Musa Hassan’s motives — Lim Sue Goan

DEC 2 — The policy speech by the Umno president at the annual general assembly is often a kind of political show the entire nation closely watches. Unfortunately, this year’s show has been hijacked by former IGP Tan Sri Musa Hassan.

Even as Najib Razak hit out hard at Pakatan Rakyat and tabulated the accomplishments of the Barisan Nasional government, Musa Hassan’s shocking revelation has nevertheless exposed the administrative weaknesses of our government agencies.

Musa Hassan is no ordinary retired civil servant, and as such the government should seriously consider setting up an independent panel to probe his accusations which must not be downplayed as immaterial or be trifled with.

If Musa Hassan’s accusation that politicians have intervened in police affairs is true, the operation of the police force will be adversely affected and its integrity eroded.

The police force is tasked with the responsibility of keeping the social order intact and, therefore, must exercise its professionalism to achieve this in the absence of political intervention.

Musa said when the police were about to arrest some heavyweight suspects, they would often receive calls from those in power.

If the country’s laws cannot be justly upheld, how do we expect the public to have faith in our law enforcement?

The Malaysian police force should be an unbiased enforcement institution. If it fails to operate independently, it would be very difficult for it to carry out its duties during the upcoming general election.

Musa Hassan also exposed links between senior police officers and illegal gangs, an accusation that would jeopardise the integrity of the police force.

When police discipline is involved, things will suddenly become very sensitive.

Because of Musa Hassan’s previous objection to the setting up of the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC), the issue of police misconduct remains unresolved to this day.

The MACC investigations and subsequent charges against Musa Hassan and former CID chief Ramli Yusof are nothing we can be proud of. The police force must strive to improve its image instead of persistently rejecting supervision.

If a split takes place at the top ranks of the police force, how do we expect them to set a good example for their subordinates?

Thirdly, Musa Hassan also queried the reliability of the police’s crime data, and this has begun to arouse public suspicion.

Well familiar with the modus operandi of the police force, Musa Hassan highlighted the fact that some police officers have resorted to converting unresolved cases to “no further action” cases in a bid to achieve the government’s crime reduction targets.

Without true and genuine figures, the minister will be kept in the dark and thus wrongly assess the actual crime situation in the country.

This August, the Centre for Policy Initiatives (CPI) received a letter said to be from an anonymous police officer making the same accusations. As such, it is imperative that the police’s crime figures be appraised by an independent third party institution with the hope the root cause of the problem could be identified.

Fourthly, why do some senior civil servants continue to slam the government after their retirement?

Some notable retired senior officers have joined PAS, including former Bukit Aman CID chief Fauzi Shaari, former chief secretary for the ministry of land and cooperative development Nik Zain Nik Yusof, former solicitor-general Mohd Yusof Zainal Abiden, and former TUDM officer Mohd Nazari Mokhtar.

The BN government has been taking very good care of our civil servants; the defection by any of them could deal a serious blow on Umno. — mysinchew.com

Penang mustn't lose its 'golden' future

Susan Loone 12:46PM Dec 2, 2012

Despite the overwhelming confidence shown by DAP leaders in today state convention, party secretary-general Lim Guan Eng reminded party members not to underestimate the potential of its rivals.

Lim (left) warned members not to treat lightly BN and Umno's ability to not only win two-thirds at the federal level but also recapture Penang in the coming polls.

"Do not underestimate the effectiveness of lies, threats and money politics as well as racist and extremist sentiments. Umno are masters at these dirty tactics," said Lim, who is Penang chief minister, at the state DAP convention today.

Lim said DAP leaders and members are not afraid of losing but Penangites cannot afford to lose their future to Umno and BN.

"If we lose, the people lose also," he stormed, while the party's delegates cheered.

He added that the next polls determines not just the fate of DAP but the destiny of the people.
Lim warned that if BN regained the state, Umno will ensure all of Pakatan Rakyat's "golden programmes" for the rakyat and yearly allocations to schools will be gone.

"Umno will ensure our democratic reforms and integrity measures will be replaced by a harsh and repressive regime that is corrupt," said Lim.

"Umno will ensure a people-centric government will be replaced by a crony-driven government".

'Lack of experience due to prison terms'

Lim was speaking to 280 DAP state delegates who attended the state's last convention before the 13th general election which must be called before May next year.

Lim was accompanied by national chairman Karpal Singh (right), state DAP chief Chow Kon Yeow, while other Pakatan leaders like state PKR chief and Deputy Chief Minister I Mansor Othman and state PAS committee member Jamaluddin Saad, were present.

Lim was high in spirits, reminding members of all the state's policies and achievements in the last four years.

He even took time to criticise Umno members for "shedding tears" during the party's last annual general meeting, saying "they should be crying for Lynas".

After Lim's speech, leaders and delegates alike, stood up to wave their Ubah mascots and flags, while shouting the party's warcry "Jom Ubah!".

Meanwhile, Lim said Pakatan has so many achievements to boast about and no one can deny that the coalition has done more in five years than BN had in 18 years.

He added that despite Pakatan's inexperience, its leaders can perform better than BN "anytime, anyplace, anywhere."

"This is because its leaders spent most of their time in prison," Lim joked.

Lim then thanked the party's veteran members for their contributions, courage and determination in facing the trials and tribulations the party has gone through all the years.

"It is because of them we are where we are today, we must really thank them," said Lim, to loud cheers from the floor.

'Good as opposition, better as gov't'

Lim said the DAP was good as an opposition party but "we are better as the government".

"What is our concern now is not whether we can be a good government but whether we can keep it (in Penang)," he said.

"What happened during these five years that caused this transformation from being an effective opposition to an even more effective government?" asked Lim, who is also Bagan MP.

"I would venture to say that DAP's qualities of being clean and honest, loyalty to principles and the people and our unbreakable team spirit amongst our leaders, is the basis of our success," he added.

"This is exemplified in our slogan of CAT - governance of competency, accountability and transparency".

Police report lodged against Shahrizat - Leven Woon

An NGO feels that the Wanita Umno chief is threatening the non-Malay by saying a weak Umno would lead to the repeat of May 13 violence.

 

PETALING JAYA: An Indian-based NGO coalition which felt threatened by Wanita Umno chief Shahrizat Abdul Jail’s statement on May 13 has lodged a police report against the former minister.

“Shahrizat’s statement was meant to threaten the non-Malays. She was trying to say if the non-Malays vote for the opposition and this results in a weak Umno, a race riot similar to the violence on May 13, 1969 will happen,” Tamilar Action Force head A Vethaamoorthy said.

Leading a group of 12 members to lodge the report at the Sentul police station today, he said Shahrizat should be charged with threatening the public and instigating racial divide.

Shahrizat raised the spectre of May 13 in her speech at the Wanita Umno annual general assembly on Wednesday.

She said that a weak Umno would spread uneasiness among the Malay and possibly spark a May 13 racial bloodshed.

“Do we want such a terrible situation repeated in our country? Of course, we do not,” she said.

“By giving this kind of statement, it shows how desperate Umno is,” Vethaamoorthy said.

He said the May 13 incident is already history, and the leaders of the country should now realise that the people have the right to choose who they want in the general election.

“It won’t help by making this kind of unnecessary remark,” he said.

Several Pakatan Rakyat MPs including M Kulasegaran and Khalid Samad have also criticised Shahrizat, calling her “shameless” while saying that Malaysians were now more united than in 1969.

ROS hauls up three more in Suaram probe

Nandini Balakrishnan & Lee Weng Keat Dec 1, 2012

The Registrar of Societies (ROS) has hauled up three more people in its ongoing investigation of human rights group Suaram.

The three, namely lawyers Fadiah Nadwa Fikri and Amer Hamzah Arshad; and Suaram executive director Nalini Elumalai are being probed under Section 66 of the Societies Act 1966.

According to that section, any individual under suspicion of having information on the existence or operation of any illegal society or on the operations of any registered society can be summoned.

When contacted, Fadiah (left) described the continuous investigation against Suaram as a form of harassment and attempt to impede its work, which includes pursuing alleged kickbacks in the RM7.3 billion purchase of two Scorpene submarines by Malaysia in the French courts.

"This is a form of harassment and intimidation for advocating on the Scorpene scandal.

"ROS has no jurisdiction over Suaram. We are registered under the Companies Commission of Malaysia (CCM), not ROS," she said.

The trio were served with a notice by ROS on Thursday and are to present themselves at its Putrajaya headquarters at 11am today.

Several individuals were already questioned on Nov 12.

KLSCAH dragged into probe

Meanwhile, in a widening investigation against Suaram, police on Wednesday also visited the Kuala Lumpur Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall (KLSCAH) which has frequently played host for Suaram press conferences.

When contacted, KLSCAH chief executive officer Tang Ah Chai (right) said the police made copies of documents on transactions between Suaram and KLSCAH.

"The policemen came at around 2pm and stayed for an hour. They finished their investigation by photocopying some copies of rental forms and payment receipts by Suaram," he said.

Tang said this was not the first time police had gone after KLSCAH which sits along Jalan Maharajalela in Kuala Lumpur. A similar incident happened when Hindraf held its event there in 2008.

He added that the KLSCAH venue is open for rent to all and such problems from the authorities should not arise.

‘Goalkeeper Rosmah will cause BN downfall’ - Teoh El Sen

The controversial carpet trader Deepak Jaikishan has made a startling prediction about the outcome of the 13th general election.

KUALA LUMPUR: Carpet trader Deepak Jaikishan has stirred another controversy with his prediction about Barisan Nasional suffering a big loss in the upcoming general election.

In a cryptic SMS sent to the media, the well-connected businessman used a football metaphor and named “Rosmah” as the sole Umno goalkeeper who would fail to stop Pakatan Rakyat from scoring big.

Deepak said he was referring to the speech given by Umno Kelantan delegate Md Alwi Che Ahmad who drew the analogy of Umno being like the “red warriors”, the committed and hardworking football players of the state.

The Kelantan opposition leader was quoted as saying that “Umno players” are winnable candidates and are able to score goals.

“The party’s president want the best players to score goals… winnable candidates” he reportedly said.

Deepak, however, laughed off the suggestion, saying that he found it amusing as the Kelantan players actually belong to PAS.

“I refer to the Umno Kelantan speech & his anology of kelantan’s champion footballer’s ‘red warriors’ as d criteria for ‘winnable candidates’,” he wrote.

“Najib is indeed an excellant striker & a winnable candidate in Pekan but unfortunately Umno’s only goalkeeper today is Rosmah & she has her hands full catching the billions coming her way that she won’t have the time to stop PKR from scoring goals in parlimentary seats.”

The man, who has previously admitted to being close like a sibling to Rosmah Mansor, the wife of Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak, then made a startling prediction in his text.

“GE13 will be PKR 123, seat Rosmah RM26 BILLION, BN 99 seats. A prophercy that will happen.”

‘Goalkeeper not interested in catching balls’

Asked about the meaning behind his SMS, Deepak said: “You have a winnable candidate who can win his seat, but this is not the presidential election. If he wins and the others lose, there is no point.

“I fully agree that we should have winnable candidates. I’m saying that, yes, Najib can win in Pekan, but you have so many players and you only have one goalkeeper; this goalkeeper is not interested in catching the ball, but in catching billions,” he told FMT.

“You can win that one Pekan seat. But you are going to lose 120 other seats because your goalkeeper is not trying to catch the ball the opposition is trying to score.”

The past week, Deepak has resurfaced after some period of silence, giving several media interviews in which he claimed he regretted getting private investigator P Balasubramaniam to retract his first statutory declaration (SD) concerning murdered Mongolian national Altantuya Shaariibuu.

Balasubramaniam’s first SD had linked Najib to the murder, while the second one reversed it a day later. Balasubramaniam subsequently went missing.

In the interviews, Deepak said that he got involved as a favour to a “female friend”.

Deepak also spoke about a land dispute case, involving him, a Selangor Umno leader and the Defence Ministry, which Najib had then helmed.

Deepak has accused Najib of receiving “contributions” from him for the former’s intervention in the land deal but is upset that the premier now refuses to aid him in resolving the dispute.

He also talked about a fall-out with Najib’s family after his involvement in the Altantuya matter.

Subsequently, Deepak has also claimed to have been forced out of 26 companies that he was a director in. He said that he was also harassed by government agencies and had several government-linked contracts cancelled.

Embracing diversity, integration in education

The very first step for the Malay ultras to take in the right direction is to cease making a scapegoat out of Chinese and Tamil primary schools.

 
By Dr Boo Cheng Hau

The recently announced National Education Blueprint contains nothing new. And it shows the powers-that-be have no real intention to listen to the public or make any bold reforms to our ailing education system.

It is a repetition of the sad old story about racial prejudice, not much different from the so-called “National Education Policy” which was largely based on Umno’s Malay nationalist belief that the national language should be the sole medium of instruction.

Proponents of the Malay-medium only policy also emphasise the Malay nationalist perspective of history that having one common language – such as in our neighbours Indonesia and Thailand – can save Malaysia from disintegration.

Racial prejudice and political demagoguery as the basis for our nation’s education agenda of true unity will not get us far. Let me prove how discriminatory is our education system and the false impressions that it projects.

I had a taste of victory for what it means to have “equal opportunities” in education about 30 years ago when I argued for admission, on behalf of a schoolmate, into an American university which has produced some of the Nobel laureates.

My friend was originally from Taiwan but studied in a Chinese independent secondary school here in Malaysia. She did not sit the SPM or UEC (Unified Examination Certificate). To my surprise, the admission officer of the American university requested for UEC results in lieu of SPM qualification.

She did not sit the UEC because the exam was still new at that time. After a long discussion, the admission officer agreed with my proposal that she be admitted conditionally on producing evidence of completing 12 years of primary and secondary education – a standard which almost all American universities and colleges go by.

She was then admitted “under probation” for one semester, meaning she would be considered a regular student after the period of study with a GPA of 2.0 and above (an average of C and above). She graduated eventually without any impediment.

Her experience goes to show how democratic, liberal and flexible the American education system is. This is one of the key factors that allow the United States to become the most technologically advanced country, and one to which many talents from other parts of the world choose to emigrate.

The value of the UEC

In the 1970s, nobody in Malaysia took the UEC exam seriously except for the powers-that-be who attempted to ban it on account that the exam was (perceived to be) “anti-national”.

Nonetheless besides Taiwan, Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore where the UEC was recognised, many American universities and colleges had already begun accepting it as a gateway for college admission.

As far back as 30 years ago, one of my classmates was admitted to the famed Massachusetts Institute of Technology based on her UEC results and Chinese Independent School coursework assessments.

Would our public universities and UiTM open their admission policies and welcome UEC holders by integrating them into the mainstream of higher education institutes rather than discriminating them? Some top American universities even admit Chinese independent secondary school students based on school results and class ranking without referring to standardised examinations such as SPM, UEC, GCE, SAT and the like.

Yet after 30 long years, our own Malaysian government still despises the UEC as “anti-national”. In fact, except for respective language subjects, all UEC subjects are offered in three languages; in other words, one can opt to have his math, science, or other papers tested in English, Malay or Chinese.

Chinese independent school graduates are barred from using their UEC results as a means of admission to local public universities and teacher training colleges. This discrimination is deemed necessary to maintain Umno’s self-righteous “National Education Policy” for the promotion of “interracial unity”.

How can political demagoguery such as Umno’s ever help in promoting national unity and interracial integration? One could argue that the party is actually more interested in maintaining its tight grip on power by continuing to mislead the country that vernacular schools somehow pose a hidden threat.

STPM and matriculation – apple and orange?

The powers-that-be have since declared that racial quotas are no longer applied in local public universities. Instead, they claim a “merit-based” admission system has been put in place.

However, at the same time, university admission standards are “diversified” into two separate entry points – STPM and matriculation.

After years of protests by the non-Malays, only 10% of matriculation programmes has been opened up to the non-Bumiputera, and even this percentage is described by the Malay nationalists as a “sell-out” of Malay rights.

Non-Malays are supposed to be grateful for this small “kindness”, like once upon a time coloureds were supposed to thank their white masters for allowing them to go to schools in apartheid South Africa despite great disparities along racial lines in school facilities.

Almost all the non-Malays who managed to gain a seat in the local universities are students who sat the STPM. Many rue this blatant division of university entrance assessment – along racial lines – as comparing apples and oranges.

Satu Sekolah’s inherent contradiction

The authorities contradict themselves by professing a single-language system to promote national unity through putting children under one roof but at the same time segregating them either at Form 1 or when they finish Form 5.

There is an obvious discrepancy between the teaching facilities provided to the vernacular schools which sorely lack government aid and support, and the residential schools and Mara junior science colleges as well as the elite schools catering for Malays – for example, the prestigious Malay College Kuala Kangsar (MCKK) and Tunku Kurshiah College (TKC).

Institutional racism practised in public university admission routes gives rise to an added dimension of polarisation. The racial distribution of students is further exacerbated when non-Malays, erroneously seen as well-to-do, are enrolled in private higher institutions of learning. Most people seem to forget that privately funded education, whether locally or abroad, comes at a heavy cost to their parents.

The indirect makings of apartheid

To generalise most Malays as “poor” and all non-Bumiputera, particularly the Chinese, as “rich” is just as good as apartheid.

The Malay ultras believe they are above being associated with the apartheid system in South Africa created with the ostensible excuse of helping the “poor”, Dutch-speaking whites of that country.

But then what should the international community make of UiTM – Malaysia’s biggest public university with campuses in every state – where almost all its students belong predominantly to a single race?

In the former apartheid of South Africa and during the 1950s in the Confederate states of the American south, physical segregation was made visible by the sign saying, “No Coloured and Dogs allowed”.

In Malaysia, there are no signs to say “No Non-Bumis and Dogs allowed”. However, de facto apartheid still permeates through the fabric of the Malaysian public education system. It is de facto racial segregation in its utmost hypocritical disguise without leaving any physical evidence.

Therefore, I see no difference between those poor whites in the former Confederate states of the American south that once held demonstrations against university admission of black students and those Malay ultras that hold demonstrations barring “non-Bumiputera” from entering local public institutions.

UiTM students did demonstrate against their university opening its door a crack when Selangor Menteri Besar Khalid Ibrahim proposed relaxing the admission just a tiny bit to the so-called “Non-Bumis”.

America’s highest court ruled for equality

In Brown v. Board of Education (1954), the US Supreme Court unanimously decided that “separate educational facilities are inherently unequal”.

It stinks of double standard, if not a glaring blind spot, when vernacular schools keep getting blamed for institutional racism in Malaysia. If mother tongue vernacular schools (open to all students) are incorrectly termed as racist, then the one-race UiTM is nothing but apartheid.

The old, presumed poverty line along the race divide is no longer valid, not when Malaysia has endured discriminative policies predicated on ethnicity since 1970, which is all of 42 years or almost half a century.

There are very few Malay intellectuals willing to tackle the truth of the matter, but Dr Azly Rahman is one of them. At least he’s been honest and bold enough to speak out on the “bankrupt Umno ideology” of race supremacy in his article Dismantle Our Apartheid Education – see http://www.malaysiakini.com/columns/191989.

What is required is for more members of the Malay intelligentsia to question the veracity of a “moral” claim in the perpetuation of a quota system that amounts to apartheid. The only difference is that segregation, like that perpetuated by residential schools, Mara junior colleges and UiTM, is couched using terminology portraying a righteous morality.

The other difference is that Chinese schools are accessible to any non-Chinese, but UiTM does not welcome the non-Malays. In some Chinese independent secondary schools, non-Chinese are given a blanket free tuition.

Are Malays courageous to re-evaluate?

The Malays are a strong majority in numbers and without doubt politically dominant. Why should Umno cling tenaciously to the view that preferential treatment based on race is the “affirmative action” that Malays still require?

Professor Mohd Tajuddin Mohd Rasdi in Memories of Unity vividly describes his confidence to compete in his science class and how he emerged as one of the top students among his almost all Chinese classmates back in the 1970s (see http://thestar.com.my/lifestyle/story.asp?sec=lifefocus&file=/2012/9/23/lifefocus/12063972).

I had a Malay classmate who went to the same Chinese independent school as I did. He graduated as one of the top students and went to a local public university, and he is currently a lecturer at another local public university.

It is a myth that Bumiputera students are unable to compete with non-Bumiputera students on a level playing field. This misconception is wrongly used to justify the institutional racism imposed on the public education from top to bottom.

There are tens of thousands of Malays who have made it in local and prestigious foreign universities and thrived in adverse socio-cultural settings. There is no moral justification for segregating Malaysian post-secondary students into STPM/ matriculation except for satisfying Umno’s racial imperatives.

NEP and education apartheid

A few successful Malay billionaire cronies do not mitigate the failure with regard to certain protectionist areas of the NEP. This includes educational apartheid. The rejuvenation of the vernacular schools since the late 1970s when NEP went into full swing is a consequence of our race policies, and not the chief cause of racism.

The NEP was based upon the empirical generalisation that Chinese and Indian Malaysians were all well off and should be “positively discriminated”against in order to help the “poor Malays”.

It’s a different story today as the civil service has become Malay-dominated and this is empirical truth. The tables have been turned as Malaysians of Chinese and Indian descent are marginalised.

The original purpose of the NEP to eradicate the identification of race with profession – Malay farmers, Chinese shopkeepers, Indian clerks – is sidetracked when the civil service has become wholly identified with the Malay race. The racial traits along professions, as reflected in the hiring practices of both the private and public sectors, have been deepened by the NEP.

When I recently requested some documents to be certified by a government department, the Malay clerk gave me a jealous one-eye wink knowing that it was for the purpose of applying to colleges in the US. The one-eye wink might perhaps have been nothing more than the coded message that all you “Chinamen” are rich and can afford to send your children overseas to be educated. This only goes to show up the failure of the NEP in correcting the racial prejudice among races in Malaysia.

How the Chinese prioritise education

The fact is that I told my children I would sell our house and live in a smaller one if we needed funds for their education. I mean education is where they would learn something new and be happy including getting away from institutional racism. We neither hope for Public Service Department or any other government scholarships after hearing so many sad stories of racial degradation.

Selling homes and other property for the sake of the children’s education among the lower- and middle-class Chinese Malaysians is not a new practice. I remember my mother decided to sell off the six-acre rubber plantation left by my deceased father to put myself and my sister through university.

She later worked as a babysitter to cover all our expenses studying overseas. We always thought that there might be more Malays who did not have land to sell. Nonetheless, our good reasoning has not helped many Malays to get rid of their own ingrained racial prejudice both against themselves and other races.

As I write this article, coincidentally, my 17-year-old daughter has just received news that a high-ranking American university has agreed to admit her into its Fine Arts programme based on her multiple talents, multilingual skills and ability to play the Chinese zither and flute. Some universities already made it clear they will admit her by waiving the requirement of her SPM or UEC results.

On the contrary, her talent in playing ancient Chinese musical instruments is definitely not a criterion for admission into any local public university. On the contrary, it may even work against her favour as it could be looked at as a form of Chinese chauvinism and clinging to our ancestral roots.

Deserving of places in local universities

I am not trying to boast my daughter’s academic achievement. She is actually a B-average student but it sure makes a parent proud when one’s child deservedly gains recognition for her talents and, more importantly, she will be able to further develop her talents without being labelled as a non-Bumiputera.

I am glad that her dedication to social work and extracurricular activities, including organising a joint concert of Chinese Orchestra and Western bands, won her recognition from some highly ranked American universities.

One of her recent achievements is receiving a Gold Medal in an international Chinese essay-writing contest in Taiwan. Instead of chucking her unique credential aside, an American university admission director gave great words of encouragement, such as “your family must be very proud of you [for the Gold Medal received]…We would like you to be with us, and I hope you will continue to contribute to the international programme here if you decide to join us”.

I was surprised that she was offered admission and given a partial academic scholarship before we even sent out applications to other American colleges and local private universities.

Some universities are amazed that our students can master two or three languages. They usually give positive encouragement like: “Considering English is your third language, your English is really good.” No parents will send their kid to a college where he or she faces the possibility of being humiliated and degraded on account of race, creed and “non-native status” when my daughter is actually a native-born fourth generation Malaysian.

As a matter of fact, most UEC holders have a greater proficiency in Bahasa Malaysia which is their second language as compared to English which is their third language. If the UEC holders can do well in universities overseas that teach in English, why can’t they be given the same opportunities by our local public universities?

It might be true that their Bahasa Malaysia may not be as good compared with SPM/STPM holders just as their English may not be as good as the Americans, British or Australians when they enrol in American, Australian or British universities. However, if they are given the opportunity to enrol in local public universities, they will be able to polish their BM just like how when given the opportunity to study abroad they are able to polish their English.

More importantly, such openness is needed in order to “converge” the vernacular school alumni into the local higher education institutions and complete an education integration process rather than forcibly “diverge” them to local private institutions and overseas colleges.

We have to be fair and realistic in assessing our students’ language ability based on what is the best they can do in their learning environment. In fact, cultural immersion is the best method to improve Malay language or any other second language proficiency instead of educational segregation like what has been practised here.

Some 30 years ago, it was rare to encounter Americans learning an Asian language. Today, there are American reporters who insist on interviewing me in perfect Mandarin or Bahasa Indonesia. It is a fast-changing world out there but it seems our Umno elites – with the exception of Najib Tun Razak whose son is a fluent Mandarin speaker – are lagging behind time.

The very first step for the Malay ultras to take in the right direction is to cease making a scapegoat out of Chinese and Tamil primary schools. It is an unfounded charge that little children are responsible for racism and racial disunity in Malaysia.

It is, on the other hand, our fear to embrace cultural diversity and true interracial integration that has left us lagging behind many other countries. It is time for the Malay ultras to open their eyes and correct their ingrained prejudice that has worked against their own competitiveness

Pahang MB: Look, I didn't mean it literally

Nigel Aw 1:13PM Dec 1, 2012

Pahang Menteri Besar Adnan Yaakob today clarified that he did not mean cut off his ears literally if Barisan Nasional lost in Bentong.

Instead, he explained that it was a figurative speech intended for his critics to learn English.

"Do you know figurative speech? In English language, we have figurative speech. We have simile, we have metaphor, hyperbole...

"So when I say cut my ears, that means they (DAP) can never win. That shows the level of confidence.

This is not that is we (BN lose) they (opposition) take the knife and cut off my ears literally.

"No, this is figurative speech - figurative language to let these people study English," he told journalists along the sidelines on the last day of the Umno general assembly today.

'I speak based on facts'

Adnan said this when asked to comment on the online storm over his ear-cutting remark, which saw him on the receiving end of a long list of abuses.

He added that these people were "adversaries" and "political enemies", thus such criticisms were expected.

Adnan also insisted that the Lynas Advance Material Plant was safe because the local authorities and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) had given the project the green light.

"We respect their views but please accept authoritative views given by IAEA. Come on lah netizens, don't be sleeping citizens lah," he said.

"Whatever they want to say, gangster or animal, let them. If they can brand me such names, I can also do the same, I can call them stupid.

"What is the term you use for people who don't want to admit facts given by authoritative body and authoritative people?" he added.

He added that the Lynas plant cannot be arbitrarily cancelled as advocated by the opposition as there was a need to abide by the rule of law.

'Never meant as a challenge'

Adnan denied that his comments was an attempt to provoke voters, adding that there was no need for him to retract the remark.

"I challenge the opposition voters to vote against BN, but BN voters, I never challenged. It was never meant as a challenge.

"The BN voters have been with us, just like the opposition voters are with the opposition," he said.

For independent voters, Adnan said they would side with the winners and the winning party is Pahang is BN.

"Pahang will remain, with the help of voters - except for opposition voters - as a BN stronghold," he said.

Yesterday, Adnan said people could cut off his ears and he would jump into the Pahang river if the BN lost the Bentong parliamentary seat.

The incumbent MP in Bentong is Liow Tiong Lai, who is both the health minister and MCA deputy president.

Adnan hails from Bentong and holds the state seat of Pelangai which is within the parliamentary constituency of Bentong.