TR EMERITUS

By Asrul Hadi Abdullah Sani from The Malaysian Insider Minister in the Prime Minister Department’s Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz attacked Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad again and called the former Umno president the “father of all racism” as the row between the two men over the controversial National Civics Bureau (BTN) continued. Nazri criticised the former prime minister for being a hypocrite and said: "Who does Mahathir think he is?” “If he can comment on others, why can’t I comment on him? Who is he? People kept telling me that he’s been in the government for 22 years. Yes but that’s not right for him to abuse people the way he abused the former PM. You mean to say he was the former PM for 22 years he can do anything he likes? I cannot agree and he’s no longer in the government. “Last time he told us you must support the government. He was a perfect PM, I never complained. It was only after he retired, he started to attack us. He used to tell us, if one day we become a candidate and if we are dropped, we should not be angry because once that person supported us, now it’s time for us to support them. “What is he doing now? We all supported him before through thick and thin and yet when he retired, he attacks us even worse than the opposition. Today the opposition doesn’t need to do work. Dr M is the only one attacking us. Everything is not right. During Tun Abdullah’s time, everything was not right but he’s a gentleman, he didn’t argue. Now with Najib, there is something wrong. Does he (Mahathir) want to become a PM?” Nazri told reporters at the Parliament lobby. Nazri said he would never resign because of Dr Mahathir. “When he wanted to resign before, we told him not to but he wanted to step down. Now he has stepped down, he’s asking me to resign. What for? I’m not going to give him the pleasure of resigning to make him happy because I’m not stupid to fall into his trap,” he said. Nazri pointed out that if he belongs to a racist party, then Dr Mahathir is the “father of all racism” because he was the president of Umno. “He’s saying I’m in a racist party so he confirms what I said about him. If he says I’m in a racist party because I’m a member of Umno, then he is the father of all racism, he was the president of Umno for 22 years. It confirms that I said he was a racist. Please give him some other argument lah. As the ex-PM, he should give better suggestions. I feel sorry for him but I will continue,” he added. Nazri maintained that he was not being disrespectful of Dr Mahathir but pointed out that the former premier should accept that he is also open to criticism. “This is democracy and free speech. I meant no disrespect to him. It’s just counter-argument to his criticism. There is no need to write to papers to say I’m disrespectful. This is a way out of the argument. Although he is an old man, he got himself involved in a matter that invites criticism from others. Don’t say when I criticise him, I’m being rude,” he said. He added that Dr Mahathir also criticised the first prime minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman. “When he criticised Tunku Abdul Rahman, that’s not rude? He taught me. If he does it is OK, but if we do it then it’s rude? In the 1960s he criticised the then PM, so if people do it now, don’t get angry. He’s my teacher,” he said. Nazri also wondered why Dr Mahathir did not like him since the former premier was the one who appointed him a minister. “I didn’t force him, I didn’t put a gun to his head and force him. He knows I’m a good minister and I’ve been a minister for three terms. Each time a new PM takes over, there are rumours that I’ll be dropped. I’ve been a minister for 10 years. I only serve the rakyat,” he said. The former premier and the minister in the Prime Minister’s Department have been at loggerheads over the need to revamp the BTN, which critics charge with cultivating racism instead of its original purpose of nation building. Nazri had earlier called Dr Mahathir a “bloody racist” for defending BTN courses while reasserting the Cabinet’s earlier decision to overhaul the programme in line with the policy of 1 Malaysia mooted by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak. Nazri also lashed out at Dr Mahathir yesterday and described the former premier’s call for his resignation from the party as the “most stupid statement” that he has ever heard. Dr Mahathir said that Nazri should resign from Umno because if he was against racism, he should not be in a racist party. - The Malaysian Insider Republished from The Malaysian Insider on 9 December 2009  Read More →

By G.Manimaran from The Malaysian Insider Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s seven-month-old Cabinet will gather for a third round this Sunday to finalise programmes under the Key Performance Index (KPI) and National Key Results Areas (NKRAs) which will be made public on Dec 17 and 18. The programmes include the proposal to set up a special department for non-Muslims in the Prime Minister’s Department, revamp the controversial National Civics Bureau (BTN) that has been accused of promoting hatred and racism, the possibility of a mediation council to handle disputes among different religions and making the government procurement process more transparent. The one-day retreat will be held in Kuala Lumpur. The government will organise a two-day “open house” from Dec 17 in Bandar Sunway here to allow the public to view all the ideas, sources said. The Malaysian Insider was informed that Cabinet members will be given a comprehensive briefing on programmes and initiatives that were developed through two-month-long laboratory sessions in Putrajaya. The laboratory sessions ended last week. Sources said that seven laboratories, set up based on the six NKRAs and 1 Malaysia concept, have come out with more than 300 proposals and programmes to help Najib's administration fulfil his leadership promises before the next general election. The six areas outlined in the NKRA are reducing crime (especially street crime), fighting corruption, widening access to affordable and quality education, raising the living standard of the poor, improving infrastructure in rural areas and public transportation. The 1 Malaysia lab focused on ways to foster unity among the various races. Najib announced the 1 Malaysia concept when he took over the government on April 3. The Prime Minister and several key ministers were already given briefings twice last month on some of the ideas and many of the Cabinet ministers appeared supportive of some of the initiatives. "Actually, all the ideas proposed by the seven laboratories have been agreed by each ministry (in accordance with the NKRAs)," a government source told The Malaysian Insider today. "But in this retreat the ministers will be given overall pictures about the ideas that had been developed by each lab and to get feedback from them," he added. Once agreed, the public will be given opportunities to provide their feedback on the proposed ideas, another source confirmed. The sources added the retreat is important as the key would remain in the implementation and also acceptance by the civil service. "We want the whole Cabinet to know the outcome of the laboratory sessions and give their fullest support when the time comes for implementation," a government source said. The sources also said that if some of the suggestions are actually implemented, Najib could actually pull the rug from under his political foes who have campaigned on reforms in governance and rule of law. But the government has been on the back foot over the BTN courses which the opposition say is racist. Umno leaders are split about the courses. The Pakatan Rakyat opposition bloc has been at the forefront of getting the government to close down BTN but the opposition parties themselves face internal splits over the direction of their coalition which the Najib administration says shows Barisan Nasional is still the best bet for Malaysia especially with its KPIs and NKRA programmes. The sources explained that although no final decision has been made on all the proposed ideas, both the private and public sectors have been informed to prepare them for implementation. The progress of all laborataries was closedly monitored by both Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon and Datuk Seri Idris Jala (picture), the ministers in the Prime Minister’s Department. Idris started his work by setting up labs outside the government administrative complex with selected people to test out ideas and strategies to move Najib's 1 Malaysia concept. Last month, Idris said that the “live laboratories” established to achieve the six NKRAs have come up with thousands of programmes. He added that the government would meet various community groups by the end of December to discuss the proposals and gather feedback. “We will also meet them to pick up more suggestions on the programmes before putting them into documents to be released to the public early next year,” he had said. Idris added that the documents would have details on the specific programmes, the agencies, target groups, time frame, implementation as well as the costs. - The Malaysian Insider Republished from the Malaysian Insider on 9 December 2009  Read More →

A Young PAP member and blogger from the P65 blog, Mr Fredric Fanthome had lent his support to the "cooling-off" day to be introduced in the next election due by 2011. All public rallies, door-to-door visits and display of party logos will be banned on the day designated on the eve of polling day itself to enable voters to make a "calm" and "rational" decision. The P65 blog was set up in the aftermath of the 2006 general elections and was supposed to be an online platform for the young PAP MPs to reach out to netizens. However, it floundered due to lack of interest and readership and was "revamped" this year - the MPs are no longer blogging and their places are taken over by young Singaporeans from "various backgrounds". According to YPAP Chairman Teo Ser Luck, it will now be “open” to all post-65 Singaporeans, who can write about ‘anything under the sun’, from entertainment and the economy to race and religion. Mr Fanthome began his blog post by pouring scorn on the reaction of the opposition and netizens: "Predictably there’s been a hullabaloo raised by the opposition who claims vary from it being “a sign of the lack of confidence of the PAP” (Mr. Desmond Lim Bak Chum of the SDA) to it being “designed to hurt the opposition” (Mr. Gandhi Ambalam of the SDP) – not to mention the usual vitriol by the anonymous hordes online who randomly spray venom at every government move from behind pseudonyms." He wrote that he doesn't see how the "cooling-off" day is designed to bolster the PAP and damage the opposition and applauded the ruling party to allow "more freedom in the coming elections: "There will be more freedom in the coming elections – podcasts will be allowed, the internet will be abuzz – and the government is also putting in place measures to ensure the presence of at least18 non-PAP members or about a fifth of the house in the next parliament regardless of election results. That is remarkable by any standard. No other country gives losing parties anywhere near as much voice." Mr Fanthome felt that the new changes introduced by PM Lee will "help" democracy and plurality in Singapore and castigated the opposition's reaction: "So instead of constantly finding fault with every measure or decision taken by the government– almost as a knee jerk reaction – where the default is “oppose” and then some reason is found to justify it, it would be good to see politicians being more discerning – supporting initiatives that are good for the people and opposing those they see are harmful – rather than just opposing everything." Mr Fanthome's rather shallow, harsh and insensitive remarks predictably sparked an outcry in blogosphere with many netizens lampooning him on the P65 blog. Purpose of opposition commented: "Frederic does not seem to understand the role of opposition. Such an important basic operation of a decent or civil society and he can be so ignorant about it to the point of writing this article. And this is the type of people the PAP loves." Pimpmaster chided Fanthome for his unsavory remarks on anonymous netizens: "Someone is out-of-touch…..so deeply. It is strange that folks like Fredreric, journalists and all, consider the idea of having pseudonyms as an alien and unacceptable idea. But of course, they call it “anonymous” nowadays. I’m not sure if it just his lack of sophistication, or lack of education. I guess it’s both. It’s not a mystery. If there is one, it’s the reasoning behind the “cooling off”. Fredric, with all his talk, can’t even explain the need for it. Bottomline is – PAP only manages to get 60% of votes ,yet it holds 98% of seats. Even Lee Hsien Loong almost got booted out of his own GRC by a thin 1% margin. Whatever the opposition does on the eve of election works. It’s an insult to disclose WHAT IT IS to Fredric. I’d recommend that he get out of the office once in a while and discover for himself what is happening in the middle class areas of Singapore….and what exactly they do in the eve of election. Then you’d understand why PAP wants to prohibit campaigning on that important night." Sgcygnic challenged Mr Fanthome to outline the achievements of the ruling party since last election: "Frederick, I would love to hear what progress has been achieved by the incumbent in the 4 years since the last election. I’m sure the “anonymous hordes online” would be able to “find, willy-nilly something to nit-pick and criticize”. The mature and educated electorate would be able to make a reasoned comparison of both viewpoints." For some inexplicable reasons, Mr Fanthome, who doesn't appears to be enamored with the "anonymous hordes" actually published their comments and replied to them. He regurgitated the oft-repeated PAP's rhetoric that a "constructive" opposition should not oppose everything the government does: "The role of the opposition is (or should be) not simply to oppose everything proposed by the government, but to provide constructive opposition – oppose what is felt to be harmful and support (even if you are in opposition) policies that are good..... If you merely oppose every single policy on the grounds that everything proposed by the government must be by definition harmful, in my view that is a useless opposition because clearly they cannot be depended upon to exercise any sort of judgment. It is not possible that every single policy proposed by the government is wrong – especially so in the case of Singapore that has seen such a remarkable ascent in the living standards of it’s population in the hands of this government. Singapore is living proof that the government has got a LOT right. In my view the cool off day does not disadvantage the opposition unduly and hence I felt that the strong negative response was really not well thought out, but merely a knee-jerk reflexive and unintelligent response." Mr Fanthome also claimed that the PAP's winning margin of 66 per cent of the popular vote in the last election is a "very strong" mandate: "If you know anything about politics, 60% of the popular vote is very strong mandate in a first-past-the-post system and can very well lead to a complete landslide victory given a weak opposition. If you are not aware, Barack Obama’s share of the popular vote in a win portrayed as a landslide with 349 electoral college votes compared to McCain’s 162 (68% of the Electoral College) was just 52%. Yes, just 52%, and against a powerful opposition . By comparison, a 60% share of the popular vote is a massive mandate and against a weak opposition will generally lead to a very high % of seats won. And are you counting the non-contested constituencies or only the contested ones? If you are counting all the seats in parliament to get your 98% figure, then you need to include 100% of the population of the uncontested constituencies in the PAP share." In one of his comments, Mr Fanthome revealed that he graduated from a business school which is "harder" to enter than Harvard University. From the many lengthy and detailed comments he posted, one can't help wondering where he finds so much time to "engage" the "anonymous hordes" who have read his article. It will not come as a surprise if  he is being paid full-time to write on the P65 blog. It is amusing that a blog sponsored by the ruling party, run by known bloggers and given extensive publicity in the mainstream media should have a readership less than 1 per cent of The Temasek Review which belongs to the "anonymous hordes" so despised by Mr Fanthome and his fellow acolytes. Unfortunately, PAP bloggers like Mr Fanthome remains in the minority and they will never be able to compete in Singapore's blogosphere against "anonymous hordes" like us who will continue to call the shots, whether they like it or not. In cyberspace, the content of a website matters more than anything else, not the identity of its writers and the more readers a news site has, the more influence it will be able to exert. As for PAP bloggers like Fanthome who deliberately tried to court controversy in order to boost their site's flagging readership, the most appropriate course of action is to ignore their existence altogether. After all, we belong to the "anonymous hordes" and it is better that we are left alone in our own world where we are the ones who set the rules of engagement. Related articles: >> P65 blog now “open” to all Singaporeans >> PAP MPs “MIA” from P65 blog! >> Debunking the “constructive criticism” illusion EDITORS' NOTE: A reader posted Mr Fredric Fanthome's personal details here on 9 December 2009. Mr Fathhome had contacted us to remove his photos and particulars. We apologize for the oversight and are sorry for the distress caused to Mr Fathome.  Read More →