.What VIP treatment? You want togo and try it? Six years by your-self. In the evenings, I read theKoran. In the mornings, I sang inthe bathroom, “Oh nona-ku,Azizah.”

He said that when he asked for a doc-tor after he was brutally assaulted incustody, none came immediately: Imay look healthy – but there isstuff inserted into my back now –so I have to be cautious, but that’s

Some snippets from Anwar’sSome snippets from Anwar’sSome snippets from Anwar’sSome snippets from Anwar’sSome snippets from Anwar’shome-coming speechhome-coming speechhome-coming speechhome-coming speechhome-coming speech

On Corruption

On the Whipping ofMigrant Workers

On h is “Spec ia lTreatment” in Jai l

okay. I am still strong and canfight.

I was beaten badly – I was theDeputy Prime Minister, you know!

But now if you ask, are you an-gry? I would say what’s the pointin being angry? Now, we need tolook ahead. I fought before to safe-guard the people’s interest. Wewant to invite our people to cometogether now and move forward.

If he wants to condemn me, lethim, I don’t care (in an apparentreference to Mahathir). I say weshould forgive but not forget. Weshouldn’t forget, because if we do,it will happen again. We don’twant it to happen to me, and wedon’t want it to happen to any-one else.

We do not want oppression to berepeated. Not to me, not to any-one.

If anyone were to complain aboutthe dirty environment, that is hisright as a citizen who wants theair and the water to be clean andit is not an offence in a democracyto raise these issues.

He hit out at the suspension of MPslike Karpal and before him Fong PoKuan: What sort of freedom is this?He was elected by the people ofBukit Gelugor.

I was jailed for six years for cor-

On Politicaland Civil Rights

On the Judiciary


ruption. What kind? Because Italked with the police. I talkedwith the police, I got hit with sixyears’ jail. People steal RM200-500 million, that’s not consideredcorruption!

The court is supposed to be free.But the whole world has said thecourts are not free. The ICJ (TheInternational Commission of Ju-rists) has said the judiciary is notfree.

But some ministers say the courtsare free. They say, “No, we didn’tdo anything. Anwar was foundguilty by the courts.” Po-rah.

Anwar contrasted the way he wastreated in Malaysia and the way hewas treated abroad.

The doctor (in Munich) told me:“No, I cannot take (money) fromyou because I know how muchyou suffered for so long. I knowyou are the victim of a politicalconspiracy, and that you didn’tdeserve to go to jail.”

In Germany, Anwar later put up at ahotel. He revealed that the hotel man-agement, knowing his background,only charged him half-rate for his sin-gle room and then upgraded him to alarge suite without extra charge. FromGermany, Anwar was flown on a spe-cial plane to Saudi Arabia, where hewas housed in a royal guest palace.Anwar observed wryly how he hadmoved “from the prison to the palace.”

I am telling you this not because Iwant to tell you I am important;no, but I want to show you thevalue (of our struggle for six

years); it has not been forgotten.There are people who value whatwe have done.

He nonetheless praised the Malaysianprison wardens and those at the lock-ups who were kind and respectful to-wards him.

What do we want to do now? Firstthing I want to know and under-stand and continue to work andstruggle for my people.

It’s not important that I have no(political) position. The importantthing is the people’s problemsmust be put at centre-stage. I amworking very hard but without aposition.

Those without positions mustwork hard. Not everyone can holda position, but everyone mustwork. In a small way, I can con-tribute. I will meet leaders of thevarious opposition political par-ties and NGOs for the good of thecountry.

If Dato Abdullah Badawi says hewants to do anything good, wecan discuss and give him the sup-port. If there is corruption in anyplace, we will advise him, to kick(the culprit) out quickly.

It’s better for us to focus on theagenda of the people. If we wantdevelopment, we don’t have to goto the extent of demolishing peo-ple’s homes.

Nothing was done for eight yearsfor the small traders, but during

that time we spent tens of billionson mega projects, the longest, thetallest, the greatest.

I don’t oppose big projects, but ourpriorities should be schools,healthcare facilities and publicamenities.

I looked around and saw somelow-cost houses in Keramat.Those were the ones I built in 1996and I asked where are the newones? None.

If we can spend hundreds of mil-lions on wasteful projects and yetdon’t build houses that cost a fewthousand ringgit, how are we go-ing to answer (the people)? Wehave the longest this, the tallestthat, but the roof of the hawkercentre I visited has not been re-paired.

We have the capacity. If we were apoor country like Bangladesh orZimbabwe, ok no big deal. But wehave the capacity to build.

Can we let our country deterio-rate? We can’t. Or allow the peo-ple’s problems to be sidelined?No, we cannot tolerate this.

When I was Finance Minister, Ididn't agree with the increases ofhighway toll. I asked the tollconcessionaires to provide a de-tailed breakdown of their costs. Ifthe rates go up, who will pay? You.

You have to think and know whatyour rights are.

No wonder the country has a defi-cit; we spent on all the big projects.

I don’t want to talk too much -or else I masuk (might get de-tained).

On his SpecialTreatment in Germany

and Saudi Arabia

On his Plans

On Mega Projectsand Development

for the People

q


atuk’ is a Malay term for,or a title given to, agrandpa. But it is also aMalay term for an hon-

orific title that is bestowed uponindividuals whom the state con-siders as people who have servedthe community and the nationwell and also on people who haveexcelled in their areas of expertiseand professionalism.

The first title is ‘naturally’ ac-quired over a period of time, espe-cially after one’s children get mar-ried and have kids of their own.In other words, you get to be a‘datuk’ to a handful of young andmischievous brats. There are ofcourse certain people who con-sciously try to avoid getting sucha title for it only reminds them oftheir old age (i.e. assuming thatthey get married at a ‘ripe age’).

The second category of ‘datuk’, onthe other hand, is the one thatmany a Malaysian craves for dayand night, often way before he orshe is actually ‘due’ for such offi-cial recognition or conferment.Apart from the glamour and so-cial status that the title suppos-edly carries, it also opens doors tobusiness opportunities and otherpecuniary benefits.

Which is why we sometimes hearrumours of certain individualsbuying their way into ‘datukship’because of the apparently highstakes attached to this title. Andwhich also leads us to the ques-tion, where else have these indi-

viduals bought themselves into es-pecially after being conferred thecoveted datukship?

The current brouhaha that hasemerged in the Malaysian societyindeed has got to do with the sec-ond category of ‘datuk’. The prob-lem started when a Sultanstripped two datuks of their titlesbecause they were allegedly in-volved in things ‘undatukable’.Given the special aura and thepolitical and economic clout thatsurround datukship, beingstripped of it is, to many of thesedatuks, akin to being stark naked.It’s not quite like the feeling thatthe emperor without clothes hadbecause these stripped datuks arethen made to feel as if they arewithout their manhood or some-thing powerful.

The reason for many of them feel-ing so helpless without the title isthat a number of them, for in-stance, are so used to not havingto wait in queues or overtakingothers on the road simply becausethey have special badges on theirexpensive cars.

Complicating the matter further isthe fact that certain states in thefederation have the tendency toaward too many datukships in ayear, at times giving the impres-sion that there is some kind ofcompetition going on between thestates concerned. For instance,despite the controversy over cer-tain datuks who were apparentlyinvolved in things unlawful, Ma-

lacca still granted a high numberof datukships. This situationprompts us to wonder whetherthere are enough stones to throwat the datuks because the stand-ing joke is that when one throwsa stone somewhere one is likely tohit a datuk or two.

The apparently easy dishing outof datukships to all and sundryhas caused concern, if not conster-nation, among some datuks astheir integrity and social standingare at stake. They feel that there hasto be some stringent criteria to beemployed before individuals arebestowed datukships. It’s like hav-ing a SIRIM stamp of quality, ex-cept that the output cannot be asmassive as one would expect outof a factory production regime.

Concern about this state of affairshas reached new heights andthere were calls for a ‘DatukWatch’ which, eventually, was setup to help people surf a particu-lar website to see who’s who onthe datuk list. It’s something likehaving a Water Watch or PriceWatch where one can vigorouslymonitor any sharp fluctuationsthat may cause hardship to theordinary people, especially theless endowed.

Of course, ‘Datuk Watch’ is not‘Baywatch’. Some of these datukshave figures you may not want togaze at because many have uglypaunches matched only by the as-tronomical size of their businessprofits.

SOCIETY

DATUK WATCHDATUK WATCHDATUK WATCHDATUK WATCHDATUK WATCHToo many honorific titles causing concern

‘D‘D‘D‘D‘D

q


liran welcomes theviews expressed byMinister of Interna-tional Trade and In-

dustry, Datuk Seri Rafidah Azizlast Sunday (21 March 1993) re-garding the need to review thenormal practice of conductingelaborate ceremonies for wel-coming dignitaries such asministers and the use of salu-tations.

This is indeed in line with thegovernment’s current aspira-tion to curb and check presentpractices of honouring digni-taries especially the royaltythat can be deemed asunIslamic and demeaning tothe dignity of the ordinaryrakyat.

It is only proper that ministersand other political leaders, be-ing a group voted in by therakyat, should behave in a man-ner that would not distancethemselves from the peoplewhom they are supposed toserve.

Discarding separate sitting ar-rangements and the practice ofproviding different cutlery fordifferent people at official func-tions, as suggested by Rafidah,

is a step in the right direction.

In addition, by doing awaywith elaborate welcoming cer-emonies, the governmentwould also cut down on wasteof man-hours, time that gov-ernment servants would betterspend by serving the generalpublic and increasing the pro-ductivity of the departmentsconcerned,

Salutations such as Yang AmatBerhormat, Yang Berbahagia andYang Berhormat also require are-think. A possible negativeeffect of these titles is that theyinvite loyalty on the part of thegeneral public. This could leadto abuse on the part of the ti-tle-holder.

Finally, the issuing of titles topeople requires serious review-ing given the fact that these ti-tles, in certaiin cases, have beenmisused by certain people andalso carry a certain feudal aura.

There are a few possibilities:

• The government may wantto abolish the practice of is-suing titles as a step to-wards egalitarianism in so-ciety,

� Secondly, if titles are stillseen as playing a necessarysocial function, titles shouldbe restricted to a few peo-ple only (throughout thewhole country).

• Thirdly, the governmentought to do away with ti-tles that are not only toolong but also“feudal”sounding, such asDatuk Indera KayanganBistari (which some statemight in future confer).

Mustafa K AnuarExco Member

23 March 1993Sorce: Aliran Monthly

1993 : 1 3(3)

PAGES FROM THE PAST

Review Ceremoniesand Titles

AAAAA

The issuing of titles to people requires serious reviewing


any key questions re-main to be answered af-ter the mass killing inthe south of Thailand on

October 25. Above them all, whatis the public prosecutor doingabout this case?

Under section 148 of the CriminalProcedure Code of Thailand, whenthere is a death in custody, therights of the victim are upheld byway of a post mortem autopsy andinvestigation into the cause ofdeath. Under section 150, threeagencies must be involved: the fo-rensic doctor, investigating officer,and public prosecutor. With the au-topsy completed and report sub-mitted, it is then the job of the pub-lic prosecutor to approach the courtin order that it carry out an inquest,with a view to entering into crimi-nal proceedings if necessary. Thisprocess should under no circum-stances be delayed, such as by rea-son of a politically appointed in-quiry also being under way. It isthe role of the public prosecutor toinvestigate and prosecute allcrimes, including those committedby government officers, withoutregard to other factors.

After October 25, what has hap-pened? Four doctors from the Fo-rensic Science Institute conductedpartial examinations of the 78 vic-tims removed from army trucks,and took samples for further test-ing. They played a critical part inexposing the scale of the tragedyat a time that the military mighthave preferred to conceal it. How-ever, full autopsies were not con-ducted, nor were officials from thepolice or public prosecutor re-ported to be present. Questionsmay then arise as to the conse-quences of their investigation, andits significance for the role of thepublic prosecutor.

A commonly held excuse by public

prosecutors in many countries inAsia is that where autopsies arebotched or police investigations in-adequate, they are unable to pro-ceed with the case due to proce-dural failings or lack of evidence,thereby permitting the perpetratorto escape criminal liability. But thisis no excuse. It is the constitutionalrequirement of a public prosecutorto pursue investigations, obtain thecompliance of other necessaryagencies, and take the matter intothe courts. Failure to do thisamounts to failure to do the job al-together. There is no substitute forthis role, and under no circum-stances should the public prosecu-tor be obstructed from performingthis duty.

REGIONAL

Mass killings in southern Thailand:

What is the Thai PublicProsecutor doing now?by the Asian Human Rights Commission

MMMMM

The Law


So what is the public prosecutordoing in this case? Has an inves-tigation been opened? Have thereports been sought from the fo-rensic doctors? If there is confu-sion about the procedure relatingto the autopsies, have steps beentaken to deal with this as quicklyand expediently as possible? Ifthere are other agencies opposedto the public prosecutor investi-gating the case in accordance withthe law, how can they be over-come? In short, are the necessaryquestions being asked to bringcriminal proceedings againstthose persons responsible for thedeaths in custody of October 25?It is the job of the public prosecu-tor to address these questions andto take a leading role in the busi-ness of obtaining answers with-out further delay, and all othergovernment agencies are obligedto admit to that role.

There are many other importantquestions about the incident thatremain unanswered, to which thepublic prosecutor is beholden torespond. These are not questionsfor which the people of Thailand,least of all the families of the vic-tims, should be kept waiting. Norare they questions for which thepolitically appointed commissionof inquiry will easily obtain all theanswers. They are questions ofbasic criminal liability, for whichthe public prosecutor has the re-sponsibility. They include the fol-lowing.

Who made the decision to trans-port the arrested persons to a dis-tant army camp? At the time of

making such a large number ofarrests, some 1,300 in total, thequestion of where all the peoplewould be held must have arisen.Somebody had the obligation todecide the place and means ofdetention. How was this decisionreached? Were any alternativesdiscussed, or not? For instance,most of the arrested persons couldhave had their details recordedfrom identity cards and been re-leased, with just the suspectedringleaders being held for ques-tioning. That most of the peoplefortunate to survive were subse-quently released without any fur-ther consequences speaks to thefact that this could have been donein the first instance. Was this op-tion entertained? Was any otheralternative discussed?

The shortage of vehicles is also akey element in the case. The offic-ers in charge should have consid-ered how they were going to trans-port the large number of detain-ees before they arrested them. Buteven if they had not done so, themilitary can hire private vehiclesat short notice, and under martiallaw can even take them by force.

To find adequate transportationfor 1,300 people is not a big dealfor the army, and under the cir-cumstances, was one of its basicduties. Why was this not done?The explanation that there weresimply not enough vehicles avail-able is as shocking as the incidentitself. Can it be accepted that themilitary, acting on behalf of thegovernment, simply did not thinkof this before arresting all thosepeople? It is hard to believe thatthe chain of command was so in-effective that even the most rudi-mentary discussion on providingtransport was absent from com-munications.

Who decided to stack the peoplein the trucks one on top of theother? Was it a decision made byone person on the scene, or by anoperations command? Who hadthe authority to give such an or-der? Even if the procedure for ar-rests was not thought out prop-erly before hand, the officers incharge should have taken meas-ures to prevent harm coming to thedetainees. Were animals loaded inthis way, it would be regarded ascruelty to animals; a farmer would

Who crammed them?

Q u e s t i o n sbegging answers


take more care of his pigs, lest heharm them on the way to market.However, it does not seem to havebeen of any concern to those re-sponsible to treat humans in thismanner. Did not the truck driverspoint out that the people could notlive long being piled up like that?Did the soldiers not consider thenatural consequences of their ac-tions? Or, as some eyewitnesseshave asserted, did they act as theydid with expectation that peoplewould die? Perhaps the explana-tion lies in the most recent con-cession by the army that some ofthe victims may already havebeen dead before being loaded onto the trucks; hence the need toload living people lying downalso, in order to conceal the crime.

There must be rational answers tothese questions: ordinarily, theseare to be found in routine internalrecords. Do such records exist,and what can they tell of whathappened? Have internal inquir-ies been conducted? After such anoperation, military intelligenceand other agencies can be ex-pected to investigate immediately,establish the facts clearly, andmake reports to the supreme mili-

The Asian HumanThe Asian HumanThe Asian HumanThe Asian HumanThe Asian HumanRights Commission is aRights Commission is aRights Commission is aRights Commission is aRights Commission is aregional non-govern-regional non-govern-regional non-govern-regional non-govern-regional non-govern-mental organisationmental organisationmental organisationmental organisationmental organisationmonitoring and lobbyingmonitoring and lobbyingmonitoring and lobbyingmonitoring and lobbyingmonitoring and lobbyinghuman rights issues inhuman rights issues inhuman rights issues inhuman rights issues inhuman rights issues inAsia. The Hong Kong-Asia. The Hong Kong-Asia. The Hong Kong-Asia. The Hong Kong-Asia. The Hong Kong-based group was foundedbased group was foundedbased group was foundedbased group was foundedbased group was foundedin 1984in 1984in 1984in 1984in 1984

tary commandand prime min-ister. However,to date the pub-lic has been leftin the dark.

These questionsall speak of toserious failuresthat must be an-swered throughjudicial andcriminal inquir-ies. If answers

are not forthcoming, it means thatthe responsible agencies are notasking these questions. So whereis the public prosecutor now?Why is it that the persons respon-sible for these atrocities have notyet been arrested and charged,and proceedings begun in thecourts?

Under article 2 of the InternationalCovenant on Civil and PoliticalRights, to which Thailand is aparty, the state has an obligationto provide the victims of rights vio-lations access to effective judicialremedies. After a state signs thecovenant, it is expected to be ableto guarantee the rights of its citi-zens through investigating andprosecuting agencies. What doesthis mean in practice? It meansbeing able to document com-plaints quickly and thoroughly,investigate and collect evidence,and hold responsible those whohave violated the rights of the vic-tims in accordance with the law.All of these activities speak to thecentrality of the role of the publicprosecutor.

Indirectly, they also speak of therole of the National Human RightsCommission (NHRC) of Thailandand other agencies concerned

with the implementation of rightsin the country. Having spoken outstrongly on the October 25 trag-edy from the beginning, theNHRC should now direct its at-tention towards getting criminalproceedings under way. Con-cerned senators, civil societygroups and others in Thailandshould likewise concentrate theirefforts on both supporting andpressuring the office of the publicprosecutor to this end.

Deaths in custody and extrajudi-cial killings of any kind are griev-ous violations of human rights.They go to the heart of the respon-sibility of the state and its agentsto its people. Deaths in custody ofsuch a large number of people asoccurred in Thailand this October25 are not only morally outra-geous, they also challenge the veryinstitutions existing to protect anduphold the rights of all persons ofthe country under both local andinternational law. It is therefore theprimary responsibility of the pub-lic prosecutor to ensure that alldeaths in custody and extrajudi-cial killings are fully examined,the perpetrators identified, andheld to account for their actions.So what is the public prosecutordoing now?

Grievous violations

q


It is a question of integrity. It in-volves the Home Ministry and theCheras district police headquar-ters. One of them is lying. Thequestion is who.

According to the chairperson ofthe Anwar Ibrahim home-comingcommittee, Kamarul BahrinAbbas, an application for the per-mit for a gathering tomorrow at apublic stadium, preferably BukitJalil Stadium, was submitted tothe Home Ministry. There is evi-dence, by way of acknowledge-ment, that such an applicationwas made.

According to a senior Home Min-istry official, “the issuance of per-mits is the jurisdiction of the po-lice.” (Malaysiakini, 26 October2004).

If that is the case, why did theHome Ministry accept the appli-cation and acknowledge it?Couldn’t the applicant be simplytold that “the Ministry does not

deal with such matters”?Shouldn’t the Ministry, as a mat-ter of courtesy, have advised theapplicant to submit the applica-tion to the Cheras district policeheadquarters, which is author-ised to issue permits for gather-ings at the Bukit Jalil Stadium?

For it to now claim that “the Min-istry does not deal with such mat-ters” suggests that the Ministryhad acted in bad faith by accept-ing - instead of rejecting - the ap-plication.

Adding further to this confusion,it is revealed that the Ministry hadrejected the application to the po-lice two days later. This only con-firms that they could receive theapplication and - in line with whatmust presumably be the practice -had then channelled the applica-tion to the relevant approving au-thority. There is no reason to doubtthis story, as it came from a HomeMinistry senior official.

But according to a police person-nel at the Cheras District policeheadquarters, “the record showed

no such application had beenmade to hold a gathering at thestadium on 31 Oct.”

Is the Cheras District police head-quarters suppressing evidence byclaiming that no such applicationwas forwarded to them by theHome Ministry? If that is the po-sition, does it not mean that theHome Ministry is lying?

But there is no reason for theHome Ministry to lie. They are onpublic record as stating that the“permit was referred to the po-lice.” Which means someone islying. The question is who?

This is a very disturbing situation.The Home Ministry and the po-lice are held in high esteem. Butwhen we are faced with this trou-bling situation, how can the citi-zens of this country have any con-fidence in them? If the truth issuppressed in a small matter likethis, is it any wonder that citizensare sceptical when any clarifica-tion is provided by the authorities.

This is just an application for apeaceful gathering to avoid whatcan be potential chaos at theKuala Lumpur International Air-port.

Why is there no democratic spacefor a peaceful gathering in ourcountry? What is wrong ifAnwar’s friends and supportersare to meet at the stadium to greetsomeone who has been away fromthe public eye for six years.

Forget about Anwar. This is a ba-sic right of an individual. If SamyVellu wants to hold a gatheringto explain that it is not his faultthat things are crumbling in thecountry, it is his right to do so. If

A record of A record of A record of A record of A record of Aliran'sAliran'sAliran'sAliran'sAliran's stand on current affairs. stand on current affairs. stand on current affairs. stand on current affairs. stand on current affairs.

Who is Tellingthe Truth?


We are deeply concerned to readreports of possible disciplinaryaction against a a final-year stu-dent, Soh Sook Hwa, accused ofbeing involved in the campaignfor an opposition leader duringthe March 2004 general election.

We fail to see how her actionscould have brought disrepute tothe university.

The Universities and UniversityColleges Act is widely seen as amajor obstacle in the developmentof a vibrant, dynamic and demo-cratic student movement in Ma-laysia. It inculcates fear amongstudents, discourages independ-ent thinking, and deprives themof their basic constitutional rightsto freedom of thought, of expres-sion and of association.

In this respect, if USM is to becomea centre of excellence, it must in-stead encourage students to thinkcritically and to be engaged in thepressing issues of the day ratherthan to suppress such independ-ent thinking.

We therefore urge you to withdrawthese accusations and actionagainst Soh Sook Hwa and to en-sure that her civil rights are re-spected and upheld. We also callon USM authorities to refrain fromtaking similar action against otherstudents in future and to respecttheir basic rights as well.

We hope wisdom and good sensewill prevail.

Anil NettoExecutive Committee member

20 November 2004

Karpal wants to organise a gath-ering to explain that his suspen-sion from Parliament is unjust, heshould be allowed to do so. Simi-larly, if UMNO wants to addressthe curse of money politics at agathering, they should be al-lowed this space.

But is there a hidden motive forcreating this obstacle to preventAnwar from having this opportu-nity to meet his friends and sup-porters? It has been claimed thatAnwar is irrelevant and that hedoes not command any support.

Cease action againststudent Soh Sook Hwa

Are the authorities afraid that thisclaim will not hold water whenAnwar’s friends and supportersturn up in their thousands. Afterall, it was reported that more than10,000 people turned up on 4 Sept2004 to see him off to Munich.

Are they afraid that a 100,000-strong crowd may turn up anddebunk the authorities’ claim thatAnwar has no following?

P RamakrishnanPresident

30 October 2004

If Samy Vellu wants toIf Samy Vellu wants toIf Samy Vellu wants toIf Samy Vellu wants toIf Samy Vellu wants tohold a gathering to ex-hold a gathering to ex-hold a gathering to ex-hold a gathering to ex-hold a gathering to ex-plain that it is not hisplain that it is not hisplain that it is not hisplain that it is not hisplain that it is not hisfault that things arefault that things arefault that things arefault that things arefault that things arecrumbling in the country,crumbling in the country,crumbling in the country,crumbling in the country,crumbling in the country,it is his right to do so.it is his right to do so.it is his right to do so.it is his right to do so.it is his right to do so.

If Karpal wants to or-If Karpal wants to or-If Karpal wants to or-If Karpal wants to or-If Karpal wants to or-ganise a gathering to ex-ganise a gathering to ex-ganise a gathering to ex-ganise a gathering to ex-ganise a gathering to ex-plain that his suspen-plain that his suspen-plain that his suspen-plain that his suspen-plain that his suspen-sion from Parliament ission from Parliament ission from Parliament ission from Parliament ission from Parliament isunjust, he should be al-unjust, he should be al-unjust, he should be al-unjust, he should be al-unjust, he should be al-lowed to do solowed to do solowed to do solowed to do solowed to do so.....

IIIIIf UMNO wants to addressf UMNO wants to addressf UMNO wants to addressf UMNO wants to addressf UMNO wants to addressthe curse of money politicsthe curse of money politicsthe curse of money politicsthe curse of money politicsthe curse of money politicsat a gathering, they shouldat a gathering, they shouldat a gathering, they shouldat a gathering, they shouldat a gathering, they shouldbe allowed this space.be allowed this space.be allowed this space.be allowed this space.be allowed this space.

Why is there no democratic space for apeaceful gathering in our country?


The report recently regarding theUS embassy’s warning about agreen card scam is quite amusingand at the same time worrying:these are the ways that unscrupu-lous people use to try and beat thesystem resulting in greater incon-venience to bona fide visitors.

The issue really is about US regu-lations for entries, which is nowputting off normal visitors whoundertake business or pleasurevisits are cheesed off.

First, the world sympathizes withthe loss of lives during the 9/11attacks; not only Americans butmany non-Americans as well per-ished as a result of that dastardlyact. But many seem to have for-

gotten that American forces havekilled as many if not more civil-ians in their pursuit of those ter-rorists responsible. Can that bemorally justified? Or are Ameri-can lives worth more the the restof the world’s? I think not. Whowere the biggest suppliers ofweapons to all these morons?

Second, criticizing procedures orthe administration is not tanta-mount to criticizing a nation or itspeople. That is the kind of replythat one expects from a despoticthird world nation, not from citi-zens of a so-called leader in a de-mocracy. In fact many Americanthemselves are very uneasy withthe extreme actions taken by theirgovernment these days.

Third, and crucially, those stepsand procedures that I said weresilly were already in place, and

they never detected these madmen- and none of them wereMalaysians. Emerging details in-dicate that local law enforcementagencies goofed up by not follow-ing suspicious leads that cametheir way; it was not the fault ofimmigration procedures.

In any case, I have no intentionnow or in the future to visit the USfor personal reasons (or for workpurposes if I can help it). I haveno intention of going somewherewhere I am made to be so unwel-come. In fact, for the cost of apply-ing for a visa at the US Embassy(RM380), I can fly down andspend the weekend in Singapore.Xenophobia is not justifiable atany cause or cost.

Frequent TravellerPetaling Jaya

Anwar is an icon, an institution,someone who inspires the peopleand is able to capture their imagi-nation.

The level of support shown by theinternational community reflectshis relevance. If Aung San Suu Kyifights for democracy against Bur-ma’s military regime and ifMandela stood against apartheidand racial segregation, Anwarcertainly would be a bridge be-tween the Jewish/Western worldand the more than 1.2 billion Mus-lims worldwide.

Malaysian politics is akin to asmall racing circuit that no onereally cares as opposed to themore exciting F1 races.

We leave it to Anwar to decide

Letters must not exceed 250 words and must include the writer'sname and address. Pseudonyms may be used. Send letters to :Editor, ALIRAN MONTHLY, 103, Medan Penaga, 11600 Penang,Malaysia or e-mail to : [email protected] Viewsexpressed need not reflect those of Aliran. If you are sendingby e-mail please include your message in the e-mail body itself.We do not open attachments to avoid viruses.

US must ensure thatbona fide visitors are

not inconvenienced

Anwar inspiresthe people


where he is urgently needed; how-ever, it goes without saying thathe is still relevant.

Loh Su Fei

I write with reference to your arti-cle “Anwar and the limits of re-form” by John Hilley (AliranMonthly Vol 24:8)

The Malaysian people in generalmust be puzzled at the wayAnwar Ibrahim dominated ourlives at one stage and was thenput away for the supposedly badthings he did, only to re-emergeinto our lives like a wart that willnot go away. If Anwar still wantsto impose his will or ambition onthe rakyat, he must now comeclean and tell us who he really is.

Is he the “Bad Guy” who wasjailed by the Court OR is he the“hero” who was wronged by hiscorrupt and power hungry detrac-tors in UMNO? Either way therakyat deserves to know.

Anwar must disclose his case

openly and with evidence to sup-port his innocence; not accusa-tions of political assassinationand personal vendetta.

The people have to know aboutAnwar’s apparent “charade” inhoodwinking the Malaysianmedical fraternity into acceptingthat he was in danger of beingkilled in a local hospital and theonly competent surgeon to fix hisspine was Dr. Hoogland. He mustalso explain who paid for all theexpenses for his treatment in Ger-many (see article in this issue forsnippets from Anwar’s speech inPenang - Editor). There are manymore questions relating to hismedical condition that remain thesubject of public speculation. IfAnwar wants to rule again, he hasto come clean with the truth asAllah knows.

There are people out there whohave real facts about Anwar’s in-nocence or guilt in committingsodomy, while he was chantingIslamic slogans to the rakyat like ahypocrite! These people whoknow are guilty of hiding the truth, because should Anwar succeedin returning to rule once again,are we going to have a despicableand dishonest leader or a “saint”who was once wronged and cru-cified by people of lower morals?

Can we afford the turmoil that willsurely befall a peaceful Malaysia,should a weak Abdullah Badawifail to fend off a political attackfrom an Anwar who has nothingto lose? Worse, can we afford theturmoil that will befall us whenthose currently serving AbdullahBadawi decide to defend theirpositions - for fear of reprisalsfrom a victorious Anwar Ibrahim- with a vengance?

At a time like this, when we enjoypeace and a laid-back and com-fortable existence, we must alsocontemplate the turn of events thatcould happen should AnwarIbrahim gain the support of therakya, who are not well informed.They could fall for the same trick-ery and Machiavellian tacticsAnwar has demonstrated soclearly in his long career of in-trigue and dangerous politics.

Let’s hope God continues to grantus the peace that He has accordedus so far and which so few othernations enjoy. Let us hope that oneman’s hunger for power andquest for revenge does not causegrief to innocent law-abidingfolks.

Concerned Citizen

I think the Maika story has goneso sour for Indian Malaysiansthat every time we talk about it, itcreates anomisty within the In-dian community.

The world knew the real truth,Samy Vellu knows the real truthbut the reason why he is not talk-ing about it only God knows. Thepoor Indian workers - among themlabourers and estate workers -

Will the realAnwar Ibrahim

please stand up!

Who is going totell the truth

about Maika?


who had to borrow money withinterest to buy these shares havebeen let down very badly. I remem-ber how Samy Vellu talked aboutMaika before its launch; it was asweetener in the sweat of the poorIndians.

If this had happened in the Westor even in India, he would not havegone scot-free. But what to do - theworld is blind. I believe Samy Velluhasn’t spoken the truth about thismatter.

As Veera Pandiya Katta Boomansaid “Makala Thirpu Sollataum”. InEnglish it means, “Let the peoplepass judgement,” and, in thiscase, the people are the hard-working, God-fearing Indianswhose every drop of sweat will becounted by Almighty God, whowill punish the evil-doers whohave betrayed the Indian commu-nity.

Sharini

The people of America has spokenand Bush will be their President forthe next four years. My prayers andhopes, I suppose as those of mil-lions of other interested parties theworld over were not answered. Notthat we know Senator Kerry willbe much better but at least, he wasnot tainted with causing the suf-fering and deaths of so many ordi-nary Iraqis on a false crusade inthis “war on terror”.

Also, any hope for some relief forordinary Palestinians from therepression and high-handednessof the Israeli government underSharon has been dashed.

But, then, this is the essence ofdemocracy, the majority inAmerica have spoken.

What I hope and pray is that Presi-dent Bush will REALLY listen tothe God he says he represents. Ihope he will begin to see that God[which I believe must be the sameas mine] will want to see a move-ment towards peace on earth andjustice for all repressed peoplerather than more wars waged onthe flimiest of excuses.

Yes, I hope he wins that “war onterror” but I hope he is humbleenough to realise that his strate-gies and actions thus far have onlyfuelled the ranks of the extremists.I have no prescriptions to offer.But is it not the hallmark of a wiseman to know where he has erredand to take action to remedy andnot repeat mistakes?

With the resources and personnelavailable to him, surely PresidentBush can come up with alterna-tive measures that could build alasting legacy for him as PeacePresident rather than the currentdubious distinction he has of be-ing a War President.

Teo Chuen TickPenang

I don’t know much about Malay-sia, But I am still very muchintersted in the developments ofthis country because I was bornhere and lived here till I was 6-years-old. Then we settled downin India. But I always visit thewebsite of your country and amvery proud to see that it is grow-ing day by day and that institu-

tions like Aliran are very impor-tant and play a great role in de-velopment. And the way the sitethat is presented is great; it showshow committed you all are.

I wish you all the very best to keepthis going forever and pray to theLord to bless your work

Patrick

I followed the George Seah arti-cles and found them interesting

Perhaps Aliran should considerpublishing them in a booklet orsmall book (after someone hasmade the English a little easier toread). I think it will be an impor-tant document and one that mightput some fear in the currentjudges (and shame in their fami-lies) – i.e. basically to let themknow that they will not be sparedthe scrutiny of the public, if notimmediately then also when theyretire.

Colin

Bush must listento the God of

peace and justice

May God blessyour work

Publish GeorgeS e a h ’ s a rticlesas a booklet


many other states.

Re-emergence of this ‘Americafirst’, spawned by 9/11 and nowcrystallised in the Bush victory, isa key moment for the new worlddisorder. I say re-emergence, forthe Monroe Doctrine (1823) ofAmerican exceptionalism has al-ways been a lurking subtext of USforeign policy. That declarationof self-interest over the Americanhemisphere became the rationalefor ruthless intervention through-out Latin America. And, ofcourse, it didn’t stop there. Butnow, as the Bush Doctrine of un-disguised global pre-emption, itcomes with a new populist voiceof militarist nationalism.

That doctrine has infected thewider political culture in the US.As Kerry ‘reported for duty’, itwas also evident in the Democratcampaign. For all Kerry’s talk ofembracing international alliesand working towards global sta-bility, there was no mention of acomprehensive withdrawal fromIraq, of ratifying Kyoto or the In-ternational Criminal Court, or ini-tiating a realistic road map for theMiddle East.

Not only has America declared itsplace at the apex of global states,it has now consecrated it as a reli-gious belief. Though a dividedstates of America, Bush has in-stilled in a significant part of theelectorate a kind of divine convic-tion of America’s greatness andstrength over others. As US troopsmassed in deadly preparation forthe all-out assault on Fallujah,their pastors’ words of rightfulwar and deliverance was thesame voice of plain-folk America

proclaiming biblical notions ofChristian crusade.

We must reserve some sympathyfor dejected Democrats, manynow reportedly seeking refugeacross the border in Canada. Be-wildered at how so many of theirfellow citizens can support a warzealot and deny the basics of evo-lution, their party, in post-mortemmood, may now countenance itsown rightward shift. But ap-peasement of the right will notsolve the problem. Nor, indeed,will the continued politics of Eastand West coast liberalism.

For behind all this conviction, sa-cred and secular, is the worshipof something more basic inAmerica: corporate capitalism.Bear in mind that the US Consti-tution was largely founded to pro-tect private property and indi-vidual ownership. The chartermay be a powerful concept withits claims to human rights. Allpart of the American Dream. But,from the frontier spirit land grabto the smashing of unions, capi-talist expansion has been themain American narrative. Thereal ‘first amendment’, one mightsay, is not about freedom of speech,but freedom of the market.

Today, ‘free speech’ in the US isthe poor relation of patriot speech.While the political class and cor-porate media keep the citizensbonded in misty-eyed reverencefor the flag, the actual framers ofpower on Wall Street have createda harsh neo-liberal landscapewhere millions of strugglingAmericans remain deprived of

basic health insurance. While bil-lions of dollars have gone in taxcuts to the rich and the privatewarmongers in Iraq, soup kitch-ens are now a standard means ofsurvival across mid-west towns.And with this dogville econom-ics has come a deepeningbrutalisation of politics itself, of-fering only the variant market‘choices’ of Republican or Demo-crat style capitalism. Ultimately,there has to be a serious alterna-tive if America is ever to move for-ward.

For all its sins of fortress econom-ics and political closure, Europeshows little evidence of such ram-pant exceptionalism. So, can Eu-ropean social democracy act as abulwark to US domination? Per-haps, in part. For there is also theproblem of Europe’s own neo-lib-eral tendencies. Even though theEuropean Union (EU) comes witha healthier array of social policies,it is still driven by the ideals ofprivate capital.

At the recent European Social Fo-rum (ESF) assembly (London, Oc-tober 2004), the writer and aca-demic Samir Amin made the casefor Europe as a political-culturalcounterpoint to US dominance.Despite major problems withinEurope, Amin, an Egyptian bornMarxist, believes there is still acore of European values whichprogressive people can identifywith. Leading the case against,the socialist author and activistAlex Callinicos argued that theEuropean project, like corporateAmerica, retains the same free-market prescriptions. Amin is in

Welcome to Dogville

Looking to Europe

AMERICAN DOMINANCE: Continued from page 40


broad agreement, rejecting, likeother such critics, the terms of theproposed European constitution.Yet, he still sees in the Europeanexperience itself some force forgood.

Others point to Europe’s dark his-tory. And, of course, the continenthas been riven by imperialist war,holocaust and, more lately,slaughter in the Balkans —though, much of it at NATO’s be-hest. There is also, today, repres-sion of economic migrants and theugly spectre of Islamophobia,with attacks on Muslims the dis-guised manifesto of ‘respectable’right-wing parties.

The US, in contrast, is still seen bymany as an historical beacon forfleeing and oppressed peoples; aland, for Jews and others, of lastopportunity. America has alsobeen shaped by momentous po-litical struggles, notably overblack civil rights and Vietnam.Millions of protesting Americanshave been politically awakened bythe invasions of Afghanistan andIraq. And with this comes a richvein of radical output in the US,from alternative magazines to in-vestigative websites.

Yet, in Bush’s America, that tradi-tion of intelligent dissent is underserious attack. Corporate controlof the arts is already apparent.Academia is becoming further in-fused by business ideas and con-servative think tanks. And thereis now a creeping cultural irra-tionalism in classrooms. Invok-ing the surreal moment of Bushreading My Pet Goat with schoolkids during the 9/11 attacks, theBritish children’s author PhilipPullman recently described thenow degraded view of literature

and encroachment of creationistdogma in US schools as a kind ofdescent into facile “theocracy”.

Of course, corporate America haslong used mass dumb-down cul-ture to contain public dissent.Thus, in a land which has giftedus some of the world’s most sub-versive literary figures, an intel-lectual like Noam Chomsky is rou-tinely ignored by the mainstreammedia. Yet, along with manufac-tured security fears and the PatriotAct, new-right religion has as-sumed a more visible role in sup-pressing rational enquiry.

Europe’s own reparations andcultural prejudices cannot be ig-nored. But neither should theyblind us to the growing diver-gence with US society. Consider,too, the hatred and suspicion ex-perienced by Muslims in the USpost 9/11. Despite the raciststrains noted, Europe still offers apositive range of social democraticachievements. For example, mostEuropeans strongly oppose thewar in Iraq — the Spanish peoplekicked out their government overthe issue. There is strong sympa-thy for the Palestinian people.Europeans still endorse the wel-fare state and reject mass privati-sation. While consumer ‘values’prevail, as elsewhere, there re-mains, particularly in France, astrong defence of intellectual andcultural life from US corporate in-vasion. And, unlike the US, de-bate over ‘moral issues’ hashelped limit, rather thanstrengthen, conservative religios-ity.

In vast swathes of middleAmerica, such politics are anath-ema. In its place, we have an elec-torate convulsed in ‘moral’ panic

over stem-cell funding, abortionand same-sex marriage. Add inthe visceral defence of gun own-ership and capital punishmentand we see a society consumed byconservative individualism.These may be important ethicalissues. But should they be shap-ing political outcomes in such cru-cial ways?

Despite its ‘special relationship’with America, Britain is also waryabout US-style conservatism andright-wing religion. Yet, just as theBush project is built on expedientalliances, so too is the UK’s place-ment between the US and Europe.Given its trade ties and traditionalAtlantic leanings, we might askwhy the Blair government wantsto proceed with closer Europeanintegration at all. Again, in short,because Europe’s free market fitswith Blair’s own business-friendly outlook, nationally,regionally and globally. The ced-ing of certain responsibilities toBrussels, such as legal and socialpolicy, also suits the New Labourstrategy of displacing domesticpressures, all consistent withBlair’s culture of spin and effortsto ‘de-politicise’ political life.

On the other hand, UK foreignpolicy is shaped by militarist-in-telligence obligations, mostlyweighted towards the US. Therole of Labour leaders here is amulti-sordid story in itself, fromHarold Wilson’s forced eviction ofthe Chagos Islanders (for a US airbase) to Blair’s current alignmentwith Bush — a shift so far to theunilateralist right that even manyBlair acolytes are alarmed. Yet,while the PM has found commoncause — and religious compan-

Expedient Alliances


ionship — with the President,Britain’s involvement in the Mid-dle East is more about maintain-ing its own strategic interests —as arms producer, nuclear powerand Security Council member —keeping it linked, expediently, intoa US rather than European policyorbit.

But if high politics is built on ex-pedience, it can’t ignore the ‘lowpolitics’ of popular dissent. Partof the reason why France and Ger-many (with Russia) defied the USand UK over Iraq was their fear ofbeing excluded from the marketbenefits of any occupation. Yet,that policy also reflected the pre-vailing political mood. Respond-ing to French and German ‘recal-citrance’, Washington has soughtto drive a wedge between ‘old’ and‘new’ Europe by courting the EastEuropean states recently admittedto the EU. However, this expedi-ent alliance is being tested as theharsh realities of market deregu-lation feed social discontentacross those states. Contrast, also,Bush’s menacing threats to Iranover ‘nuclear proliferation’ withthe EU’s constructive engagementof Tehran, again influenced bypopular anti-war sentiment.

Europe, at present, does not offeran effective check on US domina-tion. But, with increased pressureon European governments, andthe EU itself, it could. Signifi-cantly, the right-wing US HeritageFoundation recently urged a re-think of US policy towards Eu-rope, fearing that Bush’s belliger-ence is now racking up Europeandissent to an uncomfortable de-gree. Meanwhile, deepening un-ease in countries like France, Ger-many, Greece, Spain and evenBritain could yet grow into a more

policy-directed rejection of US cor-porate militarism.

With much of the ‘Islamic world’also now mobilised in fear andanger over America’s actions, theprospects of a constructive Is-lamic paradigm often seem bleak.But, of course, Islam contains, atits civilised core, many ideals ofegalitarian community whichstand in opposition to fanaticism,militarism and market individu-alism. This may be far from evi-dent in (US-client) states like SaudiArabia and Pakistan. Yet whilemany Islamic countries remainstifled by internal repression andfundamentalist tendencies, amoderate and positive Islamicdiscourse has been evolving outof the post 9/11 situation.

One such advocate of this is theIslamic scholar Tariq Ramadan. Apopular figure among youngMuslims, notably in France,Ramadan has been vilified byFrench and US conservatives, in-cluding many Jewish groups, overhis Islamic thinking, alleged anti-Semitism and opposition to thewar in Iraq. Despite principledcredentials in all these areas,Ramadan was refused a visa re-cently to take up a US universitypost. A sign of the times, indeed.Led by Chomsky, hundreds of no-table figures, many Jewish, whohave signed a petition demand-ing Ramadan’s right to academicfreedom, have condemned the USHomelands Security Depart-ment’s decision.

The central feature of Ramadan’swork is a concern with harmonis-ing Islamic scholarship in ways

that allow Muslims to live withinthe cultural reality of the West.Explaining this, Ramadan talkedat the recent ESF of the need forMuslims to work in a spirit of co-operation within their new-foundcountries rather than maintain an“us-them” view of society. Peo-ple can, he insists be Muslims andFrench. But, unlike standard‘integrationist’ argument, thisdoes not imply nationalist subser-vience or diluting religious be-liefs. Rather, it means being a will-ing part of that wider community.Ramadan sees this as the onlyway for Muslims to avoid racialand religious repression. But the“silent revolution” in Islamic iden-tity he identifies also brings withit a “shared responsibility” to bepart of the common push forchange.

As current tensions in the Neth-erlands (over the murder of a ‘blas-phemous’ film maker by a radicalMuslim and revenge burning ofmosques) indicate, that processhas some way to go. But, it is notnecessarily the ‘struggle between

Islam as aC o u n t e r p o i n t

Tariq Ramadan: Refused visa recently totake up a US university post.


liberalism and fundamentalism’often described. Again, returningto Ramadan, Muslims have“multi-dimensional identities”,including, one must presume, acapacity for liberal reason. Hencethe denunciation of such killingsby most Dutch and other Euro-pean Muslims.

Despite the rise in hateful attackson Muslims across the continent,there has been a quiet, but signifi-cant, change in mutual percep-tions. As full citizens, practisingMuslims now partake in manyaspects of secular life. Mosquesare an intrinsic feature of Westerncities, Islamic prayer rooms a nor-mal aspect of the workplace. Dis-crimination remains, varyingfrom country to country. Yet, forall that, Islam is now a broadlyaccepted part of the multiculturalEuropean landscape. In similarspirit, much of the non-Muslimcommunity opposed the recentbanning of the hijab in Frenchschools — though, reflectingRamadan’s analysis, the ban it-self has not resulted in the seri-ous dislocation predicted.

Of course, some Islamic valuesalso remain problematic to thesecular left. The rights of Islamicwomen, for example, is an ongo-ing source of contention. Yet, asthe strong participation of Mus-lims and Muslim groups amongthe 20,000 ESF delegates showed,these questions are being ad-dressed through mature dialoguein pursuit of common aims andvalues. Here, again, the anti-warmobilisation has been vital in gen-erating understanding and soli-darity — as in Glasgow recentlywhere Muslims marched withothers in protest at the massacrein Fallujah. This engagement

promises further linkages acrossreligious and secular lines — in-deed, the reverse application ofthe Bush alliance. For, unlike thatdangerous consortium, this is apolitics of domestic tolerance andeconomic justice coupled with in-ternational concern for humanlife beyond our own borders.

Beyond Europe, Islamic practicesapply within their own nationalcontexts. Yet, the principles notedare no less valid. Perhapsuniquely, Malaysia offers a tem-plate of how a progressive Islamicpolitics could yet develop. If PASand other reformist elements canengage in a spirit of serious un-derstanding, it not only solidifiesopposition to BN rule, but acts asanother ‘front’ against US domi-nation. With the Bush cabal nowupping the ‘Islamic threat’ to ad-vance its case against countrieslike Iran and Syria, any fusion ofa moderated Islam and leftist poli-tics would be helpful to both do-mestic and international proc-esses.

For ‘progressive Islamicists’ likeAnwar Ibrahim, this means help-ing to articulate that politics atboth levels. To his credit, Anwarhas used his position of late tocriticise the war in Iraq and itsdamaging effects on the widerMuslim world — though, howthat is conveyed to ‘old friends’like Paul Wolfowitz (neo-con-servative ideologue and co-direc-tor of the war) is a little more in-triguing. Of course, we can’t al-ways judge people by the com-pany, even political company,they keep. This is not simplyabout diplomatic exchanges.Rather, it is about taking a con-

Malaysian input

Glasgow-based Dr JohnGlasgow-based Dr JohnGlasgow-based Dr JohnGlasgow-based Dr JohnGlasgow-based Dr JohnHilley is the author ofHilley is the author ofHilley is the author ofHilley is the author ofHilley is the author ofMalaysia: Mahathirism,Malaysia: Mahathirism,Malaysia: Mahathirism,Malaysia: Mahathirism,Malaysia: Mahathirism,and the New Oppositionand the New Oppositionand the New Oppositionand the New Oppositionand the New Opposition(London: 2001)(London: 2001)(London: 2001)(London: 2001)(London: 2001)

sistent stand against the struc-tural forces driving US economicand military repression.

That means challenging Bush’swar doctrine and the market gu-rus on Wall Street. It also meanstackling the corporate guardiansat the WTO, IMF and World Bank,institutions which have imposedtheir own forms of neo-liberal ter-ror on the poor and developingworld — through unfair trade,austerity packages and aidconditionalities. As Walden Belloreminded us at the ESF, the build-ing of any new global politicsmust, ultimately, involve thewholesale replacement of theseagencies. Thus, the combinedthreat of globalisation and USmilitarism will need to be ad-dressed in Malaysia, as elsewhere.

Resisting US dominance is a cu-mulative process. This is the poli-tics of socialist change that hasswept through Latin America inrejection of US-IMF neo-liberal-ism. Like that shift, anti-war feel-ing and an ESF politics is helpingto keep Europe focused on thedangers of US corporate milita-rism. At the same time, the asser-tion of a more accommodating Is-lam, East and West, offers valu-able input to that collective proc-ess. As the neo-cons, corporateelites and evangelist right driveAmerica towards further war,market expansion and ‘global sal-vation’, all these paradigms needurgent development.q


“Libertyof thought

meansliberty

to communicateone's thought.”

2004: 24(10)

Send this form andpayment to

ALIRAN DISTRIBUTIONBUREAU

103, MEDAN PENAGA,11600 JELUTONG,PENANG, MALAYSIA

Salvador de Madariage1886 - 1973

Spanish diplomat, writer, critic

Please send this gift subscription to :

Mr./Ms.

Address

Occupation Tel. No.

SubscriptionSubscriptionSubscriptionSubscriptionSubscription 1 year1 year1 year1 year1 year AIRAIRAIRAIRAIRfor 11 issuesfor 11 issuesfor 11 issuesfor 11 issuesfor 11 issues 2 years2 years2 years2 years2 years SEASEASEASEASEA

I enclose money order / postal order / cheque for the above order

amounting to RM payable to Aliran.

This gift subscription is paid for and presented by:

Mr./Ms.

Address

Date Signature

ONE YEARONE YEARONE YEARONE YEARONE YEARRM25.00

S $ 2 8AIRAIRAIRAIRAIR

US$25US$28

US$30

SEASEASEASEASEAU S $ 2 1U S $ 2 1

U S $ 2 1

TWO YEARSTWO YEARSTWO YEARSTWO YEARSTWO YEARSRM50.00

S $ 5 0AIRAIRAIRAIRAIR

US$44US$50

US$54

SEASEASEASEASEAUS$38US$38

US$38

SUBSCRIPTION RATESCOUNTRYCOUNTRYCOUNTRYCOUNTRYCOUNTRYMALAYSIA

SINGAPORE & BRUNEI

ASIA & THE PACIFICEUROPE & EGYPT

AFRICA, NORTH AMERICA,SOUTH AMERICA, HAWAII

GIFT SUBSCRIPTIONORDER FORM

Mr./Ms.

Address

Occupation Tel. No.

SubscriptionSubscriptionSubscriptionSubscriptionSubscription 1 year1 year1 year1 year1 year AIRAIRAIRAIRAIRfor 11 issuesfor 11 issuesfor 11 issuesfor 11 issuesfor 11 issues 2 years2 years2 years2 years2 years SEASEASEASEASEA

Donation for Aliran ..............................................Donation for Aliran ..............................................Donation for Aliran ..............................................Donation for Aliran ..............................................Donation for Aliran ..............................................

TOTAL Enclosed : Money Order / Postal Order / Cheque

(No. ) payable to Aliranpayable to Aliranpayable to Aliranpayable to Aliranpayable to Aliran

ALIRAN MONTHLY SUBSCRIPTION FORM

AM 2004: 24(10)

AM 2004: 24(10)

AM 2004: 24(10)

RM

RM

RMIs yours

if you subscribe to

AliranMonthly

N O W


lawyers during the first 60-day period, therebygiving their interrogators a free hand to inflictmental and/or physical torture, sleep depriva-tion, solitary confinement and other forms of de-grading treatment;

hereby demands that the government repeals thisrepressive law.

Noting the press statement of the Director-Generalof the Anti-Corruption Agency on 28 May 2004, stat-ing that the report of the ACA on the 18 high-profilecases of corruption had already been submitted tothe Attorney General and that the latter was expectedto proceed with the prosecution without any fur-ther delay, and further noting that it is now sixmonths later since the ACA made its announcement,

this AGM hereby resolves to demand an explana-tion from the Prime Minister as to why the AttorneyGeneral has been delaying the prosecution of thepersons involved.

ALIRAN'S 28TH AGM

Aliran's new excoAt the 28th Annual General Meeting of Aliran on28th November 2004, the following were elected:

President : P. RamakrishnanHon. Secretary : Dr Francis LohHon. Asst Sec : Dr Mustafa K AnuarHon. Treasurer : Dr Subramaniam PillayExco Members:

Gan Kong Hwee Dr Prema DevarajAndrew Wong Dr Yeoh Seng GuanDr Andrew Aeria Dr Maznah MohamadDr Khoo Boo Teik Anil NettoOng Eu Soon Angeline LohSarajun Hoda bin Abdul Hassan

The AGM unanimously passed the following tworesolutions:

Having taken note of the PM’s statement in San-tiago, Chile, on the occasion of the APEC meeting,as reported in The Star (22 Nov 2004), that all op-pressive governments should not be allowed to sur-vive and, further noting that:

a) more than 80 people, which include allegedcriminals involved in counterfeiting, human traf-ficking, and document falsification, are still lan-guishing under detention without trial at theKamunting Detention Centre;

b) some of these detainees have been held withouttrial for more than two years;

c) detention without trial violates the principle ofnatural justice and denies the detainees’ theirbasic human right to be tried in open court;

d) the Advisory Board, which reviews their deten-tion every six months, does not have the powerto release them and therefore the entire reviewprocess comes across as a farce and a waste oftime;

e) ISA detainees are denied access to relatives and

Repeal the oppressive ISA

Explain delay in action on18 high-profile corruption cases

Q Q Q Q Q


eorge W Bush’s return tothe White House is notjust an alarm call forthose anticipating the

next phase of US foreign policy. Italso confirms the emergence of adangerous new conservativepopulism within the US elector-ate itself. And, in its wake, Bush’svictory leaves us searching forurgent new strategies to counterAmerican dominance.

The exposure of alleged electoralfraud in Ohio shows, yet again,the darker enterprise of the Repub-lican network. Yet, even this lat-est chicanery cannot disguise theauthenticity of Bush’s mandate.America may be closely split, butthere is no doubting its lurch tothe right. We now have bothhouses of Congress as well as thePresidency in Republican hands.With a number of imminent Su-preme Court appointments inBush’s gift, judicial power mayalso swing decisively rightwards.And, through Karl Rove’s focusedefforts, religious conservativeshave turned out, en masse, to se-

cure Dubya a second term. Fromnew-found voice under Reagan toveneration of Bush, the religiousright’s Republican alignment isnow of critical importance.

Of course, White Protestant ‘moralvalues’ and creationist doctrinecannot entirely explain the Bushcoalition. Some 56% of Catholicsand 45% of Latinos also voted forBush, as did a majority of blue-collar workers, many reviled byJohn Kerry’s smart liberal streettalk. Factor in the Republicans’pro-Israel links, and we find a new

coalescing of the reli-gious right with widerforms of sectoral con-servatism, all galva-nised by Bush’s folksyappeal to God and na-tion.

Some speak of a crisisof liberal enlighten-ment, others of Ameri-ca’s drift towards fas-cism. Whatever theprognosis, it is a starkreminder of the mono-lith now obstructing aprogressive globalpolitics. Here we see

an electorate, assaulted by Fox-type propaganda, with littleknowledge of external affairs, up-holding a politics of patriotic andreligious irrationality. Driven byneo-conservative fear-mongering,the propositions of reason andconcern for others have been sub-jugated to the Bush mantra of self-ish protectionism and defend-our-nation imperatives, all dressed upin an evangelism that would beconsidered simply reactionary in

INTERNATIONAL

Europe, Islam and thesearch for new politicsProgressive Malaysians too need to address threats ofglobalisation and US militarism

by John Hilley

GGGGG

The New-RightD e l i v e r a n c e

American Dominance:

George Bush's re-election confirms the emergenceof a dangerous new conservative populism

Continued on page 34Continued on page 34Continued on page 34Continued on page 34Continued on page 34

pp3739/12/2004 issn 0127 - 5127 / rm3.00 / 2004:vol.24no ... · kungfu masters the problem within...

Documents