u n t i t t l e d

Husni: Malaysians ‘wrong’ to abandon country

By Asrul Hadi Abdullah Sani

Some 300,000 Malaysians left the country last year. — Reuters pic

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 23 — Datuk Seri Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah today criticised Malaysians who have emigrated, saying it was “wrong” and insinuating that they were betraying the sacrifices of their forefathers.

Husni, who is second finance minister, explained that “our forefathers” settled here because they believed that their children would have a future in Malaysia.

“You and me, our children, we build our lives here and we have our homes here. This is our homeland. I get very sad when I hear we have people migrating to foreign shores. To me, this is wrong.

“Our forefathers have come here, many years ago, bearing much hardship and deprivation. Why did they endure this? Because they believed that their future generations will reap the fruits of having to live on this blessed land,” he said in his speech when launching the Annual Real Estate Agent Convention 2010 at PWTC here.

He then went on to dismiss public complaints as mere “discomfort”.

“There is much here to strive for, there are many reasons to stay. Our fathers have given up so much and they went through so much. Surely, our complaints are merely discomfort compared to their sacrifices.

“Let us build our future in this homeland of ours and work hard together to make things better,” he said.

Husni stressed that the government has always ensured that Malaysians are able to own their own homes.

“It has always been the government’s policy to ensure that every Malaysian is able to own his or her own home. Home-ownership is one of the most fundamental and basic tenets of a market economy.

“We do not want to see the establishment of a landlord class nor do we wish to see the prices of homes being out of reach for the average Malaysian.

“We do not want houses to be the subject of reckless speculation and the rise of an inflationary asset bubble. Every Malaysian must have every opportunity to own a home as a basis of his domestic comfort and financial security,” he said.

Husni pointed that government policies have made Malaysia into the country with the largest number of middle-class homeowners in the region.

“All these years, we have seen home-ownership grow tremendously amongst all races.

“Malaysia, in fact, has the largest number of middle-class homeowners in Southeast Asia. This, you will not get if you are a citizen of any other Asean country,” he said.

Husni also emphasised that he is confident the country will be able to reach the targeted five per cent economic growth for 2010.

He added that the Najib administration has always been a “listening government.”

“I want to let you know that you have a listening government. This government listens. We heard your voice in regards to the RPGT (real property gains tax). We responded accordingly.

“The prime minister had announced on De 23 last year that the five per cent RPGT would now only be imposed on properties sold within five years from the date of its purchase. I hope this is okay with all of you,” he said.

Malaysians bought up 20pc of several high-end property projects in UK and Australia. — Reuters pic

With many high-end condominium projects being launched in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysians were still opting to invest in foreign properties, especially in the UK and Australia.

These include projects such as the Lumiere Residences in Sydney, which is priced between A$1.16 million (RM3.59 million) to A$2.88 million (RM8.91 million) and the Waterline House and Woodberry Park apartments in London that start at £340,000 (RM1.856 million) and £199,950 (RM1.1 million) respectively. From a news report, Malaysians made up 20 per cent of all buyers in November last year.

According to sources, one Kuala Lumpur office of a London-based real estate agency managed to garner sales of UK properties worth £70 million (RM382 million) last year and expects to do £140 million (RM764 million) this year.

Meanwhile, the Australian Trade Commission says Malaysians invested about A$4.9 billion (RM15.3 billion) in Australian property in 2008.

The amount invested in overseas property also suggests a continuing trend of brain and money drain from the country, as those who can afford to purchase property in Australia and UK tend to be educated and skilled and many do so with an eye on migration, either for themselves or for their children.

It also contributes to the outflow of capital from Malaysia, which has exceeded inflows for the past decade.

However, interest in these real estate markets is not only limited to Malaysians but has become a trend among Asians, led by China.

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Rights group slams KL for ‘more rhetoric than reality’

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 22 — Malaysia has failed to undertake systematic reforms to fulfil Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s oath of office in April 2009 promising to respect “the fundamental rights of the people,” Human Rights Watch said today in its World Report 2010.

The 612-page report, the New York-based organisation’s 20th annual review of human rights practices around the globe, summarises major human rights trends in more than 90 nations and territories worldwide.

In Malaysia, the report said, instead of addressing persistent human rights problems, the government harasses the political opposition; improperly restricts the rights to peaceful expression, association, and assembly; and mistreats migrants.

“The Malaysian government appears to be more interested in pursuing short-term political advantage than safeguarding rights,” said Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch.

“In the hopes of maintaining control and power, the government has turned its back on its promises to protect people’s rights.”

The release of a number of detainees held under the Internal Security Act (ISA) early in Najib’s term was a positive development, Human Rights Watch said. But Parliament should repeal that and other repressive laws, including the Police Act 1967, which was most recently used to justify a violent crackdown on a citizens’ march against the ISA on Aug 1 last year.

It reported that security forces attacked the gathering with tear gas and water laced with chemicals fired from water cannon trucks, and arrested almost 600 people, including 44 children.

Human Rights Watch also criticised the government’s continuing heavy restrictions on freedom of expression, saying “The Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984 enables government officials to compel censorship of publications through control of printing and distribution licenses.

“More recently, Internet media and bloggers are coming under closer scrutiny as the government, cognisant of the Internet’s impact in the last general election, tries to rein in non-traditional media,” it added.

It also said Malaysian legislation failed to distinguish refugees and asylum seekers from other undocumented migrants and authorised Ikatan Relawan Rakyat (Rela), which it called “an ill-trained, abusive civilian force, to use its authority to enter living quarters and make arrests without search or arrest warrants”.

The HRW report said apprehended undocumented migrants are detained under inhumane conditions in immigration detention centres, where several migrants died during 2009 and dozens were sickened by leptospirosis, a disease spread by animal faeces in unclean water.

It also noted that the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee produced a report alleging ties between Malaysian deportations and human trafficking gangs at the Malaysian-Thai border, where the lives of deportees were at risk if they could not pay ransoms.

“It is beyond understanding why the Malaysian government delays access to basic medical services for the thousands of migrants locked in cramped, dirty, and disease-ridden conditions,” Robertson said.

“How many more migrants have to die in detention before Malaysian policymakers wake up?”

The report also lamented that human rights defenders — such as lawyers, journalists, and members of non-governmental organisations — faced continued harassment and the possibility of arrest, especially if the government considered their work to be connected to opposition political parties.

It alleged that Malaysia also continued to violate human rights norms by criminalising adult consensual sexual behaviour, “as evidenced by the ongoing efforts to bring the parliamentary opposition leader, (Datuk Seri) Anwar Ibrahim, to trial for alleged consensual sodomy in a case that many observers believe is politically motivated”.

“For a country that is so proud of its post-colonial political development, it is truly bizarre that the government continues to enforce an antiquated British colonial law against ‘sodomy’ by consenting adults,” said Robertson.

“It’s about time the government brought its criminal code into the 21st century.”

The report said that under pressure from the International Coordinating Committee of National Human Rights Institutions (ICC), the government made slight modifications to the law that established Suhakam, Malaysia’s Human Rights Commission.

“However, Suhakam remained hampered by its status as an advisory committee, without adequate independence for its commissioners or power to compel enforcement of its decisions,” the report said.

The major recommendations to Malaysia’s government in the Human Rights Watch report are:

• Revoke the Internal Security Act and other arbitrary and preventive detention measures;

• Rescind the Printing Presses and Publications Act, narrowing the definition of sedition and seditious tendency;

• Amend the Police Act to provide for reasonable and negotiated conditions for assembly;

• Abolish Rela and uphold the rights of migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers.

In addition, Human Rights Watch urged ratification of key international treaties, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Covenant on Economic,

Social and Cultural Rights, and the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.

“During the early days of his government, Prime Minister Najib talked big on protecting human rights — but talk is cheap,” Robertson said. “If the government really believes in its 1 Malaysia campaign, then it should demonstrate real commitment to improving respect for the human rights of all Malaysians.”

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Tiada sebuah negara yang bebas daripada belenggu politik serta pihak yang tidak bertanggungjawab. Mereka yang berkomplot untuk kebajikan diri bagaikan kanser yang menular dalam masyarakat. Sememangnya situasi ini adalah amat dikesali kerana tiada ubat penawar yang wujud di dunia ini untuk merawat penyakit tersebut. Berbanding dengan penyakit kanser yang dapat dikawal dengan ubat dan chemotherapy; tiada apa-apa cara yang dapat mengawal seteru masyarakat. Mereka mempunyai nafsu yang tidak dapat dimuaskan, namun, apa yang dapat dilakukan? Mereka yang bakat mengetuai negara kita tidak mempunyai mentaliti ataupun tahap kepimpinan yang memadaikan. Oh, Allah, selamatkan tanah air tercinta Hamba-mu daripada terjerumus ke dalam kancah syaitan!

(Disclaimer: The articles/statement above is meant for personal expression with no propaganda involved and I apologize for any party who felt offended by it. And yes, I am a free-thinking Buddhist who has just used the word Allah -- because I respect God in general, for those who disagree with non-muslim using a muslim term, then I would have to apologize. Gosh, may I add: janganlah menjadi katak di bawah tempurung yang masih belum evolve. It is year 2010 already, even though we do not, yet; to have the complete rights for free-speech, still everyone is more open-minded now)