Malaysisia changes over the last 42 years; quanity yes, quality?

The ascend to the throne of our new King, 42 years after he was last installed, is a time to reflect on our achievements.

I WAS at the installation of our new King the other day. Twice as King, he has seen Malaysia change from what it was then and now. He also mentioned in his speech that he witnessed the efforts of the Prime Minister at that time, Tun Abdul Razak, the father of our current Prime Minister.

I sat in the audience, reflecting on some of the positives that have taken place in our country and took some notes on my Blackberry.

The key thought that ran through my mind was how much things have changed over the last 42 years. Here’s how much:

·We moved from a low-income, high-poverty country to a high-middle-income economy. Our next transformation is to become a high-income, developed country with quality of life for everyone.

·Our infrastructure has increased by leaps and bounds. Roads and highways have been built and traverse all parts of the country. We are putting in a mass rapid transit system in Kuala Lumpur to take us to the next level.

·We have modern retail outlets – supermarkets, hypermarkets, shopping complexes, malls and entertainment outlets and we are helping mom-and-pop stores to modernise too.

·We are moving towards greater freedom in all spheres with the repeal of the Internal Security Act, establishing clear rights for peaceful assembly and affirming the rights of online expression and social media liberties, amongst others. The Government has also made amendments to Printing Presses and Publications Act, while the Prime Minister is also talking about changes to the Sedition Act.

·Religious freedom has actually taken strides forward. There is now explicit statement of freedom to import (instead of implicitly before) and publish the Alkitab (the Bible). Indeed, since the 10 points resolution, many Alkitab have been imported and printed locally, without any difficulties with the authorities.

·We have moved to an extensive “social welfare” system e.g free primary and secondary schools, virtually free public health system, and one of the lowest consumer prices for fuel, LPG cooking gas, sugar, electricity, flour, gas, and so on with high subsidies from the Government.

·We have moved to greater focus on rural poor. Under the transformation initiatives, for low-income groups, three million lives were positively impacted in 2010 and 2011.

·We have put up an explicit and substantive roadmap to transform Malaysia further. We will build upon the great achievements we have made between the times of the rules of our current King and work towards our vision 2020 - to make our country a developed one with its people earning high incomes.

Considerable achievement

Just to show the extent our achievements over the last 42 years, I have constructed a table of some key indicators. You can see for yourself how much things have changed, even if you accounted for the fact that a ringgit went a much longer way then.

Our income as a nation – gross national income at the prevailing prices then - increased 64 times over the last 42 years, which is fantastic considering that the population growth over the same period was just 1.6 times.

It’s not surprising therefore that per capita income went up 25 times over the period, a considerable achievement even after taking into account inflation and the drop in value of money.

‘We are putting in a mass rapid transit system in Kuala Lumpur to take us to the next level.’

 

One of the most telling effects of this is that the incidence of poverty has been brought down from nearly half of the population to less than four for every 100 people in the country. That’s tremendous.

The number of schools increased but the impact here would have been understated because while additional schools were built, existing schools would have increased their enrolment considerably.

There was a massive explosion in universities. In 1970, the universities were all public and there were only three. The latest figures indicate that private universities now outnumber government ones almost two to one with 20 public universities and 39 private ones.

A similar situation was seen for hospitals with private hospitals increasing from 46 to 239 while government hospitals rose more moderately from less than 80 to 137.

Average life expectancy, assuming equal numbers of males and female, increased by 17% to 74.1 years, reflecting vast improvement in health levels, which is reinforced by the sharp over 80% drop in the infant mortality rate to seven per 1,000 live births.

World confidence in the Malaysian economy too increased over the 42-year period and this is well-supported by foreign direct investment flows in 2011 of an excellent RM33bil which was 150 times more than that in 1970.

Who would have believed 42 years ago, that Malaysia would make such major achievements in an extremely challenging environment of uncertainty posed by the 1969 racial riots and the drastic and controversial steps that the Government took then to redress racial imbalances and eliminate poverty?

But despite the scepticism and the lack of confidence then, we succeeded and succeeded well. Yes, we could have done better, but then we can always do better and anyone could have done better. What counted was that we met our major targets.

We find similar scepticism now to our efforts to make yet another great transformation, a giant stride to become a developed nation with its citizens earning high incomes and enjoying a better quality of life than ever before.

Promising figures

We aim to do this in a bit more than eight years in a rather challenging and competitive environment. And I dare say we know how to do it. We have it pretty much mapped out in quite some detail.

The initial figures are promising, despite all the nay-saying which continues to give me the transformation blues. But yes, we will rise above the blues as we did before and make this a better nation for each and everyone of us.

The results for 2010 and 2011 are great with most of our targets not just met but exceeded, often by a lot. See the comprehensive annual report on economic and government transformation in the Performance Management and Delivery Unit (Pemandu) website for details.

Rome wasn’t built overnight, likewise Malaysia too. We are blessed as a country. Whilst we know there are shortcomings, we also need to count our blessings even as we overcome the shortcomings and other obstacles.

And we shall overcome – of that I am very sure.

Transformation Blues - By Idris Jala

Attitude determines altitude

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Reflecting on the law By SHAD SALEEM FARUQI

To seek and attain inner peace, live simply, think deeply, act nobly; and leave the world a better place than you found it.

A DEAR colleague’s son was recently called to the Bar. At the dinner to commemorate the occasion, several of us were asked to share a few words of advice.

The wise among us spoke because they had something to say.

Lesser people like me spoke because we were asked to say something. This is what I could manage.

In the journey of life, a new destination beckons you. We, the friends of your parents, pray fervently that your journey on the highway of life will be successful; that you will blaze new trails; that the road ahead will lead you to many summits; and that each panoramic view will stir in you a striving for the horizons beyond.

Success, is, of course, a matter of personal perception.

To some people, wealth, power, influence and status are the tests of having made it.

To others – and I hope you will be in this category – success is to bring sunshine into the lives of others.

When you do that, some of that sunshine will illuminate your life as well.

Whatever your concept of success is, its attainment is rooted in some conducive mental attitudes and a great deal of planned, hard work.

Visualising and envisioning: You must envision, constructively imagine and role-play whatever you wish to be.

Dreams are the foundation of reality. If you can dream it, you can achieve it.

Any fulfillment is, of course, subject to your courage and discipline to act on your dreams and materialise them into concrete actions. Kipling’s admonition must be remembered: “If you can dream and not make dreams your master. If you can think but not make thoughts your aim”.

Daily planning: On a daily basis, plan your schedule. Fill every minute with 60 seconds of distance run. Sail a chartered course. Do not drift in the wind and the waves.

Act on, not just react to, things as they come. Do not let others lead you by the nose. Do not count on luck. Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.



Mapping the road ahead: Careers are like ladders with many rungs. Map out the steps. Fix time frames. Periodically review your progress towards your long-term goals.

Intensity: There must be an intensity of commitment, a fire, a burning desire, an over-riding, if not single-minded, determination to attain your goals.

Ambition: Think big. Do not settle for too little. Make plans to reach the sky. If you land on the clouds, that’s OK. Strive harder next time.

Faith in God: When confronted by inevitable storms, trust God. God does not burden any soul with more than it can bear.

Self-confidence: We are all specks of dust in the universe. This necessary humility can, however, go hand in hand with a self-confidence that everything is attainable if we strive hard enough.

We must doubt our doubts but not our beliefs. We must remember that attitude, more than aptitude, determines our altitude.

Discipline and hard work: Work is part of worship and must be given the same type of devotion. Hard work compensates for lack of genius.

Many ordinary people achieve extraordinary things because they toil through the night while the world sleeps. Genius is 10% inspiration; 90% perspiration. A toiling tortoise can beat a heady hare.

Over the course of four decades, I have seen scores of extremely intelligent people fail in their endeavours because they lacked the humility that drives hard work; the discipline and planning that ensures progress; and the courage and persistence that overcome odds.

In most challenges in life, natural talents do not take us very far. Discipline does.

Passion: Whatever you do, do well. Let reason be the rudder and passion the sail. There are no small jobs; only small people.

There is honour in every profession provided we put our heart and soul into it and do ordinary things extraordinarily well.

It is often the case that those who do small jobs meticulously are likely to confront major challenges majestically.

Do not wait for ideal conditions: Do not wait for the perfect time to start building on your dreams. External conditions will never be ideal. We have to make do with what we have.

The wind often changes for the better once we set sail. It is our inner determination that makes the world stand aside to let pass a man who knows where he is going.

Show-case your talents: At a place of work, substance and form, isih dan gaya, the ability to be relevant, as well as to seem competent, are all equally important. Don’t be like the peacock that dances in the jungle but is not seen by anyone.

Find sophisticated and civilised ways to show-case your talents. Polish up your communication and PR skills so that your hard work and competence will be known.

Rewards come in many ways: It is natural to expect appreciation and recognition.

However, one must remember that in the workplace there are rivalries, jealousies and injustices.

As in the outside world, so in the workplace, justice does not usually prevail.

If the rewards do not come when they are due, remember that God is watching. His justice will one day prevail.

Work never goes to waste. A competent man is like the moon. Clouds can hide the moon for a while but in the end the beams of light will break through and the world will be filled with their luminescence.

Remember also that hard work with sincerity is nourishing for the soul and good for health.

The rewards of hard workare long term, internal and intangible. We all know that of all the things that matter in life, most are not things.

Success and failure: Success is never final. It is a journey, not a destination. It is a continuing process of repeating, reinforcing past accomplishments and conquering new challenges by adapting to a changed world.

Success is sustained effort over time and persistence in the face of hurdles. It is an attitude of “I think I can”. It is the courage to treat adversity as an opportunity. It is the willingness to regard every dare as a door.

Falling down does not amount to failure. Failure is to stay down. Falling down is never fatal. Life breaks all of us. The thing to do is to learn from our failings and to emerge stronger where we’re broken.

Happiness: To seek inner peace, live simply. Richness is not the accumulation of wealth but the smallness of needs. Think deeply. Act nobly. Leave the world a better place than you found it. Learn from people you admire.

“Lives of great men all remind us; we can make our lives sublime and departing leave behind us, footprints on the sands of time”.

Shad Saleem Faruqi is Emeritus Professor of Law at UiTM and Visiting Professor at USM. He wishes all readers happiness and health in the New Year.

Changes in Malaysia's horizon; Keep the momentum up!

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Changes in the nation’s horizon

Reflecting On The Law By Shad Saleem Faruqi

Whether by revocation by the King or annulment by Parliament, all emergency legislations will cease to exist six months after the end of an emergency proclamation.

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THE Prime Minister’s surprise announcement that the Emergency will be lifted, that the Internal Security Act will be repealed, and that laws like the Printing Presses and Publications Act will be amended to constitutionalise and humanise them has fired everybody’s imagination, and at the same time raised apprehension among the defenders of the status quo.

One reader asked whether the Prime Minister consulted with, and obtained, the consent of the Cabinet before making these bold pronouncements.

No outsider can answer this accurately, but what can be pointed out is that in parliamentary democracies, prime ministers are known to launch bold initiatives on their own and to present their Cabinets and their countries with a fait accompli.

Clear examples are decisions on premature dissolution of Parliament and budget and foreign policy initiatives.

In 1956, Anthony Eden of Britain got his country embroiled in the disastrous Suez invasion, and informed his Cabinet only after British paratroopers had landed on Egyptian soil.

In a strictly legal way, the prime minister is not bound by the Cabinet; instead the Cabinet is bound by the direction he supplies.

Politics may, of course, encourage a consultative approach but all students of parliamentary government know that the prime minister is the sun around which the Cabinet revolves.

Individual ministers are bound under the doctrine of collective ministerial responsibility to support their prime minister or step down from office.

Another reader asked whether the Prime Minister’s announcement means that the Emergency is already lifted?  The answer is in the negative.

The Emergency is proclaimed by the King and either he must revoke his proclamation(s) or the two Houses must by resolution annul the proclamation(s).

If the King (acting on advice) revokes a proclamation, the revocation comes into effect immediately.

However, if the two Houses are to debate and vote on a resolution to annul, that process can be expected to take some weeks or months because the Dewan Negara will probably convene only after the Dewan Rakyat’s lengthy budget session beginning in October.

However, if immediate parliamentary action to annul the 1966, 1969 and 1977 proclamations is thought desirable, the two Houses can meet concurrently to draw to a close the 47-year saga of the existing post-independence Emergency.

Once a proclamation expires, whether by revocation by the King or annulment by Parliament through an Emergency Act of Parliament or a piece of subsidiary legislation under an emergency law, all emergency legislations will cease to exist six months after the proclamation.

If the Emergency ends, does the Internal Security Act (ISA) also cease to exist? The answer is in the negative.  The ISA is a law against subversion under Article 149.

It is independent of Article 150 and has a life of its own, no matter what happens to the Emergency.

If the ISA is repealed, will those detained under the ISA have to be released? Undoubtedly, yes.

If the basis of their detention is extinguished, the detention, too, ceases to be valid.

Even if there is a new law under Article 149 to deal with security or terrorism cases, that law cannot be backdated due to the prohibition of Article 7(1).

Of course, the detainees may face new prosecutions under the Penal Code or the new laws.
The rule of double jeopardy will not apply.

Will the Government have to pay compensation to all people detained under the ISA, including in previous years?

The answer is “no” because the legality of an act must be judged by the law at the time of the commission of the act and not by what happens afterwards.

How can the ISA be repealed? Does its repeal require the consent of the Conference of Rulers?

Under Article 149, any law against subversion may be passed or repealed by Parliament. A simple majority vote is sufficient. The consent of the Conference of Rulers is not needed.

From what we have heard, the ISA will be replaced by two laws on terrorism and national security.
Some cynics are saying that the move is therefore purely cosmetic and political.

The ISA may end but preventive detention may remain. I think we should hold our judgment on this issue till we see the substantive content of the proposed new laws.

I would give anxious consideration to the following issues:

> The concepts of terrorism and national security must be precisely and objectively defined and must not have any catch-all tendencies.

> There should be no exclusion of judicial review so that any abuse or misuse of power can be tested in the courts.

It is acceptable that on matters of security, the political executive must have a strong say without excluding the power of the courts to determine independently whether security was indeed involved or not.

> There must be some safeguards against political detentions.

> The power of the police to detain for purposes of investigation must be drastically reduced from the present 60 days to no more than three weeks.

> The Minister’s power, as at present, to order detention for two years and for such further periods as he deems necessary must be abolished.

Detentions on the orders of the Minister raise the unconscionable issue of accuser, adjudicator and executioner being combined. Some separation of powers and some check and balance is desirable.

Justice must not only be done but must be seen to be done.

> The power to try, to convict and to detain must be committed to a Special Security Court or Anti-Terrorism Court (or by whatever name called).

> Anxious consideration must be given to the composition of this Special Court which must arouse public confidence.

> The executive must accuse, the court must decide.

> Special procedural rules for security trials exist in many countries and must be examined.

Perhaps trials should be held in camera (without the public present).

Whatever the case, there must be fair due process. The accused must know the charge.

No incriminating evidence must be withheld from him and from the judge, as is possible at present.

The accused must be allowed to defend himself fully and fairly.

> The penalties and the maximum period of detention must be prescribed.

> Whether there should be no appeal in “security” and “terrorist” trials is a matter for further consideration.

We have many model legislations from many countries that we can emulate.

Whatever we follow must show fidelity to our own Constitution and to the primary instruments of international law.

> Shad Saleem Faruqi is Emeritus Professor of Law at UiTM and Visiting Professor at USM.

Keep the momentum up!

Question Time By P. Gunasegaram

The momentous changes proposed by the Prime Minister need to be pushed through with the utmost urgency for greater effect.

THE overwhelming support and acclaim from Malaysians over the proposals by the Prime Minister to repeal the Internal Security Act or ISA and lift all proclamations of emergency show just how unpopular these measures are among Malaysians.

Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak has read the signals right. But as important as these and other proposals are, the larger agenda is even more significant – to review and if necessary repeal and replace all laws which stand in the way of demo-cracy, legitimate free expression, and human and individual rights.

Two paragraphs from Najib’s speech last Thursday are worth re-quoting: “It is absolutely clear that the steps I just announced are none other than early initiatives of an organised and graceful political transformation. It stands as a crucial and much needed complement to the initiatives of economic transformation and public presentation which the government has outlined and implemented for over two years in the effort to pioneer a modern and progressive nation.

“…the Malaysia that we all dream of and are in the process of creating is a Malaysia that practises a functional and inclusive democracy where public peace and prosperity is preserved in accordance with the supremacy of the Constitution, rule of law and respect for basic human rights and individual rights.”

Two things are necessary to carry these reforms to its natural conclusion. The first is to keep the momentum generated up and without any delay implement what has been promised. Any delay and back-pedalling to cater to the interests of some sections of the community will have the effect of raising cynicism yet again.

The second is to look into all the other laws which need to be changed to allow Malaysians to exercise all their full rights as enshrined in the Federal Constitution without hindrance.

That means that all those laws that are in direct contradiction to the letter and spirit of the Constitution must go. The sooner they go, the better. There has to be demonstrable urgency over this matter.

Already there are some politicians who are saying that the amendments to make some of the major changes cannot be tabled at the forthcoming Parliament session and will have to be deferred to next year. That will be a wrong start.

The necessary repeals of the relevant legislation can be made and still passed by Parliament this year for implementation next year. By that time, other legislation such as a counter-terrorism Act to still allow detention without trial under special circumstances and under judicial review can be introduced.

That will have the effect of setting a timetable for the implementation of the proposed changes already announced so that no one will doubt that the Government is serious about implementing the promises.

Already, there is talk that some sections within the ruling party and some parts of the police force are opposed to the repeal of the ISA and the Banishment Act. But these people must not be permitted to stop – or even delay – the reform process set into motion by the Prime Minister.

Simultaneous with the rapid implementation of the announced measures is the necessity to do an urgent yet comprehensive review of existing laws to expand the public space and bring forth important issues to be debated maturely and openly – with no threat from any party.

The proposal to remove the yearly licensing requirement for publications including newspapers under the Printing Presses and Publications Act is a relief, but a small one. The Home Ministry still wields disproportionate power and has the right to stop publication at any time without there being any recourse to the courts.

For the full flowering of legitimate expression across the board, it will be necessary to repeal fully this Act. That of course does not mean we are free to publish whatever we want because we will still be subject to provisions of the law for defamation, sedition, secrecy and so on. There is still adequate check and balance.

Another piece of draconian legislation that needs to be reviewed is the Official Secrets Act (OSA). This Act was amended in the eighties to provide for mandatory jail sentence and gave the Government the right to determine what affected national security without review by the courts.

In practical terms, this has prevented many issues of great public interest such as toll agreements to come out into the open. In practical terms, the Government could classify the number of cups of coffee consumed in a departmental canteen as a secret and anyone who reported it could be convicted under the OSA and go to jail for a minimum one year.

New legislation should be worded such that it respects secrecy when it involves issues of national security, not cover up inefficiency, incompetence or breach of trust by the Government. That would help ensure a more accountable government.

One other Act which deserves mention is the University and University Colleges Act that prevents local students from taking part in political activities and being aligned to political parties. This is strange considering that many of our founding fathers were political activists from their student days.

They may be students but they are also adults and as adults should play their full role in society, including taking part in political activities. That is part and parcel of developing their maturity and making them better members of society in future.

There is no doubt many other pieces of legislation need to be reviewed and the task is momentous. However, momentous as it is, the momentum that has been created by the announcement of the proposals must not be lost. We must press on relentlessly.

Momentum is of the utmost importance for change to take place. We need to turn the wheels of transformation faster instead of slowing them down with all manner of unfounded excuses. Malaysia and Malaysians have to move forward and quickly.

> Managing editor P. Gunasegaram believes in the old axiom that change is the only constant.

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As a writer, however, I’m most concerned with what will happen to the media. A functioning democracy needs a free and independent press and the PPPA has been a long-term stumbling block to both.

First off, I, along with most Malaysians, want more details. I totally disagree with the need for newspaper licences. The very concept is wrong-headed.

Second, access to and ownership of the media are also critical. We need all sides of the political debate (Barisan and Pakatan) to be given fair and equal coverage.

Malaysians can only make in­­formed decisions about who to vote for if they’re properly informed.

It’s worth bearing in mind that blanket media coverage of BN leaders has been a major turn-off. Whoever thought we needed to watch the PM wishing the country Selamat Hari Raya again and again was wrong. With the media, less is more, especially when you have nothing to say.

The current order also makes BN politicians lazy and high-handed when dealing with journalists and editors. But a freeing up of the media will force BN cadres to change – let’s call it political Darwinism.

The Singapore Government is also experimenting with liberalisation. During its recent general election, Singapore’s ruling PAP allowed its press some latitude in their coverage of the opposition. While the opposition made substantial gains, the ruling party still won because ordinary Singaporeans saw the candidates for what they were and still felt safer with the PAP.

There’s no reason to assume why the same couldn’t happen here, all the more so if the Prime Minister maintains his humility and candour.

At this stage, I must add that I would personally like to see Najib go head-to-head with Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim in a live, no holds barred debate during the next polls.

Such a debate would give Malaysians the chance to see who has a better vision for the country. Besides, Umno leaders really need to overcome their pathological fear of Anwar’s supposed superhuman rhetorical skills.

The man is not invincible. Then Information Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Shabery Cheek faced him back in 2008 and came out of the encounter very creditably.

Umno politicians also have to realise that constant communication and media coverage is the order of the day. Those who are not up to the exposure and pressure should be dropped – Barisan is better off without them. Certainly, if I had my way I’d dump over 80% of the present Cabinet. Most are ill-equipped for present-day challenges.

Also, reporters are stakeholders to be engaged, not hirelings to be ordered about. Treat them with respect and the returns will be considerable. Remember that the media, however tetchy and irritating, is the voice of the people.

At the same time, Malaysia’s mainstream media will now have to up its game. With Najib’s reforms, there’ll no longer be any excuse to not provide the critical news, investigative reporting and analysis that Malaysians crave.

We are tasked to serve the people and not our erstwhile political masters.

Najib has opened the door to a new world. We know most of his Barisan Nasional colleagues are ill-prepared. The tougher question is this: are we – the Malaysian people – ready for what’s to come?

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