Change or BE DESTROYED...

I read on The Star this morning (or rather The Star Online) an article entitled "Change or be Changed" by Wong Chun Wai on his column ON THE BEAT. I think that this article hit all the right notes but it is rather mild on its analysis. I have produced the article below in italics with my personal comments (and ideas) interposed in between.

Change or be changed
ON THE BEAT
By WONG CHUN WAI

The new MCA leadership has to speak the language of the new Malaysians. They can no longer adopt a communal approach but must instead engage the younger voters.

BY Saturday, the MCA would have a new leadership. A new party president, deputy president and possibly a new line-up of vice-presidents.

The clear favourite to win the party presidency at this point is Datuk Ong Tee Keat, who is being challenged by former Health Minister Datuk Chua Jui Meng.

Ong has a huge task ahead for him as we must acknowledge that the political landscape has changed after March 8. It cannot be business as usual. Like Umno, the MCA must realise it has to change or be changed in the next general election.

The analysis so far is true - however there are 2 points that I disagree - Firstly, By saying that Datuk Ong is a clear favourite and saying that he has a huge task in front of him - you are stoking bias. Please state your reference or poll (from amongst the electorate - i.e. in this case the Central Delegates) prior to making general statements like the above.

Secondly, the MCA MUST realise that IT HAS TO CHANGE or BE DESTROYED in the next election. The next election is a LIFE or DEATH situation for the party.

But the MCA, despite the opposition onslaught, still has 15 MPs, which provides the party a decent position to bargain. This is unlike the MIC and Gerakan, which have only two MPs each and face a Herculean task of rebuilding themselves.

For a start, the MCA cannot continue its mono-ethnic features, even if the fact remains that it is a communal-based party. Its leaders have to learn to use English and Bahasa Malay­sia, in a much stronger manner, at their meetings, conventions and even on their banners. It must also take up issues affecting other communities.

This is why I would not support ONG for the role. He has consistently used only Mandarin and has refused to debate in English and Mandarin. If he is elected president of the MCA, it will face oblivion as he will be unable to connect with non-mandarin speaking Chinese! This is evident, most Malaysians - in particular the younger Malaysians are primarily BM or English speaking with at most a basic Mandarin education at our primary schools. They will not understand a leader that revels in speaking in roundabout classical Chinese. A leader of the MCA needs to be consise on understandable to the masses. A leader of the MCA need NOT be a classical scholar. Those days died with the demise of the Imperial system in China back in the early 1900s.

Unless it makes a serious effort to be more multi-racial in outlook, it will face serious competition from multi-racial parties like Parti Keadilan Rakyat and the DAP.

MCA leaders can be defensive about this by arguing about the racial dominance of Malays or Chinese in these parties but the point is that their doors are open to all.

Neither can the MCA continue to depend on its excellent service centres, financial support for Chinese schools, Kolej Tunku Abdul Rahman and Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman.

This is a very good point. Thus, to even be a credible leader of the Chinese people - you have to be able to bring about Equality among Races. This means stepping up to the plate and opposing measures that cause inequality. This means standing up against the NEP. Anyone who says the NEP is an old issue while it remains an issue close to the heart of ALL MALAYSIANS is asleep and out of touch, irrespective if the person is young at the early 50s.

Changed expectations
The young voters, who make up over 60% of the electorate, regard such support as the right of taxpayers and responsibility of a political party.

Yes, it is unfortunate that they don’t ask the same from PKR, PAS or the DAP, and it seems unfair, but that is the reality that the MCA and other Barisan Nasional parties have to live with.

The expectations of Malaysians have changed. They expect MCA leaders to be arti­culate, not just in Mandarin, but to speak up intelligently and to be a voice of Malaysians. They expect to see MCA leaders with dignity and respect and that can only happen if the MCA leaders win back the respect of the community and Malaysians.

They have followed the American presidential election debates on TV and they expect a similar kind of quality from their leaders, regardless of their parties.

Once again, this argues against Ong. His refusal to DEBATE and connect with the people via TV in ENGLISH & MANDARIN shows that either he is arrogant - or just plain scared of putting his views on public record. If we do not hear your voice, how do we know if you can speak up intelligently and BE OUR VOICE!

They see a black man about to make history by winning the election and they ask why race, religion and gender should continue to feature so strongly in Malaysia. To put it blunt­ly, they are sick of the kind of race politics in Malaysia.

They want change and the first warning was on March 8. There will be no more signals four years down the line if the Barisan continues to sell the same product and formula, even as the voters are crying loudly for change.

Datuk Ong's videos, scripted and propoganda like, shows that he is still selling the same product and formula - while the people are crying for change! His lack of substance in the videos with 'inferred' meanings of 'climbing mountains', 'religious freedom' (also stated in today's THE STAR) is a direct contrast to Dato' Chua's statements released on You Tube - simple, consise positions. I rather have a leader that stands still on a podium with content than a leader that aspires to be a film star. If you want to be a film star, I suggest you don't run for president of the MCA - go instead for Cleo's Top Bachelors or Malaysian Idol.

We cannot deny that for the last 50 years, the Alliance and Barisan have performed well and developed Malaysia to this level. In all fairness, we need to revisit and recognise the contributions of Umno, the MCA and the MIC. The Barisan has brought stability and develop­ment to Malaysia; no one can deny this, not even the Opposition.

But history doesn’t sell. We can talk about Merdeka and the wisdom of our founding fathers and we can remind everyone of the Social Contract but it will just draw a blank look from our young. In their lingo, it’s like “Duh?”

To the Internet and I-pod generation, these politicians don’t connect. The link is down, as they say in computer language, but these politicians sadly don’t seem to realise this.

History is an important part of the equation - but it is important to KNOW how MCA was like in the past. The MCA was a revolutionary party - one that fought to give the Chinese a home in this land and stand as equals with UMNO at the podium of independence.

So I suggest Datuk Ong to sit down as reevaluate his connection. He does not get it! What is the use of having YouTube videos that looks good without content? and then lock the comments? What is the use of having comments on your website - and ignores the feeling and intentions of the very readers?

Multi-racial outlook
Neither can we brush aside corruption, the abuse of power and arrogance of power. They see has-been politicians with tainted reputation seeking to stage a comeback.

Can Malay­sians be blamed if they have a cynical, if not downright pessimistic, view of their future?

Mr. Wong Chun Wai, I suggest you re-evaluate your comments on 'has-been' politicians with 'tainted' reputation. Do you by chance be mentioning Muhammad Taib, who was held in Brisbane for a monetary scandal? or do you have any chance be mentioning Mohd Isa with his brush with money politics?

What are you talking about? We are indeed a cynical bunch, pessimistic - but it is more directed AT THE CURRENT LEADERSHIP of spineless, useless leaders warming their seats of power. Leaders who have gone silent on corrupt practices like the PKFZ scandal and MCA's brush with mafia leaders.

Malaysians want to see a more transparent, more democratic, cleaner and fairer government.

We want to have a more transparent, democratic, cleaner and fairer governments! We need to have leaders that are willing to commit themselves to this endeavour and change the very fabric of our political culture! By just bringing in more e-government is not going to allow us to bring about change! In addition, if a leader that is 'commited to reform' insinuate himself with the current political dynasty - he is NOT a leader that can REFORM the party.

They want to see a more multi-racial outlook. They want to feel safe at home and on the streets, and they wonder why the Govern­ment and the police cannot carry out this simple task and prefer to blame the press, foreigners and everyone else for the rising crime rate except themselves.

Mr Wong, I suggest you read Dato' Chua's manifesto - which have incidentally touched on this issue. I quote:-

Bringing Safety and Security to All Malaysians

With a strong, transparent and accountable government in place, we need to start addressing issues that affect the daily lives of all Malaysians. Amongst the many issues the most important one is to ensure the safety and security of all Malaysians.

As such, I support the effort to INCREASE THE MANPOWER AND LEGAL/EVIDENCE TRAINING OF POLICE OFFICERS to help fight the growing menace of crime. A strong, professional, noncorrupt and rakyat friendly police force is the cornerstone of any effort to combat crime and securing the nation so that every Malaysian can feel safe on the roads, in their workplaces and schools and most importantly in their homes.

As for Datuk Ong - his words on this is...
NIL! ZERO! ZILCH!
He is more concerned about the environment that about the safety of Malaysians!

The young generation, so used to the freedom of expression on cyberspace, want to speak up freely without the threat of the Internal Security Act being thrown at them.

The MCA has to speak the language of the new Malaysians. Changes cannot be made overnight but steps need to be taken now.

Reforms alone in the MCA would not help the Barisan as the lead has to come from Umno too, as the dominant party of the ruling coalition.

The new leaders in MCA would have to face the New Malaysians from next week. Their duty is to bring in new ideas and adopt new approaches.

The language of New Malaysians need not come from a younger leader. It can come from an older leader that has the experience and wisdom to look beyond the short term. Deng Xiao Ping, Dr Mahathir were such leaders and it is my sincere belief that Dato' Chua is such a leader as well.

So CENTRAL DELEGATES, choose well - for you votes will determine if the MCA will ever get back into the groove of New Malaysians, giving it a place in the New Malaysia or be thrown out with the rest of old Malaysia, cast into the darkness of oblivion and the dustbins of history

Back to Relevance

I quote from the Sun newspaper

"The Transport Minister retaliated in his blog by criticising the many "irrelevant" (MCA) politicians who have exploited the image by speaking up even "better" than the Opposition.

He also asked politicians who are trying to make a comeback: "Are they criticising policies they used to support when they were in power?"

Jui Meng has been vocal in the final leg of his nationwide campaign trail, telling members the need to put an end to the New Economic Police (NEP) which he described as "outdated" and "outlived it's usefulness"."

This is a very important difference between the style and substance of Dato' Chua and the style and (for the want of a better word) 'substance' of Datuk Ong.

Dato' Chua has a long track record of speaking out against the NEP. His speech in parliament in 1988 is one perfect example of this. How can Ong say that Dato' Chua did not criticise but rather support the NEP? Get your facts right my friend. Go back to the parliamentary Hansard and read the transcript of that speech. The speech is in Malay and should be easily understandable.

Also, Datuk Ong - it is 'relevant' politicians like you that has pushed the MCA into the 'irrelevance' it is today. For me, I rather have 'irrelevant' politicians that speak out on issues that matter leading a resurgent MCA - Back to Relevance!

Nanyang Issue

In an article in this morning's Malaysiakini entitled "Don't politicise Nanyang issue", the call by Mr Leong Tang Chong not to discuss the Nanyang issue should be disregarded by all aspiring candidates.

And I quote from the article
"Barely three years after acquiring the Nanyang shares, MCA sold 21.02 percent of its controlling 44.4 percent stake in the company to Ezywood Options Sdn Bhd, linked to Sarawakian media and timber tycoon Tiong Hiew King."

Looking at another article in 2006 on the Sun - MCA gives up Nanyang, Tiong monopolises four national Chinese dailies, we note that Ong Ka Ting mentioned the following.

"The sale of Nanyang is not a CC decision because it is a commercial investment and the decision is made by the board (Huaren) which informed the CC. The CC has taken note of the decision and will leave it to the board to do the necessary, according to the rules and regulations. The details will be announced by both parties (Huaren and Ezywood)," Ong told a press conference yesterday evening.

To a question, he said: "It is not necessary to have an extraordinary general meeting (to approve the sale). In 2001, the board was given the mandate to divest part of the share and it is still valid until today."

This is the most ridiculous load of rubbish I have heard on this side of the galaxy. For the MCA leadership to create an opportunity of which the majority of Chinese vernacular papers are controlled by one PERSON is both irresponsible and wrong. There has to be an inquest into the sale.

THIS is exactly why MCA Central Delegates need to know what is going on in Huaren Holdings! How does the board comes up with bright ideas like the above. A briefing after the fact to the CC and 600 select members (out of 1.3 million I might add) is insufficient and laughable.

This is why I support Dato' Chua's call to increase transparency in the party! I quote from his manifesto text.


Promoting Transparency and Democracy
I believe that democracy thrives when we have a Party leadership that is accountable to the Party, however accountability can only be enforced through transparency.

Huaren Holdings
We need to INTRODUCE RULES THAT WILL ENFORCE TRANSPARENCY, for example that it should be mandatory for the Huaren accounts to be published during the Party’s AGM.

Currently Huaren Holding’s accounts are not transparent; members, leaders and Central Delegates do not know how much profit we make a year, how much expenditures are incurred and how the money has been spent. We need to ensure that the Party’s finances are being ably and fairly administered and distributed.

Furthermore now we need to provide financial assistance to our MCA comrades in Penang, Selangor, Perak, and Kedah, who having lost their state and parliamentary seats are no longer entitled to MP or ADUN allocations for their constituencies.

We need to also help to our party members in Sabah, who until today still do not have their own MCA state building.

Huaren Holdings belongs to MCA, and therefore to all MCA members. Therefore we should ensure that A SIGNIFICANT PART OF ITS PROFITS IS DISTRIBUTED TO ALL THE DIVISIONS to fund our activities as we seek to reconnect with the people.

In the memory of Tunku Abdul Rahman...

Tunku Abdul Rahman is the Father of this nation, and if he was alive today, he would be appalled by the rabid tussle of today's Malaysia.

Quoting from the book Political Awakenings (as referenced by Wikipedia)

"...when we (the Malays) fought against the Malayan Union (which upset the position of the Malays' rights) the others took no part in it because they said this is purely a Malay concern, and not theirs. They also indicate that they owe their loyalty to their countries of origin, and for that reason they oppose the Barnes Report to make Malay the national language. If we were to hand over the Malays to these so-called Malayans when their nationality has not been defined there will be a lot of problems ahead of us."

However, he continued that "For those who love and feel they owe undivided loyalty to this country, we will welcome them as Malayans. They must truly be Malayans, and they will have the same rights and privileges as the Malays."

Kita Semua Bangsa Malaysia, betul tak?

We have undivided loyalty to this country, we have sung Negaraku since we were young, we hold aloft the Jalur Gemilang with pride, we recognise Malay as the national language, Islam as the official religion of this country...

Isn't that enough?

We support fully Dato' Chua Jui Meng's stance to seek closure on the NEP and hope that all UMNO & BN leaders would come together to bring Malaysia towards Vision 2020. (I have included a link to the DEFINITION of VISION 2020 by the PM's Department)

As straight as a waving keris...

I quote from Utusan Melayu...

"Ketua Pergerakan Pemuda UMNO, Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein pula mengingatkan calon pemilihan parti komponen Barisan Nasional (BN) tidak membangkitkan isu sensitif dalam usaha mereka untuk meraih sokongan pada pemilihan parti masing-masing.

Menurutnya, tindakan 'menjolok sarang tebuan' itu hanya menidakkan segala usaha pemimpin BN yang selama ini mahu menyatupadukan rakyat.

''Kita faham ini ada kena mengena dengan pemilihan dalam parti masing-masing. Tetapi tindakan itu adalah tidak wajar kerana selepas ini, BN pun perlu berubah dan melalui transformasi.

''Nasihat saya kepada calon yang mahu menang agar jangan keterlaluan sehingga menidakkan apa yang pemimpin BN sebelum ini telah bina,'' katanya.

Menurutnya, calon parti komponen BN itu tidak sewajarnya mengikut rentak parti pembangkang yang memainkan isu perkauman dalam meraih sokongan."

So, I gently remind him (and the others in the same article) of...

突破新价值，创造旧格局

To the benefit of those who does not read mandarin, the above means (as closely as possible) "Destroying New Values, Building (the same) Old Patterns".

I read on The Star that our dear president candidate, Datuk Ong Tee Keat, is quoted of saying that the NEP is no longer an issue - it is old news and have since been superseded and removed. This is the statement of the most grevious error. Why? What is the proof?

Just go to the Federal Government's own website for the Prime Minister's Department Economic Planning Unit (EPU) Key Policies @ http://www.epu.jpm.my/new%20folder/development%20policies/keypolicies.htm. Scroll down - you don't have to look far, the 2nd Policy on the list is... There you see the words (I am putting it in caps) NEW ECONOMIC POLICY. Click on it and you reach another page (HERE for the lazy ones) and there is spells out clearly that we are still under the New Economic Policy!

For nay sayers - I am going to link two more articles and a pdf. The first link is from Project Malaysia entitled The New Economic Policy - For Better and Worse? (You must click the stop button immediately once you see words - or it loads another article. Not sure if it is some devious form of net censorship or just - more likely a site error). The second link is from Opinion Asia - Slaying an Immortal Tiger - Malaysia's New Economic Policy. For good measure - I am including another - this time from the Asia Development Bank Institute. All three seems to consider that the NEP is still in force.

Thus, everyone who says otherwise is either 1) uninformed or 2) Unable to understand English. Even UMNO members in cabinet is inclined to agree that the NEP is still in force (usually by vehemently supporting it!). Thus I can safely say this (any similarities to another blogger is completely intentional) - I believe that Dato' Chua is more qualified to be President of the MCA. At least he understands what government policy is in force and being implemented by the governement!

In addition, as Petaling Jaya Utara Voters will be familiar, the last person who said that the NEP has been replaced was unceremoniously thrown out, beaten by almost 20,000 votes. That was a major defeat for Chew Mei Fun (who is incidentally a supporter of Datuk Ong Tee Keat) - so wise up! Unless you want, in the next General Election, for EVERY MCA CANDIDATE to be SO DEFEATED!

What courage to change? What new values? All I see is the same SILENCE from the MCA on issues that matter to the Chinese community.

And I quote...
Silent Politics is NO POLITICS!

"Buried by the Press"

Back in 2005, the Aliran Blog wrote a post that claims that Dato' Chua has been buried by the press. The article entitled "Chua Jui Meng buried by The Star" was posted up on the 19th of August that year during Dato' Chua's 1st run for the MCA Presidency.

I quote the article in full

Now that nominations to the MCA elections have been made, “officially” kicking off the campaigning, how has the MCA paper, The Star, covered the politicking leading up to the elections starting today? Have things improved since our blog entry of 9 August 2005, when we found the paper failing its readers and basic journalism miserably?

Well, they have not. In fact, its coverage has become even worse in yesterday’s report of Chua Jui Meng, who is taking on Ong Ka Ting for the post of MCA President.

Both the New Straits Times and theSun each gave a report to Chua’s press conference at Corus Hotel. And both led with Chua’s complaints about the current MCA, calling it “undemocratic”, among other things. Both papers also touched on why Chua had to call for the press conference and what he thought of the three-page “report card” issued jointly by Ong and Chan Kong Choy following nominations.

The NST gave more attention to Chua’s reason for calling the press conference. He was reported as saying that he was forced to do so as he had no other avenue to get through to delegates and explain his stand. He said he believed the delegates were told to avoid him.

Chua also said he knew who instructed the delegates to avoid him but he apparently did not say who it was; both the NST and theSun did not mention any names.

Meanwhile, theSun gave more emphasis to Chua’s view of Ong and Chan’s “report card”. Chua reportedly said that he was “flattered” by it because it was actually based on his manifesto, issued early last month, soon after he declared his intention to run for the presidency.

Indeed, soon after Chua came out with his manifesto, Ong was asked whether he would also issue his. Ong reportedly said he did not see the need for it. Chua took a swipe at Ong’s change of mind in coming up with the report card with Chan a few days ago.

Blacked out
So, how did The Star cover the above issues? It deliberately blacked out important relevant facts, thereby skewing its coverage.

Chua’s press conference was mentioned in one of the three election-related reports today; but it was obviously buried. It took up the last four paragraphs of a 11-paragraph piece entitled “Candidates in last dash campaign before polls”.

While there was mention of Chua’s manifesto, it was skewed only to show him saying he was prepared to spend a lot of time working on it to deliver on his promises. The report blacked out Chua’s contention that Ong and Chan’s report card was based on his manifesto.

Furthermore, The Star had a statement on Chua’s claim that delegates were told to avoid him, but not about how Chua said he knew who had been issuing the instruction. Instead, the paper immediately stated that Ong and Chan had told delegates they were free to meet any candidates.

The Star also ran an analysis (as opposed to news report) by Wong Chun Wai (a news editor) entitled “VP race results hard to predict”. Of the 22 paragraphs, only paragraphs 14 and 15 deal with the race for the posts of president and vice president.

Wong was confident that Ong and Chan would win their respective contests. Then, he abruptly stated that Chua (and Ting Chew Peh) had held a press conference—but nothing on any of Chua’s controversial claims reported by the NST and theSun.

Given Wong’s confidence, it would have made some sense - or at least it would have made his writing less glaringly deficient - to state why Chua had the press conference. But then again, that would probably get in the way of his paper’s apparent intention of blacking out certain facts.

Quite clearly, The Star’s coverage reflected its own “cai dan” or preference for Ong to fill the top MCA post. While it is acceptable for any paper to have a preference, they should also strive to be fair to all the candidates. They should restrict their stand only to their editorial column and try their best not to let it skew their news reporting of the different candidates.

And so, by deliberately blacking out certain pertinent facts, The Star continues to fail its readers and basic journalism miserably…

Fast forward to 2008 - just today The Star had an article entitled "Chua Jui Meng unveils his manifesto". The text of the article is a follows:-

KUALA LUMPUR: MCA presidential candidate Datuk Chua Jui Meng has pledged to rebuild the party, restore the party to relevance and realise Vision 2020.

In unveiling his manifesto on Sunday, he said it would not be right for the party to leave Barisan Nasional at such a critical moment despite calls by MCA delegates to do so.

He said that as one of the founding partners of the ruling coalition, together with Umno, and both parties should sit down and discuss issues if one was unhappy with the other.

“The fact that we place the burden of our losses on Umno is a clear indication of the root cause of MCA’s illness -- we have lost our direction and conceded our influence and rights as a Barisan partner to be involved in the decision- and policy-making processes of Government.

“I stand as the presidential candidate that seeks to remind the MCA what its original purpose was, I aim to set the direction for the party,” said Chua, who will be contesting against MCA vice-president Datuk Ong Tee Keat for the president's post in the party polls next month.

Party president Datuk Seri Ong Ka Ting has said he would not contest the post.

This article shows that The Star is once again up to its old tricks! What is amazing about this article is the total lack of facts of the actual speech from the manifesto launch and the contents of the manifesto. The reported focused all her attention on a supplementary question - not on the actual manifesto itself!

It mentions not Dato' Chua's ideas to reform the party, his plans to let the MCA regain the trust of the people and his vision for Malaysia and all Malaysians. Truly, by once again blocking out the important and pertinent facts, The Star continues to fail its readers and basic journalism miserably…

MCAkini!?

MCAkini is a deliberate play on the popular alternative news website - Malaysiakini, not so much as to deride it - but in its honour.

Malaysiakini has been an exemplary example of how the press in Malaysia should be, carrying in it news from both the government as well as the opposition parties. Although, and I think many would agree, that the site has some opposition leanings - nevertheless it is a class above many papers in our country today.

Thus, MCAkini is named in its honour - a hope that views of people within that has been denied access to the media can be heard and seen without distortion. There exists a media bias in this nation that changes and distorts the truth - either by twisting the facts or just simply by exclusion.

However, even though MCAkini is named after Malaysiakini - its goal is not even attempt to play the role Malaysiakini or Malaysia today. Its goal is to affect a change in the culture of the MCA to be transparent, relevant to the people and make it into truly a party that reflects the hopes and dreams of the Malaysian people.

It is a blog of a supporter of Dato' Chua Jui Meng's run for the highest post of the party - and hopefully save it from oblivion.