Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Awards for honorific titles or 'Horrific'

2008/06/24

Mahathir’s record: More negatives than positives
By : NORAMTAZ ABDULLAH, Petaling Jaya

The explosion in the number of awards for honorific titles among Malaysians happened during his premiership, so much so that cynical remarks were made by everyone that if someone throws a stone on the street or at any public function, the chances are that you would hit a Datuk, Datuk Seri or Tan Sri.

The scramble for such titles became paramount, as they provide tremendous mileage in terms of securing preferential treatment of sorts and access to the corridors of power, all which adds a new dimension to Malaysian culture and way of life

Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad is associated with many mega projects in the country


I REFER to P.C.A. Lee's letter on Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad's record ("Good, bad or plain ugly?-- NST, June 18).

To me, the Petronas Twin Towers, the Sepang F1 Circuit, Kuala Lumpur International Airport and the tolled highways are not projects coming out of brilliant ideas or initiatives. These can only come from those who think and behave as if the country's resources are unlimited and that "money is no problem".

It was during his administration that another "brilliant" idea was mooted which thankfully did not materialise: to build a bridge linking Malaysia and Sumatra. Just imagine the consequence to the country's financial resources and the ballooning budget deficits had the project proceeded.

His yearning for mega projects was indeed insatiable, especially when these become synonymous with his name. He wanted to create his own history, especially for the young generation. After all, those who were born at the time Dr Mahathir became prime minister were adults when he retired.

This generation knows only him as prime minister and this is the memory he wants to perpetuate, even to the extent of dismantling parts of the historical past.

Remember Merdeka Stadium, which was on the verge of being demolished to make way for a commercial project? Had it not been for the public outcry, we would have lost this historical place where our first prime minister read the proclamation of our independence.

The availability of oil money and Petronas under his control had no doubt become the driving force behind his thirst for mega projects, including the heavy industry, as well as for bailing out public and private companies from the fallout of the 1997/1998 Asian financial crisis.

The national car project was developed at high social cost to the country and people, when it could have been done differently and at a lower cost and yet still meet our national objectives and aspirations.

Just look at what Thailand did to its automotive industry, which is robust and competitive compared with ours. And we were ahead of Thailand at one time. Perwaja is another disaster that has to be salvaged.

Is the Formula One circuit financially viable and self-financing or still dependent upon the continuing injection of public money or Petronas money?

What did the country get substantively out of the Twin Towers apart from having the tallest building in the world, though not any more now? Was the Twin Towers fully occupied upon completion?

Did our construction industry or contractors gain any technological mileage in terms of expertise and skills when we engaged foreign labour for its construction?

I tried to list down his positive contributions to the country, especially to the ordinary citizens who may remember him in their hearts for a long time. We are not talking of the few hundred families or individuals who were direct beneficiaries of his 23-year administration through negotiated contracts, privatisation deals, business monopolies, exclusive supplies and services, but the millions of ordinary low-income and poor people in the rural and urban areas throughout the country.

Frankly, not much can be documented for their direct well-being and welfare, except the widening disparity of incomes among the major races and within a race and between urban and rural areas during his administration. The gap between the rich and poor is widening.

I only see more and more negatives than positives, as enumerated by P.C.A. Lee, like the thriving corruption, the erosion of public confidence in the judiciary, racial polarisation, wastage of public funds, substandard buildings, schools, roads implemented through direct negotiations and consequently abandoned, but later salvaged by the new administration at tremendous cost to the nation.

To add to the list of negatives is the declining respect for our laws because "you can do wrong things for the right reason". Or you can be spared of your wrongdoings before the law if you can tell the judges what to do. Anything is possible at the right price.

.However, we must be fair to Dr Mahathir. Let us hope as time goes on, more and more of his good deeds and not his misdeeds will be revealed. As the saying goes, elephants leave behind their tusks and the tigers their stripes when they die. Human beings leave behind their names.

Sunday, June 8, 2008

Let’s kick the addiction

Sunday June 8, 2008
Let’s kick the addiction
The Jakarta Post


JAKARTA: From our air-conditioned homes, we enter our air-conditioned cars and drive to our freezing offices just so we can wear suits and blazers in the tropics. It’s just like the now widely-condemned habit of smoking: we know it is not a very politically correct practice – but what to do? We’re addicted.

When Indonesians began acquiring more wealth, they bought a TV, refrigerator, then a car and an air-conditioner and another TV; when they became even richer, along came the bathtub. By the time many were aiming for a two-car family, the green activists were criticising the wasteful ways of their own countries. But they were just party-poopers with only a handful of converts here.

Now, all the buzz is about climate change, brought about, we’re told, by the demands we’ve created to live the most comfortable lifestyles possible. Just as billions of Chinese and Indians are catching up on this purpose for living, others warn of food and energy crises.

To halt the plunge into further environmental damage, World Environment Day centres around the campaign “Kick the Carbon Habit”.

As those who quit smoking know, this gets extremely hard before it gets extremely rewarding.

To leave the car at home and start using the train would require immense willpower even though motorists know they would save a fortune on gas – not to mention reduce their carbon footprint.

With today’s higher temperatures, longer droughts and other weird whims of nature, the average person the world over is now being forced to a new awareness – that there might be some truth in the slogans which say kicking our wasteful habits is needed not only to save the planet, but also to save ourselves.

Soaring fuel prices, however, may be the only factor capable of waking Indonesians up from the cheap fuel dream, in which we thought the fuel subsidy was our birthright.

We can blame our leaders in part for leading us this way.

Former industry and trade minister Hartarto Sastrosoenarto described on Monday in Kompas how former president Soeharto suggested that plans to follow in the steps of South Africa’s self-sufficient energy needs be put on hold, given a seemingly bottomless supply of fuel in the early 1980s.

This perception also justified the preference for cars rather than trains, through cheap parking fees and the building of more roads than railways.

But that was then. Now green campaigns are all around us and yet few are taking notice of the need to make that personal sacrifice to end a wasteful mindset, spread it to family and neighbours and push the habit change drive to the corporate and political levels.

It would be much faster and easier if all levels were involved at once. It is high time the state ministry for the environment was changed into a portfolio ministry, after years of complaints by successive ministers they have little effect when it comes to the implementation of state policies.

Much like the frustrated state minister for women’s empowerment who is supposed to mainstream gender equality across all government sectors, the environment minister has few resources to “mainstream” the efficient use of fossil fuels.

Indonesia hosted the historic international climate change conference late last year in Bali. It was hoped the country would not only be a good host, but also be inspired to change its ways.

While that may be wishful thinking, the green campaign in developed countries may slowly help tame our voracious cutting down of forests.

But apart from China’s insatiable appetite, there is another addiction which makes the environment watchers wonder how and whether we can stop the disappearance of even more forests by 2010.

The name of this addiction is corruption, blamed for continued illegal logging. This, then – waste and graft – is our legacy to our children. Unless we can somehow kick the habit.

Time to walk the talk and get public transportation moving

Sunday June 8, 2008
Time to walk the talk and get public transportation moving
By LEONG SHEN-LI


THE math is quite simple. With as little as RM7, you can travel almost anywhere on Klang Valley’s RapidKL’s buses and light rail transit for the whole day. With a monthly pass for RM135 – just a little more than a full tank of petrol for a Proton Wira – your month’s transport needs should be taken care of. The cost should be lower in other parts of the country.

But of course, the current state of our public transport obviously cannot take care of anyone’s needs satisfactorily.

Unreliable buses and trains, sardine-packed LRTs, delayed buses because of traffic jams, safety concerns and a host of other negative issues make public transport hardly desirable as an alternative to private cars.

Here are some crucial improvements needed before public transport can become a true option for people.

1. More trains and buses

It is as basic as this! Not only will service become more reliable, more trains and buses will make public transport less packed and more attractive.

No one, especially women, will trade the comfort of a car for a situation where one is pressed all over by other humans in a train, even if it costs more.

Promises were made for more LRT vehicles and buses under the RapidKL and Rapid Penang regimes. How much longer do we have to wait?

2. Get the new lines going

The new Damansara-Cheras LRT line, as well as the Subang Jaya and Puchong extensions, were announced by Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak in 2006. Till today, we have not heard about when work will start.

We do not even know where they will run. It is crucial to also think beyond these new lines.

Singapore already knows where its new Mass Rapid Transit lines will run in 2020.

3. Cash for maintenance

The KTM Komuter, after running for 13 years, is now suffering from years of “postponing” maintenance due to funding issues. The LRT system is about 10 years old now, which is about the right time for an overhaul.

RapidKL is also facing issues with keeping its buses on the road because of breakdowns. Other private companies can hardly afford regular maintenance, what more, overhauling. The Government must come to their aid.

Get the allocations disbursed quickly, get the tenders out without delay and pick the correct people to do the work. Remember, keeping enough buses on the road is not just about buying new buses. It is about keeping the existing ones in working condition.

4. Low fares through subsidies

Low fares are crucial, especially when we are putting the case for public transport in the context of rising living costs. Most people who rely on public transport cannot afford any other means of travel.

If there is a group of people who should benefit from subsidies, this should be the one. Subsidies can come from taxing private car users – either through road tax or road pricing. The World Bank says that private car users are generally “undercharged” for using urban roads and for their impact on the environment.

5. One or two companies enough

Competition in public transport is not about having many companies running the same route, it is about competing for the right to run on a particular route.

An operator is selected on the basis of being most able to satisfy the requirements of commuters and other parties (reliable service, safe buses, lowest subsidy) and once selected, it should enjoy a monopoly of the route.

The Government will have to regulate to ensure service is up to the mark. The benchmark should be the best-run route in the system.

6. One regulatory authority

It is a case of too many cooks spoiling the broth, as each cook has his own ideas and conflicting interests. Now, 13 government departments and agencies have a say in public transport.

There should just be one to plan the system, dish out the permits (to control the number of operators), organise the routes (to curb duplication) and ensure that the trains and buses run according to time.

It should also be the one dishing out subsidies. The single authority should have only one objective and no other – to ensure that the public gets good public transport.

7. Bus lanes and other facilities

Buses should have their own “track” so that they can be faster than private cars. That is the only way public transport can be more attractive than cars.

Modern bus lanes such as those in Curitiba, Brazil, and Jakarta – where they are virtually separate special roads just for buses – have made bus transport a success. And don’t worry if road users complain. The one lane taken away from them is making the movement of thousands of people more efficient. Bus lanes are also cheaper than train systems and can be just as efficient.

8. Ensure safety of passengers

It should be a basic right of commuters to be able to travel safely. An unsafe system will only turn people away.

9. Good customer information

There is no point in having hundreds of beautiful buses on the road without commuters knowing where they are going. Many rather drive than take buses because they are in control of their journey. The more people know how the system works, the more they will use the system.

10. Please walk the talk

All the above initiatives and problems have been recognised, considered and studied. Announcements are regularly made of moves to improve the system. Yet this comment still has to be written in such a tone. There may ultimately just be one paramount suggestion – don’t just talk, please get things moving!

Walk the talk

Mualaikummusalam Pn,

Yeah ,I was walking nak pi ambik Ashraf. I had to walk now coz my car dah kena jual kati. Its a relieve in a way as I don't have to think of car maintainance,arguing with mechanics and all.But ok lah walking in Putrajaya is not that bad after all,tak derita la. I guess blessing in disguise,with the fuel hike,global warming and all. You know now some friends too dah mula jalan kaki ke masjid dan tempat lain. Banyak orang kita segan sebab pikiran nak senang saja,tapi kalau kita pikir pasal environment ,always ask yourself what have you contribute to the environment?,even for a second,try to achieve to that contribution! Pn tak boleh lagi. You need at least 6th month to a year before you 're really ok. But public transport must be efficient. The other day the bus did't come after 45mins wait, I had to walk really fast to catch my appointment at P8,berpeloh juga. Taxi is convenient too in Putrajaya just hope they don't increase the fare saja. Monorail must come fast here as its a good public transport as my experienced in Sweden 25 yrs ago. My friend kerja Pos office kat sana pun dah millionaire after his retirement,all the time using public transport. Yang tu I kata all politician kat sini must go on public transport for a week to experience it for themselves,baru diaorang tau what the public needs.

Jumpa kat meeting nanti

Wassalam
Borhann


> Date: Fri, 6 Jun 2008 13:02:02 +0800
> From: fish2010@gmail.com
> To: borhann55@hotmail.com
> Subject: Re: Feelings......oh...ohh my feelings
>
> Assalamualaikum En Borhann,
>
> I saw you walking yesterday afternoon. You were walking towards the
> stairs leading to the apartments and I was in my car, stopping at the
> traffic lights. I was thinking about the school (of course) and the
> steps we have to take to adjust to the petrol price hike. You were
> walking forlornly and I was thinking that soon many more M'sians would
> have to walk. I know that you choose to walk and you like walking.
> But not all of us can walk - OKUs who depend on their vehicles for
> instance. Since the operation, I am a semi OKU - mobile on my feet
> but definitely can't walk very far or cycle. Macamana nak jimat?
> I read Dr M's comment on the petrol price hike in his blog, it is very
> interesting. The comments that followed his comment are doubly
> interesting. But one thing for sure - There are many angry Malaysians.
>
> Regards,
> Nafishah
>

Monday, June 2, 2008

Mukhriz claims certain Umno leaders 'block' entry of new members

Mukhriz claims certain Umno leaders 'block' entry of new members
Noor Hayati Muda, BERNAMA


KUALA LUMPUR, Mon:

As Umno members discuss the applications of three former Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) leaders to join the party, there are also those who allude to the difficulty of ordinary people becoming members.

They charge that Umno is an elite organisation that only allows a certain group to join it while other applications can take up to months if not years to be accepted.

Umno Youth executive council member, Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir, said this was due to the existence of "blocking" elements among lower echelon leaders who worry that their standing will be affected with the inclusion of new members.

"There were many such instances. Don’t assume that by filling a form, paying a RM1 membership fee, you can be an Umno member. Applications that I myself sent through the Jitra (Kedah) division in 2000 took six months to be accepted,” Mukhriz told Bernama here.

He said normally the problem arises when the applicant is a young person who is successful either in business or in education.

"Recently, when I was in Malacca, some people told me they only got accepted before the general election although they had applied six years ago,” said the Jerlun member of parliament.

Elaborating, Mukhriz said as a matter of policy, to join Umno a person had only to fill a form, pay RM1 membership fee and get the endorsement of the branch leadership.

"There should not be elements of bureaucracy as Umno is an open party for all Malays and the issue of difficulty of obtaining membership should not arise,” he said.

There are some, he said, who join the opposition parties after being frustrated of not getting their membership in Umno which they label as ’elitist’.

"As far as I know, joining opposition parties is very easy, some do it online. Not many whims. Umno should also be like that,” he said.

Umno Cheras division chief, Senator Datuk Syed Ali Alhabshee, admits hearing such complaints.

"I have heard of application forms being stuck at certain branches. I don’t know why,” he said.

He did not reject the possibility there were leaders who were worried that their positions would be adversely affected by new members and said the matter should be addressed as it especially blocked the entry of young new members.

"What is there to fear? If a leader discharges his duties and reposnsibilities sincerely there is no reason to worry about people wanting to join Umno,” he said.

However, he said, if there were former opposition party members, especially former Umno members, who wanted to re-join Umno they have to go through a different process.

"They should be called for an interview by the party’s management committee and questioned about their intention to re-join Umno. We do not want them to become thorns in the flesh,” he said.

He was referring to the applications of former PKR Youth chief, Mohamad Ezam Mohd Nor, and former Permatang Pauh PKR division chief, Anuar Shaari, both of whom had left Umno to join an opposition party.

Syed Ali said if both these leaders were accepted easily by the Umno leadership, there would be dissatisfaction among members who had been loyal to the party. — BERNAMA