Saturday, October 22, 2011

OWC stirs controversy again: Taking sex to the PhD-level? Anti-climax in ‘Seks Islam’ book!

Founder: A man can have simultaneous, spiritual sex with wives in separate locations. Sex is the main reason people get married. The climax is like heaven on earth - Hatijah

PETALING JAYA: The Obedient Wives Club (OWC) stirred up fresh controversy when its founder claimed that spiritually, a man can have sex with all his wives simultaneously.

Club founder Hatijah Aam, who is also the author of the controversial book Seks Islam Perangi Yahudi Untuk Kembalikan Seks Islam Kepada Dunia (Sex in Islam Wage War Against Jews To Return Islamic Sex To The World), said that when a man reached the highest spiritual level, “he can appear in multiple apparitions and have sex with his wives even though they are in separate locations”.

“We never said that a man can have an orgy with all his wives on the same bed.

“That is not allowed.

“What we meant is when a man has reached the highest spiritual level, he will be granted the ability to have sex with his wives spiritually,” she said.

“This is how men who were at war in the past satisfied their needs,” she said at a press conference here yesterday from Mecca, Saudi Arabia, via Skype.

The club is going ahead with the global launch of the controversial sex guide despite protests from women's groups.

Hatijah said the book would soon be launched globally in countries where OWCs have already been set up, including Singapore, Indonesia, Australia, Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Britain and France.

However, the club does not intend to launch the book in Malaysia. “The book was meant to be circulated among our members only.

“We knew that the public's reaction to the book would be negative because they do not understand the concept,” said Hatijah, who is also the wife of late Al-Arqam founder Ashaari Muhammad.

Women's groups like Sisters in Islam, All Women's Action Society and the Women's Aid Organisation described the book as a cheap publicity stunt designed to raise the profile of the club.

Hatijah defended the importance of the detailed sex guide on grounds that sex is God's gift to married couples and they should be educated on the ways to approach it.

“Sex is the main reason people get married. And in a way, the climax is like heaven on earth,” said Hatijah.

She also explained that like praying, sex between married couples was also a pious act.

“So, why can't we teach people how to do that in a pure way?” she asked.
(The Star)

Taking sex to the PhD-level?

One Man's Meat
By PHILIP GOLINGAI

The Obedient Wives Club wanted to keep it under the covers but since it leaked out, interest for its sex-guide book has yet to reach a climax.

FRIDAY’S press conference by the Obedient Wives Club (OWC) reminded me of Salt-n-Pepa’s 1991 hit song Let’s Talk About Sex.

The hip-hop song goes: “Let’s talk about sex. Yo, I don’t think we should talk about this. C’mon, why not? People might misunderstand what we’re tryin’ to say, you know? No, but that’s a part of life.”

That about sums up the exasperation of the club embroiled in a controversy after it published a pocket-sized 115-page Malay-language book titled Seks Islam, Perangi Yahudi Untuk Kembalikan Seks Islam Kepada Dunia (Islamic Sex, Fighting Jews to Return Islamic Sex to the World).

Embroiled in controversy: The sex guide which was published by OWC.

To clarify media reports that the book encouraged a man to have an orgy with all of his wives, five OWC officials (including two men) met the press.

At the start of the 90-minute press conference in Petaling Jaya, OWC national chairman in Malaysia Fauziah Ariffin read a statement from Hatijah Aam, the club founder.

Hatijah, one of the wives of the late Al-Arqam founder Ashaari Muhammad, said the sex guide was only for OWC members who were married.

“We are disappointed with those who distributed the book without our knowledge until it created a misunderstanding,” she said.

Fauziah then tackled the controversial issue of “seks serentak (simultaneous sex)”.

“Simultaneous does not mean that on the bed there is one man and four women,” she said with a sarcastic laugh.

“When a man has reached a high level of spirituality, his wali (spiritual guardian) can come in contact with his wives wherever they are.

“Maybe one wife is in Ipoh, another in Kuala Lumpur, in Singapore or in Johor but he can ‘come’ to his wife simultaneously. That is the wonder of spiritual sex.”

Wow! I thought. Note to myself: evolve from missionary position. But was “spiritual sex” possible, I wondered.

As if reading my thoughts, Dr Azlina Jamaluddin, a dentist and OWC leader, said it was not something a common person could comprehend.

“To you there might be no logic to what we are saying,” Dr Azlina explained. “But when Prophet Noah built an ark on a mountain at that time there was no logic in what he was doing.”

Mohd Rasidi, a male member of the panel, claimed what was taught in the book was “high level” sex. “It is PhD-level,” he said.

“To understand the book,” said Fauziah, “the author of the book herself wants to talk to the media via Skype from Mecca.”

And Hatijah’s voice filled the conference room.

In an exasperated tone, the 57-year-old Malaysian woman based in Saudi Arabia said the club purposely did not sell the book to non-members because the public would not be able to comprehend it.

In other words, you and I are practising “kindergarten-level sex” as compared with “PhD-level sex”.
And, quoting the Quran, Hatijah went deep into the theory of “spiritual sex”.

Here are some of Hatijah’s insights on sex.

> If your spirit is pure you can have sex with your wife even though you are abroad fighting a war.
> God allows sex sports. And to be good in sex you need practice.

> Orgasm releases a pain killer and helps with fever. But don’t have affairs on the pretext of curing your fever.

> Orgasm prevents wrinkles.

> Sex can make you younger. Jogging can be replaced by “sexcercise”.

> Only animals have sex without mukadimah (foreplay).

> It is important for a woman’s breasts to be sucked in order to prevent breast cancer (quoting a BBC news report).

During the Q&A session, I asked: “I’m curious, has the panel experienced simultaneous sex? Have you reached the PhD-level of sex?”

And – I’m not sure whether I imagined this – the panel members lowered their heads as if they felt sexually inadequate.

After a hush-hush discussion among themselves, Mohd Rasidi said: “So far, it is a knowledge that we are still trying to understand.

“We have not experienced it as our roh (spirit) has not reached PhD-level,” he explained.

“How about Hatijah?” I asked.

And Azlina, the dentist, said: “We have not experienced it yet. We are still trying. The person who has experienced it is Hatijah Aam. Hopefully one day, God willing, we can reach that level.”

Hatijah also revealed that she was writing a second sex guide book.

“The first book revealed 20% (sex knowledge). But the second book will reveal 100%. But we will make sure the public will not get their hands on this book about heaven on earth,” she added.

Anti-climax in ‘Seks Islam’ book

One Man's Meat By PHILIP GOLINGAI

The Obedient Wives Club (OWC) controversial pocket-sized Malay-language sex guide sold exclusively to its members is more of a mother’s labour of love for her son who was getting married.

IF I got RM50 for every time someone asked me a copy of Seks Islam, I would be as rich as Alex Comfort, the author of The Joy of Sex.

On Oct 21, in Petaling Jaya, at a press conference organised by Obedient Wives Club (OWC), the author of Seks Islam, Perangi Yahudi Untuk Kembalikan Seks Islam Kepada Dunia (Islamic Sex, Fighting Jews to Return Islamic Sex to the World), Hatijah Aam (pic) gifted the book to journalists.

Speaking via Skype from Mecca in Saudi Arabia, Hatijah, the OWC founder, told the club members: “Please present the book now to the media representatives.”

“We don’t want to hide it. We want to be transparent.

“We want to show that we are not hiding our (sex) knowledge,” she said.

And the dozen or so journalists became proud owners of the controversial pocket-sized Malay-language sex guide sold exclusively to OWC members for RM50.

Instantly, When I – @philipgolingai – “live” tweeted that I had a copy, I received several requests for a copy.

In my office, almost everybody I met was excited over my owning THE book except for this one guy who got aroused for the wrong reason. He thought I had a copy of the Auditor-General’s Report.

It seems everyone I knew lusted for the knowledge on how to graduate from kindergarten-level sex to PhD-level sex.

Who wouldn’t want to read a book advocating “spiritual sex” (a man could “come” spiritually to all his wives simultaneously even though they’re in Ipoh, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore and Johor)?

And, by the day, the book is getting more notorious. Last week, the Sarawak government banned the distribution of Seks Islam in the state.

As my friends flipped through the book, their initial remarks were: “No picture ah?” or “No graphics ah? All words?”.

Sorry to disappoint, but the book isn’t the Comfort’s titillatingly illustrated Joy of Sex.

In fact, the 115-page booklet was a mother’s labour of love for her son who was getting married.

The preamble to Seks Islam – from its research – OWC found that what a woman sexually provided her husband was 10% of what his real sexual needs were.

“The wife thinks her 10% is 100%. She’s also dumb not to want to be taught about sex. She has a prejudiced perception that sex is obscene,” wrote Hatijah.

Chapter one explains why OWC was formed, chapter two talks about Hatijah’s husband, the late Al-Arqam founder Ashaari Muhammad, chapter three about giving 100% loyalty to your husband, chapter four is a guide for the future groom and chapter five is a letter to the bride.

Yawn. Yawn. Nothing that really makes me blush.

Hatijah also explained the difference between a man and a woman.

A man is held hostage by his desire. In order words, just like peeing, when a man has to go, he has to go.
A woman, however, can turn off and turn on her sexual desire as if it were a switch.

“If a wife loves her husband, she must instantly fulfil his sexual needs,” she advocated.

The climax of the book is in its conclusion.

Hatijah writes about her two-month training with Ashaari to become a heroic and angelic wife.

And she revealed her late husband could perform sex simultaneously with his wives, spiritually.

“Intimacy is much more pleasurable and ‘lighter’ through spiritual sex compared with physical sex,” she wrote.

Hatijah writes about seks seren-tak (simultaneous sex) but she does not reveal how to do it spiritually.

Perhaps, as she said in the press conference, what was taught in Seks Islam was just the tip of the iceberg (20%) of her sex knowledge.

So what has the book – as its title suggests – got to do with Jews?

From what I gather Jews have been propagating “extremely pornographic” illicit sex.

Am I missing something in life?

I’m not sure what I was expecting from the book. Techniques on how to please a Uranus chick with eight breasts?

For all its hype, reading the hyped book was an anti-climax.

‘Occupy Wall Street’ goes global !

The corner of Wall Street and Broadway, showin...

What Are We To Do By TAN SRI LIN SEE-YAN

Movements against bailouts, cutbacks and inequality picking up stream

SINCE its obscure beginnings, the “Occupy Wall Street” (OWS) movement has spread its wings, joining the “Indignant” of Spain (a movement born on May 15 when a Madrid rally sparked a worldwide campaign focussed on outrage over high unemployment and opposition to the financial elite).

The OWS group which has camped out in lower Manhattan's Zuccotti Park (nearby Wall Street) now in its 5th week, has a valid complaint: its young social-media connected generation is losing faith in traditional structures of government and business, arguing it has been betrayed and denied opportunity. “We got sold out; banks got bailed out” was their chant as thousands marched from Wall Street to Times Square.

Inspired by these movements, rallies rippled across the globe last weekend targeting 951 cities in Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia, and North and South America to take part in the demonstration. It's unclear how long protestors plan to stay. Some fear this could only be the beginning, as the world faces a systemic rise in anger, protest and political volatility that could last for years. With Middle-east unrest stirring again, a winter of discontent looks likely. It's not easy to pinpoint the underlying cause of their woes. Checkout their websites: they seem to demonstrate against corporate greed (bank bailouts and bonuses) and income inequality (government cutbacks). Worldwide they demand for a more fair and equal society.

Since the 2008 financial crisis, US bank profits were up 136%, but bank lending, down 9%. Indeed, bank lending has fallen in 10 of the past 12 quarters. To the OWS demonstrators, banks haven't fulfilled their part of the social bargain: bailouts for Wall Street in exchange for lending on Main Street. While banks now have more capital, they still aren't lending. Lending will continue to shrink. Banks say the demand isn't there. But 73% of small businesses say they are still being affected by the credit crunch. As I see it, banks remain very much risk adverse. Unlike in medicine, banks don't have the ability to quarantine financial contagion. There is a dangerous world out there.

What also irks protestors are Wall Street bonuses which have returned while ordinary workers suffered retrenchment and job insecurity with little help from Washington. A recent New York State report predicted that the financial industry will likely lose another 10,000 jobs by end 2012. That's on top of the 4,100 jobs lost since April and 22,000 since early 2008. Overall, New York area employment in finance and insurance had declined by 8.9% since late 2006.

The OWS movement has gained widespread support and encouragement, including from economics Nobel Laureates Stiglitz: “We have too many regulations stopping democracy and not enough regulations stopping Wall Street from misbehaving. We are bearing the cost of their misdeeds. There's a system where we have socialised losses and privatised gains”; and Kurgman: “Wall Street pay has rebounded even as ordinary workers continue to suffer from high unemployment and falling real wagesAnd their outrage has found resonance with millions of Americans. No wonder Wall Street is whining.”

Harvard's historian Niall Ferguson regarded the movement “still worth taking seriously” even though he concluded: “So occupying Wall Street is not the answer to this generation's problems. The answer is to occupy the Tea Party Call it the Iced Tea Party. Way cool.” Even the in-coming president of the European Central Bank has expressed support. However, the Times of London labelled the protests “Passionate but Pointless.”

US inequality

By far, the cause of OWS's frustration and outrage is best articulated in my friend Jeffrey Sachs' (Columbia University) latest book: “The Price of Civilisation.” In the US, the top 1% of households accounted for almost 25% of all households' income. The last time this happened was in 1929. In the first 3 decades of the 20th century, rapid industrial development raised income and wealth at the top, while mass immigration set the low bar. Then came the 1929 Great Depression and the New Deal four years later which railed against “a small group (who) had concentrated into their own hands an almost complete control over other people's property, other people's money, other people's labour and other people's lives.”

But, prosperity wasn't always accompanied by large-scale inequality. The 1950s and 1960s brought about rapid economic growth and a narrowing of inequality as a result of a more robust social safety net, fresh New Deal measures, World War II (WWII), and the vigorous post-war recovery which reversed the 1920s inequalities.

Since the 1970s, the United States tasted the fury of globalised competition but failed to grapple effectively with it. The deterioration in Main Street's earning prospects was papered over for the next 20 years by debt mortgage debt and consumer credit. Bear in mind median earnings of male workers peaked way back in 1973. The United States collects less tax as a percentage of national income (25% in 2009) than most advanced European nations (40-50%).

This reflected partly the Republican's one-idea approach: cut taxes permanently and impose fiscal austerity, often at the expense of lost competitiveness (reflecting insufficient public investment in education, infrastructure and human capital). OWS young demonstrators have a valid argument to make: they are frustrated trying to find a place in an economy where there is one job for every five jobseekers, and where youth unemployment is 18%. So much for the clich of Wall Street vs Main Street; “the greedy 1% uses the hard-done-by 99%.” The wider middle-class fears its prosperity has evaporated, demanding for a way to deliver growth once more. It's about time Americans get wise to the source of their economic woes it's a few hundred miles south of Wall Street.

US poverty

According to the US Census Bureau, there are now more poor persons in America than at any other time in the 52 years records were kept. More than 15% of US families live below the poverty line in 2010. The line is set at US$22,000 a year for a family of four. This reflected the high unemployment of 9.1% 6.5 million jobs were lost in the recent recession. An additional 3 million Americans would fall below the poverty line if not for “doubling-up”, that is, adult children who can't afford life on their own return to live with their parents.

Today marks the first time in 20 years when US employment (as a percentage of population) has fallen below the rate in advanced European nations like UK, Germany and the Netherlands. The average weekly earnings (adjusted for inflation) of a typical US blue-collar worker is lower today than in 1964. Indeed, median inflation adjusted family income rose only about a fifth as much between 1980 and 2007 as it did in the generation following WWII. The US poverty profile is unlikely to change soon. That is why people are protesting. Many believe the current anger against autocrat politicians, bankers and elites is symptomatic of fundamental shifts in the structure of US (and indeed, global) population. Already, there are strains caused by aging populations driving up budget costs, reducing growth and blocking jobs from younger people.

Coincidentally, both the Boomerang generation and the Babyboomers generation are demonstrating together in OWS as they could very well end up in a political battle for dwindling government benefits. That is, the elderly fights to keep their entitlements (social security and medicare) to ward off poverty, and the younger population pushes for spending on education and training to avoid falling into it. Demographic issues are driving much of what we see today. A win-win is to continue pressuring the richest Americans to carry a larger share of the load. Despite congressional resistance, many of the wealthy in the United States do see it's in their interest to foster a less divisive society.

Smart government

While the benefits of globalisation are clear and I think, well appreciated (especially the rapid spread of technology embodied in the Internet and mobile telephony, and reduced poverty in emerging nations), the real problems associated with it are less well understood but nevertheless need to be urgently addressed.

Globalisation has (i) raised the scope for tax evasion; (ii) led to a loss of competitiveness among the less educated in advanced nations, particularly in the United States; and (iii) fuelled contagion, especially in finance.

In his latest book, Jeff Sachs pushed hard for a highly effective government to deal with these problems. Smart public policies are needed to (a) promote high quality education; (b) raise productivity by building modern infrastructure and inculcate science and technology; and (c) co-operate globally to regulate cross-border issues (e.g. finance and environment). His proposal is controversial at this time since it calls for more government not less, especially in the United States where economic inequality has reached a high not seen since the Great Depression.

Sachs also points to growing signs world-wide that people are fed-up with governments that cater for the rich and the powerful, and ignore everyone else. They call for greater social justice (not confined to the Arab Spring; also serious protests from Tel Aviv to London to Santiago to Sydney, and all over Europe, and now, in New York); and also more inclusive politics, rather than corrupt politics.

There are even calls for higher taxes on the very rich across nations (the United States has proposed the rich to pay more taxes; several European governments have talked of a new wealth tax; the European Commission has suggested a new financial transactions tax to raise US$75bil a year). Sachs refers to the most successful well-balanced economies today being in Scandinavia using high taxes to support smart public services, balancing economic prosperity with social justice and environmental sustainability. Sachs bemoaned that for 30 years, the United States has been going “in the wrong direction, cutting the role of government in the domestic economy rather than promoting the investments needed to modernise the economy and workforce.” It all started when President Reagan declared in 1980 that “government is not the solution to our problems it is the problem.”

Today, the solution lies in how the United States is going to fund its future competitiveness through building skills and raising productivity to fight for markets in the 21st century. This is also the way to go for the euro-zone.

Historically, Americans haven't been inclined to be aggressive enough to riot, as the Europeans, over inequality (contrast the protests in Rome, Athens, Madrid and London with those in New York). But the United States is in a new situation now where protestors are getting desperate in the face of intransigency, especially the uncompromising Tea Party. It is hard to rule that out when the American Dream is very much at stake.

At worst, I think the present situation can result in an economic malaise that lasts for decades. It makes politics most unpredictable. There is already political paralysis. But dramatic shifts in policy are possible. The rise of ideologues in a modern guise is also probable as we saw in the 1930s. I am afraid this is the new reality. We have to deal with it.

> Former banker, Dr Lin is a Harvard educated economist and a British Chartered Scientist who now spends time writing, teaching & promoting the public interest. Feedback is most welcome; email: starbizweek@thestar.com.my

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Occupy Wall Street booming, now Occupy London Stock Exchange!

Friday, October 21, 2011

China on path to become world's No. 2 wealthiest country

Differences in national income equality around...

BEIJING, Oct. 20 (Xinhuanet) -- China is expected to replace Japan as the world's second-wealthiest country after the United States with total fortune shooting to nearly US$40 trillion by 2016, Credit Suisse AG said in a report yesterday.

However, the accumulation of fortune will be achieved along with an expanding wealth gap in China where the Gini coefficient, a commonly used measure of inequality of wealth, has already passed an extremely dangerous level.

China, which has surpassed Japan as the world's second-biggest economy, will soon also catch up with the neighbor in terms of total wealth.

Overall wealth at the hands of Chinese mainland people is projected to reach US$39 trillion in the next five years, the firm said in its annual Global Wealth Report.

China now has a total wealth of US$20 trillion, third in the world behind only the US and Japan but ahead of France, according to the report, which analyzes the wealth distribution in more than 200 countries.

Total fortune in China increased by US$4 trillion from January 2010 to June this year and is the second-highest contributor of global wealth growth after the US, the report said.

Wealth per adult in China has more than tripled from US$6,000 in 2000 to US$21,000 this year, according to the report.

The report downplayed overall wealth inequality in China, saying it remains moderate with 37 percent of the adult population lying in the middle segment of the wealth pyramid with a fortune of US$10,000 to US$100,000 per adult, while 5.8 percent of the adult population falls below US$1,000 and 2.3 percent above US$100,000 each.

China had a population of nearly 1.34 billion by late last year, according to the country's latest census, with about 70 percent of the population aged between 15 and 59.

With the increasing wealth of successful entrepreneurs, professionals and investors, inequality has been rising strongly, the report cautioned. So far this year, China has gained more than a million millionaires for the first time and now has more than 5,000 ultra-high net worth individuals with average fortunes above US$50 million, behind only the US, the report said.

The Gini coefficient in China reached 0.5 last year after hitting the recognized warning level of 0.4 more than 10 years ago, according to a report by Xinhua news agency in May last year. Developed European nations and Canada tend to have Gini indices between 0.24 and 0.36.

A low Gini coefficient indicates a more equal distribution, with 0 corresponding to complete equality, while higher Gini coefficients indicate more unequal distribution, with 1 corresponding to complete inequality.

China is nowhere to be found in the list of top 10 countries with the highest average wealth per adult. Using that scale, Switzerland, Australia and Norway are the three richest nations in the world, with Switzerland recording average wealth per adult at US$540,010 - the only country to exceed half a million dollars.

China currently possesses total wealth of US$20 trillion, ranked third in the world behind the US and Japan and ahead of France.

The reported also mentioned that the Asia-Pacific region has emerged as the key contributor to the growth of global wealth, accounting for 36% of global wealth generation since 2000 and 54% since 2010.

Total household wealth in the region increased 23% from January 2010 to June 2011, contrasting with the 9.2% and 4.8% growth in North America and Europe over the same period respectively.

Thursday, October 20, 2011

Online news sites are not all about journalism - think of the money

Image representing Knight Foundation as depict...

As we all know, the problem of running not-for-profit news outlets is that they have to be funded. If journalists want to eat, then their journalism - no matter how good it might be - is not enough.

Two writers with the US-based Knight Foundation, Mayur Patel and Michele McLellan, argue that non-profit sites "have to act like digital businesses". In other words, they must introduce a measure of entrepreneurship in order to survive.

They have carried out a study, Getting Local, into some of America's leading online local non-profit news ventures to see how they obtain their funding.

Conceding that none has yet to develop "a clear business model", they believe that "some of the key ingredients needed for success are becoming increasingly apparent."

Here's a three-point rundown of those so-called key ingredients:

1. A business development strategy and the capacity to execute it

A news organisation may start with foundation (philanthropic/charitable) support. But, from the outset, it must experiment to discover other sources of revenue.

Foundation funding should be treated as equity rather than as an ongoing revenue stream. Philanthropic support is likely to diminish over time and needs be supplemented with new sources, such as memberships, advertising, sponsorships or events.

Example: MinnPost, a news outlet serving Minnesota, which was launched in 2007 with foundation and donor support.

By last year, it drew more than a third of its $1.28m (£820,000) revenue from non-charitable sources, including corporate sponsorships, advertising and its MinnRoast annual fundraising event.

2. A high level of audience focus and innovative approaches to build community engagement

A team of journalists creating a web newspaper is not a sustainable proposition. In addition to business expertise, such outlets need to understand who they want to reach.

They also need to experiment with ways to engage those communities in order to have an impact on civic life.

Example: The Voice San Diego regularly analyses data on the more than 6,500 subscribers to its morning report – a daily email with article excerpts and links to full content - to gain a deeper understanding of its audience.

Earlier this year, the site launched a major community event - Politifest 2011, which included a mayoral debate and an "idea tournament", much like American Idol, to discover the best ideas among residents for making their region better.

3. Technological capacity to support and track engagement

A higher expectation of interactivity and a goal of strong engagement require technological capacity that sits outside the experience of many journalists.
Example: The Texas Tribune, has devoted significant resources to technology – developing innovative interactive features and highly searchable public databases, which have become a significant draw to the site and helped drive deeper audience engagement.
The average time people spent on the site in early 2011 was nearly four minutes.

Patel and McLellan conclude: "There are many unknowns in the emerging field of non-profit news organisations. But it is clear that successful ventures will aspire well beyond producing high-quality journalistic content.

"Entrepreneurial revenue development, audience focus and a mission of engagement, and technology to support that mission, are essential components of a sustainable not-for-profit news venture."

Source: Knight Foundation blog

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Malaysian Gutter politics the norm now !

Chua: Gutter politics the norm now
The Star/Asia News Network

KUALA LUMPUR: Politicians from both sides of the divide have been guilty of practising gutter politics since the 2008 general election, said MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek.

“Nobody can claim the moral high ground. They (Pakatan Rakyat) only stand on moral high ground when they are affected,” he told reporters after attending the 3rd World Chinese Economic Forum signing ceremony here yesterday.

He said since the 2008 general election, there had been a lot of arguments not on policies but personal attacks, adding that many issues were politicised.

He denied that “gutter politics” were tactics only used by Umno and MCA politicians, adding: “This is something that politicians from both sides do.”

Dr Chua was commenting on Pakatan's statement that leaders from Barisan Nasional were practising “gutter politics” when they made allegations against Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng's son.

Pakatan leaders had expressed outrage and condemned the allegations circulating on the Internet that the boy was transferred out of his school following an offence, which Lim called “barbaric lies”.

On another matter, Dr Chua said as a party leader, he could make his own decision on whether to contest in the general election and where to stand as a candidate.

“I can make my decision and I do not need DAP to teach me or challenge me.

“When the time is right, I will make a decision,” he said when asked to comment on DAP challenging him to contest in a DAP stronghold.

HM surprised by allegations involving Guan Eng’s son

GEORGE TOWN: A school principal has expressed surprise over online allegations involving Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng's 16-year-old son and a girl in the same school.

SMJK Heng Ee principal Goh Boon Poh (pic) said he needed to make a clarification over the issue to preserve his school's reputation after the allegations, which included photographs, went viral on the Internet.

Goh said Lim's son had transferred out of the school on Jan 3.

“It was the boy's choice. There was no pressure nor were there disciplinary issues here. He was a prefect who performed well in his PMR examinations at our school. He just wanted to be in another school,” he said.

The boy had enrolled in the school in 2009 when he was in Form One, Goh said.

The principal also noted there had been no allegation involving the boy at the school.

“I am surprised by the allegations made. I am not taking sides but I need to protect my school and the students,” he said.

Goh also stressed that the photographs of two people appearing on blog sites were not students of the school.

Lim had refuted the allegations, issuing a strongly-worded statement on the issue, describing it as a form of “gutter politics”.

‘Mystery girl’ is chess grandmaster behind the allegations

KUALA LUMPUR: The “mystery girl” behind allegations involving the son of Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng has been identified as a renowned 21-year-old chess grandmaster from Britain, said Tony Pua.

Her name in Anya Croke, who is of Scottish-Chinese parentage.

The DAP national publicity secretary said this proved that the allegations by certain bloggers were “blatant lies”.

“If such gutter politics continue, it will only tarnish the country’s image,” he told reporters at the Parliament lobby here yesterday.

The young woman’s identity was discovered by DAP IT manager Goh Kheng Teong, Pua said, adding that Croke was not only a foreigner but a renowned chess grandmaster who won championship titles between 2004 and 2008.

She was born in the United States and raised in Hong Kong. She is currently pursuing her studies in Wellesley College, a top liberal arts college in the US.

“They (bloggers) are willing to destroy the life of an innocent 16-year-old boy, bring the country into disrepute and defame a top achiever for political ends,” Pua said.

The allegations against Lim’s son appeared in the blogs of Papagomo and mediapermatangpauh, depicting a photograph of the boy next to a cropped photo of an unidentified girl.

It was also alleged that the matter was settled with RM200,000.

Lim had refuted all allegations made against his son, adding that he and his wife were now helping the boy to “heal” following the episode.

Pua also called on Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin to apologise to Lim for his recent tweet over the issue.

“As a role model for the nation’s youth, he (Khairy) must set an example and take responsibility by apologising for his tweet which is perpetuating the vicious lie,” he said.

DAP Parliamentary leader Lim Kit Siang, who was present at the press conference, expressed concern at the level of gutter politics, describing the bloggers’ lies as diabolical and heinous.

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Malaysia world's No.1 highest civil servants-to-population ratio! Its tenure of service legally vulnerable but notoriously difficult to dismiss!

brief diagram comparing the role of civil serv...

Safeguards for public servants

REFLECTING ON THE LAW By SHAD SALEEM FARUQI

The legal position of public servants regarding security of tenure of service is quite vulnerable, but in reality, action against delinquent public servants is notoriously difficult to sustain.

MODERN society is held together by services provided by officials of the state. The public service is the pivot around which the administration of the contemporary state revolves. Every country’s economic, social and educational policies are ultimately dependent on the quality and commitment of its public officials.

Article 132(1) of the Federal Constitution defines “public services” to include the armed forces, the judicial and legal service, the general public service of the Federation, the police force, the joint federal-state public service, the public service of each state and the education service.

Employees of statutory bodies, public companies, universities, or any other body or authority established under federal or state law, are not public servants for the purpose of the Constitution.

In relation to public services, a number of basic rules apply.

No security of tenure: All public servants hold office “during the pleasure” of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong or Ruler or Governor. Posts may be abolished. A ministry or service may be closed down or privatised. Parliament may refuse to allocate funds for a service.

Terms of service: The terms of service of a public servant may be altered without his consent despite a written contract of employment. Post-entry requirements like language proficiency, in-house training courses or the need to pass an examination may be imposed.

Pensions: Article 147 protects pensions, gratuities and other allowances for members of the public service, their widows, children, dependants or personal representatives.

However, these are not absolute rights. The Yang di-Pertuan Agong may reduce or withhold pension if he is satisfied that the public servant is guilty of negligence, irregularity or misconduct.

Right to equality: Under Article 8(1) of the Federal Constitution there is a constitutional right to equality before the law and equal protection of the law. Thus, no gender, religious or unreasonable discrimination can be practised at the time of the application or during the period of service.

Regrettably, Article 8’s equality requirement does not apply in the private sector or to Government-linked companies.

Racial quotas: In Malaysia, the issue of race discrimination is complicated. A little known constitutional article – Article 136 – states that all persons of whatever race in the same grade in the service of the Federation shall be treated impartially.

Difficult issues arise because Article 136 has to be read along with Article 153 which permits reservations and quotas in favour of Malays and the natives of Sabah and Sarawak.

Tun Suffian has suggested that the two articles must be read harmoniously. At entry point, Article 153 permits reservations. Once in service the equality rule in Article 136 should apply to matters of promotion, rewards etc.

Arrears: A civil servant can sue the Government for recovery of arrears or for any other breach of the law of contract.

Tortious claims: In Malaysia, the Government is not above the law. Subject to some exceptions, a civil servant can sue the Government for damages in torts if the Government or a public authority has caused him loss.

Safeguard of Article 135(1): Though civil servants have no security of tenure, they can be removed only after prescribed procedures. Article 135(1) states that no member of the public services (except a member of the armed force) may be dismissed or reduced in rank by an authority subordinate to that which had the power to appoint him.

Natural justice: Under Article 135(2) no public servant may be dismissed or reduced in rank without being given a “reasonable opportunity of being heard”.

The terms “reasonable opportunity of being heard” have generated a wealth of case law. “Hearing” means that the officer concerned should be given a proper and prior notice of the allegations against him. The notice must be adequate in terms and in time.

Subject to some exceptions, the accused should have a full and fair opportunity of stating his case in reply.

He should be supplied with all evidence, information and documents made known to the adjudicator. He should have a right to present witnesses and exculpatory evidence and to cross-examine witnesses on the other side.

Exceptions: The safeguards of Article 135(2) do not apply in some situations such as:

> The laudatory and constitutionalised rule of natural justice does not apply to forms of removal that do not amount to “dismissal” or “reduction in rank”.

For example, “dismissal” is distinguishable from “contractual termination”, “termination in public interest” or “compulsory retirement”.

A reversion to the former post does not amount to reduction in rank provided the public servant was not already confirmed in his new post.

> “The right to be heard” does not imply the right to be heard orally. Hearing can be oral or by way of written representation.

> Members of the armed forces are not entitled to a hearing.

> There is no need to give a hearinIn reality there are many other ways of dealing with errant civil servants. Some of these ways do not attract the pristine safeguards of Article 135. For example:

> Even prior to a finding of guilt, an officer can be interdicted (ordered not to report for work) on full pay or half pay.

> In several circumstances, an officer can be suspended on no pay.

> Termination under the contract of employment need not be preceded by prior hearing.

> In some circumstances public servants can be prematurely and compulsorily retired. They recieve pension but lose their job.

The overall picture is that the legal position of public servants is quite vulnerable. In reality, however, action against delinquent public servants is notoriously difficult to sustain.

Many wrongdoers rely on technical or procedural flaws to obtain judicial review and escape accountability.
Enforcing quality and commitment in public services is not easy and require leadership of the highest order.

> Shad Saleem Faruqi is Emeritus Professor of Law at UiTM and Visiting Professor at USM

Every 3 taxpayers supports 2 civil servants in Malaysia

“The highest ratio of civil servants in the world”!
Most bloated civil service

* With 1.3 million civil servants to a population of 26 million, Malaysia has one of the highest civil servants-to-population ratio in the world by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development standards.

* In 2009, Malaysia’s civil servants-to-population ratio was the highest in Asia Pacific. The ratio was 4.68 per cent, compared to Singapore’s 1.5 per cent, Indonesia’s 1.79 per cent, Korea’s 1.85 per cent and Thailand’s 2.06 per cent all of which have less than half our ratio.

Subject: Civil Servants in Malaysia...Alarming Figures

1. Number of civil servants in Malaysia

2000 - 894,788

2008 - 1.2M

2011 - 1.3M+

During 2000 to 2008, increase of 300,000 or each year 38,151 or each day 104.

2 . Money spent on salary / remuneration

2005 - RM25.6Billion

2008 - RM41.0Billion (or from each tax payer RM22,800)

An increase of a whopping 60% during 3 years only. If it is private company, sure "bungkus"!

3. Population that pays tax 1.8M

Number of civil servants 1.2M

Meaning every 1.5 tax payer support 1 civil servant.

4. Population Vs number of civil servant. (I believe should be one of the highest in the world)

COUNTRY

Malaysia

4.68

Thailand

2.06

Korea

1.86

Philippine

1.81

Indonesia

1.79

Laos

1.24

Cambodia

1.18

The best civil servants in the world-MALAYSIA BOLEH

Best bloated civil service

* With 1.3 million civil servants to a population of 26 million, Malaysia has one of the highest civil servants-to-population ratio in the world by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development standards.

* In 2009, Malaysia’s civil servants-to-population ratio was the highest in Asia Pacific. The ratio was 4.68 per cent, compared to Singapore’s 1.5 per cent, Indonesia’s 1.79 per cent, Korea’s 1.85 per cent and Thailand’s 2.06 per cent all of which have less than half our ratio.

Best way to bleed a budget dry

* Much of the budget (2011) continues to go into operating a bloated civil service. As much as three quarters of the national budget is spent on paying salaries and other benefits to over 1.3 million civil servants.

* A post-2011 Budget dialogue highlighted the massive amount (35 per cent of the total RM162.8 billion operating expenditure) to be spent on emoluments, pensions and gratuities of civil servants. A panelist, Ministry of Finance budget division director Datuk Dr Rahmat Bivi Yusuff admitted that there is a need to trim the civil service to reduce the budget deficit.

Best way to bankrupt this nation

* Whilst it is the growing trend of many countries to reduce their civil service, the PM’s Department in particular, has done the opposite. It more than doubled its number of civil servants from 21,000 to 43,554 this year. In stark contrast, the White House employs only 1,888 staff.

* The White House budget is US$394 million for 2011. The PM’s Department has been allocated a whopping RM18.14 billion for the year 2011, almost double the RM10.2 billion 2010.

* Pemandu, which stands for Performance, Management and Delivery Unit, was set up last year under the Najib administration as one of the pillars in his Government Transformation Plan… is a massive drain on resources. In a span of two months the government spent RM20 million just to pay 50 consultants,.

Best contradiction of 1Malaysia

* As at 31 December 2009, the racial breakdown of the Malaysian civil service comprising 1,247,894 employees was as follows: Malay (78.2 per cent); Other Bumiputras (7.7 per cent); Chinese (5.8 per cent), Indian (4.0 per cent); and Others (4.2 per cent).

* “This is the worst multi-racial composition of the government service, with the lowest Chinese and Indian representation in the public service in Malaysia’s 53-year history. This is clearly seen from the three sets of comparative figures of the racial breakdown of the civil service before the NEP (1971) and as compared to Dec. 2009 – Malays (60.80 per cent and 78.2 per cent); Chinese (20.2% and 5.8 per cent); Indians (17.4 per cent and 4.0 per cent); and Others (1.6 per cent and 4.2 per cent).

Best in corruption

* Last year two out of five civil servants were deemed corrupt by Cuepacs. It was described as a worrying trend that needed to be tackled urgently.

* Cuepacs President Omar Osman revealed that a total of 418,200 or 41 per cent of the 1.2 million civil servants in the country were suspected to be involved in corruption last year (Bernama, 2 June 2010).

Best “dumping ground”

Mohd Ariff Sabri Abdul Aziz, a former state assembly member of Pahang who is a member of Umno and who uses the pen-name Sakmongkol AK47, in his blog entry wrote: “Government service shouldn’t be treated as a dumping ground for academic rejects and mediocre material. Let’s demand a certain high standard and ensure we bring in talent that supports the demand for high standards.

“What has the government done to improve the efficiency and competence of government servants? There isn’t really competition there if the service is dominated by one race. There isn’t sufficient quality if the entry-level qualifications are so-so.

“Yet each year, to placate civil servants, the PM will appear on TV to say, we honour our civil servants because they have done a good job, blah blah. Which is not entirely true. The service is slow, the quality of officers is questionable.”

But Umno likes Muhyiddin’s make-believe. The next General Elections must be close at hand. Civil servants are made to believe that Umno is their (political) paymaster and they owe it to Umno. The party’s leaders would do or say anything to convince the government servant of this, even praising them as “the best civil servants in the world”!

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Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Occupy Wall Street booming, now Occupy London Stock Exchange!

Occupy Wall Street booming after one month
AFP

The month-old Occupy Wall Street movement is enjoying new momentum, with nearly $US300,000 ($A296,369) in the bank and the satisfaction of drawing global attention to what it sees as major economic inequalities.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon expressed sympathy with the protesters, and even protest-averse China said some issues raised are worth considering.

From a few dozen people camping out in a small Manhattan park near the rising World Trade Centre complex, the movement swelled to hundreds of thousands of people rallying around the world this weekend and numerous encampments springing up in cities large and small.

Hundreds of protesters on Monday mingled with bemused bank workers in a new tent camp outside London's St Paul's Cathedral. But in Seattle, police arrested people who wouldn't move their tents from a park.

The UN leader said the finance chiefs from the Group of 20 rich and developing nations, now meeting in Paris, should listen to the demonstrators. "Business as usual, or just looking at their own internal economic issues, will not give any answers to a very serious international economic crisis," Ban said.

"That is what you are seeing all around the world, starting from Wall Street, people are showing their frustrations, are trying to send a very clear and unambiguous message around the world."

The Wall Street protesters still haven't settled on a specific demand but are intent on building on momentum gained from Saturday's worldwide demonstrations, which drew hundreds of thousands of people, mostly in the US and Europe.

President Barack Obama referred to the protests during Sunday's dedication of a monument for Martin Luther King Jr, saying the civil rights leader "would want us to challenge the excesses of Wall Street without demonising those who work there".

The largest of Saturday's protests were in Europe, linking up with long-running demonstrations against government austerity measures. In Rome, hundreds of rioters infiltrated a march by tens of thousands of demonstrators, causing what the mayor estimated was at least 1 million euros ($A1.36 million) in damage. Hundreds of thousands turned out in peaceful protests across the continent, including in Spain, Germany, Switzerland, Britain, Austria and France.

Around the US, more than 350 people were arrested in a half-dozen cities during protests. On Monday, prosecutors dropped charges against civil rights activist Cornel West and 18 others who were arrested while protesting on the steps of the US Supreme Court in Washington.

Interest in the demonstrations over economic inequality even reached China, where online calls for similar protests did not appear to elicit any responses.

"We feel that there are issues here that are worth pondering," said Liu Weimin, a foreign ministry spokesman during a regular briefing in Beijing on Monday.

In New York, $US300,000 in cash has been donated through the movement's website and by visitors to the park, said Bill Dobbs, a press liaison for Occupy Wall Street.

Donated goods range from blankets and sleeping bags to cans of food and medical and hygienic supplies. Among the items are 20 pairs of swimming goggles, to shield protesters from pepper-spray attacks.

Supporters are shipping about 300 boxes a day, many with notes and letters, said Justin Strekal, a college student and political organiser who travelled from Cleveland to New York to help.

"Some are heartwrenching, beautiful," and come from people who have lost jobs and houses, he said. "So they send what they can, even if it's small."
© 2011 AFP

Occupy London Stock Exchange continues

Updated: 2011-10-17 16:17.By Liu Wei (chinadaily.com.cn)

Occupy London Stock Exchange, a demonstration inspired by the Occupy Wall Street movement to protest against the wealth inequality and financial crisis, continues as more people join in and set up their tents within the vicinity of the St Paul's Cathedral. Picture taken on Oct 16, 2011 [Liu Wei/chinadaily.com.cn]