Rabu, 27 April 2016

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N37 Batu Maung

Posted: 26 Apr 2016 07:27 PM PDT

N37 Batu Maung


MOTIVASI MAGNET DIRI

Posted: 26 Apr 2016 12:45 AM PDT


 Semua di jemput menyertai Program Motivasi Magnet Diri bersama Saudara Amin Idris anjuran Pusat Khidmat DUN Batu Maung N37.


 

Anwar Ibrahim

Posted: 26 Apr 2016 07:19 PM PDT

Anwar Ibrahim


Ringgit falls most in two months as 1MDB default drags on stocks

Posted: 26 Apr 2016 12:19 PM PDT

Bloomberg (26 April 2016)

KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit dropped the most in two months and stocks were set for the lowest close since mid-March as troubled state investment company 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) confirmed it's in default after missing an interest payment on bonds.

The company is withholding a US$50 million payment on US$1.75 billion of dollar notes amid a dispute with International Petroleum Investment Co (IPIC), Abu Dhabi's sovereign wealth fund that is the co-guarantor of the bonds maturing in 2022, according to an e-mailed statement. The deadline was on Monday. The cost to insure Malaysia's government debt rose to the highest level in seven weeks and ringgit yields surged.

"At the margin, this has to be negative for the ringgit," said Nizam Idris, the Singapore-based head of strategy for fixed income and currencies at Macquarie Bank Ltd. "Obviously, contingent liability on the government as well as rating risk is there."

The currency declined for a fourth day, its longest run of losses since Nov 2, according to prices from local banks compiled by Bloomberg. It fell 0.9% to 3.9420 per dollar as of 1:10pm in Kuala Lumpur, the biggest slide since Feb 19 and taking its drop in April to 0.9%. The five-year bond yield rose five basis points to a six-week high of 3.49%

“Whilst 1MDB has the funds to have made the interaest payment, it is 1MDB's position, as a matter of principle, that it was IPIC's obligation to do so,” the company said. “Until IPIC accepts that all obligations have been met, 1MDB is obliged to withhold payments and will seek legal recourse and resolution.”

1MDB Bonds

Five-year credit-default swaps climbed four basis points to 167 basis points, prices from Nomura Holdings Inc show. That leaves the measure set for its highest close since March 8, according to data provider CMA.

The price of 1MDB's 4.4% dollar bonds due in 2023 dropped 4 cents on the dollar to 87 cents, Bloomberg-compiled data show. The yield surged 73 basis points to 6.89%. The three-year sovereign note yield climbed five basis points to 3.32%, the steepest increase since Feb 24.

The FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI Index of shares retreated 0.7%, which was also the biggest loss in two months.

The missed 1MDB payment triggered cross defaults on RM7.4 billion (US$1.9 billion) of the company's debt, according to the statement. The firm has been in dispute over its debt obligations to IPIC under an agreement reached in May last year. As part of the pact, the wealth fund said then it would assume obligations to pay interest due under US$3.5 billion of 1MDB bonds that it guaranteed. IPIC said this month that Malaysia's state fund was in default after failing to pay it more than US$1 billion in connection with a loan.

Standard & Poor's said in a e-mail it doesn't see any impact on Malaysia's A- rating, its fourth-lowest investment-grade ranking, from 1MDB.

Anwar: Belum terlambat runding pertembungan calon di S’wak

Posted: 26 Apr 2016 12:05 PM PDT

Malaysiakini- Kow Wah Chie (26 April 2016)

Bekas ketua pembangkang, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim berkata ia belum terlambat untuk PKR dan DAP berunding mengenai pertembungan calon kedua parti itu dalam pilihan raya negeri Sarawak.

Dalam perkembangan yang sama, beliau turut melahirkan rasa kesal bahawa calon sekutu Pakatan Harapan terbabit dalam pertembungan sesama sendiri.

Anwar bagaimanapun menyeru mereka supaya terus bekerjasama bagi memastikan kemenangan.

“Saya kesal (ini berlaku dalam pilihan raya Sarawak),” kata Anwar ketika ditemui di Mahkamah Tinggi Kuala Lumpur hari ini.

Beliau ditanya mengenai pertembungan antara calon PKR dan DAP di enam kerusi dalam pilihan raya negeri Sarawak pada 7 Mei ini.

“Buat masa ini, saya mahu mereka terus bekerjasama untuk memastikan Pakatan Harapan menang.

“Masih ada masa bagi mereka untuk cuba berunding. Itulah yang terbaik,” katanya.

Calon PKR dan DAP akan bertembung di kerusi Mulu, Murum, Simanggang, Mambong, Ngemah dan Batu Kitang.

Anwar hadir di mahkamah hari ini untuk memohon kebenaran daripada Mahkamah Tinggi bagi merujuk kepada Mahkamah Persekutuan mengenai isu itu sama ada keengganan Lembaga Pengampunan untuk memberi keampunan kepadanya atas sabitan kesalahan liwat, boleh dicabar.

Selasa, 19 April 2016

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Anwar Ibrahim

Posted: 18 Apr 2016 07:36 PM PDT

Anwar Ibrahim


The Muzzling of the Malaysian Mind

Posted: 18 Apr 2016 04:51 AM PDT

APRIL 14, 2016)

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — On Thursday the High Court here rejected yet another challenge to the Sedition Act, paving the way for the government's record-breaking case against the political cartoonist Zulkiflee Anwar Haque, better known as Zunar, to proceed. Zunar faces up to 43 years in prison on nine counts of sedition — the most counts anyone in Malaysia has ever been charged with.

His crime? Posting comments and cartoons on social media criticizing a court decision last year that upheld a conviction for sodomy against the opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim.

In February, the police hauled in another cartoonist, Fahmi Reza, for drawing Prime Minister Najib Razak as a clown. (Mr. Fahmi has since been released.) The latest to be summoned were three lawyers who asked the Malaysian Bar to remove Attorney- General Mohamed Apandi Ali from his post for refusing to prosecute Mr. Najib over alleged financial improprieties. Their motion was deemed to be seditious because the attorney general is appointed by the king, and a challenge to him is seen as a challenge to the king himself.

In 2015 alone, according to Amnesty International, 91 people were arrested, charged or investigated under the 1948 Sedition Act — almost five times as many as during the law's first 50 years.

The act, which was amended after race riots in 1969, prohibits any action that might "raise discontent or disaffection" among Malaysians. It was enacted by the British colonial authorities, mostly to stamp out criticism from communists. But the Najib administration, after pledging to repeal the archaic law, is now wielding it to silence anyone who questions the state, or even the political status quo. This is an unprecedented onslaught against free expression in Malaysia, and an attempt to muzzle the entire population.

On Feb. 25, soon after The Malaysian Insider reported that an independent oversight panel within the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission had found sufficient evidence of financial improprieties by Mr. Najib, Internet regulators blocked access to our site. They claimed that our story would confuse the public because the attorney general had already announced there wasn't enough evidence against the prime minister.

Our site remained accessible outside Malaysia, but the block order shut us out of the Malaysian market, and our advertising revenue, which already was weak, then flatlined. With no worthy bids forthcoming from potential buyers, on March 14, after eight years of operation, The Malaysian Insider was closed by its owners.

Fifty-nine of us lost our jobs. Malaysia lost one of its few independent news sources. And the communications and multimedia minister defended the government's position by suggesting that The Malaysian Insider published content as "undesirable" as pornography.

Of course, Malaysia has never been a truly free and open society. In the late 1990s, then Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, of the United Malays National Organization (UMNO), promised freedom on the Internet to attract Silicon Valley start-ups and propel Malaysia into the cyberage. But the Internet and mobile phones were beyond the reach of many Malaysians back then, so Mr. Mahathir had little cause to place any limits on them. And he shut down several newspapers in 1987, on security grounds, while generally keeping a tight leash on traditional media.

Mr. Mahathir's successor, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, also of UMNO, was more lenient, partly on the advice of a coterie of young advisers. Online news portals mushroomed. Social media flourished. This was the period when cartoonists such as Zunar and Mr. Fahmi came to prominence, beyond just doodling for newspapers. But critics within UMNO pointed out that Mr. Abdullah had given too much away when under his tenure the party lost a commanding parliamentary majority between one election and the next.

Mr. Najib replaced Mr. Abdullah in 2009, and for a while all was well. In response to growing rifts between the country's Malay, Chinese and Indian populations, he announced the "1Malaysia" program, a campaign to encourage national unity, diversity and pluralism. His government repealed draconian security laws that allowed detention without trial.

But just like the Mahathir administration had done, the Najib administration reversed itself after a few years in office. UMNO, which was first created to represent and unite Malay interests, was still failing to make inroads with non-Malays. It lost the popular vote in the 2013 general election. The party and its allies managed to secure a majority in Parliament thanks only to the weighted distribution of seats in Malaysia's electoral system, which benefits small rural constituencies, UMNO's traditional strongholds.

Opposition politicians and civil society activists were the first to be hassled for exposing the outrageous details of 1MDB's losses and Mr. Najib's apparent windfall. After that it was journalists and cartoonists.

The Najib administration is desperate to control what is said about these sordid scandals and suspected wrongdoings. It feels especially threatened by nontraditional media outlets, which are widely accessible to the public: The Malaysian Insider was a free news portal published in both English and Malay; Zunar distributes many of his cartoons via social media, some free of copyright and with the permission to reuse them.

My colleagues and I have already lost our jobs. Zunar may yet lose his freedom. Surely, Malaysia is losing its way.

Remembering Karpal – the people’s lawyer

Posted: 18 Apr 2016 04:48 AM PDT

18 April 2016 – Malaysiakini (Harinder Singh Randhawa)

Two years heretofore, on this fateful day, this nation lost a man. A man who was just as ordinary but chose, to be an uncommon man – for he felt that this was his right. He was a lawyer and a statesman. More than that however, he cherished a place that was vastly more sacred and noble in form: in the hearts of commoners.

He was their hero. He was a selfless defender and guardian of the law and righteousness, a friend to the marginalised and oppressed. A towering beacon of hope he was, for those whom the roots of injustice had imperiled. He was Karpal Singh – the people's lawyer.

Karpal was an indefatigable and gallant defender of the Rule of Law and the Malaysian constitution. He fought both – in the causes he believed in and the causes of the people at large, fierily without any fear or favour. And the price for this – came hefty in form of detrimental consequences to Karpal and his family.

In 1987, he was detained under the Internal Security Act (ISA) during Ops Lalang, without trial, for two years. His family, unsure each long day that passed if there was to be food on the table the next, as Karpal was the sole breadwinner of the family. They lived, dashed with uncertainty, about the fate that was to be.

Upon his release from detention in 1989, many had expected a dispirited and crestfallen Karpal to trudge through the overshadowing gates of the Kamunting Detention Camp. Some had even gone to the extent of predicting that he would withdraw from the political arena completely. A detention without trial under the ISA was harsh and unforgiving. Detainees were subject to vile and iniquitous treatment. What more when his detention stretched over a period of two years.

However what came, was instead a man who marched valiantly through those very gates; enraged and even more determined, to set proper the course of justice that had been misdirected and trampled upon. This was what inspired people the most about Karpal. His warrior-spirit. Despite the impossible odds that may be, he was one to ever see pass them with ultimate optimism.

He was not a lawyer who won every case that he took on. He too, had his fair share of losses. What was admirable about Karpal was the fact that every case he fought, he fought with diligence and courage. He gave every legal challenge he mounted an equal and unqualified share of his utmost best. No case was paid less attention to or given less priority. If he lost a case, it would be with dignity. His clients, too, knew this well.

Lionhearted, Karpal was. A man so true to what he believed in, that no possible form of affliction, persecution or injustice, could ever cause him to be untrue to what he held on to and triumphed so dearly. In his words: "They can lock me up, they can do whatever they want to me. But I know that I'll be in there with my integrity intact." He represented a fearless source of unfettering inspiration to all.

Independence and forthrightness

What led Karpal to command the respect of the legal fraternity and his political opponents was his independence and forthrightness in giving legal interpretations truthfully, as they stand. This was the case several different times even when it failed to favour Karpal or his political standing. He remained steadfast to his principles in upholding the Rule of Law.

Many of Karpal's cases were also taken on a pro bono basis. He refused to accept payment or legal fees. This was especially such when a client had been a victim of manifest injustice. As he said to Anwar Ibrahim when the family attempted to pay him for his legal services rendered: "How could I accept payment from you, Anwar!? You've been a victim of injustice. You fought them and they're persecuting you! Don't talk to me about money again. I'm a man with dignity."

The news of his passing in the wee hours of April 17, 2014 shook the nation.

The people lost their hero. Their defender, their guardian, their inspiration, gone forever. Many were unaccepting at first, suspicious of a hoax as similar messages and news had also circulated several times before. But as the hours went by, it was confirmed. The Tiger of Jelutong had passed on.

A three-day wake was held at Karpal's home in Penang. People, citizens from all walks of life, in the hundreds of thousands, thronged to pay their last respects to their hero, on his final journey. Men and women, of all races, ages, creeds and colours, stood by his coffin, teary-eyed and some even crying uncontrollably, as they bid the people's lawyer, farewell. This just stood to show lucidly the place he enjoyed and held in the hearts of the ordinary men and women of this nation.

It is said that there will never again be another like Karpal Singh – at least for a long time to come. However, I beg to differ. We are all Karpal. We should all aspire in his aspirations for justice, integrity and freedom and bring effect to these notions. We are change.

Live his dream and walk in his shadow. He taught us exactly on how not to fear the government and for that is what we must do. Let us not disappoint in what Karpal devoted his life to. Even in his passing, he remains a beacon of hope and a tower of inspiration shadowing over us. Reminding us, that even an ordinary man can make extraordinary changes, if he wishes to.

Thank you Mr Karpal, for all that you had dedicated unwaveringly to this nation, its people and its defining fundamentals.

You were a true Malaysian.

Jumaat, 15 April 2016

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Anwar Ibrahim

Posted: 14 Apr 2016 07:15 PM PDT

Anwar Ibrahim


A losing effort by a strongman: Washington Post opinion

Posted: 13 Apr 2016 07:24 PM PDT

By The Washington Post editorial board ( 9 April 2016)

Back in January, Malaysia’s autocratic-minded prime minister, Najib Razak, tried to decree the end to a scandal involving the appearance of $681 million in his personal bank accounts. After an attorney general he installed reported that the money was a donation from the Saudi royal family, and did not involve wrongdoing, Najib declared: “The matter has been comprehensively put to rest.” Malaysians who argued otherwise, officials suggested, risked prosecution under the country’s draconian sedition law.

Fortunately for the rule of law in Malaysia, the strongman’s gambit failed. Revelations about alleged misappropriation of funds from a Malaysian state investment fund set up by Najib continue to pour forth, and investigations in half a dozen nations appear to be gathering momentum. Malaysia’s scandal appears likely to implicate financiers in the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Singapore and the United States as well as some big Western banks. Perhaps most important, the chances that Najib will himself face legal and political consequences are steadily growing.

At the center of the scandal is a fund established by Najib in 2009 called 1Malaysia Development Bhd., or 1MDB. The entity has borrowed $11 billion, and Swiss authorities are saying that as much as $4 billion may have been improperly diverted. According to the Wall Street Journal,more than $1 billion entered Najib’s personal accounts between 2011 and 2015, including the $681 million transfer, most or all of it originating with 1MDB.

Najib has insisted the funds were not for his personal use, but were used to legally fund his party’s 2013 election campaign. According to the Journal, millions were transferred to party officials. But at least $15 million was used for personal expenses, including lavish spending on clothes, jewelry and a car. Moreover, the newspaper reported that $150 million went from 1MDB to a Hollywood production company set up by Najib’s stepson, who invested it in “The Wolf of Wall Street” and other films.

Najib’s strategy for combating the allegations relies almost entirely on repression. Last year he fired a deputy prime minister and the previous attorney general – according to one report, shortly before criminal charges were to be brought against him. At least 15 people have been charged under the sedition law, which Najib once promised to repeal; opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim has been imprisoned for more than a year on trumped-up sodomy charges. The government has blocked news websites, deported foreign journalists and even banned yellow T-shirts used by anti-corruption campaigners.

Increasingly, it looks like a losing effort. Even if Malaysia’s investigators are blocked, those in other countries appear likely to move forward and expose how money was diverted. The Malaysian economy is meanwhile sputtering, and former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad has formed a coalition to seek Najib’s ouster.

All this ought to sway the Obama administration, which has cultivated Najib even amid the growing evidence of corruption and his repressive response. Last month the State Department objected to the government’s crackdown on the media, but President Obama, who invited Najib to a round of golf in 2014, has met with him twice more since November without commenting on the mounting scandal. It’s past time for the administration to distance itself from a ruler who appears headed for well-deserved disgrace.

More : http://www.oregonlive.com/opinion/index.ssf/2016/04/a_losing_effort_by_a_strongman.html

AMK Shah Alam

Posted: 14 Apr 2016 01:24 PM PDT

AMK Shah Alam


Posted: 14 Apr 2016 12:59 AM PDT

Rabu, 13 April 2016

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Anwar Ibrahim

Posted: 12 Apr 2016 07:06 PM PDT

Anwar Ibrahim


Not difficult representing myself: Anwar Ibrahim

Posted: 12 Apr 2016 09:03 AM PDT

By 12 April 2016)

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s jailed Anwar Ibrahim said it is not difficult representing himself, as his bid to challenge a decision not to grant him a royal pardon hit more delays on Tuesday (Apr 12).

The former opposition leader is serving out a five-year jail sentence on a sodomy conviction. He decided to represent himself in his application for leave to seek a judicial review of the Pardons Board’s rejection.

The hearing for this was meant to be on Tuesday after earlier postponements, but it has now been pushed to Apr 26.

His family’s lawyers say he needs more time to prepare by himself from prison. They allege he was not given a copy of the opposing counsel’s submissions in advance, and does not have access to sufficient resources such as a law library to prepare himself for his case from prison.

But Anwar told Channel NewsAsia he does not find representing himself difficult, saying it was just “extra work”. “You need to study, understand the law,” he added.

Anwar has 16 ongoing court cases and he decided to represent himself in several matters after he was given only an hour a week to meet with lawyers at prison.

Anwar Ibrahim’s family sought a royal pardon for him not long after he was convicted in February last year, but the Federal Territories Pardons Board rejected that request last March. His family then applied for leave for a judicial review in June 2015.

They now want the Pardons Board to meet again and dispense what they view as proper advice to the King of Malaysia, who presides over the board. As an alternative, they want an order to compel the board to advise the King to pardon and release Anwar.

Without a pardon, he faces another four years in prison – though he can be released early on good behaviour. However, the 68-year-old's family feels that is still too long due to his health.

Anwar has always maintained that the sodomy charges he has faced are politically motivated, but the Malaysian government has insisted it had nothing to do with the decision to send him to jail.

Malaysian state sets stage for polls amid scandal

Posted: 12 Apr 2016 09:00 AM PDT

11 April 2016 (ASIA ONE)

KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysia’s Sarawak state dissolved its assembly Monday, the country’s official news agency Bernama reported, paving the way for an election that is being closely scrutinised for its impact on a huge financial scandal. Prime Minister Najib Razak and his nationally ruling coalition have taken a battering over allegations that billions of dollars were plundered from a state-owned investment fund which he founded.Parties from the Barisan Nasional (National Front) have long had firm control of Sarawak.

But political observers are watching for any signs of eroding support before national elections due by mid-2018.New polls for Sarawak’s state assembly must now be held within 60 days. A date is expected to be set this week.Sarawak, known for its vast tropical forests, is one of Malaysia’s most sparsely inhabited states, yet plays an outsized role in politics.It is often referred to as a reliable “fixed deposit” of support for the ruling coalition even as Malaysia’s opposition has gained ground elsewhere.

Although richly endowed with oil, timber and hydropower resources, its people – many from tribal communities – are among Malaysia’s poorest.It is one of ten Malaysian states controlled by the Barisan Nasional while three are held by the opposition.Despite the scandal swirling around the state-owned investment fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), ruling coalition parties are widely expected to remain in firm overall control of Sarawak.The opposition and electoral reform advocates say Barisan Nasional parties retain control of the states via “money politics”, control of the media, and other means, adding that a recent redrawing of electoral boundaries in Sarawak blatantly favoured the ruling coalition.

Analysts say a strong showing by the coalition could boost its position in the next national polls. Barisan Nasional has governed Malaysia since independence in 1957.A recent independent survey found that most people in Sarawak supported the current government and were little influenced by the 1MDB scandal.Najib, who denies wrongdoing, has weathered the scandal so far by taking steps to scuttle investigations and clamping down on his powerful ruling party.

Isnin, 11 April 2016

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AMK Shah Alam

Posted: 10 Apr 2016 01:09 PM PDT

AMK Shah Alam


Posted: 10 Apr 2016 06:09 AM PDT

Jumaat, 8 April 2016

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AMK Shah Alam

Posted: 07 Apr 2016 01:47 PM PDT

AMK Shah Alam


Posted: 07 Apr 2016 07:03 AM PDT

Khamis, 7 April 2016

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MEDIA Rakyat MALAYSIA

Posted: 07 Apr 2016 03:55 AM PDT

MEDIA Rakyat MALAYSIA


RAFIZI RAMLI DI TAHAN POLIS

Posted: 06 Apr 2016 05:21 AM PDT

BULETIN RAKYAT

Posted: 06 Apr 2016 11:29 AM PDT

BULETIN RAKYAT


RAFIZI RAMLI DI TAHAN POLIS

Posted: 06 Apr 2016 05:18 AM PDT

Patutlah Secepat Ini Rafizi Ramli Ditangkap Di Bawah OSA


Patutlah Secepat Ini Rafizi Ramli Ditangkap Di Bawah OSA. Ketua Polis Negara Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar mengesahkan penahanan Setiausaha Agung PKR Rafizi Ramli di bawah Seksyen 8 Akta Rahsia Rasmi (OSA) 1972.

"Sahkan bahawa YB Rafizi Ramli telah ditahan sebentar tadi, di luar bangunan Parlimen dan akan disiasat di bawah Sect 8 OSA," tulis Khalid di twitter.

Akta Rahsia Rasmi adalah akta yang diwujudkan khusus untuk mengelakkan kebocoran rahsia rasmi yang "memudaratkan keselamatan atau kepentingan negara".

Seseorang yang didapati bersalah di bawah Seksyen 8 (1) dan (2) OSA boleh dipenjara tidak kurang dari satu tahun dan tidak melebihi tujuh tahun.

Rafizi Ramli ditahan dipercayai kerana mendedahkan dokumen Jawatankuasa Kira-kira Wang Negara (PAC) yang mendakwa ia membuktikan hubungan antara 1MDB dan Lembaga Tabung Angkatan Tentera (LTAT).

Pendedahan maklumat sulit itu diklasifikasikan sebagai OSA 1972.

Dakwanya, kaitan itu mungkin menjejaskan keupayaan LTAT untuk membayar pampasan atau gratuiti kepada veteran tentera yang telah bersara.

Patutlah Secepat Ini Rafizi Ramli Ditangkap Di Bawah OSA

Malaysiakini tidak memiliki dokumen itu dan tidak melaporkan penjelasan lanjut Rafizi pada sidang medianya kerana kekangan undang-undang.

Selasa, 5 April 2016

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Anwar Ibrahim

Posted: 04 Apr 2016 08:32 PM PDT

Anwar Ibrahim


ASEAN’s elites

Posted: 04 Apr 2016 08:20 PM PDT

My Republica (NEPAL) – 04 Apr 2016

(YURIKO KOIKE Japan’s former defense minister and national security adviser)

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations has long been envisioned as a foundation stone for stability, security, and increased prosperity in Asia. But with uncertainty plaguing the political systems of Burma, Malaysia, and Thailand, ASEAN may be entering a period of policy and diplomatic inertia. At a time when China’s economic downturn and unilateral territorial claims are posing serious challenges to the region, ASEAN’s weakness could prove highly dangerous.

The problems that are now bedeviling Burma, Malaysia, and Thailand may appear to have little in common. But they all spring from the same source: an entrenched elite’s stubborn refusal to craft a viable system of governance that recognizes new and rising segments of society and reflects their interests in government policy.And yet, despite the shared roots of these countries’ political dysfunction, their prospects vary. Surprisingly, hope is strongest in Burma, where the military junta recognized the need for change, exemplified in the 2010 decision to free the long-imprisoned Nobel Peace laureate Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and embark on a transition to democracy.Burma’s former military leaders, it seems, looked ahead dispassionately and saw a stark choice: either relinquish gradually their absolute power, allowing for a democratic transition, or permit China to tighten its grip on their country.

China’s efforts to impose development plans that would deliver few, if any, benefits to Burma made the choice somewhat easier.Today, Suu Kyi is Burma’s paramount leader. Though the constitution imposed by the junta prevents her from serving officially as president, she holds the real power in the current government led by her National League for Democracy, which secured a landslide victory in last year’s general election.Of course, there is no guarantee that Burma’s democratic transition will succeed; after all, beyond barring Suu Kyi from the presidency, the junta’s constitution reserves all of the “power” cabinet posts for the military. But with Suu Kyi carefully establishing the NLD’s authority, and with friends in India, Japan, and the United States monitoring any potential backsliding, there is a legitimate hope that most of the members of Burma’s military elite will continue to reconcile themselves, if begrudgingly, to modern democracy, just as Eastern Europe’s former communist rulers once did.

The situations in Malaysia and Thailand are less promising. Extreme political polarization is almost as deeply entrenched in these countries today as it was in Burma before 2010. But whereas Burma’s generals recognized the need to escape their cul-de-sac, the Malay and Thai elites seem to be doubling down on political exclusion.In Malaysia, the problem is rooted in ethnic and racial divisions. Since gaining independence, Malaysia’s leaders have pursued policies that favored the indigenous Malay majority, at the expense of the country’s minorities, most notably the sizable Chinese and Indian populations.But throughout Malaysia’s first decades of independence, the United Malays National Organization, the country’s largest political party, did seek to incorporate minority interests, despite commanding the loyalty of the vast majority of the electorate.

This inclusive approach began to break down with the 1997 Asian financial crisis, when a coalition of political parties was forged by former Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim—who was subsequently jailed on contrived sodomy charges—to challenge the UMNO’s authority. With Prime Minister Najib Razak and his government now enmeshed in a vast corruption scandal, the UNMO is relying more than ever on Malay chauvinism.In Thailand, the source of deep political polarization is economic. Simply put, the “haves” want to keep the “have-nots” from having a voice.For much of Thai history, the elite’s rule was untroubled. But the enactment in 1997 of what came to be known as the “People’s Constitution” enabled previously discounted political forces to rise. None rose faster or higher than the business tycoon Thaksin Shinawatra, who exploited the resentments of the long-disempowered rural poor to forge a mighty political machine that challenged the entrenched royalist political establishment, which includes the monarchy, the military, the judiciary, and the civil service.

The clash between the two factions led to two military coups, one in 2006 to push Shinawatra out of power and another in 2014 to drive out his younger sister, Yingluck Shinawatra. The conflict became increasingly violent, with both sides willing to go to great lengths to maintain their grip on power.Today, the ruling military junta is systematically cracking down on dissent; it has banned Thaksin-aligned politicians from entering politics, and is trying to impose a new constitution. And Thailand’s troubles may be about to worsen: With King Bhumibol Adulyadej’s health failing, his seven-decade reign may be near its end. Should the royal succession be contested, Thailand could enter yet another period of chaos and violence.Just as India, Japan, and the US have been helping to shepherd Burma through its transition, they should take a more proactive role in saving Malaysia and Thailand from their elites’ self-destructive behavior. Standing idly by while two of ASEAN’s core members consume themselves is simply not a viable option.

N37 Batu Maung

Posted: 04 Apr 2016 07:37 PM PDT

N37 Batu Maung


MAJLIS PELANCARAN SAMBUTAN BULAN - BULAN AL-QURAN

Posted: 04 Apr 2016 01:25 AM PDT


Sambutan bulan-bulan Al-Quran akan berlangsung selam 3 bulan bermula  pada 9 April - 5 Julai 2016. Sambutan Bulan-Bulan Al-Quran masuk kali ke-7. Semua dijemput hadir. 

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