A Lost Democracy?

Speech by Datuk Zaid Ibrahim at LAWASIA 2008 31 October 2008 @ 9.00am Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre Malaysia

1. Let me start by inviting you back into history. Imagine that it is the morning of the 31st of August 1957. At midnight, an independent nation calling itself the Federation of Malaya is to be unveiled.
Conceived as a cutting edge model of multiracial and multi-religious co-existence and cooperation, it is poised to stand out as an example of what can be achieved through diplomacy and a respect for the spirit of democracy.
It is of great historical significance that the transition from colony to independent nation, so often achieved only at the great price that turmoil and unrest exacts, has been achieved peacefully.
Though this is a process that may have been made more difficult without the skill and fortitude with which negotiations to that end have been carried out, they do not define it.
That honour goes to the aspirations of all those who call Malaya home. The quest for self-determination has not been one that recognised race. It has been, simply put, a Malayan one. ... MORE from The STAR

Unsur DEB dihapus beransur

Dilaporkan bahawa Kerajaan akan menghapuskan unsur-unsur Dasar Ekonomi Baru (DEB), yang berakhir pada 1990 dan digantikan dengan Dasar Ekonomi Nasional (DEN) pada 1991, dengan secara beransur-ansur.

Timbalan Perdana Menteri, Dato Seri Najib semasa diwawancara melalui program Bloomberg Voices terbitan Bloomberg TV yang disiarkan secara rakaman disini hari ini dilaporkan berkata,
"Saya sedang berusaha ke arah melaksanakan liberalisasi (unsur-unsur DEB) secara beransur-ansur itu apabila bumiputera sudah mempunyai keyakinan diri. Dan sukacita saya nyatakan bahawa semakin ramai dalam kalangan mereka kini sudah mempunyai keyakinan untuk bersaing, untuk berjaya di peringkat global dan domestik.
"Dalam tempoh yang tidak terlalu lama lagi, kita dapat saksikan unsur-unsur DEB ini akan diganti".

"Saya berpendapat unsur-unsur DEB perlu dibuang secara beransur-ansur dan pada waktu yang sama, sungutan yang berasas dan keperluan setiap masyarakat, perlu diberi perhatian,"

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Bila baca berita ini, tiba-tiba saya teringatkan Tollcross, Edinburgh ... Teringatkan Andy, Jeff, Jamil, Fairuz and Kudik, Ustaz Kamaruzaman, Ustaz Dzul, Prof Mawi, Arwah Dr. Mohd Shah dan the rest of the gang .. kesemuanya produk DEB..

MCA ... revamp economic policies

KUALA LUMPUR: The Government has been urged to expedite judicial reform and set up an independent Judicial Commission to restore the confidence of the people in the system.
The MCA 55th annual general assembly unanimously passed the resolution to urge the Government to review the Internal Security Act and establish a check and balance system to ensure that it strictly applies to terrorism and cases with subversive elements.
The general assembly also urged the Government to urgently review and revamp all major macro-economic policies to encourage rapid economic expansion and improve Malaysia's global competitiveness. .. MORE
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Ehem., ehem.,

Malay rights – a mystical myth? (Part II).

My letter Malay rights – a mystical myth? (Malaysiakini)had been ‘borrowed’ by many blogs which posted it on their own site as an interesting topic for sharing. I am touched that my letter-writing debut has been well-received with many positive comments although I have seen some negative comments posted too. Well, I would like to think that even I should allow such democracy! As happy as I am about this writing debut, it also worries me that some quarters are using it to prove their own unheard point. And considering that a Malay man wrote this article, it became a much talked about piece. This is why I feel the need to write this second letter because I may have been misunderstood in some ways in the earlier one. Perhaps my point was not very clear. Perhaps my sarcasm was out of context and perhaps I was not compassionate enough. I am not an anti-Malay or whatever privileges that the Malays are entitled to. I just feel that the Malays are ‘running on the spot’ in the endeavor of being privileged. What are we fighting for when we say Malay rights? What rights do we want? Do we even know what we want? .. More

Malay rights - a mystical myth?

Shaik Rizal Sulaiman Jun 23, 08 4:29pm

The Malays are ‘technically’ in power governing the country but it also this same controlling group that demands the right to correct economic imbalances and disparities for its own race.
What does this say about the ‘majority governing’ Malay race for the last 50 years?
I dare say that most Malaysians (regardless of race) below the age of 40 would like to see all opportunities be spread amongst those who deserve it on meritocracy.
We do not need the keris anymore to tell others to be careful of what they say and do because in the survival of the fittest, the keris is of very little relevance! More