TR EMERITUS

One minute, 17-year-old Tan Shu Fang was talking to her mother about how she expected to do well in her examinations. The next, motorcycle louts snatched her handbag — and her life. The snatch theft victim has died after being in a coma for a week. Shu Fang, a straight As student of SMK Mutiara Rini 2, was walking with her mother Leong Akooi to a bank near their house in Taman Ungku Tun Aminah on Sept 17 when two men on a motorcycle snatched her handbag and caused both of them to fall. Shu Fang suffered a severe head injury while her mother suffered minor bruises. She was in a coma and was warded at Sultanah Aminah Hospital before succumbing to her injuries at about 5pm on Friday. Recalling the incident, Leong, 52, said her daughter was describing how she expected to do well in her recent Form 5 examination just before the incident occurred. “We were walking and she was talking about her exams when one of the men on the motorcycle snatched her handbag and both of us fell. “When I got up, I saw that my daughter was unconscious,” she said at the Nirvana cemetery here yesterday. Leong said some passers-by who saw the incident took them to the hospital. “I visited her every day and never gave up hope that she would recover,” she said, adding that she prayed for her daughter’s recovery but it was not meant to be. Leong said her daughter was a good student and had many friends, although she was the quiet type. “I only have another son and the house will definitely be quieter without my daughter,” she added. Leong hoped that the culprits responsible for her daughter’s death would be brought to justice. “They took my daughter away and I hope they will be caught,” she said. - The Star  Read More →

Residents of Taiwan's Penghu group of islands on Saturday voted against hosting a new casino following the repeal of a law banning such gambling facilities. Of 73,651 eligible voters who took part in a referendum, 17,359 voted against a casino in the Taiwan Strait archipelago, against 13,397 votes in favour and 298 invalid votes, the Penghu county government said. Critics of gambling hailed the outcome, to the disappointment of those who had argued that casinos would help boost the local economy. "We are very proud. This is a victory for all Penghu people," said Lin Chang-xing, head of the Casino Opposition Alliance. "I was looking forward to seeing Taiwan's first casino in Penghu, which would revive the sluggish local economy and improve everybody's lives," said Hsueh Ming-ching, a 74-year-old barber. The vote came after the ruling Kuomintang (KMT) party pushed through a controversial bill in parliament in January to lift the decades-long ban on casinos. The bill allows offshore islands to build casinos only if these are approved by the islands' residents in a referendum. Penghu, which was competing against other offshore islands for the one or two casino licences the government planned to issue, would not be able to hold another referendum for another three years, officials said. Casinos would likely attract half a million tourists to Penghu annually, generating 100 billion Taiwan dollars (3.13 billion US) worth of revenue in gambling and tourism, according to a government study. - AFP  Read More →

By Karim Raslan from Sin Chew Daily Last week I received a call from an old friend. She was agitated because her daughter had decided to apply for permanent residency abroad. I can still remember the call. She had started talking almost as soon as I answered the phone: "Karim, I can't stop her this time. She's old enough to sign all the forms for herself. I'm upset but there's nothing I can do. She is adamant, she says things are only getting worse and that there's no future for her here." What the mother didn't say, but I could sense it from her tone- was the fact that she no longer had the confidence or courage to persuade her daughter otherwise. She in effect had agreed with her daughter's choice and given the events of the past few months, can anyone blame them? Moreover, unlike in the late 90's when I found myself fielding countless calls from non-Malay friends talking about emigration, this was one of the first from a Malay counterpart--someone from the Bumiputera middle class who'd benefited enormously over the past few decades from the government's largesse. I should add that those with daughters appeared to be the most concerned. However, a slew of landmark cases have rattled the Malay middle class. The list is long--the part-time model Kartika's impending caning for drinking a beer, the bizarre decision (which was subsequently reversed) to bar Muslims from an upcoming Black Eyed Peas concert and the cow's head demonstration in Shah Alam are just a handful. With each incident, the lines between private and public morality, race and religion have become increasingly blurred and indeed, hotly contested. As we settle into the Hari Raya festivities--spending time with friends and families, it's clear that many are beginning to feel a sense of deep discomfort with the mounting tensions within the Malay community. To my mind, the biggest losers in all this are the Malays themselves or rather ourselves. As politicians seek to stake a claim to the Malay vote they define the community in ever narrower and more exclusive terms--a series of dead-ends where your Malay-ness bars you from doing or being different things. Furthermore, the politicization of Malay identity--the basis of political power in Malaysia--means that all Malays, whether or not they're directly involved in politics are feeling the "heat." At the same time, Umno's insistence on attacking the Pakatan on this terrain (hence relinquishing the multiracial ground to the Opposition, it would seem) has left many middle class, professional Malays feeling increasingly exposed and uncomfortable. For them (and that includes myself) the broader, more cosmopolitan multiracial appeals--such as the Prime Minister Najib Razak's 1Malaysia--allow for a greater degree of flexibility in terms of lifestyle and personal choice. To be frank, the Malay middle class have been complicit in this situation. Over the past decades most have drifted away from active engagement in politics. In short, we've always thought that politics is too dirty and corrupt for us – that public service is something that those who can't get good jobs spend their time doing. Instead, we live our lives totally separate and apart from party politics--rarely meeting with Umno, PAS or PKR activists. We've been more focused on our families and our careers. This has allowed others have set the agenda politically. Nonetheless, we've started to view Umno with alarm, seeing party members as rowdy, corrupt, ill-disciplined and greedy. We also worry at the current unrepentant tone and the way "winning at all costs" has supplanted any other higher aspirations. At the same time PAS' antics in Selangor in particular remind us of what the Ullama-led party is capable of when the opportunity arises. The constant pressure to take the moral high-ground, neglecting more serious governance and social issues reveals the conservative faction of PAS' narrow-minded bigotry at its very worst. So where does that leave the Malay middle class? Well we're nowhere. We are lost and we are without a voice. There is no doubt that we want PAS' uncompromising attitude to corruption. Indeed, there are moments when we can't help thinking that maybe--just maybe--Shariah penalties would be a good deterrent for high-level white-collar crime? Moreover, we admire PAS' commitment to openness and transparency. At the same time the party seems to be manned by so many clever and well-educated professionals. However, when it comes to social and moral issues (as in Selangor) the party's stance is worryingly extreme and at times downright frightening. The Malay middle class is caught in a no-win situation. We desperately want Umno to clean up their act, to reform and repent but this seems increasingly unlikely. At the same time Anwar Ibrahim has all but disappeared from view and PAS is seeking to dominate the Pakatan's social policies. Is it any wonder that some Malays--some of best and brightest--are starting to vote with their feet? - Sin Chew Daily  Read More →