Malaysia Boleh or Malaysia Bodoh ?

"Malaysia boleh!" is Malaysia's national catch cry. It translates to "Malaysia can!" and Malaysia certainly can. Few countries are as good at wasting money. It is richly endowed with natural resources and the national obsession seems to be to extract these, sell them off and then collectively spray the proceeds up against the wall.

This all happens in the context of Malaysia's grossly inflated sense of its place in the world. Writes Michael Backman : "While Malaysia fiddles, its opportunities are running dry"

MALAYSIA'S been at it again, arguing about what proportion of the economy each of its two main races — the Malays and the Chinese — owns. It's an argument that's been running for 40 years. That wealth and race are not synonymous is important for national cohesion, but really it's time Malaysia grew up.

Malaysia Boleh ?

* Many shares have a par value of say $1 but a market value of $12. And so the Government figure (18.9 per cent is the most recent figure) is a gross underestimate. Last month a paper by a researcher at a local think-tank came up with a figure of 45 per cent based on actual stock prices. All hell broke loose. The paper was withdrawn and the researcher resigned in protest. Part of the problem is that he is Chinese.

Malaysia Boleh ?

* The KLCC development in central Kuala Lumpur is an example. It includes the Twin Towers, the tallest buildings in the world when they were built, which was their point.

It certainly wasn't that there was an office shortage in Kuala Lumpur — there wasn't.

Malaysians are very proud of these towers. Goodness knows why. They had little to do with them. The money for them came out of the ground and the engineering was contracted out to South Korean companies.

Malaysia Boleh ?

* Next year, a Malaysian astronaut will go into space aboard a Russian rocket — the first Malay in space. And the cost? $RM95 million ($A34.3 million), to be footed by Malaysian taxpayers. The Science and Technology Minister has said that a moon landing in 2020 is the next target, aboard a US flight. There's no indication of what the Americans will charge for this, assuming there's even a chance that they will consider it. But what is Malaysia getting by using the space programs of others as a taxi service? There are no obvious technical benefits, but no doubt Malaysians will be told once again, that they are "boleh". The trouble is, they're not. It's not their space program.

Malaysia Boleh ?

* Back in July, the Government announced that it would spend $RM490 million on a sports complex near the London Olympics site so that Malaysian athletes can train there and "get used to cold weather".

But the summer Olympics are held in the summer.

So what is the complex's real purpose? The dozens of goodwill missions by ministers and bureaucrats to London to check on the centre's construction and then on the athletes while they train might provide a clue.

Malaysia Boleh ?

* Bank bale outs, a formula one racing track, an entire new capital city — Petronas has paid for them all. It's been an orgy of nonsense that Malaysia can ill afford.

Why? Because Malaysia's oil will run out in about 19 years. As it is, Malaysia will become a net oil importer in 2011 — that's just five years away.

Malaysia Boleh ? The latest boleh case !

* Two Malaysian pioneer astronauts will spin top (gasing) and toss "batu seremban' (five-stone game) as part of an experiment during his space travel.

The astronauts will also paint a batik motif and make 'teh tarik' ('pulled' tea) which would be shared with fellow astronauts from other country.

Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Ministry parliamentary secretary Rohani Abdul Karim. Rohani, who was representing the Science, Technology and Innovation Ministry at the parliament, said the outcome of the experiments -- gasing, batu seremban, batik, teh tarik et al -- would be studied on earth "with the hope that it would unravel the mysteries in science, education and medicine".

So it's in this context that the latest debate about race and wealth is so sad.

It is time to move on, time to prepare the economy for life after oil. But, like Nero fiddling while Rome burned, the Malaysian Government is more interested in stunts like sending a Malaysian into space when Malaysia's inadequate schools could have done with the cash, and arguing about wealth distribution using transparently ridiculous statistics.

That's not Malaysia "boleh", that's Malaysia "bodoh" (stupid).


Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi has vowed to maintain racial and religious harmony in his multi-ethnic country, saying Malaysians' freedom to discuss touchy issues of race and religion must not undermine national unity.

Abdullah Badawi has allowed greater freedom of expression than his predecessor, former Prime Minister Tun DR Mahathir Mohamad, including open criticism of the government. He has also allowed public debate on such contentious subjects as race, religion, and the so-called "bumiputra" policy that gives the country's ethnic Malay majority preference in jobs, education and business.

These privileges have led to frustrations among Malaysia's ethnic Chinese and Indian communities, and some Chinese politicians have recently questioned whether the 35-year-old affirmative-action policy, which was meant to close the wealth gap between Malays and the more business-minded Chinese, should continue.

That, in turn, has sparked dismay among Malay politicians, most of whom belong United Malays National Organization - UMNO. Many of them have loudly asserted during this week's UMNO meeting that the affirmative action program is a mainstay of the Malaysian system and cannot be tampered with.

Some members of Malaysia's ethnic minorities, who are mostly Christian, Buddhist or Hindu, have also questioned the growing role of Islam in public life. That has stoked fears among Malays, who are overwhelmingly Muslim, that their religion is under threat.

Abdullah defends his policy of allowing open debate on such sensitive issues, but in his keynote speech Wednesday, he warned that there are boundaries that cannot be crossed.

"Freedom has limits. Freedom must be shaped in the context of a young nation that is made up of many religions, races, cultures and languages," he said. "We cannot and will not compromise when it comes to the unity and harmony of our multi-racial and multi-cultural society."

The prime minister vowed to take tough action against anybody inciting racial hatred or questioning the status of Islam.

His vow to safeguard racial stability is seen as an effort to assure party members that he is firmly in control of the government. The prime minister has been under a year-long attack by Dr Mahathir, who has accused his hand-picked successor of corruption, nepotism and mismanagement of the economy. A half past six goverment.

Our dear Abdullah denies all this, and for the most part has refused to engage Dr Mahathir in direct debate. But the incessant attacks have unsettled many UMNO politicians, and led some of them to question privately whether Abdullah's leadership of the party and country has been jeopardized.

"If we can achieve what we want by whispering softly, then what reason is there for us to roar?"

This was but one sentence in Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s presidential address at the Umno general assembly but it sums up the tone of his 90-minute speech — he spoke softly and the message was not lost on the Umno delegates.

Abdullah revisited his three years as prime minister and reiterated that values such as integrity, diligence, moderation, hard work and tolerance would continue to be the cornerstones of his administration’s policies.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi also said he would not allow any Muslims in Malaysia to hijack Islam in order to breed intolerance and hatred in the multiracial country.

Abdullah, who has promoted a moderate form of the religion known as "Islam Hadhari" since coming to power in October 2003, said some people had instead used it as an excuse to become more conservative and radical.

"Islam Hadhari is not a blank cheque to bring about conservative revivalism in this country," he told over 2,000 delegates of the ruling United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) at its annual general assembly.

"While I will protect Islam's position and the role of the Shariah courts from being undermined, I will also ensure that no one tries to hijack Islam in Malaysia in order to breed intolerance and hatred," he said.

Malaysia's government is extremely sensitive to the risk of conflict between the Muslim Malays that make up some 60 percent of the population, living alongside large ethnic Chinese and Indian communities.

Abdullah said Malaysia was a country of cooperation and not one of conflict and distrust.

"I promise you that I will take stern action against any group - Muslim or non-Muslim - that seeks to undermine this delicate balance by questioning the status of Islam or by inciting people based on bogus allegations and fictitious threats," he said.

Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said his government will not pursue economic strategies adopted two decades ago by his predecessor Mahathir Mohamad.

The comments are the latest salvo in a bitter feud between the two men which has raged this year, creating fears of a split in the ruling party.

"Merely continuing the existing economic model that we have had for the past 20 years will not make Malaysia competitive in the long-run," Abdullah said at the annual gathering of the ruling United Malays National Organisation (UMNO).

Abdullah said that in the past, wealth was generated not by innovation and creativity, but by foreign direct investment, government contracts and privatisation. "Now that era is gone," he said.

"Since we want to be more broad-based, we cannot entirely rely on construction and manufacturing. We must look at sectors that can still generate wealth for many Malaysians especially those in rural areas, like agriculture."


Lim Kit Siang wrote :

Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi presented his three-year report card as the fifth Prime Minister in his third Umno presidential address yesterday – based on what he described as the 12 pillars to achieve excellence, glory and distinction for the nation outlined by him in his maiden speech in Parliament on November 3, 2003.

Abdullah should have presented a report card of his three-year premiership to Parliament – as I had suggested – especially as he had said in November 2003 that he had chosen to deliver his maiden official speech as Prime Minister in Parliament as a symbol of his respect for Parliament as the highest institution in the country.

Abdullah’s own three-year report card as Prime Minister fails to pass muster as it is unable to measure up to the required standard.

Is this why it was not presented in Parliament where it would be scrutinized and debated objectively and dispassionately by Opposition MPs?

Khairy Jamaluddin, Umno Youth deputy leader, the Prime Minister’s son-in-law and “the power-behind-the throne”, said Abdullah’s speech has answered all issues raised on his leadership, with “Every single question has been answered. Every doubt erased”.

Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir, the former Prime Minister, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad’s son, however dismissed Abdullah’s speech as “nothing new”.

Who is right. If there is a national opinion poll, I believe the overwhelming majority will agree with Mukriz rather than Khairy.....(more)


Malaysia Abdullah Ahmad Badawi bumiputra UMNO New Economic Policy (NEP) Bumi Equity