Dr MAHATHIR Offers to meet PM ABDULLAH – Resolve Differences?; Malaysia Risks UNREST Without Ethnic Quotas; Reform Policy for Bumiputras?
MAHATHIR OFFERS TO MEET ABDULLAH Before HARI RAYA
UPDATE:
Abdullah Says
PUTRAJAYA, Oct 18 (Bernama) -- Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said Wednesday he was ready to meet former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad before Hari Raya Aidilfitri, and expressed the hope that the meeting would bring mutual benefit.
The prime minister said no conditions would be set for the four-eyed meeting. He declined to reveal the date or the place of the meeting. Hari Raya Aidilfitri is expected to fall next Tuesday.
Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi in a jovial mood confirmed the four-eyed meeting
"This is a meeting between the both of us. It is not necessary to have a third party," he told reporters after meeting Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont of
Abdullah said he would not raise any issue at the meeting with Dr Mahathir.
The meeting has come about following a suggestion by Mubarak, the council of former elected representatives, to ease the tension in the relationship between the two men.
Dr Mahathir said Tuesday that he was ready to meet the prime minister before Hari Raya Aidilfitri.
Tension developed in the relationship between the two men after Dr Mahathir openly criticised the leadership of Abdullah, including the latter's decision to cancel the proposed bridge to replace the Johor Causeway linking Malaysia and Singapore.
Asked whether he was hopeful that all the criticism directed at him would cease following the meeting, Abdullah said: "God willing".
Abdullah also confirmed that attempts made for them to meet earlier failed owing to a lack of suitable dates.
Dr Mahathir reportedly said yesterday that he would raise again the issues that he has been keeping in his heart since he left the government.
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Abdullah Confirms Signing Release Papers For Nik Adli
PUTRAJAYA, Oct 18 (Bernama) -- Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said he has signed the release letter for Kelantan Menteri Besar's son, Nik Adli Nik Aziz, who was detained under the Internal Security Act (ISA) since 2001.
"(I) already signed (it)," he said at a media conference after a meeting with the new Thai Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont, here Wednesday.
Nik Adli, 38, a former teacher of Sekolah Menengah Agama Darul Anwar, Pulau Melaka, Kota Baharu, was detained under Section 73(1) ISA on Ayg 4 2001 as he was suspected of having links with the Kumpulan Militan Malaysia (KMM) movement.
Abdullah, who is also the Internal Security Minister, declined to disclose the actual date Nik Adli would be released,
"Be patient. Go to Kota Baharu and wait to take pictures when he meets his father later," the Prime Minister said.
Asked whether the release would be before or after Aidilfitri, he said: "As soon as the letter reaches him."
When pressed further on the date the release letter would reach Nik Adli, Abdullah replied in jest: "(It) depends on the postman."
Asked on the other five individuals who were detained with Nik Adli five years ago, he said: "Be patient."
Tuesday, a lawyer, who declined to be quoted, said Nik Adli was believed to be released together with five other ISA detainees before the Hari Raya.
According to the lawyer, all the six detainees had been taken to the Police Remand Centre (PRC) in Bukit Aman,
Normally, all ISA detainees are taken to the PRC first as final preparation before being released.
- - -end update
Dr M Agrees To Meet Abdullah ;
LANGKAWI, Oct 17 (Bernama) -- Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has agreed to meet Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi soon to settle their differences.
The former prime minister said he was willing to meet Abdullah as proposed recently by Mubarak, the former elected representatives' council.
"I agree. Just waiting for the appointment. (As) PM (Prime Minister), he has a tight schedule," he told reporters after meeting seven Muslim community leaders from southern
Asked whether he agreed for the meeting to be arranged during the holy month of Ramadan, Dr Mahathir, who is also former Umno president, said he also agreed if the meeting could be held before Hari Raya Aidilfitri.
"At the meeting I will raise again the issues that I've been keeping in my heart since I left the government.
"It's up to the prime minister (whether to accept or reject)," he said.
Asked what are the issues he intend to raise at the meeting, Dr Mahathir merely said: "Wait for the meeting day."
"Yes, that's it," was his short response when pressed whether he would raise again the same issues he had voiced out before.
The former prime minister had criticised Abdullah's leadership over several decisions made by the latter's administration including cancelling the "scenic" bridge project to replace the Johor Causeway linking
On his 30-minute meeting with the Thai Muslim community leaders led by Mudir Maahad Darul Makrifah, head of a religious school from Pattani, he said discussions centred on the needs of the Thai Muslim community including drug menace, unemployment and requirement for more mosques.
Dr Mahathir said he agreed to raise funds to build a mosque in Pasir Jawa at Pattani province for the religious needs of the Muslims there.
"I don't know the cost yet. We've not drawn the plan yet," he told the press conference also attended by Langkawi Member of Parliament Datuk Abu Bakar Taib. Dr Mahathir said building a mosque in southern
According to the initial proposal, the mosque would be named "Masjid Aman", he said.
Dr Mahathir said today's meeting with the Thai Muslim leaders was to fulfil their wish to meet him and to break fast together.
"I was not given the mandate by anybody to meet the leaders," he added.
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and here’s the STAR’s Account of the story
Dr M agrees to a meeting to voice his grievances;
By JOCELINE TAN and SIRA HABIBU,
The mediation effort is being quietly organised by a group of Umno veterans who want to bring the two leaders together for a private meeting.
Yesterday, Dr Mahathir revealed that the proposal to meet the Prime Minister was made by Mubarak, the association of former Members of Parliament and State Assemblymen, which had advised the former premier to express his sentiments to Abdullah.
Dr Mahathir said he was ready to meet Abdullah before Hari Raya to tell him about “all my grievances and after that, it is up to the Prime Minister”.
“The Mubarak members asked me to pour my heart out to the Prime Minister. I have agreed, and the only thing is the date and time. It is up to the Prime Minister now. I understand he has a lot of work,” he told newsmen in Langkawi.
Asked about the grievances, he said: “There are many. I have spoken of them before.” Hari Raya is expected to fall on Monday or Tuesday, while the Umno general assembly is set to begin on Nov 13 at the Putra World Trade Centre here.
Sources said a meeting scheduled for last Wednesday evening was put off at the eleventh hour on Dr Mahathir’s suggestion because of their tight schedules.
Both had their own buka puasa appointments and Abdullah was scheduled to fly off at
Umno secretary-general Datuk Seri Radzi Sheikh Ahmad had earlier hinted at such an effort, saying “something nice” would happen between the two men during the fasting month.
However, he refused to elaborate when pressed for details. It is understood that Radzi, who is also Home Affairs Minister, is working behind the scenes to arrange a new date for the meeting.
An earlier effort to bring together Dr Mahathir and Abdullah to end their fallout and said to involve former Umno secretary-general Tun Khalil Yaakob, failed because some Umno leaders felt it was not appropriate to involve Khalil, who is now the Yang di-Pertua Negri of Malacca.
Although the mediation move in July was denied, Dr Mahathir later confirmed that there had been such an effort. several Umno leaders contacted yesterday said they looked forward to the meeting but cautioned that the matter should be handled delicately.
A Cabinet minister, who declined to be named, said he hoped the “effort is for real this time” as it would be good for the country’s political stability. Umno information chief Tan Sri Muhammad Muhammad Taib described the development as positive for Umno and the country.
“It’s better for the two leaders to sit down and talk rather than for Tun Mahathir to go around the country criticising the Government. In that way, they can sort out these issues in private rather than in the media,” he said.
As to whether the Prime Minister would be open to the meeting, Muhammad said: “Pak Lah is always prepared to meet people for the good of the country.”
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By Angus Whitley and Haslinda Amin
Oct. 16 (Bloomberg) --
The 35-year-old affirmative action program, introduced after clashes between Malays and ethnic Chinese in 1969, aims to increase the wealth of the nation's poorest grouping through benefits ranging from cheaper housing to greater access to initial public offerings. Still, an independent report this year said government targets to address the imbalance have been met, and some critics are calling for the policy to be scrapped.
Instability ``could very well return'' without the program, Mahathir, 80, said in an interview. ``We don't want to go back to the pre-1969 situation.''
The former prime minister, who led
Ethnic Malays, or bumiputras, which literally means ``sons of the soil,'' have become richer under the 1971 New Economic Policy. Companies planning IPOs must sell 30 percent of the stock to the grouping, a rule that may be crimping competition and deterring investors.
``From pure investment terms, you just want absolute meritocracy,'' said Hugh Young, who helps manage $25 billion in assets at Aberdeen Asset Management in
Study Required
The February report by the Centre for Public Policy Studies said bumiputras may own as much as 45 percent of
A sudden unwinding of the program might jeopardize everything it has achieved, Mahathir said in the Oct. 9 interview. Before 1969, ethnic Malay wealth equated to only 2 percent of the economy, he said.
``When we want to reduce the support we have to really study'' the consequences, Mahathir said. ``Even if you feel that you should do away with this policy, it has to be done slowly because we have to see the effect first.''
The debate over the policy's merits intensified Oct. 10 when the Asian Strategy and Leadership Institute, owner of the Centre for Public Policy Studies, retracted the report's conclusions after the government disputed the study.
Political Pressure
Lim Teck Ghee, director of the Centre for Public Policy Studies, quit Oct. 11 in protest, and the opposing Democratic Action Party accused ASLI, as it's known, of bowing to political pressure. The ruling United Malays National Organisation, or UMNO, leads the National Front coalition that has governed
Deputy Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak said Oct. 13 that the government's estimate of ethnic Malay wealth was correct.
Still, the New Economic Policy has helped increase the country's annual per capita income to 17,714 ringgit ($4,810) last year from 860 ringgit in 1970, government figures showed.
As of 2004, the Chinese community owned 39 percent of businesses in
``The NEP is about giving wealth to the whole country,'' Mahathir said in the interview. ``That has of course avoided any conflict in the country.''
`Easy Money'
Critics of the Malaysian policy say the system stifles initiative.
``We have created a generation that feels the government owes them a living,'' said Abdul Razak Baginda, executive director of the Malaysian Strategic Research Centre in
Even Mahathir, who championed the ethnic Malay cause during his 22 years in power, said the policy hasn't changed them.
``They are still after easy money,'' he said. ``I have appealed to them, I've cried and I have done everything possible, but they won't change.''
About 60 percent of
Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi in March pledged to raise the share of companies owned by ethnic Malays to 30 percent by 2020.
Not Ready
The policy may not make Malaysians more employable, or help the country compete with other developing nations for foreign investment, said Manu Bhaskaran, a Singapore-based partner at economic research company Centennial Group.
``Chinese, Indian, Vietnamese boys and girls are competing ferociously to get into engineering or science or other tough courses so that they are eventually more employable,'' he said. ``When they enter the job market, they don't sit still waiting for government subsidies to help them buy shares or houses.''
All the same, Mahathir said
``If you allow unlimited, uncontrolled competition, the winner is going to take everything,'' he said. ``We don't want companies to go bankrupt.''.
Last Updated:
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and from http://business-times.asiaone.com
Time to reform policy for bumiputras
The near-hysteria resulting from Asli report suggests the policy has become too politicised for its own good
By
THE controversy raging in
The policy, known as the New Economic Policy (NEP), essentially sought to eradicate poverty, irrespective of race, and restructure society so that no race could be identified with a specific economic function.
Tacked on to this were targets, specifically that over time the Malays would have at least 30 per cent in every economic sphere of
But over 35 years, the policy has become fixated with the 'wealth' target. In the Malaysian context, this is taken to mean corporate equity. For the government, it meant calculating ethnic ownership by aggregating the share capital, at par, of 600,000 companies registered with the Companies Commission.
It is a measure of ownership, but it is imperfect: it is no measure of value - a bankrupt company can still have share capital. Other measures like shareholders' funds or, in the case of listed companies, market capitalisation, would be a far more suitable measure of value.
The latter is what the Asian Strategy and Leadership Institute, or Asli, used.
The think-tank computed ownership on the basis of over 1,000 companies listed on the local bourse and concluded that the bumiputra share had reached 45 per cent in 2005. By contrast, the government estimate was 18.9 per cent last year. But Asli assumed 70 per cent ownership of government-linked companies (GLCs) to be bumi-owned. For that, it used parameters such as staffing (overwhelmingly bumiputra) and procurement (mainly to bumi-controlled companies). But that's equally suspect: the dividends paid by GLCs go to the Consolidated Fund which is used to help all Malaysians.
Meanwhile, one could argue that the bulk of power utility Tenaga's contracts go to the independent power producers, the majority of whom are non-bumiputra. In any case, the attention lavished on corporate equity misses the wood for the trees. It is all about the ethnic division of spoils between Malaysians who are already well off to begin with.
The NEP was never about the elite. But the near-hysteria resulting from the Asli report seems to suggest that, and it suggests that the policy has become too politicised for its own good. What about the desire to push all Malaysians, irrespective of race, out of the clutches of poverty?
Silly measures
In many ways, the policy has worked and it may be time to reform and refine, to move on. The emphasis on quotas in education and employment has created a huge Malay middle class. Over 30 per cent of ethnic Malays are epresented in the highest professions from medicine and engineering to accountancy and law.
But the insecurity remains and that, by itself, will be the policy's self-perpetuating mechanism. Maybe it's time to begin removing some of the policy's sillier measures. In any development, even for the well-heeled, 30 per cent of houses have to be reserved for bumiputra owners at discounts ranging from 5-7 per cent.
Now that's a silly rule for two reasons. One, the rich, of any race, don't deserve any discount and, two, many developers simply cannot find enough bumiputra buyers and remain stuck with unsold houses which the authorities stubbornly insist have to be advertised - sometimes repeatedly at the
developer's cost - for sale to bumiputras.
Getting rid of antiquated rules that have no place in today's society is a small start. But it's a huge leap for the country dependent on an overriding ideology that, sooner or later, has to go .
posted by multidimid at 4:04 AM
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