Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Call Me A Fool, I Am Worried


A Kadir Jasin

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FOR the Muslims, the holy months of Ramadan and Syawal are a time for reflection. Time that they pause to remember the blessings of Allah and to be grateful for His bounty. For the older ones, it’s time to recall the time that had gone by.

Parents are hopeful that their children will be thankful for the sacrifices they had made and to cherish their legacies.

It was on this note and premise that the late Tun Abdul Razak Hussein, Malaysia’s second Prime Minister (1971-76), laid the foundation for the Internal Security Act (ISA).

In his speech to the Dewan Rakyat, when debating the bill on June 22, 1960, Tun Abdul Razak, among other things, said:

“Sir, no one can predict the future, history alone can tell; but I am of the firm conviction that if we pass this Bill today our children and grandchildren will be very thankful for our foresight, our forethought, for taking measures to protect our young nation and our new State and for taking measures to make democracy safe in this country and taking measures to make this country a healthy place for them to live in the years to come.” (Read more)

Tun Abdul Razak: Great Foresight and Forethought
Yes, I am very thankful to Tun Razak’s foresight and forethought. The ISA made democracy safe and Malaysia a healthier place to live in.

But not everybody shares Tun Abdul Razak’s hope and aspiration. Not every child and grandchild is thankful to his foresight and forethought.

Or maybe he or she does not even know what this great man had said and done for him and her. Malaysians don’t particularly care about history, heritage and legacy. Sad.
Mohd Najib: He has a different idea
Just a thought and a reminder that there are so many things the successors to the past leaders don’t know or don’t care about.

I wonder what role the Lembaga Penasihat Jabatan Perdana Menteri plays these days since preventive detention laws have all been done away with and as Malaysia becomes increasingly unsafe and unhealthy.

Yes, there is an advisory board at the Prime Minister Department on these matters. But all of us know that the current PM has the largest number of advisors, special and not so special.

Advisors vs Hangers-On

IT will not surprise me a bit if more will be appointed, not so much for the value of their contribution, but to keep them happy, to neutralise them and to empower the PM by having one advisor cancelling the other. A brilliant strategy, if indeed it is one.

The many million ringgit question is, who are paying these men and women their “taraf menteri” salaries and do they really contribute?

No wonder our budget deficits under the PM as Finance Minister is growing bigger and are attracting negative international ratings.

And we should all be worried about the spectre of the 1997/98 Asian Financial Crises staring at us once again.

China has slowed down. Thailand has gone into recession. The ringgit is weakening against major currencies.

But do the advisors to the PM care that the rupiah had slid to its lowest in four years on Aug. 19 and Indonesia’s share prices fell the most in 22 months and government bonds slumped on concerns over a much wider current-account deficits?

Here in Southeast Asia, the crisis of 1997/98 started in Thailand and Indonesia. Are we not worried? Are we prepaared? Do we have a contingency plan?

The PM was a junior minister when the recession hit in 1997/98. Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Tun Daim Zainuddin worked hard to rescue the economy. Are they the PM’s penasihat bertaraf menteri? I have not heard of it.

Maybe I am deaf. Wallahualam.

26 comments:

The Eugenist said...

Salam..

Pak Kadir,

I believe most of us Malaysians are more concerned with the Prime Minister's deafening silent on all issues mentioned in your article Sir.

The end, is just a beginner.

aku pemandu, tetapi di jalanan said...

Kami hanya mampu berdoa......itu saja, tiada apa lagi yang hendak diperkatakan dan diperjuangkan.

Grandpa said...

I share your sentiments and your fears Datuk. Unfortunately there are others who seem oblivious to the imminent danger - Rocky for one had rubbished Fitch's rating as mere propaganda.

The advisers and menteris are not worried because all is paid for - it's people on the street who will suffer most.

Veteran Merbok said...

Tok sebut pasal Daim, dia pernah wakili kerajaan pada zaman Tun Mahathir lepas dia bersara.

Dia dilantik mewakili Negara dalam MITGT & EAGA.

Kerajaan buat perjanjian dengan beliau dan dia diberi taraf Menteri supaya ada kedudukan bila bersama-sama Menteri-Menteri Thailand, Indonesia, Filipina, Brunei bila bermesyuarat.

Dia bukan penasihat Perdana Menteri.

Perdana Menteri ada Menteri-Menteri dalam Kabinet untuk menasihati beliau.

Sekarang ada JJ, Samy Vellu, Sharizat dan Rais semua taraf Menteri. Ini pelik. Musa masa dihantar ke UN pun bertaraf Menteri juga.

maae said...

Salam Datuk,

1. Kudos Tuk. Poisonous sting right in their forehead. I wonder why PM Najib just ignore the financial experts in Bank Negara and K. Kewangan. What are their functions really ? Those years, we had all the kementerian involved in every sector of development and nation building. Now everybody on their own.

2. History, heritage and legacy. Datuk explained it well.

3. Now we see mobsters consider as heroes while Policemen being criminals. A new born legacy. Pathetic.

Rabbit said...

“Sir, no one can predict the future, history alone can tell; but I am of the firm conviction that if we pass this Bill today our children and grandchildren will be very thankful for our foresight, our forethought, for taking measures to protect our young nation..."

Unfortunately, his own son didn't appreciate it.

thegreatteadrinkerdownsouth said...

Salaam, Datuk. And belated Hari Raya greetings.

I agree that the crime situation in the country is extremely worrisome. The rakyat, almost without exception, have their own horror stories about armed robberies, car jackings, snatch thefts, attempted abductions and gang violence. So much so that the streets in our major urban areas are often no-go zones at night.

Is this any way to live, when we have to constantly look over our shoulder, be wary if a motorcyclist comes too close to us and where security guards are needed to escorts us to our cars in shopping mall car parks?

We hate it when commentators compare Malaysia with Singapore, but it has to be admitted that in the areas of policing, levels of crime, personal safety and border controls, the city-state seems to be doing things right.

Businesses and investors are sitting up and taking note of such things.

Yes, Singapore still has the ISA. But it has not been used for the preventive detention of criminals. Rather, such elements have been identified and arrested though good investigatory and police techniques and by the rigorous enforcement of laws by an on-the-ball judicial system.

There's much we can learn from this, if we remove the blindfolds from our eyes.

Unknown said...

Aslkum Dakj

1. Pedas, padat dan berani. Syukur masih ada Melayu bukan prmbangkang yg bukan tukang angguk je.

2. Saya pernah puji Tun Razak kerana jasa pd org Melayu. Tapi saya maintain ISA hanya selamat utk rakyat jika kerajaan baik tidak tindas rakyat. Sori bagi saya kerajaan zaman Mahathir paling tak baik dalam pelaksanaan ISA. Tapi seteruk2 Mahadir dalam rekod hak asasi manusia dan membina kemudian meroboh ekonomi dan kepentingan Melayu , jasa beliau membangun negara secara fisiksl nampak walaupun menyebabkan beban kewangan jangka panjang kpd kerajaan berikutnya.

3. Tapi jasa seciput Najib hanya pd klinik satu Malaysia, kedai satu Malaysia dan BRIM.

4. Yg lain tu Najib tu terkenal dgn terpalit dgn tuduhan pembunuhan Altantuya, rasuah beli kapal selam, menghapuskan kementerian usahawan tempat Melayu bergantung, terlalu mengagongkan Cina dan India dalam membeti peruntukan sehingga menyinggung perasaan Melayu dan QC oleh RM.

5 Rakyat bersedialah terutama Melayu mengharungi masa depsn yg sukar bila pelabur cabut dari Malsysia. Tanda peristiwa i Fitu dah sgt jelas bila hutsng negara dah capai 55% drpd GDP dan terbaru bila agensi penarapan Fitch menurunkan rating keupsyaan berhutang negara ini.

6. Moral cerita dalam Islam kalau tak mampu jangan sibuk2 nak perintsh negara. Kalau satu dunia tau perintah rumsh pun Najib fails.

7. Bila masaalsh ekonomi dtg lagi maka org Macam Mahathir akan lega sambil mendabik dada dan berkata " zaman aku dulu semua ok je. Memang kau orang ni PM lemah. Sekarang biar anak aku pulsk ambil alih ".

8. Akhir kalam. Dakj tak takut ke kena tshan bawah ISA memandangkan di kaca mata pembodek UMNO , Dakj dah serupa dgn suara pembabgkang sejak dua menjak ni.


leekh said...

An Event that precedes another may have no causal relationship at all. I pray to god and ask for rain. If it rains I will say my prayers are answered, god is merciful. If it does not rain I will say god works in mysterious ways. Is there a causal relationship between my action and the rain that fell?
So if my father refuses to finance my business venture and I still succeed. Can I attribute my success to my father's actions? What if I fail? Of course when my wife is around I will say it was the unwavering support from my wife that is responsible for my success.
Or would you like the example of the butterfly flapping its wings in Peking and the hurricane in Brazil?
History allows the simple minded to pick and choose. But the wise man an opportunity to untie all the knots. The truth may not be the truth after all.

esa adam said...

I agree with you Pak Kadir,

Najib has appointed so many advisors. Kebudayaan ada advisor. Hal wanita pun ada advisor. dan macam2 advisor lagi. semuanya taraf menteri. mungkin negara yang teramai menteri per 1000 population.

The perks to the menteri wallahualam. rakyat yang menanggung semua ni.

To do away with this is to remove the PM himself because he is not capable to run the country by himself. What do you think Pak Kadir.

safiai saad said...

I expressed my concern with what happening around us.Our leaders seemed more preoccupied with positions and perk and keep appointing persons of salvage value which their depreciation rate has indicated that they have no salvage value indeed.Their thinking on making Malaysia more progressive and forward looking seemed to be directionless.
The role of Islam also looked to be diminished when one read the judgement of Indera Ghandi case.
The crime prevention methodology was zerorised by our myopic views on democracy.
we always thought that democracy,human right.International convention will make us the better person.Who design such principle.
we are mere parrots who become the agent for this grand master. In the end we are gong to loose what our forfather have stood up for us.
Everybody from NGO,bar councils,writers,poet are licking us dry.Whose fault is this.I believed we will be dead dried.

Django said...

Kudos Tok. Great foresight, great forethought. But all a waste. 1. MNTR don't care a hood about your blog. 2. You are a minor irritant. 3. Appointment of Sharizat is pure and simple - this woman has always been close to PMs' wives - Kak Endon, Tun Jane and now RM. 4. This woman is going to teach other women to do business. 5. She said she didn't know her husband's and children's business. 6. What business has she done - law firm and I&P chairman. 7. We have the biggest cabinet and the PM has the most number of advisers. 8. No wonder we are being downgraded. Que sera sera.

Joe Black said...

We all share your sentiment Dato'. The deterioration in Public Safety leading to deterioration in the Country's financial situation seems to have no effect on the PM and his advisers. If they do care, they certainly do not show it.

The latest concern is the rise in inflation...TNB makes more than double this year at our expense. How does the poor manage their bills? One wonders

What is going to break the Camel's Back?

Quantum Metal Consultant said...

Hala tuju, pendekatan, sikap, perangai najib rasanya sudah sukar diubah lebih2 lagi najib sukar digugat dari segi politik umno dlm kedudukannya sebagai presiden yg tidak mampu dicabar oleh mana2 pemimpin lain Dan kedudukannya sebagai pm terjamin sebelum pru14.

Quantum Metal Consultant said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
A KADIR JASIN said...

Thank you for debating.

1. We may not be able to remove or change the PM's was of doing things, but at least we know where he's leading us to.

2. I had SMSed a media "advisor" the PM/Finance Minister asking for list of PM's advisors (taraf menteri and no taraf menteri). No acknowledgement and no list.

3. Can anybody out there spare me the list?

4. Debater Veteran Merbok gave the following as penasihat bertaraf menteri - JJ, Samy Vellu, Sharizat dan Rais semua taraf Menteri.

5. Did the PM really say that Shahrizat is to train women to do business?

Thank you.

longjack2006 said...

otak NYA ada pada penasihat penasihat

Unknown said...

Aslkum Dakj

Peristiwa bas AWAM buruk jatuh gaung menyebabkan 37 mati .

Kerajaan ada otak tapi tak pakai. Sedangkan pakai kereta baru pun rasa ngeri bila brake dalsm perjalanan turun, inikan pulak bas buruk.

Banyak benda yg tak kena dgn kerajaan. Polisnya, JPJ, SPAD dan kementerian semua harus jawab pada rakyat.

Malang berganda pd waris mangsa. Kalaulsh kemalangan ni berlaku bulan April atau beberapa hari sebelum pru 13 tentu pm, pak menteri dan konco akan turun padang, siap istihar sumbangan puluhan ribu rgt setiap mangsa.

Kalau lebih bernasib baik mungkin Najib istihar nama jalan di Pahang sempena mengiktirap PENGORBANAN si mati sudi menyokong bisnis bas buruk Malaysia.

Memang budaya cincai Malaysia kapasiti 44 tapi disumbat dgn 55 org. Nasib baik gamaknya waktu tu cuma ada 55 org. Bayangkan kalau ada 60 atau 70 org yg nak turun dari Genting dgn bas awam waktu tu?

Sebenarnya kejadian malang ni menyerlahkan sikap buruk Malaysia termasuk penunpang yg ke 45 hingga 55 yg tak reti bahasa.

Bila kerajaan dan aparatusnya teruk, adakah rakyat akan terpelihara dan mau ikut peraturan?

thegreatteadrinkerdownsouth said...

Salaam, Datuk

Even the Singapore Business Times paper seems to be making fun of us!

For example, see the front page report in today's issue of this Singapore newspaper.

The heading? "It's a RRRout as rupee, rupiah, ringgit get hit".

It's not a pretty picture as far as the Malaysian economy and government finances are concerned.

Some key takeaways to note:

- to date, the Ringgit is down 5.37% against the US Dollar and down 3.39% against the Singapore Dollar (on a purely personal note, could you have imagined 1 Singapore Dollar being worth 2.57 Ringgit on the forex market?)

- Malaysia's exports are contracting, leading to a decrease in the current account surplus.

- foreign investors hold close to 50% of outstanding Malaysian government debt - "the largest share among all the countries in the region".

- the government seems to have no appetite to undertake "big bang" structural reforms, perhaps because of perceived political risks.

But part of being a leader is being able to explain the economic facts of life to your fellow countrymen and women.

That is why Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's National Day Rally speech last Sunday should be closely scrutinised by Malaysian leaders, politicians and analysts.

Malaysia could do with a dose of Singapore-style long-range infrastructure building and planning and the constant need to innovate and upgrade skills across the board.

We need to do this to convince local and foreign investors to keep investing in Malaysia, to be here for the long haul and not to pull out when the going gets rough and the waters get choppy.

Sadly, all the posturing and rhetoric in the country seems to be pointing the other way.

MalaysianKita said...

The BEST Penasihat Najib adalah Shahrizat....sebab dalam ramai-ramai penasihat bertaraf menteri kata Dato', belum cukup sempurna dan berwibawa, TERPAKSA bawa masuk Shahrizat.....Hemmmmm....cari pasal nampaknya Najib ni....

Endless Possibilities tu apa benda pulak dah....

Oh no...yg ni lagi susah ketua2 cawangan UMNO nak sebut, bergulung lidah jawabnya...nak jelaskan kpd akar umbi tah faham tah tidak....

Hebat hebat slogan demi slogan Najib buat.....1Malaysia tercicir kat mana dah?

din klang said...

Salam Dato.

Ringkas padat dan pedas. I LIKE.

Din melaka

Ambil seposen dan tulis ngomelan anda di blog lain.

MalaysianKita said...

Endless possibilities, Altantuya, never ending story...

So , who killed Altantuyaa.....new story begin......BeeEnd bolehland...

sickput said...

If u ask me, we cannot defend our currency if it comes under attack we have wasted too much money subsidising
Petrol and diesel.
Plus PM department budget also about RM20 billion annually. About the same amount as petrol/diesel subsidy.
THE CITIZENS and the country are deep in debt paying off Dr M's economic folly as the agreement still persist till today including IPP and highway tolls,plus hefty rental for all buildings in putrajaya.
We cannot afford to put up the rates as this will bankrupt the people. Only way is probably another currency control, which should not have been dismantled in the first place.

Joe Black said...

Dato'

Semua Bercakap tentang Slogan Baru Najib, "Endless Possibilities"

Maaf kerana kurang pengetahuan,

Tapi belum ada siapa pun yang sedia memberi terjemahan dan ulasan dari sudut bahasa kita.

Apa itu Endless Possibilities dalam Bahasa Melayu dan bila kah sebutan itu di pakai guna dalam kebudayaan Melayu?

Lahuma said...

Dato.

Malaysia menuju indah khabar dari rupa.

Ekonomi pun makin hampir kais pagi makan pagi.Rakyat kurang ambil tahu ini semua.

Kerajaan Najib sudah jadi kerajaan Big Spender.Kutipan hasil cukup makan/

Bank Negara pun tipu rakyat mengenai data kewangan negara.

Penasihat PM makin banyak dan tumbuh macam cendawab.Semua bertarat Menteri.

Lepas ini boleh jadi semua Pengerusi JKKK bertaraf YB DUN atau Parlimen.

Semua ini melibatkan kos dan kewangan negara.Apa perlu PM banyak sangat penasihat.Penasihat pun banyak yang tak laku macam BESI BURUK.Inilah yang rakyat tak suka.

Keselamatan negara ramai yang seram sejuk.Antara takut bimbang dan was-was.Yang kerajaan kena tegas.Bukan salah pasal ISA atau EO.Patutnya kekal dan ubah suai bukan buang terus.

Sebilangan besar rakyat masih akui keberkesanan ISA dan EO.
Bukan Hak Asasi Manusia sahaja kena jaga.Hak Asasi Rakyat pun kena utamakan juga.

Jangan ada pula tokoh politik yang bettaraf YB menjadi pendokong samseng dan genster negara.Jangan main politik macam budak sekolah tadika.

Menteri KDN kena tegaS.Nampak pun sudah ada taring.Jangan pula Menteri KDN cuma hendak tunjuk bisa dan hero cuma menjelang pemilihan UMNO.Lepas Pemilihan UMNO jadi HERO bunga balik.

Dalam Malaysia pun berlambak sangat isu.

1.isu pendidikan.
2.isu keselamatan.
3.isu ekonomi/pengguna.
4.isu yg ada kaitan dengan Islam/Syiah.
5.isu sosial/rumah
6.isu kemudahan awam.

Macam-macam lagi.

Penasihat cuma cari makan bukan untuk negara.
Ramai faham bahawa Penasihat ini sekadar menjadi Imej/Lambang/Stautus pertandingan dalam jawatan UMNO/Tak lebih dari itu.

Terima kasih.

jebat said...

Lepas Pemilihan UMNO dia akan tuker nama: xxxxx anak xxxxk.

Sekurang kurang nya masih ada unsur-unsur MELAYU (Bumiputra).

Jangan pulak tukar kepada :

xxxxx a/l xxxxx.

Makin haru jadinya.

Itulah jadinya kepada MALAYSIA.

MAKIN HARU JADINYA.

About Me

My photo
I was born in 1947 in Kedah. I came from a rice farming family. I have been a journalist since 1969. I am the Editor-in-Chief of magazine publishing company, Berita Publishing Sdn Bhd. I was Group Editor NST Sdn Bhd and Group Editor-in-Chief of NSTP Bhd between 1988 and 2000. I write fortnightly column “Other Thots” in the Malaysian Business magazine, Kunta Kinte Original in Berita Harian and A Kadir Jasin Bercerita in Dewan Masyarakat. Books: Biar Putih Tulang (1998), Other Thots – Opinions & Observations 1992-2001 (2001), The Wings of an Eagle (2003), Mencari Dugalia Huso (2006), Damned That Thots (2006), Blogger (2006), PRU 2008-Rakyat Sahut Cabaran (2008), Komedi & Tragedi-Latest in Contemporary Malaysian Politics (2009) and Membangun Bangsa dengan Pena (2009).