Politik, Legislatif, Dasar dan Tadbir Urus

Sehingga pada hari ini, ramai di antara kita masih belum menyedari kenapa dan bagaimana Umno dan parti-parti gabungannya di dalam Barisan Nasional (BN) masih dapat menguasai suasana dan pentadbiran Parlimen, baik di Dewan Rakyat (Dewan Perwakilan), mahupun di Dewan Negara (Senat). Hakikatnya adalah kerana Parlimen adalah di bawah cengakaman Jabatan Perdana Menteri, di mana ianya mempunyai satu Bahagian khusus yang menguruskan segala hal-ehwal pengurusan, keputusan dan perjawatan di dalam Parlimen. Seorang Menteri Di Jabatan Perdana Menteri, Datuk Azalina Othman, dipertanggungjawabkan untuk menguruskan segala aspek yang berkaitan dengan Parlimen. Kedua-dua Yang Dipertua (Speaker) Dewan Rakyat dan Dewan Negara, walaupun dipilih daripada kalangan ahli-ahli parlimen dan senator, namun kedua-dua mereka ini wajib bertanggungjawab melaporkan diri mereka kepada Menteri Di Jabatan Perdana Menteri, Datuk Azalina Othman di dalam apajua aspek pentadbiran, prosiding dan keputusan di dalam kedua-...

By Melissa Crouch The great paradox of Indonesian democracy is on display for all the world to see. On the one hand, there is greater freedom of expression and association for all. But on the other, this has given fuel to Islamists to espouse lawlessness and violence in the absence of a strong state. A major rally in Indonesia’s capital, Jakarta, to call for the arrest of Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama (‘Ahok’) went peacefully despite heavy police presence last Friday. At least 200,000 conservative Muslims rallied in the second major protest against its minority Christian governor, who is being prosecuted for alleged blasphemy. President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, a political ally of the governor who angered hard-liners by being out of the city during their first protest, unexpectedly went to the national monument to join Friday prayers with the sprawling crowd. The blasphemy case against Ahok has already been submitted by the Attorney General to the North Jakarta District Court. In par...

By Bridget Welsh The Malaysian Prime Minister’s ruthless tactics to hold on to power at all costs demonstrate that he is the one who is most afraid while his people are willing to fight on, Bridget Welsh writes. This week Najib Tun Razak is beating the Malay chauvinist drum at his party’s annual general assembly (AGM). Meetings of the United Malays National Organization (UMNO) have regularly followed this mode, but the use of racism and paranoia have taken on greater intensity in the face of its leader’s eroding political legitimacy. For the past two years, Malaysia’s Prime Minister has been beleaguered by the 1MDB scandal that has involved not only nearly $700 million going into Najib’s personal account but also raised issues of criminal money laundering, embezzlement and economic mismanagement involving over $3.5 billion. The case is being investigated and prosecuted in over six jurisdictions, most notably by the US Department of Justice . The scandal featured centre stage in la...

By Syed Jaymal Zahid When 26-year-old Dhanni was faced with retrenchment from his oil and gas engineering job, he decided it was time to pursue a master’s degree in supply chain management. For Dhanni, who was among the thousands of engineers culled by oil and gas firms as a result of the global oil price rout which left a trail of devastation across the globe, news that many of his colleagues in the management side were left unscathed by the mass layoffs meant it was worth spending another year in school — not to mention a lot of money — to get a master’s degree in the business side of his field. He felt this would give him more job security. But Dhanni could be in for a big disappointment. While having a sterling CV with a good MA may appear to be the best way to stand out from the growing number of degree holders competing for that high-paying job, the opposite seems to be the case in today’s work market. As the Malaysian economy decelerates at a record five-year rate, high-payin...

SEP USA One week before Election Day, with the polls tightening and the outcome uncertain, the entire US political system has been thrown into turmoil by the unprecedented intervention of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). The letter sent Friday to Congress by FBI Director James Comey, informing it of a new avenue of investigation into Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server, has lifted the lid on a raging conflict within the state apparatus. Long-simmering tensions are exploding into open political warfare. Since Friday, various officials within the FBI and the Justice Department have let it be known that the investigation into Clinton has generated sharp divisions, with local FBI offices demanding a more aggressive investigation into Clinton’s alleged mishandling of classified information as well as a separate probe into allegations of corruption involving the multi-billion-dollar Clinton Foundation. This internecine conflict intensified after Comey announced last ...

By Wan Saiful Jan The philosophy guiding how a government relates with the people is something that not many Malaysians talk about. But if we go back to the early days of this country, ideology used to matter. In a speech delivered at IDEAS Annual Dinner on 20 February 2016, Tun Musa Hitam, Malaysia's former Deputy Prime Minister who started his political career under Tunku Abdul Rahman, said, "In those early days of our history, politics was more ideological than material. There were indeed, yes, indeed, two camps in Umno: the Tunku camp and the Razak camp. "The Tunku camp was clearly and unapologetically right wing, pro-west and pro-business. The Razak camp was allegedly socialist-communist inclined, a brand enough to scare and scuttle people away all the way in those days when communist terrorists were the biggest threat to our independence." This was a telling statement, because Musa was suggesting that the liberal administration of the Tunku was event...

By Zhang Tao Israel, a country with a small territory, is considered a strong military power in the Middle East. Its Air Force, known as the "long arm of Middle East", did excellent work in several Middle East Wars, with an air battle track record that shows 60:3 in the third Middle East War, 56:1 in the fourth and 84:0 in the war against Lebanon. The Israeli Air Force played a critical role for the country to survive in a geo-environment surrounded by unfriendly powers. Because of its special geo-environment, losing a war may mean losing the country for Israel. In this sense, Israeli Air Force pilots not only have to carry out combats, but also shoulder the responsibility for national survival. Therefore, pilots that are reputed as the "treasure of Israel" have to go through rigorous selection and training. In addition to strict physical examination, the Israeli Air Force also applies the "pilot basic skill evaluation system" when selecting pilots to c...

By Samuel Chan (SCMP) Two localist lawmakers who had their swearing-in oaths for the Legislative Council invalidated ­called on Saturday for Hong Kong to “insulate” itself from the ­mainland. Although they stopped short of openly advocating independence for Hong Kong at a seminar in Taipei, the latest comments by Youngspiration’s Sixtus Baggio Leung Chung-hang and Yau Wai-ching could further antagonise Beijing. China’s leaders are wary of any “collusion” between separatist forces in Hong Kong, Taiwan and even Tibet and Xinjiang. The pair ignored warnings by leading Beijing loyalists that the Taiwan trip was “making matters worse”. Rita Fan Hsu Lai-tai, the city’s only delegate to the National People’s Congress Standing Committee, warned that Beijing might back a trusted candidate for next year’s chief executive election regardless of his or her unpopularity, if independence talk continued to gather steam. That was seen as a reference to incumbent Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying, alt...

By Syauqi Jamil, Beritadaily.com While Prime Minister Najib Razak’s Budget 2017 had plenty of goodies and petty benefits, it however missed out on addressing the structural weaknesses of Malaysian economy, said an opposition lawmaker today. PKR vice president Tian Chua said Najib’s budget announcements were merely used as a disguise to blanket the real problems that the nation’s economy was facing. “We are waiting for a direction from a very stagnant economy, coming from the losing of confidence by domestic and international investors. “We are facing increasing constricted expenditure for development because we do not have revenues. Our exports are down and we did not develop new methods to collect government revenues, besides GST,” he told Berita Daily. He said the increment of the 1Malaysia People’s Aide (BR1M) was merely an act of “using more band aid to cover more leakages”. The Batu MP also urged the government to have the courage to face the reality of Malaysia lag...

Oleh Mohd Hafizan Mazuki, Aliran.com Menurut definisi Pertubuhan Buruh Antarabangsa (ILO) 1976, keperluan asas manusia terbahagi kepada tiga. Iaitu makanan, tempat tinggal dan pakaian. Namun definisi hari ini adalah lebih luas termasuk kesihatan, pendidikan dan beberapa perkara lain. Bagi negara membangun seperti Malaysia, keperluan yang paling mendasar ini pada tahap yang agak baik. Namun ia tidak sempurna dan harus ada ruang untuk diperbaiki. Menurut kenyataan presiden Cuepacs Azih Muda, sempena sambutan Hari Pekerja tahun ini, 60 peratus kakitangan awam tidak mampu memiliki rumah, dan 75 peratus daripadanya berusia kurang dari 40 tahun. Data ini hanya melibatkan kakitangan awam; cuba bayangkan kakitangan swasta, kontrak dan mereka yang tidak punya pendapatan tetap. Situasi di luar sana adalah lebih meruncing. Situasi harga rumah di Malaysia Menurut Laporan Indeks Harga Rumah Knight Frank pada 2014, peningkatan harga rumah di Malaysia pada suku pertama 2014 adalah ...

By Johannes Stern 27 September 2016 The Left Party has reacted to the recent Berlin state election with a sharp shift to the right. While it is preparing to participate in an administration with the Social Democratic Party (SPD) and Greens in the capital, its representatives are beating the drum for a “red-red-green” government at federal level. Most recently, it is the party’s federal parliamentary leader, Sahra Wagenknecht, who has made clear that the Left Party does not differ from the parties that imposed the Hartz IV welfare and labour “reforms” and have supported Germany’s increasing militarism. She is contributing to the anti-refugee hysteria, demanding more police officers, and supports the government’s aggressive foreign policy. In an interview on Saturday with the conservative Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ), Wagenknecht emulated the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) in their anti-refugee tirades. “Every mayor is saying that capacity [for refugees] has rea...

“Undilah PAS dan syurga untukmu terjamin; Undilah Umno, engkau Melayu tulen; Tanpa Umno, bangsa Melayu akan hilang dari bumi ini; Undilah PAS, engkau pertahankan Islam; Undilah DAP, engkau khianati bangsa Melayu; Undilah DAP, engkaulah kafir harbi; Undilah DAP, engkau bukan lagi Melayu; Undilah PKR, keMelayuan engkau berkurangan” . Begitulah pelbagai jenis sebutan, cacian dan pujian yang sering diketengahkan di kalangan masyarakat oleh sesetengah parti-parti politik yang mendakwa diri mereka kononnya jaguh ketuanan bangsa dan agama. Ugutan sedemikian, boleh juga dikatakan sebagai suatu ancaman, terhadap para pengundi telah menjadi sebahagian daripada taktik atau helah di kalangan parti-parti politik yang berlandaskan perkauman dan agama, para pemimpin mereka serta penyokong-penyokong parti-parti tersebut bagi meraih sokongan dan undian. Apakah kesemua parti-parti politik perkauman dan agama ini sudah ketandusan modal dan perancangan-perancangan yang praktikal dan dasar-dasar b...

Rencana saya telah diterbitkan di dalam Aliran.com pada 18/8/2016 Adakah anda semua akan merasa terkejut atau kecewa sekiranya saya menegaskan bahawa parlimen tergantung atau dalam bahasa Inggeris “hung parliament” adalah baik untuk negara kita bedasarkan keadaan politik di masa kini. Ya, sudah pasti. Malah sesetengah ahli politik juga akan mengecam pendapat saya sebagai tidak masuk akal kerana keadaan tersebut, menurut mereka, tidak akan membawa sebarang faedah kepada mereka secara peribadi, parti politik yang mereka anggotai ataupun usaha perluasan kuasa politik mereka. Sebaliknya, mereka akan menegaskan bahawa keadaan tersebut akan membawa malapetaka kepada negara kita. Ketegasan mereka di dalam tajuk parlimen tergantung ini jelas menunjukkan bahawa, walaupun mereka telah dan sedang menjadi sebahagian daripada kerajaan beberapa dekad yang lalu, mereka masih gagal menonjolkan kematangan mereka di dalam hal-ehwal kenegaraan (state-of-affairs) dan perkerajaan (governance). Parlimen ...

by Maajid Nawaz On the theme of living better together, Maajid Nawaz argues that identity policing has further marginalised Muslims and that Britain was wrong to not expect minorities to embrace liberal values. For years in Britain there has been a pernicious trend to shy away from making a case for our liberal values among minority communities. As these values continued their march unabated among the mainstream, certain multiculturalists assumed that to assert them among minorities would be deemed offensive, perhaps racist, and in the Muslim context even Islamophobic. The successful turnaround of the "Trojan horse" school Park View — now Rockwood Academy — couldn't have proved this view more wrong. Two years after the scandal, the school has surpassed expectations, with cadet recruitment, after-school drama classes, counterextremism workshops and trips to Wimbledon. Those who worried about a more active integration policy alienating the Birmingham school's predomi...

Rencana saya ini telah diterbitkan di dalam Aliran.com pada 29/7/2016 Pemikiran di kalangan generasi baru pada hari ini kebanyakan berkisar kepada perasaan ingin tahu atau kehairanan yang mendorong mereka untuk mengetahui dengan lebih lanjut dengan mengemukakan persoalan demi persoalan bagi memastikan sesuatu maklumat tersebut adalah benar dan tepat. Tidak kurang pula, ada yang meminta agar bukti kukuh dikemukakan agar ianya dapat memastikan lagi kewujudan sesuatu. Disebabkan itulah, perasaan was-was timbul dalam kalangan generasi baru pada hari ini hasil daripada perkembangan teknologi terkini, media sosial dan sektor pendidikan yang semakin canggih. Apa yang berada di hadapan mereka hendaklah praktikal seberapa yang boleh bagi memastikan suatu perlaksanaan dapat dilakukan dengan serta merta. Di waktu ini juga, kewujudan pelbagai jenis dan bentuk dakwaan, maklumat dan keadaan yang kurang tepat, tidak memberangsangkan dan ketiadaan bukti yang kukuh. Kebanyakannya dipelopori oleh gol...