Thinking Allowed
Eric, Ethics, and Economics
In February 2002, the Prime Minister announced glibly in London that the Swiss Authorities with whom the ACA had been seeking collaboration have demurred – or so we’re told. For all intents and purposes this looks like a top-down reprieve for Eric. But to top it all, Eric is himself taking legal action against Lim Guan Eng of DAP for statements made in a police report about the Perwaja scandal.
Where does all this leave our vaunted ambition of a moral and ethical society, such as was propounded by special economic advisor to the government, Nor Mohamed Yakcob? In a recent speech to young business executives, Nor waxed eloquent about why ethics was crucial to the remaking of Malaysian Inc. “If we look at history, we find that the success of nations and civilizations has been closely linked to ethics and moral values,” he said. (The Star, Feb. 21, 2002).
But, in truth, Eric and his ilk are mere purveyors of an East Asian economic zeitgeist (read, Asian values), which excuses local misdemeanours while castigating foreign wrongdoings. Indeed, since the advent of the “Look East” policy launched by Mahathir in the nineteen eighties, we have taken our ethical practices further and further downhill. And ever since the “East Asian Miracle” went bust in August 1997, a Pandora’s box of scandals has littered the economic landscape. The post-1997 crisis scandals made the old BMF RM2.5 billion debacle of 1985 seem like peanuts. And yet we hardly bat an eyelid when we hear that RM10 billion or RM9 billion have gone down the tube today. Worse, we let the culprits off the hook and nail the whistle blowers! I guess our special economic advisor to the government has not been following recent events too closely.
Out Damn Spots!
The infamous habit of our captains of industry disappearing from sight, whenever the crap hits the fan, is not confined to the likes of Eric Chia. Our former finance minister (and still) economic advisor to the government has vanished from view. Mind you, he’s always been a bit of a recluse but this time Daim, while still an MP, is truly conspicuous by his absence from any public function. Rumour has it that he has been busily divesting his economic interests in the country and has bought into property in Australia, while his protégés at home are falling like ninepins. And we don’t see these figures around either: Where’s Tajuddin? Where’s Halim?
Paul was alleged to have made the following remark about Fernando, Anwar’s counsel, at the 1999 trial: “If the way of speaking is like an animal, we can’t tolerate it. We should shoot him.” (The Star, March 2, 2002). I find that remark particularly hurtful and disingenuous to animals. If animals could speak, they would surely plead never to be shot for whatever reason! All of this inspires me to indulge you with a little poem.
Sex, Videos and MCA Morality
Talking about ethics and morality, Malaysians have been served with a titillating episode involving Taiwanese politician-cum-singer, Chu Mei-feng. The sensational Mei-feng made the headlines when she was secretly filmed having sex with a lover, a married man. The Mei-feng video has been distributed by a magazine and has found its way into the ubiquitous Internet and the streets of Malaysia for a mere RM4 a copy. The 35-year-old Mei-feng, not to be outdone, has herself penned just two months ago a tract predictably titled The Confessions of Chu Me-feng. This doubtless makes the Taiwanese damsel an instant hit and a hot draw for concerts, even if all she bares on such occasions are her vocal chords. Singaporeans are eagerly awaiting her performance on March 15 and 18.
But MCA has refused to countenance a Mei-feng concert, originally bound for Dewan San Choon in Jalan Ampang. Why the holier than thou objection? MCA spokesperson and deputy minister for culture, arts and tourism, Ng Yen Yen contends that Mei-feng will be a bad role model. Now, now, Ms Ng, what kind of role models are MCA politicians today?? Not a day passes without Team A and Team MCA contenders exchanging accusations and insults. The latest flap over phantom members perhaps should prompt the MCA to a staging of The Phantom of the (Chinese) Opera as a substitute for the Mei-feng concert.
Frankly, I would take Mei-feng any day as a role model for our young people. And contra the views of Rhina Bhar of Gerakan, we don’t necessarily have to celebrate her “notoriety” when we appreciate her spunkiness in turning an adverse event (which incidentally speaks more about the immorality of her detractors) into a positive development.
Leaving a Sinking BA Ship?
While on role models, recent verbal and non-verbal gyrations by former opposition figures caught my attention. First, the DAP left the BA, when presumably “over-my-dead-body” Karpal and no-truck-with-Islamic-state Kit Siang were persuasive in convincing the DAP leadership and rank-and-file that PAS was too hot on the trail of Islamisation to be comrades-in-arms against Mahathir and Co. But the DAP was surely naïve in believing that in joining the BA they would be able to persuade PAS to reject their raison d’etre of pursuing an “Islamic state” as a goal? But a goal is a goal and achieving it is another thing, and as long as the DAP remained in the BA that surely was more of a guarantee that the Islamic state project would not so easily be attainable, if at all. Or, better still the DAP could have continued to press PAS to redefine its Islamisation agenda in the context of a multi-religious society. Ironically, the DAP’s departure has left PAS with an opportunity to pursue a more purist Islamisation.
Now let’s turn to the Parti KeADILan. The gyrations here are by far more debilitating for the party and by implication the BA as a whole. First Marina Yusof left in a huff and puff over differences with then deputy leader Chandra Muzaffar. Then Chandra left and most recently Zainur Zakaria has stepped down from all posts for health reasons. I hate to say it but one gets the invariable feeling that the “captains” are abandoning ship. And while the PKN vessel is certainly leaky these days, wouldn’t it be more noble to work on patching up the leaks rather than jumping ship?
Chandra, breaking his silence over reasons for his departure in a press conference, intimated that the PKN leadership practised the concept of “the end justifies the means” and that was why he left. Has political naivety struck another blow? Anyone bold enough to take the political plunge must surely expect that politics is nothing less than “the art of the possible.” or “war by other means”.
Mahathir's Icy Romp
Now, one person in Malaysia who is never naïve is the PM. That was why I couldn’t suss out for a while why he took an entourage of 70 (including a chef and a physician) for a ‘holiday on ice’ in Antarctica, purportedly as a prelude to setting up a Malaysian research station there. I recall that a judge went famously for a holiday once and was photographed in the arms of a crooked lawyer and this raised all kinds of hell at home! Now did the prime minister take along any famous or infamous persons for his frozen holiday in the South Pole?
As it turns out he did bring along a bunch of cronies and toadies and I just don’t mean the chef, Husain Bavutty nor his physician Dr. Zainal Hamid. In the Mahathir entourage were the group editor of the New Straits Times, Abdullah Ahmad, who has obliged us with a boastful report of the escapade (NST, March 6, 2002), and besides ministers Najib, Syed Hamid and Law Hieng Ding, there were the likes of Arumugam, Ananda Krishnan, Janice Toh, Khoo Teong Bing, sailor Azhar Mansor and a retinue of scientists (Salleh Mohd Nor, Azian Abu Samah, Siti Aishah Alias, Zainol Abidin and Ahmad Zaharudin), with their respective families in tow. Who’s footing the bill, by the way?
From Abdullah’s account, this wasn’t to be a mere holiday; Mahathir wanted to convey the message that even pushing 77, “He is healthy and intends to go on captaining HMS Malaysia.” Now that’s a chilling thought!
Putrajaya or Petrojaya?
For a long time now many of us knew that Mahathir’s administrative city, like the Twin Towers, was to be bankrolled by the national ‘cash cow’. Or to put it succinctly, when you need the money, who do you call? Petronas!
First, Petronas saves Proton by buying up its shares from DRB-Hicom. Now, in order to save Putrajaya Holdings from going into the red, it barters its Proton shares to Khazanah Nasional Bhd (i.e. the government) for Putrajaya shares. Effectively this means Khazanah takes over Proton. Now don’t tell me this isn’t a classic case of the greasy merry-go-round of Mahanomics!
D.L. Daun
Cold-Shouldered
Funny, Lim Ah Lek, Chua Jui Meng and Chan Kong Choy were always in Malaysia while I was under the impression that they had accompanied Dr M to Antartica. Perhaps that was due to the fact that the newspapers that I read have not been carrying photographs or reports of their latest whereabouts. By contrast there have beens loads of reports about Ling Liong Sik, Fong Chan Onn, Ong Ka Ting and Ting Chew Peh.
Then again, I don’t really ‘read’ my newspapers cover-to-cover either. Usually I start with sports, then the reports on the international scene, cartoons, and lastly the headlines and photographs of the front pages. These reports simply tell us what the PM and his sycophants say (actually a lot of scolding) and do. If at all the activities and criticisms of the opposition and critics are reported, they are usually one-liners; ask the Aliran president! Considerably more column space is given to negative news about them.
These front pages are altogether petty, predictable and patronizing. The section two of the newspapers is usually better journalism, more informative, and still worth perusing.
Back to Ah Lek and all. Now, if they weren’t in the Antartica, where were they ? Cold-shouldered, obviously.
They’re the virtual opposition as the MCA incumbents gear themselves for the party elections. And since when do the people in power who control the media share their pages and their air-time with the opposition ? It follows that only negative news about them, or about their Team B, get reported nowadays. Looking through the bundle of old newspapers these past weeks I discovered these headlines:
“Team B Tarnish MCA’s image over membership list”; “No need to play detective, Team B leaders told”; “Ling annoyed by Team B tactics”; “Claims by Team B refuted”; “100-year-old members in divisions aligned to Team B’; “No Lorry load of complaints”; “A lot of hoopla but in the end no show by Team B”.
But I also discovered these two full-page advertisements which I’d missed. Almost put into cold-store, apparently Chua and Chan, or their supporters, had resorted to advertisements in order to put pictures of their leaders in the news !
Now that they’re been treated like the opposition, one hopes that if they should win the MCA race, maybe, just maybe, they’ll open up the MCA stable of newspapers and magazines to all, including critics. Better yet, get the MCA and all other political parties out of the media business. But frankly, I think they’ll do a Rais Yatim: tulis lain, buat lain
Not a Liar
Which reminds us of this other BN leader who had not so long ago melodramatically proclaimed: “The period of sunset will diminish and a new sunrise will be visible in the life of the estate workers when monthly wages come into effect…[they] can expect monthly wages before the end of the year [2000]….They don’t have to live hand-to-mouth. I was prepared to sacrifice my [Cabinet] position. …I said if this was not successful, it is better for me to leave the Cabinet”. This was Samy Vellu in his usual hyperbole as reported in The Star 28 May 2000.
It’s now March 2002. And the introduction of a monthly wage scheme for rubber estate workers has been rejected by MAPA. Meanwhile it has been shown that the “monthly wage scheme” of RM325 approved for oil palm estate workers in early 2001 is but a sham. Besides being a miserly sum, wages are still based on the amount of kernels brought in by the workers ! If for some reason they do not work, then the total earned drops accordingly. The new package, therefore, is simply a guaranteed minimum monthly wage, nothing more.
For if one recalls, Samy did also promise during the Lunas by-election that should the opposition win he would move to the Kedah constituency to ensure victory for the BN the next time around. Well, the BA did win but where is Samy?
And those with better memories will further remember that Samy had also made a promise in the 1980s that should the MIC win the Perai state seat he would visit the constituency every few months to ensure that this industrial zone becomes the most beautiful place in Penang. Well the MIC did win. But Samy did not visit regularly as promised. And the conditions in Perai are as bad, if not worse than before.
Win, lose, Samy always makes his promises. The problem is keeping them. Whatever honour he still has is now on the line. So he shouldn’t break them yet again. For if he does so, he won’t be simply a liar, or a compulsive liar. He’ll be a congenital liar!
rakyatboleh.com
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The Perwaja venture was finally laid to rest with the Malaysian taxpayer some RM10 billion poorer! And still there are no signs of Eric Chia, its erstwhile CEO, anywhere in the public eye. As we all know, the Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) was supposed to have been investigating Eric but apparently nothing has transpired especially after a changing of the guards at the ACA.
However, Shakespeare’s famous idiom (out damn spot!) is best applied to High Court judge Augustine Paul. On March 1, the High Court, which was hearing Paul’s contempt of court proceedings based on remarks he made during the 1999 trial of Anwar Ibrahim, ruled that the Attorney-General could represent Paul and that he did not have to make an appearance. To the contrary, counsel Christopher Fernando has argued that there should be no double standards in the treatment of judges and that Paul should be represented by his own private counsel, not the A-G.
I wonder if anybody caught the news that Petronas has now acquired a 64.5% of Putrajaya Holdings Sdn Bhd, valued at RM666.06 millions. This effectively means that Petronas now more or less owns Putrajaya. Incidentally, each Putrajaya share is worth RM1,000 and given such a stratospheric price is unlikely to go for public listing. Simple arithmetic tells me that one lot will be worth one million!
I suppose this will be the end of Samy Vellu. His lieutenants should prepare to take over; a bit difficult to recall who these lieutenants are since Samy has dominated the MIC since 1979, almost 23 years. Not that the PM is asking him to step down. It’s Samy himself who has put his position on the line. Resigning would be the honourable thing to do. Otherwise he could be called a liar. Or worse, a compulsive liar.