How can lawmakers smoke in the august house?

Photo credit: Malaysiakini 


By Stephen Ng


I find amusing when Malaysian lawmakers would make a fuss of the "No Smoking" ban in the parliament.

What exactly is it that makes the elected members of parliament different from the rest of us? Surely, they are not above the law!

If universities have turned their campuses into "No Smoking" Zones, there is no reason why the august house cannot accept the reform that we have desired so much to see. If the ban is on all government buildings and hospitals, what makes the Malaysian parliament any difference?

The smoke from the cigarettes will be recycled in an airconditioned environment, and this affects the health of a few hundred people at any one time.

In the past, the Barisan Nasional regime had no political will to impose the "No Smoking" ban on the Parliament; but now, when there is a minister who is willing to stand up for doing what is right, why of all persons does Backbencher Chairman Johari Abdul seek to even speak up on behalf of the complainants?

There are more important issues that he should raise for the attention of the Administration in order to make this country a better place for everyone. Why talk about the "No Smoking" ban in parliament?

Is it not a waste of the lawmakers' time? Are their salaries not paid by taxpayers? So, why are they talking on matters like this that do not affect the rakyat? If the ban is imposed in the Parliament, who cares! We have better things to do than to care whether lawmakers get to smoke anywhere in the parliament or within its compound.

If the Minister of Health, Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad has imposed a ban on smoking in the parliament, let it be! The Speaker has no problem with it, so why raise this in parliament?

Also, what the heck does Kinabatangan MP, Bung Mokhtar Radin think he is when he said, and I quote: "I feel that the Health Ministry has been discriminatory towards smokers. It appears that the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community has more rights than smokers."

I wonder where has Bung Mokhtar's grey matter gone to or whether he even qualifies to be a lawmaker. If he thinks he is a fighting cock in the parliament, he better think twice because the Rakyat is watching him.

Photo Credit: https://www.malaysiakini.com/letters/447957

If Bung Mokhtar cannot take the "No Smoking" ban, he should just quit being a member of the august house. He can build himself a chimney and smoke all that he wants, but please, do not do it at the expense of other people's health.

I applaud Dr Dzulkefly's bold move. The ban is for the sake of many lawmakers who have to otherwise suffer the secondary smoke from smokers.

It is perhaps time for the Ministry of Health to impose the "No Smoking" zone in state government offices, including the offices of State Excos.

This article is also published here.

END.

Myth of Language leading to so-called National Unity

By Stephen Ng

In a recent forum, “'Malaysia: A New Dawn', former Minister of International Trade and Industries, Tan Sri Rafidah Aziz commented about Education Minister, Dr Maszlee Malik’s slogan ‘Mempertabatkan Bahasa Malaysia’.

I would like to add to her rhetoric. To me, promoting Bahasa Malaysia to strengthen national unity is nothing but a myth.

This slogan, based on Shih Huang Ti’s efforts to unite the many kingdoms into one country using Mandarin as the official language has been sung by Umno propagandists time and again for many decades.

This narrow mindedness of people in the likes of Tan Sri Rais Yatim has sidelined English and other vernacular languages. This has destroyed the country’s competitiveness in the international arena.

How can Malaysia be an Asian tiger if its people can hardly speak standard English and communicate with the rest of the world? 

With Bahasa Malaysia, we can only reach out to people in the so-called Nusantara.

With English and the vernacular languages, we can conquered at least two-thirds of the world, but after all these years of promoting Bahasa Malaysia at the expense of other languages, we have become a kampung within a world of mega cities and metropolitans.

Even China has caught up with the rest of the world, with its people capable of speaking good English, compared to our Chinese in Malaysia.

With China fast becoming an economic powerhouse in this region, Mandarin is an important communication tool when trading with the Chinese. Mandarin, Tamil and Hindi are spoken by nearly two billion people or one third of the world’s population.

By all means, Bahasa Malaysia should be promoted extensively. It is embarrassing to learn that one can use the “Read Aloud” App on iPhones for example to read aloud text in Mandarin, but not in Bahasa Malaysia. What is Dewan Bahasa & Pustaka doing about it when we are supposed to be championing the language?

As pointed out by Rafidah, our politicians in Malaysia Baru including Maszlee are still singing the slogan that learning of Bahasa Malaysia will lead to national unity.

Why do I call it a myth? The answer is simple. Look at the way how Malays voted in the last general election. Sixty percent of the country’s population voted in three directions. All speak Bahasa Malaysia and practise the same religion, but where is the unity?

The Chinese, Indians, Dayaks and Kadazan Dusun united together with one-third of the Malays to vote out the old regime, bringing about a new dawn in Malaysia. 

We each speak different languages, yet whenever a ceramah is conducted using the common language, everyone understood, and a bond was created.

In some ceramah, politicians spoke in Mandarin and Tamil as well, yet they were able to rally the different races together to oust Barisan Nasional. If Maszlee is able to speak in Tamil, I am sure he would have used the language as well to woo the Indian voters in his constituency.

So, why after the general election, we see the U-turn, to the point that the Unified Examination Certificate (UEC) cannot be recognised until Bahasa Malaysia is given the pre-eminence in these private Chinese schools? This is nothing but an excuse we have often heard from Umno in the past.

Why are we still thinking that Bahasa Malaysia alone will unite the nation when this is just a myth that Umno has believed in for so many decades?

I suggest that if you have time, go and watch a famous sitcom in the seventies, “Empat Sekawan.” Tan Ah Chek spoke in Hokkien, while Wong Ho and Hon Yin spoke in Cantonese. Lai Meng spoke in Hakka, although her mother tongue was Cantonese. 

All four of them understood each other despite using different dialects. In real life, they were, in fact, good friends.  

What united them together since their days in Bukit Bintang was not the language but the fact that they were fellow Malaysians with a common direction in life.

Malaysians have proven that with race, religion and language set aside, we were able to unite in the last general election. 

Can’t we unite ourselves with a common vision to bring Malaysia to the next level, putting aside our differences in race, religion and language, that otherwise would divide us?

I hope after reading my article, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad would advise his cabinet to make a paradigm shift if we want to see Malaysia become an Asian Tiger again. 

We have what it takes to trade with the rest of the world using the language our trading partners are most comfortable with. Let us not lose our diversity.

There is unity in diversity. Commonness only leads to Communism.

STEPHEN NG is an ordinary citizen with an avid interest in following political developments in the country since 2008. After May 9, 2018, he is now involved in contributing ideas towards rebuilding of the nation.

Open letter to Tun Dr Mahathir

By Stephen Ng


Dear Tun,

One of the promises in the election manifesto was to solve the issue of stateless people.

Their plight has been highlighted far and wide in the local media, and promises have also been made to give citizenship to people who were born in Malaysia.

No thanks to your officers at National Registration Centre (JPN), things are not moving as we have expected. While fake identify cards have been identified throughout the country, in particular Sabah, genuine cases of children born to at least one Malaysian parent have been denied of citizenship.

I wish to remind you that once upon a time, you wanted the country’s population to reach 70 million. We are only half way to achieve this target, yet we are not giving enough attention to solve the stateless people’s issue.

A couple of months ago, when Kepong MP Lim Lip Eng opened up a service counter to help stateless people, he was shocked to see a long queue waiting to see him.

People like Lateefah Koya, N. Surendran and Eric Paulssen have been working tireless to help the stateless chidlren. Your cabinet ministers have also met up with you to discuss about the stateless people in the country.

This is the extent of the problem. It is not only affecting one particular race, but thousands of people who have not known any other country other than Malaysia. After all, how could they travel without ever having the chance to hold a Malaysian passport?

If the officers at JPN are the ones who are dragging their feet, perhaps, it is time for you to revamp both JPN and the Ministry of Home Affairs. We can no longer tolerate civil servants who are acting like little Napoleons.

I have at hand the case of a 11-year-old girl who has been diagnosed of Systemic Lupus Ertythematosus (SLE). Because of her statelessness, the initial treatment at a public hospital has cost the family some RM2,000.

The matter has been brought to the attention of Minister of Health, Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad who, together with his special officer, have gone the extra mile. Dr Dzulkefly has even offered to help the family financially, but this does not seem right especially when the child is stateless not by choice.
At the same time, doctors at the hospital have been very helpful but they can only do so much.

Over the long term, treatment is going to very costly for the family because the child, despite being born and raised in Malaysia, is treated like a foreigner. This is downright injustice happening behind my eyes.

I wish to also highlight the case of Rosiah Abdullah, who attracted our attention. Despite being a STPM top scorer, the brilliant student from SMK Kg Kapar could not enter public universities.

While the Deputy Minister of Education, Teo Nie Ching has recently announced that stateless children should now be able to enrol in institutions of higher learning, Rosiah’s status has not changed after May 9.

I do not believe this is a case where the promises in the manifesto cannot be fulfilled but, as acting Home Minister, you have to issue your directive to set up a task force to handle all the cases.

Let me quote W.H. Auden: “We are here on earth to help others; what on earth the others are here for I don’t know.” Let us use whatever power vested on us to get things sorted for that will impact people’s lives.

STEPHEN NG is an ordinary citizen with an avid interest in following political developments in the country since 2008. Now, he is contributing towards nation building.

https://goo.gl/images/kRkeJT

Which soldier works without a salary?

 

Photo credit: The Star 

Which soldier works without a salary?

By Stephen Ng

I refer to the letter, “Dawn of Better Civil Service” by chairman of Asli Centre for Public Policy Studies, Tan Sri Ramon Navaratnam.

Written by a former civil servant himself, this letter reveals much about the state of the civil service today.

We, the members of the public, would like to convey a strong message to the Chief Secretary, Datuk Seri Dr Ismail Bakar that he has an important role to play to reform the civil service.

May 9 marks the change of government. With it, we want to see important reforms in the civil service.

With over 1.6 million civil servants in this country, we are probably one of the highest in terms of ratio of civil servants to the population.

One civil servant serves only 19 persons, compared to Singapore with one civil servant to 71.4 people and United Kingdom 1:118 (see table below from Nazir Razak).

This shows how inefficient our civil service is. Since 2003, the salaries paid to the civil servants have risen more than three-fold from RM22 billion to RM74 billion due to the excesses of the previous regime.

With the much needed reforms, Dr Ismail has to be firm as the chief secretary. There cannot be any compromises with any civil servant that tries to sabotage the reform process.

An urgent issue that he should immediately investigate is the non-payment of salaries to staff who came in with their ministers after the cabinet was set up.

Some of the ministers’ aides are also paid on contract basis based on the number of days they work in a month.  

Which government hires its staff and not paying their salaries for nearly half a year? What on earth is happening to the people who are supposed to be paying the salaries?

Obviously, there are people within the civil service who are trying to sabotage the new Government. This cannot be tolerated. The people responsible for the non-payment of salaries should be hauled up to face the music.

I am told that one of the ministers even had to fork out money from his own salary to help his staff. How long can he do that?

Not mincing my words, we demand an explanation from the Chief Secretary and how is it that this can be overlooked.

STEPHEN NG is an ordinary citizen with an avid interest in following political developments in the country since 2008. After May 9, 2018, he is now involved in contributing ideas towards rebuilding of the nation.

Three Cheers to Uncle Lim

In the course of my hobby and work, I meet all sorts of people all the time.

From millionaires to celebrities and politicians, I do not think of them as anyone more special than the janitor in the civic hall; therefore, I hardly ask to take pictures unless I have special admiration for them.

Being not photogenic, most of the time, I am dragged along to take photographs with people.

To date, I have only asked to take pictures with the late Tan Sri Ani Arope (former TNB chief), Chinese sitcom actress Lai Meng (of Empat Sekawan fame) and Amanah President, Mat Sabu. Kit Siang is the latest in my list. Perhaps, if there is a chance, I would like a photograph with Rafidah Aziz, and not only Siti Hasmah but Dr Mahathir Mohamad 2.0 as well.

I was invited to a dinner where both the elder Lim and the Junior Lim were there. Guan Eng was my senior at Monash back in the eighties and now a cabinet minister. I could have easily asked to take a photograph with him. Nothing wrong with him, but I only chose to be photographed with Kit. Why?

The reason is simple. Kit is a legend. I have read a lot of what he had to say when he was Mr Opposition. Even now, he speaks his mind. For many years, I have agreed with what he has to say about us being Malaysians.

Although he could have been made a senior minister in Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad's cabinet, he chose to lead a simple life. For all the years that he has served the country, often sacrificing even his personal freedom, Kit was not seeking for a position or another one of those sought-after awards.

There is a saying that when you throw a stone, you will likely hit a Datuk. But this legend stands out from the rest, and without a title, he deserves my respect.

Kit is not the type that is looking for money or government projects. He exemplifies the slogan, "Service Above Self." In fact, I came up with a slogan to remind all our YBs who were elected on May 9, 2018. The $ sign has a big S which stands for Service. In short, when you see the $ sign, think of this: ‘I Serve.’

Kit is an ordinary man on the street. He can walk around without a bodyguard, and everyone will recognise him. To this man who has contributed much to this nation, I would like to give him a standing ovation.

In fact, his whole lifetime is spent on Opposition politics, not something that is easy to do. He has indeed served the nation well. Like it or not, at the end of his life, I earnestly think that he is worthy of a Tunship.

END.

The Need for Ombudsman Malaysia

By Stephen Ng


For many years, I have been waiting anxiously for the setting up of both the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC) and Ombudsman Malaysia (Ombudsman).

I have written about it. But, under the Barisan Nasional government, we saw the great resistance from the police to block the setting up the IPCMC.

It therefore brings me great joy when the Pakatan Government agreed to also set up the Ombudsman.

A quick check on the Internet, the Ombudsman is defined as "a government official (as in Sweden or New Zealand) appointed to receive and investigate complaints made by individuals against abuses or capricious acts of public officials."

A lot of issues affecting us have to do with the lack of good work ethics in the mindset of our civil servants. Many of our civil servants are one-eyed Jacks. Now they see, now they don't!

With over 1.5 million civil servants, it is not difficult for anyone to imagine how advanced we can be as a nation if our civil servants have good work attitudes. Sadly, the reality is just the opposite despite a new government has taken over Putrajaya.

Corruption has long been entrenched in our civil service society to the point that even the office boys will ask for kickbacks if we want our documents processed fast. This gives rise the runners who pay to get jobs done.

But, when you as an ordinary person complains, you do not get the attention that you deserve unless, of course, you are a member of cabinet. Does this sound familiar?

For the past 25 years, I have been following up on a number of government agencies, departments and ministries -- from City Halls, Municipal Councils to the Land Office and the , and from Ministry of Housing & Local Government to the Ministry of Education.

To those that are good, I give the credit, but mostly, I had to crack the whip in order to see the results. Because I am persistent, I take the trouble to go all the way to the top or expose the issue in the press.

Often, with a camera in hand, I would write about issues affecting people, and the moment the article appears in one of the newspapers, solution would be at hand. This was particularly true during Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad's tenure as the fourth prime minister of Malaysia. But things deteriorated, and it got worse during Najib Abdul Razak's time.

A number of years ago, when I was working with an private institution of higher learning, I discovered a number of our local and international students using a monsoon drain below the highway to get across to their apartment.

After I wrote an article for The Star Metro using the pseudonym, David Ng, the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) finally responded by building a flyover across the highway.

In another case, a housing estate has been without streetlights for at least 25 years. After I wrote a one-page article in Malay Mail, on the same day, Tenaga Nasional employees came to plant the streetlights.

They worked non-stop from noon till very late at night to install the streetlight poles. There was a lot of joy in the residents when their streets were finally lit up. I later learnt that it was the late Tan Sri Ani Arope who acted upon reading my article. His personal assistant and I became good friends since then. Tan Sri Ani and I also communicated frequently in the last few years of his life. A great man of virtue, indeed!

To solve problems, I had to use the media to hype up the issues in order to get some attention. For example, when I discovered that my Mom had a Qualified Title (Hakmilik Sementara) for 40 years, it took me two to three years with the help of the Member of Parliament, Dr Tan Seng Giaw and a lot of publicity in the media to finally get the titles changed to Full Titles (Geran) for the entire housing estate.

Not many people know this but I was the one who forced the predecessor to the Malaysian Communication and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), Celcom, Maxis and Telekom to look into the use of 999 as an emergency line on mobile phones. It started when I discovered that if you dialled 999 on the mobile phone back in the 90s, it would go to the nearest district police station (IPD). At night, there would be no one picking up the phone. After much negotiation following my highlight, finally the telcos agreed to use a central emergency response unit. You can now dial 999 (or 112) on your mobile phone, and the line would be connected to a centre that manages all emergency calls. 

There were many other issues that I had to pursue at great length before I saw the outcome. Even at this point in time, I am involved in a number of issues affecting others and I am pursuing all the way to achieve the results.

Despite many letters and meetings with the civil servants, often nothing gets done at the end of the day until you kick up a big fuss. But, why should this be? If the civil servants adopt a positive attitude towards serving the taxpayers, we would not have so many problems.

People would not have to run around just because some lazy officers refuse to solve the problem brought to their attention.

This is why we still need the Ombudsman to put civil servants on their toes. I look forward to the establishment of Ombudsman Malaysia.



END

MMC-Gamuda only has itself to blame

Photo Credit: https://www.malaysiakini.com/news/446788

By Stephen Ng

After a failed negotiation with the Government, MMC-Gamuda is now looking to be invited for re-negotiation.

This is after the consortium kicked up the dust after the initial negotiations failed.

The statement that the consortium finally issued today to "urge all stakeholders especially (its) staff, subcontractors and suppliers to remain calm" has come too late.

The statement should have been issued earlier without causing any further damage to the government of the day.

The consortium has failed to realise that the rakyat is watching the way it conducts its business. MMC-Gamuda should not think that it can twist the arm of anyone in the Malaysian Government.

Now that it realises that they cannot bully the Government, it wants to go back to the negotiation table without even coming out with a public apology.

The Government should not invite the consortium to the negotiation table again; instead invite them to submit a new tender and compete with other tenderers to see who can deliver the job at a better price to the country.

END.