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Aliran Monthly : Vol.30(9)

PP3739/12/2010(025927) ISSN 0127 - 5127 RM4.00 2010:Vol.30No.9

For Justice, Freedom & SolidarityFor Justice, Freedom & SolidarityFor Justice, Freedom & SolidarityFor Justice, Freedom & SolidarityFor Justice, Freedom & Solidarity


ne of the most basic ofrights in a democracy isthe right to freedom ofinformation. This right

allows ordinary people to makeinformed decisions and enablesthem to hold politicians account-able.

In that sense, freedom of informa-tion and the right to information

are empowering. If the people donot have the ability to obtain ac-curate information and make in-formed decisions, what is themeaning of their right to freedomof expression and assembly?

Access to relevant information al-lows ordinary people to partici-pate and influence decision-mak-ing. They can also become

whistle-blowers, holding those inpublic office accountable.

That would make politicianswary of engaging in corrupt orunethical practices, whether inprocurement, award of con-tracts and dealings with BigBusiness. The right to freedomof information is therefore essen-tial to good governance.

COVER STORY

Freedom of information:A basic right

by Anil Netto

OOOOO

The widest consultation is necessary to ensure the FOI Act livesup to the expectations of the rakyat


First Selangor and now Penang. Both these statesare blazing the trail by being the first two to tableFreedom of Information Bills in their State Assem-blies. Anil Netto sets the tone for Sarajun Hoda’scover story by reiterating that freedom of informa-tion is a basic right, without which other rights maybe rendered almost meaningless. FOI means just that:information must be freely available, says Sarajun,who examines the Selangor FOI Bill – only to findthat it leaves much to be desired.

Hishamuddin Yahaya then takes the BN to taskfor failing to explain the Constitution and the so-called Social Contract to the people. JeyakumarDevaraj then examines how the NEP has morphedinto the NEM and critiques the economic orienta-tion of the various political parties.

After all those critiques it’s time for the lighterside as Soon Chuan Yean takes another look atZunar. Up close and personal, the cartoonistextraordinaire is just a human being – funny, fondof food, humble and friendly. So why are certainparties so fearful of him? Another human inter-est story comes in the form of Andrew Lin’s ac-count of the life and times of S P Seenivasagam,the other half of the legendary Seenivasagambrothers. Isn’t it a pity though that S P should godown in history as such a greatly misunderstoodpolitician after having given his all for Ipoh?.

Finally, the Indian subcontinent comes under thespotlight as Bonojit Hussain explores why theTaliban have been able to engulf Afghanistan onceagain. This is juxtaposed against a piece honouringpeace activists from India and Pakistan who haveworked hard to bridge the divide between the twonations.

C O N T E N T S

EDITOR'S NOTE

COVER STORYCOVER STORYCOVER STORYCOVER STORYCOVER STORY••••• Freedom Of Information:Freedom Of Information:Freedom Of Information:Freedom Of Information:Freedom Of Information:

A Basic RightA Basic RightA Basic RightA Basic RightA Basic Right 22222

••••• A Critique Of The Selangor FOI BillA Critique Of The Selangor FOI BillA Critique Of The Selangor FOI BillA Critique Of The Selangor FOI BillA Critique Of The Selangor FOI Bill 55555

FEATURESFEATURESFEATURESFEATURESFEATURES••••• Is BN Guilty Of CriminalIs BN Guilty Of CriminalIs BN Guilty Of CriminalIs BN Guilty Of CriminalIs BN Guilty Of Criminal

Negligence?Negligence?Negligence?Negligence?Negligence? 1 01 01 01 01 0

••••• From The NEP To The NEMFrom The NEP To The NEMFrom The NEP To The NEMFrom The NEP To The NEMFrom The NEP To The NEM 1 21 21 21 21 2

••••• The Other Side Of Zunar:The Other Side Of Zunar:The Other Side Of Zunar:The Other Side Of Zunar:The Other Side Of Zunar:

A Personal NoteA Personal NoteA Personal NoteA Personal NoteA Personal Note 1 91 91 91 91 9

••••• Bring Back The Old, TrulyBring Back The Old, TrulyBring Back The Old, TrulyBring Back The Old, TrulyBring Back The Old, Truly

Malaysian, DaysMalaysian, DaysMalaysian, DaysMalaysian, DaysMalaysian, Days 2 22 22 22 22 2

••••• “America No Good; Russia Good!”“America No Good; Russia Good!”“America No Good; Russia Good!”“America No Good; Russia Good!”“America No Good; Russia Good!” 2 72 72 72 72 7

••••• Peace Stars Of 2010Peace Stars Of 2010Peace Stars Of 2010Peace Stars Of 2010Peace Stars Of 2010 2 92 92 92 92 9

••••• Love God Or Fear God?Love God Or Fear God?Love God Or Fear God?Love God Or Fear God?Love God Or Fear God? 3 23 23 23 23 2

••••• The Much Misunderstood PoliticianThe Much Misunderstood PoliticianThe Much Misunderstood PoliticianThe Much Misunderstood PoliticianThe Much Misunderstood Politician 4040404040

REGULARSREGULARSREGULARSREGULARSREGULARS••••• LettersLettersLettersLettersLetters 1 11 11 11 11 1

OTHERSOTHERSOTHERSOTHERSOTHERS••••• Subscription FormSubscription FormSubscription FormSubscription FormSubscription Form 1 81 81 81 81 8

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Aliran is an organisation for ‘social democraticAliran is an organisation for ‘social democraticAliran is an organisation for ‘social democraticAliran is an organisation for ‘social democraticAliran is an organisation for ‘social democraticreform’. We advocate freedom, justice andreform’. We advocate freedom, justice andreform’. We advocate freedom, justice andreform’. We advocate freedom, justice andreform’. We advocate freedom, justice andsolidarity; comment critically on social issues, offersolidarity; comment critically on social issues, offersolidarity; comment critically on social issues, offersolidarity; comment critically on social issues, offersolidarity; comment critically on social issues, offeranalysis and alternative ideas keeping in mindanalysis and alternative ideas keeping in mindanalysis and alternative ideas keeping in mindanalysis and alternative ideas keeping in mindanalysis and alternative ideas keeping in mindthe national and global picture based on universalthe national and global picture based on universalthe national and global picture based on universalthe national and global picture based on universalthe national and global picture based on universalhuman rights and spiritual values. We are listedhuman rights and spiritual values. We are listedhuman rights and spiritual values. We are listedhuman rights and spiritual values. We are listedhuman rights and spiritual values. We are listedon the on the on the on the on the roster of the Economic and Social Council ofroster of the Economic and Social Council ofroster of the Economic and Social Council ofroster of the Economic and Social Council ofroster of the Economic and Social Council ofthe United Nations. Founded in 1977, Aliranthe United Nations. Founded in 1977, Aliranthe United Nations. Founded in 1977, Aliranthe United Nations. Founded in 1977, Aliranthe United Nations. Founded in 1977, Aliranwelcomes all Malaysians above 21 to be members.welcomes all Malaysians above 21 to be members.welcomes all Malaysians above 21 to be members.welcomes all Malaysians above 21 to be members.welcomes all Malaysians above 21 to be members.Contact the Hon. Secretary or visit our webpage.Contact the Hon. Secretary or visit our webpage.Contact the Hon. Secretary or visit our webpage.Contact the Hon. Secretary or visit our webpage.Contact the Hon. Secretary or visit our webpage.


Registration of votersRegistration of votersRegistration of votersRegistration of votersRegistration of votersAll are welcome to register on the day of the fo-rum on 14 Nov 2010 Sunday at 8.30am.

Early registration will help us a great deal. Soplease email [email protected] and provideyour name and contact number.

No wonder over 85 countriesaround the world have enactedfreedom of information laws. TheSelangor state government’s deci-sion to table an Freedom of Infor-mation Bill is a step in that direc-tion. The state government hasalready invited civil societygroups to provide feedback – andthey have had plenty to say aboutthe draft bill.

Now, the Penang state govern-ment is set to follow suit. Notwith-standing the state government’scommitment to Competence, Ac-countability and Transparency,its announcement that it toowould table an FOI Bill hascaught civil society activists inPenang by surprise.

These plans to enact freedom ofinformation laws have gener-ally been widely welcomed.Civil society groups like the

Centre for Independent Journal-ism, however, are more cautious:they say we we should hold backon the standing ovation untilthe state shows it is seriousabout enacting a meaningfulFOI law. Such a law should in-clude best practices in FOI leg-islation to ensure maximumtransparency and openness. Infact, a good FOI law should guar-antee the public access to reliableand relevant information.

Among the key features that CIJpointed out should be included ina meaningful FOI Act are the prin-ciples of maximum disclosure,narrow exemptions, the protec-tion of whistle-blowers, and theroutine publication of informa-tion. Simple procedures should bein place to enable the public togain access to information at aminimal cost. An independentadministrative oversight body too

has to be put in place.

Now that the Penang FOI Bill isready, let’s hope it will be madewidely available to the public.(After all, it is a Freedom of Infor-mation Bill.). Early circulation ofthe Bill would enable the publicto compare it with civil society’sproposed bill, which was draftedby a Freedom of Information Coa-lition. They would then be able tofind out if the Penang state gov-ernment has included in its ver-sion of the Bill the key featuresmentioned above and addressedthe shortcomings in the SelangorFOI Bill, which Sarajun Hodahighlights in the accompanyingarticle.

The widest consultation is neces-sary to ensure the finished prod-uct – an FOI Act - is meaningfuland lives up to the expectationsof the rakyat.q

Do you want to be a municipal councillor inPenang? Would you like to participate in pilotelections to vote for the candidates of yourchoice? A string of candidates have alreadyapplied to become councillors and more are con-sidering.

Becoming a councillor: closing datesBecoming a councillor: closing datesBecoming a councillor: closing datesBecoming a councillor: closing datesBecoming a councillor: closing datesWe are extending the closing date for candidatesto apply to November 10, 2010.Application Forms are available at http://www.penangforum.net/sites/default/files/PF3-Borang.docJust complete the form and submit to Aliran.

Candidates and manifestosCandidates and manifestosCandidates and manifestosCandidates and manifestosCandidates and manifestosThe list of candidates with their manifestos willbe posted on penangforum.net from 1 November2010 onwards. The objection period will be from1 Nov to 12 Nov. Please send in any objection tothe candidates to Penang Forum c/o Aliran.

Penang Forum 3: Calling all Penang residents

For enquiriesFor enquiriesFor enquiriesFor enquiriesFor enquiries

Penang Forum 3,Penang Forum 3,Penang Forum 3,Penang Forum 3,Penang Forum 3,

c/o Aliran,

103 Medan Penaga,

11600 Jelutong, Penang.

Email : [email protected]

Phone : (04) 658 5251 during office hours,

Tuesday to Saturday.

Fax : 658 5197


omeone once said,“Truth stands on itsown legs but lies willneed the crutches of cor-

rupt leaders.”

On 28 September 2010, Aliran wasinvited to provide feedback onSelangor’s proposed Freedom OfInformation (FOI) Bill after the sec-ond reading. There are two rea-sons for commending theSelangor government:

1 . For taking a bold step that theBarisan Nasional government,intent on hiding their rot,would never have dared.

2. For engaging civil society in

COVER STORY

A critique of theSelangor FOI BillFreedom of Information must meanexactly that: information must be freelyavailable. Regrettably, the Selangor FOIBill leaves much to be desired

by Sarajun Hoda Abdul Hassan

SSSSS

The Selangor State Assembly debating the FOI Bill.The Selangor State Assembly debating the FOI Bill.The Selangor State Assembly debating the FOI Bill.The Selangor State Assembly debating the FOI Bill.The Selangor State Assembly debating the FOI Bill.


the process without which, itcannot be a law for the peoplebut exploitation like what theBN government does in Parlia-ment and in negotiating FTAswith foreign states.

Many other NGOs were asked toprovide their opinion and thiswas Aliran’s turn to present itsviews. As an Aliran exco member,I was there representing the group.The session was chaired by SaariSungib, the Hulu Kelang Assem-bly member. He was flanked bystate assembly membersAmiruddin bin Shari (Batu Caves)and Dr Ahmad Yunus bin Hairi(Sijangkang).

I started by saying that, judgingby the contents of the FOI Bill, theSelangor Government is not seri-ous about freedom of information.From the onset, the Selangorgovernment’s perception of theFreedom Of Information (State ofSelangor) Enactment 2010 is in-verted. Freedom Of Informationmust mean exactly that. It must befreely available.

The whole process of governancemust be transparent. Presently, itis seriously myopic. Instead of in-formation being made freely avail-able (with few exceptions), theEnactment, looked at holistically,suggests exactly the opposite. In-formation is NOT freely available(with a few exceptions). Insteadof limiting the restrictions, the En-actment limits the exposure of in-formation that should be readilyavailable to the people.

The very concept of FOI collapsesat its initiation when the SelangorGovernment submits that ‘anyperson MAY be given access to in-formation made by everydepartment’[Section 5(1)]. Thegovernment is not serious. Infor-mation only may be given, not shallbe given, a fact that Teng ChangKhim, the State Speaker, andmuch later Charles Santiago, theMP for Klang, admitted to me.This is not being proactive in dis-seminating information to thepublic.

Only information that is madeavailable is available. How aboutinformation submitted by or de-

rived from the public? Take forinstance a tenderer for the sup-plies of stationery for the stategovernment. Even if the poten-tial supplier is unsuccessful, theinformation must still be availablefor public scrutiny. We don’twant pencils to be supplied atRM50, do we? So why shouldsuch information be out of boundsto the public? The government isnot firm and serious in uphold-ing the people’s right to informa-tion.

The flow of information is alsotightly held back [Section 2] un-der the pretext that:• it might violate the OSA,• it could be a breach of confi-

dence or trade secrets,• it would be prejudicial to rela-

tions, to the effective formula-tion of state policy, to develop-ment and the economy or tosecurity,

• it could risk frustrating statepolicy,

• it could undermine any de-partment or the effectiveness ofa test or audit.

All these restrictions are so broad,subjective and vague, it justdoesn’t convince the people on thestreets that the FOI will be any dif-ferent than that presently prac-tised by the Barisan Nasional tohide its rot.

It is clearly an opus of the ‘birdsof the same feather’, working withpre-established mindsets andmentality, that has unambigu-ously failed to produce the spiritthat many expect a PakatanRakyat government to live up to.The fact that the Bill has alreadygone for two readings says a lotabout the Pakatan’s level of re-sourcefulness.

Broad restrictions


But most restrictive of all are thesebits:

2.c.iii - any information if disclosedwould or would likely cause seriousprejudice to the administration of anydepartment or the state government(this is too vague)2( d) – any other documents whichmay be specified, from time to time,by the State Authority by notificationin the Gazette.

These two sections alone suffi-ciently throw a blanket over allinformation and effectively, effi-ciently and effectually just closeall doors to any sort of informa-tion at all material times.

Yet more deterrents are created.One needs to state the reason andpurpose for the information ap-plied. This in itself is against theconcept of freedom of informationand the right to that information.

There is also a fee imposed but notspecified. Does this suggest thatthe state is selling the informa-tion? If the state’s worry is just thecost or retrieving that information,a RM1 fee should suffice. This isbecause their remuneration andthe cost of materials and time isalready paid for by the people’smoney.

A response time of up to 30 daysis provided [Section 7(1)]. In thisinformation technology age, whydo they need such a long time? Incases where life or liberty may beat stake, a response time of evenseven days is still very long. Imag-ine a person arrested by the po-lice, while trying to prove his in-nocence, is deprived of his free-dom and then subject to confine-ment and possible torture or illtreatment for that long, just be-cause the state apparatus is soinefficient?

The deterrents then turn fatal:

• If there is no response to the ap-plication, one is to consider suchapplication rejected [7(3)];

• Access to the information may berefused [(8(1)];

• The Information Officer may athis discretion, arbitrarily decidethat the applicant is not entitledto such information [8(1)a];

• If the information ‘does not ex-ist ’ or is ‘not in control of the de-partment’ [8(1)b]. This sectionread together with Section13(1) – Every department mayrefuse to indicate whether or notit holds an information or refuseto communicate information,where to do so would involve thedisclosure of personal informationof an individual third party.

These provisions successfully killoff the very spirit of freedom of in-formation. The reasoning — dis-closure of a third party — is toowobbly and subjective. Who is theAct protecting? The politician?Government officials? These pro-

More deterrents


visions open up space to hide therot, to shield a corrupt act or toprotect the corrupt. They may beconveniently used to protect cro-nies and blue-eyed employees. Inthe Philippines FOI, the publicinterest overrides the interest of aperson: the privacy rights of a per-son takes a back seat.

Under Section 12, every depart-ment is not required to complywith an application for informa-tion which is vexatious or unrea-sonable or if there is a similar ap-plication from the same personwhich has been complied with.This raises several questions: whodecides what is vexatious or un-reasonable? what is the standarddefinition? why must one be pre-vented from re-seeking the infor-mation? Maybe the person whowants the information the secondtime around believes there couldbe changes or new information.Anyway, if the information can beobtained once, why not twice?This section challenges the very

spirit of FOI.

Under Section 14(2), the membersof the appeal board are appointedby the state. This means firstly,they will not be independent andsecondly, there is no independentmember representing civil society.

Section 14(4) makes the situationmore horrendous: ‘The state au-thority may revoke theappointment of amember of the Appealboard without assign-ing any reason there-fore.’ Now, this is evenworse than the situa-tion faced by Suhakamcommissioners who,in order to be fair andjust to the people, may unfortu-nately invite the state’s displea-sure – but they still get to completetheir term. This section confirmsthat the members will not be inde-pendent at all: they will be con-trolled by the state, subject to itspressure and will have no choicebut to either strictly toe the line orget kicked out.

The appeals board is not collegialand does not work on a simplemajority. The Chairman shall notbe bound to conform to the opin-ions of the other two members oreither of them….[section14(9)]…may make any orderwhether or not provided for by,and not inconsistent with, thisenactment [14(10)f] and an ordermade by the appeal board beforeit shall be final, shall not be calledinto question in any court, andshall be binding on all parties tothe appeal or involved in the mat-ter [14(13)]. So, in effect, the Chair-man can make any unilateral de-cision he wishes and cannot bechallenged in any court.

The last nail to the coffin sends achilling effect - the most intimidat-ing and offensive provision ofthem all. Any person that uses anyinformation obtained under thisenactment contrary to the reasonand purpose of such applicationmade (Section 15(1)….commits anoffence liable on conviction, to afine not exceeding RM50,000 or toimprisonment not exceeding five

years or both [Sec-tion 15(2)].

Looked at as awhole, the SelangorFOI Bill regrettablyleaves much to bedesired. It lacks twoother very crucialcomponents not

mentioned above.

Firstly, there is no provision forproactive or automatic disclosureor publication of documents (asdefined by the Evidence Act 1950)of high public interest or whosedisclosure will promote demo-cratic practices and good gover-nance. A good example would bethe list of suppliers and theirprices for goods and services sup-plied to state government depart-ments and the municipal coun-cils.

The absence of a spirit of proac-tive and automatic disclosure ofinformation only confirms thelackadaisical attitude of thePakatan government inrecognising that the communityright to information must bestrengthened.

Secondly, there is clearly no pen-alty for any restriction or denialof right to access to information.The state government and its de-partments have a million reasons

Crucial componentsm i s s i n g


dispensing infor-mation requiredfor a fair and justtrial.

By holding on tothe draconian ISA,the Sedition Act1948, the PrintingPresses and Publi-cation Act 1984(PPPA), the Offi-cial Secrets Act1972 (OSA), theUniversities andUniversity Col-leges Act 1971(UUCA) and thePolice Act 1967,the government isacting dictatoriallyand ruling by in-timidation.

In the eyes of the world, Malaysiais seen as a state that fails to up-hold the protection of humanrights and the assurance of pub-lic interest as enshrined and ad-equately safeguarded by the Fed-eral Constitution. So it is time forthe Federal Government to have aFOI Act of its own.

The government has obligationsunder international laws such asthe Universal Declaration of Hu-man Rights (UDHR), the Interna-tional Covenant on Civil and Po-litical Rights (ICCPR). Its ratifica-tion of other international decla-rations is increasingly comingunder world scrutiny.

It must be reminded that under theUDHR and the ICCPR, ‘Everyoneshall have the right to freedom ofopinion and expression; this rightincludes freedom to hold opinionswithout interference and to seek,receive and impart information

Sarajun Hoda is an AliranSarajun Hoda is an AliranSarajun Hoda is an AliranSarajun Hoda is an AliranSarajun Hoda is an Aliranexecutive committeeexecutive committeeexecutive committeeexecutive committeeexecutive committeemember.member.member.member.member.

not to dispense information andthey are not punished for stem-ming or violating this public right.

Despite all these limitations, theSelangor government must still becongratulated for its daring andits effort to initiate and bring abouta FOI law, which is somethingMalaysia desperately needs. Theabsence of such a law has allowedthe ruling federal government toserve vested interests while hid-ing the rot and almost dictatori-ally ruling the people with an ironfist.

More than 80 countries aroundthe world are said to be putting inplace FOI in their respective coun-tries and have at least adoptedaccess-to-information legislation.Even the Charter of FundamentalRights of the European Union(Article 42) states “any citizen ofthe Union, and any natural or le-gal person residing or having itsregistered office in a member state,has the right of access to Euro-pean parliament, Council andCommission documents”.

Unfortunately, the Malaysiangovernment has failed to fully un-derstand and appreciate the realdemocratic practices that comesalong with FOI. Atrociously, it stillallows the undermining of thefundamental principles of the Ma-laysian Constitution such as thefreedom of expression, associa-tion, movement, assembly and re-ligion as well as the right to havea free and fair trial.

Regretfully, it just doesn’t botherthe federal government if the judi-ciary is not seen to be dispensingfree and fair judgments, let alone

and ideas through any media andregardless of frontiers.’

Abid Hussein of India, who wasfor nine years Special Rapporteurto the UN on Freedom of Opinionand Expression, fittingly opinesthat “the right to seek and receiveinformation is not simply a con-verse of the right to freedom ofopinion and expression but a free-dom on its own”.

The government must constantlybe reminded that they are a gov-ernment of the people for thepeople. They govern on behalf ofthe people. Hence all the informa-tion belongs to the people. So,what exactly is the logic for hid-ing information from the public?Unless, of course, they have some-thing to hide.

Something to hide?

q


re our efforts to foster ra-cial unity really dodder-ing, as alleged by some?Indications are that they

are. Incidents involving people inresponsible positions making de-rogatory racial remarks all pointto that direction. What thesepeople said is too sensitive toquote here. But suffice to say theywere derogatory and racist re-marks, which no amount of apol-ogy will erase.

Again what prompted the PM togive a stern warning that the gov-ernment would not tolerate suchsensitive issues being raised byany quarter? The answer is sim-ply that racial unity is still elusive,and unless programmed andimplemented wisely, it will noteasily be achieved.

I am prompted to reminisce aboutwhat the late Koh Kai Boh, a Cabi-net Minister prior to the May 13incident, said when he came toMalaysia Hall, London to give abriefing on the situation, weeksafter the infamous incident.Among other things, he said, “thegovernment is guilty of criminalnegligence in not teaching andexplaining to the people our con-stitution.” Had that been done, he

said, the racial riotcould not have oc-curred. The late KohKai Boh himself wasa lawyer.

In short, what theformer Minister meantwas, had the peopleunderstood their re-spective rights andobligations under thecountry’s principallaw, things would au-tomatically havefallen into place andthe racial outburstwould not have oc-curred. Understand-ing the constitutionwould also teach the people thatto be a Malaysian is not just to bea Malay, Chinese or Indian, but toassume a nationality that is ‘Ma-laysian’. Race is relegated to na-tionality and only becomes rel-evant when applying personallaws such as marriages and othercustomary practices.

The United Kingdom is relevantexample. All citizens are British,not English or Scottish or Welsh.Though, to a small extent, regionalsentiments still exist, but on acommon front, they are one

people, “British”.

Forty one years later, the BN gov-ernment still carries the same sin,as pointed out by the late Koh KaiBoh. In fact, another negligencehas been added to that: the BN’sfailure to explain what the so-called “Social Contract” is about.Many do not know the existenceof the Social Contract and haveheard it only for the first time. Oth-ers think that it is a created thing

ETHNIC RELATIONS

Is BN guilty of criminaln e g l i g e n c e ?BN has failed to explain the Constitution andthe so-called Social Contract to the people

by Hishamuddin Yahaya

AAAAA

S o - c a l l e d“ S o c i a l C o n t r a c t ”


to justify the BN’s failure toachieve the target for Bumiputraeconomic participation. If, assome quarters allege, a breach byone party of this alleged SocialContract is the reason for Malayslagging behind economically,then a manipulation of the issuecould create something reallyfrightening.

As a 71-year-old, I think the so-called Social Contract is best de-scribed as a vague, unpublishedagreement, concealed from pub-lic knowledge and made to sur-face at a convenient time, purelyfor the BN’s political exigency.But this is an issue too danger-ous to toy about with. As citi-zens, we have the absolute rightto forewarn the powers-that-bethat there are other ways of gain-ing political support. Do notfollow the aphorism that in atime of storm, any port will do.It is simply self-destructive. Andwe know that the BN is now ina precarious position.

So that brings us the question howa country ruled by a coalition ofrace-based parties will fare withthe One Malaysia concept or anyother racial-integration pro-gramme for that matter. As eachparty’s policy is governed by de-cisions made in the party’s con-vention, we wonder how consen-sus in Cabinet meetings can bereached on issues touching onrace or a particular community.But even when a “forced”concensus is reached, when theissue comes unstuck, it could in-vite disguised retaliation, whichwould only exacerbate misunder-standing and dissatisfaction. Sothat will take us back to squareone.

Every race-based political partyhas a communal drive, which isthe reason for its successful for-mation. Spurred on by a feistyparty symbol, a race-based party’smove along chauvinistic lines issomething ‘natural’ and to be ex-pected; after all, race or commu-

Dato HishamuddinDato HishamuddinDato HishamuddinDato HishamuddinDato HishamuddinYahaya is a lawyer andYahaya is a lawyer andYahaya is a lawyer andYahaya is a lawyer andYahaya is a lawyer andformer MP for Maran.former MP for Maran.former MP for Maran.former MP for Maran.former MP for Maran.

nal interest is its raison’d etre, with-out which it would not exist.

One has only to attend any race-based political party’s conventionand listen to the delegates’speeches to realise how racisttheir members are. It may soundmortifying to these party membersbut it’s the stark reality.

This is the foremost issue that eachMalaysian will have to thinkabout seriously. It’s either doaway with race-based politicalparties or stay race-based, inwhich case the country would for-ever remain divided along raciallines and the One Malaysia con-cept would never be achieved.And, in which case, the ISA wouldbe needed even more than everbefore. Now, the choice is ours!q

I am a resident around Pykett Av-enue, Penang. The mansion onthat land was demolished. Thiswas done without any approvalgiven by MPPP. The matter wasactually reported in Kwong WahYit Poh.

I believe the local council waswaiting for a report on the pos-sible heritage status of the man-sion before deciding whetherdemolition order could be given.

I find it shocking that owners canflout the law so easily. The own-

Letters must not exceed 250words and must include thewriter's name and address.Pseudonyms may be used. Sendletters or emails to Editor (seepage 3 for address details).Views expressed need not reflectthose of Aliran. If e-mailing,include message in the e-mailbody itself.

Stronger deterrentneeded to protectheritage buildings

ers and ‘others’ may say that themansion has yet to be listed as‘heritage’. If buildings can be de-molished and the council can onlyfine the owners, no heritage build-ing in Penang is safe. What pre-vents owners from just demolish-ing any building even those listedas heritage?

If a fine is the only deterrent, wemight as well kiss the Unesco list-ing goodbye. The only effectivedeterrent is denial of planningpermission for the next 20 to 50years!

Y C LeeY C LeeY C LeeY C LeeY C LeePenangPenangPenangPenangPenang


he NEP or New Eco-nomic Policy was pro-mulgated by Malaysia’ssecond Prime Minister,

Tun Abdul Razak in the early1970s. Essentially, the NEP hadtwo major policy objectives – theeradication of poverty and the re-structuring of the economy to en-sure that the Malay communitywas fairly and proportionatelyrepresented in the modern andmore productive sectors of theeconomy. Elements of the NEPwere already being implementedby the government even in the1960s, but Razak’s policy state-ment consolidated and gave fur-ther legitimacy tothese measures. TheNEP saw a slew ofaffirmative actionpolicies premised onethnicity, rangingfrom special schoolsfor Malay studentsto quotas for Univer-sity admission andpreferential promo-tion of Malays in thecivil service and edu-cational institutionsto licences, permits,loans and grants toencourage Malayparticipation inbusiness activities.

The NEP has made an impacton Malay society. Though manyMalay families are still mired inpoverty, there has been a rapidexpansion of the Malay middleclass, with significant partici-pation in all the professionaland technical fields of the mod-ern economy. I would argue thatthe Malay income distributionwould have been similar to thatof the Kadazans if not for theNEP and the affirmative actioninitiatives taken by the govern-ment.

The NEM was announced earlierthis year by Najib Razak,Malayisa’s sixth Prime Minister.The Malaysian political elite are

now very concerned thatMalaysia’s economic growth hasseemed to have stalled. Poorerneighbours are succeeding in at-tracting more foreign direct invest-ments (FDI) than Malaysia hasbeen for the past 10 years. Privatesector investment has fallen from30 per cent of GDP in the 1990s toits current 10 per cent. Profes-sional talent has continued to flowout from Malaysia. Malaysiancorporations are also investingabroad! In their words – “Malay-sia runs the risk of being stuck ina middle income trap.”

The following analysis whichappeared in the 10th MalaysiaPlan document captures the es-

sence of the BN elite’sassessment of whatneeds to be done:

Globalisation has intensi-fied competition. This isnot the time to withdrawbut to accept and embracethe rules of the game interms of global competi-tion. It will require greatereffort to ensure that Ma-laysia continues to be abeneficiary of global-isation. It requires aunited effort and policyalignment towards a re-lentless pursuit of globalcompetitiveness and eco-

ECONOMIC

From the NEP to the NEMA critique of Malaysian economic policy plus some preliminarythoughts on the way forward

by Jeyakumar Devaraj

The NEP and the NEM

TTTTT


nomic growth.

Transformation (of the economy) in-volves some temporary short termeconomic dislocation. Potential shortterm dislocation will need to beviewed as an investment towardsmedium term and sustainable gainsin higher income and quality of lifefor all.

Specific policy initiatives to be un-dertaken towards driving the com-petitiveness of the domestic economyincludes the removal of distortionaryprice controls and advancingliberalisation, especially in the ser-vices sector. The government will con-tinue to review and modernise regu-lations such as labour laws, towardsfacilitating a well functioning mar-ket economy where appropriate pricesignals will lead to efficient alloca-tion of resources.

Priority will be given to regulationsthat can materially improve the easeof doing business in Malaysia, to-wards facilitating greater private in-vestments and enabling the privatesector to be the engine of growth

- 10th Malaysia Plan Document. Pg9 - 10

On the face of it, there is a hugechange in the policy orientationof the BN elite. The table on theright summarises some of thesecontrasts.

Many of the initiatives listed un-der the “NEM” were actuallystarted by Tun Dr Mahathir about20 years back. But these have beenaccepted and endorsed in the eco-nomic policy prescription put for-ward by Najib.

Is the NEM, a breakfrom the NEP?

The Father (NEP)The Father (NEP)The Father (NEP)The Father (NEP)The Father (NEP)

Massive land schemes to pro-vide agricultural lots to thou-sands of landless Malay farm-ers.

Massive expansion of roads toserve rural areas

Massive expansion of the pub-lic health services

Restriction of the scope of theprivate sector to outpatient clin-ics

Public provision of subsidisedtertiary education

Employment provident fund setup to provide for workers afterretirement

Progressive taxation. Compa-nies taxed 40 per cent of profitsup till 1988

Premised on an assessment thatthe free market will not be ableto achieve certain societal goals,thus necessitating the interven-tion of government

BN leaders represented thesocio-economic elite. But theywere not direct major beneficia-ries of government’s policies.

The Son (NEM)The Son (NEM)The Son (NEM)The Son (NEM)The Son (NEM)

Involvement of the corporatesector in agriculture. Smallfarmers are being crowded out.

Toll highways with favourableterms for the concessionaries

Cannibalisation of the publichealth Sector in the form of lu-crative contracts for favouredcompanies

Massive expansion of the pri-vate sector in health, spear-headed by GLCs. Strong em-phasis on health tourism as amajor growth sector.

Massive expansion of privateeducation with very lax qual-ity control by the government

EPF funds used to bail-outcrony companies; Benefits tomembers reduced.

Company tax has been re-duced in stages to its current25 per cent. We appear to bechasing Singapore’s 19 percent! Government intent onbringing in the GST.

Premised on neo-liberal posi-tion that the unfettered marketis the only way to advance theeconomy of the country.

BN leaders are deeply em-broiled in business activities.They are the primary beneficia-ries of government policies.


While there is a huge differencein the stance of the BN elite to-wards the unfettered market andthe role of government interven-tion, one should not make themistake of thinking that the BNelite of the 1960s and 1970s wereall closet socialists! The BN eliteof the 1970s were merely espous-ing positions that were held bypolicy makers in the US and Brit-ain at that time. It was a differentsituation then. The Cold War wasat its height. The USSR seemed tohave won the race to space byputting the first man into orbit viathe Sputnik. Cuba, Vietnam, Nica-ragua, Chile, Guinea Bissau – theperiphery seemed in danger of de-fecting to the Soviet camp in largenumbers. It was imperative at thattime to give concessions to theworking people – social demo-cratic policies had to be enacted.Capitalism had to put on its mosthuman face!

The team around Razak stronglysupported the “Free World”against the Communist Bloc - justas Najib and his team embrace thedictates of corporate-ledglobalisation. The difference inpolicy prescriptions from father toson are mainly due to the fact thatthe Cold War was won by the“Free World” and a new unipo-lar global order has been created.With the vanquishing of the Com-munist Bloc, corporate-ledglobalisation no longer needs tohide behind the veil of socialdemocratic welfare programmes.These can be dispensed with andare being dismantled the worldover – the attempt to reduce pen-sion entitlements in France is justanother marker of that ongoing

process.

The NEM is being criticised bymany parties, and for quite differ-ent reasons. Lets take a quick over-view.

The DAP/Keadilan posi-tion is that theyare not con-vinced that the

g o v e r n -ment hasthe com-mitment orability tocombat the

corruption and cronyism that hasbecome part of the standard oper-ating procedure of the Malaysiangovernment. But DAP andKeAdilan do not have any majordisagreement with the neo-liberalthrust of the NEM – they acceptthe need to canvass for FDI; theyaccept health tourism; they acceptthe privatisation of tertiary edu-cation; they believe that Malaysiacan compete and succeed in cer-tain “niches” of the globaleconomy (one of the NEM strate-gies); and they see the ‘logic’ ofbringing in the GST so that corpo-rate taxes can be reduced.

The Pas positionis more complex.While they sharethe DAP /Keadilan criti-cism mentionedabove, given their

grassroots connections, Pas ismore warier of measures such asthe GST and the removal of subsi-dies. Their perception of the USas the oppressor in Iraq, Palestine

and Afghanistan dampens theirenthusiasm for Free Trade Agree-ments with the US and Europe.They are ambivalent with regardto developing the financial sectorwhich is premised on riba or thecharging of excessive interest,however much one repackages itto seem like ‘profit sharing’. I maybe wrong, but I do not think thatPas has harmonised these differ-ent strands of reaction into a co-herent policy position, and thisagain is due to the fact that thereare differing positions within Pasitself regarding these issues.

The Umno con-tractor–Perkasaposition is muchsimpler. They seethe attempts toliberalise the

economy as an attack on the privi-leges that they are enjoying now.Greater transparency andrationalisation in the giving ofcontracts might adversely affecttheir chances of getting contracts.The removal of the 30 per cent eq-uity requirement for investment in27 service sub-sectors is particu-larly ominous for it indicates thegovernment may actually putsome of these ideas into practice!Many people do not realise theextent to which Malay business-men are tied to the apron stringsof the government. Let me just citea few examples:

- the Public Infrastructure Coor-dination Project (PIA) and theBasic Infrastructure Project(PIAS) programmes whichhave been giving contracts to-talling RM1 billion each yearto Bumiputra Class F contrac-tors from 2006 till now;

- SMiDEC or the Small and Me-dium Industry Development

Criticism ofN a j i b ’ s N E M

But an importantunderlying similarity


Corporation gave out 4,270grants totalling RM 143.3 mil-lion in 2009;

- the Defence Ministry has is-sued a letter of intent to DRB-Hicom to buy 257 armouredpersonnel carriers (APC) at acost of RM31 million per APC.The catch is that the most ex-pensive APC on the market isonly about RM10 million!

- the GLC vendor programme.

Given the extent to which thissmall but influential stratum ofMalay businessmen are benefitingfrom the current pro-Bumiputrapolicy, it is not difficult to appre-ciate that they will fight tooth andnail against anyone who tries todismantle their net of privileges,even if he happens to be the PrimeMinister! And they will be pre-pared to play dirty – using race,the issue of special privileges, andreligion.

The PSM’s cri-The PSM’s cri-The PSM’s cri-The PSM’s cri-The PSM’s cri-tiquetiquetiquetiquetique of Najib’sNEM, is some-what different, forit takes a muchwider historical

perspective. It is premised on threeoverlapping analyses. These are:

1 ) The world economy is facingserious problems and one ofthe main causes of the problemis the failure of aggregate de-mand to provide adequate in-vestment opportunities for thegrowth of capital. Aggregatedemand has been underminedby the migration of manufac-turing and even services fromhigher wages economies of theWest to China, India and otherThird World countries.

The reduction of subsidised

government social services isanother cause for the failure ofdemand to expand. This prob-lem of under-consumption isbeyond the power of nationalgovernments to regulate, andthus will remain a feature ofthe world economy, forcingsurplus capital into specula-tive investments, while alsopredisposing the global sys-tem to recurrent recessionarycycles.

2) Succeeding within the frame-work of corporate-ledglobalisation will require Ma-laysia to join in the ‘race to thebottom’ - the race to shift thetax burden from the economicelite and the corporations tothe ordinary people; the raceto lower protection for work-ers; the race to commodify ba-sic needs such as health, hous-ing and education and rely onthe market to supply these. Itis a race that will make the or-dinary people of all countrieslosers!

3) The global capitalist economyis reaching the physical limitsof growth: oil reserves will berunning down within the nextgeneration and global warm-ing is a dangerous possibility.We just cannot strive to havethe global economy expandingat 5 per cent per year for thenext 50 years. The ecosystemjust will not take it. And if thereis significant climatic change,the poor in Asia and Africawill be among those who willstarve in the millions. We willsee the barbarism that RosaLuxemburg talked aboutwhen the elite of the world useforce to keep the starvingmasses from their stocks of

food, and out of the agricul-tural land that they claim istheirs!

Therefore the PSM would arguethat we need a Green-Left ap-proach to the issue of economicdevelopment of the country andthe world. We would argue for asmaller, less wasteful economy.We would argue for productiveassets to be held by the commu-nity and not individuals and cor-porations. We would argue thatthe concept “Intellectual PropertyRights” should be consigned tothe dustbin – knowledge is theheritage of humankind and can-not be claimed by individuals! Inshort we would argue for a social-ist economy!

A groundswell of anger has beenongoing over the process of cor-porate-led globalisation that iswithdrawing in stages, more andmore elements of the welfare con-cessions granted by the elite to theordinary people during the periodof 30 years after World War II. Thecurrent protests in France over thecurtailment of pension benefits isan example. But until a significantnumber of people come to see thatan alternative social order is pos-sible, these protests will only de-lay the neo-liberal cut being pro-posed, or at most lead to a regimechange (as opposed to a systemchange). They are akin to the peas-ant revolts that only changed theking, but left the system of feudal-ism in place.

Too many people the world overbelieve Thatcher’s proclamationthat “there is no alternative” tocorporate led-globalisation. We

A hegemonic shiftr e q u i r e d


need to shape up and compete onthe terms offered by the currentneo-liberal system or risk being leftout of economic development.This belief is coupled with theperception that the socialist alter-native is defunct – it was given afair try in the 20th century but wasnot practical and led to terriblehuman right abuses.

If we want to promote a social-ist alternative as the way for-ward for humanity, we need totake these “Thatcherite” percep-tions on and explain, withouttoo much heat (without gettingangry and calling anyonenames!), in language that can beunderstood by those who havenot attended ‘ideology classes’,why we believe these positionsare wrong. We need to work to-wards a hegemonic shift inpeople’s perceptions on whatkind of society is possible!

This obviously will have to be amajor undertaking, but let me justsketch out what I think will beamong the major issues that wewould have to deal with in Ma-laysia.

The reactions most ordinary Ma-laysians would have to the pro-posal that we need to work to-wards a socialist transformationof society include the following:-

• Malaysia has done fairly wellparticipating in the global freeenterprise system. Why not re-adjust ourselves to continueparticipating and benefiting inthe free enterprise system?Otherwise we run the risk ofbecoming isolated and back-ward like Burma or North Ko-rea.

• The socialist system is an eco-

nomic failure• You need entrepreneurs to

grow the modern economy• Central planning is unwieldy,

bureaucratic and inefficient.• There are serious disincentives

to hard work in the communalsystem of production.

• Even socialist countries suchas China and Vietnam are turn-ing to capitalism to further de-velop their economies. Theyare so keen to join the WTO,and they are also seeking tobring in FDI.

• The socialist system will leadto a totalitarian state. It is notcompatible with democracy.The free enterprise system isthe only economic system thatwill facilitate the democraticpolitical process.

• The requirements of a socialistsystem are contrary to humannature. So the regime will needto use authoritarian measuresto compel the population tofollow the laws of the socialiststate.

The hegemonic shift we needThe hegemonic shift we needThe hegemonic shift we needThe hegemonic shift we needThe hegemonic shift we need tobring about requires that each ofthese perceptions has to be ad-dressed honestly and in a ratio-nal manner that the majority will

find convincing. Getting angrywith “these reactionaries” andblustering or just throwing outsocialist jargon will certainly nothelp win adherents to our cause!And addressing these percep-tions convincingly requires thatwe have to accept that certain as-pects of these perceptions are true– for example the first one abovestating ‘Malaysia has done fairlywell’ within the global capitalistsystem. I think we need to ac-knowledge that. My reasons forsaying so: there are currently morethan 3 million foreign workersfrom Indonesia, Bangladesh andNepal working here. In terms ofcreation of employment opportu-nities and wage rates, Malaysiais better that these countries,which were also former coloniesthat attained Independence atabout the same time as Malaysia.That is why so many of their work-ers come here to work.

My understanding is that Malay-sia emerged from the colonial pe-riod in a much better state eco-nomically compared with Indo-nesia, Nepal and Bangladesh.And the main reason for this wasthat the colonialists were able tointegrate Malaya into the global

Per capitaPer capitaPer capitaPer capitaPer capita Life ExpectancyLife ExpectancyLife ExpectancyLife ExpectancyLife Expectancy <5 mortality<5 mortality<5 mortality<5 mortality<5 mortality(PPP - US $) (M/F) (per 1000

lifebirths)

Malaysia 1 2 , 1 60 69/74 1 2Indonesia 3 , 3 1 0 66/69 3 4Nepal 1 , 0 1 0 62/63 5 9Vietnam 2 , 3 1 0 69/75 1 7Bangladesh 1 , 2 3 0 6 3 / 6 3 69

The table below summarises data from the WHO websiteThe table below summarises data from the WHO websiteThe table below summarises data from the WHO websiteThe table below summarises data from the WHO websiteThe table below summarises data from the WHO website

Selected Socio-economic indices of several countries.elected Socio-economic indices of several countries.elected Socio-economic indices of several countries.elected Socio-economic indices of several countries.elected Socio-economic indices of several countries.(WHO website – figures pertain to 2007)


capitalist economy much morethoroughly as compared to Indo-nesia (which was colonised by aweaker, less vibrant capitalistpower), Bangladesh (becausethere was relative scarcity of landthere, given its huge population)and Nepal (land locked).

However despite conceding thatthere is some truth in this percep-tion, I think it is still possible toargue that we need a paradigmshift in Malaysia’s economic tra-jectory, and here arguments basedon the three points (in the critiquefurther above) need to be put for-ward in a consistent and convinc-ing manner.

Similarly, working towards this‘hegemonic shift’ in popularimagination requires that we needto re-examine some of the sacredcows that characterised ‘socialist’economies. The issue of a centrallyplanned economy is one of these. Ithink it is undeniable that it led toshortages and the production ofpoor quality consumer goods forthe population. We need to studyexactly how Centralised Planningfunctioned in the USSR and what

Jeyakumar Devaraj is theJeyakumar Devaraj is theJeyakumar Devaraj is theJeyakumar Devaraj is theJeyakumar Devaraj is theMember of ParliamentMember of ParliamentMember of ParliamentMember of ParliamentMember of Parliamentfor Sungai Siput.for Sungai Siput.for Sungai Siput.for Sungai Siput.for Sungai Siput.

the real problems were. We needto study the Yugoslavian experi-ment with the use of the market tofacilitate and regulate distributionof consumer goods.

In attempting to do all this weneed to develop more preciseterms – at present the term “freemarket system” is used as a syn-onym for “capitalism”. What thenshould we call a situation whereproduction units are controlledand managed by workers but thedistribution of the productsamong themselves and to the gen-eral public is through the mecha-nism of prices determined by sup-ply and demand? Such a systemof production and distributiondoes not require centralised plan-ning of every single item of theeconomy, but would be a cleardeparture from production for theprofit of individuals or corpora-tions. Some of the ‘old school’would consider this idea “sacri-legious”. We need an internal de-bate to clarify our thoughts aboutthis issue before we can turn toconvincing the general public thatthe system we are putting forwardis not some pie in the sky kind of a

thing.

The issue of the system of incen-incen-incen-incen-incen-tives for workers in a socialisttives for workers in a socialisttives for workers in a socialisttives for workers in a socialisttives for workers in a socialisteconomyeconomyeconomyeconomyeconomy also has to be addressed.Collectivisation in the USSR inthe late 1920s led to a massivedrop in agricultural output. Agri-cultural output went up markedlyin China when Deng’s reforms ledto the allocation of part of the landheld collectively to individualfarmers. We have to study ex-amples such as these to be able tosay how we would order thingsdifferently in the socialist societywe are proposing as an alterna-tive to the neo-liberal mess we areliving in.

All these are huge issues, and it isnot within the framework of thiscommentary on the NEP and NEMto address all of these. Howeverthese and the other issues listedabove (and perhaps several oth-ers) have to be addressed by thoseof us who believe that the social-ist alternative is not only viable,but that it represent the only hopefor mankind if we wish to forestallthe descent into barbarism RosaLuxemburg spoke of. We have toseriously turn our minds to theseissues and clarify our positionssuch that we can present a coher-ent, well thought out alternativeto convince the general public thatwe are not some angry anarchicmisfits but are well connected toreality, and are espousing an al-ternative model of human societythat is both desirable and attain-able.q


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hen Zunar was ar-rested on 24 Septem-ber 2010, many wroteabout his arrest. News

and interviews, reports andblogs, Facebook updates andSMS messages, all full of the cir-cumstances surround-ing his arrest and theraids on his ‘Cartoon-o-phobia’.

This phenomenonshowed that Zunarhas indeed become apolitical figure, not inthe way of realpolitik,but more in relation tothe politics of freedomof expression in Ma-laysia.

Zunar’s cartoons andsatire have shown upMalaysia’s cartoon-like politics - his wayof showing a ‘middlefinger’ to gutter poli-tics. Perhaps, judgingfrom the public response toand support for Zunar, his car-toons have helped Malaysians

to express their dissatisfaction,disappointment and angst atthe politicking among politi-cians in the midst of an oppres-sive setting.

No doubt, when one mentions

Zunar, his public image cannotbe separated from the Malay-sian political scenario.

There is another sometimes ne-glected aspect of Zunar: thenon-political aspect.

When I first arrived at his firmSepakat Efektif on 23September, Zunaropened the door for meand then sat down onhis chair. It was quite un-like my first personalmeeting with Zunar afew months earlier. Hewas full of zest then,coming to greet hisguests with full atten-tion and engaging inconversation on the theissues and analyses ofthe day..

This time, though, hewas a bit quiet and theusual energetic and talk-ative Zunar was notthere. We then startedto have a little chat and

began to work on his cartoonspublication for a journal. Thenslowly, Zunar started to talk

ARTS & CULTURE

The other side of Zunar:A personal noteUp close and personal, Zunar is just a human being - funny,fond of food, humble and friendly. So why is he so feared bycertain parties?

by Soon Chuan Yean

WWWWWZunar, a mere human


more, not so much about hiscartoons but on his ideas andplans. He told me about hisplans to get the word “cartoon-o-phobia” into the dictionary,making it as a formal Englishterm for people to understandthis phobia in the Malaysianpolitical scenario.

He also plans to publish hisbooks into two other lan-guages, namely Bahasa Melayuand Mandarin, as encouragedby his fans. He wants to applyfor a grant to go overseas todraw his next set of cartoons.(During the launching, guestspeaker Nizar Jamaluddin, theousted Chief Minister of Perak,mentioned that Zunar alreadyhas a 10-year plan to draw aset of cartoons about the futureMalaysia political scenario,showcasing the collapse of theBN regime).

At this point, Zunar livened upto his usual talkative self.

I realized that, Zunar couldsometimes have his moment oftiredness. Perhaps, his work,his travels, all the entertainingwith friends and guests and hisencounters with the authoritieshave contributed to fatigue –as it would for many of us aswell. After all, we are merelyhuman.

My first lunch with Zunar wasa few months ago, when wewent to a warung makan for theMalay version of ‘economy rice’.

The place was located some-where along the street behindSepakat Efektif. To be frank, thefood was just okay-lah.

But my lunch with Zunar on 23September was somewhat dif-ferent. The restaurant (not thefancy one) was serving theusual Indian bread, nasi kandarand mee goreng. Zunar, accom-panied by another friend,brought us there because of thegood chapatti there. Unfortu-nately, it was not good eitherbecause the previous owner orcook was different. When thechapatti was served, Zunar im-mediately knew that it was dif-ferent. So he scrutinised thechapatti and concluded it wasmade using different flour; thusit was not crispy and too dry.As for drinks, he recom-mended that we try cow ‘s milktea. And yes, that was delicious- thanks to Zunar.

When Zunar’s wife was givingher speech during the booklaunch, she mentioned that

Zunar “cannot miss his meal.If air enters his body (anginmasuk badan) he will be veryvery cranky; you will not (liketo) see a cartoonist when he iscranky.” Fortunately duringthe arrest, he was given oneand half slices of roti canai; yet,Zunar was complaining to thepolice personnel: “Why the rotiis hard (to chew), don’t youguys know how to buy (deli-cious ones)?”

Zunar’s ‘crankiness’ extends tothe authorities. He is asstraightforward and bold ashis cartoons on Malaysian poli-tics. His cartoon styles do notcontain any symbolism or la-tent meaning in reflecting re-ality. The cartoons are straightto the point, clear-cut, bold andnaked, unashamedly leavingonly limited space for readersto interpret.

So that’s Zunar. His ‘cranki-ness’ and fondness for foodresemble his courage and bold-ness in using clear, definite

Zunar, the great“ k a k i m a k a n ” w i t h

definite strokes


Soon Chuan Yean is anSoon Chuan Yean is anSoon Chuan Yean is anSoon Chuan Yean is anSoon Chuan Yean is anAliran exco memberAliran exco memberAliran exco memberAliran exco memberAliran exco member

strokes in his cartoons.

After lunch, we went back toSepakat Efektif for some unfin-ished business. As usual, weasked for a photo session withhim.

Zunar recalled that people toldhim that he does not smile whenbeing photographed. (If youlook at Zunar’s facial expres-sion, he does have more of aserious and critical look ratherthan a ‘smiley cartoon’ face.) ButZunar insisted that he doeshave a smiling face wheneverthere is a photo session. We thentried to get into position for thephoto session. Zunar thenteased the other friend that hewould be able to smile since hewas standing beside his fan-cum-admirer, which made us allburst out laughing.

Those who know Zunar wellenough or as passers-by, will

notice that when he speaks, itis always accompanied or fol-lowed with a laugh, not fromthe listeners but more fromhimself. In other words, Zunarseems to be a ‘happy’ and‘funny’ guy. This ‘funny’ sideof Zunar, carries into his car-toons that are satire - politicallystern, but framed within aninformal, loose, LOL (laughingout loud) makeup.

One example of his cartoon thatcaught my attention was theone with the 1Malaysia concept(or is it, one wife concept?)

Zunar, who does not ‘smile’ onthe surface, always has a‘happy’ and ‘funny’ heart. Per-haps, his talent is born withinthis ‘funny’ inner being of his.

Over lunch, we discussedmany issues revolving aroundPKR and Selangor governance.Different views and ideas sur-

faced from us, generating agood and productive discus-sion. The way he engaged inconversation with the younglike us, was not to impose hisideas forcefully or to condemnus. It reminded me of my in-terview with him on how hetrains his the young cartoon-ists. For him, cultivating theyounger generation of car-toonists is important as theyounger generation have“fresher ideas that sometime Ido not have”. This is humility.

Up close and personal, Zunaris just a human being - funny,fond of food, humble andfriendly. It makes one wonderwhy Zunar is so feared by cer-tain parties. Zunar himself hadthe answer to that: “They fearbecause they are weak. Thenthey tend to suppress and stopothers.”

Zunar andthe missing smile

Zunar, friendlyand humble q

Fazlina RosleyFazlina RosleyFazlina RosleyFazlina RosleyFazlina Rosleypresentingpresentingpresentingpresentingpresenting“Cartoon-O-Phobia”“Cartoon-O-Phobia”“Cartoon-O-Phobia”“Cartoon-O-Phobia”“Cartoon-O-Phobia”T-Shirt to DatukT-Shirt to DatukT-Shirt to DatukT-Shirt to DatukT-Shirt to DatukNizar Jamaluddin,Nizar Jamaluddin,Nizar Jamaluddin,Nizar Jamaluddin,Nizar Jamaluddin,the former Chiefthe former Chiefthe former Chiefthe former Chiefthe former ChiefMinister of Perak,Minister of Perak,Minister of Perak,Minister of Perak,Minister of Perak,who was the guestwho was the guestwho was the guestwho was the guestwho was the guestspeaker at thespeaker at thespeaker at thespeaker at thespeaker at thelaunch.launch.launch.launch.launch.


have played some smallrole in the life of this na-tion, but having been onthe wrong side of one or

two political fights with the pow-ers that be, I am not as close to theyoung people of this country as Iwould hope to be. History, and the8 o’clock news, are written by thevictors. In recent years thegovernment’s monopoly of themedia has been destroyed by thetechnology revolution.

You could say I was also a mem-ber of the United Kingdom andEire Council (UKEC) for Malay-sian students. Well I was, exceptthat belonged to the predecessorof the UKEC by more than 50years, the Malayan StudentsUnion of the UK and Eire. I ledthis organisation in 1958/59. Iwas then a student of Queen’sUniversity in Belfast, as well as atLincoln’s Inn. In a rather coolerclimate than Kota Bharu’s. Wecampaigned for decolonisation.We demonstrated in TrafalgarSquare and even in Paris. Wemade posters and participated inBritish elections.

Your invitation to participate in

the 4th Annual Malaysian StudentLeaders Summit (MSLS) was pref-aced by a an essay which calls foran intellectually informed activ-ism. I congratulate you on this.The Youth of today, you note,“will chart the future of Malay-sia.” You say you “no longer wantto be ignored and leave the futureof our Malaysia at the hands ofthe current generation”. You“want to grab the bull by the

horns… and have a say in wherewe go as a society and as a na-tion”.

I feel the same, actually. A lot ofMalaysians feel the same. They aretired of being ignored and talkeddown to.

You are right. The present genera-tion in power has let Malaysia

POLITICS

Bring back the old, trulyMalaysian, days1Malaysia is empty because it is propagated by a governmentsupported by a racially-based party system that is the chiefcause of our inability to grow up in our race relations.

by Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah

IIIII

Just do it

Tengku RazaleighTengku RazaleighTengku RazaleighTengku RazaleighTengku Razaleigh


a fine race horse. He called a pressconference with his stewardswhen his horse won at theMelbourne Cup. He had nothingto hide because his great integrityin service was clear to all. Nowwe have religious and moral hypo-crites who cheat, lie and steal inoffice, who propagate an ideologi-cally shackled education systemfor all Malaysians while theysend their own kids to elite acad-emies in the West.

Speaking of football. You’re tooyoung to have experienced theMerdeka Cup, which Tunkustarted. We had a respectable sidein the 1960s and 70s. Teams fromacross Asia would come to playin Kuala Lumpur, teams such asSouth Korea and Japan, whom wedefeated routinely. We were oneof the better sides in Asia. We wonthe bronze medal at the Asiangames in 1974 and qualified forthe Moscow Olympics in 1980.Today our FIFA ranking is 157 outof 203 countries. That puts us inthe lowest quartile, belowMaldives (149), the smallest coun-

The glory days

Zhou En-laiZhou En-laiZhou En-laiZhou En-laiZhou En-lai NehruNehruNehruNehruNehruSoekarnoSoekarnoSoekarnoSoekarnoSoekarno

Leaders of the Afro-Asian MovementLeaders of the Afro-Asian MovementLeaders of the Afro-Asian MovementLeaders of the Afro-Asian MovementLeaders of the Afro-Asian Movement

down. But also you cite twothings as testimony of the impor-tance of youth and of student ac-tivism to this country, the electionresults of 2008 and “the PrimeMinister’s acknowledgement ofthe role of youth in the develop-ment of the country”.

So perhaps you are a little way yetfrom thinking for yourselves. Thefirst step in “grabbing the bull bythe horns” is not to require theendorsement of the Prime Minis-ter, or any Minister, for your ac-tivism. Politicians are not yourparents. They are your servants.You don’t need a government slo-gan coined by a foreign PR agencyto wrap your project in. You justgo ahead and do it.

When I was a student our newlyformed country was already aleader in the post-colonial world.We were sought out as a leader inthe Afro-Asian Conference whichinaugurated the Non-AlignedMovement and the G-77. TheAfro-Asian movement was led bysuch luminaries as Zhou En-lai,Nehru, Kwame Nkrumah,Soekarno. Malaysians were seen

as moderate leaders capable of me-diating between these more radi-cal leaders and the West. We wereknown for our moderation, goodsense and reliability.

We were a leader in the Islamicworld as ourselves and as wewere, without our leaders havingto put up false displays of piety.His memory has been scrubbedout quite systematically from ournational consciousness; so youmight not know this or much elseabout him, but it was TengkuAbdul Rahman who establishedour leadership in the Islamicworld by coming up with the ideaof the OIC (Organisation of IslamicCountries) and making it happen.Under his leadership, Malaysialed the way in taking up the anti-apartheid cause in the Common-wealth and in the United Nations,resulting in South Africa’s expul-sion from these bodies.

Here was a man at ease with him-self, who made it a policy goal thatMalaysia be “a happy country”.He loved sport and encouragedsporting achievement among Ma-laysians. He was owner of many


together, we did well. When raceand money entered our game, wedeclined. The same applies to ourpolitical and economic life

Soon after independence we werealready a highly successful devel-oping country. We had begun theinfrastructure building and diver-sification of our economy thatwould be the foundation for fur-ther growth. We carried out animport-substitution programmethat stimulated local productivecapacity. From there we started aninfrastructure build-up whichenabled a diversification of theeconomy leading to rapid indus-tria-lisation. We carried out effec-tive programmes to raise rural in-come and help the landless withprogrammes such as Felda. Ourachievements in achievinggrowth with equity wererecognised around the world. Ourpeer group in economic develop-ment were South Korea, HongKong, Singapore and Taiwan, andwe led the pack. I remember weused to send technical consultantsto advise the South Koreans.

By the lates 1990s, however, wehad fallen far behind this groupand were competing with Thai-land and Indonesia. Today, ac-cording to the latest World Invest-ment Report, FDI (Foreign Devel-opment Investment) into Malay-sia is at a 20-year low. We are en-tering the peer group of Cambo-dia, Myanmar and the Philip-pines as an investment destina-tion. Thailand, despite a month-long siege of the capital, attractedmore FDI than we did last year.Indonesia and Vietnam far out-perform us, not as a statistical blipbut consistently. Soon we shall

have difficulty keeping up withthe Philippines. This, I believe, iscalled relegation. If we take intoaccount FDI outflow, the pictureis even more depressing. Last yearwe received US$1.38 billion in in-vestments but US$ 8.04 billionflowed out. We are the only coun-try in Southeast Asia which hassuffered net FDI outflow. I am notagainst outward investment. Itcan be a good thing for the coun-try. But an imbalance on this scaleindicates capital flight, not mereinvestment overseas.

Without a doubt, Malaysia is slip-ping. Billions have been lootedfrom this country, and billionsmore are being siphoned out asour entire political structurecrumbles. Yet we are gatheredhere in comfort, in a country thatstill seems to ‘work.’ Most of thetime. This is due less to good man-agement than to the extraordinarywealth of this country. You wereborn into a country of immense re-sources both natural, cultural andsocial. We have been wearingdown this advantage with mis-management and corruption.With lies, tall tales and theft. Wehave a political class unwilling orunable to address the central is-sue of the day because they havegrown fat and comfortable with asystem built on lies and theft.

It is time to wake up. That wakingup can begin here, right here, atthis conference. Not tomorrow orthe day after but today. So let me,as I have the honour of openingthis conference, suggest the fol-lowing:

Overcome the urge to have our

No endorsementsn e e d e d

... and then the slump

try in Asia, with just 400,000people living about 1.5 metresabove sea level who have to worrythat their country may soon beswallowed up by climate change.Here in Asean we are behind In-donesia, Thailand, Singapore,whom we used to dominate, andone spot above basketball-playingPhilippines.

The captain of our illustrious1970s side was Soh Chin Aun.Arumugam, Isa Bakar, SantokhSingh, James Wong and MokhtarDahari were heroes whose namesrolled off the tongues of ourschoolchildren as they copiedthem on the school field. It wasn’tabout being the best in the world,but about being passionate andunited and devoted to the game.

It was the same in badminton, ex-cept at one time we were the bestin the world. I remember WongPeng Soon, the first Asian to winthe All-England Championship,who then just dominated itthroughout the 1950s. Back homeevery kid who played badmintonin every little kampung wanted tocall himself Wong Peng Soon.There was no tinge of anybodyidentifying themselves exclu-sively as Chinese, Malays, Indi-ans. Peng Soon was a Malaysianhero. Just like each of our footballheroes. Now we do not have aniota of that feeling. Where has itall gone?

I don’t think it’s mere nostalgiathat makes us think there was atime when the sun shone morebrightly upon Malaysia. I bringup sport because it has been amirror of our more general perfor-mance as a nation. When we wereat ease with who we were anddidn’t need slogans to do our best


Our independence was achieved through a demonstration of unity by theOur independence was achieved through a demonstration of unity by theOur independence was achieved through a demonstration of unity by theOur independence was achieved through a demonstration of unity by theOur independence was achieved through a demonstration of unity by thepeople in supporting a multiracial government led by Tengku Abdulpeople in supporting a multiracial government led by Tengku Abdulpeople in supporting a multiracial government led by Tengku Abdulpeople in supporting a multiracial government led by Tengku Abdulpeople in supporting a multiracial government led by Tengku AbdulRahman.Rahman.Rahman.Rahman.Rahman.

hopes for the future endorsed bythe Prime Minister. He will haveretired, and I’ll be long gone whenyour future arrives. The shape ofyour future is being determinednow.

1 ) Resist the temptation to say “inline with” when we do some-thing. Your projects, believe itor not, don’t have to be in linewith any government cam-paign for them to be meaning-ful. You don’t need to polishanyone’s apple. Just get onwith what you plan to do.

2) Do not put a lid on certain is-sues as “sensitive”becausesomeone said they are. Or it isagainst the Social Contract. Orit is “politicisation”. You don’tneed to have your conversationdelimited by the hyper-sensi-tive among us. Sensitivity isoften a club people use to hiteach other with. Reasoned dis-cussion of contentious issuesbuilds understanding andtrust. Test this idea.

3) It’s not “conservative” or “lib-eral” to ask for an end to hav-ing politics, economic policy,education policy and every-thing and the kitchen sink de-termined by race. It’s calledgrowing up.

Don’t let the politicians you haveinvited here talk down to you.Don’t let them tell you how brightand “exuberant” you are, that youare the future of the nation, etc. Ifyou close your eyes and flow withtheir flattery you have safelyjoined the caravan, a caravan tak-ing the nation down a sink hole.If they tell you the future is in yourhands, kindly request that theyhand that future over first. Ask

them how come the youngestmember of our cabinet is 45 and isfull of discredited hacks? OurMerdeka cabinet had an averageage of below 30. You’re not thefirst generation to be bright. Minewasn’t too stupid. But you couldbe the first generation of studentsand young graduates in 50 yearsto push this nation through amajor transformation. And it is atransformation we need desper-ately.

You will be told that much is ex-pected of you, much has beengiven to you, and so forth. This isall true. Actually much has alsobeen stolen from you. Over the last25 years, much of the immensewealth generated by our produc-tive people and our vast resources

has been looted. This was sup-posed to have been your patri-mony. The uncomplicated senseof belonging fully, wholeheart-edly, unreservedly, to this coun-try, in all its diversity - that hasbeen taken from you. Our sense ofourselves as Malaysians, a freeand united people, has been re-placed by a tale of racial strife andresentment that continues tohaunt us. The thing is, this tale isfalse.

The most precious thing you havebeen deprived of has been yourhistory. Someone of my genera-tion finds it hard to describe whatmust seem like a completely dif-ferent country to you now. Malay-sia was not born in strife but inunity. Our independence was


achieved through a demonstra-tion of unity by the people in sup-porting a multiracial governmentled by Tengku Abdul Rahman.That show of unity, demonstratedfirst through the municipal elec-tions of 1952 and then through theAlliance’s landslide victory in theelections of 1955, showed that thepeople of Malaya were united inwanting their freedom. We sur-prised the British, who thoughtwe could not do this.

Today, we are no longer as unitedas we were then. We are also lessfree. I don’t think this is a coinci-dence. It takes free people to havethe psychological strength to over-come the confines of a racialisedworldview. It takes free people toovercome those politicians benton hanging on to power gainedby racialising every feature of ourlife including our football teams.

Hence while you are at this con-ference, let me argue, that as anabsolute minimum, we should callfor the repeal of unjust and muchabused Acts of Parliament whichare reversals of freedoms that wewon at Merdeka.

I ask you in joining me in callingfor the repeal of the ISA and theOSA. These draconian laws havebeen used, more often than not, aspolitical tools rather than instru-ments of national security. Theycreate a climate of fear.

I ask you to join me in calling forthe repeal of the Printing and Pub-lications Act, and above all, theUniversities and University Col-leges Act. I don’t see how you canpursue your student activism

Tengku RazaleighTengku RazaleighTengku RazaleighTengku RazaleighTengku RazaleighHamzah delivered thisHamzah delivered thisHamzah delivered thisHamzah delivered thisHamzah delivered thisspeech on 31 July 2010 atspeech on 31 July 2010 atspeech on 31 July 2010 atspeech on 31 July 2010 atspeech on 31 July 2010 atthe Fourth Annual Malay-the Fourth Annual Malay-the Fourth Annual Malay-the Fourth Annual Malay-the Fourth Annual Malay-sian Student Leaderssian Student Leaderssian Student Leaderssian Student Leaderssian Student LeadersSummit at the Nikko Ho-Summit at the Nikko Ho-Summit at the Nikko Ho-Summit at the Nikko Ho-Summit at the Nikko Ho-tel in Kuala Lumpurtel in Kuala Lumpurtel in Kuala Lumpurtel in Kuala Lumpurtel in Kuala Lumpur

A b o l i s hoppressive laws

q

with such freedom and supportin the UK and Eire while forget-ting that your brethren at homeare deprived of their basic rightsof association and expression bythe UUCA. The UUCA has doneimmense harm in dumbing downour universities.

We must have freedom as guar-anteed under our Constitution.Freedom to assemble, associate,speak, write, move. This is basic.Even on matters of race and evenon religious matters we should beable to speak freely, and we shalleducate each other.

It is time to realise the dream ofDato’ Onn and the spirit of theAlliance and of Tunku AbdulRahman. That dream was one ofunity and a single Malaysianpeople. They went as far as theycould with it in their time. Insteadof taking on the torch, we have re-versed course. The next step forus as a country is to move beyondthe infancy of race-based partiesto a non-racial party system. Ourrace-based party system is the keypolitical reason why we are a sickcountry, declining before our owneyes, with money fleeing andpeople telling their children notto come home after their studies.

So let us try to take 1Malaysia se-riously. Millions have been spentputting up billboards and addingthe term to every conceivablething. We even have Cuti-cuti1Malaysia. Can’t take a normalholiday anymore. This is all fine.Now let us see if it means any-thing. Let us see the governmentof the day lead by example. 1Ma-laysia is empty because it ispropagated by a government sup-ported by a racially-based partysystem that is the chief cause of

our inability to grow up in ourrace relations. Our inability togrow up in our race relations isthe chief reason why investorsand we ourselves no longer haveconfidence in our economy. Thereasons why we are behindMaldives in football, and behindthe Philippines in FDI, are linked.

So let us take 1Malaysia seriously,and convert Barisan Nasionalinto a party open to all citizens.Let it be a multiracial party opento direct membership. PakatanRakyat will be forced to do thesame or be left behind the times.Then we shall have the vehiclesfor a two party, non-race-basedsystem.

If Umno, MIC or MCA are afraidof losing supporters, let them gettheir members to join this newmultiracial party. Pakatan Rakyatshould do the same. Nobody needfeel left out. Umno members canjoin en masse. The HainaneseKopitiam Owners Associationcan join whichever party theywant, or both parties en masse ifthey like. We can maintain ourcherished civil associations, how-ever we choose to associate. Butwe drop all communalism whenwe compete for the ballot. Whenour candidates stand for elections,let them ever after stand only asMalaysians, for better or forworse.


n the morning of 8 Sep-tember, as we ap-proached Bagh-e-Bala inCentral Kabul, the air

was reverberating with angrycries of “Nara-e-Takbir – Allah-O-Akbar”. There were around athousand people outside amosque. As we sluggishly passedthe crowd, our driver suddenlyyelled, “America No Good, Paki-stan No Good. Russia Good,Hindustan Good”. It was onlythen I learnt from my youngAfghani interpreter that peoplehad gathered outside the mosqueto protest against the plans to burn

the Koran on 9/11 in the UnitedStates.

Pastor Terry John of the DoveWorld Outreach Centre inGainesville, Florida had an-nounced that his church wouldhold an “International Burn aKoran Day” on 11 September. Hadit not been for the global outrageagainst his plans to burn the Ko-ran, this obscure pastor from achurch with 30-odd followerswould have gone ahead with his“International Burn a KoranDay”, which would have had det-rimental effects across the ‘Mus-

lim’ world.

But it seems that the damage hasbeen done in Afghanistan. Eventhough Pastor John had put hisplans on hold, demonstrators tookto the streets for the fifth dayacross Afghanistan on Monday.Armed with flags, banners andstones, the demonstrators shouted“Death to America” and “Deathto the Puppet Karzai Govern-ment”.

On Friday, an angry crowd ofaround 10,000 people marchedthrough the streets of Faizabad,

INTERNATIONAL

“America no good;Russ ia good!”Why have the Taliban been able to “rise from the ashes” andengulf Afghanistan again?

by Bonojit Hussain

OOOOO


the capital city of Badakhshanprovince in north-eastern Af-ghanistan. The angry demonstra-tors gheraoed (surrounded) theNato base and one person waskilled when Nato soldiers openedfire in retaliation. On Sunday,around 500 protestors marchedtowards a group of Afghan secu-rity forces and pelted stones inPul-e-Alam, the capital of Logarprovince in Central Afghanistan.The soldiers opened fire into thecrowd of protesters, killing two onthe spot and seriously woundingfour people.

Abdul Rasheed, our driver, is abattle hardened Tajik fromPansheer province – the home ofthe legendary Mujahideen generaland Afghan national hero, the lateAhmad Shah Masoud. Rasheed,himself, is a veteran mujadiheenwho as a young 20-year-old tookto the guns to fight the invadingRussians (Soviets) way back in1979. After the Soviets (Russians)made a retreat, he fought againstthe forces of GulbuddinHekmateyer for the prized battleof Kabul. Later he fought theTalibans under the command ofGeneral Ahmad Shah Masoudand remained a faithfulmujahideen soldier until the fallof Taliban regime in 2001.

Now Abdul Rasheed is 50 yearsold and works as a security driverin Kabul. Not so long ago, he lostthree fingers on his left hand to aTaliban rocket-propelled grenadewhile driving in Ghazni province.

It was well past noon when wewere on our way back. And as weapproached the demonstratingcrowd again, Abdul Rasheed

burst out into a song, “Americano good, Pakistan no good, Iranno good, Afghanistan no good –Russia good, Hindustan good -good, good, good”. I could clearlysense that my colleague fromKyrgyzstan was annoyed as wellas curious. Both of us exchangedglances and asked Rasheed, “Youfought the Russians for 10 years,why do you say Russia is good?”

Rasheed keeps mum for a whileand then angrily says, “I foughtthe Russians because they in-vaded my country. But they didn’tmistreat us like the Americans do.Whenever they arrested us, theytreated us with dignity and we didthe same.”After another pause, hesays, “They didn’t bomb people”.

Rasheed remained silent againfor some minutes and burst outagain, saying, “The Russianswere not like Americans whenthey use to move in a convoy onthe streets.” Now, obviously, hewas venting out his frustration asa driver and referring to the factthat today if an American/Natoconvoy moves around, no vehiclecan be closer than 50 metres; fail-ing to maintain that distancecould invite bullets. Now almostlost in his thoughts, he murmured,“And the Russians never burntthe Koran; Al-Qaeda doesn’t ex-ist, America and Al-Qaeda aresynonyms.”

While here in Afghanistan, I havebeen trying to find an answer asto why the Taliban have been ableto “rise from the ashes” and en-gulf this country again. They haveeven penetrated provinces such asBadakhshan, which they nevercontrolled or occupied in theirheyday. Rasheed’s answer pro-vided me with some clue.

Bonojit Hussain is cur-Bonojit Hussain is cur-Bonojit Hussain is cur-Bonojit Hussain is cur-Bonojit Hussain is cur-rently a Research Profes-rently a Research Profes-rently a Research Profes-rently a Research Profes-rently a Research Profes-sor at SungKongHoe Uni-sor at SungKongHoe Uni-sor at SungKongHoe Uni-sor at SungKongHoe Uni-sor at SungKongHoe Uni-versity, Seoul. He is alsoversity, Seoul. He is alsoversity, Seoul. He is alsoversity, Seoul. He is alsoversity, Seoul. He is alsoconcurrently programmeconcurrently programmeconcurrently programmeconcurrently programmeconcurrently programmeofficer at the Asian Re-officer at the Asian Re-officer at the Asian Re-officer at the Asian Re-officer at the Asian Re-gional Exchange for Newgional Exchange for Newgional Exchange for Newgional Exchange for Newgional Exchange for NewAlternatives. Prior toAlternatives. Prior toAlternatives. Prior toAlternatives. Prior toAlternatives. Prior tocoming to Seoul, he was acoming to Seoul, he was acoming to Seoul, he was acoming to Seoul, he was acoming to Seoul, he was apolitical activist in Indiapolitical activist in Indiapolitical activist in Indiapolitical activist in Indiapolitical activist in Indiafor nearly a decade wherefor nearly a decade wherefor nearly a decade wherefor nearly a decade wherefor nearly a decade wherehe was involved in socialhe was involved in socialhe was involved in socialhe was involved in socialhe was involved in socialmovements of progres-movements of progres-movements of progres-movements of progres-movements of progres-sive students working onsive students working onsive students working onsive students working onsive students working onenvironmental issues, in-environmental issues, in-environmental issues, in-environmental issues, in-environmental issues, in-formal sector workers’formal sector workers’formal sector workers’formal sector workers’formal sector workers’rights, and universityrights, and universityrights, and universityrights, and universityrights, and universitydemocratisation.democratisation.democratisation.democratisation.democratisation.

What made him glorify the enemyhe himself spent the best years ofhis youth fighting against? Afterall the Russians were no saints;their invasion also left hundredsof thousands dead.

That evening, I asked DanishKarokhel, the editor-in chief of thePajhwok Afghan News - why aresurgent Taliban? He smiled andsaid, “Pakistan, Iran, civilian ca-sualty in the ‘war against terror’;and stupidity (arrogance) of theAmericans.”

The rest is for us to understandwhat happened in Afghanistanand in history.

This is an English translation of aThis is an English translation of aThis is an English translation of aThis is an English translation of aThis is an English translation of ashort piece written in Assameseshort piece written in Assameseshort piece written in Assameseshort piece written in Assameseshort piece written in Assamesefor the daily Asomiya Pratidin offor the daily Asomiya Pratidin offor the daily Asomiya Pratidin offor the daily Asomiya Pratidin offor the daily Asomiya Pratidin ofAfghanistan.Afghanistan.Afghanistan.Afghanistan.Afghanistan.

Post-Script: Many more protest-Post-Script: Many more protest-Post-Script: Many more protest-Post-Script: Many more protest-Post-Script: Many more protest-ers got killed by armed forces laterers got killed by armed forces laterers got killed by armed forces laterers got killed by armed forces laterers got killed by armed forces laterwhile protesting against thewhile protesting against thewhile protesting against thewhile protesting against thewhile protesting against theplanned burning even after 11 Sep-planned burning even after 11 Sep-planned burning even after 11 Sep-planned burning even after 11 Sep-planned burning even after 11 Sep-tember.tember.tember.tember.tember.

Rasheed, the driverq


pon nomination by theircolleagues and admir-ers, the Association forCommunal Harmony in

Asia (ACHA) has decided tohonour Dr. Mohammad Arif, JatinDesai, Ashfaq Fateh, Faisal Khan,Dilafrose Qazi and Awais Sheikh,all peace and harmony activistsfrom India and Pakistan,with the ACHA PeaceStar Award 2010.

They now join the ranksof reputed peace, har-mony and human rightspersonalities from Indiaand Pakistan likeKaramat Ali, SayeedaDiep, Dr Asghar Ali En-gineer, B M Kutty, DrAbdul Hameed Nayyar,Dr Ram Puniyani, DrLenin Raghuvanshi andDr Ingrid Shafer from the UnitedStates, who have been honouredwith this award in previous years.

Also for his services to ACHA,Sharafat Ali of Karachi has beenaccepted for the ACHA Award.

The awards are given every twoyears. The ACHA Peace StarAward is given to individuals(and organisations) that have per-formed meritorious work in thepromotion of peace and commu-nal harmony, while the ACHAAward is meant for individuals

(and organisations) that have per-formed substantial service toACHA.

These Awards do not have anyfinancial value. They have beenset up to recognise some of theunsung peace and harmony he-roes and heroines and those who

have performed substantialservice to ACHA.

ACHA is a 17-year-old, US-based,non-profit organisation which isdedicated to promoting peace inSouth Asia, and harmony amongSouth Asians everywhere. Moreinformation about ACHA can befound at its two websites:www.asiapeace.org, andwww.indiapakistanpeace.org

Brief information about this year’srecipients, in alphabetical order,is as follows:

• Dr. Mohammad Arif • Dr. Mohammad Arif • Dr. Mohammad Arif • Dr. Mohammad Arif • Dr. Mohammad Arif hails fromVaranasi. Inspired by Gandhianphilosophy he abandoned hisacademic career to promote com-munal harmony, composite cul-ture, secularism and democraticvalues.

In this pursuit he has built alli-ances of Dalits, Tribalsand minority groups;organised awareness ses-sions for the media, andseminars, lectures, con-ventions, training work-shops for peace and har-mony workers; and street-plays for the general pub-lic; developed trainingmodules; publishedawareness and trainingmaterials; established a li-brary of resource materialsto facilitate research on

and documentation of sectarianclashes; and has founded the Cen-tre for Harmony and Peace.

Some of his initiatives havehelped abort severe conflicts insuch communally sensitive areasas Varanasi and have aided ca-pacity building in other areas.

• Jatin Desai• Jatin Desai• Jatin Desai• Jatin Desai• Jatin Desai of Mumbai has beena devoted community activist eversince his college days. He has per-sisted in his efforts in spite oftrumped-up charges of attemptedmurder and armed robbery

INTERNATIONAL

Peace Stars of 2010Honouring peace activists from India and Pakistan for theiroutstanding work in bridging the international divide

UUUUU


brought against him by his oppo-nents.

He has organised Tribals inMaharashtra to help them fight fortheir land, forest and water rights;Dalits for their right to draw wa-ter from the community well; andhis fellow journalists to strugglefor better wages as well as resis-tance against curbs on their free-dom of expression, threatened bycertain fascist organisations. Heworked for the restoration of peaceduring the 1992-93 Mumbai com-munal riots and bomb-blasts andhelped mobilise secular forcesduring the Gujarat genocide of2002.

For the last 10 years he has beenactive in the Pakistan-IndiaPeoples’ Forum for Peace and De-mocracy (PIPFPD), and has visitedPakistan many times, in this re-gard. To help promote people-to-people contacts and enduringfriendship between India and Pa-kistan, he has organised manymeetings in Mumbai and Delhi.Also in 2007, he organised a bi-cycle march from Mumbai to Pa-kistan, and helped organise anIndia-Pakistan conference “ARoad Map toward Peace” inDelhi, earlier this year.

Besides, he has been working withother peace activists on develop-ing a mechanism through whichfishermen, arrested by the two gov-ernments, upon accidentally drift-ing across the maritime boundarybetween India and Pakistan, donot have to languish in foreignjails, even after they have com-pleted their terms.

Finally, he has been active in theanti-nuclear movement; is associ-ated with the Gandhian

organisation, Mumbai SarvodayaMandal; and at least once a weekis interviewed on various TVchannels on issues like Indo-Pakrelations, human rights, and free-dom of expression. He has beenhonoured with the Ram Bapataward for promoting peace andsocial justice through his writ-ings.

• Since 1992, Ashfaq FatehAshfaq FatehAshfaq FatehAshfaq FatehAshfaq Fateh ofToba Tek Singh has been engagedin efforts to bring together Mus-lims and Christians of his area towork on such issues as the rightsof minorities in Pakistan, the res-toration of the joint electorate sys-tem, the abolition of the religioncolumn on the national identitycard, and the amendment of thediscriminatory blasphemy lawsin the Pakistan Penal Code.

In his capacity as chairperson forthe Harmony Foundation, he hasinspired programmes in govern-ment schools to promote peace, todiscourage gender discrimination,and to do away with hatred onthe basis of religion.

As principal of a high school, forthe last several years he hasorganised activities for students,

from his and other area schools,to create awareness of issues re-lated to human rights, conflictresolution, peace, and communalharmony. Starting in 2005, for fiveyears, he served as coordinator forthe programmes of the Interna-tional Young Catholic Student de-signed to promote peace and har-mony.

To promote peace between the twoneighbours, he participated in apeace mission to India in August1998, just after both countries hadconducted nuclear tests. Sincethen he has made several peacevisits to India and has welcomedIndian peace activists in Pakistan.He has worked on petitions toease travel between the two na-tions.

Earlier this year, on 25 June, un-der the auspices of Aman Ki Asha,a joint venture of The Times of In-dia and Jang Group of Publica-tion, he led a group of young stu-dents to the Indo-Pak Border atWagah, where they exchangedpeace messages on kerchiefs withtheir Indian counterparts, to markthe passing of the 2010 Queen’sCommonwealth Games batontorch to the other side.


He has served as the na-tional convener of theBangladesh-Bharat Paki-stan Peoples Forum, na-tional coordinator forFriends of the United Na-tions, country representa-tive for Peaceful Schools In-ternational, and countryhead of Peace Pal Interna-tional. He has even dedi-cated his home as Indo-PakPeace house. He is leadingefforts in his area, under theauspices of the Ravi Foun-dation, to organise the feed-ing of over 4,000 flood-af-fected animals.

• A lawyer by professionaltraining, Faisal KhanFaisal KhanFaisal KhanFaisal KhanFaisal Khan ofNew Delhi is a key memberof Asha Parivar and Na-tional Alliance of PeoplesMovements (NAPM) and isresponsible for organisingand the coordinating theirprogrammes in the states ofGujarat, Haryana, Jammu andKashmir, and those in north-east-ern India.

He has organised several peacemarches and has fasted to drawpeople’s attention to the victimsof communal and gender vio-lence, state repression or skeweddevelopment in India. He has ledgoodwill missions at the recentKumbha Mela and Ajmer SharifUrs, where he and his colleaguesdiscussed with groups of pilgrimsthe importance and ways of main-taining communal harmony.

In 2006, he led a peace delegationto the Kashmir Valley, where heand his colleagues discussedwith the common people and po-litical leaders the issues confront-ing them and the way to confront

them. Also he has actively cam-paigned for peace between Indiaand Pakistan and organisedpeace marches from India to Pa-kistan.

• Even in the face of attempts onher life - bullets of the military aswell as militants - Dilafrose QaziDilafrose QaziDilafrose QaziDilafrose QaziDilafrose Qazihas persisted in single-handedlytrying to empower women in theconflict-ridden state of Jammu andKashmir.

In pursuit of this goal, she has es-tablished schools for girls, an en-gineering and technology collegeas well as embroidery c1asses forwomen, camps for the medicaland psychological treatment ofwomen battered by the daily vio-lence going around them, a dairyfarm for rape victims, and reha-bilitation programmes for mili-

tancy-hit families.

At times, she was orderedto close some of her insti-tutions by militants and re-ligious zealots, and at onetime her refusal to act uponsuch diktats led to the kid-napping of her father,brothers, and husband.

Concerned about the fu-ture of young people grow-ing up in Kashmir and inmigrant camps in and out-side the state, she has en-deavoured for Hindu-Muslim amity. She couldhave lived a comfortablelife elsewhere, but she con-tinues to live in Srinagar.

• Awais Sheikh• Awais Sheikh• Awais Sheikh• Awais Sheikh• Awais Sheikh is Presi-dent of Pakistan-IndiaPeace Initiatives. Just afterthe 2008 Mumbai terroristattacks, he organised a

peace demonstration at theLahore Press Club, and helpedorganise as well as participatedin a peace march at Amritsar.

He has authored Samjhota Ex-press, a book about peace andfriendship between India and Pa-kistan, which has been translatedin Hindi and Punjabi. As a PunjabHigh Court Advocate, he is repre-senting Sarabjit Singh, an Indianconvicted of spying, currentlyheld in Lahore Central Jail.

For his services he was desig-nated Ambassador for Peace in2007. Also he is the only Pakistaniwho has twice been honoured bythe Bharatiya Dalit Sahitya Acad-emy with the Dr. Ambedkar Inter-national Award.

Source: mynews.in

q


songs are sung by millions ofpeople even today. One wondersat the intensity of love found inher poetry. It overwhelms us all.

Maulana Rum is another shiningexample of love and devotion. Hewas a great ‘alim and jurist. Heused to deliver sermons and hadthe highest place in the court ofthe king. Thousands of discipleswould come to listen to him andhis sermons. He would not havebeen known to the world despitehis erudite knowledge if he hadnot met one day a Darvesh (men-dicant) called Shams Tabriz

One day, he was delivering hissermon as usual and a heap ofbooks, which he used to consult,lay before him.

The mendicant intruded andlooked at the books and asked,“What is this?”

much that she would say, “I haveno time to hate Satan. My heart isfilled with love of God and has noplace even for hate.” This is purelove and the most meritorious wayof worshipping God.

All saints and Awliya Allah(noble souls, friends of Allah) onlytalk of love, not of fear. From In-dia, Rabia’s counter-part is Meera.She was a great devotee of God inthe form of Lord Krishna whomshe calls by different names –Girdhar, Gopala, Krshna, Natwarand so on. She composed versesin the common people’s languagelike Rajasthani, Marwari, GujratiBiraj bhasha and so on. She isgreatly loved by people even fivehundred years after her death.

It was the love of her Lord whichmade her fearless, and she brokeall royal traditions. Her devotionto her Lord made her renounce ev-erything - her royal palace - andshe took up the life of the commonpeople andmoved aroundwith sadhusand sans. Herroyal family putt r e m e n d o u spressure on her,but she did notbudge. Love re-ally makes onetruly fearless.Her devotional

here are two different ap-proaches to worshipGod for fear and greed orsheer love and devotion.

Most of us ordinary people wor-ship God either for fear of pun-ishment or greed for reward inparadise. In Sufi lore, it is saidRabia Basri, a great Sufi womanof 2nd century hijrah (eighth cen-tury A.D.) was once carrying abucket of water in one hand and aburning torch in the other. Whenpeople saw her they asked, “O!Rabia why are you carrying thisbucket of water and burningtorch?”

She replied, “I want to set fire toparadise with this torch and putout the fire of hell with this bucketof water so that people do notworship Allah out of greed forparadise or fear of hell but out ofpure love.” Rabia loved God so

UNIVERSAL SPIRITUAL VALUES

Love God or fear God?It is love which completely transforms even a most evil character

by Asghar Ali Engineer

TTTTT

T r a n s f o r m a t i o n

Rabia BasriRabia BasriRabia BasriRabia BasriRabia Basri


Maulana, annoyed with him, saidyou would not know.

Shams Tabriz looked at the booksagain and they caught fire.

Maulana Rum said, “What isthis?”

And Tabriz replied, “You wouldnot know.”

Maulana understood that thismendicant was no ordinary per-son and went after him. Shams

Asghar Ali Engineer is as-Asghar Ali Engineer is as-Asghar Ali Engineer is as-Asghar Ali Engineer is as-Asghar Ali Engineer is as-sociated with the Centresociated with the Centresociated with the Centresociated with the Centresociated with the Centrefor the Study of Societyfor the Study of Societyfor the Study of Societyfor the Study of Societyfor the Study of Societyand Secularism inand Secularism inand Secularism inand Secularism inand Secularism inMumbai.Mumbai.Mumbai.Mumbai.Mumbai.

completely transformed him froman ‘alim to a great sufi saint whorenounced everything, his statusin the Court, his wealth and com-fortable living, and he became amendicant like Shams.

He became restless in love andcomposed many ghazals (love po-ems), which were collected asDiwan-i-Shams Tabriz. And subse-quently he wrote his epic, the mostrevered Mathnavi, in several vol-umes which came to be known asthe Qur’an in Persian. It is one ofthe world’s classics. It was love,devotion to Allah, that made himimmortal. Like Meera, he was soengrossed in love that he wouldsay my only identity is love, notany religion, region, not evenearth and heaven.

On the other hand. those whoemphasise fear of God, usually thepriests and theologians, in factgenerate hatred for all others, andultimately, through this fear ofGod, they want to establish fearof their own authority in their fol-lowers. They try to induce fear inus of hell fire and how we will bepunished if we do not obey theirauthority. It is true the Qur’andoes talk of hell fire but it is for

Inducing fear

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hardened sinners who have re-fused to give up oppressing oth-ers, who are arrogant of theirwealth and power.

For ordinary sinners, Allah is agreat pardoner, reconciler and Heis Merciful. His love and Mercy isever flowing for those who repentand are ready to be good. Oneshould seek this Mercy and Gracethrough love and devotion. It islove which completely transformseven a most evil character. Thosewho realise the power of love, likeMeera and Maulana Rum, neverhesitate to renounce love of power.

It is the love of power, arroganceand wealth which leads to all theevils in the world, and it is thepower of love which negates allthese evils and makes this worlda paradise. Now it is for us to gofor love or for fear. One who lovesis truly fearless and indeed it islove which is God and it is Godwho is love.

Maulana RumMaulana RumMaulana RumMaulana RumMaulana Rum

Diwan-i-Shams TabrizDiwan-i-Shams TabrizDiwan-i-Shams TabrizDiwan-i-Shams TabrizDiwan-i-Shams Tabriz A calligraphic specimen of the MathnaviA calligraphic specimen of the MathnaviA calligraphic specimen of the MathnaviA calligraphic specimen of the MathnaviA calligraphic specimen of the Mathnavi


As a result, very little informationwas available to the public on thepersonal side of SP. Like DR, SPwas fond of liquor and was also aheavy smoker, averaging no lessthan four packs a day. His innercircle of close friends, which in-cluded the leaders of the PPP andhis counter-parts in the legal pro-fession, readily testified to hiswarm and easy going ways whichoften culminated in a thunderousburst of laughter. It was commonknowledge that despite his hecticdaily schedule, SP did his best tobe available to the people at hisoffice at the Municipal Chambers,which literally became his secondhome.

SP was first and foremost an out-standing British-educated lawyer,perhaps one of the best the nationhas ever produced. Civil law washis forte. Together with DR, anequally eloquent and much fearedcriminal lawyer, their profes-sional services were very muchsought after. Both brothers fea-

tured prominently in numeroushigh-profile cases in the country.Their remarkable talent and ex-traordinary contributions as legalpractitioners are well documentedin the annals of the Malaysian BarCouncil. Till today, theSeenivasagam brothers are stillfondly remembered and respectedby the legal community. Once, arumour went round that SP hadbeen offered a judgeship on morethan one occasion but he turnedit down.

Among the most memorable courtappearances featuring SP was theRahman Talib corruption case in1964 where DR was sued for libeland slander by the then Educa-tion Minister. SP was engaged asthe defence counsel for the co-re-spondent, one Abu Bakar, thebusinessman who tipped off DRon corruption allegations againstthe minister. (DR himself was de-fended by a young up-and-com-ing barrister by the name of ChanNyarn Hoi, better known today asDato N H Chan, an eminent andrespected retired judge of theCourt of Appeal.) The ministerlost the case (and his job too) andthe subsequent appeal the follow-ing year.

Another case that attracted na-tional interest was the Fan YewTeng sedition appeal in 1971.Fan, then a Democratic ActionParty (DAP) MP for Kampar, facedpossible disqualification fromParliament as he had earlier beenconvicted in the Sessions Courtunder the Sedition Act for pub-lishing an offensive article in theparty’s newsletter. In the hearingat the Federal Court, SP success-

fully argued the appeal for Fan onthe grounds of technicality. Thecourt concurred with SP and or-dered a fresh trial. The rest, as theysay, is history.

A rare occasion when SP’s privatelife caught public attention wasin October 1965 when he marriedthe former Miss N DanapakiaDevi from a well-known family oflawyers from Seremban. (DatinSeenivasagam died of a heart at-tack in 2006 at the age of 72). SPwas then in his late forties. Priorto this, the Seenivasagam broth-ers were among the most eligiblebachelors in the country. SP wasconferred a Datoship by the lateSultan Idris Shah of Perak in 1964,an honour seldom bestowed onan opposition personality even tothis day. The Dato Seri title wasawarded in 1972.

Senior citizens and those in theirfifties may recall that for a verybrief period in 1973, Belfield Streetand Hugh Low Street, two busi-est streets in Ipoh were originallyrenamed Jalan S P Seenivasagamand Jalan D R Seenivasagam re-

Dato NH ChanDato NH ChanDato NH ChanDato NH ChanDato NH Chan

Fan Yew Teng: FacedFan Yew Teng: FacedFan Yew Teng: FacedFan Yew Teng: FacedFan Yew Teng: Faceddisqualification.disqualification.disqualification.disqualification.disqualification.

THE MUCH MISUNDERSTOOD POLITICIAN Continued from page 40


spectively in one of the earlierroad-renaming exercises. At thattime, the naming or renaming ofroads within the municipalitywas the prerogative of the IpohMunicipality and it had been thecouncil’s policy to grant such aprivilege to serving municipalcouncillors as well, irrespective ofparty affiliation. Thus we haveJalan Megat Khas, Jalan ChewPeng Loon, Jalan Yin Choo Han,Jalan Chan Swee Ho, Jalan S ALingam, Jalan R C M Rayan (allsituated in the Ipoh Garden hous-ing estate), Jalan Leong BoonSwee and a few more in other partsof Ipoh. The first two mentionedcouncillors were from the opposi-tion Alliance while the rest werefrom the PPP.

But in this instance involving thenames of the Seenivasagam broth-ers, the renaming was met withstiff opposition from certain quar-ters. To avoid further escalationof the controversy and being a truegentleman, SP voluntarily with-drew his consent to use his namefor the road which subsequentlybecame known till today as JalanSultan Yussuf. But SP told a pressconference that the municipal

council would appeal to the stategpvernment to retain the name ofhis late brother in place of HughLow Street. The appeal was how-ever turned down. Hugh LowStreet was subsequently renamedJalan Sultan Iskandar. It wasironical that whilst his municipalcolleagues had roads named af-ter them long before this outcry,the president himself was unrea-sonably denied this honour.

SP was elected to Parliament asthe representative for Menglembuin the first general elections inpost-independent Malaya held in1959. He also won the state seatof Kuala Pari in the Perak StateLegislative Assembly the sameyear. Both these two seats weresuccessfully retained by SP in thesubsequent general elections in1964 and 1969.

As a parliamentarian, SP wasranked among the luminaries ofthe Opposition Bench in the in-fant days of the nation’s Parlia-ment. Indeed both SP and DR lefttheir indelible foot-prints in ourparliamentary history. SP’s atten-

dance record in Parliament, how-ever, was rather dismal, averag-ing about five per cent. His oppo-nents capitalised on this glaringweakness during pre-election ral-lies and other public gatherings -but with minimal effect asMenglembu was a stronghold ofthe PPP during that time due tothe Seenivasagam brothers’ im-mense popularity.

To be fair to SP, he was never foundwanting when important bills af-fecting the nation were discussedin Parliament. He participatedactively in the debates relating tothe Internal Security Act Bill in1960, the Constitutional Amend-ment Bill, which saw the separa-tion of Singapore from Malaysiain 1965, the controversial Consti-tutional Bill relating to theSarawak Council Negri crisis in1966 and the contentious NationalLanguage Bill in 1967. All hisspeeches in unequivocal supportof the stand taken by DR werecrisp and concise and reflective ofthe hopes and aspirations of thepeople.

Many observers believe that SPchose to remain in the shadow ofDR in the discharge of their par-liamentary duties out of sheer re-spect for the latter’s position as theparty leader. Not one to relishundue media attention, SP neverattempted to steal the limelightwhen DR was still around. Inspite of his own enormous per-sonal attributes as a shrewd anddistinguished lawyer, SP tookgreat pains to ensure that the ce-lebrity status enjoyed by his flam-boyant brother in Parliament wasnever in jeopardy at any time.

Most importantly, SP would alsogo down in history as one of the

Opposition luminary

Hugh Low Street was renamed Jalan Sultan Iskandar.Hugh Low Street was renamed Jalan Sultan Iskandar.Hugh Low Street was renamed Jalan Sultan Iskandar.Hugh Low Street was renamed Jalan Sultan Iskandar.Hugh Low Street was renamed Jalan Sultan Iskandar.


handful of opposition parliamen-tarians who courageously stoodup and opposed the highly sensi-tive Constitutional AmendmentBill, which removed the parlia-mentary immunity of MPs in1 9 7 1 .

SP is best remembered as the firstand only elected President of theMunicipal Council of Ipoh, theprecursor to the present dayDewan Bandaraya Ipoh. The PPPinitially won control of the IpohTown Council (ITC) in the late1950s. The status of the ITC waselevated to that of a municipalityin 1962, and in the last local gov-ernment elections held not toolong after, the PPP won 16 out ofthe 18 wards up for grabs. Underhis able and dynamic leadership,the Ipoh Municipality became the

envy of other local governmentsin the country. The monthly coun-cil meetings were opened to thepublic. Widely known for its effi-ciency and caring attitude to thepeople, municipal by-laws andregulations were initiated andexecuted in a most humane man-ner; and corruption in any formwas practically unheard of.

The assessment rate for landedproperties within the municipal-ity was kept low with hardly anyupward revision during SP’s ten-ure. Conservancy services (re-moval of night-soil under the oldbucket system) in the town areaand surrounding new villageswere carried out diligently andregularly, and rubbish was neverallowed to accumulate to un-sightly proportions. The streetsof Ipoh were swept every morn-ing, and malfunctioning trafficlights never left unattended.

Drains were regularly cleansed,and grass in fields and otheropen spaces periodically trimmedthus keeping the mosquito men-ace at bay. Ipoh came to be ac-knowledged as the cleanest townin Malaysia during SP’s tenureand held that well-deserved dis-tinction for many years.

To alleviate the housing problemsof the poor, the low-cost WallerCourt Flats with modern sanita-tion facilities were built inKampong Java and let out for anominal monthly rental. Themain beneficiaries were the squat-ters, the hawkers, the coolies, thetrishaw pedallers and other de-serving members of the local com-munity. This was followed byanother housing project, theSungei Pari Towers in the Silibinarea near Buntong. The Ipoh Mu-nicipality also initiated the StarPark housing estate near

Municipal Councilp r e s i d e n t

Ipoh City Hall todayIpoh City Hall todayIpoh City Hall todayIpoh City Hall todayIpoh City Hall today


Kampong Simee, aptly named af-ter the party’s symbol, the unmis-takable six-pointed star in brightred colour.

Recreational activities were en-couraged and actively promoted.In the days before the completionof the Perak Stadium and othersporting complexes, the IpohPadang, the Coronation Park(now renamed Taman D RSeenivasagam), the Perak ChineseRecreation Club (PCRC) Groundoff Jalan Chung Thye Phin andthe Jalan Abdul Jalil field inGreentown served as the venuesfor various football clubs and di-visions. The Ipoh Municipalityhad a team of their own in the FirstDivision and produced some no-table players who made it to stateand national levels. SP’s term ofoffice in the municipality coin-cided with the good old days ofsporting glory in the countrywhere Malaysian sportsmen andwomen excelled in many sportsinternationally.

The sudden death of DR on 15March 1969 was a severe blow tothe PPP as the country was aboutto go to the polls. In fact, barelytwo weeks later, Parliament wasdissolved to pave the way for newelections. DR had, in the last fewmonths of his life, initiated andsuccessfully negotiated with thenewly-formed Gerakan RakyatMalaysia (Gerakan) and the DAPa common understanding toavoid splitting the oppositionvotes in Penang, Perak andSelangor.

With this electoral pact in place,SP led the PPP to its best ever per-

formance in the 1969 general elec-tion, winning four parliamentaryseats and 12 seats in the PerakState Legislative Assembly. TheDAP won six state seats and theGerakan two but with Gerakan’sabstention, the combined PPP/DAP total was a little short of aworking majority to form the stategovernment. Hence for the nexttwo years or so, both parties con-tinued their cooperation in thestate assembly and were seen totake a common stand on most is-sues. When Parliament was re-convened in late 1970 after a 17-month suspension, SP was electedDeputy Opposition Leader of thenew Parliament. (the late Mohd.Asri Muda of Pas took the leader-ship role. The DAP stayed away.)

SP’s agreement to form a coalitiongovernment with the AllianceParty in Perak in early 1972 tookthe nation completely by surprise.This announcement came aboutnot too long after similar arrange-ments were made in Penang andSarawak involving the Gerakan

and the Sarawak United People’sParty (SUPP) respectively. Suchco-operation at state level wasoriginally intended to be in effectonly until the next general elec-tion. At that time not manypeople, including SP himself, hadany inkling that Tun AbdulRazak, the then prime minister,had plans to crystallise this ma-neuvering of opposition partiesinto an enlarged Alliance – thepresent day Barisan Nasional(BN). Many people attributed thisapparent oversight or unaware-ness on SP’s part to his lack ofpolitical acumen. They opinedthat had DR still been alive andbeing a far more astute politicianthan SP, such an overture by theprime minister would have beenrejected outright in the first place.

The voters of Ipoh andMenglembu in particular were to-tally astounded and incensed bySP’s action. Never in their wild-est imaginations had they ex-pected the PPP to join hands withthe Alliance, their archrivals fornearly two decades. Public reac-tion was loud and swift with the

SP's Predicament

A g o n i s i n gp r e d i c a m e n t

SP Seenivasagam, the President of the Municipality of Ipoh, addresses aSP Seenivasagam, the President of the Municipality of Ipoh, addresses aSP Seenivasagam, the President of the Municipality of Ipoh, addresses aSP Seenivasagam, the President of the Municipality of Ipoh, addresses aSP Seenivasagam, the President of the Municipality of Ipoh, addresses agroup of industrialists in Hong Kong in Nov 1962.group of industrialists in Hong Kong in Nov 1962.group of industrialists in Hong Kong in Nov 1962.group of industrialists in Hong Kong in Nov 1962.group of industrialists in Hong Kong in Nov 1962.


DAP leading the on-slaught. Almost overnight,the PPP and the DAP be-came deadly foes. Relationsbetween both parties dete-riorated further in the nexttwo years and reached itsclimax at the next generalelections in August 1974.By then, the BN had alreadybeen registered to super-sede the Alliance; and thePPP was part of the coali-tion. The much-awaitedclash between the PPP andthe DAP had finally ar-rived.

With the benefit of hind-sight, it is not difficult tocomprehend SP’s predica-ment. The agonising fact of an im-minent mandatory acquisition ofthe Ipoh Municipality by the stategovernment hung over his headever since the federal governmentdeclined the recommendations ofthe Athi Nahappan CommissionReport on local government. Theonly way to circumvent the sur-render of the Ipoh Municipalitywas to be a part of the ruling gov-ernment. In other words, the PPPhad no choice but to be an inte-gral part of the BN in order to con-tinue its administration of theIpoh Municipality. Partnership atstate level was not enough. A lo-cal daily reported that Tun Razakhimself gave an ultimatum to SPin a private telephone call onemorning sometime before the1974 general elections. The dailyquoted the prime minister as say-ing that “with or without the PPPin the BN, the state governmentwould take over themunicipality”or words to that ef-fect.

It is therefore erroneous to infer,

as suggested by some reports, thatSP initiated the move to join theBN on his own volition so as toretain control of the Ipoh Munici-pality. As a responsible leader,SP was determined not to let thepeople down knowing full wellthat a state government-appointedmunicipal council would not beable to provide the same standardof services for the people. SP couldhave relinquished his post as mu-nicipal president in despair anddevoted his time to his flourish-ing legal practice. After all, hismonthly allowance as municipalchief was nothing to shout aboutvis-à-vis the responsibilities thatwent with the job. The long hoursspent at the municipal chamberseffectively meant a substantialloss of his professional income.Strictly speaking, he had nothingto lose personally by opting out.

That he chose not to abandon hispeople at such a turbulent time

speaks volumes of the man.SP was fully aware that hisdecision to join the BNwould not go down wellwith some of his party lead-ers and members, let alonethe people whose mindsethad all along been opposi-tion inclined. Nevertheless,SP was hopeful that thepeople would understandthe logic of his decisionand see the situation froma totally different perspec-tive. Unfortunately, thiswas not to be.

SP was nominated to de-fend his Menglembu parlia-mentary seat and also hisstate seat of Kuala Pari un-

der the BN ticket using its now-familiar “dacing” symbol. In theformer, he faced a formidable op-ponent, Fan Yew Teng, the manhe once “saved” in the FederalCourt three years earlier. Al-though most people predicted avery close fight for the Menglembucontest, SP was defeated by a bigmargin in a three-cornered tusslewhich included an independentcandidate. More humiliating wasthe loss of his state seat at thehands of a complete unknown, alowly-educated shop assistant.SP was totally devastated by hisshocked defeats. Party insidersrecalled the pathetic sight of SPbreaking down in tears when theelection results were known. Inhis moment of anguish, SP wasseen clutching a framed photo-graph of DR close to his chest.That was the lowest point in hiswhole political life. He was abso-lutely heart-broken. It was alsothe beginning of the end for thePPP.

Notwithstanding his personal

Never thesame again

Razak gave an ultimatum to SP.Razak gave an ultimatum to SP.Razak gave an ultimatum to SP.Razak gave an ultimatum to SP.Razak gave an ultimatum to SP.


MP Karpal Singh on 13 March2007 which may shed some lighton people’s perception of SP’s so-called biggest error of judgement:

In 1975, I had occasion to speakto Datuk S.P. Seenivasagam whotold me that the PPP joined the Al-liance after the 1969 elections be-cause of the impact on him of theMay 1969 racial riots whichcaused bloodshed and loss ofproperty. It was a sincere move byDatuk S.P. Seenivasagam.

Many Malaysians share Karpal’sobservation. Isn’t it a pity thatDato Seri SP Seenivasagamshould go down in history as sucha greatly misunderstood politi-cian after having given his all toIpoh?

May his soul rest in peace withDR and all his other loved ones.Amen.

Andrew Lin, whose home-Andrew Lin, whose home-Andrew Lin, whose home-Andrew Lin, whose home-Andrew Lin, whose home-town is Ipoh, is a retiredtown is Ipoh, is a retiredtown is Ipoh, is a retiredtown is Ipoh, is a retiredtown is Ipoh, is a retiredbank manager currently re-bank manager currently re-bank manager currently re-bank manager currently re-bank manager currently re-siding in Sydney.siding in Sydney.siding in Sydney.siding in Sydney.siding in Sydney.

disappointments, SP put up abold front and continued to per-form his duties as the municipalpresident with the same degree offervour and dedication. He wasstill convinced that the people ofIpoh and in other parts of the KintaValley had made a wrong choiceby rejecting the BN (read PPP) atthe polls. Painful though it mayhave been, SP remained magnani-mous throughout this ordeal byaccepting the verdict of the peoplegraciously. Never once did SP usewords like “ungrateful” or othersimilar equivalent to describe thevoters whom he had served sofaithfully and conscientiously fornearly two decades. Ever an opti-mist, SP was confident that thePPP, like the proverbial phoenix,would rise again from the ashesof its worst electoral set-back at thenext general election.

On 1 March 1975, SP was ap-pointed a senator by the govern-ment. Exactly two months later,he was re-appointed to his posi-tion in the Ipoh Municipality bythe Perak state government. De-spite his stoical appearance inpublic, SP was never his same jo-

q

vial self again and kept to himselfmost of the time. His ill healthwhich had dogged him for a longtime took a turn for the worse soonafter; and SP had to seek frequentmedical attention outside Ipoh.He passed away peacefully fol-lowing a heart attack at the offi-cial residence of the president ofthe Ipoh Municipality along TigerLane in Ipoh on 4 July 1975 at theage of 58, less than a year after hiselectoral defeats, a broken manindeed. He left behind his wife,Datin Seri Seenivasagam. Thecouple had no issue.

Recognition for the man finallycame, albeit a little too late. Nearlytwo months after SP’s demise, theroad fronting my alma mater, theSt. Michael’s Institution was re-named Jalan S P Seenivasagam asa fitting tribute to the man whowas largely instrumental for thesuccess of Ipoh – the town heloved so much. Sadly, it was alsothe town that rejected him in hismost critical hour.

In conclusion, I wish to re-pro-duce an excerpt from a mediastatement issued by lawyer and

Jalan SP Seenivasagam fronts the venerable St. Michael's Institution.Jalan SP Seenivasagam fronts the venerable St. Michael's Institution.Jalan SP Seenivasagam fronts the venerable St. Michael's Institution.Jalan SP Seenivasagam fronts the venerable St. Michael's Institution.Jalan SP Seenivasagam fronts the venerable St. Michael's Institution.


to join the Barisan Nasional (BN)in 1974 so that the PPP could con-tinue serving the people of Ipohthrough the administration of themunicipal council of Ipoh (theIpoh Municipality).

In the heyday of the PPP between1957 and 1969, SP was the vice-president of the party. Althoughcredited by many as the “brains”behind the success of the party,SP remained in the backgroundduring that golden era, playing

ri PadhmarajaSeenivasagam, fondlyknown as SP, was theother half of the famous

Seenivasagam brothers of Ipoh,the other being D R Seenivasagam(DR). Both men were brilliantlawyers and founder members ofthe Perak Progressive Party in1953. The party changed its nameto the People’s Progressive Party(PPP) two years later. SP was gen-erally perceived as the quieter ofthe two; a man of few words, atleast during the time when hisyounger firebrand sibling was thepresident of the PPP and concur-rently the Member of Parliamentfor Ipoh. SP himself was the MPfor the adjacent constituency ofMenglembu in the heart of theKinta Valley.

Despite the frequent comparisonsmade between them by the localmedia, the Seenivasagam broth-ers’ genuine concern for the wel-fare of the people, especially thepoor and the needy, was never indoubt. It was precisely this traitin SP that prompted him to makewhat most people at that time con-sidered his biggest blunder in hislong and illustrious record ofpublic service – the fatal decision

HISTORY

The much misunderstoodp o l i t i c i a nIsn’t it a pity that S P Seenivasagam should go down inhistory as such a greatly misunderstood politician afterhaving given his all for Ipoh?

by Andrew Lin

SSSSS

Outstanding lawyer

the role of a strategic plannerwhile DR time and again domi-nated the headlines as a fierce andharsh critic of the then Alliancegovernment. SP only came to thefore upon the untimely death ofDR in early 1969, barely twomonths before the nation’s thirdgeneral election. The racial riotsof May 13, which took place im-mediately after the election,changed the entire course of thenation’s history.

SP SeenivasagamSP SeenivasagamSP SeenivasagamSP SeenivasagamSP Seenivasagam DR SeenivasagamDR SeenivasagamDR SeenivasagamDR SeenivasagamDR Seenivasagam

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

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