FACTBOX: Malaysia’s affirmative action policy

http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSSP24290920080311?pageNumber=1&virtualBrandChannel=0

(Reuters) - The newly elected opposition took power in Malaysia’s industrial heartland on Tuesday and immediately said it would scrap one of the nation’s sacred cows — the decades-old policy of affirmative action for ethnic Malays.

Here are some facts about the policy:

WHEN AND WHY WAS AFFIRMATIVE ACTION INTRODUCED?:

* Affirmative action in favor of majority ethnic Malays dates back to British colonial rule, before independence in 1957. It was accelerated in the form of the New Economic Policy (NEP) after race riots between Malays and ethnic Chinese in 1969.

* Malaysia’s second post-independence prime minister, Abdul Razak, launched the NEP in 1971; after national soul-searching that blamed the wealth gap between Malay and Chinese communities for the violent riots of May 1969.

* The policy was reincarnated as the National Development Policy in 1991 but is still widely known as the NEP.

WHAT IS ITS GOAL, HOW DOES IT WORK?:

* It is aimed at eradicating poverty through redistribution of wealth in favor of ethnic Malays and indigenous people — collectively known as Bumiputeras or “sons of the soil”.

* Bumiputeras receive preferential discounts on house purchases, special allocations in public share issues and preferred status in the award of government contracts.

* University-entrance quotas for Malays have been abolished but some non-Malays complain that Malays have an easier path to university because matriculation is skewed in their favor.

* The NEP’s specific target is for Bumiputeras to achieve 30 percent ownership of corporate equity, non-Malays to own 40 percent and foreign owners 30 percent by 2020.

DOES THE POLICY WORK?

* While Bumiputera wealth went from just over 2 percent in 1970 to about 19 percent in 2004, Malays, who make up more than half of the population of 26 million, are still the poorest racial group — well behind the minority ethnic Chinese, who hold about 40 percent of the nation’s wealth.

HOW IS IT SEEN DOMESTICALLY?:

* Many Malays say the plan has strayed from its original aim of fostering economic competition to enrich only a small elite, while many rural Malays live hand to mouth in wooden huts.

* Attacks on affirmative action are especially sensitive for the ruling United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) because government handouts to Malay businesses are its financial lifeblood. The party has strong ties to the building industry, which is fed on preferential state contracts.

AND INTERNATIONALLY?:

* Malaysia’s favoring of domestic firms has seen it barred from supplying U.S. government agencies, and has been a key stumbling block in five rounds of talks between the United States and Malaysia on a free trade deal. Source: Reuters and Malaysia’s Economic Planning Unit, part of the prime minister’s department.

Source: Reuters

(Writing by Gillian Murdoch, Singapore Editorial Reference Unit; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani)

Video : Makkal Sakti

The video is in Tamil, but the images are in English. A very good video.

54 arrested : Protest against PRICE HIKE !!!

Latest update : 1.30pm (27 Jan 0

At 2pm, there is supposed to be a decision being made by police whether to remand further or to release the remaining detainees on police bail. This means that a Magistrate will be going to the IPK for the decision to be made (assuming la…). So we can keep our fingers crossed that the detainees should be out by this evening.

 11pm (26 Jan 0

Only 10 people were released, 44 others remain arrested. We do not know if they are going to be held and brought for remand tmrw at the Kuala Lumpur HIgh COurt, or whether they will be released today (Sunday). Will keep you posted.

*****************************************************************

54 protesters arrested in relation to a protest against price hikes
organised by the Coalition Against Inflation (Protes).

The government’s crackdown on peaceful assembly continued, when the police
arrested more then 50 individuals, including opposition leader and
supporters near Ampang Park LRT station at about 3pm this afternoon.

Those arrested are reported to be held at the Lumpur Contingent Police
Headquarters (IPK Kuala Lumpur) Kuala Lumpur. As of 5.10pm, 54 individuals
are confirmed to be detained at IPK Kuala Lumpur. S. Arutchelvan and 2
others were taken to Pudu Jail.

1st batch of arrest made at about 2.35pm. Among those arrested were:

1. S. Arutchelvan (PSM Secretary General)
2. Mai Suharah (Female)
3. Siti Fatimah (Female)
4. Nor Aziyati (Female)
5. Aiman (Female)
6. Nashita (Female)
7. Hidayat (Female)
8. Zamri Effendi
9. Marzuki
10. Solahuddin
11. Syed Jaymal

Others who arrested later when they are on their way to KLCC from Jalan
Ampang City Bank. Among them are:

12. Badrul Hisham
13. Dino
14. Dr. Nasir Hashim (PSM President)
15. Simon
16. Dr. Hatta Muhd Ramli (PAS)
17. Thevarajan
18. Saraswathy (PSM Vice-President)
19. V.Selvam (PSM CC member)
20. Rani Rasiah (PSM CC member)
21. Ganesan (PSM Kajang Branch President)
22. Ramalingam
23. Kartik
24. Gana
25. Vijaya
26. Sugumaran
27. Thinakaram
28. Nehru
29. Kohila Yanesegaran
30. Dr Dzulkifli Ahmad (PAS)
31. Dr. Badrul Amin
32. Mohd Sabo
33. Mohd Yusof
34. Khairul Nizad
35. P. Mohan
36. Thinamaran
37. Ginie Lim
38. Tian chua
39. Johson
40. Zaid Ibrahim (16 year old)
41. Tan ah kau
42. Nuridah Mohd
43. Mohd Azemi Azman
44. Azmi
45. Chou/Chan
46. Isa Mudin
47. Mohd Aminuri
48. Mohd b. Nawi
49. Tan Chee Hooi
50. Fathi Othman
51. Gomathi A/P Gunalan
52. Saravanan A/L Teruma
53. Mohd Azah b. Yaakob
54. Nur Mohd Faizal b. Harun

A full list of arrested civilian is yet to be announced later by the police.

*** (List produced by Suaram on 26th January)

Farish Noor : The Other Malaysia (25 Dec 2007)

Do Malaysian Muslims understand what ‘Allah’ means?

At the time of writing this, I am in Cairo in the company of my Egyptian friends who are Muslims, Catholics and Copts. Eid has passed and I attended several dinners and celebrations where Muslims and Copts celebrated together, visiting each others’ homes and ate til we could not eat any further. What is worse, Christmas is upon us and so once again Muslims, Catholics and Copts will be heading for the communal table for the communal feast and there will be much licking of chops, munching of bread, gobbling of sweet deserts and drinking for everyone. It is all simply too pleasant to belive, yet it is real and this is what life is like for many in Cairo, the ‘Mother of civilisation’ and home to more than twenty million Egyptians from all walks of life.

What is most striking to the outside observer like me - though rather banal for the Egyptians themselves - is the fact that in all these celebrations ranging from Eid for the Muslims to Christmas for the Catholics and Copts the word ‘Allah’ is used to denote that supreme and singular divinity, God. Catholics and Copts alike exclaim ‘Masha-allah’, ‘Wallahi’, ‘ya-Rabbi’, ‘Wallah-u allam’, and of course ‘Allahuakbar’ day in, day out, everywhere they go. The coptic taxi driver blares out ‘By Allah, cant you see where you are parking??” as he dodges the obstable ahead. The Catholic shopkeeper bemoans “Ya Allah, ya Allah! You can only offer me two pounds for the scarf? Wallahi, my mother would die if she heard that! Ya-Rabbi, ya-Rabbi!”

Yet in Malaysia at the moment yet another non-issue has been brewed to a scandal for no reason: The Malaysian Catholic Herald, a publication by and for Catholics in the country, has been told that it can no longer publish its Malaysian language edition if it continues to use the word “Allah” to mean God. Worse still, the country’s Deputy Internal Security Minister Johari Baharum recently stated that “Only Muslims can use the word Allah” ostensibly on the grounds that “Allah” is a Muslim word. The mind boggles at the confounding logic of such a non-argument, which speaks volumes about the individual’s own ignorance of Muslim culture, history and the fundamental tenets of Islam itself.

For a start, the word ‘Allah’ predates the revelation to the Prophet Muhammad and goes way back to the pre-Islamic era. Christians had been using the word long before there were any Muslims, in fact. Furthermore the word is Arabic, and is thus common to all the peoples, cultures and societies where Arabic - in all its dialects - is spoken, and is understood by millions of Arabic speakers to mean God, and little else. One could also add that as “Allah” is an Arabic word it therefore has more to do with the development and evolution of Arabic language and culture, and less to do with Islam. It is hard to understand how any religion can have a language to call its own, for languages emerge from a societal context and not a belief system. If one were to abide by the skewered logic of the Minister concerned, then presumably the language of Christianity (if it had one) would be Aramaic, or perhaps Latin.

The Minister’s remark not only demonstrated his shallow understanding of Muslim culture and the clear distinction between Arab  ulture and Muslim theology, but it also demonstrated his own lack of understanding of the history of the Malays, who, like many non-Arabs, only converted to Islam much later from the 13th century onwards. Among the earliest pieces of evidence to indicate Islam’s arrival to the Malay archipelago are the stone inscriptions found in Malay states like Pahang where the idea of God is described in the sanskrit words ‘Dewata Mulia Raya’. As no Malay spoke or even understood Arabic then, it was natural for the earliest Malay-Muslims to continue using the Sanskrit-inspired language they spoke then. Surely this does not make them lesser Muslims as a result?

The ruckus that has resulted thanks to the threat not to allow the publication of the Malaysian language edition of the Christian Herald therefore forces observers to ask the simple question: Why has this issue erupted all of a sudden, when the word Allah was used for so long with narry a protest in sight? At a time when the Malaysian government is already getting flak as a result of the protests by Malaysian Hindus who insist that they remain at the bottom of the economic ladder despite fifty years of independence, now it would appear as if the Malaysian government cannot get enough bad publicity.

The administration of Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi came to power on the promise that it would promote its own brand of moderate Islam that was pluralist and respectful of other cultures and religions. But time and again the Malaysian public - first Hindus and now Christians - have felt necessary to protest over what they regard as unfair, biased treatment and the furthering of an exclusive brand of Islam that is communitarian and divisive. The latest fiasco over the non-issue that is the name of God would suggest that Prime Minister’s Badawi’s grand vision of a moderate Islam has hit the rocks, and is now floundering. Just how the ministers and elite of this government is to regain their course is open to question, but what is clear is that some Ministers should get their basic knowledge of their own religion in order first.from OtherMalaysia@ http://www.othermalaysia.org/content/view/140/1/

HINDRAF rally : Video and other press statements

When I was giving thought of whether to go and join the HINDRAF rally, I first went to read their actual memorandum. Unfortunately I found myself disagreeing with their very emotional and racialist approach to the issues surrounding the indian community in Malaysia.  There was also talk of them wanting to do away with the Federal Const. (FC).

Now in my mind, the FC is last base, for freedom, democracy and unity in this country. If we do away with that, what is there left ? How sure are you that the next person to draft a FC will do one better.  With the way parliament is demarcated today, i doubt a new FC would be any better.

But, getting back to HINDRAF, what do I support ?

• I support their right to assemble
• I support the right to peaceful demonstrations.
• I support their right to freedom of speech and freedom of thought.
• I support the right for every individual to practice the religion they believe in

TODAY !!  Has been such a violent and sad day for this country. THe police and the executive have you such forceful and high-handed tactics that is disgraceful to us as Malaysians. This is the government YOU PUT IN POWER !!

The video from AL-JAzeera

Also there is a similiar video on drxavier.wordpress.com

The Hindraf Campaign: A Critique – Dr. Kumar [EXCELLENT !!!]

Many friends and contacts have been asking what is the Parti Sosialis Malaysia’s stand on the Hindraf Campaign? Why is the PSM not organizing buses to support the program on the 25/11/07? The main points of the PSM stand are outlined below –It is undeniable that Indians in Malaysia face racial discrimination.

• - difficulty in getting government jobs;
• - lack of special programs for Indian students from poor backgrounds;
• - the poor state of many Tamil Primary Schools;
• - absence of laws to protect the estate community when they are evicted in the name of development; Ditto for the peneroka bandar;
• - insensitive handling of Hindu Temples which are demolished to make way for “development”;
• - extremely insensitive handling of cases of Indian individuals caught in “inter-faith situations for example Moorthy, Subashini, and others;
• - the negative profiling of Indian youth by the police and other authorities as “gangsters” and the harsh treatment of these youth when caught by police;

These are just some aspects of the reality of Indians in Malaysia. Indians are made to feel that they are second-class citizens, and after 50 years of Merdeka they are beginning to resent it more and more!

Ethnic based mobilization is relatively easy to do. Malaysian society has been tutored in racial politics by the BN parties (as well as by some opposition parties also) for the past 5 decades. The vast majority of Malaysians think in ethnic terms. However ethnic based mobilization of Indians will not be able to overcome the racial discrimination that Indians face. At this point Hindraf is asking for

• - Cessation of the Bumiputra policy
• - Institution of affirmative policies for Malaysian Indians
• - Monetary compensation from the British Government for “leaving us in this mess”!

These are emotive issues, and it is obvious that many Malaysian Indians have responded to them. But is even remotely possible that they can be attained by ethnic based mobilization of the Indians who make up only 7% of the population?

We should not forget that apart from racial discrimination, the majority of Indians face economic discrimination because they are workers in a system that favours the businessmen and the capitalists. About 70% of Malaysian Indians are workers.

The problem they face as workers include

• - low wages. In many factories the basic pay in RM 18 per day, which works out to RM 468 per month.
• - There is no job security. Outsourcing, the widespread use of contract workers, and the easy availability of migrant workers all weaken the bargaining position of Malaysian labour.
• - Labour laws are being tightened and being made more pro management;
• - Low cost adequate housing is difficult to find.
• - Prices of goods is rising faster than wages! Petrol, toll and now flour.
• - Basic services – health care, education, roads, water - which used to be heavily subsidized are now becoming increasingly expensive;

The problems listed above are also experienced by workers of all races in Malaysia – even the Malays, who are the beneficiaries of the Bumiputra policies. Only about 20% of Malay workers have jobs in government. The remainder have to work in the private sector where they too experience economic discrimination as workers in a capitalist economy. Malays workers are not exempted from the problems of low wages, job insecurity, rising costs of basic services, etc.

It appears that that some sections of working class Malays are beginning to question the Bumiputra policy which has benefited the UMNO-putra and their cronies far far more than the average Malay worker.

Consider the following -

• - the Mat Rempit phenomena. Isn’t this, in part, an expression of the frustration and resentment of ordinary Malay youth who are having difficulties finding and holding jobs because of the low-wage and migrant labour policies of the BN government;
• - more than 50% of the 40,000 Bersih demonstration on 10/11/07 was made of Malay youth who were not from PAS or KeAdilan. They turned up because they are fed-up with the government which is only helping a small sector of Malay elite.
• - Anwar Ibrahim has been openly calling for the ending of the Bumiputra Policy which he claims only helps the rich UMNO politicians. He wants a new policy – the Agenda Baru - that is based on economic need and not on race. All poor Malaysians should get government help.
• - PAS spearheaded the Protes Coalition which opposed the hikes in Petrol and Diesel prices. They are also active in the Coalitions against Health and Water privatization. Anwar is an astute politican, and PAS does have close contact with the Malay community. Their articulation of such issues must mean that in their assessment, ordinary Malays are resentful of government policies that favour the rich.

The political choice facing Malaysian Indians is simple.

Do we mobilize ourselves as Indians to fight the Bumiputra policy and ask for affirmative action for Indians?
OR
Work towards a working class coalition that fights for a better deal for all ordinary Malaysians irrespective of race?
In other words, do we use ethnic based mobilization or class based mobilisation to fight the present state of ethnic discrimination of Indians?

Obviously 1000’s of Indians have jumped into the Hindraf bandwagon of ethnic mobilization. But the support of large numbers does not necessarily mean that that campaign is in the long term interest of the Indians in Malaysia. Nor does it mean that it is likely to succeed!
The PSM salutes all those who have thrown off their apathy to stand up for their rights despite the threats being made by the BN government in the media. However, action for action’s sake is never enough. Action must be guided by the correct analysis, and this is where we differ with Hindraf. Though Hindraf leaders have made sacrifices, and have shown courage, we believe that they are inadvertently playing into the hands of the “enemy”. Why?

Who are the major beneficiaries of the Bumiputra policy? Surely people like Najib, Hishamuddin, Khairi and other top UMNO leaders must be very uncomfortable with growing perception among the ordinary Malays that the Bumiputra Policy has been abused to make a small group of Malays filthy rich – all in the name of uplifting all Malays.

These UMNO leaders are also worried about the coming elections for the people are frustrated with price hikes and corruption.

Ethnic mobilization on the part of Hindraf would provide them with the perfect Opportunity to :

-resurrect the “Ketuanan Melayu” issue. They could use Hindraf’s demands to abolish the NEP as an example of how “lebih” the Indians have become, and of the importance to band together under UMNO for race and country!!

- Use some of the gangster groups associated with UMNO to provoke a racial incident that will come very useful for BN in the election campaign period. The old BN argument that we have to vote BN to avoid another May 13!

This does not mean that the PSM is advocating not fighting back when Indians are evicted or when houses and temples are torn down. Not at all. The PSM track record on this is clear – we have gone to stand with the people facing eviction and bullying by developers or the government in many estates and Peneroka Bandar kampungs. But we never have generalized this into an ethnic issue for all the reasons listed above.
This local fight-backs must continue whenever any community is faced with bullying by developers or government. But national level mobilization should be of all ordinary Malaysians (from all races) and not of Indians only!

We hope these brief explanations make sense to you. Do not retire from the struggle! Just reorient it to make it multi-racial and fight for the justice of all the ordinary people of Malaysia!
Salam Berjuangan!! - Parti Sosialis Malaysia

from HERE

PSM press statement - A day to reflect

DAY TO REFLECT – RACISM AND 50 YEARS OF MERDEKA !

25 November 2007 will be seen as a day when thousands of Malaysian Indians defied police orders and other high handed intimidation to express their anger and frustration against the ruling party and poured into the streets of Kuala Lumpur.

The crowd of mostly agitated Indian youths put up a fight against the heavy machinery and arsenal of the police force. The result was bloody with hundreds of people arrested, brutalized and injured.

The police went on all the way, with all they had to suppress the people whose intentions  were merely to hand  a memorandum to the British Embassy. If the State had used its wisdom, it could have evaded this confrontation by simply allowing the assemble to proceed. The scene became unruly as always, not because of the assemble but because of the police action against a very determined, highly charged and frustrated community. A community who has been deprived by the divide and rule politics of Malaysia and economic policies which are designed to make race politics dominant.

When thousands of people take to the street, definitely something is wrong. The controlled media is trying to paint a picture that the people were misled but once again one cannot deny that the show of force by the people are real indication that something is really wrong.

How do we march from here after the aftermath of what happened today? Is this nation going to recognise the problem of racism and unite the people or would it create further divisions to split the already fragile and false unity, which has dominated our lives in the last 50 years?

The answers to resolve this problem of racism and ethnicity can only be resolved when Ethnic based structures are destroyed and this task cannot be carried by any ethnic based or religious based movements. The working class and the common people of Malaysia from all walks of life have to unite and built a multi-racial movement to fight racism and bring back the spirit of 1947 to built a class based people’s movement.

Only a class based movement not based on ethnicity and religion can truly built a nation without discrimination, race based corruption and race based politics. The ruling party would be able to rule and would continue to rule as long as the people are divided. The ruling party is not going to build a united Malaysian Nation, as it is not going to work to its advantage. The Opposition too have at many occasions being sucked into the same mode to win support of the people.

The future of Malaysia can go two ways – Race and Religious Politics which is the rule of the day versus Class based politics – cutting across race and religion lines. It is a serious question as race and religious politics with its history and conditioning, remain the most effective way to mobilise the racially divided people. It is a question every person have to ask and ponder. It is a question which is going to continue to haunt us.

Today the capitalist controlled UMNO and its coalition partners, using race and religion have won every election but failed to reduce the gap between the rich and the poor. Income disparity between the rich and poor has widens and among the highest in Asia and the rich of all races continue to prosper while the poor of all races continue to suffer.

The Socialist Party of Malaysia (PSM) is determined to continue to mobilise the masses using class politics and find the unity among the people especially the working masses to bring benefit for the majority of the working class irrespective of race and religion because we believe ultimately- wealth has to be shared based on justice and equality.

 

Released By

S.Arutchelvan
Secretary General
Parti Sosialis Malaysia

Transcript of Malaysia’s Information Minister’s interview with Al Jazeera News ( +VIDEO)

NEW **** VIDEO 

A colleague in the office forwarded this to me, it is hillarious (I think Malaysiakini didn’t carry this) and at the same time highly disturbing, people actually voted this dude into parliament !! Which constituency la ?? The Constituents mad ? How can someone who can’t speak semi-decently be made Information Minister ?? BLINKING !!

or HERE

Transcript of Malaysia’s Information Minister’s interview with Al Jazeera News on the Bersih Protest.

Minister: I commend yo-yo-your journalists trying to project… to exaggerate more than what actually happened. That-that-that-that’s it. We are not the-the and I-I congratulate your journalists behaving like an actor, that-that’s it…

Reporter: As you say that, sir, we’re watching scenes of protesters being sprayed by chemical-filled water!

Minister: YA! I am watching! I’m here! You’ve been trying… trying to do it this - to do this everywhere but in Malaysia people are allowed to, you know? We know our police head our colleague… Police have whatever allowed the procession to go to the Istana Negara, you know? Do police, first police, like, they handle them, they attack them, they… the police don’t, don’t, don’t fire anybody?

Reporter: Our correspondent came back to the office, sir, with chemicals in his eyes!

Minister:You-you-you-you are here with the idea, you are trying to project, what is your mind! You think that we Pakistan, we are Burma, we are Myanmar. Everything you-you are thinking! WE ARE DIFFERENT! We are totally different!

Reporter: Well unfortunately when you refuse to let people protest, it does appear so.

Minister: Ya ya we are not like you! You-you have earlier perception, you come here, you want to project us like undemocratic country. This a democratic country!

Reporter: So why can’t people protest then, if it’s a democratic country?

Minister: YES, PEOPLE PROTEST! People do-do… of course they protest. We are allowing them protest, and they have demonstrated. But we just trying to disperse them, and then later they-they-they don’t wanna disperse, but later our police compromise. They have compromised and allowed them to proceed to Istana Negara! Police, our police have succeeded in handling them gently, right? Why do you report that? You take the opposition, someone from opposition party you ask him to speak. You don’t take from the government, right?

Reporter: Why did you not break up these protests…

Minister: Pardon? Pardon? Pardon?

Reporter: Why did you not break up these protests more peacefully?

Minister: I can’t hear you! I can’t hear you!

Reporter: Why did you not break up these protests more peacefully?

Minister: No we-we are! We… this protest is illegal! We don’t want..this… the… NORMALLY…

Reporter: OK, so let me return to my former question. Why is this protest illegal?

Minister: YA! It’s a illegal protest because we have the erection in Malaysia. It’s no-no point on having a protest! We are allowing to every erection… every five years never fail! We are not our like, like Myanmar, not like other country. And, and you are helping this. You Al-Jazeera also is helping this, this forces. The, you know, these forces who are not in passion, who don’t believe in democracy!

Reporter: Alright, many thanks for joining us.

Minister: I don’t, ya, you, Al-Jazeera, this is, is Al-Jazeera attitude. Right

RIGHT :))

KTM Komuter an insult to the progress of this country.

I take the KTM on a daily basis to commute to work in KL and back home. Most of the time it is a fairly reasonable trip. Once in a while trains run a little late, or the air conditioning won’t work, or the lights go out, or you here this loud BOOM!! from the control box (so much so that I think if there were ever a real explosion, Komuter passengers would be the last to react)

But the past 3 days - Monday 12 November - Tuesday 13 November and today 14 November - KTM Komuter has been HORRIFIC !!!!

 Monday and Tuesday saw me waiting in KL Sentral for more than an hour after work for a train. So much so that I only reached home (klang) after 9 pm !! and mind you I was waiting for a train from 6.30pm.

[I managed to read every single page of my National Geographic magazine]

This morning to my utter horror.. .  the officer at the Komuter station (who was very pleasant) told me that the train would not come for another hour !!

 ARGH !! &%$&  (ok frustration vented)

But jokes aside, while it is all good to make jokes about the system, I can’t imagine what would happen to me if I had to be at court by 9am, , and the trains did not come.

This country is wasting so much time, effort and money with the trains being delayed, spoilt and etc. It would be alot more simpler and efficient to simply restock the lot. Yes it would cost more to begin with, but as time passes the usage will make back the cost. It is undeniable that the frequency of usage of the KTM trains is only increasing. So KTM should make back most of its capital.

But, what I heard was that KTM and LRT Putra, are actually continuosly running at a loss !! How is this so ?? I really can’t fathom it, especially with the Putra line,the trains are always full, there are always people. So how can it run at a loss ?

Really, there must be a solution, it isn’t rocket science to get a pratical and efficient transportation system going, when so many other countries have done so. 

Mondays headlines and the reason the shops closed in Masjid Jamek

In case you missed today’s mainstream newspapers, the government, namely Badawi and Najib are making desperate attempts to belittle the events that took place on Sat, 10 November 2007. They (the govt) can’t accept the fact that almost 50,000 people came out to support the BERSIH movement. They can’t accept that 50,000 were desperate enough for change that they had to petition the King.

They also probably can’t accept the fact that Malaysiakini went down from the increased number of hits/ traffic that they received as a result of the BERSIH rally. Why ? Simply because people know that’s one reliable source of news !!

It’s pretty simple. His Majesty our King has no powers. Thats a known fact. But the message that was delivered, was that the people are desperate for change and for someone to listen . The government’s so called “open-channels” are always closed and never effective. The Agong, was the only one who “wrote back to the BERSIH coalition saying that he would accept a memorandum from them“. Remember that BERSIH represents 71 organisations (out of which only 5 are political parties)

The King was brought into this, not to play a role in politics, but as a beacon of hope for the Malaysian rakyat. The one man who will care for his people regardless of where he is voted for in the next elections.

If you haven’t been able to see today’s papers. You can read it HERE (NST frontpage), HERE Traders end up biggest losers (NST

With reference to the latter story, the only reason the traders closed, was because of the force and attacks by the FRU and the police.

From the NST :

“Employee of Nallis Sarees Store, Sumathi Maniam, 23
Deepavali weekend is usually our peak period but we closed when the first tear gas canister was fired. “

“Sri Paandi Restaurant employee Prakash John, 25
…Our customers, including their children, were tearing and coughing.”

“Maju Al-Bismi Store employee Mohamed Shafi, 30
We can stomach the loss but not the risk to our health and safety. The authorities need to warn us in advance the next time“

What is noticeable is that the people are complaining about the police reaction and not the crowd. I’ll let my readers be the judge of that. But I think the sentiment felt by the traders is quite clear.