My Youth Chief Speech at PNDC 2010

My Youth Chief Speech at PNDC 2010

My Youth Chief Speech at PNDC 2010

Posted: 05 Dec 2010 05:34 PM PST

The Main points of my Youth Chief Speech at the Gerakan PNDC 2010 (4th December 2010)

 

1) Tahun ini merupakan kali pertama dimana Persidangan Perwakilan Pemuda & Wanita diadakan berasing daripada Badan Induk. Ini adalah atas sebab-sebab yg tidak boleh dielakkan. Oleh kerana tarikh asal NDC yg dirancang pd 6 Nov terjatuh pada satu hari selepas Deepavali, kedua2 Jawatankuasa Pemuda & Wanita telah mengambil keputusan untuk menunda Persidangan Perwakilan ini ke satu tarikh yang sesuai untuk semua wakil2 kami yang beragama Hindu.

 Jika ada kesulitan atas sebab logistik, saya bagi pihak Jawatankuasa Pemuda meminta maaf terutamanya kepada Perwakilan dari Sabah kerana mereka terpaksa menukar rancangan perjalanan mereka yang asal. Semua ini boleh menunjukan bahawa kita mengambil berat atas semangat Satu Hati dalam Parti.

2) Pada tahun lepas 2009, dalam Ucapan Ketua Pemuda, saya telah mengambil tidak kurang daripada 40 minit dalam ucapan tersebut untuk menyentuh atas pelbagai topik semasa. Dan pada mulanya, saya pun merancang untuk membuat demikian untuk tahun 2010, iaitu menulis Ucapan saya mengikut reaksi topik2 semasa yang telah berlaku pada setahun ini.

Tetapi semua ini berubah selepas Tanggal 24 Bulan 11. Dengan ketinggalan seorang pengasas parti kami, mendiang Dr LimCE telah meninggalkan kesan yang begitu mendalam bukan sahaja bagi saya malah semua pihak dari atasan ke bawah parti kami. Dan jasa beliau tidak boleh dilupakan sebegitu sahaja, kami khasnya di sayap Pemuda mesti senantiasa mengingati pengajaran yang beliau telah bagikan kepada kami.

3) Maka, dengan idea tersebut, pada tahun ini, dalam ucapan Ketua Pemuda, saya akan membuat satu perubahan secara 180 darjah. Iaitu, jika dulu saya mementingkan isu2 semasa, pada tahun ini, saya akan menyentuh pada keseluruhan atas ideology perjuangan mendiang Dr LimCE.

4) A 180 degrees change will necessitate that we focus inward (rather than outward) – to Rethink and Re-Energise the ideals that the late founder has fought so hard for us.

I believe Dr LimCE's struggles can be categorised under 2 broad thrust – the first being, a political party must understand deeply what the rakyat wants. And secondly, to work with the Government to achieve those hopes and wants for the rakyat.

At this juncture, you may realise that I have changed the language of my delivery. This is not to downgrade the usage of our National Language in our NDC, as I have advocated last year that all delegates are encouraged to use Bahasa Malaysia in all their debates and speeches. But the intention is to retain the spirit of Dr LimCE's ideas especially those found in books that have written about him; that I prefer to deliver the rest of my speech in English. To take time to translate these important messages from English to Malay will only delay the urgency of it reaching the delegates soonest possible.

 

THE 1ST THRUST OF PGRM'S STRUGGLE

"A political party must understand deeply what the rakyat wants."

1) Suqiu 1999, Hindraf 2007

  • We cannot just brush things aside

2) Malays voting for the PAST (spelt P.A.S.T.) – this is because UMNO have since the days of Merdeka been fighting for their rights.

Indians voting for the PRESENT – most of them are worried about bread & butter issues.

Chinese voting for the FUTURE – they are worried about the well being of their children and grandchildren.

The question is, are these 3 groups of people going to increasingly vote for the Past, the Present or the Future as the country move forward? 

3) What do the Chinese want?

What do the Indians want?

Why not ask, what do Malaysians want?

(i) Honest Govt accountable to the people. No more Govt before the People. It should be the People before the Govt.

(ii) A Govt free of corruption & conflict of interest.

(iii) A clear seperation of Parliament, Executive & Judiciary with a system of checks & balances.

(iv) Institutions of Govt, Police, MACC, Election Comm, Civil Service to act independently & professionally.

(v) A society where workers can live in dignity, earning wages that can support their families.

(vi) Fair education and health services.

(vii) Independent & free media.

(viii) Basic rights to be protected. The freedom to associate. The freedom to speak up.

(ix) Equality of race. Fairness in religious treatment.

(x) Environment to be protected.

4) Another contentious issue. The NEP & NEM

  • 3 years ago, Lim Teck Ghee on 30% bumi equity participation. Got fired left, right, centre. Some say 17%, others say 45%
  • Because there was never a tracking system for the administration to ascertain when each milestone was reached.
  • Because targets were never publicly made known & advertised (ie no public watch)
  • Swayed too far away from the main aim of equal distribution and eradication of poverty but spend too much time & attention on achieving minor targets, eg 30% quota.
  • To plug the leakages of dwindling bumi participation in PLCs, I propose the setting up of a Bumi Equity Unit Trust (similar to all the Amanah Saham schemes) to absorb exiting bumi investors so that bumi equity participation in PLCs will never be reduced. All IPOs approved by the SC already have a 30% bumi equity requirement, so how did it dropped to 17%. Leakages occur because unscrupulous bumi investors misuse the privileges to make a quick profit.
  • We cannot stop people from making a profit, but when they do decide to take profit, they must also help the Govt to keep the bumi participation capped at 30%. So that when you have made your money, other deserving bumi investors can also buy those shares from the Bumi Equity Unit Trust and made their profits. This is call, "one stone kill two bird". Bumi investors can make money & the Govt can ensure that bumi participation is always at 30% or more!

 

  • Another way to equalised the disparity between the rich and the poor, in as far as buying property is concerned, those who can afford to buy a property above RM500k should not be given any discounts. And what they have paid should go towards helping to subsidise bumis who cannot afford to even buy a low cost house.
  • Car import AP holders, only a handful. APs should be liberalised and be given to other deserving genuine bumi businesses/entrepreneurs. To the extent of sharing their privileges by subsidizing other bumis who cannot afford to buy cheap transport vehicles.

 

THE 2ND THRUST OF PGRM'S STRUGGLE

 "To work with the Government to achieve those hopes and wants for the rakyat."

1) The PM did on the day of the funeral of Dr LimCE wrote in the visitors book that DrLimCE was instrumental together with his late father Tun Razak in the formation of BN. Gerakan therefore in no small way, plays an important role in seeing the perpetuation and continuation of BN for the years to come.

2) Why did LCE decided to joint forces with the Govt when he could have been the State Govt on their own? Because if he worked alone, he could only have gone so far. Combine resources.

3) We always pride ourselves that we are the conscience of BN. We speak up not because we just want to make noise, but because we care about the future of BN.

4) It is no more intentional than coincidental that the BN Convention falls on the same weekend as our Youth & Wanita NDC. This shows and also signal to us that we need to focus on the original mission of BN.

We have seen the likes of Transformation Programmes – GTP, ETP. We must also have a BNTP (Barisan Nasional Transformation Programme), if we are to steer the country forward.

5) In 1974 when BN was formed, it was herald as a force to be reckon with and it got the mandate from the rakyat because the policies were fair and just. 

  • The Dacing symbol of BN – Fair & Just.
  • How many years have we been using it without given much attention and have almost to the point of forgetting its significance envisaged by our forefathers.
  • The Dacing also applies to the coalition of BN.
  • The BN formula is not a "1+12" formula but a 13 Party Formula. That means we are here to share the powers & responsibilities together.

 

  • Umno took Timbalan, S/U, Bendahari, Ketua Penerangan, etc.
  • The 1st BN Sec Gen in 1974 was Michael Chen.

6) Return to the 1974 BN Formula – One Party One Vote.

7) Another important issue with the rakyat – is BN (the coalition as a whole) the Govt or are individual parties the Govt? If BN as a coalition is the Govt, then BN as a whole should set policies! – Education/Places of worship

THE JOINT COOPERATION OF PEMUDA & BELIAWANIS

  • Promoting & providing equal opportunity to the young men & women members of the party.
  • Providing choice to them to be active in the roles that they choose
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Does It Filter Through?

Does It Filter Through?

Does It Filter Through?

Posted: 21 Oct 2010 08:40 PM PDT

This week sees the meeting of all UMNO delegates from around the country, culminating in the 61st General Assembly of the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO).

I'm glad that the PM has the courage to boldly state and reiterate again the important positions of all the races and their contribution towards nation-building and that ALL must be acknowledged for their hard work.

He also had the foresight to remind us again that the way forward is to work together as One Malaysians and not as 'individualistic groupings of races'.

Kudos also goes to Sharizat and Khairy (in their speech) for their far sightedness in preparing the ground for their delegates to see the importance of working as One and not as diverse groups.

They were all saying the right things to pull UMNO forward. And they were all saying it at this most opportune time. Other issues that got to be mentioned were the social contract and the economic pie. And we were (as non-malays) given the confidence that our positions (just like the malays) were enshrined in the constitution.

Problem is … … who doesn't know this? It was all there since 1957. Nothing much of the Federal Constitution has changed except for a short period where our beloved Dr M (fourth PM) did boldly changed some of the articles (wordings) to curb the powers of the judiciary, otherwise its been edged in stone ever since.

So why is there the need to reiterate the position of the malays and the non-malays now?

I truely, sincerely and whole-heartedly believe that PM is serious in wanting to change the social landscape of the country. By means of economic architecture and social engineering. And from the close-door dialogues we had with the PM plus the opportunities I had to talk to his close-aides, I get the strong impression that he meant business.

To make the argument stronger, through our private meeting with Khairy (BN Youth Chair), we also get the same impression and feedback.

My worry is that, it all sounds well on the platform, but does all this nicely worded regurgitations and impromptu speeches filter through in the end of the day?

The first resistance that I hear is already visible in the "inner struggle" (body-language) amongst the delegates. In the DPM's speech to the Wanita, Pemuda & Puteri on Tuesday (19 Oct 2010) he inserted at least half a dozen times mentioned the word 'inclusive' in his wonderfully prepared speech. Inclusive in the sense that we must include all races in the development of the nation.

But somewhere in the middle of his speech, he touched on the need for them (I dont know if it means him or he wanted to include the party) to embrace those NGOs that also fight for the rights of the malay-people. The first thing that came to my mind was an organisation called Perkasa. Eventhough he did not specifically named Perkasa as such, the surrounding circumstances and timing of his mention can and only point to 'that' organisation.

Couple with the fact that, I still dont see any changes of how UMNO Bahagian chiefs behave and treat the common people (let alone their own members in the bahagian). The air of arrogance is evermore present and doesnt seem to diminish with the PM's call for unity and coorperation.

What I'm saying here stems from my own experience with dealing with the UMNO deadwood in my area. And I have not received any divergence of opinions from my own state liasion colleagues as far as Wilayah is concerned.

So if I, from among the middle to top levels of leadership in BN have that kind of feeling, what will the common rakyat feel if they continue to read this kind of rhetorics in the newspapers but see no changes in the behaviours and attitudes of leaders below the MT (majlis tertinggi) of UMNO. Is this a bankable perception that we can rely on?

There's is no trickle down of effect …
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On The Technology Front

On The Technology Front

On The Technology Front

Posted: 21 Sep 2010 05:03 AM PDT

(Steve Jobs at the launching of the iPad)

by Alvin Yeo

On the technology front, it is always easy to know what is hot and what is not. You have to look rather carefully at the responses of both the consumers and also the product's advertising campaign.

But what I am going to write about is not a product review per say but the future of where this may lead to. We cannot deny the fact that such techno- gizmos will eventually shape and dictate how our lifestyle will be changed. Take for example the radio. It was touted the best thing that happened and the miracle of so many people contained in a little black box telling you stories. And when TV came around, it killed the radio. And they even wrote a song about how TV killed the radio man.

On the social front, we can also associate the air time of TV Shows to the population growth as well. Ever wonder why in some third world country where TV's were deemed a luxury or they are deemed items that "corrupt" your mind and you do not get to watch what you choose but some state approved programmes which basically entail a boring bloke reading out of a prompt card of which he will forget what he just read right after the "Good Night Comrades!!!"

Then came the computers where we actually IM our colleagues whom is sitting just behind us about the latest gossip or where is lunch today. Needless to say that those whom has found a job developing video games, were basically fuelled by the many online vampires whom are not out for blood to feed but constantly stays up late hypnotised by a video consol or a computer game.

On the social front again, you see more kids in a cyber café than you can find in the football pitch now a days. On a rainy day, you will never be able to find the wild kids whom will take to the fields sliding on the fields fantasising the way their idol does a fantastic tackle or the bicycle-kicks made famous by Pele. Instead, you will find them having more developed muscles on the thumbs and fingers executing deft precise clicks and swipes on a game consol to emulate that slide minus the rain, mud and body contact and offcourse the vulgarity which comes after the tackle, has never lost its shine and I have to say that the innovative mind has come up with some rather interesting and unique twist to the "old fashion" bloody cuss.

Then comes a new toy in the market recently and it is barely larger than a B5 dairy weighing in the region of about 6lbs. The iPad. A fantastic gizmo which I felt it was like Steve Jobs saw the iPhone market responding to it like moths to a flame! Seeing the success and asking how do we double the fun and quadruple the profits? Well, maybe a blurry staff whom is sleep deprived and mentally drained just blurted out, "If u think its just that @#$%@ easy, why dun u double our F&%#$@@ work and Quadruple the size of the B##@!&#% iPhone… mumble mumble…" And, Mr Job did his job yet again by taking the suggestion of a fellow employee, double the work load and made the iPhone bigger.

It had some very cautious reception but the ad campaigns were very well thought out and before they hit the market, people were already pre booking them. Opportunist whom has seen this potential, also jumped into the band wagon and the competitors introduced the Android powered tablets. I am not going to comment too much on the functionality and I still do believe that it is generically dependent on the user preference and there is no clear winner in any case. Its just like a Beemer fan will say how it drives well and handles great on the road and another whom may be an Audi driver will claim the A6 does it better…. The debate never stops but there are other factors where users will naturally be drawn to the sleek groovy looks while the accessories determines how big a freak you really is. A car is after all just a car… (I know many will disagree with me but I am using this as an anology, maybe not such a good one but I think you get my drift… because regardless what analogy I use, there will still be two big faction divided by preference, and that is my point).

So, having some history to refer to and faced with this new toy, how will our future turn out? Will be all be talking like NCIS agents in future and tapping on to a digital pad to cal up information where ever there is a 3G connection (which is basically a very large area). Will doctors now be faced with new medical terms to deal with like instead of a tennis elbow, we now call it an iPad elbow? Or what will we call the skin disorder of not having enough Vitamin D (due to the lack of sunlight)?

We have seen more cases of CTS and other Repetitive Strain Injuries more than actual sporting injuries. I suppose the Insurance Agencies will come up with some form of caveats where payout will be determined by the proper Ergonomic and Work Space Management plans in place and properly implemented as well.

I take the stand of embracing technology with a more liberal and adaptive approach. While we take in the technology, let's also not forget the humanity of social engagement and also nurture the emotions we humans are designed and created naturally to have and we need to develop this. Otherwise we will end up being "surrogates" to technology and the line of who is master will be blurred.

I like some of the games on the iPad developed where it can support more than one person to play on it at one time and this actually helps to foster interaction and sharing. This is the kind of development we should see more of and encourage the development of young minds to see the future as we like it to be and be the wise man our children will be telling their children in future. We keep saying our children will be the future, what then are we doing to ensure they are properly guided to do this and what are we doing to help them achieve to their best potential? It is time we step out of our shadow and start to work on our humanity first before we pass on our flaws to our children. 
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Malaysia Day!

Malaysia Day!

Malaysia Day!

Posted: 16 Sep 2010 08:44 PM PDT

For the 1st time in the history of Malaysia, 'Malaysia Day' is celebrated. And the Sabahans and Sarawakians are asking, what took you so long?

For Peninsular Malayans (for without the Sabahans & Sarawakians, we cannot be Malaysians). We have been having it our way for far too long.

Can we also say that of the BN Govt?

When an 'institution' (here I name BN as one, because for far too long it thinks that nothing can move it) has been in place for far too long, complacency and arrogance creeps in, and when that 'institution' can have its way for that long, the 'sense' of superiority blocks their observation to what will come.

Why do we need another public holiday when for 47 years, nobody thought it as important to even mention it. And now, with BN losing grip in Parliament, suddenly, we notice that Sabah is indeed our 'Fixed Deposit'.

If you were a Sabahan (and for that matter, Sarawakians too), how would you feel? Taking us for a ride for the past 47 years, and now you realise that this 'daughter' has always been by your side while the other 4 sons have eloped with their favourite 'girlfriend'.

As fathers and mothers (BN), we cannot just ignore the signs that the family is telling us, not anymore. Up next on the agenda, when is the Sabah '20 point' Agreement going to be discussed and given prominence at National Parliament level? When are the Sabahan Parliamentarians going to voice out the grievances they have to endure for their constituents for so long? And let us also not forget that Sarawak have their own version of grienvances in the form of their '18 point' Agreement, we need to address those issues too!

I'm now sitting here in my office enjoying the fan while I manage to get this article typed, but how many Sabahans can enjoy that kind of basic amenity call electricity without interuption for the whole day? And what about hospital care, its virtually non-existant even in big towns like KK.

For now, its no point singing about Sabah as our FD for the next 13GE when all we can give them are just "cow's milk", please please please, we need more to tell our daughter(s) over the South China Sea that we really mean what we say. And dont forget the other elder daughter in Sarawak too, for otherwise, eloping could be another option for them!

To all fellow Malaysians in Sabah & Sarawak, happy Malaysia Day!

PS: In our haste to secure our Fixed Deposit in Sabah & Sarawak, we forgot that we need to amend the "public holiday roll" in our Parliamentary Enactments. So for now, lets say, Malaysia Day is celebrated illegally, save for a declaration from the DYMM Agung. So lets not forget to quickly amend our laws so that the Malaysia Day of 2011 is celebrated legally …
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Moving On Gracefully

Moving On Gracefully

Moving On Gracefully

Posted: 25 Jun 2010 09:29 PM PDT

 PM Hatoyama of DPJ

Politics is a drug. Once you have tasted a piece of it, the addiction stays on forever. And for those who have enjoyed the perks that come with it, it is even more difficult to 'wean' them away. Just like mother's milk, its always tasty. But parents have to do what they have to do, yank the 'little devil' away before they become 'dependent' derelicts.

I take my hat off for Yukio Hatoyama (Japan) and Kevin Rudd (Australia) for bowing down before they do any more harm to the bigger cause. For Hatoyama, whom have fought 40 years to restore his family's honour as 'good politicians' but still willing to give it up less than a year later (after being elected) speaks volume of his upbringing and personal character. And for Rudd to do the same is a sacrifice of his part to assure his Party's hold on to the seat of Government is highly commendable.

On our own front, for Dr Chua Soi Lek to owe it up to his mistakes is a character trait that all of us who are involved in politics should learn to do. I do not want to dwelve on the appropriateness or morality of what Dr Chua has done, but purely zooming in on his personal action of taking responsibility is what we are interested in, in this article.

But we cannot say that of some of the current leaders in BN as well as PR. How many of you have seen the familar old faces whom have refused to give up because the 'opium' still taste good for them.

Could Thailand have had a different fate if Thaksin is willing to give it all up and devote more of his time to rebuilding the country rather than clinging onto political power.

Likewise if Gordon Brown had owed it up much more earlier when the signs were apparent, could Labour have had slide that much off the scale.

If we are that 'bledy' useless, its time to go gracefully, and that includes me!
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