Prejudice Limits The Best Decisions 8592

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New Airport Snub Behind Ouster As Perak Adviser Too, Claims Tycoon
By MT Webmaster  On Nov 5, 2018
(FMT) – A construction tycoon, whose appointment as Perak economic adviser was scuttled by the menteri besar over comments deemed insulting to the sultan, has claimed a further reason for his ouster.

Koon Yew Yin said his removal from the Perak Economic Advisory Council (SEAC) was also due to his objection against a new airport to be built in Seri Iskandar, a township located about 50km southwest of Ipoh.

He said he had suggested that the present Sultan Azlan Shah Airport in Ipoh have its runways upgraded instead to accommodate larger planes. He claimed this was agreed to by the state executive councillors.

However, he believed his objection was seen as a snub to Menteri Besar Ahmad Faizal Azumu whom he said had wanted the Ipoh airport to be restricted to private jets only once the new airport was built.

He said it all started when he first read the news on Faizal’s plans to build a new airport. He later published a blog post on why the menteri besar should not proceed with the plans.

“I wrote an article to point out that including Najib’s, there were only a handful of private jets (at the Ipoh airport),” he said, referring to former prime minister Najib Razak.

“In view of our nation’s poor financial position, he (Faizal) should not spend so much money to construct a new airport. Instead, he should lengthen the runway for larger planes to land. The cost of lengthening the runway would be comparatively small,” he said in a statement to FMT.

“This was what I wrote that got me into trouble… another reason why I was removed from the state economic advisory council.”

Koon said if Faizal had wanted to build a new airport, the land on which the existing airport stood could be sold for RM1.2 billion and the funds used for the purpose.

He agreed that the present airport is too old and in need of an urgent upgrade to boost tourism. He said selling off the old airport land might do the trick, with the new airport build on state land close to the Lumut port.

“I trust the Perak menteri besar and all the state assemblymen will discuss and consider my suggestion, bearing in mind that benefitting the people is more important than just benefiting a few jet owners.

“I was told that the Perak exco had accepted my suggestion. The existing airport would be lengthened and they would not spend money constructing a new airport.”

Koon had courted controversy after he claimed his appointment as a SEAC member was blocked by the Perak palace due to a blog post in which he said the late Sultan Azlan Shah had offered state titles and honours for money.

However, the Perak palace denied Koon’s claim, saying it had no hand in removing him from the SEAC.

Faizal later said he had personally removed Koon from the council after the tycoon made “very serious” allegations that the late Perak ruler had bestowed state titles through “corrupt practices”.

Koon had said he was fine with the removal.

FMT has contacted the Perak Menteri Besar’s office for comment.
New airport snub behind ouster as Perak adviser too, claims tycoon – Malaysia Today
https://www.malaysia-today.net/2018/11/05/new-airport-snub-behind-ouster-as-perak-adviser-too-claims-tycoon/

Journalist Rants At ‘DAP Haters’ After Offer To Helm Bernama Revoked
By MT Webmaster  On Nov 5, 2018
(FMT) – A journalist who once worked with DAP publications today said an offer for him to helm Bernama had been revoked, blaming “personal attacks” and “unfair condemnations” from the party’s enemies.

Wan Hamidi Hamid, a former editor of DAP mouthpiece The Rocket, also listed his past stints working with several mainstream media outlets as well as news portals, and dismissed critics who raised fears that his appointment could undermine press freedom due to his past affiliation with a party organ.

“I actually believe in free press and freedom of expression, although we know that in the Malaysian context, it’s easier said than done. But we must never give up,” he said in comments posted on Facebook.

Critics have said that any move to appoint Wan Hamidi would politicise Bernama, which comes under the communications and multimedia ministry headed by DAP deputy chairman Gobind Singh Deo.

Among them was former minister Rais Yatim, who said the move was also against the Pakatan Harapan government’s pledge to do away with political appointees.

“If we appoint someone who clearly represents a political party, then we are not walking the talk,” Rais, who is now part of PPBM, had said.

Wan Hamidi said he would not entertain those calling him on the matter, but suggested that there were those who “hated DAP” who had campaigned against his appointment.

“If you really want to know, perhaps you should you ask the Bernama board or the Cabinet minister(s), or those people and racial groups including some media and news portals that hate DAP. Perhaps they know more,” he said.
Journalist rants at ‘DAP haters’ after offer to helm Bernama revoked – Malaysia Todayhttps://www.malaysia-today.net/2018/11/05/journalist-rants-at-dap-haters-after-offer-to-helm-bernama-revoked/

Affirmative Action Is Not Racial Discrimination
By MT Webmaster  On Nov 5, 2018
Affirmative action articles in the Malaysian constitution such as Articles 89 and 153 and various institutions and arrangements that have evolved over the decades are also aimed at ensuring justice and equality for the Malays and the natives of Sabah and Sarawak. Chandra Muzaffar
Affirmative action articles in the Malaysian constitution such as Articles 89 and 153 and various institutions and arrangements that have evolved over the decades are also aimed at ensuring justice and equality for the Malays and the natives of Sabah and Sarawak. Chandra Muzaffar

The current discussion on the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD) in the media is yet another example of how politicians and social activists adopt positions on issues of public interest without examining the relevant documents in detail. Those who are for and those who are against Malaysia ratifying the ICERD are equally guilty of this.

Article 1 (4) of Part 1 of the ICERD clearly states: “Special measures taken for the sole purpose of securing adequate advancement of certain racial or ethnic groups or individuals requiring such protection as may be necessary in order to ensure such groups or individuals equal enjoyment or exercise of human rights and fundamental freedoms shall not be deemed racial discrimination, provided, however, that such measures do not, as a consequence, lead to the maintenance of separate rights for different racial groups and that they shall not be continued after the objectives for which they were taken have been achieved.” The same point is made in slightly different language in Article 2 (2) of Part 1.

This shows that the ICERD adopted by the UN General Assembly on Dec 21, 1965 and entered into force on Jan 4, 1969 acknowledges that affirmative action is not racial discrimination. For democracies such as the US which accorded some emphasis to affirmative action in the 60s and India which continues to provide for the protection of segments of its vulnerable population in its national constitution, rectifying historical injustices was integral to the quest for equality that the ICERD seeks.

Affirmative action articles in the Malaysian constitution such as Articles 89 and 153 and various institutions and arrangements that have evolved over the decades are also aimed at ensuring justice and equality for the Malays and the natives of Sabah and Sarawak. At the time of Merdeka in 1957, it was estimated that 64% of the Malays lived below the poverty line, a situation which was exacerbated by the abysmally disadvantaged position of the vast majority of indigenous Sabahans and Sarawakians when they became part of Malaysia in 1963. In 1970 when the new Economic Policy (NEP) was introduced, Malays and the natives of Sabah and Sarawak were grossly under-represented in every profession and in commerce and industry.

These socio-economic realities have to be understood in relation to a critical socio-political circumstance which is seldom highlighted by most of the individuals involved in the ICERD debate. As a result of the massive conferment of citizenship upon a million Chinese and Indians just before Merdeka, the Malays who were hitherto equated with the land (Tanah Melayu) became a community among communities. This relegation of status is one of the primary reasons why the community is so concerned about preserving the Malay core in Malaysian politics. It is also why it perceives the civil service, the judiciary, the police and the armed forces, among other such institutions as critical to the community’s power and strength in a multi-ethnic nation. It has shaped the Malay perspective on Islam, the sultans, the land, its history and its identity.

The socio-economic issues pertaining to affirmative action that justify ethnic differentiation in some instances require solutions which the ICERD hints at. Ethnic differentiation as it applies to various spheres should be evaluated in a rational manner. When they are no longer relevant, they should be set aside. In fact, the government has done this in the past. Rigid employment requirements in the 80s yielded to more flexible approaches from the 90s onwards. For almost two decades now, ethnic quotas have not been adhered to in certain faculties in various public universities.

Perhaps the time has come for greater boldness in addressing ethnicity in the socioeconomic sphere. Many of us have for a long while advocated an approach that emphasises needs and excellence in recruiting and rewarding people. Before we ratify the ICERD, we should put such a policy in place. It would then be seen as our own endeavour to recognise principles which are fundamental to the success of any society.

Greater emphasis upon needs and excellence rather than ethnicity per se may well be the solution to the abuse in the implementation of affirmative action policies. It is abuse that has alienated not only the non-Malays but also a significant segment of the Malay and indigenous communities. It was one of the factors that eroded trust in the previous Barisan Nasional government, leading to its ignominious defeat in the recent general election.

The socio-political dimension of ethnic differentiation in our society is a more complex challenge. The influential elements within all communities should work together in a sincere manner to change attitudes which prevent us from moving in the right direction. Non-Malay elites and opinion-makers should demonstrate a deeper understanding of the Malay situation – of the “psychological loss” it sustained when it was relegated to a community among communities.

For such an understanding to emerge, non-Malay leaders should accept a simple historical truth: that contemporary Malaysia evolved from a Malay sultanate system. In similar vein, Malay opinion-makers and elites should understand that the evolution of the Malaysian nation also demands the genuine accommodation and acceptance of their non-Malay fellow citizens. They are equal partners in the building of a nation which will only survive if it is firmly rooted in justice and fairness for all its sons and daughters, transcending ethnicity.

It is educating Malaysians along these lines and initiating changes on our own that are perhaps more important at this juncture than ratifying the ICERD which from the ongoing public discourse threatens to further polarise our society.

Chandra Muzaffar is chairman of the board of trustees of Yayasan Perpaduan Malaysia.
Affirmative action is not racial discrimination – Malaysia Today
https://www.malaysia-today.net/2018/11/05/affirmative-action-is-not-racial-discrimination/

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