Hantu Laut
Rocky Bru posted an article 'Is It Constitutional, Sir?' regarding scholarship mooted by the Prime Minister to be given based on meritocracy to anyone irrespective of race. Rocky also highlighted a pro-UMNO blogger's concern that what the Prime Minister is trying to do could be unconstitutional and he should have sought the Malay rulers views and consent before making public the issue.
The blogger calling his blog 'The Thirteen Million Plus Ringgit' did not quote the relevant article in the Constitution that spelled that government scholarships can only be given to Malays.
Can't make everybody happy, isn't it ? If he tries to please the non-Malays, the Malays complained and if he tries to keep everything for the Malays, the Chinese and Indians complained.Tough job to be prime minister.
The some extent the blogger is quite right in his assumption but no right enough to make it unconstitutional.
This particular aspect of the Federal Constitution gave the Yang Dipertuan Agong, not all the Malay rulers, the responsibility and power to safeguard the special position of, not only the Malays, but also the natives of Sabah and Sarawak.The said article also covers quotas for public services, permits and licences for bumiputras.
There is no fixed quota or exclusivity expressed in the article. The proportion of scholarship is left at the discretion of the Yang Dipertuan Agong.
The relevant article is Article 153 of the Federal Constitution.The article under 153(8) and (9) also gave protection to others from being unfairly treated by virtue of its provision.
Najib needs only to seek the Agong's consent to proceed with his proposal. The Malays should not worry of losing out as I suspect this could be a parallel scheme which would benefit the Malays too as there would be more scholarships available for smart Malays.
Big Dog, the blogger, if I assumed his name correctly, did not bother to read the relevant article to its full extent or didn't read it at all. His article is here.
Maybe, it's time the Malays give the PM a helping hand instead of crying for help all the times.
10 comments:
This makes sense. Big dog barks up the wrong tree.
""Maybe, it's time the Malays give the PM a helping hand instead of crying for help all the times""""
MAYBE THE OTHER WAY ROUND SIR,LIKE THIS'it's time for the NON MALAYS give the PM a helping hand instead of crying for the unnecessary help"' HOW ABOUT THAT!!!!
You are right about the various constitutional clauses you mentioned bro.
I think you are right also when you wrote "the Malays should not worry of losing out as I suspect this could be a parallel scheme which would benefit the Malays too as there would be more scholarships available for smart Malays".
What Najib has announced is brilliant as it would hopefully satisfy the needs of Majority Malaysians in respect to the interpretation of the Constitution with regards to scholarship issues. I happen to think that it would be impossible for PM Najib to please everybody.
Some people in this instance cannot see the woods for the trees unfortunately. The Malays especially need to give Najib a helping hand when he makes good decisions towards a 1Malaysia.
eddy,
I, for one, would like to see fair treatment for all the races in the country but I do not subscribe to Pakatan's bullshit of sharing power equally.There must be 'first' among equals.
The BN concept is still the best formula for a stable and effective government.If they can take corruptions and abuses out of the equation they will be there the next 50 years.
UMNO actually is not a bad party.It has shown wisdom since its inception but has somehow become hateful under Abdullah's tenure.
Abdullah himself is not a bad person but his inconsistency, weak leadership and broken promises were the reasons for the rising opposition.
The Chinese is now united, so are the Indians.These unity will be shown in the next G.E.DAP would be a force to be reckoned with.
No matter what you do communal and race-based politics will be here for a long time.
That's why the unity talk with PAS is essential to keep Malay political power alive.Someone has to be boss and in a democratic system it is the majority that rule.
If Pakatan gained power it would be ineffective and weak.Can you imagine Lim Kit Siang,Anwar Ibrahim and Hadi or Nik Aziz all wanting to be boss.
Fragmented Malays would be a disaster.Both PAS and UMNO would be weaken.PKR is not a Malay party and can't be expected to look after Malay interest.
If Pakatan truly believe in their principle of multi-racialism than I challange them to dissolve DAP,PAS and PKR and form one multi-racial party to take on the BN.
Would they dare to do it? If they don't than they should put the money in their mouths.
HL,
I have decided to limit my comments to issues that you bring up that I feel are inportant. This is one of those.
My thoughts:-
1/ Yes, Najib is right in doing this (however, noone here has mentioned that the DAP & PR have been asking for this for a long time) & kudos for Najib for going with it (I'm sure he knows that some Malays are going to bitch about it)
2/ Just look at Anonymous' (8:44pm) comments. I don't need to elaborate further
3/ Yes, it's time the people around Najib start working with him to really get this "1 Malaysia" concept going (until then it's just a slogan).
4/From what I see, UMNO is still pushing it's Ketuanan Melayu agenda (please note that I'm not saying Najib is doing this). How can you be a "tuan" when you are so scared of "competing" on an even playing field?
5/ Unless & until the Non-Malays are treated equally, there will never be a "1 Malaysia". And please don't insult my intelligence by saying that the Non-Malays are being treated equally or that they were given Citizenship eons ago & should be happy with that. The Generation of Malaysians now were born here & Malaysia is their country & the only home most of us know. So please don't tell us to "balik" to where we came from (my ancestors came in 1511 (I'm more Buniputra than Khir Toyol & Mahatir!). I can't balik Portugal. If I want to balik kampung I have to balik to Jalan Pekililing bah!).
6/ I must admit (despite my earlier skeptisism about Najib), I'm liking what Najib's doing (hey I'm an Opposition supporter & saying nice things about the UMNO President...wow...looks like not all of us opposition supporters are zombies!).
Bro, your challenge for DAP,PAS and PKR to dissolve and form one single party will never be answered. All three have different political objectives and agenda glued together by their hate of UMNO/BN and their desire to topple the Barisan Government. Yes, for one everybody wants to be boss, so who shall be PM if they gained power? Kit Siang, Anwar or Hadi all have equal chance to become PM? If they win the next GE that will be the time when all hell breaks loose and the gimmick talk about equal partners will be thrown out of the window. Consequently there will be no political stability necessary for good government.
The BN way of Government is tried and tested and is the most successful multiracial and multireligious formula of countries who have achieved independence from the European colonialist and with some tweaking made by PM Najib, BN will come into the next GE more united and stong to contest the next GE. Everything else after that will be up to the Almighty.
Talking about Chinese or Indian unity, well from talking and listening to my friends who I hang out with, I think the Chinese especially are a pragmatic people and would certainly not want an unstable Government which would cause commerce and trade to suffer. It remains to be seen how the Chinese and Indian will vote next time whether enbloc for DAP or give better support to MCA and Gerakan as well.
Though I would say that MIC is lost as long as Samy is there as many Indian friends I meet just hate his guts. Maybe Najib as BN Chairman should have a microscopic look at the MIC as the Indians 7% vote percentage will count for BN in the next GE. Last night Samy announced that MIC President will be limited to 3 terms, does that mean he wants to stay another three terms? That will be far too long for an unwanted leader to overstay his welcome.
Eddy,
Don't let the hate you have for DSAI cloud your judgement (from your comments, I see that you are an intelligent & pragmatic person).
If the PR were to win the next GE, you can be sure DSAI will be chosen to lead them. Kit Siang is an experienced & pragmatic politician. Hadi is another matter but he has shown himself to be quite pragmatic also (hey he's a polotician bah). They either swim or sink together.
All I've heard from UMNO supporters is that the PR will fall apart...they are still waiting (instead of helping Najib realise 1 Malaysia, they keep coming up with their Racial crap).
You can be sure that the MCA & Gerakan will go the way MIC are going...i.e. down! The Chinese are fed-up...those who can, are leaving in droves & many stay because they have businesses (yup, the Chinese are very pratical!), etc, but their children are all overseas!
You ask the PR to form a united Govt....well..ask the BN to be truly multiracial also...form 1 Government...Remember Gerakan suggested this before the last GE & it was shot down mainly by UMNO!
The only way forward for Malaysia is a "Need Based" Policy & NOT a "Race Based" Policy (am I wrong?)...ooopsss...sorry...UMNO will NEVER go for that will it?
The whole problem with BN (i.e. UMNO) is that it still keeps saying it's tried & tested...well...that's not good enough anymore (Malaysians like me who love our country & are proud of being Malaysians are fed-up & you will see what happens in the next GE...unless Najib can get his "clowns" to get their act together!
SM, you are correct I agree that ultimately Malaysia must have a "need based" policy rather than a "race based" policy but the rights of Malaysians as required by our Constitution must still be upheld and it so happens that at this time the needy are mainly the Malays/Bumiputras. 1 Malaysia as proposed by PM Najib says that the rights of all Malaysians based on the Constitution will be upheld.
We cannot fault Najib for being a truly pragmatic leader and putting up new policies and aborting old ones which are really starting to look like "need based" policies, all he needs is a little more support from the majority Malays/Bumis and of course our other Chinese and Indian brothers, hey, even Dr Mahathir the most pragmatic of our leaders in recent times is holding his fire and supporting Najib.
Barisan Nasional though is made up of many parties representing the whole spectrum of Malaysian from Perlis to Sabah is a formal coalition with a unified political manifesto for Governing Malaysia. Barisan Nasional has a Chairman and Supreme Council and issues are discussed in consensus but of course there must always be a first among equals which would lead to conclusion that UMNO ride roughshod over its other partners. However, I firmly believed that sometime in future with the changing demographics of the country, UMNO will ultimately merge with all component parties and BN will be one party. Maybe it could be sooner than later if Pakatan's DAP,PKR and PAS which espouses everything good in what they do lead the way?
Talking about riding rough shod over their partners, Look at Penang, DAP Guan Eng just sack the PKR Municipal whip without batting an eye and even the exPakatan Perak Government which DAP controls were prone to policies that are populist but not necessarily good for all races like giving 999years titles etc. which even some in PAS and PKR do not agree.
That's politics SM, we agree to disagree, but my hate of Anwar the politician is not illogical hate, I just could not comprehend a person who says many things as a Timbalan Perdana Menteri Malaysia with UMNO and then talking exactly the opposite when he is Ketua Umum Pakatan in the Opposition. This man does not have a shred of conscience in him and is just an opportunist extraordinaire who is not qualified to become the Prime Minister of Malaysia. Pakatan is better off without him at the helm.
Eddy,
I think the crux of the problem faced by those who want change is that UMNO (let's face it, as far as we all can see, MCA, MIC, Gerakan & PPP are purely ineffective) does not seem to be "honest" in it's attitude to change.
What Najib needs to do first is "clean-up" the Police Force (face it, we all know how corrupted the PDRM is), Judiciary & UMNO itself.
The only reason why DSAI is so popular is because those who want change have no other choice (!). Plus what they are doing to him (i.e. these stupid Sodomy allegations in court. Really, Malaysia is the laughing stock of the Developed World). Whether he is honest in what he is saying now is left to be seen. Unless & until "someone" else comes up with a better alternative than the PR (even Mahatir says that we need an opposition), we have no other choice.
My friends include ALL races & I have many close Malay friends too. Believe me when I say that the sooner the BN abolishes the "30% Magic Number", the faster the Malays will progress. As long as they know they have a this policy to fall back on they will not progress (Najib has just said again that the Bumi equity is 19% now, down from 24% a few years ago...really...so this policy is not working then!).
Going back in history, an example (maybe a stupid example) would be when Ceaser & his forces crossed over to Britian. As soon as he did this, he gave the order to burn ALL their ships. Basically it was "do or die" & we all know what happened after that. The Malays will have to "bite the bullet" & start competing on a even field if they want to progress (my 5 cents worth).
Man-man, slow-slow is the operative word here SM.
PM Najib just announce a slew of reforms yesterday intended to wean the Malays/Bumiputras of the many negative aspects of the NEP. Do not worry, Najib's way is the best way and I am confident that he will find the balance and timings of his reforms that will benefit ALL Malaysians.
For me I have started already, my son is studying in Lim Kok Wing University on Ma/Pa scholarship. I was a MARA scholarship holder before and decided that one of the best ways to give back is to ensure that my children goes to tertiary education with my own hard earned money so that a Government scholarship shall be given to others more needy. Cheers.
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