Effective Rights

Since the Hindraf march in November had taken place, there has been a lot of development in Malaysia especially in terms of socio-thinking and political strategy. Though the Right Honourable Prime Minister has said that the elections could be anytime within the next one year, the feeling in the nation is quite the opposite as everyone is expecting the elections soon as the party machineries are already at work.

The exposé of the whole episode during that faithful day in November and its aftermath in the foreign press has shown us that the government can no longer hide behind the draconian laws that the country has in restricting media here within the country. The world is now taking notice of the developments here and the impact of the rally should not be understated. In fact, the most unbiased reporting was done on Al-Jazeera which has one of its bases here in Malaysia. They have been linked to the Al-Qaeda many times thus many are apprehensive of their reporting and views but they have shown and they do not bend to the will of those in power unlike some of the western media that focused only on the American view of the war in Iraq and not the truth of what actually happened there.

As for things in Malaysia, the rally that day opened up a large volume of quantitative and qualitative debates. There are still five people being detained under the Internal Security Act and this draconian law does not even have a place in the holy books of any religion. There is no religion that supports the detention of human beings without a fair trial. The key words are fair and trial. When there is not even a trial, how then can we expect fairness? Do we still need such laws? These laws were created during the EMERGENCY and it seems the power that may be wants us to remain always in a state of EMERGENCY.

We are all so busy during our teh tarik sessions and mee goreng moments talking about Mr. Lingam doing a constitutional duty reserved for the Supreme Head of Malaysia on the advice of his Right Honourable Prime Minister. Yes, the role of appointing the judiciary has come under public scrutiny as of late. Why blame the office boys when the real culprits are someone else? If the government itself does not have the confidence that the Courts will be able to deal will all matters fairly and justly, how can we have any confidence in the judicial system? The ISA undermines the powers of the Judiciary and the Lingam fiasco confirms that the government in all ways are undermining the ability and the jurisdiction of the Judiciary. The Judiciary is our last resort to resolve disputes and safeguard our Constitutional rights but if the Judiciary itself is in problems, what chances do we have?

Leaving the judiciary aside, let us look at the interviews given by our Right Honourable Ministers in the foreign press. The BBC and the Al-Jazeera interviewed among others, the de facto Law Minister, Mohammad Nazri Abdul Aziz, the Information Minister, Zainuddin Maidin and the Foreign Minister, Syed Hamid Alba. I was extremely disappointed at the way they carried themselves and the answers to the questions asked were either deflected or ambiguously answered. Maybe that is what many years of politics makes them an expert on…..the art of deflection.

The Information Minister while asked to comment on Terengganu’s chances this elections by RTM (midnight news), he was quick to say that they government has done very well in the state and the leadership of the Chief Minister has been excellent. However, he paused for a moment, for someone to remind him of the name of the Chief Minister. If it was just a memory lapse then fine, but is it not the duty of the Information Minister to have such vital information at his fingertips. They do mingle after their meetings while having the teh tariks and mee gorengs.

My intentions are not to condemn anyone but I expect as a voter and citizen of this country that those who represent me must do their jobs with the utmost professionalism and dignity. The world press must take note of our representatives and give better coverage to the country for the right reasons. The image shown by the representative is the image foreigners will have of this great nation.

If the qualities that the foreign press sees in our beloved country are always in the negative, how are the foreign investors ever going to invest their money here? Looking at the instability in regions like Africa and South America, would we invest there with all that’s happening? The foreigners will look at our situation the same. Would we be looking at a regional business block under ASEAN if we can compete against the new emerging economic superpowers, China and India? The reason we need to collaborate is that we are losing business and we are losing fast.

In the Iskandar Development Region (IDR) the main investors according to a local weekly were people from the Middle East. However, the weekly also said that the full details of investors will be clearer in March when the master plan is unveiled. IOI Properties and YTL have recently purchased properties in Singapore but have not pledged anything in the IDR. The implications may be insignificant come March, but how are foreigners going to invest here if Malaysians companies might still have reservations themselves?

The Right Honourable Prime Minister announced that Thaipusam will be a holiday for Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya as well. If the rally did not take place and the elections not coming, would the day be declared a holiday will never be known. Nonetheless, every Hindu in the country is happy with the announcement.

History bears witness that all our forefathers FOUGHT and LIVED as one so our home, this country of ours can prosper. We come from all kinds of different backgrounds whether it is race, religion, culture, financial status or just the different areas in the country. That should not be a reason to separate us. The powers that may be can only control when all are divided. It only took a fraction of society to start changes. It is time we all exercised the most sacred of our Constitutional rights, the right to VOTE. Many may say it is going to be the same whether we VOTE or not, but unless we try, we would never know. I rather live my live knowing I tried then to wake up thinking WHAT IF.