Philippines violates UN Convention

The Philippines detained 11 Chinese fishermen for unverifiable crime after seizing their vessel near China's Half Moon Shoal in the South China Sea on May 6. On Monday, the Philippines defied China's demand to free the fishermen and charged nine of them with poaching more than 500 endangered sea turtles. Two fishermen, both minors, will be sent back home.

By doing so, the Philippines has violated the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, which it has been trying to use to legalize its claim on China's islands in the South China Sea.

China has indisputable sovereignty over the Nansha Islands and their adjacent waters in the South China Sea. In May 2009, Malaysia and Vietnam jointly submitted to the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf a notification of the two countries' continental shelf claims in the South China Sea, and Vietnam also unilaterally made another submission. In response, China submitted its map of the nine-dash line attached to two note verbales to the UN to refute the two countries' extended continental shelf claims. In the notes, China stated that it has the sovereignty and sovereign rights over the territorial sea and exclusive economic zones of Nansha Islands.

Since Half Moon Shoal is part of the Nansha Islands, Manila has no right to detain any vessel or fisherman fishing in its waters. By doing so, it has violated international norms for the fishing industry, as well as the UNCLOS.

China has been exercising its administrative jurisdiction over the Nansha Islands and its surrounding waters by carrying out normal maritime operations. But of late, Chinese fishermen have not been feeling safe in the South China Sea because of the belligerent attitude of some countries locked in territorial disputes with China.

According to the UNCLOS, after being authorized to fish in some exclusive economic zones, countries should abide by the laws and regulations of the coastal states when it comes to the management and conservation of resources. The coast guard of a coastal state could board and check the relevant documents of vessels fishing in the waters near its coast if they violate these laws and regulations. It could even detain the fishermen. But under no circumstances, should the fishermen (or other people on board the vessels) be subjected to corporal punishment and imprisonment.

Moreover, Manila has failed to honor the regional order. The UNCLOS says the disputing countries should resolve the issue of overlapping economic zone boundaries through agreements on the basis of international law in order to achieve an equitable outcome. In case the disputing countries fail to reach an agreement, they should try to work out a provisional arrangement and, during the transition stage, both sides should avoid taking unilateral actions that could hinder the possibility of a final agreement.

The Nansha Islands are within 400 nautical miles of all the countries locked in the South China Sea disputes. Since China has sovereignty over the islands, its duly exclusive economic zone overlaps with those of the other disputing countries. So it's important that Manila faces up to a sea boundary delimitation dispute with Beijing.

To maintain regional stability and to resolve the disputes in the South China Sea through peaceful means, China and ASEAN signed the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea in 2002. Beijing's proposal of "shelving the disputes and conducting joint exploration" got positive response from the disputing countries and praise from the international community. This could be regarded as a provisional arrangement for the ultimate resolution of the disputes.

But using its advantageous geographical position and assuming that the disputed areas are part of its territory, the Philippines has been seizing Chinese fishing vessels and detaining Chinese fishermen. Such provocative actions by the Philippines are worsening the already tense atmosphere in the region.

It should thus be clear to the international community that Manila, not Beijing, has violated the DOC and the UNCLOS, as well as further damaged the fragile Sino-Philippine relations. And justice chooses those who choose to side with it.

Contributed by Li Jieyu (China Daily)

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Car or house buying cooling off measures?

Cooling off measures for car purchases also?

Key points: 

(1). Higher percentage of bankruptcies from inability to repay cars HPs than housing loans.
(2). The second largest household debt component, about RM145bil, is paid for an asset that is contracting in value every year.

WHAT are the considerations when you purchase a car?

Are the model and its functions important? Does the status symbol carry more weight? Or affordability is the main concern? Don’t get me wrong, I am not conducting a survey to change my profession. I am just curious to find out the major considerations of purchasing a car.

The topic interests me as car ownership among Malaysians, especially the young adults keep increasing. Many times, their choice of car is somewhat extravagant compared to the income they may be generating at this early stage of their careers.

This issue caught my attention when a news report last month stated that 122,169 Malaysians were declared bankrupt between 2007 and 2013, according to the Department of Insolvency. About 26% of the bankruptcies were due to the inability to settle the hire-purchase payment for vehicles, which involved 33,570 people since 2007.

When I searched further for other causes of bankruptcies, the available information for the period from 2005 to May 2010 indicated that car loans was also the chief reason for bankruptcy during that period. It was followed by 11.8% due to personal loans, 10.9% of bankruptcies due to non-repayment of business loans, and only 7.5% was caused by housing loans. Looking at the statistics, it is significant that for many years, more than one-fourth of bankruptcies in our country had been caused by car loans. It reflects on the household stress in repaying car loans, and this high default rate should trigger some thoughts among the authorities and the people.

According to Bank Negara statistics, as at April 2013, housing loans account for 57.5% of total household debts, while car loans, personal loans and credit cards account for 26.5%, 10% and 6% respectively. It means that the second-largest household debt component, about RM145bil, is paid for an asset that is contracting in value every year.

I wonder how many households are struggling to repay their car loans today, and how many of them, especially the younger generation, have deferred their financial wealth planning because of car loans? With the high percentage mentioned above and the rising household debt, there arises the question of whether cooling-off measures should also be extended to the car industry which is causing severe household stress.

Cooling-off measures for the car industry that can be considered include shorter loan period, more stringent loan-to-income ratio, and to impose certain charges if a car owner purchases additional cars in less than a certain number of years. These measures may help to reduce the number of cars on the road and discourage household spending on private vehicles. In the process, we will also be reducing traffic jams.

As shared in my previous articles titled “Reality Check on Debt Mountain” and “Good Debt, Bad Debt”, a car depreciates 10% to 20% per year based on car insurance calculation and accounting practice. In contrast, housing loans have underlying assets that are likely to appreciate over the long term.

Depreciative asset

Do we want to defer our financial planning instead and trade our opportunity of owning an appreciative asset for a depreciative asset? Perhaps, the authorities should encourage the people to borrow only for very good reasons, and to purchase assets only after thorough research.

This reminds me of an episode that I am personally aware of. It goes back to the early 1900s, when a 16-year-old migrant from China came to Malaya (now Malaysia) to seek a living, with no money in his pocket. Due to his diligence, hardwork and frugality, he was able to marry a young pretty girl ten years later and start a family and they eventually had 13 children.

What was astonishing is that he was able to send 7 of his 8 sons overseas for their tertiary education, all due to his frugality, hardwork and integrity. When he passed away, he was even able to leave behind a legacy of a bus company with over 30 buses and 4 small pieces of land in a small town.

Would this episode stimulate our young people to contemplate about what is best for their future?

Although the cooling-off measures for the car sector may be a new idea to ponder, however, with the Government’s plan to upgrade our public transport facilities and services, it is an area for consideration to increase public transport usage and encourage healthy financial planning in the long run.

After all, if senior executives in major cities like London and Tokyo are comfortable using public transportation to commute in their daily lives, can we not also do likewise (if our public transportation are improved)?

Coming back to the questions I asked in the beginning of this article... while I understand people put emphasis on different features of a car depending on their requirements and stage of life, it is always good to include the affordability aspect in a car purchase decision, so as not to be dragged down by the car which is bought to carry us forward.

P/S: The 16-year-old migrant happened to be my late father. He passed away at the age of 63 in 1962.

Contributed by Datuk Alan Tong

FIABCI Asia-Pacific regional secretariat chairman Datuk Alan Tong has over 50 years of experience in property development. He is also the group chairman of Bukit Kiara Properties. For feedback, please email feedback@fiabci-asiapacific.com. The views expressed are entirely the writer's own.

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Happy Wesak Day, Eject those who sow seeds of hatred

TODAY is an auspicious day in the Malaysian calendar as Buddhists celebrate Wesak Day. Buddhism, like all other religions, espouses peace and harmony among fellow men.

It is a way of life that is meaningful and to be cherished in any society, more so in a pluralistic environment, which is the hallmark of our beloved Malaysia.

Exactly 45 years ago this day, Malaysia as a young country, 12 years of age, experienced its most shameful and infamous day when brother rose against brother resulting in grief, sorrow, bloodshed and loss of life. The psyche of the nation was scarred and is a permanent blot in our history! Have we learnt?

Those who are currently below 45 years of age, or children at that time, will never be able to fathom the deths to which our country descended and the reasons behind it. If in 1966, US President Lyndon B. Johnson was shown rubber trees, in 1969 there was only carnage and untold suffering to show. Yet under able leadership, like a phoenix, Malaysia arose and showed so much more recently to President Barack Obama, 48 years on. We are proud of this.

Lessons were learnt on racial polarisation and the needs of the various communities. Malaysia progressed rapidly to what it is today, a nation which has surpassed most of its immediate neighbours in development.

Yet today, there are destructive forces prevailing which can bring our nation down to its knees in an instant. We have much to learn from religious precepts on tolerance and peace which will contribute to our future well-being.

Former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said: “I think people are not learning from their past. There is no benefit in having confrontation, tension, instability. What’s the good of fighting? You kill each other but in the end what do you get?” Whatever means employed by him to keep rebel-rousers, who were out for political mileage, in check under his watch has made Malaysia what it is today.

Questions are now being raised as to what certain communities have done to merit citizenship and even referred to as trespassers. Is there a memory lapse here? Is this a rational, educated comment to make to fellow citizens borne and bred in Malaysia who are without any form of allegiance or political affection to the countries where their forefathers came from be it Indonesia, China, India, or wherever else!

All have contributed to nationbuilding in one way or the other and all save, the orang asli, are immigrants. These are undeniable facts. Let us not rewrite history based on emotion and be misled by myopic, ill-informed shamans who profess otherwise!

Perhaps this is due to ignorance and the failure of our education system in imparting history correctly. This can be easily remedied by re-education on Malaysian history. Everything needs to be rational and have limits!

All religions fully subscribe to one tenet which is non-negotiable - speak the truth!

Najib has got the correct “thinking cap” on when he says that he is the leader of all Malaysians, irrespective of race. This is the way to go for a united Malaysia. We do not need loose cannons spouting hatred and ill-will through hurtful words.

The Prime Minister has to speak louder and clearer to counter such irrational manifestations. Otherwise a heavy price will be paid in terms of our continued economic development.

The golden years of Islamic civilization, the Renaissance and the Industrial Revolution were all marked by periods of peace and stability

As a nation, we should not forget what it means to be on one ship paddling together in the same direction. We have to be one cohesive force. Those who sow seeds of hatred should be ejected.

We live in a country with many religions yet our conduct in certain instances is anything but religious! All religions call for the bringing together of people irrespective of race, colour or creed to live in a harmonious relationship working for the common good.

We should not be traitors to our Creator, faith and religious beliefs.

Let this Wesak Day which falls on the 45th anniversary of that fateful day, heighten our senses to what can go so terribly wrong in beautiful Malaysia.

As Malaysian citizens we all have a part to play in burning at the stake demonic forces which are threatening to tear our peace loving, tolerant and accommodative way of life apart.

Religion must keep us together and not drive us apart. In the coming years we can be greater if only we do not shoot ourselves in the foot first. Racial and religious intolerance has to be obliterated.

Happy Wesak Day!

Contributed by WALTER SANDOSAM Kuala Lumpur

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Wishing all a blessed Wesak…

ASEAN leaders stress ASEAN unity, peace, centrality, progress and the importance of China’s peaceful rise

ASEAN leaders pose for pictures during the opening ceremony of the 24th ASEAN Summit in Naypyidaw May 11, 2014.

ASEAN leaders on Sunday pledged to strengthen ASEAN unity and solidarity as well as ASEAN's central role in maintaining and promoting peace, stability, harmony and prosperity in the region.

Gathering at the 24th ASEAN Summit, which was wrapped up here Sunday, the leaders adopted the Nay Pyi Taw Declaration on Realization of the ASEAN Community by 2015 to reaffirm their commitment to the aims and purposes of ASEAN.

The leaders agreed to further enhance ASEAN cooperation in promoting democracy, good governance and rule of law, in addition to promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms, so as to further enhance a rule-based community of shared values and norms, the declaration said.

They also agreed to explore the possibility for a regional framework based on the principles contained in the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia and in line with the Bali Principles on Mutually Beneficial Relations.

The leaders vowed to further promote peace and reconciliation in the region through relevant mechanisms and entities associated with ASEAN, and strengthen cooperation for the full and effective implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC) in accordance with universally recognized principles of international law.

They also pledged to work closely with nuclear weapon states on the early signing and ratification of the Protocol to the Treaty on the Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone without reservations by nuclear weapon states.

Meanwhile, the leaders will seek to strengthen ASEAN centrality in the evolving regional architecture through ASEAN-led processes such as ASEAN+1, ASEAN+3, East Asia Summit, ASEAN Defense Ministers' Meeting Plus, and ASEAN Regional Forum, according to the declaration.

The summit, themed Moving Forward in Unity to a Peaceful and Prosperous Community, was chaired by Myanmar President U Thein Sein. It was the first time for Myanmar to assume the ASEAN chairmanship since it joined the bloc in 1997.

Source: NAY PYI TAW, May 11 (Xinhua)

24th ASEAN summit wraps up with significant progress

Video: 24th ASEAN summit wraps up with significant progress ...

This year's ASEAN summit has wrapped up in Nay Pyi Taw, the capital of Myanmar, reflecting the country's growing role in the regional association. ASEAN's plans for integration are moving forward under the shadow of the potentially divisive issue of the South China sea.

A celebration of a nation. The ASEAN anthem, sung in myanmar’s capital naypyidaw for the opening of the 24th ASEAN Summit. A historic moment for one of ASEAN’s youngest member, that has come a long way from a secluded country crippled with sanctions into hosting one of the most important leaders summit in the region at a very crucial point of the association’s history.

"The ASEAN community will merge in one and a half year’s time. Today, we are at a critical juncture and we need of make sure that all the necessary steps in the community building are take in a timely manner." President of Myanmar Thein Sein said.

To that end the 24th ASEAN summit has made some strides with the commitment to expedite the implementation of the blueprints for Asian community,namely through ASEAN connectivity.. which in turn will help maintain and boost ASEAN economies and reduce poverty in the region especially in a newly opened up country like Myanmar.

The recent tension between Vietnam, the Philippines, both ASEAN members and China, an important partner to ASEAN has also prompted ASEAN to call for restraint in the disputed territory and expedite the development of the Code of Conduct and show a united front that goes beyond a picture

"In regional and global context, ASEAN must continue to play a greater role with more proactive engagements with external parties. ASEAN should be contributing more towards peace and prosperity to the global community by taking collective and united responses to global issues of common concerns and interest." Sein said.

As the end of the summit brings ASEAN an inch forward to a community, serious questions are raised on its effectiveness in solving and facilitating difficult issues and that will be the biggest test yet for the association of nations.

Myanmar stresses China’s peaceful rise to regional leadership

NAY PYI TAW (dpa) – Myanmar officials highlighted the importance of China’s peaceful rise in the region on Saturday ahead of the Association of South East Asian Nations (Asean) Summit.

Myanmar will host Sunday for the first time since it joined the 10-nation bloc in 1997.

“China is not only a big friend of Myanmar’s, but China is also the biggest trading partner of most of the Asean counties so China’s peaceful rise is very important for the Asean region,” said Ye Htut, a spokesman for President Thein Sein.

Asean Summits, held twice a year, end with declarations on regional issues such as economic integration and common security concerns. The Philippines and Vietnam are lobbying this year for a strong statement from Asean against aggression in the South China Sea.

Several countries have territorial disputes with Beijing over sovereignty claims to the sea, petroleum reserves and rights to fishing grounds.

Myanmar, as host, will play a crucial role in determining the tone of the final Asean statement on China, its northern neighbour and main foreign investor.

Asean foreign ministers met in the capital Nay Pyi Taw Saturday to discuss regional issues, including the South China Sea tensions, ahead of the summit.

Ye Htut described the Philippines’ and Vietnam’s problems with China as a matter of “bilateral relations.”

China’s policy has been to address its territorial disputes at the bilateral level, while the Philippines and Vietnam want a common Asean stance to pressure Beijing to agree to a Code of Conduct in the disputed areas.

Source: Borneo Bulletin

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US support no use for Manila to bluff South China Sea claims

The US and the Philippines began a two-week military drill on Monday. This "shoulder to shoulder" exercise is widely believed to be targeted at China. Some US analysts even argue that Washington should adopt a national strategy oriented at South China Sea to stop China's "aggression" in this region. Without a correct understanding of China's South China Sea policy and the US role in this area, these analysts miscalculated the real Asia-Pacific geopolitics.

China is depicted by many Western media as a bully in South China Sea, but the reality is that most of the Nansha Islands are forcibly occupied by those supposedly "bullied," such as the Philippines and Vietnam.

We shouldn't draw a simple conclusion that China and the US will engage in a hot war if Washington gets fully involved in this area. It's too naïve a judgment, as what the Philippines and Japan are aiming at is to turn their conflicts with China into a direct confrontation between China and the US. Such change is unlikely to happen in post-Cold War international relations.

The islands disputes in the South China Sea and East China Sea are a battle for national interests. They have led to a strategic game between China and the US, but its intensity is not high.

Where the game heads to relies on how the stakeholders, especially China and the US, interact with each other. Neither Manila nor Washington can manipulate the situation. China has more power to reshape the scenario.

Both China and the US are global powers, and the islands disputes constitute just a fraction of their bilateral relationship. Neither China can cherish illusions that the US will stay neutral in the South China Sea, nor the Philippines and Japan can indulge in a reverie that Washington would jeopardize its relationship with China for their petty interests.

China has more confidence than ever to face the US in the South China Sea chessboard. A growing US-China relationship benefits the US, which mandates that US doesn't allow its warships to be locked in a dangerous standoff with China.

What's more, China's actions have never really touched the nerve of the US. People with insight can see the restraint and prudence of China's South China Sea policy.

The other stakeholders in this area should cast away illusions that the US would be their "big daddy." Bilateral negotiations with China are the only way to address these disputes and to protect their own interests.

Washington's military deployment in Asia-Pacific can hardly be turned into real deterrence against China, but the US won't stop making mischief in this area. However, under the framework of a new type of major power relationship, China is gathering more experience to play the chess with the US.

Countries like the Philippines and Japan should better update their knowledge about China. Borrowing power from the US and scaring China reflects nothing but their short-sightedness.

Source:Global Times Published: 2014-5-7 0:33:01

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End the lawyers' monopoly on conveyancing in Malaysia

End the conveyancing monopoly

Lawyers set outrageous fees despite the fact that the work done does not involve additional skill.

WHEN I started my legal practice many years ago, it was quite common for lawyers to give discounts on fees chargeable for conveyancing and loan transactions. In fact, some of us charged time costs to clients because the work was quite straightforward (even if the sums involved were large).

In those days, there was already a no-discount rule. The legal fraternity then was more realistic and the Bar Council was lenient when it came to the amount of fees we could charge: no one would be liable for disciplinary action for not following scaled fees, and breaches were more frequent than observance. Those were happy days.

By and large, conveyancing and loan documentation for financial institutions are straightforward matters. They usually involve standard terms that lawyers use on a daily basis without much effort (though some lawyers might dispute this).

Conveyancing fees are what we call “easy money” – clerks do all the work and lawyers collect their fees for signing on the right pages. The higher the value of the property, or the value of the bank loan, the higher the fee.

I have never thought it right to charge high fees on this basis; after all, high-value residential property transacted in Ampang, for example, requires the same work and skill as that of lower-valued property in Klang, so why should there be a difference in fees?

The fact is that the scaled fees mandated by the Bar Council favour the lawyer who undertakes larger property transactions – but why this is so can be difficult to understand, and I suggest you read Michael Joseph’s Conveyancing Fraud, which was first published in 1989.

Joseph was an English solicitor who did his part to expose the arbitrary and unfair system by which the Law Society of England and Wales (the governing body for solicitors) set outrageous fees despite the fact that the work done had no relation to any additional skill.

Ultimately, good sense prevailed and solicitors lost their monopoly over conveyancing in England and Wales. A new breed of professionals called “conveyancers” was given the right to do this work as well and, as a result, fees were much reduced and services improved. That’s what competition does to any industry.

But not in Malaysia. Here, the Bar Council still insists that only lawyers can undertake conveyancing work and scaled fees must be strictly followed – a practice abandoned long ago in other Commonwealth countries.

When it comes to this issue, the Bar Council somehow always overlooks the question of public interest. It seems that, to the Council, it’s their members’ interests that are more important.

The economist Adam Smith warned us 250 years ago that when people of the same trade met, the conversation usually ended up in a conspiracy against the public through the raising of prices.

We now have the Competition Act 2010, which in essence seeks to promote the competitive process, and the rule of the game is to discourage anti-competitive behaviour. The stance taken by the Bar has been definitely against the Competition Act, although no one dares to challenge the lawyers’ monopoly.

The question remains: why must lawyers be the only type of professionals allowed to do conveyancing work?

A solicitor friend countered this view by saying that the Competition Act itself allows for exclusion. For example, Section 13 of the Act exempts any agreement or conduct that complies with a legislative requirement. My friend argued that the Solicitors’ Remuneration Order 2005 (which allows for scaled fees to be charged) is such a legislative requirement.

But wait a minute. I’m not saying that the Bar is in violation of the Competition Act. I’m saying merely that the Bar’s monopoly on conveyancing is not in compliance with the spirit of the Act. The Bar is once again out of touch!

The Malaysian Competition Commission, under the able leadership of former Chief Judge of Malaya Tan Sri Siti Norma Yaakob, should exercise its power under Sections 11 and 12 of the Competition Act to perform a “market review” of the situation and publish the results.

I am sure such a study will show the need for the establishment of a new breed of professional conveyancers so as to give lawyers some fair competition, and I’m sure the market review will benefit the public immensely.

Arguments that conveyancing work is complicated and must be done by lawyers have already been used in Australia and England, and have been found to be baseless – in fact, the quality of conveyancing services in Australia and New Zealand actually improved after the lawyers’ monopoly was broken.

In Malaysia, there are many former legal clerks and Land Office employees who can qualify and be registered as conveyancers. Of course, local conveyancers will have to be properly regulated under their own professional standards organisation to ensure that a high quality of work will be maintained.

The lawyers’ monopoly has no purpose whatsoever in this day and age. Moreover, given that the Bar Council has always fought for the political and human rights of the people, I believe it should extend this public spirit to conveyancing and other spheres, even if it means less “easy money” for lawyers.

In fact, the real test of our commitment to a particular cause is our willingness to persist even if it hits our pockets, so I say again: the public will surely benefit from an end to the conveyancing monopoly, services will improve and prices will fall. So why can’t we do it?

Contributed by by datuk zaid ibrahim The Star/Asia News Network

> Datuk Zaid Ibrahim, true to his Kelantan roots, is highly passionate about practically everything, hence the name of this column. Having established himself in the legal fraternity, Zaid ventured into politics and has been on both sides of the political divide. The former de facto Law Minister at one time is now a legal consultant but will not hesitate to say his piece on any current issue. He can be reached at zaid.ibrahim@partners-corp.com. The views expressed here are entirely his own.
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It's is our battle: Obama in Malaysia

The biggest takeaway from Barack Obama’s speech was that he really isn’t that interested in solving our domestic issues.

I WAS one of the lucky young leaders who attended the town hall meeting with United States President Barack Obama. It was an incredible experience and I was impressed by his energy, oratory and diplomacy.

However, that town hall meeting left our social and mainstream media buzzing with two issues – the questions raised by the participants and Obama’s quotes on affirmative action in Malaysia.

Many Malaysians viewed the less-than hard-questions asked Obama (such as the meaning of happiness) as a waste of an opportunity. They felt the most powerful man in the world needed to be asked some powerful questions.

I, too, had some serious questions for him. However, I am not, as some critics put it, “disappointed in the future leaders of Asean” for asking theirs.

Four hundred young people attended the town hall meeting but only eight questions were taken. Two were from the social media (curated by moderators and, therefore, bound to be “safe”). The social media questions and three others from the audience came from non-Malaysians, leaving the remaining questions for only three Malaysians.

Might it simply then had been an unfortunate coincidence that Obama happened to pick the three Malaysians, in a sea of raised hands, who chose not to ask about the TPPA (Trans-Pacific Partnership Trade Agreement) or human rights?

Obama is a role model to many. Not all young people are political journalists, critics of his foreign policy or otherwise determined to tembak him.

The Asean participants are my friends and fellow alumni of the US State Departmentsponsored exchange programmes. I know them well enough to know they have a different take to politics than we do.

Malaysians thrive on discussing issues of the day in a kopitiam, at a forum or via Twitter. We’re practically hardwired to talk politics. Contrastingly, my Asean friends are here on a leadership initiative. They’ve attended numerous programmes, conferences and workshops all geared towards helping them become leaders of civil society.

Their focus is to find solutions to poverty, climate change and human trafficking – not to zoom in on policy and trade agreements.

Their questions simply illustrate that they’re more concerned with bettering themselves and their world than turning everything into a debate. This was a town hall for young leaders on leadership. Expect some young (read: naïve) questions on leadership.

At one point during his address, Obama said “Malaysia will not progress if non-Muslims are not given equal opportunities.” I, like many others, took his sound bite to social media.

Many people went further, calling on Obama to pressure our government into reform, to “save us”! And of course we had people labelling Obama a hypocrite, his comment either ridiculous or irrelevant, and condemning those who looked to him as a saviour.

These reactions reminded me that we are once again stuck in our dichotomy of “accept wholesale or reject wholesale”.

I personally think the biggest takeaway from his speech was that he really isn’t that interested in solving our domestic issues.

Many times, he urged us to fight a good fight, but he made it a point to remind us that he has his own problems in America to solve. I couldn’t agree more.

Realistically, the US president has bigger problems to deal with than us.

Idealistically, we shouldn’t need him to help in any major way. My Sejarah textbook taught me that time and again when our rulers were faced with domestic problems, they opened themselves up to colonisation by seeking help from foreigners instead of facing up to their countrymen.

However, I disagree with those who dismiss Obama. Yes, this is an issue we’ve been dealing with for so long that the US president isn’t adding anything substantive to the debate, but that doesn’t make him irrelevant!

It’s like any other old debate such as abortion or creationism. You’re perfectly entitled to roll your eyes and say “Yeah, I’ve heard this one before,” but to some people it’s a big deal to have the leader of the free world publicly say, “I’m on your side.”

Others cite his domestic and foreign policy to label him a hypocrite, but you can agree with what he said yesterday without having to agree to what he said last year or did in Syria.

I highly appreciate the public relations value of the leader of the free world demonstrating an awareness of my cause, but it doesn’t have to follow that I adore him, agree with all his policies or think he’s Superman.

In a week’s time, people will forget what he said. But the fight goes on, right?

So, instead of obsessing over whether he had the right to say what he said, whether it matters that he said what he said, or making idle wishes that someone else had said what he said, let us focus on the more important part of his speech – that it’s our battle.

Open Season by Marina Tan

> Marina Tan won the 2012 English Speaking Union International Public Speaking competition. She is presently studying at Kolej Yayasan UEM and will be going to Yale University in the United States in August to pursue a double major in engineering and economics.

Marina Tan The Star-ESUM Public Speaking Competition 2011



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Asians can and must think strategically, not to be dominated by the West

Can Asians think? CAN Asian Think is a provocative book written in 1998 by the dean of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the Nat...

Asians can and must think strategically, not to be dominated by the West

Can Asians think?

CAN Asian Think is a provocative book written in 1998 by the dean of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore, Kishore Mahbubani, a prolific and brilliant thinker.

The book is a combative rebuttal of the idea that the dominant Western (read American) ideas are universalist, arguing that the Rest (of the World) has a lot to teach the West.

Re-reading it after more than 16 years, the questions raised by Mahbubani are as relevant as ever. Personally, I found the title rather condescending – of course Asians can think! The real issue is whether Asians can think strategically in their own interest, or whether they think that the dominant Western philosophy and values are so comfortable and relevant that they simply accept that the West is best.

The intellectual tide is going full circle. Since 1998, we have experienced two full-scale crises – the Asian financial crisis of 1998-1999 in which some Western polemicists gloated over Asian hubris, and the Great Recession of 2007-2009, when even Western intellectuals questioned whether unfettered capitalism was a dead end.

As one Asian leader said, when our teacher stumbles, what does the student do? This strategic question has not been completely answered, or at least the answers are different for different Asian countries.

Now that the West has begun to recover, we are going through a reversal of fortunes. Emerging economies are going to bear the brunt of global adjustment. At least three Asian economies are counted among the Fragile Five (India, Indonesia, Turkey, Brazil and South Africa), and there is considerable worry that China may be going through a hard landing.

President Obama’s trip to Asia was a belated personal confirmation of his “Pivot to East Asia” policy, first articulated in 2012 by then Secretary of State and Presidential wannabe Hillary Clinton. As the United States began to withdraw from Iraq and Afghanistan, and its discovery of shale oil making it less dependent on the Middle East, the Pivot strategy involved strengthening bilateral ties with allies in East Asia, and working relationships with emerging powers, such as China. The immediate unintended consequence of the Pivot policy was the eruption of the Ukraine crisis, whereby Russia took advantage of European weakness and diversion of US attention to effectively bring Crimea back to the Russian sphere of influence.

All of a sudden, the Cold War, defined as the struggle between Big Powers, re-emerged into the global risk equation.

Russian soldiers march at the Red Square in Moscow during a Victory Day parade. Thousands of Russian troops marched in Red Square to mark 69 years since victory in World War II in a show of military might amid tensions in Ukraine following Moscow’s annexation of Crimea. -AFP

The word “pivot” originally arose from a paper “The Geographical Pivot of History”, delivered exactly 110 years ago by Sir Halford Mackinder (1861-1947), then director of the London School of Economics. In his second book in 1919, Mackinder, considered the father of geopolitics and geostrategy theory, enscapsulated his theory of the Heartland in a dictum: “Who rules East Europe commands the Heartland; Who rules the Heartland commands the World Island; Who rules the World Island commands the World.”

The Heartland is of course Central Asia, previously part of the Soviet Union, and the World-Island is the largest landmass of Euroasia, from Atlantic Europe to the East Asian Pacific coast, which commands 50% of the world’s resources. Many of today’s areas of geopolitical risk are at the frontiers of the Heartland – Ukraine, Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran and the South China Sea.

Mackinder’s innovation was to examine national strategy on a global scale, recognising that the British empire must use geography and strategic policy to its advantage against competing great powers.

Former British colonies understood very well the British strategy of “divide and rule”, playing off one faction against the other, so that Britain could rule a subcontinent like India without expending too much resources. But Britain did not hesitate to apply gunboats or cannon to maintain the strategic balance. Similarly, Britain played off one European power against another, until weakened by two world wars, her former colony, the United States emerged as the global superpower.

Seen from the long lens of history, we are in the second Anglo-Saxon empire, with America being the new Rome. Just as the Roman empire shifted its capital from Rome to Constantinople (now Istanbul) in the 20th century, power shifted westward from London to Washington DC.

In the 20th century, two island economies, Britain and Japan, played leading roles in intervening in the continents of Europe and Asia through maritime power, but by the 21st century, air and technological power through size and scale changed the game in favour of the United States. The United States is a continental economy defended by two oceans, the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic, without a military rival within the Americas.

In contrast, Asia has been historically riven by war and territorial disputes.

In his new book, the Revenge of Geography, geostrategist Robert Kaplan argued how politics and warfare were determined throughout history largely by geography.

Even though the arrival of air travel and Internet suggest that the world may become borderless, the reality is that the world is becoming more and more crowded.

When the First World War broke out in 1914, the global population was only 1.7 billion, with a death count of 16 million. By the Second World War, the death count reached as high as 85 million, when world population was only 2.3 billion.

The next World War will be fought over water and energy resources, because there are limits to natural resources even as the global population exceeds 7 billion, going towards 9 billion by 2030.

For the world to avoid global conflict will require great skills and mutual understanding, because the geopolitical risks of political miscalculation and accidents are extremely high in an age of rising tensions due to inequality, chauvinism, religious and ethnic polarisation. As an old African saying goes, when elephants fight, the grass gets trampled. In the next big fight between the nuclear powers, there will be no winners.

Now that is something that not just Asians must seriously think about.

 - Contributed by Tan Sri Andrew Sheng

Tan Sri Andrew Sheng is Distinguished Fellow of the Fung Global Institute. The views expressed are entirely the writer's own.

Al-Shabaah terrorist members enter Malaysia as students and tourists!

Key arrest: Bukit Aman Special Branch Counter Terrorism Unit officers detaining the 34-year-old Somali, believed to be a member of Al-Shabaab terrorist group, in Selangor.

Hunt on for more Somalis

KUALA LUMPUR: The police counter terrorism division has launched a manhunt for at least five other members of the Somali terrorist group Al-Sha­baab who entered the country as college students and tourists.

Home Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ah­­mad Zahid Hamidi said the hunt was to ensure that Malaysia did not be­­come a training ground for militant groups.

“Malaysia has never compromised when it comes to militant activities. This (efforts to hunt terrorists) is done continuously,” he told reporters after visiting the Kamunting Pri­­son yesterday.

“We are hunting down several individuals. Some of them are married to local women. They have not set up bases in this country but they share the ideology.”

His comments came a day after a suspected Somali terrorist belonging to the Al-Shabaab group, which is active in Africa and the Middle East, was arrested in Selangor.

The 34-year-old was also on the most wanted list Interpol.

Dr Ahmad Zahid said the man was believed to have entered Malaysia using student passes two years ago and studied in a private college.

Deputy IGP Datuk Seri Mohd Bakri Zinin said police were using all resources to search and detain the remaining members.

Contributed by Malaysia Police nab man linked to Somalian terrorist group By G. Prakash - See more at: http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/police-nab-man-linked-to-somalian-terrorist-group#sthash.CzfpTtok.dpuf “We are focused on capturing these dangerous people,” he told The Star yesterday.

According to a source involved in the operation, the counter terrorism unit had been closely monitoring a group of five Al-Shabaab members who had entered the country using altered passports and signed up as students of top private colleges and public universities using fake identities and documents.

“There are strong indications that the group was trying to set up a base here to remain below surveillance.

“We believe authorities in Africa and Europe were closing in on them, forcing some members to flee to Malaysia,” the source said.

Asked why the militant group picked Malaysia, the source said the perception was that the country was “too welcoming”.

“Security at our entry points is deemed to be lax and this is luring the wrong kind of people. It is about time the systems in place are re­­vamped,” the source said.

So far, police have found no signs to suggest that Al-Shabaab had been attempting to recruit Malaysians or forge any form of cooperation with home-grown militants who were detained recently.

The arrest of the Somali man is not believed to be linked to the arrest of 11 Malaysians for involvement with militant groups in Syria and southern Philippines.

- Contributed by Farik Zolkepli

Visas only for qualified foreign students

PETALING JAYA: Foreign students coming into the country must have the required academic qualifications before they are issued student visas, said Education Malaysia Global Ser­­vices (EMGS) chief executive officer Mohd Yazid Abdul Hamid.

He said EMGS served as the first level of screening to ensure that only genuine students who had fulfilled the academic requirements were admitted and that the institutions that they appled for were pro–perly accredited.

“Once they have passed the academic screening, the Immigration department will conduct a security screening on the applicants,” Mohd Yazidsaid yesterday.

The EMGS is a one-stop-centre for international students and manages all aspects of their application.

This includes student passes, review of documents, compliance with academic requirements, issuance of student visas, medical screening and insurance coverage.

Mohd Yazid said records kept by EMGS served as a data bank to track the performance of the students.

“There are cases of those who abused their student visas. For such students, the colleges must submit attendance and academic results for yearly renewal of student visas.

“In this way, we can weed out visa holders who are not genuine students,” said Mohd Yazid.

He said foreign students had to achieve 80% class attendance and the minimum cummulative grade point average 2.0 to qualify for renewal of student visas.

- Sources: The Star/Asia News Network

Police nab man linked to Somalian terrorist group 

Deputy Inspector-General of Police Datuk Seri Mohd Bakri Zinin said the individual was picked up by Bukit Aman’s special branch counter-terrorism division in Selangor. ― file picture

PETALING JAYA, May 9 — The arrest of a 34-year-old east African man, believed to be a member of Somali-based militant group Al-Shabaab which has links to Al-Qaeda, has raised questions on how he managed to enter the country and if he was involved with other local militants detained over the past few days.

Deputy Inspector-General of Police Datuk Seri Mohd Bakri Zinin, had in a press statement yesterday, said the individual was picked up by Bukit Aman’s special branch counter-terrorism division in Selangor yesterday and is believed to be linked to the Somali-based Al-Shabaab terrorist group.

“He was listed under Interpol’s Red Notice wanted list for his alleged involvement with Al-Shabaab in east Africa,” the statement read.

“Police are investigating his activities in the country to identify if there were any Al-Shabaab terrorist links or members in the country or conducting activities that could jeapordise the nation’s security.”

He is being investigated under the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act.

Sources say the suspect, arrested at 4pm, has been in the country for “several weeks” and are not discounting the possibility of more Al-Shabaab members in the country.

Nine individuals, aged between 55 and 22, were arrested by the counter terrorism division on April 28 for their alleged involvement in militant activities.

Three of them were picked up in Kedah and six in Selangor. Another individual was arrested in Kuala Lumpur the following day while another suspect was nabbed in the city on May 2.

They were believed to have been planning to participate in the on-going civil war in Syria. Al-Shabaab enjoys close ties with Al-Qaeda and are believed to have aided Boko Haram militants in the attack on Nyanya Motor Park in Abuja last week claiming the lives of over 200 people.

It remains unclear if the foreigner was connected to the 11 locals arrested. Sources say it is highly unlikely but police will probe the matter.

IGP Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar had, in recent days, stressed the nation’s laws were adequate to protect Malaysia from militants and warned members of militant groups not to recruit Malaysian youths to join them.

The nation’s porous borders have been highlighted since Flight MH370 went missing on March 8 after two Iranians entered the country and boarded the Malaysia Airlines plane with fake passports.

Earlier this year, police rescued several Myanmar nationals smuggled into the country by a human trafficking syndicate through Thailand.

A series of kidnappings, abduction and robberies in Sabah’s waters, and the influx of foreigners entering the state, has also irked many parties, including Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, despite the establishment of the multi-million ringgit Eastern Sabah Security Command (Esscom) after the Lahad Datu incursion early last year.

- Contributed by G. Prakash MalayMailOnline

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Captain recalls attack by Philippine police

"They rushed toward us in a boat and fired at us," He Junting, captain of the fishing boat Qiongqionghai 03168, said Thursday when recalling an attack by Philippine police.

He's boat was about 300 meters from Qiongqionghai 09063, which was seized by Philippine police at about 10 a.m. Tuesday in waters off the Half Moon Shoal in the South China Sea, with 11 fishermen on board captured.

He drove his boat and rushed away after seeing the armed vessel. It encountered another armed boat later but safely got away.

"If we had not known the sea conditions around the Half Moon Shoal well, we would never have got away from them," he told Xinhua.

"If we delayed a little bit, our nine fishermen aboard would have been seized," he said.

The Half Moon Shoal is China's inherent territory. It has rich fishing resources, good anchorages and harbors, the captain said.

"It is a traditional fishing ground for fishermen in Qionghai City, Hainan Province," He said. "We have been fishing there many times."

The Beidou navigation system installed on Qiongqionghai 09063 was switched off by the Philippine police, meaning the 11 fishermen lost contact with China, according to a Qionghai fishing administration official on condition of anonymity.

There are still 48 Chinese fishing boats in the waters off the Nansha Islands, according to the Qionghai municipal fishing administration station.

Police will make contacts with the boats four times a day and make sure to know their positions. They will guide fishing boats to leave dangerous sea areas if needed, said Yu Yi, head of the Tanmen township border police station of Qionghai City.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry on Wednesday urged the Philippines to "immediately" release the detained fishermen and the boat.

China has demanded the Philippines "make rational explanations", said spokeswoman Hua Chunying at the daily press briefing, warning the Philippine side to "take no more provocative action".

Hua said a Chinese maritime police boat has arrived at the sea area. China's Foreign Ministry and the Chinese Embassy in the Philippines have already lodged representations with the Philippine side.

Hua reiterated that China has undisputable sovereign rights over the sea area, including the Half Moon Shoal of Nansha Islands, where the incident occurred. - Xinhua

Another Chinese national kidnapped in Malaysia by Philippine gunmen

Once again a Chinese tourist is abducted from Sabah. Yes, again!

Indeed the word 'again" epitomizes the vulnerability of Sabah's marine defence, the loopholes in the state's security, the woes of the state's tourism industry, the deeply planted worries of the state's residents, as well as the indignation of all Malaysians.

It is not just a scandal for Sabah, but a crying shame for the entire nation.

Are you kidding me? Just one month and now we have another tourist kidnapped from our territory.

Goodness! Why a Chinese national again?

Is it Abu Sayyaf again?

Public reactions have been a concoction of varying sentiments: shock, disbelief, frustration, anguish, humiliation...

More than a hundred Chinese passengers onboard MH370 are yet to be located while the young female Chinese tourist abducted from a Semporna resort is yet to be freed. And now we have the Chinese manager of a fish farm snatched away.

Many Chinese nationals have cancelled their travel plans to Malaysia after the MH370 and Semporna kidnapping incidents. So far no bookings have been received from Chinese travel agencies.

There were a total of 1.6 million Chinese tourists visiting Malaysia last year but according to estimates, the number will likely shrink by 400,000 to 800,000 this year.

With another Chinese national now kidnapped in Sabah, it is foreseeable that Chinese tourists will shun the country while other nationals might review their travel plans. To be honest, no one wants to visit a country that fails to guarantee foreigners' safety.

This is not the first time Filipino terrorists have kidnapped hostages from Sabah in demanding exorbitant ransoms from the government. Last November, a Taiwanese couple was assaulted on Bon Bon island off Sabah. The husband was killed while the wife was abducted, to be released only after a large sum of ransom was paid to the kidnappers several months later.

In April 2000, some 21 people were kidnapped by Filipino militants, including 12 foreigners. The kidnappers released the hostages after US$20 million was paid by the Philippine government at the mediation of Libya.

Last February, armed Sulu terrorists breached our territorial waters to stake a claim on their '"ancestral land" culminating in bloody clashes with our military.

Have we done or learned anything after all this? Why do the terrorists roam so freely into our territory even after the formation of the Eastern Sabah Security Command (ESSCOM)? Why do our security forces appear so helpless in fending off these intruders, allowing them to do whatever they wish in our country?

We remain so helpless and powerless in the face of such blatant provocation from these lawless militants. We have not only surrendered their insatiable ransom demands but also the confidence of Malaysians towards this country as well as our international reputation and image.

- Mysinchew.

Sabah shaken by kidnapping of fish farm manager from Guangzhou

Crime scene: Comm Hamza (right) and Sabah crime division chief SAC Omar Mamah showing photos of the kidnapping location. — Bernama

LAHAD DATU: Fresh off a piracy case on Sunday, Sabah was shaken by the kidnapping of another Chinese national from an island nearby.

Chief Minister Datuk Musa Aman has since announced that a curfew and travels restrictions would be imposed in high risk areas off the coast of Sabah.

The kidnapping of 34-year-old fish farm manager Yang Zai Lin from Guangzhou saw five Filipino gunmen in a brief shootout with the pursuing Malaysian security forces before they fled to Sibutu Island in the southern Philippines.

The kidnapping came about 28 hours after four pirates armed with M16 rifles attacked four fishermen and robbed them of their outboard engines late on Sunday at Tanjung Labian, close to Kampung Tanduo that was intruded by Sulu gunmen in February last year.

The 10-minute raid at 2.45am on Tuesday at Wonderful Terrace Sdn Bhd fish farm on Pulau Baik, close to the shores of Silam, about 30km south of Lahad Datu, has shocked Sabahans who are now questioning the Eastern Sabah Security Command (Esscom).

The kidnappers, also armed with M16 rifles, had paddled their 40HP white boat to the fish farm, avoiding the security guard by moving towards a second jetty on the other side of the farm.

Sources said that two of the masked men headed straight to the room of a female cook and demanded to know the whereabouts of the Hong Kong-based owner of the fish farm.

On learning that the owner had left just a few hours before their arrival, after a four-day stay at the farm, they grabbed Yang who had come out to check on the commotion outside his room, which was adjacent to the cook’s room.

They pulled him to the waiting speedboat where the guard was being held.

However, the gunmen pushed the guard off the boat and sped off towards international waters.

Security forces were immediately notified of the kidnapping.

Due to the proximity of the incident to mainland, police set up roadblocks along the Tawau-Lahad Datu road while at sea they went on red alert under Ops Tutup.

Sabah Police Commissioner Datuk Hamza Taib said that at about 6.20am they spotted a 200HP speedboat close to the Malaysian border island of Mataking and as police tried to intercept the gunmen, gunfire was exchanged.

He said the gunmen managed to slip into Alice Reef and flee towards the Philippines’ Sibutu island.

He said they believed that the gunmen had switched from their 40HP boat to the higher powered 200HP speedboat to make their escape out of Sabah.

Disclosing they had asked assistance from the Philippines police, Comm Hamza added that they were also checking whether the same group was behind the act of piracy at Tanjung Labian on Sunday.

According to sources, the pirates in the Labian incident had used a black boat and had spoken in local Malay while in Silam they spoke in the Bajau dialect, common among the bajaus on both sides of the Malaysia-Philippines border.

However, they were not ruling out the possibility that they might be linked to each other.

On April 2, gunmen from southern Philippines snatched Chinese tourist Gao Huayun, 29, and resort worker Marcy Dayawan, 40, from the Singamata Reef Resort in the neighbouring Semporna district.

Their whereabouts in southern Philippines remain unknown though the Malaysian authorities say that they are safe.

On Nov 15 last year, a Taiwanese woman Chang An Wei, 58, was kidnapped from the Pom Pom resort while her husband Li Min Hsu, 57, was killed when gunmen raided the Pom Pom resort. She was released a month later after an undisclosed ransom was paid

 - The Star/Asia News Network

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