During 'my time' in secondary school, with the penguin Headmistress(HM) around, we were 'suppressed' but we bore with it. As a scout in school, can't have too 'many' meetings. Everything is paperwork paperwork, red-tape, red-tap. Gosh, what has a secondary school kid gotta do to just be an 'active' well rounded kid?
That was 'my time'. Today they have a new Napolean HM. When penguin was around the students were unhappy, now, students and teachers alike are 'oppressed'. Today they don't even dare talk about having more meetings, if they really need too, they rather meet up in somebody's house (ala ziarah kawan).
CF was banned for 2 years , can't even remain an illegal society, langsung tak boleh jalan. Chinese society also fell victim. In the Mesyuarat Agong PIBG, parents stood up and took their stand on freedom to practice one's beliefs. Napolean HM points up and says, its orders from the Ministry, can't do anything about it. The parents retract.
So yes, we're scared...cos we're trained to be afraid of the Government.
Since Hishammudin 'decided' to change koko activities from saturdays to wednesdays, Napolean HM being as straight as a rule wouldn't even bend a lil to ease her students woes.
Didn't the education ministry state that if the HM permits, and with the supervision of a teacher, societies and uniform bodies can convene on Saturdays?
So, why is Wednesday a bad idea after all? Am I complaining just for the sake of complaining?
After 2 years of actual implementation, here's why its not feasible :
1. The school doesn't have the means or facilities to accommodate all her students in a single session on Wednesday, whether they are in classrooms or having societal activities. The compound is just too small, and non conducive.
2. There aren't any spare classrooms, meaning, if the Ministry of Edu's model was to ensure every child joins a society, for a school that's meant to accommodate say a 1000 students at any one time, has to accommodate twice that number because the morning session is on and the afternoon students come in the morning for their activities! So where do they convene? In the whatever thats left of a 'field' they have after all the downsizing done by the erection of more and more blocks of buildings.
3. Koko activities are no fun when your seniors attend a different session from yours. So you come for activities and learn nothing. If you're 14 and you're the most senior person in your session, how 'beneficial' can it be for you?
In the end, nobody wants to go for koko activities, most rather stay home to ZZZZ or play DOTA. Heck, if this was the case in 'my time' I would!!!
This is sad, you know why? because this blardy school can spend 5-10 years vying for sekolah 'harapan' negara, erecting 'sophisticated' facilities and spends tons of $$$ on impractical 'landscaping' but all these are just the 'shell' and outside 'packaging'. Whats the core of a school? and the whole education system? THE QUALITY OF THE STUDENTS!! Why are you giving the very core of your institution such a hard time??
I remember not too long ago, when I met my ex teacher from this secondary school. She said... Penny, the students here, they are fantastic! so brilliant! You can't imagine... last year whoever whoever got into cambridge... etc. etc. Her face told me, I'm tired, we're all tired.....
Yes, SMKDU, you're brilliant cos your students are....not you.
Thursday 27 March 2008
Sunday 16 March 2008
From LimKitSiang's Blog...Perak MB
Time to move on into the uncharted political waters
This morning I visited Taman Cempaka market and the Pasir Puteh market together with the three elected DAP Assemblymen in Ipoh Timur parliamentary constituency – Su Keong Siong (Pasir Pinji), Wong Kah Woh (Canning) and Ong Boon Piow (Tebing Tinggi) - to thank the Ipoh Timor voters for their great support in the March 8 general election returning me as MP with a humbling majority of 21,942 votes as well as securing a DAP victory in all the three constituent assembly seats of Pasir Pinji, Canning and Tebing Tinggi with impressive majorities of 6,339, 5,666 and 2,515 respectively.
Earlier, three days ago, I had visited the Kampong Simee and Pasir Pinji markets in my thank-the-voters rounds.
In my rounds today, I received mixed reactions to the proposed DAP-PKR-PAS Perak State coalition government headed by a PAS Mentri Besar, details of which were finalized two nights ago with regard to the 6-3-2 allocation of Exco seats respectively for DAP, PKR and PAS and awaiting the holding of the swearing-in ceremony.
The mixed reactions could be divided into the following categories:
• Support;
• Conditional support with concerns about Islamisation undermining the constitutional rights of Malaysians;
• Outright opposition, regarding the DAP-PKR-PAS coalition government with a PAS MB as a betrayal of the DAP’s general election mandate.
I was asked how DAP’s support for a DAP-PKR-PAS coalition government headed by a PAS MB could square with my repeated assurances in ceramahs during the campaign trail that the DAP had no relationship or understanding with the PAS for the 2008 general election.
I was speaking the truth in the election ceramahs. Up till March 8, 2008, DAP had no relationship or links of any nature with PAS in connection with the general election, as our relationship was only with PKR.
The 2008 general election had produced a new political landscape which forced the DAP to immediately review the political situation, as the March 8 “political tsunami” had not only swept away the unbroken Barisan Nasional two-thirds parliamentary majority, it also swept away the Barisan Nasional in four states, namely Penang, Kedah, Perak and Selangor, and crushed UMNO attempt to recapture Kelantan.
In two states, however, Perak and Selangor, the voters had created a result which forced the three opposition parties, DAP, PKR and PAS to co-operate to form an alternative government as no two political parties would have sufficient majority to rule.
In Perak, DAP won 18, PKR 7 and PAS 6 seats out of a total of a 59-strong Assembly while in Selangor, PKR won 15, DAP 13 and PAS 8 seats out of a total of 56-strong Assembly.
The March 8 political tsunami was historic and unprecedented. It saw voters transcending race and religion when casting their vote, with Malay, Chinese and Indian voters casting their vote for “Change” regardless of race and religion – which is the first time in the history of Malaysian general election, making this the most memorable phenomenon and event marking the 50th anniversary of Merdeka.
As a result, the Opposition in Peninsular Malaysia is collectively more multi-racial, multi-religious and inclusive than the Barisan Nasional, having more Chinese and Indian MPs apart from having a strong representation of Malay MPs.
In a matter of hours between the end of polling at 5 pm on March 8 and the announcement of the election results by midnight, a new political landscape had replaced the old – with all political parties having to come to terms with new political realities.
Mistakes were made by political parties adapting to the sweeping changes caused by the March 8 political tsunami.
For the DAP, we have to address the changes from one of no relationship or link with PAS up till end of polling at 5 pm on March 8 to one where DAP had to decide on some form of co-operation with PAS without sacrificing our principles and policies as a direct consequence of the general election results of the people’s desire for change at both the national and state levels – particularly for the two states of Perak and Selangor.
DAP was unfairly and falsely accused of being anti-Malay and anti-Islam when DAP had reservations about a PAS Mentri Besar for the Perak DAP-PKR-PAS coalition government – which was completely baseless as DAP had supported a Malay State Assemblyman from PKR to be the Perak MB.
It is most regrettable that there are comments on my blog as well as writings by commentators misreading or deliberately distorting my very brief and straightforward comments on the Perak coalition government issue.
That PAS is the smallest of the three-party coalition government, with 6 seats as compared to DAP’s 18 and PKR’s 7, is one important factor for the DAP’s initial opposition to a PAS MB for Perak.
Another is concern about PAS’ Islamic State and hudud law policies, which are also among the key concerns of those in the latter two categories who give conditional support and those who oppose the idea of a DAP-PKR-PAS coalition government.
DAP leaders and members have to be fully aware of these concerns. Whether a DAP-PKR-PAS Perak coalition government with PAS MB succeeds or not will depend on its performance and record to demonstrate (i) that the welfare and livelihood of the people of Perak is better safeguarded and promoted than under previous Barisan Nasional state governments; and (ii) that no further Islamisation policies are introduced to the detriment of the constitutional rights of all Malaysians, regardless of race or religion.
It is time to move on into the new uncharted Malaysian political waters.
Staged UMNO NEP Protest---Link
http://anilnetto.com/2008/03/14/2000-gather-for-pro-nep-demo-in-penang/
-interesting stuff
Just take a look at this vid, so damn awkward the UMNO NEP protesters, look like a walk in the local 'pasar malam'. Some are just taking in the 'view' of PENANG like how tourists would. And what the shit? got Indian somemore there??? How are they related to UMNO?
-----edit (28/03/2008)---------------------------------------------------------------
------end of edit---------------------------------------------------------------
-interesting stuff
Just take a look at this vid, so damn awkward the UMNO NEP protesters, look like a walk in the local 'pasar malam'. Some are just taking in the 'view' of PENANG like how tourists would. And what the shit? got Indian somemore there??? How are they related to UMNO?
-----edit (28/03/2008)---------------------------------------------------------------
comments:
Penny : My bad.... :P------end of edit---------------------------------------------------------------
Saturday 15 March 2008
What 'The Economist' has to say about Malaysia
Malaysia's election upset
Anwar overturns the apple cart
Mar 13th 2008 | KUALA LUMPUR
From The Economist print edition
A new political game—and the players struggle to work out the rules
AFP
THE bravest face the government can put on it is a crestfallen one. The result of the election of March 8th was “a huge setback”, admits Khairy Jamaluddin, a leader of the youth wing of the United Malays National Organisation, UMNO, which dominates the coalition that has ruled Malaysia since independence. The reason for Mr Khairy's gloom may not be immediately apparent. He won his seat. UMNO is still much the biggest party in the federal Parliament, where its coalition, the National Front, has a thumping majority (see chart). The Front still forms the government in eight of Malaysia's 13 states. But the huge swing against it has shaken Malaysia's rulers and put in doubt the system of racially-based politics on which their power depends.
Before the election only one state, Kelantan, in the relatively backward north-east of the peninsula, was in opposition control. Now bigger and richer Penang, Selangor, Perak and Kedah have fallen. And at the centre, the Front lost the two-thirds parliamentary majority it has enjoyed since 1969. This matters in practical terms since the Front can no longer override legislation passed by the states or amend the constitution. Hundreds of constitutional changes—mostly trivial, but some that strengthen the power of the executive branch—have been incorporated into law since independence in 1957. More important still was the symbolic impact of losing its two-thirds majority. The prime minister, Abdullah Badawi, knowing he could not repeat the landslide he achieved in 2004, had set this as the electoral winning-post. He fell eight seats short.
The swing against him partly reflects the high hopes of four years ago. After 22 years of rule by the abrasive and authoritarian Mahathir Mohamad, Mr Badawi was seen as more conciliatory and more committed to tackling corruption. He has indeed offered a less acerbic style. But few believe corruption has lessened. Instead, there has been a series of ugly scandals. And the high-flying Mr Khairy, Mr Badawi's son-in-law (and a former intern at The Economist), has become what one observer calls a “walking, talking, boasting” symbol of nepotism.
Chinese Malaysians (25% of the population) and Indians (8%) turned against the Front's ethnic-minority parties. Indians are especially disgruntled. M. Manoharan, an ethnic-Indian lawyer, was elected to the state assembly of Selangor, despite being detained without charge under the Internal Security Act after a street protest last November. He was elected in a predominantly ethnic-Chinese constituency.
Minorities' faith in UMNO was dented when party leaders waved the kris, a traditional Malay sword, at conferences in 2005 and 2006. The implicit threat of violence to protect Malay interests recalled bloody race riots in 1969, which followed a strong opposition showing at the polls. Fears remain that UMNO supporters might stir up trouble. But despite some inflammatory text messages spread by mobile phone, Malaysia has remained admirably calm.
Many Chinese Malaysians have tolerated the New Economic Policy (NEP), introduced in 1971 to redistribute wealth to the poorer Malay majority, as a guarantor of communal harmony at a time when all ethnic groups were getting richer. Now even some Malay voters appear to have turned against it, seeing it as an excuse for cronyism and corruption. Some voted for the opposition, a loose alliance of three parties, which called the NEP obsolete and, on taking power in Penang, has started to dismantle it, saying its provisions will not apply to state-government contracts.
The forging of this alliance is the other reason for the opposition's breakthrough. The biggest Malay opposition party is the Parti Islam Se-Malaysia, known as PAS. Traditionally it called for Malaysia to become an Islamic state. This deterred non-Muslims from voting for the opposition at all. In this election, however, PAS toned down its Islamist rhetoric, and teamed up with two secular parties—the Democratic Action Party, whose base is predominantly Chinese, and the People's Justice Party, the PJP, led by Anwar Ibrahim. Mr Anwar is a former deputy prime minister, who spent six years in jail after falling out with Dr Mahathir.
Still banned from public office until April (one reason the election was held this month), Mr Anwar is now in practice leader of the opposition, as well as of Malaysia's first truly multiracial party. A number of successful PJP candidates, who include Mr Anwar's wife and daughter, have offered to make way for him in a by-election. But his coalition will be fractious. It is already squabbling about forming a government in Perak. And he says attempts have begun to lure away PJP members in the hope of restoring the government's two-thirds majority.
For his part, Mr Badawi has so far ignored calls for his resignation, coming most bitterly from the man who installed him as prime minister, Dr Mahathir. But he may well face a challenge at UMNO's general assembly later this year. In his favour, the obvious successor, Najib Razak, the deputy prime minister, is just as closely implicated in the scandals. But Mr Badawi seems unlikely to last beyond the next election. Chandra Muzaffar, a political scientist at the University of Science Malaysia in Penang, compares him to Cory Aquino in the Philippines and Bacharuddin Jusuf Habibie in Indonesia, both liberalising successors to long-serving strongmen, who were derided as ineffectual and turfed out. From the point of view of Malaysian democracy, if not of Mr Badawi, it is a rather encouraging analogy.
Friday 14 March 2008
Post Elections...From Janelle's Blog
A really amusing piece of writing...
"The people we should thank
Vijay Mar 11, 08 5:40pm
The widespread euphoria the nation experiences now is obviously not without justification. After years of abuse, deceit, and betrayal, we have more than enough reason to rejoice that a giant has been brought to his knees. But in our celebration, let us pause to express our gratitude to the many people and forces who helped us achieve this unbelievable unexpected victory.
The first would be the people of Malaysia - the Malays, Chinese, and Indians who closed ranks and decided that together they had a duty to rid ourselves of despots and tyrants who had long surrendered any claim to honour, justice, and honesty. It is most regrettable that our brethren in Sabah and Sarawak, especially the Kadazans and Dayaks, are unable to join us in savouring the moment.
Considering the scale of winning margins in those two states, it can only be suspected that they are victims of a Machiavellian even treasonable plot to extend voting rights to unqualified foreigners. Next we must honour Lim Kit Siang, Anwar Ibrahim, and the other leaders for offering us ‘A New Hope’ and forging a new force that was willing to confront and defeat a government that was increasingly rotting to the core. Against all predictions, they created a united front capable of taking on a monstrous foe for a better Malaysia.
We must also thank the numerous blogs for keeping us in constant touch with the truth and events of the country; in particular, we thank Malaysiakini who despite threats of prosecution and civil suits continued to give us information that was being kept from us.
This priceless service was matched by ‘Malaysia Today’ whose Raja Petra Kamaruddin’s exuberance and passion, at times at the cost of slight inaccuracies, kept us glued to the computer screen. In this respect, our gratitude also goes to the mainstream media whose shameless falsehood, bias and distortion only served to remind us of the dangerous depths information agencies would wallow in.
We must never forget their Zainuddin Maidin, Wong Chun Wai, VK Chin, Jocelyn Tan and Chandra Muzzafar, who shamelessly gave up any pretensions to journalistic principles and integrity.
Malaysians should also show their appreciation to another group who silently, successfully worked towards ensuring an opposition victory. This team, ably led by the chairman of the Elections Commission, would include former chief justices and their confidantes, the head of the Anti-Corruption Agency, the attorney-general, the politically ‘correct, correct, correct’ VK Lingam, and the head of Radio Television Malaysia apart from the management of all the major newspapers and television stations. Sadly, we must also thank a certain Mongolian lady whose only sin perhaps was her intimacy with one who would wish to be king.
On the political front, recognition must be heaped on S Samy Vellu, Ong Ka Ting, amd Koh Tsu Koon, communal pillars whose forfeiture of pride and duty in the face of Umno interests and demands can only be described as contemptible sycophancy.
We must not forget Mahathir Mohamad, the creator of everything that is dirty and shameful in our country. His newfound aspirations to sainthood merely confirm what we long knew him to be. We should also praise Zakaria Deros who inspite of not standing in the recent elections, was the face of UMNO corruption and arrogance, the two qualities that further nailed the Barisan coffin. In his company, we should list Hishammuddin Hussein, Khairy Jamaluddin, Bung Badruddin, Mohamad Said, and Mohd Nazri Aziz.
However, in this roll-call of honour there is another who single-handedly for four years toiled to give the opposition the triumph it now enjoys. Where would Malaysia be without Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, the master of false promises, of bare-faced lies, and of monumental incompetence? No one can ever emulate his distinctive record of not fulfilling even one of his 2004 election promises. This ‘prime minister of all Malaysians’ has indeed shown himself to be the pride of none.
The race is not over, the battle has just begun. Kit Siang and Anwar, congratulations. But remember, the support and trust we gave you was to govern wisely and fairly, your actions and policies will be closely watched and in Parliament we expect you to be an effective check and balance to the Barisan government. Our gratitude will not extend to tolerance of the corruption and arrogance we have been subjected to for decades."
"The people we should thank
Vijay Mar 11, 08 5:40pm
The widespread euphoria the nation experiences now is obviously not without justification. After years of abuse, deceit, and betrayal, we have more than enough reason to rejoice that a giant has been brought to his knees. But in our celebration, let us pause to express our gratitude to the many people and forces who helped us achieve this unbelievable unexpected victory.
The first would be the people of Malaysia - the Malays, Chinese, and Indians who closed ranks and decided that together they had a duty to rid ourselves of despots and tyrants who had long surrendered any claim to honour, justice, and honesty. It is most regrettable that our brethren in Sabah and Sarawak, especially the Kadazans and Dayaks, are unable to join us in savouring the moment.
Considering the scale of winning margins in those two states, it can only be suspected that they are victims of a Machiavellian even treasonable plot to extend voting rights to unqualified foreigners. Next we must honour Lim Kit Siang, Anwar Ibrahim, and the other leaders for offering us ‘A New Hope’ and forging a new force that was willing to confront and defeat a government that was increasingly rotting to the core. Against all predictions, they created a united front capable of taking on a monstrous foe for a better Malaysia.
We must also thank the numerous blogs for keeping us in constant touch with the truth and events of the country; in particular, we thank Malaysiakini who despite threats of prosecution and civil suits continued to give us information that was being kept from us.
This priceless service was matched by ‘Malaysia Today’ whose Raja Petra Kamaruddin’s exuberance and passion, at times at the cost of slight inaccuracies, kept us glued to the computer screen. In this respect, our gratitude also goes to the mainstream media whose shameless falsehood, bias and distortion only served to remind us of the dangerous depths information agencies would wallow in.
We must never forget their Zainuddin Maidin, Wong Chun Wai, VK Chin, Jocelyn Tan and Chandra Muzzafar, who shamelessly gave up any pretensions to journalistic principles and integrity.
Malaysians should also show their appreciation to another group who silently, successfully worked towards ensuring an opposition victory. This team, ably led by the chairman of the Elections Commission, would include former chief justices and their confidantes, the head of the Anti-Corruption Agency, the attorney-general, the politically ‘correct, correct, correct’ VK Lingam, and the head of Radio Television Malaysia apart from the management of all the major newspapers and television stations. Sadly, we must also thank a certain Mongolian lady whose only sin perhaps was her intimacy with one who would wish to be king.
On the political front, recognition must be heaped on S Samy Vellu, Ong Ka Ting, amd Koh Tsu Koon, communal pillars whose forfeiture of pride and duty in the face of Umno interests and demands can only be described as contemptible sycophancy.
We must not forget Mahathir Mohamad, the creator of everything that is dirty and shameful in our country. His newfound aspirations to sainthood merely confirm what we long knew him to be. We should also praise Zakaria Deros who inspite of not standing in the recent elections, was the face of UMNO corruption and arrogance, the two qualities that further nailed the Barisan coffin. In his company, we should list Hishammuddin Hussein, Khairy Jamaluddin, Bung Badruddin, Mohamad Said, and Mohd Nazri Aziz.
However, in this roll-call of honour there is another who single-handedly for four years toiled to give the opposition the triumph it now enjoys. Where would Malaysia be without Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, the master of false promises, of bare-faced lies, and of monumental incompetence? No one can ever emulate his distinctive record of not fulfilling even one of his 2004 election promises. This ‘prime minister of all Malaysians’ has indeed shown himself to be the pride of none.
The race is not over, the battle has just begun. Kit Siang and Anwar, congratulations. But remember, the support and trust we gave you was to govern wisely and fairly, your actions and policies will be closely watched and in Parliament we expect you to be an effective check and balance to the Barisan government. Our gratitude will not extend to tolerance of the corruption and arrogance we have been subjected to for decades."
Tuesday 4 March 2008
We all Love Chew Mei Fun but.....
Today's the 4th of March 2008, 4 more days before responsible Malaysians aged 21 and above head to the polls which would coincidently fall 'head bang' tepat-tepat on my 21st BIRTHDAY!!!...argghh the horror. My aunt says, wah girl you really lost out to the maximum. Another 4 years' wait lor...
Like a million or so other ppl, I'm from PJ. We all PJ (ok, PJ Utara) folks have been raving and have been full of praise for our 'Queen Bee' Datin Paduka Chew Mei Fun. In fact, eversince I was 15, I've been an avid supporter (in my heart that is) of Datin. That was the first time I met her, in my 'pengawas' blazer uniform, lined up smartly at the school gate to receive this guest of honour, we locked eyes for a brief moment, shook hands, and this lil girl vowed in her head, I'll definitely vote for you when I grow up one day.....
2-3 Years later, a gotong-royong was held for the SS20 D'sara Utama area, I keenly volunteered. Just as THE STAR quoted 2 days ago, Datin was indeed in a longkang literally digging up some rubbish, Again witnessing such an act, I pledged my loyalty for this awesome lady forever.
Then, this lil girl, grew up and went to Uni, majors in Economics, the more she learns, the world being like a huge puzzle, slowly, very slowly, unravels around her. So, now, is Chew Mei Fun still a good choice? I'll say yes a GOOD choice, but not the BEST....
The thing is, at 21 yrs of age, I don't think potholes and 'dirty' longkangs should be the 'main' concerns of PJ utara folks, and it probably isn't =)
It was my wish to be able to retire early quite comfortably so that I will be able to devote most, if not all of my expendable time on socio-economic and political affairs. Well, I'm right in the thick of it as I've sold my company and joined the Democratic Action Party (DAP) as the Economic Advisor to the DAP Secretary-General.
I've always had faith that there has been a guardian angel looking after me all these while - my personal well-being, my education, my career. Some will call it "God's will", some "fate" while some others, "destiny". I strongly believe that it is time for me to repay the kindness and fortune showered on me by my family, the society and of course, not forgetting, my guardian angel. :-)
I look forward to the day when I can truly help make our country a better place for all communities, and a country we can all be proud of.
Conclusion : As much as we all adore and love Chew for her 'motherness', we can't deny that Pua is indeed much more capable to bringing 'specific' positive, forward moving changes in PJ, and maybe even Malaysia as a whole. The fact that this guy could be earning way more bucks if he had :
1) continued with his successful business venture
2) joined MCA
But, nope, he joined DAP, whose marketing campaigns ended up developing 'red-penis' look-alike rocket soft-toys as per-described by celeb blogger kennysia. Heck, I think it look like a red-penis being wrapped by a clear blue ringed condom.
Btw, after reading all those answers that Chew gave to those questions, you'll probably have concluded that the lady is not very, to put it subtlely, intellectually inclined. Maybe BN churned out a set of 'generic' answers to certain questions of certain type for their candidates to use in situations such as this.
Like a million or so other ppl, I'm from PJ. We all PJ (ok, PJ Utara) folks have been raving and have been full of praise for our 'Queen Bee' Datin Paduka Chew Mei Fun. In fact, eversince I was 15, I've been an avid supporter (in my heart that is) of Datin. That was the first time I met her, in my 'pengawas' blazer uniform, lined up smartly at the school gate to receive this guest of honour, we locked eyes for a brief moment, shook hands, and this lil girl vowed in her head, I'll definitely vote for you when I grow up one day.....
2-3 Years later, a gotong-royong was held for the SS20 D'sara Utama area, I keenly volunteered. Just as THE STAR quoted 2 days ago, Datin was indeed in a longkang literally digging up some rubbish, Again witnessing such an act, I pledged my loyalty for this awesome lady forever.
Then, this lil girl, grew up and went to Uni, majors in Economics, the more she learns, the world being like a huge puzzle, slowly, very slowly, unravels around her. So, now, is Chew Mei Fun still a good choice? I'll say yes a GOOD
Monday, March 03, 2008
Question time: PJU's Chew vs Pua
Clogged drains and potholes may be the concern of many voters in the mixed Petaling Jaya Utara (PJU) constituency but what are the candidates’ stand on national issues?
As election debates are rare in this country, Malaysiakini pitches 12 questions to opposing candidates to allow readers and voters to gauge their respective stand on several hot button issues.
For this round, we pit Barisan Nasional’s incumbent Chew Mei Fun against DAP’s ‘boy wonder’ Tony Pua Kiam Wee in the ‘battle royale’ for the PJU parliamentary seat in Selangor.
Chew still appeals to many voters based on her two-term service track record but pundits predict Pua will deny her a victory by riding the wave of a discontented lower and middle class.
The diverse PJU constituency has 76,618 voters comprising of 76.60 percent Chinese, 15.20 percent Malay, 7.40 percent Indian and 0.8 percent of others.
Chew Mei Fun vs Tony Pua Kiam Wee
1. Will you support the establishment of the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC)?
Chew (left): Yeah, I do agree with the setting up of the IPCMC.
Pua: Absolutely. The reason is very simple. We need to increase the credibility of the police force, we need to ensure that the police treat all victims as innocent until proven guilty. The police needs to be (subjected ) to laws themselves. There have been too many cases where the police have been abusing the laws in order to extract, say for example, confessions of the victims.
2. Will you support the implementation of local council elections?
Chew: There (are) many ways to make sure that local councils perform and from what I know the government is looking into the method of appointment of councillors.
Pua: Absolutely. That is one of our platform in this campaign. The reason why MPs and state assemblymen in Malaysia are forced to do some of the work of local councils is simply because local councillors are not effective. They are not effective because they are not accountable to the public and (as such) they do things according to their own personal vested interest. So local council elections can be introduced so they will be accountable to the people and if they are not, they can be booted out in the next elections.
3. Will you support that Petronas' accounts be made public?
Chew: I thought they already have their annual report. I thought the annual report is actually the accounts for (listed) companies to disclose to everybody.
Pua: Absolutely. I think it is important because Petronas controls a huge amount of wealth of the nation. Oil resource of the country belongs to the people and Petronas being the agent that manages the oil wealth of the country must be transparent for the people in order to show that the money has been invested and reinvested and distributed fairly.
4. Will you support the idea of retaining subsidies of oil and other essential items?
Chew: Yes, I think so.
Pua: I think the subsidy system at this point in time needs to be readjusted as such that it benefits the poor and marginalised more and less so the wealthy. So for example the subsidy system in existence benefits more of the wealthy because they use the product more, then it is an unfair allocation of resources.
So we believe in a system whereby grants are given directly to the poor and to the lower middle income to cope with the rising price increases. They are targetted and controlled, you won't find leakages. For example our subsidised diesel being sold by fishermen from Malaysia to Indonesian fishermen. So that is the problem with the existing subsidy system and those need to be resolved.
5. Will you support universities to be autonomous or agree to the abolishing of the University and University Colleges Act (UUCA) 1971?
Chew: I think university students to concentrate in (their) studies is something (that) they should focus on. But if there (are) weaknesses in the Act, then (there is) no harm to review and do some adjustment or some amendment.
Pua: I subscribe to the policy that the UUCA must be abolished. It does not make sense for the university to restrict the thoughts and inquiry of the students. Students must not be taught to think only in a certain way or prevented from being politically active for being politically active actually increases their awareness and critical thinking as well as their analytical skills to enable them to be more adaptable to the global environment when they graduate.
6. Will you support the idea of an Islamic state being established in Malaysia?
Chew: Under the constitution, everybody has freedom of religion. Islam is just the official religion, that's all. But Pak Lah (Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi) has already said that we are not an Islamic state and we go according to the constitution. The most important thing is according to the constitution. I think we are a secular state if you ask me.
Pua: Absolutely not. We believe that a multiracial and multicultural country such as Malaysia has to provide protection to all religions such as the freedom of worship. We believe that the best form of government to protect all religions including the official religion is actually a secular state.
7. Will you support the setting-up of the Inter-faith Council or a Non-Muslim Affairs Department?
Chew: The (BN) manifesto already answers your question.
Pua: Yes, certainly. I think the more we understand each other's culture, religion and practices, the more we are able to live in harmonious terms with one another. When there is a lack of understanding, chances of conflict and misunderstanding would be a lot higher.
8. Will you support the call that the Anti-Corruption Agency be placed under Parliament?
Chew: I think we need to make sure the ACA carry out their work fairly and (transparently) and make sure that they actually take action to investigate whatever, whoever (that are) involved with corruption. If you ask me, in my own opinion, yeah, I agree but this depends. Any how the government still needs to study and many of the issues (are) not that straightforward.
Pua: Yes. I think it is silly for the ACA to be placed under the Prime Minister's office because then it is subjected to tampering, instructions and lobbying by the PM's office. So under the Parliament which is elected by the people, it should have greater independence.
9. Will you support the idea of abolishing the Internal Security Act (ISA)?
Chew: I think the ISA somehow on some occasions does work like what happened in America. Before that they didn't have ISA and after the 9/11 (attacks), they now have their own. That's why this all depends and (it's) very subjective.
Pua: Yes. It is a draconian law for the simple fact that you are detaining people for months and years without access to fair trial. I think that breaches the natural laws of justice founded since ages ago. Everybody should be given a fair day in court if they are charged as terrorist, then they must be proven to be terrorists before they are jailed for a long time.
10. Will you support public assemblies being held without needing to apply for police permits?
Chew: I think police permits is a must in order to make the situation under control and everybody must be responsible.
Pua: Yes I do but on condition. I accept that no permit needs to be required but in the interest of public safety the police needs to be informed and it should be given sufficient time for preparation to ensure that traffic is orderly, the crowd is well controlled and well behaved but they are there to see through a peaceful assembly rather than to prevent a peaceful assembly from happening.
11. Will you support the idea of fixing a minimum wage for workers?
Chew: Yeah, why not? I mean there are so many levels [...] that it is not so straightforward to fix a minimum wage. But for those lower income (groups), I think we should, just to draw them (out) from poverty.
Pua: I think we support an idea whereby there must be a fair wage for workers and I think in order to not place a higher burden on employers it is important for the government to step in to ensure that these workers who are having wages below that of a reasonable level are subsidiesed additionally to make sure that they make sufficient monthly income to make ends meet.
12. Will you support the idea of abolishing the New Economic Policy (NEP)?
Chew: I thought the NEP has already ended. The most important thing is that we must make sure that [...] you can actually help one particular race but in the expense of the other race. Everybody must be given a chance to have their own business and work together to create a win-win situation.
Pua: Absolutely. We believe that the NEP as it stands today favours the rich, wealthy and influential particularly from the bumiputra community. It does not benefit the bulk majority of the bumiputras as well as the non-bumiputras in this country. So inequality in the country has been increasing rapidly and only with opposition and it's replacement with a policy that focuses on merit and needs, will the equality be reduced.
TONY PUA
It was my wish to be able to retire early quite comfortably so that I will be able to devote most, if not all of my expendable time on socio-economic and political affairs. Well, I'm right in the thick of it as I've sold my company and joined the Democratic Action Party (DAP) as the Economic Advisor to the DAP Secretary-General.
I've always had faith that there has been a guardian angel looking after me all these while - my personal well-being, my education, my career. Some will call it "God's will", some "fate" while some others, "destiny". I strongly believe that it is time for me to repay the kindness and fortune showered on me by my family, the society and of course, not forgetting, my guardian angel. :-)
I look forward to the day when I can truly help make our country a better place for all communities, and a country we can all be proud of.
Conclusion : As much as we all adore and love Chew for her 'motherness', we can't deny that Pua is indeed much more capable to bringing 'specific' positive, forward moving changes in PJ, and maybe even Malaysia as a whole. The fact that this guy could be earning way more bucks if he had :
1) continued with his successful business venture
2) joined MCA
But, nope, he joined DAP, whose marketing campaigns ended up developing 'red-penis' look-alike rocket soft-toys as per-described by celeb blogger kennysia. Heck, I think it look like a red-penis being wrapped by a clear blue ringed condom.
Btw, after reading all those answers that Chew gave to those questions, you'll probably have concluded that the lady is not very, to put it subtlely, intellectually inclined. Maybe BN churned out a set of 'generic' answers to certain questions of certain type for their candidates to use in situations such as this.
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Excerpt from Malaysia-Today website:
And this is where the Mamaks come in. Mamaks are Indian Muslims. Some years back, the Indian Muslims and Indian Hindus in Penang clashed over the proximity of a temple and a mosque which both sides alleged was 'disturbing' them. Resulting from this misunderstanding, some bloody clashes erupted which threatened to turn into a blood bath such as what we have frequently-enough witnessed in India. Anwar Ibrahim was forced to personally go down to the ground to prevent what was about to turn into another 'May 13'.
Last Friday, 1,000 or so Mamaks organised a demonstration in front of the Penang State Government headquarters. They were upset that a 'Chinese' Chief Minister had announced the end of the New Economic Policy in Penang. The Malays were not upset. The Malays did not come out to protest. In fact, PAS even endorsed the announcement and said that it agreed with the proposal. But the Mamaks were upset and they demonstrated their displeasure last Friday.
The Mamaks want the government to pass a law that makes calling them 'Mamak' illegal. They want laws passed so that those who continue calling them Mamaks can be sent to jail. And they want a new law passed to declare all Mamaks as Malays and to call them Malays and not Mamaks from thereon.
The Mamaks, therefore, have to demonstrate that they are more Malay than the Malays and more Muslim that the Arabs. And to prove this they came out to demonstrate against Lim Guan Eng's announcement that the NEP in Penang would end even if the Malays themselves could not be bothered and even if PAS supports Guan Eng's announcement. In a nutshell, the Mamaks are ashamed that they were born as Indians and insist they be classified as Malays.
But the Malays will not respond to the Mamaks' call to take to the streets, in particular the PAS and PKR Malays. In fact, the only reason the PAS and PKR Malays come out is to ensure that the Mamaks do not run riot and start spilling Chinese blood. Yes, May 13 can never happen again in spite of the rise of the Mamaks. The Malays will ensure that no wannabe Malay Mamaks will upset the peace, stability and tranquillity that exists between the Malays, Chinese and Indian Hindus. As for the Indian Muslims.....well, they need to earn their Malayness so allow them this little sideshow to enable them to go to the government and say, “Are we Malay enough for you now?”
That explains the Indians there!