The Trust of All Malaysians

Published: Friday October 31, 2008 MYT 3:51:00 PM
Updated: Friday October 31, 2008 MYT 4:41:38 PM
Respect the rights of all citizens: Zaid
By NG CHENG YEE

KUALA LUMPUR: The Barisan Nasional government must abandon its reworked concept of the social contract, said Datuk Zaid Ibrahim.

He said the Government must now embrace a fresh perspective borne out of discussions and agreements made in good faith with all the communities in this country.

“It is time for us all to practise a more transparent and egalitarian form of democracy and to recognise and respect the rights and dignity of all the citizens of this country,” he said Friday at the 21st LawAsia Conference 2008 here.

Zaid was invited to speak on “Malaysia - A Lost Democracy?” on the second day of the conference.

He said the social contract was restructured unilaterally in the 1980s by a certain segment of the Barisan leadership, which marked the advent of “ketuanan Melayu” or Malay supremacy, that allowed for developments that had resulted in the country’s current state of affairs.

“The non-Malay Barisan component parties were perceived by Umno to be weak and in no position to exert influence.

“Bandied about by Umno ideologues, the social contract took on a different, more racialist tone.

“The essence of its reconstructed meaning was that Malaya is primarily the home of the Malays and that the non-Malays should acknowledge that primacy by showing deference to the Malays and Malay issues.

“Affirmative action and special status became a matter of privilege by reference to race rather than of need and questioning of this new status quo was not to be tolerated,” he said.

He said majoritarianism had become the governing paradigm of governance as the character and nature of rights were defined by Malay interests and the Malays.

He said the institutions of government were such that the Malays were effectively represented and there was no way the interest of the Malays could be taken away other than through their own weakness and folly.

“It was, and still is, impossible to reconcile the principles of equality and civil rights of the people of this country with the primacy of one group over all others,” he said.

Zaid said the country had failed miserably in dealing with complex issues of society by resorting to a political culture of promoting fear and division amongst the people.

“The ketuanan Melayu model has failed and it has resulted in waste of crucial resources, energy and time and has distracted from the real issues confronting the country,” he said.

He said the results of the March 8 elections showed that the Barisan was no longer exclusively speaking for the rakyat.

“Prompting discourse and dialogue is essential as we must learn to talk and listen to one another again,” he said.

He also said goodwill must continue to strive to bring about change so that the trust of all Malaysians could be rebuilt.

“From that trust, we can rebuild the country where we do not live in fear, but in freedom; that the rights of all Malaysians are acknowledged, respected and protected by the system of law that is just and fair,” he said.

For every McCain & Obama within

Roger Simon
Wed Oct 15, 11:34 PM ET
Source: Yahoo! News

HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. — Debates should not be confused with trips to Lourdes: Few miracles are dispensed.

John McCain needed a miracle in his final debate with Barack Obama on Wednesday night, a miracle that would wipe away McCain’s deficit in the polls and re-energize his flagging campaign.

He did not get one. The clouds did not part. Heavenly choirs were not heard. Instead, the American public heard angry attacks from McCain.

Sometimes McCain attacked directly, and sometimes he attacked sarcastically, but he never stopped attacking. And he never rattled Obama. Obama answered every attack and kept his cool.

How cool? Obama was so cool that after 90 minutes under blazing TV lights, an ice cube wouldn’t have melted on his forehead.

McCain attacked him on everything from wanting to raise the taxes of Joe the Plumber - - now the most famous plumber in America and at serious risk of becoming so wealthy his taxes will go up no matter who wins - - to not traveling enough.

“I admire so much Sen. Obama’s eloquence,” McCain sneered. “Sen. Obama, who has never traveled south of our border.” (This from a man whose running mate got her first passport last year.)

But McCain didn’t just attack, he also defended, including defending those people who attend his rallies and the rallies of Sarah Palin who have shouted nasty and threatening things when Obama’s name is mentioned.

“Let me say categorically that I am proud of the people who come to my rallies,” McCain said. “I am not going to stand for anybody saying that the people who come to our rallies are anything other than patriotic citizens.”

Obama responded to all this — what else? — coolly.

“I don’t mind being attacked for the next three weeks,” Obama said. “What the American people can’t afford is four more years of failed economic policies.”

He never got off his game plan. He never got shook up.

The biggest impact of the three presidential debates for Obama was not anything said or not said. It was impressionistic: Obama simply did not appear to be the scary “other” that McCain needs him to be. “When people suggest that I pal around with terrorists, then we are not talking about issues,” Obama said smoothly.

For McCain, the biggest impact of the debates was visual: In the first debate he refused to look at Obama, in the second debate McCain appeared to careen around the stage and in this last debate McCain would scribble furiously with his Sharpie as Obama was talking or else smirk in response to what Obama was saying.

Moderator Bob Schieffer of CBS often asked provocative questions that sometimes did not get provocative responses. When Schieffer asked each man why the country would be better off if his running mate became president rather than the other guy’s running mate, Obama said Joe Biden “shares my core values.” John McCain said Sarah Palin is a “reformer” and “she has united our party.”

And McCain’s desire to keep his party united behind him — because who else is? — was very much on his mind, dipping deep into conservative Republican talking points. McCain repeatedly accused Obama of “wanting to spread the wealth” around, which doesn’t seem like all that bad an idea to people who aren’t wealthy.

But there was one place McCain would not go: He did not bring up the Rev. Jeremiah Wright. It is a line McCain seems determined not to cross, even though some in his party are urging him to do so.

What McCain really needed is what he still needs: for Obama to make some huge gaffe, something that makes Obama look like the riskier choice between the two.

But Obama made no such gaffes Wednesday night.

“The biggest risk we could take right now is to adopt the same failed policies and same failed politics that we’ve seen for the last eight years,” Obama said.

The race is not over. It would be wrong to write McCain off. After all, there is still almost three weeks to go. And in politics, anything can happen.

It usually doesn’t, however.

Letter from friends, and their steel-horse

Hey KC!

It was a long long (....long) time since you wrote to us, and still no answer from our side. Do not worry, we are still alive! yeap. Simply we were running little bit everywhere, as usual. After 2 months in Mongolia, we came back to russia, visiting
all different onlce, aunt, cousin of El, that she almost never saw, living 4000km from them...

After, we took the train from siberia till Moscou, as my parents were coming to visit us for two weeks, between 19th sept and 4th ocotber. Was nice, but even
more tireless than cyclng:)

Now, El went back to Moscou, and I am in Tallin-Estonia. Russia and Europe did new rules, and I can't stay more than 3 months in a semeter. My first 3 months is finish, and my new semester start the 18th of october. So must go to exil in Tallin for some days. Then I will be back to Moscou, where we have lot of paper to do, preparing the visa for Europe for Elena, and preparing already the 'after-trip'.

In beginning of november, we will take the train to go back to the west of siberia, in ural. We will restart to cycle from Ekaterinenburg and cross Ural mountains,
which is the physicall border of europe-asia.Tjhen we will reach again Moscou, by bicycle this time, then go to estonia, still on our sit.

From estonia, we will go down down down, to a small city, something called like antwerp if i remind well;)

Yeap, now you know everythihg about our plans:)

Soon the website will be better, as we plan to make it a new youth during thes two week of foreced rest.

What about you and belgium? How is the job? lot of fun?

See you soon around some french frie in the country of good beer!

/EL & GL

P/S: Steel-horse or bicycle - 铁马(tie2 ma3), literally translated from Chinese mandarin.