The Malaysian Insider :: Side Views

Nilai maklumat rahsia perbankan — Nurul Anuar Kari

Thu, 17 May 2012 01:21:59 GMT

17 MEI — Sejajar dengan perkembangan teknologi moden, sistem perbankan negara dan dunia kini bergerak ke arah aplikasi digital bagi memudahkan urusan pelanggan. Secara positif, langkah ini bukan sahaja menjimatkan penggunaan kertas dan meringkaskan proses dokumentasi rekod, malahan mempercepatkan lagi urusan aliran tunai. Umum juga sedar teknologi ...

Melayu tiada tempat dalam DAP — Zulkifli Jalil

Thu, 17 May 2012 00:53:02 GMT

17 MEI — Sejarah penyertaan orang Melayu atau pemimpin Melayu dalam DAP penuh ranjau berduri. Kalau boleh dikaji senarai kepemimpinan Pusat parti itu, orang Melayu dan Bumiputera yang membentuk hampir 67 peratus rakyat hanya mempunyai dua wakil sahaja. Bumiputera Sabah dan Sarawak pula langsung tidak diwakili. Meskipun dikatakan DAP Melayu sudah ...

Democratic values banished? — Tay Tian Yan

Thu, 17 May 2012 00:28:13 GMT

MAY 17 — Lim Kit Siang said: My heart’s broken! Anyone who cares about the DAP will be equally broken-hearted. I received a text message from a senior DAP leader, telling me Tunku Abdul Aziz’s departure dealt a serious blow to the party. It took the DAP a whole lot of effort to inch towards a multiracial entity and now all the transformation ...

Let’s ensure they are home for keeps — Richard Hartung

Wed, 16 May 2012 23:41:28 GMT

MAY 17 — A young pharmacist recently returned to Singapore after a highly satisfying stint studying and working in Australia. There, she said, doctors she worked with listened to her and valued her input. When she returned to Singapore, however, she found herself in a workplace where doctors expected orders to be followed, new practices were ...

How did they miss the link? — Tulsathit Taptim

Wed, 16 May 2012 14:05:59 GMT

MAY 16 — The British media have credited Manchester City’s “crazily dramatic” Premier League title win on Sunday to anything and anyone but the right thing(s) and the right one(s). Steve Jobs would have traced the dots and found their origin in Thailand. Sergio Aguero’s last-gasp strike against Queens Park Rangers that turned the watching world on ...

Twists and turns — Lim Sue Goan

Wed, 16 May 2012 13:59:50 GMT

MAY 16 — Socialist Francois Hollande won the French presidential election while the two major parties in the Greek ruling coalition failed to win a parliamentary majority. The election results have made Malaysian leaders uneasy. The election result in France might cause the deterioration of the debt crisis in Europe, which might affect our economy ...

Asia’s new elite — Shaun Tan

Wed, 16 May 2012 10:59:10 GMT

MAY 16 — “Any city, however small, is in fact divided into two; one the city of the poor, the other of the rich; these are at war with one another.” — Plato, The Republic It can be said that the walls around gated communities mark the borders of a foreign country. Of course, not all exclusive neighbourhoods are surrounded by walls — many are not — ...

Conduct unbecoming army veterans — Capt (Rtd) Hussaini Abdul Karim

Wed, 16 May 2012 10:31:54 GMT

MAY 16 — I wish to refer to the report, “Group performs ‘butt exercises’ in front of Ambiga’s home” that appeared in The Star (Nation) today as written by Yuen Meikeng. As a former army officer, I feel grossly ashamed by the antics of those who have conducted themselves unbecomingly by performing “butt exercises” in front of Bersih co-chairman ...

A free press is essential to democracy — Dennis Ignatius

Wed, 16 May 2012 02:37:36 GMT

MAY 16 — Marina Mahathir, one of our nation’s most inspiring figures, recently wrote how her article in The Star was spiked for fear of incurring the wrath of the powers that be. As a columnist for the same newspaper myself, I understand Marina’s angst. Recently, I submitted an article about democracy in Myanmar. It ran on Monday, May 7. One line ...

When teachers go above and beyond — Khairie Hisyam Aliman

Wed, 16 May 2012 02:11:29 GMT

MAY 16 — The greatest sign of success for a teacher is to be able to say, “The children are now working as if I did not exist.” That’s what Maria Montessori, Italian physicist and educator, thought. And it made me wonder: What say did our teachers have in our lives? I feel that we Malaysians take many things for granted. Among those things we ...

Perjuangan caca-marba Majlis Peguam — Noraini Razak

Tue, 15 May 2012 23:44:27 GMT

16 MEI — Apa sebenarnya hala tuju Majlis Peguam sekarang ini? Adakah masih kekal dengan matlamat mahu menegakkan kedaulatan undang-undang, melindungi kepentingan profesion guaman dan orang awam? Atau badan yang mewakili cerdik pandai undang-undang itu semakin caca-marba hala tujunya sehingga bercampur baur dengan politik menjadikan Majlis Peguam ...

Tak payah guna kepala, sekarang guna punggung pula — Aspan Alias

Tue, 15 May 2012 23:40:09 GMT

16 MEI — Saya berasa geli hati dengan gelagat Umno yang kian hari kian memalukan. Pagi semalam sekumpulan penyokong parti itu telah berbaris dihadapan kediaman Ambiga Sreenevasan, Pengerusi Bersih, dengan menonggeng dan menunjukkan bontot kepada rumah Ambiga. Umno sudah menjadi parti lawak dan telah benar-benar jatuh martabatnya dengan sikap yang ...

The death of civil liberties — Malik Imtiaz Sarwar

Tue, 15 May 2012 23:35:55 GMT

MAY 16 — Though the government has said much about the repeal of the infamous Internal Security Act, little has been said to explain how its so-called replacement, the Security Offences (Special Measures) Bill (SOA), will impact on our lives. Even less has been said about the bill tabled to amend the Penal Code that went hand in hand with the SOA. ...

New tipping point — Lim Sue Goan

Tue, 15 May 2012 07:15:24 GMT

MAY 15 — The rejected Kuokuang petrochemical investment project will be transferred to Pengerang, Johor. It is another controversial project after the Lynas rare earth refinery plant project in Kuantan. It is believed to become an election issue, too. Malaysia is an oil-producing country and oil has been listed as one of the national key economic ...

A man of unmalleable principles blighted by a malleable character — Soo Lim Chee

Tue, 15 May 2012 06:52:18 GMT

MAY 15 — That he has made up his mind to leave the DAP was confirmed by his second public attacked on the Bersih movement. After the first salvo I was still hopeful of a reconciliation. But, unfortunately, that was not to be. Tunku Abdul Aziz Tunku Ibrahim, an icon of unshakable principles, was finally shakened by “irreconcilable differences” with ...

Mooning, Malaysia’s ultimate defence — Jaleel Hameed

Tue, 15 May 2012 06:20:11 GMT

MAY 15 — All hail our army veterans. They only need their bottoms to defend the country from its enemies. Today, I read in The Malaysian Insider that 10 retired soldiers “exercised” their bums this morning outside Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan’s Bukit Damansara home against the April 28 Bersih rally. The members of the Malay Armed Forces Veterans ...

FGVH listing: The game the crooks play — Sakmongkol AK47

Tue, 15 May 2012 02:25:41 GMT

MAY 15 — Readers who are interested in reading more vigorous analyses on FGVH are advised to read The Pirates of Putrajaya in the English language here and in Bahasa Malaysia here. I am offering a less rigorous analysis here as I feel not as competent as the Pirate in technical matters. Here is what irks me and I hope it does others too. FELDA ...

Tok Guru Nik Aziz bapa setengah orang kafir — Subky Latif

Tue, 15 May 2012 01:44:08 GMT

15 MEI — Kita tidak tahu apa telah jadi kepada Rahim Nor yang dibuang dari Ketua Polis Negara kerana membelasah Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim. Berbelas tahun dia hilang tiba-tiba dia keluar dengan menuduh Nik Aziz Bapa Kafir. Tidak diketahui dia waraskah atau cacat ingatankah? Rasanya tiada orang Islam yang siuman boleh mengeluarkan kenyataan bahawa ...

Asia’s new elite — Shaun Tan

Tue, 15 May 2012 00:46:02 GMT

MAY 15 — “Any city, however small, is in fact divided into two; one the city of the poor, the other of the rich; these are at war with one another.” — Plato, The Republic It can be said that the walls around gated communities mark the borders of a foreign country. Of course, not all exclusive neighbourhoods are surrounded by walls — many are not — ...

Singapore’s stressed singles — Chew I-Jin and Mao Ailin

Mon, 14 May 2012 23:53:24 GMT

MAY 15 — The annual International Day of Families today was established by the United Nations in 1993 to mark how changing social, economic and demographic processes impact families around the globe. On this 19th anniversary, it is encouraging to note that recent Budget-related statements by members of Parliament recognise that better support is ...

Umno, how much did you spend to bring your crowd? — P. Ramakrishnan

Mon, 14 May 2012 14:57:53 GMT

MAY 14 — Much has been made of the so-called 100,000 turnout of Umno members at the Bukit Jalil Stadium to observe Umno’s 66th anniversary celebrations. Umno president Datuk Seri Najib Razak was obviously elated in seeing the sea of Umno members dressed in red that greeted him on his arrival at the stadium. He remarked that they, too, can bring in ...

Umno patut berhimpun sekali lagi — Aspan Alias

Mon, 14 May 2012 09:38:34 GMT

14 MEI — Saya mencadangkan supaya Umno mengadakan perhimpunan seperti yang diadakan di Stadium Bukit Jalil pada 11 Mei yang lepas sekali lagi. Pada perhimpunan Umno di Bukit Jalil baru-baru ini seramai 100,000 orang telah dapat dihimpunkan oleh Najib Razak untuk menunjukkan sokongan ramai terhadap Umno dan Barisan Nasional. Saya kira Umno perlu ...

Different strokes for different folks — Tay Tian Yan

Mon, 14 May 2012 09:09:09 GMT

MAY 14 — Ah Hua: Hudud law again? Doesn’t PAS have other issues to be discussed? Why does it always talk about hudud law? Umar: I’m confused, too. The Pakatan Rakyat said earlier that they have achieved a common consensus to not talk about an Islamic state and hudud law, but only welfare state. But they have been changing their stands and ...

Messages in a political survey — Lim Mun Fah

Mon, 14 May 2012 07:19:01 GMT

MAY 14 — About 100,000 Umno members and supporters in red shirts filled the National Stadium at Bukit Jalil recently to celebrate the party’s 66th anniversary. Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak derided the Pakatan Rakyat, but did not attack Bersih, while offering seven reasons why people should support BN in the election. The move has strongly ...

The Bar Council, churches and political integrity — Alwyn Lau

Mon, 14 May 2012 06:34:58 GMT

MAY 14 — The reproaching of the Bar Council’s report on Bersih by a group of lawyers (namely, Datuk Mohamad Hafarizam Harum and Roger Tan) strangely echoes the resistance of many churches towards speaking up against the ruling regime, especially from the pulpit. The similarities are stark. The Bar Council publishes a report which condemns the ...

English-medium schools available to all? — BH Toh

Mon, 14 May 2012 04:32:00 GMT

MAY 14 — I refer to your article entitled “Putrajaya scraps locak student quota in international schools”. It made me very happy while flabbergasted and sad at the same time. Happy because now more Malaysians have access to an education conducted predominantly in the language of their choices — Bahasa Malaysia in SK, Tamil and Mandarin in SJK and ...

Thorium Lynas tidak berbahaya — A. Rahman Omar

Mon, 14 May 2012 02:16:20 GMT

14 MEI — Saya terpanggil untuk mengulas mengenai perkembangan yang berlaku berpunca daripada cadangan untuk membangunkan loji memproses nadir bumi, Lynas di Gebeng, Kuantan, Pahang. Titik tolak kegelisahan ini adalah kewujudan thorium yang terdapat dalam bahan mentah yang akan diproses. Untuk pengetahuan pembaca, thorium juga terdapat dalam amang ...

Tujuh sebab Umno/BN sudah tidak layak perintah negara — Idris Ahmad

Mon, 14 May 2012 01:36:58 GMT

14 MEI — Ini ialah tujuh jawapan balas kepada Datuk Seri Najib Razak yang berucap di Stadium Bukit Jalil pada 11 Mei 2012, kenapa Umno BN tidak layak diberi mandat di dalam PRU 13. Pertama, apakah kepimpinan Umno BN boleh dipercayai? Najib tidak boleh berbangga dengan pemberian BR1M , kerana ini bukan wang lebihan tetapi daripada hutang. Begitu ...

Malaysia after regime change — Hal Hill

Mon, 14 May 2012 01:10:45 GMT

MAY 14 — There is much to admire about Malaysia, in addition to it being arguably the world’s best place to eat. Its development record is admirable. Since independence in 1957, its per capita income has risen eight-fold. It has long since left behind its two earlier comparators, Ghana and Sri Lanka. It features prominently and positively in all ...

The true costs of social media — Ashwin Malshe

Mon, 14 May 2012 00:35:14 GMT

MAY 14 — Many companies jump on the social media bandwagon because they think social networks are free. However, sceptics argue that there’s no such thing as a free lunch. In this article I identify three social media costs: One direct and two indirect. Whether these are costs or “investments” is a philosophical question, which I will not attempt ...

Bersih 3.0: Lessons to be learned — M. Bakri Musa

Mon, 14 May 2012 00:26:51 GMT

MAY 14 — Many have asked, in barely concealed rhetorical tone, whether the day would ever come when a non-Malay could be Malaysia’s prime minister. My view is that when such an individual emerges, the question would become irrelevant. Today no one wonders whether America would ever have a black President. It is well to remember however, that it ...

The best place in the world to be creative — Fredrik Haren

Sun, 13 May 2012 23:30:32 GMT

MAY 14 — I have lost count of the number of times I have been asked: “As an author of creativity books, how on earth can you live in Singapore?” And when I reply, “Because I think it is the best place in the world to live for a creative person”, most people think I am kidding and everyone asks me to explain. But no, I am not kidding. And yes, let ...

Umno dinamik dan tetap relevan — Ku Seman Ku Hussain

Sun, 13 May 2012 14:15:47 GMT

13 MEI — APABILA Parti Liberal Demokratik (LDP) di Jepun kecundang dalam pilihan raya umum 2009, ada pihak cuba menyamakan LDP dengan Umno. Ini kerana LDP menerajui Jepun sejak 1955 hingga 2009 walaupun pernah tewas selama 11 bulan pada tahun 1993. Umno pula ditubuhkan tahun 1946 dan terus berkuasa hingga kini. LDP bertanggungjawab mengubah Jepun ...

Nor Mohamed Yakcop should learn history — Jaleel Hameed

Sun, 13 May 2012 12:00:06 GMT

MAY 13 — It is interesting that Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop is talking about Malaysian history, that the country would revert to the year 1511, when the Bumiputera agenda didn’t exist, if Barisan Nasional (BN) loses in the next general election. Thank you, sir. Where did you learn your history? Because that’s pure bovine excrement. What Bumiputera ...

Should we ditch the idea of privacy? — Don Tapscott

Sun, 13 May 2012 08:23:26 GMT

MAY 13 — Since I co-authored a book on privacy and the Internet 15 years ago I’ve been writing about how to manage the various threats to the security and control of our personal information. But today I find myself in a completely unexpected discussion. A growing number of people argue that the notion of having a private life in which we ...

Instagram’s Facebook filter — Paul Smalera

Sun, 13 May 2012 06:20:01 GMT

MAY 13 — The predominant way of interpreting Facebook’s billion-dollar purchase of Instagram, in light of the social-networking giant’s forthcoming IPO, is that Mark Zuckerberg had to pick up the photo-sharing app to boost his company’s mobile engagement. That would allow him to guard the mobile flank against incursions from Google, Twitter, and ...

The predictability of politics IV: The slide to violence and the deep state — Farish A. Noor

Sun, 13 May 2012 04:12:21 GMT

MAY 13 — Over the past few months we have witnessed the alarming escalation of violence in the country, on a number of registers: symbolic, discursive and even physical. My weary eyes have seen all this before, in Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Philippines, Indonesia and Thailand; and so I cannot help but sigh aloud when I see the same symptoms of ...

Our fate: Sub-par ministers — Justice Seeker

Sun, 13 May 2012 03:21:30 GMT

MAY 13 — It is telling that Nazri Aziz is considered among the more capable ministers. But on the evidence of what he has said and done, that is a backhanded compliment. A bit like saying that the one-eyed man is the king in the kingdom of the blind. Even that is being charitable to Nazri. He is as incompetent and dense as the rest of his Cabinet ...

Hollande’s programme marks return of the Ancien Régime — Laurence Copeland

Sun, 13 May 2012 01:21:06 GMT

MAY 13 — Seeing the dewy-eyed kids at the post-election celebrations in Paris, I couldn’t help thinking how crazy it all was. The youngsters were plainly convinced they had a president to take their country forward into the new dawn — after all, he campaigned under the slogan “Le changement, c’est maintenant”. In reality, Francois Hollande’s ...

No easy fix for insurgency in Thailand’s deep south — John Blaxland

Sun, 13 May 2012 01:14:48 GMT

MAY 13 — The recent bombings in the tourist city of Hat Yai in southern Thailand reflect deep-seated and enduring institutional problems that defy easy categorisation. Commentators have put forward many explanations for this complex situation, ranging from seeing the conflict in terms of a counter-terrorist campaign as part of the so-called global ...

Campus and intellectual freedom — Setiono Sugiharto

Sun, 13 May 2012 01:04:57 GMT

MAY 13 — Gadjah Mada University’s (UGM) decision to ban a discussion on Islam featuring Canadian-born author Irshad Manji has undercut the intellectual freedom of voicing one’s stances that has been long preserved by the scholarly community in the academia. The discussion, organised by the Centre for Religious and Cross-Cultural Studies (CRCS), ...

Public nuisance and the ‘Adzan’ controversy in Indonesia — Harison Citrawan

Sun, 13 May 2012 00:58:43 GMT

MAY 13 — The Vice President’s criticism of the volume of the adzan, a call for prayer from a mosque, has reaped public controversy. Such criticism followed concerns that the volume of a mosque’s loudspeakers might potentially cause public nuisance. The criticism, therefore, implies that the state ought to consider a feasible policy that will ...

Malaysia’s sad media – Sam Peh

Sat, 12 May 2012 11:15:41 GMT

MAY 12 – Even during the most dictatorial days of Mahathir Mohamad, the mainstream media has not been this inept, corrupt, dishonest and even clumsy. But during the Najib reign, the New Straits Times, the Star and the Malay language papers have crawled to depths never before experienced. Take today’s NST. Yesterday more than 1,200 lawyers voted at ...

Bersih 3.0: The first test for the police under the Peaceful Assembly Act? — Maha Balakrishnan

Sat, 12 May 2012 06:10:52 GMT

MAY 12 — At a press conference on April 29 and in reference to the Bersih 3.0 rally the day before, the prime minister was reported to have stated that “the rally was the first test for the police in translating the action stipulated under the new legislation following the political transformation implemented by the government, including….. ...

A lesson in the Bill that was withdrawn — Lim Mun Fah

Sat, 12 May 2012 05:51:57 GMT

MAY 12 — The Cabinet decided to withdraw the controversial Election Offences Amendment Bill 2012. DAP parliamentary leader Lim Kit Siang expressed the Pakatan Rakyat’s support for the government’s decision. I can still remember that the Bill was tabled at 2am on April 20 and hastily passed when the Dewan Rakyat froze the time at 11.59pm on April ...

Benarkah penentang Najib/Umno itu ‘haram jadah’? — Aspan Alias

Sat, 12 May 2012 04:59:56 GMT

12 MEI — Saya begitu terpanggil untuk memberikan komen tentang “conduct” PM Najib sebagai pemimpin utama negara sehari dua ini yang ramai menganggap sebagai tidak semenggah itu. Najib nampaknya sudah hilang kesabaran untuk menerima cabaran demokrasi yang belum pernah beliau alami selama ini. Sejak mula berpolitik dan memegang jawatan besar-besar ...

Paradise lost for Tunku Aziz? — Tay Tian Yan

Sat, 12 May 2012 03:43:15 GMT

MAY 12 — As widely expected, Tunku Abdul Aziz’s senatorship was not extended by the DAP. As if that is not enough, he also finds himself coming under scornful assaults and branded a traitor. The disciplinary committee demanded an explanation from him, and some in the party wanted him removed. Tunku Abdul Aziz joined the DAP three years ago in the ...

Common sense vs EC sense — Kamalakannan Veerapathran

Sat, 12 May 2012 03:02:49 GMT

MAY 12 — I just don’t understand why Election Commission (EC) deputy chairman Wan Ahmad Wan Omar is crying foul over the withdrawal of the Election Offences Amendment Bill. He went on to say that Bersih 3.0 and the opposition have spun and twisted the amendments by making nonsensical stories to create the perception that the Bill is bad. Quite a ...

Police brutality — Mahathir Mohamad

Sat, 12 May 2012 02:46:02 GMT

MAY 12 — One of the favourite accusations against the police in the West is “police brutality”. No doubt there is and there will always be police brutality in the West and elsewhere. But the term is used indiscriminately and even when the police apply some permissible force in the course of their work, they are likely to be accused of “police ...

Reverse parking — Paul Rae

Sat, 12 May 2012 01:58:04 GMT

MAY 12 — One of the best-known plays by Kuo Pao Kun, the late doyen of Singapore theatre, is “No Parking on Odd Days”, a monologue he wrote in 1986 about a man who contests a parking fine. The man feels he has been unfairly penalised for mistakenly parking in a lorry bay when the “Lorries only” sign is far from the space. It is a play about the ...