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Saturday, 15 July 2017

orientaldaily.com.my

「東馬海嘯」也是造王者



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最后更新 2017年07月14日 21时13分 • 评论: 丘光耀 • 箴言耀传
希望联盟能否在第14届大选推翻国阵,很多人都寄望在马哈迪所领导的土著团结党。「马来海啸」一时成为了促成改朝换代的关键力量,也激起了无限的詮释和想像。而林吉祥之所以要

「牵马」,直捣巫统在马来甘榜的老巢,其战略意义就在於此。
然而,林吉祥「牵马」的选举战略,也冒著若干政治风险。比如反对党的支持者就会问:马哈迪这「U转魔鬼」是否可靠?希联会否被马哈迪骑劫?土著团结党在本质上是否巫统2.0?难道民主行动党为了取悦马来人而出卖理想主义和政治道德?马哈迪和土团党人推翻纳吉后会否重返巫统?万一马哈迪当临时首相会否继续作恶?为何希联只管夺权,不问价值和制度改革?
这些问题,还频频被马华民政的网络枪手和「偽中立」的网民,以及莽撞的键盘激进派不断放大,目的就是要「反利用」马哈迪这张牌来打击行动党,间接为马华民政的选举利益服务。
故此,我建议行动党在实践「牵马」战略,对「马来海啸」抱有高度期许的同时,也不要忽略「东马海啸」的关键作用,並藉此找出新的动力,以激起更澎湃的「全民海啸」。

巫统恐嚇马来人
在冷战时期,因反共地缘政治的需要,沙巴、砂拉越、新加坡和马来亚半岛,在1963年9月16日组成马来西亚,然新加坡因人民行动党的「马来西亚人的马来西亚」(Malaysian Malaysia)处处槓上巫统的「马来人至上权」(ketuanan Melayu),导致新加坡在1965年8月9日宣告「被独立」。这在二战后亚非拉的民族国家里是凤毛麟角的个案。
遗留在半岛的人民行动党领袖,遂在1966年3月18日重新註册为民主行动党。火箭第一任秘书长蒂凡纳,后来也应李光耀之召,返回新加坡出任总统。

认识这段歷史,就不难理解为何巫统半个世纪以来,不断在马来甘榜拿人民行动党「李光耀的幽灵」,套在林吉祥头上来恐嚇马来人,宣称火箭一旦得势,马来人就会大权旁落,华人精英就会殖民马来人。对於这方面的反宣传,林吉祥一直都很避忌,尤其在修党史时,文字表述更是小心翼翼,並且在马来社会避免使用「马来西亚人的马来西亚」口號,改为「马来西亚人优先」(Malaysian First)。

这一「优先」的基调,和欧美近年来极右民粹主义的排外口號十分相近,如特朗普的「美国人优先」,勒庞的「法国人优先」,弔诡得很。

从「邦」沦落到「州」
话说回来,上世纪60年代原本由三大邦合成的马来西亚,在国阵联邦霸权的长年打压下,逐步让砂沙两大邦沦为13个州之一(好比合伙做生意,原先各佔三分一股权,最后居然被稀释到十三分之一的股权)。自此,沙砂两邦的自主权受制於吉隆坡,导致经济、税收、教育、医疗、基础设施等都严重滯后,唯一跟得上半岛的,就只有贪污文化。

今天的马来西亚,因巫统(尤其纳吉政权)贪得无厌,导致丑闻纍纍、经济发展乏力、民族关係紧张、宗教越发极端、人才严重外流、外资纷纷撤走,这无疑是一个衰败国家的徵兆。
而马来西亚的衰败,肯定会直接拖累砂沙二邦,所以砂沙人民和半岛人民是命运共同体,应共同奋起,团结一致以打倒国阵这个贪腐的政治集团。

如今巫统在半岛,面对公正党、诚信党和土著团结党的夹击,政权岌岌可危;而纳吉可以操弄的战略,一来就是抹黑这三个党为「华人行动党」的傀儡,再则,就是收编伊斯兰党来跟巫统「合组马来政权」,一方面用作点燃马来村民的保守想像,另一方面则藉此恐嚇城镇华人的改变意志。

由此,半岛人民,不论肤色,也不管支持朝野何党,总是习惯坠入巫统的这一套宣传逻辑,被「马来人VS华人」、「穆斯林VS非穆斯林」的原始情绪,撕裂了跨越阶级和文明的团结意识,模糊了共同追求民主、自由、清廉和善政(good governance)的焦点。

所以,我在上周的专栏文章就公开呼吁希盟高层,不妨考虑在「共同竞选宣言」中,提出设置「六名副首相」的制度性新政,来回应各方对希盟影子內阁具体人选的要求。

平等伙伴关係
我为何要这么建议?在此,我把问题讲得更加透彻直白。
第一,我留意到近年来砂沙两邦的本土主义势力崛起,但这被吉隆坡的联邦主义者,理解为搞「地方分离主义」。而砂沙的国阵政客,也很狡诈地靠一些偽民间组织,发动所谓「爭取自主权」的运动,来打击「西马反对党」。

所幸的是,沙砂两邦抗衡国阵霸权,致力民主化斗爭的民主行动党,很自觉地將「本土主义」定性为两邦向半岛爭取「平等伙伴关係」(equal partnership)的表现。唯有如此,我们才能顺应砂沙二邦人民的诉求,促成「东马海啸」,再结合半岛的「马来人海啸」,一举淹没巫统。

第二,我建议设置「六名副首相」,分別是由一名马来人、一名华人、一名印度人、一名沙巴人、一名砂拉越人以及一名女性担任。这是为了体现民族、地域和性別平等的「权力共治」关係。西方有所谓的「左右共治」,然马来西亚既然左右派「阶级意识」长年不彰,倒不如希联突出体现多元特徵的「平等伙伴关係」。

试想想,我们长年用血泪爭取的「民族平等」(ethnic equality),何其容易被巫统曲解成华人反对党对「马来人特权」的挑战;但我们换一种说法,將砂沙两邦和两性共治的诉求拉进来一起表述。如此,巫统就很难再老调重弹,沿用其所谓「华人VS马来人」或「穆斯林VS非穆斯林」的论述来恐嚇马来人。尤其当下的巫统,也正需要靠砂沙国阵成员党来贏取多数议席以维持布城政权,这恰好是我们提出新的论述,来协助砂沙人民爭取「平等伙伴关係」的歷史性契机。

想像空间更大
第三,在六名副首相中,「未来人选」的想像空间其实很大,好比新制度的设置,有一名副首相保留给华人,但这名华人,未必永远都是来自行动党,也未必是来自半岛政党,也未必六名副首相中只有一名华人,因为另一名可能是华裔女性。再则,副首相也可能超过一名女性,因为其它五名副首相,可能是来自砂沙或马来裔、华裔或印裔的女性领袖。此外,马来人也未必只有一名副首相,因为另一名人选,可能是来自女穆斯林。故此,这种「可能的多元性」將让
巫统的旧抹黑手段难再得逞。

第四,有人担心六名副首相会否让新政府的內阁过度臃肿,甚至有浪费公帑之嫌。其实,如今纳吉內阁的首相署有十名正部长(其中五名来自巫统、一名马华、一名沙人民团结党、一名砂人民党、一名砂土保党、一名独立人士),还有三名副部长(两名来自巫统、一名印度国大党),被形容为是「布城中的超级部门」,其空前臃肿的程度,好比「总统型首相办事机构」。

预算案中的首相署开支,也从2008年(阿都拉任期最后一年)的70亿令吉,飆升到2016年的200亿令吉。此外,纳吉在2014到2016年的预算案里,还编列了至少有70亿令吉的所谓「收买基金」(slush funds),按刘镇东的研究,纳吉拜相之前,几乎没有这样的先例!

我並非主张希盟要向纳吉看齐,而是建议將「政治酬佣」的废材政客,统统从首相署扫地出门,將其简化和转化为有实权、有具体管理职能的六名副首相办公室。换言之,这六人要按专业背景、学识强项、地域发展需要、性別和文化特长来分配辖下的范畴领域,体现多元性的「平等伙伴关係」,来辅助新首相治理国家。

第五,其实这六名副首相的建议,並非什么新玩意儿。泰国的內阁也设有六位副首相,分別管理公安、外交、法务、经济、社保和基建。中国的国务院也有四位副总理,而且其中一位是女性。前任的副总理中,亦有一名少数民族领袖出任。

由此可见,每个国家的政府,都可以按照其国家的实际发展需要,结合其政治体制所兼容的权力分配机制和特殊的政治文化,来编製其內阁机关。马来西亚作为一个多元民族的国家,內阁中的副首相设置,就应该体现多元民族、男女共治、地域平权的「平等伙伴关係」。

砂沙二邦的人民,只要能抓住歷史机遇,全力支持两线制,让两邦的希盟领袖在国会选举中大胜,就能成为扭转国运的造王者!


Friday, 14 July 2017

theborneopost.com

Sarawak made right decision to form Malaysia with Sabah and Malaya — Taib

Taib speaks at the ‘Syarahan Negarawan Negeri Sarawak’. — Bernama photo
KUALA LUMPUR: Sarawak made the right decision when it chose to participate in the formation of Malaysia with Sabah and Malaya in September 1963, said Yang di-Pertua Negeri Tun Pehin Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud.
Taib, who was Sarawak’s fourth Chief Minister for 33 years until 2014,  said that decision had brought many benefits to Sarawak, especially in terms of development and modernisation.

“It is unlikely that the progress enjoyed by Sarawak is as vibrant as it is today if it chose to become a separate country and choosing to jointly form Malaysia has made Sarawak a stronger and more prosperous state.

“It is undeniable Sarawak and Sabah have gained many benefits for being entities in Malaysia,” he said at the Syarahan Negarawan Negeri Sarawak event in Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka here yesterday.

He said the development being enjoyed in Sarawak at present was also the result of economic developments taking place in Peninsular Malaysia.
Taib was confident the future of Sarawak in Malaysia is guaranteed, adding that bilateral ties between the state and the federal government were very cordial and any differences in policies and opinions should be addressed through consultations.

“The question of cooperation between the federal and state governments is no longer a hot political issue as in the past.

It is a practical matter that must be dealt with through negotiations.
“As far as I can see with my own experience, the cooperation between federal and state is very good. We don’t have any major problems that it can lead to confrontation or create policies that are discriminating.

“As such, depending on our wisdom in pursuing our politics, the integration of Malaysia will go on and not in a way that is too open that non Malaysians can take advantage of it to ruin these ties,” he said.

Touching on the ethnic pluralism and social fabric In Sarawak, Abdul Taib said the Sarawak Barisan Nasional (BN) government would continue to focus on the politics of development as the main thrust of the BN leadership.

He said to face the future and ensure a sustainable state economic growth, Sarawak had opened up opportunities for young Sarawakians to improve their skills in order to venture into a new economy as a result of the existing economic spin-offs and more sophisticated industries.

In order to move into that direction, Taib said efforts to restructure the education system in Sarawak that inclined towards technical learning also needed to be undertaken in tandem with the industries’ requirement for a highly skilled workforce.

“This is one matter that is not controversial if we plan a generation earlier through good policies in the field of education,” he added. — Bernama
What do you think of this story?
  • Sad (56%)
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  • Interesting (8%)
  • Great (3%)

    My comments:
    This man is the shame and curse of Sarawak.  During his 33+ reign as "Chief Minister" in Sarawak, with the exception of his cronies and those consortium who benefit greatly in all kinds of transactions, we Sarawakians as a whole were exploited in all ways and manners. Only he and his cronies have gained so much.  How much wealth has Taib Mahmud amassed is not a secret anymore.  How much ill-gained wealth has he embezzled during his reign for 33+ years in Sarawak?  
             His mega family businesses and many tangible assets are the evidences to show the whole-wide world of his greed and evilness.  Even Allah secretly interfered to tell him so.  When Lawas people once pleaded him for a public swimming, he turned deaf ear to them.  Then his granddaughter..........
           He is well-blessed by UMNO-BN to plunder and exploit Sarawak.  He and his cronies also blessed UMNO-BN political clowns to plunder and exploit Sarawak at will.  

    Shamelessly, he is ever ready to talk on integrity.  He talked on integrity months ago.  How I wish that all the Sarawakians would be sensible enough to reject and refuse to go to meet this man whenever there is a call for gathering to meet the so called VIP.  

    Wong Soon Koh has never said a word against this man and I understand that they are in good relationship.  Wong Soon Koh and many and many are ever ready to pamper this man as they bow their heads and bend themselves low to show their submission to his supremacy.   If you do not believe, go to search for the pictures in the newspapers in Sarawak. 

    Taib Mahmud should be dragged around to see the true conditions in Sarawak.  He is too blind and deaf to the suffering and hardship of people everywhere.  He is too dreamy to think how ashamed, disgusted and angry people feel towards him. 

Wednesday, 12 July 2017

Villager pleads for water leak to be fixed

KUCHING: A villager from Kampung Semadang at KM38, Jalan Puncak Borneo near here is asking the relevant authority to repair the leaking water pipeline in front of his house as soon as possible.

The 58-year-old farmer, who requested anonymity, said leakage from the main pipe underground was detected almost a month ago.
He said the village head had called the authority to inform them about the leakage but until yesterday, nothing has been done.

“As you can see, water continues to come out from underground and flow through the drain between my house wall and that of my neighbour.

“If it continues like this, the water can cause damage to my earth drain and my house wall,” he said at the site of the leakage.
Kampung Semadang headman Samsom Manggang when contacted said he had informed the relevant authority twice but there was no action taken.

He said on June 28, he called to inform the authority verbally and two days later, he sent a video of the leakage to an officer in-charge as a follow-up to the first complaint.

“I don’t know why, until today, nothing is being done to fix the leakage when obviously it is a waste of the taxpayers’ money,” he said.
Observation suggests that the potential water loss from the leaking pipe can reach thousands of litres a day, with the leakage having lasted about three weeks, and counting, with no end in sight.

Statistics showed 37.89 per cent of non-revenue water (NRW) was recorded in Sarawak in 2016 with losses estimated at about RM122 million.

Minister of Rural Electricity and Water Supply Datuk Sri Dr Stephen Rundi Utom said compared with the figure recorded in 2015, there was a reduction in NRW of about 0.21 per cent.

“However, in term of monetary value, there is an increase of RM12 million. This is due to an overall increase in the amount of water produced at treatment plants.” he was quoted as saying by The Borneo Post last month when asked about the percentage of NRW for Sarawak last year and losses in monetary value.

My comments:


Being lackadaisical has become a culture of the BN government.  Do you still want to support them or do you still want to be looped to vote for the BN government? Stop being a fool.

I suggest the village head or not to go to see the so-called BN representative in your area.  If within the specified time, the work is still not done, the next move is to get it reported in the newspaper.  If the news does not reach them, the next next move is to gather the villagers to get someone, experienced to repair it yourselves.  

It  has become a culture that  people have to burden for extra or not extra services or goods after tax.  Many schools, some facilities of hospitals, .... in our country,  Sarawak depend heavily on people to sustain.  It is time to stop and force the government today to be more responsible.  We all should prepare ourselves to change for good for ourselves and for the future generation to come.
 

Tuesday, 11 July 2017

Grammar in context: Try and see



The Importance of Games
     Game is a mental and physical contest _________ (1. play) according to rules.  _______ (2.) prehistoric times, people have enjoyed playing games.  _______ (3.) addition to pleasure, games provide ___________ (4. excite), challenge and relaxation.  ___________ (5. play) games may also help develop mental, physical and social skills.  (The World Book Encyclopaedia)
      ______ (6.) general, people play games for fun and recreation.  _________ (7.) are different kinds of games like “Hide-and-Seek; Tag” ; A cat Catching Mice; Ah Seng (in Foochow); Log-Log (in Foochow); London Bridge; Marbles;  Skipping; “Hopscotch; Chess; Cards; Scrabbles, Mahjong, Football, Basketball, Volleyball, Softball, Table Tennis, Netball, Tennis, Squash, Badminton and so on and so ________ (8.).
     All ________(9.) games are group activities and so ____________ (10. play) according to rules.  Through games, participants learn one important fact _________ (11.) they have to follow rules in order to play fair and so enjoy the fun _______ (12.) games.  They also learn the ___________ (13. important) of rules and co-operation as well as sportsmanship ________ (14.) games. 
     _________(15.) pleasure, games provide excitement, challenge and relaxation.  For example, in a softball game, the players ____________ (16. divide) into two groups.  Then they decide which group ________ (17) to pitch the ball first.  Each member __________ (18. give) three times to pitch the ball.  The pitching side must make ________ (18.) that the ball that they hit out ____________ (19. not catch) in the air, otherwise they lose. 
     The one ________ (20.) hits the ball is to run round the four marks or posts in the field.  However, if he ________ (21. ) not able to do so, he may touch one of the posts ___________ (22. stop) there.  In this way his opponent cannot hit him _________ (23.) the ball.  When the next player _________ (24. pitch) the ball and he may ________ (25. run) again to complete the round and go back to the home base.   It indeed _________ (26. need) mental, physical and social skills to enjoy the game ___________ (27. full).
     Children, teenagers, youths and adults _________ (28) enjoy games for fun and recreation.  Through games, they learn the importance of co-operation, sportsmanship and ___________ (29. follow) rules to enjoy games ______________ (30. wholehearted). 
theborneopost.com

Baru supports ministry’s move to improve students’ proficiency in English

KUCHING: The move taken by Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Research encouraging elected representatives to assist in measures to improve the level of proficiency in the English language in schools within their constituencies is a commendable initiative that deserves the support of all elected representatives, said Ba Kelalan assemblyman Baru Bian.

Baru, who is state PKR chairman, said he was happy to receive the circular two weeks ago from the ministry on the matter.

“I have spoken about this issue a few times in DUN (State Legislative Assembly) asking the government to take measures to improve the standard of English in schools, but never received any satisfactory reply from the government.

“It is therefore encouraging that the minister (Dato Sri Michael Manyin Jawong) is now addressing this matter and showing his concern that the level of English proficiency be raised. Although it is regrettable that he has indicated there will be no budget allocation to the elected representatives, I hope that some allocations can be made to the schools for this purpose,” he said in a press statement recently.
Baru added: “When I was a primary school student in Long Semadoh, there was already a practice of speaking English in school. If a student was caught speaking Lun Bawang, he or she was rewarded with a clothes-peg on the earlobe.

“He or she then had to find someone else who was speaking Lun Bawang and transfer the peg to that student. I am not saying that this should be implemented – it is merely an example of the initiative shown by the teachers to encourage the speaking of English.”

He said it must be recognised at the outset that for this initiative to work, the principals, teachers and parent-teacher associations (PIBGs) must be involved and committed.

“A good case-study would be the Ba Kelalan Primary School, which together with SK Ulu Lubai, was declared co-champions in ‘Commonwealth Education Good Practices’ in 2009. The story of SK Ba Kelalan is documented by a Fulbright volunteer teacher called Blair Daly — other schools can learn from their experiences and adopt some of their practices to suit their needs.

“I think that once there is commitment and determination from all parties involved, implementation will be easier. Attitudes and mindsets play a key role here.”
At the same time, Baru said the ministry must ensure that teachers are proficient in the English language as they are the ones who have a major role to play in this initiative.

“Those who are less fluent must be encouraged to take steps to improve themselves and the ministry should provide the means for them to do so.

“On a much broader vision and long-term plan to ensure English eventually becomes a main ‘lingua-franca’, I proposed to the government some practical steps, including reintroducing the teaching of English by radio broadcasts (this will ensure consistency and accuracy), rehiring retired English teachers and inviting volunteer English teachers from the Peace Corps or Fulbright programme, as requested by some parent groups in my constituency.

“I hope these proposals will be considered seriously by the ministry and implemented.”

On his part, Baru said ever since he was elected in 2011, he has regularly distributed English language storybooks to the schools in his constituency, with the assistance of some supporters.

“The total number of books distributed is estimated to be around 10,000. I have been extremely gratified by the response – in some boarding schools, there is a specified reading hour each day when all the students gather at the reading corner to read.

“The importance of reading cannot be overemphasised, and I would say that it is equally important as speaking English. Books are where we learn our vocabulary and where we are exposed to ideas and learning.”

He stressed: “The horizon is expanded for those who have a good grasp of the English language, and we must all do our part to ensure that our younger generation are given all the help to acquire such profic



My comments:
Don’t forget to create the grammar awareness to go with the fluency of the language.  Based on my personal experience, observation, investigation and experiments on my students young and old, I dare to declare that “communicative English” must go hand in hand with grammar awareness, otherwise, accuracy of the English is always a “sore spot” to be treated all the time. 

How can a person speak English with little idea of how the language works?  How can you expect a person to speak with full confidence when s/he is not sure if s/he uses the language correctly or not in both speaking and writing?  For writing especially, you have the record in “black and white” or “blue and green” to be qualified or disqualified in a job interview or more.

Which one is correct, for example:
He is confidence / confident in himself.
He speaks with confidence / confident.
This is mine / my.
This is mine/my book.
We all know the importance/important of education.
You are blur / blurred about the right tense to use.
Henry has / had taken a very heavy breakfast.  He is so full to bursting now.
 Henry has / had taken his breakfast when Ahmad came to his house.

Please allocate 30% to Grammar to force everybody to take a serious look at the basics.

Another very very important component is the pronunciation of the language.  Being able to pronounce whatever words at sight  is essential as you can remember the words when you know how to pronounce them.  With the speech sound record of the words, you can remember and retrieve them easily.    Knowing how to read the phonetic symbols is crucial as you can check the pronunciation of the words independently and easily. 

For example, if I am not sure how to pronounce “diabetes”, I look up the transcription of it in the dictionary online or hard-copy version.  I don’t need to listen to the pronunciation through loudspeaker as I know how to read and articulate each of the phonetic symbols, both British or American well.

I believe in self-investigative and independent studies.  A student can learn more and fast as well as at his own pace if he adopts this mentality in learning. 

Don't neglect the spelling or phonics in the school curriculum.