Monday, June 10, 2013

PRU 13 - UMNO DAN PAS BERGABUNG?


Siapakah Yang Patut Bersara?

MINGGUAN MALAYSIA, AHAD 19 MEI, 2013
 
Masukan ini adalah yang asal sebelum ianya disunting oleh penyunting MM. Yang ditambah tidak berwarna hitam. Sebarang perbezaan dari yang asal atau yang diterbitkan dalam MM hanyalah untuk menjelaskan maksud. 

MUKADIMAH

MELIHAT kepada keputusan pilihan raya yang berakhir beberapa minggu lalu, adalah jelas bahawa sokongan orang Melayu kepada UMNO masih kukuh walaupun orang Cina sudah beralih arah sehingga peristiwa itu digelar sebagai 'Tsunami Cina'. Ia juga memberi petunjuk yang jelas bahawa Barisan Nasional (BN) masih boleh mengekalkan pemerintahan tanpa sokongan orang Cina walaupun hakikatnya ia tidak berapa sihat kepada usaha penubuhan bangsa Malaysia.

Bagi tokoh dan veteran UMNO, TAN SRI SANUSI JUNID, satu petanda jelas bagi apa yang rakyat mahukan sekarang ini adalah supaya Anwar berundur dari pentas politik kerana beliau tidak lagi relevan dalam politik negara. Menurut Sanusi, Anwar adalah penghalang kepada perpaduan Melayu. Beliau kini umpama orang yang sudah luka, kerana kekalahan, tetapi masih tidak dapat menerima kekalahannya dan akan terus kejalan untuk mengajak rakyat berdemonstrasi bersama demi merawat lukanya itu.

Dalam pertemuan yang berlangsung Selasa lepas (14 Mei, 2013) yang dihadiri wartawan Mingguan Malaysia HAFIZAHRIL HAMID dan RABIATUL ADAWIYAH KOH ABDULLAH, Sanusi turut menerangkan betapa jelas usaha ke arah perpaduan antara dua parti politik orang Melayu yang terbesar, UMNO dan PAS, perlu dilaksanakan.

”Adalah menjadi satu harapan, kepada bangsa Melayu yang berugama Islam, semoga dalam merealisasikan kerjasama antara UMNO dan PAS ini, walaupun ianya tidak boleh menjadi begitu akrab sehingga sebagai hubungan ’suami isteri’, tetapi kita perlu berkeyakinan atas kemampuan kita untuk  menjadi jiran tetangga yang baik.”

Pemimpin dan ahli UMNO hendaklah menerima hakikat bahawa bangsa Melayu tidak akan rugi apa-apa kalau kita berbaik-baik dengan PAS; malahan banyak isu dan masalah  boleh diselesaikan bersama atas landasan kita adalah se agama dan berbangsa Melayu,” kata Sanusi.

Selain itu beliau juga berpendapat UMNO itu sendiri perlu membetulkan rumah tangganya dahulu untuk memastikan ianya menjadi sebuah parti yang kuat.

”Jika bangsa Melayu ini diibaratkan sebagai sebuah tempayan maka kita wajib menjaga supaya tempayan kita itu tidak sampai pecah kerana jika tempayan sudah pecah kita tidak dapat mewarnakan tempayan itu dengan warna yang kita ingini dan kita juga tidak dapat mengisi tempayan itu lagi. Bila tempayan tidak pecah barulah dapat kita warnakannya dengan warna kebangsaan dan keislaman dan kita isikan Islam dan nasionalisma ke dalam tempayan itu. Tetapi kalau tempayan sudah pecah, kuasa politik tidak di tangan kita lagi, maka tak payahlah kita nak cerita pasal Islam atau nasionalisma lagi, kerana tempayan itu tidak boleh dipakai atau diguna lagi,” ujar beliau.

PRU 13 - ANTARA HAMID AWALUDIN, JUSUF KALLA DAN ANWAR

Di bawah ini adalah berita tambahan mengenai JUSUF KALLA DAN ANWAR IBRAHIM yang jelas kandungannya.

'Update' berikut adalah mengenai permintaan Anwar Ibrahim melalui mantan Wapres Jusuf Kalla supaya Dato' Seri Najib Tun Abdul Razak menghormati keputusan PRU 13. Bekas Menteri Hukum dan HAM Indonesia Bapak Hamid Awaludin hadir sebagai saksi. Anwar mendakwa Najib yang minta persetujuan itu sebaliknya Jusuf Kalla menyatakan Anwar yang minta. Apa kata saksi Hamid Awaludin.

UPDATE: 

Did Anwar Ibrahim tell the Truth? - BERNAMA Interview with Hamid Awaludin.


Hamid Awaludin was Indonesian minister of law and human rights from 2004-2007 when Jusuf Kalla was vice president, and was Indonesian ambassador to Russia and Belarus from 2008-2011.


1. Anwar Ibrahim claims it was Jusuf Kalla who approached him whereas Jusuf Kalla said he was approached by Anwar. Which is true?

Hamid Awaludin:

I was present during Jusuf Kalla’s discussions with both Anwar and Najib. It was Jusuf Kalla who accepted Anwar’s request to mediate. He did not take the initiative and approach Anwar. Jusuf Kalla does not have any political and economic interests in Malaysia. He is busy with his affairs in Indonesia. So why would he take the initiative and approach Anwar? It isn’t logical.

Jusuf Kalla considers both Anwar and Najib as good friends. He wanted to help because they were competing fiercely with one another. That is how he saw this.  

2. Anwar claims there were several "preconditions" in the agreement e.g. free elections, fair media, etc. Can you outline any preconditions?

Hamid Awaludin:

I am very sure that there were no preconditions discussed between Jusuf Kalla and Anwar. For me, a deal is a deal. And there was a deal that both parties – Anwar and Najib – agreed to.

Some people always try and find a loophole after the event, or an excuse not to deliver on their promise. Some people are different in character to others.


3. Anwar now claims PM Najib didn't sign the agreement and it was therefore not valid. Jusuf Kalla says the PM did give his verbal agreement and therefore the deal was agreed by both parties, and was valid. Is Anwar correct or is JusufKalla?

Thursday, June 6, 2013

ASEAN ECONOMICS AND WESTERN BIGOTRY


(This speech was delivered during the 14th Meeting of the ASEAN Ministers of Agriculture and Forestry in Bandung, The Republic of Indonesia, October 1992)

Bandung, Republic of Indonesia
October 8, 1991

Regional Cooperation

While several parts of the world are beset with various economic problems, ASEAN member states have made tremendous progress as well as strengthening and expanding regional cooperation.

In the face of increasing protectionism, ASEAN has, over the years, made commendable progress to enhance the status of agriculture and forestry through the formation of integrated economic communities and trade arrangements. For this, credit must be accorded to COFAF and its subsidiary bodies.

Farmers adopting new technologies in agricultural production and the growth of small and medium scale agro-forestry is testimony to the changing face of the rural scene.

When our Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr.Mahathir Mohamad took over the reins of government 11 years ago, we decided then to put people before production. In the past we have been more interested in rubber than rubber tappers, more interested in rice production than in padi planters, and in cocoa than the cultivators. We are changing to give more attention to the people than produce.

Animal Prize

As such, we have Agro-Sport, and Agro-Golf or Golf Tani. This has been introduced in the hope of fostering better understanding and interaction between officers and private sector.

POVERTY ALLEVIATION IN EAST AND SOUTH-EAST ASIA



(This speech was delivered at the Conference of Agriculture Sustainability, Growth and Poverty Alleviation – organised jointly by ISIS, DSE and IFPRI in Kuala Lumpur on 3rd October, 1994)

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
October 3, 1994

Thanks

My thanks go to ISIS Malaysia, DSE (Deutsche Stiftung fur international Entwicklung/ German Foundation for International Development), and IFPRI (The International Food Policy Research Institute), who as joint organizers of this Conference, have very kindly invited me to officiate the opening and deliver this address.

The willingness of a German foundation and a US-based research institution to jointly organise this conference on East Asia problems is an expression of open support for Malaysia’s EAEC proposal which is meant to do the same thing.

As of last week, the United States Congress has not approved the implementation of GATT because of disagreements over agriculture subsidies and textile imports.

Why should there be a problem over textile imports? A nation with free market economy should not have such problems. Bismark, the German, had the answer. He said that ‘free trade is the idea of the exporters’. When one becomes an importer, there is always an attempt to establish direct or indirect barriers for imports.

Subsidies

Why should there be problems over agriculture subsidies?

All of us who are taught Malthusian theory on population know that the obsession to produce more food came after the theory. We now have more food than people to eat them, but due to uneven distribution, millions are dying of hunger and malnutrition. To Thomas Malthus, famine and war are legitimate events to reduce population and, therefore, are not things to worry about.

What is worrying is the subsidy.

But this subsidy is necessary to encourage production, for otherwise there will be shortage of supply resulting in the increase of food prices.

When more than 33% of the components of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) is food, we have, therefore, created a ready criteria sandwiching food agriculture between the idea of Thomas Malthus and the idea behind the CPI.

Growth

With political stability, the East Asian region or the East and South-East Asian region are growing rapidly. China, with its Communistic Capitalism is doing better than Russia with its Democratic Capitalism. India with its Democratic Socialism is in between. Different forms of democracies in the East and South East Asian region are making political stability possible.

Stability makes growth possible.

POVERTY IN DEMOCRACY


(This speech was delivered during the 21st Session of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Regional Conference for Asia and the Pacific in New Delhi, India, February, 1991)

New Delhi, India
February 10, 1991

Change in Emphasis

Having been the Malaysian Minister of Agriculture for almost six years, I have observed a glaring change in emphasis set by FAO compared to the time I first attended its conference in Rome.

Farmers’ Interests

Malaysia, too, has changed its emphasis from commodity oriented agriculture to farmers, breeders and fishermen oriented agriculture.

We are now more interested in the rubber tappers than in rubber, more interested in fishermen than in fish, in padi planters than in padi.

Moving away from colonial agricultural policy when the colonial masters produced food for themselves and the colonies produced commodities for their industries, independent nations are now producing food and the commodities will only be produced so long as it is price competitive and as long as it does not lead to the farmers remaining impoverished.

Income

In the same spirit of changing emphasis, Malaysia is trying to reverse the approach, whereby, instead of paying attention to merely increasing income in the hope that quality of life improves, we are trying to improve the quality of life to generate more income.

If the quality of life is measured in the following terms:

·         tasty and quality food,
·         sporting activities for health and recreation,
·         clean and beautiful environment,
·         music and culture,
·         proper dressing and housing.

Quality

We should try to introduce quality as a stimulant or a motivating factor. A man with increased income will not buy a violin, but a man who is interested in playing the violin will struggle to increase his income to buy one. We know that married couples do not voluntarily plan their family to improve their income, but a couple with good income will voluntarily plan the family.

Man before Commodity

If it is possible to change from commodity before man to man before commodity, it should also be possible to change from income before quality to quality before income. It is for these reasons that Malaysian rural women are taught international cooking, sports are organized for farmers and fishermen, landscape  competition organized nation-wide to turn villages into beautiful gardens, musicians identified among farmers resulting in “Farmer’s Symphony Orchestra’ and Agro-Theatre and extension work organized to improve sewing and other skills for woman and men, resulting in better homes.

Nett Exporter

With the above strategies coupled with the setting-up of a model village for year 2020 at the Malaysian Agriculture Park, we have managed to transform Malaysia from a net importer of food, though exporter of agricultural products, into a net exporter of food.

Dr. Eduoard Saouma has reiterated that ‘no task commanded higher priority than of reducing poverty’ and the 80s aptly termed the lost decade for the poor. ‘Nearly one-half of the world’s poor live in South Asia at the beginning of this decade. We must promote the productive use of the poor’s most abundant asset: labor. The 1990s must not be a clone of the 1980s.

Monday, June 3, 2013

VALUES FOR DEVELOPMENT


(Delivered at the closing ceremony of the AARRO Conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, March, 1993)

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
March, 1993

New Opportunities

As President of AARRO (Afro-Asia Rural Reconstruction Organisation) for the next three years, I would like to tell you some of my opinions on few subjects that might be useful for us in our efforts to develop individuals and organisations in our countries towards the discovery of new opportunities for our people in the pursuit of a better quality of life for the underprivileged in the rural areas.

As far as the development of individuals is concerned, despite being of different religions, cultural backgrounds and political system; and despite being from different continents, we recommend certain values that have been propagated by our Honourable Prime Minister, Dato’ Seri Dr. Mahathir bin Mohamad at a leadership lecture on January 1, 1992, as values relevant to all.

These values have been tested over time in countries such as Japan, South Korea and Taiwan. It is hoped that with these correct values, individuals in all the member countries of AARRO can improve their performances and the quality of their lives.

The five values that our Honourable Prime Minister introduced in his leadership lectures are:

·         Trust
·         Discipline
·         Courage
·         Diligence and
·         Loyalty

Trust

It is unfortunate that in developing countries, particularly, among the poor, the degree of trustworthiness in diminishing.

Without being trustworthy, it is difficult for any programme to succeed.

We have to, all the time, ask our people whether we will be more trustworthy tomorrow than we are today; or will it be that with more power, with more wealth and better position, we become less trustworthy than we were when we did not have all those excesses.

Discipline

We also have to inculcate discipline in ourselves. We have to do things the right way according to certain acceptable rules and principles, within a certain period, just as in prayers, by the Muslims, we have to perform, at a certain time, and in a certain way.

It is obvious that wherever we have extreme poverty, we also have extreme indiscipline.

Discipline, however, is also lacking among people living in prosperity. It is only in those countries with leaders at all levels who are able to carry on in a disciplined way can we succeed in doing anything great at all.

It is, therefore, necessary for our people to keep on asking whether we are more disciplined today than we were yesterday, or whether we will be more disciplined tomorrow than we are today.

Courage

The next value is courage. Whether in a democracy or in other systems, it is always the lack of courage among leaders, or among individuals, that eventually rocks the society. There is a saying that goes, ‘The world will go the dogs when good people do nothing.’

All the time in our society, we will see programs failing not so much because they are ill-planned, but because we do not have people with enough courage to tell those who are implementing them that they have gone wrong.

It is not only in implementation of the programmes that we need the people with courage, but also we also need people with courage in all walks of life at different levels in society. It is, therefore, necessary for us to keep on asking whether we are braver today than we were yesterday or we will be braver and have more courage tomorrow than today.

Diligence