Nelson Benjamin
The Star

JOHOR BARU: When Panjang was a teenager, Tunku Abdul Rahman visited his school in Penang and the students had to sing the national anthem.

“All of us were so nervous that we forgot how to sing the Negaraku when the band struck up the tune during the assembly.

“The teacher asked us to start all over again and told us to sing loudly,” the city’s celebrity pothole patcher said, adding that this amused the Tunku.

Panjang, who has never given his real name to the media, said he remembers the lyrics of the national anthem to this day.

Now 65, he has also never forgotten the advice that the first prime minister gave to the students that day.

“He told us to study hard, be good and loyal citizens and always obey the law.

“That is what I am doing now – being a loyal citizen and patching up potholes.

“I know many people think I am a man with an unsound mind on the road but that does not affect me as I am just doing my part to prevent accidents,” he said.

Panjang said potholes posed a danger to motorcycles, especially during rainy seasons, as the rider could easily be thrown off his machine if he hit the hole.

He was shocked and sad over the news that a 20-year-old pillion rider, Tan Cheng Ming, died after the motorcycle he was travelling on hit a pothole in Taman Daya on Aug 17.

“This is a serious matter. The authorities must act immediately as this is a wake-up call for everyone,” Panjang said.

“After all this years, we should be able to ensure that our roads are properly maintained and resurfaced regularly,” he said, adding that potholes seem to appear after every downpour.

Panjang, who still moves around his Taman Pelangi neighbourhood to patch up potholes, said people do not trust each other these days.

“Even my own family members have gone their separate ways due to money and reputation,” he said, declining to reveal much about his personal life.

He said come National Day, he would be at home to watch the parade on television.

Conversations

Zainon Ahmad and Maria J. Dass
The Sun

Parliamentary Opposition Leader Lim Kit Siang likes to believe his contribution to nation-building has been his efforts to keep alive the aspirations of Malaysians for democracy, justice, freedom and integrity. The man who has been in parliament since 1969, except for an absence for one term following his defeat in 1999, tells ZAINON AHMAD and MARIA DASS that many people are sad because many institutions that had been established 50 years ago have lost their effectiveness.

theSun: We are coming up to 50 years soon, so what do you think we have achieved in that time?

LKS: I think it’s a very mixed result. I think when we achieved independence 50 years ago and then with Sabah and Sarawak we formed the Malaysian federation, we all had one aspiration - that we would become more Malaysian over the years.

Which means we would become less Malay, less Chinese, less Indian, less Kadazan and less Iban and so on, but on the 50th year looking around, especially with the events in the last two months, we seem to have become less Malaysian and more Malay, more Chinese, more Indian, more Kadazan and more Iban than anything else.

What has happened? Of course, after 50 years that seems the most important question to ask.

Of course. But in terms of development if you compare to Ghana which also achieved independence in the same year, I think we are 10 times ahead.

But we should not compare ourselves with the not-so-well-off nations. We should compare ourselves with those countries that are at the same level as us. Maybe even with Japan.

And if you look back on that perspective when we achieved independence, we were second in Asia after Japan in terms of development. But since then we have fallen behind. Other countries have moved ahead to become first world and developed countries - Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, not to mention Hongkong.

Whereas for us it is still a distant vision. Why?

It’s not that we lack potential, capabilities, resources and brain power. The problem is with our nation-building policies. These policies, over the decades, have not been able to fully develop our human capital. Instead we see the grave problem of brain drain among our best and brightest. All because of nation-building policies and problem with our education system. And these problems are still going on.

So that’s what you mean by very mixed results.

Yes. But what concerns me most is the people, “us” - that we are not able to identify ourselves more as being Malaysians. Instead we are identifying ourselves more as Malay, Chinese, Kadazan and so on.

That should be more alarming, don’t you think?

Yes, very alarming. In particular the issues that came to the fore during the last one or two months has brought us to the very core. In fact many people are wondering what is the meaning of this 50th Merdeka anniversary if they are feeling more alienated, more divided and more polarised.

That should in fact be the focus of attention.

In fact, the MCA general assembly is the best illustration - that it is not to celebrate the 50 years of greater nationhood but to highlight a greater division.

Sometimes a small case become the obsession of an entire cabinet while there are more important issues about integrity, development, corruption and how Malaysia can compete with the rest of the world.

We should move away from this Malays vs non-Malays or bumis vs non-bumis situation. More and more we should think about Malaysians vs the rest of the world. But we seem to be losing more of that focus. [more…]

Bernama

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 20 (Bernama) — Policymakers must be aware of the changes that need to be made if Malaysia is to remain prosperous for the next 50 years, the Raja Muda of Perak, Raja Dr Nazrin Shah, said today.

He said they must acknowledge that what has worked in the past is unlikely to work in the future.

“To keep Malaysia internationally competitive, the country needs to take a big step up the technological ladder by moving into high-technology and knowledge-intensive industries,” he said when launching a book entitled “Malaysia: From Kampung to Twin Towers 50 Years of Economic and Social Development” at Carcosa Seri Negara.

Raja Nazrin said future growth would have to come from productivity gains and technological breakthroughs.

“To do so, it will require the country to vastly improve its human capital base by investing on training and education as well as promoting research and development.

“Incentives can hugely influence the shaping of market behaviour by creating the right incentive for efficient market behaviour and people will respond accordingly.

“For the growth to be sustainable, these incentives must be embodied in institutions. The ability to provide appropriate institutional environment for market to flourish and operate efficiently is essential to sustainable development, he said.

Raja Nazrin said countries that have failed in this respect have experienced stagnation or falling incomes and persistent poverty.

Supporting institutions should include protection of property rights, strong legal system, independent judiciary and environmental protection, he said.

“There must also be incentives for government to provide good governance through mechanism such as separation of powers, avenues for public to monitor public behaviour and rules that inhibit corruption.

They all contribute towards effective and efficient functioning of a modern economy, he said.

In certain important aspects, Raja Nazrin said Malaysia was the most suitable model for other developing nations in economic performance than the East Asian tiger economies namely South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore.

“Malaysia is a resource-rich country in contrast to the East Asian tiger economies that are resource poor.

“Malaysia remains one of the few countries that have managed to transform its rich natural resource base into sustainable development.

“Within 50 years, the economy has undergone significant structural transformation, from heavily dependent on primary commodity exports to one that is more broad-based.

“Gaining a better understanding on how this was achieved is relevant to policymakers in other countries”, he added.

Some 150 distinguished guests attended the launch of the book authored by Datuk Dr Richard Leete, United Nations Resident Coordinator for Malaysia.

– BERNAMA

NO! IT’S A SCHOOL!!!

This is the fate of SJK (T) Ladang Sungai Salak, Lukut in Negeri Sembilan. Having located in this 2-storey shoplot since June, one may wonder how pathetic it is for a primary school to be located among shops in a commercial area. The real losers are definitely the students, who do not get the right schooling environment right from their early days of education.

The relevant authorities ought to do something about this. Much has been said about the deplorable condition of Tamil vernacular schools nationwide and the overcrowding of Chinese vernacular schools in urban areas. It’s time the government give more focus to rehabilitating the Tamil schools and build more Chinese schools to meet the needs of the people!

Selamatkan Malaysia!

The Star

The MCA Youth has pledged to defend the sanctity of the Federal Constitution to ensure a united and progressive society that allows the freedom to practise one’s religion.

Movement chief Datuk Liow Tiong Lai said the spirit of the Constitution must be preserved for a long time for the sake of the future generation and the document must be the reference point.

“Whenever there is a conflict of opinions about a situation we are not comfortable about, we should refer back to the Constitution,” he said during his speech at the opening of the movement’s annual general assembly.

Liow said it was not MCA’s culture and certainly not the MCA Youth’s, to wave a sword when making a point.

“If we wanted to wave something, why not a handphone? A handphone signifies communication and can also be said to promote understanding. We in the MCA Youth rather wave the Federal Constitution,” Liow said as he held out a copy of the document.

His entire central committee then stood up and waved copies of the country’s supreme law to loud applause from the floor.

Party deputy president Datuk Seri Chan Kong Choy opened the assembly which was held at the Pay Fong Middle school hall here yesterday.

Liow reminded the delegates not to take lightly the unity which had been enjoyed since independence but instead strive to not only preserve but also to strengthen it.

“We must appreciate the unity and remind ourselves of the spirit behind our Federal Constitution, which is full of spirit of solidarity, natural justice and goodwill.”

Quoting Perak Raja Muda Raja Nazrin Shah, Liow said the integrity of that document must be protected at all costs and that many misunderstandings may be avoided if the principles embodied in the Constitution were adhered to strictly.

“We should not pressure others or to cause tension but instead promote the culture of open-mindedness and always be ready to engage in healthy discourse.

“In the Barisan family, we are brothers, there is no master and slave, there is no question of who is being scared of whom or who should kowtow to whom,” Liow added to applause.

He said the authorities should do away with labels like ‘Muslims and non-Muslims’, ‘bumiputras and non-bumiputras’ among Malaysians to eradicate racism and advocate the spirit of ‘rakyat Malaysia’.

Liow also revealed that the Education Ministry had allocated RM14mil for Chinese primary schools under a four-year adoption programme by MCA Youth.

He said the move was to upgrade the quality of education in Chinese primary schools to a higher level that was comparable to international standards.