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Monday 12 November 2007

The Memorandum To The YDP Agong (English)

By popular demand (ahem), I am translating the letter to our supreme ruler the King, for the benefit of our esteemed brethren who don't speak Malay. :)

1) BERSIH is a committee comprising civil community organisations and political parties with the main purpose of demanding free and fair elections in Malaysia.

2) Only through free and fair elections can Malaysian citizens determine their futire and expect those in public office to be responsible and efficient. As long as the citizens are powerless to remove the wicked from ruling the country, there is no hope of upholding the constitution, protecting fundamental human rights, enforce a good government administration and encourage continuous national development in the face of politicians with personal interests conflicting with national needs.

3) It is unfortunate for Malaysia that in spite of 50 years of independence, it has failed to conduct free and fair elections. This has even been admitted by the Chairman of the Elections Committee. After the general elections in March 2004 which has been defiled by serious controversies, he has agreed to public demands for free election. But no investigation was carried out.

4) Questions surface over the compromised handling of elections, especially concerning the supreme power of the ruling body. A situation like this, left unchecked will have serious implications for the future. This can be seen in countries like Thailand, Philippines and Taiwan. Therfore, BERSIH finds it necessary for all Malaysians to join forces to effect extensive change in the coming elections.

5) In the long term, BERSIH is confident that all eight aspects should be researched and renewed in its entirety.
a. Election system
i) Correct the imbalance between the constituency and representatives standing for election, where a vote of 64% can be translated to 91% of chairs for the ruling party. This is due to the basic principal of ‘First-Past-The-Post’ and constituency manipulation.
ii) Introduce a system which states all party representation so the minimum 30% female representation is maintained.
iii) Reintroduce local elections more fairly, including more opportunities for minorities.

b. Election governance
i) Amend the Elections Commision which has obviously failed to act as an independent institution moving in the direction of multi-party representation as practised by democratic countries.
ii) Laws pertaining to international and local observers.

c. Naming of candidates and parties - requiring amendments or abolishments:
i) Power to make decisions simply. This is seen in Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) and Malaysian Dayak Congress (MDC);
ii) Unfair decisions of Election Officers which illegitimise candidacy of the Opposition
iii) Controversial clause that allows last-minute withdrawals which result in highly suspicious no-contest victories.
iv) Highest election deposits payments in the world

d. Election campaigns
i) Set a campaigning period longer than the 8 days which from previous elections has proved meaningless
ii) Freedom of speech and to meet as written in the constitution
iii) Effective monitoring in campaigning costs to curb corruption
iv) Consideration of public support for campaigning costs for minorities

e. Media
i) Review current laws which allow monopolisation of print and electronic media by the ruling party, Barisan National.
ii) Laws that enable all political parties to have broadcast access to TV and radio.
iii) Laws to defend the rights of all political parties and their representatives and to address any accusation and criticism through media.

f. Temporary government or Caretaker
i) Barring the old government from making any policies affecting development when Parliament or State is in recess.
ii) Ensuring usage of national resources and instruments to win elections is a crime
iii) Registration of voters should be subject to judicial checks.

g. Voter Registration
i) Register should be updated and accurate to to avoid involuntary rejections of legitimate voters and presence of phantom voters.

14 comments:

Axinar said...

Much better ... :)

"Introduce a system which states all party representation so the minimum 30% female representation is maintained."

Puts me in mind of when Gene Rodenberry first wrote Star Trek. He wanted the crew of the Enterprise to be 50% women.

The network said, "You can't do that ... people will think there's alot of FOOLING AROUND going on up there."

They gave him a 1-time offer - 30% women.

He thought, "Well ... hell ... 30% healthy young women ought to be able to handle the ship ..."

:)

Anonymous said...

Pak Lah has been derelict in his duty and appears to be incompetent.

Current events in Malaysia speak of a government that is out of control because of Pak Lah's lack of leadership. Each time something of major public concern occurs, he hides behind the scene and lets his ministers or some other person manage the problem.

A good leader will come out in the open and lead from the front not the back.

It is not proper for the government to tell the Bar Council, the country's best legal brains, what to do when its so-called law minister does not even understand the basic notion of natural justice.

The Election Commission is another tool of the government when it is supposed to be fair and neutral. How can it claim to be an election commission when everyone knows that the electoral boundaries are so biased and skewed against democracy? Is it any wonder that the Barisan always wins the elections?

The other crucial factor is the bureaucracy, those public servants who are under the people's payroll.

In Japan, for example, you see this separation of the bureaucrats and the politicians clearly. So no matter who forms the Japanese government, the bureaucracy is able to function effectively and smoothly and in fact there is even a joke that you don't need the politicians to run the country in Japan.

The government is so used to deceit and doublespeak that it is unable to think straight and that is why it is full of contradictions. Take for example, the shameful keris waving matter. Now they are coming out and saying that it will be a permanent part of their political culture.

Western kings and princes have a ceremonial sword as part of their attire but we don't see their politicians waving swords at their political meetings do we?

But in Malaysia, reminiscent of Hitler's Nazi youth groups, can do it and we know the outcome of such behaviour years later.

The country spends untold sums of money on religion, building mosques at taxpayers expense, spending millions and millions on religious schools, yet corruption is so rampant and it affects every echelon of the economy. For years, every Malaysian knows that the traffic police are corrupt. Yet the government has not done anything to stop the corruption.

Let us face it. Call an ace an ace and a spade a spade. The Malaysia government has been in power for too long and lost its moral compass. It is lost in the jungle of greed. The only thing worse than a corrupt government official is the people who support him.

The non-malays know that Pak Lah and his cronies tell them one thing and another to their own people. They are masters of doublespeak and politicians are renowned for speaking with a forked-tongue.

More and more malays now know that only a handful of cronies take the lion's share of the nation's wealth which is meant to be distributed among them more evenly. Mahathir duped them with his plan to establish a few super rich malay tycoons.

The state of the nation is not healthy. Pak Lah's administration has failed the moral test. He himself has failed the test that he established himself. Judged by his own standards and words, he has failed. Tell me the truth, work with me, yak, yak, yak, but what do we get? The opposite! And now that the Bar Council has told him the truth - he scolds them. Shish.

Let us face the truth. Politicians are not royalty born to lead. They are given the chance to lead. Take away Pak Lah's role and what is he? Look at the high and mighty Mahathir. Where is he now?

The Malay Dilemma was a myth created by Mahathir to exploit the psyche of a victim's complex innate in the malays of yesteryears. But cunning Mahathir made it out that the British and the Chinese put the malays at a disadvantage. And after 50 years of Umno rule, what have changed?

Malaysians should not be stupid but angry that their country is being exploited by the people they elected to benefit them. It took a long time to get 5000 people to sign the petition to the King. It should have taken five minutes! Or five days.

But if I announce a free porn video, be sure I will have 500000 people sign up. The young in Malaysia had better wake up and start to do something about their country, about their future.

Don't be fooled by the politicians who say the Chinese are the enemy, the Indians are the enemy, the Malays are the enemy. There is only one enemy. The one who is corrupt. Everyone else is your friend.

Save Malaysia and take part in every activity that you can and vote out the corrupt politicians to make your country a better place.

Remember your future is in your hands and don't blame anyone if you suffer because you made the wrong choice. The last time many of us were fooled - but once bitten, twice shy. Do I need to say more?

Anonymous said...

Hisham decidedly subdued speech to Umno Youth at the party's recent general assembly was in mark contrast to his racist histrionics of last year. This showed one thing: even these morons in Umno are teachable after all.

We know that morons are slow learners, but then as we have seen even Umno morons are teachable. We just have to repeat the lessons more often, and increasing the punishment more severe each time they regress or forget their earlier lessons.

My objective as a committed cyberspace commentator is to make that rouge gallery bigger. I will not be satisfied nor will I stop, until that gallery has the country's biggest rogue included in its rooster.

Anonymous said...

I used to follow the "Today In Parliament" program over the Singapore TV network. The high level of professionalism and intellect in all the ministers are apparent in their line of questioning and quality of their answers.

I have never seen any unbecoming or rude behaviour, including the opposition. It seems like in the Malaysia parliament, it is more like a zoo. It is not even worth it to televise the proceedings as the BN ministers set a very bad example for the public.

They come unprepared, the quality of discussions is mediocre, they are disrespectful, and worse of all "cakap tak serupa bikin".

To all BN ministers, swallow your pride and learn from the opposition members or even the parliamentarians in Singapore how to conduct yourselves. You have been elected by the people to represent them with dignity, and to deliver results for the country betterment. So, wake up as the next election might not be so lucky for you!

Anonymous said...

I believe the Badawi son-in-law get into Oxford is because of international allocation seat and not because of intellectual or academic achievement. After all, he shows to everyone that he is brainless.

Anonymous said...

This kind of word play shows a complete contempt for the intelligence of the Malaysian public.

Public perception in Malaysia is a crude measure of any institution's performance because the information provided to the public is generally packaged and filtered by Umno-controlled television stations and medias.

Universities are themselves fiefdoms, controlled not by qualified and capable academic administrators, but rather by Umno political appointees, many of whom have absolutely no background in education management.

Clearly it is because the results of the THES and virtually every other public or private ranking system show Malaysia institutions to be mediocre at best and most rankings do not even mention Malaysia at all.

Our neighbors like Singapore, Korea, Japan, China and Australia have a number of institutions that regularly appears in the top 100.

It makes no sense. The reality is that our universities are simply mediocre extensions of a flawed high school system. Our best students have no choice but to travel abroad to earn a decent education and must do so at great costs.

Our government has shown by example, that nepotism, deceit, corruption and bribery are the key ingredients for success in this nation.

Anonymous said...

Each time I read such comments, it always makes me feel how lucky I am to out of Malaysia.

Emigration is not for everybody but those who have done so, ultimately feel highly rewarded in terms of the future for themselves and their kids. Imagine them growing in an environment devoid of racial, ethnic and religious discrimination.

More importantly, they are now exposed to a wider community that embraces multiculturism, meritocracy, fair go and personal freedom. Guess which group will be better equipped to face the future challenges in this world?

Anonymous said...

I am utterly sickened by the deleterious and tirade spewed forth from the mouths of these Umno imbeciles. They certainly will not get my vote come this election. Such recalcitrants are incorrigible and their warped-minds will be their downfall, lest they sincerely repent.

Anonymous said...

Nothing surprising university ranking there. Both Singapore's universities are there, none of Malaysia's made it in. Just a reflection of the different agendas of the respective universities. Those in the list strive for excellence.

Malaysia strives for the lowest common denominator. Other words, mediocrity. Sad that both University of Malaya and University of Singapore came from the same mould, but took different paths.

Folks. Malaysia universities can be world class universities, if we allow our ministers of higher education and vice chancellors to redefine the word, "World".

In Malaysia, "World" for Umno bureaucrats refer to three places, Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah and Sarawak. After all, why compare ourselves with the rest of the world. Our medium of instruction in universities is the local language, "Bahasa".

Simply no comparison. We should compare ourselves with Indonesia. University of Malaya and USM will be in the top 3 at least. Our higher education policy is not to serve international job market, it is to make sure our Umno supporters get a job in our own country.

So what is the fuss, folks? The boys in Umno Youth are too happy to stay status quo, recruit no-brainers as our lecturers, and hopelessly incompetent and political tripods as vice chancellors, and where education policies are decided by half-baked ministers of higher education.

Funnily enough, you could say the same thing about Malaysia - came from same mould as Singapore but took different paths.

Anonymous said...

Hahaha, once again we should appreciate the stupidity of government officials. This is great opportunity to embarrass them more……..not that they have not embarrassed themselves bad enough.

Anonymous said...

Do you think that our politicians actually care whether the universities are good? They want to produce followers, not leaders. They sent their own children overseas so that they come back to lead the followers.

Our followers think that the politicians are doing a great job by allowing more and more citizens into universities; voting them in office time after time.

There will come the time when the country is full of unemployed graduates. That is when the followers will hopefully wake up to the reality.

As for the VCs, head of departments, deans etc, they just follow the instructions and examples of their political masters. Just see all the wastage, injustice, inefficiency, discrimination, cronyism etc, and you will realise that they also have their political agendas just like their masters.

Bad intentions, bad universities.

Anonymous said...

The most popular subject for jokes in Malaysia is the prime minister. That is all that he is good for.

Anonymous said...

NEP as implemented has always involved using government funds for the intended beneficiaries.

When it was the intention of the government to create the richest malay to head the list of richest individuals, now announced by the prime minister, the government adopts the policy to give public funds directly or indirectly to private individuals so that he/she can become the richest individual malay in the country.

Mahathir declared that NEP would have met its objective when the government was able to create a millionaire among the malays. It was the first time he extended the objective of NEP to make malay millionaires, and facilitated the use of public funds to enrich his cronies. Badawi now extends the creation of malay millionaires to become malay billionaires, and also to lead in the list of the richest individuals in the country.

It is clear to the whole world that NEP created unfair hardships to the non-malays no matter how Umno wanted to justify it. Unlike article 153 which was supposed to be reviewed after 15 years from 1957, NEP was to be implemented for 20 years from 1970. There was no provision for extension, and the only clearly stated quantitative target was that malays were to achieve 30% of corporate ownership after 20 years.

Badawi pretended that he wanted to be a prime minister for all Malaysians, and called for malays to forgo crutches. At the same time, he conveniently resurrected NEP and extended it to 2020, and his deputy suggested the continuation until 2057, for the present.

Prime minister and his deputy promised a year ago to reveal the methodology adopted by EPU, to challenge the results of ASLI finding that the 30% target had been achieved. His recent announcement makes ASLI finding irrelevant since NEP will continue forever, whatever the actual results show.

Ordinary malays appear to accept to pay a higher price for their motor vehicles when AP system which was exploited to enrich the well connected malays, they appear happy that NEP is continued even though NEP has caused a decline to their standard of living and level of earning.

They accept that as a cost for enabling malays to lead the list of the richest individuals in the country.

Anonymous said...

I agree completely that we should come out for every single march or rally or protest or demonstration there is.