The Star Online > Nation

Monday August 21, 2006

Hsien Loong says Dr M-Abdullah row can affect Asean climate

SINGAPORE: The overall outlook of Asean remains favourable although some member countries are facing difficulties, a situation which could affect “the climate of Asean”, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said. 

In Malaysia, he said, the problem was the “deep political differences” between former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. 

“I think everyone hopes these will be resolved soon,” he said in his National Day Rally speech at the National University of Singapore's Cultural Centre last night.  

Lee also made reference to several other Asean countries as he elaborated on the outlook and the challenges faced by the 10-member grouping which, he said, would indirectly affect Singapore. 

On bilateral relations with Malaysia, he said: “Negotiations over the bridge, airspace and sand have ended. Still some other issues are outstanding (but) these are on the back burner for the time being.  

“Meanwhile, we will work on the positive aspects of our relations.”  

Lee also mentioned the problem in Thailand, saying that the country was going into another election but “serious political uncertainties are not yet over”. 

In Indonesia, he said, the government had tackled difficult issues such as the cutting of fuel subsidies but many other critical reforms – such as tax, investment and labour laws, which were “politically very hard” to implement – were waiting. 

“These regional problems affect the climate of Asean as a whole, and so will affect Singapore indirectly,” he said. 

“If Asean cannot get its act together, then instead of taking off with China and India, we will be left behind.” 

Singapore, he said, would therefore continue to work with its Asean partners to promote growth and stability in South-East Asia. 

“But taking the situation as a whole, the outlook is favourable. (We) just have to be ready in case the dangers materialise,” he said. 

Lee said other challenges facing the region were the high prices of energy due to the tension in the Middle East. 

Although there was a ceasefire in Lebanon, the problems in Iran, Iraq, Israel and Palestine were far from over, he said.  

“If there is a blow-up, energy prices will spike, causing a global recession.” – Bernama  

The Star Online > Nation

Sunday August 20, 2006

Ombudsmen can enhance integrity

BY LOH FOON FONG

KUALA LUMPUR: The role of the ombudsman can enhance the level of integrity in a country, said a retired professor.  

Former Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia anthropology and sociology lecturer Dr Syed Hussein Alatas said the ombudsman protects individuals from governmental injustice. 

“The office of an ombudsman does not deal with corruption as some people had misunderstood. The corruption complaints are handled by the Anti-Corruption Agency,” said Dr Syed Hussein during the 3rd National Congress on Integrity:Concept of Integrity from the Islamic and Christian perspectives yesterday. 

Dr Syed Hussein: ‘When there is much delay in action taken by the government, it affects people's lives’

“When there is much delay in action taken by the government, it affects people's lives,” said Dr Syed Hussein who had drawn up a memorandum on the need for ombudsmen in 1991. 

He said his recommendation was not taken up, but the Public Complaints Bureau was set up. 

“There may be things that the Bureau can resolve but it has its limitations. The Bureau does not have the authority to demand files from Ministers or investigate any ministries. The ombudsman has the authority to do this. Also the Bureau cannot interview the officials or call for witnesses,” he said.  

The role of the ombudsman also helps the government saves legal costs as things can be settled quickly and amicably, without going to court, he said.  

Recently, the Cabinet decided at a meeting that an ombudsman system would not be implemented in Malaysia but said other concepts based on such a system were being studied and considered. 

When one of the moderators in the Congress asked why, despite more mosques, churches and temples being built, which could be interpreted as more people becoming religious, corruption cases continue to increase, Dr Syed Hussein said the people could be influenced by the lack of integrity at the top level. 

“This is one of the most serious problems in Third World countries - the lack of integrity among people who run the country. When corruption is practised at the governmental level, it trickles down to the grassroots.” 

Dr Ravi Zacharias, visiting professor at Wycliffe Hall, Oxford University, who also spoke at the event said it was difficult for a person's moral authority to be governed by exterior factors. It has to be governed internally by the person's faith and character, or else he would lack courage when he loses a job or position when taking a stand against corruption, he said.  

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William Pesek Jr. is a columnist for Bloomberg News. The opinions expressed are his own.

Aug. 18 (Bloomberg) -- Journalists in Asia have missed Mahathir Mohamad.

The region has been pretty colorless -- leader-wise, that is -- since Malaysia's firebrand prime minister stepped down in 2003. His successor, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, is the anti-Mahathir: press-shy, affable, soft-spoken and diplomatic.

Asia in general features a paucity of larger-than-life, charismatic leaders who speak their minds and, at times, dare to take on the global elites. Blandness often pervades the halls of power from Seoul to Singapore and from Beijing to New Delhi.

So you'll excuse us journalists for rejoicing at Mahathir's return to the spotlight. Yet many Malaysians are less than thrilled. Ditto for investors monitoring Asia's No. 10 economy.

Mahathir, 80, has returned with a passion to criticize his handpicked successor, and it's tantalizing this nation of 27 million people. Mahathir's gripe: Abdullah is reversing some of his decisions, including a massive project to build a bridge to neighboring Singapore.

``I gave him time,'' Mahathir said this month. ``I didn't say anything for two years. I was quiet. I observed his promises. I had high expectations. I expected his view to be different from me, but I don't see the government doing what it promises to do.''

The former premier's impolitic comments may prompt investors to avoid one of Asia's more under-appreciated economies. In recent years, most of the surprises in Asian markets came not from reports on growth or inflation, but politics. Asia has seen all too many market-shaking spats, scandals, disputed elections and impeachment efforts.

Slowdown Ahead?

And so Mahathir's rebukes of the prime minister are unsettling Malaysia's markets, too. ``It seems now to be having some effect on a domestic economy which is already slowing,'' Gerald Ambrose, managing director of Aberdeen Asset Management's Malaysian business, said in an interview in Kuala Lumpur.

Record oil prices are weighing on Malaysia's $131 billion economy, slamming consumer and business confidence. Add to that a slowing U.S. economy and concern about the nation's ability to compete with Asia's upstarts. Malaysia may be too affluent to outperform China; too underdeveloped to join the ranks of Japan or South Korea. It also has a public-relations weakness.

That became clear in interviews with investors in the U.S. and Europe over the last couple of months. There was, of course, huge interest in China and India. Yet in cities like London, New York and Stockholm, I found great interest in economies such as Thailand and Taiwan. In Chicago, Paris and Lisbon, folks wanted to talk about Korea, Singapore and Vietnam. In Brussels, San Francisco and Washington, it was Indonesia and Japan.

Politics to Blame

Oddly, Malaysia didn't come up unless I mentioned it first. Given its rich resources, technology industries and unique status as a moderate, predominantly Muslim nation, you'd think Malaysia would be a bigger blip on investors' radar screens. It's not, and politics bear some blame.

In his 22 years in power, Mahathir morphed a tropical backwater into an Asian tiger. While it doesn't excuse him for bizarrely blaming Jews for Malaysia's troubles in the late 1990s, Mahathir had his economic successes. Yet Malaysia has been too slow to boost entrepreneurship and move beyond manufacturing and resource-based industries.

Whether it's wounded pride, an attempt to look out for associates hoping to profit from his mega-projects, or anger at the release from prison of his former rival, Anwar Ibrahim, Mahathir is back with a vengeance.

Mahathir has a point on at least one thing: Abdullah can be painfully indecisive. Many Malaysians are disappointed by how timidly Abdullah has attacked corruption and policies giving preferential treatment to the ethnic Malay majority. Abdullah also should go further to convince Malaysians his family hasn't benefited from government contracts, as Mahathir has alleged.

Bite Your Tongue

Many of Mahathir's other protests are weak, at best, relating to mega-projects that seem more about pride than necessity. If the former prime minister is upset that Abdullah is unilaterally scrapping his initiatives, he has himself to blame. It was Mahathir who masterminded the centralization of power that Abdullah wields. In Malaysia, for example, one man acts both as prime minister and finance minister. It's an awkward arrangement that should be reconsidered.

Even if Mahathir's concerns are legitimate -- and one certainly meets businesspeople who share them -- he needs to learn to bite his tongue for the good of Malaysia's economy.

``It might be difficult to swallow at first, but for the sake of keeping his dignity intact and sparing us unnecessary embarrassment, he should disabuse himself quickly of any notion he might continue to harbor about his indispensability to the Malaysian body politic,'' Tunku Abdul Aziz, a former head of Transparency International Malaysia, wrote in the New Straits Times on Aug. 16. Mahathir must learn to ``eat humble pie once out of office,'' he said.

Rattling Investors

Mahathir is anything but a spent power. He still has charisma to spare, and retains a clear vision of where Malaysia should be in 2010, 2020 and beyond. Yet along with tarnishing his legacy, his tirades could unnerve investors and dent the government's credibility abroad.

Fair or not, Malaysia still has a lot of work to do on its public relations. The economy deserves more attention from international investors than it receives. It won't get much -- at least not the kind it wants -- with its present and former leaders trading barbs.

(William Pesek is a Bloomberg News columnist. The opinions expressed are his own.)

To contact the writer of this column: William Pesek in Kuala Lumpur, or through the Tokyo newsroom at wpesek@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: August 17, 2006 15:51 EDT