Politicking Cluster

The moment the press statement from the office of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and the news regarding the declaration of emergency was released, everyone was panicking. People were questioning each other, searching for answers on what will happen when the emergency is executed.

Furthermore, with the emergency announced one day after the announcement of the Movement Control Order (MCO), Malaysians were even more confused considering that there might be more extreme measures taken compared to the standard operating procedures (SOP) of the MCO.

Fortunately, the emergency is generally to prevent more politicking from going on. Parliament and all State Assemblies are temporarily suspended from meetings until August. No election will be called during this same period as well. 

As usual, there are different voices from different groups of people. Those who are not politically in favour with the current government claim that this is a political step to prevent Pakatan Harapan or maybe even UMNO from making steps to take over the Government. The Prime Minister wannabe Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim even dares to request the King to rescind the Emergency that has been announced, claiming that Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin has midled the Agong with the  advice for the proclamation and that Muhyiddin was also in no position to do so as his government no longer has majority support among the Member of Parliaments.

I do not know about what some may think, but at this current moment, I do not think that politicking is the right thing to do now. The pandemic has grown to the worst situation that we have never experienced before. If the lawmakers and politicians are still busy making priorities to lobby to be the government, we might be plagued to death first before the government is stable. As I have written before, the Sabah state election is a good enough scenario that we should really stop politicking for now. 

There are so many Malaysians who are in pain now, biologically, economically and mentally. As political leaders in the country, not only that we should know when to stop politicking, and when to do it. Similarly when we want to play our part to assist the rakyat, even if it is for a media stunt, we should put the safety of the people as priority.

Since the pandemic began last March, there are many parties that wanted to give out assistance to the people, but we know how social media has shared the stories of the programmes, and how the SOP that were not adhered. We may have the kind heart to help the people, but it may turn out to be a cluster of its own if we are not careful.

Just last week when a group wanted to distribute chickens to the people but did not obtain the approval when Putrajaya was still under MCO. The distribution event has caused a standstill to the traffic after too many people rushed out to grab the chickens. We are simply putting the people at risk when we are not careful.

If I were to say it, one of the major causes of the spread of the Covid-19 virus is due to over-politicking, perhaps we should name it as the “politicking cluster”. The on-going political events to give out items to people, the negotiation and lobbying to be the government, and the political meetings held to make it happen are all part of the “politicking cluster”.

We were too careless when we managed to control the pandemic for the first round. We were too proud of it, until we neglected it.  

Calling a general election?

Ooi Zhi Yi's article about general election

With the uncertainties in Malaysian politics brewing again, we have heard of various news and statements that surface, including urging to call for a general election.

Calling a general election? At this point of time?

We know and we heard from the news that several politicians wanted a snap election to be held immediately, namely the Umno President Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, Pontian Member of Parliament Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan, Johor Menteri Besar Datuk Hasni Mohammad and not to mention the others.

It is so scatterbrained of these people that have been urging for the general elections to be held. With the number of cases of Covid-19 rising in the number of thousands every single day, do they have the guts to call for a decision that will result in a possible extreme rise of cases? If the elections were called, there would be a lot of meetings within political parties internally. When the candidate is decided and they form their campaign teams, there will be a lot of communications among them. And when the campaign begins, the campaigners will do their best to get in touch with all voters in all ways, including ceramahs, events and house-to-house visits. That is not only from one party. Each voter might have the possibility of meeting campaigners and candidates from more than one party. 

Now, how can we guarantee that the Covid-19 virus will not spread? Impossible. The Sabah state elections have been a good case study. The political campaign during the state elections have caused the virus to have spread to many parts of Malaysia as leaders and campaigners all travel to campaign in Sabah.

Even then, with some states affected by the massive floods, I do not understand how the campaign will be held. How will it be legitimate if the voters cannot come out to vote? The Election Commission might also have a problem searching for venues for the polling day.

The pandemic has already been a huge problem for us especially with a new wave developing rapidly. Furthermore, the new strain of virus is even more alarming. Added with the flood issues, it gives Malaysians even more challenges. How can politicians even want to call for a snap election? It is purely for their own political benefit.

Isn’t it purely about personal and political benefit when the politician does not want to support the current administration because the government does not interfere with the ongoing court cases. 

Just for our knowledge, Ahmad Maslan is currently facing a trial for failing to declare RM2 million income received from the former Prime Minister and for giving false statements to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC). Even the Umno President and few other political leaders are facing ongoing trials.

Don’t forget how they have criticized when the Lim Guan Eng case was dropped by the prosecutor and claiming that it was clear that the prosecution could not win the case. 

What more do we hope for? To stripe off power from all these greedy politicians that is only after personal benefits.

This article is published in Kwong Wah Yit Poh in Chinese dated 12 January 2021.

What is our political priority?

We are putting the wrong priorities. We are doing it wrong.

The recent decision of the Government to discontinue the Penang ferry has caused an uproar among the public as well as the political arena. There were a mixture of opinions and views regarding this matter.

Some said that it is high time for us to change to a new ferry as the old one has been operating for decades. It is a sign of advancement and improvement. 

Some feel that there is a need to protect the heritage and historical elements of the ferry, and thus must continue with the same type of ferry, perhaps by rebuilding a new, similar version.

 Well, of course the politicians took this opportunity to politicise this matter. Some turned this into a ‘Save the Ferry’ campaign. 

The publicity and awareness has turned many publics into taking the opportunity to take one final ride on the old ferry. I wonder if it might result in a “Penang ferry” cluster in a couple of weeks to come. I hope not.

Regardless of what the final decision may be, I think such decisions will always have a mix of different opinions. As long as the Government made a decision that covers different aspects of analysis, I think it is fair enough to just make it happen. We wouldn’t be able to please every single person. But of course I am not sure whether the Government decides it though, only they know the best. 

But the way we are focusing on the issue and making it as though it is a matter of life and death is ridiculous. This shouldn’t be the priority at this current moment.

The news of Minister Khairy Jamaluddin falling off the pothole when riding his bicycle has also caused a big issue in the social media. Even the Public Works Department (JKR) has to make a public apology to the Minister.

If that is the only pothole throughout the whole of Malaysia, then I will agree that it makes sense for the JKR to make that apology. But come on, we have so many potholes throughout the nation then I don’t think we will ever finish counting it.

I wonder if the Government has any statistics or data of accidents caused by potholes. I am sure there will be a huge number of them. Did the JKR then apologise to all the Malaysians that were affected by the potholes?

And of course JKR is not fully responsible for all potholes in Malaysia though. We know some road maintenance is the responsibility of the local councils. Some are caused by the maintenance works of TNB and other departments that require them to dig holes on the roads.

We do not need these departments to apologise, we just need them to focus on solving the problems that they are supposed to be in charge of, and they would save their time apologising and doing public relations’ damage control.

What JKR has done is as though they are fearful of the Minister. I may agree that Ministers are their bosses to a certain extent, and that we must respect leaders who are running our nation. But the culture of putting Ministers and politicians at a super VIP level must stop. 

Don’t the politicians always claim that the “people are the bosses”, or does that only happen during the elections? If the people are the bosses, why didn’t the JKR apologise to the people?

It is already 2021 now, perhaps we should review our priorities, and put the right ones on top.

This article is published in Kwong Wah Yit Poh in Chinese dated 5th January 2021.

Festival greetings not allowed? Are we not proud of our diversity?

I remember when I was still a kid, I was pretty excited over festival celebrations, regardless which religion or ethnic it is about. It is not because of the public holidays that we will have that we do not have to attend schools. But the excitement of celebrating it just makes the vibes positive in our school. 

During those times, there are no text messaging apps, no emails, no social media or any digital technology for personal usage yet. When each celebration is around the corner, I make a list of my classmates and friends, and my parents would bring me to the supermarket to get some greeting cards for them. I would hand the cards over to my friends just right before each Christmas, Hari Raya, Deepavali and Chinese New Year.

As digital technology advances, of course we are able to send greetings in a more cost-efficient and environmentally friendly manner. Whichever method we greet our friends from other ethnic and religions, it is the joy and good vibes that we share with each other that matters.

But as I grow up becoming an adult, it is unfortunate that the political reality is not as positive as it can be. The latest story in a recent report in a web portal stated that a customer was shocked when he received a cake with ‘Happy Holidays’ when he had requested that it be decorated with the greetings of “Merry Christmas”.

The report said the store had refused to do so since it was in the process of getting a halal certificate, quoting Jakim as claiming that the halal logo issued by the Halal Management System cannot be used to promote other religions.

Jakim (Department of Islamic Development Malaysia) clarified by issuing a statement that greetings for festivals were allowed on all products if they were not put on display in shops which have the halal certification from Jakim. 

Although the festival greetings are allowed on the products, by not putting it on display doesn’t make sense. If we were to think about it, besides greeting customers, the reason for putting up festival greetings on any products is a part of a commercial strategy. 

For instance, if a business is selling oats, and they wanted to repackage it into a gift pack for the Christmas celebrations. Imagine if they cannot display it in their shops, how will the customers know that they are selling such a gift pack?

Whether it is a commercial strategy or the business owners simply want to greet their customers with good vibes, why wouldn’t they be allowed to do so? I am sure there are a lot of Muslim entrepreneurs who have non-Muslim friends and customers.

I really don’t see any reason behind not allowing businesses to display such festival greetings in their shops if they have it on their products. Will it convert people to other religions? I attended a church’s kindergarten, and then a Methodist primary and secondary school. Today, I am still a Buddhist. I don’t think merely one product display can convert a person.

At this critical moment of challenges, I agree that religion is important. We need religion to keep us believing and strong so that we can go through these difficult times. But what is also important is that we need economic survival for the people. As long as it is not something ridiculous, I don’t think the government or any authorities should implement unnecessary regulations to stop people from doing business.

We used to tell people from other countries that we are proud of our diversity and multiculturalism, but yet it seems we are not practicing what we are ‘proud’ of. Again, 2020 is about to end, and yet we are behaving like an old society.

Jocelyn Yow, a Malaysia’s pride or a Malaysia’s loss? Should we be happy or sad?

elected public officials

Malaysians always take pride in what we have lost or something that is not really related to us, but what can we really learn from it. Recently, there is a news surfacing that Jocelyn Yow, has made history as the youngest woman of colour to be the mayor of Eastvale city in California, at just 25 years old. Hailing from Alor Setar, she used to be a student of SMJK Keat Hwa, but subsequently her family migrated to the US.

We also have a Penang-born former journalist, K. Gurunathan who has migrated to New Zealand, has been re-elected as the mayor of Kapiti Coast earlier this year, a role he has held since 2016.

In Western Australia, 60-year-old Malaysian-born Sam Lim won the policeman of the year award, becoming the first non-white to clinch the coveted prize. 

Back in 2011, a woman originally from Penang, Helen Chuah took oath as the mayor of Colchester city in Britain. She is the first non-English mayor of the historic town. She began her service in the city as councillor in 1998.

Paul Ng, another Malaysia-born mayor was elected into the office of Canning city in Western Australia in 2015.

I also remember in 2003, Guy Sebastian also born a Malaysian won the Australian Idol, a popular singing competition.

Of course, we are always proud and happy to have our fellow Malaysian-born friends who have achieved success in other parts of the world. But on the contrary, if we were to think about it, why and how did they achieve such success?

In the first place, why did they leave our country, Malaysia and migrated elsewhere? There could be many different reasons people move to another country. It could be due to relationships, family, education, career, business or for many other reasons. But one thing that we can be sure of is that they found a better life and opportunity in those places.

Imagine if Jocelyn Yow, K. Gurunathan, Paul Ng and Helen Chuah did not leave Malaysia, how would their fate turn out to be? Would Sam Lim be honoured with the police force’s top award if he were to serve in the Royal Malaysian Police? Of course it would be very difficult to justify, there will be a lot of if’s and but’s.

But what we can justify is that these group of Malaysian-born individuals have learnt that places elsewhere did not see them as people of colour. They were not judged by their skin colour or where they were originally from. Nobody labelled them as ‘pendatang’, despite they were not born from the respective countries that they are in now. They are evaluated based on their merits, performance and capabilities.

Of course, probably the people in those cities only sees the position of the mayor as a job that has to make sure they run the city well, regardless of where the mayor comes from. Perhaps what they see is if you can take care of everyone in the city, you will be able to take care of our ethnic and religion as well. Who needs somebody of the same skin colour to take care of one of his own?

There may be different opinions, but to a certain extent, Malaysia has not been evaluating performance through merits and capabilities. To a certain extent, whether it is in the public office or in the private sector, ethnic-bias is still present. And this is one of the many reasons that some Malaysians decided to migrate, that causes brain drain.

As much as we feel happy to take pride in the achievements of our Malaysian-born friends, we should really learn the lessons from those cities that the priority of electing public officials is not about race, religion and skin colour. What we need is someone that can work to develop the city, state and country as a whole; without being biased.

While some may think that I am only mentioning a specific race, but no, I am talking about all other races as well. Since I am of Chinese ethnicity, let me simply put that I do not necessarily need a Chinese to fight and advocate for what I need for. It could be a Malay, Indian or a person from any other race that is representing the constituency that I live in, as long as that person does his jobs well. I do not need a Chinese representative that does not do the job.

Although it might be a loss to Malaysia, we should be happy for Jocelyn Yow, as she has proven that Malaysian-born people are as capable as people from developed countries. We should also be happy because we realise that there is a problem within our country, and by realising and accepting a problem, then only we can solve it. 

Hopefully many will see these news of Malaysian-born elected mayors as a lesson and hope for our politics to grow constructively. And let us congratulate them and hope we will have the opportunity to hear more of their success stories. One day, we must make them proud of their home country, Malaysia.

This article is published in Kwong Wah Yit Poh in Chinese dated 22 December 2020.

DAP + UMNO: In the best interest of the people?

It is proven again that Malaysian politics is only about who gets power and position when it was reported in the news that DAP’s Nga Kor Ming stated they are ready to work with any party including UMNO that can help form a multiracial, strong, and stable government. It was also reported that the party was even ready to work with UMNO in the best interest of the people.

It is just another disappointment to those who have given their trust to DAP, those who have given their hopes to democracy; and ended up being cheated off their votes again.

I do not have to elaborate much, but every one in Malaysia who is aware of politics knows that DAP is strongly against the governance of UMNO. They never wanted and never agreed UMNO to be in the government. The DAP has labelled UMNO as corrupted, kleptocratic, devil, cheated Malaysians and many other negative descriptions that you could think of.

Their hatred towards UMNO was so bad that in every election, one of their main agenda is to campaign for people not to vote for UMNO.

Their attacks and criticism towards UMNO was so bad and severe that UMNO has to retaliate by branding the DAP as a Chinese chauvinist party that wanted to see the end of Bumiputera privileges.

They were the ones that were part of the team that brought down Barisan Nasional and UMNO during the previous general elections. The BN and UMNO lost then because the voters believed in DAP’s words that the BN had taken the taxpayers hard-earned money; the UMNO politicians were corrupt and they had no integrity in governing the country.

When he resigned from the position of Deputy Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat, he claimed that he would only serve a government that was chosen by the people. He also said that the resignation is a matter of principle, honour and in solidarity with the Speaker. 

And when the ousted Perak Menteri Besar, Ahmad Faizal Azumu was voted out of no confidence in the Perak’s State Assembly, talks of a new Menteri Besar and a new government with a new coalition surfaced. And suddenly Nga Kor Ming and the Perak DAP is ready to work with any party including UMNO that can help form a multiracial, strong, and stable government. 

And suddenly, the UMNO that they have labelled like a monster and devil, has turned a new leaf and become the good guys? DAP was formed in 1965 and since then, they have been so critical against UMNO. For 50 years, they have claimed that the UMNO is so corrupted to the roots, and now they can work as a government together?

Perhaps, we should really ask Nga Kor Ming, How do you think your supporters are feeling now knowing that you were prepared to compromise on your principles and values for the sake of quenching your thirst for power?

It is not about who’s more corrupt though as there are so many to justify; but the main thought is that the politics of today; typical politicians still fall for power and positions; even the DAP that many Malaysians had supported. 

That is why when we vote in the elections, it should not be decided based on the party logo alone; the personality and character of the candidate matters a lot. 

Too big of a dream or too small of actions?

It is the end of the year again. Every one that I meet these few weeks comes with a question, “What have we done in the year 2020?”

Everything seems stagnant, many of us did so little things and the time flies so fast. Maybe except for politics, where there are so many changes. We had a change of leadership and even the Americans voted to change their President.

Despite a year where we did nothing much, it was really tiring. Every single person on this earth has to adapt to a life changing scenario. We were forced to change our daily life habits to make sure we stay safe and healthy. Many are facing difficult times trying to find ways to survive economically especially those who are in the industry which is directly affected by the pandemic. While many Malaysians were simply tired of the political maneuvering that has made the nation worse.

Malaysian simply want our lives to be better and for the nation to recover from the 2020 disaster. It was supposed to be a remarkable year, full of hopes and vision. The world was just unfortunate.

Briefly summing up a catastrophic year as we should not harp too much about it because we are taught to look and plan forward. Talking about it won’t solve the problems, but planning and executing it will only make progress.

While we are trying to cope with the recovery period from the pandemic, adapting to our life and work changes, we have to make this a catalyst for 2021 a comeback year. Since we have to make changes in our life anyway, why not make it an even better change.

As you are reading this, some of you may know me as one of the political candidates in the last general election. I once had this aspiration of being elected as the people’s representative to make positive changes in the lives of people as well as the nation. But as we face the political turmoil this year, like many Malaysians, I have grown frustrated with the politics. I understand that politics is a lot about politicking afterall, but we have too much politics until we are ignoring many important matters.

And that is where I started to delve into different ways on how I can work on my initial ideas, which is relevant to my campaign slogan, ‘Better Together’, which I have always believed.

I have used 2020 to refine what I have always hoped to make better in the community, where some of you might think it is too ideal and impossible. Well, I have met enough cynics that have been pouring cold water on me.

Putting my notion into several categories, I hope to find some like-minded individuals that could come together and work on some of the ideas.

A frequent reader of my articles would know that I have tried to pursue better political culture in our country. How we should reduce politicking; less partisanship when it comes to finding solutions to problems of the people; matured and constructive criticism and focusing more on people’s participation on the government’s decision making process. It seems today that our politics is getting worse off.

Bad politics contribute to bad governance and therefore affects our economy. The pandemic has made it even more challenging with the closure of many companies. Since we have to rebuild many businesses and industries, we have to take this opportunity to build local brands and products. Social enterprise is also an approach that not only makes profit but as part of problem solver to other matters that we are facing.

The way we live our lives and the city’s infrastructure has always been an issue to us. Well, we need to keep developing ourselves anyway, hence, we cannot avoid finding issues and ways for improvement. Penang has been talking about LRT and improving public transportation since decades ago, and up until today, not even the approval of the project is done. We have numerous public spaces, but were not utilised for people as a place to network and communicate. 

Many couldn’t help it but the pandemic has slowed down the environmental concerns of the people to pay attention to the health hazards instead. To avoid going outdoors and meeting people; we resorted to ordering food deliveries, buying groceries and our necessities online which contributes to a huge amount of single-use plastic waste. Even the face mask that we have to change every day is producing an enormous amount of waste. As the pandemic problem stabilises, we have to return to practicing sustainable habits to compensate for the wastes that we have created. We may also have to explore more on urban farming to ensure food security; putting more concerns on climate change or perhaps work on a green new deal, that could also assist the economy.

Economy, city & living, sustainability and governance are some of the important aspects that are giving us problems of today. If politics cannot work out to deal with the matters that we need to solve, can the people come together to strive and make a better place for ourselves? It may be too big of a dream, but I believe it all comes to us whether we are taking action or not.

MPs decides on the people’s or the political party wishes?

Malaysia Parliament debate budget

We are putting our attention and priority at the wrong side of politics.

When less than 15 Member of Parliaments stood up to request for individual voting for the tabling of the Budget 2021, everyone focused on that figure.

People were either questioning or laughing at the opposition block for not being able to get 15 members to stand up despite opposing it so drastically in the social media.

But little did we realise that the problem of the day isn’t about opposing or agreeing to the content of the Budget.

If we look at the debates, be it in the Parliament, in the social media or in the news, have we realised that the viewpoint of each MP is based on what the political party stands for.

It was never from the viewpoint of the constituent, the voter and the rakyat.

If it is based on the rakyat, how can the voices of the rakyat be coincidentally the same from the constituents with MPs from the same political parties?

Each constituency, district, area, and household have different needs and problems. It is impossible that they have the same thoughts even though with an MP from the same political party.

Even so, remember, we already have MPs who have jumped from a political party to another.

When some MPs claimed that this is the voice of the rakyat, have we ever given a thought, “Did my MP or at least his office contacted me to get my opinion on the Budget 2021 or any other legislation that will be tabled?”

I believe most of us have never even seen our MP.

So what if the opposition has more than 15 members to stand up, it will still be the same group of people just because they are the political opponents of the other side. Similarly, those who are supporting it is because they are from the supporting side of the political party.

It was never due to the needs and wants of the rakyat. That is the problem of the day that we should address.

When we discuss the wants and needs of the rakyat when it comes to legislation, Malaysia politics did not encourage the people to get involved. When it comes to political participation, the most that the people do is to vote every 4-5 years for the people that represent them in the Parliament and DUN. And they have to blindly trust that elected representatives to bring their problems to the halls.

We may have to look into some nations like the US and Taiwan that allow ballot measures during the election. Other than voting for the person that represents them politically, it also allows the voters to raise their opinions regarding specific legislations that will be tabled in the Parliament and DUN. Even if it is not an official vote to pass or deny a proposed legislation, at least the elected representatives are able to gauge what their constituents think about it. Besides that, it also creates awareness and empowers the people in the decision making process of the government.

We must be reminded that MPs are voted by the people, they represent the people and must debate and bring the voices of the people to the Parliament.

And not the voices of the political party.

Sad to say, I don’t see the voices of 30 million Malaysians in the Parliament. It is just the voices of the politicians trying to grab power and position of the government. 

This article is published in Kwong Wah Yit Poh in Chinese dated 1 December 2020.

Are we Babi?

end racism Malaysia

The issue of racism still lingers around us despite being independent for over 60 years. Today, we are still stuck in the mentality of race and ethnicity.

We may not have racial fights or racism in an extreme manner, but we cannot deny that there are racial elements to a certain extent.

Last week, the Perikatan Nasional Federal Territories Youth made a police report against Namewee’s latest movie, entitled Babi which the film poster contains words of ‘Melayu Bodoh’, ‘India Keling’ and ‘Cina Babi’.

If we are not aware of the movie yet, it is a film that highlights the issue of racism that turns into a violent fight in a school. To be frank, I have not watched the movie yet as it is not premiered in Malaysia, but I have viewed the trailer and read the synopsis. 

However the content of the film may be, if we do not have a racist mindset in us, it will not flare up our emotions. Especially if we were to view it objectively as a story.

Even when our nation’s budget was tabled by the Finance Minister, there are still people who view it from the perspective of race. Look at how politicians often commented on it, in every single budget presentation. How much does the Chinese, Indian and Malay community get? Some even do the math of exactly how much each race was given every year.

There is no way of us escaping the racism mentality if ‘we still need to fight for our race’. To me, the only race that we need to fight for is the human race. Afterall, global warming, pandemic and other natural disasters does not kill based on which ethnicity we are.

But I guess that racism is an issue that is very difficult to solve totally. And the problem still appears in every country in the world.

A country which is considered established and one of the biggest powers in the world as the US is still suffering from racism. People are still fighting for the Whites or the Blacks. Ironically, that is more important than curing the Covid-19 pandemic. 

Ironically, racism is simply a problem created by us humans, that comes from a single subspecies, homo sapiens.

About 2.5 million years ago, humans first evolved from East Africa. These groups of apes then left their homeland for a journey and settled down in the areas of North Africa, Europe and Asia. 

The different location, climate, geographical conditions have made that specific species evolve into slightly different ones.

Those who have left for Europe and Western Asia have evolved into Homo Neanderthalensis who are more bulkier and muscular. The eastern regions of Asia were populated by Homo Erectus. On the island of Java, Indonesia, lived Homo soloensis, which underwent a process of dwarfing while there is another species in the island of Flores which is only approximately one metre in height and weight no more than twenty-five kilograms. They are the Homo floresiensis.

Scientists also discovered another species back in 2010 in Siberia, which is the Homo denisova. There are also a few other smaller species such as Homo rudolfensis and Homo ergaster.

Since the birth of the Homo species, science has proven that there are at least 6 subspecies of Homo that have walked on this earth. Subsequently whether it is the interbreeding theory where different Homo subspecies interbreed or whether it is the Replacement theory that suggests the Sapiens have got rid of the other subspecies to a certain extent; the Homo Sapiens remain as the sole survivor of the Homo species, which are us. 

As civilization grows and homo sapiens scattered around the massive globe, we were soon segregated by different languages, religion, urban development, borders and many more factors. And all these are created by homo sapiens, which ultimately is supposed to be from the same species. The differences have then turned into the source of arguments, conflicts and wars.

And today, we are arguing and fighting over something that we have created ourselves. But the homo sapiens just keep blaming each other for the ones causing it.

History is for us to learn and correct ourselves, and yet we are becoming worse off than our ancestors.

If we do not have the courage to face that we are the ones causing the problems, then when on earth are we going to correct it?

By the way, the movie Babi has received nominations from the Berlin International Film Festival, Bangkok International Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival and also the Golden Horse Awards. Aren’t we supposed to feel proud as a Malaysian instead?

Whether we are Babi or not, or whether we get offended by the word, really depends on our own mentality.

This article is published in Kwong Wah Yit Poh in Chinese dated 24 November 2020.

JASA – Right or Wrong?

Parlimen Malaysia

After the tabling of the nation’s Budget 2021 by our Finance Minister, everyone is hyped about the RM85.5 million allocation to Jabatan Hal Ehwal Khas or more commonly known as JASA. As usual in Malaysia’s typical politics, those politicians who are ruling the government will laud the move while those who are not in the government will keep criticising the decision.

Before I even comment on the issue, let us look back at what this JASA is all about.

The department was originally established as Badan Hal Ehwal Khas after the 1959 general election with the objective of maintaining and protecting the political, religious and government stability. The name was subsequently changed to Cawangan Hal Ehwal Khas and then Jabatan Hal Ehwal Khas. The role of JASA was then also to explain the government initiatives and programmes. 

To justify, I wouldn’t say that it is a definite right or wrong about the existence of the department or even the proposed RM85.5 million that was allocated to it.

Some criticised that the JASA has been misused as a political propaganda machinery for those who are in the government. It is an irony that those who have attacked JASA were the ones that are benefiting from their efforts when they were in the government. Now that they are not in power, they criticise it.

Now that we already have the experience of both sides ruling the government, if we were to pay attention closely; no matter who is in the government, there are units or departments that were formed to appoint people into positions, politically. 

Some say that RM85.5 million can be used to curb the Covid-19 pandemic. But this is very subjective. What if the role of JASA can be turned to be part of curbing the Covid-19 pandemic. At the end of the day, it is whether we are doing the right thing or not. The government can always divert the RM85.5 million to another department or ministry, but if it is not used wisely or misused, it will also be a waste. The question now is not about where the funds flow to, it is whether the government is efficient or not, whether they are effective or not, whether they are sincere in governing or not.

Some say that Tun Dr. Mahathir has been doing the right thing by abolishing JASA in 2018. But if we were to think politically, could he have been doing that to get rid of his political adversary’s machinery? Considering that when he joined politics, JASA has already been around, and that when he was the Prime Minister, JASA has also been assisting in his government, and he knows JASA very well. And if JASA has only been doing government work, why would he choose to abolish JASA?

When we discuss the objectives  of JASA, I actually think that a department such as JASA is important in any nation with the role of promoting and creating awareness of government’s initiatives. I have been long enough in politics and on the ground to know that the majority of Malaysians do not know what does the government has to offer to the people. 

To put a good confidence of the people towards the government is a secondary matter. But a lot of the rakyat do not know they have specific benefits from the government or they do not know how to get them. While other departments need to play a role to implement policies, we need units such as JASA to make the people know about how to benefit from government policies. 

The tabling of the budget is an example of the lack of awareness from the public. On that Friday, I was sitting in a cafe doing my work while listening to the Finance Minister’s speech. As and when I heard some announcement that could benefit people that I know of, I would drop them a message. Unfortunately, most of them would ask me what is this, when was it announced? They don’t even know that there was a tabling of the Budget at that time.

There are pros and cons if we were to have JASA back in the government. In the end, there is no right or wrong on reviving and allocating RM85.5 million to JASA. It is whether the government as a whole is doing the right thing or not. Again and again, the more important thing to change now is our political culture. If we don’t, the same mistakes will happen to the country over and over again. But of course with the current political culture, I would still prefer if the funds are allocated to more important efforts such as education and entrepreneurship and the environment.

This article is published in Kwong Wah Yit Poh in Chinese dated 17 November 2020.