POLIS ISLAM

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on January 28, 2014

1. Cadangan untuk mengadakan polis Islam untuk menguatkuasakan undang-undang Islam perlu dikaji dengan mendalam.

2. Undang-undang Islam di negeri-negeri Malaysia tidak sama. Pelaksanaannya juga tidak sama. Pelawat ke negeri-negeri yang berbeza undang-undang Islam akan terjebak dengan amalan-amalan yang berbeza dengan amalan di negerinya.

3. Persepsi berkenaan dengan amalan-amalan oleh orang Islam juga tidak sama. Penguatkuasa akan lebih terpengaruh dengan persepsi ini, bahkan oleh persepsinya sendiri. Anggota polis tidak mungkin terdiri daripada yang arif dalam agama Islam. Diantara ulama pun terdapat perbezaan pendapat.

4. Di sebuah negeri wanita dengan lelaki perlu diasingkan di pasar umpamanya. Akan ada wanita yang membeli-belah bersama suami. Apakah mereka mesti diasingkan bila membeli-belah?

5. Di negeri lain tudung mungkin diwajibkan. Seluar mungkin terlalu ketat. Soalnya setakat mana longgar yang dibenar oleh polis?

6. Kita akan dapati anggota polis Islam mempunyai pandangan yang tersendiri. Yang ortodoks mungkin lebih keras daripada yang lain. Tindakan yang diambil bergantung kepada pandangan mereka. Bagi sesetengah, pelanggaran undang-undang Islam sudah berlaku dan tangkapan perlu dibuat. Bagi yang lain, mungkin tidak. Semakin lama semakin ketat tafsiran berkenaan undang-undang Islam. Sesiapa yang tidak bersetuju dengan kerasnya sesuatu tafsiran tidak akan berani menyuarakan pendapat kerana takut dituduh tidak Islam.

7. Negara kita menerima ramai pelancong dari luar negeri. Pakaian mereka berbeza-beza. Polis akan tahan pelancong untuk bertanya mereka Islam atau tidak. Jika Islam mereka akan ditangkap atau diheret ke Jabatan Polis Islam. Pelancong bukan Islam tidak akan senang dengan disoal oleh polis.

8. Ada yang akan berkata pedulikan. Ini Negara Islam. Tetapi kekurangan pelancong akan mempunyai kesan buruk kepada ramai, termasuk yang bekerja.

9. Pelancong pula akan ke negeri-negeri Melayu yang berbeza bukan sahaja undang-undang Islam mereka, tetapi akan pandangan, amalan dan tafsiran akan undang-undang ini.

10. Kita mempunyai penduduk pelbagai agama. Pakaian dan tingkah-laku mereka tidak sama. Tentulah aneh jika mereka boleh buat apa sahaja tanpa sebarang tindakan.

11. Tentu akan ada desakan yang bukan Islam juga perlu dipengaruhi dengan piawaian Islam. Maka akan berlakulah ketegangan antara orang Islam dan bukan Islam.

12. Kita sudah lihat di sebuah negara jiran yang mempunyai polis Islam dan masalah yang dihadapi oleh mereka.

13. Yang harus diperlakukan ialah didikan tentang sifat-sifat yang perlu ada pada orang Islam di Malaysia. Kita lihat jenayah seperti rogol, buang bayi, penagihan dadah dan bermacam lagi jenayah lebih melibatkan orang Islam. Yang perlu ditangani ialah masalah-masalah ini. Kenapakah orang Islam yang terlibat dan kurang benar orang bukan Islam yang terlibat? Undang-undang sama tetapi perlakuan jenayah tidak sama. Tentu ada sebab.

14. Saya berpendapat sementara orang Islam diajar untuk mengamalkan ibadah-ibadah tertentu, mereka tidak disemai dengan nilai hidup, kewajiban dan larangan Islam seperti tidak mengambil benda yang bukan kepunyaan kita, mengawal nafsu, menghormati ibubapa dan keluarga dan bermacam lagi.

15. Ibubapa sekarang tidak berupaya mendidik anak. Sekolah yang perlu ambilalih tugas ini.

16. Mengadakan polis Islam tidak akan menyelesaikan masalah-masalah orang Islam. Secara terus-terang saya menyatakan saya tidak bersetuju dengan cadangan ini. Saya sembahyang, puasa, keluar zakat dan buat kerja haji bukan kerana polis akan tangkap saya jika saya tidak. Saya mengucap dua kalimah syahadah juga bukan kerana takut ditangkap. Saya tunaikan apa yang diwajibkan keatas saya kerana saya beragama Islam, kerana kepercayaan dan iman.

17. Tidak ada paksaan dalam Islam. Janganlah kita jadikan agama Islam agama “Police State”.

MULTIRACIALISM IN MALAYSIA

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on January 27, 2014

1. Malaysia is a multiracial country. It is multiracial in the true sense of the word. This is because Malaysian nationals retain their identification with their countries of origin or where their forebears came from. In no other country with a large number of citizens of foreign origin do we see this retention of previous identities.

2. Initially, during the time of negotiation between the communities for independence, there was some expectation of assimilation into a single Malayan identity. But the resistance was too strong and the leaders gave in so as to get every race to support the quest for independence. Not only should the original identity be maintained but the language, culture and media of instruction in schools should also be maintained.

3. Faced with this reality the leaders of the different races at that time decided on a formula for sharing political power between the races instead. This was to be done by the formation of a coalition of race-based parties. But these parties should work together as a coalition. And so the Alliance consisting of UMNO, MCA and MIC was formed.

4. It worked for a time. But sharing political power was not enough. What about the economy. Initially the leadership believed that all the Malays wanted was to work as salaried workers in the Government.

5. The Chinese were expected to just do business. In those days business meant being shop-keepers. Big business was in the hands of the Europeans.

6. This picture of the Malays being in the Government and the Chinese continuing to be shop-keepers was quite simplistic but it was believed this would be the permanent feature of Malaysia. Not much thought was given to the increase in the Malay population or the wealth to be gained in the economic sector when the Europeans leave.

7. This sharing only of political power did not last. The Malays wanted the wealth from business and the non-Malays wanted the employment opportunities at the highest level in the Government. And so in the 1969 Elections support for the Alliance coalition was not forthcoming. The Alliance won but despite the lower house having an increase in number of seats from 104 to 144, the Alliance won only 74 seats, the same as when the total number of seats was 104 in 1964.

8. Serious riots took place with damage to property and loss of lives. Apparently the formula of sharing between the races in the political field alone was not enough. But the Malay leaders during the rule by the National Operations Council continued to believe in sharing political power. But they also accepted that there was a need to share economic wealth also.

9. The coalition was accordingly enlarged so as to bring in more non-Malays. The National Front which replaced the Alliance included the Chinese – based Gerakan, the Chinese supported Indian – led PPP of Perak, the Sarawak United Peoples Party (Chinese). PAS and the native-based parties of Sarawak also joined the National Front.

10. Having resolved the problem of political power sharing, attention was turned to the sharing of economic wealth. For this the New Economic Policy was enunciated with the objectives of (a) eradicating poverty irrespective of race and (b) eliminating the identification of race with economic functions.

11. Parliament was reconvened in 1972 and the new Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition adopted the New Economic Policy. The majority of the people endorsed the sharing of political power and economic wealth through giving the BN two-thirds majorities in all the Elections from 1974 to 2004.

12. The DAP refused to join the coalition and for a time made up the sole opposition. Obviously it did not agree to the sharing of political power and economic wealth between the races in Malaysia. But DAP’s refusal failed to destabilise the country. Consequently for 30 years Malaysia enjoyed rapid growth. Although the NEP target was not achieved, no one can deny that the economic disparities between the races had been reduced. As for the sharing of political power, the acceptance of many opposition parties into the Government and their involvement in policy making reflect the reality of the political change between the Alliance Coalition and the National Front Coalition.

13. After winning the biggest majority ever (199 out of 222), the BN Government decided to accede to “popular” demands and adopted a more liberal attitude towards both politics and the economic sector. In other words the idea of fair sharing of political power and economic wealth between the different races should be terminated.

14. It believed that this would make it more popular. The opposition would have no issues with which to attack the BN.

15. But in the 2008 Elections it was manifestly clear that the BN had lost popularity instead.

16. It scored less than two-thirds for the first time since 1969, gaining only 140 of the 222 seats. The pro-sharing Malays were dismayed but despite changing their leader, they found that the trend towards liberalisation remained.

17. The belief of the new leadership was that Chinese support would come back if the sharing policies of the NEP were not implemented.

18. Despite obviously rejecting the sharing principle, support for the BN did not return. Instead the DAP dangled before the Chinese the possibility of having both political and economic dominance. This was deemed possible because the Malays had split into three parties and each one of them needed Chinese support in order to win. The Chinese had the deciding vote and were in a position to give victory only to those who believe in throwing out the sharing concept.

19. The slogan coined “Ini kalilah” (this time we can) was used to indicate that political power could be wrested from the BN and the opposition would form the next Government. This opposition Government would discard the sharing principle.

20. Many non-Malay supporters of the BN component parties were convinced that by withdrawing their support the BN would lose and so would the idea of sharing political and economic power between the races.

21. In the event the BN managed to scrape through with a reduced majority, principally through the support of Malays and other indigenous people.

22. Taking advantage of liberalisation and the weakened BN Government, the conflict between the races heated up. The situation in Malaysia is tense as never before.

23. The people show no respect for the Government.

24. Malaysians by and large are not violent people. But for how long can Malaysia remain stable in the face of persistent violation of the good understanding and the sharing of power between the races.

25. Malaysian, be they Malays, Chinese, Indians or the native of Sabah and Sarawak must banish from their minds the idea of racial dominance. This country must be shared and shared fair by all the races.

PROTON

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on January 24, 2014

1. Perasaan rendah diri (inferiority complex) rakyat Malaysia sukar dikikis.

2. Pengenalan slogan “Malaysia Boleh” berjaya sedikit sebanyak meningkatkan kepercayaan rakyat Malaysia akan kebolehan mereka. Tetapi masih ramai yang anggap orang lain terutama yang berkulit putih serba boleh sehingga tidak percaya ada apa-apa kelemahan pada mereka.

3. Dalam bidang pembuatan kereta, British sudah tidak berupaya lagi. Jenama seperti Morris, Singer, Standard, Austin, sudah megaku kalah dan tidak dikeluarkan lagi. Kereta mewah British yang ada seperti Rolls Royce, Bentley dimiliki dan dibuat oleh orang Jerman. Jaguar dan Rover dimiliki oleh Tata, India.

4. Di Amerika Syarikat, Detroit, bandar otomobil yang dahulu mengeluarkan berjuta-juta kereta sekarang sudah bankrap dan tidak lagi mengeluarkan apa-apa kereta. Semua kilang ditutup dan pekerja berpindah ke tempat lain.

5. Kita akui Jepun dan Korea sudah jadi pengeluar kereta berkualiti.

6. Tetapi hanya 30 tahun dahulu kereta Jepun dikatakan dibuat dari tin Milo, dan kualitinya amat rendah. Kereta Korea juga tidak dapat dijual di Malaysia dan di pasaran dunia kerana kualiti rendah.

7. Sekarang China mengeluarkan kereta dan kita import kereta mereka. Tetapi tak ramai orang Malaysia membeli kereta China. Satu hari kita semua akan beli kereta China kerana ia tidak diperbuat oleh orang Malaysia.

8. Proton berusia 28 tahun. Tetapi kereta pertamanya laris di jual dan hingga kini masih dilihat di jalan-jalan. Memanglah kualiti kurang baik pada mula tetapi pengeluaran Saga pertama diteruskan hampir 15 tahun kerana permintaan daripada rakyat Malaysia.

9. Ada kala kecacatan terdapat seperti cermin tingkap tidak dapat dibuka atau ditutup. Proton dapat sistem cermin otomatik dari pembekal asing. Hari ini masalah ini tidak ada lagi. Lain-lain kecacatan juga sudah diperbaiki. Perkara seperti ini berlaku juga kepada jenama Jepun hingga terpaksa ditarik balik ratusan ribu. Sesiapa pun di Malaysia tidak berhenti membeli jenama Jepun ini. Sebabnya kerana buatan bukan Malaysia.

10. Jangan perkecil kebolehan jurutera dan pekerja Malaysia – terutama Melayu. Mereka berkebolehan. Jika dipimpin oleh pengurusan cekap, hasil keluaran mereka amat baik. Tetapi kadang-kadang pengurusan tidak begitu cekap dan banyaklah masalah yang memberi nama buruk kepada Proton.

11. Sila cuba kereta Proton terkini, Preve dan Suprima S. Alatan yang dipasang lebih baik dan berfungsi juga lebih baik dari Proton dahulu, bahkan jenama lain.

12. Tentulah harga dinaikkan sedikit tetapi masih lebih murah dari jenama lain.

13. Kikislah kepercayaan bahawa kita, terutamanya Melayu adalah bangsa yang jahil dan tidak berkebolehan. Kita boleh. Yang menyebabkan kita kadang-kadang kurang berjaya bukan kerana tidak boleh, tetapi kerana tidak mahu. Sikap pelanggan yang tidak yakin akan kebolehan kita juga melemahkan semangat pekerja kita.

14. Manusia mana pun yang mendapat kemahiran akan jadi cekap. Kalau tidak diberi peluang mendapat kemahiran, yang pintar pun tidak dapat membukti kepakaran mereka.

15. Belaku adillah kepada barangan dan pekerja kita.

CORRUPTION

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on January 21, 2014

1. We need laws to punish corrupt people and to deter others from accepting bribes. But actually it is very difficult to catch corrupt personnel in Government or in business. It is even more difficult to prove corruption in a court of law. Most corrupt people escape unpunished.

2. Perhaps it is better to try and prevent corruption from taking place rather than to try to catch them after the fact. Actually the best way to prevent corruption is to instil in everyone the belief that corruption is wrong, that it is a crime and a sin. Most of us do not steal not because we are afraid or being caught and punished but because we know it is wrong. Similarly we will reject bribes if it is instilled in us that it is wrong. Unfortunately today it is difficult to instil good values in our children because, for most of us, less quality time is spent with them. And so many would accept bribes or offer bribes because we do not see it as wrong, as being a sin in our religion. We think and we believe that everyone is doing it and we would lose if we don’t do it. Self-restrain and self-discipline cannot be relied upon to curb corruption.

3. But it is possible to make corruption very difficult by removing temptations and opportunities.

4. Opportunities for corruption arise because of the need for interaction between those with authority and the public. The authorities need to process and approve all kinds of requests or proposals from the public. It is a kind of power and as we know power corrupts. If the authorised person reject or delay, the applicants may want to offer bribes to expedite or to approve.

5. Although we believe that the conditions or reasons for approval or disapproval have been determined and fixed for every kind of request or proposal, actually they are not. Where they are, they are quite vague and not precise. This gives rise to discretion on the part of those with authority. They may reject or at least delay as they like. The applicants may then offer bribes. If the reasons for approval or rejections are clear and precise there will be no room for discretion. It will either be approved or rejected. Should the authority reject or disapprove when it is clear that the conditions or requirements have all been fulfilled, then it would be easily detected.

6. The applicants generally would not dispute the decision made by the authority or complain because of delay. If rejected or delayed he would be tempted to bribe. This holds less danger for him than challenging the authority. He may need to deal with the same authority again or with his colleagues. They can create all kinds of trouble for him. But when the conditions for approval are simple and made known to the public, the authority will be exposing himself to his seniors who will go through all the processed application to ensure that the officer has made the right decision. But maybe the supervisor is working with his officer for a share of the bribe. But should there be an investigation the failure of the supervisor to act would be discovered immediately and he would have to bear the consequence. This would be a strong deterrence.

7. It is important that the top man show tangible interest in the work of the officers. Every month reports must be made to him with clear indications of the number rejected and the reasons why. The report must be made public, including actions taken when there is corruption.

8. To reduce further the opportunities for corruption, forms of application must be made as simple as possible. Long explanations and descriptions on how to fill the forms should be avoided. Instead Yes/No answers in boxed areas should be filled by applicants. The officer will need only to tick or cross in the box provided for each answer by the applicant.

9. Each officer should be required to examine, approve or reject only a small number of required conditions. There should be a work-flow chart. It should take only a few minutes to tick-off or to put a cross in the required box before passing the application to the next officer. The whole process including the decision of all the officers should not take more than three days. The applicant must be required by law to present himself at the office after three days had elapsed to enquire whether his application has been approved or not. All these meetings between officers and the applicant must be taped and recorded in a diary.

10. The authority of the particular officer must be spelt out. This includes which part of the application is he in charge of. If other parts have not been ticked off properly by other officers, he must ignore them. He must just give his yes or no only with regard to the areas of his responsibility. The application will then go to the other officers for them to decide regardless as to whether earlier officers had already found that the approval cannot be given.

11. There must be enough officers to deal with the expected number of applications. When necessary more officers should be appointed.

12. All the applications which have been scrutinized by the designated officers must be handed to the senior officer who will scrutinise the forms and if there is no disapproval, the senior officer will approve the application. If there is, he must call up the officer concerned to explain. If he is satisfied with the explanation, the application will not be approved.

13. The senior officer will then see the applicant and explain. The applicant can then correct his application for resubmission. If he cannot correct them for whatever reason the application would be rejected.

14. Time is of the essence. It is important that the processing of the application take a fixed time. For all the officers to approve or disapprove should not take more than three days. If they take more time they should be called up to explain. If this happens three times the officer concerned should be blacklisted. He should not be promoted and he should be transferred to another job.

15. These are rough suggestions. The people in the government can improve on them and design the forms so as to make approval and disapproval easy. The forms must be updated from time to time when found to be confusing or not workable.

16. The public should be consulted, privately or publicly, to hear their suggestions or objections over the procedures and forms. In all cases the consultation and the new forms must be made public. Complaints should be studied and changes made when necessary. Openness and transparency must be maintained.

17. Doctors like to say prevention is better than cure. What is being suggested is a transformation from cure to prevention.

18. Why did I not do it when I had the authority? To a certain extent I did. If anyone cares to examine, he will discover that the rapid growth of Kuala Lumpur for example took place from the early eighties because it was made easier for people to get approvals.

ISRAEL

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on January 20, 2014

1. There was a time when Hitler postulated that the Germans, were a superior people, the Aryans who must be protected from contamination by non-Aryans. And above all they must be protected from any dealings with the Jews. He decided that in order to maintain the purity of blood the final solution was to kill all the Jews.

2. This policy by the German Nazis led to Jews being oppressed, seized and thrown into concentration camps. There they were tortured and killed in gas chambers.

3. According to World Jewry 6 million Jews died in what they termed the Holocaust.

4. Today Israel is having problem with African immigrants running away from persecution in their own countries. Israel does not throw them into concentration camps but force them to live in the poorest section (ghettoes) of Tel Aviv. They were not allowed to earn a living. They were actually spat upon by Jews. Israel try to expel them from Israel. They are offered $3,500 if they agree to be repatriated to their own countries.

5. By all accounts these Africans are treated no better than the Jews living in the ghettoes of Europe before World War II.

6. The Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu fears the possibility of African blood being mixed with Jewish blood. The Jews must remain pure.

7. Seems that the Jews believe in racial purity. There is no difference then between the Nazis and the Israelis. Their oppression of the Palestinians is another indicator. Given power Jews behave in the same way as the Nazis.

8. Israel is truly an apartheid state. Only Jews can become Israelis. The Arabs of Israel are second class. As for the African immigrants nothing would qualify them to become Israelis, not their adoption of the Hebrew language, nor their culture, nor their loyalty to the state of Israel.

9. Jews condemned the German Nazis for the persecution of their people. Now they themselves are behaving like Nazis; persecuting the Africans. The world is required to sympathise with Jews because of the Holocaust. That is history. The world should judge the Israelis by their actions today.

AUSTRALIA’S AUTO INDUSTRY

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on January 09, 2014

1. While in Australia recently I got to read a lot about their automotive industry. It seems that Australia’s own car, the Holden is about to cease production. And this despite Australian Government support of AUS$200,000,000 (600 million RM) a year to GM, the U.S. owners of Holden Company.

2. It seems that GM is asking the Australian Government to guarantee support for five more years beyond 2015 with more than AUS$200,000,000 per year. The Government is not willing to do this.

3. The Holden is just not selling well. Australians prefer foreign made cars.

4. Once Japanese cars entered Australia the sale of the Holden went down. Then Australia decided to liberalise import through FTA. The expectation was that the FTA would result in bigger markets for Australian products.

5. But Australia found that its products could not compete with the products of its trading partners in terms of quality, design and price in the Australian market, much less in foreign markets. Holden cars were once sold in Malaysia. None is imported now.

6. Australia like the European developed countries believe in socialistic ideas including increasing wages and pay every year even when the businesses are not making profits. The productivity level relative to the wages is low. Price-wise the Australian products are not competitive even in Australia. The FTA aggravates the situation as foreign goods flood the Australian market without Australian goods penetrating foreign markets. Fortunately for Australia it has large reserves of iron ore, coal and other raw materials for export to China.

7. With the demise of the car manufacturers, the Australian vendors of components and parts have lost their market.

8. Not to worry. Malaysia has come to the rescue of these vendors. We have invited them to come and set up components manufacturing in Malaysia.

9. They will compete with Malaysian vendors. With cheap Malaysian labour, the Australians will become competitive. Malaysian vendors will lose their local market especially after TPPA (Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement).

10. Australian investments will qualify as FDI. Malaysia welcomes FDI and will give incentives. Local investors need not be helped.

11. Malaysia encouraged FDI even before people knew the meaning of FDI. Our purpose in those early days was to create jobs for our people. We concentrated on labour intensive industries. We created so many jobs that we had to use foreign labour. Every year billions of Ringgits are remitted to their countries. Someone should study what this means to our economy. I don’t know.

12. A lot of FDI today is for the construction of buildings. They are huge but I don’t think they benefit Malaysia much. I don’t think they bring in technology which we do not have. We do not have workers so the benefit will go to foreign workers who will increase remittance out.

13. What we need to improve our income is to have investments in hi-tech industries, particularly by Malaysian investors. Better qualified Malaysians can work in these hi-tech industries. There must be many of these Malaysians as a few thousand vacancies in the Government attracted more than one million applicants.

14. For a country to become developed we need to diversify. Building spectacular buildings and shining skyscrapers alone will not make us a developed country whatever may be the per capita income or the GDP.

15. Our stress now is on making foreign goods cheaper for our consumers. This leads to outflow of funds, contributing to deficits. The diminished market for local products including cars may result in the cessation of production locally. The purchase power of the people will decrease and there would be less money to purchase imported goods. There would be less consumers and this will affect adversely the per capita and GDP. I don’t know whether this is good for growth.

16. It is time we define our objectives. Do we just want high income for some but low per capita as seen in some oil producing countries or do we want growth and development so as to qualify as a developed country?

PUTRAJAYA

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on January 08, 2014

1. Saya berterimakasih kerana interpretasi yang sering dibuat berkenaan pemikiran saya. Tetapi kadang-kadang interpretasi berbeza dari pemikiran saya yang sebenar.

2. Berkenaan dengan Putrajaya. Yang sebenarnya tujuannya ialah untuk mendiri sebuah Bandar pentadbiran. Kita mendapat ilham dari bandar-bandar dunia untuk tujuan ini.

3. Di antara yang mempengaruhi rekabentuk Putrajaya ialah ibu kota Perancis, iaitu Paris.

4. Yang kita pilih sebagai contoh ialah Champs Elysees, boulevard utama yang melintasi tengah Bandar Paris.

5. Boulevard ini mempunyai jalan tengah yang luas untuk lalu-lintas kereta dan dua buah jalan kecil antara jalan tengah dengan deretan bangunan di kiri kanan untuk pelawat ke kedai dan restoran.

6. Tingkat bawah bangunan-bangunan ini terdapat kedai-kedai makan dan barangan dan juga pusat hiburan seperti Lido. Memanglah restoran menjual barangan yang tidak halal.

7. Sesungguhnya Champs Elysees dipenuhi dengan pembeli-belah tempatan dan pelancong dalam dan luar negeri sepanjang masa. Ramainya mereka di sini kerana terdapat kedai dan restoran mewah. Lido mempunyai tarikan hiburan yang istimewa.

8. Kita tidak berhasrat meniru segala-galanya yang terdapat di Champs Elysees di Paris. Kita juga tidak ingin menjadi Putrajaya sebagai Bandar pentadbiran yang penuh dengan pejabat Kerajaan semata-mata.

9. Di Negara maju terdapat CBD – Central Business District yang penuh dengan pejabat-pejabat syarikat terkemuka di Bandar besar. Pada siang hari ramailah pekerja dan pelawat membanjiri CBD. Apabila pejabat tutup pada 5 petang, CBD menjadi senyap sunyi. CBD juga berbahaya pada waktu malam kerana ramai penjenayah merayau-rayau dan menyamun orang yang masuk kawasan ini.

10. Sudah tentu jika ramai orang terdapat di mana kawasan, kemungkinan penjenayah bermaharajalela akan berkurangan.

11. Saya cadang kepada pengurusan Putrajaya supaya diadakan kedai-kedai makanan dan barangan sepanjang jalan tengah Putrajaya. Dalam pada itu pusat hiburan ringan juga perlu diadakan.

12. Pada malam Sambutan Ambang Tahun Baru hampir 100,000 orang, kebanyakannya Melayu telah dihibur dengan lagu-lagu merdu dan tarian. Mereka tidak mungkin datang jika tidak ada hiburan.

13. Adanya hiburan ini tidak bercanggah dengan idea Putrajaya.

14. Saya tidak bersetuju jika diadakan kedai arak dan tarian bogel di Putrajaya. Tetapi jika diadakan sedikit hiburan tidak mengapa.

15. Saya tak pernah pergi ke Hard Rock Café. Mungkin ia tidak sesuai. Tetapi ia dan pusat hiburan lain boleh disesuaikan jika sanggup mengadakan hiburan yang tidak lucah. Kita perlu kepada hiburan. Jika ada acara persandingan di dewan-dewan di Putrajaya tidak ada larangan terhadap hiburan. Kenapa tidak pusat hiburan di restoran.

16. Perubahan sedang dilakukan oleh Tan Sri Aseh kepada Putrajaya. Saya lihat semakin ramai pelawat datang ke Putrajaya sebelah malam kerana perubahan-perubahan ini.

MULTIRACIAL MALAYSIA

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on January 06, 2014

1. Malaysia is a truly multiracial country. It is truly so because Malaysians retain their identification with their countries of origin.

2. Multiracial countries are almost never peaceful. More so if the races follow different religions, speak different languages and adhere to different cultures as in Malaysia.

3. But contrary to general expectations, Malaysia is relatively peaceful and stable. It is accordingly more prosperous than can be expected of countries which gained independence recently.

4. The reason for Malaysia’s peace and prosperity is because the people believe in sharing, sharing political power and economic wealth.

5. Unfortunately there are in this country people who wish to end this sharing concept. They see a possibility of dominating not just economic wealth but political power as well.

6. They dangle this bait before the Chinese in the 2013 elections. And this resulted in wholesale desertion of Chinese voters from the BN coalition to basically the DAP.

7. Fortunately the majority of Malays adhered to the sharing concept espoused by the BN. And so, despite this desertion the BN won, but won with a much thinner majority. The fact that the contribution to this victory is largely by Malays and other indigenous people reflects a rejection of the concept of inter-racial sharing by non-Malays.

8. I think the parties in the BN should be reminded that this is a multiracial country and it can only remain peaceful and prosperous if they uphold this ideal of sharing between the races.

9. The Malays must remember that they cannot rule and prosper this country on their own.

10. They need the dynamism and business skills of the Chinese. They need also the professional skills of the Indians.

11. The Chinese and Indians must also realise that they need Malay support if they wish to form a Government in Malaysia. And Malay support will not be forthcoming if the Chinese and Indians are not prepared to share and share fairly political power and economic wealth.

12. In multiracial Malaysia a strong Government is a necessity. We cannot afford a minority Government.

13. Having tried to stop sharing in the 2013 elections, those who deserted the BN should come back. They should return to the status quo ante.

14. Perhaps some adjustments should be made to the sharing formula. But there should be no threat, no holding others to ransom by any race. Any attempt to do so would kill the effort.

15. For more than 50 years the sharing formula brought development and prosperity to Malaysia. The whole world acknowledges this. The opposition will deny this of course but then the opposition needs to denounce all Malaysia’s achievements since they wish to have one dominant race enjoying political power and economic wealth. If they acknowledge the success of Malaysia there would be no ground for their existence.

16. But all others agreed that among the countries which gained independence after the war, Malaysia is the most peaceful, stable and prosperous. Its rate of growth is among the highest in the world. Even when its trading partners in Europe and America face regression, Malaysia is still growing.

17. Only the insane can think that Malaysia should have the kind of upheavals, demonstrations and the like that we see in the countries of the Middle East and elsewhere. Maybe we are not perfect but that is no reason why we should discard something that had largely delivered on its promise.

18. Political parties do not like to lose. But in Malaysia when the Government party lost, it had peacefully surrendered power. That this has not been seen at national level is the people’s will. But at state level it has given up power in six states. I believe it will give up power at national level if the people so wish.

19. But the will of the people must be expressed through elections, not through demonstrations or other means.

20. But they say the BN Government will cheat in elections. If it cheats it would not lose at State levels and it will not see opposition candidates win and take their places in Parliament at national level. But it has never happened that the opposition fail to win at all as happened in countries in which the Government cheats. We don’t have the 99 per cent victories for the ruling party in Malaysia.

21. 2014 will be a difficult year for Malaysia. We need stability in the country more than ever. The racially-based component parties in the BN should return to the sharing principle that had won them support for more than half a century. This will ensure stability. And with stability we can face all challenges and continue to grow the country.

FLOODS

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on January 02, 2014

1. Every year the east coast states would suffer from floods, with loss of property and lives. In Kuala Lumpur and other cities and towns flash floods following heavy downpours occur regularly several times a year.

2. We accept these floods as a climatic feature of Malaysia, as something which must happen. It is God’s will. There is no way we can stop them. And so we make preparation for the victims – food and evacuation centers. We commiserate with those who lost their loved ones.

3. The architects of Malaysia are not satisfied with just repairing the damage by the floods. In particular they want to prevent motor vehicles parked in underground car parks from being “drowned” as water pours down and fills up the multi-storied underground parking lots.

4. So now they build six-storeyed car parks above the ground. The residences and hotels have their first floor seven storey above the ground.

5. The cars are saved from the flood waters. But the buildings look ugly especially when no attempt is made to decorate architecturally the bare openings around the car parks to the outside.

6. A better and more attractive design would be to maintain the underground car parks but with the first floor of the building, (lobby or entrance hall) raised to about 12 feet or more above the level of the street or the road.

7. The building’s first floor must be about 12 feet plus from the road level with concrete walls surrounding the space below the first floor extending down to surround the car park bellow the building. The space between the wall and the road can be filled with earth and grown with grass and flowering plants.

8. A ramp must be built from the road to the entrance of the building at the first floor. Another ramp must be built for the cars to drive down into the multi-storeyed car park below. The car park must be enclosed by solid walls and floor. There must be good lighting and security.

9. The road or street will become virtual drains during floods due to rain or tide. This will help the flood waters to drain quickly into the canals or rivers as soon as tide goes down or rain stops.

10. On the east coast where floods regularly occur during the monsoon rain, the simplest solution is to go back to building houses on stilts like the old Malay houses. The first floor of the houses must be above the highest flood water mark.

11. The stilts supporting the houses must be sturdy and buried deep in the ground. Concrete should be used.

12. Steps can be built leading up to the first floor as in the old Malay houses. A ramp can be built so that the cars can be driven up for to the first floor during floods. There should of course be an entrance to the house from the raised porch for the car.

13. Government spends quite a substantial amount of money for flood relief. By insisting that houses be built on stilts this money would be saved. Part of the savings can be used to subsidize the cost of the stilts at least initially. The house-owners or occupants too would save money.

14. Architects can design these stilts so as to look attractive. In fact a competition for new styles of houses on stilts should be held if this idea is accepted.

15. In Malaysia the only town which built houses including shop-houses high above the road is Beaufort in Sabah.

16. Incidentally I was born in a house on stilts. The first floor of my Seberang Perak house is 4½ ft above the ground. The land is very low and during springtide river water used to flood the ground under my house and around it by a few inches. It does not do so now because of dams upstream and a barrage downstream.

17. But the northern plains of Kedah get flooded after heavy rains in Southern Thailand and North Kedah. Still the flood waters never reached the raised floor of my Seberang Perak house.

18. When I built my own house in Titi Gajah, I decided to raise the ground by about 2 ft. A concrete wall 2 ft high was built round my land and it was filled with red earth.

19. The ground floor of the house was at a slightly higher lever, about 3 ft. I decided to build a basement about 1½ ft lower. The window of the basement was about 4 ft above the floor. Outside the basement I heaped up earth to a level just below the windows. The kitchen was also at the level of the basement.

20. During springtide tide flood waters did not get into my kitchen or basement. But during big floods water did get into the kitchen and basement but not high enough to damage the hot plates or refrigerator.

21. The new housing estates in Kedah are all built on existing ground level. Where the ground is high they are safe. But those built on the low land areas will get flooded.

22. If we don’t do something, every year thousands will have to be evacuated and a few will lose their lives. And lots of money would be wasted on food, evacuation and repairing flood damage.

Selamat Menyambut Tahun Baru 2014

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on December 31, 2013

Saya dan isteri saya mengucapkan Selamat Menyambut Tahun Baru 2014 kepada semua rakyat Malaysia, khususnya pembaca blog ini. Semoga kedatangan tahun baru ini akan memberi kita semangat dan iltizam untuk terus menerus berusaha menjayakan diri kita sebagai rakyat Malaysia yang bertuah.