Shahrul Idzham

 

The economic crisis is a cycle. It hits on everyone but affected the lower income group the most. Generating local demand by giving higher purchasing power to the consumer is a plausible effort. However, this will not be an effective measure as we all know that our stores are making more than 20% profit from goods sold. So the more money we have is just to support our payment for the same goods and most probably the same quantity. Who does the government protect? The retailer and its chain or the consumers? Does 3% more make us better now or 3% saving is better for later? I would save the 3% rather than spending it. I have no confidence at all with the stimulus (package) as it was prepared to combat the short term crisis not taking into consideration for long term solution. If engineers can build offices that could stand for 100 years, why can't the so called economic experts find a way to ensure that the inflation, recession etc do not occur ever so often? If banks can make a lot of money from lending of depositors' money, why can't depositors reap the benefit? If consumers get good dividends from banks, then the working public can have better disposable income. If the BLR is 6.75 per annum, savings account holders should receive higher dividends. My penny thought.

P. Sritharan

When all of us were eagerly awaiting for the authorities to scrap off the 30% surcharge imposed by the bus operators, we received a bombshell from the bus operators’ association. They were demanding a 100% increase or a conditional 70% increase in the bus fare from the current fare! They were citing the increase in the operation cost and the spare parts. Under prudent management, I believe that the increase in the operation cost would be gradual and would not increase drastically unless under mismanagement. As for spare parts, it is not acquired every month for a particular bus. It occurs now and then. If it is very frequent then, it is time to replace the bus. The operators might cite that the replacement cost they incur as a major reason for their demand. However, the replacement cost would have been absorbed into their prior earnings. In fact they are allowed to use their buses for a longer period as compared to our southern neighbour. Perhaps, this might be the reason for some of the KL city buses to be an eyesore, free body exercise and the buses of some operators don’t have air-condition. Just imagine what impression the many tourists to our capital city will have. If at all they were truly sincere in their demand then why now? Why so much? As far as I remember, the last general bus fare increase was in the year 2005. Since then, I can’t remember any serious demand from the bus operators. It is quite shocking and burdening to the bus commuters to be slapped with 100% all of a sudden. When I heard the Entrepreneur and Cooperative Development Minister Datuk Noh Omar announced that the demand from the bus operators would not be approved, the bus commuters would have had a deep breath of relief. However, another bombshell came and this time is from Datuk Noh Omar himself. He announced, to our dismay, that the bus fare is to increase effective next year! How much? I feel it is significant and that is why he is announcing now. As it is, the commuters are eagerly waiting for the surcharge of 30% imposed 2 months ago to be scrapped. With the announcement of the minister, the commuters had severe heartache. I hope, the minister realises that this would severely affect the pockets of the ordinary layman(woman). Look at the timing! This increase, is to happen when many of us fear that we might suffer paycut or worse, we might be retrenched. I sincerely, plead to the Finance Minister (also the Deputy Prime Minister) Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak and Datuk Noh Omar to understand the plight of poor bus commuters who have already been hit by the initial 30% surcharge on bus fare and increase in the cost of essential goods. 

 

P. Sritharan

Do current ACCA graduates lack command in English? Of course, many of you would tick me off for such a doubt. This is because we are talking about graduates from the world famous Association of Chartered & Certified Accountants. Obviously they are expected to be proficient in English as they undergo at least 2-5 years study fully in English. If it is true, that they have adequate command of English, then why was the ACCA graduation ceremony in English and Mandarin ? When I read about it in a local daily I had to reconfirm myself as to whether the ceremony was held in Malaysia or in one of those East Asian countries. The usage of English during that function is very appropriate and it shouldn’t be questioned. However the 2nd language to be used must be our national language (Bahasa Melayu). However, it was stated that the only other language used in that ceremony was Mandarin.

This is a blatant disrespect to the national language. It could foolishly be argued that non Malaysians would not understand our national language. I am sure they understand English which was used in the ceremony. So, why was Mandarin used instead of Bahasa Melayu? Is it an indication that the graduates of ACCA have, over the period of time, losing their grip in the English Language. Even if many might protest to this, having been in the education industry for over 20 years, I know that there is a certain element of truth in that statement. I would have appreciated and welcomed if the languages used were in the following order i.e. English (International Language), Bahasa Melayu (National Language) and Mandarin (Main Regional Language). 

 

Datuk Marimuthu Nadason

In recent years, we have noticed that the construction industry has successfully developed "ghost towns" namely in areas like Bukit Beruntung, Nilai even in Puchong. These are planned developments and many are left to decay. According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), in 2001 the forest cover reported was 60.8 percent and this value would have reduced fast with the development process in Malaysia. This valuable resource is used to develop housing and industrial estates. FOMCA's major concern for developing forests are loss of natural habitat for flora and fauna, high flood occurrence in low lands, loss of water catchment areas, and other environmental disasters related to forest clearing. While we compromise on development to meet population growth, we still have "ghost towns" around us. These are areas which we plan to develop. Why would there be such situation? Such developments as we pointed out does not only cause loss to Malaysians in terms of loss of forest, it also uses a lot of raw material which derive concrete, wood, roads and many other infrastructures. This requires a lot of natural resources and eventually wasted. Over development in certain areas like Puchong will also have its negative impacts and eventually create small "ghost towns" that will give more social problems. We need a holistic approach in development on need basis. We are aware that there are many more "ghost towns" in Malaysia. FOMCA would like to urge the Ministry of Housing and Local Government, Economic Planning Unit, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, and related agencies to form a task force to study these "ghost towns". The task force should carry out the following to do a root cause analysis; evaluate the impact to the environment, create database of developers that have failed and related director, estimate cost of materials wasted in construction, and finally prepare a report for public to identify such areas and developers. This report should study the overall impact to the creation of "ghost towns" and recommend action plan to prevent this from reoccurring. Malaysia will be stepping into the regime of developed nation and it is important for us to remain focused and prudent in planning as well as expenditure. Developments that waste our resources should be stopped. All development should be in line with the sustainable development concept that was agreed by all leaders at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro back in 1992. The only truth we need to remember is the depleting natural resources as our limitation for development. Future is in your hands.

S M Mohd Idris

Conservation groups have sounded the death knell for Malaysia's endangered wildlife. Special emphasis is being placed on pangolins and the Malayan tapir, both of which are now cited under the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) 2008 Red list, with many more joining the list. Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM) strongly believes that our Malaysian wildlife is in jeopardy. This has been long foreseen, following the numerous and frequent reports of wildlife smuggling activities involving especially pangolins and snakes. Seizure of pangolins, reptiles, exotic meats and tiger parts indicate widespread poaching. News of extinction certainly does not augur well for the Malaysian wildlife authorities, as it indicates failure on their part to protect the animals. The rapid rate of decline in animal species over the decade has become a reason of great concern. The cause of this decimation is almost all directly related to human activity. For example, the threat of habitat destruction being imposed upon wildlife species due to human development activities range from roads to quarrying, mining, marinas and other factors such as poaching, hunting, pet trades, consumer demands and zoos. Another serious concern is the issuing of licences for hunting. In spite of the fact that only game animals are allowed to be taken during the open season, there is no guarantee that protected species will not be shot. Hunting, whether legally or illegally, along with other forms of poaching, inflict great damage to wildlife. Modern day poaching is a highly organised venture fueled by greed and profit. It is not known how long more these species can tolerate such exploitation, or how it will affect the rarer wildlife. A question which needs to be immediately addressed: Can these animals be saved from extinction? Yes if the problem is nipped in the bud by putting a halt to carnage at wildlife habitats. The Wildlife Department must beef up efforts in order to catch offenders in cities and forest fringes, and to act against wildlife killings. Wildlife enforcement authorities should be assigned on duty at forest and wildlife habitats to deter poachers from continuing with their illegal activities. An inventory of animal species is an essential first step towards halting the slide of endangered animal species into extinction. A freeze on licenses permitting wildlife exploitation is also a critical measure. For example, licences for hunting, licences for sale of wildlife in pet shops and 'special' permits for endangered species at zoos should no longer be renewed or issued. State governments can help alleviate the crisis faced by wildlife by making a concerted effort to manage its land better. Ignorance on the part of zealously optimistic developers about the creatures and plants inhabiting the land they wish to develop does not excuse them from the responsibility of protecting and preserving the plant and animal species in that area. An important point to remember is that conservation efforts should not mean isolation, but rather preserving wildlife species along with their natural habitat, thus maintaining healthy ecosystems. As a whole, conservation efforts should encompass wildlife and habitat management, bolder restructuring of wildlife and environmental protection policies and effective planning. Sadly, all too often, conservation efforts are not heeded until the loss of a valued species becomes dramatic and intensely noticeable, by which time there are too few left for the particular species to recover in numbers. S M Mohd Idris President Sahabat Alam Malaysia 21 Lintang Delima 15 11700 Penang

 

P. Sritharan

What are we doing to our children? Gone are the days where our children only attend school and if necessary take tuition on specific subject(s). This means they have quite a large amount of time for extra-curricular activities. That is why we had a large pool of candidates to represent at various levels of sports, debates, educational competitions, socialisation etc. The bulk of them also did not suffer any serious decay in their character and/or personality. What is happening now? After their school, the children are sent to tuition after tuition assuming that the students will excel to be on top in the examinations they are prepared for. Majority of the working parents do send their children for tuition for the same reason. However, some of them send their children so that they are occupied (meaning would not indulge in negative activities) until they return home. However, do they really check whether their children attend tuitions regularly? Do they check what do the children do when they are free (whether within or outside home). Yes, of course the children would perform better with tuitions but we should not forget that in certain subjects the children can do well without any tuition. The parents and the teachers are the people who could identify such subjects. On certain extreme cases, the students are influenced to take more subjects than necessary. Some, take nearly double the minimum subjects needed to be taken for an examination. I would say, this practice is unhealthy and it would put unnecessary pressure on the children. The authorities should reduce the ceiling for the number of subjects to be taken for each examination. Today, for better career, the academic qualifications become secondary. Why? There are around 400 public and private universities, university colleges, polytechnics, public and private colleges in Malaysia. Do not forget those who go overseas to obtain their qualifications. I still remember in the 70's, those who had obtained general undergraduate degrees such as B.A., B.Sc, B. Econs were absorbed into both Public and Private sector to fill in vacancies at officers level and above. However, the demand for such graduates is shrinking year after year and many of the graduates are "pressured within" to accept whatever positions as long as they are not jobless. A perfect example to this is the 15,000 odd graduates' plight which came into the limelight where their services were supposed to be terminated this year. Fortunately, the government had assured them their services will be extended. Coming back to our children, both the parents and children should realise the reality that a degree alone is not enough to get a decent job today. Then, what else do they need? If you ask me, I would say they, apart from academic qualification, need to master the art of convincing, impression and should be a team player. If you look at these extra qualities, you could notice that the basic foundation for all of them is the command of multi languages (As for Malaysians they must master Bahasa Melayu, English and Mandarin). I feel that these languages should be taught from all the primary school until the secondary school. I know some might object to this but let us look at the reality and understand the contemporary needs of the job market. Let us be smart and guide and prepare our children to face the future without any hitch. 

 

Ben Lee

I wonder why the experienced and matured politicians are still harping on ketuanan melayu. I am very sure commoner Malay citizens are more concerned with upgrading themselves to remain in open market competitions. They work and compete not based on ketuanan, but own abilitiy and nothing more than own ability. In the global market conditions, nobody cares much about who is ketuanan. The quality, reliability, timeliness, relevancy and price are above any ketuanan. And that the younger generation is well aware of. So, why are the politicians still so engrossed in the concept? Instead of that, would it not be much better and meaningful that they direct their effort and resources to enhancing the skill sets, the relevant knowledge, and the hard fact of competition? I am a Malaysian. When I travel overseas, I always tell the tourist guide and the locals there that I am a Malaysian and not Malaysian Chinese. And I am sure some other citizens of different origins will say the same too when they travel overseas. We are so proud to tell them that we are MALAYSIAN.So if commoners like us are trying so hard to let the outside world know that we are Malaysian, why can't our politicians do the same? Why must they still harp on issues  by Malays, Chinese, Indians....blah...blah...blah....and not by Malaysian?