From Aliran,
Dear friends and members,
Development for all
For far too long, funds for national development under the BN government have always been allocated solely to BN MPs and Aduns.
As
a result, people living in constituencies under PR politicians have
been discriminated against and deprived of their right to equal
financial allocations for development purposes. This is why Aliran, and
other concerned citizens, heaved
a sigh of relief when the Penang state government recently decided to
change the scheme of things by providing financial allocations to BN Aduns in the state as well.
We hope the BN government will
follow suit in the interest of the people’s welfare, irrespective of
their political preference, ethnicity, religion and culture.
Children’s rights and Malaysian government’s commitment
The
subject of the rights of children in Malaysia came to the fore when
police officers questioned a certain group of school children, without
the presence of their parents or guardians, pertaining to a controversy
surrounding a particular school in the country.
This subsequently prompted Prema Devaraj to question
the seriousness of the Malaysian government, which ratified the United
Nations Convention of the rights of the Child in 1995, in protecting and
taking care of the welfare of children in the country.
Spectre of ISA
The
tabling of the amendments to the Prevention of Crime Act (1959) (PCA)
by the BN government recently is a cause for deep concern particularly for Malaysians who treasure justice, fairness and democracy.
P Ramakrishnan argues
that the amended PCA has all the trappings of the obnoxious Internal
Security Act, particularly its provision of “detention without trial”,
that was repealed by the Najib administration in its purported desire to do away with unjust laws in Malaysia.
Of Pak Samad and creative rebels
The
mistreatment of national icon Pak Samad recently (i.e. the 78-year-old
poet-activist was instructed to report to the police station in the wee
hours of the morning) by the police over his alleged involvement in
flying the Sang Saka Malaya on the eve of the Merdeka Day caught the attention of observer Nicholas Chan.
He contends that great artists, laureates
and thinkers have the tendency to break rules and challenge
conventional wisdom in their desire to think out of the box and also in
trying to fight for the larger good. Such artistic, intellectual and
creative diversity and difference should, he asserts, be celebrated in a
democracy.
Stupidity and stupefying statements
As in most societies, there are the intelligent and the dimwitted. In his personal desire to see an infusion of ‘new blood’ into Umno Baru, former party president Mahathir Mohamad lamented that if Umno Baru leaders remain at the top of the party for far
too long, the party would be left with only members who are more stupid
than them. This predictably incurred the wrath of some members of the
party who insisted that they ain’t stupid.
But members of the general public may not be easily persuaded and convinced by such denial of the Umno Baru politicians about the very stupidity that was assigned by Mahathir. Take the recent statement
by deputy Finance Minister Ahmad Maslan on the recent fuel hike: “The
government did not raise the price of petrol, and had merely reduced the
subsidy.” If this doesn’t reinforce the suspicion that certain Umno Baru politicians are quite intellectually challenged, we don’t know what will.
If
the above isn’t enough to convince you, try this one: Deputy Science,
Technology and Innovation Minister Abu Bakar Mohamad Diah recently
declared that the Lynas rare earth plant in Gebeng, Kuantan is “as safe
as a kicap factory” – which predictably invited biting criticisms and condemnation from civil society groups.
There
are, as you are fully aware, lots more examples of stupidity in our
midst in recent times, but the above is sufficient to remind us that leaving the future of our beloved country entirely in the hands of such supposed leaders can be nervewracking
and risky. We will have to take part in the democratic process in
various ways to ensure that our collective future doesn’t become
irreversibly bleak.
Salam perjuangan,
Mustafa K Anuar
Co-editor
Aliran e-newsletter
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