Comments from a foreign writer Bryant on Mahathir's article : Kaki dalam Kasut where he says Chinese is the real master of Malaysia.

(This article was sent to me by a friend. I would like to share it with my readers. - ks)

The highly respected Tun,

China is coming up, India is coming up, Vietnam is coming up and now even Russia is on the rise. In this flat world that is all wired up and regardless whether we are Malaysian Malay, Chinese or Indian, and if Malaysia does not progress, all of us would become history of this country! Without the Malay, Chinese could not do well in the country and without the Chinese, Malay would not do well. Both have to work
together to bring up Malaysia and mitigate the ascute impact that is being brought about by the globalisation. For me, a true leader is someone who has the foresight that not only focus on one particular group in the country but take care of the future of everyone. A good leader is someone who know what is the biggest threat the country is facing and direct the people to fight off the threat. A leader is also someone who is impartial that has the ability to promote harmony in the country for a long period of time.

UMNO is a political looser that leads the country to nowhere. They do not understand what is going on the outside world. They have no clue where Malaysia will be in the next 30 years. With the 3 new superpowers, i.e Indian, China and Russia standing tall and high together with USA and the Europe Union, they do not know what kind of world it would be and how Malaysia is going to compete and share the ever smaller slice of cake of the world economy. They only know how to
get the Malays to fight with other Non-Malay on tiny issues within Malaysia, while the two races know jolly well that the issues they are fighting are trivial and is totally self-satisfying. UMNO does not give a damn to how the poor Malay is going to live in the future and they do not care about the real benefits of the poor Malays. They only want the votes from them. The NEP is a good evidence on how they
benefit the cronies, instead of the poor Malay. Despite all their despicable acts they are still in the power.


The highly respected Tun,

As you are aware, the Malays control the rights to all the lands and all other natural resources in this country. They control all government institutions, GLC and State owned companies. The Malays dominate the lawmaking process in Malaysia; The Malays control the decision making process in formulating the economy policies. The Malays own the largest national assets and the Malays are given shares in the public listed companies for free. The Malays have also been given all kind of priorities when it comes to buying properties, awarding of public contracts, tertiary education opportunities, awarding of scholarships and even getting a job in government departments. With all these privileges and rights enjoyed by the Malays, you are saying nothing has been done enough to help the Malays to catch up with other races, mainly the Chinese. Then what else should Malaysia do to satisfy the Malays? Did the Chinese seize or rob anything away from the Malays or all their wealth was a result of their hard work? If it is all due to their hard work, why do you say it is unfair? I don't quite get your point here.

May I humbly ask you what do you expect the Chinese to do if your so-called NEP did not achieve the desired result? Would the Malays be happy if the ethnic Chinese in this country do any of the followings:

- surrender their assets and hard earned money to the Malays unconditionally;
- not to engage in any business activities;
- not to score As in all sort of examinations;
- not to make money that is more than the Malays are earning;
- not to advance to higher education; or
- renounce their citizenships and go back to China or migrate to some
other countries?

I am a foreigner but I am surprised that your intention is to divide your own country. I think you are mainly targeting the Chinese. Frankly, tell us, what do you expect the Chinese to do in order to achieve what is so called "equality" meant by you?


Tun, after all these criticism you have against the present
government, I feel that you are starting to loose your rationality on your arguments. You have run out of good reasons to convince us. I guess it could be due to your accumulating jealousy of Mr Lee Kuan Yew, your former counterpart in Singapore. But reality is always hard to accept. No matter how, you have to accept the fact that he is regarded the Father of Singapore but you are not regarded the Father of Malaysia; you have to accept the fact that Mr Lee is able to influence the government of Singapore until he the day he dies but you have not been able to influence the government from the moment you stepped down as PM. You must also accept the fact that he is still very popular on the world stage and a leader respected by many but you are not quite. Because of these jealousies, you are starting to
accumulate imbalances in yourself that lead you to embark on a series of action to attack your successors. It is very obvious that you are not happy when your successors are more popular than you. Is there any good of doing that? What is your intention? Can't you take it easy? During your time, you criticised most of the developed countries especially the Western Countries out of jealousy and after stepping
down as PM you criticise every single soul remained in the cabinet for not listening to you. When will you ever stop criticising any people? Can't you respect the decision of others?

Back to your recent blog, is there anything wrong with Chinese in this country? Did they seize or rob the money away from the Malays? Did they have the ability to come out with any policies to marginalise the Malays? Did they dominate the lawmaking process of this country? Did they formulate the economy policies in this country? Did they control
the government departments in this country? Did they control the state owned companies and GLC in this country? Did they control the country's largest oil companies and banks? You know the answer right? Malays are the one who dominate the the lawmaking process of this country; Malays are the one that formulate the economy policies in this country that favours the Malays. Malays are the ones that control
the government departments, state owned companies and GLC. Malays are the one the control the funds in this country. Malays are also the ones that control the largest oil companies and banking industry in this country. With all these rights enjoyed by the Malays, what else do you want the Chinese to do? Surrender their houses and savings and
their wealth that they earned with their hard work to the Malays, for no reason? or ask all the Chinese to renounce their citizenship and go back to China? Have you ever thought of after 30 years of implementing NEP, why it does not achieve the desired result? Don't forget under the NEP there are a series of policies that favors the Malays. The obvious ones would be the distributions of APs and awarding of contracts. If with all these policies, it still dose not give the Malay what they want, what else do you want the Chinese to do? Is the
Chinese to be blamed because they are too hard working? Or the Malays to be blamed because they do not treasure the opportunities given? You know very well the NEP has been misused and it only benefits the cronies. So if you have designed NEP to only benefits the cronies, please don't say it is the problem of Chinese that NEP does not achieve its result. It has nothing to do with the Chinese but NEP and the Malay themselves.

This is a globalised world, Chinese and Malays should not be fighting against each other because Malaysia is competing with other countries. China used to be backward and lagging behind Malaysia but now they have caught up and have even surpassed Malaysia.. Can we ask them to slow down their development? If they refuse to listen can we make a
complaint to the United Nation that China is developing too fast and this is very unfair to Malaysia, which adapts a more a passive approach? Who give you the right to prevent others from progressing? Who you think you are? This is a flat world (Obviously Tun did not read the book named "The World is Flat"). Don't be so narrow minded to only focus on the Chinese or Malay in Malaysia. We should now look at the world as a flat world. If Malaysia does not progress, no matter we
are Malay or Chinese, we would be extinct one day!

Have a God-blessed day.

Rationale for my scholarships offer

(Many people wrote to ask if this is genuine and not a hoax and I had to explain. I wrote out my rationale - Koon Yew Yin)

Since I circulated my scholarship offer to needy students, many people have asked if the offer is genuine or a hoax because there are so many scams. I have had to explain that I am in a position to undertake this charitable work.

I am a retired Chartered Civil Engineer and was one of the original founders of IJM Corporation Bhd, Gamuda Bhd and Mudajaya Group Bhd, 3 of the leading listed construction companies. As an entrepreneur, I have always wanted to use minimum capital to produce maximum benefit.

I wish to explain why I have chosen this way of doing charity through this particular scholarship offer in which the scholarship recipients are not required to work for me after graduation or to pay me back the money they have been provided.

But they all have to promise me that they will help other poor students after they have graduated and are financially solvent.

I believe most recipients will not break their promise if the charity culture has been instilled in them when they are young and in need of aid. As a result, I expect that they will continue to do similar charity work long after I am gone.

Through my contribution, we can expect a meaningful human resource product graduating from a very creditable University, U TAR for a relatively small outlay and contributing to the nation’s development.

Some have asked if I would consider them studying in other more expansive university. In fact, one girl has applied while she is currently doing the foundation course in accountancy in Nilai University College which charges Rm 138,000 for the 4 years course, according to her. U TAR, a non profit University charges Rm 32,000 for the same 4 years course. Of course, the question is: which is the better University for finance and accountancy. All I know is that most practising accountants in Malaysia are graduates from Kolej TAR or U TAR.

I believe an accountant can find employment more easily and is likely to have a higher income than those from many other professions. An accountant graduate will be able to help the people around him, besides taking care of his own family through his higher educational and financial standing.

I also hope that this example will encourage other successful entrepreneurs who may have wanted to do similar charitable work to use their money in a cost-effective way and to help others and generate a positive multiplier effect on society.

For those who have not read my scholarships offer, I reproduce it here below.

Scholarships for poor young Malaysians

I will be providing scholarships to 50 poor students for the next academic year to study finance and accountancy in University TAR, Kampar, Perak.

The scholarships will be given subject to the following conditions:-

1. The applicant’s family combined income should not be more than Rm 2,000 per month.
2. The letter of application should be accompanied by a simple letter from the Form Teacher of the student certifying that the student is from a poor family. The contact details of the teacher and school should also be included.
3. Students will be selected more on the basis of their financial need though their academic achievements will also be taken into account.
4. Each scholarship is worth Rm 20,000 which should be enough for each student to cover the cost for the first year foundation course and the first semester of the degree course in finance and accountancy until he or she secures the PTPTN loan. This Government PTPTN loan (National Higher Education Fund) is given to all students doing a recognised degree course, irrespective of race and financial position.
5. Students who receive financial aid from me are not required to pay back the money or work for me after they graduate.
6. However, I want them to promise me that they will help other poor students when they have graduated and are financially solvent.

U TAR takes in students in January and June every year. Students who are currently doing their SPM can submit their applications to U TAR this October with their forecast results and they can enrol in January 2010.

Needy students who are currently doing their SPM or have passed the SPM can submit their applications directly to me at:

Koon Yew Yin,

yewyin@gmail.com This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

A copy of the letter should be sent to

admin@cpiasia.net This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

attention: Dr. Lim Teck Ghee

Centre for Policy Initiatives

All applications should be written out in English

Koon Yew Yin

2^nd Aug 09

FANNING THE FLAMES

- Yin Ee Kiong

Two flames burn in the hearts of Malaysians:

1. Anger Against Injustice.
2. Hope For A Better Malaysia.

The Malay masses are angry that the NEP which is supposed to lift them have been hijacked so that those who are politically connected are the major beneficiaries. These UMNOputras have benefited disproportionately from those who voted for them. How else do you explain that despite 39 years of robust affirmative action they still lag behind. The system has been abused; their leaders have cheated them. While there is now a large Malay middle class there are also many who still struggle to make ends meet. Many live in slums or low cost housing in the shadows of the palatial residences of the people they put in power. Many rural Malays still do not have the amenities and infrastructures that are found in urban areas. The only time they get anything quickly is when there are by-elections. They know it’s not because the country is poor. The glaring and increasing economic disparity within the community has raised the ire of ordinary Malays.

The non-Malays are angry that despite being second or third generation Malaysians they are still treated as second class citizens and with all that it entails. They too feel that affirmative action has been abused to benefit the select few – including those from their own communities. The thinking of many is that if the NEP (as it was intended) had been implemented efficiently and honestly the Malays would be on par, or thereabout, with the rest and there would be no need for race bias discriminatory policies. To support poor Malays is one thing, but to feed the greed of the rich Malay elite sticks in the craw of most people.

The natives whose land this is, remain at the bottom of the socio-economic heap. They are angry but unfortunately they are the least organised. They depend on the rest of us to give them a fair deal. But the majority have other priorities and so they are largely ignored.

Malaysians across the board are angry with the pervasive corruption in the ruling party and our institutions.

They are also angry with unjust and draconian laws like the ISA; with institutions that have no integrity and have sold their independence to their political masters. They are supposed to safeguard public interests but often serve only the party in power. Malaysians are angry with a justice system which is flawed; with the lack of press freedom; with the inefficiencies of its institutions and the low standards of its schools and universities.

THERE IS A LOT OF ANGER IN MALAYSIA!

BUT THERE IS ALSO HOPE!

Malaysians are no longer prepared to tolerate corruption, racial discrimination and injustice. They spoke out in the election of 2008 and at every by-election since.

Recently Malaysians have demonstrated against the Constitutional Crisis in Perak, the ISA, the death of Teoh Beng Hock an opposition political operative, and many others who have died in police custody.

This kind of open outrage would have been unheard of even 15 years ago when Malaysians seemed so docile and subservient. Then, many did not believe that an individual can make a difference. Worse, anyone who rocks the boat is labeled a recalcitrant, a misfit, a malcontent, a troublemaker.

That all seems a lifetime away, but was only yesterday.

This change in public attitude is a measure of their anger.

The silent majority is no longer silent.

This is cause for optimism.

There is hope when Malaysians today are increasingly focused on issues rather than race. Even five years ago it would have been political suicide for any politician, more so a Malay, to say that he will abolish the NEP and replace it with a colour-blind affirmative action programme which is based on needs and not race. Or to debunk the idea of “Ketuanan Melayu” and instead talk of “Ketuanan Rakyat”. And to say this in Malay constituencies is a measure of how much the political climate has changed.

Malay leaders like Zaid Ibrahim and Tunku Abdul Aziz, disgusted with what is going on have decided to join the opposition. It won’t be long before UMNO veteran Tengku Razaleigh follow suit.

Justice and fair play is colour blind, no matter what our race, we all want it.

But it’s not only opposition politicians who are making waves.

In their own quiet ways ordinary Malaysians have been doing their bit to make Malaysia a better country.

Aliran has been championing the cause of social justice for decades and still does, without wavering.

Yasmin Ahmad’s ‘Sepet’ has done more for race relations than all the rantings of politicians. She has also pushed the boundaries of religious freedom and tolerance in her films. In her own way she was a first class activist.

Then there are those volunteers in the National House Buyers Association who fight against an unjust and unfair system that exploits house buyers. This may not grab the headlines but it affects every house-buyer or aspiring house-buyer.

And then there are people like Steven Gan whose Malaysiakini offers an alternative news source to the government owned and controlled media.

Or Nadeswaran who is not afraid to take on the vested interests.

Colin Nicholas with his NGO (COOAC) who champions the cause of the natives which most of us ignore.

Raja Petra risks his freedom every time he takes on the establishment. He and the thousands of bloggers do it because they are angry – they want justice and fair play.

There are many more – businessmen, housewives, workers and students - who are not afraid to protest against injustice in one way or another. These are ordinary Malaysians who owe no party allegiance but who just want to do their part to make the country better.

They are part of the civil society that has finally woken up.

All this happened in the space of fifteen years – a blink of an eye in historical terms.

So despite the corruption, the oppression, and shenanigans of the ruling party, I remain optimistic. I see a half full glass.

But we are not there yet. Although we have come a long way, Malaysians are in general, still reluctant to stand up and be counted. It’s still the minority who are at the coal face of instigating changes.

Until we have a transparent, accountable government (by any party) with institutions that serve the people rather than the ruling parties; until we have a more equitable society and until racial discrimination is buried; our work is not done.

There’s still a lot of fanning to do if we are to keep the flames burning.