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| A Reality Check From the Brink of Extinction By Chris Hedgess October 19, 2009 "Truthdig" -- We can join Bill McKibben on Oct. 24 in nationwide protests over rising carbon emissions. We can cut our consumption of fossil fuels. We can use less water. We can banish plastic bags. We can install compact fluorescent light bulbs. We can compost in our backyard. But unless we dismantle the corporate state, all those actions will be just as ineffective as the Ghost Dance shirts donned by native American warriors to protect themselves from the bullets of white soldiers at Wounded Knee. “If we all wait for the great, glorious revolution there won’t be anything left,” author and environmental activist Derrick Jensen told me when I interviewed him in a phone call to his home in California. “If all we do is reform work, this culture will grind away. This work is necessary, but not sufficient. We need to use whatever means are necessary to stop this culture from killing the planet. We need to target and take down the industrial infrastructure that is systematically dismembering the planet. Industrial civilization is functionally incompatible with life on the planet, and is murdering the planet. We need to do whatever is necessary to stop this.” The oil and natural gas industry, the coal industry, arms and weapons manufacturers, industrial farms, deforestation industries, the automotive industry and chemical plants will not willingly accept their own extinction. They are indifferent to the looming human catastrophe. We will not significantly reduce carbon emissions by drying our laundry in the backyard and naively trusting the power elite. The corporations will continue to cannibalize the planet for the sake of money. They must be halted by organized and militant forms of resistance. The crisis of global heating is a social problem. It requires a social response. The United States, after rejecting the Kyoto Protocol, went on to increase its carbon emissions by 20 percent from 1990 levels. The European Union countries during the same period reduced their emissions by 2 percent. But the recent climate negotiations in Bangkok, designed to lead to a deal in Copenhagen in December, have scuttled even the tepid response of Kyoto. Kyoto is dead. The EU, like the United States, will no longer abide by binding targets for emission reductions. Countries will unilaterally decide how much to cut. They will submit their plans to international monitoring. And while Kyoto put the burden of responsibility on the industrialized nations that created the climate crisis, the new plan treats all countries the same. It is a huge step backward. “All of the so-called solutions to global warming take industrial capitalism as a given,” said Jensen, who wrote “Endgame” and
“The natural world is supposed to conform to industrial capitalism. This is insane. It is out of touch with physical reality. What’s real is real. Any social system—it does not matter if we are talking about industrial capitalism or an indigenous Tolowa people—their way of life, is dependent upon a real, physical world. Without a real, physical world you don’t have anything. When you separate yourself from the real world you start to hallucinate. You believe the machines are more real than real life. How many machines are within 10 feet of you and how many wild animals are within a hundred yards? How many machines do you have a daily relationship with? We have forgotten what is real.” The latest studies show polar ice caps are melting at a record rate and that within a decade the Arctic will be an open sea during summers. This does not give us much time. White ice and snow reflect 80 percent of sunlight back to space, while dark water reflects only 20 percent, absorbing a much larger heat load. Scientists warn that the loss of the ice will dramatically change winds and sea currents around the world. And the rapidly melting permafrost is unleashing methane chimneys from the ocean floor along the Russian coastline. Methane is a greenhouse gas 25 times more toxic than carbon dioxide, and some scientists have speculated that the release of huge quantities of methane into the atmosphere could asphyxiate the human species. The rising sea levels, which will swallow countries such as Bangladesh and the Marshall Islands and turn cities like New Orleans into a new Atlantis, will combine with severe droughts, horrific storms and flooding to eventually dislocate over a billion people. The effects will be suffering, disease and death on a scale unseen in human history.We can save groves of trees, protect endangered species and clean up rivers, all of which is good, but to leave the corporations unchallenged would mean our efforts would be wasted. These personal adjustments and environmental crusades can too easily become a badge of moral purity, an excuse for inaction. They can absolve us from the harder task of confronting the power of corporations. The damage to the environment by human households is minuscule next to the damage done by corporations. Municipalities and individuals use 10 percent of the nation’s water while the other 90 percent is consumed by agriculture and industry. Individual consumption of energy accounts for about a quarter of all energy consumption; the other 75 percent is consumed by corporations. Municipal waste accounts for only 3 percent of total waste production in the United States. We can, and should, live more simply, but it will not be enough if we do not radically transform the economic structure of the industrial world. “If your food comes from the grocery store and your water from a tap you will defend to the death the system that brings these to you because your life depends on it,” said Jensen, who is holding workshops around the country called Deep Green Resistance [click here and here] to build a militant resistance movement. “If your food comes from a land base and if your water comes from a river you will defend to the death these systems. In any abusive system, whether we are talking about an abusive man against his partner or the larger abusive system, you force your victims to become dependent upon you. We believe that industrial capitalism is more important than life.” Those who run our corporate state have fought environmental regulation as tenaciously as they have fought financial regulation. They are responsible for our personal impoverishment as well as the impoverishment of our ecosystem. We remain addicted, courtesy of the oil, gas and automobile industries and a corporate-controlled government, to fossil fuels. Species are vanishing. Fish stocks are depleted. The great human migration from coastlines and deserts has begun. And as temperatures continue to rise, huge parts of the globe will become uninhabitable. NASA climate scientist James Hansen has demonstrated that any concentration of carbon dioxide greater than 350 parts per million in the atmosphere is not compatible with maintenance of the biosphere on the “planet on which civilization developed and to which life on earth is adapted.” He has determined that the world must stop burning coal by 2030—and the industrialized world well before that—if we are to have any hope of ever getting the planet back down below that 350 number. Coal supplies half of our electricity in the United States. “We need to separate ourselves from the corporate government that is killing the planet,” Jensen said. “We need to get really serious. We are talking about life on the planet. We need to shut down the oil infrastructure. I don’t care, and the trees don’t care, if we do this through lawsuits, mass boycotts or sabotage. I asked Dahr Jamail how long a bridge would last in Iraq that was not defended. He said probably six to 12 hours. We need to make the economic system, which is the engine for so much destruction, unmanageable. The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta has been able to reduce Nigerian oil output by 20 percent. We need to stop the oil economy.” The reason the ecosystem is dying is not because we still have a dryer in our basement. It is because corporations look at everything, from human beings to the natural environment, as exploitable commodities. It is because consumption is the engine of corporate profits. We have allowed the corporate state to sell the environmental crisis as a matter of personal choice when actually there is a need for profound social and economic reform. We are left powerless. Alexander Herzen, speaking a century ago to a group of Russian anarchists working to topple the czar, reminded his followers that they were not there to rescue the system. “We think we are the doctors,” Herzen said. “We are the disease.” |
I’ve been meaning to write this post for some time now. Better do it before the Chinese New Year….
We were invited to a New Year’s Eve do, at the boss’ house, no less. It would be different to be in the company of the company so to speak. I have no ties to this organization, except that of being the partner of an executive.
Dinner was at 8. We made our way to the poolside where small round tables and seating had been laid out. A buffet table could be seen in the dim light one end. The atmosphere was strangely subdued. There was not the joie de vivre one expected of an end of the year party. Being hungry we headed straight to the buffet table. What met my anticipation of ‘dinner’ was a shocking indictment of the feudal attitude of the boss and his family towards the hard working and creative team who prospered the company.
There was a near empty platter of fried rice, some cold spaghetti and some equally cold and unappetizing sauce to go with it, some bits of salad and a generous mound of small, well fried chicken pieces which raised my hopes a little. An empty plastic squash dispenser stood next to this lot and there was far more plastic disposable ware and pink paper napkins than there was food. There wasn’t a drink to be found, not even a glass of water, although the host himself was never short. Just a look from him was enough for one of his 3 mind reading maids to come scurrying with green tea, or a coke or the beer he fancied in the moment.
Clearly they had under catered, caring little for either the quality or the quantity of the food they were serving to the “workers” after all.
Anyway, the 2 small chicken pieces I took would not yield to cutting with the plastic cutlery and then defied chewing even when I picked it up with my fingers. No wonder there was so much chicken left over! No body wanted seconds and no wonder the party lacked life. People were still bloody hungry
There is this general belief that getting the staff together at the start of the New Year creates good energy. We wanted to be part of that in prospering the company. Clearly though, the boss & his family thought little that a good atmosphere is created with good food & drink, pleasant entertainment (not forced karaoke!) and convivial company. That would have added to the ambience of the pool and the grand yet rather soul-less surroundings.
The whole evening was staid with contrived good cheer, false laughter and loudness and an atmosphere that was far from truly relaxing.
The boss’ wife urged people away from the poolside and into a stuffy karaoke room where we hung around for nearly 3 hours till countdown time. Entertainment was mainly his singing which, it has to be said, he did very well and due appreciation was enthusiastically given by all. When eventually the time came for us to see the old year old, the boss lead the countdown to 2010. He made a speech about working hard and growing the company. No mention was made of the hard work the staff had put in to make 2009 a very successful year.
Appreciation and approval would have been so well received. Instead there was a general tone of pseudo patriarchal rebuke and warning that he would be strict with those who were ‘lax’. To my own relief, he did close the speech by wishing all a good year ahead and then passed the microphone around to others who spoke with so much more connection, warmth and sincerity of their hopes for the New Year with the odd one or two sucking up with “We will make 2010 the best year yet for FEDYUKON!!”
New Years hugs and good wishes were duly exchanged with all and we could not wait to race to the nearest 24 hr mamak place to bring in 2010 properly with some roti canai and hot teh tarik!
by Owen Waters
When people open their hearts to unselfish, unconditional love, a whole new world of possibilities opens. Rather than spending effort avoiding the selfishness of others, they spend time making sure that the way they choose to serve society is done in the best way possible. When people can trust others to treat each other with love and respect rather than as competitors, then everyone gains.
As heart-centered awareness grows and blooms within society, people’s primary focus will shift away from service to self and towards service to others. When it does, the world will transform out of all recognition.
But you don’t have to wait for all of society to catch up. In both your personal and professional dealings with people, you have a reputation, and it is fed by word-of-mouth recommendation. Build your reputation as someone who tends to give more than is expected of them, and you will find yourself becoming increasingly popular in both your business and personal lives. People respond to heartfelt action and, as they say, what goes around comes around.
Action and reaction are opposite and equal in all types of thought and action. Your heartfelt action, by automatic reaction, will create a heartfelt reality among you and the people who are attracted to your energy. When you operate mainly out of a heart-centered frequency, you will notice that people are attracted to you in all aspects of your life. Friends, lovers, professional associates; everyone will be attracted to your magnetic personality.
Personal magnetism has been one of the great mysteries of life simply because, in the past, so few people have operated from that heart-centered frequency of awareness on a routine basis. However, it’s really no secret. It’s just one of those common-sense facts of life.
The secret of personal magnetism is that the more you unconditionally love people, the more they love you.
You don’t have to make a big deal out of it. You don’t have to stand there like some transmitter beacon, radiating huge amounts of heart energy. Top stage performers do, but you don’t. You can be very quiet about it and everyone will be quietly drawn to you. Everyone of a similar nature, that is. Everyone who appreciates kindness and a truly warm, genuine smile.
In other words, you’ll attract the very best of friends.
There’s nothing more attractive than a warm smile from a person who quietly radiates a sense of unconditional love for themselves and all others.
This was an excerpt from "Love, Light, Laughter: The New Spirituality" by Owen Waters.
By Osho
A farmer, an old farmer, mature, seasoned, one day was very very angry with God -- and he was a great devotee. He said to God in his morning prayer, "I have to tell it as it is -- enough is enough! You don't understand even the ABC of agriculture! When the rains are needed there are no rains; when the rains are not needed you go on pouring them. What nonsense is this? If you don't understand agriculture you can ask me -- I have devoted my whole life to it. Give me one chance: the coming season, let ME decide and see what happens."
It is an ancient story. In those days people had such trust that they could talk directly to God, and their trust was such that the answer was bound to happen. God said, "Okay, this season you decide!"
So the farmer decided, and he was very happy because whenever he wanted sun there was sun, whenever he wanted rain there was rain, whenever he wanted clouds there were clouds. And he avoided all dangers, all the dangers that could become destructive to his crops; he simply rejected them -- no strong winds, no possibility of any destruction to his crops. And his wheat started growing higher than anybody had ever seen; it was going above man's height. And he was very happy. He thought, "Now I will show him!"
And then the crop was cut and he was very puzzled. There was no wheat at all -- just empty husks with no wheat in them. What happened? Such big plants -- plants big enough to have given wheat four times bigger than ordinary wheat -- but there was no wheat at all.
And suddenly he heard laughter from the clouds. God laughed and he said, "Now what do you say?"
The farmer said, "I am puzzled, because there was no possibility of destruction and all that was helpful was provided. And the plants were going so well, and the crop was so green and so beautiful! What happened to my wheat?"
God said, "Because there was no danger -- you avoided all dangers -- it was impossible for the wheat to grow. It needs challenges." Challenge brings integrity; otherwise a person remains hollow, empty. If all facilities are provided for you and there is no danger in your life, you will remain hollow and empty. God gives life with all its dangers. ~Osho
Unreconciled to its ancient Hindu lineage and still groping for a valid Islamic identity, Malaysia is in the throes of yet another sectarian conflict, this Time with Christians over who owns Allah.
Many Muslims (more than 60 per cent of the 29 million population) insist he is their exclusive property. Christians, a mere eight per cent, as well as more liberal Muslims recognise Allah as the Arabic word for god that was in use before Prophet Mohammed and the birth of Islam. The Catholics of Sabah and Sarawak (both in what was known as Borneo) referred to their Christian god as Allah long before they joined the Malay Federation in 1963 (like Chinese-majority Singapore) to form Malaysia. No one objected.
The argument did not begin until a few years ago as part of an Islamic revival that reinforced the Malaysian quest for a distinctive identity. But it was not until January 2009 that Mr Hamid Albar, then Home Minister, ordered the Catholic weekly, Herald, which is published in English, Malay, Tamil and Chinese, not to call the Christian god Allah in its Malay edition. The reason was that such use would confuse simple Muslims and by blurring the distinction between the two religions, encourage them to convert to Christianity.
The charge seemed a little far-fetched since the Herald is distributed only in church after weekend Mass, which means to those who are already Christian. The editor, Father Lawrence Andrew, strongly denies any conversion campaign. Archbishop Murphy Packiam, head of the Catholic Church, filed for judicial review of the order in February last year and was rewarded on the last day of 2009 when Kuala Lumpur High Court’s Judge Lau Bee Lan — a Chinese from his name, not a Malay Muslim — ruled that Article 10 of the federal Constitution gave the Herald the “constitutional right” to call god Allah. However, when Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak intervened, the court issued a stay order.
Militant Muslims have been mustering their forces since then. More than 12,000 people promptly joined an Internet Facebook group titled Menentang Penggunaan Allah Oleh Golongan Bukan Islam (Opposition to Non-Muslims using the word Allah) with Mr Mukhriz Mahathir, whose father, Mr Mahathir Mohammad, was Malaysia’s longest-serving Prime Minister, vociferously supporting the campaign. But not all Muslims are with him. Some acknowledge the right of those who believe in the Old Testament to use the word. Others take a universal view. “All of mankind, regardless of their religion, should say that Allah created the world, that Allah tells us to do good,” says Mr Asri Zainul Abidin, a respected Islamic scholar and former Mufti of Perlis State. “It is not appropriate for a Muslim to protest when he hears non-Muslims say such things.”
The most curious aspect of this heated debate is not that it has divided Muslims but that the two main political groups have switched sides. The fundamentalist Parti Islam SeMalaysia which formerly ruled Kelantan State and argued at one time that chopsticks were un-Islamic now maintains that Allah is no religion’s exclusive property. The party president, Mr Hadi Awang, a conservative cleric, issued a written statement after a recent three-hour conclave with his peers to say that “based on Islamic principles, the use of the word ‘Allah’ by the people of the Abrahamic faiths such as Christianity and Judaism, is acceptable.”
But fearing erosion of its political support, the ruling United Malays National Organisation seems to have stolen the PAS’s fundamentalist clothes. Traditionally, the UMNO prides itself on its liberal approach to matters concerning race and religion. It is in partnership with Malaysia’s Chinese and Indian political organisations. But roles have changed. “PAS is holding on to the more plural and moderate position while UMNO is digging itself into an intolerant hardline position that has no parallel that I know of in the Muslim world,” a veteran UMNO dissident, Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, a prince of Kelantan State, declared at a Singapore meeting the other day.
It’s not as if the Malaysians have suddenly discovered religion. Islam has always been a force and the Westernised Mohammedali Currimbhoy Chagla describes in his autobiography how he had to make excuses to avoid having to accompany Tengku Abdul Rahman, Malaysia’s first Prime Minister, to the mosque for Friday prayers when he visited Kuala Lumpur in the 1960s as Mrs Indira Gandhi’s External Affairs Minister.
But Malaysians were then a carefree people who enjoyed contrasting their relaxed attitude to life with the stern Mr Lee Kuan Yew’s disapproval of long hair and chewing gum in Singapore. Now, however, Malaysia is becoming a land of rigid taboos. The crime of ‘khalwat’ (unmarried men and women caught in ‘close proximity’), the decision to cane a woman for drinking beer in public, and recent attacks on Christian churches testify to a creeping fundamentalism.
If Mr Mahathir’s son represents the new drift towards bigotry, his daughter, Ms Marina Mahathir, speaks for the opposite camp with some understanding of the national psyche. “A confident Muslim will not walk into a church, hear a liturgy in Malay or Arabic where they use the word ‘Allah’ and think he or she is in a mosque,” she wrote in her blog. “A confident Muslim knows the difference.”
Confidence is in short supply. Many attributed Mr Mahathir’s complexes to the part-Indian parentage that was never publicly mentioned. Tiny Singapore’s prosperity is like a constant pinprick. But as I discovered when researching my book on South-East Asia, Malaysia’s insecurity goes much deeper, partly explaining why the federation expelled secular Singapore in 1965.
Describing the fourth century Hindu deities found in the Bujang Valley, Malaysia’s richest architectural site, Anthony Spaeth wrote in Time that “the official literature does its best to downplay, even denigrate, the Indian impact on the region”. Spaeth thought “an Indian Malaysian visiting the Bujang Valley might come away feeling demeaned rather than proud — and that would be no accident”.
About 40 per cent of Malay words, including the all-important ‘bumiputera’ (son of the soil), the political concept that sustains Malaysian nationalism, are borrowed from Sanskrit. The nine Malay sultans who take turns to be king are descended from Indian royalty. Their rituals are recognisably Brahmanic.
It could explain why Hindu temples and Indian Malaysians are targeted for attack. Malaysia is trying to erase its past.
-- sunandadr@yahoo.co.in
Asia Sentinel
Monday, 17 August 2009
Sex Traffickers May Have Killed Filipino Investigator in KL
Written by Our Correspondent
Police theorize the official was beaten to death for rescuing
trafficked women from bars and nightclubs
The murder on Aug. 7 in Kuala Lumpur of a senior Filipino social welfare attaché, Finardo Cabilao, once again points up Malaysia's ugly reputation as a destination, source and transit country for women and children trafficked for commercial sexual exploitation and men, women, and children as forced laborers.
The country remains on the US Department of State's Watch List for human trafficking amid allegations of complicity by government officials although earlier this month US Ambassador James R Kieth said Washington was "encouraged by Malaysia's energetic efforts to address human trafficking. The ministry managing women and families, he said, "is leading the efforts to deal with those who victimise women. I think Malaysia is doing a great deal to educate the public, raid those sites where women are being victimised, and repatriate the women after separating them from criminals and sheltering them before they are sent home," he said.
Investigators believe that Cabilao, 51, who was found bludgeoned to death a week ago in his flat in Kuala Lumpur, may have been killed by a trafficking syndicate for his work in coordinating with Malaysian authorities for raids and rescue operations in bars and nightclubs, the Philippines Department of Foreign Affairs said Sunday in Manila.
The Philippine official had been beaten repeatedly with blunt objects by more than one attacker, Malaysian news media reported. Police ruled out robbery as a motive as Cabilao's cash and valuables including his camera and laptop were left behind by the murderers. Witnesses said they had heard a heated argument in his apartment the day he was killed.
Philippine senior state prosecutor Severino Gana told The Straits Times that the day before the murder he had briefly met with Cabilao at the embassy in Kuala Lumpur to discuss a case in which the Philippines Department of Justice's Task Force on people trafficking had arranged for two Filipino witnesses to testify. Cabilao, Gana said, had recently organized the rescue of several Filipinas, which may have made him the target of trafficking syndicates.
In an explosive report dated April 2, 2009, the US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations reported that Burmese migrants are often arrested by Malaysian authorities, have their personal belonging confiscated and kept by the officials, and delivered to human traffickers who issue ransom demands on an individual basis. Those unable to pay are sold to a variety of business interests ranging from fishing boats to brothels.
"Allegations received by the committee from migrants, spanning years of personal experience, are similar to reports issued by NGOs and human rights activists," the committee report said. "Migrants state that freedom is possible only once money demands are met. Specific payment procedures are outlined, which reportedly include bank accounts in Kuala Lumpur to which money should be transferred."
Malaysian government officials, the report said, "continually deny such allegations. As reported recently in the Malaysia Star, ‘‘(former) Home Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar also denied claims that thousands of illegal foreigners held at detention centres were ‘‘being sold off'' to human trafficking syndicates. ‘I take offence with the allegation because neither the Malaysian Government nor its officials make money by selling people.' ''
Malaysia, according to the US State Department's 2008 Report on Human Trafficking, "is a destination country for migrants from a wide range of countries including Indonesia, Nepal, Thailand, the People's Republic of China (P.R.C.), the Philippines, Burma, Cambodia, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Vietnam to work." Some, the report said, "are subjected to conditions of involuntary servitude by Malaysian employers in the domestic, agricultural, construction, plantation, and industrial sectors. Some migrant workers are victimized by their employers, employment agents, or traffickers that supply migrant laborers and victims of sex trafficking."
Some women recruited as female domestics from Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, Cambodia, Vietnam, Burma, Mongolia, and China have been forced into the sex trade after being deceived with promises of jobs or after running away from abusive employers, the report continued. Individual employment agents allegedly sold women and girls into brothels, karaoke bars, or passed them to sex traffickers.
In its 2008 report, the US government did note that while Malaysia doesn't comply with the minimum standards, "it is making significant efforts to do so." The country, the report said, was placed on the Tier 2 Watch List for its failure to provide evidence of increasing efforts from the previous year to tackle its large and multidimensional trafficking problem, including its forced labor problem. The government, the report said, enacted comprehensive anti-trafficking legislation in July 0f 2007 and has worked to train key law enforcement officers and social workers.
However, the report said, the government, "did not yet take action against exploitative employers or labor traffickers during the reporting period. The government has not yet widely implemented mechanisms to screen victims of trafficking from vulnerable groups." Despite ample reporting by non-governmental organizations of trafficking, the report said, "Malaysian authorities did not respond with criminal investigations or prosecutions regarding the alleged offenses."
The government and the United Malays National Organisation, the lead ethnic party, continues to paint itself as a strongly religious country. Nonetheless, "there were no visible measures taken by the government to reduce demand for commercial sex or to raise consciousness about child sex tourism," the report said.
"It is unfair to put us back on the list as we are doing our best," Malaysian Deputy Home Minister Abu Seman Yusop told reporters in 2007. "We will have to consider our next action in opposing the re-listing of our country on the blacklist," he added.
Abu Seman said the Malaysian government did not condone human trafficking and had taken stern action to deal with the problem, including enacting an anti-human trafficking law in 2007 and setting up a special task force.
Cabilao was a major force in attempting to protect Filipino women in Malaysia, officials in Manila said. He often joined raids by Malaysian police and, according to news media, "Philippine Ambassador to Malaysia Victoriano Lecaros said Cabilao was often restrained by co-workers from going too far in his advocacies or doing too much in his work for distressed Filipinas.
Kuala Lumpur CID chief Ku Chin Wah told The Straits Times that police were still investigating, and ruled out robbery. He said there were signs of a fight and a quarrel. Ku added that the police knew Cabilao was dealing with Filipino workers, and were investigating all angles, including the human trafficking one
Najib should have started his administration with pushing through a Race Relations Act that will punish racism and racist speeches and writings from all quarters, even if it’s from leaders of his own party and from Utusan Malaysia. The single greatest impediment to Malaysians being united and working together for the common good, is racist politics in Malaysia. Racism here is not the same kind that the Anglo Saxon whites have over blacks and coloureds (or vice versa) for many years. It’s not the apartheid kind of racism where whites generally believe they are superior to blacks and coloureds in genetics and all spheres of life. Our racism is driven more by ethnic distrust and ethnic rivalry for the economic cake. They are mainly economic and cultural in nature, based on the fear that the wealth of the country will be taken away by the Chinese, and vice versa. But it’s just as divisive and dangerous. It refers to both institutionalised racism and those exhibited by individuals. Malaysia needs to combat this problem because it’s particularly acute. Because we have three major races that did not have the luxury of time for natural assimilation or the time to gel and live in harmony, we need legislation and governmental support to push through the unity factors and manage the divisive factors found in the community.
To bring about a truly united 1 Malaysia, our PM must not always refer to the deprivation of the Malays suffered under the British. No amount of wallowing of the past can change history, nor can we just tell the Chinese and the Indians how grateful they should be for events taking place 100 years ago. Equally, he cannot just be happy that he has the MCA and MIC taking care of the non-Malays. He has to do more to make sure the non-Malays are equally responsible and generous with the Malays. Will they open their businesses to the Malays? Will they give credit on the same terms they do to their own clans?
But at the same time the people, including the Malays, must be convinced that democracy and a functioning bureaucracy is good for them. That they have a better chance of realizing their potentials and benefiting from their rights and privileges under a government that respects just laws. They must resist corruption by all means at their disposal. The notion of Bangsa Malaysia will not detract or take away anything from them, but instead they become a part of a larger and more diverse community where they too can experience the generousity, beauty, strength, and richness of Malaysian cultures. They will benefit from the solidarity of people from all walks of life, and their worldview will change to make them stronger and more confident of themselves.
A PM of this country must not succumb to the idea that force and repression will prevail over the people’s will. The PM of this country must not suffer from the delusion that the Police, the Army, the Courts, the Election Commission and the Attorney General could strike fear in the hearts of the people to the extent that they will retreat. No leader in ancient and modern times has survived the outrage of the masses. Today we have witnessed a new sense of outrage; outrage against the abuse of power, against inequality, outrage against the continued persecution of Anwar Ibrahim, and outrage against the policies of divide and rule.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The winds of change have never blown so strong. Today, the rakyat has spoken and they want their voices heard. They want a new beginning, so that this country, which we all call home, will be transformed into a dynamic, open and vibrant democratic sanctuary. A sanctuary where we live without fear of police harassment, without fear of wearing black or yellow, without fear of detention without trial, without the nausea of reading newspapers whose editors have to toe the line to keep the papers alive. We will make this country such that we have room and space for all of us to have our dreams and hopes come true.
But the window of opportunity has opened for one central reason. And that is because the people now have a choice; between the establishment that has led the country over the last 50 years, or a viable alternative in Pakatan Rakyat that can inclusively carry the hopes and aspirations of all Malaysians, no matter they be Malay, Chinese or Indian. For without this alternative, the self indulgent and delusional sense of self-importance of UMNO and its cohorts in Barisan Nasional will continue to impose itself.
No doubt, Keadilan is a new party, and Pakatan Rakyat is in its infancy, and the coming together of different political parties to find a common thread with which to build meaningful solidarity to work together, is a long and arduous journey. Let us not kid ourselves. Many challenges lie ahead to make it a truly viable alternative political force to Barisan Nasional and acceptable choice to all Malaysians. And the traps and snares to trip up this fledgling alternative are being laid everywhere; the Unity talks being just one.
My colleagues and I in Pakatan Rakyat must be cautious, and yet courageous, patient yet purposeful, tolerant yet principled, to ensure that Pakatan Rakyat steers clear of these traps, and that we build a truly robust and secure alternative from which the electorate can choose to form government. We must desist from any temptation to go back to the ways of the past, in which opposition parties represent their own narrow factional interests, only to grant a walkover victory to the status quo.
At for Parti Keadilan Rakyat, it must soldier on come what may, as a party that will protect the people regardless of race and ethnicity. The Special position of the Bumiputras and Islam as mandated by the Constitution will be honoured but will do so in an open transparent manner; as a democratic multiracial party that observes the Rule of Law will be obliged to do. Keadilan will not champion racial politics and will not seek racial hegemony. We are a lot more humble than UMNO. But we will be fearless in the defence of the rights of the Rakyat against powerful oligarchs and vested interest groups. We will make the public institutions in this country respectable and full of integrity. These institutions will regain the respect and the trust of the people.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
We do not live in a world of black and white. We live in a world full of different colours, shades and textures. No truer is this than in Malaysia. I can stand here and tell you of my immense sense of pride and affection in being a Malaysian, just as I can do the same about being Malay. And I believe that we all are just as capable of feeling that way about being Malaysian, and yet similarly proud of being Malay, Chinese, Indian, Kadazan or Iban, no matter who we are.
And it is this mix of seemingly conflicting values, which when blended and tempered with courage, tolerance, good faith, and framed by universally held moral and civic values, that makes the canvas of Malaysia so rich, so powerful and so full of potential. Let us preserve this living piece of art, and ensure that it continues to beautify and enrich our personal lives, as private citizens.
For if we fail, then the providence with which we are blessed today to make a breakthrough change, will disappear as quickly as it came, and we will be back to square one. Our future and that of our children and their children, depends on our success. Failure is not an option. God favours the brave.
Thank You.
Perak State Government
The whole cloak and dagger story of intrigue about the overthrow of the Pakatan Rakyat government gave rise to much suspicion about Najib’s style, well before he took office. He could have allayed the fears that he would not be one to resort to under-the-belt tactics in his leadership, by calling for fresh elections. Najib’s unwillingness to dissolve the Perak Assembly has gotten the country deeper into a political quagmire. By doing so he will also help the Federal Court judges from having to come up with a convoluted legal reasoning, like that of the Court of Appeal, to please the Prime Minister.
Malay Unity Talk
This is again Najib’s idea to strengthen himself. If PAS were to support UMNO under the guise of a unity government, a viable alternative to Barisan Nasional at the next elections will be seriously undermined. Najib wanted the internal difficulties between Pakatan Rakyat parties to continue and fester as the mainstream media went full steam ahead to ensure Pakatan’s demise. Let me assure you that that such a scenario will not happen. Pakatan will only get stronger. Pakatan has its weaknesses but we do not have the culture of hegemony. We do not suppress dissent. Hence you will hear of occasional disagreements. You will hear of occasional flare-ups; but PAS, Keadilan and DAP are committed to finding ways to strengthen their partnership. They will not break up. Instead, they will form a formidable coalition that will be ready to provide an alternative government to the people.
Today, Malaysians are suffering the deleterious effect of a stagnating world economy, and the GDP will contract by 4.4 per cent according to the World Bank. FDI’s continue to fall, while talent is being lost. The standard of education and the skill sets, including the command of English, necessary for the work force to remain globally competitive continues to fall. Now after spending billions on teaching Science and Maths in English in the last 6 years, the Government has announced the reversal of the policy effective 2012. One wonders if the farcical National Service programme, which is neither a national service nor an educational programme will be scrapped too. .
Crimes and home security issues have increased since 2003 and these remain major concerns of the people. In the 1998 case of Anwar Ibrahim, allegations by the investigating officer himself of tampering with evidence by the IGP and the AG have not been answered satisfactorily. Of course the government had formed a certain panel comprising three ex-judges deliberating in a secret place. Not surprisingly the Panel cleared them. The findings of the Royal Commission in the Lingam case have not been acted upon in satisfactory manner. And many high profile cases reported to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) remain unattended. Such is the state of the Rule of Law in Malaysia. Will Najib attend to these issues? Certainly not.
All he can do is to announce the scrapping of some outdated policies that he had little choice but to do it anyway, as part of the demands of the international and ASEAN trade agreements. After decades of the NEP, the 30% equity requirement in companies listed amongst the 27 services sub-sectors are taken away. Also, the Foreign Investment Committee regulating investments in Malaysia, have been scrapped. The reasoning of the government, which is disputed by many Malays, is that the Bumiputra participation in the relevant services sub-sectors are satisfactory and hence the removal of the quota requirement. Whilst the move has made Najib popular in the short term, it will come back to haunt him. Economics and social justice require him to address the larger question of disparities in income of the rakyat. The plight and grievances of ordinary people will not be redressed by one or two populist policies.
On the question of the preservation of the Rule of Law and Democracy, he did nothing and probably will continue to do nothing. He should have acted as if he has only 100 days before his reign comes to an end. He should have embraced Roosevelt’s dictum, ‘There is nothing to fear but fear itself’, and embarked on far reaching policies to give back judicial power to the Courts, to give back integrity, trust and respectability to governmental institutions like the Police, the Attorney General’s Office, the Election Commission; that of which Malaysia desperately needs. In doing so he can show the people he was prepared to sacrifice his neck if that is required of him.
He should not have started the Perak debacle but since it had already got under way, he should have had the courage to win back the support of the people by allowing for the dissolution of the Legislative Assembly. Instead of embarking on the inane idea of UMNO-PAS unity — confirming the suspicion that he is like his Deputy who only understands UMNO-PAS unity at the expense of everything else — Najib should have called for a national debate amongst all leaders of major political parties for a serious discussion on key and core values for the country.
The problems in our country are not race or religion based, but BN has worked very hard to make them so. It’s always about the Rakyat against the elites or the powerful oligarchs that run and control the country’s institutions and wealth. The Rakyat, for too long have becomes pawns in this political game where the race and religious issues are being played out to divide them.
continued in next postThe Preservation of Democracy and the Rule of Law in Malaysia
Speech at The Oxbridge Malaysia Dinner Dialogue Series, hosted by the Oxford & Cambridge Society, Malaysia.
Date: Thursday, 9th of July 2009
Venue: Bankers’ Club, Kuala Lumpur.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Thank you for your invitation for me to speak today. When I accepted your kind offer, I was ‘party-less’. But things have now changed. I have drawn my line in the sand. And I have chosen sides. Today, I am a proud member of Parti Keadilan Rakyat.
Today I am persuaded by the argument that for Malaysia to have democracy and the Rule of Law, we must have a new government; a viable inclusive government of the people; a government for all Malaysians. Today I am dedicated to the cause of securing the success of Parti Keadilan and Pakatan Rakyat, and ensuring that it galvanises the best talents and ideas to form a robust alternative Malaysian political force to lead the nation, to deliver true integration and nationhood.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
This country was established as a secular multicultural and multi-religious democracy ala the Westminster model. The Constitution however provides for a special position for the Malays and natives of Sabah and Sarawak. They unfortunately omitted to include the Orang Asli in this special category, although they were naturally the first original inhabitants of this country. All they got was a Jabatan Orang Asli. The special provisions for Bumiputras under Article 153 do not make them more special than other citizens, for the fighters of independence did not envisage an Orwellian society where some are more equal than others. The acceptance of equality of rights as citizens is central to the success of our Malaysian journey.
When the PM announced his 1 Malaysia slogan, I asked if that meant he would make a declaration that all Malaysians are equal. The answer was not forthcoming till today. All he said was rights must be understood in the context of responsibilities. Another fuzzy reply. When critics asked if 1 Malaysia meant that the cultural characteristics of the diverse racial groups would be assimilated to a new design called 1 Malaysia, he quickly denied that it was an assimilation plan. So therefore I assume that 1 Malaysia is an affirmation of the rights of ALL the citizens under the Constitution, an affirmation of the multicultural and multi- religious nature of our country; and that the principles of Rukun Negara will continue to be the mainstay of our society.
My detractors say that my views are fodder for the egos and insecurities of those who detest the constitutional position of the Malays. They say I work too hard at being a Malaysian and by doing so, have forgotten my roots and responsibilities to the Malays. And that no right thinking Malay, who truly understands what is at stake, would ever support me. I know my heritage, I know my humble beginnings, and I know my roots and my responsibilities as a Malay. They are wrong. To them, let me say this.
UMNO — being hidden in a cave for so long and concealed from the real world — have almost abandoned the idea of a shared and common nationhood. They believe that for so long as the MCA and the MIC remain with them as partners of convenience, that is sufficient to build a nation. They think it’s sufficient to forge a new nation by electoral arrangements. The MCA and the MIC also think it’s sufficient for nationhood if they remain business partners of UMNO.
A new united Malaysia can only come true when UMNO changes and abandons racial politics and the politics of racial hegemony. Or, when the Malays can be made to understand that patronage, authoritarianism and nationalist extremism, which underpins UMNO’s style of leadership, does more harm to the community and the country than good. That Malays themselves must break from the shackles of narrow nationalism so that they may realise self-actualisation and emancipation. The first is difficult to achieve but I take it as my responsibility to try and achieve the second.
Let me now get into the subject of the speech by giving you an understanding about how UMNO ticks. This, to me, is critical in order for you to appreciate what hope we have for the preservation of the Rule of Law and Democracy in Malaysia.
At the heart of UMNO’s philosophy on leadership is a conviction that there is an inherent, almost ‘divine’ right to retain power at all costs. This is so for two reasons: Firstly, because they assume that they are the only political force, by way of Barisan Nasional, to offer a workable power-sharing leadership of this nation.
And secondly, because they believe that the Malay hegemony that UMNO maintains is necessary to prevent the Malays from becoming marginalised. It is these beliefs that are at the centre of UMNO’s self-indulgent sense of indispensability and self-importance that is today causing them to steer the nation to an authoritarian rule. It is this sense of self-importance that is accountable for the authoritarianism in leadership and government. It is this that has helped justify in their minds their right to quell anyone who threatens the status quo, whether it be a group of politicians or activists protesting against abuses in government, or a group of Indians protesting against their treatment and lack of opportunities, or a previous deputy prime-minister who was no longer in step with the ‘Big Boss’. It does not matter. Self-preservation demands expedience at all costs to resolve any impending threat.
But there is more. Since the hegemony is protected by policies that benefit the elites and other powerful forces, this sense of self-importance becomes even more dangerous. Because it justifies why real checks and balances against governmental abuses can be done away with. It justifies trampling on fundamental safeguards in the Federal Constitution in the last 20 years.
But there is more. If you are on the cause of preserving the rights of the elites, the oligarchs, then it brings you no shame to have a former UMNO lawyer as Chief Justice; in fact, you become proud of that achievement. Even if the Attorney General had committed many errors in the discharge of his functions and duties, a well-known fact amongst the legal fraternity, you will not change him; nor would you change the Chief Of Police despite so many reports of transgressions committed by him. All for the ‘Malay cause’ they would say! And if you are on the Bench writing your judgement on the Perak fiasco; you can tailor it to suit your master’s political interests, and you will be lauded for that. The ‘Malay Cause’ is everything. The Constitution can wait; sound legal reasoning can wait, justice can wait.
But there is more.
Many in UMNO see the hegemony as a ‘be all and end all’, with the power sharing between component parties as being a means to an end. Ketuanan Melayu, a mantra of Malay supremacy, has gained ground instead of receding over time. More accurately it is Ketuanan Elit Melayu as the majority of the Malays have found out to their dismay.
What is the price that we ultimately pay as a nation, if this pernicious doctrine is embraced by many? Clearly to start with, we would continue to be cursed with a non-transparent government without the capability of functioning in a way that respects the rule of law. We will be cursed by having laws that oppress, that curtail and suffocate the basic freedoms of the people. We now have a set of rules for the elites and one for the rakyat, one for Barisan Nasional and one for Pakatan Rakyat.
If the public believes that the government is not beholden to a set of commonly revered values and principles, and its actions are tainted by racial biases, there will continue to be physical and emotional segregation of communities, regardless of how may times we change the slogans to break such divisiveness. The notion of creating a free and democratic Malaysia therefore becomes unachievable.
The ultimate price that the country suffers from the present political culture is that the Malays and non-Malays will continue to be denied a sense of ownership of Malaysia’s nation-building journey. And instead of become partners in this voyage to mature nationhood they continue to bicker and remain suspicious and distrustful of one another. Because of this segregation, the government is unable to set a new direction of the country. Because of racial polarization the people are not ready to accept a multiracial dimension of this country. As a result, we are not able to enact or even discuss comprehensive national policies whether it is regarding the police, education or judicial and civil service reforms .The distrust of the communities will prevent objective appraisals and solutions to the problems. Ethnic interests take precedence over national interests. National interests become a strange and fearful concept. And there will continue to be a brain drain of Malaysian talents who would have decided that they would rather make their home elsewhere. This is a high price that the country can ill-afford to pay given the increasingly challenging global outlook.
Authoritarianism, patronage, and nationalist extremism from any quarter destroy the key ingredients necessary for the Malaysian community to really build on and retain that wealth and knowledge. Competitiveness and true economic and scholastic success, is a function of instilling in the hearts and minds of beneficiaries a set of new behaviours, around the capacity and desire to take personal accountability, to trust one another, to be achievement oriented, to develop a sense of curiousity, a sense a solidarity that go beyond your own ethnic clans and groups; so that together, we are to be able to build this country. We must do away with unprincipled politics, with Machiavellian methods, but instead seek to change with reforms that encourage the development of a viable democracy and a prosperous country for all.
The government says it hopes to amend up to 33 laws, which involve discretionary powers to the Home minister, beginning with the controversial Internal Security Act (ISA), in the next Parliament session. Let’s hope and see if this will bear fruit. Authoritarianism in government will continue albeit in a different guise, unless the whole of the ISA, Official Secrets Act, The Sedition Act and similar such laws are abolished. This would be an example of good governance. However, authoritarian policies will most likely continue while corruption is rampant, when the elites need protection from their misdeeds. Najib will not be able to change any of these.
- Location:Malaysia, Petaling Jaya
Who died in a terrible way
Now her name can't be said
For the truth might be spread
About who was behind the foul play!
It was some performance and the lighting only emphasised the noxious nature of the beast. He looked like he was about to burst a blood vessel! He hyperventilated & the spit flew out of his mouth as he raised his grubby fist and vent forth his passion in (poor) imitation of Hitler. Handlers, please take note. This style of delivery does zilch for ones likeability factor.
Even kutty kat was was a "statesman" by comparison...... and of this 'bot', it truly can be said, that ' the female of the species is more deadly than the male'!
People and things are anointed to symbolize the introduction of a divine influence, a holy emanation, spirit, power or deity.
Why then is the impending taking of the highest post in the government of our country referred to as an “anointment”? To speak of this as an anointment is, to say the least, highly annoying to millions of Malaysians. The appointee has been so aptly described as the 'crime minister' by a highly respected commentator.
However, we can take heart that there is also another interpretation of the term “anointment.”
"Anointment"can also be seen as a spiritual mode of ridding persons and things of dangerous influences, as of demons believed to be or to cause harm.
There is an unpredictable way the "forces" (not the armed variety) work. Poetic justice always works where there is hope and especially when truth and justice as we know it is elasticated, masked and manipulated beyond recognition.
Taken from an article entitled 'Rain water everywhere; so why is water so expensive?' 04/03/2009 by Dr Rafick drrafick
1. I have been doing some reading on the water issue in Selangor. Last night I attended the Selangor State Government briefing at MPAJ on the matter. I must say it was a good and fair briefing which gives the historical accounts of events leading to the current status. I am sad though as the number of residents that turned out is so minimal. I think there were more MPAJ officers than residents in the hall.
2. I am going to write in a simple way so that the readers can have a better understanding of the issues that are currently being debated. In the water business in Selangor, it started in 1996 where the Selangor Government decides to privatize the water treatment and distribution to relevant parties.
3. The government related water production assets were rented to three companies at a nominal fee. The companies are Puncak Niaga Sdn Bhd, Syarikat Pengeluaran Air Selangor Holdings (SPLASH) and Konsortium ABBAS Sdn Bhd. The assets include dams and water treatment plants.
4. A fourth company called Syabas was given the rights to buy this water from these three companies and sell them to companies and residents in Selangor and WPKL/Putrajaya. This business was offered on a direct negotiation basis with friendly parties in 1996. Syabas was given a RM250mil grant (no need to pay back) and a very cheap loan over RM 2 billion to kick start their business operations.
5. Under the agreement, none of the companies owns any asset but rather rents it from the State Government (SG) at RM1.00. Over the years, the company made money and the water rates went up substantially. In fact, if Syabas continues to run the show, the water rates would go up by 37% (2009), 25% (2012) and 20% (2015) respectively.
6. It was widely reported that Syabas CEO was paid RM5.1 mill in terms of salary and allowances in one year. At the same time Syabas has paid Puncak Niaga RM 700,000 as consultant fees annually. The records also show that the CEO of Puncak Niaga and the CEO of Syabas are actually the same person.
7. While the water supply services did show some improvement in terms of customer response time, the same cannot be said about water quality. In many homes people still receive brown coloured water. Almost every house in KL has a water filter and that does not reflect well on the performance of Syabas.
8. The company Executives and Shareholders are actually enjoying their lifestyle and income at the expense of 5 million people in Selangor and KL/Putrajaya. It would be right to say that every one of us in Selangor and WPKL/Putrajaya pays about RM1 per person to the CEO of Puncak Niaga/Syabas.
9. Currently, the Selangor Government now wants to buy back the assets that they had only rented out for RM 1 to Syabas in 1996. Now they want to spend RM 5.7 billion to pay the concessionaires to buy something that they own but rent out to the various companies . Some argue that Syabas has actually laid new pipes and that now belongs to Syabas. Unfortunately, the cost of laying of the pipes was made via a RM250 mill grant and RM 2 bill federal loan with cheap interest.
10. I do not get it. Why is the state or the federal government buying something that they already own? It is like you own a house, you rent it out, and now you want it back you have to pay the tenant a bomb. In the first place, I do not understand why such a lucrative business is being given out on a direct negotiation basis with companies that do no have any track record. Wouldn’t it be better to discuss it with Penang Water Board or Perak Water Board, which are able to provide low water cost to the respective state and yet make a decent profit?
11. The Selangor Government is offering RM 5.7 billion which in my mind is too much. Now it seems that the Federal Government (FG) has offered RM 500 million more than the State Government (SG). What is going on here? Why is that the SG and the FG are competing to buy these companies? I can understand that there may be some reason for the SG to pay compensation for pipelaying etc. but I cannot understand the need of the FG to attempt to buy them out at all.
12. What ever the case is, I would not agree to pay these companies a single cent. The SG should just nationalize the whole operation and assume all its liabilities. There is a provision in the law for it. There is also a provision in the contract for to do so. That would be the cheaper and the fairer thing to do. I think the interest of 5 million people in Selangor, KL and Putrajaya outweighs the interest of a few shareholders who want to walk away extremely rich. We are a blessed country with abundant water resources. A times it is so much that we have floods, and yet water is expensive!
13. Talking about floods I am sure that many of us are wondering that despite spending billions on the SMART tunnel in KL, the traffic situation along the Sg. Besi route has not improved much and KL was flooded heavily only a few days ago. Are we actually good at anything? Who says 'Malaysia boleh'?
YB Wahid Endut, MP Kuala Trengganu! Congratulations and a warm welcome to you. How refreshing to see honesty, humility and goodwill prevail. Congratulations to PAS who have passed with flying colours!
This is the real people's Monsoon Cup! Not the yachting elites' and those who sponsor them for their own benefit and no-one else's. The victory ceremony of the Trengganu people's Monsoon Cup was carried live by TV 1. It was grudgingly muted but it had to be broadcast. No amount of scaremongering over the Hudud issue was going to faze the people. Thank you Raja Petra for taking the time to explain it so simply. It certainly made eloquent sense to many who were under such mistaken notions of this system of justice.
There is such rejoicing in the streets of Kuala Trengganu and in the hearts of the rest of the rakyat who with a quiet determination brought about the Tsunamic undermining of a top heavy, self-serving, arrogant and ineffective government on the 8th Of March 2008. As the North East Monsoon eases off, we, the people, will be watching to see the beginning of the end of the unconscionable poverty of the Trengganu Malays, as has been brought to our notice in recent weeks.
Malaysia Truly Asia’ is the tagline under which the country’s tourism is promoted. This beautiful tropical destination, with its rich diversity of people, melange of Asian cultures and foods, magnificent natural resources and historic places of interest, can justifiably be portrayed in this manner. However, initial impressions may be otherwise.
Our main cities’ best features are so overshadowed these days by visual pollution that they are often seen as ‘gaudy, smog filled, less than safe, traffic jammed, third world cities’. The beauty of our many spectacular buildings is reduced by the distractions of excessive, loud commercial hoardings and cheap posters. The green urban landscapes of shady trees and lush tropical vegetation is overshadowed by a penchant for plastic.
From gigantic advertising billboards, to distracting television screens at crucial traffic junctions, to gaudy banners and moving electronic signboards, there is little respite for the eyes by day or by night. The trees drip with lighting ordinarily and even more so at festival time which in Malaysia, is pretty much throughout the year. There are many worrying aspects to this indulgence.
The health effects of over-illumination or improper composition of light and colour may may contribute to increased headaches, general exhaustion, medically defined stress, impaired caution in driving and increase in anxiety. Worse still is our loss of national identity.
Massive billboards dominate all the approach roads into town and appear throughout the city and its suburbs. They are hard to miss, yet create a meaningless stream of messages that have no lasting value. They choke the city, hiding the beauty of our older buildings and their distinctive architecture and distract our views of some of the better modern architectural wonders. They look cheap and tawdry - they are imitations of the worst of Western advertising culture. Why do we need to be the same when we can be truly Asian and different?
Somewhere, a lot of money is being made by people overdosing on the erection of structures and gantries for billboards on public property. All the charm of our multicultural roots has been lost in this mishmash of Western mimicry – you might as well be in downtown Manhattan or central London.
There is a fear induced frenzy going on. It may, one suspects, have to do with the custom of collecting all outstanding payments before the Lunar New Year. Bulldozers and earth moving machinery are at work overtime scarring the land even in the wake of recent environmental tragedies. This is happening with impunity in many parts of urban Selangor such as Puchong and Ampang.
A large roadside billboard near Seri Kembangan announces a new development called “The Atmosphere” no less! This was once a hill, but its contours have been removed so the angle of the slope is reduced and falls within, so-called, ‘safe’ limits. The churned up barren earth beneath bleeds red laterite ‘blood’ down its slopes in heavy rain. In dry, windy weather, the friable soil yields red dust which settles on the windscreens of passing vehicles. Viewing the destructive earth moving work “The Atmosphere” ought to be renamed "The Utmost Fear". The scarred hill and loose earth offers little security of foundation for building. It resembles the environment of Mars!
Across from the “Atmosphere” of desolation, is another billboard proclaiming a development called the “Paragon”. Paragon = gem, jewel, treasure and shining example. ‘Shining example’? Yes indeed! The “Paragon” is indeed a shining example - of how, not to go about sustainable development. I don't know about 'Para' but all the vegetation is certainly gone and the contours too. Here again the desertification of Malaysia is taking place with such urgency, such speed - roll on ' Desert Malaysia'!
What is propelling this and what is the state government doing about it? Permits were granted to “developing’ this area by the previous state government and those involved grab at this opportunity to rush the job and create a 'fait accompli' before the details of the sordid underhand deals emerge as common knowledge to all. Pity those who purchased off the plan.
The area mentioned surrounds Equine Park and Putra Permai. These used to be the traditional lands of the Temuan people only 12 or so years ago. What happened to them and aren't the orang asli supposed to be constitutionally protected? More so because they, with other riverine and coastal communities are the true guardians of nature and her resources. The earth shows her displeasure when her gentle traditional caretakers are forcibly denied access to her.
The lessons of the fatal landslides of Bukit Antarabangsa and elsewhere languish as increasingly distant memories until the next news and photo opportunity worth ‘event’ stikes again. Don't we ever learn our lessons?
There was a time when traveling even a short distance out of Kuala Lumpur was an opportunity to indulge in nature’s abundance. The old Ipoh Road out of KL to Rawang, for example, wound its way gradually uphill once past Kepong and offered some amazing views and sights of the jungle landscape which served as a natural green lung to the north of KL.
The road traversed a stretch of pristine, undulating forest. The jungle had been so dense that during the emergency years it served as a hideout for “communist bandits”. Despite having been logged of some of its valuable timber in later years, it was still a feast for the senses and offered an amazing recharge driving with the city behind and the sight of the tree covered mountains of the Main Range in the distance ahead. The moss, palm, bamboo, tree and fern clad hill slopes displayed hues of yet to be named shades of green and gave a crisp yet moist and light, freshness to the air. The morning sunshine had a shimmery quality about it as it came through and at the highest point of the road, one looked down at parts of forest canopy. The stretch of forest, served as a beautiful, purifying, ionizing, humidifying, air conditioning, joy inducing haven of tranquility. Sometimes your ears popped at around the Templer’s Park, Ulu Kancing area, but one wonders now if it was the air pressure or the sudden reminder that tigers regularly prowled that vicinity!
Little,in fact, not even a vestige of the euphoria inducing atmosphere of old remains of the nearly 18 mile stretch of road now. Still, city people swarm there to picnic by the carload, spurred by an ancient embedded human urge to re-connect with the earth and her elements. The forest itself is a shadow of her former self. Few trees remain that are worthy of mention and even fewer real examples of the old growth that Tourism Malaysia paints exotic pictures of, in its attempt to woo visitors to Malaysia. The waterfalls and sparkling streams of the Ulu Kancing of another time, are part of an “Hutan Lipur” but logging and unsustainable development has reduced the volume, temperature and quality of the water and the whole public picnic spot has a tired, worn out and wasted feel about it, infested as ever with plastic bags, trash, stray dogs and all.
The formerly enchanting entrance to this forest is lined with crappy, plastic covered, makan stalls as are other stretches of the road close to Templer’s Park and the “Hutan Komanwel”. The air reeks of a cocktail of 'belacan' and rancid, cooking oil. Samy Vellu’s infamous highways are all around and with rampant residential and industrial development the air here is not any more about refreshment . The depleted forest functions in its much deteriorated state, less able to absorb the sound of traffic or to neutralize the volume of low level atmospheric pollutants that is spewed out, less able to exude optimum levels of oxygen, less able to support the diversity of flora and fauna it once used to. Less able to intercept and hold rainwater to cool the atmosphere or clarify the air of the invasive urban dust. The forest is not even able to revive in the complete darkness of nightfall, even its rest, affected, by scattered light pollution from the neon lights of KLcity. Green lung turned grey!
Returning home at around 6 pm on the 2nd day of the New Year, I made a bee-line to the garden for a quick mooch around. I had rushed out that morning without my usual "fix". A longish morning linger around the trees, plants and newest, fragrant flowers that gives me enough “charge” for the day ahead.
The moment I opened the back door, something felt odd. The light came through at the far corner in a brazen glare. Not with the usual dappled softness of the evening sunshine through the two trees that grow there.
Then I saw it! The empty space above the garden wall where the top of our tree had been chopped down! Who would have done such a thing? Who monitored our movements so closely and chose a time over the New Year festivities, when we were out, to intrude into our garden and chop down the top of our lovely tree?
The tree grew by the wall we shared with the back neighbour. It cooled our garden and shielded us from the heat of the day. The tree was a bird stop and around it bumble bees buzzed all day, enchanted by the flowers of the Sky Vine (Thunbergia grandiflora) that wound up its branches. The tree was highway for ants and an agamid lizard that merged with the grainy texture of the trunk among other unnoticed fauna......and most importantly, it blocked our view of the neighbours washing line!
Now in our full view was their un-inspiring washing line, replete with tattered cleaning rags and worn, faded, underwear. Leaning towards us against the wall, were also three damp and dripping mop heads that looked like the crouching heads of white haired crones just waiting to jump up and scare the shriek out of any passer-by.
The stealthy violation of our space and damage to our tree was distressing. We had no proof of the culprit, and could not think of anyone else, but our immediate back neighbour. Who else would be offended by our tree to want to cut it down? Who else could possibly be offended by the privacy, we thought, it offered us and them? Clearly, whoever did it was “kiasu” enough and wanted to keep his nose in our business. We had to do something but ruled out speaking to our neighbour. He could at best deny all knowledge & at worst it could start an embarrassing row. We headed instead to the police station, to the ‘keepers of the peace and order’, to lodge an official complaint. The police officers on duty re-assured us that they would drop by the neighbourhood and inform our neighbours of the complaint. Hopefully that is enough to ensure that it does not happen again.
I would rather that as neighbours’ we watched out for the safety of each others property and well being, don't you? My “kiasu” neighbour watches out alright! Exceptionally!
The topography of the land as it was a century ago ensured that inaccessible forests on steep and high upland areas remained virtually untouched as primary virgin jungle. Large reserves of lower and more undulating jungle land were accessed more easily by graded roads – the origins of which, were tracking pathways used by the Orang Asli. The surrounding lands were logged of their timber to the advantage of several now prominent timber and sawmill magnates and much of the land was then turned to rubber plantations. Despite the rapacious logging and clearfelling, what made a difference more than a 100 years ago to the land in terms of conserving the environment, was replanting the land to rubber.
The rubber tree, a native of Brazil, adapted well to our soil, climate and terrain and even as a monoculture crop provided more than returns in economic terms alone. Rubber trees grew tall, covering much of the previously exposed jungle land. They cooled, shaded and protected the land once again where it had been ravaged by heat, leaching, weathering and erosion.
Today, with the rapid expansion of roads and highways, previously inaccessible mountain areas are easily reached. Modern technology provides accurate geographical information of location, variety and 'loggability' of the few remaining stands of now primary, turned secondary, forest. Selective logging which used to be the practice is replaced by rapid methods of clearfelling of the trees in these most fragile of lands. Today, logging and clearfelling, is carried out for homes and high-rises. Accompanying this there are disastrous consequences where soil left exposed to the elements turns friable (dry, dusty and easily crumbled) or gets waterlogged and turns muddy, heavy and extremely slippery.
Avarice and corruption combined with ignorance and disregard for the conservation of the small proportion of remaining forests, has led to the dire consequences we have witnessed with alarming regularity over the recent 15 years. Yet the question is, are there any solutions in sight?
The army's capabilities have been called upon in times of major civilian need. Indeed they are bound and obliged to respond to commands from above in any emergency. We are in such a situation. This is an environmental wake-up call, manifest all around us in cascading mudslides, landslides down hill slopes, polluted waterways, scarred and flattened flood prone areas hewn out of former hills, sink holes, freak storms and God forbid, another Tsunami.
Get the troops out now! For a change let proactivity rule. Replant our hardwoods, shore up our protective mangrove coastlines and return the wetlands to their natural functions. Prosper the land by restoring and reviving the Land, Rivers and Waterways Act with determined urgency now. Let it not be another project with much initial fanfare which fizzles out as the media leaves. This is a plea to not wait until the situation is no longer within our human capability to resolve. Malaysia's tarnished environmental reputation will surely be enhanced with such concerted effort.
Any plan which incorporates such concepts and ideas would speak volumes for the insight and commitment of those vested with the power and responsibility of guarding and governing our 'tanah air' in trust for the people.
“It is almost the literal truth that the whole peninsula is covered with forest. It is not that the country is uninhabited, for it has a population of some hundreds of thousands: but it is that the inhabited area, every yard of which has been won from, and hacked out of the forest that remains untouched. Throughout its hundreds of miles of length and breadth the Malay Peninsula is practically one vast forest.” – In Malay Forests by Sir George Maxwell 1907
More than a century ago when the rush for natural rubber was on, European entrepreneurs of the day, found our Malaysian soils and climate to be ideal for the development of stately plantations of rubber.
My own father used to relate his experiences of working as an 18 yr old field assistant to a Scotsman who was a jungle surveyor. They identified large tracts of land for their suitability for rubber plantation. The work took the men deep into the jungles of Pahang and Perak where Orang Asli guides who tracked for them with dogs, also hunted for wild boar, jungle fowl, iguana, crocodile and deer for the cooking pot. They also skilfully built the bamboo huts and high platformed, attap roofed, shelters which housed and protected them from the elements and from wild animals. In return, the Asli trackers gratefully accepted salt, solid metal blades for knives & parangs and rice.
The jungles of Malaya appeared to many as a limitless storehouse of hardwoods which had lucrative commercial value, but the standing jungles were equally, an impediment to the rubber planting plans of the Europeans. Clearfelling was the order of the day and all haste was applied to the task as rubber trees took years to grow and even longer to yield returns. The 'oppressive' Malayan' forests, had to be cleared at all costs! They were not seen as the source of air refreshment, soil fertility and stability, nor were they valued for supplying the material needs for housing, food and transportation. Attitudes have changed little at present, for that matter, and, in fact, forested areas are coveted even more for the quick, highly lucrative, short term returns they yield in timber and then real estate. Never mind that it costs the earth! (to be continued…)
