Malaysia Should Have Made It Too,but...

BY *AHMAD MUSTAPHA
*The writer is a nephew of Dr Mahathir.

Singapore's Minister Mentor, Lee Kuan Yew, who was Singapore 's founding father, has always been very direct in his comments. This was the man who outsmarted the communists in Singapore (with the innocent help of Malaya then and the willing help of the British) and who later outwitted the British and outpaced Malaysia in all spheres. Singapore practices corrupt-free meritocracy and Malaysia affirmative action. The former attracted all the best brains and the latter chased out all the brains. The Singapore cabinet consists of dedicated and intelligent technocrats whereas Malaysia has one of the most unwieldy cabinets. Not only that, brain wise it was below par not even good for the kampong. With that kind of composition, one that is very brainy, naturally Singapore , with no natural resources could outstrip Malaysia in every aspect of development.

Malaysia , on the other hand, was too much preoccupied with its Malayness and the illusory 'Ketuanan Melayu' and was also more interested in useless mega iconic development rather than real social and economic development. Whenever Kuan Yew utters anything that deemed to be a slight on Malaysia , voices were raised admonishing him. Malaysia would never dare to face reality. That Singapore had shown that it could survive was a slap on those who believed that Singapore would fold up once it left Malaysia . Therefore it was natural that these doomsayers would try to rationalise their utterances to be in their favour to combat on whatever Kuan Yew commented. Its political jealousy.

Singapore achieved its development status without any fanfare. But here in Malaysia , a development that was deceptive was proclaimed as having achieved development status. It was trumpeted as an achievement that befits first world status. This was self delusion. Malaysians are led to believe into a make believe world, a dream world. The leaders who themselves tend to believe in their own fabricated world did not realise the people were not taken in by this kind of illusion.

Lee Kuan Yew believed in calling a spade a spade. I was there in Singapore when the People's Action Party won the elections in 1959. He was forthright in his briefing to party members as to what was expected of them and what Singapore would face in the future. Ideologically, I did not agree with him. We in the University of Malaya Socialist Club had a different interpretation of socialist reconstruction. But he was a pragmatist and wanted to bring development and welfare to the Singaporeans. Well! He succeeded.

Malaysia was so much embroiled in racial politics and due to the fear of losing political power, all actions taken by the main party in power was never targeted towards bringing wealth to all. Wealth was distributed to the chosen few only. They were the cronies and the backers of the party leadership to perpetuate their own selfish ends. Seeing the efficiency and the progress achieved by Singapore caused the Malaysian leadership to suffer from an inferiority complex. That Malaysia should suffer from this complex was of its own making. In a recent interview, Kuan Yew said that Malaysia could have done better if only it treated its minority Chinese and Indian population fairly. Instead they were completely marginalised and many of the best brains left the country in drove. He added that Singapore was a standing indictment to what Malaysia could have done differently. He just hit the nail right there on the head.

Malaysia recently celebrated its 50th year of independence with a bagful of uncertainties. The racial divide has become more acute. The number of Malay graduates unemployed is on the increase. And this aspect can be very explosive. But sad to see that no positive actions have been taken to address these social ills. Various excuses were given by Malaysian leaders why Singapore had far outstripped Malaysia in all aspects of social and economic advancement. Singapore was small, they rationalised and therefore easy to manage. Singapore was not a state but merely an island.

There was one other aspect that Malaysia practises and that is to politicise all aspects of life. All government organs and machinery were 'UMNO-ised'. This was to ensure that the party will remain in power. Thus there was this misconception by the instruments of government as to what national interest is and what UMNO vested interest is. UMNO vested interest only benefited a few and not the whole nation. But due to the UMNO-isation of the various instruments of government, the country under the present administration had equated UMNO vested interest as being that of national interest. Thus development became an avenue of making money and not for the benefit of the people. The fight against corruption took a back seat. Transparency was put on hold. And the instruments of government took it to be of national interest to cater to the vested interest of UMNO. Enforcement of various enactments and laws was selective. Thus a 'palace' in Kelang, APs cronies and close-one-eye umno MPs could exist without proper procedure. Corruption infested all govt departments, the worse is the police and lately even in the judiciary.

Singapore did not politicise its instruments of government. If ever politicisation took place, it is guided by national interest. To be efficient and to be the best in the region was of paramount importance. Thus all the elements like corruption, lackadaisical attitude towards work and other black elements, which would retard such an aim, were eliminated. Singapore naturally had placed the right priority in it's pursuit to achieve what is best for its people. This is the major difference between these two independent countries.

Malaysia in its various attempts to cover up its failures embarked on several diversions. It wanted its citizens to be proud that the country had the tallest twin-tower in the world, although the structure was designed and built by foreigners. Its now a white-elephant wasting away. It achieved in sending a man into space at an exorbitant price. For what purpose? These are what the Malays of old would say "menang sorak" (hollow victories).

It should be realised that administering a country can be likened to managing a corporate entity. If the management is efficient and dedicated and know what they are doing, the company will prosper. The reverse will be if the management is poor and bad. The company will go bust. There are five countries around this region. There is Malaysia , and then Indonesia . To the east there is the Philippines and then there is that small enclave called the Sultanate of Brunei . All these four countries have abundance of natural resources but none can lay claim to have used all these resources to benefit the people. Poverty was rampant and independence had not brought in any significant benefits to the people. But tiny Singapore without any resources at all managed to bring development to its citizens. It had one of the best public MRT transport systems and airlines in the world and it is a very clean city state. Their universities, health care, ports are among the best in the world. It is impossible to compare what Singapore has achieved to what all these four countries had so far achieved. It was actually poor management and corruption, and nothing more. Everything is done for the vested interest of the few.

Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines and the Sultanate of Brunei need good management teams. They would not be able to do this on their own steam. I would advise that they call on Kuan Yew to show them what good governance is. Why look East to Japan when it is just next door across the causeway.

Editor's Note: The article is published the way we received it by email from another source...We do not know where it was published first.

Take the risk to change

**Just felt that it is right time to read an article that came into my mail today.**

A primary one student can also claim easily that he can deliver. In fact all salesmen, businessmen and any Tom Dick and Harry can promise and say "I can deliver".

I was disconnected from the virtual and outside world for almost a month and have no idea what the local political scenes have turned into. While eating the bungkus nasi lemak I read from the wrapped star paper headlines "I can deliver - Najib Razak".Today after getting connected again and having read most of the political news, I wonder what the PM meant by "I can deliver". By just giving a salesman type of answer "I can deliver" means nothing if the whole system of manufacturing the product is not working in sync.

Way back in the late 90's when I was in the US, I applied for a delivery job in a restaurant. The boss asked me one question 'can you deliver?' and of course my answer was 'I can deliver'. He started laughing and told me that he had fired six delivery men within six months, all answering the same question with 'I can deliver'

I asked what went wrong.The boss then explained, either the car broke down frequently, not able to read the road map, poor working relationship with co-workers or flirting around. I then assured the boss that these will not be my problems and to try me out for a month. Since the restaurant was in urgent need of a delivery man I was employed.

Within two months I was named the fastest delivery man in town and of course the boss was laughing all the way to the bank because I can make so many deliveries for him each day. What the people wanted when they order delivery was that the food arrives in time and still in warm and tasty condition. I seldom cross the speed limit and never got caught for any traffic offenses. There were complaints to the boss that I deliver too fast, no joke. So, how did I successfully make the delivery? Here is how.Within two weeks of employment I changed my old broken down Fort Escort for a brand new Nissan Sentra. Inside the kitchen there were the Chinese (China) chef, Indonesian helpers (preparing the raw ingredients), Americans taking the phone orders and packaging. I work very closely with them all. Once orders were taken, the American will let me know the addresses (I always reminded the Americans to make sure the addresses are always correct) and I will study the map and find the locations. Next I will work with the chef to speed up on the delivery orders. The American will follow the list that I provided that highlights which address I will deliver first and packed them accordingly to the routes that I will be driving.You can deliver successfully only when the whole system is functioning properly.

Najib Razak alone cannot make any delivery if he fails to clean up the whole system that runs the government. The whole system is rotten to the core. Even his own DPM is not working or talking in sync with his policies. How can the PM then make any delivery? Sending his cybertroopers to attack the opposition with unsubstantiated claim of wrong doings, sexual misconduct and created lies upon lies do not help either.Giving out goodies only near election time is no delivery but an insult to the voters. Playing cool on the outside but cold inside that calls for "crushed bodies and lost lives" ain't delivery. Flip flopping and making u-turns after policy statements cannot count as delivery. Copying from others and treated as yours are not delivery.Without making changes to the judiciary, PDRM, MACC, EC, laws that hinder democracy and race and religious relationships and appointing suitable, qualified and capable candidates to important Minister posts such as finance and education I can bet that Najib can only deliver zero.

Today PM Najib has given us very good advice, "Don't be afraid to take risks", so what are you all waiting for, grumbling or being indecisive about. BN is Umno that has been in power for over five decades and we have seen and heard how bad they are and yet we keep voting them in because we dare not take the risk. With Najib's advice, we can now take the risks to CHANGE the bad and filthy Umno government. Go for it, believe me, this risk is worth taking.

What Changes Can there Be? The 10 Resolutions

Pakatan Rakyat Convention - 10 resolutions

You won't get this in the newspapersThe Pakatan Rakyat convention in Penang sent an unmistakable and chilling signal to arch rivals - Prime Minister Najib Razak and the Umno-BN coalition. Despite a roller coaster journey since sweeping to power in the 2008 general election, Pakatan has not been diminished by the enmity and malice unleashed by its political opponents, but has been able to mature and grow stronger in the process.Indeed, the star-studded conference hall was packed with the likes of PAS president Hadi Awang, Mujahid Yusof Rawa, PKR president Wan Azizah, Selangor Mentri Besar Khalid Ibrahim, DAP adviser Lim Kit Siang and Karpal Singh.Pakatan delegates and other members of the public who wanted to meet their 'reformasi' heroes were spoiled for choice.

DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng, who is also Penang Chief Minister, played host to the 2,000-strongCrowd at the convention.Racial policies rejected, preliminary 10-point manifesto unveiled.In a rousing opening address, Guan Eng warned Prime Minister Najib Razak's Umno party not to 'hijack' the federal constitution and misinterpret the controversial Article 153 to divide the ethnic groups in the country."Somehow Umno always fails to mention that Article 153 also states that the legitimate interests of other communities must also be protected, Guan Eng said.Guan Eng also unveiled a ten-point document to be signed by all the top Pakatan leaders and which is set to become the coalition's preliminary manifesto in the coming general election. The resolutions o utline in detail the changes Pakatan will introduce within the first 100 days of its taking over Putrajaya if it wins the next general election expected to be held early next year.

The resolutions are:
1. A restructure of institutions including the Elections Commission (EC), the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), the Attorney-General's Chambers and the Royal Malaysian Police. During a debate on the policy framework, DAP's Anthony Loke requested PR bring the MACC under the purview of Parliament.

2. A repeal of the Internal Security Act (ISA)

3. Instruct Khazanah Berhad, Employees Provident Fund (EPF) and other government bodies to take over highway assets from the concessionaires in order to abolish the toll system.

4. A restructure of the country's subsidies, to lessen subsidies given to the private sector (such as the RM19 billion in gas subsidies given to independent power producers) and transferring these to subsidies for theMan on the street.

5. Acknowledging the role and sacrifices of civil servants by studying the current pay schemes and increasing the incentives for teachers by RM500 a month

6. Transferring private water concessions to the government

7. Offering free wireless Internet access to those in urban and semi-urbanAreas

8. Cancelling Felda Plantations and opening up its farms to second- and third generation Felda settlers.

9. Increasing oil royalty payments to Sabah, Sarawak, Terengganu and Kelantan to 20 per cent from 5 per cent currently.

. Formation of a Royal Commission to solve the problem of illegal immigrants and citizenship issues in Sabah and Sarawak .

** Just give Malaysia a change in this coming General Election and experience the drastic changes that follows......**

It Does Matter who is elected to Putrajaya

A foreign press has reported as follows:-

Malaysia:Sinking deeper and deeper KL must take urgent action to cut alarming - and growing - national debt .

MALAYSIA should take heed of the problems - the public anger, the social unrest - posed by the solutions offered to tackle rising sovereign debt in Europe. God forbid that we head that way! The Auditor-General's recent report pointed out that Malaysia's national debt rose 12.3 per cent to over RM407 billion (S$165 billion) in 2010. The amount is equivalent to 53.1 per cent of gross domestic product. It's the second straight year that the national debt has exceeded 50 per cent. The figure is a reflection of the spending spree the country went on to mitigate the effects of the 2009 global financial crisis. At its peak that year, the budget deficit rose to 7.6 per cent of GDP, the highest in two decades. It has since come down to 5.4 per cent of GDP and the government projects that it will decline further to 4.7 per cent of GDP next year. But that may be overly optimistic.

Everyone knows why the debt has piled up: persistently high budget deficits over 14 years. But it is the pace of the rise that's alarming. Standout statistic: in the space of six years, total federal government debt has actually doubled from 2004. That way lies folly. Malaysia's debt position is close to breaching legislative levels set a long time ago by Parliament. According to the Auditor-General's report, public debt from domestic sources rose RM41.76 billion to RM390.36 billion last year, while loans from foreign sources rose to RM16.75 billion, or up RM2.96 billion. But the Loan (Local) and Government Investment Act caps the domestic debt ceiling at 55 per cent (of GDP) for the government, while the External Loans Act 1963 limits foreign loan exposure to RM35 billion. According to the report, the domestic debt level at end-2010 stood at 51 per cent of GDP.

The great irony of the situation is that it need not have come to that. The Auditor-General's report revealed a litany of financial abuse in several government agencies. Leakages and wastage of appalling proportions were laid bare. Marine binoculars being purchased at 25 times cost? Over RM5 million to buy horses? If all the wastage was cut and proper procedures observed all the way down, one suspects that Malaysia would be a budget-surplus country. Nor is national debt going to fall any time soon. Next year, it's estimated that the debt will breach RM455 billion - almost 54 per cent of GDP.

The danger for Kuala Lumpur is another recession stemming from the West's economic woes. This time it cannot afford to spend its way out of it, like it did in 2009. On top of that, subsidies on fuel and other essentials like cooking oil, milk, rice and sugar remain intractably high at RM32 billion this year. And the hits just keep on coming. According to the country's central bank, the national debt as at June 30, 2011 has risen to RM437 billion, with domestic debt amounting to RM421 billion and foreign debt at RM16 billion.

** It does matters who Malaysians will put to govern the nation. Malaysia may go bankrupt in the next round, and the rakyat suffers. Pakatan Rakyat definitely is a good alternative to save Malaysia.**

General Election Delayed !

It looks like the GE is delayed. This shows that BN need more time to work on getting the support of the people.....They knew they are not able to win the people over their side. Rakyat Malaysia is going for a change over!!

It is good for Pakatan also. Time for the member parties to review their nation building manifesto..... rich nation, low cost of living, and a fair and just government for ALL rakyat.

How to decrease the debts of the nation?
How to lighten up the financial burden of the rakyat? This the new government must review the tax systems and to improve and subsidise public facilities,and public transport system.
Building up the nation with bright Malaysians, Malaysians of all communities.

Introduce attractive incentives to draw talents back from overseas---a faster way of nation building.

While waiting for the coming GE, begin to work on shortlisted candidates: candidates who are in to win, and to serve the nation, NOT in as a investor, hoping to make money out of political
career. Each MP candidate must write their own vision and proposal for a progressive Malaysia. For potential YB they must write on what they visualise as the best way to improve the quality of livelihood in their respective constinuecy. How they would go about be a real friend and representative of the people.

Those who are not listed should not cause any problem to the party----- just humbly give way to a better man.

This delay is good for Pakatan....make good use of the longer time available to explain our national problem to our people.
God bless Malaysia!

Right Man for the Right Job

This coming election Malaysians are voting to TURN MALAYSIA into a progressive nation. Cutting down national debts, to creat a favorable investment atmosphere for foreign investment, to fight inflation, and to improve basic amenity for a better living for all rakyat Malaysia.

This must start with curbing of corruption at top level to prevent misapproriating public fund.
Next is to restructure our educational system and policy, to retain the cream of our intellectual population for national growth---- cutting down brain drain.
Appointment of the right man to the right job in all government departments.

Looking into modernise agricultural practices---- raising the status and income of our agricultural sectors.

PKR must make sure to place the right man of the right calibre for this coming election. People who know their responsibility of creating a Better Malaysia. Joining in not for personal gain but for national building---- building up Malaysia. Malaysians wanted to stand tall and be proud of our nation. NOT to be a laughing -stock of the world.

People of Malaysia must take this coming election seriously, lest our nation may enter into a era of NO-RETURN..... going down the drain. Presently we are still in time to SAVE Malaysia.

Let us show the world we can do it peacefully, just by way of the ballot and many would have to pack and go home.