|
| 0 Comments / Subscribe To Comments |
| Posted: Jul.24.2006 @ 7:01 pm |
The Star Online > Nation
Sunday July 16, 2006
KETEREH (Kelantan): There are 15 years left for the national education system to reach international status, in line with the aspiration of Vision 2020 to make Malaysia a developed nation.
Stating this, Education Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein said the education system would be reviewed in stages over the coming years to speed up the process.
The first stage involved the creation of more teaching posts, he said, adding that this would cost the country “millions of ringgit.”
This had to be done to ensure the teaching profession was equipped to develop quality human capital, Hishammuddin told reporters after opening the Kelantan inter-school futsal and netball competitions at SMK Kok Lanas here yesterday.
The Cabinet sanctioned the move at its last meeting, he said, reiterating that it was the first time in 24 years that the Government was increasing the number of teachers.
Besides this, there would also be more courses tailored to meet the country’s education needs, he said, adding that teachers would also be granted more options and higher fringe benefits.
Hishammuddin said teachers played a crucial role in determining if the national education standard reached international benchmarking.
“As the teaching profession receives the necessary injection of knowledge, funding and support, they are expected to repay the Government by ensuring the standards of imparting knowledge are similar in both rural and urban settings.
“Teachers must be willing to serve in rural areas and provide excellent education,” he added.
On another matter, Hishammuddin, who is Umno Youth chief and head of the Barisan Nasional Youth wing, said he would direct members of these wings to work together to increase Malaysia’s voice in the international arena on the plight of Palestinians.
He said he would send envoys from the wings to meet youth and non-governmental groups in the Organisation of Islamic Conference and the Non-Aligned Movement to seek support.
“We will upgrade our international networking to fight for the cause of the Palestinians, as our present effort has gone unnoticed by the world powers,” he said.
He said the Umno Youth international affairs bureau would work closely with Peace Malaysia to raise awareness among young Malaysians on the plight of the Palestinians, which were facing another round of bloodshed in the hands of Israel.
?1995-2005 Star Publications (Malaysia) Bhd (Co No 10894-D) |
| 0 Comments / Subscribe To Comments |
| Posted: Jul.24.2006 @ 7:00 pm |
The Star Online > Nation
Friday July 21, 2006
PUTRAJAYA: The Education Ministry has identified 54 new school projects and 220 refurbishment projects worth RM1.03bil for immediate rollout under the 9th Malaysia Plan.
A total of RM835.3mil will be used to build nine primary schools, 10 residential schools and 35 secondary schools while RM195mil has been allocated for the 220 refurbishment projects.
Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein said a further RM980.5mil had been allocated for education projects for the rest of the year.
㜁e are ready, and all the projects announced by the Prime Minister can be implemented immediately,?he told reporters after his ministry post-Cabinet meeting yesterday.
ducation projects need to be implemented soon because if they are delayed, it is our children who will be the losers.?nbsp;
Hishammuddin also reiterated his ministry stand on blacklisting contractors who failed to deliver under the 8th Malaysia Plan (8MP).
㜁e will not tolerate contractors who breach the trust the Government has on them,?he said.
孏here were many schools and computer laboratories shoddily built by contractors under the 8MP, and they will never be given a second chance.
㜁e will also not tolerate bribery and are looking at how we can take action against errant contractor,?he said.
Hishammuddin added that his ministry was finalising the draft for the education master plan, which would make all education plans and projects transparent to the public.
?1995-2005 Star Publications (Malaysia) Bhd (Co No 10894-D) |
| 0 Comments / Subscribe To Comments |
| Posted: Jul.24.2006 @ 6:55 pm |
 |
 |
Sunday July 23, 2006
I REFER to the letter “What yardstick for excellence?” by Surajnaidu (StarEducation, July 16).
Having been in the teaching profession for over 30 years, I can understand the writer's unhappiness over the way teachers are evaluated and rewarded.
It is bad enough when one's efforts are not recognised but it is really maddening when the wrong candidates are rewarded. There is then a sense of grave injustice.
The rewarding or promotion of teachers should be a transparent exercise. The criteria for excellence in teaching should be spelt out clearly, and the decision to reward excellent candidates made by a committee comprising senior teachers and the principal.
But what often happens is that the principal, acting like a little Napolean, makes his or her own selection without consultation with senior teachers. And the principal tends to reward cronies who do the principal’s bidding without question.
What the present system is doing is very damaging to the morale of the teaching profession as it gives principals the power to nurture cronyism instead of professionalism.
Recently, our Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak criticised civil servants for being too subservient. The impact of this problem is worse in schools because students are affected by the examples set by teachers.
How can we hope to develop critical thinking skills in students when teachers themselves are meek and subservient?
The “rare” teachers who question rationales for directives or ideas put forward by their principals are often regarded as trouble-makers and subsequently blacklisted in promotion exercises.
Is it any wonder that many students in schools and universities then do not have critical thinking skills, or are unable to think out of the box?
Education Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein recently announced plans to revamp the education system. To do so, we need teachers who can think rationally and critically, not just unquestioningly do the principal's bidding.
Unfortunately, years of subservience to the school authorities have nurtured a generation of teachers who generally dare not speak out. As a retiree, I wish the Education Minister the best of luck!
I would like to suggest the evaluation of a teacher's performance be carried out in a more transparent manner so as to encourage teachers to improve their teaching, not hone their skills at currying favour with the boss.
HELEN CHEW Via e-mail
|
|
| 0 Comments / Subscribe To Comments |
| Posted: Jul.24.2006 @ 10:42 am | Lasted edited: Oct.04.2007 @ 7:21 am |
http://malaysiakusayang.blogspot.com
http://www.transparency.org/publications/gcr
http://www.infernalramblings.com/ |
| 0 Comments / Subscribe To Comments |
| Posted: Jul.19.2006 @ 11:00 am |
The Star Online > Nation
Wednesday July 19, 2006
COMMENT
By K. PARKARAN
parky@thestar.com.my
ENFORCEMENT officers from local authorities bulldozing illegal structures, including temples, is not something new in the country. To be fair, they normally give adequate notice to the occupants of their intention before taking this tough action.
It is fine if it involves a structure with no religious significance. But the moment the building has been serving the spiritual interests of a community for decades, it takes on a new dimension. Rightly or wrongly, the issue of fundamental liberties and rights crops up.
A God-fearing person of any faith will be upset to see temples and deities being smashed and reduced to rubble. Whether their anger is rightly placed or justified is another matter altogether.
Never mind that these structures are sometimes located in odd places and are in the way of infrastructure projects planned for the people.
You cannot blame the people for their anguish at being hapless when witnessing the demolition of a temple, which they consider a sacrilegious act.
On the other hand, it’s hard to blame the authorities.
This issue of illegal temples being demolished is not a new problem – it surfaces every now and then in different localities.
The MIC had several years ago embarked on an exercise to register all temples built illegally on government land.
It is understood that the list had about 20,000 temples, mostly small structures. More than half of the temples were listed as illegal structures.
The rush at which some of these structures were demolished in the last few months had attracted the attention of the international media, which has wrongly portrayed the move as “oppressing the minority Hindus in a predominantly Muslim country”.
The Western media and the Asian Human Rights Commission have also joined in the chorus and you cannot blame them, really.
To an outsider who does not know the political and religious culture in Malaysia, and they being from nations that practise absolute freedom of worship, this act may seem like a form of oppression.
Their stand on this is further reinforced when a 100-year-old temple, for example, is torn down to make way for progress.
To these people, we must emphasise that there are also many temples, legally built, and standing majestically in strategic locations around the country.
And it is important to note here that many of these were partly funded by the Government through the MIC. Even assessment fees are waived for these institutions.
The argument by the authorities is that although freedom of worship is absolute, freedom to build places of worship is not.
All structures within a municipality need a building plan approved by the local authorities. That is the basic requirement, and no one gets away with building illegal structures on government land.
However, one has to take into consideration that many of these temples were built long before the locality was made a district or municipal council. But this cannot mean that the temples could continue to exist without any interference.
Land, being a state matter, all MIC state executive council members have an important role to play as they meet the mentris besar and chief ministers every week. The elected representatives are also the conduit between the community and the state authorities.
Solutions
What’s needed now is a long-term solution to resolve the problem and a short-term action that must consider the sensitivities of a community, which sees itself, rightly or wrongly, as being downtrodden.
The long-term solution is for local authorities to gazette land for construction of places of worship for all religions.
There must be a serious commitment by all parties concerned, especially the Cabinet, which must understand that the issue is an extremely contentious one. It cannot, and should not, leave it to the discretion of local authorities.
Builders must carry out their social obligation by ensuring there is a place for all religions in their development projects.
Relocating and merging
The Indian community has a major role to play by understanding and accepting that numbers do not mean anything.
Temple managements, where possible, must be sincere enough to understand the predicament and be prepared to merge and relocate.
Those agreeing to this should not view it as a defeat but as being magnanimous and non-confrontational, which all religions preach.
Even the MIC and Hindus have admitted that there is a need to merge and relocate some of the temples for effective management, as there are far too many now.
All temples should be treated as sacrosanct institutions with proper facilities for devotees. Admittedly, there are many whose condition leaves much to be desired.
It is of national importance that the Federal Government leads in efforts, with the help of the MIC, to spearhead a temple reform plan to put things right. Demolishing illegal temples is not the solution.
For now, a moratorium on demolition of illegal temples is needed.
And only the Cabinet can issue that order.
Related Stories:
A practice that came in with 19th century labour
Solution for Hindu temples
Guidelines to save temples
© 1995-2005 Star Publications (Malaysia) Bhd (Co No 10894-D)
|
| 0 Comments / Subscribe To Comments |
| Posted: Jul.19.2006 @ 10:50 am |
The Star Online > Central
Saturday July 15, 2006
By AZLIANA AZIZ
 |
Clad in their Scout uniforms, complete with the kilt, the Scottish scouts are looking confident about their tasks ahead. |
THE South Morningside Explorer Scouts from Edinburgh Scotland which arrived recently, set off from the Equatorial Hotel to Cameron Highlands where they will be spending nine days there helping out the villagers in Kampung Pos Terisu 3.
The team of 22 scouts aged from 14 to 18 years together with six scout leaders will be undertaking two projects in the village, where an adventure playground will be built, and the community reconstructed and renovated.
The projects that are to be carried out by the scouts were initially discussed with the head of Kampung Pos Terisu 3 and it was decided that a playground for the children is the most useful.
“The village has about 70 children and there are no facilities for them,” said expedition leader Neil Mackenzie,
He also added that this project is a good opportunity for the scouts to learn from the orang asli, and vice-versa hence promoting cultural exchange.
There the orang asli villagers will teach the scouts how to select and cut bamboos from the jungle and tie them up to make flooring as well as show them various plants and vegetation growing in the area that can be eaten or used for medicinal purposes.
The scouts will also share with the villagers, details of their lifestyles, culture and tell them about their homeland.
Once their work in Kampung Pos Terisu 3 is completed, the scouts will proceed with three, three-day trips to Terengganu, Cherating and Malacca.
© 1995-2005 Star Publications (Malaysia) Bhd (Co No 10894-D) |
| 0 Comments / Subscribe To Comments |
| Posted: Jul.17.2006 @ 10:32 am | Lasted edited: Aug.08.2006 @ 1:21 am |
Malaysia piggybacks on China's boom
By Federico Bordonaro
Perhaps more than any other Southeast Asian country, Malaysia has translated China's economic growth, often perceived as a threat in the region, into a huge economic opportunity.
Malaysia is one of Asia's most export-geared economies. Between 1970 and 2000, exports as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP) rose from 73% to 202%, ranking Malaysia as the fourth-most-open economy in the world. In the Asia-Pacific region, only Singapore, Australia, Hong Kong and Taiwan still rank higher than Malaysia in the World Competitiveness Yearbook.
Buoyed by strong exports, Malaysia's GDP is on course to grow well over 6% this year, a marked improvement over last year's
5.3% showing. That performance is renewing foreign kudos for Malaysia's economic stewardship. European Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson last month praised Malaysia as a "showcase for rapid industrialization". The International Monetary Fund, meanwhile, expressed its view that Kuala Lumpur's handling of the economy was "skillful and pragmatic".
When Malaysia controversially slapped on capital controls in the wake of the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis, the country's economic management was called into question by a wide array of international commentators. Through heavy state intervention, Malaysia weathered that economic storm. Now, Malaysia is being looked upon as a regional model for how best to deal with China's rapid economic rise as the world's leading low-cost manufacturer.
As China entered many of the same low-end industries that fueled Southeast Asia's extraordinary growth in the 1980s and 1990s, many commentators predicted a large number of Malaysia's exporters would be driven out of business. Indeed, Malaysia's previous comparative advantage in unskilled, labor-intensive manufacturing has gradually been eroded by China's low-wage policies over the past decade.
However, Kuala Lumpur has managed to move many of its industries quickly up the value-added ladder into more high-skilled, technology-intensive manufacturing. In recent years, the government has led an investment spree into science and technology resources. It has also enhanced its already well-developed education system toward producing more skilled technicians and engineers.
As Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi recently aptly remarked in a speech: "Having First World infrastructure won't produce the desired results if coupled with a Third World mentality."
Profiting from China
Although electronics manufacturing is still Malaysia's most important economic sector, the country has astutely avoided industries that China is heavily invested in, and has moved into more high-end niche markets, including bio- and nanotechnologies, micro-electromechanical systems and other technology-related services.
At the same time, Abdullah's government is aware that while high-tech products and services are the country's future, traditional economic sectors must also be revitalized and improved. The recently promulgated Ninth Economic Plan lays particular stress on modernizing the agricultural sector.
The application of technology to agriculture - as some Western countries have achieved - is the key to expanding the sector and boosting its small and medium-sized enterprises. If effectively implemented, this approach signals a new holistic perspective and follows Thailand's example of trying to boost domestic demand through more globally oriented grassroots production.
Malaysia's relative success makes a strong argument for innovative state-led economic policies. The country has historically been criticized for the sometimes too cozy relations between industry and government, ties that Abdullah has vowed to break. But the government's past emphasis on maintaining the global competitiveness of national enterprises has contributed largely to the country's rising living standards and overall economic prosperity.
With government help, Malaysia's service providers are now expanding overseas, including in China. Construction, health care and education services have been identified by Minister for International Trade and Industry Rafidah Aziz as priority sectors for expansion into China.
Malaysian companies are now angling to win construction and management contracts for wastewater treatment plants, water supply works, and city gas-distribution projects on a build-operate-transfer basis in China. Malaysia is also in the process of partnering with United Kingdom and Australian universities to offer foreign university courses and degrees to Chinese students at cut-rate prices.
The country is also leveraging its expertise in electronics production to make more business inroads into China. SilTerra Malaysia, the country's leading semiconductor wafer foundry, is leveraging its expertise to join forces with emerging Chinese foundries. The Malaysian group excels in the highly competitive high-voltage and mixed-signal/radio frequency (RF) semiconductor markets, and its management stresses strict covenants on intellectual property protection - an area in which most Chinese companies are sorely lacking.
Malaysia's most successful and globally known enterprise is still its national oil-and-gas corporation, Petronas. Mahathir Mohamad, former prime minister and Petronas adviser, recently announced the group's record US$22 billion profit for the fiscal year ending March 31. Soaring oil and gas prices are helping Petronas expand its global operations and the company is angling to help sate China's growing appetite for fuels. The ambitious industrial policy outlined in Kuala Lumpur's Ninth Economic Plan includes upgrading various technology-oriented industries, and a portion of Petronas' profits are expected to be mobilized for that cause.
Muted terror risk
Malaysia's continued economic success relies heavily on political stability. And foreign analysts and investors are carefully monitoring Malaysia's security policy and its ongoing response to the regional terrorism threat. While Indonesia and Thailand have both been rocked by the spread of militant Islam, Malaysia has been wholly unaffected.
More than 60% of Malaysia's population is Muslim, and the government has struck a balanced approach to the security environment post-September 11, 2001. Kuala Lumpur has answered Washington's call to check the spread of Islamic extremist groups, but at the same time has maintained a large measure of strategic autonomy. Because Malaysia's population is a complex mix of Muslims, Hindus, Christians, Buddhists and Taoists, Kuala Lumpur has been careful not to fuel the fires of identity-based conflicts that could ignite extremist sentiments.
Malaysia has privately resisted US calls to play a bigger role in patrolling the Malacca Strait, which Washington and regional security analysts have identified as a potential terrorist target.
The escalating conflict in southern Thailand represents the largest security risk to Malaysia. The Thai government has repeatedly alleged that Muslim militants have taken refuge in northern Malaysia after staging attacks in Thailand - charges that Kuala Lumpur contends are unsubstantiated. So far, however, there are no indications the conflict could spill over the countries' shared border.
Threats to Malaysia's national interests remain low-intensity, including long-running territorial disputes with Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines. Instead, Malaysia's leaders are able to focus more of their attention on growing economic ties and competition with China while maintaining their historic markets in Japan, the US and Europe. If Abdullah's administration can stay its current policy course, Malaysia will be one of the biggest regional beneficiaries of China's rise.
Federico Bordonaro is senior analyst with the Power and Interest News Report. He can be contacted at fbordonaro@NOSPAMpinr.com.
|
| 0 Comments / Subscribe To Comments |
| Posted: Jul.17.2006 @ 10:29 am |
|
Singapore’s falling living standards
By Alex Au
SINGAPORE - A local Singapore newspaper, Today, just suspended one of its regular columnists after the government gave him a tongue-lashing for his writings about the deteriorating state of the local economy.
Lee Kin Mun, who writes under the pseudonym "Mr Brown", wrote a harsh, though humorous, commentary on June 30 concerning Singapore’s rising cost of living, mentioning that latest official statistics showed that one in every three Singaporean households had suffered a reduction in income over the last five years. The irony, which was not lost on the island state’s government, was that Lee cited official statistics to bolster his argument.
On June 28, the Department of Statistics (DOS) issued a press
 STRIP-->
release with a slew of new data from its general household survey. The most striking result was that only 50% of Singaporean households enjoyed any significant improvement in their income over the five-year period spanning 2000 to 2005.
Moreover, the bottom 10.1% of households reported no or negative income, a marked deterioration from the 2000 level when 8.7% of the population reported they were in the red. The DOS explained that a possible factor for the notable increase was the aging of Singapore's population and that an increasing percentage of the population was retiring.
More striking, perhaps, the 11 to 20 percentile group saw their household incomes fall a whopping 19.7% over the same five year period. On average, these households had S$1,180 (US$744) monthly incomes last year, compared to S$1,470 (US$927) five years previously. On an annualized basis, their average household income fell 4.3% each year. A smaller income fall was recorded for the next up percentile group.
The DOS suggested that the decline in household income in these two groups "was partly caused by the larger number of households with retired persons and no incomes". "It could also be partly due to the higher unemployment in 2005 than 2000 ... and lower income from employment," the statement said, which acknowledges both structural unemployment and depressed wages in less-skilled jobs.
The data on household income notably excludes government hand-outs, which the ruling People’s Action Party doled out just before the general elections they resoundingly won earlier this year. The most recent round of hand-outs, which targeted the lower-income households, was called the "Progress Package". In contrast to the one-third of households which witnessed falling household incomes, the top10% of households saw a 14.8% improvement in theirs. In Singapore dollar terms, their monthly household incomes leapt by an average of S$2,120 (US$1,337) over the period.
The figures show clearly that income inequality in Singapore is increasing rapidly. The DOS reported that the Gini coefficient increased from 0.490 to 0.522 from year 2000 to 2005. The Gini coefficient is a statistical measure of income inequality, whereby the higher the number, the more unequal the distribution.
The Straits Times, Singapore’s government-influenced major English language newspaper, reported that members of parliament were, "not surprised by the survey findings, noting that these reflected the effects of globalization." This response was consistent with the Ministry of Information, Communication and the Arts' letter to Today explaining that the government "had told Singaporeans all along, that globalization would stretch out incomes".
However, most Singaporeans would probably have taken "stretch out" to mean that incomes would universally rise but at differential rates, not that a large percentage of the population would get poorer. The increasing cost of living was one of the major issues in the May 2006 general election, but the data from this survey was conspicuously not released in time for the May polls.
Shooting the messenger
In his commentary, Mr Brown alluded to how convenient it was that the survey results, together with recent announcements about increases in electricity rates and taxi fares, have come out after rather than before the elections. "We are very thankful for the timing of all this good news, of course. Just after the elections, for instance," he wrote, tongue in cheek. "It would have been too taxing on the brain if those price increases were announced during the election period, thereby affecting our ability to choose wisely," he wrote.
On July 3, a stern rebuke from the government appeared in the form of a letter published in Today. Signed by Miss Krishnasamy Bhavani, the Press Secretary to the Minister for Information, Communication and the Arts, she denied that the release of the survey data was in any way delayed for political purposes. She took Mr Brown to task for writing a piece that "poured sarcasm on many issues", and claimed that his views "distort the truth".
Characterizing his commentary as "polemics dressed up as analysis", Bhavani accused him of calculating to "encourage cynicism and despondency". "Instead of a diatribe," she continued, Mr Brown "should offer constructive criticism and alternatives. And he should come out from behind his pseudonym to defend his views openly."
This statement echoed the government's growing concerns that anonymous bloggers on the Internet have found a venue to criticize the PAP-led administration in ways which otherwise would be impossible in Singapore’s tightly-controlled society. The government's response has been to try to frame all anonymous posts and blogs as “irresponsible and discreditable”, and is now exploring new laws and regulations to rein them in. Mr Brown also runs one of Singapore's best-known blogs, even though he also writes a regular column for the print newspaper.
But immediately after the government's outburst, which included a reminder to the newspaper that, "It is not the role of journalists or newspapers in Singapore to champion issues, or campaign for or against the government," the editors of Today told Lee his column would be suspended indefinitely. Left with only government-influenced mainstream media, Singaporeans will likely be left to guess if their economic lot is improving or deteriorating until the DOS’s next 5-year survey is released - unless their wallets tell them first.
Alex Au is an independent social and political commentator and freelance writer based in Singapore. He often speaks at public forums on politics, culture and gay issues.
|
|
|
|
| 0 Comments / Subscribe To Comments |
| Posted: Jul.17.2006 @ 10:26 am |
|
Temple demolitions stoke Malaysian tensions
By Zari Bukhari
KUALA LUMPUR - Police in riot gear and shouting through megaphones recently arrived to move out devotees and pave the way for demolition of a Hindu temple on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur, which local ethnic Indians say has stood in the area for more than three generations. A group of angry worshippers who refused to obey orders were doused with water cannons and beaten by baton-wielding security forces.
P Velu was among five Indians who resisted the government's evacuation order. He alleges he was assailed by a handcuffs-wielding police officer, showing three stitches on his
STRIP-->
forehead while recounting the violent incident. "The government has no respect for Indians," Velu said. "The pain of seeing our temples being brought down is much worse than the beating I took at the hands of the police."
Ethnic tensions are on the boil in multiracial Malaysia as a nationwide government campaign to demolish unregistered Hindu temples gathers steam. Kuala Lumpur-based rights groups estimate Hindu temples are being bulldozed at the rate of about one a week and that the destruction drive has recently accelerated in areas around the capital. Most of the temples are being destroyed on the orders of local councils to make way for new state development projects.
They often contend that the temples, many built before Malaysia won its independence in 1957, are illegal structures because they lack proper registration and are situated on government lands. Ethnic Indians are mostly descendants of Tamil immigrants brought to Malaysia a century ago by the colonial British to work on rubber plantations. They are now among Malaysia's poorest and politically under-represented peoples.
The government has failed to draw up clear policies regarding the status of the more than 6,000 Hindu temples scattered across this majority Muslim country. The demolitions have raised the hackles of some Hindu groups and rights organizations, which believe that the demolitions are ethnically biased and represent a violation of constitutional guarantees that protect freedom of religion.
"Police officers stood watching while thugs tore down temples," said P Uthayakumar, legal advisor to the Hindu Rights Action Force who was recently arrested and later released after trying to stop an arson attack on a Kuala Lumpur-based Hindu temple. Rights groups' efforts to hold talks with government representatives, according to him, have so far remained futile.
Attorney General Abdul Gani Patail has said he will act on recent complaints lodged about alleged police brutality surrounding some of the temple demolitions. The ruling United Malays National Organization (UMNO) has ordered that further demolitions be stopped - yet the destruction continues, most recently in the state of Selangor. Perceived government inaction has driven at least one Hindu group to appeal to King Seed Sirajuddin Putra Jamalullai to intervene and stop the destruction.
"The government is breaking down [Hindu] temples because they can afford to do it to the Indians," said an opposition source who is tracking rights abuses associated with the demolition campaign. "We have never heard of a mosque being broken down for development."
Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi, already embattled on various political fronts, has so far resisted calls to personally intervene in the unfolding crisis. While Abdullah has publicly promoted a secular brand of Islam, on this particular issue he has been restrained from acting by Islamic fundamentalist elements in his party, who have given tacit national backing to local councils that order the demolitions.
Ethnic tinderbox
As perceptions grow that minority Indians and their places of worship are being unfairly persecuted, some political analysts predict that the demolition campaign could snowball into violent confrontations pitching Hindus against Muslims. "Breaking the temples is dehumanizing the Indian community," said political economist Charles Santiago, head of the local think tank, Monitoring Sustainability of Globalization. "This could unleash a violent resistance that will have serious consequences."
It wouldn't be the first time ethnic tensions have boiled over in multiracial Malaysia, where ethnic Indians represent about 8% of the country's 23 million population. (Malays and Chinese make up respectively 60% and 26% of the population.)
The UMNO-led government has long mandated racial harmony through affirmative action programs that favor ethnic Muslim Malays and various other forced assimilation programs. However, earlier this year the first serious survey of race relations since Malaysian independence in 1957 found that racism still runs deep behind the government-promoted facade of ethnic unity among Malays, Chinese and Indians.
The race riots that broke out over a four-day period in 2001 in the squalid Kapar township on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur served as a stark reminder of just how delicate the social balance is - despite decades of government assimilation policies. At least five Indians were killed and 75 injured during that spasm of violence, which was Malaysia's closest brush to full-blown ethnic strife in more than 30 years.
Former Malaysian strongman Mahathir Mohamad was personally touched by the explosive 1969 race riots that saw ethnic Malays attack and kill hundreds of the country's commercially successful ethnic Chinese population. That orgy of ethnic violence finally required the government to declare a state of emergency to restore order.
On taking power in 1981, Mahathir implemented many affirmative action policies in favor of the ethnic Malay population in a bid to redistribute the national wealth and keep a lid on ethnic tensions. Mahathir also made use of various harsh laws to cow the media and curb dissent, including the draconian Internal Security Act, which allows for detentions without trial, and the University Colleges Act, which was used to curb students from voicing radical or racially charged views.
He also imposed sharp curbs on local media reporting on issues that could cause ethnic divisions. In the early 1990s, for instance, Mahathir blocked regional and international television reports inside Malaysia of ethnic clashes in nearby Medan, Indonesia, where ethnic Indonesians attacked and looted shops owned by ethnic Chinese businessmen.
Many had hoped that Abdullah, who rose to power on a reform ticket, would loosen those old restrictions and allow the country to more openly confront the ethnically charged issues that boil beneath the surface. Yet his muted response to a state-sponsored demolition campaign that appears to single out Hindu temples over Muslim mosques and Chinese Taoist shrines represents the latest strike against his reform record.
Abdullah recently reaffirmed the ethnically biased affirmative action policies that many argue have squeezed ethnic Indians to the margins of society. More than half of Malaysia's Indian population still lives in poverty, mostly on rubber and palm oil plantations, while Indian students have the highest dropout rates of any national ethnic group. Although a minority population, Indian communities have Malaysia's highest crime and suicide rates. And, increasingly, they are even running out of places to pray for a better existence.
Zari Bukhari is a Kuala Lumpur-based journalist.
|
|
|
|
| 0 Comments / Subscribe To Comments |
| Posted: Jul.17.2006 @ 10:18 am |
| 安徽200年老屋酝酿“整体搬迁”至瑞典(图) |
| ◇字体：［大 中 小］ 发表评论 |
来源：法制晚报(06/07/10 14:29) |
) 安徽百年老屋模拟图
) 李益坤和老伴在40年前结婚的房屋内合影留念
) 李益坤在向到访的人介绍情况，脚下是老院被盖住的天井
“这是祖上留下来的家业，我们不能够好好保护，是我们没出息。现在只能把它卖了，希望它有个好归宿。”在堆满了杂乱物品的老屋内，汪大妈说出了这样的话。
58岁的汪大妈是安徽省石台县苛田乡源头村的一位农家妇女。她的丈夫李益坤今年63岁，是这栋老屋的第9代传人。
一个月前，年近200岁的老屋被石台县安徽天方茶叶有限公司的董事长郑孝和看中，准备作为礼物送给瑞典的一位茶商。“他们说了，要把所有的东西，包括门、窗、瓦、地板、砖、椽子都拆了，然后装船运到瑞典去。”汪大妈说。
这栋老屋坐落在安徽省省级文物保护单位古徽道不足50米远的地方。根据介绍，该房历史上曾是茶楼，是过往客商休息的地方。它是不是文物？迁移到瑞典算不算文物流失？记者对此进行了调查采访。
昔日徽道边茶楼 今日变成杂物屋
从源头村村口进去就能看到这座房子。高耸出来的黑瓦屋檐让人能感觉到它的不同，尽管墙皮脱落，木门的颜色也已经斑驳不齐，门上的题字“翠屏楼”也已经很模糊了，但是很肃穆。
推门进去，是个四方院子，为带阁楼的砖木结构。院内中央是个天井，现在盖了石板。天井上方是在高高的屋檐挤压中留出来的四方天空。抬眼一看，触目可及全是雕花木刻，只有很小的地方有损坏，雕刻图案，比如“八仙过海”都很清晰。
由于老房子漏水，光线不好，1995年，李益坤在老屋隔壁修建了新房，老屋被当作了堆放杂物的地方。推开东角上的房间门，一股潮味迎面扑来，门楣上往下落土，脚下踩的也是土，雕刻精细的床框上也是土。
就是这样一个土屋，200年前目睹了繁荣的徽商之旅。从源头村村口进去，能看到一条残缺不全的石板路，这就是古徽道。根据相关人士介绍，由于以前村民都不懂，把石板撬了出来拿回家用，现在只能看到当年的痕迹。
县志记载，这条古徽道最早修建于唐朝，到明清两朝，随着徽商遍及华夏，古徽道便成了一条商贸繁荣的大道。根据记载，古徽道旁边有很多茶楼、茶亭和供游人休息的地方，李益坤家的老屋是古徽道的重要组成部分。
茶商要送老屋 整体搬迁到瑞典
对李益坤家的老屋要整体搬迁到瑞典这件事，苛田乡政府党委办公室一位自称姓刘的工作人员说：“这件事情我们也是刚刚听说，具体的事情还不太清楚，你去问问具体负责这件事情的安徽天方茶叶有限公司的董事长郑孝和。”
200多年前，瑞典的一艘商船哥德堡号在满载中国货物归国途中沉没。经过瑞典民间一些商人的努力，经过十几年的仿造修建，今年仿造的哥德堡号重新起航，预计于7月18日抵达广州，并开展一系列商务活动。
在郑孝和与哥德堡号的联系过程中，遇到了负责茶叶进口的瑞典商人简。在谈话过程中，简提到自己在几年前曾经到安徽黄山旅游，被当地的徽派建筑吸引。简有一个“疯狂的想法”，想把这样一个中国古建筑物搬迁到瑞典。
“这肯定是不可能的，黄山位列世界文化遗产，是中国文物。”生活在石台多年的郑孝和决定投简所好，从石台当地选择一座“非文物”的古代民居赠送给简。“简的要求是两层楼，开过茶馆，有徽派建筑风格。”
作为回报，简表示在这样一座中国茶楼迁移到瑞典后，他将开一家真正的茶馆，卖天方公司的茶叶。双方将会开展长期的贸易往来。而李益坤家的老屋被看中，成为两国贸易活动“友谊的桥梁”。
价钱问题已解决 卖房性质难界定
“现在，最重要的是一个性质问题，是企业贸易问题，还是古文物的问题。” 在和李益坤做了口头协商之后，随着消息的扩散，郑孝和发现自己的这个企业行为要面临一个“性质的界定”。
“如果我是作为来收购老房料的江北人来买这幢老屋，不会有任何问题。但现在我买了老屋，却不是运到江北，而是运到国外。”对此，郑孝和表示理解，“这是中国与外国的问题，也有了贩卖文物的嫌疑。”
“价钱问题”成为郑孝和考虑之外的第二个问题。“当时，房子是通过苛田乡文化站站长做的中介人。原本说好是两万五，结果 在‘中国与外国问题’出现后，李益坤的房价底线也涨到不能低于20万。”
“早在上世纪80年代，就有人来买房子老木料，出价是1万多，我都没卖。现在他不但买老木料，还要买老房子内的一切，20万是最低价。” 李益坤说
http://world.ynet.com/view.jsp?oid=10798060 |
| Entries 161 to 170 of 213 |
|
|